Wine Wednesday: Santero Asti Sparkling Wine

I often use the BC Liquor store app to check out what's new and what to try.  They have "wish" and "favourite" list where you can save wines that you have found.  Often I will browse and save sparkling wines on my Wish list.  

So on New Year's Eve it was easy to look at my Wish list and then choose a bottle of sparkling wine that was on sale.  Then when I ventured out into the BC Liquor Store that was completely crowded, I didn't have to browse at all.  I just grabbed the one bottle of sparkling Santero Asti Sparkling Wine and left.

The bottle is pretty and looks almost gold which is great for presentation.  Santero Asti Sparkling wine is sweet like a Moscato so it's perfect for a crowd because it's to sip and drink slowly.  It was our sparkling wine for the New Years toast!  

Give everyone half a glass to celebrate!  Any occasion will do.  

Wine Wednesday - Lolea White Sparkling Sangaria

All year long I look forward to the girl's weekend and this year it was a staycation at the River Rock Casino.  

We bring our wines and enjoy a weekend of relaxing, drinking, and eating.  Carolyn brought LOLEA white sparkling sangaria from Spain and it is such a fun bottle of wine!  It doesn't need any gift wrapping with this bottle with polka dots that sounds out from the rest of the bottles.  I love sparkling wine because of bubbles and light fruity flavours so I couldn't wait to try this bottle.

I loved it!  Carolyn said it reminded her of a Breezer cooler.  It was perfect for me!  Then when I checked out the LOLEA website I saw that you could even turn this into a fun punch for a party with crushed strawberries and a splash of vodka.  We drank it straight on ice this time and enjoyed every sip.  

Wine Wednesday - Cupcake Prosecco Sparkling Wine

It was on the girl's weekend getaway staycation where I discovered that Cupcake Winery has the 187 ml small individual trios of prosecco sparkling wine.  Cupcake Prosecco is a sparkling wine that is refreshing with gentle favors of white peach, grapefruit, and honeydew melon.  It is a light fruity sparkling wine in a cute bottle that is attractive for gift giving.  Cupcake Prosecco is from an Italian vineyard.  

There is so much you can do with Cupcake Prosecco and here are the 5 cocktails to try.

1.  Mimosa - Try prosecco with orange juice, or better yet grapefruit juice for brunch.


2.  Sparkling strawberry cocktail - Try a bottle prosecco with 1/4 cup orange juice, 2 cups hulled and blended strawberries and garnish with orange slices and mint.  

3.  Pomegranate Grapefruit Cocktail - Try prosecco with a combination of pomegranate and grapefruit juice.  

4.  Peach Bellini - Try prosecco with peach juice from fresh peaches with simple syrup and prosecco.

5.  Spritz - Try prosecco with soda water for a light spritz with slices of orange as a garnish.  

Just writing about the possibilities makes me want to go out and buy some Cupcake Prosecco to try different prosecco cockatils during the holidays.  

Find out more at the Cupcake Vineyard Website:  http://www.cupcakevineyards.com/

Travel Tuesday - Whistler Weekend and Spa Scandinave

This year we Vancity Girlfriends decided to have the Girl's Weekend Getaway in Whistler, BC.  Our hotel of choice was Pinnacle Hotel in Whistler because it had a kitchenette with a stove, fridge, microwave, and dishwater for our bottles of wine and tapas dinner.  Having a kitchen is a fabulous way to save money and cook at home.  

Pinnacle Hotel also has a jacuzzi tub which we did not use (except for storage) but if you wanted to return for a romantic weekend away, it is all ready for you.  It was the perfect affordable Whistler home for a girl's getaway.  We arrived on Friday night and tried to open a bottle of wine which was corked and were not successful even after efforts of attempting a YouTube experiment with a shoe and wall.  Perhaps we were not British enough to pull off that YouTube trick of opening a bottle of wine without a working corkscrew.  Alas, luckily we brought several bottles of wine and gave up.  We started with an easy individual sparkling wine bottles instead.  

The next day we slept in, had breakfast, and walked around the village before we got ready to take a taxi to the Spa Scandinave.  This is a real time saver and super cheap because from our hotel to the spa it is only ten minutes.  We could relax and treated ourselves.  Spa Scandinave is amazing.  There are hot pools, cold pools, saunas, relaxation areas and then you do it all again.  We went in the afternoon and it was really hot so definitely remember to hydrate and drink lots of water.  Once you enter the spa there is no re-entry so be ready to take it easy and relax.  Spa Scandinave is a silent spa so there is no talking allowed.  Since I'm an introvert this was my dream place.  I would definitely return but go back on a  summer evening when it is not so hot.  




Upon returning to the hotel after hours of afternoon relaxation, we put together our own tapas plate of crackers, cheese, grapes, prosciutto, and pepperoni.  This paired well with a bottle of white Greek wine.  

I love these Girlfriend Getaways that we do every year.  Whistler is a beautiful resort and I love it more and more every time I go.  

Vancouver Restaurant - Tap and Barrel Olympic Village

Hello Vancity Girlfriends,

It was two years ago in 2014 when we first visited Tap and Barrel Coal Harbour and we loved their cocktails and shared plates.  

Now let's fast forward to 2016 when we discover that Tap and Barrel Olympic Village has sparkling wine on tap.  Tap and Barrel Olympic Village is a short walk away from Main Street/Science World skytrain station.  It's a beautiful short walk along the seaside and then you are at Tap and Barrel.  

We met on a sunny Wednesday evening and even though it was Happy Hour when we arrived at 5:30pm with house wines for $4 and Wine Wednesdays with wine flights on special at $1 discount, my heart was set on trying their new sparkling wine on tap for $9 a glass.

Carolyn ordered the Orchard Hill cider and when I ordered the sparkling wine the server said he needed to check if it was available.  Oh no!  My heart sank and I was browsing the menu to see what my second choice would be if he was to truly disappoint me.  Luckily he returned with a champagne flute topped with Tap and Barrel sparkling wine.  The sparkling wine was delicious, light and bubbly.  We enjoyed our drinks with an appetizer of deep fried pickles while we waited for our girlfriend to arrive.  

Tap and Barrel is a great place for sharing tapas style which is exactly what we did.  We ordered the Maui Wowie pizza, pulled bacon poutine and handmade guac and salsa.  I loved being able to try different dishes with my glass of sparkling wine.  Perfect evening combination with girlfriends.

Tap and Barrel Olympic Village - Pulled Bacon Poutine

Tap and Barrel Olympic Village - Handmade Guac and Salsa

Tap and Barrel Olympic Village - Maui Wowie Pizza

Easy Sparkling Wine Pear Cocktail Recipe

Dear Vancity Girlfriends,

Sparkling Wine Pear Cocktail

We love to get together to unwind and have a drink or two.  From my previous post, the Chocolate Martini Cocktail, was a heavy hitter, so Carolyn took over the drink menu.  Now here is an easy, light and fluffy cocktail recipe that you can enjoy before dinner.  It's a recipe that can fit in a messenger bag and not be noticed.  When I first saw Carolyn I thought she forgot about bringing any alcohol.  Of course she wouldn't be so foolish.  

So out of the bag comes out a can of halved pears and a bottle of sparkling wine.  That's all that you need for this simple sparking wine pear cocktail.  

1 can of pear halves
1 bottle of sparkling wine

Strain the juice from the pears and puree the pears with 2 tablespoons of juice or as needed.  (We used a hand blender to puree).  Spoon a few tables of the pear puree into the glass.  Pour the sparkling wine on top to watch the combination fizz and enjoy.  It is a light sparkly pear tasting cocktail.  

Even though it's not a martini, the martini glass still suits this drink well.  I'll put champagne flutes on my wish list as I do love bubbly drinks.  

We had a lot of fun trying out this sparkling wine cocktail recipe.  Give it a try at your next girl's night and tell us what you think!  See you next month for another Vancity Girlfriends Cocktail.