Ballet of Angels

American White Wine
Sharpe Hill Vineyard
Pomfret, CT

When I went to pick up my daughter from a visit with friends, the parents gave me a glass of this and I really enjoyed it. Well chilled, this is a very refreshing medium-bodied semi-dry white wine. It is supposedly comprised of (10) grape types. Although I originally had a glass on its own, the mom and I had been talking over fresh cut watermelon and she had a bite right after a sip of wine and, mid-sentence her eyes widened and she quickly had another sip of wine and smiled and indicated for me to do the same. What ensued was a wonderful unexpected pairing. Needless to say, I had another glass of wine with watermelon.

Priced right, this is a definite summer recommendation.


And so there's a change...
In your emotions
And all of these memories come rushing
Like feral waves to your mind
Of the curl of your bodies
Like two perfect circles entwined
And you feel hopeless, and homeless
And lost in the haze
Of the wine . . .

Around Midnight, The Airborne Toxic Event
(This is currently my favorite song - a genius crescendo of raw emotion and lyrics that, if this has ever happened to you, hits close to home)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2YnDlEMXiU

8.0 out of 10
12% alc. by vol.
$11 / 750 ml. bottle

Yankee Girl Blush

Light (Blush) Wine
Hardwick Vineyard
Massachusetts

We had some good friends visit us from the volunteer state a couple of weekends ago and we had a great time visiting. I was pleasantly surprised to learn there was a bottle of wine waiting for me at their hotel a few days after they departed. It was this blush from a quaint little New England vineyard. The woman whose family owns the vineyard also does some of the label art work and I just loved this label.

Nicely chilled, this sweet wine is refreshing on a warm summer day. It had an apricot bouquet and it tasted of both peaches and apricots. I put my feet up on the back patio, opened a good book and sipped in the late afternoon sun. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was happy to venture a bit from my wintry norm. Thank you J&A!!





Although I liked it best on its own, it accompanied my Parmesan Omelet nicely!


8.0 out of 10
(Not much wine label particulars available)




You caught me under false pretenses
How long before you let me go?

"Supermassive Black Hole" by MUSE

Tres Picos Garnacha

Borsao Bodegas
Borja SPAIN
2007

I had the pleasure of being in Vermont the last few days and I am missing it terribly today, especially as my children and I were the only ones to leave.

Once again, I had to pull myself away from attempting to get things done around the house instead of going away (knowing I most likely would accomplish very little if I stayed - though I am proud of myself for having borrowed a ladder and cleaned the gutters). In addition, I went with car problems and three children in the car, armed with antifreeze and instructions from a mechanic as to what to look for and then do if the car overheated. (Plus I had my Swiss Army knife - don't leave home without it.) The morning of departure I woke up knowing it would be just fine. I went for it. It was a great weekend and now I am somewhat re-charged and happier.

It is amazing to me how a beautiful drive, museum visiting (I find museums so wonderfully quiet and welcoming - the work just beckons to you and then surrounds you), viewing art exhibits (this weekend it was Edward Steichen and Ralph Lieberman), hiking in the mountains, listening to old jazz artists (Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday), reading good books, viewing the mountains every morning with El Salvadoran espresso, and closing the day with wine and cheese and family can stimulate the soul and mind. Surround yourself with beauty and creativity and it can't help but rub off on you, or at least inspire you to strive.













Well, both my mom and my brother were very thoughtful and checked this blog and armed themselves with some of my favored wines. But my brother also brought an enticing new one. The Tres Picos Garnacha was awesome. I absolutely LOVED it. Blackberries and leather and clove and vanilla and plum-like spice, it was very smooth on the tongue. Nice finish. Delicious with unadulterated dark chocolate. The wine brought out the flavor of the chocolate and then the chocolate brought out the flavor of the wine. Highly recommend it, especially for the price. Though not cheap, also not expensive. Great deal for the flavor.
















8.25 out of 10
$16 / 750 ml. bottle
15% alc. by vol.

I leave you with the cleansing view from the porch (and an awesome Mark Twain quote):

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover.