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St. Louis Cellars

March 11, 2010 in Eating and Drinking, Missouri, St. Louis County, MO | No comments

Wines, photo by MilliGFunk

Angela Ortmann of @StLWineGirl was kind enough to take me as her guest to a St. Louis Cellars Wine Club event in February, and I had a great time.

photo by MilliGFunk

St. Louis Cellars only carries wines that are $20 or less per bottle, and they have some really fun labels in stock. Some of my favorites were a line of wines that had rock & roll labels (Pink Floyd, etc.). As I looked at the rock & roll labels, I couldn’t help but think of the friends those bottles would make good gifts for.

The label in the next picture made me think of the beef I had a year or so ago with Metro Mix St. Louis for listing a prime rib buffet as an “event” in St. Louis. If my dad were a wine drinker, this bottle would be for him:

Beef, photo by MilliGFunk

I think my brother – with his penchant for monster movies and old school science fiction – would really appreciate the Big Red Monster label:

Big Red Monster, photo by MilliGFunk

The St. Louis Cellars folks are super nice, and are a great resource if you need help choosing a wine to pair with a specific meal or to give as a gift. The Cellars carries a variety of cheeses, wine accessories, and foods as well, so the next time you’re in Maplewood, I really do suggest stopping in. St. Louis Cellars takes some of the snobbery out of wines, and for that, this small town girl offers her accolades.

St. Louis Cellars is located at 2640 Big Bend Boulevard in Maplewood, Missouri. Hours of operation are Monday-Thursday 10:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 10:30 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. Visit St. Louis Cellars online. Follow St. Louis Cellars on twitter.

St. Louis Wine Girl Angela Ortmann offers fantastic courses and tastings that make wine approachable for everyone. I highly recommend trying one of her tastings, offered at various venues in and around St. Louis. Visit Angela online. Follow Angela on twitter.

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Note: All photos were taken with my Blackberry Storm, rather than my usual Fuji Finepix DSLR, and some clarity is lacking as a result.

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Making the Most of Missouri

August 22, 2009 in Appreciating Friends and Family, Having Fun, Missouri | 4 comments

Today, I made my way to Crown Valley Winery, where I bought a bottle of blackberry wine.

I’m such a proponent of locally produced goods that I really wish I could acquire a taste for Missouri wines, most of which are very sweet. I bought a bottle of Crown Valley’s blackberry wine because it said it paired well with chocolate, and of course, I took a few photos…

Blackberry Wine, photo by smalltowngirl

One of my favorite photos of the day; me, my dog, a bottle of wine, and a beautiful Missouri sky.

Selfportrait witn smalldowndog, photo by smalltowngirl

And, finally, no real country girl wears shoes in the yard in the summer. I may have loved New York City, but there’s nothing like the grass between your toes…

Barefoot in the Summer, photo by smalltowngirl

Tags: Crown Valley Wine, Missouri, small town missouri, smalltowngirl, wine

NYC Food Lover Lost in SEMO

July 7, 2009 in Eating and Drinking, Missouri, NYC, Simple Pleasures, St. Louis | 16 comments

I’ve lived in New York City, so it should go without saying that I’m hurting for good food in St. Louis.

Or should it?

At Friday night’s #stl #tweet-up, @Tojosan and @MattHomann, determined to convince me that St. Louis isn’t just BBQ and steak, drafted a list for me of the best restaurants and bars in St. Louis. Here’s what they came up with: (note: their original list has been extended to include more recommendations from friends reading this blog and following me on twitter).

33 (wine bar)

Absolulty Goosed

Bailey’s Chocolate Bar

The Bleeding Deacon (for good bar food)

Boogaloo’s (Maplewood)

Farotto’s (great lasagna!)

Franco

Frazier’s Brown Bag

Grazzi’s (The Hill)

Hodak’s (for fried chicken)

Iron Barley

La Vellasana

Niche

Olympia (Greek – try the flaming cheese!)

Porch (store)

Ravanelli’s (Collinsville, IL)

Red Sea (Ethiopian)

Venice Cafe

Do you think my twitter friends have omitted great St. Louis restaurants? Leave me a comment, and I’ll add your suggestion to my list!

Tags: Beef, Food, foodie, great st. louis restaurants, Missouri, Mmm..., smalltowngirl, St. Louis, st. louis foodie, wine

Sand Creek Vineyard

May 5, 2009 in Eating and Drinking, Having Fun, Missouri | 3 comments

I spent my cool, drizzly Sunday afternoon at Sand Creek Vineyard with an old friend. The building, which sits at the end of a long gravel driveway, deep in the woods, somehow manages a fine balance between down to earth and elegant.

When we arrived, we were the only two patrons in the joint, and we were greeted by a sleepy yellow tabby cat on a black wicker sofa outside the front doors.

Sand Creek Vinyard, photo by smalltowngirl

Wine tastings here are five wines for $5.00, so we each handed over a President Lincoln and started our tasting.

The first wine on the list was a Chambourcin, followed by a Norton. Nortons are one of Missouri’s more popular red wines, and the Norton was one one of my two favorite wines at Sand Creek.

The third on the list was the very sweet Plank Road Red. I got nostalgic at the title, since our late-night hang out years ago was Plank Road Inn. I’m still learning to like my home state’s sweet wines, and as I sipped the Plank Road Red, I found myself daydreaming of summer sangrias.

Traminette, a semi-sweet white wine came next. Sand Creek’s Traminette has a similar green apple and apricot flavor as Peaceful Bend’s Semi-Sweet White, though Peaceful Bend’s wine has an almost cider-like tartness. I’m not too proud to admit that I thought the Traminette tasted like a grown-up Peach Jolly Rancher wine. That said, it was one of my favorites at Sand Creek.

The last wine of the day, which is one of Sand Creek’s best sellers, was my least favorite. Becky’s Blush was very, very sweet. I’m a Shiraz and Syrah kind of girl. I like the wines that go well with dark chocolate and stain your lips and teeth purple. I’m sure it’s a wonderful blush, but I’ll pass on this one next time.

Five for $5.00 - Sand Creek Tasting, photo by smalltowngirl

Sand Creek Vineyard is one of the newest additions to Southeast Missouri’s wineries. It sits a few miles southeast of Farmington off of State Hwy 00, and tastings are 5 wines for $5.00, and you get to keep your glass.

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Not sure how to get the glass home with you safely? Note my friend’s creative use of her kiddo’s car seat on our way home (also note that said kiddo was safely at home with his grandma):

Cozy Wine Glasses, photo by smalltowngirl

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Sleepy Tabby Cat, photo by smalltowngirl

Tags: Beck's Blush, Chambourcin, Farmington Wineries, Missouri Wine, Missouri Wineries, Sand Creek, Sand Creek Vineyard, St. Francois County Wineries, tabby cat, Traminette, wine

Top 10 in Farmington

April 11, 2009 in Farmington, Looking Closer, Missouri, Simple Pleasures | 4 comments

I’m doing my best to stay up on Darren Rowe’s 31-day challenge to building a better blog. I’m two days behind, and it’s only day five out of thirty-one. In an effort to get caught up, here’s Day 3’s assignment; a list.

The top 10 things I’d encourage you to see, do, and experience in and around this small town:

1. Millstream Gardens State Conservation Area, seven miles West of Fredericktown, Missouri on Highway 72.

2. A drive through Downtown Farmington

3. Bauhaus Coffee

4. The Factory

5. Elephant Rocks State Park

6. Bonne Terre Mines

7. Farmington Farmer’s Market (Saturdays and Wednesday in Spring and Summer)

8. Farmington’s Mennonite Farmer’s Market, Ole Tyme Pantry

9. Crown Valley Winery

10. 12 West for dinner and drinks

Tags: Better Blog, Coffee Shops, Darren Rowe, Farmington, Hiking, Homework, List Assignment, Missouri State Parks, smalltowngirl, To-Do, wine

A Semi-Sweet White Table Wine and a Very Sweet White Dog

April 1, 2009 in Simple Pleasures | 3 comments

I uncorked the Whittenburg Semi-Sweet White as I went off on one tangent or another about the challenges of my new job.

I let the wine breath for a few minutes, poured myself a glass, and took a sip. A warm, mellow flavor hit the center of my tongue, and the tartness of an apple draft cider tickled the tip of it.

The wine being more full-bodied than I’d expected, I relaxed, contentedly, sinking a little deeper into the slat-backed wooden chair.

The first glass was a well-deserved pleasure after a frustrating day at work, and the second glass was pure indulgence. I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed a white wine as a standalone, without a food pairing.

Peaceful Bend winery is on the Meremac River in Steelville, Missouri.

all photos by smalltowngirl

Two glasses in, I realized the dog was still outside from 20 minutes before. When I let her in, her muddy paws left footprints across the white quarry-tiled kitchen floor. The dog already in need of a bath, and me having already had two glasses of wine, the dog with little hope.

Into the kitchen sink she went, and any dignity the poor dog had disappeared…

It’s the little things in life that make it good. A glass of local white wine and a clean white dog are all it took tonight to lift my heart up to a better place.

More pictures of the (dry) white dog.

Tags: dog baths, dogs, Peaceful Bend Winery, small town missouri, smalltowngirl, Steelville, wine

wine

St. Louis Cellars

Making the Most of Missouri

NYC Food Lover Lost in SEMO

Sand Creek Vineyard

A Semi-Sweet White Table Wine and a Very Sweet White Dog

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