Perrier-Jouët Champagne

1996 Perrier-Jouët Champagne Cuvée Fleur de Champagne $129

She Said:

"He" and I celebrate Christmas with a long-standing tradition. Each year, we go pick out wines or spirits that we would not normally buy - something exquisite. This year, one of the things we purchased was this Perrier-Jouët Champagne. I had had my eye on it for years because the bottle is so pretty. And, of course, it's expensive! With much anticipation, we opened the bottle and poured out our first glass. "Hmmm," I thought. "This is different."

I'm used to a light, bubbly, fruity Champagne (granted, I don't drink a whole lot of French Champagne but I've had my fair share - and several other people's fair shares, too, I would guess!) This Champagne, by comparison, tasted more like a non-sparkling wine. It had plenty of bubbles but it was definitely not a light bright wine. The first glass was questionable, in my opinion. But by the time we poured the last glass of it, we had acquired the taste and it was very good – just not what I expect from a Champagne. We probably won’t get the Perrier-Jouët again but it was nice to try it and the bottle is indeed beautiful!

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He Said:

Have you ever wondered how a $130 bottle of champagne tastes? I know I always have and this year, on Christmas Eve, I got to find out. Yep, this year She and I splurged big time and got ourselves a beautiful bottle of Perrier-Jouët Champagne. You know this bottle, right? Hand painted flowers on a beautiful green bottle? Oh man, I was dying to taste it! We usually drink Moet and Chandon White Star, which I think is great, but this was going to be something really special, I just knew it!

I popped the cork on the 'pagne and poured two glasses. Right away we noticed a difference. This wasn't the usual bright sparkly wine that we were used to. No, this actually had some color to it. "Hmmm...interesting", I interestingly thought to myself. With great trepidation and excitement, She and I looked at each other, raised our glasses to a toast, the wine touched our lips and...and...and we sipped.

*blink*

Ok, that's sort of weird tasting. I figured that I must need to get used to it a little. No prob.

Sip. Sip. Sip. Sip. And so on.

Well, when all was said and done, I actually did acquire a taste for it. In fact, by the time we finished the bottle, I was really wishing that we had more. Maybe just one more bottle. Ok, maybe two. Sadly, we did not, and so we moved on to more normal fare for the remainder of the evening (which was really quite lovely, even if I do say so myself).

So in the end, was it worth $130? In my mind, no. Sure, it was very smooth and was quite delicious but I would just as soon have my White Star, which is, bytheway, plenty pricey for me. I'm glad I tried the Perrier-Jouët, but I don't think I'll be buying it again in the near future. I guess my champagne tastes just aren't quite hoity enough.


Of course, if someone wants to buy me another bottle......

The Few, The Proud....The Delicious?

Firestone Winery, 2001, $14

He Said:

It's not often that you get to drink wine for a good cause and even less often that the wine you drink for a good cause is actually a good tasting wine. Yet, here we are, with a very nice bottle of Jarhead Red, a red table wine made by our very own US Marines. I was originally hesitant to drink this wine last night simply because I thought that it was a "gimmick" wine and perhaps better left as a "3rd Bottle of the Night". You know, when your tastebuds are dead anyway. But She talked me into it and now I'm really glad She did. This is truly a full bodied Cabernet Savignon with a little Merlot thrown in for good measure. You know how I love those blends! De-e-e-lish! And at around $14/bottle, how can you go wrong?

Best yet, the net proceeds from the sale of Jarhead Red benefit the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation which provides educational assistance to the children of fallen Marines.

So let's raise a glass to our Marines. Brave, Strong, Resilient and (who knew) Damn Fine Winemakers. Cheers!
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She Said:

This is one of those things I do. Every time I see Jarhead Red available at our local wine & spirits shop, I pick up a bottle or two. I don't know why - I don't know any Marines but I am always proud of our service people - those in the armed forces and those more local to us, our fire and police folks. Love 'em! I guess I'm a sucker for those in uniform! :)

It's been a few years since we had our last Jarhead Red. I didn't think we disliked it, but I couldn't remember. I was pleasantly surprised when I took a sip of the first glass. Very nice! And only got better as it sat in the glass.

So next time you're out shopping for a nice "2nd Bottle of the Night" wine and you happen upon Firestone's Jarhead Red, pick up a bottle or two. You'll like it and our fallen Marines' kids will benefit. Win-win!

2004 Newton Red Label Claret

11/27/07

Blend of merlot, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and petit verdot $22

He Said:
First of all, this wine starts off on my good side for

A) Being a Bordeaux-Style wine and
B) Being a blend

I'm not sure why but I think I like most things blended, particularly wines (and chili! Shhh!), and this Newton Claret has one has my absolute favorite "blending wine", cabernet franc. Yum! Anywho, this wine has a bold in-your-face nose that wow'd me from first sniff. Then, after an artful swirl or two, I discovered a wonderful full taste of dark berries - blackberries, blueberries and a little plum for good measure. This is a great stand-alone wine as it does not need food to bring it to life, although I wouldn't say 'no' to a nice cheese plate, if you get my drift.
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She Said:

The description of this wine starts out "Bordeaux fans will appreciate..." I must confess - I am a Bordeaux fan. Yep, big time. And new world Bordeaux-style wines are my absolute favorite! I simply love the big, bold fruit bombs that I can usually get if I purchase a California Claret or Meritage. It is my favorite wine of all. I am ALL about the blends!

Editor's note: This will become a common theme throughout this entire site as time goes on - we love the blends! And not just wines - cheeses, chilis, coffee, etc. Blends tend to be better than anything standalone.

This was my first taste of a Newton wine and I was not disappointed. Chock-a-block full of fruit and tasting like a familiar friend. After all, one of my ultimate favorites is Estancia's Meritage - another Bordeaux-type blend. This is reminiscent. And just a little bit cheaper. I'll keep this on my list of wines to buy when I can find it.

Gevalia Coffee

11/25/07 5:00 AM

8 oz. box is $5.95 / a shipment of four boxes, with shipping, is $29.75

She Said:
I'm very fussy about my coffee, which sounds like I'm a coffee snob, but I'm not. Or at least I don't think I am.

The coffee that we drink is Gevalia's Signature Blend (pre-ground because we're just too lazy to grind it ourselves). We get four 1/2 pound packages every so often (I think it's like every six weeks or so) and that's just a little bit more than we actually use, so it's perfect.

We have tried all of the grocery store coffees, Starbucks, Wawa - you name it. We even tried other Gevalia coffees (we used to get their Traditional Roast, which is also good but we prefer the Signature Blend). They all fall short.

And as I sit here sipping on my coffee this early Sunday morning, I think I figured out something else. You see, we were out of half-and-half (which is our creamer of choice) and also milk so I made up some of my own creamer. I reconstituted a cup of dry skim milk and mixed half of that with some heavy cream that we had left over from Thanksgiving. I must not have gotten the proportions right because the coffee's not so good this morning.

So, for me, it seems that it's not just the coffee itself, although that is HUGE. It's a combination of the coffee and the right creamer that match up for just the right flavor and smoothness.

Off to pour a little more heavy cream into my cup...

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He Said:
For me, every day starts with a cup (or two) of Gevalia Signature Blend coffee and, to be quite honest, I hope that never ends. I love this coffee. The funny thing is, I don't really remember that I love it until I drink coffee elsewhere. Starbucks? It's fine but tends to be a little strong for my tastes. Second Cup? Very nice, and better than Starbucks, but I think I still prefer my Gevalia. The "coffee" that they serve for free at work? I can't even believe that you brought that up! I think I just threw up in my mouth a little. Thanks.

So yeah, Gevalia. Pricey, sure, but good to the last drop.

Oops. I think that catchphrase may have already been taken. My bad.