Drinks

My drink of choice right now is definitely a nice glass of wine.  Wine isn’t something that I’ve always loved but over the past 10 years, my taste has changed quite a bit and now, it’s something I drink several times a week and absolutely love. I usually don’t drink on weeknights, so on Friday afternoons, I look forward to the evening because I know I’ll be sipping on a wonderful glass of wine! My favorite wine and food pairings are:

A good Pinot Blanc, Gewurztraminer or Riesling with raw oysters or pate.

If you are looking for an amazing white wine, I highly recommend the Eroica Reisling.  It is an elegant Washington Riesling with a mouthwatering acidity balanced with a sweetness that makes it extremely versatile. 

A good Italian wine like a Chianti Classico with a charcuterie or a nice steak.

A good vacation getaway to me is to visit several wineries to meet the winemakers, understand how their wine is produced, what makes their wine unique, visit the cellars, ask questions, and then do a tasting.

I even got married at a winery so I am a little obsessed…

Rewind about 10 years earlier and before my love affair with wine, I was really into pink drinks. Maybe it was my obsession with Sex and the City and watching all the girls drink pretty, colorful cocktails and laughing in some type of glamorous environment. And during that period, bridal showers and stagettes were the norm in my life, so the parties I went to had a real feminine flare with pink decorations, pink flowers, and pink girly drinks.  A good Cosmopolitan, or a vodka cranberry cocktail on ice, or anything with Chambord Royal in it was my drink of choice.

Before my girly drink phase, I could really drink any type of cocktail.  Let’s see, anything from Baileys on ice, a Brown Cow, Vodka Paralyzer, Long Island Ice Tea, Blue Mondays, Electric Popsicles or Singapore Slings. Then one night, I had a really horrible experience with a milky drink accompanied by a glass of champagne, and from that moment on, those creamy cocktails I once loved would never be a part of my life going forward. 

During my university years, I wasn't aware of Red Bull or other energy drinks. And surprisingly, I wasn’t a coffee drinker back then either. So when it was mid term or final exam time and I would have to force myself to stay awake to study, a couple cans of Jolt did the trick. All the sugar and twice the caffeine!

I also enjoyed Orbitz (a drink from Clearly Canadian) every now and then, although the small tapioca looking balls floating in it confused me. Plus the drink sort of reminded me of a 70's style lava lamp in terms of appearance.

The drinks I was most fond of came from my younger years because I have such pleasant memories of that time.   I would consume these at birthday parties, at picnics, BBQ’s, at school events, etc.  It was such a treat to have these sugary drinks and some still exist today:

- Hi-C Orange Drink

- Orange Tang (I used to dip my fingers in the orange powder and just eat that sometimes)

- Orange Fanta, Orange C-Plus and Fresca

- Kool-Aid (original flavors include cherry, grape, lemon-lime, orange, raspberry, and strawberry)

- Dr. Oh -  It wasn't around for very long but this is the drink I was most fond of. There were 4 flavors of strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, and banana flavored milk in Tetra Brik 250 ML box with a straw attached. It was a milk drink that was kept non-refrigerated, which completely would not appeal to me today.  

- Super Socca - it usually had a soccer ball on their juice box and it was another orange drink

- Tab Cola - everyone sing along to the jingle now... 'Tab Cola has a beautiful taste, so good for beautiful people, Tab Cola, beautiful to you and me cause every can has less than 2 calories ... lalala...' BTW, Elle MacPherson still looks exactly the same today as she did when she was in the commercial over 30 years ago so I want to drink what she is drinking!

After reviewing this list, I didn't realize how much I liked orange flavored drinks until now. :)