Who is Frances Mayes??

Frances Mayes is a novelist and university professor. She earned her MA from San Francisco State University. This is where Frances taught and eventually became the chair of the Department of Creative Writing.

In 1996, Frances published the book, Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy. This book followed Frances as she purchased a Tuscan home, remodeled it and started her love affair with Italy.

In 2003, there was a film released under the same name. Diane Lane played the lead character, and I thought it sucked. Sorry Frances... but it did. It wasn't even really based on the book.

Frances has devoted her writing skills to many other fine projects. Her latest memoir is Every Day in Tuscany, which was released in March of this year.

Frances possesses the unique ability to describe the minute passing of life with great detail. This is partly from her experiences in Tuscany.

With this brief introductory of the author....let's begin with the book.

The books begins with a preface by Frances. She talks about living "La Dolce Vita" (living the good life). I try to make that my motto for living as well. In Italy, the good life provides fresher food and glorious Tuscan wines. My "good life" doesn't really meet the Italian good life, food wise at least. I can still dream and buy expensive Italian cheeses at whole foods. Yum.

I really respect Frances, because she went and purchased a house 7,000 miles away from home and made it her new home. She embraced the defects and imperfections of old world homes and living. Everyone wants "new" and "better" houses today. I think fixing up a senior citizen house might be fun, even with all the headaches.

What impresses me most is her determination to start a full garden that will provide all necessary vegetables and herbs. Now that is a chore. The thought of having my own garden intrigues me. It hasn't intrigued me enough to start my own yet. I managed to kill the $2 basil plant. Not a great start.

Let's hope her garden improves and so does her consumption of wine. :)

La Vita Dolce

-M

WIneday Wednesday

I am in the midst of making dinner and am enjoying a nice glass of wine. I just opened the Liberty School Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 from Paso Robles.

I am getting a floral/berry nose and the wine has a very fruit forward taste with a few tannins.

You might be asking...what is a Cabernet Sauvignon?

According to Wikipedia (the source for all that is true) Cabernet Sauvignon is as follows:

Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates....Cabernet Sauvignon became internationally recognized through its prominence inBordeaux wines where it is often blended with Merlot and Cabernet Franc. From France, the grape spread across Europe and to the New World where it found new homes in places like California's Napa Valley, Australia's Coonawarra region and Chile's Maipo Valley. For most of the 20th century, it was the world's most widely planted premium red wine grape until it was surpassed by Merlot in the 1990s.

What hype has this wine received?

Let me list it for you from Liberty's website:

WINE SPECTATOR MAGAZINE , April 2010
"What We're Drinking now " by Alison Napjus
87 pts. It showed pleasant dark berry and creme de cassis notes, with hints of spice and vanilla. It was medium bodied, with a nice balance to the weight, modest tannins and subtle acidity.
Read this article here

The Sunday Sun, March 7, 2010
Wine of the Week - Liberty School Cabernet Sauvignon by Christopher Walters
Produced with fruit from Paso Robles, which is home to the winery operated by Hope Family Wines, and other California appellations, the well-made Liberty School Cabernet reveals ripe casis, black cherry, peppery spice and dark chocolate aromas and flavours. The palate strikes a good balance between fleshy texture and firm tannins, which makes for a versatile wine that works well with or without a meal.

BIGGERTHANYOURHEAD.NET, December 2009
Wine of the Week - by Fredric Koeppel
This is as charming as cabernet gets and is a terrific match with burgers and pizzas and hearty pasta dishes.”

BEVX.com, December 2009
3 STARS - Deep, dark, bright ruby red color. The nose is explosively fruity with waves of raspberry, cherry, and plum leaping from the glass with hints of strawberry, cinnamon, blackberry, and chocolate. The palate is as fruity as the nose had advertised with layers of fresh crushed berries, brown spices, and sweet oak flavors. A nice “everyday” styled Cab.
BEST BUY. by Sam Dependahl

SANTE MAGAZINE, October 2009
Cabernet-based blends from Paso Robles
Bright aromas and flavors of black fruit with notes of anise, cola, and black pepper; full bodied with good acidity and a clean back and red berry finish.

BOOZEHOUND MAGAZINE, March 2009
Cheap Wine That Doesn't Suck by Bill Citara
“The 2007 vintage is rich and full-bodied and has all the luscious blueberry and blackberry fruit I remember, backed by firm tannins and augmented by hints of cloves and allspice and earthy, toasty oak.”

Soooooo....

I just knew this wine had to have lots of hype after tasting it and it lives up to it!!

Go out and find yourself some of this wine. It is an inexpensive red. It was purchased for around $13. LOVE IT !! :)

Washington Wines

As much as the state of California would like you to think that all great wine comes from within its territory. It doesn't. Many great wines are being produced and coming straight out of Washington and Oregon. In fact, the number one wine last year, according to Wine Spectator, is from Washington. It was the Columbia Crest 2005 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.

Washington is now the country's 2nd largest wine producing state. A few of my favorite wines come from Washington state.

The winery, Columbia Crest started in 1983. This winery helped bring Washington wines to the FOREFRONT (another good wine) of the wine industry. Columbia Crest makes different lines of wine. A great wine for the value comes from their Two Vines collection. Two Vines has received many accolades for being a great wine for the value. The italian restaurant down the street uses this as their "house" wine. Check for this at your local grocery store or boutique wine shop.

COLUMBIA CREST WINERY WEBSITE

Another winery that is making great wine from Washington is Hogue Cellars. I have tried their Chardonnay and Reisling. They are good if you like white wines.

HOGUE WEBSITE

One of my all time favorite wineries from Washington is Hyatt Vineyards. I have tried most of these wines, because all my favorite wine shop owners carry this wine. They are inexpensive and always good. This winery also makes the Roza Ridge wines as well. This winery was also established in 1983. I guess this was a popular year for starting wineries out west. I really like the Hyatt Cabernet and Merlot.

HYATT VINEYARDS WEBSITE

Kestrel Vinters is also making great wine. They might actually be my favorite. They focus in making dark, full bodied fruit forward wines. I have a bottle right now that I'm saving for a delicious dinner. I actually had a chance to meet the wine maker last year at Petty's gourmet foods shop.

These are a few of my favorite Washington wineries. I hope you can all check them out sometime and let me know what you think. This post is in anticipation of the Grape of the Month this week. We will be tasting all wines from Washington state. ENJOY!

-M

Funky Wine Pictures

It is Sunday and I must publish a ridiculous post today. So with no further delay....

I can't help but notice an alarming amount of pictures with small animals in wine glasses. Maybe this is some sort of weird animal fetish. I'm not sure. This somewhat disturbs me. I have nothing against the cuteness factor but who is drinking out of that glass next. Not me.

I used to have a hampster named Lemiwinks. I never once thought about taking a picture of Lemiwinks in a wine glass. I consider that a good thing.

Monday Funday Wine Quotes

"Wine is the most civilized thing in the world." --- Ernest Hemingway.

"He who aspires to be a serious wine drinker must drink claret." --- Samuel Johnson

"If penicillin can cure those that are ill, Spanish Sherry can bring the dead back to life." --- Sir Alexander Fleming.

How I spent Earth Day

I went up to Blue Springs State Park for a kayak trip. The spring is gorgeous. The water is clear and the fish are huge. I'm just glad there were no alligators because it is mating season. Last night I ventured to John and Doreen's first Grape of the Month wine tasting. We all brought the Cabs and it turned out to be a very nice evening.

I am sorry I'm so late on posting the Delectus wine tasting pictures. I'm in the midst of studying for the bar exam. That is my priority right now. The blog is taking a back-seat for a few weeks. I will post it sometime this week. PROMISE. After the exam I will be posting all kinds of fun stuff with lots of guest contributors.