One of the many things I talked about doing now that the World Cup Challenge is over, is Wine Wedenesdays! The idea is to give you a glimpse of some of the wine (and sometimes more) that I enjoyed the week before. Because I'm not perfect and I'd like to break these posts into themes, I'm not going to define "a week." It might be Sunday-Sunday. It might be Tuesday-Tuesday. It might be Tuesday-Sunday. It might be one day. The posts will vary in length and detail. Basically the only thing that will be consistent is the name and that I'll talk about wine.
What Does the T-Rex Drink??
Completely unrelated to wine - I kind of love the T-Rex. It started because I bought a workout tank top that says "T-Rex hates push ups." I realized this is one of the many things that we have in common - hatred of push ups, love of meat, and arms that sometimes just aren't as long as you want them to be. The T-Rex and I are soul sisters. I've since expanded my T-Rex shirt collection and it's a little bit of a running joke with me and my boyfriend.
So when I was sent a sample bottle of wine called Carnivor as a sample, I was just elated. It's not too often (I mean, it happens but not frequently) that I fall in love with a wine because of its name. However, the meat eater in me was really excited to try it.
The wine itself was very nice. Carnivor is a Cabernet Sauvignon. A lot of times these can be very overpowering but this one was a little smoother which was very nice. I paired it with a steak and potatoes dinner which also helped to temper the intensity of the wine. I don't drink a lot of big bold wines but when I do, I take advantage of how well they go with super meaty dishes. It felt especially appropriate to have a big hunk of red meat with a wine called Carnivor. Normally, my wine pictures also include whatever I paired it with but the meat eater in me couldn't wait to eat all of the steak before I remembered to take a picture. Oops!
Carnivor 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon $15.00
Stop the Press
While drinking wine at home is really fun, drinking wine out and about can be even better. My buddy Natalie and I were long overdue for a wine date so we decided to meet up for a couple of glasses before I took off for Comicon. I couldn't think of a better place to go than Press Club, one of my favorite wine bars in San Francisco.
Since I was out with a friend I didn't take any tasting notes and frankly, I was a little more into chatting with her than picking out nuances in my wines but I can post this awesome picture of us wining together and let you know what each of us had.
2011 Nita, Priorat, Spain (Garnacha / Carinena / Cabernet Sauvignon / Syrah) $17 / glass - This was definitely a bigger red than I was hoping for.
2011 Pinot Noir, Estate, Bethel Heights, Eola Amity Hills, Oregon $18 / glass - This was Natalie's first wine. She loves Pinots and was hoping to try something new. The distinct taste of Oregon Pinots wasn't really what she was expecting though.
2011 Minervois, Château Massiac, Languedoc-Roussillon, France (Syrah / Carignan) $11 / glass - I enjoyed this wine way more than my first glass. Carignan is a wine I'm really starting to get into and this blend was really balanced.
The first two glasses we got were a little pricey. Luckily, we slipped them in just before happy hour ended and got $3 off each one. As you can see by their menu, Press Club has a variety of wines at a range of prices. It's a great place to go to try new varietals or unique blends. Unfortunately, most of San Francisco has figured that out as well and it's pretty crowded.
Comic Wining
I was planning on using my Wine Wednesday to talk about some of the wine I had while at Comic Con. Of course, I definitely had a few glasses of vino while on my little nerdcation. Unfortunately, so much of the weekend was a blur and I was exhausted most of the time so most of my glasses of wine were just a way to wind down a little at the end of each day. The only ones I really remember was from a winery that I saw few times on various menus and was able to try two of their wines - Stark Raving Red and Stark Raving Malbec. Once again, I maybe chose these because of the name. I mean, they also seemed like the best options at the bars I was at but the name helped a lot too. In both cases, the wines were not super expense. It seems like you can a whole bottle for about $13. The wines are super drinkable and were great for a tired Nikki that just wanted to relax with a glass of wine. I think these would be great to take to parties. They have a decent price point and a screw top so they are convenient and economical without being super cheap.
Stark Raving Wines $12.99
You may think I'm exaggerating, but seriously, I think Giant Jenga is my calling in life. We played for over two hours and 4-5 tequila sodas and I never lost a game. I beat all of my friends and Indiana Jones. I may need to invest in some Giant Jenga blocks for the apartment and keep practicing!
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