Uncorked, Unwrapped

When Life Gives You Lemonheads…Read for a Chance to Win!

Posted on June 21, 2015 by lilliebette

Hey friends! It has been over three months. Spring was a hectic time for me. I had a full course load, a full-time internship, and the rest of my life to keep going. I finished finals in May and had about 12 days off before starting summer semester. But soon I will be done and have a proper break! In the mean time, I am avoiding some work to bring you a brand new post!

I am featuring one of my favorite childhood candies today–lemonheads! I love anything lemon scented or flavored in the summer, don’t you?

The Wine: The Independent, Chenin Blanc, 2014

The Candy: The Original Lemonhead

The Dream:

I originally planned to pair this with a bottle of wine that had a distinct lemon flavor, but Sam drank it accidentally before I told him not to open it. It probably was too sour anyway. So I moved onto the other white I got with my Club W wine box and tried the Chenin Blanc. I thought I would buy a chardonnay, but the Chenin Blanc is sweeter and a more interesting pair.

I Didn’t Know

The Reality:

The Chenin Blanc is very ripe and natural with a distinct sweetness. True to the theme of the post, each sip gets tangier.

The Lemonheads are delicious but a little stale since I waited a long time to pair them. The pairing is ok but the result is overall bitter. But Sam really liked it, so you may want to give it a shot. The wine did not turn with the sharp and challenging candy. Lemon and all citrus is always a challenge!

Club W:

I am a member of Club W which is a wine subscription service. I am not working for them or receiving any benefits from them whatsoever.

Once in awhile they give me a number of boxes to give away. You sign up on the website and they will send you three wines in one box. Their wines are often featured on Uncorked Unwrapped–like today! You will have to pay shipping with the order but you can unsubscribe if you don’t want to continue receiving them. I will send the first three to fill out this contact form an email with information on how to get a box. This offer expires July 9, 2015.

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Posted in Uncategorized and tagged Candy, Chenin Blanc, Club W, Lemon, Lemonheads, white wine, Wine. Bookmark the permalink.

Arsenic & Poor Taste

Posted on March 22, 2015 by lilliebette

Hello Friends,

I come to you on a rather serious matter. Last Thursday it was reported that many of the beloved cheap wine brands have high levels of inorganic arsenic. I have featured several of these brands on this website. In addition, if you live in a state where alcohol is sold in Trader Joes (I do not..I might be bitter), many of the TJ brands were affected. There is currently a lawsuit regarding this matter but, to be safe, I would avoid the brands I have listed below.

Since I care about all of you, the wines reported to have high inorganic arsenic are listed below (source). For every wine that I love, there is gif portraying my honest reaction to this knew. I was literally yelling “Oh why god!” in my apartment. I am not joking, I was yelling.

1. Acronym’s GR8RW Red Blend 2011
2. Almaden’s Heritage White Zinfandel
3. Almaden’s Heritage Moscato
4. Almaden’s Heritage White Zinfandel
5. Almaden’s Heritage Chardonnay
6. Almaden’s Mountain Burgundy
7. Almaden’s Mountain Rhine
8. Almaden’s Mountain Chablis
9. Arrow Creek’s Coastal Series Cabernet Sauvignon 2011
10. Bandit’s Pinot Grigio
11. Bandit’s Chardonnay
12. Bandit’s Cabernet Sauvignon
13. Bay Bridge’s Chardonnay
14. Beringer’s White Merlot 2011
15. Beringer’s White Zinfandel 2011
16. Beringer’s Red Moscato
17. Beringer’s Refreshingly Sweet Moscato
18. Charles Shaw White Zinfandel 2012
19. Colores del Sol’s Malbec 2010
20. Glen Ellen by Concannon’s Glen Ellen Reserve Pinot Grigio 2012
21. Concannon’s Selected Vineyards Pinot Noir 2011
22. Glen Ellen by Concannon’s Glen Ellen Reserve Merlot 2010
23. Cook’s Spumante
24. Corbett Canyon’s Pinot Grigio
25. Corbett Canyon’s Cabernet Sauvignon
26. Cupcake’s Malbec 2011

27. Fetzer’s Moscato 2010
28. Fetzer’s Pinot Grigio 2011
29. Fish Eye Pinot Grigio 2012

30. Flipflop’s Pinot Grigio 2012
31. Flipflop’s Moscato
32. Flipflop’s Cabernet Sauvignon
33. Foxhorn’s White Zinfandel
34. Franzia’s Vintner Select White Grenache
35. Franzia’s Vintner Select White Zinfandel
36. Franzia’s Vintner Select White Merlot
37. Franzia’s Vintner Select Burgundy
38. Hawkstone’s Cabernet Sauvignon 2011
39. HRM Rex Goliath’s Moscato
40. Korbel’s Sweet Rose Sparkling Wine
41. Korbel’s Extra Dry Sparkling Wine
42. Menage a Trois’ Pinot Grigio 2011
43. Menage a Trois’ Moscato 2010
44. Menage a Trois’ White Blend 2011
45. Menage a Trois’ Chardonnay 2011
46. Menage a Trois’ Rose 2011
47. Menage a Trois’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
48. Menage a Trois’ California Red Wine 2011
49. Mogen David’s Concord
50. Mogen David’s Blackberry Wine
51. Oak Leaf’s White Zinfandel
52. Pomelo’s Sauvignon Blanc 2011
53. R Collection by Raymond’s Chardonnay 2012
54. Richards Wild Irish Rose’s Red Wine
55. Seaglass Sauvignon Blanc 2012
56. Simply Naked’s Moscato 2011

57. Smoking Loon’s Viognier 2011

58. Sutter Home’s Sauvignon Blanc 2010
59. Sutter Home’s Gewurztraminer 2011
60. Sutter Home’s Pink Moscato
61. Sutter Home’s Pinot Grigio 2011
62. Sutter Home’s Moscato
63. Sutter Home’s Chenin Blanc 2011
64. Sutter Home’s Sweet Red 2010
65. Sutter Home’s Riesling 2011
66. Sutter Home’s White Merlot 2011
67. Sutter Home’s Merlot 2011
68. Sutter Home’s White Zinfandel 2011
69. Sutter Home’s White Zinfandel 2012
70. Sutter Home’s Zinfandel 2010
71. Trapiche’s Malbec 2012
72. Tribuno’s Sweet Vermouth
73. Vendange’s Merlot
74. Vendange’s White Zinfandel
75. Wine Cube’s Moscato
76. Wine Cube’s Pink Moscato 2011
77. Wine Cube’s Pinot Grigio 2011
78. Wine Cube’s Pinot Grigio
79. Wine Cube’s Chardonnay 2011

80. Wine Cube’s Chardonnay
81. Wine Cube’s Red Sangria
82. Wine Cube’s Sauvignon Blanc 2011
83. Wine Cube’s Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz 2011

Goodbye all my sweet, sweet friends. PLEASE fix this issue because I would rather not die from wine.

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Posted in Uncategorized and tagged Arsenic, Wine. Bookmark the permalink.

Pinot Noir, Shooting Star, Let’s All Go to the Candy bar

Posted on March 15, 2015 by lilliebette

Hey friends. How are you? It has been awhile, but I am writing this post because I am putting off going to gym.

Before we get started let me set the mood:

This pairing isn’t even for Pinot Noir, but I couldn’t resist posting this great video from the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. If you haven’t seen this show, you should know it includes a scene that defines my entire life:

Today we have a special Texas themed post. I went to Austin to visit my friend Lauren and we went to a Texas candy shop called Lammes and had some Texas wine.

The cutest candy store ever, no?

The Candy: Lammes Taffy Kisses (Cinnamon, Peppermint, Molasses, Spearmint, Peanut Butter)

The Wine: Fall Creek Vineyard 2015, Merlot

Some Cat with your Wine?

The Dream:

I chose the taffy because I knew I wanted a red wine. Taffy and white wine could be a bit too tricky since taffy is so sticky. You may recall I have featured taffy before on this blog: here, here, here, and very recently here. I have learned you often want something to be able to wash that taffy out. I chose Merlot because the Fall Creek brand was recommended and we don’t include enough Merlot on this website.

The Reality:

The wine is nice and simple with a mild flavor. There is a slight tanginess which is followed by a burst of sweetness on the tongue. Yum.

Let’s break this down by flavor:

Cinnamon: The cinnamon goes fairly well with this wine but the spiciness of the cinnamon numbs the tongue a tad. The wine is never thrown. This was the best pair of the selection.
Molasses: This pairing is not good at all. I didn’t even write that many notes besides “not great” which usually means it is very bad.
Spearmint: These flavors clashed and created an overall odd experience. The wine was thrown by the mint which is pretty typical.
Peanut butter: The nuttiness battles with the wine’s sweetness. The taffy is too nutty to be enjoyable with the wine.
Peppermint: Oh, this was very bad. It was way more minty than spearmint and the wine hardly came through.

I want to note that I actually didn’t note carefully the taffy flavors Lammes was serving. I bought a mix and just interpreted the flavors while I was eating them. This isn’t science ok? I am not taking that many notes.

Overall, cinnamon was the clear winner here! A fun time for all nonetheless. Thank you to Texas, Lauren, Lammes, and Specs!

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Posted in Merlot and tagged Candy, Cats, Fall Creek, Lammes, Merlot, pairing, Specs, taffy, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Wine. Bookmark the permalink.

Malbec Mini-Mentos

Posted on February 17, 2015 by lilliebette

Happy Snow Day! Well, it is a snow day here anyway. If you are in Boston, every day is a snow day and for that I apologize. I have lived in both Wisconsin and Massachusetts so I know a thing or two about winter but…yikes! You certainly have it bad this year.

Yes, I did not do a post dedicated to Valentine’s Day. Sorry! I hope you could invent your own (if so, please tell me about them!). I hope your Valentine’s/Valentime’s/Galentine’s was delightful.

For Christmas, I received a lot of candy full of pairing potential. I feature one of those candies today!

The Wine: 2013 One from the Quiver from Club W

The Candy: Mini Mentos Fruit Mix

The Dream:

While I do have a strong Malbec preference, it is warranted. I think it is a great wine for pairing with candy and I always want to test its limits. I thought the rich and robust Malbec could potentially take on the more astringent flavors of the lemon candy. In addition, I imagined the Malbec would pair nicely with the strawberry mentos.

The Reality:

The wine is tart, crisp and refreshing. It slides lightly off the tongue.

Here are the rulings:

Lemon: The flavor is slightly thrown with the lemon. The result is a very fruity and tart mouth sensation. I would not necessarily call it a winning pair, but it is not bad.

Orange: This pair was fabulous–the wine and orange flavor combined to make a blood orange flavor. I loved it

Strawberry: I was disappointed in this pairing. It wasn’t horrible, but it also didn’t go anywhere for me.

I have a region-specific pairing coming up in the next few weeks, so keep checking in!

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Posted in Malbec and tagged Candy, Club W, Fruit Candy, Malbec, Mentos, pairing, Wine. Bookmark the permalink.

Meh(rlot) Pairing

Posted on January 11, 2015 by lilliebette

Happy 2015! Was your New Year’s amazing? Did you pair candy with champagne? Did you make resolutions that you have yet to even start? No matter what your answer, may 2015 be your year.

I am enjoying the last few days before school and my new internship starts. Yesterday, I hiked Sugarloaf Mountain in Maryland and then visited a nearby winery to enjoy a tasting and mulled wine! I didn’t take any winery photos, but here is a lovely view from the mountain.

I have done a pairing very recently, which I am impressed by (it wasn’t even a resolution)! I got a lot of candy to pair for Christmas, so we are going to kick it off by pairing a classic on this blog, the candy that started it all: black licorice.

The Wine: 2013 Agua Negra Merlot

The Candy: Rockies Soft-Sweet Licorice

The Dream: I typically pair licorice with reds, but I have not yet tried a Merlot. I actually was not that confident with this pairing, but I wanted to keep licorice pairings fresh. Also for some reason, I thought I had received salted licorice. Sometimes I really worry about my poor attention to detail.

The Reality: I did not take a picture of this pairing and, unrelatedly(?), I did not like this pairing very much. The Merlot did not taste good at first so I let it breathe awhile. However, it still tasted a bit watery and reminded me of weak coffee. Quite frankly it was not for my palate and I never grew to like it.

The licorice is plain black licorice with a creamy sweet center. There was a vanilla and a strawberry center, but I could not tell the difference. I really tried to tell the difference but maybe my tongue has been burned too many times. I never grew to like these. Is there something wrong with me? Am I too negative? We will never know.

The licorice slightly masks the odd coffee flavor. Again, I like coffee notes but this was just…wrong I don’t know. Overalldid not like this pairing. As the title suggests, I felt very “meh” at the end.

While this isn’t the best way to start 2015, we can only go up from here! I have lemonheads and mini-mentos to pair in the near future.

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Posted in Merlot and tagged Agua Negra, Candy, licorice, Merlot, Sugarloaf Winery, wine pairing. Bookmark the permalink.

A Holly, Jolly Pairing

Posted on December 20, 2014 by lilliebette

Happy Holidays! It has been awhile since I posted….blah blah blah blah. If you are anything like me, you have attended and will attend party after party after party after…party. While these events are technically “fun”, you can add a bit more oomph to the affairs. Just bring your vat of mulled wine and a selection of holiday themed candies for your own special time.

The Wine: Big crock pot of generic red wine heated and spiced with a mulling blend. I don’t have a picture because I accidentally deleted it…so here’s another

The Candy: Sourpatches, M&Ms, Jelly Beans, Gum Drops (In Festive Dishes)

The Result:

This pairing was very slapped together so I won’t pretend it was a great plan. I just wanted to have some fun and have a post for the holidays. The mulled wine was naturally very delish so we will move on to the pairing. I didn’t take very many notes on the combinations that didn’t work so I apologize.

Gum Drops: The cinnamon gum drops are delightful with the mulled wine. The spice of the cinnamon combines nicely with the wine. The mint gum drops….not so much.

Sour Patch: Meh, nothing special. I would love to go toe-to-toe with sour patches again sometime.

Chocolate: Not good because the wine is way too strong and the chocolate is too dull.

Jelly Beans: A big no-no, I actually find it revolting. However, a friend brought a wine from Texas that had mesquite flavors. It went so well with the Jelly Beans!

I have now given you the tools to take any party to the next level! That is my gift to you.

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Posted in Mulled Wine and tagged Candy, Gum Drops, Jelly Beans, M&M, Mulled Wine, pairing, Sour Patch. Bookmark the permalink.

A Chewy, Spooktacular Pairing

Posted on October 31, 2014 by lilliebette

Hello all,

As tired as I am of seeing/hearing/tasting the word spooktacular I used it in my blog post—what can I say? ‘Tis the season.

Bottoms Up!

It has been a little over a month since my last pair which I have decided is respectable. Evidently, you all needed some TRUE candy/wine pairing since Halloween is when a lot of various blogs become wine/candy experts. I can’t have you be led astray, now can I?

My friend Megan requested I pair a candy of her choice with a wine, so this post is a result! Let’s get to it, shall we?

The Wine: Alamos, Chardonnay, 2012

The Candy: Laffy Taffy, Caramel Apple

The Dream:

I chose a chardonnay because it could balance the sweetness of Laffy Taffy. I also thought the subtleness of the wine would play well with the caramel apple flavors. Chardonnay is also very light whereas taffy is very sticky and cumbersome to chew.

The Reality:

The taffy is very sweet and reminds me more of a candy apple versus a caramel apple (yes, there’s a difference). The taffy is not all that chewy either. Readers, you may be thinking: Liz, Laffy Taffy is never that chewy. Well, some of us choose to eat taffy after it has gone stale ok…..

The chardonnay is lovely–not too distinct and not too dry. It is a very neutral chardonnay. The wine goes slightly sour when paired with the candy, but otherwise they combine nicely. The apple of the candy leaves an appealing after taste when combined with the wine. We decided it was a hit!

(If you were thinking I was going to pair candy corn, well, been there, done that.)

I hope you all have a fabulous and SAFE Halloween (look both ways when crossing the street, don’t block your vision with a mask, and DON’T DON’T DON’T drink and drive….use this directory of national designated driver services).

BOO!!

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Posted in Chardonnay and tagged Alamos, Candy, Chardonnay, Halloween, Laffy Taffy, Wine, wine pairing. Bookmark the permalink.

Starburst Candy Corn…A True Scandal

Posted on September 25, 2014 by lilliebette

Hello Friends!

My last post was in July which, in reflection, isn’t TOO bad considering the hectic nature of my life lately. I moved, started grad school, went to NYC, and now I am changing jobs. Bananas! This entire time, I have had a back up wine pairing. I did this pairing months ago before I moved.

I figured tonight was the best night to post my pair because a certain wine-drinking, white-hate wearing woman is back in our lives.

That’s right, Scandal is back and so am I…so let’s get crackin.

The Wine: Brethen of the Road, 2013, Grenache, Santa Cruz Mountains

The Candy: Starburst Candy Corn. Yeah. Yup. It is real.

The Dream:

This was months ago so I do not remember what I was thinking. All I know is this: I was unpacking and I found a sample pack of Starburst Candy Corn that I bought in a fever dream.

Have you ever held a mistake? Because I have.

The Reality:

I don’t know exactly what this is or why I ate it. The candy is basically a Starburst but with a candy corn texture. I don’t understand it. My brain could not handle it. I love candy corn and I love Starbursts, but together they are truly horrifying. If you want to be disgusted and frightened this Halloween, this is the choice for you.

My Thoughts Exactly Olivia

The wine has a yeasty, cherry smell. It is not very fruity and it is dry, which I thought might be good. But I was wrong. Horribly wrong. The texture of the candy meets the wine and it….bubbles. How? HOW? What a mistake.

Anyway, what a post to come back on right? I wish I could have made this more Scandal appropriate…..but that would just be straight wine right? What makes a Scandal pairing?

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Posted in Uncategorized and tagged Candy corn, grenache, Scandal, Starbursts, Wine. Bookmark the permalink.

Selling out without selling out

Posted on September 3, 2014 by lilliebette

paintboxsoapworks

So hey, I just wanted to publicly thank everyone for what is amounting to a a batshit INSANE opening week to the 2014 Weenie season. Seriously, that’s a whole lot of soap, & I am incredibly grateful for your enthusiasm & support!

I also wanted to apologize for the speed at which the new hot process & salt bars sold out – in some cases, within 24 hours of being listed. I knew you kids were excited, but I was in no way expecting things to move so quickly. A lot of you missed out on the bars that you wanted, & that’s not what I like to see.

“But Hayley!” folks have said, “Selling out’s a GOOD thing, right?” “Don’t make more right away! Let them get scared so when you do restock, it gets snapped up!” “Hey, you should put your micro batches on eBay instead, imagine what…

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I will not be returning to Ferguson

Posted on August 26, 2014 by lilliebette

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Uncorked, Unwrapped

When Life Gives You Lemonheads…Read for a Chance to Win!

Arsenic & Poor Taste

Pinot Noir, Shooting Star, Let’s All Go to the Candy bar

Malbec Mini-Mentos

Meh(rlot) Pairing

A Holly, Jolly Pairing

A Chewy, Spooktacular Pairing

Starburst Candy Corn…A True Scandal

Selling out without selling out

I will not be returning to Ferguson

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