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The Wino Family would like to send a special thanks to Walt and Eileen from Brys’ Estate Winery for a special tasting of their Michigan Wines at the Elmasri home Christmas weekend.  Fiona and I first experienced these fine wines in July 2006, when we attended a celebration for newlyweds Katie (their daughter, Fiona’s BFF) and Azmi at the Old Mission Peninsula Vineyards.  We had an excellent time, and have been fortunate enough to get our hands on a few bottles since then.  However, we recently were treated to the full Brys’ experience as we toasted Christmas and a housewarming for Katie, Azmi and their 2-year-old son Aidan.

Never shy around wine, we tasted from the full array of the estate’s white wine selection.  Fiona enjoyed the Pinot Grigio, while I preferred an unfamiliar varietal-Gerwurtztraminer.  They also produce an extremely tasty dry Reisling.  Moving on to reds, I took a liking to their Merlot, but Azmi and I agreed that the Pinot Noir deserved a second (and third) tasting.   There are several others to choose from, including a Signature Series in both red and white.  The Brys produce some 5000 cases of wine a year on their 24 acres and now use only grapes grown on their estate, which overlooks the East Bay of Lake Michigan.

Customers can order online or visit the tasting room, but the Wine Club is the best option in my book.  Members are guaranteed delivery of even the most highly sought-after wines as long as they make at least two annual purchases.  If you’re in the area, stop by or visit http://www.brysestate.com/ for more information.

I’m not sure what, but I found it interesting and thought you might too.  As posted by The Cellarist:

Amount of wine produced in states that McCain won: 4.3 Million Gallons Amount of wine produced in states that Obama won: 773 Million Gallons Percentage of wine produced in America that comes from states that Obama carried: 98.6

National Geographic has posted a interactive page called Hangover Helpers.  It features several remedies from around the world.  Many of them are common knowledge:  For example, Americans drink tomato juice with an egg yolk, Worchestershire sauce, pepper and a shot (isn’t that a bloody mary?).  Italians drink coffe, while Russians sweat it out in a sauna.  I think the Dutch have the best idea, drink beer.  I have extensive experience with hangovers, and I’ve found that sleeping through the pain is the best remedy.  Of course, staying drunk one way to avoid a hangover alltogether.  However, I think I’d rather have a hangover than eat pickled haring (Germany) or drinking soured milk (Poland).

I wouldn’t say this is dead on, but I did get a couple of chuckles from it.  Quite honestly, it’s been a slow week in the wine world, and I feel the urge to post something…  The English are drinking more American wine than French wine (primarily contributed to the volume of Rose consumed)…  Some guy in Australia  is making wine infused with insane amounts of reservatrol, which is the antioxidant that cleans your arteries…  A number of rich folks have decided that investing in wine is a safer bet than Wall Street…

I try to weed out the crap and stick to quality news, but I need something to work with.  I guess I’ll have to get hammered at a new bar or consume ungodly amounts of some interesting wine and make my own news.  I just can’t count on the powers-that-be to fill my blog with worthy material.  I’m off to conduct some “research”.  If anyone needs me I’ll be drinking my way to a better blog.

Oh yeah, follow this link if you want to see Cracked’s list.

We’re celebrating life and electricity tonight. Ike shook the house for several hours this morning, but all is well here in Katy. There are many in the area that have not been so fortunate. The coastal area is, for the most part, devastated. Flooding and fire, along with 110 mph winds have taken their toll. We are lucky: we are thankful.

This is the worst storm I’ve ever been through. Things got really hairy about 4 AM. Unknown objects were bouncing off the roof. The house was creaking at the seams. The winds were so strong that the windows were chattering with the pressure. I tried not to let Fiona know I was scared, but I was.

Fortunately, we live in a new, well protected subdivision. There were no tall trees to succumb to the howling winds. We have little debris to clean up.  Power was out for less than a full day.   We have plenty of wine to keep us entertained.  The storm is over, but the hard work begins.  It is unknown when Houston, much less Galveston and the coastal areas, will be up and running.

Pop the cork off any gathering with WINEOPOLY! Players buy favorite wines, collect bunches of grapes and trade them in for decanters. Sounds easy enough but add Import Taxes and serving faux pas and it becomes a little more difficult and a lot more fun! Learn while you play! Each deed back contains wine descriptors and fun facts about each wine. It’s all fun and games until you’re sent to the Wine Cellar to age-then you’re out of the game for three turns. So choose your token (wine bottle, cork, wine glass, cheese, grapes, or a carafe) and advance to CHEERS! Who knows? You may be elected president of the wine club or you may be penalized for serving obtrusively malodorous cheese!

There are only three theaters in the Houston area that are showing Bottle Shock. That should have been my first clue.  It wasn’t a bad movie, but it isn’t worth a trip to the theater either.  It will make a nice diversion some weekend at home.  The movie would have been much better with a bottle of wine instead of an overpriced soda.  I really wanted to like the movie, but there was too much to explain in under two hours.  I just wasn’t convinced.  I think the fact that it was based on real events was its downfall.  It wasn’t a complete waste of time, but I suggest waiting.

Here’s a link that has several recipes for beer milkshakes.  I did a chocolate beer bong once with Nestle’s Quick.  It’s not a fond memory either.  I like ice cream; I like beer.  However, I do not feel the two should be mixed.  It’s like drinking orange juice after brushing your teeth, Yuck!

I’ve decided the Black Box Pinot Grigio must be very good. I tried three stores yesterday, all of which had sold out. This left me in a conundrum. It was either a Chardonnay or try some red. One box really stood out. It’s called Pinot Evil and had the see, hear and speak monkeys on the box. I knew I was breaking the critter rule*, but I bought it anyway.

Overall, I’d say it was a positive experience. The Pinot Noir wasn’t exceptionally good or bad, but quite drinkable. Rather than fill each glass out of the cask, I brought out the decanter, which worked very well. This also helped me keep track of my consumption. The packaging also proved entertaining, as I felt the need to remove the bag from inside the box and play with it. The bag looks like a big IV, so I may have the beginnings of a Halloween costume.

I’ll probably continue to buy wine in boxes. They would work great for parties or entertaining. I think I’ll keep a box in the fridge to sip in between nicer, more expensive bottles. They are very portable and will probably make a tailgating appearance before the end of the season. I’ll let you know about the Pinot Grigio if I can ever find it.

Second Update 08/23- The elusive Black Box Pinot Grigio has been located.  I have to say that it wasn’t worth the wait.  To me, it tasted more like a Chardonnay than a Pinot Grigio.  Fiona didn’t think it was bad, but she had a bottle of Torrontes before trying the box.  I will be taking a detour from the boxed wines until a box-favored situation presents itself.

*Critter Rule-Stay away from wines that have any type of animal (critter) on the label.