A Glass After Work

Loving Binyamina: Lovers of Wine

$21-$30, 4 Corks, Prices, Ratings No Responses »

May 162012

*** I received this wine as a sample. ***

2009 Binyamina Gewurztraminer Late Harvest Reserve

Work last week was very busy. In fact, the last few weeks have been full of last minute projects, unexpected fire drills, and a lot of late nights. I far prefer it to be busy at work than for things to be very slow, but I just wish things didn’t get so chaotic so quickly. In the end, it was one of those weeks where even after I came home, I spent as much time on my blackberry as I did trying to enjoy the evening with Hubby.

The 2009 Binyamina Gewürztraminer Late Harvest Reserve (winery) is from the Upper Galilee region of Israel. The wine was made with 100% Gewürztraminer grapes, 20% of which were positively affected by botrytis. It had a medium golden yellow. On the nose, there were apricots, mangoes, pineapples, honeydew melons, and honey. In the mouth, there were apricots, pineapple, and honeydew melons followed by hints of honey. The wine was full-bodied with a slight syrupiness and ok acidity.

Is this worth a glass after work? Definitely! If you see this wine in the store, grab it; you won’t be disappointed. At $25, this wine pushes the reaches of most wallets for an every day wine, but if you have a spicy dish on the menu for dinner, this is a wine that would make a great accompaniment. I could have used a touch more acidity to balance out the sweetness, but overall, it was a very enjoyable wine with beautiful flavors. I paired it with Hubby’s lamb vindaloo and curried cauliflower, which was an outstanding combination. Hubby was practically laughing at me for how much I liked the pairing.

Question of the Day: Do you enjoy drinking sweet wines on their own? Have you tried pairing a sweet wine with spicy food? Do you have a favorite combination?

Suggested Retail Price: $25
Received as a sample.
Overall: 4 Corks

Mailbag Monday: Buying Wine Online?

General Wine No Responses »

May 142012

Dear Alleigh:
I saw Groupon for an online wine store and wanted to buy it, but didn’t because I wasn’t sure how safe it was to order wine online. Do you ever order wine online?

The short answer to this is absolutely! I love ordering wine online because it gives me access to wines on my wish list, even if I’m not able to find them in one of my local wine stores. I know that not all states allow wine shipments to individuals, and while I sometimes encounter difficulties, I can usually make the purchases I want.

There is, however, a caveat to my advocacy of online wine buying—I don’t usually do it in the summer. Having a bottle or six riding around all-day in the back of an un-air-conditioned delivery truck can be a recipe for disaster. So, I tend to focus on wines that I can buy locally during the hottest months.

That said, some wine stores and wine clubs will allow you to buy online during the summer, but then wait for cooling fall shipping temperatures to send the wine out into the world. I’m a particular fan of this because it allows me to take advantage of online sales, but not have to worry about trying to time my pushing of the “purchase” button with an August “cold” snap.

So, if you’re thinking about buying from an online store but have been a little gun-shy, definitely give it a try. Price-wise it isn’t always worth it because shipping wine can get very expensive, so it is worth doing a little comparison shopping. However, it definitely opens up the world of wine because it means you’re no longer limited to what you can find in your local wine store.

Cheers!
Alleigh

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Send me an email, leave your question as a blog comment,
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A Nice Cold Riesling After A Hot Day

$11-$20, 3 Corks, Prices, Ratings 1 Response »

May 092012

*** I received this wine as a sample. ***

Last Thursday in DC felt like summer had arrived, and even after I mild winter, I forgot what it’s like to wear a suit when the weather turns hot and humid. When I left the house in the morning, it was warm, but not unbearable. However, when combined with a packed metro and a several block walk to the office, I was definitely feeling the heat by the time I walked into my office. The heat hasn’t been turned off in my office building yet, so on top of everything else, my office was particularly warm and humid. By the time I finally arrived home at the end of the day, I couldn’t wait to take off my suit jacket and pour a nice cold glass of wine.

2010 Lucien Albrecht Riesling Reserve

The 2010 Lucien Albrecht Riesling Reserve (winery) is from the Alsace region of France and is made with 100% Riesling grapes. The wine was a light straw yellow. On the nose, there was wet stone, flower petals, and a touch of gasoline. In the mouth, there were wet stones and flower petals. The wine was dry with a light body and lime-like acid.

Is this worth a glass after work? Sure…you won’t be drinking anything out of the ordinary, but you’ll have a decent, reliable glass of wine. At an SRP of $18, this wine is perfect for a spring or summer workday. It’s light and food-friendly, unpretentious and easily drinkable. I paired the wine gilled salmon with chimichurri and steamed green beans, which was nice combination. This was Hubby’s and my first time grilling with chimichurri, and we really enjoyed it! Overall, the wine was exactly what I was looking for—a reliable and refreshing glass of white.

Question of the day: Are you a chimichurri fan? Do you have a have favorite ways to cook with it?

Suggested Retail Price: $18
Received as a sample.
Overall: 3 Corks

Mailbag Monday: Suggestions for a Wine Newbie?

General Wine No Responses »

May 072012

While talking about my blog at physical therapy, one of the PT assistants asked me this question and I thought it was worth sharing:

Dear Alleigh—
I grew up in a household that doesn’t drink wine. However, my friends are starting to order wine when we go out for dinner. I want to join them, but the red wines they order taste bitter, and I don’t enjoy them. Do you have any recommendations for ways to branch out into wine and away from my usual vodka and orange?

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about red wine recommendations for a Pinot Noir drinker who was looking to try other lighter red wines, but that doesn’t really address the how a new wine drinker starts out.

My recommendation for people who are just starting to experiment with wine is to go with something light and white. And, if you tend to prefer sweeter mixed drinks, you might also want to try a white wine that has a touch of sweetness. That said, I wouldn’t go with something that is going to feel like the syrup bottle has been added to the wine.

Starting off with a good Riesling is probably a good bet, and you can’t go too wrong with one like the Sawtooth Riesling, for example. It has a touch of sweetness, but is still very food friendly and, at $10, it isn’t going to break the bank. So, if you if it’s not your thing, you don’t have to feel guilty about not finishing the bottle.

Another option is to try a Verdejo or Sauvignon Blanc. The Shaya Old Vine Verdejo and the Edna Valley Vineyard Paragon Sauvignon Blanc, for example, are both affordable, easy to drink wines. The Verdejo is mostly lemons and granny smith apples, and the Sauvignon Blanc has more tropical fruits like pineapple and mango, but they’re both light with some great fresh flavors.

I actually discovered my love of wine by drinking both the red and the white Mouton Cadet. Admittedly, I haven’t tried the wine in more than 10 years, though, so maybe it’s time to revisit my wine roots a little.

Question of the Day: Do you remember what wines you were drinking when you first started to enjoy wine?

Cheers!
-Alleigh

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Send me an email, leave your question as a blog comment,
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Great Sense for Monday Night Relaxation

$10 and lower, 3.5 Corks, Prices, Ratings No Responses »

May 022012

*** I received this wine as a sample. ***

Monday was supposed to be a quiet day at work, one of those days where both my boss and The Big Boss were out of town, and even though there was work to do, the pace was supposed to be slower. For some reason, though, it just didn’t work out that way. From the moment I walked into the office, the emails were flying and the phone was ringing. Much of work revolved around preparing for next week, which is when a big project of mine is due. However, since it’s still a whole week away, I wrongly thought that it would be a less chaotic preparation.

As if that wasn’t enough to leave my head spinning, I finished the day with a doctor’s appointment for my hip. Long-time readers may remember that I started running about two years ago, and a year ago, I ran my first half marathon. Since then, running just became part of my life, like drinking wine. However, I developed hip pain at the beginning of this year. Well, months of anti-inflammatories, physical therapy, and a second opinion later, the doctor told me on Monday that I have a muscle tear. I’d been trying to avoid a cortisone shot in the hope that I would heal on my own, but that just wasn’t happening. So, Monday evening, I had the shot.

By the time I got home Monday, I was exhausted. Between work, the doctor, and the shot, I just wanted to lay on the couch and relax. So, Hubby made dinner while I had some wine.

The 2010 Great Sense Vinho Verde is from Portugal and is made with 40% Arinto, 30% Loureiro, and 30% Trajadura grapes. The wine had a medium yellow color. On the nose, there were limes, granny smith apples, and a touch of honeysuckle. In the mouth, there were limes, granny smith apples, pineapples, and hints of chalk dust, parsley, and honeysuckle. The wine had a light body, bright acidity, and the slightest touch of sweetness on the finish.

Is this worth a glass after work? Definitely! If you see this wine in the store, grab it; you won’t be disappointed. At $6, this one has one of the best quality:price ratios have seen in a long time. It’s a solidly enjoyable wine with something a little different. It’s the perfect wine to take on a picnic and has a low alcohol content (9.5% abv), so it’s not going to unknowingly catch up with you as you sip away. I paired this with lobster cakes and steamed green beans, which worked well, although I think the wine would be better with a lighter fish or with a salad. All in all, though, it was exactly what I needed at the end of a busy day.

Question of the Day: Vinho Verde seems to be showing up more and more in my local wine store. Have you noticed the same thing? And, have you tried any ones recently that you’ve enjoyed?

Suggested Retail Price: $6
Received as a sample.
Overall: 3.5 Corks

Ball Buster for The Barasso Boomerang

$11-$20, 3 Corks, Prices, Ratings No Responses »

May 012012

When I first started blogging, Australian wines frequented my wine glass. However, I slowly started replacing my Australian Shiraz cravings with juicy California Zinfandels, and the next thing I knew, there wasn’t a wine from down under to be found in my wine rack. Clearly, I’m not the only one who started leaving Australian wines behind because that was the topic Wine Blogging Wednesday #76—Australian Comeback Kid-The Barossa Boomerang.

WBW turned out to be the perfect opportunity for me to fix my lack of Australian wine tasting. Unfortunately, while I drank the wine, took pictures, and put together my notes, a ridiculously annoying cold left me with little energy to actually write the post, and WBW #76 came and went without a post from me. Still, I wanted to share, so here is what should have been my post last Wednesday…

2009 Tait The Ball Buster

Sunday evening, after a morning of grocery shopping and an afternoon with finishing my first sweater at my monthly knitting group get together, I came home to a night of blogging, more knitting, and watching my favorite Sunday night TV shows. Hubby said he was making a beef stir-fry for dinner, so I twisted off the top of my Australian Shiraz and settled in.

Tait The Ball Buster 2009 (winery) was from the Barossa Valley, Australia. The wine was made from 73% Shiraz, 15% Merlot, and 12% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes and had a dark, purplish-ruby color. On the nose and in the mouth, there were blackberries and black cherries with hints of chocolate dust, prunes, and molasses. The wine was medium-to-full-bodied with solid tannins and good acidity.

Is this worth a glass after work? Sure…you won’t be drinking anything out of the ordinary, but you’ll have a decent, reliable glass of wine. At $16, this wine was both food-friendly and Game of Thrones-friendly. As a matter of fact, it turned out to be an appropriate pairing for last week’s episode, which was a real ball buster in itself.

That said, The Ball Buster didn’t quite live up to my expectations. On the back label, Bruno Tait described the wine as “broad-shouldered, built like a stallion, and she packs an intensity of flavor,” so that is what I was expecting. Unfortunately, though, I just didn’t find it. The wine didn’t have enough body to be the “big, thick, juicy” wine Tait was trying to deliver. So, while The Ball Buster was good, it just left me wanting more.

Question of the Day: Are you an Australian wine fan? Have you noticed a change in your Australian wine purchasing habits over the last few years?

Price: $16
Purchased at Whole Foods Market
Overall: 3 Corks

Announcing Wine Blogging Wednesday #77: “A Glass After A Bad Day At Work”

General Wine 6 Responses »

Apr 302012

While today is normally “Mailbag Monday” at A Glass After Work, I’m going to skip it this week in favor of an exciting announcement…I’m hosting Wine Blogging Wednesday #77!

For those of you who are new to Wine Blogging Wednesday (WBW), it is a designated day for wine lovers all over the globe to write on the same wine-related topic—essentially, a virtual wine tasting with a central theme. You don’t have to be a regular wine blogger to participate, but your post (or blog comments, tweets, pins, etc.) should obviously be about this month’s topic.

So, without further ado, the theme for WBW #77 is “A Glass After A Bad Day At Work.”

We’ve all been there. You snooze one too many times, immediately making yourself late, only to get onto a crowded metro train that breaks down and has to be offloaded (or, for those of you who drive to work, only to discover there is an 4-car pile-up that shut down the road you use for your commute). By the time you arrive at the office, you’re really late, but ready to get working. You start making progress and think the day might be turning around when that Blue Screen of Death pops up and gives you the virtual middle finger, erasing everything you just accomplished because you were so focused you hadn’t saved the document in over an hour. It’s the perfect moment for you and your coworker to grab lunch because if you don’t walk away from the computer, you run the risk of chucking it out the window. As the two of you walk out of the office, you turn to your coworker and say, “It’s only noon, but it’s been one of those days. I could use a glass of wine.”

The question is, when you finally make it home, what glass of wine do you drink and why? Is it an inexpensive sparkly to help lift the gloom of the day? Maybe a brooding cult Cab to fit your dark mood? Or, is it that expensive bottle you put aside for a special occasion but open just because you need something special?

Posts or comments should include what wine you open, why you picked that wine to wash away your bad day, and the price (or suggested retail price) of the wine. There are no restrictions on price, country, varietal, etc. The sky is the limit. You just need to give us all the details so we can find the wine for after our own bad day.

On May 23, 2012, let me know your wine choice by:

Commenting on this post (either on A Glass After Work or on the Wine Blogging Wednesday website);
Posting on A Glass After Work’s Facebook wall;
Tweeting me (and using the hashtag #WBW77);
Tagging me on Pintrest (and using the hashtag #WBW77 in your pin description); and/or
Sending me an email.

Regardless of how you decide to let me know, be sure to include the link to your blog post if you write one. I would hate to miss linking it in the WBW #77 wrap-up.

I’d like to give a special thanks to WBW organizers Tim Elliott and Lenn Thompson for allowing me to host my first WBW. I’ve been a frequent participant, but there is something particularly exciting about being on the other side of this fun event.

And with that, here’s hoping it’s a just a hypothetical rough day at work that inspires your post.

Cheers!

Mailbag Monday: Country/Region Info?

General Wine No Responses »

Apr 232012

Hi Alleigh,
I’m a huge fan of your blog! I really like your honest opinions of wine, and you often introduce me to new wines/varietals. Can I ask one question or make a request? Since my liquor store breaks their wines out by country/region, I don’t always know where to look for a wine after I’ve seen it on your blog. I know you usually put it in the body of the post, but I would love to see it in the title or more prominently displayed.

Thanks for the great read, I look forward to more wines!

Your ever faithful, never leaving you, Sauvignon Blanc (and now Vetliner) loving reader….

Dear SB/GV lover—
Thanks for the email and for the suggestion.

The whole purpose of A Glass After Work is to share the wines I drink with the hope that my readers will go out and try the wines I love. Some readers even let me know if they agree or disagree with my review, which is particularly fun for me. Therefore, I take requests and suggestions on how to improve and how to be more helpful to my readers to heart.

In August 2010, for example, I started posting a short summary at the bottom of each post so that readers would know the price of each wine and where I purchased it because several readers in the DC Metro area had emailed to find out where I purchased several of the wines. At the time, I figured if a handful of readers were outgoing enough to email and ask, even more readers were probably interested in the information. So, Hubby and I talked about it the best technological way to include this information, and he ended up building a plug-in to make it easy for me to uniformly add it on every post.

Including the information your asking for in this short summary at the end of the post would definitely make it easier for readers to use A Glass After Work when shopping in their own local wine store. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before, but it’s a great idea. Hubby is hard at work making a few tweaks that I hope to unroll next week. So, be on the lookout for them!

Thanks again for the suggestion and for being a regular reader!

Cheers!
-Alleigh

Do you have a question? Don’t be shy!
Send me an email, leave your question as a blog comment,
post it on Facebook, or ask me on Twitter!

A Good Cabernet After a Bad Day

$31-$40, 3.5 Corks, Prices, Ratings 2 Responses »

Apr 192012

2009 Dalton Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

Last Monday was a one of those days where everything just seemed to go wrong. I got a late start leaving the condo, ended up on a broken metro train that had to be offloaded at one of the most crowded metro stops, and walked into work late to see the emails already piled up because I forgot to charge my Blackberry over the weekend. I actually thought it would be a quiet day, since it was the Monday after Easter, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. To top it off, the day ended with an ominous email from the Boss, which meant I left work not knowing what Tuesday would have in store. By the time I walked back into the door Monday night, I was ready for a glass of wine and for the day to end.

The 2009 Dalton Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve (winery) was from the Galilee region of Israel and had a dark ruby color. On the nose, there were juicy black plums mixed with hints of chocolate and eucalyptus. In the mouth, there were black plums, blackberries, and hints of chocolate, earth, and eucalyptus. The wine had a medium-to-full body, medium-to-big tannins, and a medium body.

Is this worth a glass after work? Definitely! If you see this wine in the store, grab it; you won’t be disappointed. At $36, this wine is a little on the pricey side for an everyday wine, although being that it is a kosher wine, I’m willing to dig a little deeper into my wallet for good quality. I paired this wine with my matzo lasagna, which probably wasn’t the best combination, although it wasn’t the worst either. The wine definitely needed to breathe a little, and by the time I was ready to knit and watch the latest episode of Castle, it opened up nicely. All in all, it was a solidly good wine, particularly after a stressful day of work.

Question of the Day: Are you willing to pay a little more for a wine that you know will be good? Are you willing to pay more for a kosher wine?

Price: $36
Purchased at Gotham Wines & Liquors
Overall: 3.5 Corks

Easter Sunday with a Kosher Sauvignon Blanc

$11-$20, 4 Corks, Prices, Ratings No Responses »

Apr 132012

*** I received this wine as a sample. ***

2010 Goose Bay Sauvignon Blanc

The holidays in the A Glass After Work household are always a fusion of traditions, since I’m Jewish and Hubby isn’t. With Easter and Passover falling at the same time, we spent the first part of the weekend celebrating Passover and Sunday celebrating Easter. It was the perfect day for a leisurely brunch, a walk around Georgetown, people watching in the new waterfront park along Georgetown’s harbor, and an evening of Game of Thrones and wine.

The 2010 Goose Bay Sauvignon Blanc was a light, greenish yellow. On the nose, there were fresh-cut green peppers, grass, granny smith apples, and a hint of pears. In the mouth, there were green peppers, grass, and granny smith apples. The wine had a light-to medium body with good acidity.

Is this worth a glass after work? Definitely! If you see this wine in the store, grab it; you won’t be disappointed. At an SRP of $16, this wine is a good New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc option. It’s fresh and clean, and perfect for the springtime weather. Food pairing for this wine is a little trickier, but I wish I had some fish or a big salad to go with it. As it turned out, though, it was the perfect way to bring the first weekend of Passover and Easter Sunday to a close.

Question of the Day: Did you have any good wines for either Passover or Easter?

Suggested Retail Price: $16
Received as a sample.
Overall: 4 Corks

Loving Binyamina: Lovers of Wine

Read more about Kosher wines:

Mailbag Monday: Buying Wine Online?

A Nice Cold Riesling After A Hot Day

Read more about wines from France:

Mailbag Monday: Suggestions for a Wine Newbie?

Great Sense for Monday Night Relaxation

Read more about white wines:

Ball Buster for The Barasso Boomerang

Read more about wines from Australia:

Announcing Wine Blogging Wednesday #77: “A Glass After A Bad Day At Work”

Mailbag Monday: Country/Region Info?

A Good Cabernet After a Bad Day

Read more about Kosher wines:

Easter Sunday with a Kosher Sauvignon Blanc

Read more about Kosher wines: