Today, I'll be sharing a few photos of some flowers in my yard and a bit of a review on a new wine that I just tried yesterday. I'm starting with the flowers and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the pink Conehead flowers aka Echinacea had started to bloom.
I have another Conehead variety that will be blooming soon as well. I did, recently, add a third variety which is an Echinacea hybrid named 'Marmalade'. I bought them to replace the group that I lost two summers ago (I think) to pests. When I bought the 'Marmalades' they already had a couple of blooms that were getting ready to open which is how most nurseries tend to sell them.
I took the following two photos of Bee Balm this morning. They bloomed while I was away for a few days. Funny story ... when I visited my moms house a couple of weeks ago I was in the back yard there with a sister who was showing me the different plants in bloom and there was Bee Balm. I took off a petal and told her to eat it. She was a little taken aback and said "no way". I explained to her that it was perfectly fine and in fact Bee Balm is tasty and also has some medicinal properties. She still didn't want to try it so I gladly nibbled it instead. She said "you're not right" which I won't entirely dispute but this coming from a sister who used to eat Rose petals and other flower petals when we were little ... lol!
My last grouping of flowers are from some Milkweed plants in the garden. I keep Milkweed for the Monarch butterflies and I hope I get some visiting this year like I did last year. This is the first time though that the Milkweed has bloomed.
The following three photos are close-ups of the little flowers.
Okay! Let's try that wine! This is Risata Moscato d'Asti and it is imported from the Piedmont region of Italy. A 750 ml bottle here costs anywhere from $12 dollars US to $15 dollars US. The bottle contains approximately three (8 oz) servings with 190 calories per serving. The alcohol content is 5.5% by volume. It also has a twist cap/no cork.
I've bought this bottle of white wine before but someone has gotten to it before I could actually try it so I bought two more bottles to be sure that I could, at least, try one. I'm not gonna give you some bogus review but will give my honest average person opinion because some of the reviews online I feel were a bit disingenuous. It says right on the bottle that the ingredients are grapes and sulphur dioxide so I don't really know how some people are claiming to taste all these notes of this and that.
I did chill the wine before trying it. I can definitely taste the sweet grapes and that is the first thing that you may notice is that it is a sweet wine. The sweet fruitiness comes through in smell also. It is also a sparkling wine but I don't feel like it was overly sparkling like a soda would be but it has an effervescence that (for me) was not overpowering and I found it refreshing and complimented the sweetness of the wine.
There you go! Simple and to the point! If you prefer a slightly sparkling white wine that is on the sweeter side and not as dry as some other white wines then this may be one that you will want to try. I enjoyed it very much and I'm even enjoying some right now! Seriously though, I do plan on getting this one again. Interestingly, I have reflux and sometimes white wine will cause it to act up but so far it's all been good (knock on wood). If you've already tried this then let me know in a comment and also let me know what you think of it. Everyone has different tastes and what is delicious to one person may not be as delicious to another and that is okay. If you do decide to try it and don't care for it then please don't complain about it to me. I only gave you my opinion and that is Risata Moscato d'Asti is yummy to me! 💖
Oh Yeah! It also comes in a pretty blue bottle. I only mention that because some people like to repurpose bottles and I know my daughter will definitely want this one ... when I'm finished with it .. of course! 😉
Thank you @c0ff33a for #sublimesunday!!
All photos and text by me @deerjay. All rights reserved.
Thanks so much @pixresteemer!! 😘
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No I have not tasted this wine or I don't think so @deerjay. I spend long distance walking in Italy for a a couple of weeks and of course we enjoyed a number of different wines during our meals. I really like your photo of your wine in your glass taken from the top down.
Thanks so much Angie!! It was good for a sweet white wine. I normally drink red when I do drink wine which hasn't been so much lately but I did enjoy it very much. 🍷🙂
Cheers Dee 🥂 Thanks for the review of the wine.
Love the conehead flowers and especially the Echinacea. I have the coneheads in my garden that look like the black eyed susans. Your lovely photos remind me to look for the echinacea at the nurseries to plant.💕
You are welcome Jo and thank you also!! I love Black-eyed Susans! They are our state flower here. I have some here but have not seen them up yet but, of course, the Cicadas are keeping me a bit more indoors lately. 😉💕
Now this looked like a nice vibrant day that's the way they always should be...lol...have a great week @deerjay 😊
Thanks so much @kohsamui99 and I hope your week has been great so far and continues to be great!! 💕
Your so welcome @deerjay have had a great week and looking forward to a relaxing weekend 😊
I can see those cherry bubbles, Dee! It looks refreshing! Cheers!
I like honest-to-goodness reviews. There is nothing more disappointing than a review that is written disingenuously. What is the point? I do not favor sweet white wines, so, I rarely buy one, but, an occasional glass of them is good. Thanks for the honest review of it! I appreciate it!
I have bee balm too! One of my kids was given a couple and I planted it! Sweet Jesus! Nobody told me they spread like wildfires! But, you are right! They taste lovely!
Thanks, @deerjay ! Have a fabulous Wednesday!
Thanks Denise!! One person claimed to have gotten a hint of sage and that just was a laugh. I could understand picking up a taste of another fruit perhaps but sage..lol. 🙄
I love the Bee Balm but, yes, it can spread. I lost a lot of mine last year to some kind of mildew. I guess all the rain we had back then affected them. So far the few that have come up this year look good. My daughter has asked to take some which was fine with me. I pick the petals to put in salads but I usually wind up just nibbling on them before they make it into a salad..lol.
Hope you've had a fantastic Wednesday and have a great rest of the week! 🙂
Thanks, Dee! Take one of your plants and move it somewhere else (or two) and by the end of the summer, you will have an overabundance. I started with two and had about fifty before the end of the summer.
Sage? I dislike when people try to sound important, like they know what they are talking about. LOL
Most welcome and thanks again! Wow! Fifty from two is a lot but they sure are pretty! I feel like I'm running outta' space so I'm happy to have my daughter take some. I think the Cicadas have caused some wilting of some plants or possibly some other outside cause. Nothing serious..I hope though.
Yeah..the sage really had me bewildered. 🤔🙂
😂
All that matters is if you enjoyed it:) j prefer something dry over sweet. It’s funny because as I was reading about your sister eating rose petals, I actually had a Pinot noir a couple months back, and I could taste and smell that particular bottle since it had a crushed rose petals smell and taste to it, really great bottle of wine. cheers!
Thanks so much @wineyoudyer!! I like different kinds and usually go with reds but this was a nice change of pace. Lol..roses weren't the only flower petals she would eat either. I really must remind her of that.
I could, actually, see getting a smell and taste of that in a wine. I had a wine that sounds similar a while back but I can't remember the name of it as it was about six years ago. It was at a company dinner and it was delicious! Have a great weekend! 💖
Isn't it amazing that we can remember a great wine! You have a great weekend too:)