Wine Shop Time

Great mulled wine recipe for the holidays

2011-12-24T10:30:00.000-08:00

This recipe comes from Ina Garten. I am not a fan of cloves or anise, so I leave those out and substitute nutmeg and allspice. How much? To taste, which means starting with a pinch and work up from there. I also love adding some cardamom and just a little turmeric. You can use regular ground cinnamon instead of cinnamon sticks. Ground spices will make the drink a little cloudy, but most apple

New flavors in time for fall

2011-09-21T21:03:00.000-07:00

Pied Blanc and Pied Violet are here and they've brought great fall flavors with them. Take a look at the Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Merlot, and see the great food pairing suggestions to go with them. Wine, food, fall, fun These wines came today in my 4-bottle wine club shipment. Four new treats, and I don't have to go get them - they come to me every month. Now that's

Single-serving sangria. YUM. Recipe within.

2011-09-05T12:50:00.000-07:00

I made this yesterday when I realized I didn't have ingredients to make a full pitcher of sangria the way I'd like to make it, but I certainly had enough ingredients to make a yummy one-glass serving. Here's what I did. Take 3-4 raspberries or other berries - the soft ones at the bottom of the box work well for this - and muddle them (gently!) in the bottom of a wine glass. Pour about 1/2 to 1

What's your (vino)type?

2011-08-24T21:40:00.000-07:00

Vinotyping, developed by Tim Hanni, is a fun way of discovering which wines you like and learning why you like them. There's no right or wrong - it's all about what tastes great (or not so great) to YOU. Vinotyping categorizes your taste sensitivity into the category of Sweet, Hypersensitive, Sensitive, or Tolerant. You might be surprised at the results. I was! I thought I was a Tolerant type,

Off topic: Who's responsible for keeping the Web worthwhile? All of us.

2011-07-22T14:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a great article by Anil Dash about the Web, civility (and lack thereof), and the responsibility we all have to keep our online discussion spaces from becoming digital dumpsters. The article has some strong language, but I think that helps get the point across. There are plenty of online Wild West opportunities for people to speak their mind, anonymously and/or unfiltered. I visit some of

How much wine is good for your health?

2011-06-01T17:24:00.000-07:00

By now most of us have heard about the antioxidant resveratrol, and how its presence in red wine can be good for your health. Most medical professionals won't recommend you start drinking wine if you don't already. But, if you already enjoy a glass now and then, the Mayo Clinic recommends keeping it to two drinks a day for men, one for women. A "drink," for wine, is defined as 5 ounces. Chances

Helping the big cats, a bottle at a time

2011-05-18T19:16:00.000-07:00

EVO wines are back! WineShop at Home partners with National Geographic Big Cats Initiative to raise awareness of the serious challenges facing the world's falling population of lions, tigers, cheetahs, leopards, and other large felines. For each bottle of EVO wine purchased at a wine tasting or through a consultant's personal website, WineShop at Home donates a dollar to the National Geographic

Why is one wine glass better than another?

2011-04-23T16:39:00.000-07:00

I could tell you, but how about I have John Lynch show you, instead? Trust me - stemware does make a difference. Any wine can be consumed from any drinkware, but why not make it the most enjoyable experience possible? Life is too short for "this will do for now."

2011-03-10T00:01:00.000-08:00

Creating personalized wine labels is a lot of fun, and the bottles are memorable. Nobody else will have a wine bottle with a label that looks just like yours. But, what does the wine inside the bottle taste like? If you're like me, you're not buying wine just for decoration or for something to hold onto at a party. You want it to taste good. You're in luck! The Talmage Cellars wine in the

How to open a bottle of wine - the right way!

2011-02-23T23:59:00.000-08:00

John Lynch, co-founder of WineShop at Home, shows us how to use the WineShop at Home opener to get that pesky foil off the top of the bottle and take the cork out smoothly. If you've ever struggled with a corkscrew, you'll find this helpful. We also get a brief history of the corkscrew and a look at a few different styles.

Why the 100-point rating system isn't helping wines, wineries, or consumers

2011-02-20T00:01:00.000-08:00

Great blog post by David J. Duman on the decline of the 100-point rating scale for wines and why this is a good thing. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-j-duman/100-point-scale-dead_b_823168.html I agree with Duman: Focus less on rated wines and what their ratings are, and just explore wine itself. Find some hidden treasures. Take the risk of buying a few bottles of something you might end up

Weather woes and shipping delays

2011-02-04T12:00:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone - if you've ordered anything from anybody anywhere that's getting bad weather, or if you live in a bad-weather area and ordered from a good-weather area, please allow extra time for your order to arrive. Your sellers and the shipping services they use are doing the best they can! Thanks for understanding. Mother Nature definitely has the upper hand here.

People get ready, there's a wine train a comin'

2011-01-08T14:24:00.000-08:00

What can wine do for you? Hop on board the WineShop at Home wine train roadshow and get a taste - literally - of the opportunities as an independent wine consultant. You? In the wine business? Heck yeah. Make it happen! To attend one of the following WineShop at Home roadshow events, contact me for details. I'll post more as they're added to the schedule. January 9, 1-3 p.m.: Rancho Palos

Happy Holidays from Wine Shop Time

2010-12-24T10:41:00.000-08:00

Whether you're celebrating or not, working or have the day off, I wish you peace and prosperity for this holiday season and beyond.

Give the gift that really keeps on giving

2010-12-03T19:29:00.000-08:00

Wouldn't it be great if you could give gifts that weren't forgotten within a few days or a few weeks, something the recipient could open repeatedly as if they were receiving it for the first time? You can! A wine club gift membership means your gift recipient will receive great wines every month. Every time they open the package, pour a glass, and take a sip, they'll be reminded of you. What a

Wine brittle and other cool stuff

2010-11-24T20:09:00.000-08:00

This month's Vin Note has some great holiday goodies for you and your favorite folks. I'm especially intrigued by the Wine Brittle shown in the "Gifts: Brand New" photo. I've never had, nor even heard of, wine brittle. Here's what's in it: Chardonnay, gorgeous vanilla overtones, Spanish Peanuts and pure dairy butter.Sounds like something I could eat way too much of. :) Other great stuff

New Thanksgiving wine trio and recipes!

2010-10-21T20:06:00.000-07:00

I'm going to start linking to my monthly newsletters here to make sure you get all the latest WineShop at Home news. Extra, extra! Read all about it! I'm really excited about the Thanksgiving Trio. Please take a look at that in the newsletter. You'll see the gift box, a description of each wine, and some amazing recipes. I'm already imagining these bottles on the counter as I pour glasses for

Winemaking, the old-fashioned way

2010-09-25T11:15:00.000-07:00

This story from the Vancouver Sun is a fun and wistful look into winemaking as it used to happen. He let the grapes sit for a day. After their refrigerated ride up from California, the grapes were still sweating, and a wet grape, Luigi said, is not a grape good for making wine. "My dad used to tell me, you never pick your wine when it's wet, so I still do that." I love convenience as much as

Wine industry goes green with new bottle reuse firm

2010-08-27T10:14:00.000-07:00

The San Jose Mercury News has a great story about a new company , headquartered in American Canyon, CA, and with a bottle-washing plant in Stockton, CA, that will collect and wash wine bottles for reuse by Napa wineries. Bottles that can be reused will be cleaned and sanitized for resale. Bottles that can't be reused will be returned to the manufacturer for recycling. What a great idea! I've

The secret to killer red sangria

2010-07-11T15:38:00.000-07:00

In summer, I'm all about sangria. Can't get enough of it. I just discovered something that makes good sangria great and great sangria spectactular. What's this magical secret ingredient? Pomegranate juice! Pomegranate juice makes a red sangria keep its rich red color even after adding other juices or sparkling water. It rounds out the flavor without being too sweet or too tart. It's an

Diaper your wine?

2010-07-03T10:46:00.000-07:00

I could have used one of these wine diapers a few years ago when a large beer bottle broke in my luggage during an international trip. I hope it goes without saying that the "no corkscrew" serving suggestion is NOT recommended! I prefer my wine without glass shards, thank you. I'm going to have to try one of these. It's one thing to have to wash beer smell out of your clothes. It would be

Get your regular servings of fruit with sangria

2010-06-17T21:32:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite ways to use up fruit that is just a little too ripe is in a pitcher of either red or white sangria. "A little too ripe," to me, means that it's softer than I'd normally use if I were eating it plain, but still perfectly good. I don't throw out the fruit even after the sangria's all gone. Lately I've been putting it in a freezer bag to save for either another pitcher of

Customers rock! $300 for Water Into Wine flood relief

2010-06-12T14:25:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my customers who purchased and helped donate $300 to my Water Into Wine fundraiser for Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, Metro Nashville Flood Relief. Enjoy your wine and raise a toast to a post-flood Nashville and Tennessee.

LAST 3 DAYS! "Water Into Wine" for Nashville flood relief

2010-05-28T18:58:00.000-07:00

LAST 3 DAYS! "Water Into Wine" drive to turn May wine sales commissions into donations to The Community Foundation for Nashville flood relief. I can help you restock your wine cellar, pick a great gift for a college grad/Dad's Day/wedding couple, or please your party guests. Put those grapes to work! Order online, or let me know what you'd like and I'll place your order. Wines, gift baskets,

Vin Note roundup: Water Into Wine, Wine Club Goes Green

2010-05-19T20:36:00.000-07:00

The newest Vin Note, a newsletter from WineShop at Home, is out. Here are the highlights of my newsletter to you: * Water Into Wine: Help me raise money for Nashville flood relief efforts. All my May wine sales commissions go toward flood relief. * The WineShop at Home Wine Club is going green with recycled, Earth-friendly packaging. * Father's Choice wine special - save when you purchase half