Pinot Meunier

Pinot Meunier is a variety of black wine grape most noted for being one of the tree main varieties used in the production of Champagne. 

This grape has often been described as a workhorse grape, useful for contributing fruity aromas and youthful suppleness to a blend, but somehow rustic and uninteresting on it's own, not age worthy and most definitely not for serious wines.

Pinot Meuniers tend to have bouquets of cranberry and cherry to them and one other strong particular scent - smoke. Altrough some varietal Pinot Meuniers can be fermented in oak but not more than for few years. Lots of red fruits will dominate the palate of this wine, but depending on where wine was produced and how long it was aged, the red fruits can veer into darker, more bitter category.

Pinot Moeinier is approximately one third of all grapes planted in Champagne region. it is also one of the most widely planted grapes in France but it is rather obscure to most wine drinkers and will rarely be seen on a wine label. Grape tends to be planted in areas too cold for other grapes as an insurance grape against poor vintages, this is because it is more accepting to the cold.

Pinot Meunier was first mentioned in the 16th century.

Compared to Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier produces lighter colored wines with slightly higer acid levels but can maintain similar sugar and alcohol levels.

Money saving TIPS

1. Lets turn a critical eye to our ''COLLECTIONS''! I heard that most people collect something. What do You collect? Something that brings You joy? But could You cut down on Your spending an that collection?

It's hard! HARD! At least for me. I'm collecting make-up, so every time I decide to cut down some new palette or lipstick or moisturizer, fragrance, liner, foundation,..... I just need to try it!

2. Invite friends over instead of going out. Hmm, why? Maybe because almost every activity at home is less expensive than going out. Invite some friends and play some cards, have few drinks. I like this tip a lot because it is the main Partying for me :D I don't like clubbing so this sounds perfect. We cook together, play board games, laugh a lot, turn on some music and discuss a music videos, and...., and..

3. Do holiday shopping right after holidays. I use this technique after every holiday and it works perfect. I decorate my flat with decorations I bought January :) Just wait until about two days after a holiday and start shopping, just get cards, decorations, wrapping paper etc. for next year. Don't know all around the world, but here in Latvia discounts are tremendous! And still - it's shopping !

4. Eat breakfast. It is not only money saving tips - it is health must! Healthy breakfast fills You up with energy for the day. A bowl of oatmeal is often the thing that keeps me from running out to eat an expensive lunch in the day. And now comes the harder part - only a cup of coffee is NOT breakfast!!!

5. Start a garden. Great - You will have a hobby and food!! I like planting a bunch of tomato, basil, dill or onions on my windowsill. It is easy - just keep them moisten and that's it.

6. Stop smoking - it's good for Your health and makes Your wallet suffer from overweight. Easy, there is no much explaining needed, JUST STOP IT NOW!!!

A little something to be more Happy

Body language may be a lot more important than You can even imagined. It affects not just how You are perceived by others, but also Your internal body chemistry.
There are two kinds of power poses - high and low.
A high power pose usually means having Your body open rather than hunched up. That means chest out, arms spread, no slouch. I found that simply holding a high power pose for as little as few minutes a day makes me feel confident, smart, beautiful. . . .
It is not a secret that our bodies affect our minds, maybe even holding high power poses can set up our success :) 

Chocolate is delicious, easy available ad stimulate dopamine levels in our brain. Hmm... What's dopamine? Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that has stimulating effects on the brain. It plays a particular role in pleasure, cognition and motivation. So if You want a dopamine rush, try eating a bit of chocolate.
I'm eating huge amount of chocolate daily, I know it isn't good for my health, but I'm trying to convince myself that chocolate may reduce my cholesterol levels ( It's actually true, but I know it's work only with adequate amounts of chocolate ), it helps me feel happy, sometimes I can feel how my brain is starting to work for me not on her own ideas :D Basically the last part of sentence means that is easier for me to concentrate when I have a bit of chocolate.
Pretty cool, right?
But please remember - if you would like to experience more of a high, try to find dark chocolate, but milk chocolate is more tasty for me :D
Let' s go get some chocolate :)

Certain colors make us think of certain things. Don't believe? Ever wonder why all sales signs are red?
It is because people react faster and more forcefully when they see the red color! Can You guess which color provides the biggest boost in motivation and energy?
Yes!
It's GREEN, GREEN, GREEN!!!!!!
Green occupies more space in the spectrum visible to the human eye than most colors, green is considered as color of peace and ecology.
I use a lot of green in my home, in decorating for it's calming effect. Green is also thought to relieve stress and help heal, so maybe it is worth to use more green in Your environment.

Let's try to find some inspiration, motivation in every little thing around You :)

Lavender

Lavender is perhaps the most soothing scent a person can ever experience, The best part is that lavender has a property of being sedative and helps to calm our nerves. Aldo lavender is great for skin care due to it's antiseptic and antifungal properties which help to reduce scarring and speed up healing. lavender essential oils is used to treat various skin problems.

Lavender essential oil induces sleep, the calming scent makes it an excellent tonic for nerves and anxiety issues. Therefore, It can also be helpful in treating migraines, headaches, depression and emotional stress. Since I know even too well how it is to deal with anxiety, I use a lot of lavender - little bags in my closed, soaps, scrubs, bath balls - mostly with lavender scent. I don't know if it helps, but I believe and until it's not make me feel worst it's good enough for me :D

Also lavender is known as an excellent remedy for various types of pains including those caused by sore and tense muscles, rheumatism and the pain we sometimes feel after intensive workout. Sometimes after harder than regular workout I massage my muscles with lavender oil and it helps, also I'm not sure if it's oil or massage that helps, but good smelling massage is always better that just simple massage :D

I like lavender smell and I help that You too will find use/benefits of using lavender in your daily routine :)

5 Fun Friday Facts

Jura wines

Jura wine, is French wine produced in the Jura d`epartement, located between Burgundy and Switzerland. It is a small wine region which is responsible for some traditional and highly idiosyncratic wine styles. This cool climate wine region produces wines with some similarity to burgundy and Swiss wine ( Blog post on December 24 ).

Jura wines are distinctive and unusual wines, the most famous being vin jaune, which is made by a similar process to Sherry ( Blog post on December 10), developing under a flor like strain of yeast. This is made from the local Savagnin ( Blog post on December 17 ) grape variety. The wine is produced by picking the Savagnin as ripe as possible, in some cases becoming a sort of late harvest wine, and after fermentation storing it in Burgundian aging barrels for over 6 years. The barrels are filled up to the top and allowed to evaporate, reducing the volume in the barrel and  creating an air pocket at the top of the barrel. During the time wine oxidizes and grows a film of yeast that is similar, but not the same strain, as the Jerez region flor. The wine is then bottled in a signature clavelin wine bottle. Other grape varieties include 

* Poulsard ( Blog post on December 24 )

* Trousseau ( Blog post on December 31 )

* Chardonnay

Other wine styles found in Jura includes a vin de paille made from Chardonnay, Poulsard and Savagin.

The climate of ra is continental with many similarities to Burgundy but can be more aggressively cold, especially in the winter time. Ripeness levels of the grapes is always a concern for winemakers of the area and harvest times are often delayed as long as possible to try to achieve the highest levels possible.

The main grapes of region is Chardonnay.

French winemakers don't do more experiments than Jura wines, it wouldn't be cheap experience, but from all my wine loving heart I suggest You to try at least one of Jura wines.

Zolitūde Tragedy

WARNING: I written this few days ago and thinked about publishing this a lot. There is nothing positive, so if You cant/don't want read sad content please go to someaone other blog. It's sad but this is a part of me, and my blog too.

'' Sometimes our light goes out, but is blown again into instant flame by an encounter with another human being ''  A. Schweitzer

I tought about hard times a lot lately, maybe it is because the biggest tragedy first anniversary, in LV. Maybe it's because my life isn't the best at the moment, it's not bad at all, it's just the feeling something isn't right. I feel like I don't have enough time, talent or strenght to do all this. I don't know, but I believe that anyone, even the most motivated people in the all world sometimes feel like this. It's nothing too serious, because I know - tomorrow I will feel like a superwoman who can do anything... I am trying to read some uplifting quotes to help myself remember that life isn't bad, that this moment is just some lecture for my future life, or something that let's me realise how blessed I am for all good things happened in my life. I know it all but today I feel like I can see only fear, disappointment, pain.... but the stronger feeling is anger. I even can say that I hate this situation.
It was a bit more than year ago, when tragedy happened ( you can read about tragedy here ). I was at my work and when I heard about it first, I had only one thought in my mind - my brother, he lived about 10 mins away from shopping center. I was sooo happy that he wasn't there. But 54 mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, friends was...