a girl and a glass

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 ...

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

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...

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...