I enjoy tasting different wines especially when they are one of my favorite varieties. I just opened a 2008 Cabernet from Vint Hill Craft Winery in Virginia. Kathy and I are also making a barrel of Cabernet at this winery and know the winemaker. Vint Hill goes the extra mile in making quality wines, such as a double sorting table for sorting grapes. After hours of experience on the two sorting tables I realize that back pain should add to the cost of a wine. Vint Hill is a state of the art winemaking facility and I am curious how their wines turn out.

Well, this 2008 Cab is good. It had a dark red to purple color with a red rim. The black fruit aroma was interrupted with cedar nuances. The taste was dominated with black raspberries on the smooth mouth feel. Bold tannins matched the fruity finish. This is good. I hope my Cab that will spend another twelve months in French oak turns out this good.

Cheers,
Terry

I couldn’t refrain from opening a bottle of the Cabernet Sauvignon that Kathy and I helped to make at Tin Lizzie Wineworks in Clarksville, Maryland. Today being Cabernet Day on Twitter was the perfect excuse to open the wine that had only been in bottle for 12 days. We were curious to see if the wine made with grapes from Stagecoach Vineyard in the Atlas Peak AVA of Napa Valley would life up to the hype.

Initial reaction, Wow! I can drink this wine without the need of food. It would also go well with food. The dark purple color with a dark ruby rim was eye catching. The aroma had the typical black fruit but also offered spicy nuances. The taste was layered with black fruit especially blackberries and black cherries followed by spices especially cloves. The smooth mouthfeel helps to make this wine drinkable without food. The finish began fruity then yealded to spices. The tannins were almost bold.

It will be interesting to see how well this wine ages, however, now that I opened a bottle I’m sure to deplete my stock.

Cheers,
Terry

Tasted a Cabernet Sauvignon wine produced in Lodi, California. We’ll open a  bottle of Cabernet  later today. A Cabernet Sauvignon should pair well with grilled hamburgers tonight.

The 337 wine was a 2007 with an alcohol level of 14.5 percent. The color was an opaque purple with a rim of purple. There were black fruit nuances and alcohol on the aroma. The taste was of black fruit particularly blackberries. The finish had tannins with heat. It seemed that the wine was not as balanced as it could have been. Suggested pairings for this wine were slow roasted meats or a tender filet.

The name for this wine is for the French vine clone. The grapevines are located in Lodi’s Clay Station Vineyard. According to the 337wine website, “The 337 clone is an early ripening grape with small berry clusters that deliver a bold, but luscious wine with spice and blackberry.”

You can visit the 337 website at www.337wine.com.

Enjoy a Cabernet Sauvignon today!

Cheers! Kathy

Many of the wineries that we have traveled to since January 2007 offer Labor Day weekend events and entertainment. For this holiday weekend, Wine Trail Traveler partners’ events are listed below. Be sure to check with the wineries for any changes in their schedules. Enjoy browsing for a winery event that interests you.

Cheers! Kathy

Friday, September 3

Messina Hof Winery & Resort, Texas
Event: Tailgate Special Menu

Barrel Oak Winery, Virginia
Event: Art Show by Ben Roeder

Chateau Chantal, Michigan
Event: Tapas Tour
Reservations Required

Laurello Vineyards, Ohio
Event: Concert- 4 Kings

Messina Hof Winery & Resort, Texas
Event: Tailgate Special Menu

Tarara Winery, Virginia
Event: Music on the Deck-Shane Gamble

Serpent Ridge Vineyard, Maryland
Event: First Friday Event: Music/Blue Moon Revue

Barrel Oak Winery, Virginia
Event: Lexie Hayden on Guitar

Ferrante Winery & Ristorante, Ohio
Event: Music/All 4 One

Barrel Oak Winery, Virginia
Event: TGISunsets

Saturday, September 4

Winery at LaGrange, Virginia
Event: Anniversary Weekend

Barrel Oak Winery, Virginia
Event: The Grapes Crush

Laurello Vineyards, Ohio
Event: Concert- Uncharted Course

Tarara Winery, Virginia
Event: “Toast to the Tunes summer Concert Series” – The Wall and Frye Band

Vezer Family Vineyard, California
Event: The Wes/Benson Experience

The Winery at LaGrange, Virginia
4th Anniversary of Winery Opening

Chateau Chantal, Michigan
Event: Tapas Tour
Reservations Required

Three Fox Vineyards, Virginia
Event: Bocce Blast!

Ferrante Winery & Ristorante, Ohio
Event: Music/Dennis Ford

Three Fox Vineyards, Virginia
Event: “Winemaker Walkabout”

Ferrante Winery & Ristorante, Ohio
Event: Music/Blues Highway

Barrel Oak Winery, Virginia
Event: FarmDoubt Rocks BOW!
Event: TGI Sunsets

Lorimar Winery, California
Event: Live@Lorimar/Joey Hambrick

Chateau Chantal, Michigan
Event: Wine Dinner
Reservations Required

Sunday, September 5

Barrel Oak Winery, Virginia
Event: BOW’s Endless Summer/Tropical Labor Day Celebration

The Winery at LaGrange, Virginia
Event: Anniversary Weekend

DelFosse Vineyards & Winery, Virginia
Event: Labor Day Weekend BBQ

Barrel Oak Winery, Virginia
Event: Poor Ellen Smith

Tarara Winery, Virginia
Event: Music on the Deck-Steve McWilliams

Ferrante Winery & Ristorante, Ohio
Event: Music/Tom Todd

Three Fox Vineyards, Virginia
Event: “Winemaker Walkabout”
Event: Meet the Dog Star!

Messina Hof Winery & Resort, Texas
Event: Cooking Party with Visiting Chef

Monday, September 6

The Winery at LaGrange, VA
Event: Anniversary Weekend

DelFosse Winery, Virginia
Event: Labor Day Weekend BBQ

Barrel Oak Winery, Virginia
Event: Gaylor & Katsu Performing

Three Fox Vineyards, Virginia
Event: Winemaker’s Smoker

Tarara Winery, Virginia
Event: Music on the Deck-Josh Burgess

With Labor Day quickly approaching, are you searching for recipes that can be cooked on the grill? Grilling can be delightful any time of the year but especially during a long weekend like Labor Day weekend. Hopefully hurricane Earl manages to slip past the East Coast without damage and the weather will be great for grilling.

Enjoy trying this recipe that includes the use of white wine

Cheers! Kathy

Sweet and Sour Pork Kebabs

Yield: serves 8

Ingredients

2 lbs Canadian Pork loin, boneless, cut (1 kg) in 1 inch (2.5 cm) cubes
1/2 c (125 mL) dry white wine
1/4 c (50 mL) ketchup
2 T (25 mL) vinegar
1 t (5 mL)Worcestershire sauce
1/3 c (75 mL) brown sugar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 t (5 mL) powdered mustard
1/2 t (2 mL) ground black pepper
1 medium onion, cut in 8 wedges
1 red pepper, cut into 1 in (2.5 cm) chunks
1 can (14 fl oz/398 mL) pineapple, chunks, drained
16 each mushrooms, cherry tomatoes

Cooking Instructions

1. Place Pork in a plastic bag or non-metal sealable container.
2. In a saucepan, combine wine, ketchup, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, garlic, powdered mustard and black pepper and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
3. Cool and pour over Pork cubes. Close container and marinate 2 hours or overnight in refrigerator.
4. If using bamboo skewers, presoak in water 1 hour to prevent burning.
5. Drain marinade into a small saucepan and boil 1 minute.
6. Thread Pork cubes onto skewers, alternating meat with wedges of onion, chunks of red pepper, pineapple, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes.
7. Preheat barbecue on high; reduce temperature to medium. Place kebabs on grill; close barbecue cover and grill kebabs 10 to 12 minutes, turning often and basting with marinade.

Provided by Put Pork On Your Fork website

Are you ready to join the twitter wine tasting tomorrow, Sept 2? All you need is a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, access to Twitter and use hashtag #Cabernet. This event hosted by Rick Bakas, Director of Social Media at St. Supery Winery in Napa Valley is about tasting Cabernet Sauvignon and connecting with other likeminded people via in person or on Twitter. If you don’t already belong to Twitter it’s easy to start. Terry has written an extensive article, “World-wide Cabernet Sauvignon Twitter tasting event” about the September 2 Cabernet Day event.

To add to the Twitter wine tasting experience, invite a few friends over and ask them to bring along a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon to share. Provide snacks or hors d’oeuvres and spend time enjoying friends, conversation and wine.

If you prefer, visit a winery and enjoy a tasting of the Cabernet Sauvignons available. Take some friends as well as a designated driver. If the winery doesn’t have Internet access take your own and tweet about the wines. Be sure to follow the hash tag #Cabernet to see what others are saying and to respond.

Wineries that produce Cabernet Sauvignon are also invited to join the fun. For more information about how wineries can participate in this online Cabernet event, read the blog at http://www.stsupery.com/blog/2010/06/7-ways-wineries-can-rock-cabernet-day-on-twitter/.

Hope to see you on Twitter using the hashtag #Cabernet tomorrow!

Cheers! Kathy

Tuesdays are known as traveltuesday for a group interested in travel on Twitter. Just use the hashtag #traveltuesday after your tweet about travel.

Today (Tuesday) is the perfect day to suggest that those who enjoy tasting wine at wineries check out the itineraries on the Wine Trail Traveler website. If you will be traveling for Labor Day weekend, you may want to consider one of the itineraries. Keep in mind that these itineraries are suggestions only but they do give wine enthusiasts a starting point. These itineraries are based on two to three day trips and provide a tool in helping you with planning travel to wine regions.

States covered in the itineraries include California, Colorado, Maryland, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Washington. There are also three itineraries for Ontario, Canada. Altogether there are more than 50 itineraries available on the website.

Enjoy planning a visit to wine regions across the country.

Cheers! Kathy

When I was in college I enjoyed learning about politics. In fact I majored in Political Science and was a summer intern on Capitol Hill. All those years ago, I was impressed with the Congressman I worked for and what I was doing in his office. Frequently there were messages from constituents who asked for help and the staff would work on solving the issue or providing information to help. Yes, I was young and idealistic. I knew what politics historically had been like and believed it had changed for the better.

As years have passed and I see politicians on both sides of the aisle distort their records and mislead voters, I have become dissatisfied and wonder why I ever thought politicians would work for the constituents. I even believed that “common sense” was applicable to all issues and that’s what politicians should focus on concerning legislation. Today I’ve turned 180 degrees and am convinced that politicians are only concerned with voting for legislation that will keep them in office. Of course staying in office also requires money and it appears that politicians are more than willing to accept donations from lobbyists for their election campaigns.

In Maryland direct  wine shipping foes are providing money to help politicians win elections. How will the majority of these politicians vote? Just look at their past records. For more information about politics and wine in Maryland visit Maryland Wine and Maryland for Better Beer & Wine Laws.

As far as the fall elections go, yes I’ll definitely vote but I will study what the candidates say now in comparison with their past actions. Learn about your politicians so you can Vote Smart!

Cheers! Kathy

It’s still summer so if you are grilling, here is a recipe for Grilled Peaches that uses red wine. Enjoy!

Cheers, Kathy

Grilled Peaches with Fresh Cherry Sauce

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

For the sauce:

1 lb dark Northwest cherries, pitted (about 1 cup)
1 T sugar
1/2 c dry red wine
1 t balsamic vinegar
1 t kirsch (cherry liqueur)

For the peaches:

4 medium peaches
2 T unsalted butter
2 T brown sugar
1 c vanilla ice cream
4 cookies

Directions

For the sauce:

1. To make the cherry sauce: In a sauté pan over medium-high heat, combine the pitted cherries, sugar, red wine, and balsamic vinegar.
2. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the fruit is soft, 6 to 8 minutes.
3. Transfer the mixture to a food processor and purée until completely smooth.
4. Return the mixture to the sauté pan over medium-high heat.
5. Add the kirsch.
6. Simmer until reduced to about 1/4 cup, 1 to 2 minutes.

For the peaches:

1. Cut the peaches in half and remove and discard the pits. Place the halves in a medium bowl.
2. In a small saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter and brown sugar together.
3. Coat the peaches with the butter mixture.
4. Grill the peaches over direct medium heat until grill marks are clearly visible and the peaches are soft, 10 to 12 minutes, turning once halfway through grilling time.
5. While the peaches are still warm, layer each serving glass with 2 peach halves, 1 scoop ice cream, and 1 tablespoon cherry sauce.
6. Tuck a cookie into each glass. Serve immediately.

Provided by Northwest Cherry Growers

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend! If you are planning on grilling salmon this weekend or for Labor Day weekend, you may enjoy this cherry sauce that is served over grilled salmon. It calls for ten ingredients but its an easy recipe to prepare. Enjoy!

Cheers! Kathy

Grilled Salmon Cherry Sauce

Ingredients

3 c pitted Northwest fresh sweet cherries
1/2 c water
1/2 c dry white wine
1/4 c chopped onion
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 T honey
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 t freshly grated lemon peel
1/2 t salt
1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes

Directions

1. In large saucepan, combine all ingredients; bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes or until mixture thickens, stirring frequently.
3. Serve over grilled salmon.

Recipe provided by Northwest Cherry Growers