My Wine Tasting Map

After an afternoon of wine tasting, I picked up this 2012 Virginia Wine Brochure at our last stop. I opened it up to find a huge Virginia map on the back with every winery in the state listed on it. I had an awesome idea to find a bulletin board, attach the map, and start pinning it for every winery we visit. We already collect the tasting glasses & display them in the kitchen, but I wanted another way to document our wine tasting adventures. My plan is to hang it up by the bar for some wall art.

I hope to visit every winery in Virginia - no time frame really, just in my lifetime :). My goal for summer/fall 2012 is to visit all of wineries in Rappahannock & Fauquier.

The Menu for Gold Cup



I've been to Gold Cup many times, but I've always worked it! Ross used to go before him & I started dating, so he wanted to go this year - & he wanted me to go with him. I explained to work why I wouldn't be working it this time around & bought my get-up. One of the most important decisions, besides what to wear, was what to make! I went to Pinterest (of course!) & found my awesome Gold Cup menu.

Sangria

 

 
I made this "sangria" with 2 bottles of white wine (Reisling), a 2 liter of Sierra Mist, & sliced strawberries, limes, & peaches. It wasn't strong at all - perhaps even a bit too "punchy". I wasn't a huge fan of this drink, but it served it's purpose. The overall taste of it was good, but it could use some tweaks. Maybe less soda? More wine? Some kind of sparkling something...if you make this & figure something out to make it awesome, let me know! :)

 

 

Alabama Fire Crackers

 

These crackers are AWESOME. The recipe calls for regular size saltines, but for tailgating I thought the mini size would be easier to manage (plus it'd make more servings!). I suggest making these the night before because the oil needs time to soak into the crackers. I did it the night before & it came out great. They're definitely spicy, but in a very good way. You can tweak the recipe to make it less spicy if you prefer it differently, but I recommend that you try it the original way first.

 

 

 

 

Skinny Shrimp Salsa

 

The shrimp salsa! I had to put it back in the cooler a couple times because direct sunlight + seafood = bad news. I did a test run of this last weekend for my father-in-law's birthday & it was a hit. I did find some ways to tweak it though so it'd be even better this weekend. First off, I doubled the recipe. Then I added 2 cans of black beans (drained & rinsed). I only used 5 tomatoes & I used extra jalepeno. Using less tomato was perfect because that means more shrimp! This time around I think was even better than before. I bought the organic blue corn tortilla chips from Target - they're awesome. My new favorite dip chips!

So there it is - my Pinterest finds for Gold Cup! With summer coming up that means more picnics & tailgates which means more opportunities to make fun stuff I've found online. Let me know if you have luck with these recipes! :)