Happy Friday!
(Disclosure: I received nothing in exchange for sharing this infographic with my followers. Opinions are honest and my own.)
SkinnyPop Popcorn recently shared an awesome infographic with me that pairs wines with different flavors of their popcorn in an effort to make our television binge-watching sessions just that much more enjoyable!
As a long-time lover of any kind of popcorn and a novice wine drinker, I was excited to try some of these combinations — especially the Dusted Dark Chocolate and Pinot Noir. However, I haven’t been able to track down that particular flavor much to my dismay. Instead, I moved onto to my other love – PEPPER.
Desi, my roommate, laughs at my love of pepper, but the combination of Sea Salt & Pepper popcorn with a nice giant glass of Malbec turned out to be a pleasant surprise! The mild fruity flavors of the Malbec (Cupcake’s Malbec in my case) paired with the slightly spicy experience of the popcorn made for the perfect ending to our evening watching reruns of Vanderpump Rules.
With chocolate and wine on the brain and no outlet to satisfy my cravings, I want to share with you this recipe for red wine hot chocolate that my roommate and I happened across a few weeks ago while preparing for a true crime movie night. This sweet treat is great if you’re looking to avoid the chill of your wintry February evening. My personal recommendation is to drink it out of a hug mug (a mug I’ve become obsessed with since purchasing it when I lived in Boston) and curl up next to the fireplace with a book or your favorite show.
Now, onto a related topic that remains close to my heart…
One thing I have yet to talk about on this blog so far is my deep forever love of good QUALITY television. Since wine, popcorn, and television go hand in hand, I feel like this is the perfect opportunity to do so. I don’t mean “quality” in the obnoxious hipster way, but in a way that acknowledges my awareness of certain elements of my favorite shows that satisfy my inner adrenaline junkie. These elements may not appeal to my too-cool friends, but being outside of the “in” crowd is exactly where I prefer to be.
If my heart rate doesn’t spike just a little from the thrill and excitement of the drama or the chase, odds are that I will not be obsessing about that show for years to come. If I don’t need a complicated wall map to keep the tangled web of characters straight or to keep track of plotlines weaving in and out of different time periods or alternate universes, what’s the point? So, what puts me at the edge of my scripted chaise lounge, you might be wondering? Well, I’m glad you asked…
My absolute favorite genre of television tends to lean heavily towards that of fantasy with a little touch of Sci-Fi. If there’s a vampire, werewolf, witch, or another breed of supernatural creature roaming across my screen, the odds are pretty high that I will torment my roommate by playing the episodes on a loop. By “a touch of Sci-Fi” I mean that there’s about a 70% chance I will allow a show into my heart if it has at least has some sort of mystical element – time travel, psychics, clones, alternate universes, etc. Not sure what kind of shows I’m referring to? Please let me enlighten you…The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Supernatural, Sleepy Hollow, Orphan Black, and Outlander just to name a select few.
There are quite possibly 100+ shows I’d love to recommend, but I will leave that for a future post now that I’m free to do as I wish with this blog! Additionally, as I mentioned above, I’m new to drinking wine. I would sincerely appreciate any brand/vineyard recommendations for reds and whites that aren’t too dry. Currently, I’m that girl who chooses her wine based on how much she likes the label…I know. Please don’t yell too loud and instead post your recommendations below!
Now, if you’ll please excuse me. I need to begin my preparations for the viewing of the newest episode of The Vampire Diaries tonight…