Famille Perrin Cotes du Rhone Reserve

So, we have something to CELEBRATE!!!  I knew it was gonna happen when I went to bed last night.  I wanted to stay up for the excitement, but not having slept well the 2 nights before I just COULDN’T stay awake.  So when I rolled out of bed early this morning the first thing I did was check this Trader Joe’s blog – WE HIT 150,000 VIEWS!!! 

But then I got busy.  I worked all day and the time got away from me.  But I needed to CELEBRATE this milestone!  So I finished out the day with a trip to Ormond Beach with my sweetie.  We swam in the warm water.  We breathed in the fresh air.  And we JUMPED. 

150,000 views!!!  Now that is something to jump about!

And now, just a few hours after it officially hit the 150,000 mark, the blog is just shy of the 151,000 mark!  I am serious, something has been happening lately that is bringing in a lot of readers.  What’s the haps, people??  But don’t worry, I won’t celebrate tooooo often, only for the biggies (like 150,000!).

So as part of the pre-celebration last night, we opened a bottle of French wine.  The bottle was a 2015 (ahhh, a very good year for colonoscopies if I remember correctly…).  My wine ignorance is going to show here, but I always thought that Cotes du Rhone wines were RED.  This may be because there are a couple of Cotes du Rhones from Trader Joe’s that I like to drink that are red.  (Ugh!  Now that I look back on the blog I see I have not reviewed either of my “go to” Cotes du Rhone reds!!  What was I THINKING!!!  I know I have all of the documentation for the reviews.  Note to self:  get more organized…)

Anyway, we bought our first bottle of this WHITE Famille Perrin Cotes du Rhone Reserve about a week ago after we tasted it at our local Virginia Trader Joe’s and really enjoyed it.  So when we were stocking up on TJ’s wine to bring on a trip to Florida (no, we did not drink any on the 13 hour drive!), we grabbed a bottle of this, and boy am I happy we did!

Sort of a boring label, but not a boring taste

David’s take on it:  This is a very nice, well balanced wine for when you want a wine that has more character than a fruity one.  It has a nice, kind of WOOD character to it without the overbearingness of a chardonnay.  I don’t know where that comes from; it’s not too fruity, not too sweet, but it is PLEASANT.  And it is cool.   I think it is better served with something rather than on its own.  There is kind of a “tang” at the finish that makes you think, “Hmmm, it would be nice to have something to eat with this, like a piece of cheese…”.  I give this wine a 4.25.

My opinion:  We served this wine chilled.  Like I said before, I thought Cotes du Rhone were always red, so this surprised me.  I really, really like it.  It is a great summer wine that would pair with anything!  It doesn’t have an overpowering taste, so it would not overpower what you were eating.  We served it with a pizza that we made that had a red sauce.  (I am always proud for some reason when we make homemade pizza.  This time we bought a pre-rolled out dough – don’t judge…)  I think this wine would pair well with fish, pasta, salad, a tuna sandwich…  It would also be yummy to drink while just popping cashews in your mouth.

Would you like a glass??

I get a little bit of grapefruit taste, but as you know I am not a wine expert.  Who knows, there may not be a grapefruit note in the whole bottle!  But it is GOOD.  It is a great all-around white wine to have on hand for summer.  OH, it would be good with DESSERTS, too, since it is not too sweet.  I give this wine a 4.75.

David points out that, although we have nothing against a wine of color, we do like a good white.  J  And I agree, especially when it is hot outside, a nice, chilled white wine is what is called for.  So for now, while in Florida in June, I am all about the white (wine)! 

Grab a bottle of this Cotes du Rhone.  Try it!  It will be something different and, while it isn’t the cheapest wine on the shelf, it won’t bust the bank.  Plus, I think it’ll make you smile.  Go for it!  Interestingly, the pricing sign says it USED to be $9.99, but because Trader Joe’s costs to get it have gone down, they have lowered the price they charge to $8.99!  C’mon now, in this day and age, what other retailer is gonna do that???  Thanks Joe!

Thanks for the treasure, Joe!!

Price – $8.99

Rating (average of 2 reviewers) – 4.5

Day 357 - Chestnuts AND the Jacksonville Beach, FL Trader Joe's

Color me frustrated today.  My laptop is dying, it will not stay ON, keeps going to a completely black screen.  Even in "safe mode" it won't work.  I have a new laptop (not "new" technically since I got it this summer) but I have not migrated any data to it.  I planned to do that "soon".  Yeah, not soon enough, apparently.  Sigh.  And to top it all off, the NEW LAPTOP won't let me log in!  It won't even help me reset the dumb password.  A trip to Geek Squad is in order, yes, on Christmas Eve Eve. 

Wait - this is FESTIVUS isn't it???  Oh my, I just remembered!  See how flustered I am???  I love Festivus.  One year we made our own Festivus pole and stood outside handing out Marshmallow Peeps to people stopped at the red light!

Anyway, I am frustrated.  My bajillions of photos are on my old computer, including all of my Trader Joe's shots.  Sigh.  Please, please, PLEASE let this be fixable (and not cost tons of money).

In the meantime, I have photos on my camera that I took yesterday at a BRAND NEW (to us) Trader Joe's - Jacksonville Beach, FL!  So I will sync those to David's computer (which I do not enjoy using...) and write from it.  Here goes.

TADA - JACKSONVILLE BEACH, FLORIDA TRADER JOE'S!  Isn't the curved building cool?

First off, the actual store:  it is lovely!  It is super clean (a bit over a year old), bright, and very roomy. And guess what - they do wine tastings every single day.  Do you hear that, Bailey's Crossroads Trader Joe's??  I know it helps sell a lot of wine!  Heck, I would even volunteer to sit in the store and make little tick marks if you would like a "scientific" study done on how effective wine tasting is (I would, of course, need to taste wine while conducting my study...).  

We were surprised to find that the Jacksonville store has almost no 2015 holiday products left.  All of the other Trader Joe's we  have gone to have tons of lotions and potions and most importantly, CHOCOLATES for the holidays, but the Jacksonville Beach store was about stripped clean of any of that.  Those Jacksonville people know their seasonal products when they see 'em and scoop them up apparently!

They aren't kidding, folks.  Grab the seasonal stuff if you want it!

Now, the EMPLOYEES.  Oh.  My.  Goodness.  Seriously folks, they have some NICE PEOPLE working at this store!!!  I am going to give a shout out to one for now (more in the coming days entries):  PAUL.  Paul, you are the man!!  He was polite, friendly, and so warm and welcoming!  I told him about my reviews and this blog and he was so interested.  

Here is PAUL, he is just as nice in person as he looks in this photo.  Plus helpful!

Paul introduced me to some special people (more about that in an upcoming entry) and then, get this, GAVE ME A GIFT.  Wait, not even A gift, but GIFTS!!!  He gave me pink roses (beautiful) and a Florida Trader Joe's bag full of goodies!!!!  Is that fabulous or is that fabulous???  Paul, thank you so much for making me feel so welcome in your store.  The flowers are all spread out around the house and it looks beautiful in here now!  I have already used the TJ's bag twice!  And the snacks, well you KNOW the snacks will get put to good use!!!  

LOOK at all of these great gifts Paul bestowed upon me!  

OK, I guess I need to review something.  I have to get this in before midnight so as not to mess up this whole project just cuz of technology giving me a headache.  So let's look at CHESTNUTS, shall we?

David likes to eat chestnuts during the winter holiday season.  He remembers his dad making them when he was a kid.  (I didn't grow up with chestnuts and they are still a bit weird to me.)  David also remembers eating them from street vendors in Paris, and we get them when we go to New York City, too (case in point - had some in NYC just a couple weeks ago!).  

Last year we bought a bag at Trader Joe's and then let them sit around for so long without making them that by the time we got around to them, they were not good anymore.  This year we did things differently!

Picked up another bag of chestnuts yesterday at the Jacksonville Beach store.  

David, the chestnut liker in the family, is also the chestnut MAKER.  Here is how he does it:  he cuts a cross in the top of the nut to prevent it from exploding, then cooks them in a hot oven (around 400) for about 15 - 20 minutes.  One year he soaked them in water about 20 minutes before cutting and cooking them, on the theory that might make them moister when cooked.  But once he was done with them he decided the soaking had no effect, so don't bother.

He liked the Trader Joe's chestnuts when we made them in November.  In fact, I liked them, too. Then, like I mentioned, we went to NYC and bought some from a street vendor and they were like triple the size of the TJ's nuts.  I think that made David envious or something...  So now he is not quite as enamored of the TJ's chestnuts, cuz he feels like they are "small".   

$4.99 - a fair price if I do say so myself.

Having written all of that, I asked him his thoughts and here is what he says, "These are a traditional seasonal event, so perhaps more delicious for their sentimental value than pure taste.  The nuts themselves are rich, large, and of a taste all their own.  

If you have never tried chestnuts you should do so.  They are quite sweet as nuts, although not in a sugary way.  They are hard to de-shell sometimes but there is nothing wrong with eating the inner fibrous skin if you can't get that off.  Ideally both the outer shell and the inner skin will come off with careful peeling and reveal a perfect, moist, golden nut looking like a tiny rat brain.  :)  Mmmmm, delicious!

Chestnuts roasting by an "open fire"...
Well, as "open fire" as you get in a beach house with no fireplace... 

In practice though, it is usually a numbers game; some nuts will be so hard you can't get the shells off, some will be mealy or have a rotten spot inside.  But the REST will be delicious and warm!  These TJ's nuts are medium sized (editor's note:  see!  I knew he would mention the size!!  Ha!) but relatively fresh so most of them are good.  You can probably get whopper sized ones at a higher price somewhere, but these are fine.  I give these a 4."  

Here is a bonus photo of the bottom of my new shopping bag from Jax.  Did you ever look at the BOTTOM of your TJ's bag??  You should - they are always cool!

Look!  The Florida bag bottom has a postcard written to corporate!  :)

Price - $4.99

Rating - 4

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

Day 85 - Josephsbrau Prost (beer)

I am not sure if I have complained about this on this blog before, so let me get this out in the open:  our Trader Joe’s in Falls Church, VA USED TO do wine and beer tastings a LOT.  Like, almost every time we shopped.  And let me be clear – tasting wine/beer while shopping not only makes shopping more pleasant, it almost ensures you will purchase at least one of the items you just tasted!  Over a year ago they cut way back on their tastings (boooooo!!!) and since then it has been more difficult to get exposed to new varieties of wine and beer to buy.

But this past Sunday they HAD A TASTING!  And one of the items being poured was a flyer item that we had never tasted before called Josephsbrau Prost (beer).  We were happy to taste it – it was terrific!!  Cold, crisp, and delicious.  And so we did what any satisfied taster would do – bought a six pack!

Beer and wine tasting on a Sunday afternoon at Trader Joe's - how civilized!

See Trader Joe’s???  We would never had thrown that 6 pack in our cart had you not scheduled that friendly staff member to stand in the liquor section a couple of hours and entertain guests.  I say that is a win-win!  (Note to management if any of you see this – the few times that you also have a cheese and cracker combo with the wine/beer, we (and people around us) normally end up buying the cheese, too, so SPLURGE next time and put out a snack that goes with what you are pouring!  It makes you look like great hosts and it adds up to more sales – cha-ching!!)

This is a tasty beer that we would have completely missed out on had the store not done a tasting - thanks Trader Joe's!

Anyway, we had this beer tonight with chicken chili and it was a great combo.  I can also imagine sipping it while sitting on a porch or patio on a warm summer night.  Josephsbrau Prost is good beer at a great price.

Price - $6.49

Rating - 4

Day 33 - Chateau Haut-Sorillon Bordeaux Superieur

Trader Joe’s does this marvelous little thing called WINE TASTINGS.  They used to do them much more frequently, and we used to purchase more wine.  Yes, the tastings are the very best way for a customer to try a new wine and often times decide to put it in their cart and take it home.  I can’t imagine how much MORE WINE each store sells on days they do tastings.

Ahhh - wine tasting at Trader Joe's!  

So recently, the Trader Joe’s in Clarendon (Arlington, VA) was having a wine tasting.  It was set up riiiight when you entered the store.  J  What better way to start your shopping trip, eh?  Of course we stopped and one of the wines being poured was Chateau Haut-Sorillon Bordeaux Superieur.  Let me just say this from the get-go – it could have tasted like red Kool-Aid and many of us would have still bought it, because the wine sample guy was so amazing!  He had a heavy French accent and here he was pouring a lovely French Bordeaux!  And he knew a ton about it, too – the area of origin, the alcohol content, the reason the grapes are so special….  But the thing is, he did not explain it in the hoity-toity way so many sommeliers or waiters do, he explained everything with loooove. 

Chateau Haut-Sorillon Bordeaux Superieur (say it with a French accent!)

So, even though we were drinking out of tiny plastic sample cups, that wine tasted lovely.  It is fruity, hearty, and with some nice tannins.  And we, along with other people doing the tasting, made sure to grab a bottle to bring home with us. 

At $8.99, it is not one of the cheapest wines on the Trader Joe’s shelves, but it is worth the money (and heck, it is still under $10!). Tip – the Frenchman told us to make sure to let this breathe before drinking. 

Price - $8.99

Rating – 4