I had the opportunity to meet a representative for this vineyard who was able to send me some samples!

the trio

The Girard vineyard is located in St. Helena (I was just there! not the vineyard, but Napa Valley).
From the winemakers: “After early morning harvests, the grapes are gently pressed into stainless-steel tanks. Our winemaker Marco DiGiulio inoculates the juice with a specially selected yeast culture, designed expressly for highlighting the unique characteristics of Sauvignon Blanc. After fermentation, the wine ages for five months in stainless steel without malolactic fermentation.”

Girard Sauvignon Blanc

Tasting Notes: “A very clean, fresh and crisp Sauvignon Blanc. It has lush aromas of pineapple, guava and banana, while the palate exhibits fresh-cut grapefruit and tangy lemon zest. A wonderful aperitif wine that pairs well with lighter white fish, green salads and goat cheese.”

I had the opportunity to meet a representative for this vineyard and was able to sample some fine wine!

the trio of samples

The Crossings wine hails from Marlborough, New Zealand (it is my dream to go to New Zealand before I die. I’m not gonna lie, the Lord of the Rings being filmed there has something to do with that desire).

From the wine-makers : “Chardonnay. Marlborough boasts an enviable set of climactic conditions, this high sunshine and moderate temperature environment takes on a fantastic dimension in the best seasons such as 2009. The season began as the vines emerged from the winter hibernation they enjoy in the Medway’s almost continental setting. Evident in the quality of this year’s wine the long autumn allowed a very gradual flavor development of the bunches. Known to viticulturalists as ‘hang time’ this final period on the vine, in harvest lead up, makes all the difference. Ranging from 23-25 brix the fruit was fully mature but not over ripe. The weather was so dry and clear we had the luxury of gathering the fruit as each block reached optimum maturity. This also allowed very carefully handling of the bunches during their short journey to the winery a stone’s throw away. The aim of our winemaking approach to Chardonnay is to allow the parcels to express themselves beautifully while working to maintain a fine balance between midpalate texture and a refreshing crispness. After gentle pressing the juice was naturally settled for clarity before its transfer to tanks for fermentation with both selected and ‘wild’ yeasts. Cool fermentation captures and locks in the heart of this noble variety’s character. Regular lees-stirring enhanced mouthfeel before an early bottling to preserve the effusive beauty of this Chardonnay.”

Crossings Unoaked Chardonnay

tasting notes from the wine-makers:
Color: Soft pale yellow with attractive green hints
Bouquet: White peach and citrus against a background of subtle minerals.
Palate: Delicious with crisp, juicy acidity. A cool-climate Chardonnay infused with the fine Awatere Valley signature flinty notes.

I absolutely loved this wine! As you can see, I had sampled some before I took some photos.

I had the opportunity to meet a representative for this vineyard and got the chance to sample some wonderful wine!

the trio of samples

From the wine-makers: “The Pinot Grigio vineyards of BARONE FINI are 25 to 30 years old. Grape picking is manual; all blemished clusters are discarded. Selected grapes are taken to the excellent, state-of-the-art cooperative winery, where they are put through soft, cold crushing. Juice is then divided into several units, each undergoing a different temperature- controlled fermentation in stainless steel tanks. The result, in effect, is several distinct wines in progress. After reaching equilibrium, juice sections are skillfully blended by our winemakers into the final BARONE FINI Pinot Grigio.”

Barone Fini Pinot Grigio 2010

Tasting Notes: “Soft, round fruit fills the mouth with ripe, juicy flavors. A long finish glides into flavors of ripe apples and lichee nuts. A wine to be enjoyed alone, as an apéritif, or with shellfish, fowl and light meals that include vegetarian dishes.”

Jean Philippe Patisserie
3600 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV 89109

This bakery was in the lobby of our hotel and so we had breakfast here almost every morning. Lots of delicious photos.I’m not gonna sugar-coat things (har-har) but this was pretty dam expensive for baked goods and gelato.

world's largest chocolate fountain

The world’s largest chocolate fountain is at the Bellagio. Standing at 27-feet tall, this masterpiece circulates more than 2,100 pounds of melted dark, milk and white chocolate at a rate of 120 quarts per minute. That’s a lot of chocolate! It was almost impossible to get a picture of this fountain without a dam tourist in front of it.

Chocolate dragon

So this chocolate sculpture is actually at the Aria hotel, this dragon was made in honor of the Chinese New Year’s. The year of the dragon! (not my year unfortunately).

baked goods

No matter what time I went in the morning, 7, 8 or 9 AM, there was always a line of customers. The thing that sucks about their arrangement is that the workers come out to the line to take your order before you get close enough to see what your choices are. Most mornings, I just guessed and got items that I hoped they had.

blueberry danish

The blueberry danish was delicious, so fluffy and light and the blueberries weren’t overly sweet.

chocolate croissant

Oh my gosh, I think out of everything I have sampled here, the chocolate croissant was hands down the best thing I got from here.

gelato

The gelato was pretty expensive and didn’t taste that great compared to some of their other offerings.

potato au gratin quiche

This was the best salty breakfast (I feel like breakfast foods fall into two categories, sweet and salty).  This potato au gratin quiche had bacon and onions. Delicious but such a small piece cost $8!

chocolate muffin

This muffin was definitely very moist but I didn’t think the chocolate flavor really came thru. There was definitely a moist chocolate center but the actual baked portions just tasted like muffin…..not chocolate.

bear claw

This was a unique bear claw, it had a very strong hazelnut flavor (which I loved!) the center had a mashed nuts paste, which was also deliciosu.

fruit tart

How sad is it that during my entire week in Vegas, the only fruit intake I got was from this dessert. Eek! But this was soo good.

chocolate dessert

Biscayne Steakhouse
3801 Las Vegas Boulevard S.
Las Vegas, NV 89109

Tropicana Hotel

We had a groupon to this steakhouse and since it had decent reviews online. Kinda sucked walking all the way down to the Tropicana from where we were staying (and ya know if you’ve visited Las Vegas, that it is not easy to navigate Las Vegas if you’re a pedestrian).

pretzel bread

The pretzel bread wasn’t great. I knew it would be really dense but it was cold and really unappealing.

NY Steak

I had the NY steak which was pretty good. I had a trio of sauces come with the NY steak, my favorite of the 3 had to be the red-wine based sauce (a Bordeaux, I believe).

trio of sauces

I had originally ordered a side of creamed spinach but when it came out, it was super watery. I was sooo disappointed so I didn’t eat it and when our waiter came by to ask how we were liking the food, I told him the creamed spinach was disappointing and he asked if the chef could prepare another one for me and I said no, I didnt wan’t to risk it. And the waiter insisted and so I decided to go for the lobster pasta since it had rave reviews.

creamed spinach

lobster pasta

Joe had the seared ahi tuna steak served medium rare with a citrus butter sauce. He said the fish was delicious.

seared ahi tuna