Big Fat Wine

From day one, starting Big Fat Wine, we decided to take a “no rules” approach to the entire wine lifestyle. That doesn’t mean there aren’t certain rituals that go with the experience but if you get too carried away with proper etiquette you miss out on some of the romance. Following the basic rules about enjoying wine and sharing the joy with your friends is of primary importance. Don’t get bogged down in jargon or complex rules. Don’t pretend to know it all because you can spend a lifetime learning about wine and yet not know enough.

People, who let themselves get intimidated by wine and let that stop them are missing out. They’re missing out on good conversation because each bottle comes with a bit of history and a slice of geography. There’s no other beverage that excites as much animation at the dinner table. They’re also missing out on really enjoying the full experience of good food, nothing enhances good food like good wine.  It’s one beverage that brings out the best in chefs around the world. There is always a wine that is waiting to be paired with just about everything we eat, with the exception of… (nothing I can think of). That’s what makes the wonderful world of wine so exciting, so full of discoveries that take you by surprise.

But you can spoil the party for others by being a wine snob, dropping jargon that other people find hard to understand. There are no rules of wine etiquette, but there’s definitely an unwritten code, and topping it is the commandment that requires you not to bore the hell out of others

You won’t see us displaying or flaunting our wine certifications or degrees in enology here at Big Fat Wine. For one, they simply do not exist. Secondly, to quote Tommy Boy, “I’d rather take a
butcher’s word for it”. Translation: Listen to your friends that truly enjoy wine. Ask them what they like and why they like it. Practice – practice – practice. Try new wines wherever you go. You will only know what you like by identifying what you don’t like. Comparison shopping made simple.

This is not my private vigil to demean education. By all means, listen to the educated. I have read more material this past year than in my entire life! In fact, plans do exist, to register in some educational courses in the future. So I can flaunt my own sommelier red badge of courage? I think not. Just the idea of  learning more about a subject matter that I am so passionate about is extremely exciting! If the credentials come, it will obviously provide a feeling of accomplishment but I presume it will also be a constant reminder of what I still don’t know and have yet to learn.

And lest  we forget…

Rest in peace Chris Farley! We miss you.

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Some of you have been following us on Twitter and have noticed that we have been posting quotes and words of wisdom throughout the day.  I have been researching wine quotes and have found some really inspiring thoughts.  I think we, as enthusiasts, tend to look for the gusto in life and many of us know how to voice that gusto with ease and flair.

When it comes to wine, I tell people to throw away the vintage charts and invest in a corkscrew. The best way to learn about wine is the drinking.  ~ Alexis Lichine

A woman drove me to drink, and I’ll be a son-of-a-gun but I never even wrote to thank her. ~ W. C. Fields

Drink is the feast of reason and the flow of soul. ~ Alexander Pope

Wine rejoices the heart of man and joy is the mother of all virtues. ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1771

“Wine is sunlight, held together by water! ~ Galileo Gallilei

From wine what sudden friendship springs! ~ John Gay 1685 – 1732

Wine gives strength to weary men.  ~ Homer

One not only drinks the wine, one smells it, observes it, tastes it, sips it and–one talks about it. ~ King Edward VII

Where there is no wine there is no love. ~ Euripides

These are just a few.  There are thousands upon thousands of quotes out there.

I am truly thankful for the wonderful people that I have met through this lifestyle both  in person and online.  The words of the masters and the word of my friends are interchangeable and for the most part impossible to distinguish between.  If given a list of quotes I couldn’t tell by the wisdom alone whether it came from one of the great thinkers of all times, the bartender at the local wine bar, one of the many #wine lovers on twitter or the guy I run into every year at the members concert at Chateau Ste. Michelle.

I know that some of you have quotes or words of wisdom either your own or your favorites to share and I would love  to hear them.  Feel free to leave them here as a comment and I will add it to my encyclopedia of cool stuff with credit given to you of course.

As Always,

Love, Laugh, Learn… LIVE!

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I had seen a commercial for The Grape Adventure wine bar and bottle shop a couple of months ago and have been meaning to stop by and check it out for awhile.  When Joel and I pulled into the parking lot of the cluster mall, we thought we might be in the wrong place.  It didn’t look like the pictures on the website or the commercial (does it ever?).  Creative photography I think they call it.

After our experience with the parking lot we were pleasantly surprised when we walked through the door.  They’ve done a wonderful job with the decorating and use of space.  The lights are dim in the bar/restaurant/tasting area giving it an inviting aura.   We seated ourselves in one of the few opened tables and within just a minute our server was at our table with the menu.  They have a pretty good selection appetizers, food and wine.  We ordered a cheese plate and both chose a flight of reds to start, then Joel had the mushroom swiss burger and I ordered the creme brulee .   The triple cream brie, on the cheese plate, was really good and the creme brulee was fantastic.

The atmosphere is what makes this place.  It’s cozy but also alive.  Lots of conversation.   I got the impression that the other people there all knew each other.  It seemed to be a great neighborhood hangout.   One of the “tests” that we have for  places we go to taste is, “would you bring friends here?”  The answer here is, yes.  I wouldn’t bring a friend if we were looking for a chic tasting experience but I would bring a friend if we wanted to relax, talk, taste some wine and maybe meet some really “real” people.

While this place might not be big and fat, it is definitely pleasantly plump.  We will be back for a grape adventure at The Grape Adventure.

As Always
Love, Laugh, Learn… LIVE!

You may have noticed that there is more than one person posting here.  My husband Joel and I both post.  You will know Joel’s posts because they’re way more technical.   He spends hours and hours comparing scents and reading about the grape growing regions all over the planet.  Me, not so much.  I drink what I like.  I may not know the slope of the terrain the vineyard is on but I do know if it’s yummy.  I was blessed with a pretty good palate and can detect and recognize fragrances and flavors fairly easily.   Where he’s technical, I’m way more touchy-feely.  Both Joel and I love the ritual and romance of wine but, rules be damned,  we both feel that the “ritual” of wine tasting should never detract from the romance and ever important relationships that the wine lifestyle brings.

What I love most about wine is the way it brings people together.  I have met some of the most amazing people and had some fabulous conversations at “wine” events and gatherings.   Throughout history wine has been used to celebrate, to mourn, to bring communities together, to heal, and to form bonds.  Something about sitting across a table and sharing a bottle of the grape creates a connection between two (or more) people, even if only temporary it is very real.   Some would say it’s the beverage talking, but I truly believe that it’s something more, something somehow chemical or maybe even magical in a way.

Tasting is all about sensation.  The feel of the glass in your hand, the wine in your mouth.  The look of the wine, from deep reds to golden hued whites, you have to admit it is beautiful.  The smell… ahhh the smell, oak, tobacco, leather, fruit, flowers, herbs, meat… smells are so sensual that we actually anchor emotions and memories to smells (ask a shrink or NLP practitioner, they’ll tell ya).  The sound of the cork leaving the bottle, the liquid rushing from bottle to glass, the swish and, of course, the conversation with friends and family.   Then we come to the taste.  I think you all know the joys of discovering layered flavors as it hits different locations on your tongue, then waiting to see how the layers develop over time.   So you see, for us, wine is a natural extension of a sensual, passionate lifestyle.

The lifestyle we live, while involving wine, is not all just the drinking of wine.  The lifestyle for us is living life to the fullest, enjoying every second and doing what we are passionate about.   We might be at a quaint wine bar, a winery, a rock concert, traveling around Europe, playing on a beach, partying with frineds or working in the yard but whatever we do, we do BIG.  Go big or go home is an attitude that has given us amazing experiences and I wouldn’t trade a second of it.

My hope for you, my friends, is to live Big.  Live the life of your dreams.  Live your passion, whatever your passion is.

As always, my friends

Love, Laugh, Learn… LIVE!

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Summer is just around the corner. Backyard barbecues, porch parties, sunshine until 10:00 PM, pink sky at night, when the air is warm and feels soft on my skin and the smell of flowers and fresh cut lawns, Ahhhh I love it! My yard looks like crap right now though. The spring here in the northwest has been cold and rainy; not great for getting the yard into shape.

I had planned to invite friends over for the solstice (first day of summer) but with my yard looking the way it does… NO WAY. There isn’t enough wine in the world to make this look good. I think I need to spend the next couple of weekends working instead of running around to tastings, wineries and vineyards.

Maybe I can just use my time a little better and do both?!?… maybe?

I know that the weather here has been down right strange, and I imagine that it probably holds true in other areas as well. I wonder how the grapes will react to the situation. I know hard times can make for some really exceptional wines so here’s hoping that through all this we get some really great wine in the next couple of years.  

As Always,

Love, Laugh, Learn… LIVE!

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My friend Paula just turned (number deleted just because).  She has a blow out birthday party every year and it’s always a great way to kick off the summer season for Joel and I.

We arrived and as usual she had a table of goodies, a cooler of beer and a bucket of some of the best fruit “spodie” on the planet.  I don’t know her recipe (if she told me she would have to kill me)  but I do know it involves soaking her fruit in heavenly elixir for days ahead of time.

The menu changes but most of the faces remain the same.  Paula has an amazing circle of family and friends and I am honored to be counted among them.  Paula’s almost brother-in-law and I always seem to get involved in long drawn out conversations about politics, religion, the state of the nation and other such normally taboo subjects.  It’s fun for us as we both understand the delicacies and subtle rules of debate and consider it our sport of choice; however, the crowd seems to give us a wide berth until we come up for air, or more spodie whichever comes first.

What can we count on every year at Paula’s birthday party?  Great people, flowing alcohol, good conversation, classic rock music with a splash of disco just for the dance-ability, and the feeling of absolute acceptance for whoever you are.   Paula is one of those types of people who loves with her whole heart.

When you have a friend who loves all the way and accepts no matter what is going on in your life it is a true blessing.  I am lucky to have had that in my life since I was in second grade.  Paula lived 2 houses down and across the street and was the first person I met in the neighborhood.  We became fast friends and were inseparable for most of our growing up years.   By the way, I was the wild one.

When we got home, we discovered that we had an addition to our already incredibly full household.  We were met at the door by the cutest kitten that you’ve ever seen.   Apparently our son Josh’s friend was booted from his rental house because the owner didn’t bother making the mortgage payment and it was foreclosed on so they are looking for a new rental and need somewhere for this sweet baby to stay until they find a new home.  I don’t know if I’m going to be able to give it back, but I’ll try.

As always,

Love, Laugh, Learn… LIVE!

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