Weekend Wine-d Down: Party like it’s 1999

I know I don’t talk politics around the blog often but today I’m picking a side.

And that side is with the Backstreet Boys.

I’m not going to draw a line in the sand and say we can’t be friends if you side with N’Stink N’Sync but the 13 year old girl in me says that we probably shouldn’t sit together at lunch today.

So my weekend kicked off in a great way. Friday night, I watched my brother play high school football and heard his name called on the loudspeaker for a big tackle. Since he’s been old enough to throw a ball, I’ve dreamt of watching him play under Friday night lights so I was pumped! Then I had an impromptu night in midtown with Steph and Sammi. We had tapas, some yummy sangria and great conversation. I don’t have many girlfriends in the area (most of my best friends live in other cities now) so it’s been really nice have quality girl time. Saturday we did a family BBQ with our close friends and spent the day with Rob’s nephews!

Sunday was my crowning glory though. I had plans to do some wine tasting with my friends before the BSB concert (more on that below in the wine area!).

I’ve been a fan of the Backstreet Boys since I was 9 years old, in 1997 when a CD informercial came on (anyone remember those?!) and I saw Nick’s baby blues on the TV screen singing “

Quit Playing Games with my Heart“. My room was completely plastered with BSB posters I ripped out from “Teen Bop” and “Tiger Beat“. I even entered a Burger King contest to meet them in 2001 when I bawled getting 2nd place and only winning 3rd row seats. I’ve seen them in concert at least 7 times, my last time being in 2011 for the NKOTBSB dual concert, so this year was a no brainer. Being the amazing boyfriend Rob is, he agreed to sit through 3 hours of girls maniacally screaming and my friend Chris (a fellow BSB fan) also came with. Yup, while droves of girls swarmed with their 15 girlfriends, I had two of my favorite boys.

Needless to say, I spent most of the concert singing my little heart out, squealing when Nick’s face popped up on the screen and just dying from happiness. They put on an incredible show. I know I’m clearly biased but I DARE you to go to a BSB concert and still say NSync was the better boyband, it’s just not possible. Something about the Backstreet Boys just takes me back to various points of my life, whether it be Millenium in middle school, Never Gone in high school or their newest CD In a World Like This, which is why I love them so much. And they only get better with age. One of my favorite parts of the concert? When Kevin said “Are you ready to party like is 1999?!” and I was like omgggg… I was 11 years old in 1999, and that phrase used to describe partying in the future!

Did you know Livermore has it’s own beautiful wine country? I didn’t either! I met up with my long lost loves Katie and Jessica for a day at Wente Vineyard for a picnic and some wine. I hadn’t seen Katie or Jessica in months and it was an incredible reunion filled with giggles, inappropriate conversation and lots of accidental wine spilling onto the grass. We got lots of laughs over a (much too old) English man that stopped by to flirt, we ate our weight in bread and cheese and overall it was an incredible day spent with friends I don’t see nearly enough!

Wente Vineyard has a beautiful tasting room, patio seating and grassy area perfect for picnics. We decided to do the Harvest flight tasting that included 5 tastings of their higher end artisan wines for $10. My personal favorite was the 2011 Petite Syrah. We packed an incredible feast of cheeses, dips and pastas and settled down on a blanket with a chilled bottle of Wente’s Riva Ranch Chardonnay. The Riva Ranch Chardonnay was an excellent summer wine, with fruity overtones but with lingering flavors of oak. It is a medium bodied wine with a long finish. Although Chardonnays are not traditionally my favorite, this was an excellent choice for a picnic and paired well with nearly all types of snacks.

Riva Ranch Chardonnay – Wente Vineyards
Year: 2012
Region: Arroyo Seco, CA
Local Price: $22.00
Grade: B

While Sunday was one of my favorite days in all of 2013 (wine, BSB, what more could I want?!) we drove back home and didn’t hit the hay until 2:00 a.m. (With Rob being such a trooper, making the drive). Needless to say, I needed my grande Salted Caramel Mocha to make it through the day.

Do you have a favorite Backstreet Boys song? If not, what was your favorite song from the 90s-2000s?