The Devil made Pinot Noir

Valley Mills Vineyard

(254) 848-4343
8532 Highway 6 North
Waco, Texas

Open: Thursday 2 to 7
Friday 2 to 7
Saturday 12 to 7
Sunday 12 to 5

Valley Mills Vineyard: Web




           

           This past week I joined the Valley Mills Vineyard Wine Club; Great way to support a local business and access to some great local wine. I am not a connoisseur or extremely knowledgeable when it comes to wine, but I became pretty interested while working in the cooking connection at H.E.B. While working there, I was able to sample several wines and learn some stuff from April. I feel, hope, that joining this Wine Club will help me expand my pallet and knowledge of wine.

            I’m starting this blog section for all the wines I get to sample over the next couple of years (Minimum of 12). Every time I try a new wine from them I will post my thoughts, some history on the style, and what VMV thinks about it. I got the idea from one of the employees up there, after I told them that I have a food blog.

           The few times I have visited VMV I have had great experiences. The employees there are extremely nice, friendly and knowledgeable. Noelle is the young lady there, whom I have spoken the most with so far... very nice. The second time I stopped by was for some live music they had playing, "A Brighter Blue", along with my first 'case' of wines as a Wine Club Member. Some friends and myself, enjoyed a couple of bottles and the great music. You don't have to be a member to buy their wines, but If you really like wine it is a great deal! Cant wait for what the future will bring, being a member!
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          Most people lean one way of the other when it comes to wine, in some manner, and I lean toward the sweeter side. Most of my collection is built of sweet whites and reds, a few middle wines like Pinot Noir and even a couple of dries thrown in like Malbec and Cab. But I will try my best to not let my sweeter side hinder my judgment.


Since I am not a professional by any standards, actually pretty new, at reviewing wines I have decided to use the American Wine Society Evaluation guidelines:

“The American Wine Society has created its own 20-point scale for use in evaluating wines. 

• Appearance (3 points)
• Aroma/Bouquet (6 points)
• Taste/Texture (6 points)
• Aftertaste (3 points)
• Overall Impression (2 points)

As you examine and drink a wine, you score each category above from zero to the maximum number of points indicated (using guidelines provided on the form), then total, for a maximum score of 20.  For example, wines rated 18-20 are considered Extraordinary, 15-17 Excellent, and 12-14 Good.”

Brr it's cold in Here!

Penguin Pete’s Shave Ice

1211 Speight

Waco, TX 76706

1 (254) 235-7669

Mon-Sat 1:00pm -10:00pm

Sunday   1:00pm- 8:00pm

            Revenge is a dish best served cold. Revenge is sweet. If revenge is cold and sweet, then…. Revenge is Ice-Cream! Well, I don’t know about all that, but I do know that ice cream is sweet and cold and delicious. I don’t eat it very often, but when I do, I dive in!


            Penguin Pete’s has been a part of the Waco community for over 14 years now, right off Baylor Campus surrounded by a mini “metropolis” for Baylor students with a couple bars, some pizza joints, donut shop, an HEB, even a gas station…. Sounds like one stop shopping for the average college student. What better to top all that off, than an extensive snow cone shop that carries; 85 Plus Flavors of Shaved Ice Sno Cones, Hand Dipped Blue Bell Ice Cream and Shakes, 20 Flavors of Gourmet and Organic Coffees, Gourmet Hot Chocolates, Snacks, Unique Candy and Drinks.

            Today I didn’t go with a snow cone, nor did I go with just some plain ole ice cream. Oh no, I had to go full throttle and try their infamous “Ice Cream Nachos!” Yes, you read that right- Ice Cream Nachos. Mark gave me a quick rundown on what they are; Couple hand fulls of Cinnamon sugar chips, your choice of ice cream flavors (2), whole bunch of whipped cream, caramel and chocolate syrup drizzled all over…. And that’s just for the small size, they also offer a larger version with more goodies. Since I was unfortunately alone this time around I snagged a small batch- this time ;)

            I ordered mine with a scoop of “Krazy Kookie Dough” and “Mint Chocolate Chip” (my all-time favorite). While mark was in the back whipping it up I checked out the joint to see what all they had. Plenty of goodies for everyone who stops by, even coffee for those weird people. There is plenty of seating with some tables, couple big booths, even some seating outside on those cooler days. Also learned they have free Wi-Fi… always a perk.

            So the dessert comes and before I dug  in I sent pictures of this bad boy to plenty of my friends and the general consensus was “OMG”, “What is That!”, “Looks Awesome” and “Where!”… and we all know you eat with your eyes first. I finally dig in… it’s pretty awesome, simple, yet awesome. The crunchy chips, with the smoky cinnamon pair well with the cool sweet ice cream. The chocolate and caramel syrup add a nice little smooth aftertaste. All I can say is I will definitely be going back to try the large and plenty more from their menu.

 Summer is just now hitting, and if its anything like last years, this place will definitely help you stay cool! For more on Penguin Pete’s and their cool delights, tune into my blog later this month! Cant Wait!