National Drink Wine Day.

Ciao, wine-drinking friends,

I am not sure how I missed that today is National Drink Wine Day, until now. Oh, I know, it's because I tend to celebrate this holiday daily, or at least biweekly.

To honor this great day I put together a list of a few of my favorite wine-related items.

Eat
This may be the absolute best combination of food and wine. Maybe ever. The last time I made this dish, I served it with this wine.

And if you see the MacRostie Pinot Noir, buy it by the case, or 10. It is that good. I found it by happenstance at the wine store and mistakenly, only bought one. It was marked at $40 but was $25 when I found it at the beginning of November. 

Drink
When in doubt, drink this wine from Oregon. 
When celebrating, pop a bottle of Veuve Clicquot, which happened to be my contribution to our Christmas breakfast.

Even Grace Kelly recommends a particular brand of bubbles.

Visit
Bring your own bottle here, just mere steps from my building. Or here. You also can't go wrong here, ever. 

When in Philadelphia, be sure to visit Osteria. Sit at the bar and be entertained by one of my bartender friends, Tara, Dan or David, while you enjoy one of their countless Italian bottles, listening to Italian music, eating an amazing Italian meal.  

Also, if you require a large wine list, Panorama, in Philadelphia, boasts an incredible wine list with more than 150 wines offered by the glass. If you're nice, they may just sneak you a sip of a pricey barolo.

Open, chill and enjoy
There are thousands of wine gadgets out there and I am on a mission to collect them all. I may even have a wine-gadget drawer, or two.

For Christmas, my amazing parents gave me a new wine refrigerator, along with two yet-to-be-opened-bottles-of-wine-I'm-saving-for-a-special-occassion-also-known-as-a-random-Tuesday, but I have my eye on this wine refrigerator.  Maybe next year, guys?

Here are a few wine toys that will have your friends talking. 

Use the icicle to chill your wine. My friend, Carolyn, suggested it.
This is my favorite wine opener. It's a conversation piece.
Aerate your wine with this, this, or even this.
Everyone loves these stems when I pull them out of my cabinet.

Sing
These artists love wine, too.
Your mouth is poison, your mouth is wine... (The Civil Wars, Poison & Wine)
This is the original song about Red Wine (Neil Diamond, Red, Red Wine)
Perfect combination for a BYO (Billy Joel, Scenes from an Italian Restaurant)

I know I discovered this holiday as it was winding down but there are two items that remain to be true - this will not be my last post about wine and I hope the hardest decision you have to make tonight, is which bottle to open. 

Cheers!

Your friend,
Caroline