Showing posts with label riesling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label riesling. Show all posts

Sunday, April 2, 2017

Kung Fu Girl Riesling

I have been tempted by this wine, Kung Fu Girl Riesling, before, solely because of the totally kick-ass name and label.  I mean, what woman WOULDN’T want to drink some KUNG FU GIRL RIESLING, right??  But at $9.99, it was a bit more expensive than some other tried and tested wines at TJ's, and I had just never thrown a bottle in my cart.

Until they taste tested it one night while I was shopping…

See, this guy was handing out samples!  Thanks Trader Joe's!
Yes, once again, the Trader Joe’s wine taste testing resulted in a sale (DO YOU HEAR ME BAILEY’S CROSSROADS, VIRGINIA TJ’S??  IT WORKS WHEN YOU STAND THERE AND POUR COMMUNION CUPS OF WINE TO HAND OUT.  DO IT MORE OFTEN LIKE YOU USED TO! )  (Actually, they have leased what used to be the music store space right next door and are renovating it to be a wine/beer area, so maaaaaybe they will be awesome like the NYC Trader Joe’s Wine Shop and have tastings every day!!  Oh please, oh please, oh please…)

But I digress…  I mean, I personally do not do kung fu, but this wine has such a kick ass, strong woman name that it was hard to resist!! 

Here it is, sideways in my cart.  I swear I had only drunk a little tiny cup to taste it,
so I am not sure why I took a sideways photo.
Normally Riesling is not my “go to” wine, but this 2015 from Washington State was GOOD!  It was very nice.  It was smooth and not too sweet.  I drank it with a rice, leek, chicken, green pepper, and snow pea stir fry and it was a very tasty compliment to the dinner. 
This sign says "new" but I think that might be a fib.  Sometimes TJ's says writes new
but they should write "new", cuz actually they have carried the product a while...
I recently heard a great story on the NPR show Freakonomics about drinking cheap wine.  They did blind taste tests with “wine snobs” – like, people who really KNEW about wine.  Well lo and behold, they often could not tell the difference between cheap wine and fancy pants wine.  (link to awesome Freakonomics story here - you should listen to it)  Maybe YOU think you can tell the difference, and maybe you CAN, but I think that most people cannot.  So, if you want a GIRL POWER wine for your girl get together (your girlfriend dinner or your book club perhaps!) – HAVE A BOTTLE OF KUNG FU RIESLING out.  It is a “Nevertheless, She Persisted” wine. 

This wine tastes good.  It is not crappy.  So how is that for an endorsement?

Me, doing my best kung fu in our kitchen
I am reviewing this product by myself.  Oh sure, David had some, but I don’t really even care what he thought about it!  Because, you see, this wine is about STRONG WOMEN.  So, all of you strong women out there – BUY IT, DRINK IT, SUPPORT IT!  (And yes, I realize that it may well be made by a bunch of dudes in Washington, but don’t burst my bubble right now, ok?)  Get it!

Kung Fu Girl Riesling would have been the wine they served at the Women’s March in Washington DC (had they served wine).  The bottles could have worn little tiny pink pussy hats, and all of the marchers would have loved it.  Missed opportunity 😊 .  

My hat, our posters, and the capitol in the background!!
Thanks for knitting the hat, Karen Hoyer!
Here is a bonus clip - short video of the crowd at the Women's March in Washington DC on January 21, 2017.  And yes, I realize the pink hats are controversial.  But you can still enjoy the video anyway - there are some great posters!



Price - $9.99
Rating – 4.5

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Day 95 - Anthony Road Riesling Semi-Sweet

When in Rome…  Or should I say - WHEN IN NEW YORK CITY!

Fact – New York City not only has more than one Trader Joe’s location, they have a frickin’ TRADER JOE’S WINE SHOP.  Whaaat???  A Trader Joe’s just dedicated to WINE???  Yup.  Color me jealous.  And color me a fan!
Holy Smokes - a whole Trader Joe's dedicated to WINE?
When we went to NYC recently you know “visit Trader Joe’s Wine Shop” was on my list of things to do.  And so do we did!  The wine store is right next to the original NYC Trader Joe’s location.

The Wine Shop was lovely.  Ahhhhh.  Rows and rows of WINE!  No pesky frozen food section to get in your way.  And guess what?  They have free tastings EVERY.  SINGLE.  DAY.  Did you see that, Northern Virginia Trader Joe’s??  And – they deliver.  I kid you not.  Seriously, the store was very nice!  They had all the regular wines we see at our Trader Joe’s wine department (which, sadly, now looks remarkably wimpy compared to the whole store of wine…), plus they had loads of wines that our stores do not carry.  They even had a beautiful section of fancy wines that were recommended to “gift” to someone (“GIFT TO YOURSELF!” – that’s what I’m thinking!). 

Now THIS is civilized.
 But I digress…

When in Rome...  So when in New York, get a New York wine, right???  We decided on this Anthony Road Riesling Semi-Sweet from the Finger Lakes Region (upstate New York).  We chose it because;
a.       It was a “local wine”
b.      We had never tried it before
c.        It had a pretty label (don’t judge)
d.      It had a screw top – which we needed because we got it on our last night in the city so figured we would not finish it and need to haul it home

We made our choice!  Finger Lakes, baby
It was OKAY.  Not fantastic, not horrible, but okay.  I think they could have dropped the “semi” and just gone with the sweet, but hey, we don’t drink a ton of Riesling.  If you are a Riesling fan and live in an area where you can purchase this, give it a try. And if you DO want to try it, buy it at Trader Joe’s, because I just checked the website of the winery, and for some cuh-razy reason it is CHEAPER AT TRADER JOE’S than at the actual winery!!!  HUH?  $9.99 at Trader Joe’s Wine Store, $16.99 for the same exact bottle (same vintage and everything) on the winery website.   http://anthonyroadwine.com/wine.asp

Cheaper than at the winery!
Trader Joe’s Wine Shop – 2 huge thumbs up.
This particular bottle of wine - comme ci, comme ça

Price - $9.99
Rating of this bottle of wine- 3.5

Rating of Trader Joe’s Wine Shop - 5