by Christine | Uncategorized
Last year, I wrote an exhaustive post on Champagnes and Sparkling wines that I can’t hope to beat. If you’d like a peek, go here.
Surprisingly, there were sparkling wines that I didn’t mention in that review but that were mentioned in the comments. Today I bring two of those to your attention (plus a couple more, lol!).
Gruet Blanc de Noirs Methode Champenoise American Sparkling Wine Albuquerque, New Mexico Alcohol 12% by Volume – on sale for $14.99 at BevMo!
A delightful, non-vintage sparkling wine (or maybe that was just Christmas Eve? lol…), the Gruet should certainly be on your go-to list. It is on par with the Domaine Chandon Blanc de Noirs, though I have to admit I prefer the Domaine’s pretty pink color. The Gruet didn’t have a pink tinge to it (which is expected when you see Blanc de Noirs on the label). Bottled from the Pinot Noir grape, most blanc de noirs sparkling wines have that pretty color – this one did not, even though their website cites a “a fine salmon color”. The only drawback I can see to this wine is that my local grocery store doesn’t carry it, which means you may have to hunt for it.
Another new favorite of mine is Domaine Carneros by Taittenger, 2007 & 2008 
Brut Methode Champenoise – Napa Valley, California Alcohol 12% by Volume, on sale at Vons for $19.99 .
We had the 2007 on Christmas morning, and I will definitely be buying another bottle of it.
Lovely neighbors also brought us over a bottle of the 2008 as a Christmas present, so we’ll probably be popping it on New Year’s Eve. Another upscale bottle with a good price to it. Definitely impressive!
For fun bubbles, to share with a younger crowd perhaps (that might not be quite so judgmental), try Yellowglen’s Pink and Yellow sparkling wines, from Australia. I’ve picked up both of these from BevMo! over the years, and have found them thoroughly enjoyable. (Especially terrific in the summer when you want something fun and festive – but equally at home for a big New Year’s Eve party.)
I taste tested these a couple of years ago at BevMo! – they are running $6.99 on a Club Bev membership (which is free), normally double that. The bottles are fun and festive, the wine is lively and the bubbles fairly small. All in all, a good value for the money.
I am surprised (and pleased) that there are so many different sparkling wines that I have yet to taste! Which one is your favorite to ring in the New Year with?
On a sober-er note, please go visit Natalie Hartford’s blog today, where she shares with us the proper way to be a responsible hostess with Holiday Mocktails. They sound delicious, and I’m eager to try them! Plus MADD has come out with non-alcoholic cocktails that she said were terrific – give it a look see.
May you say goodbye to 2012 with no regrets, and look to 2013 with an open and eager mind, heart, and spirit. Thanks so much for being a part of my life this year!
~ Until the next time, cheers – and remember to drink responsibly! ~
Demon Soul, Blood Dreams and Demon Hunt are all available for the Kindle! Have you fallen into the Caine Brothers’ world yet?
by Christine | Uncategorized
Lately, I’ve been keeping a small point & shoot Nikon camera in my purse, just because I see the silliest, or coolest, things as I wander about my little corner of the world. Here are a couple of photos – one thought-provoking, one silly – and both are kinda perfect for the season.
That kind of says it all, doesn’t it? Seen in Studio City, California
Yeah, I really like this photo! The next one, however, took me totally off guard. I saw it as I was coming back from lunch one day. This car was parked outside a dry cleaner’s – I hurried to take the photo because I didn’t want the owner to come out and harass me for taking it. Luckily, no one seemed to notice.
I totally burst out laughing when I saw this! The right amount of funny for me.
And finally, I couldn’t let this post end without a photo of the family Snowflake Fairy – the first ornament my hubby and I bought for our first married Christmas, December 1980. We bought her in a Hallmark store in Seattle the same day we got our tiny, Charlie Brown Christmas tree – on Christmas Eve. It is now the ornament that is always placed first on the tree, and always gets the best “show place” on the tree.
The one and only Snowflake Fairy. On Christmas Eve, she’ll be 32 human years old. I have no idea how old that is in Fairy, but my hubby says she’s only 4.
Have you seen anything out and about that you found thought provoking or funny lately? Please share!
Sending love out to you and yours, and hoping this new week is a terrific one for you!
~ Until the next time, cheers – and remember to drink responsibly! ~
Demon Soul, Blood Dreams and Demon Hunt are all available for the Kindle! Have you fallen into the Caine Brothers’ world yet?
by Christine | Writing
Please give a big welcome to Toni De Palma the author of The Devil’s Triangle!
Blurb:
When 17 year old Cooper dies in an attempt to burn down his school, he finds himself in the afterlife. Lucy, the Devil’s sister who has crossed party lines, decides to give Cooper another shot at heaven. The deal? Cooper returns to Earth and has to find a girl named Grace. The rest is up to him.
While Cooper figures out his mission, he’s thrown into the life he’s always wanted. Great parents, a spot on the Varsity football team and a real future are all within reach. But what he really wants is Grace, a feisty girl with an abusive boyfriend that can pound Cooper into pulp if he doesn’t watch out.
While Lucy plays demonic-puppeteer, clues to an unknown past between Cooper and Grace start to unravel. Cooper discovers that what’s keeping he and Grace apart is far more sinister than anything this bad boy could have ever imagined.
Doesn’t that sound cool? It’s coming soon from Crescent Moon Press, so keep a watch out for it!
~ Until the next time, cheers – and remember to drink responsibly! ~
Demon Soul, Blood Dreams and Demon Hunt are all available for the Kindle! Have you fallen into the Caine Brothers’ world yet?
by Christine | Publishing
Hi everyone! Today I have my friend, Adriana Ryan, with her cover reveal. See, and be awed! Didn’t cover artist James Helps do a fantastic job? Read on, and ask her questions!
World of Shell and Bone
By Adriana Ryan
Coming December 7th, 2012
Cover by: James Helps (http://humblenations.com/)
In a world ravaged by a nuclear holocaust, Vika Cannon knows there are no guarantees: no guarantees of safety, no guarantees that your neighbor is not actually a spy for the government, and no guarantees you’ll be allowed to emigrate to a new life in Asia.
New Amana is dying. Food and water are scarce, and people suffering from radiation-caused mutations—the Nukeheads—are the new class of homeless.
Vika has just one purpose: to produce healthy progeny using a Husband assigned by the Match Clinic. Unhealthy children are carted away to Asylums to be experimented on, just as Vika’s little sister Ceres was, eight years ago. Parents incapable of producing healthy progeny are put to death in gas chambers.
When she’s assigned a Husband shortly after her twentieth birthday, Vika expects him to be complacent and obedient. But Shale Underwood has a secret. He is a member of the Radicals, the terrorist group intent on overthrowing the government. And Shale has information about Ceres.
As she learns more about the Rads’s plan, Vika finds herself drawn to Shale in ways she’d never imagined. When freedom calls in the way of a healthy pregnancy, will she betray her government and risk death for Shale and Ceres?
Bio: Adriana Ryan lives and writes in Charleston, SC. She is currently at work on a dystopian and an urban fantasy series. A huge fan of spooky stuff and shoes, she enjoys alternately hitting up the outlet malls and historic graveyards.
Contact her via emailadriana@adrianaryan.com.
Adriana Ryan is a member of the Romance Writer’s Association (RWA).
Contact: Adriana@adrianaryan.com
http://adrianaryan.com
www.facebook.com/authoradrianaryan
www.twitter.com/adrianaryansc
I’ve got a busy weekend, so the Wine Friday post for this week won’t be up until next weekend. Thanks for your patience!
~ Until the next time, cheers – and remember to drink responsibly! ~
Demon Soul, Blood Dreams and Demon Hunt are all available for the Kindle! Have you fallen into the Caine Brothers’ world yet?
by Christine | Reviews
The last couple of weeks I’ve been reading like it’s going out of style. My taste is diverse, as you’ll see from this list! I highly recommend ALL of these books. If you click on the link on the title, it’ll take you to the Amazon page for that book. If the author is highlighted, click there and it will take you to their website.
First up – Darynda Jones’ new series starts with Death and the Girl Next Door. A Paranormal YA novel, this book totally kicks ass and takes names. I am a HUGE Darynda fan and was thrilled to have met her in person when she came to speak to the Orange County Chapter of RWA in November.
The book is fun, snarky, gets dark, and has some wonderful twists to it. The 3 best friends, sophmores, skip school a lot, but unless your teen is hyper susceptible to suggestion this shouldn’t be a deterrent. This is exactly the type of book I wished had been in style when I was a teenager.
Next is Teresa Hill’s Twelve Days of Christmas
This is a wonderful novel. QUITE the tear-jerker, and the one that comes after this one, Emma’s story, looks to be just as much a tear-jerker. Teresa has written for Harlequin for many years and has a lot of stories out there, but I’d never read her before this book. It was on my Kindle, had a Christmas title, so I read it – devoured it – in one 3 hour stretch of time over the weekend. Lovely, really very lovely.
To stick with the Christmas theme, I need to put in a book that I JUST finished yesterday
by Regan Walker called The Holly and the Thistle, a short historical romance set in London at Christmas time. It was a lovely story about a widow, a Scotsman, and Christmas traditions, and I HIGHLY recommend it. She also has a full-length historical out that I haven’t read yet, but it looks fantastic. It’s called Racing With The Wind and is the beginning of her Agents of the Crown series.
And last but not least, Tara Lain’s Beautiful Boys of Romance! Volley Balls, Fire Balls and Beach Balls all in one volume called Balls to the Wall. LOVED these stories set in one of my favorite places, Laguna Beach. LOVE the men, the way they fall in love, their insecurities and their macho attitude and how their hearts are speared by love, but my favorite of the three is Beach Balls. What a lovely story! I’m a new reader of Tara’s – these are the first books of hers I’ve read – and got to meet her at OCC’s chapter meeting in November. I can tell you, I’ll definitely be picking up more of her books!
That’s all I have for right now – thanks for stopping by. Tell me, what have YOU read lately that you think I’ll love?
~ Until the next time, cheers – and remember to drink responsibly! ~
Demon Soul, Blood Dreams and Demon Hunt are all available for the Kindle! Have you fallen into the Caine Brothers’ world yet?
