White Grapes & Lemon Squares

I L-O-V-E desserts! Cupcakes, Sorbet, Pie and every delicious sweet treat in-between. Wine is, of course, my life passion. What better way to compare my two favorite loves (outside of my beautiful children, Kayla and Raynard Jr.).

As the Easter holiday quickly approaches, baby it's time to bake and create. This weekend I'll be hosting a wine tasting. The majority of the wines are white, sweet and off-dry. That's perfect for a spring time wine and dessert pairing. I like making homemade treats, this method is truly preferred. But after life responsibilities multiply and the "new normal" sleep pattern turns out to be four hours half asleep working on the Laptop and maybe two hours of sleep if I make it to the bed, Ms. Betty Crocker has become my sweet treat hero. I ran across a mouth-watering recipe on the Betty Crocker website, the dessert is called “Luscious Lemon Squares”. Check out the site for the recipe http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/luscious-lemon-squares/c01a5935-6f52-419c-af08-e8c267c1aaf7. As a compliment to the wine tasting, I am pairing the lemon squares with two of my favorite vinos. The first is an off-dry sparkling wine, Petit Cadeau Semi-Seco. This splendid sparkling is a perfect blend of white grapes (French Colombard, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Muscat, Viognier, Pinot Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc). The twinkling bubbles will lend an uplifting burst of flavor to the lemon squares. The second wine is an 2012 Riesling. Served chilled, this vino is so light and refreshing. It boosts notes of pear, peach and a perfectly overwhelming mouthful of lemon, lime and honey. Frisch Riesling, 2012, has completely surprised my palate. This wine is considered off-dry but is practically sweet to me (a devout dry, dry, dry wine sipper). Below, check out pictures of the wines and the dessert. Close your eyes and imagine how triple delicious this pairing will be. After wiping the drool from your face, quickly rush to my WineShop At Home website (http://www.wineshopathome.com/kimberlyjohnson) in order to find out more information on the Petit Cadeau Semi-Seco Sparkling Wine and the Riesling. You too can enjoy this fabulous wine pairing by purchasing the wines from on my webpage or contacting me to host a wine tasting with you and all of your wine loving friends. Cheers!

Spring Break Wine Tastings

Looking forward to hosting many fun and exciting wine tastings in April. Ready to book your Spring Break Wine Tasting? What's a "Spring Break Tasting" you ask...... well it's deserved time away from the hustle and bustle of the kids being home from school for Spring vacation. Trust me, you will need the extra vino. Contact me NOW to lock in a day and time before it's too late. Cheers!!

Great Wines from the Vines to Your Doorstep

The time has come and I'm over the moon excited! It's my pleasure to introduce you to my new business venture, Independent Wine Consultant with Wine Shop at Home. And yes.... I have my own website (http://www.wineshopathome.com/kimberlyjohnson), here is where you can browse our artisan wine selection as well as check out the awesome benefits of hosting a wine tasting with me as your personal wine guide.

For those of you who personally know me, you can understand my excitement. Support by spreading the word of my new business or even hosting a wine tasting of your own. Like I tell the kids (Alonna, Kayla, Chance, RJ, & Dallas), the sky is the limit so reach for the stars!

Wine Hangover

Not that this happens often (wink-wink), but I found an awesome article regarding wine hangover recovery on Wine Folly. It is so funny and true that I had to share. Enjoy!

http://winefolly.com/tutorial/best-wine-hangover-recovery-guide-ever-work-days/

*Much respect to Madeline and Company at Wine Folly. The new inventive way to discuss the love of wine.

Toast... to 2014

In an hour or so, we will be toasting in another fabulous grape-tastic New Year, 2015. It's amazing how 365 days can fly by so fast. Making resolutions is as odd as drinking Verdi Spumante. So this year instead of creating new year promises, I'm listing realistic goals and raising a glass of Conde de Caralt Cava Sparkling Wine. Now let's remember, I'm a wine enthusiast on a real-life budget. I ran across this wine at one of the many Champagne/ Sparkling Wine tasting that were offered last weekend. Too be honest, there was delicious Blanc de Blanc that my expensive wine palate fell in love with. But at last, the strong smell of the post-holiday bills quickly snatched me back to reality. The Conde de Caralt  is a semi-seco, which surprises me because I'm usually drawn to brut wines. 

Nevertheless, what ever vino you decide to cheer for the new year, let it be something that you enjoy drinking. Just for a moment..., forget about the rules of what you "should" drink and what it "should" be paired with it. Just for ONE moment......, use your palate to savor the last slurps of 2014 onto the first sips of a New Year of bottled vintages, Spring & Summer festivals, as well as Fall Harvest. 

Cheers!!!

Happy New Year!!

XOXOXO

I Heart Fermented Grapes 

Drink Outside The Box

It's the Holiday season, my favorite time of the year (along with fall Harvest). While searching for presents for the wine enthusiasts, I stumbled across a very cool gift for the divas in my life. This wine sack is so unique. I won't dare try to describe it, check out the website and let me know what you think. 

Happy Holidays Wine Lovers!

http://www.uncommongoods.com/product/wine-sack

2013 Malbec from Argentina

Happy Thanksgiving Eve,

I stopped pass Bin 604 today to check out their sale on wines. The store was so crowded. But what can you expect, it's Turkey day tomorrow. I'm a great cook but due to a crazy busy life, this holiday season I'm bringing wine to dinner. My main course of action was to find "easy drinkable" wines. I have to come to grips with the fact that my Boones Farm loving kinfolk are not ready for the intensity of a bold red Malbec. So it's only natural that I  purchase the 2013 Argintine Malbec for myself to selflessly enjoy. Believe me, it's for the best! Now that I'm home and out of the holiday frenzy, it's time to taste the Malbec (cool name) and relax for the night. I poured the vino in my favorite glass for red wines, to let the grapes breath. Swirl, then watch the purple sticky legs dance down the side of my glass. Sip, slurp, taste... plum, cherry, chocolate, raspberry, and grape jelly notes. I like the bold "here I am" flavor as well as the medium level of tananin left on my tounge. This wine is a winter winner. After this first glass, I believe I'll be back for more. 

*Enjoy the pics!