Happy New Year!! 🎊
We love Allendale Steak House for their great food and service! I knew exactly what wine to bring - Brunello di Montalcino 2017!
Brunello is one of Italy’s best red wines. It is made from 100% Sangiovese grapes 🍇 (my favorite red grape) and is typically bolder than a Chianti, the other famous Sangiovese wine from the Tuscany region. Brunello must be aged for 4 years before release, 2 of which must be in barrel. In 1980, Brunello was one of the first Italian wine regions to receive the Italy’s top classification of DOCG.
👃🏼 - cherry 🍒, blackberry, dried herbs 🌿, dried cranberry
👅 - leather, oak, licorice
Dry
High acidity
High tannins
Full body 😋
So happy we received this as a gift 🎁! What a special treat!!!
We capped off the night watching Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen, who are hysterical 😭, with a Grand Cru Champagne that I poured at work earlier in the day! $45 for a Grand Cru Champagne 🍾?!? Yes, please!!!
And my hair always looks amazing because of Ashley at Dry Bar in Paramus!! 🥰 #winelover #brunellodimontalcino #italianwine #allendalesteakhouse #drybar #iamthequeenashleyj #filetmignon #newyearseve #champagne
2024 was a great year!
I passed my WSET Level 3 test with Merit! (Nice birthday 🎁!)
I started my own business 👏🏻 and FINALLY got on social media!
🙄
I went on some wonderful trips with my family and friends! 🇮🇹🇨🇦 And tasted some delicious wine 🍷!
I started working as the wine expert on Sundays at Gary’s Buy-Rite and I teach a class there every month! 🍷
Thank you to my friends and my family who have supported me!! Love you 🥰 and looking forward to 2025!! #winetastings #wineeducation #winetastingparty #franklinlakesnj #friends #family #italy #quebeccity #wsetdiploma #garysbuyrite
DAY #19 - Balance of Powers 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon from Argentina.
Argentina is known for its Malbecs but this Cab is super yummy!
👃🏼 - blackberry, baking spices, black currant
👅 - pepper, tobacco, earthiness
Dry
Medium + body
Medium + tannins
High acidity
This would be great with a flank steak! 😋
DAY #20 - Wild Child 2023 Chardonnay from North Coast, CA.
👃🏼 - pear, vanilla, ripe 🍏
👅 - crisp, melon, lemon
Dry
High acidity
Medium Body
I would enjoy this with salmon, 🍗 or a pork chop! 😋
This wine undergoes malolactic conversion/fermentation or MLF but I don’t get a “buttery” note on the nose or the palate! Which is great because I am not a fan of “buttery” Chardonnays! They were big in the 1980s (like big hair). 🤣
What is malolactic conversion? It is a process, done by bacteria, that nearly all red wines and some white wines undergo. This process converts the tart malic acid to a softer, creamier lactic acid (think milk 🥛) - hence the buttery and creamy flavor in some Chardonnays.
If a wine was aged in oak, there’s a good chance MLF occurred since MLF typically occurs while wines age in oak barrels. This process also adds texture and body to wines. #winelover #winetastings #ingoodtastewines #wineandfoodpairing #wineknowledge #wineeducation #chardonnay #cabernetsauvignon #argentinawine #californiachardonnay #malolacticfermentation
What a fantastic night!! I attended a wine and food pairing dinner at the Turtle And The Wolf Restaurant in Montclair, NJ. Gary’s Buy-Rite in Wayne teamed up with Shafer wines from Napa Valley for this delicious meal and wonderful evening!
We tasted 6 wines:
1. Red Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay 2022- honeycomb, white flowers, apricot and pineapple.
2. TD-9 Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 - ripe plum, violet, red & black cherries and rhubarb. A blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 4% Malbec and 3% Petit Verdot. My favorite of the evening!
3. One Point Five Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 - red plum, black cherry, coffee, cassis. A blend of 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Petit Verdot, 3% Merlot and 2% Malbec.
4. Relentless Syrah 2019 - meatiness, black plum, dark chocolate, blackberry, spice.
5. Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 - black cherry, black currant, leather, black tea.
6. Hillside Select Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 - blackberry, cassis, forest floor, spice.
I think I need to go back to Napa soon to visit this winery! 🍷🍇✈️
And I am definitely having dinner again at the Turtle and The Wolf Restaurant! #winelover #winetastings #wineandfoodpairings #turtleandthewolf #shaferwine #napavalley#wineeducation #garysbuyrite #wineeducation #wineenthusiast
Last night I held a wine tasting class that featured 4 wines that pair well with Thanksgiving dishes.
Roberta’s favorite was Oriol Rossell Brut Rosé Cava from Spain made from Garnacha and Pinot Noir 🍇. Cava is made like Champagne (in the traditional method) but for a lot less $! (This wine is $16.99).
With notes of strawberries, cherries, raspberries and a hint of minerality, it would be the Superhero 🦸 at your Thanksgiving table because it pairs nicely with everything from the appetizers to the desserts!! Try one! You will ❤️ it!! #winelover #winetastings #wineandfoodpairing #wineandfood #garysbuyrite #bodyformulafitness #bubbly #thanksgiving #oriolrossell #cava #sparklingrosé
After 5 hours of being on my feet and pouring wine today, I came home and decided to relax with a nice 🍷 from my trip to Cortona, Italy.
My friend and I were walking by this wine store when Gabriella beckoned us in with a promise of free wine! Who says no to that? We tried SO many wines but this one stood out because it’s a Cabernet Sauvignon in the land of Sangiovese. Yummy 😋!
Gabriella kept us entertained and we met some sweet, young teachers from Seattle. What a great time!!! #winetastings #winelover #cortonaitaly #Cabernetsauvignon #ivitiwinery #friends
Mahjong was last night! My friend is Vietnamese and she made her famous Beef Pho! 😋 I always bring a white and a red wine to pair with the food.
I wasn’t sure what to pair with this dish so I consulted my trusty Vivino app on my phone! I always like to “look up” my wines on this app by taking a picture. Now there is a feature where you can get suggestions for what wines will pair well with your food.
For Beef Pho , the wines suggested were:
Beaujolais - This is a red wine made from Gamay 🍇 from the most southern region of Burgundy in France. It’s light and dry with flavors of strawberry and raspberry.
Grüner Veliner - This is Austria’s signature white 🍇. It’s light, fresh, zesty with flavors of lime, lemon and grapefruit.
The dinner was delicious and the wines for a hit and the company was special!! ❤️🥰#winetastings #winelover #vivino #mahjong #friendship #beaujolaiswine #grunerveltliner
#winetastings #winelover #thebostonwinery #boston #alexandervalley #cabernetsauvignon
Thoroughly enjoyed the Malbec wine tasting at Gary’s Wine store in Wayne, NJ this past Saturday. I bought a new white wine that day! Check out my review of it in the above clip. Hint: It’s delicious. #whitewine #winesfromargentina #wineandfoodpairing #wineandfood #garyswineandmarketplace #garyswine #winereview
Wine Educator 🍷 WSET Level 3 Wines Certified
