A passage from a new book by Dr. Becky Kennedy makes a strong case for parents to focus more on raising resilient kids than happy ones. The excerpt from “GOOD INSIDE: A Guide to Becoming the Parent You Want to Be” by Dr. Kennedy was published by Big Think.
Dr. Kennedy is a clinical psychologist, bestselling author and mom of three named “The Millennial Parenting Whisperer” by TIME magazine.
Everyone wants their children to be happy, but Dr. Kennedy argues that the path to that ultimate goal lies in addressing the root cause of unhappiness. When a child doesn’t have the skills to cope with everyday feelings such as disappointment, frustration, envy and sadness, it will interfere with their ability to cultivate happiness. However, If we teach children how to regulate their emotional states, they will be able to develop the peace of mind necessary to be happy.
It’s like the old adage says: “Give a man a fish, and he’ll eat for a day. Teach him to fish, and he’ll eat forever.”
“What do we really mean when we say, ‘I just want my kids to be happy’? What are we talking about when we say, ‘Cheer up!’ or ‘You have so much to be happy about!’ or “Why can’t you just be happy?’” Kennedy asks.
Confidence comes from knowing how you feel, feeling at home with yourself, and being compassionate and curious about your internal experience.
The more we help our kids learn that they are okay how they are, the more internal strength they have to change – when they’re ready. pic.twitter.com/HNhyAVTpBZ
“I, for one, don’t think we’re talking about cultivating happiness as much as we’re talking about avoiding fear and distress,” Kennedy continues. “Because when we focus on happiness, we ignore all the other emotions that will inevitably come up throughout our kids’ lives, which means we aren’t teaching them how to cope with those emotions.”
Kennedy believes that focusing on happiness instead of the underlying conditions that create it is like putting a bandaid over the problem.
“For me, happiness is much less compelling than resilience,” Kennedy writes. “After all, cultivating happiness is dependent on regulating distress. We have to feel safe before we can feel happy. Why do we have to learn to regulate the tough stuff first? Why can’t happiness just ‘win’ and ‘beat’ all other emotions? That certainly would be easier!”
So how does one raise an emotionally resilient child?
Kenneth Barish, Ph.D., Clinical Professor of Psychology at Weill Cornell Medical College, told PBS that parents build their child’s resilience by having a 10-minute discussion with them every night at bedtime.
“In these brief daily conversations, we should ask kids if there is something they might want to talk about—perhaps a problem at school or with friends, something they are angry with us about, or what they may be anxious about the following day,” Barish writes.
“Parents should listen to the child’s recount of the day without judgment and let them know that they have had the same experiences, too. “We can say, for example, ‘Yes, I know, it feels really bad when other kids won’t let you play…I also felt bad and angry when those kinds of things happened to me.’ Many children will respond to these statements with astonishment,” Barish writes.
This parent-child discussion can help children put their disappointments in perspective and learn that everyone has struggles. The key is developing the skills to overcome them.
“Resilience is not a static character trait that children possess or lack; it’s a skill that can be cultivated, and one that, hopefully, parents help instill in their kids from a young age,” Kennedy writes. “Because we can’t always change the stressors around us, but we can always work on our ability to access resilience.”
Alexander Skarsgård may be prancing around in a fancy gold bomber jacket as Matsson while the Roy children battle their internal and familial demons, but the actor sure is loving it! And so are most of the fans. So his latest antics have people wondering: how is this all possibly going to play out?
Skarsgård himself even mentioned how Mattson is a bit of a mess, but that’s why we are all entertained by him, right? Skarsgård recently told The Hollywood Reporter, “He’s definitely a bull in a china shop. He subscribes to the philosophy ‘move fast and break things,’” the actor said. Even though his character is all over the place, he has sure been a standout in the final season. “He’s an agent of chaos. He loves it. He’s not a PR-created … there’s nothing fake about him. If you want to call it ‘genius,’ he’s just so out there and chaotic.” Speaking of chaos, fans seemed to have a problem with Matsson’s recent party-crashing antics. But mostly the numbers thing.
me: jokes where gay is used as a derogative between cishet ppl is never and was never funny me when mattson calls kendall Roy’s numbers gay: pic.twitter.com/BpiPjlD2Q3
Let’s say you could get over the very bad numbers thing, sure, fine. But what about his grand entrance to a party he wasn’t really wanted at, where he decided to choose violence instead of just staying silent and eating a cocktail frank like a normal person?
Listen, he knows how to show up and act out, which is all we can have ever expected from this guy. At the end of the day, just take comfort in knowing that his jacket cost $50k and will be impossible to dry clean. It’s also sold out.
The long-awaited return of Verzuz is upon us, and the comeback event will ensure it’s well worth the wait. After a nearly year-long hiatus since the last event, which featured R&B stars Mario and Omarion, Verzuz will return on September 8, pitting superproducers Diddy and Jermaine Dupri against each other in a matchup the duo previously confirmed in October. On Sunday, Busta Rhymes posted a video to his Instagram Story in which Diddy confirmed the next Verzuz date and promised to have Busta “in the rafters” of Madison Square Garden, “flying out the sky.”
No doubt, Diddy’s gift for showmanship will serve him well at the next Verzuz, which he initially refused to do as a result of Swizz Beatz and Timbaland’s lawsuit against Triller. However, it seems once the Verzuz founders reached a settlement with the streamer, all bets were back on the table. The battle between the Bad Boy Records and So So Def founders could see appearances from the likes of former Verzuz participants The Lox, Mase, Mary J Blige, and more on Diddy’s side, while JD could tap Bow Wow, Da Brat, and a string of JD’s collaborators including Ludacris, Usher, Monica, and more. You can find more info at VerzuzTV.com.
An eventful weekend for most people involves going to the supermarket. Maybe fixing the garage door. Finally getting around to cleaning the gutters. Tom Cruise is not — and I say this with love — most people.
Over this past weekend, the Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One star recorded a mid-flight video to congratulate Charles III on becoming the king. That same fighter plane also made a virtual appearance at the host-less MTV Movie & TV Awards, where he won Best Performance in a Movie for Top Gun: Maverick.
“Thank you so much for this award. I make these films for you. I love you. I love entertaining you. To know how much you enjoy it, how much you appreciate it, there’s just no better feeling,” Cruise said in a video. Many celebrity acceptance speeches are disingenuous (did ALF really want to thank “everyone” when he won Favorite TV Actor at the 1989 Kids’ Choice Awards?), but I believe Cruise when he says he loves our admiration. It explains why he continues to do this in his mid-50s, when he very much doesn’t have to.
Things we’ll never forget: @TomCruise‘s performance in #TopGun: Maverick
Cruise’s weekend wasn’t done, however. He also attended 2023 Miami Formula One Grand Prix, where he mingled with Shakira and took a photo with Fast X stars Vin Diesel and Ludacris.
This post has 1.7 million likes as of publication. It deserves 10 times that. At least.
In what’s being described as a peak Logan Roy move, Succession star Brian Cox has reportedly submitted his Season 4 performance as the no-nonsense, foul-mouthed media mogul in the Emmy category for Lead Actor in a Drama Series. However, this move is causing a bit of head-scratching.
As fans of Succession know, Logan appears very briefly in the final season. In fact (uh, spoilers), he dies in the third episode, in an impressive move by the creative team that made Logan’s death a complete shock to viewers. Granted, Logan’s death was not entirely expected, but not with seven episodes left to go. The pivotal moment was also filmed with a brutal realness that left the Roy siblings dealing with Matthew Macfadyen’s Tom, who acted as a middleman over the phone.
Setting aside Cox’s short presence in the season, there’s also the matter of his Succession co-stars Jeremy Strong and Kieran Culkin, who are also competing for Lead Actor.
With Cox, Culkin and Strong opting for the same category, the show could make history as the first to land three lead drama actor noms in a year. In addition, it would be the first for any leading male category.
In any lead actress categories, that has already happened three times: NBC’s “The Golden Girls” did it in 1986-87 with Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Bea Arthur (who coincidentally walked away with one award each during their respective years); and in 2005, ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” landed noms for Marcia Cross, Teri Hatcher and eventual winner Felicity Huffman.
On Twitter, Emmy watchers are predicting that Cox’s entry is basically going to cause a three-way split and hand a Lead Actor win to Bob Odenkirk for the final season of Better Call Saul:
Meanwhile, the Succession fan reactions vary from confusion to laughing at Cox for channeling Logan by screwing over his on-screen children in epic fashion:
Cox competing in the same category as his sons despite his limited screen presence is such a Succession move it ain’t even funny https://t.co/Vcea0UzjY7
Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour is in full swing, bringing out all the special guests, hours of hits, and hilarious fan stunts you could have expected when she announced the tour last year. And while the tour is living up to expectations for her fans, one self-declared “Taylor Swift fiancé” detailed on TikTok how the show can be a good time even if you aren’t a Swiftie yourself and just got dragged along.
“There’s no better concert experience than Taylor Swift as a male,” he asserts in the video. “Beer and cocktail lines [are] absolutely non-existent. While they might have turned a lot of the men’s bathrooms into women’s bathrooms — for good reason — that has not affected the line in the men’s bathrooms.”
“And, of course,” he continues, “as a Taylor Swift fiance, you can leave during a song and go stand in the merch line, which is almost non-existent during the show.”
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRKeE74X/
While The Eras Tour already become one of the highest-grossing tours in decades, these tips might help convince some skeptics that there’s enjoyment to be had for the plus-ones too. And heck, who knows; they might just come in handy for another big tour that’s already looking like it’ll overshadow Taylor’s earnings later this year.
People might think that the funniest thing to happen to Saturday Night Live is one of the iconic legacy characters like Mary Katherine Gallagher or Chad or Matt Foley, when in reality it’s none of those. It’s not even a character at all. In fact, it’s Bill Hader’s cute little face when he cannot stop making himself laugh as Stefon, New York City’s busiest city correspondent and club promoter (this was before Nicholas Braun’s time).
Stefon was one of Hader’s most beloved characters who would show up and spew some NYC nonsense while trying to hold it together, often failing. But when it was time for Hader to graduate from SNL University, many thought that he would take Stefon to new heights, which could also be the name of New York’s hottest new club where you can free fall from a skyscraper while sipping martinis… or something.
Hader was recently asked by The New Yorker if he felt a type of pressure to venture into movie territory with his hit SNL character, along with the likes of other beloved SNL bits. “Oh yeah, a hundred percent,” Hader explained, adding that he felt like he didn’t know where to go after leaving the late-night show. “It’s this weird combination of being open, but also clearly knowing what you don’t want. Like, nah, I don’t want to do a Stefon movie. It didn’t work as a sketch! That’s why it was on ‘Weekend Update.’ And the reason people liked it is because I kept laughing.”
In the past, SNL-inspired movies have been either hits or BIG misses, and Hader didn’t seem to think that Stefon would work as a standalone character. Clearly, he hasn’t seen Zoolander in a while.
Hader left SNL in 2013, and he had fears that people would forget about him, and therefore Stefon. “I just was kind of burnt out,” he told The New Yorker. “I remember leaving SNL and doing some press for this animated movie I was in, and most of the press was people going, like, ‘All right, well, you’re leaving ‘SNL’ It was nice knowing you! We might never see you again!’
Despite the setback, Hader is doing fine on his own. Maybe he’ll pop back behind the desk every once in a while, but he has some other things to deal with lately, mainly by reinstalling the fear of dying at the hands of quicksand into the cultural consciousness.
There’s not a whole lot we can do about the last two points, but I can help you understand the style a bit more. To do that, I’m going to highlight a single bottle of new Japanese single malt that’s so good that it feels essential. Some — me! — might even claim that it’s quintessential.
Below, I’m giving you an in-depth look at 2023’s Nikka Whisky Single Malt Yoichi 10 Years Old. The subtly peated malt is a nuanced and deeply unique sipping whisky that, yes, will both be harder to find (compared to, say, a local bourbon or rye) and, yes, is likely to be expensive when you do find it. But it’s worth the price, in that this bottle conveys the balanced and nuanced brilliance that Japanese whisky can often exhibit.
I say “can” because Japanese whisky has just as much garbage on the lower shelves as any other style. But this is the antithesis of that. This is the whisky that helps you fall in love with the entire region/style of whisky and makes you a devotee for life. With that in mind, let’s get into what’s in the bottle.
Check Out The Best New Whiskeys Of The Last Six Months:
The Yoichi facility is perched on the Hokkaido coast in the far north of Japan. The whisky is made very slowly with lightly peated local malt. The mash is made with local spring water and slowly distilled in pot stills with direct coal heating underneath. That whisky is then left to age for 10 years by the sea but also in the forest, in used oak, until it’s just right. The barrels are then vatted in a large wooden tank and bottled with a touch of that local water.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a clear sense of an old herb spice cupboard with a hint of mint and sage that leads to fresh tart apples and red berries with a touch of smoked plums and apricots next to fresh pain au chocolate dipped in floral honey.
Palate: That buttery pastry opens the taste with a hint of white pepper and dried strawberries dipped in milk chocolate and drizzled with a spiced caramel before this thin whisper of smoked mushroom powder sneaks in.
Finish: That smoked umami vibe attaches to a dry oakiness with a sense of apricot leather just kissed with sweet orchard wood smoke and soft pepperiness tied to malted honey digestive biscuits before a final rush of creamy yet still floral honey softens everything.
Bottom Line:
This is the ultimate slow-sipping whisky that just keeps going. Add some water and you’ll start getting creamy nuttiness and soft white cake with a hint of toffee and raspberry cream. Add a rock and it gets even creamier — almost buttery with a sense of croissant covered in salted butter and marmalade. There might be no end to how deep this whisky goes.
Moreover, it might be one of the only whiskeys out there that feels like it’s worth the price from the moment you smell it.
Ranking:
95/100 — There are a few better whiskies from Japan, but not many at this price point. It’s a great example of the style — so buy a bottle and chalk it up to your “whiskey education fund.”
aespa has been on an absolute roll. The K-pop group (consisting of KARINA, GISELLE, WINTER, and NINGNING) only just debuted in 2020 and they’ve already become one of the biggest names in the game. Their first two projects, 2021’s Savage and last year’s Girls, topped the charts in South Korea and fared well in the US, too, achieving Billboard 200 peaks at Nos. 20 and 3, respectively. (They’re also recent Uproxx cover stars.)
The productive run continues today (May 8) with MY WORLD, a new mini album that’s out now. On top of that, they also shared a new video for “Spicy.”
The album was preceded last week by the lead single, “Welcome To MY World,” which features nævis, their AI-generated character. Beyond the aforementioned tracks, the project also includes “Salty & Sweet,” “Thirsty,” “I’m Unhappy,” and “‘Til We Meet Again.” Press materials note the album “ignites the second season of the SMCU (SM Culture Universe).”
Ahead of the project, the group also shared a behind-the-scenes clip for the “Welcome To MY World” music video, so check that out above, along with the “Spicy” video, and find the MY WORLD art and tracklist below.
Warner Records
1. “Welcome To MY World” Feat. nævis
2. “Spicy”
3. “Salty & Sweet”
4. “Thirsty”
5. “I’m Unhappy”
6. “‘Til We Meet Again”
MY WORLD is out now via Warner Records. Find more information here.
aespa is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Nowadays, it’s super important for companies to be upfront about their social and ecological standards. We’re living in the age of conscious consumerism and sustainable shopping. People want to know that the products they’re putting their money towards positively impact the environment and society at large — even for things as simple as wine.
The good news for drinkers is that more and more wineries are taking steps towards reducing their carbon footprints by incorporating organic, biodynamic, or sustainable practices in their vineyards and cellars. And plenty of certifications and seals are featured on wine bottles these days to help aficionados know exactly what they’re drinking.
We’ve rounded up some of the best affordable and approachable bottles to help wet your palate in the tastiest ways. But before we get into the wine, here’s a quick little run down of what you need to know about organic, biodynamic, and sustainable vino.
What is the difference between organic, biodynamic, and sustainable wine?
Just like organic apples in the produce section at Trader Joe’s, organic wine is simply a wine made from organically farmed grapes. This means the vineyards where the grapes grow are free of synthesized ingredients, and the same follows for practices in the cellar where the wine is made. There are several indicators that you may have an organic wine on your hand. Some common seals drinkers may see on bottles for certified organic wines include the USDA Organic badge, the Made With Organic Grapes stamp, or the EU Organic logo.
Biodynamic wine is similar to organic in that it is free of harmful synthesized chemicals, but it takes things one step further. In addition to organic practices, biodynamic winemaking views the entire vineyard as one living ecosystem working together to create a natural product. So everything has a job, from the moon and sun (tasks in the vineyards, like picking and pruning will follow the lunar cycle) to the birds and animals that eat pests and naturally fertilize soils and the insects that live in them that promote overall soil health.
Biodynamic vineyards aim to create low-intervention wine, meaning little is done to the grapes during fermentation, and any additives introduced during the winemaking process are natural and often vegan. While there is no official biodynamic seal in the U.S., some wineries will note on the bottle if the wine is made biodynamically. However, there are internationally recognized certifications, including Demeter or Biodyvin.
Then there’s sustainable wine, which is all about reducing waste and effectively managing resources like water and energy. Sustainability is a bit more complicated in that it could encompass organic or biodynamic farming or neither — it’s all about what’s top priority for a winery. Some companies may skip some of the pricier methods that come with organics or biodynamics (like raising sheep to manage cover crops) to invest in renewable energy sources (like solar panels) to power the winery. Like biodynamics, no official badge in the U.S. indicates that a winery is sustainable (and the very idea of what is truly sustainable can get murky). However, a winery can join various associations to certify that the vineyards and cellars are carbon neutral, etc..
Now that you’re more familiar with “green wine,” let’s finally get to the bottles. It’s worth noting that bottle prices may vary depending on location. However, the wines on this list are generally in the $15 to $30 price range. Speaking broadly, it’s considerably more expensive to produce organic, biodynamic, and sustainable wine for obvious reasons. Let’s get to it.
Root 1 was Chile’s first winery to be certified 100% sustainable in 2013. The winery works with small production vineyards across the Maipo, Colchagua, and Casablanca Valleys to make many wines, all while managing waste, monitoring water usage, and using clean energy sources. For the winery’s newest bag-in-box wine, GEA — which can serve up to 20 glasses of wine — a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and the native Chilean grape País are used to create a ruby red, full-bodied wine in portable and eco-friendly packaging.
Tasting Notes:
Aroma: There’s a lot of fruit to smell in this wine. Raspberries, strawberries, blueberries — all the berries! There are also some subtle notes of vanilla, which indicates oak aging. This wine spends four months in French and American oak barrels, and those influences are detected in the fragrance.
Palate: This wine feels fresh and relatively easy drinking on the palate, especially for a full-bodied red. Some nuances of red fruit with hints of oak and chocolate intertwine with ripe tannins — the naturally occurring polyphenols in grape seeds, skins, and leaves that influence a wine’s pucker power, or rather, astringency. That’s all balanced with a clean acidity that leaves the wine balanced and fresh in the mouth.
Finish: The wine wraps with delicate red fruit notes.
Bottom Line:
This is a bang-for-your-buck wine. It’s tasty and doesn’t cost a fortune for a lot of wine that will last longer than the usual bottle — the big perk of bag-in-box styles of wine is that they maximize the freshness and longevity of the wine. That alone makes this box worth drinking. (Though to be fair, having an eco-wine come in a plastic bag does feel kinda funny.)
For more than 30 years, Berziger has produced wines in the heart of Sonoma. In 2000, the family-owned and operated winery transitioned its Sonoma Mountain Estate from conventional to biodynamic farming and has kept environmentally friendly winemaking at the core of its practice by working with organic, biodynamic, and sustainable grape growers across the region. Berziger sourced certified sustainably-grown fruit from Monterey County to create a soft and velvety red wine for this particular bottle.
Tasting Notes:
Aroma: At first whiff, you can smell aromas of black, blue, and purple fruits and a lot of spice.
Palate: All those dark fruit flavors show up on the palate, along with nuances of vanilla and baking spices. Soft and supple tannins lift the medium-bodied wine well into the finish.
Finish: The finish of this wine is smooth and clean, and it lingers with a subtle note of black cherry and blueberry.
Bottom Line:
This wine is lean and clean but still has depth. It can easily pair with a variety of foods — lighter and heartier dishes. However, the fruit and spice of this well-rounded wine could be enjoyed totally on its own.
Bonterra has helped lead the charge toward environmentally conscious farming since its inception in 1987. It started as an organic winery. Over the years, Bonterra has started converting its estate to regenerative farming — a new-school style of biodynamic agriculture that emphasizes land health more by increasing soil biodiversity to create wines with greater complexity, all while combating climate change. The Grenache grapes used for this wine come from Bonterra’s organic vineyards in Mendocino.
Tasting Notes:
Aroma: This pretty pink wine is bursting with fruity nuances. Fragrances of red cherry and watermelon mingle with the scents of citrusy grapefruit while stone fruit nuances linger in the background. This wine has a sweet smell — almost like cotton candy — but don’t let that aroma fool you. This wine is entirely dry on the palate.
Palate: Refreshing watermelon and berry characteristics show up on the palate, but the most significant selling point of this rosé is perhaps its texture. The wine is crisp at first sip but has splashy acidity, giving it a mouthwatering edge.
Finish: The finish is long and lingering.
Bottom Line:
This is the good-for-your-conscious, good-for-your-palate, easy-drinking, crushable rosé that will keep your mouth refreshed all summer.
The Bertrand family has made wine in France’s Languedoc region since the 1920s. However, it was under the stewardship of third-generation winemaker Gérard Bertrand that the company’s estates transitioned over to biodynamic agriculture. All the family’s vineyards are Demerter certified, which means drinkers can sip on this vibrant orange-hued blend of Chardonnay, Grenache Blanc, Viognier, Marsanne, Muzak, Muscat, and Clairette grapes knowing that an appreciation for mother Earth was at the heart of its production.
Tasting Notes:
Aroma: While this wine appears orange, it doesn’t taste orange. The nose is booming with scents of stone fruits like peach and apricot.
Palate: No, the wine doesn’t taste orange either. Orange wine is simply white wine that got some skin contact during the winemaking process. It’s a similar process to the way red wines soak on the skins to get its color. That said, this wine does exude the flavors of the same fleshy fruits that’s detected in the aroma. It’s ethereally fresh and has a nice viscosity to it that gives the wine a round, complex, medium-bodied feel on the palate.
Finish: The wine coats the tongue like brand-new silk and evolves into a fresh, lingering finish dotted with prickly tannins.
Bottom Line:
This is a wine for the adventurous drinker. It’s fun to drink and has a silky, complex texture that begs for a second glass. Drink it with spicy dishes or all by itself.
The Niepoort family has been involved in Portugal’s wine industry since they relocated from Holland to the country in 1842. Famous for their world-renowned ports, fifth-generation winemaker Dirk Niepoort led the winery into the modern age, added dry table wines to the repertoire, and sustainable and organic farming practices in the vineyard and cellar. This particular wine looks natural in the bottle. It’s not fined or filtered, so it appears cloudy, unlike the translucent conventional still-white wines you may be used to seeing on shelves.
Tasting Notes:
Aroma: As if the lemon yellow hue of this wine wasn’t a dead giveaway, this wine smells like a basket of citrus fruits. Peachy, herbaceous fragrances start unraveling after a few swirls in the glass, and it even smells slightly salty.
Palate: As the aromas suggest, this wine is hella citrusy on the palate, but all that fruit gets toned down by vibrant salinity that pairs well with the zippy acidity that arrives mid-palate.
Finish: Fresh, zippy, and lingering with acidity.
Bottom Line:
This is an excellent wine for folks who are like natural wines but aren’t so interested in the barnyard-y stuff. While it’s not filtered and still presents a cloudy hue with traces of sediment in the bottle, this stuff is clean and delicious.
This family-owned and family-made wine hails from Australia’s Riverland, which makes up most of South Australia’s wine region. It’s produced with Shiraz grapes that grow on a certified organic winery.
Tasting Notes:
Aroma: This ruby red wine has a delightfully ripe black and red cherry aroma, along with hints of black licorice and star anise.
Palate: Shiraz is known for being a full-bodied wine, and this one certainly is. And yet, this wine is surprisingly fresh on the palate. As for the flavor, it’s booming with cherry characteristics that evolve on the palate, with dusty, earthy nuances, lean tannins, and fresh acidity leading the way.
Finish: This wine has a delectable finish dotted with fruit and earth notes.
Bottom Line:
Everything about this wine makes me feel like I should be at a barbecue, tearing through ribs smothered in sweet and tangy barbecue sauce and washing it all down with a glass of this Shiraz.
Matanzas Creek Winery Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc
Founded in Sonoma County in 1977, Matanzas Creek produces wines from estate vineyards certified under the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance. This particular bottle is made with 100% Sauvignon Blanc grapes from the winery’s cool climate Knights Valley Vineyard and grapes from warmer estates in Alexander Valley and Dry Creek Valley. The blend of grapes from different climates results in a dry, medium-to-full-bodied, and crisp wine balanced with fruit, floral nuances, and dashing acidity.
Tasting Notes:
Aroma: Bring on the melon! You can smell plenty of it in this wine — honeydew, cantaloupe, guava The wine also displays hints of white flowers and peach on the nose.
Palate: The first thing you may notice after a sip of this wine is its bright acidity. It’s brimming with it. Follow up all that mouthwatering acidity with a bursting of tropical fruit and floral notes, and you have a wine begging to be drunk on a hot summer day.
Finish: Tingly acidity leads to a bright and lively, long finish.
Bottom Line:
This is the wine to grab when you want something easy-going, refreshing, and classy that doesn’t require too much thought. It’s too elegant to call a porch pounder, but it would make for a darling aperitif at a spring backyard party served with oysters, shrimp cocktail, and lighter bites.
Château Paloumey Crus Bourgeois Supérieur Haut-Médoc
This big-body blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot is produced by Château Paloumey in the French region of Bordeaux. It holds a Crus Bourgeois du Médoc classification, basically a stamp of approval from the region noting the wine’s high quality and affordability. The winery also holds a Level 2 High Environmental Value certification, an official French endorsement for sustainability. The château’s owner and winemaker, Pierre Cazeneuve, has worked with organic farming and winemaking since 2018.
Tasting Notes:
Aroma: This deep, dark red wine smells of ripe black and red berries with an underlying perfume of cedar and leather.
Palate: Notes of rich black and purple fruits are intense on the palate, and they meld together with noticeable hints of oak, vanilla cream, cigar box, and black pepper. Straight-edged tannins give the wine some depth while nuances of cocoa and graphite linger in the background.
Finish: Long and memorable.
Bottom Line:
This is a wine that you can hold on to. It’s only going to get better with time.
For over a decade, Argentinian winery Bodega Argento has put the betterment of the environment at the core of its winemaking. That’s why the winery is certified organic in the vineyards and the wine cellar. This wine is made with Malbec grapes from Argento’s estate in Mendoza.
Tasting Notes:
Aroma: This wine smells like a fruit salad full of red berries and plum slices drizzled in balsamic vinegar.
Palate: A medium-to-full-bodied wine, this Malbec tastes as it smells. Herbaceous notes of fresh basil and oregano follow ample cherry and juicy plum flavors. And there’s a hint of balsamic in the background. Fresh acidity acts as a mellowing factor for the grippy tannins.
Finish: The finish lingers with herby nuances.
Bottom Line:
This is what we call a weeknight wine. It’s not so heavy that it requires food to enjoy, although it will be a tasty companion alongside a nice cut of meat and potatoes. More than anything, this is the bottle to open on a mundane Wednesday when you want something that will help you unwind and relax.
Safeguarding the planet has been part of Valdo’s winemaking ethics and efforts since its inception in Italy’s Valdobbiandene Prosecco Superiore DOCG area in 1926. Over the last 20 years, more specifically, the winery has taken steps to reduce its carbon emissions by minimizing synthetic chemicals in the vineyards, reducing waste, planting thousands of trees throughout its properties to promote biodiversity, and converting to renewable energy.
Tasting Notes:
Aroma: Fresh flowers and citrus fruits lead the aroma of this wine.
Palate: Made with Italy’s native Glera grape, this wine is crisp and fruity. The bubbles are persistent while maintaining a delicate mouthfeel.
Finish: The cheerful finish lingers with citrusy nuances and zippy acidity.
Bottom Line:
No special occasion is needed to pop open a bottle of bubbly, and the simplicity of this pulled-back sparkling wine makes that point all the more true. Drink this anytime you need a little razzle-dazzle in your life.
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