Grills are lit all across the summering world. Although we pop so much refreshing rosé and white when it’s hot, we also need some good reds for all of our meaty BBQs. Get your tongs in one hand and a glass of one of these grilling greats in the other: malbec I actually never liked …
Let the games begin. Rosé sales rose 53% last year and there doesn’t seem to be signs of a slow down. Why? It’s light, refreshing, uncomplicated and perfect for summer sipping. I’ll be recommending my favorite rosés every month this summer, so here’s the first batch for National Rosé Day on June 9, from the OG …
When it comes to New Zealand wine, you probably think about the punchy, tropical, zesty Sauvignon Blancs. Fair enough, since that’s 72% of their production. People there sometimes call it Savvy B which I thought was sort of funny, but then a winemaker told me to never cheapen it like that. I’d rather have my …
Yum to the rum. Just got back from Negril, and when you’re in Jamaica that’s what you drink. My favorite rum cocktail was the Dirty Banana – super refreshing and you’ll never feel guilty if you have it very early in the morning because it’s basically a nutritious shake! So here’s the recipe for 2 cocktails: …
IT’S FINALLY BACK!!! Let us re-commence the deviousness, the machinations, the goblets of wine, and the torturous moment every Sunday night when Game of Thrones ends, usually on a can-NOT-wait-a-week cliffhanger. So obsessed with this show and all the wine drinking they do, especially by the show’s biggest grapefriends, Tyrion and Cersei (the Lannisters clearly win …
The grapefriend wine totes have arrived!!! They’re totes amazing (get it?), and not just because they hold wine. I lug a lot of wine around. A lot. To friends, to dinners, to events, away for the weekend. I was tired of trying to find bubble wrap or random pieces of cardboard (liquor store style) to stuff in …
OK, we’ve got our first Royal Wedding wine! Kensington Palace said Pol Roger Brut Réserve NV is getting popped at the reception. Pol Roger is a blend of 30-35 base wines across at least three vintages, and is made with the three traditional Champagne grapes: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier. It’s $49, buy it … Continue reading
Rumor has it that Harry and Meghan are going to be cheers-ing with Chapel Down, bubbles from England. Never had any? English sparkling wine is actually getting more popular as a warmer climate is helping to ripen the grapes a bit more and create some higher-quality wines, drawing comparisons to Champagne. I find it hard to … Continue reading
As we all toast moms today, a great celebration of women is Merry Edwards wine. First, it’s made by Merry who’s a pioneer woman winemaker (in 1973, she was one of only three women who graduated from UC Davis). Second, her absolutely delicious Sauvignon Blanc is packed with zesty pineapple but balanced with a round body, … Continue reading
Who cares if the race itself only lasts two minutes? The hours before (and after) are even more fun because they’re julep-filled. Mint juleps are delicious and so pretty, traditionally served out of these awesome silver cups (I use them for flowers afterwards). They’re really easy to make too: Muddle 1/2 an ounce of simple … Continue reading
First off, critical PSA: wine (and all alcohol) is incredibly dangerous for dogs. Their livers aren’t built to process alcohol so it can be lethal. Give your pup an extra dog treat on March 23 but you and any other humans should grab a glass of Dog Point Sauvignon Blanc.The name Dog Point comes from … Continue reading
It’s that luck of the Irish day, and everyone’s donning their best green garb and lifting their beer steins! We at grapefriend see things a little differently in our glasses. So should you not want to drink beer, we of course support that decision. So does the wine world, who has something even better to … Continue reading
Wine fever is sweeping the NBA in a major way lately. Seriously, this article goes so in depth you’d think it was like Watergate or something. But it’s amazing to hear all these guys talk about how much they’re obsessed with wine, and that one of the greatest accolades they can hear is that they … Continue reading
In Greek and Roman times, aromatized wines were created for health purposes. Leapfrog to the 19th century, when Luigi Rossi learned about herbs from village families and had his own liquor shop in Turin where he supplied botanicals to bigger distilleries. Alessandro Martini was his partner, who traveled the world to ensure global distribution. And so, … Continue reading
Prosecco has really grown in popularity lately because it’s peachy and much less expensive than many other sparkling wines. The danger is that so much of it’s being made now that the quality could go down, which is basically what turned a sparkling like Asti into an entry-level “supermarket wine.” Prosecco lands in the middle … Continue reading
Having been ruled throughout history by the Greeks, Romans, Normans, Muslims, Spanish, Piedmontese, and even a few others, Sicily’s an island with a total mix of cultures. All those cultures had various levels of interest in and production of wine, so Sicily’s indigenous grapes have fluctuated in popularity against international varities. For most of the … Continue reading
