in vino veritas

I like this simple Rioja from Spain. The bottle was about $10 on sale at my local liquor store.

Wines from Spain and Portugal are a great value. Rather than playing it safe and getting some big-name American or Australian wine, live on the edge and grab a few bottles you've never heard of from Spain and Portugal; if one is a dud you won't be out much moolah and odds are you'll actually discover some new wines you really enjoy.

I like Douro (red) and Vinho Verde (white, slightly effervescent, my fav is by Santola) from Portugal and Rioja (it's a region) and Tempranillo (it's a grape), (both red), from Spain. While I like Garnarcha/Grenache, sometimes they can be heavy for me if not blended with other grapes, so I always drink them with food. You really can't go wrong with some Spanish Marcona almonds, Cabrales and Manchego cheeses, and some Medjool dates paired with a couple bottles of wine and a loaf of crusty bread. Just add some good friends and conversation.

I used the barcode scanner in MyFitnessPal on the Montebuena Rioja, and was told it is 118 calories per 5 ounce glass. A bottle of wine contains five 5 ounce glasses, however, most people pour 6-8 ounces in their glass at a time. Since I'm back to counting all my calories I measured out 5 ounces of water and poured it into one of my new govino glasses to identify where the 5 ounce line would be. Conveniently enough, 5 ounces is right at the bottom of the thumb-indent on the glass so now I can always pour a perfect 5 ounce glass. (This is the larger wine glass from govino; I also have a set of the smaller wine/cocktail glasses.)

I still have plenty of glass aboard, but as I buy new drinkware I am going with shatterproof items for the boat. The govino glasses are super lightweight, shatterproof, recyclable, not overly expensive, and BPA-free.

One lesson learned the hard way...they will start to melt if set too close to a fire or if you pour boiling water on them. So, of my eight glasses, three are now misfits. C'est la vie; if I drink enough wine I forget that it bugs me that they got damaged.