The Perfect Bite

Find Your Place in the Sun

Did you miss us?  We’ve been gone a bit because we were traveling.  We found our perfect place in the sun – Antigua.  Ahhhhhh…the warm sun rays kissed our skin and warmed us to the bones.  But, we returned to the cold against our better judgment (if only we didn’t have so many responsibilities…). 

 

Now those weather “experts” are calling for more snowy weather.  We have a foolproof plan to think “warm” and remind us of our very recent trip to Antigua.  We’ll get the fireplace roaring, put on shorts, and break out the blender!

 

Meet Althea & Omarie.  They were our bartenders at the pool bar – and they blend a mean drink or 2…or 20.

   

 Althea balancing her Althea’s Special & Omarie showing off his Tropical Rainbow

 

We enjoyed a very lazy day relaxing in the pool, reading in the cabana, playing organized games like “Name That Tune” and drinking icy cold concoctions to loosen up and cool down!

 
Floating around:  Darlene’s sister Sheila, her husband Fred, & friend Lisa

 

 

 The sumptuously luxurious poolside cabana

 

The bar was one hopping spot. 1 side is a walk up and the remaining 3 are poolside with underwater stools. 6 bartenders are kept busy all day every day…so they’re fast and they really know their drinks. We spent a fair amount of time just sitting in the water talking to each other and our bartenders who were so much fun.

 

They were kind enough to give us their recipes.  Most are original creations from their bar (Sandals Grande Antigua).  They don’t measure they just pour and blend.  Try these recipes to send your senses off to the Caribbean and when you’ve polished them off, make up your own concoctions.

 

Cheers!

 

 
Althea’s Special

Apple Pucker

Peach Schnapps

White Rum

Passion Fruit Juice

Pineapple Juice

Simple Syrup

Ice

Tropical Rainbow

Vodka

Peach Schnapps

Banana Liqueur

Passion Fruit Juice

Grenadine

Ice

 

Bob Marley

Passion Fruit Juice

Strawberry Juice

Apple Pucker

Ice

 

 

 Chocolate Monkey

Chocolate Syrup

Banana

Rum

Crème de Cacao

Amaretto (optional)

Ice

 

 
Bananarama

Milk

Banana

White Rum

Coconut Cream

Blue Curaçao

Ice

 

 

 
Banana Sip Sop

Dark Rum

Coconut Milk

Grenadine

Banana

Ice

 

McLaren Vale South Australia “Where the vines meet the Sea”

By Sharon Kneebone

 

In 1999 we returned to South Australia to visit my husband’s family and ring in the new Millennium.   For those fans of big, bold Australian red wines you most likely know that South Australia is home to the Barossa Valley and the McLaren Vale.  My in-laws live about 20 minutes from the beautiful Barossa and about 40 minutes north of the McLaren Vale.   We had been to the Barossa a couple of times and wanted to visit a different wine region.  We left the kids with Nana and Papa and headed south for a couple days away. 

  Sharon & Scott Kneebone

 

We stayed at the Inn at the McLarens, just down the street from the McLaren Vale Visitor Center. The Inn was the quintessential Aussie motel complete with inexpensive spacious rooms and a tin roof.  It was a great staging area to visit the vale’s cellar doors.  We spent the day sampling wines of the vale with a stop at Chapel Hill Cellar Door, a lovely sampling room set in a converted Australian chapel.

 

The Inn at the McLarens

 

One of our favorite wineries is Tintara, part of the Hardys family.  We purchased the Hardys world class Whiskers Blake Port there and have shared it judiciously with our close friends.  One of our favorite Shiraz wines is Tintara.  It is a full-bodied bold Aussie wine that is characteristic of the McLaren Vale region.  By far, our favorite wine maker from the McLaren Vale is Molly Dooker.  It is now widely available in the States and we’ve introduced it to all of our friends.

 

After a full day of touring the vale we had a wonderful dinner at the Barn Bistro.  One of the specials that evening was Kangaroo Steak cooked to perfection.  The Barn is a historic building housing a fine Australian Restaurant in the McLaren Vale. Far and away, my favorite site was cresting a hill with sloping vines to my left, a kangaroo bounding between the rows, and the sight of the ocean in the distance.

 

My favorite view – the ocean is off to the right.

 

The trek to the McLaren Vale is well worth the time, expense and effort.  Some of the world’s greatest Shiraz wines come from the area with an abundance of fresh Australian food.

 

"It is an ideal spot, and the ideal liquid inspiration, to try to figure out a way to live near this tiny piece of paradise between the voluptuous hills of wine
and the aquamarine sea."                                --The Wine Roads of Australia by Susan Gough Henly

Sharon and Scott Kneebone live in Baltimore, Maryland with their 2 children.  Besides Shiraz, they like lacrosse, musical theatre, and entertaining friends.