COCOA BEACH AIR SHOW

Warning! This post really has nothing to do with wine. Although you could enjoy wine while watching the planes. This week has been filled with lots of loud airplanes swirling around the condo. It has been pretty exciting. I have some pictures showing all the action. Enjoy! The first few pictures are of the Thunderbirds. Next year I am going to have a tent up and blast the soundtrack from Top Gun.

The picture below is of men in the reserves parachuting into the ocean.

The pictures below are of the helicopter rescue squad. They dropped men off into the water and then rescued them via the ladder.

WILSON WINERY

Did you ever see the movie "Castaway" with Tom Hanks? Remember Wilson?

Wilson has retired and resides in wine country. His home is at the Wilson Winery in the Dry Creek Valley of Sonoma County. Wilson is pictured below in the bottom right corner. It's too bad Wilson can't drink the surrounding wine. Wilson Winery is receiving all kinds of medals for their wines. The winery just received 20 more medals from the 2010 Sonoma County Harvest fair.

You can see all the awards being rained upon Wilson Winery by visiting their website. CLICK HERE

Wilson's winemaker is Diane Wilson. Diane was named woman winemaker of the year in 2008. Her winemaking skills have earned close to 100 gold medals for the winery.

This winery is located close to town off Dry Creek Road. I enjoyed sitting on the deck with a bottle of the 2008 Wilson Family Red Wine. If you become a wine club member at Wilson, then you can taste for free at the other Wilson owned wineries. These include: Matrix, deLorimier, Mazzocco, and Jaxon Keys.

Key West

Key West is one of my favorite places. I'm lucky to live only 4 hours away from the keys and 6 hours from Key West.

I would move down there in a heartbeat....if I could get a job.

So I'll just post some of my pics from the long weekend. I spent a lot of time at Sloppy Joe's and the Green Parrot.

Lorelei's was our first stop on the way down.

First bar stop in Key West was at Sloppy Joe's to see Pete and Wayne. :)

The picture below is the courtyard at Kelly's. We brought our own wine for a $10 corkage fee. It was a perfect night to sit outside. We had the 2006 Tobin James "5" --

This is a blend of 5 different varietals -- 28% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Cabernet Franc, 20% Merlot, 18% Petite Verdot, and 11% Malbec. This blend is also sometimes referred to as "Bordeaux varietals" because their heritage is traced back to Bordeaux, France.

Below are some pictures from Zachery Taylor beach. This state park is just picture perfect.

Finally, a picture of another favorite spot....Green Parrot. This bar has one of the best vibes on the island. The white russians didn't hurt the vibe either. :)

Birthday Wine

I am heading down to Key West for a couple days this week to celebrate my birthday. I was supposed to be in Europe celebrating...but things happen and Key West is one of my favorite places.

Here is some of the wine I am taking.

Here is the list:

1) Souverain 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon from Alexander Valley, Sonoma County.

2) Tobin James 2006 James Gang Reserve Malbec

3) Bennett Lane's 2007 Turn Four Napa Cabernet

4) Tobin James 2006 "5"

I think we will enjoy these. :)

Epcot Food and Wine Festival

2010 marks the 15^th year of the Epcot Food & Wine Festival. The festival runs from Oct. 1 until Nov. 14^th. There are many extra events that you can pay for and attend. If you pay the normal Epcot entrance fee, then you can walk up to any booth and purchase either a small food sampling or specialty drink.

The best place to start your day at the Food and Wine Festival is at the Festival Welcome Center. The center has a nice gift shop, wine shop, and areas for wine and culinary demonstrations.We started in the Festival center with a glass of Prosecco.

After leaving the festival center, we started walking around the world marketplace. I started with the Grilled Beef Skewer with Chimichurri Sauce and Bonaito Puree. ($4.75) This was paired with a Bodega Norton Reserva Malbec. ($4.00) This pairing was really great. That was the largest pour of wine that I received all day long.

My friend tried the Medianoche Sanwich from the Puerto Rico stand. This was pretty much like a Cuban sandwich.

The next stop was Mexico where I had a Taco de Chilorio. This was basically a pork taco with some cheese and onions. The pork in the taco had great flavoring. While we were hanging outside in Mexico, we listened to a mariachi band.

The picture below is of the Nurnberger Sausage in a Pretzel Roll, which is offered at the Germany food stand.

Next we continued to the food stand in America. We ordered Sam Adams Octoberfest beers, crab cake with slaw, and bison chili. The bison chili was really great but for $3.50 a cup they could use larger cups. It looks larger in the picture than it is.

After this, we went to see Sugar Ray play at the outdoor theater. Yes, Sugar Ray. I went to see Sugar Ray in 1999 at the House of Blues in Orlando. I was still in high school!! The band still has it though. They rocked the Epcot Food and Wine Festival.

I like the guy there in the front who isn't even looking at Mark McGrath. Lol, he is just enjoying his beer.

Next, we headed to France and had some wine in the wine shop. I had a glass of the Chateau Bonnet Reserve Red. This is a blend of 50% Merlot and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon. I kind of really like this wine. Some Bordeaux blends are too tannic for me. This wasn't. This wine is also inexpensive, in the world of Bordeaux.

Our final savory stop on this day of too much food and wine was at the Australia stand. I had to order the grilled lamb chop with roasted potato salad and red wine reduction. I paired this with the Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz Cabernet. They also had the Marquis Philips, Shiraz. Chris Ringland makes the Marquis Philips and word on the street is his wine company is in trouble...grab up any of his wines now before they quit making them.

Back to the food...the lamb was AWESOME. I wish they gave you more. The dish cost $5.75 for the lamb chop and $2.50 for the wine. (that was a good deal for the wine)

After this, we headed to Canada and caught the band, Off Kilter. These guys are great.

Our last stop at Epcot was for dessert. We shared the Nanaimo bar which is a layered treat of graham crust, coconut, peanut butter, and chocolate. Amazing. We had a big day of food and wine. I love this festival!!! If you wish to learn more about Disney events, then check out the Disney Food Blog.

Famous Wine-Oh Quotes

"Sorrow can be alleviated by good sleep, a bath and a glass of good wine."
St. Thomas Aquinas

"Remember gentlemen, it's not just France we are fighting for, it's Champagne!"
Winston S. Churchill, 1918

"Wine to me is passion. It's family and friends. It's warmth of heart and generosity of spirit. Wine is art. It's culture. It's the essence of civilization and the art of living."

Robert Mondavi

"Burgundy makes you think of silly things, Bordeaux makes you talk of them and Champagne makes you do them."

Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin