Get Interactive with Living Wine Labels

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. This content is intended for readers who are 21 and over. #UncorkTheStory #CollectiveBias

 

Hey friends hey, Happy Monday to ya! This weekend I had a girls night at my house and it was seriously so refreshing to be around good company, wine and food. And since y’all know wine is my second love language, I try to introduce my friends to new bottles, brands and types of wine each time we get together. A few months back, I was searching for a new wine at our local Kroger and one of the employees introduced me to 19 Crimes and told me all about how I could learn more about each bottle and the stories of the people behind them and introduced me to the Living Wine Labels app. 19 Crimes is based off an authentic historical event featuring real convicts turned into colonists from British Rogues were sentenced to live in Australia, rather than death. So, their wine celebrates the rules they broke and the culture they built after going to Australia in the 1700s. So, when I tell you guys that I was in complete awe, I’m not even kidding. Since I was so shocked, I started incorporating 19 Crimes into my parties with friends to introduce them to the experience and now I’m excited to share with you all.

 

First steps are downloading the Living Wine Labels App for free in the Google Play Store or Apple Store, going through a quick tutorial of showing how the app works and  inputting your date of birth (only for 21+, ya know). Next you would use the menu button (3 three in the top corner) to drop down a few options and select “Scan Label”. Once you do that, the app will open up your camera and you place it directly in front of the bottle label you want to learn more about. After that, the app will recognize the bottle and you’ll get to hear the authentic story of the person behind that wine bottle in their unique voice. The best part about it is if you are shopping in the store and want to learn about the crime to play certain games with your friends, you are able to do that right in the aisle.

Being a red wine lover, I chose two bottles of red: The Uprising, which is aged 30 days in rum barrels and the 2017 Cabernet Sav. You can never go wrong with a bottle of red but if white wine is more for you, then the 19 Crimes Hard Chard will be perfect for you! The Uprising is about an Irish man who was forced to join the combine which turned into a group to assassinate people, instead of for the good of Ireland. The Cab Sav is about Michael Harrington who was part of the fremantle 6 who was considered a traitor to his country because he rebelled. Jane Castings, behind the Hard Chard bottle, has an interested storing about how she was forced to flee after receiving stolen goods and had to leave her husband and children behind. These three stories have been my favorite to listen to so far but whenever I’m shopping for wine, I always listen to the other stories to learn more the people behind the crimes.

So, in the spirit of friends night in, I’m excited to share my 6  tips for creating a mini wine bar in your home. Like many of y’all, I still live in my post-college apartment which is about 750-800 square feet. I absolutely adore this humble home of mine but the space quickly gets full. Between standard home furniture, my dining room turned into my home office and my dog thinking every surface is his bed, I knew when it came to creating a wine bar that a mini size would be perfect for not only my space, but for my needs. So, let’s get started with my tips and see the pictures below!

1 | Bigger isn’t always better – The space that I selected for my wine bar could realistically hold a bigger option but I’d rather have more space around it so it doesn’t knock into or bump anything.

2 | Glass on the sturdiest shelf – Since I have a pup (cutest pup in the world, duh) I prefer not to have my glasses on the bottom shelf for when he runs around and hits his tail on *everything* imaginable. For me, that means the top with rails on the short sides or the middle shelf with rails on the front and back

3 | Water  – Since most people have their bar carts in the area of their home where they will be entertaining, it is important to always have water available for your guests. I usually have mini bottles of waters and clear glass jars on ice to choose from. The bottles usually go home with my guests and I continue to refill the jars all night long (or as needed). I love having mini bottles of sparkling water or cider for those who don’t drink alcohol but want to be able to toast with us.

4 | Napkins – As much as we try to avoid spills, they are bound to happen so I usually have washable decorative napkins for fun and playful disposal napkins for messes.

5 | Treats – Many of y’all know that I love to bake so usually, there are fresh cookies, cupkins or mini muffins on my bar cart. Especially if you’re having a relaxed social time before dinner, I like for my guests to have something to snack on. Depending on who I have over, I may have some nuts or pretzels or another salty treat for them to enjoy. If I’m having a mini wine tasting with new bottles, I’ll have a cheese board/plate for my guests to pair

6 | Decor – Now, decor isn’t always needed but I love changing up the decor on my mini wine bar every few weeks or so. For starters, I usually have flowers, candles and fresh limes or lemons placed in different sections. I love the smells of each to clear the wine aroma but always the vibrant colors of each but me in a good mood. I also have a few books (table books or real books with colorful spines) stacked together to help break up the shelves and create the illusion or more space in between. Lastly, I’ll have anything we need to play games. My friends and I love playing Heads Up on our phones, so i’ll have a notepad on the bar to take score or a stack of playing cards from Cards Against Humanity so we can play that too.

Well y’all, that’s all that I have for today. Be sure to download the Living Wine Labels app to explore the authentic stories of the convicts behind each bottle here: http://cbi.as/a1q1n. Whenever you grab a bottle for yourself, let me know in the comments what stories you loved and if you tried my suggestions of The Uprising, Hard Chard or 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon. Thanks so much for reading friends! Have a lovely day -xo, Azanique <3

 

SaveSave