by Christine | Wine Friday
In these days of high unemployment and global financial crisis, it’s nice to relax with a bottle of wine that doesn’t break your pocketbook. I’m here to sort out the memorable from the truly awful, and each bottle is under $10.
It has been years since I regularly purchased Two Buck Chuck, the ubiquitous Trader Joe’s Charles Shaw wines. Since the ready cash has been less ready as of late, the hubby thought it would be a good idea to give some of them another try. So here we go, delving into the mysteries of Two Buck Chuck.
Charles Shaw Merlot 2011 Alcohol 12.5% by Volume; $1.99 at Trader Joe’s
On The Label: “Cellared and bottled by Charles Shaw Winery, Napa and Sonoma, California”
My Take: Well, the label is interesting. They take grapes from the premier growing areas in California and use those in their wines. Hm…
The last time I had a bottle of Two Buck Chuck (actually I’m talking several years ago now), it was awful. I have a strange tolerance for bad wine – after the first few gulps, you can get used to anything – but that bottle turned me away from the wine for a very long time. This Merlot, however, was flavorful, with lots of fruit and a hint of depth. It went well with the chicken quesadillas and guacamole we had that night for dinner. Plus the lower alcohol content was nice; reds tend to hover between 13.5% and 14%.
My Rating: ~ Drinkable ~
(TIP: If you don’t want your dinner guests to know what name brand of wine you’re pouring, decant it first and hide the bottle. There’s no need to tell a soul!)
Charles Shaw Sauvignon Blanc, 2011 Alcohol 12.5% by Volume – $1.99 at Trader 
Joe’s
On the Label: See above, lol.
My Take: Like almost all Sauvignon Blancs, this one has a crisp, almost sharp flavor. It’s a terrific spritzer wine, very like the Shaw Pinot Grigio, though we are past spritzer season here at Chez Ashworth. Will I rush out to buy it again? Um, not until next summer. Perhaps.
My Rating: ~ Drinkable ~
Overall, I was pleased that, should the worst happen and I be out on the streets with my hands out, begging, I can still find a bottle of wine that I can drink and only pay $1.99 for it. I still have a Shaw Cabernet Sauvignon in my wine cellar to try…I’ll admit I’m a bit scared! But as I was poking about the internet, I saw an article that said since Two Buck Chuck started selling, they’ve sold over six hundred million bottles. So they must be doing something right!
Have a great weekend, folks – and be good to one another.
As usual, this is just my honest opinion and depend upon my mood, the weather, and what cycle the moon is in. Your taste buds will differ.
~ 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?
My Rating Scale: Undrinkable, Barely Drinkable, Drinkable, Very Drinkable, and the ever popular Stay away! This is MY wine, you slut!
by Christine | Life, Observations
Most of the time, I know my place. I love my place – it’s got hubby in it, and my kids, my cat, my relatives, my friends, a terrific garden and a comfy bed to snuggle into at night. It’s also got stuffed animals that like to greet me when I come home from a writer’s conference.
My welcome home from Desert Dreams – stuffed animals guarding an ice bucket with a bottle of champagne. Isn’t my hubby the sweetest?
But it’s taken me some time to get to this place. I stumbled across what I thought was a brand-new journal book and took it along to a new playwright’s workshop I take on Monday nights. Imagine my surprise when I opened it up and found notes from a scam possible job opportunity, back in May of 2010.
I read through my notes (which were substantial – I believe I went to a week’s worth of “training”). There was a lot of leadership stuff in there – really good leadership stuff, I might add, which I will re-read again. Plus there was a lot of manipulation stuff in there, too; which bugged me at the time. But it took actually trying to sell this stuff before I realized that this job was not for me, no matter how much money I could make doing it.
Which got me to thinking about another job I had, spanning four months, not many months before I checked into the scam other possible job opportunity. That was a real job, with a real paycheck and real expense reports and real work. I was good at it, too. By the fourth month, I knew what I was doing, I could handle the work with my eyes shut and hands tied behind my back, and I was absolutely and positively miserable. Part of the misery was some family issues that were happening, and I was far away from home each day. So when I quit – and that, in fact, has been the only job I have quit – I did so as politely as I could, telling them that I was needed at home and this job wasn’t the right fit for me. They tried to keep me but I held firm. More money wouldn’t have done it (and boy was I underpaid). I spent the next two weeks getting everything in order, making sure the people who were taking my accounts knew what was going on in each area, copying my boss on all the details. I didn’t want to be badmouthed about my work when I left, and I wanted to make sure that if I ever HAD to, I could go back.
I have thought about these two jobs quite a bit in the last few days. I knew I could have handled them both, but there comes a time when you should just back away. Just because you CAN do a job doesn’t mean you SHOULD do it. Not at the expense of your own personal health and happiness, or how your mood affects your family.
Writing is a job. Luckily, I can and should and do write, and even though it can be difficult at times I never feel like I’m wearing ill-fitting clothes. I never feel out of place. I am never insanely miserable.
Writing, I’m happy to say, is my “place”. (So is my current day job, which I’m lucky to have and I’m grateful that it’s a good fit for my personality.)
At Desert Dreams Booksigning, with a part of the Arizona contingent of the Ashworth clan. One of the good writing days! (The one that voids warranties is Young Son.)
I’m thinking young people today are trying to find their own “place” almost too quickly, thereby abandoning part of the journey to self discovery for “place”. Later, they wonder why they’re unhappy. Maybe choosing your “place” too young is a bad thing?
Or maybe not enough people are lucky enough to find their “place” early in life? I don’t know. But heck, I’m happy where I am.
I guess you could say I’m in my happy place, lol, every time I sit down to write or go to the day job. Yes, I count myself lucky!
I also know that I’m a strong, intelligent woman and I’m friends with other strong, intelligent women (and men). Amidst all the change and upheaval and births and deaths and angst and incredible happiness and terrible storms, it helps to remember we are all human. What divides is is minor compared to what should unite us. We are strong and breakable; we all live, love, laugh, cry, eat, sleep, dream, bleed and die, and the earth is our “place”. Right now, it’s the only earth we’ve got.
I guess I’ve said enough. I’ve got dinner to make and more words to write. Peace out, people – and remember to be gentle with each other, even when we may disagree. Hugs!
~ 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
Lynne Marshall’s new book, Too Close For Comfort, hits shelves today. If you love romances with older heroines, you’ll love Too Close For Comfort and Lynne’s other older-heroine book, One For The Road.
Lynne – you’ve just allowed me to push my wine blog to Saturday, lol! I’ve got five questions for you to answer, so I can introduce you to my readers. Thanks so much for playing along!
Christine: What draws you to writing older heroines?
Lynne: Though life is interesting at every stage, I feel things become more challenging after forty. Women often hit their stride after the big four-oh. I believe we become more intriguing and sure of ourselves. Also, I can relate to women a bit closer to my age than the twenty-something heroines and their dating adventures. I enjoy stories that include marriages and children and the next big relationship obstacle to overcome.
Christine: Other than writing, what is your favorite creative endeavor?
Lynne: I am a totally uncreative person outside of writing. I have done many crafts over the years, but none have stuck. I do feel that I am fairly creative with throwing things together and coming up with a darn good meal, though. Is that considered being creative?
I also believe that I am a creative cusser. I make up cuss words, and enjoy stringing a long line together, with gusto, and hopefully won’t even offend anyone in the process. In fact there is evidence of my fake cuss words in Too Close for Comfort, in particular, at the beginning of chapter Twenty-one.
Christine: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?
Lynne: I would like to try out several places for a year, but not necessarily to settle down there for good. I must say, I have a love affair with Canada, and I could see myself in a small seaside town in the Atlantic northeast. There was one place in particular that my husband and I stumbled upon when we visited Halifax in 2010. I believe it was called Chester, (Chester Harbour) Nova Scotia. I’d really love to live there for a year. Or in Mahone Bay, which was equally beautiful and quaint.
Christine: Name three simple joys in your life.
Lynne: That first cup of coffee in the morning. Knowing my husband is nearby. Seeing both of my grown childrens’ faces.
Christine: If you could sit down for a meal with any literary character, who would it be and what would you eat?
Lynne: I honestly prefer to keep my characters in books, and actually being with them would ruin the magic of reading and imagination. So may I change that to any literary author?
ABSOLUTELY!!!
Samuel Clemens! Oh my gosh, what I’d do to share a meal with Mark Twain. I’d let him choose the meal and would do everything in my power not to let him know whether I hated something or not. Though he’d probably test me by ordering something weird, and I’d love knowing that! I’d eat something I’d never liked before in order to share a meal with Mark Twain, and I’d listen to every single word he uttered and would watch every gesture and expression he made.
Lynne, thanks so much for stopping by! Readers, I swear you will LOVE this book – give it a look see!
Too Close for Comfort
The Wild Rose Press
Dissove the partnership…or renegotiate between the sheets…
Blurb: Joy Waltham is stressed out. Before she can expand her business empire, she needs her ex-husband’s signature dissolving his silent partnership. A trip to Maine to find her ex, get the signature, and chill out seems ideal. But instead of relaxing, Joy winds up in the middle of a mystery—and wrapped in the overprotective arms of Comfort’s chief of police—her ex-husband.
After retiring from LAPD, Paul Donovan took charge of tiny Comfort’s police department. Bored senseless, he’s still not ready for chaos in the form of his ex-wife shaking up his life. Joy arrives just in time to meddle in his investigation of a string of accidental deaths. Now forced to work together, Joy and Paul confront some unexpected challenges.
It’s emotional deja vu as they dig through their thorny past, reawaken old sexual attraction, and face the fact they never stopped loving each other.
Excerpt:
“It could have been crazy,” she said, straightening her shirt.
Paul didn’t believe her. She read it in his expression. They had no business reopening their past, and that was exactly what they’d do if they got it on right here right now. She stared at him, desire whispering for a reprieve. Joy cleared her head with a sigh. He swallowed. So did she.
He patted her hip, a sure sign that the party was over. “Let’s go.”
Not quite understanding what had come over her in the first place, she attempted to sound upbeat. “Well, it was fun while it lasted.”
She pulled up her corduroy pants while Paul backed out of the car, ass first. He tucked in his shirt and pulled off his knit cap then scratched his head. He made a sound in his throat like a quiet self-deprecating curse. With lips drawn tight, and eyes crinkled at the corners, he stepped back while she crawled out.
“So what’d we learn from this?”
He didn’t waste a beat as he opened the passenger door for her. “That I had no business bringing you out here.”
She stopped close by his face, and ran her hand along the jaw that had just rubbed her cheek raw. She caught a whiff of his aftershave mixed with a surge of testosterone, and wished she’d had the chance to breathe more of him. “You’re right, Mr. Straight and Narrow,” she said, staring at him, her mouth still tingling from his kisses. “This was probably a mistake. Heaven forbid we should have some mind-numbing sex for old time’s sake.”
Follow Lynne
Order from The Wild Rose Press
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~ 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
BLURB:
Let the Hunt begin…
Pursuing a normal existence by attending college proves difficult for vampire Hunter, Emma Martin, considering the mystical tattoo on her wrist glows whenever Vamps are near. And after three months of silence, the glow is back with a vengeance.
Jake Cunningham witnesses Emma using her powers and reveals a few of his own. Finally, after three years of searching, he realizes his newfound abilities must mean he’s a Hunter like Emma.
Thankful not to be alone in the fight against the Vamps, Emma finds hope and comfort in Jake’s arms. As she learns more about her new love’s family and its dark heritage, she may be forced not only to hunt them, but also to sacrifice her life to save Jake’s soul.
Stalk Lynn Rush here:
Website: http://lynnrush.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lynnrush
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13548020-violet-midnight A Rafflecopter giveaway
Go HERE, because there’s a party happening over there and there are giveaways!
~ 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, Wine Friday
In these days of high unemployment and global financial crisis, it’s nice to relax with a bottle of wine that doesn’t break your pocketbook. I’m here to sort out the memorable from the truly awful, and each bottle is under $10, unless noted otherwise.
I am a happy girl. Rain came to my corner of So Cal. Rain, hail, thunder, lightning, fires (from the lightning), mudslides (from the rain) and flooding (also from the rain). Who said California doesn’t have any weather?!!
When it rains, I like to dig out the stew pot and make a hearty stew, or perhaps a yummy, cooks-forever roast. Since I was at work, I couldn’t get to my happy place today, but the hubby did it for me! As I type, the roast and the bread machine are sending my olfactory senses into happy overdrive. So, for this weather, I’m hauling out three reds I haven’t talked about before – big enough for the roast beast, warming enough for the chill outside. (I even needed a sweater today, and not because of the air conditioning at work, lol!) It’s time to warm up with some red wines!
Clayhouse Wines Adobe Red, 2009 Central Coast Alcohol 13.5% by Volume; at BevMo! on their 5cent sale, $17.04 for two.
On the Label: “The Adobe Red is a blend created for that rebellious, hedonistic red wine lover inside of you, rustic like the adobe but refined with sensuous dark fruit flavors. 52% Zinfandel, 25% Petite Sirah, 15% Malbec, 11% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Syrah, 9% Petit Verdot.”
My Take: We bought this on the advice from the guy who works the wine tastings at BevMo. He can be pretty cheerless, but he led us to this wine so I forgive him, lol. Because, Hell Yes. I am a hedonistic, rebellious red wine lover and I’ve never tried to hide it. We just bought this wine during the latest 5cent sale. This wine is big but not too big; soft, but not too soft. It’s got the Zin I prefer (with a nice dash of pepper). It’s what I’ll be opening to go with dinner tonight (sorry, honey! I owe you a bottle).
My Rating: ~ Very, Very Drinkable ~ I can tell you right now, I’ll be going out and stocking up. At $8.50 a bottle, it’s hard to beat.
Trader Joe’s Grand Reserve Pinot Noir 2010 Russian River Valley Alcohol, 13.5% 
by Volume; $11.99 at Trader Joe’s.
On the Label: Vinted and Bottled by Patrick Slater Wine Co, American Canyon, California (GOSH I love their labeling! But when I googled Patrick Slater Wine Co, I got Pat Slater, a female real estate agent up in wine country. So who knows who’s actually making the wine. Not that it matters.)
My Take: I liked this wine. As much as I didn’t think last week’s Trader Joe’s wine deserved the Grand Reserve title, this one does. It’s fruity, juicy, easy to drink yet holds up to food very well. My guess is this one will attain Slut status once it’s a little bit older.
My Rating: ~ Very Drinkable ~ And even though it’s over $10, I’ll buy it again!
Thanks to http://fogcityfoodie.com/2011/08/03/2009-piper-sonoma-pinot-noir-review/ for the photo (check out their review!).
Piper Sonoma Pinot Noir 2009 Sonoma Coast Alcohol 13.8% by Volume; Not sure of price, but I think it’s around $16 at Pavilions; I might have gotten it on sale for under $10.
On the Label: “For over thirty years, Piper Sonoma has sourced the finest Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes ripened to perfection by the warm Sonoma sun. We’ve crafted this excellent still wine from grapes selected from some of the most outstanding vineyard lots in Sonoma County.”
My Take: I am predisposed to love this wine. Why? Because one of the most wonderful experiences I’ve ever had at a winery was at the Piper Sonoma plant back in 1989. We watched them bottle sparkling wine, and we had a glass of Tete de Cuvee sparkling wine that was probably the best taste of wine I’ve ever had, ever. Ever.
But when I saw this wine in the grocery store, I circled around it for a couple of years. It should have been a no-brainer – my favorite sparkling wine maker, plus one of my favorite drinking wines should equal SPECTACULAR. But – I was worried. What if I didn’t like it? What if it was terrible? What then?
I got over myself and bought a bottle. We drank it. I bought another bottle, just to check it out. Sigh of relief. It didn’t suck!
My Rating: ~ Very Drinkable ~ It is juicy, lovely, easy to drink – but not that much better than my favorite Smoking Loon Pinot Noir, and much more expensive. It does have a slightly greater depth to it, though, so when I want a bigger Pinot, I’d turn to this one. I think. Lol!
As usual, these are just my honest opinions, and always depend upon my mood, the weather, and what cycle the moon is in. Your taste buds will differ.
~ 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?
My Rating System: Undrinkable, Barely Drinkable, Drinkable, Very Drinkable, and the ever popular Stay away! This is MY wine, you slut!
