Thanks, Giving...

I've officially reached 'guest blogger' status. My amazing partner in crime has recently launched a stellar blog, TKTwincities and they recruited me to do a little piece on Thanksgiving wines. Check it out! There are SOO many posts out there about what kind of wine should go with a Thanksgiving feast, and to be perfectly honest, many, if not most, of them are complete bullshit! Riesling, Pinot Noir, yadda, fricking, yadda, fricking, yadda. I went at this one with a lighthearted mentality, not taking myself too seriously (as I try to do every time).

All in all, what really matters (in my simple mind) on Thanksgiving is the food you prepare and the people you are with. It's a time to truly take a break from your daily life, and a time when you should truly LIVE! A friend of mine living in Italy recently told me that she had the darndest time explaining our tradition of Thanksgiving to some friends. They looked at her puzzled when she said "It's the one time of year when the whole family gets together and cooks great food, eats, and drinks good wine for the entire day." Perhaps we should make this more of a priority more often, seeing as it's a daily occurrence to many other cultures worldwide? Nonetheless, my wine suggestions are simply that. Obscure, niche-y, and mine. If you have a favorite wine, then this is the time of year when you present it to your loved ones with all you've got. I can only hope you might take my suggestions for mild worth and try them with your festivities. If all else fails, go with bubbly. It's the best.
Cheers, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Summer in the city

It's HOT here in Minneapolis. Luckily the thunderstorms that ravaged the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area this evening have lowered the temperatures a bit and I am blessed not only to have a sealed apartment to call home but also a fully functioning air conditioning unit to cool my abode. Needless to say when I got home from an extended day of work today, the refresher I grabbed was an ice cold beer. (Before I came home I was at a wine seminar put on by one of my associates, the very mythical Bill Abrahamson (look him up), that covered the Tempranillo wines of scorching Spain). Readily available in my fridge was a can of "Back in Black" Black IPA from 21st Amendment Brewery. Though these guys hail from the city by the bay (San Francisco) they have been brewing some beer for the Minnesota market at the relatively local Cold Springs Brewery. Unlike anything I've ever tried before, this beer is brewed with dark malts instead of the lighter fare that is typical to the IPA style. I was not a fan upon first sipping, but to be fair, the ballsy beer has grown on me. Its 6.8% ABV is something to remember, or rather help you forget the day past, but the hop profile is nicely rounded and balanced and is an interesting complement to the heavier body of the innovative beer. The packaging is pretty sexy too. It lacks the citrus finish and dazzle of many hoppy IPA's but it's something different and is definitely worth the $10 for a six pack. Sometimes beating the summer heat doesn't always mean light and fresh!