Taking the Last Sips of Summer !

Season Finale: Taking the Last Sips of Summer
These sandy beaches and long, warm nights will soon give way to golden leaves crunching beneath our feet and fall’s first chill. Now is the time to take the last sips of summer with simple home entertaining that is easy on the host and easy on the wallet.


Send Out the Invites: The promise of glasses overflowing with wine is always a winner. If you’re pressed for time or don’t want to bother with the snail mail, go to www.evite.com to create a great invitation that includes your theme (wine of course has got to be center stage). To make it extra easy on yourself, invite each guest to bring a dozen of their favorite appetizers. Easy on them. Easy on you. Fun to share, compare and trade recipes of favorites.
Pick The Perfect Spot:Take the party outdoors and take advantage of the late afternoon or early evening. When twilight comes the magic truly begins. Go for lots of candles – from simple votives floating in a bowl to tapers placed in your best crystal or silver (yeah, remember those wedding gifts? Or, the gift from Aunt Edna tucked away in the closet. Bring them out and let them shine up the night).


Set the Mood:Here’s the deal. A great party track can make your event memorable. They’ll be humming those tunes long after they’ve said goodnight. Put your DJ face on and create your playlist, download your favorites and let the music soar. Here are some suggestions for a large outdoor gathering : "A Minha Menina" by Os Mutantes, "The Noise of Carpet” by Stereolab, "Lebanese Blonde" by Thievery Corporation, "Dance with Me" by Nouvelle Vague, "Let me Down Easy" by Bettye LaVette, “Summer Wind” by Frank Sinatra, “Blue in Green” by Miles Davis and “Harvest Moon” by Neil Young.


Pop the Cork:Chill the white in a large bucket of ice (pouring water into the ice makes it easy to push the bottles down for a better chill), pop the cork on the reds and you’re good to go. Arrange wine stems on top of a bar, table or tray and let guests help themselves. Pitchers, or decanters of still or sparkling water (toss in a sliced lemon if you choose) make a nice touch. Add non-alcoholic beverages to the offering so there’s something for everyone. Enjoy the season’s finale with family and friends. Toast to their health, their joy, their happiness. The memories will last all winter long.
Heres to Wine Shop At Home Setting The Mood!

Cheers!
Dale Rossi
www.wineshopathome.com/dalerossi
www.winetasting-dale.blogspot.com

New Resort Worth Visiting

If you are in Southern California or traveling there be sure to visit an amazing resort on cliffs of Palos Verdes Peninsula with fabulous coastal views. I recently went there with some of my fellow wine consultants. See we live in the area and had to check it out, and I'm glad I did!.
We ate one of their many restaurants "Mar'cel's " , wow!! Everything about it was top notch from their one of a kind appetizers, to their main courses, to their service. We were mainly there to check out the wine list.And did they have a list indeed, so of course we indulged. Our choice was a Red Meritage from Newton Vineyards, a luscious, velvety smooth wine! It was a perfect blend, so much so we by-passed on dessert and ordered another bottle! That was our dessert. I still dream about that wine along with the spectacular chocolates that our server brought us as a perk.
Now...... lets talk about those chocolates.....well there are no words!! Sorry folks.
I highly recommend an evening at Mar'cel's, it will be an evening to remember.
Cheers!
Dale
Fine Wine On Line
www.wineshopathome.com/dalerossi
http://www.terranea.com/?esiteurl=terranearesort.com&esitecname=terranearesort.com#