Unique D'Vine.com

This last  quarter, I have had the pleasure being contracted by a wine & spirits marketing company to go into local grocery stores to respresent various brands of beverages, and help holiday shoppers make wine selections for all of the various festivities. Along the way, I came across some fabulous finds! These wines are available in most grocery stores and I have given them my "Royal Seal of Approval", so they are a great pick outside of the holidays as well!!

Happy New Year!

Unique D'Vine

Whites

5. Simi Chardonnay - $13.99**

4. Blackstone Riesling - $11.49

3. Clos du Bois Sauvignon Blanc - $10.99

2. Clos du Bois Chardonnay - $8.99

1. Clos du Riesling - $12.49

Reds

5. Toasted Head Merlot - $10.69

4. Franciscan Cabernet Sauvignon - $20.99

3. Robert Mondavi Private Selection Merlot - $9.99

2. BV Coastal Estates Cabernet Sauvignon - $8.99

1. Wild Horse Pinot Noir- $28.99

**Prices are approximate and may vary from across grocery stores.

P.S. - Always check out my Life of a Princess calendar, to see when I may be doing a tasting at a grocery store near you. I update it every Tuesday! Cheers!

 Sake, which is Japenese meaning, Spirit of Rice, is a rice wine, but is made similar to the way beer is made . Junmai Ginjo is a ranking of the quality of the Sake. Similar to Qualitatswein mit Pradikat in German wine ranking. Junmai Ginjo mean these sakes are of premium quality.

Mura Mura Canyon Junmai Ginjo 14.8% alcohol

Color: Clear, faint green

Nose/Aroma: grainy and citrusy

Taste on the Princess's palate: light, very dry, taste like watered down grain liquor. Don't taste bad, but doesn't taste good, to me, but maybe good if you like liquors like Gin.

Mura Mura Meadow Junmai Ginjo

Color: clear

Nose/Aroma: Vanilla, with a hint of mushroom/musk

Taste on the Princess's Palate: Slight SLIGHT sweetness, light body, shocking intense aftertaste<---that mushroom taste

Mura Mura River Junmai Ginjo

Color: cloudy, transluscent

Nose/Aroma: clean, tropical fruits, medium body

Taste on the Princess's Palate: creamy, slight sweetness

Mura Mura Mountain Junmai Ginjo

Color: very cloudy, milky,

Nose/Aroma: tropical with coconut,

Taste on the Princess's Palate: coconut, with a grain liquor aftertaste. Like coconut milk mixed with Gin.

Mura Mura Pear Orchard Infused Ginjo

Color: clear, light green tint

Nose/Aroma: light fruit like fruit baby food smells

Taste on the Princess's Palate: Very fruity taste, not as strong of an alcohol taste.

This tasting review is brought to you curteousy of Chef Anthony Padavan, and my Spirits, Beers, and Brews class

For more information about these Sakes, visit www.muramurasake.com

Until Next Time...Cheers!

I wanted to share some interesting finds from my 'New World' wine class the other night. I think either one of these labels would make a great gift for some you may know from

2007 Ben Ami Chardonnay- Galil, Israel

In my Princess opinion, this 'kosher' Chard has is light lemon yellow in color, with a buttery vanilla scented nose. It's dry and medium bodied on the palate with a bright herbal aftertaste. Many of my classmates said this was their favorite Chardonnay out of 9 weeks of wine tastings. I think it is a decent representation of a classic varietal, kosher-style.

2004 Musar Cuvee Rouge - Bekaa Valley, Lebanon

This label was a suprise to see because Lebanon has never been on my top list of regions to explore as far as wine goes, so this was definitely a welcome addition to my growing journal of tastings. I found it to be a deep purple in color, with a very leathery nose. I got the taste of unsweetned berry-apple juice. A little spice, smooth tannin. I had a second glass of this.

Lastly, if you're looking for something different in dessert wines, 

Hoshi Plum Wine - Sanger, CA

This Japanese inspired plum wine smells of spiced cider and citrus followed by a sweet, nutty, juicy, flavor. Label says best served chilled or on the rocks. I say, try it with some sweet and sour shrimp or pork .

Until next time, Cheers!

Unique D'Vine

Today marked the last day at my recent intern gig at The Daytime Show (www.daytimeonline.tv).

I"m very thankful to Chef Castro for putting out this opportunity to Ai students and even more thankful to EJ Fernandes, Sales Producer, for the Daytime Show for taking a chance with a Wine Princess, in addition to some of my culinary classmates. I learned a lot while on the set. One of which was everything that looks good on TV aint exactly edible! <-- Done on the outside, raw on the inside. We needed to save time, the finished product is good tho! You better know it!

Speaking of, "you better know it", Ms. Tiffany Collins,www.tiffanycollins.net All around great woman and a pleasure to work with. She gave me a very encouraging, successful woman to successful woman-to-be talk, on my first day. I really appreciated that and I still carry her words with me. She also ordered some wine from me and got others to order too! THANKS TIFFANY! Check out her 200 Panini recipes book! It's to die for, You better know it!

Another thing I learned on set at the Daytime Show, is that it IS possible to have fun at work, when you do what you love and  work with people who also love what they do.

<-- Co-host and Producer

I wouldn't by any means call the what goes on at the show easy, but everyone really works together and does their best to make the day, however long it might be, enjoyable for everyone. Even us, work-for-experience, interns had a great time. It's a blessing to see people laughin, smilin, treating each other like family, and jus havin a good time at their job. It makes me feel like being a full time Wine Princess is worth the occasional stresses!

<--Ms. Helen's tearful goodbye

Most of all, being at the Daytime Show has taught me, never to be afraid to put yourself out there and just see what happens. I almost didn't apply for this internship because I am not a culinary student, but had I not, I wouldn't have met all these great people and had such great experiences. Also, I wouldn't have learned that working for free doesn't mean that you aren't getting paid. I made some amazing business connections, networking lessons,  and budding friendships over at that studio and I can't wait to see what other experiences I have the honor of experiencing at Daytime.  Make sure you catch the fruits of our labor the, " Southern Living Magazine Christmas Special" which will air the week of Nov 30th. Check the Daytime Show website for your local channel!

Peave & Blessings

Unique D'Vine