As you might already know…I love a glass of wine anytime. If it was socially acceptable I would probably pour some over my oatmeal in the morning. I’m pretty jealous of Kathie Lee and Hoda on the fourth hour of the Today show, they literally sip wine at 10am while talking about random things, like how many calories are in a candy cane or take a poll on how often you wash your jeans… Unfortunately, not everyone can have a job that basically promotes being an alcoholic, although its funny to think about.

My dad introduced me to the world of wine and I was always in awe of his knowledge of different varietals, regions and vintages. Its nice to dream about drinking fancy wines like Chateauneuf du Pape on a daily basis, but lets bring it back to reality. I love finding inexpensive wines that still taste great and don’t require you to sell your first born child to drink it. I make it a rule not to spend more than $20 on a bottle and surprisingly you can do quite well at the liquor store for under $20. So for Wine Wednesday I’ve picked a bottle of wine, under $20 that you’ll love!

• Price: $13
• Varietal: 100% Malbec
• 85 points
• Mendoza is by far the largest wine region in Argentina, responsible for roughly 70% of the country’s annual wine production.
• Alamos Malbec is a good everyday table wine or party wine. It is a deep purple color with hints of fruit and chocolate with a sweet spicy finish. Basically… this is a full bodied red wine that goes well with anything but has a little South American spice to keep things interesting!

Here is a little Wine Etiquette I found again from on of my favorites blog “A Cup Of Jo” I am a big believer in the rule about when you cheers, eye contact is a must! Enjoy!

Wine etiquette

Today I’d love to share 8 fun tips for drinking wine! It’s nerdy, but I like learning etiquette tips (do you?) and thought you might like to hear these fascinating wine dos and don’ts before heading out to holiday parties and romantic dinners. Below, I (Cup of Jo) wrote out the tips, and the genius Gemma Correll illustrated them. Here goes…
1. Fill red wine glasses 1/3 full, white wine glasses 1/2 full, and sparkling wine 3/4 full.
2. Twist the bottle at the end of pouring a glass of wine, to prevent drips (and to give it a flourish!).
3. Cheers! When clinking glasses, make eye contact with the other person. Otherwise, according to French superstition, you’ll risk seven years of bad luck (read: bad sex). You also should clink glasses individually with each person at the table without crossing anyone’s arms.
4. If someone is toasting you (your wedding, your birthday, your general awesomeness), don’t take a sip. Just smile and look humble.
5. Always hold your wine glass by the stem. Many people mistakenly think you only need to hold white wine by the stem (so you don’t warm up the wine), but experts say you should hold red wine by the stem, too, so you can see its color and clarity, as well as to avoid smudging the glass with your fingerprints. Otherwise, wine snobs might call you a “bowl grabber”! 🙂
6. On the table, your wine glass goes to the right of your water glass.
7. While taking a sip, you should politely look into your glass. (And not at another person, if you’re in the middle of a conversation.)
8. The host’s duty is to make sure glasses stay filled. “My eyes go to empty glasses immediately,” wine expert John Thoreen says. “It’s a real radar thing for me.”
9. Or happily forget all the tips above, and just eat, drink and be merry!

P.S. A lipstick trick with wine, and the #1 etiquette tip to remember for the holidays.

Wine Etiquette Re-posted directly from “A Cup of Jo”