Bogle Phantom 2008

/in /by

A Wine Moment with Delaina

Hello Trader Joe’s, Living Trader Joe’s & Red Wine Lovers;

We have a real treat for you this time.

Some events have come up in our lives and we chose to celebrate life and totally splurge on a wine. It did not help that while I was looking at the bottle an employee told me that Trader Joe’s only had this wine around once a year, and once it was gone it was gone. So just to let you know this wine was not in my usual price range, but it was also a gift so that also helped.

bogle_wines_phantom_2008

The wine is call Phantom produced by Bogle Vineyards in 2008. Phantom is a blend of my favorite – Old Vine Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, and an Old Vine Mourvedre. Bogle had a lot of fun with the label and the story of the phantom wine maker. The front of the label boasts “mysterious and hauntingly seductive,” I can second that.  I have never enjoyed a wine more. I dare confess that it was so good I teared up a little. (But hey I am an emotional wine drinker.)

The wine offers a complex dark berry flavor that includes boysenberry notes, spices like cloves, and balanced with vanilla. This wine paired nicely with our Trader Joe’s potato gnocchi in puttanesca sauce and butter lettuce salad. But I am not sure that this wine would be bad, paired anything.

Again, I can honestly say that I have never enjoyed a wine more. If you want the splurge I would recommend not buying five $3.99 bottles to try this one $16.99. But if you are really interested in this wine I would buy now before you have to wait until next year. The holidays are coming around the corner so if you are looking for a unique gift this would get their attention.

If you decide to buy & try let us know what you thought of it.

Thank you for reading,

Dearly Beloved Forever Red 2009

/2 Comments/in /by

A Wine Moment with Delaina

Hello Trader Joe’s  & Living Trader Joe’s fans;

We have a fantastic wine to share with you.

Dearly Beloved, Forever Red 2009 from Mendocino County, California is just the treat to trick out your Halloween celebrations. The label features a beautiful Day of the Dead mask but it is the wine inside that will have you convinced you had died and gone to wine heaven.

The label on the bottle sells itself well, with chocolate, vanilla, and cinnamon hints; as well as oak spice and dark fruits, but it is the bold Bing cherry flavors that will rock your wine pallet. Although cherry is not a flavor that I pursue, this wine is truly balanced with the warmer flavors. This wine would pair nicely with any meat or pasta dish.

In fact I am enjoying a glass by itself as I write.

dearly_beloved_wine_Forever_Red

Now let’s rewind. The label is what attracted me to this wine in the first place. If you like the ornate beauty of the Day of the Dead “Death Mask” this wine bottle is worth the purchase on that alone. But seriously don’t waste the wine.

The wine was $6.99 at our Trader Joe’s and worth every cent. I would recommend buying a bottle to have as your own adult treat after all of the candy has been passed out on Halloween.

Enjoy,

Vinturi Essential Wine Aerator: A Review

/in /by

The Vinturi Essential Wine Aerator: A Review of a great Wine gadget!. Have you seen those funny looking Wine Aerators and wondered what they were all about?

We have been told by a many friends, family and fellow wine lovers that to get the full effect from a wine, you should make sure that the wine has had enough air. This makes sense on some level, as wine has been corked up in the bottle for who knows how many years.

vinturi_essential_wine_aerator

But the science behind how much “air” to give a glass of wine was a mystery to us before we got the Vinturi Essential Wine Aerator. This  cool wine gadget allows you to open up a bottle of wine, pour a glass throught the Aerator and then TaDa! The wine is fully “aired” and ready to drink.

No more waiting, no more guessing if the wine has been open long enough…before you get to drink! (OK seriously, who really wants to open a bottle of wine and then wait for an hour… or longer….grrrr… )

The real benefit? This Vinturi Essential Wine Aerator kinda “smooths” out some of the Trader Joe’s $3.99 wines… right from the first glass… yum!

In fact when we first bought this Aerator, we did an little taste -test where we opened up a bottle of red wine and poured a glass the regular way, and then poured a second glass using the Aerator. We were pleasantly surprised to actually taste a difference between the two glasses.  Without the aerator, the wine was dryer and lacked the full taste that eventually showed up later on that evening. The glass that we passed through the aerator: the wine was smooth and the flavors were more intense right from the first sip.

Here is a link if you want to read more about the Vinturi Essential Wine Aerator.  It would make a great gift for a friend and/or yourself…

What do you think?  Do you have a Vinturi Essential Wine Aerator? Share below or on Facebook ~Thanks!