Spirits & Latin Cuisines Hosted by Hey! Wendy Vanessa (Ages 21 and up)

Happy Thursday y’all!

In lieu of Hispanic Heritage Month, I had the pleasure to host Spirits & Latin Cuisines at Total Wine! The two-day event included enjoying light bites from Ginn’s Gourmet and tasted a couple of my favorite spirits! The food was mouthwatering delicious, the people were great, and of course, the drinks were the best.

Real Sangria is from Spain. The word “real” means royalty. Basically, when you are drinking the sangria, you should feel like royalty. Real Sangria is truly my favorite! It is easy to drink, really, all you have to do is chill it. That’s it! You do not have to add anything else unless you want to. My favorite part? This sangria is less than $5! It was such a hit, that Real Sangria sold out the first day! I enjoy this drink after a long day of work to help me unwind and relax. Confession, I drank this every night of The Bachelorette.

I had Capel Pisco by itself and yes, it is strong! Capel Pisco is a Chilean Brandy, something I have never had before. If you have never had a pisco, I find it most similar to a rum. After asking the guests and employees, I learned you can do a lot with pisco. Some cocktails you can make are a Pisco Sour, Pisco Sangria (YUM), or just make an easy Pisco Tonic (Like Vodka Tonic). So if you are in a mood to get creative with your cocktails, Capel Pisco is the way to go!

Since Real Sangria sold out on day one, we got a new wine that actually was selling out quick too! We had Gato Negro Cabernet Merlot and Malbec. Gato Negro originated from Chile, like the Capel Pisco. My personal favorite was the Malbec (take note – I only like sweet beverages, but this Malbec was delicious). This brand also has a great price point! Pair this up with your favorite cheese plate or take it as a gift for a housewarming party.

Total Wine is a perfect place to go for any kind of drink you want. (My friends and I went to get some drinks for a bachelorette party weeks after this event.) Compared to different retail locations, Total Wine has competitive prices that honestly most cannot beat. The staff there is great! They are really helpful and always have smiling faces. On some evenings and weekend, they have tastings of various spirits and wine! I would recommend calling your local TW to find out when they will have tastings.

Here are a few snapshots of the two days at Total Wine-

The real stars of the nights.