Simple Charcuterie

Hey, friends! We’re coming to you today with a SUPER simple snack idea or a really easy appetizer to throw together and take to your next get together.

As everyone knows, charcuterie boards are the “cheese & crackers” of the 2020’s and to be honest, we’re wondering why it has taken this long for people to realize how much people prefer this as an option at a party.

You’re probably familiar with the lavish boards that are sprinkled throughout Pinterest and Instagram, and while we LOVE those, today we’re giving you the “oh my gosh, I forgot I’m supposed to bring a dish to share!” option…meaning a few blocks of cheese, some pita chips, and *most* importantly, WINE!

For this super simple pairing, we used gruyere and gouda paired with Stacey’s Naked Pita Chips and a bottle of our delicious Acronym Red Blend. Per usual, you could change up the cheese if you want, or you can heed our advice and trust that these were a pretty perfect pairing!

As always, you can find our delicious Acronym Red Blend at your local Kroger. And if you’re feeling fancy, you could even throw some sort of fig jam or fruity counterparts on your board. It all depends on how much time you’re working with, right!?

Cheers!

Blueberry Bubbly

You guys…SPRING. IS. HERE. And We are LIVING in our feels because of it. Does anyone else feel like winter completely overstayed its welcome? Yeah, same. Which gives us allll the justifications in the world to be as excited as we are about spring. ANYWAY.. being that spring is officially in the air, so are allll the springy drinks! And we are kicking things off with one of THE tastiest drinks we’ve made to date…meet our pretty little Blueberry Bubbly! 

If you’re a fan of berries, you’re going to be hooked on this drink! And in true Corks + Cheers fashion, it involves minimal ingredients and essentially no time to make. 

Here’s what you’ll need:
1 can of Simple Truth Mixed Berry seltzer water
1 cup blueberries
1 bottle Acronym Ruby Red Blend

And here’s how you make it:
Start by filling the bottom of the glass with 1/2 cup blueberries (the amount is really up to you — if you’d like less, do that! Totally your call!) Over the blueberries, fill your glass about halfway with your seltzer water. Top with Acronym Ruby Red Blend, sip, and enjoy! 

Fair warning: this one goes down like water and will FOR SURE having you coming back for more! Fair warning pt. 2: your friends will never leave your house if you’re serving this up…it’s that good! Cheers friends! And HAPPY SPRING!

Clover Chardonnay

Top o’ the mornin’ to ya, friends! Whether your parents are actual leprechauns or you don’t have a lick of Irish in your bloodline, we are big believers that on March 17th, everybody is a little bit Irish! Which means everybody should be celebrating, right!?

And while Green Beer Day is basically a national (international?) holiday, we understand that not everybody is on board the beer train. So how about we just call it Green Drink Day, k? We think that’s something everybody can support.

So, in honor of Green Drink Day, allow us to introduce our Clover Chardonnay…the perfect green drink to sip your way through St. Patty’s Day this year. And per usual, it’s super simple to make!

Here’s what you’ll need:
2 limes, sliced
2 granny smith apples
1 can Simple Truth Lemon Lime seltzer water
1 bottle Magistrate Chardonnay

And here’s how you make it:
Begin by filling your glass with a handful of diced green apples and small lime slices. Pour half the can of seltzer water over the fruit. Top with Magistrate Chardonnay. Garnish with lime slices if you wish! (Makes 2 drinks)

Here’s hoping luck is on your side this St. Patty’s Day! Cheers, friends!

Citrus Chardonnay Mimosa

Y’all, can you feel it in the air!? Well, maybe not in the actual air, per-say, since it’s still pretty frigid cold here in the midwest, BUT all the retailers of the world are catching Spring Fever and we’re seeing bright, springy colors and sunny, spring breezes in the future!

So, what better to go with the bright colors than a bright, crisp, spring cocktail!? Enter our Citrus Mimosa featuring our Parker’s Estate Chardonnay. 

Per usual it’s quick and easy to make! Here’s what you’ll need:
1 Lemon
1 Orange
Orange Triple Sec
San Pellegrino Sparkling Water
Parker’s Estate Chardonnay

And here’s how you make it:
Juice your orange and lemon, set aside. Over ice, pour 1 shot of Triple Sec. Add 2 oz of both the lemon juice and the orange juice. Add 2 oz San Pellegrino sparkling water. Finish with 4 oz Parker’s Estate Chardonnay. Garnish with orange and lemon slices, and serve! 

Easy peasy lemon squeezy…literally! Cheers!

It’s National Zinfandel Day!

What would we be good for around here if not to give you every excuse in the book to enjoy a glass of wine as part of a national holiday!? Another national holiday to celebrate another wine, you ask!? YES and YES. And you’re welcome. Again.

This time, we’re celebrating Zinfandel Day! And instead of just suggesting a glass of Zin for you to enjoy, we’ve included one of our timeless recipes to help you spice it up a little bit! Don’t get us wrong — just a normal glass of Zinfandel is a great option, but sometimes it’s just fun to make it a mixer!

So — allow us to introduce you to our Cranberry-Lime Zinfandel Mixer. It’s DELISH and honestly would be a fantastic drink to serve at all the holiday parties you have coming up! Nothing says holiday cocktail quite like cranberries, right!?

Here’s what you’ll need:
-1 bottle Zinopolis Zinfandel
-2 cups Cranberry Juice
-2-3 tbsp Lime Juice (to taste)
-2/3 cup Sparkling Water
-Lime, sliced for garnish
-Fresh Cranberries

Here’s how you make it:
Disclaimer: as per usual with our recipes, this is about as easy as it comes.
Start by combining your wine, cranberry juice, lime juice, and cranberries in a pitcher, then chill in the refrigerator. Once chilled and right before serving, add your sparkling water. Garnish with lime and enjoy!

Easy peasy!

Not a mixer kind’a gal? No worries! Our Zinopolis Zinfandel is amazing by itself! It’s a full bodied wine with dark berry flavors, and it is incredibly smooth and velvety. We can’t say enough good things about this bottle! Grab yours at your local Kroger!

Come hang with us on social media and let us know how you’re celebrating Zinfandel Day! We’re @corksandcheers on Instagram and Corks + Cheers on Facebook!

Cheers!

It’s National Merlot Day!

Um….YEAH. You had us at MERLOT! (Ha!! We know, it’s cheesy…but it would have been wrong to pass that opportunity up!) BUT YOU GUYS! National Merlot Day! Hello! Another holiday we never knew we needed — and this time, it’s in the middle of fall! If this isn’t God proving He loves us then we don’t know what is!

While we have a few different Merlot’s we love, we decided to feature our gorgeous Storyteller Merlot for today’s post. This wine is sure to please your palate with its hints of berries and milk chocolate (yes, please!). It’s the perfect wine to pair with a hearty meat dish or a delicious pasta. AKA — it’s no coincidence that Merlot Day falls during autumn, the king-of-heart-meals-season!

Take some time for yourself today and celebrate with us! Invite a friend over or grab your spouse for a little night in, and share a bottle together….not that you need a reason to celebrate with Merlot on a random Thursday, but you’re welcome for giving you one!

Happy Merlot Day, C+C fam! Cheers!

Storyteller Wine-a-rita

We’re not entirely sure how, but summer is in it’s final weeks before all the fall things begin to creep in and while we’re not ready for the long, sunshine-y days and warm weather to leave, there’s something about that transition into fall that makes our hearts beat a little bit faster! And what good are we if we don’t hook you up with the perfect summer-to-fall transition drink?!

Enter: our Storyteller Wine-a-rita! It’s literally a margarita topped with red wine and as you wipe the happy tears from your eyes, let us tell you how unbelievably easy this drink is to make. Like, it might be our easiest one ever — and that’s saying something!

So here’s what you’ll need:
-1 bottle remade Margaritas (or you can make your margs from scratch if that’s more your style)
-1 bottle Storyteller Red Blend
….that’s literally it. You’re welcome.

And here’s how you make it:
Fill your glass about 3/4 full with margarita, on the rocks, and then top with Storyteller Red Blend and serve. Badabing badaboom. We weren’t kidding here — it is the EASIEST. EVER.

And listen — don’t go spouting off about how you shouldn’t mix margaritas and wine or how you shouldn’t ruin a good thing. Have we ever steered you wrong?! No. And this is definitely not ruining a good thing. This is making 2 good things even better. We promise. It’s like the summer-y vibes of a margarita meet the warm notes of a red blend for fall. Also known, simply, as “perfection.”

Cheers to a few more weeks of late nights and memories made before the structure of fall settles in for good!

Dip It & Gift It: Mother’s Day Edition

Mother’s Day is right around the corner, y’all, and since you guys LOVED our Easter Dip It & Gift It so much, we figured we’d show you how to do it up real nice for the mama’s in your life, too!

Around here, we think moms are the real MVPs of the universe. They are truly the oil that runs this big ol’ machine called life and we are SO darn thankful for them! While we all know they’re the most hard working and incredible humans on the planet, we are also painfully aware of the fact that they are also the most overworked and underpaid workforce of the modern day — can we get an amen!? And while we could never give them what they truly deserve for their ridiculous dedication to each of us, we CAN give them wine. And chocolate. Together. And that’s not a bad place to start.

Here’s what you’ll need to get started: First, a bottle of your favorite C+C wine! We went with Myles + Moore Rosé, but any bottle will do! Once you’ve picked out your wine, you’ll need to grab some melting chocolate, press n’ seal, a basting brush, and a pot to melt your chocolate. A stove or an electric burner will also be necessary.

As you can see, the process is super simple! In a little more detail, here’s what you’ll need to do: Set your burner to med-high heat. Pour your melting chocolate into your pot and stir every minute or so until smooth. While your chocolate is melting, take your plastic wrap and wrap your bottle, leaving the top open. In this particular case, we used our delicious Rue de Pearl Rosé. Ensure that the plastic goes all the way to the bottom and wrap it underneath, so as to keep the chocolate from touching the actual bottle. Now, you’re ready to dip (or in our case, paint!) We used a silicone basting brush to essentially “paint” on the chocolate which made the process SO easy, but you can use whatever you’d like. At this point, take the basting brush in the chocolate and paint your bottle and again, leave the top clean. We went around the bottle a few times to get the chocolate nice and thick, but this is a total preference thing. You can’t really mess this up, we promise! Lastly, while the chocolate is still melted, add your sprinkles for the perfect finishing touch! After this, let your chocolate dry (about 5-10 minutes in the freezer will do the trick!) Once dry, wrap your adorable bottle in a plastic bag, tie a ribbon around the top, and RUN to your mom with it. Or your mom friends. You get the jist. Regardless — it is SO. DANG. SIMPLE! Check out the video at the end of this post to see for yourself!

However you decide to celebrate the mama’s in your life this year — can we just encourage you to make it special? Maybe that looks like bringing a second bottle of wine over for the two of you to share together. Tell her what she means to you. Remind her why there is only one amazing version of her. Show her all the ways she is nailing motherhood. But just make it special. Our moms deserve it. Our friends who are moms deserve it. And you deserve it, too, mama.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the INCREDIBLE moms around this Corks + Cheers community. Cheers to who you are and who you’re raising. We are so thankful!

Cranberry Fizz Cocktail

CRANBERRY FIZZ COCKTAIL & BRIE BITES

Make your holiday toast even more special with this Cranberry Fizz Cocktail that includes Ogio Prosecco, 7Up with homemade cranberry syrup!

This refreshing cocktail is sure to be a hit this holiday season. Serve it with these easy to make Cranberry Brie Bites for the perfect holiday party. We’ve partnered with Lena’s Kitchen to share some easy and tasty cocktail recipes including Ogio Prosecco and 7Up for your holiday parties.

We love that this Cranberry Fizz Cocktail captures the delicious flavors of the holidays while being fresh and bright. Along with the yummy Cranberry Brie Bites that add that cheesy and crunchy texture with a hint of sweetness from the cranberry sauce.

We love this quote from Lena’s Kitchen Blog:

“If you’re new to Prosecco or don’t really understand the difference between Italian Prosecco and French Champagne, let’s just say Prosecco is Champagne’s fresh, young, and vibrant younger cousin with a delicious and less sharp flavor profile.”

Let’s have fun this Holiday Season not only sharing these cocktails and appetizers, but creating moments and memories with friends and family.

If you make our CRANBERRY FIZZ COCKTAIL or CRANBERRY BRIE BITES, please be sure to leave a comment and give this recipe a rating! Above all, we love hearing from you guys and always do our best to respond to each and every comment. 

And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag Lena or us on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is our favorite!

This is a sponsored conversation written by Lena on behalf of Corks and Cheers. The opinions and text are all from Lena’s Kitchen Blog.

Happy Holidays, friends!

Sending you Peace, Love, and Joy!

Lena and the Corks + Cheers Family