Monthly Archives: August 2011

I didn’t drink much wine on vacation this year. In the heat of southern Alberta, an icy cold beer was often the default choice of refreshment.

I did, however, enjoy a very lovely South African Chenin Blanc, another one of my coworker’s Opimian purchases. (Though, this particular wine wasn’t a reject bottle, but merely one he just wanted to share. I may have also persuaded him to generosity with my exuberant praise of this grape.)

Indeed, Chenin Blanc from The Cape is a favourite of mine, and this was a fair example: notes of honey, beeswax and tropical fruits. It seemed a tad hot, even though I pulled it out of an icy cooler – but this could very well have been the fault of my less-than-optimal drinking vessel. (I may adore wine, but I draw the line at bringing the Riedel stems on a camping trip.)

I give this a P, for Picnic Wine.

As much as I love wines that are challenging, that evolve and change from year to year, or that are just plain weird, I also appreciate the ones that are consistent. The wines that, when my wallet is begging for a reprieve from summer festivals, remain cheap yet tasty.

Enter Cono Sur Pinot Noir. This wine was one of the first great values I discovered as a wee wine shop lass, and it has stayed a great value for almost a decade now. It’s only 12 bucks and you can find it pretty much everywhere.

It’s a big glass of simple strawberry fruit and tangy acidity, with none of that earthy Pinot funk which I adore, but which I also don’t want to sniff every day.

Cono Sur Pinot, don’t ever change.

I really, really intended to get a post up two weeks ago, before I went on vacation. But you know what they say about good intentions.

I had a wonderful time stomping around the Alberta badlands. I knit and drank wine every day, of course – but not nearly to the extent you might think. As it turns out, hanging around doing nothing all day long really eats up a lot of time.

I’ve still got a small menagerie of lovely knitted things to show you, as well as a delectable bottle or two. (Though, the theme of our trip was “value”, so I wasn’t exactly drinking Champagne out there.)

On to more pressing matters: it’s WTF Wednesday! In keeping with the spirit of vacations come and gone, I present you with this:

A wine spa.

This spa is located at the Hakone Kowakien Yunessun, a “hot springs amusement park and spa resort” in Hakone, Japan. The pool is filled with red wine, and though it doesn’t say what kind, the big bottle in the background is Beaujolais Nouveau, and these shots were taken in November 2009 to celebrate its launch.

What I really find both amusing and baffling is this picture below:

Judging by the little dude happily cavorting in the Nouveau, apparently they don’t check your ID before you enter the wine tub. Wine glasses also seem to be optional. (Though, at least they are drinking from a fresh bottle, and not just dipping into the tub. Because, gross.)

I can’t decide if this spa is awesome or repulsive. I suspect it’s a bit of both. And I think this guy’s expression captures that sentiment beautifully: