Wondering Through the World of Wine

       When embarking on a new wine tour, dinner, or festival, the focus is on the wine. What wines will I drink? Will I find my new favorite wine? What new lesson will I learn about this ever-evolving wine world? This focus is all fine and dandy, but what about the people we are experiencing these delicious events with? What about the memories that will be made? These were the thoughts that struck me after this past weekend.      For as long as I can remember, my mom has taken me shopping for my birthday. We hit the mall and usually emerge with bags stuffed full of shoes and books. Over the past few years, though, we have started switching things up and attending events instead. This year was one of those exceptions, as we chose to delay my celebration by a couple of months and attend the Palisade, Colorado Barrel into Spring event.      The Palisade area is home to more than 30 Colorado wineries. Grape growing here stretches back bef...

     As a creature of habit, I find myself stuck in the routines I create for myself. I seem to be one of those people who needs that organization and consistency in my life. If I am being completely honest with myself, I almost can’t handle it when my routine gets messed up. As I am slowly but surely learning, this is no way to live.      A firm believer that everyone can grow and better themselves, I have recently been trying to work on not being so rigidly structured. Instead of stressing out because a day’s agenda is not the norm, I have been trying to embrace it for the new adventures it will give me and the new lessons it will teach me. This is easier said than done, but every baby step feels like a small victory. Embracing this ideology gave me a fantastic day last week and reminded me just how memorable these “out of the norm” days can be.      During my time as an event planner at a local winery, I became friends with two very amazin...

     Not everyone is an adrenaline junkie, but everyone does get that zip of excitement from one thing or another. For many wine lovers, that adrenaline junkiness comes out when a newly prized wine is found. There’s nothing quite like that high of holding a newly coveted bottle, knowing that one day the cork will be popped, and the flavors, story and history of the wine will flow into the glass and share its secrets to the drinker. That’s the ultimate feeling.      Back in the late summer of 2017, my wine collection consisted of about eight bottles I had picked up from here or there, displayed on a 16-bottle rack located in our basement library. Coming from the days of my 20s where I only had a bottle or two in house at one time, it always gave me such a thrill to know that I could simply walk down the stairs and select a wine of my choosing.      For my husband and I’s annual trip that year, we had decided to do a nine-day southwest road t...

     For those us of addicted to movies, we just can’t help but find actors or actresses that we love. For whatever reason, the scripts they choose or their personality on screen resonates with us, and we are constantly looking forward to our next on-screen adventure with them. For me, it’s Cameron Diaz.      From the time I saw “The Mask” as a nine-year-old, I thought Diaz was the coolest woman, and I have enjoyed so many of her movies over the years. From “Any Given Sunday,” to the Charlie’s Angels movies, to “Bad Teacher,” to the “The Holiday,” I was always so thrilled when a new movie of hers was coming out. So, you can imagine my excitement when I happened upon an article talking about her partnership in a new wine line, “Avaline.” I had to get me some of that wine!      Avaline, according to their website, started up when Diaz and her friend Katherine Powers were enjoying a glass of wine one day. They started talking about what all goes...

     Good friends are hard to come by, so I consider myself blessed to have a handful of truly amazing friends. With chaotic lives, it is not always easy to find the time to get together, so I was incredibly excited when three of these friends reached out around my birthday, wanting to take me out to catch up and celebrate. And, knowing me as well as they do, each one wanted wine to be the theme of the day.      My first birthday outing was with my friend who I consider a sister. Friends for over a decade, we have built a lot of traditions and reoccurring adventures over the years. One of our favorite reoccurring adventures is to stop by Sweet Heart Winery in Loveland, CO, typically after a hike in the Devil’s Backbone area. With reports of muddy trails, we decided to forgo the hike this time around and meet up for a wine flight and cheese platter lunch. As always, it was a wonderful treat.      Located practically across Highway 34 from th...

     Pairing food and wine is a tightrope act. One misstep and you can be tumbling down into a vat of dry and bitter wine. A series of careful steps can lead your tastebuds down a path of exhilaration and delight. It is a risky adventure I love to take.       My favorite time to enjoy wine is with dinner. This has forced me to learn a lot about what wine styles go with various meals. I have found some real winners in the pairing game, including my beloved bottle of Château Latour Grand Vin Pauillac 2006 with the burnt ends my brother made, and my mom’s rum nut balls with Sauternes. I have also found some real doozies like a semi-sweet Riesling with chocolate chip pancakes, and the very unfortunate time I tried to have a Pinot Noir with this teriyaki rice my husband and I make that is topped with steamed vegetables and scrambled eggs. I definitely don’t recommend that one.      As Snowy Peaks Winery and their Cabernet Sauvignon is what ...

     Finding that perfect gift for your loved one becomes more and more of a challenge as the years roll on. Creativity becomes the name of the game.       During mine and my husband’s first year together, I did a scavenger hunt for him on Valentine’s Day where he had to follow clues to his gift. He enjoyed it so much, I did another one on his birthday, and have proceeded to continue this tradition every birthday since. Each year is different, with one being a Mario Brothers themed mission leading to video game type surprises, and another year he had to help the cold, shirtless skeleton find the novelty t-shirts hidden around the house.      Wanting me to have my own version of this joyful experience, three years ago he developed the Kacia’s Birthday Wine Find. Combing over my wine want list, that is a ridiculous nine pages long, he purchased numerous bottles of wine and hid them around the house. He then gave me a stack of wine bottle...