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Each year in January I always look at the wine topics that are getting a lot of attention, and I write a blog about it. Two years ago I wrote about low alcohol and non-alcoholic wines. And that trend continues and is growing in popularity.

1. Low Alcohol & Non-Alcoholic Wines

In the grocery stores, I see more and more people going with non-alcoholic wines in their carts, and that trend will continue. Non alcoholic wines are improving in flavor all the time, and the above Chardonnay from Superstore was one of the tastiest non-alcohol wines I’ve tried. Last Spring when I was going through chemo and radiation I tried many of them, and I can tell you from experience, the more expensive ones are not necessarily the best ones. I paid $35 for one and poured it down the sink. It allows people to enjoy wine with their meals and still be able to drive, and cuts down on alcohol consumption.

2. Splurging is still a thing.

Everyone that reads this wine blog knows for the most part I’m all about finding great wines at great prices. Wines do not have to be expensive to be really good. But a trend that will continue into 2024 is splurging every once in a while. My friend Anthony is really good at that, as is my brother in law Craig. He doesn’t drink wine on a regular basis, only when I’m home, so he tends to buy a treat wine. Like the above Caymus wine. Full bodied and delicious but priced at about $90 a bottle.

3. People are enjoying more Comfort Food and Wine

I don’t eat steak very often, but when I do I really enjoy it, and I will always have a glass of wine with my steak. This past week I was craving some real comfort food, so I decided to make homemade fries to go with this steak.

I don’t own a deep fryer anymore, and I haven’t found a way to do them in the air fryer that tastes like homemade fries. So, I did them in my big cast iron frying pan, I also did my steak in a cast iron frying pan. 

They came out good and crispy and hit the spot. Whether its hearty stews, creamy pasta dishes or meat, I love a glass of wine with my favorite comfort foods. And don’t worry whether you should have white or red, just enjoy with one of your favorite wines.

I just got off the phone with my Mom, who was admitted to hospital earlier this week. In the middle of a raging blizzard in Corner Brook, my brother in law Craig called to ambulance. The paramedic said she was drowning in fluid, and it was really affecting her breathing. She is doing much better today, and they are doing a good job of getting rid of the fluid.

I met with my friend Anita from Atlantic Tours and Travel this past week and she was asking about the puppies. This was taken this week and Lexi is up to 61.6 lbs this week, and she turned 6 months old January 1st. She’s a floof ball and loves her big sister Maggie.

Last week I told I was bringing this Humo Blanco Cabernet Franc to our weekly Rummikub game. Well, talk about mixed opinions. My friend Angie and I tend to enjoy many of the same wines. She likes full-bodied wines so I thought she might like this. She did not! She had to pour her remaining glass of wine in my glass. She didn’t like it, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The Cabernet Franc grape originated in France as part of the blend of Bordeaux wines. Argentina is having some great success with this grape varietal on its own. This is priced at $24 a bottle, it’s dry and full-bodied with notes of vanilla and black currant. 

That’s it for me this week. Thank you for reading, and have a great week

Darlene

I’m back in Halifax. Arrived home yesterday. It was great to sleep in my own bed. It’s wonderful to go home for a visit with family, it’s also great to come back to my own place.

We are almost at the end of October, which means Halloween. Halloween is the toughest occasion for me to pair wine with. A friend of mine, Lorraine, asked me about this, and if I had ever done a blog on pairing wine with Halloween candy. Well, today is the first time.

M & M’s & Pinot Noir:

So M & M’s are one of my favorite candies, and Pinot Noir goes with everything. In my opinion, it’s one of the best food pairing wines out there. Honestly, I prefer it with chicken or some other savory dish, but it would work with M & M’s too. Here’s one of my favorite Pinot Noir wines.

The Bread & Butter Pinot Noir is scary good. Easy to drink, smooth and very reasonably priced at $22 a bottle. The slogan of this company is a good one, “We believe good things shouldn’t be complicated”. And that’s the perfect slogan for this Pinot Noir.

Snickers & Sauternes.

I can honestly say I don’t know if I would share this wine with a Snickers bar. Sauternes makes some of the most delicious and expensive dessert wines in the world. And as a Sommelier, we learned the wine in the glass should be sweeter than the dessert on the plate. I love dessert wines as dessert, after a big meal, it eases the sweet tooth but is not overly filling. These wines are delicious dessert wines, served very chilled, and those flavors of honey and apricot make for one of my favorite desserts. This bottle retails for around $100, so it’s definitely a treat wine. I’d have it after a big steak meal, not with a Snickers bar, but that’s just me.

Dark Chocolate & Zinfandel

Regular readers of this blog know I just love a good Zinfandel.

Here’s one you can get in just about every province, and is kind of a benchmark for Zinfandel. 7 Deadly Zins, named after Zinfandel grapes being harvest from 7 different locations in California, is a seductive and rich wine. Zinfully delicious, it retails for about $25 a bottle and is also my favorite wine to have with ribs.

Starburst & Off Dry Riesling

Personally, I’m not a fan of overly sweet candy like Starburst, but I do love a good off dry Riesling. The very first time I tried Riesling, it was many many (many) years ago, and it was one of the sweeter ones. I decided I didn’t like Riesling. Then in our studies to become a Sommelier, I was introduced to off dry and dry Rieslings. Love them!

This was taken a few years back, before I went all grey, but my friend and I were enjoying a birthday lunch in Halifax and we were having Riesling. Here’s one of my favorites.

The Kung Fu Girl Riesling is off dry and aromatic. It’s a great wine to go with some spicy cuisines. And very reasonably priced, right now in Newfoundland I noticed it was on sale for under $17.. There are also some great Riesling wine made here in Nova Scotia, and you can get the Gaspereau Riesling outside of Nova Scotia, including Newfoundland.

That’s it for the wines this week. One of the highlights of my trip to Newfoundland was meeting one of my Twitter friends.

Jackie Coates is a Twitter friend, who is as sweet in person as she is on Twitter. She works at the Deer Lake Airport, and when Maggie and I went to pick up Jackie & Craig when they were coming back from Hawaii, I saw her walking down, and had to approach her. Although my profile picture shows me before I went au naturel with the grey hair, I introduced myself and we had a great chat. Such a beautiful person on the inside and outside, and it was one of the best highlights of my trip.

That’s it for me this week. Stay safe this Halloween.

Till next week, Cheers

Darlene

So I’m back in Newfoundland. My Mom was with me for 2 weeks in Halifax, and now I’m working from my sister’s home for two weeks, while making sure my Mom is OK and babysitting Maggie

She goes with me everywhere I go.

Corner Brook Newfoundland is just gorgeous in the Fall of the year. The colors are in full bloom and we have been getting some really nice sunny days.

I have to tell you, I’ve started binge watching Yellowstone. I’m not able to get Amazon Prime on my TV, but my sister has it. I just started Season 4 and I’ve only been here a week. Wow, what a good show. I love Kevin Costner.

Also, my sweet Mom has been doing some of her favorite recipes for me, including homemade cabbage rolls and homemade beef stew. Great Fall recipes. Comfort food. Not only because it’s savoury and delicious, but this is the food I grew up on.

Also while I’m here, I’m trying to buy wine that we can’t get in Nova Scotia. Here’s one I’ve had while I’ve been here.

Avalon Cabernet Sauvignon from Lodi California. It’s $2 off right now in Newfoundland, and a fantastic wine for just $20 per bottle. It’s been given 92 Points by Wine Align. It’s the perfect wine to pair with comfort food. Deep and rich with notes of nutmeg and toasted oak. I may have to get another one this weekend.

As you know, my Mom is a Chardonnay wine drinker, so I picked her up this one the other evening.

Aged for a year in both French and American oak, this wine was surprisingly fruity on the palate. She loved it, I really enjoyed it and it’s a great price at $16. A nice full-bodied Chardonnay with some banana and pineapple flavors, and some toasty oak.

It’s not all binge watching Yellowstone while I’m here. I just finished this book.

I’ve been on a bit of a David Baldacci kick recently and this one features his great characters Will Robie and Jessica Reel. This is the 3rd or 4th book I’ve read with these characters and I really enjoy his suspenseful writing.

Well, that’s it for me for this week. Would you believe I’m heading out to do a little Christmas shopping. When my Mom was in Halifax we got a big head start on her Christmas shopping. I’ve started as well. It’s just too much to do in December, I have to start early. December is busy enough as it is, I like to have most of my shopping done by then. Hard to believe, isn’t it. Christmas shopping time.

I have to tell you, I’m really missing my grills, and can’t wait for next week to get grilling again. I’m back in Halifax this coming Friday, October 28, and I’ll probably be grilling Friday night!

Till next week, Cheers. I hope you have a fantastic week.