My father-in-law graced Paul and I with the above photographed luscious bottle of red wine a few weeks ago. DeLille Cedars is out of Woodinville, Washington and is a “family-and independently-owned winery.

The bottle we enjoyed was DeLille Cellars D2, which is a blend of Merlot, Cab Sauv, Cab Franc and a touch of Petit Verdot.

I have no idea what any of that means, but you can find a full breakdown of the vineyard blend by clicking here, for those of you who actually are well-versed in your vinos, unlike me.

At $35 a bottle, this is most definitely something that Paul and I would only enjoy on a special occasion (of which we had none) or if it is gifted to us (YAY!!!). The best part was that I got to plan a meal around this bottle of wine that consisted of my favorite carnivorous delight, filet mignon.

I was pleasantly surprised by this particular wine because I am not a big merlot fan. Most merlots are too dry for my taste, though Paul is a fan of a good merlot. Those of you who, like me, are not a merlot person, fear not when it comes to DeLille Cellars D2, because I can honestly say the blend of the various wines and flavors is magnificent and has a truly enjoyable taste and aroma.

Special thanks to my father-in-law for this wonderful bottle of wine. We savored it to the very last drop.

Cheers! Nic

Comments or suggestions? Have your own “bottle of the week” to share? Shoot me an email: mybottlesup@gmail.com

Samuel Adams Boston Lager is currently residing in our kegerator. It’s the NOM NOM brew for Paul and I… as it goes well with everything and nothing.

The kegerator, aptly named ‘Lil Joe after one of Paul’s favorite bartenders, was our first wedding anniversary gift to each other.

I think paper is traditionally given for the first wedding anniversary.

We prefer beer.

The Florida Gator beer gnome guards the contents within ‘Lil Joe at all times.

Some weeks, you just need a big bottle… or in the case of this week, a keg… of Sam Adams.

Known as “the nighttime sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever, so you can rest medicine,” Nyquil is going on week numero dos as being my personal bottle of the week.

I used to be a competitive swimmer… a pretty decent one actually. And my coach was one of those coaches who had a nickname for everyone. Don’t get me wrong, he wasn’t one of those lame ass coaches who tries to befriend you by giving you a stupid nickname like, “sporto” or “hoss” (if he had named me “hoss,” I would’ve junk punched him.)

Anyway, given that my name is Nicole, my swim coach named me Nyquil. That was my nickname for the many years that Mike coached me, yelled at me to kick harder, wrapped my fingers together with rubber bands in order for me to keep from spread-eagling the palms of my hands, which I instinctively did for some odd reason. (I know this makes absolutely no sense to non-swimmers, but basically keeping your fingers together and your hand as tight as possible allows you to flick up more water as you stroke, thus propelling you to swim faster.) Usually we had paddles to strap to our hands to accomplish this, but Mike liked to torture me with rubber bands wrapped around my fingers. He was that kind of coach… the kind who found your weakness, your quirks and helped you tweak them to make you a better athlete, to make you excel.

So, what does this rant have to do with Nyquil… absolutely nothing.

Except that Nyquil has been my bottle of the week and will continue to be until I am over this horrific bitch of a cold and can go back to excelling at being a mom… BWAHAHAHA!!!!

Obviously this stuff has already gone to my head.

Cheers! Nic

Comments or suggestions? Have your own “bottle of the week” to share? Shoot me an email: mybottlesup@gmail.com

Hot chicks drink stout. This was determined when Paul introduced me to Stone Russian Imperial Stout a few months ago. I am starting 2010 over this evening, the 31st of January with another stout. This past month has sucked; and Old Rasputin’s 12th anniversary Russian Imperial Stout will serve as my bubbly tonight, as I await the start of a new and promising month.

Happy February! Cheers!

Ok, so on to the beer review… with this stout aged in bourbon barrels the aroma of bourbon heightens your senses instantly. Upon the initial taste, this stout lingers not so gracefully, but with a bit of a bite. Dark in color with a tan head (*snort* I said “head”), this brew looks lovely in a pint glass. I don’t get as much of a coffee nor a chocolate flavor as I would like… we women like our coffee and our chocolate.

Perhaps I just can’t cut it with bourbon barreled stouts. My allegiance is to espresso and chocolate flavors and aromas.

OK, here we go… this beer isn’t my bag. Yeah, I sipped on it in order to compose this write-up, but I couldn’t cut it folks. I had to ask Paul to finish the beer for me. *head to desk* Me thinks this brew is best for those of you burly beer drinkers who can truly appreciate a beer that is aged in a bourbon barrel (which I don’t entirely understand the purpose of, but whatever.)

So… lesson learned, Old Rasputin XII Russian Imperial Stout is wicked expensive at about $20 a bottle, though quite appealing for the hardcore stout drinkers who can fully appreciate a bit of bourbon in their brew.

As for me, I’ll just continue photographing the pretty bottle in the snow (click on pic to enlarge)… probably while sipping on something else. No offense Old Ras; your bottle did photograph quite nicely for me. So thanks for that.

Cheers! Nic

Comments or suggestions? Have your own “bottle of the week” to share? Shoot me an email: mybottlesup@gmail.com

I am no longer a Malbec virgin. This “grape” has been “popped.” That being said, I must add that I found comfort in knowing that “the grapes are sorted and chosen by a group of eighteen trained winery staff (of whom I imagine all young, shirtless, delicious Argentinian gentlemen) before we… I mean the grapes are pressed into each Alamos cuvee (whatever that is) according to the label on the back of a simplistically designed bottle, adding to the pure beauty of The Wines of Catena, of which I am most definitely a fan.

The shopping experience for a Malbec alone was a challenge because I went into this purchase a virgin. So, like any good non-sophisticated wino, I found my price-range and then looked for killer designs on the labels. It was the subtle gray mountains in the background that led me to Alamos Malbec 2008. The simplistic background in design alone caused my mind to wonder where exactly it was you came from, dear Malbec… and made me want to visit your homeland.

In sharing this bottle with my husband (more of a beer drinker than a wino), I found myself especially intrigued to hear his input. He said, “I like the wine. Good flavor. Good aroma. The finish was a bit tart for me. Dark chocolate with it enhanced flavor, making it a bit smoother.”

“I think the sweetness of the chocolate helped to balance the aftertaste,” he said.

The writer in me couldn’t help but linger on that last sentence uttered out of my husband’s mouth in the same way that he lingered on the wine. Thoughts of balance and aftertaste both in sharing wine and life experience began to flood my head.

In learning more about this “hobby” of mine… this writing of my different wine (and occasional beer) experiences with you, I find myself learning so much more than just about what is in the actual bottle.

Cheers! Nic

Comments or suggestions? Have your own “bottle of the week” to share? Shoot me an email: mybottlesup@gmail.com