Yesterday I was engaged in one of my favorite past-times: trolling the thrift store in search of bargains. And I found something I loved but truly do not need: champagne glasses. These were lovely tulip glasses that emitted a lovely ringing tone when I tapped them. The lady in the next aisle turned at the sound. “Pretty, huh?” I asked. “Yes. Are they crystal?” “Yup.” “Are you going to get them?” Well, if I hadn’t committed to it already, that made up my mind. “Absolutely.” She turned away. I thought maybe she was disappointed. I checked the price: $1.99 and it was senior day which is 30% off so that made them, um, $1.34. Couldn’t resist. I do love crystal. There were a couple of drawbacks: I’m not much of a champagne drinker, but of course it’s always good for celebrations. And can you drink champagne out of regular… Read More »
Wine from Bulgaria — Who Knew?
“So how bad can it be?” Paula asked, holding up a bottle of wine with a handsome stag on the label. “Hey, if we don’t like it we can always cook with it.” This exchange took place a couple of years ago when Paula and I had been shopping at Lee’s Discount Liquors. There, just in front of the check-out counter, was a large barrel of wine marked $1.99. There were two different wines, but nothing either of us had heard of. There was the elegant stag; surely that would be good wine. The other had bold printing which certainly denoted a no-nonsense, hearty Cabernet, right? It turned out that we got sucked in by pretty labels and a cheap price. But hey, at the time we thought for a mere $1.99 we’d both get some. Why not give it a try? We both reached for the bottles with the handsome stag. I’ve since learned… Read More »
The Wine Miracle that Wasn’t!
“Hello? VISA? I need to dispute a charge on my credit card.” I felt really bad, but after trying every way I knew how to reach Maloy-O’Neill Winery and running into dead ends every time, I finally faced reality. They had my card, they had my money from two years ago, and now here was another charge for wine that never arrived. A bare two months ago I posted that Maloy-O’Neill had suddenly, out of the blue, come to life again after an absence of two years. I was thrilled! I celebrated with friends by opening one of their wines. Yum! More of that to come. Or so I thought. So when I received a notice from J. Dusi vineyards ( www.jdusiwines.com ) that the spring shipment was ready, I was thrilled. But a couple of weeks went by, and then another couple of weeks and it occurred to me that I’d… Read More »
It’s HAAN, not Hahn
As I put on my new shoes for the first time, I noticed that the name of the shoe is actually Cole Haan. Not Hahn. Hahn is a winery, so I think my mistake is understandable since I buy a heck of a lot more wine than I do shoes! I remember quite fondly my visits to the Hahn Winery in the Santa Lucia Highlands off of Highway 101 heading toward Monterey. It’s on a hillside with a tasting room that has a stunning view way out across the valley. One stands at the tasting bar seeing the miles of vineyards and alfalfa fields and in the distance the highway with people buzzing back and forth, in a rush to get wherever it is that was so important to them. I felt smug and above-it-all (literally) in this elite world of delicious wine and camaraderie. “Would you like to try… Read More »
Taking a Sip for a Scholarship
“Dogfish Head? What on earth is Dogfish Head?” I eyed the bottles of beer in ice when I finally found Booth 35. I’d wandered through the maze of white tents in the sprawling parking lot for nearly 10 minutes before I spotted it. When I got the e-mail asking if I wanted to work the UNLVino wine tasting, I was thrilled. It’s one of my favorite things to do — pour wine and talk to people. And this wasn’t just any old wine tasting, this was the one honoring the founders of UNLVino on its 40th anniversary. “Big doin’s” as my grandmother used to say. I first went to UNLVino some 30 years ago when the tickets were $25 and it was a 3 hour event at the Thomas & Mack arena. The tickets now start at $125 for each event and there are 4 nights of events. Because the tasting was at the Lou… Read More »
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