VinoDog?

This evening I was happily enjoying some pasta, a glass of Cakebread Sauvignon Blanc from my "stash", and a re-run of Law and Order when I accidentally knocked the glass off the coffee table. Fortunately, it was white wine; unfortunately, my dog Sadie was lying right next to me - and right in the line of fire.

Being a collie type, she hates liquids of most types and had absolutely zero appreciation for being doused in the Cakebread. She expressed this by leaping up, running around the living room and rolling on her back for about 5 minutes, trying to get the smell off of her back. And I always thought dogs knew better than humans how to really appreciate the finer things in life!

By the way, Teresa and I have had a few adventures recently, from a fantastic Saturday in the Yadkin Valley tasting NC wines, to a very pleasant happy hour at Zebra sampling the vino they offered for a "song"....stay tuned for details.

Cheers, and thanks for following the Vinogals!

Find Another River..but Don't Forget the Coors Light!

So, yesterday the Vinogals, P-Mac and friend Laurie spent a long, lazy afternoon kayaking down the Dan River near Winston Salem. It was a gorgeous, hot, sunny Sunday, and we couldn't think of a better way to spend it than paddling along and enjoying the pretty NC scenery. Teresa particularly enjoyed watching me lose my balance and fall out of my kayak. Thank goodness, due to the proximity to the water, no cameras came along on this trip!

In true Vinogal style, I have to mention that the afternoon opened my eyes to the pleasure of a cold Coors Light while floating down on a river on a hot sunny afternoon. Especially when accompanied by ketchup-flavored Pringles...yum!

The company we used for this outing was called Dan River Adventures, and I want to be sure warn anyone in NC or Southern Va...DO NOT give this company your business. It's a long story, but the owner and his wife went from unfriendly and unhelpful when we arrived to downright offensive and ridiculously rude as we were leaving. They do not even come close to knowing the meaning of customer service. Thank goodness we had 4 good hours of floating on a river, and the company of good friends to save the day!

Cheers...and thanks for following the Vinogals!

Ice, Ice, Iceland!

Is anyone following the Bachelorette this season? It is pretty crazy but P-Mac and I (Teresa) have been to both Iceland and Portugal which are 2 of the places the cast has visited this season! More on Portugal and Port wine later. Now would be a great time to visit Iceland because the economic downturn in that country has shifted the currency exchange rate to favor US tourists. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case when we visited but the memories were priceless.

Iceland is actually a relatively green country whereas Greenland is a very icy country. Iceland offers lots of adventure and incredible geological attractions. Perhaps one day we will make it back in the wintertime (bundle up) to see nature's spectacular multicolored display Northern Lights.

We visited geysers

rode in a 4x4 on a glacier

and saw the meeting point of the tectonic plates of Eurasia and North America.

The capital city of Iceland, Reykjavik, has a crazy nightlife. Icelandic revelers travel into the capital for the nightlife and bars get packed after midnight and the party continues until 5am! Beer was prohibited in Iceland until 1989 so maybe the country is just making up for lost time.

Of course we found an ice bar in Iceland and sampled a cocktail made with a local vodka called Reyka Vodka. Reyka is a hand crafted spirit made at Iceland's only vodka distillery. It is made with water drawn from a 4,000 year old lava field and is filtered through lava rock from local volcanic fields, which gives it a clean flavor. It makes an excellent cocktail! Since our trip, we've seen Reyka Vodka stocked in liquor stores and restaurants. Pick some up and enjoy! The Bachelorette did just before she let the tattoo boy go (you can tell by the distinctive label on the neck).

(image source)

Beer, Bikes and BBQ - QC Style!

Happy Birthday America!

Last night we headed to Mac's Speed Shop on South Boulevard to enjoy some of Charlotte's best BBQ.

If you've live here and and have never been to Mac's, choose a perfect summer night, cruise on over (on your Harley if you have one...we had the Jeep wrangler!) and enjoy some of the most tender, flavorful southern BBQ in the city, along with live music on the patio. If you are not a city dweller, don't worry, Mac's has 3 locations to choose from:

SOUTHEND - 2511 South Blvd. - Charlotte, NC 28203

LAKE NORMAN - 19601 Liverpool Pkwy. - Cornelius, NC 28031
STEELE CREEK - 2414 Sandy Porter Rd. - Charlotte, NC 28273

Per the website, the hours for all 3 locations are "11 AM to Midnight or Whenever". The Vinogals love that!!

Speaking of love, if you love beer, you will be in "Hawg Heaven" here. There are over 200 beers on Mac's Beer Menu - Pilsners, Ales, Pales, IPAs, Organics, Ciders, Lagers, High Octane ("Made to Sip") ...and the list goes on. Since it was America's Big Day and we were feeling patriotic, we decided a round of Sam Adams Lite was in order!

We hope you all enjoyed your celebration of America's birthday this year as much as the Vinogals did! There is nothing like a summer evening at a picnic table, great BBQ, cold beer and live music to make one grateful to live in this great country. Thanks Mac's!

A Texas Treat

Hi everyone! In case you are wondering...the Vinogals are still around! Teresa was in tiny Wagram, NC and I was in the big D (Dallas) on a work trip...and we were both a little vino-deprived. Hence, not much to write about here over the past week.

One bright spot of my trip...I managed to sneak away for dinner with friends Jill and John while in Texas. A fantastic seafood place where martinis were the drink of the evening. But before we left for dinner, we shared a wonderful bottle of Cakebread Chardonnay from their wine cabinet.

I have to admit, I have a special fondness for Cakebread wines...there's a mystique there. I don't know if it was the excellent, no-pretense tour I had when at the winery in Napa last fall, or just the fact that I've never tasted a single Cakebread wine that I didn't love, or the name itself...I mean, there's cake, there's bread...how could you go wrong with that? It's a warm, rich, sweet name that conjures up an expectation of a wine that is simply a delectable treat. It's marketing genius!

The bottle we opened before dinner may have been the same Chardonnay that I brought back from Napa last fall, but am simply too stingy to share until the perfect occasion comes along. But John Dale and Jill shared, and it was heaven! Just another example of my theory that while there are few places in Texas I would choose to live, Texans are often the most generous people I have ever met...warm, welcoming, and in this case, willing to share the Cakebread!

Go Wild at Zebra!

P-Mac and I got a groupon to Zebra Restaurant in Charlotte so we are excited to checkout the eats at this upscale Southpark restaurant. They had me at "fine dining in the style of the French Laundry". In checking out their menu, we noticed great nightly drink specials. Definitely vinogal post-worthy! For more info, go to Zebra's website here.

BAR and PATIO PROMOTIONS

MONDAY MARTINI MADNESS

5.00 Vodka or Gin

Appletini's, Rasmopolitan's, Pineapple and More!

TERRIFIC TUESDAY

Half Price All Bar Appetizers!

Over 15 Selections!

WELLNESS WEDNESDAY

We can help get you well every Wednesday

Half Price All Libations!

THUMBS UP THURSDAY

Free Domestic Beer or House Wine with Any Bar Appetizer

( limit one! )

FABULOUS FRIDAY

Our Most Popular and Fun Night of the Week!

10.00 Informal Wine Tasting and Free Hors d'oeuvres

5:30-7:30