Sublime Wine

You’re gonna love this…

Riddle me this, Batman. What do you get when you harvest grapes that just miss making the cut for a $500 bottle of Chateau Lafite Rothschild?

You get Barons de Rothschild Lafite Réserve Pauillac 2003, an amazing Bordeaux which is simply off the hook.

I was NOT expecting this in a $25 dollar bottle of Bordeaux. This wine was made during the heatwave 2003 year – an amazing vintage and one of the best years ever for Pauillac. This is a classic Claret Bordeaux, blended from 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 25% Merlot and a little Cabernet Franc.

This is smooth, rich, and fully structured Pauillac, nicely concentrated claret with velvety tannins and a never-ending liquorice finish. You’ll taste melting ripe cassis and black cherry fruit. Pair it with grilled steak, grilled breast of duck, or firm cheeses. Did I mention I loved it?

So what’s the deal?

How did this become such a big wine for such a little price?

Did you know “Rosebud” was a sled, because I thought… but I digress…

The story of why this wine is so awe-inspiring starts with the vines. The grapes were mostly sourced from Châteaux Lafite and Duhart-Milon. That’s right, the same vineyards where they grow the grapes for Chateaux Lafite Rothschild. And that’s exactly how you can get a taste of Grand Cru Bordeaux at a less than a tenth of the price. Told you you were gonna love this.

The Pauillac 411

Guess what. Most experts consider Pauillac as the best appellation of Bordeaux because it has three premiers Grands Crus classés (1st great growth) out of 5. Pauillac also has a totle of 18 grands crus classes.

The big Three of Pauillac are Château Lafite, Château Latour and Château Mouton-Rothschild. If you don’t know why this is important don’t sweat it, we’re going to cover this all in future posts, so stay tuned.

Pauillac wines are known to have a lot of body, and like most French reds they are tannic and acidity when they’re young… meaning they’re designed to age ten to fifteen years. Remember, when you are patient enough to age them properly Pauillac wines reward you with a whirlwind of aromas of blackcurrant and cedar that are, well… sublime.

Okay, party people, so now you know what to get me for my birthday. That’s right, a couple of cases of Barons de Rothschild Lafite Réserve Pauillac 2003.

Hey, did I mention I’ll be you bff?

Suz

It is 230 degrees outside. At 11:30 PM. For real.

I need something delicious and delightful, and served well chilled. I look in my fridge, and lo and behold, I see a bottle of Lillet with SERVE WELL CHILLED stamped across the label.

I don’t usually drink aperitifs, but this really hit the spot tonight. It has been around since 1887, so apparently it has hit the spot for a lot of other people, too. Lillet is made in Podensac, which is 20 miles south of Bordeaux. It is a blend of white wines, which is then blended with herbs and fruits. Ok, I don’t taste the herbs but I do taste the fruit-it’s as fruity as Ted Haggard in a massage parlor!

Besides being tasty, I love the label on the back. It reads: It is perfect for those special times when day turns to evening and evening turns to night! I think that is that is their way of saying politely “It is tacky to drink this before noon.”

I’m not going to lie to you. Lillet is OLD SCHOOL. I don’t think they are running out of it at Skybar anytime soon. But it is different, and it’s nice to have an aperitif every once in a while. So get yourself a bottle, stash it in your fridge, and enjoy! (But not for breakfast).
Cheers old school style,
Suzanne

Keep an eye (and an ear!) out for the next podcast coming your way…Suzanne and Kelly interview Danny Mantle, the National Sales Manager of Santino and Renwood Wineries. Danny explains why Zin is in, why their Zin is so delicioso, and he throws in a couple of great stories, to boot! So stay tuned…
Cheers!
Suzanne

Ok Party People,
If you haven’t listened to our last two podcasts on Sublime Wine Radio
you must go and listen RIGHT NOW! Kelly went to the Wine Cellar at the Rio in Las Vegas, and I was so jealous I decided to make a trip myself.

WOW. Kelly wasn’t kidding-this place is awesome! Although you are in the middle of a casino, you completely lose yourself as you descend down the stairs into a beautiful, cool, QUIET, and calm wine cellar. The high energy and stress of the casino melt away as you take a seat and begin pouring over the wine menu. (No pun intended.)

I was greeted by Peter Keegan, a wonderful, knowlegeable, and funny guy who knows his stuff when it comes to wine. Instead of ordering off the menu, I asked Peter if he would be so kind as to give us his own ideas of a great tasting. He set up our glasses and started pouring. Our favorite of all time (I bought a bottle) was an amazing bottle-D.R. Stephens 2003 Moose Valley Vineyard Cabernet from Napa Valley. It retails for around $110.00 a bottle, and boy is it worth every penny. This cabernet is smooth and chocolately with a little bit of berry at the end…sigh…as one of my guests that came with me said, “This is a F&#@! nice glass of wine!”
After you check out the winery’s website, be sure and check out their link to find where you can find their wines in your area.

Another great bottle we tried was Corte Riva ‘04 Merlot from St. Helena. At $50.00 a bottle, this would make a great gift (for me) or just something really awesome to have with a steak. Their website describes it as “It opens with a dense aroma of cedar cassis, black cherry and blackberry with a long powerful finish of coffee and dark chocolate. This huge expressive Merlot has good structure, supple integrated oak and great balance. ”

I couldn’t have worded it better. That is why I copied their description. Also, it was rated a 91 by Wine Advocate. Get your hands on a bottle and enjoy!

PLEASE get your butt down to the Wine Cellar ASAP and ask for Peter. He can answer any questions you may have about the wine you are drinking, and will turn you on to some fabulous new wines that you would have never experienced otherwise.
After you go to the Wine Cellar, let me know how much you loved it!
Cheers!
Suz

Ok, Party People, I am officially TWISTED! I am OBSESSED!
I AM IN LOVE WITH TWISTED OAK WINERY!

It is Sublime Wine’s Soul Mate…cursing, joking, GREAT WINE, rubber chickens…and did I mention great wine?

Yesterday SublimeWineRadio went to the LA WineFest and met one of the Great Ones, Boy Brainard. He is the OFFICIAL Wine Pimp of Twisted Oak Winery.
Keep checking the blog and our podcast for the most awesome interview ever. Twisted Oak is as fun as their wine is delicious. Also, check out their blog it will kick your ass!

Speaking of ass kicking, (or kissing, in my case) if you love PIRATES as much as I do, here is the link to their Pirate Party on August 18th-Kelly and I are going to try our best to get on our pirate outfits and get up there to be a part of this crazy event.

Back to their wines…we sampled their Verdelho, a crisp, delicious, nasty little white wine that will make you want more. Their reds kick ass, but you will have to listen to the podcast to hear about those…because I could go on for days. But in the meantime, if you want to get to your HAPPY PLACE , check out all the amazing award winning wines they have to offer. I promise, you will love them as much as I do!

Glug Glug and ARRRRGGHHHH!
Suzanne

Does this sound familiar?

Who put these tiny socks on my teeth? Where are my pants? Who are you people and how did you get into my room? We’ve all been there: the splitting headache, brutal dehydration, colon blow…face it, you’ve got a hangover and you are screwed.

Or are you? We have three topics to discuss on hangover cures:

1. Prevention

2. Top Ten Hangover Cures

3. Hangover Pills

Let’s take prevention first. Wait, I have to put on the Granny Panties and turn into your mother for a minute. Don’t drink so much! Drink a ton of water before you go out to your crazy parties! Don’t take Tylenol or your liver might explode!

Okay, big underpants off, you obviously DIDN’T take your Mother’s advice, so let’s get to the list:

TOP TEN HANGOVER CURES:

1. Water and Gatorade-hydrate hydrate hydrate until you stop spinning.

2. Our Caucasian friends swear by a Bloody Mary.

3. Our Latino Amigos swear by Tripe soup.

4. Our Korean pals love Haejangguk (more brutal than tripe) It’s a soup with a base of cow bones and cow’s blood

5. Advil

6. Greasy hamburgers and a milkshake

7. Greasy Hash browns, or Tater Tots

8. Vitamins B6 and B12

9. Clam Chowder

10. Anything off the menu of Cracker Barrel or Waffle House (sorry West Coasters!)

So there’s your list. Did I forget something? COMMENT! Tell me what works for you! If you are the Jedi Hangover Master, I’d love to hear from you. Personally, a Mc Donald’s run does the trick for me.

Finally, you can order pills online that promise a hangover-free morning. We will be trying several hangover pills in the near future, so stay tuned for the final results! For now, check out Hangover Stopper.

They offer a 24-count bottle for $6.95 (I’ll try that before Haejangguk!)… and no, I’m not getting paid to plug them.

You can also check out Drinkin’ Mate for a FREE SAMPLE of Drinkin’ Mate tabs… “all natural effervescent tablet that social drinkers are taking to parties and happy hours to help ease the effects of over-indulging.”

Until next time, remember…

BEER BEFORE LIQUOR, NEVER SICKER

Wine when you dine, that’ll be fine,

Suzanne

There are some really cool wine gadgets and accessories out there, and then are are some really crappy ones. The stain remover we tried was Wine Away by Evergreen Labs, Inc. Did it remove the stain? YES. No one will ever know I dumped red wine all over the carpet. Check them out at www.wineaway.com.

The disposable disks from Epic gave a clean pour, but when you remove it from the bottle, you get splattered! There is no need to use these in everyday life. If you can’t pour a glass of wine without spilling all over yourself, maybe it’s time to take a break and switch to water for an hour or so. If you must use them, keep Wine Away handy!

One brilliant gadget Epic has come out with is their Wine Filter. It seals, preserves, and purifies! They are based out of Newport Beach (I’m jealous) and they are at Epic Gifts.

Another GREAT product we tried was our favorite-Label Lifters. They worked great, and I have been lifting labels ever since. Check out their website or go to your favorite wine and spirits purveyor and pick it up there.

The wine decanter cleaner ROCKS! The best response to this post WINS their VERY OWN wine decanter CLEANER! So Start typing people! Now go play with gadgets! And tell me your favorites!

Glug Glug!
Suz