Host a Wine Tasting like a {Pro}

By {Whitney}

Wine.  It's a beautiful and complicated thing!

Regardless of how much we know {or don't know} one thing is for certain, we LOVE to drink it!  Keep that in mind when you're hosting a wine party/tasting.   It can be a little intimidating at first, but with these fool-proof tips you'll be more confident than David Beckham donning his skivvies during a Super Bowl commercial.

1.)  Pick a fun theme such as; Summer Sippers, Around the World, Hearty Winter Reds, Southern French Gems, or Blind Price Comparisons.

2.) Choose wines that are off-the-beaten-path!  There is so much information at our finger tips that with just 5 minutes of internet research, you will already know more than 90% of your friends.  There is no excuse to pick a boring Cab or Chard that you've had a million times because it's "safe."
One of my favorite go-to wine info sites is www.winefolly.com

•  Search for obscure grape varieties such as; Bonarda, Aglianico, Cinsault, Picpoul Blanc, Grenache Blanc

OR

•  Search for obscure wine regions such as; Loire Valley in France, Casablanca Valley in Chile, or Priorat in Spain.

3.)  A typical 750mL bottle is approx. 24 oz.  In a restaurant, a pour is usually 5oz.  If you're doing a "tasting" of a about six different wines, I would suggest 2 oz pours.  (That is 12 pours/bottle and a half a bottle per person)

4.)  Keep the glassware the same.  No need for fancy shapes and sizes.  Less complicated for the host…the better!

5.)  Say you're doing 3 whites and 3 reds.  It is only necessary to have 3 different glasses per person.  You can start with the whites and then pour the reds in the same glass.  Whatever you do, DON'T rinse them with water!   It waters your wine down significantly and can lower the alcohol content by almost 6%. No Thanks!

6.)  Always taste from dry - sweet.  If you drink sweet first, it will make a dry wine taste unpalatable!  Bitter and yucky.

7.) Quick Tasting Tips

• Why do you swirl?  To coat the glass with the wine and release the aroma.  
• What are legs?  Legs just indicate how viscous the wine is (alcohol and sugar levels.)  This does not indicate quality level at all. It merely gives you hints as to grape variety, and climate in which the wine was produced.  Imagine swirling cough syrup in a wine glass…that stuff would take FOREVER to come down the sides, right?  That's because of it's high sugar and alcohol content.
• When you smell the wine, think of being in the grocery store.  Which area of the store are you?  Are you in the produce section?  Citrus fruit, Red fruits?  Are you in the baking spices?  Vanilla, Clove?   Are you in the meat section?  Smoked Meats, Grilled Meats?   This practice will help jog your memory of aromas you are already very familiar with but may not be able to easily identify in a wine.
• What do you taste?  Is it acidic?  Is it tannic (i.e. does it leave an dry, astringent taste in your mouth.)  

8.) Whatever you do….have FUN and don't take it too seriously!

Cheers,
Whitney

lovey dove playlist

By {Monica}

Oh you know it's that warm and fuzzy time of year again. Even if you're not a big Valentine's Day celebrator, at least now you have a good excuse to keep those amazing Dove Dark Chocolate Promises at your desk for the next few weeks.

Here are some freshly picked songs to enjoy with your valentine, whether that be a significant other, a group of your best girlfriends, or your favorite bottle of wine and a bubble bath. Enjoy!

Ellie Goulding - Your Song
The National - I Need My Girl
Wild Cub - Thunder Clatter {OBSESSED}
She & Him - Somebody Sweet To Talk To
Angus & Julia Stone - Big Jet Plane
Citizen Cope - Sideways
Zero 7 - You're My Flame

image source

Superbowl Sunday Snacks

by {Morgan}

The morning of the Super Bowl I turned to my 'Eat' Pinterest board to look for a treat to make and take to the big football party.
Naturally, when I saw the ' candied bacon' my stomach started doing a happy dance. I hadn't yet had a reason to make these, and the Super Bowl seemed like the perfect opportunity to try them out.

Beer Candied Bacon
{from Tide and Thyme}

1 lb thick-cut, high quality bacon
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp beer {I used Kona Big Wave}

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine brown sugar and beer in a small bowl, whisking well to form a thin syrup. Set aside.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place a wire cooling rack on top. Place the pieces of bacon on top of the rack, overlapping if necessary. Place in oven and cook for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and brush one side of the bacon with the beer syrup. Flip, and coat the other side with the syrup as well. Return to oven and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and repeat process another time or two more, until bacon is crispy and browned, and you’ve used all the glaze.

Cool on wire rack for at least 1 hour before serving.

I was expecting the bacon strips to be more firm/coated like the picture appears on Tide & Thyme. They were not, so I put them on skewers.
The verdict: DELICIOUS. Great flavor. Would be awesome in a bloody mary!

As you can see in my picture, I also had  Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels from Nordstrom. These are seriously THE BEST. Worth every penny. I had a box of 20 and needed them to leave my house before I ate them ALL! I decided to pair them with some Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Clementines. Dipping clementines into melted chocolate is one of my favorite evening snacks. This recipe from Versus from my Kitchen kicked them up a notch.

Dark Chocolate-Covered Clementines with Chili-Sea Salt
{from Versus from my Kitchen}

Dark Chocolate
Clementines 
Sea Salt {I added red pepper flakes}

Melt the chocolate in a double-boiler {I used a glass bowl & pot} then dip clementine fragments half way deep and rest them on a parchment lined sheet. Sprinkle each chocolate-smothered piece with chili salt. Slide it into the fridge for 15 minutes to rest and you're done. 

The verdict: TOO SALTY. My clementines were very small, and the sea salt was just too much for them. I loved the chili-salt, but a crystal or two of salt would be plenty. The chocolate/clementine/salt combo is a favorite, though!

Small Talk Like a Pro {Or a Sales Rep...}

I've heard this many times before. "I don't know how to small talk!" "I hate small talk!". Well when you basically base your entire career off of it it gets a little easier.  I am a sales rep which means that when I'm in markets I am essentially small talking from 9 - 6 and sometimes even after that.  When you meet me I usually give off more of a shy vibe, once you get to know me I am anything but that.

Here are some of my tips for successful small talk. These don't work in every situation but for me they have worked in most.

1. First of all, if you're in the right setting go immediately to the bar. Don't get sloppy but chances are you need a drink or maybe 2 to loosen up to talk to strangers.

2. When walking up to a group of people you don't know that seem to not be talking I would walk up and immediately have something to say. I don't even care if it's about the weather. "Damn it's hot out there!" or "Do you think the vortex is ever going to go away?".  The more clever and less "It's nice outside" you can be the more likely you are to get a laugh and loosen the whole group up. Don't dwell on the weather, let's be real, no one wants to really talk about it. Just break the ice with it then move on.

3. Look for things to talk about.  This specific example is probably just speaking to parents or aunts or uncles but when those Rainbow Loom bracelets were all the rage {or are they still?} I would look to see if the account I was working with was wearing one. Honestly 65% of them were. I used to wear the ones that my nieces and nephew made me so that I could immediately say "Oh you have kids huh! I see they are obsessed with the Rainbow Loom... my nieces and nephew love them!" {insert show my bracelet here}. Every once in a while if you get a parent who's super in to them you can talk about the various ways to make them for a solid hour. I know this one doesn't work for many situations but the point is, be extra aware of your surroundings, what the people are wearing, doing, eating etc. It may give you the best small talk insert ever.

4. If it's a sports season I'm 9 times out of 10 going to ask where you went to school. I pray that you don't say some obscure school with no football or basketball team so I can immediately insert {"oh you guys are great at basketball this year!" or even a little smack talk "Sorry about that lose to the Wildcats last week... actually I'm not"}. Even if it's a work situation if my Wildcats are playing I'm somehow keeping up with the game. If there's a guy in sight I need to small talk then I'm telling him how I'm trying to sneak the score knowing this will break the ice and keep the sports convo going.

Don't be this guy... small talk means swallowing your true feelings sometimes.

5. Keep your feelings to the side.  I think we all know that there are some really ignorant, self-centered, and flat out annoying people out there. If you're in a small talk situation and you really want to tell them they're an idiot, do your best to hold back. This works for most life situations actually but just be the bigger person and change the subject, or just excuse yourself and go get another drink.

6. Be yourself. All of the above are perfectly tailored to me. I genuinely enjoy sports and won't sound like a phoney chatting someone up from really any state across the country about it.  You probably have a few things you are really interested in that you will sound genuine about as well. The worst possible thing in my opinion is to try to be someone/something you're not. Loosen yourself up and you'll be just fine.

Happy mingling!
xoxo,
Molly