Happy Hour Reds, Part Six (Rustico)

Spring! I can feel it...it's almost here! One of my favorite places in the Ballston area is Rustico. And amazingly enough...they have happy hour on the weekends, too.

Arlington happy hour, neighborhood: Rustico, Ballston

Specs: 7 days a week

Happy hour red: Zaleo, Tempranillo 2011

Price: $5/glass

My tasting notes: Soft tannins, floral notes on the nose, medium bodied. Great deal! 

Battle of the tater tots:

Here it is. Battle of the Arlington tater tots. I reviewed the tater tots from Willow Restaurant in an earlier post . I must say I was caught completely off guard by the listing of tater tots on Rustico's menu, even though I've dined here many times before. Naturally, I had to order them and they did not disappoint. However, as of right now, I think Willow's are a tiny bit better.

Cheers!

Santa Julia, Argentina

Santa Julia Organica, Malbec 2012

Varietal, Region: 100% Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina

Arlington Store, Neighborhood: Tivoli, Ballston

Price: around $11

My Tasting Notes: Medium bodied and complex, slight tannins, hints of fig, blackberry, and plum.

My Verdict: This Malbec is my go-to red wine. It's a great wine for a great price and it's organic! What are you waiting for?!

Santa Julia, Brut Rosé

Varietal, Region: 100% Pinot Noir, Maipú and Uco Valley, Mendoza, Argentina

Arlington Store, Neighborhood: Grand Cru, Ballston

Price: around $15

My Tasting Notes: Crisp bubbles, almost candy sweet on the nose. Notes of strawberry and cherry and slight essence of violet.

My Verdict: I love sparkling rose, this one was pretty good but a little too sweet for my taste.

Stay tuned for more reviews from Familia Zuccardi wines.

In the meantime...Cheers!

Grand Cru, Happy Hour Reds Part Five

Arlington happy hour, neighborhood: Grand Cru Wine Bar & Bistro, Ballston

Specs:  M-F 4:00pm - 6:30pm 

Happy hour red: All Little Penguin wines, $3.50/glass, beer $3/select bottles

My tasting notes: I like the Cabernet Sauvignon...it has a ruby-red color and berries on the nose with soft tannins. That being said, their non-happy hour reds are fantastic. They rotate the wines pretty often, so they always have new ones to try, but for 3.50/glass, the Little Penguin wines are pretty tasty.

Happy Hour Food Menu:

Ginger marinated chicken skewers

Spinach & artichoke dip with warm pita

My verdict: Grand Cru is a fantastic wine bar, and the food is great. My fiance and I have been "regulars" here since we moved to the area and the staff is very friendly. They also have great dessert, which I reviewed in a previous post.

Mussel Bar, Happy Hour Reds Part Four

Arlington happy hour, neighborhood: Mussel Bar, Ballston

Specs: 7 days a week, 3 p.m.-6:30 p.m.

Happy hour red: Cotes du Rhone, Domaine Grange de Payan, 2012

My tasting notes: The cotes du rhone is a full bodied and tad on the oaky side, notes of black currant, dark purple fruit.

Also try: Bovale Bobal, Utiel-Requena 2011.

Dinner & Dessert:

Shrimp and Grits

Chopped salad

Chocolate ice cream

The chopped salad was good, although I generally like leafier greens...the shrimp and grits proved very tasty, and in my opinion, an excellent choice. 

The dessert (ehh). It wasn't bad but the caramel corn and meringues did not go went well with the ice cream (chocolate flavor) and put my taste buds into sweetness overdrive, so the ice cream barely got a fair shot. The dessert situation can, however, be easily cured by a stop by 7-Eleven on the way home to pick up Ben & Jerry's Half Baked Frozen Yogurt...or another glass of wine.

Cheers!

Arrowine, French Malbec

I was surprised last week with a lovely trip to Arrowine. It was my first time there and upon walking through the door, I was greeted with wine, cheese, bread, homemade soups, and ice cream. 

Pure heaven. 

The staff was very friendly and knowledgeable and patiently answered all of my questions. Here is what I went home with:

                                    

Anne de Joyeuse Original Malbec 2012, France

Varietal, Region: 100% Malbec, Languedoc-Roussillon

Arlington Store, Neighborhood: Arrowine, Leesburg Pike

Price: around $10

My Tasting Notes: Blackberry and violet notes, soft tannins. Medium-bodied with hints of plum.

My Verdict: Dare I say I like the Argentinian Malbecs better? So far, I definitely do. This wine didn't "wow" my palette but it's worth trying, especially for the price.

The ice cream:

Normally I go for anything with chocolate first, but I was very intrigued by the Brambleberry Crisp. It was fantastic (but just a warning...it may be dangerous to regularly stock this item in your freezer if you have limited amounts of self control :-). It was $10.99, which is the most I've ever paid for a pint of ice cream, but this was a special treat totally worth it.

Cheers!

More about the origin of the Malbec grape.

Nutella Milkshake: A Very Yummy Review

When I started State of the Vine, I only intended to write about desserts occasionally, but I must confess my deep, dark secret...My name is Lauren and I have a sweet tooth that is totally out of control!

Since the first step is admitting I have a problem, the second step, in my book, is to embrace it.

This Nutella shake is so good, I think there are no words that could possibly do it justice. 

Arlington Dessert Spot, Neighborhood: Big Buns, Ballston

Price: milkshake around $5, sweet potato fries $3-4

My Tasting Notes: I tend to gravitate more towards frozen yogurt or gelato when it comes to dairy desserts, but this milkshake was worth stepping out of my dessert-comfort zone. It's definitely not a light, but it's creamy, has great consistency, and tastes exactly like the hazelnut delight I grew up with. The sweet potato fries are an excellent compliment to the shake.

*Big Buns also has milkshakes in several other scrumptious looking flavors (and amazing burgers). What are you waiting for?!

Cheers!