Mix and match: Does chocolate really go with everything?

Some things just go together. Wine and cheese. Bacon and eggs. Root beer and ice cream. Prince William and Princess Catherine.

And some things don't. Red and pink. Hot dogs and honey. Ammonia and bleach. Donald Trump and anybody.

So what do we make of these latest food and beverage blends?

Mo's Bacon Bar by Vosges Haut Chocolate mixes two delicious flavors: chocolate and mmmmmm bacon (also comes in dark chocolate, which wasn't available the day I was in Cost Plus).

Creator Katrina got the idea for this blend one morning when she was six years old and was served chocolate chip pancakes and bacon for breakfast. A little bit of overlap and voila -- magic on the plate. She grew up to experiment with the joining of sweet and salty.

And said juxtaposition turned out to be delicious. But the juxtaposition between creamy and crispy isn't sharp. The bacon flavor is in the chocolate, but the texture of the bacon comes through as slightly soggy.

Still, I like this treat and would buy it again. $7.50 at the Vosges website. $6.50 at Cost Plus. A thumb and a half up.



ChocoVine presents the taste of dutch chocolate and fine red wine. So it says on the bottle.

But the ingredients say, simply, "grape wine with artificial flavor, cream and artificial colors." I suspect that inside this bottle is NOT fine red wine and NOT any real chocolate.

How does it taste? "Like alcohol-ized Yoohoo," said my husband. And I tend to agree, even though I've never tried a Yoohoo. Point is, this beverage tastes like a kiddie drink spiked with everclear. Maybe ChocoVine would make a good drink for a sorority party, but not so much for a grown up palate.

Thumbs down. I don't remember how much it cost, but I wouldn't buy another bottle if it were on sale for a dollar.

 -- submitted by Lori

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White: Wine not?

Gimme a Cab, a Merlot, a Tempranillo. Pass the Syrah, a Zinfandel, a Rioja. You're likely to hear me utter the names of any of these red-hued wines.

Others don't roll off my tongue so easily: Chablis, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Grigio.

Clearly, it's time for me to expand my wine horizons. It's time, my friends, for me to review a Chardonnay.

For years I have perceived white wines, perhaps unfairly so, as the "why bother" of the wine world. The milk chocolate to the dark, the decaf to the double-shot espresso, the fat-free to the whipping cream.

I blame my disdain on my aunt. My eccentric, annoying, high-octave Chardonnay-loving aunt. Who, from the time my cousins and I were riding our training wheels, would  shriek for her "SHARD-en-NAY" at 4 o'clock each afternoon. (And reportedly still does.)

I asked Twitter and Facebook for help in selecting a $10 (or less) Chardonnay, and found out that LOTS of people actually prefer white wine to red.

Who knew?

Thanks to my Twitter/Facebook friends, I trotted off to my local liquor store armed with a few vintners to inquire about. Most brands were out of the given price range, so I did what any normal red-blooded (heh!) wine drinker would do:

I selected based on the label.

Meet South Africa's Tall Horse 2007. Doesn't it look classy, stately, whimsical?

And a bottle is just $7.99.

One thing that makes South African wines intriguing is that the continent has some of the oldest soil on earth -- known as good terroir to winemakers. This is especially important because the Chadonnay grape is particularly malleable, meaning that it reflects and takes on the traits of its winemaker and its soil.

Tall Horse Chardonnay's winemaker, Jaco Potgieter, says that we can expect from this wine bright gold with generous tropical fruit and vanilla oak aromas revealing a delicious rich and creamy palate packed with forward ripe fruit flavours layered with spicy vanilla and a fresh citrus finish.

Mmmm....spicy vanilla.

Here are the traits I detected upon sippage: apples and pears at the onset with a smooth and citrusy finish. Subtle and well-mingled flavors. But, sadly, no trace of vanilla. Believe me, my tongue searched for it.

Still,Tall Horse Chardonnay was pleasant to my palate.

As far as inexpensive white wines go, this is a decent one, and I'd be inclined to bring it as a gift to a dinner party -- and even put my name on the gift tag.

Further, I am eager to try some of the other offerings of Tall Horse Wines and experience its unique terroir in many shades.

But when I am choosing what I will drink, I'll continue to stick with the red end of the spectrum.

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Cheap way to steadily water your plants

Remember my thumbs down for Aqua Globes? A $22 investment for a product that doesn't work?

Well, I've got a better way to water plants, and it will cost you nothing (probably) and it may even be good for the environment by putting refuse to good use.

Check out my re-purposed wine bottles.


This avocado plant is being nurtured by a full-bodied Tempranillo, vintage 2009. The plant gulps a bottle a week. The drip marks you see along the brim of the pot are deliberate and not made by my special watering system.

The hoya is enjoying a mellow and young Pinot Noir. This plant needs a refill every 7-10 days.

I brought my basil plant in from the garden before the first frost so we'd have fresh herbs through the winter. This is a thirsty one, so it gets a 1.5 liter bottle from an undated Cabernet/Merlot blend. The basil is so much happier now that it doesn't depend on me to notice its droop in order to get quenched.

Soon my Caladium (elephant ear) will be sipping from a Shiraz bottle, and in a week or so my Wandering Jew will enjoy a bottle of Carménère (after Roger and I have consumed its original contents).

I had two initial worries that have not proven to be worrisome: (1) it is not difficult to tip the bottle into the soil without making a mess; (2) none of my experiments have leaked water in any way -- not on the surface, not in the lower reservoir, and not by the bottle tipping over.

Time for me to, uh, work on my project some more (hic). 13 more bottles of wine for my plants, 13 more bottles of wine...take one down, pass it around...12 more bottles of wine for my plants.

For more wine talk, see JJ's Virtual Wine Club.

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The Wishpot Roundup

It's been awhile since we did a roundup, so I thought it was about time to PILE up a bunch of gift-giving ideas, and give you a quick little snippet on why *I* think they're great gifts. Whether you're already thinking about Christmas (ugh!), or you're still stuck on Halloween costumes, the pile's explained below. It's also neatly piled up (with a few extras NOT mentioned here) over at Wishpot where I'm now lucky enough to be featured as a Mom Expert, and will be regularly adding MORE ideas for gift-giving!

1. Plush Robes from Restoration Hardware. Yea, you'd probably think they're ridiculously priced just because they're from RH, but at $80, they're similar in price to most other robes I'd buy - but THESE robes? They're the softest robes I've ever ever EVER had the pleasure of wearing.
2. The Nike+iPod system. If you're a runner, or you KNOW a runner, you or they MUST own this device. For an appealing price of $30-50 (depending where you look), it has changed my running for the better, it's given me knowledge I didn't have about my speed and distance, and it helps me create and manage my running goals.
3. Hardy's Whiskers Blake Port. If you're into port, but NOT into spending the money port usually costs, this port's a ton of fun at an affordable price of roughly $15-20.
4. The Thudguard. If you've got a toddler, and you really really REALLY want to laugh, you MUST buy them a Thudguard. While yea, this thing is SUPPOSED to be meant for safety, and I, as a soon-to-be-parent should probably take that safety thing much more seriously, for $40, I'd buy this thing just to laugh my ass off on a regular basis.
5. Personalized Christmas Stamp. For a lot of people, Christmas means sending out a lot of cards. For SOME people, it means putting extra special CARE and ATTENTION into making their cards AND gifts, into something to BEHOLD - cuz they're so damned beautiful just wrapped up! If you've got someone like that in your life, I think they'd love their own personalized Christmas stamp. And for about $25, YOU could be the one to give it to them.

Wanna know where to purchase any, all, or even some other ideas I'd suggest? Check it out over at Wishpot.

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The Pregnant Boozer

Well, that title probably got your attention right? But I promise, it's not what you think it is. What it IS, is summer. And what that MEANS, is a LOT of people want to drink a LOT of booze on a LOT of patios. Or at my house. Or with dinner. Or at the beach. And as a girl who DOES love her wine, this IS a hard adjustment for me... being pregnant and all.

The truth is, I don't NEED the booze - I've been surprisingly okay without it until now. But now, honestly, I'm jealous. I'm jealous of the fun and relaxation that comes from sipping a cold cider or beer. I'm jealous of the fabulous taste of a room-temperature glass of a Cab-Shiraz blend. I'm jealous of the ability of these NON-pregnant people to have those WHENEVER they want, and have however MUCH they want.

So I thought it was time to get me some "pregnant booze". Meaning? Alcohol-free beer and alcohol-free wine. Going INTO this adventure, my predisposition was that it would all taste like SHIT, but maybe it would help me not feel so left out so was worth a shot. Coming OUT of this adventure, I have to say I'm more than pleasantly SURPRISED by this stuff! (products listed at the end)

First off, all this alcohol-free "booze" is available in a GROCERY store - which I know to many in other countries, is like, uh, so? But in Canada, booze is only sold in liquor stores, and beer & wine stores - that's it. So the fact that I also get to SKIP the liquor store, and don't have to pass slowly by all my fun favorites, well, that's a nice little added bonus!

Second, all this "booze" is affordable. For the two 6-packs, I paid $7-10 each, and for the wine I paid about the same. And for those in Canada - there's NO damn liquor tax!

Third, all this stuff is low on calories! Wait, did you get that? They're LOW ON CALORIES people!!! They're SO low I'm debating taking one to work to swig in the lunch room! Just to see the reactions of course, because telling a real beer from a fake beer is NOT possible without reading the label, so at first glance, there'd be a pregnant lady boozing it up in the lunchroom... Anyway, the two beers below are 60 & 90 calories (with 0g and 1g of sugar), and the wine has 180 calories in the ENTIRE bottle, with 15g of sugar. Not too shabby!

But most importantly, how does it TASTE? And how alcohol-FREE is it REALLY? Let's go one by one.

• The Inglenook Alcohol-Removed White Zinfandel, St Regis Reserve tastes SURPRISINGLY like real wine. While I fully admit I'm not normally a white zinfandel fan, the blush color, and the alcohol-free label had me willing to TRY it - and it actually tasted so much like a tasty little cold summer wine that I put it down to RE-READ the label, ensuring it really WAS alcohol-free. It's fruity and fun, and seriously, smells AND tastes like wine. As for booze content, there's less than 0.5% alcohol.
• The Beck's Non-Alcoholic beer AGAIN, tastes surprisingly like a REAL Beck's beer. While I've become much more of a cider fan in the last few years (the husband is gluten-free, so buying ME beer and HIM cider just seems mean), this non-alcoholic beer took me back to the good old days of ending a hard day with an icy cold beer on a patio. Of course it didn't end with me having TWELVE of them, but that one alcohol-free beer? Well at less than 0.5% alcohol, it really took me back to the good old days, and made me feel PART of the fun, instead of on the outside of it.
• And last but not least, O Doul's Amber Non-Alcoholic beer. Like its counterpart above (Beck's), this beer has gone through all the regular brewing processes and contains all the regular ingredients you'd find in your favorite amber beer - just with less than 0.5% alcohol as they remove it. Also like its counterpart, this beer was a LOT of fun to drink. Maybe it's that they come in REAL beer bottles, maybe it's that they taste like REAL beer, or maybe it's just that they've all done a damn good job in making this stuff taste so much like the real stuff, there's not a lot left to be jealous of anymore!

So if you're like me - knocked up and feeling left out - try one of the products above. You'll feel like you had a real drink, and with less than 0.5% alcohol, you don't have to have any guilt. Two BIG thumbs up from me, your pregnant boozer.

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My Five Faves (Wine)

Apparently I'm on a Christmas kick over here, but the thing is... it's coming. And if it's coming, that means parties are coming, and dinners are coming, and shopping is coming - and all of that has to be thought out and planned for. Or at least it has to be made EASY, which is what the goal of last week's shopping post and this week's wine post are all about - making it EASY.

So in the next couple weeks, when you're heading off to yet ANOTHER Christmas party or yet ANOTHER dinner, and you just want to run in and out of the wine store with NO standing around choosing, keep these wines in mind for an easy hostess gift (for the hostess who drinks of course).

1. My all-time absolute favorite wine for the last couple years is the Katnook Founder's Block Cabernet Shiraz. It's this amazing blend of Cab AND Shiraz, and will go with almost any food you put it with (although it's particularly good with red meat). I have yet to take it to a friend's for dinner and NOT have them love it and ask where we got it. This wine appeals to everyone, and for around $20 (depending where you are), it's a total steal.

2. If however what you're looking for is a REALLY punchy Shiraz, what you want to take is the Wirra Wirra Scrubby Rise Shiraz. For roughly $17-21 (depending where you are), Scrubby Rise is punchy in all the RIGHT ways and has loads of flavor, but it isn't tart or fruity in the wrong ways that Shiraz's can sometimes go.

3. For those who are into a more traditional Cab at a cheap price, The Show Cabernet Sauvignon does the trick for US every time - and at roughly $15-17 (depending where you are), it can do the trick for YOU every time. While the bottles LOOK like there's three different blends, there isn't - same wine, three different looks, same great taste. And again, this is one of those wines people will ask about - and they won't believe it was as cheap as it was.

4. And then there's days where you just feel like having something SOFTER, more GENTLE, yet not so gentle it's a Pinot and kinda watered down. For those days (or those DINNERS), Ravenswood Napa Zinfandel should be your wine of choice. For $15-17 (depending where you are), it's everything you want a Zinfandel to be, but a little more, because it's red, and a little "un" traditional. This wine works really well with spicy food like Thai or chorizo.

5. Last but not least, the wine that's not a wine - Whisker's Blake Port. I've reviewed it here before, but I still can NOT say enough about this port. It's not EXPENSIVE tasting (and for $20 it shouldn't be) but it also doesn't taste how you'd think a $20 bottle would taste. This bottle should be worth a bunch more, but if you want to take your port-loving friend an easy-sipping after-dinner port that's not too tough on the wallet, Whisker's Blake is a steal.

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Summer Sangria

With summer sadly coming to an end, so comes the end of the Sangria. And it's not because we HAVE to stop drinking Sangria, it's just because we know we WILL stop drinking Sangria. For us, Sangria's a SUMMER drink, a drink you throw together in a PITCHER, a drink you serve to friends on PATIOS. For us, when we're REALLY smart, sometimes it's even a drink we keep ALL to ourselves.

So to keep it short and simple this week, I give you my FAVORITE Sangria recipe. Super easy to throw together cuz it's all done in the PREP, and super tasty cuz of the BUBBLES... and the berries.

Ingredients:

• 1 bottle red wine (I use a Shiraz)
• 1 lemon cut into wedges
• 1 orange cut into wedges
• 1 lime cut into wedges
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 splash orange juice
• 2 shots gin
• 1 cup sliced strawberries or raspberries (I always use raspberries)
• 1 small can diced pineapples WITH the juice
• 2.5 cups gingerale

Instructions:

• Pour the wine into pitcher and squeeze the juice from the lemon, orange, and lime wedges into the wine.
• Toss the squeezed out wedges into the pitcher along with the wine.
• Add pineapple, sugar, orange juice, and gin.
• Chill overnight with saran wrap or a lid on top to avoid "fridge taste".
• Add gingerale, berries, and ice just before serving.

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Mmmmmm Port

Way back when, I didn't used to drink wine. I didn't drink white wine, I didn't drink red wine, and there's no way in HELL you'd have convinced me to drink that wine-like THING they call Port.

And then came the husband, who's very MUCH a red wine drinker. Which as you know in relationships, turned ME into a red wine drinker. And then somehow TOGETHER, we became Port drinkers too.

But let's be clear here - we ain't wine snobs, we ain't gonna go all chatty about the SMOOTH finish or the HINTS of oak or whatever the hell it is wine snobs talk about. We're gonna talk about TASTE and COST. And when it comes down to TASTE and COST, we found a good cheapy that's actually quite impressive.

I introduce you to OUR fave, Whisker's Blake. And by fave, I mean, the one that's ALWAYS in the liquor cabinet for a quick hit, late-night, with some ever-so-yummy dark chocolate. By no means is this a fabulous port to SHOW OFF at your fancy schmancy dinner party, but by no means is it something you CAN'T serve to your friends.

Available for about $20 in Canada, when we serve up some Whisker's Blake, most of our friends have been quite SHOCKED that it's only $20. A great drink and a TOTAL steal - two very wobbly thumbs up from me.

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Carménère, I toast you.

Don't worry. I'm not going to get all wine-snobby here. First of all, I'm not equipped and secondly, I'd like to think I'm not that pretentious.

In the early 1990s, I dated a handsome and worldly New Zealander. (Is it OK to use the word "dated," Iain? -- you were so averse at the time to be committed in any way.)

Ours was a relationship of fun and laughter. Even today -- significant others and 4 children later -- we can banter like old times. He never lets me forget my early-in-the-relationship faux pas...

...when I ordered a White Zinfandel. He looked SO horrified that it was also the LAST time I ordered White Zinfandel. I didn't know it was made of a waste-byproduct. I didn't know it was the wine equivalent of Pabst Blue Ribbon. I just liked it because it was pretty and somewhat sweet -- I hated the vinegary taste that most wines produced in my young mouth.

I had never been much of a wine drinker. I attended some wine tastings and learned I liked some of the sweeter white wines like Johannesburg-Rieslings and Gewurtztraminers.

Sometime in the past two years my palate has matured. I began to seek out red wines. I surprised myself by seeking out bold and hearty reds, not demure and flowery ones.

Enter my new fave: Carménère. Carmenere was a grape grown in the Bordeaux region of France, related to the Cabernet. It was wiped out by a plague a century-and-a-half ago. But the vines were preserved and imported into Chile. Protected by the Andes Mountains, the Pacific Ocean and the Atacama Desert, the grape thrives because the plague has been thwarted.

Concha y Toro makes two very affordable Carménères under its Frontera brand and Casillero del Diablo brand. Both are often available at my Cost.co Liquors, making them even more affordable.

It's the only wine I've ever bought by the case.

Carménère is beautiful to look at. Purplish-red in jewel-tones, and not wimpy at all. I could go on with my nose in the air about the legs it has and its bouquet, but instead I'll just say that it has layers and complexity in my mouth. I like how it speaks to me for a few moments after the initial sip.

I cannot think of any downside to this wine. Except that in writing about it, I've made myself thirsty. I'm sure you'll excuse me.

Two thumbs up.

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