Drinking Delicious Pinot Noirs on a Budget

I want to start out with a short disclosure.  I am a mom before anything else therefore my love of wine often gets put on the back burner.  The reason for this is that I can not commonly afford to spend a lot of extra money on wine.  Imagine my enthusiasm on finding some delicious high quality wines that rate high and have cost less than $20 per bottle. 

Finding good wines that are cheap sounds like something that is never going to happen but today thanks to wine ratings you can do just that.  In fact there are a lot of different wines that have a rating of 90 or higher that are not going to break your bank.  For me personally looking at these wine lists, I am almost always drawn to dry red wines because this is my preference.  I have been fortunate enough to taste a variety of high quality wines from around the world and I have found that there are some amazing wines that are still very affordable.

Robert Oatley Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir 2011 is one of those high quality wines that is from Australia.  This wine is known for its gentle oak influence, vibrant and juicy notes.  It is made in Victoria which is an area that is well known for its Pinot Noirs so the grapes that are grown here are grown for the purpose of growing this type of wine.  This can make a huge difference in the overall product as seen with the amazing Pinot Noirs that you can find coming from Oregon and Northern California.  Location does matter when it comes to good high quality red wines.

Liberty School Pinot Noir 2012 from North Coast, California.  This wine offers those bright floral notes that are reminiscent of fresh cut strawberries that one often sees with Pinots in general.  The wine has a surprisingly silky finish for something that costs less than $20 per bottle and when I was drinking it, I was able to escape and feel as though I was drinking something far more expensive.

Sibling Rivalry Pinot Noir 2010 was actually a bottle that I purchased with the intention of sharing it with my younger brother because of the humor that I saw in its name.  This wine is amazingly delicious and one of the best bottles of wine that I have ever tasted for the price of $15 per bottle.  This one also originates in Victoria, Australia.  It has extra dimension compared to other wines and features a rich delicious texture when drinking it.  It truly invites you to picture yourself surrounded by luxury regardless of where you happen to be enjoying your glass.  For me it was in my bathroom while soaking in a bubble bath, using Mr. Bubbles because I didn't have any of my own bubble bath left.  Yes even in the least luxurious of places I felt like I was living a life of luxury.

Willamette Valley Vineyards Whole Cluster Pinot Noir 2012 was a wine that I quickly became excited about.  It is produced in the Willamette Valley of Oregon.  Oregon is my favorite place in the entire world so I found that the fact that it was originating somewhere that I loved to be something special and a reason to celebrate.  Once I tasted the wine I remembered by Oregon wines are my favorite.  This wine is the favorite on my budget friendly tasting menu for a number of reasons.  It was bright and offered beautiful strawberry aromas.  The flavors were well balanced and it featured some delicious earthy notes along with the perfect balance of oak.  It was a winner in my book and one wine that I will definitely be purchasing again, most likely on a regular basis.

Upcoming Project--Letters to My Younger Self

So I have been busy starting a new project.  This is something that I have wanted to do for a long time but have not found the time or energy to put into place with all of the freelance work that I have been doing. 

I am writing a collection of letters to myself when I was a teenager.  I am using Biblical references and hoping to create a spiritual guide for teenagers who are going through typical issues.

I am hoping to find a way to lift these girls up so that they are swayed to thinking about issues that I had forgot to think about.  Sure my parents tried to talk to me but their approach is not one that goes over well with me, to be honest it still doesn't.  However I have learned how to handle certain things better.

With this project I am reaching out to those girls who like me feel unlovable and end up making bad choices along the way looking for love that they need to find within themselves.

I am finally able to say that I love myself at thirty one years old.  This has not always been the case and I wish that I had done this earlier.  It is true that until you learn to love yourself you can not really love someone else.  This has been evident in my life, relationships with men that I would have never considered if I loved myself.  Choices made over the years that left me heartbroken and empty.  Loving myself has been a journey and is something that was really hard for me but it has also been something that is great for those who know me.  I am finally a confident person, able to stand up to things when I do not agree, and happy with the choices that I have made.

My goal is to show this to others, to show that they can do it and to guide them on a journey of self discovery and falling in love with who they are, faults and all.  God loves us no matter what we have done and when we make bad choices he is filled with sorrow.  We should feel this same level of love for ourselves that choosing the wrong thing makes us full of sorrow.