Wine-o: Edna Valley Chardonnay

Edna Valley Vineyard 2008 Chardonnay, San Luis Obispo, CA
Alcohol: 13.9%

This was a fantastic white wine.  It was a tad more fruity, and not as buttery as other California Chardonnays.  I was excited to try this wine as it is from Central California.  I have heard that the San Luis Obispo area is wonderful to visit for wine tastings.  We enjoyed this wine with delicious stuffed shells and meatballs made by Granma.  It paired very well with a light summer salad and grilled squash and zucchini.  This wine also has a higher alcohol content, so pace yourself if you are the designated driver!

From the vineyard:

Our vineyards enjoy one of California's longest and coolest growing seasons, thanks to sea breezes funneled inland through Edna Valley.  Our Chardonnay has amazing flavors of lush white peach and sweet spice with a crisp, clean finish.  You will love our Chardonnay with fresh seafood, grilled chicken or roasted pork.

Price: $12-$20
Freya Score: 85
Mona Value: 5.3

Herb Gardens

My grandmother has had beautiful gardens at all of her houses that I have visited.  Her project this summer is a potted herb garden.  When I arrived for our visit, I was informed within 24 hours that she needed to go to the Nursery to pick up Dill.  We went to Planted Earth, just outside of Aspen and she scoured the herb selection triumphant upon finding dill, and momentarily defeated to not find Tarragon (don't worry, they will call her when its in).

She has arranged her herbs in three large pots on the patio and in small earth plots under her trellis.  The patio is directly out of the kitchen, so as her plants mature it will be very easy for her to snip some fresh herbs to complete her dishes.

We planted Basil last year and harvested it several times.  Basil can be harvested down to only a couple inches above the ground, and should be harvested before it goes to bloom (the taste changes then).  We would put basil leaves in salad, on pizza, and make delicious pesto.  Who doesn't love fresh pesto all summer long?

Additionally, herbs are beautiful plants that do have gorgeous flowers.  As a thank you for her hospitality (and being awesome and being awesome with training puppy Mona) I gave Granma a blooming lavender plant.  While on her patio table now, she is already planning where she will plant it so that it can grow even more.

Wine-o: Rodney Strong Pinot Noir

Rodney Strong 2009 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, Healdsburg, CA
Alcohol: 14.5%

I am wary of Pinot Noir, I find them fickle.  Some taste amazingly wonderful, others are simple, bland, dark, and boring.  I find it doesn't matter how much money you spend, you just are taking a chance.  This Pinot Noir I enjoyed a lot.  It reminded me of a Californian Cabernet Sauvignon in that it was very fruity in taste.  I was surprised by how clear the wine was in the glass.  A beautiful ruby color.

From the vineyard:

For the third year in a row, the 2009 vintage started off with a dry spring, which typically produces smaller clusters, smaller berries, and less canopy overall. Spring was mild enough to ward off frost this year, and vines affected from the previous year seemed to rebound. The main growing season was cool to warm and without incident. Picking commenced at the beginning of September, and all of our pinot noir was harvested by September 23rd.Supple in texture, with rose petal and red fruit aromas, this lively, medium bodied wine is aged entirely in small French oak barrels, which adds a subtle, toasty vanilla character and a hint of spice. Ideal for current enjoyment, this pinot noir will hold nicely over the next 2 to 4 years.

Freya Score: 72
Mona Value: 6

Wine-o: Barefoot 2010 Moscato

Barefoot 2010 Moscato, California

9% Alcohol

This wine is large. It was given to me at a party, but for whatever reason it was never opened.  Now that we are moving, I am working through my pantry and uncovered this gift.  

When I first started drinking wine, I had just graduated from college and was also graduating from Cosmopolitans and Malibu Coconut Rum and Kool-Aid.  I loved drinking Riesling wine, especially the late harvest, and I think I would have loved this Moscato as it is very sweet and smooth; all in all a simple wine.  (Now I wish it was a large buttery California Chardonnay, or a sparkling wine, oh how times change.)

Pairings:  Would pair well with cupcakes and taquitos.  That or a keg I suppose, it's just so sweet!  For the more sophisticated drinker, I would like to try it with key lime.  In any respect as the bottle I was given is the large/grande size, I will be tasting it with a variety of options.  

Freya's Score: 40 If you like sweet drinks, this is your girl.  

Mona's Value: 5 The price is right for any party.

Cost:  ~$8- from the Pineville, MO Macadoodle's Liquor Store.  Buy a case of mixed wines and enjoy a 10% discount!  Or, check out their new e-commerce store for more great deals.

*Note: My Father recommended that I change the metrics by which the wines are ranked.  A Freya Score of 80 means that I think this wine is better than 79% of the other wines I've tasted.  A Mona Value of 70 is calculated as: VALUE = FREYA.SCORE/ PRICE.PER.BOTTLE

Cycling: Learning How to Bike

I learned how to ride a bike when I was 7.  Bear in mind that I grew up in Hoboken, which is very dense urban.  And so learning to ride a bike without training wheels by 7 is perfectly acceptable.  I am now learning how to ride a bike again; that is a cyclocross bike with clip in pedals.  The clip in shoes give you more power an stability while riding, however it is a different mental process to move your heels away from your body to disengage the shoe from pedal...

From Wikipedia:

Cyclo-cross ... is a form of bicycle racing... consists of many laps of a short (2.5–3.5  km or 1.5–2  mile) course featuring pavement, wooded trails, grass, steep hills and obstacles requiring the rider to quickly dismount, carry the bike while navigating the obstruction and remount.^[1][2] ... The sport is strongest in the traditional road cycling countries such as Belgium (and Flanders in particular), France and the Netherlands.

Am I planning on racing, why no.  However, I developed a love of spinning at the gym in December when it became too cold in Bentonville to run outside.  And being the person that I am, I now want to try spinning, outside.  Plus, The BF used to race professionally, so really there is no reason not to try it out (except perhaps the cost...)


The BF as it turns out, has been planning for this love of mine for at least a year and has slowly assembled bike parts so that he might build me a snazzy bike.  The final pieces were bought from Phat Tire Bike Shop (Our favorite) including they Surly Cross Check frame in robins egg blue (my favorite color).


It should be noted that my bike is a "custom build" since the BF put together all of the components in the garage.  There were some parts that he needed special tools for and then we went to Phat Tire for help from their mechanics.  Their new location at the Massey has a full bike bar where you can sit while they work on your bike!

Wine-o: 2010 Apothic Red

Apothic Red 2010 Modesto, CA

13% Alcohol

This wine was given to me as a dinner party present.  I was excited to try it as I had seen just recently that it will be featured at the Peel Compton Foundation's 2012 Gardens Uncorked event this month.  The wine is a blend of several reds, including Zinfandel, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and more.  It has a very fruity flavor and I found it a sweeter, more full bodied red.  It bursts in your mouth with a hint of vanilla.

Pairings:  Would pair well with red meats, but I think it would also go amazingly well with a Margherita or wild mushroom pizza.

Freya's Score: 77 This is a wonderful wine, although I wonder if those who prefer drier or less sweet wines would like it as much... 

Mona's Value: 7.7 Technically, since I did not pay for this wine as it was a gift, the Mona should be 77, however I thought I'd play fair.

Cost:  ~$10.00 from the Pineville, MO Macadoodle's Liquor Store.  Buy a case of mixed wines and enjoy a 10% discount!  Or, check out their new e-commerce store for more great deals.

*Note: My Father recommended that I change the metrics by which the wines are ranked.  A Freya Score of 80 means that I think this wine is better than 79% of the other wines I've tasted.  A Mona Value of 70 is calculated as: VALUE = FREYA.SCORE/ PRICE.PER.BOTTLE

Wine-o: Amiral Bourdeaux White

Amiral Dubroca 2010 Bourdeaux White, FRANCE

12-14% Alcohol

When I walked into the Liquor store and told my friend Dan I was looking for some spring weather whites, he took me straight to this wine, telling me it was a great buy at $15.  You can taste it!  The wine is smooth with fruity flavors of pear and lemon.  It has a crisp finish and strong nose, a great summer wine!

From the vineyard:

Amiral Dubroca Bordeaux white is a lovely, brilliant pale yellow colour. The wine has a complex nose of grapefruit, lemon, roasted nuts and candied fruit. An ideal accompaniment for fish – grilled or cooked in sauce - , white meat and poultry.

Pairings:  I think this would taste delicious with a salmon or other baked white fish.  It also would go well with sauteed spinach.  I served it with roasted chicken and sweet potatoes.  

Freya's Score: 80 a wonderful fruity taste!  I've never had a white Bourdeaux before, so this was a fun experiment!

Mona's Value: 5.33 a great wine, but on the more expensive side of what I am used to, especially considering that I got this bottle at a really great price.

Cost:  ~$15.00 from the Pineville, MO Macadoodle's Liquor Store.  Buy a case of mixed wines and enjoy a 10% discount!  Or, check out their new e-commerce store for more great deals.

*Note: My Father recommended that I change the metrics by which the wines are ranked.  A Freya Score of 80 means that I think this wine is better than 79% of the other wines I've tasted.  A Mona Value of 70 is calculated as: 

VALUE = FREYA.SCORE/ PRICE.PER.BOTTLE

My Father is a genius, so I think this will work out well.  Thank you for all the support readers!  Your comments both public and private are encouraged and appreciated!