Friday, March 15, 2013

{Wine Label} Château Tour des Termes



Having a massive case of the "I miss France" right now, so here is another great French wine label from the village of saint Estephe, in the Medoc region of Bordeaux. Check out the fantastic website from the château, whose history dates back the the 1600's: http://www.chateautourdestermes.com/index.php/en/histoire.html.


Thursday, February 14, 2013

(Wine Label} Happy Valentine's Day!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY TO ALL YOU LOVEBIRDS OUT THERE!

3 labels for you today (one of which I posted last year, but it's totally appropriate for today's post...), enjoy, and may you have a love filled day today!






Sunday, January 27, 2013

{Wine Label} 1969 Petrus Pomerol

{This label is printable up 8x10, maybe even larger}


I am loving this label, and as you can tell, it is ooooooold. I found this label recently stashed away in my wine label box. A bit wrinkled but still looking good, for a label that is 44 years old. The best price I found online for this bottle is about $2,000. Definitely on my list of wine I will never be able to afford but at least I do have a label :)  This wine is big and bold, with a mix of 95% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. Please do let me know how it tastes if you ever get to taste this one...

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

{Wine Label} Pommard, Burgundy

{This label is printable up to 8"x10")




Pommard is a village in the Cote de Beaune sub-region of Burgundy famous for producing powerful, tannic and richly flavored red wines. They are made from Pinot Noir grapes, with which the commune's vineyards are almost exclusively planted. The Pommard appellation covers only red wines.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

{DIY} Recycled Wine Bottle Candles



Yeah, yeah, I know, I've completely been slacking off lately and have not posted nearly enough in the last month or so, I hope you will forgive me, as I have been busy catching up with some great BBC series, which are completely addictive and always require that I watch an unmentionable number of episodes in a row of such shows as "Cranford," "Lark Rise to Candleford," "Mildred Pierce"  or "Sherlock," to name a few...I'm taking a 30 minute break to share this little DIY with you today...  :)

I buy candles quite frequently, and usually stick to the kind that comes in a large glass jar (like the ones made by Yankee Candle). Unfortunately, they always seem to burn very unevenly and I always end up with a candle that's completely burned down on one side, making it impossible to get to the other side. It kind of looks like this:

 
Time to recycle that wax, as well as some of those empty wine bottles you have (hopefully) been saving...I gave you some tips for an easier way to cut wine bottles on this post a while back, and if you haven't already done so, now is the time to cut some of those empty bottles. You will need:

  • Cut wine glasses (decide on the height of the candle holders based on how much wax you have)
  • (soy) wicks (available at any craft store. Be sure to choose the right height for your candle holders)
  • Wooden skewers (to hold the wick up)
  • Masking tape (or other type of tape)
  • Pot of water (to melt the wax with)

Step 1:

Melt the wax by placing the jar in a pan of simmering water, and allow the wax to melt completely. Take out the old wick.



Step 2:

Take your recycled wine bottle candle holder, and place the wick in the center. It helps keep it centered to add a drop or two of melting wax on the bottom before placing the wick. Help it stay up with wooden skewers and a little masking tape.



Step 3:

Gently pour the melted wax into the containers, and let the wax set up until it is solid again (it took about 30 minutes).



Step 4:

I had already taken the labels off the bottles before cutting them (because I collect wine labels), but you could cut your bottle above the label for decoration. I didn't have the labels, so I added some hemp and a wax seal on one candle, and a simple ribbon and a wax seal on the other.  I secured everything with a hot glue gun. And voilà! Cheers! :)




Friday, March 16, 2012

{Wine Label} Bonny Doon Collection

A couple days ago, I posted about Bonny Doon's Le Pousseur Syrah wine label, and I had mentioned that I would be adding other Bonny Doon labels, so here are some of my favorite ones...enjoy!















Monday, March 12, 2012

{Wine Label} Bonny Doon 2008 Le Pousseur Syrah


Check out this colorful Bonny Doon wine label (and it's a printable one, too!), reminiscent of a medieval tarot card, quite a work of art, don't you think? Not only is this label one to save, but the wine itself apparently comes highly recommended, definitely on my "to-try" list! For an unbiased review of this wine, check out the Reverse Wine Snob blog (and while you are there, be sure to check out his many other wine-under-$20 reviews, before you go wine shopping...)

Bonny Doon has many, many other wonderful labels, about which I will be posting soon, but for now, I hope you will enjoy this one. Cheers!

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

{Wine Label} Chateau La Grolet & Peybonhomme, France

As far as labels go, I am a total sucker for traditional French labels...you know, the ones with beautiful castles and all of the little ornaments that makes them so typically French, and give them that "noble" touch.  I love imagining what it would be like to actually call one of those chateaux "Home." I'm afraid I'll never know :)

Today, I have two such labels: Chateau La Grolet and Chateau Peybonhomme Les Tours, both from the Bordeaux region.  If you ever drive through that area, it wouldn't be a bad idea to squeeze in a tour of these two wineries... :)


Château la Grolet is a beautiful estate located in the commune of Saint-Ciers-De-Canesse, in the Bordeaux region, covers 54 hectares divided into 38 hectares of red vineyards (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Malbec) is certified both organic and biodynamic ("method of organic farming that emphasizes the holistic  development and interrelationships of the soil, plants and animals as a self-sustaining system" Wikipedia) . 

Chateau La Grolet

Another estate, owned by the same La Grolet proprietors, is Chateau Peybonhomme Les Tours (Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec):



Chateau Peybonhomme Les Tours (also a certified organic vineyard) is located in Bordeaux' s right bank of the Gironde river, near Blaye, and its building dates back to the 19th century and was restored by the current owners, the Hubert family.

Chateau Peybonhomme les Tours

Here are two printables for your private use and that can easily be personalized to make your own wine label, for example...Cheers! :)







Thursday, February 23, 2012

{DIY} Wine Elements Collage, ready-to-print

Here is a collage of wine related images I put together today, just save on your computer and print out! 


Tuesday, February 21, 2012

{DIY} Wine Cork Wall Art


A few days ago, I created this cork wall art piece to go over my wine rack, and I'm not going to lie, it was quite time-consuming, but quite easy as well. I am very happy with how it turned out. 

Step 1:

I bought an unfinished wooden tray at Michael's, (it cost about $2.50) and stained it with a dark walnut stain (which I already had, but you can get them at Home Depot or Lowe's for less than $5). 




Step 2:

To cut the cork pieces to the correct height, I used the height of the tray. It doesn't have to be perfect, but this will get you close enough to the proper measurement.



I used the wine stained parts of the corks to create the vine grape, and the word "VIN," which is "wine", in French ~ but I am sure you already knew that :)  Before gluing the pieces, I arranged them the way I wanted them to appear.  Make sure it is centered the way you want on the tray.  Once you are happy with the way it looks, glue each piece with all-purpose glue. I do not recommend using hot glue, since that will not allow to correct mistakes along the way. With all-purpose glue, you will be able to adjust as needed before it dries.



Step 3:


Fill in all the areas around the wine stained pieces with natural colored cork pieces. It will be like putting a puzzle together. Start with the round pieces, then fill in the "blanks" with smaller, made-to-fit pieces.


Here is a close-up:



If you'd like to darken the wine color on your design, you can use actual red wine and apply it with a small paint brush to the areas you wish to darken (another perfectly good excuse to crack open a bottle!). Be careful not to go over any part you do not want darken, because the wine will stain it right away. Happy crafting!