a girl and a glass

I'm so excited to finish of this #flavourofthemonth series talking about my favourite bubbly drop from Australia - Rockford's Black Shiraz. I've talked about Rockford before , and undoubtedly I will again. It's one of my favourite wineries in the Barossa. It's picturesque, the staff are friendly and know their stuff and most importantly they wine is outstanding.   I can't remember the first time I tried the black shiraz. It seems like I've loved it forever. I can however relive the experience every time I introduce someone to it for the first time - particularly if they've never had a sparkling shiraz before. Each and every time I've share this wine with someone they have fallen in love. I'm regularly implored by my friends overseas to bring a bottle with me when I travel... sometimes it's the first thing they say. "Oh that's great you're coming.. could you bring the Black Shiraz?" So to the wine itself. W...

It's #winewednesday and time for another lovely bubbly wine.   Henschke's Blanc de Noir . I've blogged about another Henschke wine before... the Gewurztraminer  which I love.  But this is a new favourite that's rising in my opinion.  Made with 100% Pinot Noir these grapes come from Lenswood in the Adelaide Hills, not the Barossa.  It's a great dry drop but with a hint of berries and some spice.  A great yellow straw colour in the glass, and very easy to sit and sip.  It's a fabulous wine for a special occasion and priced right at around $50 per bottle. On a side note I kind of love that there is a bottle cap on top of the bottle.  Not a deciding factor in why I'd buy it - but I love thinks like that. Cheers Sally

It's that time of the week.  Time to kick back, open a bottle of your favourite wine and celebrate that it's #winewednesday... at least in Australia.  That means those of you in the US can have an extra long celebration ;-) In the spirit of the #flavourofthemonth - bubbles, today I'm talking about a wine from another one of my favourite wineries - Turkey Flat . Hands up if you've seen a bottle of this one before?  Not many of you right?  Yeah I can only remember this one sparkling chardonnay from 2004.  I am however incredibly familiar with their sparkling shiraz  but more about that another day. The think I love about Turkey Flat wines is that they are well developed without being overly complex.  I drink wine because I enjoy the taste and I don't love wines that try and do to much or be too much.  I like things that are delicious and enjoyable to drink, and more importantly to share with others and change their opinions on ...

Last week I showed you may champagne cupcakes .  For the eagle-eyed among you you may have noticed a glass of bubbly there with some berries that didn't rate a mention at the time.  Oh you don't remember... here's a reminder. See that glass in the right-hand corner?  That's the one I'm talking about.  Well there's a little story behind it.  You see the champagne butter frosting I made for the cupcakes was sweet... very sweet... delicious but sweet.  I originally served it with a glass of straight bubbly but the contrast between quite dry bubbles and the sweet frosting was just a little too much.  Thankfully I remembered I had a host of frozen berries in the freezer and a little crushed berries in the fridge.  It was easy to remedy my pairing by adding a little of the berry syrup to the champagne flute and a few berries and top it off with bubbly. Just enough sweet to pair with the cupcakes without being too sweet.  Yay! Not tru...

It's that time of the week.  The mid-week hump.  And to help you get over that I'm reviewing a great bubbly today & it's an absolute bargain.   Primo Estate's Primo Secco . I have to admit I first came to know Primo Estate's wine via their olive oil .  I'd had some at a friends house and they casually mentioned they make wine too, and had a delightful cellar door I could visit next time I was in McLaren Vale.   Anyway to the wine.  This bubbly is made in the style of a prosecco.  It's fresh, fruity, light and refreshing.  Thankfully for me it's drier than many prosecco's (I like wines on the drier side).  When you first pop the cork and pour a glass you'll get lovely fruity notes and a hint of citrus.  (I swore I  smelled a hint of apricot the first time.... but maybe I was dreaming).   It was great to drink as is, but I also enjoyed drinking a bottle the other day after adding some added rasberries to the...

Yesterday I made cupcakes. Not just any old ordinary cupcakes.  These ones were inspired by the #flavourofthemonth - bubbles.  Yep that's right - Champagne cupcakes.  I did cheat a little bit though.... I didn't quite make them from scratch.  I used a Betty Crocker recipe you can find here .  It was pretty easy and there is more than enough champagne in a bottle to make the cupcakes, the frosting and have a glass or two while they are baking ;-) I'm surprised it's taken me this long to realise that I can incorporate champagne into dessert, not just as dessert.  Guess I'll be baking more cake now.  I wonder if this will work with rose..... Cheers Sally

On Monday I announced the #flavourofthemonth for January was bubbles... or more accurately Champagne & sparkling wine.  Each Wednesday I'll be sharing with you a little bit about some of the bubbly wines I love and why I love them.  With so many to choose from you think it would be hard to know where to start, but in this case it was easy - start with an old favourite - Ruinart Rose. I've shared the story of how I was introduced to Ruinart before so I'll try not to repeat myself too much here, rather I'll get straight to describing the Rose.   The first thing that I love about this champagne is the gorgeous bottle and box it comes in.  Ok I know packaging doesn't really matter, but I must say my heart flutters when I open a gift and see the tell tale salmon pink box :-)  Once the cork is popped and you pour a glass you'll see the colour is reflected in the glass.  It's a subtle pink colour.  Blush is a term that comes to mind...

It's almost 2013 and it's time for something new.  This year I'll be introducing some regular features to inspire you to try something new and also to help keep me focused on sharing my sipping stories with you.  Each month I'm going to pick a different flavour... variety of wine... or liquor and write some reviews and perhaps recipes using this key flavour/ingredient.  I'm not sure where this will end up, but the possibilities are exciting. Picking my first flavour (or variety if you like) for January was easy.  January is a month of celebrations.  We say farewell to a year complete, and celebrate the arrival of a new year full of opportunities and possibilities.  In Australia it's summer, so it's hot... sometimes very hot.  I wanted to choose something celebratory but also light and fresh. Something with a bit of sparkle.  Something fun. Something I love.  I couldn't go past it.  The #flavourofthemonth is ...   W...

When I first thought of starting this blog it was around New Years Eve and I was celebrating with loved ones, the beach and bubbly. The champagne was  Ruinart - the Rose.  It has a hint of pink colour.  Is dry with a touch of berry.  And is all too easy to drink.  It was love at first sip for me, and I've shared my addiction with many of by girl friends since.  (Yes I'm a self-confessed champagne pusher!) But this is not a blog post about how good the champagne is - you can try that for yourself.  You see I think the thing about wine, champagne, cocktails (all beverages) that makes them interesting is the experience of drinking them.  Finding out the story behind the discovery of the favourite drink.  Uncovering the passion.  Discovering the origin of the lust. For  me the story of my love for Ruinart started in France.  In Avignon to be exact.  On holiday with my husband we had the opportunity to go wine tasting i...

OMG I am beside myself with happiness.  My favourite champagne in the world is Ruinart Champagne.... and I'm going to a Degustation & Ruinart tasting dinner in Sydney on May 16.    YAAAAAYYYYYYYYY!

Back in January we purchased a new car.  Back in January there was a public holiday that week.  Back in January it was raining.  What do to you do when you have a new car, the weather is average, and you have a public holiday?  Road trip!  We decided to take a day trip with some friends up to the Hunter Valley.  Despite it being so close to Sydney we really don't spend much time there, and tend to spend our long weekends on wine buying trips around Adelaide.  Never the less, with a list of different wineries to visit, and a new car to break in, we headed up for the day. Our first stop was a winery called RidgeView.  We arrived a little early, in fact we arrived very early just as the staff were opening up.  We had the place to ourselves and had a great time trying their wines.  I particularly enjoyed the sparkling Pinot Noir (pictured below), and the gorgeous setting they have for the vineyard.  After we tasted all they had on of...