Review: Chateau Ste. Michelle Wine

July 9, 2012 By Sippy Cup Mom 2 Comments

A few weeks ago my husband and I had the chance to attend Saucy Soiree at the Four Seasons in Downtown St. Louis. There, we had the chance to sample food and drinks from over 35 different local restaurants. But we also had the chance to try out the delicious wine from Chateau Ste. Michelle, whose winery is located in Woodinville, Washington, 15 miles northeast of Seattle.

I’m not a wine expert but I definitely enjoy wine more than beer. When we made our way to the Beer Garden, my husband made a line for beer, but I set out to find the Chateau Ste. Michelle booth where they were pouring a trio of their Rieslings. The booth was hopping but they were so helpful in explaining to me about each Riesling they were serving.

Chateau Ste. Michelle Tasting

They were offering three different Rieslings to try and I was excited to taste them all!

HARVEST SELECT SWEET RIESLING

Sweet wines are my favorite, so I opted to try this first. It was definitely sweet and as noted above, it’s crisp with flavors of peaches and pears. It’s absolutely a perfect wine for summer!

RIESLING

Next, I tried the Riesling, which is the #1 selling Riesling in America! I really enjoyed this refreshing “any day” wine and its sweet flavors of lime and peaches.

DRY RIESLING

I’m not normally a fan of dry wines, but they convinced me that I would like it. Of course, they were right! The wine was crisp and dry with flavors of peach and mandarin oranges. YUM!

Sipping Chateau Ste. Michelle with a view of the St. Louis Arch

All of the Chateau Ste. Michelle wines that I tried were wonderful and perfect for sipping by itself or enjoying with a summer dinner. They offer a flavor for everyone!

According to Chateau Ste. Michelle, here are just some of the many “Reasons For Riesling”:

Riesling is the world’s greatest food wine enhancing almost every food including, spicy, hot, intense and salty flavors because of its light sweetness/acid balance.
Rieslings are unoaked allowing them to retain elegant fruity character and refreshing acidity. Enjoy!
Number 1-selling Chateau Ste. Michelle’s Columbia Valley Riesling Vineyards are in Washington state; known for warm days and cool nights essential to develop ripe flavors and refreshing acidity. Delicious!
In the mid-late 1700s, European monasteries were the driving force behind Riesling cultivation and winemaking technologies (good to know when you’re enjoying a glass of Riesling with friends).
Riesling is made in different styles from bone dry to honey sweet. Choose your style and fall in love.

Connect with Chateau Ste. Michelle

- Online

- Find the wine near you

- Facebook

- Twitter

Disclosure: I was provided with tickets to Saucy Soiree to sample Chateau Ste. Michelle wine. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Filed Under: Sippy Cup Entertainment, Sippy Cup Recipes, St. Louis

Review: Dave & Buster’s Summer Games 2012

June 28, 2012 By Sippy Cup Mom 7 Comments

Whenever my family wants to go to a place where both adults and kids can have fun, the answer is always Dave & Buster’s! I love the variety of food that is offered and there are games for all of us to play! Right now, Dave & Buster’s has launched the Summer of Games 2012 for even MORE fun!

We recently had the chance to go to Dave & Buster’s for a fun-filled night. Hayden wasn’t feeling the best so we left him at home. While I was disappointed because I knew how much fun he would have, I was a little giddy that my husband and I were going to get the chance to go and act like kids ourselves!

Josh, our waiter, was wonderful and he was great in suggesting what appetizers, entrees and drinks we should try. Dave & Buster’s has several new items on the menu like Pretzel Dogs, a Lawnmower Salad and the South Philly Burger - a 100% Angus burger piled high with cheese steak “imported” from Philadelphia. Can you say YUM?!

We decided to go with the Pretzel Dogs as an appetizer and they came with a spicy habenero dipping sauce. For an entree, Heath decided to try the new South Philly Burger. I’m a big lover of pasta so Josh suggested I try the Baked Chicken and Shrimp Alfredo, one of his favorites.

Everything was incredibly delicious but Heath’s South Philly Burger was SO good! He let me have just a bite and I wanted more! My pasta was delicious though also, I loved the mix of shrimp and chicken with the three-cheese Alfredo sauce.

We were already full from our entrees, but we just HAD to try the desserts! It all looked so good and I was tempted to order the cheesecake, but we decided to try the Bananas Foster Pie and the Ginormous Brownie Sundae. They weren’t lying when they called it GINORMOUS! It consists of two chocolate chip pecan brownies and two scoops of hand-dipped vanilla bean ice cream covered with three classic sauces: chocolate, caramel and raspberry with fresh strawberries. Topped with whipped cream and a maraschino cherry, this is the ultimate dessert to share. But I have to admit, it had nothing on the Bananas Foster Pie. This was by far one of my favorite desserts EVER! It was just chilled banana pudding and vanilla sponge cake layered with a cinnamon-graham pastry and topped with rum sauce and warm caramel but it was so decadent. Heath and I both agreed it was our favorite of the desserts!

While Heath stuck to beer during our meal, I got to try a few different alcoholic snow-cone drinks. So good and perfect for a hot summer day!

After all of that food, we were really too full and tired to move but it was time to get out and play games! Dave & Buster’s calls it the Million Dollar Midway because they have a million dollars worth of games – and I believe it! This summer, they are introducing 10 new summer games and I was excited to get out there and play them. The best thing about these new games is the promotion where if you buy a Powercard, guests will get two free plays on three of the newest games. Those three games are Dirty Drivin’ (a combat racing game), Speed of Light (a game that tests player’s speed and reflexes), and Quad Air Hockey (a four person version of the classic game).

The first game Heath had to play was the new Dirty Drivin’ game and he loved it. He looked like he was having so much fun, that I had to try it too! I was excited because I came in first place – I never come in first place for racing games!

We played the Quad Air Hockey game even though there were just two of us, but it still was a lot of fun! I can’t imagine the frantic pace if there were four of us playing! Some of the other games we liked were Speed of Light and Monster Drop. Who am I kidding, we loved them all!

You can check out the large selection of games offered at Dave & Buster’s, but make sure to check out their 10 NEW games! You’ll get those free plays through July 1st also! To kick off the summer, every Friday and Saturday night through July 1 (THIS WEEKEND!) , the girls from the Dave & Buster’s Game Crew will be at every location to treat guests to free games, and hand out promotional prizes.

Dave & Buster’s is definitely one of the best places to be this summer – head there and have some fun!

Disclosure: We received dinner and game time from Dave & Buster’s to facilitate this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Filed Under: Sippy Cup Entertainment, Sippy Cup Family Activities, St. Louis

Peppa Pig, the Award-Winning Animated Series for Preschoolers

May 5, 2012 By Sippy Cup Mom 3 Comments

One of my son’s new favorite shows is on Nick Jr. in the afternoons and is called Peppa Pig.

Peppa Pig follows follows the daily activities of Peppa, her brother George, Mommy Pig and Daddy Pig as they play games, go to school, take family trips and, best of all, jump in muddy puddles!

An award-winning animated series out of the UK, Peppa and her British accent delights my son! His favorite character is Peppa’s brother George and he’s constantly walking around snorting like a pig and giggling over and over.

One of my favorite things about Peppa Pig is how the family is always having fun together whatever the situation is. The show celebrates the values of family, friendship, fun and humor!

You can watch Peppa Pig on Nick Jr. at 12:00pm and 12:30pm Monday through Friday and at 2:00pm and 2:30pm on Saturdays. All times are EST.

Find out more at PeppaPig.com or nickjr.com!

Do you watch Peppa Pig? Who is your child’s favorite character?

Disclosure: I received a Peppa Pig Gift Pack thanks to Team Mom. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Filed Under: Sippy Cup Entertainment, toddler

Review: Disneynature’s Chimpanzee {See it This Weekend to Help Save Chimpanzees!}

April 20, 2012 By Sippy Cup Mom 12 Comments

When I was in San Francisco earlier this month, I was able to see Chimpanzee, Disneynature’s 4th film.

I had been seeing trailers for the new movie and I was eager to see it. I actually haven’t seen any of the other Disneynature films, but this one looked amazing and as a mother, my heart went out to little Oscar who is the star of this documentary.

Filmed over 4 years in the deep forests of Africa, Chimpanzee is the story of an adorable young chimpanzee named Oscar. The film documents Oscar’s life from the very beginning, his bond with his mother, Isha and his first steps into independence.

Oscar

Oscar is like any other toddler – he reminded me a lot like my son! Oscar was playful, curious, independent but also completely dependent of his mother.

You’ll get to follow along on the dynamics of the different bands of chimpanzees that live in the jungle. Truly startling is when Oscar’s family of chimpanzees are confronted by another group and his life is changed forever.

Oscar and Freddy

The film is visually stunning and in the dark theater, I almost felt like I was right there in the jungle with them. Chimpanzee is directed by Alastair Fothergill (“African Cats” and “Earth”) and Mark Linfield (“Earth”) and narrated by Tim Allen, who I thought did an outstanding job.

Chimpanzee is rated G and 78 minutes long. I think kids of all ages will be able to enjoy it. For kids that are younger, there are some scary parts, but I think the filmmakers do a great job of taking the violence off screen.

UPDATE!

Chimpanzee was released into theaters on April 20th and when you see Chimpanzee through May 3rd Disneynature will contribute $.20 per ticket to the Jane Goodall Institute to help protect wild chimpanzees and their habitats.

Keep up with CHIMPANZEE by liking Disneynature on Facebook and on Twitter at @Disneynature.

Disney/Pixar provided me with an all expenses paid trip to San Francisco for an advance screening of Chimpanzee and select footage from Brave. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Filed Under: Disney, Movie Review, Sippy Cup Entertainment

Jake and the Never Land Pirates Easter Activities

April 6, 2012 By Sippy Cup Mom Leave a Comment

Ahoy mateys! Jake and the Never Land Pirates gang are looking to celebrate Easter this weekend and they have lots of fun crafts and games for you and your lil’ buccaneers!

Click below for activities that include a Treasure Hunt, Pirate Crafts, Coloring Sheets, Easter Egg Crafts, and more!