Cupcake Vineyards

Lovely bubbly chardonnay... I'm a huge fan of whites as long as they are not too dry. I purchased this bottle of Cupcake Vineyards because I actually got them confused with Cakebread Cellars, which I wanted because it sounded cool.

Cakebread was fine... I actually went to Napa and did a wine tasting at their vineyard. It wasn't anything I needed to write home about. Cupcake Vineyards, on the other hand, deserves more accolade. I am not a wine connoisseur by any means, and that may be the very reason I like this bubbly "Blanc de Blancs" from France which is described as "a creamy sparkling wine... aromas of apples, pears and almonds with brioche notes on the palate. It's reminiscent of a toasted almond caramel cupcake." Their Pinot Noir rosé (not pictured) is even better... the label describes that one as filled with strawberries with rose petals, reminiscent of a strawberry cream-filled cupcake.

I love how these wines have this dreamy appeal to them... Truly it is as if savoring a delicate, dainty sweet cupcake without really being that sweet-- kind of like a refreshingly light dessert wine, for those who don't care for dry wines and generally prefer sweet whites and rosés without the excessive cloying sweetness that some dessert wines have. I would definitely recommend Cupcake Vineyards. At around $7-$13 per bottle, this is a fairly affordable wine that is delicious on the nose and palate. In fact, if I actually had a café, this would make it on my wine list.

Since we are on the topic of wines, here are some other wines I've tried that I would vouch for that would also appear on CaféConnie's wine list:

Reggiano Lambrusco Rosso Dolce - Soft Red Wine (Italy)
Incanto Rosé Vino Frizzante - Sparkling Rosé (Italy)
Cornet & Cie Banyuls Rimage - Red Dessert Wine (France)
Jackson-Triggs - Vidal Icewine (Canada)
Vino Dei Fratelli Moscato D'Asti (Italy)
Novella Rayons de Soleil - Muscat Canelli (Paso Robles, CA)
Mönchhof Robert Eymael - Riesling (Germany)
WeinKeller Schick Eiswein Kerner Pfalz - Icewine (Germany)
Villa Palatina T.B.A Ortega Pfalz (Germany)
Campbells Rutherglen Muscat (Australia)
EOS Tears of Dew Moscato Late Harvest (Paso Robles, CA)
Innocent Bystander Moscato (Australia)

As for beers, here are my picks thus far:

Magners Irish Cider (Ireland)
Lindemans Framboise Lambic (Belgium)
Smithwick's Irish Ale (Ireland)
Maredsous Brune (Belgium)
Eel River Acai Berry Wheat (Scotia, CA)
Samuel Smith Pure Brewed Lager (England)
Celebrator Doppelbock (Germany)
Traquair House Ale (Scotland)
Delirium Tremens (Belgium)
O 'Hara's Irish Red (Ireland)
Hen's Tooth (England)
Guinness Foreign Extra (Ireland)
Guinness Draught (Ireland)

Okay enough with the alcohol...