Buy Local: Kentucky Blue Box Elk Creek Wine!

I know I've gone on record (@loueyville) as saying something along the lines of: "It would make my NCAA Tournament if Cornell kicked UK's butts in the Sweet Sixteen." But c'mon, I come by this sentiment fairly honestly.

First off, I'm a fellow Ivy Leaguer (oh yes, don't let this pretty face fool you; I also come by my nerdiness honestly and have the sheepskin to prove it). And seriously, I thought the only Ivy Leaguers who "got game" were on the fencing or crew teams.

Secondly, when you move to Louisville, you pretty much have to decide if you bleed Red or Blue. And I "Bled Red" before I even moved to this city. Back when Roommate and I were dating (you forgot we used to be a couple, didn't you?), he used to have one of Pitino's inspirational books in his bathroom. So I read up on Rick in the loo and thought: "This guy seems to really have it together. What a nice man with good moral character. I think I will be a fan of his team." (*spit-take*)

Thirdly, how do you NOT love a man named Tubby? That's all I'm sayin' about that.

But, oh you dear Elk Creekers, you did it again! Back in October, Elk Creek Vineyards sent me three bottles of their Halloween wine to try. And this month, they sent me their newest themed wine right in time for the NCAA Tournament. And I have to say, these people know me.

Just look at the picture! Don't you just want to hug it?

As I mentioned in my first review of the Elk Creek wines, I don't know what the heck I am talking about. A good 75% of the wine I drink at home comes from a box. And dammit, I LIKE wine from a box. It stays good longer, it's better for the environment, and there's LOTS of great boxed wine out there. And I'm happy to say that "Tailgate Red" is one of them. And with prices starting at UNDER $20 for the equivalent of FOUR bottles of wine. You can't beat that with a stick, folks.

But not only is "Tailgate Red" good red wine (I'm drinking a glass now and loving it), the packaging is frigging adorable. If you look closely at the picture, on the left there's a hoop for ping-pong ball basket ball and on the right is a goal post for table football. And they include a ping-pong ball and a sponge football in the box! I know I seem unreasonably excited about this: but this is a BOX of WINE that has BUILT-IN drinking games! How can you not LOVE that?

According to the Elk Creek website, you can't buy this everywhere, so here's a list of the stores that sell the Blue Box. And there are seven varietals available, Tailgate Red & White, Concord, Vidal Blanc, and Sweet Mellow White (that's good stuff-- I remember that from Halloween) for $19.99, and Cab and Chardonnay are $10 more. Elk Creek is located just an hour from Louisville. Mama's thinking it's definitely time for a road trip to visit them.

If I were a UK fan and I were planning a Sweet Sixteen watching party, I would so stock up on these things. They're-- as I said-- just too damn cute. AND when Cornell hands them their ticket back to Lexington, the party doesn't have to end-- you can play drinking games with the (I'm sure empty by now) boxes. Go Big Red! (sorry, I know I just made half of y'all hate me)

Disclaimer: I make no bones about the fact that Elk Creek sent this lovely, lovely thing to me for my consideration. But if I didn't like it, I wouldn't have blogged about it. All sentiments herein are genuine. I learned well from Big Mama Lou: "if you ain't got nothing nice to say then shut the heck up." I liked this for real.

More on the good folks from Elk Creek here.

Try it, you'll like it 2! Elk Creek Ghostly Whites

It's All Hallow's Eve eve and all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. Roommate is in bed watching a scary movie on his laptop. And thankfully, so far at least, the post-Ike renovation of Casa Lou has rendered it mouse-free (oh yes, like many other 103 year old Original Highlands houses, Casa Lou has had some critter problems). What's a girl to do but blog and tweet and catch up on emails...

A few weeks ago I chimed in on Elk Creek's Bone Dry Red, one of the three wines that Elk Creek was kind enough to send me for review (And that's your disclaimer, folks). That left me with the two Ghostly Whites: Sweet Mellow White and a 2007 Chardonnay. Both of which I dutifully enjoyed over the past week or so.

I'm not a big fan of white wine. I always order red when I'm out, no matter what I'm eating. I don't think I've ever bought a white wine for myself. But if there's white wine in the house, I will drink it-- it's unthinkable to let a perfectly good bottle molder on the rack, right? And certainly when a winery sends you a couple of bottles of white... gift horses, you know?

And it's silly that I have this embargo against white wines. Inevitably, I enjoy the gift bottles or left behind bottles that end up in my house.

And I very much enjoyed the Ghostly White Sweet Mellow White. In my last wine blog, I mentioned that Grandma Lou and I enjoy our sweet wines when we're together, and the Ghostly White Sweet Mellow White would be totally up her alley. In fact, I briefly considered sending her a couple bottles for Thanksgiving, but I realized that it might be a bit creepy to send a "Ghostly" wine to an 86 year old widow. But from first sip to last, I was totally blissed out with nostalgia thinking about her; so much so that I actually poured a glass and called her last week. So thanks, Elk Creek-- it was awesome of you to send me these wines and exponentially more awesome that one of the bottles made me pick up the phone and call my favorite person in the world.

What was nice about the Sweet Mellow White was that it wasn't TOO sweet. Some sweet wines give you a tummy ache and some sweet wines are only good for a glass or two at most. This one was a good drinking wine. I finished the bottle in two sittings and only gave up a half a glass to Roommate. I think the drinkablility of the wine is due to its really clean finish. There's no lingering sugary taste. I assumed that I would like the Bone Dry Red the best, but the Ghostly White Sweet Mellow White may have been my favorite.

Roommate liked the Chardonnay the best. I was a little more indifferent about that bottle. It was good, but I just don't think I'm a Chardonnay kind of gal. Roommate did some quality time in the wine country of Australia and sort of fancies himself a budding wine connoisseur, and I am not wont to dispute that: he definitely knows more about wine than I do. So I feel comfortable saying that although the Chardonnay wasn't my bag, per se, it's still very good. He's a red wine drinker and liked the Chardonnay best of all, so that says something.

Anyhoo... my first foray into wine reviewing has been a blast. I am tickled pink and purple that Elk Creek thought Loueyville.com was a door they could open. And I'm likewise tickled that what they sent me was really, really good wine. (They also sent a package of Pop Secret microwave popcorn. I can't decide if that was to keep the bottles from rattling together or if I was supposed to eat the popcorn while imbibing the wine... I didn't. Saving the popcorn for a Netflix night.)

Totally going to look for Elk Creek wines when I shop for wine from now on. The three Halloweenie bottles told me that they're consistently good-to-great. Mission accomplished, I think.

Try it, you'll like it! Elk Creek Vineyards' Bone Dry Red

Sorry for the radio silence, Loueyvillagers. Mama's had a complicated couple of weeks. Some good (business travel and... uh, well, business travel) and some bad (death and sickness and work-overload at Meatspace job). But things are leveling out now.

Luckily, things rarely ever get so bad that they can't be made at least a little better by a good glass of wine. And luckily x2, Elk Creek Vineyards sent me three bottles of wine this week. (that, kiddos, is my disclaimer) Luckily x3, the bottle I cracked open the other day, Bone Dry Red Cabernet Sauvignon, was (is-- I'm drinking the last of it right now) so yummy I would have gladly paid for it. So yummy, in fact, I just may go out and buy myself another bottle.

In my very limited experience, local wines have leaned toward the fruity side: super sweet and sugary. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. Grandma Lou-- bless her heart-- and I usually kill a whole bottle of Catawba whenever we're together, and that stuff is like dissolving a packet of Lick Em Sticks in a glass of Mountain Dew. Once, when I was living at a writer's retreat in Arkansas, I spent a month drinking gallon after gallon (yep, it came only by the gallon) of liquid cotton candy called Maiden's Blush (yep, typical writer). Loved it. Wish we could get it here.

But Bone Dry is a "big girl" wine. It's chocolate-y and coffee-y and complicated. And like other "big girl" wines, the flavor changes as it breathes and matures. It is dry, but I wouldn't say it's Bone dry. I don't like my wines too dry, and this one isn't. I had my first few glasses from the bottle two days ago, and two days later it's really just as good. It's sweet and warm, and at 13.8% alcohol, it'll make your cheeks blush after just a glass (or is that just me?). According to the website, Bone Dry retails for $19.99. Totally worth it.

I suppose you could be forgiven for assuming, at first glance, that Bone Dry is going to be a novelty beverage. It is, after all, a Halloween-themed wine. But it turns out that Elk Creek comes by it's Halloweeny-ness honestly; the owner of the vineyard, Curtis Sigretto, also founded Halloween Express, the #2 Halloween costume and accessory retailer in the country. This is someone who takes one of my favorite holidays pretty seriously. And that's reflected in the label art; it features a sufficiently creepy human skeleton. Sure, it telegraphs "Halloween," but it's also arty enough to grace the table at a classy Halloween dinner party. (Is there such a thing as a classy Halloween dinner party? If so, please invite me.)

I have two more bottles of Elk Creek wine to try out, so you'll get at least two more posts about this local vineyard from me. I'm very intrigued by Elk Creek Vineyards. They have a store in the Mall of St. Matthews (which I haven't been to yet). The vineyard also has an inn, which looks like the perfect fall weekend getaway. Now that my Meatspace job has settled down a bit, and I am almost over my nagging cold, I'm going to put a little time and effort into sussing out some more about Elk Creek. I'll report back.