wine tasting |

A Night Out at Antonello Ristorante #EnotecaLounge

May 8, 2013 · by Organizedisland · 5 Comments

The other night I had an opportunity to check out the new Enoteca Lounge at Antonello Ristorante in conjunction with the OC Mom Blog Girls Night Out. What a wonderful setting for an evening with friends. Come with me inside and discover this wonderful Italian Ristorante and Wine Bar.

The Enoteca lounge is an elegant room that features comfortable seating, plush fixtures and shelves and shelves of wine. As you can see there is a wonderful selection of wine and they offer a great choice of menu items.

This particular evening I had a chance to sample their freshly made potato chips,

and their wonderfully tasty italian prosciutto with marinated olives. The setting was very cozy and the service was very good. Not to mention the wines that I sampled were also delicious.

Next, I had a chance to sample a wonderful choice of Italian entrees. Owners Antonnio and Fiorella Cagnolo bring their culinary talents to this great Orange County restaurant. I especially loved their authentic meatballs, lasagna and octopus.

Of course their desserts are also very good. I sampled their cheesecake and cannoli. Just check out the dessert sampler tray below.

During the week Antonello’s Enoteca lounge features entertainment. The music provides a nice relaxing vibe to the lounge.

The Enoteca Bar Menu offers small plates, starting at $5. Be sure to check out their website here for their special events. You can also follow them on Facebook. Antonello Ristorante also offers private dining and cooking classes. I am adding those cooking classes on my list and am planning on coming back to visit their restaurant.

It is also located very close to the Orange County Performing Arts Center. Perfect for a pre-theater dinner or after show snack.

Antonello Ristorante is located at

1611 West Sunflower

Santa Ana, CA 92704

(714) 751-7153

I received a complementary visit to the event and this is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.

What is your favorite Italian entree?

Filed Under: Dining, Orange County Fun · Tagged: Antonello's, Enoteca Lounge, italian restaurant, OC Mom Blog Night Out, Orange County, Orange county restaurant, Wine Bar, wine tasting

Vivino

October 25, 2012 · by Organizedisland · 6 Comments

Today I want to share with you a new app I just downloaded for my phone. The name of the app is Vivino.

This app is designed to help you make notes on wine you have tasted and enjoyed. You simply scan the bottle label and the app lets you rate it and add notes. Now, I really need this because I want to remember wines that I have had and I really do not have a good place to make notes. I have saved a couple of wine labels in the past, but I have no idea where they are now so this is great for me. It is also very easy to use and just takes a couple of minutes at most.

For example, here is a bottle of one of our favorites. It is a wine from the Orin Swift Winery in Napa Valley called The Prisoner.

Once I scan the bottle with my phone, the app does this:

I rated it four stars and can add more notes if I want. It will tell me how it ranks overall within the United States and within its region. This would have come in really handy the other evening when I was at this place.

The app claims that it recognizes 500,000 wines and also lets you connect with you friends on Facebook. This pretty much eliminates having to guess what some of your friends would love for a present doesn’t it? On their website, you can see peoples notes from all over the world which is also pretty cool.

The best part is the app is free and is available for the iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows phones and the iPad. However, you must be at least age 17 to download the app.

How do you keep track of beverages and dishes you enjoy?

Filed Under: Apps, Time Management, Time Saver Tip · Tagged: apps, documenting wines, phone app, rating wines, recording wine notes, wine, wine gift ideas, wine notes, wine tasting

Checking Out the New Store In Town

October 19, 2012 · by Organizedisland · 13 Comments

I had the opportunity to investigate a new store in Laguna Hills, California the other day. I want to share it with you because with the holidays coming up, I think Total Wine is a great place to buy beverages, gifts and bar accessories. If you are preparing for the holidays and want to make one visit to stock up on beverages, this is the place.

Now with a name like Total Wine, you might think they only sell wine, but this is not true. Total Wine sells wine, beer, sodas, gifts and snacks. In fact, there is an entire aisle devoted to craft beer.

If you do not know a lot about wines, you can ask the wine associates for some assistance. The associates can help you pick a wine to go with your holiday menu. Generally, the lighter the meal, the lighter the wine. That is why white wine typically goes well with fish and poultry and reds go great with beef and game. That is not a hard and fast rule, just a guideline.

If you want to embrace your inner sommelier, you can sign up for one of their classes.

The times of the classes and private wine tastings vary by location and price. It was a wonderful session that I attended and Sue, our wine associate, was very knowledgable. In addition to wine classes, they have beer classes and spirit classes.

The store also offers public tastings in their store for 10 cents. Not 10 cents each glass, but that fee covers the entire tasting. Check the store for times that this is offered. The tasting center has a TV and is located towards the middle of the store.

Check the store for the tasting schedule.

The wines are nicely organized by country and domestic wines are organized by type. Being a lover of all things organized, I found this especially helpful. This makes it very easy when shopping with a list.

At the tasting, I especially loved the Radius red wine blend which is described as aromas of juicy rich black fruit, ripe cherry and hints of toasted vanilla oak. It’s the bottle on the left in the picture above. The best part is it sells for about $10 a bottle.

They also have a nice selection of soft drinks available.

Also for their grand opening, they were featuring some olive oils as well.

So there is something for everyone here at Total Wine. I recommend you check them out if you are in the area. Total Wine is in 13 states across the country, so you may have one near you. The Laguna Hills store is located at 24001 El Toro Road, in Laguna Hills, California.

I was not compensated for this post, but did receive a store tour and wine tasting.

What is your favorite beverage?