This weekend I had a magical happy hour with my dear friend Wendy Darling at my parents’ lake house in east Texas. I took a bottle of Buena Vista Winery wine that I had been saving for a special occasion and Labor Day Weekend by the water seemed like the perfect time to uncork!

Photography by Darling Photography

Wendy and I enjoyed this over great conversation with a view of the lake. It would have paired beautifully with a cheese plate had we not been so full of a trio of cookies. This just goes to show you: you don’t need a lot for a glamorous picnic. In fact this was actually a completely impromptu idea. Good thing my mom and I both keep emergency picnic blankets in our car trunks. (Yes, you read that correctly.) You just never know when the mood will strike for a picnic! I carried the blanket, glasses, bottle opener, roses, and Buena Vista wine in a Longaberger basket and set up the wine picnic in the shade in about thirty seconds flat.

The Count of Buena Vista is a 2015 Sonoma County Red Wine that’s aged fourteen months in French, American, and Hungarian oak. A blend of Zinfandel (66%),  Carignane (8%), Cabernet Franc (7%), Tempranillo (6%), Cinsault (6%), Malbec (4%), and Petit Syrah (3%), this complex wine is deep red with an enticing scent of fruit, mocha, and spices. This well-balanced wine has good acidity and pairs well with tomato sauces or a great view.

I had the pleasure of touring Buena Vista Winery (read about it here) while in Sonoma last year. Its quiet European elegance really spoke to me and I didn’t have one sip of wine I didn’t love so I had high hopes for this bottle. During the tour I learned that The Count of Buena Vista was passionate about combining varietals to create more complex flavors. When The Count (recently reincarnated to give guests tours of the vineyard and share The Count’s story from the 1800s) asked me what my favorite reds were, I responded, “Cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, and blends. Is that embarrassing?” He said, “Not at all. That makes you European in your tastes. You only add grapes to improve the flavor so blends are some of the best wines you’ll ever have.” Well, there you go!

The tasting notes mention blackberry, plum skins, baking chocolate, baking spices, and espresso. Personally I picked up the most on the black cherry notes. The scent is just gorgeous as it breathes.

This is a perfect bottle for fall, when the air is as crisp as the leaves and you want to cuddle up by a fire with a great glass of wine. I hope you love this bottle as much as I do! Learn more about Buena Vista Winery at buenavistawinery.com.

And a couple of iPhone snaps before we go:

Cheers,

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