Girl Drinks Wine

Girl on a Budget: Rosé Under $11

Summer time is amazing, but let’s be honest, it can get expensive! While I’d love to be sipping on Whispering Angel all season, sometimes a girl has to be on a budget. But if you’re a girl on a budget like me, that doesn’t mean that you should have to miss out on rosé’ing all day this summer! I’ve listed for you my top 5 favourite rosés at the LCBO for under $11.00. And while not all wine under $11.00 is good, these rosés are tried (many times), tested and true! My top 5 rosés under $11.00 will keep a girl on a budget AND rosé’ing all day!

Astica Malbec Rosé $8.90

The Astica Malbec Rosé is only $8.90 at the LCBO! From Argentina this pretty pale pink rosé is light bodied and dry. It has a lot of citrus and tart berry flavours that will appeal to those wine drinkers that like a very crisp and refreshing rosé. It’s certainly perfect for a hot summer day!

JP Azeitão Shiraz Rosé 9.25

If you follow me on Instagram, you know the JP Azeitao has been my go-to rosé this summer! And it’s not just me…as soon as the LCBO restocks it is quickly gone! The JP Azeitao is another pale pink rosé that’s light bodied and dry. What I love about this wine, is that the soft berry and floral flavours are balanced beautifully with a great acidic structure and crisp finish.

L’Orangeraie Rosé $9.30

The L’Orangeraie Rosé is regular $10.80 at the LCBO, but is on sale right now for $9.30. So stock up! From the South of France, this wine is light bodied and extra dry. Notes of herb, bell pepper and floral are followed by tart cherry and citrus flavours. A classic example of a southern French Rosé, L’Orangeraie is sure to please any pink drink lover.

Cono Sur Bicicleta Pinot Noir Rosé $10.05

I’ve talked about the Cono Sur Bicicleta Pinot Noir Rosé before, because I really do enjoy it and think it’s great value! This Chilean wine is a medium-bodied dry style that’s bursting with bright flavours of strawberries, raspberries and cherries. It’s a great wine to pair with food. Enjoy this wine al fresco with sausage, grilled chicken or salmon.

Banrock Station Pink Moscato Rosé $10.95

If you like your rosé on the sweeter side, than the Banrock Station Moscato is for you! I typically enjoy a dry rosé, but this wine has a great acidity and some delicate bubbles that help to balance out the sweetness. Plus, it is the prettiest pale pink colour! For $10.95 at the LCBO the Banrock Station Moscato is perfect for a girl on a budget.

Cheers!~GDW

A Gift for a Sweet Marriage: Mead Wine

Summer is a popular time for people to pop the big question and there are lots of engagements to celebrate. While a bottle of bubbly is always nice for celebrations, why not gift something different? Wish the newly engaged couple a sweet marriage by gifting them a bottle of mead (honey wine).

Mead wine is created by fermenting honey with water and sometimes adding other fruits or spices. Commonly known as honey wine, mead is typically sweet, aromatic and often drank as a dessert wine. It’s origins date back to 7000 BC and is considered to be the ancestor of all alcoholic drinks. Mead has been documented throughout history as being an important ceremonial drink. In the Celtic tradition, mead was thought to bring success, happiness and fertility so it was gifted during the first month of marriage. It’s said that this is where we get the term ‘honeymoon’. Today, mead wine the perfect engagement gift for a sweet marriage!

Rosewood Estates Winery in Niagara, Ontario produces delicious mead wine. This is where you want to pick-up or shop online for your sweet engagement gift! Over 80 year’s ago, R.W. Roman migrated to Canada from Ukraine and brought with him and continued his passion for beekeeping. In 2000, his son Eugene started Rosewood Estates Winery who’s philosophy is all about honest low-intervention wine, innovative mead and local honey. For sale are seven different types of meads that range in taste depending on the style and type of fruit that is mixed in. On my visit the Rosewood Estate Winery, I tried four of their meads and loved the Cyser. The Cyser is made from R.W. Roman’s original recipe which co-ferments apple juice with estate honey. SO good! Great on it’s own, as an aperitif or served with sharp cheddar.

If possible, I encourage you to visit Rosewood Estates Winery and try all the different meads yourself. You can also shop the winery for their honey to add to your sweet gift. This summer, toast all your newly engaged friends to a sweet marriage!

Cheers!~GDW

How to Get Your Dad to Drink Pink

Fathers day is coming up and that means backyard barbeques in the warm June sun. Your Dad will probably grab his go-to bottle of red to wash back that barbeque. This is to be expected, as most people think red wine pairs best with barbequed food like burgers. And Dad isn’t wrong, red wine does work great but Rosé can also bring out the best in your burger! With the right type of Rosé it can actually be a delicious pairing and something different to switch up the typical Father’s Day barbeque. But how to get your Dad to drink pink?

The 13th Street Burger Blend Rosé is how to get your dad to drink pink! It’s a great pick for those who don’t think they like Rosé and an excellent gateway into the world of pink wine. The 13th Street Burger Blend Rosé is made from 100% VQA grapes – 33% Pinot Noir, 31% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc. It was specifically produced to complement a burger and the combination does just that. The delicious blend of red grapes creates a medium-bodied crisp Rosé with flavours of ripe red berries, spice and a juicy finish. The 13th Street Burger Blend Rosé is not your light pretty french Rosé, but a big juicy blend designed to stand up to your favourite barbequed burger. This is how to get your Dad to drink pink!

While The 13th Street Burger Blend Rosé was designed to pair well with a variety of different burger combinations, I think it pairs exceptionally well with a blue cheese burger. The juicy red berry flavours and crisp spiciness work great to cut through the strong flavours of beef and blue cheese. If your Dad is still on the fence about drinking pink, this combination should sell him! The deliciousness of this food and wine combo cannot be denied!

Now that the question of how to get your Dad to drink pink has been solved, how do you get the Burger Blend Rosé? You can pick up this wine at The 13th Street Winery in Niagara or order it from their online store. It’s an excellent value wine at only $14.95 a bottle. If you head over to my Instagram page, a lucky follower also has the chance to WIN two bottles of the Burger Blend wines!

Cheers!~GDW

How to Rosé All Day

Sure, it sounds pretty simple to Rosé all Day. Who needs a ‘how to’ on drinking wine for a day? Well, have you spent an entire day drinking Rosé? Not only does one typically want to pass out by 3pm, but it can also cost a lot of money. And while I LOVE Rosé, it can get kind of boring drinking the same. thing. all. day. But not to worry, I have a plan. With my ‘how to’ guide you will not be taking an afternoon siesta, breaking the bank or tiring of your drink. Follow my 6 steps to successfully Rosé all Day!

How to Rosé all Day

Step 1: Start with Frosé

Have you tried making Frosé? It’s the perfect way to get your Rosé all Day party started! It’s basically a breakfast smoothie, right? Most Frosé recipes are pretty standard – freeze the rosé overnight and blend with red berries and simple syrup. But my Frosé recipe is even easier! And I’ve added a fun tropical twist by using coconut water and agave. Find my Frosé recipe here and start your day right!

Step 2: Make Rosé Spritzers

Rosé spritzers are your friend! I remember being in my young 20’s and an “older” woman telling me about how great wine spritzers are because you don’t have to drink as much wine. I did not understand at the time. Why would I want to drink less wine? Well, when you’re going to Rosé all Day it’s helpful to stretch out the wine intake. And a Wine Spritzer is a great way to do that. Check out my recipe for Wine Spritzers here.

Step 3: Find Rosé bottles under $10

How many glasses of wine you consume in an hour? Even if it’s only one glass an hour, to Rosé all Day takes several hours. Lets just say, you’re probably going to need more than one bottle of wine. For full Rosé days it’s great to find bottles under $10 that you enjoy. The good thing is that there are actually quite a few out there! My absolute favourite Rosé under $10 is the JP Azeitão Shiraz Rosé, which you can find this wine at the LCBO for $9.25.

Step 4: Combine Rosé and food

Sorbet is food, right? If we can agree on that than my Rosé Sorbet recipe is the best way to combine Rosé and food. Even if this recipe is not giving you any nutritious sustenance, it’s at least changing up the way you consume your Rosé for the day! And it’s switching it up in the best way possible. It’s one of those recipes that gets better as it sits – and in this case that means a conclusion of delicious pink frothiness. You can find my Rosé Sorbet recipe here.

Step 5: Buy Rosé magnums

Wine magnums are typically great value. And when you’re going to Rosé all Day you’re going to need good value! My favourite Rosé magnum is the Jackson-Triggs Rosé, which you can find at the Wine Rack $18.95 (on sale right now for $16.95!). I really like to use this magnum as a mix for Spritzers, Rosé Sorbet, Frosé or Sangria. Because it’s more medium-bodied and on the sweeter side, it’s Rosé flavours really hold up against whatever you’re mixing it with.

Step 6: Mix up your Rosé in a Sangria

I will admit that I typically do not like sangria. But Rosé makes everything better, right?! Plus, when you’re going to Rosé all Day it is beneficial to have some sort of wine cocktail that will dilute the alcohol percentage a bit! I actually really enjoy my Rosé Sangria recipe which only uses a couple ingredients and is super simple to make. I suggest making up a big batch for that Rosé all Day late afternoon stretch.

Cheers!~GDW

Rosé Sorbet

I knew this Rosé Sorbet recipe was going to be good, but I could not have imagined just how good! I mean, I guess you can’t go that wrong when you’re combining raspberry sorbet with pink bubbles, right? But not only did the combination look beautiful, it tasted even better! This is my perfect type of recipe – no cooking, few ingredients, looks beautiful. The Rosé Sorbet will be great for so many different occasions this summer. I can imagine serving it as a dessert for friends at an al fresco dinner, bridal shower or even a wedding. Find out below the two ingredients and two steps it takes to pull off this oh so pretty pink Rosé Sorbet.

Ingredients

Sparkling rosé (I used the YellowGlen Pink bubbly)

Raspberry sorbet

Instructions

Place one large scoop of raspberry sorbet into a glass (I used a coupe champagne glass) and top with sparkling rosé. Add a straw and/or mini spoon.

Cheers!~GDW

Rosé Sangria

What’s better than sangria? Sangria made with rosé! I’m actually not a huge fan of sangria made with red or white wine, but I had no problem finishing my glass of sangria made with rosé. Sangria is the perfect punch for summer – it’s easy to make, can be made on a large or small scale and pairs well with a lot of summer foods. My Rosé Sangria only has a few ingredients and will be great for a Mexican or Spanish tapas party. It will also pair equally well with yourself, a balcony and the sunshine!

Ingredients (makes 4-6 glasses)

4 cups of rosé

4 cups of raspberry lemonade

1.5 cups of sparkling water

1.5 cups of raspberries

2 oranges sliced

Instructions

Combine the rosé, lemonade and sparkling water, then add the orange slices and raspberries. Combine all in a large pitcher and serve into glasses to enjoy!

Cheer!~GDW

How to Make Frosé

Have you tried making Frosé? It was super trendy last summer with yummy recipes all over Pinterest. Yet, I did not make Frosé until this spring! Most of the Frosé recipes are pretty standard – freeze the rosé overnight and blend with red berries and simple syrup. As most of you know by now I don’t love cooking, so even to freeze rosé and make simple syrup was too much for me! I needed to find an easier way to make and sweeten my Frosé. And that’s how we get my tropical twist on Frosé that requires nothing but adding ingredients to the blender! With my Frosé recipe below there is no excuse not to get into the frozen rosé trend.

Ingredients

Rosé (a sweeter wine like the Jackson-Triggs Rosé works best)

Frozen strawberries

Coconut water

Agave syrup

Instructions

In the blender combine: 2 cups of rosé; 2 cups of frozen strawberries; 1 cup of coconut water; and 2 tablespoons of agave syrup. Blend, pour and enjoy!

Cheers!~GDW