Wine-It’s Just My Opinion

I saw my cancer surgeon on Thursday, Dr. Kenyon, he’s awesome. When he removed my tumor, he took 5 tissue samples from the area, they all came back with no trace of cancer. Which means, he got it all during the surgery. I can’t convey how happy I am, absolutely elated. It’s been an incredible 17 months, and I want to send my thanks and love to all the readers of this blog who sent me love and good wishes. Your notes of encouragement were very important to me.

And how did I celebrate? My favorite meal, ribs, wings and rice. Normally I love adding corn but I’ve been avoiding corn for obvious reasons. And the wine I celebrated with. An Italian Ripasso by Sartori. You all know I love a Ripasso and this one is priced at $27 and so delicious. The ribs I had cooked the evening before, when I grilled burgers for a couple of my co-workers. I’m reintroducing beef to my diet, because it didn’t agree with me when I first got out of the hospital.

The celebrations continued last night with friends, wine and karaoke.

I even got up and did a number with my friend Raymond. We did a duet, I’m definitely not the best singer, but it’s all in good fun. We have a good building, I’ve been here 12 years and we do a lot of fun things together.

Now I have to tell you about a new find that is a spectacular value.

This is Hax Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile. Look at that gorgeous color, and it’s priced under $15 a bottle. Not a typo. $14.99 Beautiful well-structured full-bodied Cabernet and the tannins are just perfect, in my opinion. Not too strong but a great mouth feel. I had a glass before karaoke last night, but this is also a perfect BBQ wine.

You’ve heard of hangry (angry because you’re hungry), now there’s wangry! You have my permission to use this word.

Thank you so much to all of you for reading my blogs. I know they haven’t been consistent this year, but I appreciate everyone that has followed me on my journey.

Love Darlene

Hi Everyone. It’s been a while hasn’t it. Well, it’s been quite the time for me. On Tuesday, February 20th at 7:30 in the morning I got wheeled into surgery. Honestly, I had no idea how big the surgery was going to be.

I was in hospital for 5 days, and I couldn’t wait to get out and get home and continue my recovery here. Had a couple of set backs, some stitches imploded and left me with a wide gaping would, and I ended up back in the ER. Still having the VON coming in 3 days a week. No more pictures, I promise. Believe me, you do not want to see my scars and wounds. So I’m not quite fully recovered, but I am recovered enough to enjoy a glass of wine.

Last evening also marked the first day I fired up both grills.

Notice the fog? We’ve had gloomy weather, fog and rain for 3 or 4 days now. Did some baby back ribs and chicken on the wood pellet grill and did some crispy potato wedges on the regular BBQ

The baby back ribs turned out perfect. I even had enough left over for tonight. I was so hungry when they were done I just ate. I do have a couple of pieces for this evening’s supper.

And the perfect wine to go with this?

This beautiful Cabernet Sauvignon from Raymond Vineyards in California is on clearance right now. The Raymond family arrived in Napa Valley in 1933 and became connected to the famous Beringer family by marriage a few years later. This easy-to-drink Cabernet Sauvignon is so good and priced under $20 right now. Rich fruit, softer tannins and food-friendly.

Before I go a little cuteness.

Remember when Riley picked up Lexi from the breeder the end of August last year. Well, Lexi has grown a little

Weighing in at 71 lbs, Lexi turns 9 months old on Monday. Yep, she is still a puppy. And loves her sister Maggie, who is just 65 lbs.

I hope you have a wonderful Easter weekend. Thanks for reading as I share my cancer journey. Take care!

There won’t be a wine blog for the next two weeks, as I’m leaving this cold weather next Saturday. My sister is treating me to a one week vacation at the Royalton Hicacos in Veradero.

This is our most recent picture, taken with our lifelong friend Wendy over the Christmas holidays. Jackie, Wendy and I have known each other for 55 years. And we are still like family. My sister wants to take me down south before my cancer surgery, and before I get the colostomy bag. We leave next Saturday and come back the following Saturday. I’ll share any new wines I will try and maybe some fun pics as well.

I absolutely love pasta, and my Mom’s favorite is Chicken Fettucine Alfredo. I realized I had never made this dish, only had it in restaurants. Well, last Sunday that all changed, and it was so easy and it turned out so good. I used fresh pasts for my first attempt at Fettucine Alfredo and I used this recipe. I also added some fresh bacon. I mean, bacon compliments most things, especially a creamy cheesy pasta with chicken. Am I right?

Here’s the wine I had with it.

I went Italian. I know I have had this wine before, but it’s been a while, and look at that rich deep color. It’s the Pasqua Romeo & Juliet Rosso, isn’t that a great name for an Italian wine

This is one of those great wines that combines traditional Italian grapes with a traditional Bordeaux varietal. This wine is 40% Merlot, 30% Corvina and 30% Croatina. Both Corvina and Croatina are grapes native to Italy. Appassimento means dried, and the process is quite unique. The Merlot and Corvina grapes, selected and hand harvested with great care, are then left to dry for 1 month into wooden trays in the Fruttaio, a special room used for drying grapes. Thanks to the dry and well ventilated environment where the humidity level is carefully controlled, the grapes loses around 30% of their water content and gain high flavor concentration. Several wine critics have given this wine 91 Points. This wine is only $20 a bottle and is so rich and full-bodied with absolutely no bitterness. It went down pretty easy. 

I have one more new wine to tell you about.

So I saw this wine in the clearance aisle at our liquor store, and thought I would give it a try. I had tried the Cabernet in the past, tried it for the first time last year. Enjoying it while watching a Christmas Hallmark movie of course.

The Cabernet, which was called Jingle was very good so I wanted to try the Holly Red Blend, which is called Holly. Hallmark hasn’t released the grape varietal but in my opinion, there is definitely Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and some Merlot. It was lush and juicy and I really enjoyed it. If you can find it, it’s on sale now for under $17 a bottle.  

That’s it for me for this week. I’ll touch base in a couple of weeks and hopefully have lots of great pictures from the vacation. This is a picture of our resort.

Till then, Cheers

Darlene

It’s another New Year, which means another year of discovering new wines. 2024, what’s it going to bring for us. I am trying to enjoy every minute of my time. I really focused last year on the small things that bring me joy. A great book, a good puzzle, playing Rummikub with my friends. Peaceful time where its just me and Gabriel

Gabe leads a pretty chill life. We could learn something from cats LOL

My Mom turned 89 last Friday. She is doing well. And I also got my surgery date for 2024. February 20th is the day my cancer surgeon is removing the remaining cancer. Not looking forward to the surgery and recovery, but I am looking forward to getting it over with and feeling better.

So, as you know, I love the game of Rummikub. And I had a game with some friends in the building and my friend Pat bought this for us to try. She was gifted with this wine for Christmas.

It was my first time having this Shiraz Cabernet blend from Black Cellar, which is a Canadian wine. I found it medium to full-bodied, and not overly oaky. It was smooth and easy to drink, and a great value at $15. Shiraz Cabernet tends to be a bit of a heavier wine, but this one wasn’t. I had one with my brother-in-law Craig from Australia over Christmas, and we ended up pouring it down the sink. It was like licking the inside of an oak barrel. This was much better.

Got to spend time with the fam jam over Christmas. We love playing board games and cards, and had a really good time with both my nephews home. 

And of course Maggie and puppy Lexi made for lots of fun and lots of sloppy kisses. 

I got to do a fair bit of reading over the holidays. I read 3 Daniel Hurst novels, which if you like suspense novels, look him up. My next book is this one, The Wedding Day by Sue Watson. And this is the new wine I’m trying tonight. Getting together with some friends, and this is what I’m bringing to the game. I’ll tell you all about it next week.

Here’s hoping you have a great January. Till next week, Cheers

Darlene

Although sitting here writing this blog, outside the wind is picking up and we are expecting a big rain storm, and it’s +14-degrees outside. Still, it is starting to feel like Christmas. I’m extremely late this year starting my Christmas shopping, but I have started it. And this coming Friday my Mom and my sister Jackie arrive in Halifax, and my sister Jackie is going into full shopping mode. Me and Mom have to try to keep up. She is a Ninja when it comes to shopping, this girl never gets tired.

This picture was taken in 2021 at the Mic Mac Mall with Woody. She normally goes on a trip in the Fall, and has some of her shopping done. Not this year, she is doing it all here. Oh my, wish me luck.

Want a yummy recipe for potatoes? Two of my favorite sides are rice and potatoes. So, I’m always looking for new recipes for the grand old potato. I made these last night.

And they are so yummy, I just had them as part of my brunch. Oh, and I added cheese and bacon to them after I took this picture. Remember the spices from last week?

I added #2 to a honey mustard recipe for the potatoes. Here it is. Honey, grainy mustard, Olive oil, chicken broth (it will absorb) garlic powder, onion powder and any other spices you would like to add. Here’s the recipe from Eating Well.

Ok… Let’s talk some wine.

This wine has become a staple in my wine rack very quickly. More well known by its alter ego, Zinfandel, Primitivo is a big juicy grape from Italy. This wine is from Puglia, in the heel of Italy’s boot.

It’s fairly new to the NSLC, but packs a punch of flavor and a great price point, just $16.99 a bottle. I love this quote from their website

“Wine raises the soul and the mind, and all worries leave the human heart”.

There’s also a Pinot Grigio at the same price point for my white wine loving friends. I haven’t tried it yet, but I definitely will.

There’s also a Chianti at our NSLC, after doing some research on this wine this week. I’ll be tracking that down. It’s a blend of Sangiovese and Merlot, and has the same price point.

Have a great weekend. My Nova Scotia friends, stay safe in the weather bomb they are predicting.

Darlene

Is it just me or is this year flying by. Halloween is over, we are into November, and the Starbucks Christmas blend is out. Temperatures have dropped here in Atlantic Canada and we had our first snowfall on Wednesday. But as I write this, it’s 9-degrees and expected to hit 13 today. I’ll take it.

It’s also Christmas Craft Fair season

I love Christmas Craft fairs, and Christmas at the Forum is on this weekend and the next 2 weekends. I just happened to do a little visit and picked myself up a little gift. Made here in Halifax, Rudi is a success story when it comes to hot sauce. His dad grew up in Bahamas and is known as the Peppermaster. Rudi added hot sauce to everything. And now he makes his own, and they are delicious.

Sweet cherry bomb is the flavor I used on these wings. WOW! So yummy. And what I like about Rudi’s, he has a wide range of sauces that go from mild to extra spicy. Pick your spice level. As you can see from the glass in the back, I was having red, but here’s a great wine to have with spicy wings.

If I were to recommend a wine, I would choose a Riesling. Riesling is a white wine that comes in a wide range of sweetness. This is the coolest bottle and the picture was painted by the winemaker, Heinz Ames. The bottle also contains a really really good wine. It’s the Moselland Ars Vitis Riesling and it’s priced at $19 a bottle. I like my Riesling with just a tinge of sweetness on the tip of your tongue. This wine has beautiful flavors of stone fruit and honey, with that tinge of sweetness.

Before I put those wings in my air fryer to make that crispy, I smoked them first on my pellet grill. Slow and low, I had them on 250-degrees for about 45 minutes and then put them in my air fryer. Smoky, spicy and crispy, they were perfect.

Here’s the wine I had last night

From Valencia Spain, Con un Par (With a Pair) is a blend of Monastrell and Petite Verdot. It’s a very earthy wine, as some Spanish wines are. I had the 2017 and again, this wine needs to be aerated or some time to breathe. It’s been in the bottle 6 years, it needs a little breathing room. I was swirling like crazy. It is on clearance now at about $18 a bottle.

I’m not sure if truer words were ever spoken.

Have a great weekend, I have to bring my nephew Riley to the airport and then get my nails done. St FX is on a week’s break and he’s pretty excited to be going to Corner Brook, his girlfriend of more than a year is going to school there.

Till next week, Cheers.

Darlene

There’s lots to know about wine, but I think I will start with 3 basic tips.

1. Price is not always an indication of quality

There was a time when I also thought that the higher the price, the better the wine. That’s not the case. As a Sommelier, I have had the opportunity to try some higher priced wines. I didn’t always favor the expensive wines. Now there are some pricey wines I enjoy, I’ve mentioned them in this blog. However, for the most part, I enjoy wines at an affordable price point. One of the things I learned along the way, was just because a wine has a higher price tag, doesn’t mean it suits your palate. When I started this wine blog, it’s goal was to let you know about great wines under the $25 range. With the recent price hikes in wine, we may have to move that gauge up to $30.

2. Labels can tell you a lot

Your wine label tells you more than just the alcohol content and the winery it came from. The grape varietal is important, because different wine regions tend to make that grape taste very different. Pinot Noir from Burgundy France will taste differently than Pinot Noir from California. The same would be true with the white grape Chardonnay. For starters, the California wine may have the oak more pronounced, whereas France tends to use oak in a more subtle way. New world wines (ie California) also tend to be more fruit forward, whereas old world wines (ie France) are more earthy.

3. The Majority of Wine in the store is mean to be consumed within 3 Years.

And that applies to both reds and whites. Not all red wines are meant to age. 90% are meant to be enjoyed right away. And if you find your young red wine is a bit sharp tasting, and those tannins are a little tight, aerate it. I had this issue with the new wine I tried last night. I did a lot of swirling in the glass to open up those flavors, and let the bottle breathe, and what a difference it made.

Here’s the wine I had last night.

So I was meeting up with several friends from my building in our common room, and I opened the wine before I went down. I guess I made a face, because one of my friends said ‘Not good?’ I replied, it just needs to breathe for a bit. It was sharp. This is a 2019 blend of Tempranillo and Syrah from Spain. It’s an intense old world wine, and old world wines do not tend to be as fruit forward as wines from California, Chile and Argentina. This was complex though and once it was aerated, some interesting tasting notes came through. It was a warm wine, that I feel would pair well with some of your favorite comfort foods. And it’s on clearance at my local store, selling for $17 a bottle.

Speaking of comfort food

Are you enjoying some of your favorite comfort foods. I am, and I’m trying to balance healthy and comfort. I have put back on some of the weight I lost while battling cancer, and with cooler temperatures, hearty meals and great wines, well, like I said it’s a balance.

That’s it for this week. Till next week, Cheers

Darlene

October is Merlot Month so you may be seeing the hashtag #MerlotMe all over the place. Throughout California, Merlot producers celebrate with special events all month long. Merlot is, after all, the world’s second most planted wine varietal. It is also used in many countries as part of a blend.

Originating in France, the Merlot grape is one of the five classic red varieties of the Bordeaux region. I have tasted Merlot wines and blends from Italy, Chile, Argentina, Canada and of course California in the U.S. The United States has become one of my favorite places to buy Merlot from. And J. Lohr makes one of the best. You used to be able to get it in Nova Scotia, and it was rich and yummy and the perfect wine for Fall comfort food.

#MerlotMe unites wine lovers to celebrate this richly textured, and versatile noble red grape varietal. Wine producers and consumers worldwide will celebrate Merlot during October with the hashtag #MerlotMe, sharing wines on social channels, at virtual events, in winery tasting rooms, restaurants, and wine shops, and at home.  

Some of your favorite blends probably contain Merlot. I know I love a blend when it contains Merlot. It adds a full plump juiciness to the wine.

The 90-Point Lui blend from Argentina features Merlot.

This blend from Italy, another great example of Merlot being used in a blend. And if you like a red blend from California, there’s a really good chance, Merlot is part of that blend.

Merlot took a little bit of a beating when the movie Sideways came out 19 years ago. That infamous line slowed Merlot sales around the world.

Merlot is making a comeback though with sales continuing to increase year over year. One of the reasons could be that Merlot is so food friendly. Full-bodied richness, with very soft tannins, Merlot makes it a great pairing for just about anything you are eating.

Before I go, I tried a new recipe this past week for lemon pepper chicken, that was so easy and so delicious, thought I would share. It literally took me less than 30 minutes. I sliced my chicken breast in thinner slices.

I didn’t even have to go to the grocery store, I had everything in my pantry. First I put lemon pepper seasoning (in the spice section of any grocery store) and salt in flour, and then seared in a frying pan for 5 minutes on each side. This is my lemon pepper seasoning, I like it because it contains no salt.

Once I seared the chicken, I put garlic and butter in the pan for a minute or two. Then added chicken broth and a little corn starch and simmered until the sauce thickened. Then I put the chicken back in and simmered it, then added a little parsley and a little more lemon pepper. Easy peasy and yummy.

Before I go, let’s feature one more Merlot.

I went looking for this last weekend and can’t find it. I only had it a couple of weeks ago. It’s Josh Cellars Merlot, it was amazing. If anyone sees it please let me know.

Have a great weekend everyone. Till, next weekend Cheers

Darlene

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite long weekends. We are expecting some rain and wind on Sunday but we’ve had a great October, with lots of sunshine and cool crisp temperatures.

I had an appointment with my Cancer Surgeon on Thursday and received some great news. I don’t have to have surgery….. at this time. I responded so well to chemotherapy and radiation, the tumor, which was big, is so small, they can’t be 100% sure that the little spot left is actually cancer. So that’s great news, because if I have to have surgery it means a colostomy bag for life. So for now, I have to have a scope and an MRI once a month to make sure this spot doesn’t grow. I’m ok with that. I have been blessed with an amazing support team of friends, colleagues and family. So let’s celebrate!

This is my friend Joan, who bought that spectacular Orvieto a couple of weeks ago to my place. This time we got together in her place and she had this neat bottle of wine. Lady Lolo Pinot Grigio Moscato blend from Italy, was tasty, but we all agreed it wasn’t as good as the Casasole Orvieto. The Moscato contribution adds a little sweetness and the Pinot Grigio added the citrus notes. $18 a Bottle and would make a good turkey pairing this Thanksgiving weekend.

Don’t lower your standards Ladies. And speaking of good standards, I have tried a wonderful red wine from Argentina, and I bought it again yesterday.

There are 2 Lui red blends currently at our local liquor store. One is a Malbec Bonarda, and this one is a Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon blend. A 90-Point red wine for under $18? Yes please! This wine was fantastic. Fruit forward and notes of black pepper, I loved it. I love discovering new flavorful wines at a great price and this would pair so well with any grilled food or meaty dishes in general. This is the time of the year for comfort food, and this is your wine.

Remember Lexi, the puppy from the end of August, well she is growing fast. Here she is with Maggie. They love each other. This is Lexi the day Riley picked her up and came to visit. This was the end of August.

I have a new recipe to share with you. It was so good.

Chicken Fajita Stuffed Peppers. With a side Caesar salad. The recipe for the stuffed peppers is here.

I would like to take a moment to thank the wonderful friends and family that served as my support system over the past year of fighting cancer. I have the best, and I’m so blessed. I hope all my readers have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.

Till next week, Cheers

Is it just me or did September seem to go by at 100 kmh in a 20 kmh zone. My apologies for no wine blog last week, I had to work last Saturday. Tried some new wines in the past couple of weeks, including my new favorite white wine. Can’t wait to tell you about some new wines.

First, let me share a recipe with you

I eat a lot of rice, but recently discovered noodles. I’ve tried a few different kinds, including Pad Thai noodles, but so far these are my favorite.

In addition to the noodles, I added chicken, onions, bell peppers and unsalted peanuts. My homemade sauce was so simple. I like making my own sauce, I get to control the sodium. It’s made up of low sodium chicken broth, sesame oil, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, cornstarch and salt and pepper. I added pepper mostly because there is salt in the hoisin sauce, in the soy sauce and in the chicken broth.

Now I get to tell you about my new favorite white wine.

I get together with a group of friends most Saturday nights to play a game of Rummikub. So much fun. So my friend Joan bought this wine and it is amazing. This is the Casasole Orvieto from Umbria Italy. If you look it up at your local liquor store, the first pairing is Asian cuisine. So the noodle dish above was made on Saturday morning and because Joan left what was remaining at my place, I enjoyed this wine with the above noddle dish. This wine is fantastic and priced at $18.84 a bottle, spectacular deal. The wine is medium bodied on the palate with gorgeous notes of tropical fruit and pears. There is a little hint of sweetness on the tongue that makes it perfect for any Asian cuisine, cheese, and pasta dishes. I loved it.

In addition to puzzles, I love to read. Just finished this book By Sue Watson and I’ve read several of her books. Love a good suspense novel, and my friend Arla, who is an avid reader, provides me with all kinds of great books. And there is nothing better that goes with a good book, than a good glass of wine. Meet Bu Sangiovese from Italy. This is also available for my Newfoundland friends. It’s on sale here in Nova Scotia right now, priced at $13.79, but even at regular price of $16 it’s a great deal. Full bodied, fruit forward with spicy notes, I really enjoyed it. And I really enjoy a good deal.

I would like to take a moment to recognize today is National Day for Truth & Reconciliation, also known as Orange Shirt Day. This day honors both the Survivors of Residential schools and the children who never got to go home As an Indigenous person myself, I think this is such an important day to recognize the horrors these children suffered, and the suffering of their families.

That’s it for this week. Till next week, Cheers

Darlene

Here we are, another Hurricane Day in Halifax. Some people have their storm chips, I have my own version of a storm survival kit. We had a power surge earlier, just as I was making coffee. Eek! Thankfully it came back on a few seconds later.

The winds have started and my boss, who lives in West Bedford, has already lost his power. There are currently 118,000 homes in Nova Scotia without power, with the strongest winds yet to come.

Ok, let’s get back to that storm survival kit. What’s your favorite storm wine?

In my quest to find a replacement for Canyon Road, I really like the Vivo Robusto Red on the left. At $12.75 a bottle, there’s always one in my wine rack. This past week I found its sister wine on sale, like $3 off. Normally $17.50, this wine is on now for $14.50 so run out and buy a few, because it’s really good.

I have stocked up on this Cabernet, it’s a beautiful fruit forward wine with soft tannins. It was smooth and so easy to drink. LOL Like many wines.

Before I go, I have to tell you about my favorite aioli.

That’s a chicken kebob under that sauce. Carmelized red onion, chicken, red and orange peppers. Grilled. The aioli contains

• Miracle Whip – you can use mayonnaise, I like the tanginess of Miracle Whip
• Sweet Thai Chili Sauce
• Hoisin Sauce
• Fresh cilantro
• Lime juice
• Garlic powder

Whisk that in a bowl, and I use that stuff on everything. It is so tasty.

I know its not a wine meme, but I saw this on Facebook this past week and laughed so hard, I wanted to share the laugh.

Stay safe friends, till next week, Cheers

Darlene

Nothing like a weekend to make some pour decisions, pouring wine of course. Hard to believe for our second weekend in September there’s a heat wave warning for today. Piss off humidity, it’s September. Time for cool crisp days, sweater weather.

Whatever you’re pouring this Fall, whether its white or red, feel free to pass along your favorite wine.

Let’s start with this one.

Zenato is putting out some spectacular wines. They are responsible for a 96-Point wine under $25, almost unheard of. This Valpolicella Ripasso was spectacular, and I named it my Wine of the Year a few years back.

The Cormi Corvina Merlot from 2018 has been in the bottle for 6 years, so aerate it or do what I did and swirl it lots.

When I opened it, and took a sip, I knew right away it needed a little time to breathe. If a wine tastes a little boozy, or even a little harsh, that is a sign that it needs to breath. Because I had it in the glass, I did a ‘manual aerate’. I had a big glass and I swirled it aggressively, basically aerating it. What a difference it makes. This wine went on to have gorgeous flavors of black cherry, plum, fig, and dried cherry. Brand new to our liquor store here and priced under $25. I had it with a stuffed butterfly pork chop.

Sauteed onions, celery and carrots and added blue cheese in the bread crumbs along with some Newfoundland savory. Yummy. Grilled and smoked, it was quite tasty.

Here’s another great wine at a great price.

This wine received 94 Points as a best value wine, priced at just $15 a bottle. This beautiful Sangiovese from Italy has gorgeous flavors of cranberry, tart cherry and oregano. Beautiful wine at a great price.

A moment of cuteness before I go

This is my 88-year old Mom with Maggie, in a pink bow, and my nephew’s new puppy, Lexi. Just cuteness overload.

Enjoy September, and have a wonderful weekend. Till next week Cheers

Darlene

Hello September 1st. I know some people will tell me to sit my pumpkin spice ass down, but we are entering my favorite months of the year. I absolutely love Fall in Nova Scotia and all of Atlantic Canada. I love these upcoming 4 months.

Have some super adorable cuteness to share

Regular readers will remember my nephew Riley. He’s about to start his 4th year at St. FX University. Well, his older brother Brady bought a puppy from Coastal Breezes, the same breeder Maggie came from, and Riley picked it up last weekend to bring it to Corner Brook.

My sister Jackie is taking care of Lexi till the end of September. Such a cutie, and she got to visit me last weekend. You can definitely see the resemblance from when Maggie was a puppy. They have the same Mom.

Ok, that’s your dose of cuteness for this Labor Day long weekend. Let’s talk some food and wine.

You met my friend Arla in last week’s blog, and Arla and her husband Fred bought me back some Trader Joe’s spices. (They are all so good). Here’s the new one, Citrusy Garlic.

This is so good. If you get the chance to visit a Trader Joe’s, you won’t be disappointed by any of the spice blends. This is a Cuban style Citrusy Garlic

Awesome on chicken

And absolutely to die for on chicken wings. I really love it on vegetables too. I’ve tried it on asparagus and cauliflower. It is a blend of garlic, lime oil, lime juice, onion powder, salt, and red pepper-plus bay leaves, coriander, cumin, cilantro, black pepper, oregano, cilantro, basil, lemon oil, marjoram, and parsley to round it out. Dynamite. I know, we can’t get them here, but you can take the ideas to make your own.

Tried a couple of new wines in the past couple of weeks. This is the wine I had last night, to kick start the long weekend.

The Sea Sun Pinot Noir is not any wimpy pinot noir. From the first sip from the deep rich color in the glass, it was delicious. From one of the most famous wine families in California, the Wagner Family, who also created the fabulous Caymus line of wines. This is so good, and not nearly as expensive. It’s on sale here right now, priced at $27 and worth every penny.

Run out and get one of these before they are sold out. I believe they are on sale right now, I am trying to think if it had a yellow tag, and stores have limited inventory. This is a gorgeous blend of Grenache, Syrah and Monastrell from Spain. Delicious at a great price.

Ain’t that the truth. Going to take a moment to wish the happiest of birthdays to my sister and best friend, Jackie Simms. She’s funny and smart and only drinks twice a year, on her birthday and at her Christmas party. Have fun tonight Jackie, wish I could be there.

That’s it for me for this week. Have a safe wonderful long weekend, and thank you for taking some of it to read my wine blog.

Cheers, Darlene

Here I sit, the last Saturday of August, and there’s another Special Weather Statement. More rain for Halifax and Nova Scotia. The last thing we need is more rain. We went from dry dry weather and scary fires to historic flooding and lots of rain in August.

I’ve took a few extra vacation days this week and have been loving my down time. I’ve been getting together with friends.

This is my friend Arla with a new white wine I got to try. Hey Buddy white wine is a collaboration between local brewer Garrison Brewery and local winery Avondale Sky. A beautiful crisp white blend of L’Acadie, Vidal, Frontenac Blanc, and Muscat. It was delicious and a nice full white wine with a solid mouthfeel. They do call L’Acadie Nova Scotia’s equivalent to Chardonnay, but there was also a very nice refreshing acidity. I really enjoyed it.

While there, we tried this wonderful cheese, Cambozola. I am guessing it is a blend of Camembert and Gorgonzola. It’s like a very very mild blue cheese. I decided to put the cheese into some burgers.

The result was amazing.

A delicious brioche bun, some extra mozzarella, fresh homemade pickles, bacon (of course) and some seasonings. It was a winner.

This is the wine I had with this burger

A brand new wine I’ve tried for the first time. The Lost Peak name refers to the often clouded, obscure view of the Cascade Mountain Range, which starts in British Columbia, here in Canada, and continues down through Washington State, Oregon and Northern California in the U.S. This is a full-bodied red wine, I recommend aerating it or letting it breathe for a while. It can be tannic and a little boozy when first opened. Letting it breathe will soften any harshness. Dark fruit, mocha and tobacco notes, priced at $22.99 here, it’s the perfect pairing for any meat on the BBQ.

Happy Saturday everyone. Enjoy the remainder of the weekend, and as always, thank you for taking some time to read my wine blog

Darlene

Hi Everyone. I’m back from vacation. It’s been a couple of weeks, but when I finished chemo the day after my birthday, I went to Newfoundland and got back Wednesday past.

Had a great time with family and friends. Spent some time on the water. And of course with the beautiful Maggie.

As you can see, my 88 year old Mom is doing wonderful. And Maggie just loves her Nan.

Meanwhile, Nova Scotia is being nicknamed Jumanji after some wild weather.

On July 21st we received 250 mm of rain and flash flooding. 4 people died as a result of these floods. It was devastating.

And we have received lots of rain since, and flooding in some areas. After the fires that devastated so many homes, I know we were all praying for rain, but Mother Nature went a little overboard.

Ok, let’s talk some wine.

Even though I think it’s being discontinued, this is my new favorite go-to. Quatro, meaning 4, has 4 grapes, Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere, Syrah and Malbec. All 4 grapes are full-bodied on their own, and together they are like a beautiful symphony. What’s so unique about this wine is that each grape is aged separately in oak casks, and then blended. At around an $18 price tag and a 90 Point rating, this wine is a winner.

Remember my quest to replace Canyon Road, as it has been discontinued.

This was a great wine priced at around $12. I was disappointed it was discontinued, everyone I served it to loved it. Here’s the closest so far.

Vivo Robusto Red from Chile is priced at $12.75 a bottle here in Nova Scotia. It is 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and it’s a good wine at a good price point. A great “second” bottle. Notes of cherry and blackberry, with a hint of vanilla, you should give this a try.

A couple of more pics from vacation to end the blog, Maggie in her pretty pink life jacket, and my nephew Riley and his lovely girlfriend Mikyla.

Quick Cancer update. I had a CT scan done Thursday, all clear, the cancer has not spread anywhere. I had a scope done yesterday and the chemo and radiation did not annihilate the tumor, which I call Adolf Shitler. So I have to have surgery sometime this Fall. I’ll keep you updated as I learn more, I have to have an MRI done first.

Enjoy what’s left of Summer. Till next week, Cheers

Darlene

Is it ok to add ice to wine? Absolutely! In Provence France, a rose wine topped over lots of ice cubes is called Piscine. You tend to see it more for white and rose wines, but with temperatures in the range of 35-degrees in Halifax, I added ice to my red wine last Saturday night. This is not the “room temperature” red wine or any wine should be served at. Keep in mind, ice will dilute the wine and change the composition and taste, especially in red wines. I always encourage people to put their wine in the fridge and take it out a while before serving, as opposed to adding ice.

From Wine Enthusiast:

Certain wines can handle ice more than others. 

“For a wine to taste good when served so cold, it needs a different flavor profile,” says Elizabeth Gabay, Master of Wine and author of Rosé: Understanding the Pink Wine Revolution. These include easy-drinking Pinot Grigios or wines with high sugar content and intense flavors, like a late-harvest Riesling or a dry rosé. 

My advice has always been, ‘drink the wine at the temperature you like’. You are, after all, the one paying for it.

A little update. I rang the bell Monday past. Ringing the bell in the Cancer clinic doesn’t mean you are Cancer free. It means you have completed your last IV chemo treatment.

I have to say I’m so happy those are over with. I would take radiation and chemo pills any day over IV chemo. The side effects are many. One of the hardest is not being able to eat or drink anything cold. No cold beverages, they feel like glass shards in your throat. Not fun during a heat wave. But I’m back on cooler beverages. I get a few weeks off treatments, which after 15 weeks, I’m really looking forward to. And I’m going to head home for a visit to Newfoundland.

Ok, this made me laugh because it is so me.

I’m sure with the heat waves happening all over, many people are grilling, because it’s so much easier than turning the oven on. Here’s an easy potato recipe that I’ve made several times.

Potatoes, butter, onions, olive oil and your favorite seasonings. I spray aluminum foil with Pam oil spray. Fold them up and put them on the grill.

I added some shredded cheese at the end, and they were a perfect compliment to BBQ burgers I made this past week.

My quest for a go-to red wine under $15 continues. I don’t drink wine the week of my IV chemo treatments, so I really don’t have a new wine to talk about.

I am getting together with friends this evening, and this is the wine I’m bringing to try. It’s an Argentinian red Malbec and it’s on sale for $15.51, so still a long way from my beloved Canyon Road which was regular priced at $12.75.

Stay tuned, I’ll tell you about it next week. Have a great week, stay cool and add ice when needed.

I am not one of those people. It’s here, the heat & the humidity. Here’s a picture of the temperature from yesterday here in Halifax

I’m not a huge fan of temperatures this high and I’m definitely not a fan of humidity. Enjoying my week off of cancer treatments, last IV chemo treatment is this coming Monday (fingers crossed) . Two more weeks of chemo pills and on July 23rd I get a break. Then a few more tests to determine next steps. Send a positive vibe that the chemo annihilated this tumor and I won’t need surgery. Thank you

Back to some wine. It’s the perfect time for some rose wine.

One of my favorite rose wines comes from the Rhone Valley in France and is called Rhone to the Bone. Rhone to the Bone is made 80% from the Grenache grape, which is the same grape used in making Chateauneuf du Pape and 20% Syrah. Two full-bodied red grapes, with limited skin contact, because that’s where all the color in red wine comes from. If it’s not available where you live, here’s another favorite of mine.

Also from the Rhone Valley, this blend of Grenache, Cinsault and Syrah is a dry crisp Rose wine. It comes in a gorgeous bottle that makes a great gift.

Here’s another great Summer wine. Pinot Grigio.

Pinot Grigio is a zesty white wine that’s as refreshing as a glass of lemonade on a hot Summer day. Great acidity and citrus flavors of lemons, limes and green apples. And they are all reasonably priced.

Doesn’t that look yummy. That is a homemade pizza I made last weekend. So I bought the pizza dough and when I was preparing it, I forgot to take a fork and poke holes in it. This stops the pizza from ‘fluffing’ up. I like a more thin crust pizza but I have to admit this was good. BBQ chicken breast, bacon, peppers, red onion, cheese and a balsamic glaze over it. So simple when you buy the pizza dough.

I have a little bad news. The NSLC here in Nova Scotia has discontinued my go-to staple wine. This Canyon Road Cabernet Sauvignon is hands down, my favorite red wine under $15.

And we can’t get it anymore. When I started buying this it was $10.95, and the price started going up, and at the end it was still only $12.75. Everyone liked it. I’m sad. So now I have to try to find a replacement. Here’s my first attempt.

The Frontera Cabernet Sauvignon has a small bit of Syrah (Shiraz) in it. It’s a great wine for just $12.75, but not quite as good as the Canyon Road. However, it was a great little wine. And in Quebec it’s under $10 a bottle. I call them the ‘second’ bottle. You always open the best bottle first, and then when you want a little more wine, or you and your friends are on a second or third bottle, you want a great tasting wine that doesn’t break the bank. That’s what Canyon Road was to me. I always had a couple of bottles in my wine rack. So my search continues. Let me know if you have a favorite wine under $15. I would love to give it a try.

Well that’s it for me for this week. A big welcome to the over 700 new readers who read my wine blog. I love feedback on the wines and the food.

Have a great week, till next week, Cheers

Darlene

It’s July 1st and the day we celebrate Canada day. Originally called “Dominion Day,” Canada Day commemorates the unification of the three North American British colonies into one confederation: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and the Province of Canada (which was made up of parts of modern-day Ontario, Quebec, and Labrador). And that happened on July 1, 1867, which makes us 156 years old today. Cheers

Canada Day weekend brings Ribfest to Halifax and I went yesterday with some of my work family.

Nothing like good friends, a good feed of ribs and a Radler beer to kick off the long weekend. It’s a great fundraiser for Rotary Club and a great family event.

Speaking of friends that are like family, remember the birthday party I had to miss last weekend, because I wasn’t feeling the best because of chemo.

Well that birthday party was a surprise wedding that these two cool cats had been planning for a year. Congratulations to my good friends Anthony and Veronica on their beautiful wedding. You’d be hard to find two people more meant for each other than these two. Beautiful couple, I’m so sad I missed it.

This is the wine I gave the Newlyweds and they enjoyed it this past week.

Anthony drinks both red and white but Veronica is not a huge wine drinker, but willing to try anything. So I went local and gave them the Benjamin Bridge NV Brut, a sparkling wine crafted in the image of France’s best bubbly wines. I’ve bought this wine to several wine tastings and people are always amazed at the quality of the sparkling wine that comes out of this province and this vineyard.

This past week my friends and I went to one of our favorite restaurants, Martin’s Kitchen. The food is out of this world amazing. I didn’t even get a chance to take a picture of my Mushroom Truffle Ravioli, it was so delicious, I couldn’t stop eating long enough to take a photo. So I took a picture of my friend’s dessert. The pasta is made fresh, my group had everything from Seafood Linguine to the Atlantic Salmon. My friend Fred and I were saying what a dream it would be to spend an afternoon with Martin in his kitchen learning how to make his sauces. With all our dishes, we were commenting on the delicious sauces, that man can build flavors. And their wine list is quite impressive.

I tried a new Cabernet Franc, which was amazing, and I just looked and it’s not listed on their wine list on the website. Our wonderful server Moira suggested I take a picture, but I left and didn’t get the picture. Stay tuned, I’m searching different wine stores in Halifax, to try and find the name of this wine. Moira, if you’re reading, can you send me a photo?

So, I tried a new wine recently. I like a California Red Blend and I smile at this bottle every time I see it. I also love the face Snoop’s picture is on the cork. This is the 19 Crimes Snoop Cali Red blend, a really full-bodied red wine. It’s 65% Petite Sirah, 30% Zinfandel and 5% Merlot. So it’s not only full-bodied, but juicy and rich on the palate. I liked it. It’s on for $20 a bottle right now and I enjoyed it with a t-bone steak and it was a great pairing.

Well that’s it for me. Have a wonderful safe long weekend.

Till next week, Cheers

Darlene

This Wednesday past was the first day of Summer. People love Summer for all kinds of reasons. Being outdoors, camping, outside eating, and of course cooking outdoors. This is what I did on the first day of Summer. Probably no surprise to regular readers.

Ribs are still one of my favorite things to grill and smoke. Takes about 5 hours overall to do ribs low and slow. First 3 hours on a low oven temp and then the last 2 hours on my pellet grill. Oh, and that’s bacon on the bottom rack. I started it on my BBQ and finished it in the smoker.

I didn’t used to eat dark meat chicken, until I went to France last year and had Coq au Vin made with chicken drumsticks. They have turned into my new favorite.

Marinating these drumsticks in an Asian Sesame type of marinade. Fragrant sesame oil, brown sugar, soya sauce, salt, pepper and a bit of lime juice. Then it’s grill time.

So I seared them on high, and then continued to cook them low and slow to seal in that flavor and continued to baste with the Asian Sesame marinade. Not the same batch I marinated the raw chicken in. Throw that out as soon as you remove the chicken. I made a fresh batch of the marinade, you need to be super careful with raw chicken.

Tried a brand new wine with it from Spain. Esteban Martin Grenache Syrah blend, on sale here in Nova Scotia right now for $15.50 a bottle. See that sticker on the bottle, yup, that’s a 92-Point designation from Wine critic James Suckling. I would define this as a medium-bodied wine, as you can probably tell by the wine in the glass. It was a great wine at a great price point with nice smooth notes of cherry and baking spices.

I would like to take a moment to wish a friend of mine a very Happy 40th birthday. This is my friend and my colleague Anthony and with him his beautiful fiance Veronica.

They are having a birthday party for Veronica today, and unfortunately I can’t make it. But I do want to wish Veronica a very happy birthday and a fabulous year ahead.

That’s it for me for this week, till next week, Cheers

Darlene

Like many Dad’s, mine loved a BBQ on Father’s Day weekend. He passed away in 2020, 3 months before he turned 90. He lived a great life and was always known as Johnny Smiley. I miss him so much. So in honor of all the Dad’s out there that love to fire up the grill this weekend, and the people that love to grill for Dad, this blog is for you.

I love grilling. I have both a BBQ and a Master Chef pellet grill. I live in an apartment building so I’m not allowed to have a charcoal BBQ. This past week, a week with no chemo treatments, I used my pellet grill to do a steak for the first time.

I usually do my steak on the BBQ but tried it on my pellet grill. That’s some corn and garlic break in the tin foil. It was my first time and I did overcook the steak a little. I put the grill on 450-degrees and did about 6 minutes per side. That was all good, but I left it on a little long, on the top rack and it was a little more done that the medium I usually enjoy. It was still good and I really enjoyed the flavor my pellets put on the meat.

I use these pellets from Costco because I like the combination of oak, hickory, maple and cherry flavor. Plus they are a really good price.

Plus I had a new wine with that steak, and the wine came from Canada.

A Meritage wine is a blend of two or more noble Bordeaux grapes, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petite Verdot. Meritage started in the late 80’s, by Mitch Cosentino of Cosentino Vineyards, and made internationally famous by Robert Mondavi. This Canadian made Meritage from Jackson Triggs, made in the Niagara region of Ontario, was so good. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, priced at around $20 and is the perfect wine for anything meaty you put on the grill. Good tannic structure, full-bodied and dry, I really enjoyed this wine.

For my white wine loving friends here’s a gorgeous Chardonnay that pairs well with anything on the grill.

This company plants a tree for every bottle purchased, which I thought was cool, but the best part of this company is the Chardonnay in the bottle. Gorgeous flavors of citrus, pear and toast.

And finally, another new wine that I have had a couple of times, and even suggested my friend Cassandra buy this as a gift.

This Australian beauty is priced under $20 right now here in Nova Scotia, but I believe they may be discontinuing it, so you may want to pick up a bottle soon, if you wanted to try it. Because it was originally $25 a bottle. That’s a 1966 Ford Falcon Sedan on the label, and it was the winemaker’s first car. Another great wine for Dad’s BBQ, made from 2 hearty grapes, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon.

That’s it for me for this week. There may not be a wine blog next week, I have IV chemo on Monday. Enjoy your Father’s Day weekend.

Till next time, Cheers

Darlene

It’s been quite the week here in Halifax and the province of Nova Scotia. Several out of control wildfires burning and affecting so many people. I am sitting here on a Saturday morning watching the rain outside, feeling grateful. My heart goes out to all the people affected by fires here and in Shelburne County, to those who have lost their homes and their pets, my heart breaks. Thank you to the first responders, to those rescuing pets, to those who have donated time, money and necessities. It is the people of Nova Scotia that make Nova Scotia Strong.

For me personally, it was also my 3rd IV chemo treatment. I am in Week 7 of my 15 Week regimen. Still feeling really good considering, and the nurses at the VG told me if my hair hasn’t started to thin by now, I probably won’t lose it. The neuropathy can be a little irritating, that’s the numbing of fingers, toes, hands and feet. But overall, I’m not nauseous, so grateful there too.

Let’s talk some positive news. First of all, a recipe for carrots that were so delicious.

I did these on my pellet grill, and I didn’t pre-boil them first, but you could to cut down on time.

In this bowl is melted butter and honey, salt, pepper and a couple of other seasonings. You can pick your favorites. Basting the carrots and having them done on a BBQ or pellet grill, also adds a nice flavor. They were yummy.

A great side to my chicken drumsticks. I might be going through chemotherapy, but I haven’t lost my appetite. As a matter of fact, everyone at the Cancer Clinic is jumping up and down that I am putting on weight. Me, not so much.

Let’s talk some wine

My 3 favorite red grapes are Merlot, Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon. And this wine features all 3 together for a Menage a Trois

The perfect wine for BBQ, it’s plush and velvety and on sale right now here in Nova Scotia. Check your local store, if it’s on sale, definitely worth a try. I love it.

For my white wine loving friends, here’s a great wine for BBQ. This is my friend and the Director of Fun for Atlantic Tours, Richard. I went to France last April with Richard and friends and had the trip of a lifetime. Richard came to my building a while back and did a talk to some of the residents about upcoming trips. We enjoyed a glass of wine, and one of them was a white Bordeaux. This fantastic blend consists of Sauvignon Blanc, Semillion and Muscadelle. The 3 different grapes add complexity and make for an interesting white blend.

And here’s a brand new wine I tried a few weeks back

I tried this wine a few weeks back, it’s in the $15 range. Monte Giove Sangiovese Merlot blend is a light to medium bodied red. If you are a white wine drinker who want to tip their toe in the red wine field, try this. It’s soft and supple, no harsh tannins and an easy to drink affordable wine.

Have a great week everyone. We here in Nova Scotia are sitting here enjoying the rain.

Darlene

It’s grilling season. Bring on the barbecue. And in my opinion, nothing pairs better with BBQ than wine. Regular readers of this blog know how much I love to grill, on both a BBQ and my pellet grill. I’m going to share a recipe for the BEST potatoes I’ve ever eaten in this blog, stay tuned. But first, let’s pair some great wines with grilled food.

I’m on my week off from chemo treatments, so my appetite has been good and I’ve been firing up both my BBQ and my pellet grill. I did a stuffed butterfly pork chop the other evening. Stuffed with bread crumbs, sauteed onions & carrots, apples, salt and pepper, and good old Newfoundland Savory. The best

This stuffed pork chop turned out so good and there are a few wines that would pair well with it. Some recommendations for pork would include a Pinot Noir, Zinfandel and a Riesling. Here’s what I had with it

I went with the Cigar Box Pinot Noir from Chile. A very light to medium pinot noir, that didn’t clash with some of the bold flavors I had in my stuffed pork chop. As you can see from the above picture I put my pork chop low on my pellet grill for about 30 minutes to add some smoke flavor and then seared it on the BBQ. Yum! This pinot noir also has some smoky notes and is really well priced at just $18 a bottle here.

Now the potatoes…..

I cubed the potatoes and boiled them for about 5-8 minutes to cook them halfway. My friends Fred and Arla picked me up some fresh garlic from the Annapolis Valley when they were there this week, and it was so good.

So I put cream cheese, mayonnaise, cream cheese, 2 cloves of the fresh garlic, salt and pepper, and shredded cheese. Then I put them on my pellet grill on low for about an hour to finish cooking and absorb all those great flavors.

I added some parsley towards the end. I grow my own, and you don’t want to add fresh herbs too early or they will char. You could finish these in the oven or on the BBQ, just be careful about having them on direct heat. On the BBQ, I would light one side and put the potatoes on the other side, the side with no heat.

We are getting a warm weekend here. Supposed to be 22-degrees today and 27-degrees tomorrow. It also may be our first 30-degree day. And warm weather means Rose. Here’s a Rose you may want to try this weekend.

At a mere $617 a bottle, it’s truly a weekend treat. If you’re like me, this may be more along your price point

This Arrogant Frog Rose wine is a delicious crisp wine that comes in at $18 a bottle, a little more affordable for most of us. It’s light and tasty and a great example of Rose.

One last wine before I go.

Look at that color. That dark purple says one thing….. Malbec

I try new wines all the time, and more and more I’m reaching for a Malbec, a wine that I really didn’t drink a lot. This wine appealed to me because of the Gran Reserva, which is aging. And the $17 price point. Gran Reserva wines tend to be aged and this one was delicious. It’s a big wine bursting with flavors of plums, vanilla and tobacco. Definitely worth a try and definitely a great wine for BBQ.

That’s it for me for this week. Have a wonderful weekend, and a great week,

Darlene

Most of the readers of my wine blog know I got diagnosed with a form of colon cancer the end of November. I started treatments January 30th with Radiation and Chemotherapy. And a couple of weeks ago started an aggressive 15 week Chemotherapy regimen. So I don’t want you thinking, well, she has Cancer, she’s drinking all good wine. That is not the case, but I will get into why I named my blog ‘Drink The Good Wine’ in a moment.

My friend Angie was down this past week

Still one of the best values in our liquor store. It’s under $13 here and one of the best wines under $15.

I had an experience this past week with non-alcoholic wine. A few weeks ago I mentioned I wanted to buy Proxies non-alcoholic wine, but held off because of the price tag of $30 + HST ($34.50)

Yesterday I had an infected tooth taken out, and was on anti-biotics and prescription pain killers. So I didn’t want to drink alcohol. So I splurged and bought a bottle.

Wasn’t impressed when I poured. It was very cloudy and murky. I thought, OK, so it’s not filtered. Odd. I made pasta for me and my Mom for dinner and thought this would be a great pairing.

I have to tell you, I took a sip, and thought it tasted more like tea than wine. I too another sip, and another, and then poured the glass and the bottle down the sink. It was awful. Terrible. I’ll take my Mom’s $7.99 non-alcoholic wine any day. I gave my Mom a sip and her words were ‘It has no taste’. I felt it smelled like a dirty pet store and tasted like stale tea. That’s why I named my blog Drink The Good Wine. If I can treat myself to a $35 bottle of wine with no alcohol, and pour it down the sink, treat yourself to one bottle of wine that’s in the $25 – $50 range. We all deserve it, and I’m betting you won’t pour it down the sink.

Last Saturday night I shared this wine with friends. I thought it was a great value at $19.99. I found out today if you’re driving through Quebec you can get a bottle for $12.95. Anyway, I digress. I don’t drink a lot of Malbec, but I do like it. This was a rich dark purple when we poured it, it was one of the first comments I made. 646 is named after the year a monk discovered the Cahors region. Cahors is located in Southern France and known for some great Malbec wine.

On Wednesday night, I treated my Mom and I to a great steak, tenderloin. Worth every penny of the $38 I paid for the two steaks. My Mom is worth it. We did corn, roasted potatoes and crispy wings as sides.

I like my steak medium normally, and I know this is more of a medium rare, it was still delicious. This was the day before I thought the tooth was coming out. Here’s the wine I had with it.

I’ve had this wine several times, and love the Peeps Old Vine Zinfandel. Aged in French oak for 2 months, this beautiful Zinfandel is delicious, and a great value at $22.99. The fruit of the wine shines and it has peppery notes, which paired with my steak perfectly.

My mom and I are cleaning cupboards today. I may fire myself. LOL.

Have a wonderful Saturday everyone. Because of the infected tooth, my IV chemo got moved to Monday. And my next 2 week regimen starts Monday as well. Till next week, Cheers

Darlene

Is it just me, or did April fly by? Monday is May 1st already. I didn’t do a wine blog last Saturday, I had all my family land Saturday morning for the day. My Mom is here for 3 weeks, and my sister and her family are in St. Maarten for 3 weeks. It was a busy day and my Mom and I went to bed by 10 p.m. that night.

So my first 2 weeks of chemo has come to an end, and I did pretty good. Some pretty wild side effects from the IV chemo, it seems I was always cold. I have to wear gloves getting anything out of the fridge or freezer. Numb hands, lips, face and feet, I felt like I got Botox, I didn’t look like I did, but it felt that way! LOL But the biggest thing for me was I had to drink all my beverages at room temperature or hot. Well, you might be thinking, that works OK for red wine, but I didn’t drink much wine over the past 2 weeks, wasn’t feeling up to it.

But we are going to talk some wine. First, I want to tell you about a non-alcohol version. So, as I had mentioned, my Mom is up. She is 88 years old and she finds it difficult to drink alcohol, because it makes her unsteady. It affects her more. In my last wine blog, I had mentioned some non-alcoholic wines, and we bought my Mom this one from Superstore.

Hands down, this is the best non-alcohol wine I’ve had so far, and it was just $7.99 a bottle. Regular readers know my Mom is a white wine drinker and she likes Chardonnay, so we gave this a try. So far, this is the beverage that tastes more like real wine, than anything else I’ve tried. Which makes me want to try the two reds they have, Cabernet and Merlot.

Before we get to some real wine, I have to ask my readers. Have you ever cooked ribs with root beer?

When my nephew Brady was here last Saturday he told me about this recipe to cook ribs in root beer. I was Facetiming with my sister Jackie the other evening, and she sent me this picture, Brady had made ribs and kabobs. She said they are the best ribs she has ever had, even better than mine!! What? I am pretty well known among my family for my ribs, so this is definitely something I have to try. I searched online and found one recipe where famous chef Bobby Flay has used root beer, and you can find that here.

When we were at a work related dinner I tried this Atorrante Malbec from Chakana Vineyards in Argentina. Alberto Antonini a consultant for the Chakana Vineyards was a big force for the Super-Tuscan movement in Italy. Then in 1995 he went to Argentina. He is focused on using modern technology to express the terroir potential in making high end wines, while respecting the true nature of the grape. This was a great Malbec with a gorgeous rich mouthfeel on the palate, and the wine is only $21 a bottle.

I must be on a Malbec kick, because my friend Anthony told me about this wine, and I bought a bottle yesterday to have tonight with my friends.

I’ll tell you all about it next week. It’s a gorgeous Saturday morning here in Halifax. I hope all my readers have a wonderful weekend. I would also like to take a moment to thank everyone that reached out after I revealed here that I had Cancer. I am truly appreciative of your kind supportive words.

Till next week, Cheers

Darlene

Happy Saturday everyone. I’m sitting here enjoying my Saturday morning with a cup of coffee, and reflecting on my favorite day of the week. Saturday is my fun day, I sleep in a little bit and usually get together with friends on a Saturday evening. I am feeling great this morning, after Round 2 of my chemo started yesterday. It came as a little surprise.

On Tuesday afternoon I found out Round 2 of my chemo started Friday. So I have 15 weeks of chemo, in 3 week cycles. Every 3rd Friday I get to sit for 3 hours and have IV chemo. My first one was yesterday, and I’m feeling great today. Wild side effects though, I can’t eat or drink anything cold. It has to be room temperature or warm. It feels like shards of glass in my throat. That will last 3 – 5 days. The funniest part for me is I have to keep a pair of gloves by my refrigerator because I’m not allowed to touch anything cold from my fridge or freezer. It causes a lot of pain. Numb fingers, hands and arms, but that will go away in a few days.

So, this has been my beverage of choice for the last few days. It’s Vino Zero Merlot & Vino Zero Cabernet Sauvignon. I was invited to a dinner party Thursday evening and since I didn’t want to drink the day before my treatment, this is what I bought. It was ok and it served the purpose. Same thing, I visited some friends last night and had a glass of this wine. I was still shaky yesterday evening, and I can’t drink more than 1 glass of real wine while on treatments, I’m discovering the non-alcohol wines. The above wines can be found at your favorite grocery store and they are $11.99 a bottle. There’s one here in Halifax I’m dying to try, it’s called Proxies.

It’s $35 a bottle, which is a lot. At first, I said I can’t justify paying $35 for a bottle of wine, without getting a buzz. $35 is a treat bottle of wine, when there is alcohol present. But I’ve been doing a lot of research and it’s been recommended by Master of Wines, James Beard award winning chefs, Sommeliers and more. It’s supposed to be quite good. So I think I will treat myself and I’ll tell you all about it if I do get to try it.

In addition to the IV chemo, I’m on oral chemo for 2 weeks, and then I get one week off. These are my medications for the next two weeks. Honest to God, I felt like a drug dealer when I picked them up on Thursday. Because IV chemo is so much stronger and I’m on 10 chemo pills per day (instead of 6 last time) there is much more anti-nausea meds.

On to some food and wine. I have tried a few new wines over the 5 weeks I had off from treatments, so I’ll tell you about them one at a time, where I’m not drinking much wine at the moment. But first, OMG my homemade chicken nachos.

If you’ve ever bought the taco package from Costco, you’ve tried the lime and cilantro crema. Well here’s the knock off recipe.

BBQ chicken breast pieces and bacon over taco chips and cheese. With my homemade salsa and homemade lime and cilantro crema. I have actually gained a couple of pounds in the past two weeks because I’ve had these almost every evening. But that’s not a bad thing going into chemotherapy. Here’s my homemade salsa recipe. So good. You can use white sugar or brown sugar, I like using brown sugar, it just adds another flavor profile.

Ok, let’s talk some wine. Actual wine…. you know, with alcohol.

If you’re looking for a great wine at a great price, here it is. Montgras Day One Cabernet Sauvignon is your new wine. It’s new here to Nova Scotia and priced at just $17.99 a bottle. It’s full bodied, not oaky, and I think in this picture you can see my plate of nachos. This wine is also great for BBQ, meat and pork dishes, and if you’re like me, nachos. You should definitely try this wine, I think you’ll love it, and it won’t break the wallet.

That’s it for me for this week. Enjoy whatever you’re drinking this week.

Till next week, Cheers

Darlene

I had to double check the calendar, it is April, right? It doesn’t look much like April here in Halifax.

I took this picture this morning. Hello April? It is April Fool’s Day, I guess Mother Nature is playing a bit of a joke on us.

Later in the blog, I’m going to share some great news I received this week. But for now, let’s talk some wine.

I’m not sure if our liquor stores here in Nova Scotia are getting rid of this, but it was on clearance. If you’ve been reading for a few years, you may remember this. The Bogle Vineyards Merlot was a favorite of mine. Any wine drinker in Nova Scotia knows that it seems every time you go to the liquor store, there’s another increase in the price. So, this wine was priced out of my weekly price range for a while. It’s a delicious full-bodied Merlot, and received an award as ‘America’s favorite Merlot’. I had pork last night and it was a perfect pairing, and right now you can get this wine for about $25 or $26. Try it while it’s on clearance.

I had a bit of a rough week procedure wise, but it was worth it with the good news I received. As you probably are aware by now, I was diagnosed with Cancer on November 25th. I have completed 25 rounds of Radiation and was doing oral chemotherapy at the same time, twice a day. I took a bit of a break from writing my wine blog. Well this past week I got the results of those rounds of radiation and chemotherapy. I had a scope on Wednesday that showed the tumor shrunk ‘a lot’ (doctor’s words) and the CT scan showed there was no spread. Phew! I start my next round of chemo in April. My friends and I did a toast Wednesday evening. And my friends Fred and Arla, who were kind enough to bring me down to my appointment on Wednesday, were drinking this.

Il Padrino makes a wonderful red Rosso and this Pinot Grigio is a favorite among my white-wine drinking friends. This 1 litre bottle is normally priced at $17, which is an excellent buy, but it was on sale this past week for $14, which makes it a steal of a deal. Crisp, refreshing, with gorgeous flavors of citrus and tropical fruits.

I tried something new in my air fryer. I pounded a chicken breast out, put it in with some shake and bake and cooked it in the air fryer for the first time. I will be honest, I over cooked the chicken. I was reading on the internet all kinds of different time frames, and because I was cooking two, I went with the higher number. Mistake #1. I cooked them 23 minutes. It was too long. The thing with an air fryer is, you should start in intervals, and check the produce along the way. You can always add more time, you can’t take away the time. I will definitely try it again but less time. The cheesy bacon mashed potatoes and buttered carrots were delicious. The wine I enjoyed with this meal was this one.

The Knotty Vines wine is becoming a staple in my weekly wine purchases. The label says Cabernet Sauvignon but its actually a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petite Sirah and Zinfandel. Delicious.

Before I go, thought I would share this chart of the health benefits of wine.

Maybe it will help us all feel better about the sips we take this evening. Have a great weekend everyone. Stay warm

Darlene

You’ve heard the saying “Beware the Ides of March”, well this wine blog is about the wines of March. I hope everyone had a wonder St. Patrick’s Day yesterday. I’m sure some celebrations will continue throughout the weekend. I had a busy but uneventful week, still feeling really good, and enjoying my time in between treatments.

I want to take a moment to share a fun story. At work, we had a contest. It was to try and identify your co-worker from their baby picture. This was my picture at 10 months old, weighing in at a whopping 36 pounds. Look at the size of the head on me, I’m glad I grew into that head. It’s a wonder my Mom is still speaking to me. LOL

I also have a recipe I tried this past week to share with you called Chicken Diane. OMG, I eat a lot of chicken, because I can’t eat fish. I’m always looking for new ways to do chicken. I found this on a site called http://www.outgrilling.com and had to give it a try. You can find the recipe here.

I used both boneless skinless chicken breasts and boneless skinless chicken thighs. I live alone, so I took one chicken breast, cut it in half, and pounded them to a uniform thickness.

I cooked my sauce ahead of time on the stove.

It turned out delicious. I hope the picture does it justice. This is how it turned out.

Grilling them first was yummy, but I think they would also be delicious if I had done them in a cast iron frying pan on top of the stove.

Ok, it’s time to talk some wine.

Last Saturday evening I had some friends in, and my friend Angie bought this wine. Josh Cabernet Sauvignon is a great wine priced at $25 a bottle. Named after his Dad, Josh Carr, Joseph Carr is the winemaker and started selling the wine out of the back of his truck. He started with one wine, this Cabernet. His vineyard now features many different wines, but it all started with this one. Delicious, full-bodied and a great pairing with meat of any kind.

So, remember last week I told you I visited my friend Rick, who manages The Port downtown Halifax. He told me if I was going to buy one wine from his store, make it this one.

I don’t buy many wines from South Africa, but Rick told me this wine was the best wine under $25, voted by their staff, and I believe he said it was two years in a row. Don’t quote me. At $22 it’s a big robust wine Internationally acclaimed wine journalist Jancis Robinson, who says when producers offer more than one tier of a particular wine, the ‘best buy’ at release is more often than not the second-tier wine. This Cabernet Sauvignon is considered a second tiered wine from this producer. It’s getting some good critiques, it was a little earthy and had notes of cedar and spice.

That’s it for me today. Thanks for reading. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Darlene

I’m back baby. For a while anyway. It’s been an interesting 6 weeks since my last blog. I’ve done 25 Radiation treatments and during those 25 days I did 2 chemo treatments per day for a total of 50. Everyday Monday to Friday except for holidays and weekends.

The Radiation techs who work in this department of the Cancer Clinic are amazing, kind and so understanding. Every day I would trek to the VG hospital in Halifax and change into these gowns to do my daily treatments.

Everyone that I had to deal with was wonderful. OMG, people are so heartwarming and helpful. Thank you to everyone who works helping people with Cancer. And all those who work in Health care. It takes a special person.

During the last couple of weeks of my treatments my Mom, my Sister, my Brother-in-law and of course Maggie came to visit.

My Sister and Brother-in-law have more money than me, LOL, and Craig decided I needed a wine treat because I was going through Cancer treatments. So he came home with 3 bottles of wine that cost $240.

The amazing line up includes a Zinfandel and a Cabernet Sauvignon from Caymus Vineyards and a Cabernet from Stags Leap. When he went to the Liquor Store he said ‘My sister-in-law likes California wine”. The lady said ‘I have some amazing ones, but you’re not going to like the price. He bought them anyway. The first one we tried was the Stag’s Leap.

Spectacular. And probably one of the best Cabernet Sauvignon wines I have ever tried. Now this wine sells for $70 a bottle here in Nova Scotia, so it’s definitely a treat wine. But if you have a special occasion coming up and would like to treat yourself, I recommend this beauty. So easy to drink, it was flavorful and nuanced and smooth. Fabulous.

My Mom drinks white wine, and Craig bought her the Conundrum White, Chardonnay based wine. Craig and I ended up finishing the bottle Saturday evening. This is one of my favorite white wines, because it’s a blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillion, Muscat and Viognier. There are grapes with acidity and grapes with body. Together they make a great blend that is one of the most interesting white wines I have tried. In this case, I actually like the white blend better than the red. And it’s affordable at $25 a bottle.

After we finished the Conundrum and were playing some cards, we opened this beauty. It was actually my second time enjoying it, I went to visit my friend Rick, who manages the Port downtown Halifax, and they had it opened and he let me try it.

It was so great to see Rick and Taylor again. We danced, we laughed, we hugged. Now at $110 a bottle, I know this is a very special bottle of wine. Caymus is located in the heart of Napa Valley in California run by Chuck, Charlie & Jenny Wagner. This group also makes the Conundrum wine and several other brand names. Fantastic wine makers, but this Cabernet is the jewel in the crown. Like I said, it’s $110 a bottle but it’s Cabernet perfection. The other wine in the trio is the Caymus Zinfandel, which at $75 a bottle, is sitting in my wine rack.

I’m going to end the blog with something a little more affordable.

This is a treat wine for my pocketbook. This is a fantastic Cabernet Sauvignon from Knotty Vines. This winemaker is all about taking wine and making it indulgent yet affordable. At just $21.99 this is an amazing wine with mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petite Sirah and a splash of Zinfandel. Together they make a juicy full-bodied delicious wine that we all can afford. It’s new here to Nova Scotia, and I’ll definitely have it again.

I want to take quick moment to say thank you

When I wrote my last wine blog 6 weeks ago, telling you about my Cancer diagnosis, I heard from hundreds and hundreds of people. I am completely blown away by the love I was feeling from all my readers. This blog was something I started many many years ago, and never had I imagined I had so many wonderful people follow the blog. On March 27th I have another CT scan booked, they want to make sure it still hasn’t spread anywhere else. Around that date, I will also have another scope. This will determine if the radiation and chemo that I’ve done has shrunk the tumor. Then it looks like it will be another round of chemo, and then possibly surgery. I was lucky, I had minimal side effects. There were some, fatigue among the top one. I’ll keep you all up to date as I go.

Thank you again, it’s great to be back. Till next week, Cheers

Darlene

Would you believe our first snowfall of the year came yesterday! That’s very unusual for Halifax. My hometown of Corner Brook received 114.9 cms in November alone. Being home at Christmas felt like I was living in a snow globe. I have to admit, I do love a snow day.

However, it did not stop me from smoking and grilling some ribs. Hey, I’m from Newfoundland, outdoor cooking in the snow is something I grew up on.

A warm hat, jacket and scarf and I smoked some ribs, grilled some chicken and did some potatoes. I have an overhang over my balcony so I was fairly well protected. While cooking, I had one of the best red wine blends I’ve tried in a while.

You know I love an interesting label, and this one caught my attention. It was funny, I was strolling through Port of Wines and was in the New Zealand section, and I didn’t realize I was actually in the Australia section. This red blend from South Australia is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Shiraz and 20% Merlot. It was over the moon delicious, but I think our local NSLC may be clearing it out. It was $25 and I got it for $21, and it wasn’t on sale, it said clearance. So run, don’t walk to try this wonderful wine. It was full-bodied and rich and not oaky like some Australian wines. The Mo Sisters, are 3 sisters that grew up in a prominent wine family in Australia, and they have only just launched in 2019. This wonderful wine was from the 2017 harvest. I loved it and it was definitely my wine of the week, so it wouldn’t be fair to the other new wines I have tried recently. I had no intention of going out today, but I’m having friends in today and I want to share this wine. That’s how much I loved it.

Where ever you are, I hope the clean up is not too much of a pain. And if it’s snowing where you are, enjoy the snow day

Till next week, Cheers

Darlene

Each year in January I do a wine blog on the wine trends to look for in the coming year or years. For example, a few years ago people thought I was crazy when I told readers to be on the look out for wine in cans. But here we are, and sales of wine in cans is expected to see double digit growth in 2023. Here are some of the trends to look for in 2023.

1. Bubbles Surge in Popularity
   • Bubbly wines are no longer for special occasions. Bubbly wines will see a surge in 2023 as an everyday wine. Because great tasting sparkling wines are affordable, wine experts predict people will buy more at things like brunches, and afternoon sipping. Think Prosecco and Spanish Cava, just to name a few, most are priced at around the $20 mark.

2. The Environment is Very Important

More and more you are seeing the words ‘organic’, ‘vegan’ ‘natural’ and ‘sustainability’ on the wine bottles on the shelves of your favorite wine store. A recent poll found that 50% of American wine drinkers said sustainability was important to them. If you’ve tried some natural wines and didn’t really like them, you can still buy wines from vineyards that focus on sustainability. Sustainability winegrowers focus on biodynamics and environment friendly farming practices.

Errazuriz has a fantastic line of wines, a winery founded by Robert Mondavi & Eduardo Chadwick that uses sustainability. This Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon is priced at about the $20 range and represents how good Chilean wine is.

A little side note. It’s January, comfort food time. I made a pot of chili this past week and it was probably one of the best ones I’ve ever made. You want to know the secret? Bacon. I’ve never put bacon in chili before, but it adds a nice smoky flavor. I also put a rind of parmesan cheese in the slow cooker. That adds amazing flavor. If you Google ‘best chili recipe’, you’ll get this recipe from Sugar Spun Run and that’s the recipe I used. Plus, I did chop up a jalapeno pepper and put in the chili because I like a little kick.

Add some cheese, a few tortilla chips and a great wine, you’ve got yourself some comfort food. Here’s the wine I enjoyed with the chili

If you go to your favorite wine store and the label is black, it’s the same wine. This is new to our NSLC and the Birdman has a red label. This fantastic wine is $16 a bottle and was tasty and easy to drink. I also made a stuffed pork tenderloin this past week and this wine would have paired great with that wine as well. From Chile, it’s another example of the quality of wines that are coming out of Chile.

To my friends and readers doing dry January, best of luck, you are almost halfway through. Me, I’m keeping the wine.

Have a great week, till next weekend, Cheers

Darlene

2022 was a mix of revisiting new favorites and trying new wines. I am always trying new wines. This blog is a look back at some of the great new wines I tried in 2022 as well as some of my favorite recipes.

I love Chinese Food and I love trying to make my favorite recipes at home. Trying to make them a little healthier, one of my accomplishments from 2022 was this General Tso Chicken recipe. You can get the recipe here.

And the Riesling I told you about last week, which I tried in Newfoundland, is the perfect pairing, and my new favorite Riesling.

The Mosseland Ars Vita Riesling out of Germany, which is priced at about $20, is one of my favorite finds from 2022. In case you missed last week’s blog, I have not tried many Riesling wines out of Germany, because some can be sweet. This is not. It’s crisp and dry and just lovely on the palate, with just a hint of sweetness.

I was talking to someone in my apartment building about the difference in December and January. December flies by because every day there are lights and cheer, and January seems so long, maybe because we lose the lights and decorations. My decorations are down and the apartment looks a little blah.

The biggest highlight for me in 2022 was my river cruise to Bordeaux France. I want to take a moment to thank the entire gang at Atlantic Tours & Travel for giving me this opportunity to travel with a wonderful group of people to the wine region of Bordeaux.

Too many great wines to mention, and the food. It was amazing. I was experiencing some health issues on that trip, but that didn’t take away from the wonderful people and the fantastic experience.

I love Cabernet Sauvignon and just before I went to France I tried this one. Leaping Horse Cabernet out of Lodi, California. Lodi California is known for some great Zinfandel and they are putting out fabulous wines overall. This wine was 80% Cabernet, 10% Cabernet Franc and 10% Syrah. Fantastic wine for just $19 a bottle.

On Thursday, my Mom turned 88. My wonderful sister Jackie & her husband Craig took her to the nicest restaurant in Corner Brook, the Carriage Room in the Glynmill Inn. Regular readers know my Mom is a Chardonnay drinker, and this was our favorite Chardonnay find of 2022.

Casillero del Diablo is the biggest winery in Chile and I love their slogan, The Whisper That Became A Legend. This Chardonnay has won many awards, and is more on the fruity side, than on the oaky side. Pineapple, peach and a clean fresh palate, and the fact it’s priced under $18 is a win!

At work, I’m pretty well known for my burgers. This monster of a burger, which my friend Cassandra calls ‘spaceship burgers’, was one of the best new recipes I tried in 2022. Several different kinds of cheeses, carmelized onions and balsamic glazed tomatoes. You can find the recipe here.

2022 also saw me connecting with childhood friends, and meeting new ones. Especially my childhood friend Shane and his husband Ken.

And let me tell you, they have amazing taste in wine. Here’s one of my favorites from 2022 that I had at this dinner party with Shane & Ken.

The Caymus Vineyards Zinfandel was just as good as I had hoped it would be. It’s a treat at about $60 a bottle, but worth it. Rich and full-bodied, many wine critics have given this wine 93 – 96 ratings.

And my favorite wine from 2022. My nephew Brady gave it to me for Christmas last year and I shared it with my friend Angie.

Francis Ford Coppola’s Director’s Cut Cabernet Sauvignon was full-bodied and full of flavor. We sipped slowly and savored every drop of this bottle. It sells for about $50 a bottle but again, everyone deserves a treat.

I hope the first week of 2023 was great for you.

Cheers

Darlene

Here we are, the Saturday before Christmas Eve. It will also be my last blog of 2023. Heading to Newfoundland on Wednesday for Christmas for 10 days. When I return, I will do my annual blog on my favorite new finds of 2022. I would like to take a moment to wish each and every one of you, the readers of this blog, a very special holiday season and the best Christmas & the New year has to offer. Although 2022 has had its challenges, there have been many blessings as well.

Let’s talk some wine and food

My friend Joan came down last Saturday night and bought this wine.

Wow. The Casillero del Diablo Chardonnay was fabulous. A Chardonnay that is not overly oaky, it was clean and fresh and just fantastic on the palate. Great body and a nice lasting finish. I loved this and will be buying it for my Mom when I head home for Christmas.

So I tried a new pork tenderloin recipe this past week….

I sauteed some onions and celery in buttery until they were softened. Then I added that to bread crumbs, added bacon and feta cheese, and stuffed my pork tenderloin.

I then seared it on my BBQ on each side, and then I put it on my pellet grill. Using a combination of apple, maple and hickory chips, I let that my cook low and slow.

It came out perfect. As you can see I tend to buy a smaller pork tenderloin, because I live alone and its just me. Well, I’ll be doing this again. I like my pork tenderloin done medium, with some pink.

I served it with a chow, that I bought from a local company here in Halifax.

I don’t know much about Gator pickles, only that I discovered them at a craft fair, and everyone at the Radio Station where I work love these pickles. I bought the Gator pickles (not pictured) and this Yellow Squash Chow Chow. Wow! A bit of sweet, a bit of heat, I loved this with the pork tenderloin.

I bet you’re curious as to which wine I had with this?

Many wines go wonderful with pork tenderloin. On the white side you could have a Chardonnay, like the one I talked about above. Or a crisp Pinot Grigio. In my opinion, there are more reds that pair well, but that’s just me. I didn’t have a Pinot Noir on hand, because I probably would have gone that route. Perfect pairing. But this was good too.

The Morgan Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon was one of the easiest drinking $20 Cabs I have ever tasted. From the Silverado Trail in California, this Cabernet was not overly tannic, which I liked. Soft tannins and rich fruit, I really enjoyed this Cabernet and will definitely buy it again.

Before I go, if you live locally here in the Halifax / Dartmouth area, you should give Delectable Desserts a try.

Dennis & Melissa Mbeba are wonderful real life husband and wife who opened Delectable Desserts just before the pandemic hit. She does the baking, he does the business. They make amazing desserts, cheesecakes, scones and this wonderful holiday cake they gave me as a gift. Check them out at www.delectabledesserts.ca

Have a wonderful Christmas season. Enjoy to the fullest.

Till next year, Cheers

Darlene

Most weeks this wine blog focuses on great tasting wines that tend to be under the $25 mark. I started this wine blog many years ago to let people know you can find good wines at prices that won’t break the bank. We’ve also had some treat wines along the way. I’ve been very blessed lately, between gifts from dear friends, and a little treat for myself, this wine blog is about some fantastic wines that are great for special occasions, gift giving, or just to treat yourself after a busy week.

Let’s talk some jingle juice…

Last Saturday night I wanted to try something new. So I picked up this wine. Frenchie Collage wine is a blend, and quite the blend it is. 35% Petite Verdot, 29& Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Petite Sirah and finished with Malbec and Tempranillo. The dog featured on the label is the French bulldog owned by the owner of the winery. This wine was made in California with grape varietals from all over. It’s been aged mostly in stainless steel with a little bit aged in American oak. So not much in the way of oak notes so very fruit forward. Here was my only issue with the wine. It wasn’t filtered, so after the first glass I was left with a mouthful of grit and must, and I had to rinse my glass. Then I shared the wine with two friends, but had to pour it through a paper towel to filter it. I don’t mind paying $30 for a good wine, and the wine was very good, but I don’t want to have to filter it through a paper towel.

December is here. The month for Christmas parties and get togethers. It’s the season for family and friends. And it’s the season for gift giving. My friend Cassandra gave me a pretty Starbucks cup and my favorite Christmas blend coffee this week. Perfect with coffee & Baileys!! Another kind of jingle juice.

My friend Anthony pictured here with me about 9 years ago, enjoying a great Pinot Noir called Sea Smoke.

We’ve both gotten a little greyer since than, and maybe even a little wiser. Hmmm maybe LOL. Well, we still work together and he’s been a rock of support for me and this week he gave me a very special gift, and it’s my wine of the week.

This past year I had the honor of going to Bordeaux France with a wonderful group of people. This wine is one of the best Bordeaux wines I have ever had. Now this is a treat wine, selling here for $47 a bottle so definitely a treat. I had it last night after the end of a challenging week, while enjoying my happy place, at my grill.

My nephew Riley is coming up tonight so I did some ribs for him on the pellet grill. Considering these take about 5 hours, I got a head start. It was a nice evening and Anthony gave me that wonderful wine to enjoy. Some great tunes and it was a great Friday night.

D’Angelus has been making wines in Bordeaux for 120 years, and I’ve read it was the wine responsible for turning martini drinking James Bond into a lover of Bordeaux wines. Merlot with some Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, this delicious wine is delicious to drink now and it also could age it if you wanted.

That’s it for this week. Stay safe my friends. Till next week, Cheers

Darlene