Riunite Lambrusco Red Wine Review + Tailgate Chili Cook Off Contest!

*Disclosure of material connection- I received one or more products mentioned below in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own. 

It is September and in Texas that means not only has school just started, so has many people's favorite past time- football! Pretty much my entire family (including my husband) are huge Dallas Cowboys fans and love to watch the games every Sunday. Something else that is overtly Texas, especially in the fall, is making big batches of chili and everyone has their own special recipe or twist on it. I know a lot of people (especially here in Texas!) do not believe that chili should include beans, but my favorite personal chili recipe is a spicy 3 bean chili. It is vegetarian, but will definitely keep you full with the protein of all the beans and will satisfy your palate with the nice kick of spice it produces. A great pairing with my spicy 3 bean chili is Riunite's Lambrusco. Lambruso actually goes well with pretty much anything, but the sweet, chilled red wine makes the absolute perfect pairing with a spicy chili. 

Riunite knows how well their Lambrusco goes with chili and is hosting a nation wide chili cook-off contest in honor of that perfect pairing. The competition will take place in cities across the United States including Dallas, New Orleans, Baltimore, New York and Arizona among others and with the finals will be held in San Diego, California at Qualcomm Stadium. The first stop will be in Dallas, TX on September 28th and the last regional event will be held in Phoenix, Arizona on November 16.  The 8 best chili cooks in the nation will then compete in the final on November 23, 2014 in San Diego. The grand prize winner will not only receive bragging rights about their chili, they will also receive a trip for 2 to the Big Game in February to Pheonix! The grand prize includes:

• Three nights at a deluxe hotel in Phoenix
• Roundtrip economy-class airfare to Phoenix
• Tickets to the Big Game on Sunday, February 1, 2015
• Pre-game hospitality
• A $250 pre-paid gift card
• Deluxe gift bags

Not too shabby! I know I will be entering my secret chili recipe in the contest and you should enter yours as well! You might have exactly what it takes to be crowned the Ultimate Chili Recipe winner! 

Rosa Regale Sparkling Red Wine (by Banfi) Review

*Disclosure of material connection- I received a complimentary bottle of Rosa Regale in exchange for my honest thoughts. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own.

The other day I got a lovely surprise...the FedEx guy showed up on my doorstep with what is the most beautiful bottle of wine I have ever seen! I loved everything from the color to the label to the nice added touch of a little box of chocolate around the neck of the bottle. I couldn't wait to give this wine a try. I texted  my husband and told him to buy some imported cheese on his way home and we planned to have an in home fancy date night together that evening.

Rosa Regale is a sweet, sparkling red wine tat is imported from Italy. It is best served chilled, so I put it in the fridge and waited for Adam to get home from work. We got all of our little ones put to bed and out came the wine, chocolate and cheese. I am not generally a huge red wine fan, but I do love sparkling wines, so I thought I would probably be a fan of this one. We poured a few glasses and gave it a try- for me, it was love at first sip. This is seriously the best wine I have ever tasted. Seriously, the BEST. It isn't overpowering because the alcohol content isn't high, but it is so full of flavor. I noticed that the strawberries were the most prominent taste for me (which is great because I love them!) but I definitely tasted  hints of raspberry and rose petals. After we took a minute to taste the wine alone, we decided to have some of our cheese and it seemed to pair nicely. I am pretty sure this wine would go with just about any meal super well. It was great with the cheese. We saved the chocolate for last and it was like a flavor explosion in my mouth. Brix chocolate is made specifically to be paired with wine and let me say, they did a fantastic job on it. The chocolate comes in a brick. You can see in the picture that the brick is small, but a little goes such a long way.  The Rosa Regale and Brix chocolate were a match made in heaven. They complimented each other even better than I expected they would. We were, without a doubt, very impressed with both the lovely Rosa Regale and the wonderful Brix chocolate. They would make a perfect Valentine's Day pairing. (and will probably make another appearance at our house on that day!)

This is the type of wine that I could definitely see myself bringing as a hostess gift to get togethers and this will most assuredly be my go-to for special occasions from here on out. I absolutely can not rave about it enough, this is one you definitely need to try for yourself to see (taste) what I am talking about. I absolutely recommend giving the Rosa Regale a try!

For more information on Rosa Regale head over to RosaRegale.com
For more information on Banfi Vinters head over to BanfiWines.com

Praises for Rosa Regale.

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