MUST SEE Wine TV and Movie Recommendations

Netlix and chill?? Yes, please.......

Below are some great Wine TV and movie recommendations for a cold and snuggly winter's night with a wine glass in hand.

Uncorked (TV) and SOMM (Netflix)
Casual and even serious wine drinkers typically know little of what it takes to make wine or to be a so-called wine expert. These wine experts, called Master Sommeliers, work for years to test and only fail multiple times to join the uber-excusive club of Masters. Few can even make it to the test and even fewer succeed. There are differing levels of Sommelier status' but all strive for the top. Two great shows to watch right now walk you through the absolute insanity it takes to make it to the test -

1. SOMM - a great documentary following a group of friends all vying to pass the upcoming Masters test in Dallas. Some pass, some do not. But, watching them try and study is intense and fascinating.

2. Uncorked on Esquire Channel - a TV show that follows a group of certified sommeliers as they work together, with the help of some Master Sommelier's, to prepare for the big day. You learn not only wine facts but see all sides of what it takes to be a Master - knowledge, service and taste.

A Year in Champagne & A Year in Burgundy (Netflix)
If you are like me or most people in this world, you must love a great glass of champagne or sparkling wine. I recommend you begin your Netflix binge with "A Year in Champagne." This sweet and celebratory documentary follows wine legend, Martine Saunier, as she walks you through each season of one year in Champagne - the growth, struggles, plans that succeed/fail and the final celebrations of what it takes to create a great Champagne.

"A Year in Burgundy" also features Ms. Saunier in a more serious yet endearing year in the region of Burgundy.

Let's celebrate and love on the people of France this season as we celebrate their amazing wine-making abilities!

Bottle Shock
I have written on this movie in a prior blog post (check the Blog Label for Bottle Shock in the right hand column). Great true story about the story behind the rise of Napa Valley.

Lastly, I leave you with Wine Enthusiast's Top 10 List of Movies About Wine!

Cheers and Happy Thanksgiving!

If you love red wine, RUN, don't walk to Southern Napa today!

Hey wine loving friends! Long time, no talk. My bad! Life gets a bit crazy sometimes!

I am so excited about a great winery whose wines are currently being bought up at Daphne's Southern Napa wine house.

Failla Winery (Fay-La) has been one of my all-time favorite wineries since my California days. Based on the Silverado Trail in Napa, Failla is a smaller-scale winery, with wines made by Ehren Jordan. Although we have been able to find a Failla Syrah here and there during our Alabama days, Southern Napa recently hosted a sold-out Failla tasting event and has a wide variety of wines to purchase that have not, until recently, been available in our area.

Failla is known for not only its rich red wines, but also a unique taste, that is unlike other reds I have tasted - I guess you have to try it to find out on your own!

If you are ever in Napa, Failla is also one of my favorite wine tastings, located in an intimate cabin on the Silverado Trail.

Don't miss out on this opportunity and head to Southern Napa today!

Cheers!

Coming up in the Wine World in Lower Alabama.....

Wine Events around Lower Alabama this Fall - come and join me!

October 9 at 6pm at Southern Napa

Join me at Southern Napa for a Champagne and Sparkling Wine tasting with food pairings. Please call Southern Napa at 251-375-2800 to make your reservation or you can comment on this blog and confirm with me. Cost is TBD but will probably be around $25/per person.

October 17 at 5:30pm at The Grand Hotel
Join me at The Grand Hotel for a Wine 201 class where we will learn about tasting and get the chance to try some great new wines. Please call The Grand at 251-928-9201 and ask for the concierge to make a reservation. Cost is $10 per person.

November 13 at 6:30pm at The Venue in Fairhope
Join me for the FAIRHOPE WINE FESTIVAL and tastings of some great wine and food as we support the Fairhope Rotary. You can buy tickets for $40 each at Tamara's in Fairhope prior to the event or $50 at the door.


Feel free to comment on this post and I can get you set up!

Cheers!
Christina 

I drank wine from a box....and liked it.....again! Target's Wine Cube!

Calling all Target shoppers. All Target shoppers, good, inexpensive wine on aisle 12!

Wine Cube. In assorted sizes (a whole bottle, 3 5-ounce pours, 2 bottles) and how convenient they make it!

If you are looking to make an inexpensive wine statement at your next party, follow the next steps:

1. Get in car
2. Drive to your nearest Target
3. Walk to the wine aisle
4. Find the cute, brightly colored Wine Cube wine selection
5. Pick a wine
6. Buy it
7. Drive Home
8. Conceal boxed wine in decanter or another serving device
9. Welcome party folks
10. See surprise at the lovely, nice wine on all your guests' faces

Although not kick you in the heels amazing, this wine is perfectly priced for a date night at home or party with friends.

To be perfectly honest, I had these two babies on my wine shelf for quite some time, not really wanting to taste them even though I specifically bought them for the blog. I was "forced" :-) to drink the Pinot Grigio when we were out of cheap whites and all I wanted was a nice, crisp white to end the evening. I got so excited about its taste that the hubbie and I ended up opening the Cab as well just to see if it was decent as well. To say the least, both gone in one night.

Hope you all are able to enjoy as much as we did!

Cheers!

Wine Momma has joined Twitter! Follow me @BamaWineMomma

I have finally joined the Twitter-verse. Expect even more wine-o, life and kids rhetoric coming your way. I plan to use Twitter for many of my quick wine reviews as well!

Follow me @BamaWineMomma for updates on all things wine, life and community.

Cheers!

File Missing.........need more wine.

The lovely AL Gulf Coast experienced an intense amount of rain a few weeks ago. Upon moving to the Gulf Coast, you have to come to terms with rain. Mobile, AL is the No. 1 rainiest city in the country. It rains almost every day between the months of May and September and you pretty much are already wet from sweating anyway, so what's the difference?

The dark side of rain is the forsaken wannabe wi-fi that we are stuck with. For two days, I was without wi-fi and, therefore, going mad.

Re-set router. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Drink?

Can I just always get the above message instead?

When you are having that bad connectivity/internet/weather sucks/need to move now kind of day, just remember - get more wine.

Cheers!

What's so 'crisp' about Sancerre??

For this month's NY Times Wine School, we were tasked with the ever so important role of wine drinker to the French Sancerre wine. Never heard of the grape, huh? That's because it is not a grape. It's a region in France.

Unfortunately, for Americans, the French name their wine based on region, not on the grape varietal as we do in America. So, to know what the grape is, you need to know what is grown in that region.
The region of Sancerre, located mainly on the left bank of the Loire Valley, grows primarily Sauvignon Blanc and just a small amount of Pinot Noir.

We were happy to finally enjoy a white wine tasting through the wine school, and none too soon given the rise of the heat index outside all of our doors these days.

Sauvignon Blanc is certainly my favorite white wine varietal given its layered flavor profile and crisp taste. It is also the "easiest" white, in my opinion, in which to find a great, cheap option at any store you may find in your hometown or on vacation.

However, my lack of love for "old world" vines (those vines from Europe that started this whole, awesome wine thing) kept me from trying and really giving Sancerre a fair fight. I am glad I did. Although it is not as layered with flavors as a New Zealand or CA Sauv Blanc, I still enjoyed its light and crisp notes.

Wine Momma Wine Review
Wine: Hippolyte Reverdy 2012 Sancerre
Color: light, almost transparent, young
Smell: Flowers, a bit of grass
Taste: crisp acidity paired with light melon
Food: Tasted with goat cheese and crackers which happened to intensify the taste of the wine
Scale: A great 3 - perhaps once or twice every few months!

I recommend a try of this French classic to enhance your wine collection!

Cheers!