Maryland Wine Festival- 30 years of MD Wine

Today I attended the Maryland Wine Festival. This year they are celebrating 30 years of Maryland vino. There were so many wine lovers at the festival. And it was a great day to celebrate. There was a premier tent, it was very exclusive. Only 400 tickets were available. I enjoyed learning more about wine grapes and the pressing process. I was given the opportunity to actually press and destem red wine grapes. I had so much fun! I'll tell you a secret.... my next venture is to own my wine. I'll be fermenting grapes, bottling and selling my own vino! More details to come. In the meantime, check out the pictures and enjoy. Cheers!

Mysterious Red Blend, Apothic Wine

I have to admit, I am completely surprised by Apothic Red. I found myself in a never before visited wine store in Towson, MD. This place (from the outside) looked like a corner liquor store. I didn't expect the wine experience that was ahead of me. Lesson learned, don't judge a book by its cover. The sales man was so knowledgeable about his wines. The vino he selected for me was a red blend. My first question to him was, "how sweet is this wine"? Most wine blends are just that.... a blend of grapes intended to compliment each other or... hide the original flavor of a particular grape. As you can tell, I am not necessarily a fan of blends. I am very passionate about wine grapes and I enjoy the original taste of them. With all this said, I'll contradict myself by going back to my first sentence, I am completely surprised by Apothic Red. I ended up purchasing the blend due to the fact that it contained most of my favorite grapes, Zinfandel, Syrah,Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. The mixture of these grapes created a fabulous taste. This wine has medium tannins, and a beautiful purplish color tune. All combined to create an essence of black cherry, ripe raspberries, and plum. I was so impressed by Apothic Red that I visited their website. The site equally impressed me. It is a pleasure to share my experience of great wine finds with you. Check out the website at www.apothic.com. 

Cheers!

Sweet Red, A Great Saturday Find!

This Saturday was intended to be a laid back day, spending time with the kids. First stop, my nephew Chance's soccer game. Even though his team did not win, Auntie was still very proud of him. Next stop, the market to gather items for dinner. But not before checking out an impromptu wine tasting at DiWine Spirits in Pikesville. As a mom, I know better than taking two active kids into a fancy wine store but I could not pass up the opportunity. We entered the shop, was greeted by the staff, and then whisked off to the tasting area. Like normal I give the speech to my little darlings..... don't touch, don't touch, don't touch. Now it's time to explore. I had my eye on an Old Vine Zinfandel but this wine was not on the tasting list. I only had time to try two wines, a Sweet Red and Pinot Noir, before kids "don't touch" tolerance level boiled over. The Pinot Noir was very light and delicious. The tannins of this vino were perfectly set.  I ended up purchasing the Sweet Red. The name of the wine is Rock Rabbit Sweet Red. It's fermented in a California Winery, 2009 Vintage. I choose this vino because it surprised me. Rock Rabbit was able to make a sweet red wine with 13.5% alc content. What I like about it is that it's not overbearingly sweet. I taste all dark berries including raisins. I love the color of the wine in my glass, my favorite color purple. This wine is considered a dessert wine so I paired a glass of sweet red with a red velvet cupcake. My thought is that this is not just a dessert wine. I have lots of friends who love sweet red wines but their only option has been Sutter Homes. Well not any more! Rock Rabbit hold on to your vines because here we come. Cheers!!