A Happy, Happy New Year to all my fellow wine lovers and drinkers! Now I already know that the #1 resolution on our lists is to drink more wine, but really it's on my resolution list every year.
I honestly think this year maybe the hardest yet to come up with some resolutions; this maybe in part to being newly graduated from college and facing my first year officially on my own. I cannot wait to see what disasters await for me these next 12 months. I truly hope I will have a few fellow followers who want to journey with me as I embark for 2016. Surprisingly enough, I do have a few resolutions that I think are worthy enough, but we will see, here they are:
1. Complete yoga teacher certification
*This is really important to me as I believe it will be my first step into getting out of the corporate world. Don't get me wrong, I love my job and everyone is so nice, but I want to be doing something more creative and physical.
2. Do something different, or find a certification/course to take
*For example I found a certification for aromatherapy! They have introduction classes that I want to take in the next few weeks, this could also help with a new career path. This is where I'm looking at going:
http://www.newyorkinstituteofaromatherapy.com/
3. Take more dance classes!
*Ever since I started full-time working, I have found it's hard to take dance classes as much as I should. Unfortunately, my rent and bills come first and after paying those I get too excited to come home to a glass of wine. I have found that I need to write out the days and times of classes I need to take which will help me meet my goal.
4. Four resolutions, is this pushing it yet? I mean can anyone really accomplish this many goals in a year? But regardless... Save up enough money to go on my month long Amtrak trip.
*I have already planned a month long Amtrak trip! Let me tell you it is amazing. I will have to write a whole other post on that, which I will tomorrow.
5. Taste more wine!
*Of course. I feel terrible I put this as number 5 and not number 1, but I've learned you have to prioritize. One day, tasting more wine will be my number 1! If I can ever make it into being a sommelier of sorts.
6. Volunteer!
*I want to volunteer again. I used to volunteer at a children's hospital and had an indifferent experience, mostly because I was a dance major volunteer in a sea of pre-med students. I was also lucky enough to immediately get into the Oncology department and skip the "work the gift shop" semester. Volunteering really makes you feel good about yourself and does open up a world of possibilites.
All in all, I really want to discover something new in 2016. I would love to be closer to quitting my job and maybe I'll magically become rich enough to retire at the beginning of 2017. It could even be a possibility that I decide to leave New York City and take on somewhere else, because I love love LOVE Denver!
More on a wine note: I discovered a new wine, The Pinot Project - Pinot Noir. Really fanastic, more on the dry side but not enough to have sand paper polishing your tongue. This wine has beautiful fruity tannins and is medium bodied.
Don't forget to follow me on Instagram - wanderlustwino_
"For a star to be born, there is one thing that must happpen: a gaseous nebula must collapse. So collapse. Crumble. This is not your destruction. This is your birth."
Shannon C.M.
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
Sunday, December 27, 2015
Where to Buy and Where to Try: Near and Far!
Good Afternoon and Happy Holidays!
I do hope everyone had too many glasses of wine on Christmas and
are still strong enough to drink more today; on this side of things I am
completely wined out, but I will prevail in delivering my favorite wine bars
and favorite wines that you can order online. Let’s start with far away…
2014 Lunatic Red Wine from Luna Vineyards in Napa Valley,
California:
I first tasted Lunatic while visiting Wimberley Valley Winery in
Wimberley, Texas. It is a gorgeous red wine blend! Beautiful fruit tones of
blackberries, blueberries, and after taste of vanilla. I am not a sweet drinker
nor do I enjoy sandpaper on my tongue, and this is the best kind of medium for
me. This is their description on their site—
“The
2014 Lunatic Red has dark, concentrated depth, flowing with notes of blueberry
and blackberry with the spiciness of vanilla and nutmeg. The palate is greeted
by flavors of boysenberry compote with underlying swirls of bacon and hints of
violet. Lush, velvety tannins round out a long finish.”
I just discovered the other day that you can order this online
from their wine shop and they even have a Lunatic White Wine. You can imagine
how many months I was moping around because I could not find this wine, but now
I am counting the days until I get it in the mail. It’s a beautiful price for a
beautiful wine! Link below….
Christmas
Spiced Wine from Wimberley Valley Winery in Wimberley, Texas:
If
you have been looking for the perfect winter wine and you live somewhere as
cold as New York, then look no further! Toss this wine in the crockpot for
warmth and enjoy it all weekend long, whilst staring out your kitchen window at
the snow. I was lucky enough to try this for the first time on Thanksgiving Day
while visiting my family in Texas, and it brought the season full circle.
I
have visited this winery multiple times, as I use to live in Wimberley, and it
is the best. They have miniature horses and longhorns you can feed grass to. If
it’s not too hot outside, you can enjoy your wine on the wooden deck under the
cedar trees and even climb into a double decker bus for a London feel. If you
ever find yourself wanting to visit the wine country make a stop in Texas and
go through Wimberley, Gruene, and Fredricksburg.
Again,
if you haven’t noticed the trend, beautiful price for beautiful wine. Link
below…
Now let us continue with Near to heart…
Winegasm Bar & Eatery in Astoria, New York
Winegasm was the first wine bar I ever experienced
upon moving to New York City, and let me tell you that it does not disappoint!
We made friends with our waiter the first time we went there. This friendship
came about when we thought he was following us into the bar, and thus looked at
him very strangely, when really he was just trying to seat us. Jhonathon is his
name and he gives us extra full glasses and free tastings every time, which
makes him your go-to-guy.
Winegasm’s wine list changes every time we go, so you
never get bored of trying the same things. I have never had a wine there that
was not good and the food is great as well. If you’re hungry you must try the
hummus, truffle fries, or cheese fondue!
The atmosphere is perfect for when you just want to enjoy
a glass of wine with friends and catch up on your lives. Their music is never
overly loud and the dim lighting is quite intimate. They do have live music on
Thursday nights, but I have yet to experience it. If you get out of work early,
stop by for their happy hour 5-7pm for $2 off glasses of wine.
31-87 37th Street Astoria, New York
BLVD Wine Bar in Long Island City, New York
This wine bar is located on the East River water line
in Long Island City; the best part of this location is that you are a 5 minute
walk to LIC Landing for the most spectacular up close view of the Manhattan
skyline. The inside of this bar is your dream bar you wish you had in your
house; from the backsplash on the bar to the deep, dark brown of the table
tops. The not too dimmed lighting gives it a very intimate feel and the music
they play, which keeps up with the times, is turned on low.
When I order wine I always go for $8 or cheaper, and I
am never disappointed. The first wine I ever tried here was a Pacific Standard Cabernet
Sauvignon from California, and I would definitely go back for more. I was
disappointed in their house wine that was a red wine blend, it was served too
chilled and fell terrible on the palate.
The food here is a must try if you have a couple extra
dollars. I got the Caesar salad and it came with anchovies, which I love, and
on a wooden cutting board. Another trip here my friend and I invested in a
three cheese plate and the cheeses were delicious, they came with honey comb
and soft bread; in the long run the size of the cheese you received compared to
the price you pay is not totally worth it, but it was still a fun thing to try
for one time.
4720 Center Blvd, Long Island City, New York
Friday, December 25, 2015
And in the beginning....she drank a glass of wine.
Welcome! Hi! And Hello! My name is Shannon and I will (hopefully) be your new source to discovering and experiencing wine based in New York City and wine everywhere else. The two great things about me are:
1. I am twenty-three years old, so my experiences are often laced with my personal, professional, and quite often confusing life. I am talking to you, all of you other scrambling women and men in your twenties. I am here to let you know that you are not alone and in return I get to be reminded that I am not alone, especially when it comes to the hard things in life.
2. I love to travel. I love to travel so much that I've already planned a trip for 2017 and the world hasn't even turned to 2016 yet. Among my travels, I always put drinking wine at the top of my list to do.
Let me give you a quick status of where I currently am at in my life. I live in New York City, Queens borough to be exact, and to be even more exact I live in Astoria. Apparently, according to some guy on tinder that my roommate was talking to, we don't live in the COOL part of Astoria, but what can you do it's New York and ridiculously expensive. I live in a two-bedroom apartment with 3 other roommates, and one bathroom. Positive note, I do have a full size bed and a few feet of walking room on my side of the partition.
During the day, I work as an administrative personal assistant/office manager in a boutique investment firm in Midtown Manhattan. My job is the one thing that makes me feel like a true New Yorker; the hustling and bustling of pushing through people on the sidewalk just so I can make coffee for the guys in my office. At night and on weekends, I am first and foremost a professional dancer. I am currently understudying with a Duncan company called Dances by Isadora, where I continue my training to become a Duncan dancer.
My hobbies include: drinking wine, meal prepping, shopping online, going to brunch, going to happy hour, day dreaming of having more friends than I actually do, making lists, day dreaming of having a job where I make 100k a year but don't actually have to work.
Where I see myself in 5 years: is a great question and I have come to realize this is not a logical question thus cannot be answered, but if I'm being honest....I will be married, I will own a house, this house I own will be extremely cute from my decorating, and I will have that 100k salary job where I'm not actually working.
Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read about who I am and I do hope you come back! Please look out for my next post which will be coming within the next few days, where I will list my favorite wine bars and wineries.
"For what it's worth: it's never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you're proud of, and if you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start over."
Shannon C.M.
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