To Florida then back to the Nest

As promised, this post (or rather the first half of this post) is late. It's been a busy couple of weeks, from mountains, snow and skis, to sand, sun and golf, and then back to the Nest for snuggles. 

At the top of Mont Tremblant

First things first: We took the boys skiing. It was nice weather, warm and sunny, but the snow was okay also. A touch heavy, but the boys rocked it. I must say, I was super pleased with how they handled it. Even though we only get out with them once a year, they are getting better each time and are fearless. We were only there for one night (drove up the day before skiing, and then home right after getting off the slopes), but (I think) we all had a great time. I know I did.

St Pete's Beach, Florida

We came home, went to work for a day and a bit, and then jetted off to Florida! We enjoyed the sunny beaches, the warm weather for golf, the drinks by the pool, and the great company. It was a fantastic vacation, but about a week too short (says us, our hosts may beg to differ!). 

We rented a Jeep and took off for the beach for a day, where we collected sand and shells, had a drink (I had a couple), enjoyed the sand, sun and surf, and walked the coastline. It was a lovely day. 

We golfed twice while we were there, and somewhere between the first and second day, I lost 9 strokes. It pleased me to no end. Not to mention beating Shane on the back nine on the first day... 

And now we're back to reality. Getting ready for another trip to Tremblant with the Puddys next weekend. After that, our world slows down for a bit, which will be as glorious as all the travel has been. It's fun to be away, but it's always so nice to be home. 

See? Promise we had some
bubbles. Even new
Florida Edition shirts

March 2, 2017

Okay, so it's confession time... The first day in Florida got a little messy (which we understand to be quite common down there. They call it your first day at camp, and the first day at camp is ALWAYS messy...). And so, while we DID NOT skip Champagne Thursday, the following review is not of the bubbly we consumed ON Champagne Thursday. On the actual Champagne Thursday, we had a glass of one of the André Brut bubblies (same brand we had a while back at the adult pharmacy).

Okay, so onto it. 

Since we were in Florida, we thought it very appropriate to (finally) try the Barefoot Bubbly Brut Cuvée. I say "finally" , because we enjoy the Barefoot wines, but unfortunately, there are many that you can't get up here. You can get the Sparkling Pinot Grigio, but not the Brut, or any of the others in their very extensive line up. 

When we popped the top on this one, it had a strong, sweet smell. In the first few sips, it did come across quite sweet also. Now, we're not sure exactly where it sits on the sugar scale, but it is (according to their website) the most dry they have in their bubbly lineup (although I do find it hard to believe that the brut is drier than the "extra dry"... maybe I'm reading the site wrong...). 

Big wind up at Errol Estates Golf and Country Club,
Apopka, Florida

We both got a strong Swedish Berry (the candy) flavour. At the bottom of the glass, there was a hint of a sour coming through. 

It had really nice bubbles, sharp to cut the sweet, and small to fill your mouth. 

Overall, yeah, we liked it, and we'd probably get it again. Keep in mind that when we say "we'd get it again" we probably won't ever get it again. We have far too many to try, and the chances are high that there would be something new for us to try. But we liked it enough that we'd say that we'd get it again. 

March 9, 2017

Next up, back to the nest for a snuggly Champagne Thursday. The pup is still pretty sleepy from Camp, and so he didn't want to participate in Champagne Thursday. I am also still pretty sleepy from Camp, and so I also didn't want to have to move at all. Why get out of the nest if I can get my champagne delivered??

There was a new Louis Bouillot bottle out, and we've had pretty good luck with their stuff in the past (both the Perle d'Or and the Perle d'Aurore) so we decided that we'd give it a shot. Okay, another confession: There was not that much thought into the pick this week. As much as I'd like to pretend that we knew exactly what we were getting, we didn't... I knew we've had some Louis Bouillot before, but couldn't have told you if we liked it or not... It was just a new bottle at the LCBO, and so... yeah, it's what we ended up with... 

So we got the Louis Bouillot's Perle d'Ivoire Brut Blanc des Blancs Crémant de Bourgone (wow, that's a mouthful). On popping the top, Shane said that it smelled quite sweet. In the glass, I got a sort of sweet buns thing going on, a bit sweet, a bit yeasty, a bit tart... Kind of everything all in one. The first couple sips Shane was getting a lot of boozy undertones going on. I didn't get that so much as I got a green or crab apple flavour. Shane did not agree. At one point during the first glass he said "There's a fruit that I can't identify, but it is NOT apples"... 

It's got lots of sharp bubbles, which was nice, and a bit unique for a crémant. At some point during the second glass, Shane said he got "hints of raspberry jam" (and yes, he sometimes speaks in italics). I thought that was a bit strange because I wasn't getting anything of the sort. BUT, somewhere in the bottom of my second glass I asked if he meant maybe those Peek Frean cookies, with the cream in the middle and the red jelly center, because I was starting to get a fruity scent, but still had a strong sweet bun/cookie scent in there. To which Shane adamantly agreed. So, there you have it folks, this bottle tastes like cookies. 

Hope you guys had a lovely couple weeks. I hope to be back on track and on time next week :)

~S&S

March 2, 2017 (okay, March 5, 2017)

• Brand: Barefoot
• Type of Grape: Chardonnay? I think?
• Sweetness: Not sure, but dry as far as Barefoot goes I guess.
• Price: $9.99 USD 
• Tasting Notes: Nice bubbles, Swedish Berry flavours. Would go nicely with French Toast.

March 9, 2017

• Brand: Louis Bouillot 
• Type of Grape: Chardonnay and Aligoté
• Sweetness: 11g/L
• Price: $19.95
• Tasting Notes: Sharp bubbles, green apple flavours giving way to raspberry and cream cookies. Would pair nicely with a baked brie with a sweet caramel topping.