Thursday, November 24, 2016

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Tweetie Pies and Butterflies! A Sweet Reminder to Count Your Blessings!


The wine is already chilling (and NO, this is NOT sponsored) from my table to yours, Happy Thanksgiving Butterflies!

I selected this Cabernet Franc from Salem Oak Vineyards for a special reason that I thought fitting to share with you on Thanksgiving.

I met Salem Oak Vineyards during my Atlantic City 2016 Restaurant Week Press Trip during Tropicana Casino & Resorts' Winter Wine Festival.

The first thing I noticed was that the wines were all named after people and I couldn't resist asking about the people behind the names, Salem Oak names their wines after their employees who are all their partners in bringing their creations to life. The wine I selected is named after an employee named Brandon Jae. Brandon sadly passed away, very young. Too young. You may remember I featured their White Table Wine called 'Julia-Maria' HERE.

You guys know I love Dragons, and that is what initially drew me to the bottle. Brandon Jae is a dry red that starts off 'effervescent' but mellows as it breathes. My palate in most wines leans to dry and the bottle art really resonated with me.

It makes me sad to think the person this wine is named after, isn't here.

But it does remind me that life is fleeting, precious and something to be always grateful for.

MY TAKE:

Hug your family a little harder today, take photos even if you don't feel like it, count your blessings with those you love.

Love harder, Laugh often.

I'm grateful for many things, but I can tell you when I sit to eat and sip this wine I will remember to savor every delicious moment today. I hope you do too.

Readers Sound Off: What are YOU grateful for today?

˙·٠•● Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•● Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•● Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ●•●•٠·˙

FTC Disclosure: This is NOT a Compensated or sponsored Post, (while perhaps it should be) and all thoughts and opinions are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 16 CFR, Part 255 - Guides Concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising, you may check our Giveaway and Disclosure Page for additional information regarding Ascending Butterfly Disclosure.

Things that lure Ascending Butterfly out of her butterfly cocoon of fabulosity: Electronics/Technology (yes I am a Gadget Geek first!), Fashion, Jewelry, Bubbly/Spirits, Foodie/Restaurants, Photography and Travel. And remember Ascending Butterfly does NOT have children, please do not pitch her toys (at least not those that are intended for children).

If a campaign doesn't pay, this butterfly won't want to play.

Smile if you got this far, twirl around twice and sing Mariah Carey Butterfly.

Still here? Now go make someone happy today.

8 comments:

  1. We love wine here, but I tend to lean more into the white wines with fruity notes. My boyfriend's tastes are closer to yours

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  2. I'm not much of a wine drinker, but my dad is. I'm sure he'd love to try this.

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  3. Thanks for the reminder. We are all more blessed than we realize. Things can always get worse!

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  4. This is a nice reminder to simply sit and enjoy a glass of wine. Sometimes I drink it without really paying attention to details or anything else at the end of a long day or a long week. Good reminder though that wine should also be savoured and enjoyed.

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  5. Thanksgiving is such a great reminder to give thanks for all the things that we might forget during the year. I hope your Thanksgiving is very blessed. I have some bottled wine that I"m saving for my big move next week. I'll need it after unpacking for days, lol.

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  6. Happy Thanksgiving my American friend. I agree with you thanksgiving is a time to show our family how much we love them with extra hugs and attention. That wine looks so delicious

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  7. We love wine!!! White wine or sweeter, fruity kind, I also love a good Proseco!

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  8. This is Steve, Brandon’s Dad. I came across this through an old FB post that just appeared this week. My son grew up with the owner’s kids Julia-Marie and her brother Matt, and went to school with them since kindergarten. You said in your post to “Hug your family a little harder today”. That was the same message I gave at my son’s memorial service. You never know when someone you love will walk out the door in the morning and not return home that night. My son had the same philosophy about life. He lived life to the fullest, and we found out after his passing that he was always helping others. There were about a 1000 people at the memorial service. He was only 18, but he obviously left an impact on people.

    Me and my wife designed the label for the bottle. Brandon was adopted from Korea, and the lettering on the label is Korean and is my son’s Korean name; Kim Jae Kwan. Brandon’s full name is Brandon Jae Kwan Baker. Thus the name of the wine. The meaning of the dragon came from the fact that he was going to get a tattoo of the lettering on his upper arm. As long as he was going to get that tattoo, he said he was going to get a dragon tattoo down his arm. He passed away before he could get his tattoo, but I got the dragon tattoo instead. I now have a constant reminder of my son on my lower arm :).

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