Twinbird Ice Crusher

JC loves cocktail.
He loves to drink them but I think he loves to make them more.
Crushed ice is the integral part of cocktail making and he'd been making crushed ice by hitting a bag full of ice with my rolling pin. It caused huge noise and of course my rolling pin was destroyed.

Last summer, I couldn't stand the noise and the sight of damaged rolling pin anymore and got this for JC: Twinbird Ice Crusher.

Just throw the ice from top of the machine and turn the handle. It still makes some noise but my rolling pin is safe now and the ice seems much nicer. They are crushed into evenly smaller pieces.

Cocktail made with the ice from this machine melt gradually and does not dilute the flavor.
I can't explain scientifically but it does taste different.

When I was looking for the ice crusher, the biggest concern was durability.
Twinbird is a company in Tsubame city, Niigata.
This city is known for its metalworking therefore I assumed that the metal part of the machine would be durable.
We've been using this for a year, probably once a week on average.
It's still working fine.

Neumeister Klausen Sauvignon Blanc 2015

We buy most of vegetables at farmers market.
They are not only fresh but also seasonal. 

What we found this day was avocado. Avocado season in California is almost over but this one was still very nice, meaty and flavourful avocado.
JC made seafood Donburi with this.

We had this Donburi with Sauvignon Blanc from Austria.

Neumeister Klausen Sauvignon Blanc 2015
Notes of citrus, tropical fruits and almond skin.
High yet soft acid and rich texture.

This wine has fruitiness of Sauvignon Blanc but also savoriness, which makes the wine very good with food.

Bordeaux Bag Project

The other day JC entered a competition of Bordeaux wine.
This was an event to promote Bordeaux and Bordeaux Superieur AOC wines.

Bordeaux AOC is the regional standard appellation, and Bordeaux Superieur is an appellation which has a little higher quality than Bordeaux AOC.
Bordeaux Superieur wine is mostly red and made under stricter regulations than Bordeaux AOC such as lower yields or higher potential alcohol.

He didn’t win the competition but was among the finalists and brought back these wines as a prize for participation.

He tried these and other wines at the event and said that Bordeaux and Bordeaux Superieur wines had really great values, especially whites.
I look forward to trying these wines but for now, I was intrigued by the bag which came with the bottles.

The color and design reminded me of an image of shopping at farmers market in sunny afternoon so I decided to make a tote bag for market strolling.

My market strolling bag project:

1. Reinforce the bottom with oval shaped plastic board. 
2. Make lining with pockets. 
3. Change handles to leather.

The result is...

It's very close to the image I had for this project.
There is a room for improvement but overall I'm happy with this. 

Meroi Vigna Dominin Refosco 2013

Meroi Refosco Friuli Colli Orientali 2013

Pronounced aromas of red rose, violet, black cherry, plum, thyme, dark chocolate, clove and celery-like savoriness.

Velvety tannin and medium-plus acid.

Concentration of the characters of fruit, herb and spice are balanced with firm structure.

Finish is long.

Big, ripe wine but there is a sense of delicacy.

Refosco is a native red grape variety from northern Italy, with ripe black fruits which are balanced with high acidity.
JC got this wine when he visited the Meroi winery in Friuli-Venezia Giulia last year.

We had this wine with slowly barbecued beef.

People in Friuli rather have potatoes than bread with dinner (that's what JC saw at a restaurant) so we had potato chips to imitate the dinner in Friuli.

Beef was lean but flavorful and went good with the wine.