Eating and Drinking Around Town: 100th Anniversary of Cherry Blossoms and Lots of Wine

District Commons is featuring a Cherry Blossom Combo to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Cherry Blossoms. You'll find  the District Cherry Old Fashioned (Virginia Gentleman Bourbon, House Made Cherries, Cherry Balsamic, and House Made Orange Bitters) with the Cherry Mash Sundae (Cherry Ice Cream, Hot Fudge Sauce, Roasted Peanuts).  This cherry blossom special runs until April 27th.

 

I recently had the pleasure of tasting the wines of America at the Longworth building on Capitol Hill.  The reception featured wines from Texas to Nebraska.  While some wines were unexpected, they also poured some of my favorites like Cakebread.  I really enjoyed the Washington State selection.  I also got a taste of Boxwood Winery's 2011 Rosé.  You can get a taste of the exclusive release at Graffiato when Boxwood pours complimentary glasses of the pink stuff on March 31. 

After getting a taste on the Hill, I headed to the Wine America headquarters for a private tasting of some very unique wines.  The Ice Wine of Vidal Blanc from Mazza Vineyards is worth mentioning.  The Vidal Blanc grapes are frozen naturally on the vine in Pennsylvania and then pressed while still frozen creating and intensely sweet flavor that is perfect with dessert.

It was so nice over the weekend that we drove out to Paradise Springs Winery in Clifton, MO.  We sat outside and listened to live Irish music and sipped on some sangria.

The exploration of American wines was a ton of fun, but then Jill Collins invited me to Kababji Grill for an interesting tasting featuring over 20 Lebanese wines.  I liked a lot of the wines, but my favorite was the Chateau Ksara Chardonnay.  Kababji has the most delicious Lebanese fare and if you mention reading this you'll get 50% off a bottle of wine.