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Avaline Wines (Their Descriptions and My Humble Impressions)
08.14.24 11:01 AM Comment(s) By Lisa
Here is the Quick Rundown of Avaline’s Current Wine Selection!
All of these wines are available online, but you can also find
some of them at stores such as Whole Foods and Total Wine.
The Reds
Lambrusco- A fun, fizzy Italian red that’s perfect for sipping in every season. Ours is bubbly, with juicy notes of plum and zero grams of sugar per serving. [I have yet to try this… I’ll keep you posted!]
Sangiovese– A crowd pleasing, bold Italian red with notes of stone fruit and roasted cherries. A limited time, online exclusive.[I absolutely loved this wine! It’s perfectly tannic, full-bodied, and goes perfectly with a bowl of pasta with gravy- Yes, Italian red gravy!]
Pinot Noir– Our lightest red, with delicious notes of wild raspberry and cherry that pair well with everything. [I hate to say it but I have high standards when it comes to Pinot Noir. I thought this wine was a little too watered down. This varietal is incredibly temperamental due to it’s thin skin, so the growing conditions need to be perfect. The grapes most likely took in a bit too much rainwater, making them swell, which in turn would dilute the flavors. I’m looking forward to the release of their next vintage. It could have just been an iffy growing season for this wine.]
Red– A blend of Grenache, Syrah, Carignan, and Cinsault. This is Cameron’s favorite Red: it has a light to medium body with hints of cherry and a touch of spice. [I really enjoyed this wine. Medium-bodied, a little spicy, aromatic, and dry. They did good with this one!]
Cabernet Sauvignon– Our bolder red for cozy nights ahead, with a medium to full body, notes of red berries and a touch of cocoa. [I did enjoy this wine as well. It’s a bit overpriced to be an every-day drinking wine, but it does pair well with beef, pizza, and dark chocolate.]
The Whites
Chardonnay– A full-bodied Chardonnay featuring smooth notes of pear, oak, ripe apricot and almond with a refreshing-yet-soft finish. Only available online. [Here is another one I wasn’t super excited about. It is full-bodied and overly fruity. It wasn’t dry enough for my taste. I do know others who have enjoyed this wine. I will give it another try, maybe pair it with something spicy, such as an Asian cuisine. I will update these recommendations from time to time and vintage to vintage.]
Pinot Grigio– A crisp Italian white with soft floral notes and hints of hazelnut. A limited time, online exclusive. [BUY THIS WINE IF YOU ENJOY A CRISP PERFECTLY BALANCED WHITE WINE!!! I absolutely loved this wine. It is limited, so buy it before you miss out on it. I don’t typically lean towards Pinot Grigio because they are typically too “mineral-forward”. Not this one. It is perfect, lightly floral, light crisp notes of apple and toast. In my opinion, it’s way underpriced for how delicious it is!]
White– A blend of Parellada, White Grenache, Xarel-lo, and Macabeo grapes. This is an everyday, easy-drinking white. It’s dry with a touch of citrus and a crisp, fresh finish. [This is just as they describe… I also REALLY liked this wine. It’s perfect in the summer, and also as a spritzer (as Cameron suggests). Pour over ice and top it off with some plain seltzer water.]
Sparkling– A blend of Macabeo, Xarel-lo, Parellada, and Malvasia grapes. A dry and refreshing Sparkling with delicate bubbles. No celebration necessary. [This sparkling wine is delicious! Another fantastic choice to drink on its own, or with fresh fruit and dark chocolate.]
Sauvignon Blanc– Our lightest sip yet, with crisp notes of ripe citrus and a hint of rose petals. [This is yet another varietal that I don’t typically lead towards, but I really liked this wine too! It is light, not overly sweet like some of these varietals can be, and it’s well balanced between the citrus and floral notes].
ROSÉ
Sparkling Rosé– A limited edition Sparkling Rosé aged for 15+ months featuring notes of raspberry and citrus, with a toasty brioche finish. A limited time, online exclusive. [This is yet another fantastic choice. It’s also in limited quantities, so get it while you still can!]
Rosé– Light, fresh (and French) with notes of melon and zest. The best Rosé Katherine has ever had. [I have had some amazing Rosé’s. The best ones come from Provence, France. This is a really good representation. They have blended Grenache, Cinsault, Caladoc, and Syrah, to create this wine. It’s another fantastic summer choice, light-bodied, mildly tart (cherry) that ends with light notes of pepper.
CLICK HERE to place your order today. Don’t forget to use the promo code: AUGUST15 for 15% off your total order.
March 24, 2018…March For Our Lives in Washington D.C.
My daughters brought this to my attention and asked to participate in this demonstration following the most recent school shooting at that time which had occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Seventeen people were killed on February 14, 2018 by a 19 year old who entered the school with a semi-automatic rifle. Within 4 minutes the lives of 14 high school students and 3 staff members were lost. How does one explain this? How is it possible in the time it takes to buy coffee at Starbucks, 17 innocent people die for no reason. It is almost unbelievable, except for the fact that it happens over and over again in this country. We have no choice but to believe it. We have no choice but to watch the news and see the devastation, see these young lives ended so tragically, see the heartbreaking grief of the parents and other loved ones left behind. Or do we have a choice? We as working moms who trust the safety and care of our children to others much of the time, we as parents in general, we as Americans, we as human beings need to choose safety in our schools, safety for our kids and for all of those who spend their days teaching and caring for our kids. We need to choose change. We need to say “ENOUGH”. It was more than enough after the first time this ever happened. It is truly sickening to know that just since 2009, there have been 288 school shootings in this country.🤬😰
Four years ago we marched following Parkland. That was six years after the Sandy Hook massacre in Connecticut and now we have another. Well we have way more than just those three… if we take 288 and divide by 13 years from 2009-2022, that leaves us with an average of 22 school shootings per year. How has this country not done something to change this? How can we carry on as parents and send our kids to school with no fear. We can’t. We have to prepare our kids as best we can and hope that the security measures in place will not fail them. But again I struggle to understand why our babies who should be worried about nothing more than learning, making friends and what they are going to play at recess, instead have to participate in active shooter drills in first grade! We need to fix this!
Now we are faced with the tragedy at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. On May 24, 2022, an 18 year old entered this school and murdered 19 students and 2 teachers. These kids were 2 days away from the end of the school year. Undoubtedly they went to school that day happy, innocent 10 or 11 year olds excited about end of the school year activities and the upcoming summer break, never expecting it to be the last day of their short lives. As a mother, I have no idea how you go on after this. How can you possibly recover from the senseless death of your child in this way. It is bad enough that we can be faced with disease or accidents that can take our children from us too soon, but death by an assault rifle while attending fourth grade should not be another way to lose a child. My heart breaks for every family that is dealing with such inconceivable and preventable loss right now. This is not acceptable. We don’t need to continue to offer thoughts and prayers after these tragedies happen, we need to institute policy and change so they stop happening.
I sincerely thought that after Sandy Hook, more would have changed. On December 14, 2012, a 20 year old walked in to this elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut and fatally shot 26 people including 20 children (all 6 or 7 years old) and 6 adult staff members with multiple firearms including an assault rifle. This was the deadliest school shooting to occur in this country. The massacre at Robb Elementary now ranks second. It’s unbelievable that 10 years later we can experience nearly the same magnitude of tragedy. Why can these 18, 19 and 20 year olds be in possession of military-type weapons? These “kids” cannot purchase an alcoholic beverage, cannot book most hotel rooms and cannot rent a car, but they can purchase assault rifles and be left to do whatever they want with them? What is wrong with this system? Everything! Look at these faces. These kids would now be in high school, going to proms, thinking about college. Instead, their parents and families look at their photos and videos and try not to forget what it was like to spend time with these adorable humans who had their lives stolen for no reason.
Get involved, be heard, address your local representatives, join or contribute to organizations like this. The parents of this nation are desperate for change and reform. Our children do not deserve this💔
We all want to do the best we can when we become a parent, but I think the perfect working mom is a very lofty goal. In fact, I don’t think there is such a thing as a perfect parent at all. I am not even sure how you would define this. One might say you have to do everything right to be considered “perfect”. I don’t think there is a working mom out there who feels like she does everything right. I’m sure there are some who feel like they do everything wrong, but the reality for most of us probably lies somewhere in between.
There are so many decisions we are faced with on a daily basis, and it can be hard to know if we are always making the right one. The bottom line is, you have commit to the decision and follow through. If the result is not what you were hoping for and you feel like the decision was wrong or you made a mistake, then you need to learn from it and move on. If you have your child’s best interest in mind, then chances are most decisions will be the right one even if you don’t feel like it at the time. This comes into play a lot as kids get older and start to do more and more things with friends and away from you.
When your freshman in high school wants to go to the mall with her friend and be driven there by the friend’s older sister who just got her license 3 weeks ago…what do you say? If you are still at work and get this call, first of all, you should be happy you got the call and she didn’t just go without asking. You may be apprehensive because of the new driver part of this, but you have known the friend and her sister for years. You say yes, and all goes well…great. You say yes and there is some problem, you feel like you made a mistake. You say no and your daughter is mad, but there is a problem when the friend and sister go, so you feel like you made the right decision. You say no, your daughter is mad and everything goes fine, now you feel like you made a mistake. For many scenarios you will feel like you have a 50% chance of getting it right. While better odds would be nice…you just have to do what feels right at the time. If you ultimately think you made a mistake, then you will make a different decision next time.
The other tidbit to add here is that I firmly believe as your kids get older and enter the phase of going out on their own, driving, etc; you need to let them spread their wings. This means mistakes, but it also means learning experiences for parent and child. I often describe my now adult children as “capable”, and I feel like that is one of the best things we can do as parents…give our children the tools to be capable to deal with situations they encounter when you are no longer making decisions for them.
The red wine known as Valpolicella is typically made from four grape varieties: Corvina Veronese, Corvinone, Rondinella, and Molinara. It is a full-bodied wine with deep garnet colors, flavors of wild cherries, jam, vanilla, cocoa, and spice. The Valpolicella region has mostly a mild to cool climate that is influenced by its proximity to Lake Garda to the west and the Adriatic Sea to the southeast.
Amarone della Valpolicella, typically known as Amarone, is a dry red wine that is produced in the northeast region of Italy called Veneto. The grape variety used is mostly the Corvina grape. The production of Amarone is restricted to only a few grape varieties. Per Italian Law, the Corvina grape must make up from 45% to 90% of the Amarone. Up to 50% can be Corvinone, and up to 30% Rondinella. Fertilizers are forbidden in the production of a true Amarone, which makes these wines organic, in a sense. Amarone is usually expensive because it requires more fruit than normally produced wine and it is more labor-intensive to make. It takes twice as many grapes to create an Amarone compared to other wine. This is because the fruit is partially dried (traditionally on straw mats, for 2-3 months after it is harvested. The grapes are then crushed to extract the remaining juice. This concentrates the remaining sugars and flavors. This process is called appassimento or rasinate (to dry and shrivel) in Italian. Amarone della Valpolicella classico must be aged for a minimum of 2-years. Amarone della Valpolicella “Riserva” must undergo aging for a minimum of 4-years. Many of the wines after bottling are stored for an additional 5-years prior to distribution. Amarone pairs well with game meats, beef, and blue cheese. They are ripe, with flavors of fig, raisin, oak, and tobacco, They are full-bodied wines with very little acid. Their minimum requirement for alcohol content is 14%, but these often surpass the 15% mark.
If you don’t have the budget for a traditional Amarone, which can cost upwards of $100, another option is to purchase what is often referred to as a “Baby Amarone”. You will likely see the words Valpolicella Ripasso, on the label. The basic Valpolicella wine that has been fermented is then poured over these Amarone skins that still contain un-fermented sugars. This then starts a second fermentation. These skins still contain aromatic compounds and tannins, that due to the second, short fermentation are transferred to the simple Valpolicella wine. Ripasso is an Italian word meaning “go over again“. This has often been referred to as the “poor mans” Amarone, but there is nothing poor about this wine. While they are typically half the cost of an Amarone, quality Ripassos can also fetch for $40-$80 depending on the quality of the grapes.
For this blog, I splurged on 3 bottles of wine. A basic Valpolicella, a Ripasso, and a traditional Amarone. Adrienne came over and we opened all three, paired with a local Sicilian pizza. Here is what we found:
This wine is 100% Corvina grapes. It is garnet red in color, with a bouquet of black pepper, and hints of raspberries, licorice, and walnuts. It pairs well with poultry, beef, pasta, and veal. I thought this was a delicious wine. It’s a tried and true, because I first had this wine in college. I remember thinking it was a bit dry for my taste, but Corvina grapes produce dry red wines. This is a great representation of this wine at a very affordable cost.
This wine is 60% percent Corvina grapes, with the remainder from Rondinella and Molinara grapes. This wine has flavors of ripe fruit, cherry preserves, and lingers on the palate with a warm elegance. It pairs well with game meats, beef, and veal. I really enjoyed this wine. Looking forward to opening another in the near future…….
2013 Vigneto Monte Sant’Urbano Amarone della Valpolicella Classico. Speri Vineyards, Veneto, Italy. USD $80-. DOCG.
This wine was incredible. Dried figs and raisins. Robust, complex, full-bodied, and completely elegant. This wine is 70% Corvina grapes, 25% Rondinella grapes, and 5% Corvinone grapes. It pairs well with game meats, beef, lamb, and blue cheese. This was a splurge I was happy to make. This is the perfect example of a classic Amarone and Speri Vineyards is widely known for its quality Amarone.
I hope you enjoyed the journey to Vento, Italy. Much more wine to taste and many more places to go.
As I explained in yesterday’s post, I love Halloween and not only have I had fun at home with my kids, but also at work with my partners and staff. Several years ago, I suggested we have a Halloween Happy Hour in the office just for something to do at the end of a work day to boost morale. I thought it would be fun for the doctors to dress up and suggested Snow White and the seven dwarfs…as you can see in the photo above, I am missing a few dwarfs but was joined by our nurse who took her role as the evil queen very seriously!
The next year we turned it into a bigger party with a theme. This time everyone in the office got dressed up as musical artists, and I chose The Village People for myself and my partners. We went one step further this year and had a DJ. “The Village People” then did a performance of “YMCA” which was fun for us and funny for our staff. My partners are great guys and good sports for sure.😉
Leave it to me to take it to the next level the following year! I could see that my partners had potential when it came to singing and dancing (and was really happy they were willing to do it) so I decided to run with it and plan a bigger production. We moved the party off site to a restaurant and the cast was then all of my partners and our physician assistants as well. I chose “Grease” as our next theme and picked out 4 songs, created choreography and planned rehearsals. We put on a show that night which was so much fun and can now be found on YouTube!! I guarantee you there are very few, if any, other orthopedic groups out there that would do this type of thing. I am so lucky to work with such a great group of people.
We stepped it up even more the following year and did 4 songs from “Mamma Mia” with more complex choreography and more rehearsals than before (also on YouTube😂). We had so much fun once again, and this time my daughters got very involved as well. They helped me create choreography at home and came to some of the rehearsals to help me teach it to everyone. They even did an encore performance of one of the songs with us the night of the party!
Aside from the parties, we have also celebrated Halloween for many years in a big way during office hours. I work with a team which includes my physician assistant and my medical assistant. We decided to dress up for a day in the office the week of Halloween, and each year we would try to come up with a theme that would work well for a group of three. Year by year we got a little more elaborate with decorating our section of the office as well. We would go the night before and decorate with music playing, pizza and lots of laughs. We had the best time, and we would keep our theme a secret from everyone else in the office. The big reveal would come the next morning, and everyone would come to our section first thing to see what we had done. It quickly became something everyone wanted to do, so all of the different departments in the office would pick a theme and go all out with costumes and decorations, We then had a contest for the best section, and some of our staff would even bring their young kids in to trick or treat through the office. It became something patients would be aware of and look forward to as well. I had patients tell me they wanted to make sure they scheduled an appointment on Halloween if possible. Some new patients seemed a bit confused to be seeing the Queen of Hearts, Elphaba or Effie Trinket, etc when they expected an orthopedic surgeon, but I did my best to carry on as usual despite my costume! Most people have been very impressed by how devoted our whole office is to this day. We even made it into a local newspaper one year!
So many wonderful memories! I was out of town for Halloween last year visiting my older daughter who was doing a semester abroad. We were actually in Paris on Halloween and got to enjoy the festivities at Disneyland. This year we didn’t do the usual thing either since protocols are different in the office due to the pandemic. Here’s hoping we can get back to it next year…both the office day and the party/show. I have a whole year to plan so it should be the best yet!! If you don’t do anything for this holiday where you work… give it a try! I think it can definitely be a way to boost morale and have a lot of fun…Happy Halloween!!🧡🎃👻
~Xoxo Lisa & Adrienne
