I was looking through a MINI Cooper magazine my father gave me when I came across an article on picnics – what foods to take, what wine to drink, etc.  It inspired me to buy a picnic basket and take my husband on a beach picnic to celebrate our many happy years together.  I thought it might be a fun twist to the typical “get dressed up and go to a fancy restaurant” type celebration we usually do.

I searched the internet for the perfect picnic basket.  It had to have wine glasses, real plates (plastic was out),  silverware and have an overall cool look about it.  I was surprised to see so many sites devoted just to picnic baskets but the options became narrower the more I looked.  I ordered one but sent it back for poor quality (the challenges of internet shopping) but then I found a second one that was perfect!

Our date started by going to our wine cellar and selecting a special wine.  We chose a 2004 Brunello di Montalcino from Il Palazzone. This is a winery I stumbled on too late in our Italian adventures to visit  but sent our current landlords there on a recent Italian vacation.  Laura Gray*, the estate manager, gave them the red carpet treatment and our landlords in turn brought this bottle of Brunello back for us!  Il Palazzone is a very small winery producing only 8,000 bottles of wine a year.  Although American owned Laura and her husband, Marco Sassetti, an indigenous Montalcinese live on and run the estate.  After enjoying our bottle, I can assure you the wines Il Palazzone are exquisite and a perfect reflection of why Brunello di Montalcino is a prestigious DOCG wine worthy to be the center of any special occasion (see “Boots And Brunello In Montalcino”).  Our Brunello was bold, balanced and complex with a beautiful bouquet of dark cherries and plums along with notes of leather.  It was really quite decadent.  We were surprised and sad to see the bottle empty so quickly.

Since my husband is into food almost as much as I am, we decided to include shopping for the picnic as part of the date.  We went to Boney’s Bayside Market – a quaint market that has healthy and gourmet foods all perfectly wrapped up into one.  We spread our blanket on beautiful Coronado Beach and enjoyed our picnic fare as we watched the fog roll in and the dolphins gracefully swim by.  It was one of the best anniversary celebrations yet…and we even got to wear flip-flops!

I encourage you to pack your own picnic and spread out a blanket on the beach or a grassy knoll.  In fact, I’ll give you our menu as a sample to spark your gourmand within.  Don’t forget your wine opener.  Now go out there and have fun!

Menu

2 Demi Baguette (perfect size for the basket)

Crackers

Black Peppered Crusted Brie

5 Year Aged Canadian Sharp Cheddar

English Cotswold

Thin Sliced Proscuitto, Coppa & Genova Salame

Pork & Chicken Liver Mousse With Black Truffles

Seafood Pate

Roasted & Marinated Red Tomatoes

Fresh Sliced Strawberries, Blackberries & Blueberries

Chewy Date Nut Bars

Pellegrino And A Great Bottle of Wine

*To make reservations to visit Il Palazzone in beautiful Montalcino, Italy contact Laura Gray at laura@ilpalazzone.com or Tel. (0039) 0577 846142 and tell her Julie from Deep Red Cellar sent you – I guarantee the red carpet will be rolled out for you too!

My husband and I had already decided we wanted to try eating raw so Bo and Leah bet us that we couldn’t stick to a raw food diet for 6 weeks while they tried a pescatarian diet.  Bo thrives on harmless bets and  will turn anything into a competition.  As a matter of fact, this was one of many bets we got sucked into in the couple years we lived near them.

Although I didn’t fully adapt it to my way of life, I felt incredibly healthy eating this way – and not just your standard, loose weight on a diet healthy but healthy from the inside out.  My body actually got rid of some of that stubborn fat that is oh-so-hard to loose.

I learned some really good tips along the way too that I still use regularly.  For instance, I now buy raw cheddar cheese for the simple reason that it is delicious!  I often serve it to guests and cannot tell you how many times they ask what kind of cheese it is.

Another staple that has become a mainstay in my routine is raw food smoothies.  These guys are packed full of all things good and my body actually feels like it is thanking me as I pour one down.  I use frozen fruit which makes the smoothie refreshingly cold and thick along with a combination of greens. Sometimes I use more than one type of fruit but cherry is my all time favorite!   You can play with the combinations to find your own favorite.  It’s a really easy way to bring healthy eating into your life without a lot of fuss.

In case you’re wondering, we tied the bet as both parties managed to stick to their guns – no doubt too stubborn to let the other win.

Raw Food Smoothie

1 banana

1 cup mixed fresh greens (kale, chard, collard greens, wheat grass, spinach, etc.)

1 cup frozen fruit (blueberries, blackberries, peaches, raspberries, cherries, mangos, etc.)

1 cup cold water

Toss it all in a blender and blend until smooth and thick.

In addition to the 15% discount offered exclusively to Deep Red Cellar customers, you get a 10% discount for ordering a case of any wine with Hill Family Estate.  That means a generous 25% discount on this great balanced red wine (mixed cases excluded).

Don’t wait….order your case today!

15% Discount on a case of Hill Family Estate “Barrel Blend” wine.

Go directly to www.hillfamilyestate.com and put BB15 in the “offer code” section during check out.

This is being offered exclusively for you, the customers of Deep Red Cellar.

I have some good news!  I have found a really good wine that does not taste like it was made for every wine drinker on the planet.  You may think that is NOT good news, but I say it is.  After living in Italy for 3 years, I came home to America to find most of the “everyday drinking” wines tasting the same – all geared toward ease of drinking but lacking in complexity and finish.  But alas, I have stumbled on a really great everyday wine that has some depth to it.

I was happy to see a new wine store in my town called Wine Styles. They carry many reasonably priced bottles of wine, have a monthly wine club and offer special events like tastings, pairings, etc.  It was about day 3 of being in town that my husband and I walked into this store to purchase some wine (afterall, a hotel room with no wine is not really a hotel room at all).  I was signing us up for the wine club, and my husband started talking with one of the employees.  Turns out, the employee was professional surfer, Kyle Knox, who just happens to have a passion for wine.  So much so, in fact, that he teamed up with Hill Family Estate to make his signature “Barrel Blend” wine (the pun is intended).

I bought a bottle to try and was very impressed.  Gone was the overly fruit forward taste that had drained me of all hope in finding reasonably priced, reasonably complex California wine.  This wine is really good.   It is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Petit Verdot and Malbec.  Sounds enticing doesn’t it – a great blending of varietals.  This wine is all about balance.  Hill Family Estate winemaker Alison Doran puts it best:  ”The nose has a great ‘wow’ factor – unmistakably Napa in its elegance, but with an earthy blackberry and vanilla appeal that really makes you want to take a sip. And the palate is lovely, balanced, seductive and interesting, with plushy berry fruit and vanilla scented oak playing backup on tannins.”

Maybe it’s just me, but I also tasted plum.  Whatever the case, this wine will be coming home with me often.  I may not drink it literally everyday (retails for about $20 a bottle) but as often as I crave a balanced, interesting wine.

*tasting note source:  http://business.transworld.net

I have to say, I’ve not heard much hype about Pinot Noirs from Canada (or any for that matter) but was hopeful as I’ve tasted a few good wines from our northern friends and a spectacular Merlot not so long ago.

I opened the first of two bottles – a screw cap which I love.  I think all wineries should switch to this method. Of course, that would eliminate any reason to pull out the snappy wine openers we love to use (my favorite is a “Laguiole” corkscrew made of olive wood). The wine, 2008 Road 13 Pinot Noir, and I couldn’t wait to try it.  I was intrigued by the description on the bottle.  It said “This light colored, light bodied wine has a silky texture and pleasing complexity…Pinot Noir, not Merlot under a Pinot Noir label.”

I definitely noticed the beautiful pale, red color but the aroma was unspectacular and the taste about the same.  I did not taste any of the complexity the description referred to but that could be because it needed more time in the bottle.  While looking for words to describe it, I came up empty  - it was uninspiring, flat and unpleasing.  The first time I drank it, I woke up with a headache – something that really doesn’t happen to me when I drink wine.  I wrote it off as a coincidence but the second night, I poured a glass with dinner and woke up with yet another headache.  I ended up tossing the rest of the bottle which is a rare event in my world.

I am not going to say the good folks of Road 13 do not make good wine.  Maybe they do but this particular tasting has made me a little more skeptical about that second bottle of Canadian Pinot Noir sitting in my wine cellar.

I was just curious enough to try this myself.  After studying the video I gave it a try but my bottle just wouldn’t open.  I thought maybe for some peculiar reason it was because I was trying to open a white wine. So I went back to my wine stash and this time grabbed not only a red, but a French red thinking maybe the French bottle their wine specifically so it can be opened with a shoe.  Maybe they often have reason to use their shoe instead of a simply adequate wine opener.  After this attempt, I was left in the same place I was after attempting to open the white wine…only now I have two bottles of wine who have lost their foil and are waiting to be uncorked.  If you succeed, please tell me your secret.

Wow has this wine gotten great reviews from the Wine Access customers!  Phrases like:  ”…wonderful balance from the first fruit to the long finish.” “…the best cabernet I have ever tasted.”  ”This made my dinner party a huge success.” ”…enjoyed by novices as well as experts.”

The Crane Ranch Vineyard Cabernet has had a great track record raising eyebrows and pleasing palates with the 2005 and 2006 vintages and now the best yet, 2007 vintage.  The tasting notes make it highly enticing!

The price is almost as enticing as the wine.  New release price: $40.  Today, just $22.99/bottle on cases.  Shipping included on 4 bottles or more.

Tasting Notes from the WineAccess Travel Log 2007 Crane Brothers Brodatious Crane Ranch Vineyard Napa Valley “Dark purple color to the edge. Explosive, dark berry nose, packed with brambly purple and red fruit intensity. Rich, concentrated and remarkably suave on the palate, with nice broad shoulders bracketing a luscious kernel of cassis. Tannins are fine, ripe, but perfectly present. Drink now (hard not to), or age for up to 7 years. This should age beautifully.”

2007 Crane Ranch Brodatious for as little as $22.99 on cases with shipping included! You save 43%!

(just click the above link to purchase)

The “Centellino” decants, oxidizes and pours the perfect portion of wine.  The official “Centellino” website (www.centellino.it) explains the process:  ”The wine during its flow down into the “amphora” spreads on the walls and frees all its flavors and organoleptic properties.”  If for some reason you don’t finish the bottle, leave the “Centellino” in the bottle for unaltered preservation until your next glass.  It is a patented design hand-made by blown glass in Italy.  Amazing I thought – what a brilliant invention!

Much to my surprise and delight I found one of those nifty gadgets for sale later in the afternoon at an Enoteca as I was buying bottles of Brunello di Montalcino and Super Tuscans. Without a second thought I purchased one for myself and absolutely love it.  It works like a charm and is uniquely lovely stirring up conversation at the dinner table.

If you think for a moment that I would let you in on this awesome toy without a chance to own one for yourself then you don’t know me very well.  I just happen to have the “Centellino” in my store.  You can easily shop for it under “nifty gadgets” or click on this link: Centellino Areadivino Wine Aerator & Decanter.

By the way, this would be a great Father’s Day gift!

source:  www.centellino.it

FATHER’S DAY is June 20…why not skip the boring tie this year, and get him something he’ll really love. Shop great hidden gem wines from small vineyards at a great value from MyWinesDirect.com.   What more could you ask for?

I know you’re thinking it…go ahead and splurge on yourself too.  I am sure you deserve it!

Here’s a few specials to take advantage of – just click on the link to start shopping:
FATHER’S DAY

Shop our Father’s Day Gift Collection and Save $5, plus FREE Shipping. Use Coupon Code ADAD5.

BEST DEAL

Discover new wine treasures and save $10 + FREE Shipping. New Customers use coupon code AFFNC0610. Good until June 30th.

LAST MINUTE SHOPPERS OR HARD TO BUY FOR DADS

$100 e-Gift Card

DON’T FORGET THE COLLEGE GRADUATES

Send a Special Toast to the College Grad! Save an additional $7 on the Graduation Congratulations wine pack, Plus FREE Shipping! Use Code AGrad7. Good until June 30th.

I was happy to see a new wine store in my town called Wine Styles. They carry many reasonably priced bottles of wine, have a monthly wine club and offer special events like tastings, pairings, etc.  It was about day 3 of being in town that my husband and I walked into this store to purchase some wine (afterall, a hotel room with no wine is not really a hotel room at all).  I was signing us up for the wine club, and my husband started talking with one of the employees.  Turns out, the employee was professional surfer, Kyle Knox, who just happens to have a passion for wine.  So much so, in fact, that he teamed up with Hill Family Estate to make his signature “Barrel Blend” wine (the pun is intended).

I bought a bottle to try and was very impressed.  Gone was the overly fruit forward taste that had drained me of all hope in finding reasonably priced, reasonably complex California wine.  This wine is really good.   It is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Petit Verdot and Malbec.  Sounds enticing doesn’t it – a great blending of varietals.  This wine is all about balance.  Hill Family Estate winemaker Alison Doran puts it best:  ”The nose has a great ‘wow’ factor – unmistakably Napa in its elegance, but with an earthy blackberry and vanilla appeal that really makes you want to take a sip. And the palate is lovely, balanced, seductive and interesting, with plushy berry fruit and vanilla scented oak playing backup on tannins.”

Maybe it’s just me, but I also tasted plum.  Whatever the case, this wine will be coming home with me often.  I may not drink it literally everyday (retails for about $20 a bottle) but as often as I crave a balanced, interesting wine.

*tasting note source:  http://business.transworld.net