Ingredients

• 1  cup  cherries, pitted and halved
• 1  cup  blueberries
• 1  cup  raspberries
• 1  cup  quartered small strawberries
• 1/2  cup  chopped nectarine (about 1)
• 1/3  cup  brandy
• 1  cup  apricot nectar, chilled
• 1  (750-milliliter) bottle cava, chilled

Preparation

1. Combine the first 6 ingredients in a large pitcher, and chill for at least 2 hours. Stir in 1 cup nectar and wine. Serve immediately.

Calories per cocktail:  153

Written by Lea Barlow • Leave a comment

Name: Mommy’s Time Out 2008 Garganega PINOT GRIGIO

Alcohol content: 11.5%

Price: $6.99

Description per label: We all know that being a Mommy is a difficult job. A Mommy’s Time Out is a well-deserved break. This wine is delicate and fruity.

Review:  Any time a wine implicitly or explicitly encourages the shirking of parental duties my sommelier senses draw me in like a zombie to brains. By now I’m sure you’ve noticed the eerie similarity between the two.  Case in point?  The toddler-toting mom’s gait and the night of the living dead shuffle.  Or how about that thousand mile stare and disheveled appearance of any new parent? When I dragged across this Italian blend, packing my own dual toddlers, I was sold by the name alone. Upon sampling, my expectations of mediocrity were confirmed. The aroma was sweet and fruity and the taste watered down. The finish of this varietal, although lasting, was acidic and lackluster. Always bare in mind that with all gimmicky products at low prices you should never set the bar too high.  This axiom also applies to most celebrity vinted blends. My primary knock is that the alcohol content is an impotent 11.5%. On the SMS rating scale (1-10) I rate this a mediocre 4.

Suggested pairings: Bunco, Book Clubs, Baby Showers, and Bitching and Moaning.

Written by Lea Barlow • Leave a comment

Ingredients

• 5  peeled kiwifruit, divided
• 3  cups  ice
• 1/4  cup  light rum
• 1/4  cup  Midori (melon-flavored liqueur)
• 3  tablespoons  Cream of Coconut (such as Coco Lopez)
• 1  (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple in juice, undrained

Preparation

Cut 4 kiwifruit into quarters, and place in a blender. Set remaining kiwifruit aside. Add ice and remaining ingredients to blender; process until smooth. Strain mixture through a sieve into a pitcher; discard seeds. Divide evenly among 6 glasses. Cut remaining kiwifruit into 6 slices; garnish each glass with 1 kiwifruit slice.

Nutritional Information: Calories: 143 (10% from fat) Fat: 1.6g (sat 1g,mono 0.0g,poly 0.2g)  Protein: 0.6g  Carbohydrate: 23.1g  Fiber: 2.5g  Cholesterol: 0.0mg  Iron: 0.4mg  Sodium: 11mg  Calcium: 17mg
Source & Image:  cookinglight.com

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Name: BIG ASS CAB-2007 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Alcohol content: 13.5%

Price: $15.99

Description per label: Just what it says, this is a big intense, lush Cabernet, you should be extremely happy. Very enjoyable right now. With the potential for aging well into the next decade.

Review: The first thing that comes to mind when I hear Big Ass is Walmart. The reason behind this (no pun intended) is when browsing the aisles at the big W I can’t help but marvel at the gigantic ass population of the joint. I feel small and lost, with an overwhelming sense of claustrophobia. It infuriates me when I can’t move my oversized cart full of junk past two huge butts attached to brainless bargain grazers. One can only ponder, how and why? And where did they find those insalubrious outfits?  Oh, I see, over there in the clothing department.

On an entirely separate note, Big Ass Cab is a decent wine.  However, I find the suggestion to cellar this blend for a decade unconscionable. I try to impart upon you, my friends, there are wines that you drink now, there are wines you guzzle and there are wines you keep for a special occasion. Big Ass Cab sits its bulky  rear squarely in the drink now category.  Upon tasting, the corpulent Cab is warm and oaky with a satisfying hint of green peppery olive.  This blend delivers a portly alcohol content and has culinary applications too numerous to list. Even as I penn this review  with a blood alcohol content well north of legally drunk, I can articulate with connoisseur certainty that it’s worth your time to sample this wine. On the now world-renowned SMS scale of (1-10) I rate this rotund red a solid 6.

Suggested pairings: Duck a la orange, Cajun cuisine, frog legs and suffering through yet another episode of Max & Ruby.

Written by Lea Barlow • Leave a comment