Gladiator Biker Chick

I bought this bottle of Cycles Gladiator solely because it was banned by Alabama. Banned in Alabama! Apparently the Alabama Beverage Control Board figured it was "pornographic." I think one would normally see more boob at a Super Bowl halftime show, but whatever. It's a nice table wine and they are getting a bunch of press, so good for them!

In honour of the artwork I took this pic in front of my super tough biker jacket. I do not own a motorcycle. I am not tough. I have no idea what the characters on the back say. Please don't write to me and tell me it says something like "The wearer of this jacket is a bonehead." It won't stop me from wearing it, but I firmly believe that ignorance is bliss with these kinds of things.

If you liked this post and you would like to share it, that would be super! Thank you so much!

Pinot: A Nice Firm Handshake

After all the hullabaloo (that's right, hullabaloo) of the last post (A Letter to the Asshole Who Abandoned My Dog) I thought I would take this time to address another Very Important Subject:

Wine.

That's right, folks. Hold onto your shorts cuz there's gonna to be controversy.

Now, I am a cabernet sauvignon person, much like I am a dog person, and a jeans person and a Britney Spears person (whatever people, don't judge. Don't even try to tell me you don't do a little shoulder waggle when her songs come on). I decided to give a pinot a try. Obviously I've had pinots before, but this time I wanted to pay attention to the experience a little more. I am a Cono Sur fan so I grabbed their pinot (thank you to Alan from The Amateur Wino for the suggestion!)... and I won't lie, it's going to take a bit of getting used to.

It is exceptionally aromatic... I'm not saying I didn't like it. I'm just saying that between Cono Sur's cab sauv and pinot I might lean towards marrying the cab sauv and having it's children and with the pinot... I'd give it a handshake. Not one of those annoying limp wristed handshakes at all, it would be a nice solid handshake with eye contact and everything... but it would just be a handshake all the same.

I'll keep trying to broaden my horizons.

If you liked this post and you would like to share it, that would be super! Thank you so much!

Camping: Connoisseur Only Different

Ok. So I would definitely recommend this wine- it's organic, it's Chilean... it's all good.

I also like it's name: Cono Sur. Like "connoisseur" only different and easier to spell. Get it? I did, which might have been part of the reason I bought the bottle in the first place.

But the real reason I am posting this photo is that I am so excited that my camera can do the whole "blurry in the background, focused in the front" thing. That is some fun stuff. I have a (grabbing a camera and copying, copying) Canon Digital IXUS 850IS. Yup. Turns out the IXUS can do the blurry thang.

If you liked this post and you would like to share it, that would be super! Thank you!

Bongs and Bras and Naked People (oh my!)

So, I went down to Berkely, CA last week and this is what greeted me in the lobby:

And this what greeted me in my bathroom:


Bras in display cases and naked people. What is it with me and pictures of naked people in weird places (read about more nakedness here)? Clearly I did not do my homework before arriving at the hotel. Perhaps if I had I would have been prepared for the bras, the naked people and the bong lamps. Bong lamps? Oh yes, bong lamps:

It's actually called a "Custom-Design Bong Lamp" and I could have had one of my very own for a cool $275.

They even had a whole bottle of Gia Domella, Cabernet Sauvignon right in the room, which I did not have because I would have had to drink the entire bottle to myself (waste not, want not) and that would make me an alcoholic. Ahem.


Overall Review: I didn't drink the wine, but I give it a Thumbs Up because how cool is it to be in California with bongs and bras and naked people?

Wine: We're Just Not That Into You

I drank the last glass of this bottle (2006, Santa Amelia Reserva Selection, Cabernet Sauvignon Maule Valley Chile) on a Very Special Date with Myself. Ah, the Self Date. As you all know, I love my husband dearly... but who can resist the pull of an Evening All to Oneself? Sigh. I mean, I didn't go an light a bunch of candles or anything, but it was lovely all the same.

It was a Friday, which is the absolute best day of the week in my humble opinion. I was tired, but not so that I fell asleep as soon as I crashed on the couch. And I got to watch a bone fide click flick (He's Just Not That Into You) without being assaulted with scoffs every time someone did something "unrealistic." Unrealistic? Um. I am not so sure what is "unrealistic" about guys and girls swirling around in a sea of indecision and emotional pandemonium before falling breathlessly into the warm embrace of total and utter HAPPINESS AND SPLENDOR AND AMAZINGNESS AND FANTASTIC OUTFITS AND CUPS OF LATTE THAT NEVER END. What is so unrealistic about that exactly?

Anywho- the wine. The first glass I had had a chance to breathe for almost an hour (I forgot to water my plants and my mother says that if I kill one more plant I am going to Plant Hell and well, you can only imagine how that keeps me up at night), but it still tasted like it needed more time. By the time Friday came around it had definitely improved. It's a bit spicy and woodsy on the nose with a hint of current. John said there was a hint of "old."

John's Review: Thumbs Down
Shauna's 1st Review: Thumbs Down
Shauna's 2nd Review: Thumbs Up
Overall Review: Thumbs Up because I obviously get two votes on the vote I think is more important.

Wine: Dodgy Little Penguin

This "Little Penguin" bottle, although sitting out by my front step for this photo because it is Oh So Artistic, generally sits on the counter in my kitchen by my stove. You'll notice that the label is slightly torn at the top. In my house, this is a VERY good indication that this bottle has been around for awhile because bottles of wine are NEVER around for long enough for anything to happen to their labels. Nosireebob. Wine enters the house, is corked & is drunk in one fell swoop (a quick shout out to all the small town folks! Yeeah!).

No, this bottle serves a very special purpose: I am thrifty (read: cheap) and, rather than throw out wine that has escaped my gullet and dared to get old, I put it in this bottle and use it for cooking. Is that weird? Does anyone else do this? Please don't write to me and tell me that I am violating some major health code and I am one step away from starting an Off Wine epidemic.

Overall rating: a very wary Thumbs Up because I have no idea what is in that bottle nowadays.