We're Back...

So we know that we've been away for a bit but life got hectic and interfered with blogging. We thought today that we'd come back with a couple of recommendations for nice, inexpensive summer wines. Deana has a subscription to Real Simple magazine and they did a nice article on summer wines under $12 (see the whole article here). We picked out two wines that are top on our list to try - a red and a white.

We like a couple of things about this Jargon pinot noir. Clearly, the label is impressive with bright summer colors and a clever font. It caught our eye right away. Now we know that judging a wine solely on its packaging can sometimes be a disastrous choice but every once in a while it can lead you to try something wonderful. Also this red features dark cherry flavors that complement its easy drinking nature...at least that's what the wine experts at Real Simple have led us to believe. Plus it's red wine which right away fits in our wheelhouse - we're just not that choosy! Also, we've found that if at first you don't like a particular wine drink, drink something else. When you go back and taste the first wine it is ALOT better.

We also recommend the Clean Slate riesling. Obviously, the name sparked an interest right from the get go... "Everybody deserves a second chance" or a clean slate as it were. But what really excited us was the description of the delicious peach and apricot flavors that brighten up this clean, crisp white. Although we are not as drawn to white wines at first glance as we are to reds, whites do have a distinct advantage - they are socially acceptable for early morning or afternoon drinking. It just screams "wino" to order a Cabernet at brunch...although as Deana pointed out you could make sure your wait staff brings the wine in a juice glass and then tell everyone that it is grape juice. But you'll have to be hypervigilant to prevent a youngster from sipping on your "grape juice" or you may end up with some angry parents.

We thought we'd leave you with this awesome photo of Mr. Sam after he went with Jenn to see Wicked last weekend. We actually won the Wicked lottery and got our tickets for only $25 each! And our seats were in the fifth row - we could see everything perfectly. After the show, Mr. Sam kept acting out scenes from the witch's life. This shot is my favorite...