View from Barrel Oak Winery, VA

This Memorial Day weekend is a big weekend at Barrel Oak Winery in Northern Virginia. They will be celebrating their 5^th anniversary of their opening.  At the same time they will be supporting the Red Cross in its efforts to help Oklahoma victims.

We first met Brian and Sharon Roeder, the owners of Barrel Oak Winery, before the winery was built. We’ve enjoyed watching the progress of the winery and vineyards from the very beginning.

They chose an ideal location for the winery just off of frequently traveled Interstate 66. This makes it easy to stop by while traveling or easy to get to and spend the day. After five years the winery has acres of vineyards surrounding the beautiful facility.

In celebration of their 5^th Anniversary they have several groups providing live music.

Friday:   Michael Stephenson 5:30-8:30pm
Saturday:  The Folsom Prisoners 5:30-8:30pm
Sunday:  The Electeds 1-5pm
Sunday: The Karl Stoll Power Trio 5:30-8:30pm
Monday:  Steve Hudson: 1-5pm

In addition, wine lovers are welcome to bring picnic baskets, children, grandparents and dogs. Wine tasting experiences at the John Marshall Tasting Experience will be 25 percent off.

In light of the tragic tornado in Oklahoma, Barrel Oak Winery is donating two percent of its gross proceeds from wine sales over Memorial Day Weekend, from Friday thru Monday, to the Red Cross to help the victims of the devastating tornado.

Support of charities is nothing new for Barrel Oak Winery. Throughout the year they have a variety of special events for a variety of charities.

When visiting Barrel Oak Winery this weekend be sure to buy a bottle of wine to help support Oklahoma.

Cheers! Kathy

Wine Trail Traveler

The spring edition of the Wine Trail Traveler Quarterly focuses on the wine regions in Europe and the US. Filled with many original photos, we hope you find the Spring Edition fun to browse through and may be inspired to travel to one of the wine regions.

Contents

On the Cover: The Abbey of Rosazzo in Udine, Italy
Focus on Friuli, Italy
Focus on Croatia
Focus on Long Island
Wine in the Bible: False Prophets and Bearing Fruit
Partners
Back Page: Wine is made in the vineyard

The Quarterly is available to view at http://winetrailtraveler.com/newsletter/magspring13.pdf.

If you missed the past editions of the Quarterly, they are available at
http://www.winetrailtraveler.com/newsletter/newsletter.php.

If you would like to receive an email reminder when a new Quarterly is published, please contact us at kathy (at) winetrailtraveler.com.

Cheers!
Kathy and Terry

A Maryland Vineyard

Each year Maryland is becoming home to more wineries and vineyards. Vineyards are a wonderful way to preserve the land. The establishment of wineries provides vineyard owners an opportunity to earn back some of the cost of planting and maintaining the vineyards. In some cases, value added farming helps farms and vineyards keep from selling out to developers.

Maryland recently passed a new law, House Bill 978 that Gov. O’Malley signed. Beginning June 1, this law allows wineries to sell their wines at farmers’ markets. This law is a win-win situation for winery owners and consumers. Wineries can sell their wines directly to consumers without the middleman and consumers can discover local wines without driving to the winery.

While many consumers have supported the eat local movement, it’s time for people to support the drink local movement.

It should be noted that not every Maryland farmers’ market may have a winery participating. Do your homework and find the local farmers’ market that will have wineries at their market.

According to Maryland’s Best website, currently six of the farmers’ markets in the state may have local wine for sale. This summer while perusing the locally grown vegetables, fruits and baked goods of Maryland be sure to checkout the Maryland wines.

As a resident of Maryland, I hope that more Maryland farmers markets will also feature local wines.

To view a list of Maryland’s farmers market go to http://marylandsbest.net/search.php#. If your favorite farmers’ market does not have a winery represented, contact the market and ask for it. Also contact Maryland wineries and ask them to participate.

Cheers!

Kathy

We received a bottle of 2009 Ventosa Vines Bobal for review and were anxious to try it. The wine was made from the Bobal grape, a variety that we had not tasted before. Bobal is indigenous to Spain and grapes for this wine were grown in Manchuela, a comarca of Castila-La-Mancha. This area receives constant breezes from the Mediterranean that cools the vines. Ventosa is the Spanish word for windy. Think of the scene of a windmill and Don Quixote. A windmill image is on the bottle label.

The wine was a dark ruby to purple color. It had black fruit on the bouquet and taste with a hint of violets. There was a slight oak influence, but it was noted in the background. Perhaps the most impressive part of the quaffable wine was the velvety mouth feel. It is so soft that I wonder if white wine lovers would like this Bobal if they tried it. I was also surprised to see that the alcohol was only 12.5%, lower than expected for a wine from a Mediterranean climate. The grape has been gaining in popularity recently in part due to the ability to make a smooth lower alcohol wine.

In June there will be a United Sates tour of wines from the Castilla-La-Mancha area in three cities: Houston, June 3rd, Denver, June 5th and Los Angeles on June 6th. Check out the Facebook page.

Cheers,
Terry

As the weather takes a turn for the better in some areas of the country, take time to spend some of your leisure hours at a local winery. Look for music and special events  including movies and a photography workshop.

Cheers! Kathy

Friday, May 17

Cava Winery, New Jersey
Event: Wine and Dine
Website Info

Lorimar Vineyards and Winery, CA
Music: Live Music in Wine Country
Website Info

Saturday, May 18

Lorimar Vineyards and Winery, CA
Music: Live Music in Wine Country
Event: Anniversary Celebration
Music: Live Music in Old Town
Website Info

The Home Place, Virginia
Event: Vinton Food and Wine Festival
Website Info

Sunday, May 19

Cava Winery, New Jersey
Music: Retro Casters
Event: Photography Workshop & Photo Contest 
Website Info

DelFosse Vineyards & Winery, Virginia
Event: Food and Wine Pairing
Website Information

Lorimar Vineyards and Winery, CA
Music: Live Music in Wine Country
Website Info

Monday, May 20

Lorimar Vineyards and Winery, CA
Event: Movie in the Vines
Website Info

Wednesday, May 22

Reid’s Orchard & Winery, PA
Event: Game Night at Jennie’s House
Website Info

The 9^th Annual Art, Wine & Wheels Festival is scheduled for June 8. Sponsored by the Mariposa Rotary Club the festival takes place at the Mariposa County Fairgrounds, California. This is about three hours from San Francisco. This annual festival supports wineries, local artists and car buffs.

Wine lovers, art lovers and nostalgic car enthusiasts will also be able to enjoy refreshments and live music by Tim Hager & Friends. A blind tasting is also included.

No admission is charged; however, to taste wines visitors can purchase a Sierra Tel commemorative wine glass with six tasting tickets for $10.

Wineries participating in the event include:

• Butterfly Creek Winery
• Silver Fox Winery
• Ciera Wines
• Casto Oaks Wine

Art Lovers

A special art show, “Small Wonders” is a collection of original pieces donated by artists. The show helps support the Rotary Club’s Community Gifting program. People can buy raffle tickets for the art.  Details are available online. Art images can be submitted until May 24.

Enthusiasts of Restored Cars

Enjoy the display of restored cars from other generations. If you have an old car you would like to display contact the Rotary Club at rbrower@sti.net. The first 20 to register their car will receive a free sandwich at festival.

Enjoy a day in Mariposa while tasting wines, viewing local art, and taking a trip back in memory lane as you view restored cars.

Cheers! Kathy

This weekend the Wine in the Woods festival takes place in Howard County, Maryland.  It is one of Maryland’s best-known wine festivals and held each year in Columbia. This year 36 Maryland wineries will be attending the two-day festival.

Several wine seminars will be conducted as part of the festival. Members of the Tasters Guild International will present seminars. Session topics include:

• Wine Tasting 101
• Maryland White wines
• Maryland Red Wines
• Maryland Dessert Wines

Craft and Art Vendors

An array of craft and artist vendors will be showing their wares. Taste some wine and be sure to browse the tents of the vendors. There will be something for everyone to browse including: photography on canvas, carved wood pieces, jewelry, stained glass, wine glass racks, silk screen prints, hanging chairs, candles, wine bottle art, handbags and totes, log furniture, forged iron ware, birdhouses, wine trivets, and much more.

Festival Music

Live Music entertainment includes: classic, rock, Dave Matthews Tribute Band, funk rock, pop rock with country soul, reggae, 80s, soul rock and Motown, jazz, and Latin reggae.

The Festival Food

What would a festival be without food? Specialty food vendors will be available as well as many restaurants. Specialties to look for include: fudge, olive oils, cheeses, breads and chocolate truffles.

Saturday Tickets (Saturday tickets include lawn seating for “The Band Perry” concert at Merriweather Post Pavilion.)

• Wine Tasting Tickets: $40
• Designated Drivers: $25
• Youth (ages 3 -20) $25

Sunday Tickets

• Wine Tasting Tickets: $35
• Designated Drivers: $20
• Youth (ages 3 -20) $20

More information is available on the Wine in the Woods website.

Spero Winery in Denver, CO

The 3^rd Annual Colorado Wine Week takes place June 2 to June 8.  Events will include winemaker dinners, receptions, wine tastings and cocktail competitions. All week an array of Denver restaurants will provide an appetizer/snack on the menu with a Colorado wine. These will be served at special pricing.

June 2: Farm to Turntable

• Includes farm fresh flavors by EatDenver chefs, an all-Colorado bar, paired with music

June 4: Colorado Wine Cocktail Celebration II

• Four Denver bartenders will make cocktails using Colorado wine and bitters, spirits and other items. Tickets include one complimentary wine cocktail. Other tastings and snacks will be available at a cash bar.

June 7: Governor’s Cup Colorado Wine Competition Awards Reception

• 20 Colorado wineries will have wine samples and hors d’oeuvres

June 8: Colorado Urban Wine Fest

• Many Colorado wineries (more than 30) will participate in the grant tasting of Colorado wines. Attendees will be able to sample the wines with items from local Denver restaurants.
• Special tickets are available that include Uber’s black car service – a great way to leave the driving to someone else

For tickets and more information about Colorado Wine Week visit the CAVE website.

Colorado has numerous delightful wineries to visit. Checkout these articles about Colorado wineries.

Cheers, Kathy

West of Atlanta, Georgia is Carroll County. This county has taken its first steps into becoming a wine region by granting a permit for the establishment of a winery.

According to a Times-Georgian.com article “Vineyard gets county’s first commercial winery permit” by Winston Jones, Carroll County has issued its first permit for a conditional use permit. This will allow the construction of a winery building.  The owner of the property currently has young vineyards established. The winery building is expected to be finished in time for the 2014 harvest and will be named Little Vine Vineyards.

Georgia is not well known for vineyards and wineries. Some people think that the climate is not conducive to growing the type and quality of grapes needed for making quality wines. Pierce’s disease is also a challenge for grape growers. However, wine lovers and travelers may want to check out the website of The Vineyard and Winery Association of West Georgia. This website includes information about wineries and vineyards in the West Georgia region. According to the association, grape varieties that do well in West Georgia include Blanc du Bois, Norton, Villard Blanc, and Lenoir. Of course Muscadine grapes do well in Georgia.

The Georgia Wine Country website offers a lot of information about wineries in Georgia including a map that shows the location of more than 40 wineries with the majority of wineries in northern Georgia.

Traveling to Georgia? Check out some of the wineries.

Cheers! Kathy

Wollersheim Winery, Wisconsin

If you’re looking for a special way to celebrate Mother’s Day with your mom, checkout this recipe below for Chocolate Fondue from Wollersheim Winery in Wisconsin. Many moms would appreciate a relaxing afternoon dipping an assortment of fruit or perhaps pound cake into a fondue pot filled with chocolate.

Cheers! Kathy

Chocolate Fondue

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
16 oz. milk chocolate
1/4 cup evaporated milk
2 tablespoons Wollersheim White Riesling or River Gold Wine
Fresh fruit or Pound Cake for dipping (grapes, bananas, pineapple, oranges)

Directions

1. Over a double boiler, melt the ingredients while constantly stirring.
2. Pour the sauce into the fondue pot and keep at lowest heat.
3. To serve, dip the fresh fruit into the sauce and enjoy.

Recipe provided by Wollersheim Winery, Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin