Yep, it’s that time of year again. Forget about learning what your pesky new year resolutions were for 2015, I just wanted to know what your drinking epiphanies were in 2014! After learning what our Eve Wine 101 Facebook pals experienced, I’d have to say I have some new boozy goals for 2015:
Scott E: At The Ace rooftop bar. A drink called the Mi Corazon. Fresno pepper infused cachaca, coconut, lime, nutmeg, served in a chilled metal cup.
Lisa B: Drinking shots of Russian Vodka with friends in St. Petersburg! We didn’t do it for long! It was the last day of our two-day tour and we begged our guide and driver to find us a place for that “Bucket List” experience. She found us a very nice restaurant and the servers and kitchen staff were so sweet to let us barge in and just do shots. It was a great experience! I highly recommend it! Just wish we could have stayed longer and tried some of their food. The restaurant looked very upscale. All the staff was young and gorgeous, polite and perfectly dressed. The food looked awesome!
Hope G: A 4-course Scotch dinner. Who knew the differences in Highland and Lowland Scotches were so pronounced and paired so well with oysters, game and beef. I did not expect to find a favorite in Dalwhinnie 25yr!
Barbara B: I simply liked discovering wines from areas under-represented here like the Xianomavro wines of the Naoussa region of Greece or the Slovenian wines fermented in ancient Amphorae…too cool and now planning wine visits to both countries!
Lee W: “The Black Dahlia” A toast to Elizabeth Short with Absolut Citron, Chambord and Kahlua, with an orange peel garnish at the Gallery Bar and Cognac Lounge in the Millennium Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles. (The last place she was seen alive!!)
Wayne L: Chateau Montelena in Napa. Great venue and great wines.
Kelly B: Lunch at the Louis Roederer Champagne Family Home with Cristal, and other assorted favorite along with a 3 star Michelin Chef Prepared Meal and eating off Napoleon’s own gold eating utensils… or there is was the Zurich Wine Expo…nothing like drinking wine on a boat!
Theresa H: My 25th wedding anniversary trip to Napa. The castle hands down. Temecula was very enjoyable too. My first year in California has introduced me to so much fun… Oh oh wine tasting at The Jelly Belly Factory as well.
That is near Napa.
Lori R: Tequila at Solita.
Michelle T: We took our 10 and 12 year olds to Napa for the first time and took a winery tour at Frog’s Leap. Yep, we are those parents.
Jane S: Watching my husband sipping a glass or two or three of his special hand picked red wine every night.
Orlando R: Making shot glasses out of watermelon then freezing them with liquid nitrogen, and filling them with a habanero flavored vodka.
Ron C: Traveling to Willamette Valley in Oregon, staying in the Archery Summit winery guest house! Touring the winery and having an incredible experience with…great wine, great food and great friends!
Cathy M: Geeez, I was just happy to find original copper Moscow Mule mugs my parents had from the 1950s. Steve makes Alcatraz cocktails in them. You substitute vodka for tequila.
Melissa L: I must say that the adventures in Absinthe have been most enjoyable and filled with surprises. We evaluated 200 year old samples alongside the modern – like a liquid history lesson. Delicious.
Michael D: My favorite wine experience was during our trip to Italy last spring. The highlights for me were the driving tour through the Florence countryside in a classic Fiat 500 that ended with a wine tasting in a 15th century villa and drinking with the locals at the Cantina Do Mori in Venice… My favorite sprits experience was going to Bourbon and Branch in San Francisco for my 50th birthday. You have to love a place that won’t even ask you if you have a reservation unless you know the password and whose house rules include “Don’t even think of asking for a Cosmo”!
Michael M: Hands down the Henry Wine Group’s “Taste the World” event in Beverly Hills at the historic Beverly Hills Hotel. Loved meeting Elizabeth Spencer and trying her delicious Sirah. I think I met a few other cool people there too… (Eve Hammond Bushman)
Robin B: Had an amazing time with my partner-in-crime, Robin A., up in Paso Robles last August at one of Tobin James Winery’s annual barbeques. Got to taste a great array of wines (actually, it was more like glug it down to our heart’s content), eat fantastic food from local top chefs and listen to live music under the stars. Fun evening, and I will be going back.
Scott H: Finally getting 2 bottles of Alban Vineyards Syrah after being on the waiting list for 2 1/2 years. We opened one. It was worth the wait.
Dale G: Stagecoach wine tours in Solvang and Santa Barbara; day trip to winery in Lancaster surprisingly good. Still want to go to Temecula. Did Napa years ago.
Chris C: Hands down, getting married in a Vineyard in Temecula at Ponte in March, to my beautiful wife Jennie C. Boom!!
Eve Bushman has been reading, writing, taking coursework and tasting wine for over 20 years. She has obtained a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust, has been the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video, authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and recently served as a guest judge for the L.A. International Wine Competition. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits that may be answered in a future column. You can also seek her marketing advice via Eve@EveBushmanConsulting.com
