I started “food blogging” less than a year ago. As some of you might know, Every Little Thing started as a music blog (“Every Little Thing” comes from Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds”)! Obviously, food took over not long after the birth of this blog and has stuck around ever since.
And thank goodness! Moving from Detroit to St. Louis last Labor Day was a big change and this blog really helped me connect, meet, and eat with some fabulous people.
The most recent event I attended was no different – a friendly and welcoming group who were as excited as I was to drink wine!
The STLwinegirl herself, Angela Ortmann, hosted an event on Wednesday specifically for food bloggers. “Will Write for Wine” was part introductory wine class, part networking event, and part yummy drinks – my favorite kind of event!
It was so great to meet a bunch of food (and regular) bloggers that I hadn’t yet met, as well as see some old favorites again!
The wine night was held at Nebula Coworking, an event space at Jefferson and Cherokee, and consisted of five tastings with all the information I’d been wanting about good wine!
We started with some bubbly. What we learned about bubbly is that 1) you can only call bubble Champagne if it’s actually from Champagne, France. Otherwise, it’s sparkling wine, and 2) you might as well serve Champagne in a regular wine glass. Champagne flutes are to prevent the bubbles from breaking down and “flattening” the wine. If you’re taking so long to drink a flute of Champagne that it goes flat, then you probably shouldn’t be drinking it, so serve it in a wine glass!
Next, we tried a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. This is one type of wine that I’m still getting used to, but this glass was fantastic! When Angela asked us what we smelled, one immediate response was, “cat pee.” Turns out, this is a common occurrence with Sauvignon Blanc! I had no idea. That said, it still tasted delicious. The acidity in Sauvignon Blanc’s makes your mouth water, which according to Angela is a good thing because it ages well.
Watch me swirl to open up the scent, flavor, oxygen!
Angela gave us great information in an approachable, entertaining, and no-nonsense way.
We moved on to a buttery, oak-flavored Chardonnay. Chardonnay’s are made with the most diverse grape and are often full-bodied and thick-tasting. This one, like the first two, was tasty.
I’m starting to think I like all wine – some people poured out certain wines that weren’t their taste. I enjoyed them all! Not sure if this is good or bad…
We moved on to a Rosé, which I don’t generally drink because they’re sweet. This one was decent and while not one that I would make a regular, it was drinkable!
Do you know how they make red wine? All grapes, whether red or white, “bleed” the same kind of juice. What makes the wine red is the soaking of the skins.
We passed out business cards and talked and laughed.
Up next? Cabernet Sauvignon. This one was very dry, thanks to the tannins – there’s a reason this wine is best paired with a juicy, fatty piece of meat! Despite how dry it left my mouth, the actual taste of the wine was sweet – from berries, not sugar!
Lastly? Madeira – a Portuguese wine from the Madeira Islands. This was a dessert wine and it was strong. Really though, the strong was all in the smell (and the alcohol content); the taste was much more mellow! I am not a big fan of dessert wines and this one wasn’t the most drinkable I’ve had, but it wasn’t bad by any means.
Overall, the night was a ton of fun. I am a beer girl at heart so learning all this information about wine (much of which parallels beer!) was great! Our host, Ms. STLwinegirl, was wonderful – I wouldn’t have expected anything but. Check out her site or tweet her!
Like I said above, it was awesome meeting more bloggers. It’s weird to think of myself as a blogger but I really enjoy the St. Louis blogging community and can’t wait for the next event – a blogger potluck this Sunday!
Happy wine-ing this weekend!
Question: Have you ever been to a blogging event? What was it and how did you like it?
 |
