Skip to content

Category: Joie de Vivre

Joie de vivre translated is “the joy of living.”  There is so much that brings joy into my life.

2022 What a Year !

The other day Gary and I shared a bottle of LXV Rosé of Cabernet Franc. It was the perfect way to cap the day. As we drank it, I kept thinking about how fortunate I am. And that led me to think about the year that was 2022. But also the depth of gratitude I feel for the folks surrounding me. 2022 Gratitude… for Some Important People in my Life My Husband – we are approaching 35 years together, and I would not do it with anyone else! My Sisters – I am not sure what our parents did, but…

Leave a Comment

Confessions of a Wine Geek 2022

Ahem… Not Wine Geek but Wine Enthusiast. I did a confessions post like this back in the Spring of 2018. That list is still reasonably accurate, with the exception that after our last wine fridge purchase, Gary has vetoed getting any more. (for the record, the last wine fridge purchased holds 350 bottles, so I dare not complain.) New Confessions 2022 I have been known to use an Infrared Thermometer Gun to check the drinking temperature of my glass of wine. We always use the “Three Sip Rule” before we say anything about the wine we just tasted. Or you…

Leave a Comment

Rick’s Pick – Wine of the Week

This post, Rick’s Pick – Wine of the Week, is something new that I am trying to get me back to posting more often. So, let’s begin. Over the New Year holiday, a new friend brought a bottle of 2020 Champalou Vouvray to the festivities. After my first sip, I knew I had to buy this wine and keep it in my rotation. This post will also be a mini-lesson for those unfamiliar with French wine regions and bottle labels. A Bit About Vouvray Wine from Vouvray is made from the Chenin Blanc grape. Vouvray is an AOC (appellation d’origine…

Leave a Comment

It’s All Good! Just Crazy Busy

My last post was a month ago. Yikes, sorry!  But it’s all good! I wish I could write more quickly and be able to post a minimum of once a week, or at least stockpile some posts for times like these, but that is just not me.  I am a thinker—a ponderer. So instead, I process everything in my head for a while, and then I write.  And trust me, it takes a bit for things to slosh around up there before I can spit the words back out. And when I have other big projects on the “to do”…

1 Comment

Wine Enthusiast -> Essential Items

As a wine enthusiast, I can go a tad overboard on my gadgets and specialty items. However, I am always game to try something that claims to enhance my wine-drinking experience. I have tried many items you will never find on the blog, but these… These are essential.  You might use the items in this post as future gift ideas for you or your wine enthusiast but trust that I have used every one of these items. In the post, I will also explain why they are deemed essential to me. Red Wine Enthusiast WHY -> Saves You TIME Wine…

2 Comments

Banner Elk: Chill in the Mountains

It has been almost two months already since we returned from my birthday weekend in Banner Elk, North Carolina. With all of our wine trips and personal vacations canceled, we had to get something on the books where we could be “distanced and safe.”  And a cabin in the woods outside a small mountain town seemed like the right answer. Gary and I, along with another couple, spent four nights and five days chilling, drinking wine, and sitting by the fire. Banner Elk: The Cabin We chose this cabin after seeing our friends/neighbors post about staying there over the summer.…

2 Comments

Virtual Tasting * Spreads to Pair

I have several folks in my sphere in healthcare and public health that are telling us to settle in. That this virus is not going anywhere for at least a year, but if the ‘rona is going to continue to be in our lives so that we need to mask and distance for a year, we will definitely need more wine, and I believe you will as well. That is why I am committed to finding more wineries to partner with us and do more virtual tastings. And that is why I am reaching out to encourage you to participate.…

1 Comment

Questions About Shipping, Shock & Heat

Did you check out the last post on Barbacoa? If you skipped it, you missed a bunch more “Memes and Funnies”, so you may want to head back just to give yourself a laugh. In the meantime, let’s get to these questions that readers and friends have recently asked me about wine. Questions about Shipping Wine, Bottle Shock, and Heat Exposure I was recently on a Facetime call with friends in Ohio. We were discussing how much they were loving the Acquiesce Grenache Rosé they were drinking. It is a wine I introduced to them as well as arranged an…

Leave a Comment