Just a boring ass update

Dear Friends,

It has been an insane two months, with tons of stuff going on with me and wine outside of the normal me and wine stuff. Some of it I can't talk about yet, and some of it I can, like my Wine Time Live show. The first one went really well (thank you to those of you who came out) and it looks like it may becoming a regular thing in 2015.

But now that I have a lot of my show(s) stuff taken care of, I'm going to try my best to get back to our regularly scheduled drinking. 

Yours in drunkness,
Marissa xooxoxxox

WINE TIME LIVE!

WINE TIME LIVE! at iO West 
THIS THURSDAY 12/4, 7PM
$10, +21 
NEXT TWO PEOPLE TO EMAIL ME WITH THEIR CONFIRMATION
GET A BOTTLE OF PINOT GRIGIO! leisureenthusiast@gmail.com
BUY TICKETS HERE! NOW! DO IT! PLZ!

Dear Friends,

I was recently asked to perform in iO West’s first ever Funny Women Festival. And this is what I came up with.

If you live in LA and are free this coming Thursday, it’d mean a lot if you came to this. I’m going to be honest and say, I really don’t know how it’s going to go. It’s definitely an experiment, and I have a whole thirty minutes. I’m 100% totally nervous, and 100% like “whatever it’s chill, this is what I was born to do” so, I’m 200% invested obviously.

The setup is that it’s a mix of storytelling comedy with two wine tastings, one with a special guest. We’ll end the show with a quick Q&A in which you can ask me about wine tasting or whatever.

I really hope you can make it. Or if you can’t make it, it’d mean a lot to me if you could share this information with your friends either on or off social media platforms like Twitter.

Thank you so much for your time over the years. I wouldn’t have the opportunity to try stuff like this if it wasn’t for the fact you guys support me. I really am thankful for you guys, and I probably should have told you on Thanksgiving, but I mean, whatever, I’m always thankful for you guys. Not just any one day.

Love,
Marissa

HOW TO: Get Lipstick Off Your Wine Glasses

I love my wine glasses. I have the Nattie 18oz Red Wine glasses from Crate & Barrel, which are really nice versatile glasses that work well with reds or whites. I used to have specific glasses for specific wines, but then it became a mess of like two Pinot glasses, two Chardonnay glasses and four flutes. Can't serve wine like that dude, or I can't. I'm very professional and need to have like twelve to eighteen matching glasses ready at any given time. And by "professional", I mean "neurotic".

That same neurosis that compels me to have thirty matching glasses, is the same one that infuriates me when I can't get lipstick off my glasses. It's the worst. As if I didn't have enough to worry about with people breaking them 100% of the time, I also have to worry about people destroying and disgustifying the rims for all eternity with Tom Ford's "Spanish Pink" or some garden variety L'Oreal. I was legitimately about to ban people from wearing lipstick or lip gloss at my house, but then I was like, "Eh, how am I really going to enforce that? That is going to get real weird, real quick."

Instead I lamented to my mom, who of course had the answer. 

So now we don't have to ban our friends from wearing lipstick to save our glasses. Instead we can use my mom's secret to cleaning and continue being very chill hostesses.

Music by Monster Rally, as always. 

Municipal Winemakers, Santa Barbara

I had the extreme pleasure of drinking and shooting at Municipal Winemakers in Santa Barbara. I got to hang out with winemaker Dave Potter, who is very chill, and taste some truly awesome wines, like his Riesling and Chenin Blanc. I was totally blown away by those two in particular because you can drink them at room temperature, which is normally a huge fear of mine, white wines at room temperature. But these two absolutely flourish. 

If you're in the SB area, you should definitely check this place out. Not only are the wines great, but the space is also incredible with tons of natural light, eclectic decor and a killer patio situation. And walking distance to the beach! My kind of place.

Can't wait to show you guys the footage! 

Wine Time: Bogle Merlot

Bogle Merlot
Price: $8.99
Year: 2012
Region: California
Retailer: Ur grocery store

I don't drink Merlot, ever. Which you can totally tell by how hard it is for me to say "Bogle Merlot" rather than "Bogle Syrah".

Shot & Edited by Faith Davis
Music by Monster Rally 

Check out more episodes of Wine Time here!

Wine Club: Contrast Tasting

At last night's Wine Club (working title, still trying to see what works, last night we came to "Meow Meow Club" because trying to get people to listen about wine while drinking a lot of wine is basically herding cats but I can't decide if I like it enough but anyway), I put together a tasting of contrasting wines from similar regions. 

The whites are both from Northern Italy. First, the Ronco del Gnemiz Friulano San Zuan (2013, Silverlake Wine). Friulanos are also known as Sauvignon Verts, and taste a lot like Sauvignon Blancs. Super herbaceous with a bright minerality. Contrasting, I served the Angiolino Maule Masieri (DomaineLA), an organic wine that has the color of an energy drink and the palate of a sour beer. 

The reds are both from California. After coming off the super acidic Masieri, I served the light and fruity Broc Cellars Valdiguié (2013, DomaineLA). Valdiguié is an uncommon varietal these days, with only 300 acres left in California from the 6,000 acres that spanned the region in the 70's. And contrasting, I served The Prisoner (Whole Foods), a huge Napa blend of Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Charbono, and Grenache. Rich cherry and tobacco, wreaking of traditional Napa mores.

We then got wasted and shot gunned Pampelonnes in my front yard. ✌️

Q&A: Dencanting Or Insanity?

Even though I don’t think this is the best replacement for decanting, you definitely got some air in that bitch, and your wine tasted better so, job well done. Even if we both are totally insane. 

Send me questions, comments, or wine suggestions of your own here or you can always email me.

Château de Cugat Bordeaux Supérieur

Château de Cugat Bordeaux Supérieur
Price: $12
Year: 2010
Region: Bordeaux, France
Retailer: DomaineLA

I've been on a super funky wine kick. Like all natural organic shit, weird Beaujolais  and orange wines. After annihilating probably fourteen bottles of Gamay last month, I decided I needed to get classic. I need to be pulled back with a bold red, rooted in the traditions of wine. I needed a Bordeaux. 

There's something special about a traditional Bordeaux. Something in the name that is just seeped in wine snobbery. It sounds like something I shouldn't be able to afford. That deep inky red pouring into the glass, becoming a black sea wafting waves of deep red fruits. 

As much as I love the sour kick of these new school wines, there is something very sexy about a good traditional wine. It tastes like chivalry or something. 

This wine is Christoph Waltz, a sly older gentleman that knows the customs of a world I was never a part of. He pulls out all sorts of courtesies, but still has an excellent youthful sense of humor. He's intoxicating because he is escapism. I can pretend to be a classy stately woman for a couple hours, while making sassy asides and sexual innuendos that don't go unnoticed.  TBH, I'd probably fuck this wine.

AND ALL THIS FOR $12?!?!?!

This is why grocery store wine buying is a joke, guys. I hate to say it but I mean, when's the last time you picked up a wine from the market that you almost needed to jerk off to while drinking? Probably never. And yet here I am! If I wasn't 15 minutes away from leaving for dinner I'd probably set aside the next hour for "me" time.

Tasting Notes: Big cherry, currant and tobacco on the bouquet. Smells so nice, being real, it'd probably be a very nice candle for a cabin. Has a fantastic flavor profile with cherries, currant, coffee and herbs. Medium bodied and very smooth with a semi-strong finish. Definitely is there but isn't overpowering.

Ross Test: Not too shabby, just a bit bitter. Very do-able.

VIDEO: Cleaning & Drinking With Dyson

Note: This post was not approved by Dyson. Or anyone.

You may not know this about me, but I am very much into homemaking. I love decorating. I love entertaining. I even love cleaning, but not as much as I love drinking wine. Cleaning is something I do nearly every day because I have pets and a boyfriend and a closet full of dirty clothes and because I'm just like my mother and my house needs to be fucking clean. I'm a busy modern woman renting a house with like four fucking jobs, so it's not always easy to fit cleaning into my busy wine drinking schedule.

Luckily with the Dyson DC59 it's TOO EASY!

No more tripping over cords and spilling wine everywhere! No more having to put your wine down to get out a step stool to dust those pesky spider webs! And no more getting on your hands and knees to collect dust bunnies instead of pouring yourself another glass! 

YOU REALLY CAN HAVE IT ALL, WITH DYSON.

Shot by Antoin Huynh
Music by Monster Rally

Louis-Antoine Luyt 'Pipeno Santa Juana'

Louis-Antoine Luyt 'Pipeno Santa Juana'
Price: $16.99
Year: 2014
Region: Chile
Retailer: DomaineLA

I'm not one for Daylight Savings. In fact, I fucking hate it. Sure, you get an extra hour of sleep THAT ONE DAY, but then for the next six months it gets dark before you're even home from work. Yes, I know it's "for the farmers"... in like the 1800's. It's outdated bullshit and the only thing I think Arizona and me agree on.

I find I drink more when it gets dark so early, probably because it feels a lot later. It looks like it's 8:00, which is an acceptable time to be on your second bottle. But it's actually 6:02, which is not quite as acceptable.

This is when liter bottles come in especially handy, especially delicious ones like this Pipeno Santa Juana.

I've been on a HUGE Gamay kick of late. It's basically all I've been drinking. This is not a Gamay, but you wouldn't know it. It has all the qualities I love about Gamays-- bright and light bodied, fruity but with a lovely punch of bitter-- but it's not a Gamay. It's Pais, a common grape in South America that is basically just like Gamay. Apparently.

This Pipeno is pretty perfect for the California climate right now because it can be served at room temperature or you can chill it. So you can drink it when it's in the 70's, and you can put it in the fridge and drink it when it's in the 80's. So you can drink it when it's sunny, or you can drink it when IT'S DARK AT 5:10PM. :<

If we're being honest, this Pipeno is just keeping from totally jumping off a bridge because not only is it fucking dark, but they are filming something next door with seemingly just a dog named Brody and my dogs are going bananas and the animal trainer keeps yelling at Brody and now my other neighbor dogs are going bananas AND EVERYONE IS GOING FUCKING BANANAS. EVERYONE JUST DRINK SOME PIPENO AND CALM DOWN. PLEASE FOR GOD'S SAKE, PLEASE EVERYONE CALM DOWN. AND PLEASE SOMEONE DO MY LAUNDRY, WHILE I'M JUST OUT HERE BEGGING FOR SHIT THAT ISN'T GOING TO HAPPEN.

Bless you Pipeno. You are so delicious and beautiful, you are a beacon of light in an otherwise totally dark house because I forgot to turn the lights on BECAUSE IT'S 5:11PM AND I HATE THIS. :<

But hey, at least I have half a bottle left. #liters

Tasting Notes: Crisp bouquet of berries, wet dirt and a touch of apple. Bright, tart, light bodied with a very nice finish and plush tannins. Definitely going to finish this liter and refuse to apologize for it.

Ross Test: Pretty good, although quite a bit thicker than it is drinking from a glass.