Joie de Vivre Archives * Strong Coffee to Red Wine

Life Recently * Wine * Food * Puppy

Published October 31, 2019

My life recently has been flying by at the speed of light and it is all a blur. Perhaps because there is a new 10-week old “family dog” that I help raise, and that takes a lot of time and energy. There have also been pop-up wine tastings at restaurants and wine bars, meals with friends, happy hours, out of town guests, and of course, planning my next Signature Tasting. So in the spirit of life in a blurred state, here is a random mix of what is happening recently. Let’s get started. Life Recently – A Puppy In my…

Wine Tasting Expansion

Published September 23, 2019

After much encouragement from friends and family, I have put considerable effort into creating new tasting opportunities. The wine tasting expansion is in full swing, and I hope that I will see my local readers sometime soon at one of my events. Wine Tasting Expansion via Signature Tasters Continues After three successful Invitation-only Signature Tasters parties, I am moving forward with the concept and recruiting other DTC (direct to consumer) only wineries to present their wines. While these wineries do not have local distribution, they are licensed to ship directly to the consumer. So the only way to taste these…

Hurricane Dorian Spared Our House but…

Published September 8, 2019

I know this is a wine, food, and “love of life” blog. But I thought a first-hand account of the hurricane was a great way to get back in the swing. When dealing with a hurricane, unlike any other catastrophic storm, it is a hurry up then “wait” situation. The path of uncertainty, coupled with the constant barrage from the local news makes us wary and unconcerned. So we wait. The state is always in a hurry to call for an evacuation. This year was no different calling it on Sunday with the storm “arriving” until Thursday. So we wait.…

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Wine & Company on Upper Meeting St.

Wine & Company on Upper Meeting St.

Published August 5, 2019

Wine bars have exploded all over Charleston. For the longest time, the best that I could tell, there were just two, Bin 152 on lower King St. and Avondale Wine and Cheese in West Ashley. Then the trend hit Charleston, and there seemed to be a new one opening every few months, as well as pre-existing bars tweaking their offerings to become a wine bar. My unofficial count at this point is fourteen. Some might argue that there are more, but I am happy with my count. But there was one I kept coming up in conversation, Wine & Company,…

Drayton Hall – Tourist in My Own Town

Published July 9, 2019

This past weekend, Gary and I had a house guest. Katia, who was my classmate in D.C. when I was taking the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) Level 2 Certification. We hit it off and became study partners and subsequently friends. She reached out looking for hotel and restaurant recommendations for a weekend trip to Charleston. I recommended the “Hotel de Dean-Link,” which is the same location as our Church of the Screened in Porch. She loved that idea and chose to stay with us. She toured Charleston on her own Friday and Sunday but on Saturday we all…

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Barsa * Unrecipe * Summer Sips

Barsa * Unrecipe * Summer Sips

Published June 21, 2019

This is a post that I should call This, That and The Other because it is different topics that are unrelated to each other but are all themes of my blog, eating out – this week at Barsa; creating food- a simple Unrecipe appetizer; and drinking and sharing wine – New Summer Sips. Hopefully, that means that there is something in this post for everyone. But before I go there, I have to tell you that last week was insane as I pulled off a hugely successful invitation-only tasting with Gratus Vineyards. Typically, I would not host a tasting when…

WSET L2 and Cinco de Derby

Published May 27, 2019

I am not sure what occurred over the last six weeks, but time has flown by so quickly. Today our dear friends head north for the summer, and that just makes me sad. My liver is quite happy and looks forward to some recuperation. So in honor of their departure, I am sharing our hats and fascinator images from the Cinco de Derby brunch they hosted three weeks ago. Additionally, in this post, I share my venture back to school. Well, kind of, I took a class. Ok, fine, it was a wine class, but it was for the WSET…

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Frequently Asked – Sulfites, Grocery Wine…

Frequently Asked – Sulfites, Grocery Wine…

Published May 7, 2019

Before we get to the “Frequently Asked” I wanted to share that my favorite wine book Wine Folly Magnum Edition, just won a James Beard Award in the “Best Beverage Book” category. It would make a great Mother’s Day gift for your wine curious mom. You Ask, and I Answer Frequently Asked Question: What are Sulfites in wine? Answer: Sulfur dioxide (or Sulfites) is a natural compound and is actually a by-product of fermentation. Thus all wine has sulfites to some degree. That said, sulfites are added to many conventionally produced wines and acts as a preservative. Wine labeled…

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Category: Joie de Vivre