Champagne and lima beans. And brussel sprouts?

Yes, we had them all last night. In an effort to consume existing groceries, we made lima beans with fake butter and Parmesan cheese, and brussel sprouts with peanut sauce. However, Joe couldn't resist a stop in Bin 604, so while I pulled the car around, he snuck in and grabbed a bottle of Cava and two bottles of red. Oh darn.

Apparently Bin 604 staff had never been asked for Champagnes that complement lima beans. No way! They seemed to find it shocking that someone would serve Champagne with JUST lima beans, so we shook it up a little and added brussel sprouts, just for kicks.

It was an odd dinner, candles and Cava with two of the most loathed vegetables out there, but we LOVE them, and I think Joe is considering being reincarnated as a lima bean. But only if he can swim around in fake butter and Parmesan cheese.

Girls on Grapes goes pink

My girlfriends and I are members of Girls on Grapes (GoG), the wine education club for girls only at Bin 604. About once a month, our little group joins about 18 other women for one hour of wine education on a featured grape or region of the month, such as Shiraz, Bordeaux, Champagne, etc.

Bin hosts GoG about twice a week every week after work, and we've come to cherish this one hour (that we usually drag into 2 by closing the shop down). I would HIGHLY recommend this club to any girlfriends looking for an excuse to drink wine in a great shop and play catch up. Ryan is typically our sommelier for the tastings, and she's incredibly knowledgeable and gracious as we get louder with each new tasting :)

Wednesday was our GoG for July, and we sampled six Roses. To be honest, I didn't fall for any of them, but I appreciated the variety of blends and regions. Four of the wines were from France, one from Spain and one from Austria. One takeaway lesson: only drink new Roses. If they're a 2005 or younger, don't buy them. They need to be enjoyed while they're young.

Since my friends and I kept chatting away after the class officially ended, Ryan treated us to tastes of the new 2007 Cat Amongst the Piegons Shiraz - one of my favorites!

I left the store with a bottle of champagne, Cat Amongst the Pigeons 2007 Shiraz, and a Cabernet Sauvignon from The Show - a smoky, brooding wine that I fell in love with at a previous GoG.