Cocktail Hour, a webcomic by Scraps

Seven Deadly Glasses by Hamilton Design are just… wow. I mean, really, those vessels are incredible. Price available on request? I’m not sure I want to know because, um, I might be really tempted. Click through to the second page to see not only the rest of the glassware but the case, as well. (Good thing I’ve sworn off superfluous purchases for the month!) (Link via Needcoffee.com)
Tomorrow, July 19th, is National Daiquiri Day. What’s your favorite flavor? Back home in Ponchatoula, of course, Strawberry reigns supreme but I had a yummy Mango Daiquiri last month at Red Lobster (of all places) that could stand-in quite nicely for some of the sub-par, mostly ice versions that abound. The key to the frozen daiquiri (which is what most of us are familiar with) is a high ratio of fruit to ice. Making sure all the ingredients are ice-cold before they go into the blender will also keep the mixture from becoming watered down too quickly (along with insulated cups!).

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1837245,00.html

Joel Stine of TIME Magazine decided to try (at least?) one wine from each of our 50 states and rate them. The article itself is a fun, quick read and if you follow the link at the bottom you’ll get to see how each state was represented and rated. Unfortunately Florida (as with the other Southeastern states in close proximity) did not fare well. On the one hand, I’m glad that it was a Gulf Coast winery that was tasted but I’ve had some much better wines from the Chautauqua Vineyards out of DeFuniak Springs. The blackberry wine is especially nice and they used to have a Carlos that was not overly sweet (they also used it in their bottled Mimosas that they no longer carry, mores the pity) but I tend to agree that muscadine wine can be a bit much even for those of us with a pronounced sweet tooth. Furthermore, the Port that the monks in St Augustine make is absolutely divine and definitely worth the drive to the other coast (which I still need to make one of these days!).

What’s your favorite regional wine (if you have one) and why? Had any of the ones on Mr Stein’s list?

One of those places you find just off the highway, Chautauqua Vineyards is something you don’t expect to find along I-10 in the Florida Panhandle. I first noticed the sign several years ago on my way back home for a visit. The next trip I took was, unfortunately, for my grandfather’s funeral, but on the way back I wasn’t in a big hurry so turned off at Exit 85 purely out of curiosity.

The Winery is a medium-sized building on a hill that you get to by a service road–it’s not hard to find. They offer both “tours” and tastings as well as a full retail shop. The tour is actually a 3 minute video in their viewing room that overlooks the huge tanks, etc. that make up the main operations there at the winery. But don’t skip that room just because you don’t get to actually walk though the vines: it’s a good place to start your shopping. Lots of little wine knick-knacks interspersed between various sizes and shapes of wine racks, wine totes and picnic baskets. I was sorely tempted by one of the very cool baskets that featured real glass and stoneware (no plastic!), including 4 petite wine glasses.

Follow the hallway around and you will end up in the tasting room. On my first visit back in the early aughts they charged for tastings but now apparently it’s free to taste as many wines as you like. Most of their wines are made from local muscadine grapes which are incredibly sweet and many don’t like the taste of. Even if you fall into the anti-muscadine camp, give their fruit wines a try–the blueberry is very good but the blackberry is absolutely outstanding! Even people who don’t like wine actually like the blackberry. They also have some wines that are made from Concord grapes and their Sunset Red is quite palatable. On this last visit we tasted their Vanilla Sherry and, even though it was tasty, I already had a bottle of their Chocolate Port (yes, really) at home so we passed on picking up a bottle of the fortified this time around.

Next to the tasting room, which has it’s own trinkets to browse through, is the main retail room including the racks and racks of wine and a lot of glassware, wine accessories and other accoutrements of wine culture. Among the items I’ve picke up there are novelty pastas, cocktail napkins with a variety of pithy sayings, bottle decorations, mugs, a “Wine Diva” ball cap, wineglass coasters, etc etc etc. Hey, it’s an hour and a half away and our last trip out there was specifically to stock up, might as well make it worth the drive!

Basically, if you ever find yourself around Exit 85 on I-10 (DeFuniak Springs, FL) during business hours with a little time to kill, stop and in and see what you think.

New Orleans and Las Vegas are the two cities I know of where it’s perfectly legal for you to walk down the street with your beer or cocktail in hand. Consequently, if you’re in a wandering mood, you can request your drink be put in a Go (or Geaux, in The Quarter) cup rather than the usual glass or whatnot and mosey on down the way. While many places use coated paper cups or Styrofoam, some have capitalized on this and have printed plastic cups for their to-go orders. These also make useful “throws” during Carnival season (beads are not the only thing thrown from parade floats, t-shirts, cups, footballs and other items are quite popular).

Of course my recent move was what had me thinking of to-go items and this post has been a result of such stream of consciousness thought. If you’d like something more potent with your Random Appetites, check out these three wine-related articles that came, of all places, from Entrepreneur.com while I get back to digging my way out of cardboard purgatory.

This Winery’s Vintages Speak for Themselves

Art is Science at Six Sigma Ranch

Experience the Luxury of Hall Wineries

And, finally, a quick reminder that next week’s Random Appetites will post on Monday under a new name! Even if you read this through RSS, please stop by the some time next week to see the new, fresh look of Random Acts Comics!

The Rule of Food & Wine Pairings used to be: Red with Beef, White with Chicken or Fish and White Zin with nothing at all (okay, that last part I made up, don’t hate me because I hate the cool-aid of wines and I won’t hate you for ordering Filet Mignon well done, though I will feel sorry for the cow). Some people still hold this to be gospel and it’s okay because, well, it make sense: colors match, it’s easy and, for the most part, the heavier the food the heavier the flavor of the wine.

Now, though, most people are fine to live and let dine with whatever your choice of wine. Like Merlot? Drink it! Prefer Chablis? Stock your shelf with a case and enjoy. But don’t be surprised if you fine yourself noticing what does and doesn’t enhance the flavor of your wine or your meal.

This is where pairings come in. It’s a true art form which requires an extensive knowledge of wine, the flavors that go into them, as well as a good knowledge of food. See why we ended up with the red with red guideline? Wineries are actually helping to demystify wine a bit as some will put on the label what foods their wine goes best with and there’s always the helpful Wine Guy at your local store–make friends with him (or her!)–who can steer you in the right direction. Paying attention to menus that suggest certain wines with certain dishes can also give you an idea of what goes with what.

Of course, nothing beats just experimenting at home. Try this: the next time you open a bottle of wine, plan to have a variety of basic foods around to try with it. A few basic proteins, some spreads and dips, anything with a definite flavor and try each with a little sip of wine. Better yet, make it a party: invite some friends, make up some score-sheets and maybe even cloak the bottles so that no one is prejudiced against a particular wine. You know, I’ve been meaning to have a wine party and this might be just the thing!

I’m really surprised to have four more wine-related offerings from Entrepreneur to share, but I guess some things if not recession-proof are at least recession resistant (i.e., drown your sorrows much?). Of course, these gorgeous places may not be the ideal spot to moan about money woes, better to let them envelop you and forget your troubles for a few hours.

I’d happily spend some time in any of these beautiful spots: Wine o’Clock from Brunnel Family Cellar, the Newsome-Harley Winery, Thunderbolt Winery or Tulip Hill Winery & Vineyard. Doesn’t someone want to send me to California, huh? No? Oh, well, I’ll just have to add it to my list!