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Save the Date September 21 – 22 for The Maryland Wine Festival

August 15, 2013 – 4:12 pm

The Maryland Wine Festival at the Carroll County Farm Museum in Westminster, Maryland is celebrating its 30th anniversary on September 21 and 22. Rather than driving and parking at the museum, it is recommended that attendees use the shuttles available at the Carroll Community College and the Carroll County Office Building.

Visitors to the Maryland Wine Festival will discover an assortment of things to enjoy.

  • Wine Tastings from many Maryland wineries
  • Learning sessions include: educational seminars on tasting Maryland wines, Chair Seat Weaving & Caning, Carroll wood carving, and techniques for using grapes to make wine.
  • Arts and Crafts
  • Live Music

Two types of tickets are available. The Premier Pass holders receive the same as the regular ticket holders plus entry into the Premier Tent that offers:

  • Sampling of premium Maryland wines, many not offered outside the Premier Tent
  • A large glass to use in the Premier tent and elsewhere throughout the festival
  • Gourmet food samples
  • An opportunity to meet winemakers
  • A blind tasting with Maryland wines and wines from outside of Maryland

If the Premier tickets interest you, be sure to get your tickets early, as only 400 tickets for each day are available.

Advance tickets are available at
http://www.missiontix.com/page/searchResults/?venue=Maryland%20Wine%20Festival.

Volunteers Are Needed

Many festivals are dependent upon volunteers. This festival is in need of volunteers to sell tickets, check IDs, apply wristbands, monitor gates and more. Volunteer shifts are only three hours. Each volunteer receives free admission to The Maryland Wine Festival. If you are interested in volunteering at the Maryland Wine Festival visit the volunteer page at http://www.marylandwine.org/mwf/volunteer/

Wineries are also looking for volunteers to help at the tasting booths. If you are interested in helping to pour wines at the festival, check with individual winery

By Kathy | Posted in Wine News/Commentary | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Is Your State Wine Friendly or Not?

August 12, 2013 – 7:18 am

Discover how friendly your state is for wine consumers. The American Wine Consumer Coalition located in Washington, DC has issued a report about the state of the wine industry in terms of how friendly it is for consumers to purchase wine. The states and the District of Columbia are graded from A+ to F.

The study addressed six consumer wine issues:

  • Winery Shipping
  • No State Monopoly on Wine Sales
  • Retailer Shipping
  • Sunday Wine Sales
  • Bringing Wine Into Restaurants
  • Wine Sales in Grocery Stores

The  wine friendly states with the top scores include: California, District of Columbia, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oregon, Virginia, Louisiana, and Nevada.

Those states receiving an F include: Alabama, Colorado, Indiana, South Dakota, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Delaware, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Utah.

Wondering how your state scored? The report can be viewed at
http://www.wineconsumers.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/ConsumingConcerns4small1.pdf.

If your state did not get a high rating, discover where it needs to improve. Write letters and make phone calls and eventually your voice will be heard.

Another website to visit is Free the Grapes. According to their mission statement, Free the Grapes! is a national grassroots coalition of wine lovers, wineries and retailers who seek to remove restrictions in states that still prohibit consumers from purchasing wines directly from wineries and retailers.”

Cheers!

Kathy

By Kathy | Posted in Wine News/Commentary | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

New Wine Movie, August 16th

August 10, 2013 – 10:54 am

Some fathers and sons have had conflicts; they may not always see eye-to-eye. The conflict between Paul and his son Martin may appear to be from the Bible. However the setting for You Will Be My Son is in St. Émilion, France in the world-famous Bordeaux wine region. Paul has serious doubts about his son’s ability to take the reigns of the vineyard and winery even though he has an oenology degree. Martin lacks a palate. In this drama, a palate is more important than a degree, and a vineyard and wine are as important characters in the film as are the actors.

To further place a wedge between father and son, the ailing vineyard manager’s son, Philippe, comes to help in the vineyard. Paul immediately takes a liking to Philippe thus driving his own son Martin further away. The women in their lives seem to be helpless as though looking on from the sidelines until an unexpected twist changes the families forever.

The setting for the film is in the town of St. Émilion and the surrounding vineyards. We were in St. Émilion during July 2013, and the vineyard scenes in the film look like what we saw driving in the area and visiting a winery and vineyard in the area. The town itself is hilly and quaint.

You Will Be My Son is directed and co-written by: Gilles Legrand. The movie is starring:  Niels Arestrup, Lorànt Deutsch, Patrick Chesnais, Anne Marivan and Nicolas Bridet. The film is in French with English subtitles. It opens August 16th in select theaters from Cohen Media Group.

Cheers,
Terry

You Will Be My Son, Trailer

 

By Terry | Posted in Wine News/Commentary | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Florida Winery Celebrates 10th Anniversary with a Special Contest

August 9, 2013 – 8:39 am

Keel & Curley Winery in Florida is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a fun marketing idea. Wine lovers in Georgia and Florida will have the opportunity to purchase a bottle of wine and discover a golden cork. Ten prizes will be awarded to the lucky winners.

The ten customers who find the golden corks will get together on October 10 at the winery to compete for the grand prize. The grand prize is a trip to Napa Valley and includes a train tour to renowned wineries in California. The other winners will receive a Keel and Curley gift basket, a case of wine and certificates.

Keel & Curley Winery in Florida is a unique winery. Originally a blueberry farm, Keel wanted to find a way to use the blueberries still left at the end of the season. After making a small amount of blueberry wine, he kept making more until he had perfected his “recipe.” Today Keel & Curley Winery produces three types of blueberry wines from 100 percent blueberries. They also produce two blackberry wines with 100 percent blackberries.

In addition to these wines they are producing “fusion” wines that are wines made with fruit and grape wines. Examples include Peach Chardonnay, Black Raspberry Merlot and Wild Berry Pinot Noir. Of course, Keel & Curley also produces traditional wines including Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Riesling and Chardonnay.

If you enjoy wine and like me have a passion for seeking out new wines, why not check out what Keel & Curley Winery has to offer?

Unfortunately for the majority of the US, the Keel & Curley wines are only available in Georgia and Florida. If you will be in Georgia or Florida why not look for Keel & Curley wines with a golden cork?

Kathy

PS Whether you enjoy fruit wines or not, a blackberry wine or blueberry wine can make a wonderful dessert. Check out the dessert recipes on the Wine Trail Traveler website.

By Kathy | Posted in Winery Events | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Enjoy Wine and Grape Harvest 2013 and/or Make Your Own Wine!

August 8, 2013 – 9:28 am

Vint Hill Craft Winery, Virginia

This time of year provides the opportunity to visit wineries during the height of the harvest season. There is a busyness that permeates the winery scene in the vineyards, wineries and tasting rooms. Watch and enjoy; if a tour is available discover even more about the wines you like. Below is a list of activities coming up this week. Check with the wineries for details about events.

If you are feeling creative consider making your own wine at a winery. We’ve made wine at Vint Hill Craft Winery in Virginia and Tin Lizzie Wineworks in Maryland. Quite a few wineries around the country offer wine enthusiasts the opportunity to make their own wine whether it’s a barrel or a case of wine. Don’t wait to sign up to produce your own wine; harvest time is already here.

Cheers!

Kathy

Thursday, August 8

Chateau Chantal, MI
Event: Tapas Tour
Music: Jazz at Sunset
Website Info

Grand River Cellars, OH
Event: Brushes & Lushes
Website Info

Friday, August 9

Chateau Chantal, MI
Event: Tapas Tour
Event: Wine Dinner
Website Info

Lorimar Vineyards and Winery, Calif
Event: Live Music in Wine Country
Event: Bodhi Smith Artist Showcase 
Website Info

The Homeplace Vineyard, VA
Event: Flip Flop Fridays
Website Info

The Winery at Perennial Vineyards, OH
Music: John Stipe
Website Info

Saturday, August 10

Chateau Chantal, MI
Event: Tapas Tour
Event: Wine Dinner
Website Info

Lorimar Vineyards and Winery, Calif
Music: Live Music in Wine Country
Music: Live Music in Old Town
Website Info

Reid’s Orchard & Winery, PA
Music: Music in the Valley
Website Info

Three Fox Vineyards, VA
Event: Dog Days of August
Website Info

Sunday, August 11

Chateau Chantal, MI
Event: Tapas Tour
Website Info

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

Reid’s Orchard & Winery, PA
Music: Music in the Valley
Website Info

Slack Winery, MD
Event: Songwriter David Norris, Southern Maryland to Nashville and Home Again
Website Info

Three Fox Vineyards, VA
Event: Dog Days of August
Website Info

Monday, August 12

Chateau Chantal, MI
Event: Tapas Tour
Website Info

Tuesday, August 13

Chateau Chantal, MI
Event: Tapas Tour
Event: Wine Dinner
Website Info

Wednesday, August 14

Chateau Chantal, MI
Event: Tapas Tour
Event: Wine Dinner
Website Info

Lorimar Vineyards and Winery, Calif
Event: Rhapsody of Reds- Wine Club Pick Up Party (for members only)
Website Info

The Winery at Perennial Vineyards, OH
Music: Jimmy Chesterfield
Website Info

By Kathy | Posted in Winery Events | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Wine Trail Traveler Summer Quarterly

August 5, 2013 – 7:42 am

For several years Wine Trail Traveler has written articles and put travel photos into a format readers would enjoy. The Quarterly originally began as a monthly newsletter; we soon realized that the amount of work to pull it all together prevented us from our other writing initiatives and we decided to go with the Quarterly that is longer than the original newsletter. This summer’s Quarterly is filled with many photos from wineries and vineyards  in the wine worlds of Quebec (yes, Quebec wineries also have vineyards!) Champagne, Burgundy and Bordeaux.

In the fall our Quarterly will include some of the more recently visited wineries in Texas.

Below are the contents of Wine Trail Traveler Summer Quarterly.

On the Cover: Domaine Belluard, AYSE, France Focus on Champagne, France
Focus on Burgundy, France
Focus on Bordeaux, France
Focus on Quebec, Canada
Wine in the Bible: A Tale of a Birthright: The Best and Worst of Wine and Humanity Comment on Our Visits to France and Quebec
Partners
Back Page: Romanee Conti vineyard in Bourgogne. 

The recent summer quarterly is available at
http://winetrailtraveler.com/newsletter/magsummer13.pdf.

We hope you enjoy this summer’s Quarterly look at wineries we have recently visited. If you have questions or want to know more, please contact us.

Cheers!

Hope you all are having a wonderful summer!

P.S. All of the past issues of the Wine Trail Traveler Quarterly are available at
http://www.winetrailtraveler.com/newsletter/newsletter.php.

 

By Kathy | Posted in Wine News/Commentary | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Wine Trail Traveler Summer Quarterly

Losing to the Aggies

August 3, 2013 – 9:39 am

It is always nice not to get too serious about wine and vineyards. We had a great time a week ago, harvesting Lenoir grapes at Messina Hof Winery in Bryan, Texas. To make harvest more interesting, it was already fun, pickers could choose a cluster of grapes to enter into the Big Kahuna contest. I picked a rather large cluster and entered the contest. To my surprise, I was called up with nine other contest participants and asked to perform something. We were the first group of ten. Another group of ten followed.

So on the spot I had to think fast. So I sang made up harvest lyrics for Pagliacci “Vesti la giubba.” It was a real crowd pleaser until the last group of ten performed. Near the end of that group someone began singing the Aggie song and a party broke out. People were singing and dancing. I really like the college spirit, but the Aggie song over creative Pagliacci. Defeat at the hands of Texas A&M didn’t last too long. While visiting wineries in Fredericksburg, Texas I saw an interesting wine name at Fredericksburg Winery. Apparently this is LongHorn Country.

Jene Switzer said that they named this wine especially for Texas A&M Aggies. The wine’s name was Esor fo Ehcanerg. Jene commented that any Aggie could read and understand the grape used to make this wine. “Aggies are backwards. They read the name backwards to understand it.” Go ahead, read Esor fo Ehcanerg backwards and you’ll discover the name of the grape that went into the wine. Backwards or not, Aggies are fun.

Cheers,
Terry

By Terry | Posted in Wine News/Commentary | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

A Computer as an Instructional Tool for Wine Tasting

July 30, 2013 – 6:34 am

What color is a wine? How intense is the aroma? Is the wine’s acid lively? Would you say the alcohol in a wine is weak, balanced or hot? These questions may intimidate beginning as well as experienced wine tasters. They need not turn curious wine enthusiasts away though. With the help of a computer and The Wine Profilers website, you will be guided through a tasting and will evaluate a wine as you taste. For example as you evaluate a wine’s color and hue, an image on the computer screen shows the color/hue. You can try to match what you see in the glass as close to what you see on the computer.

There are a series of evaluation responses for you to make. On your computer, a differential allows you to place a mark where you you think it should go based on your evaluation. For example, you can mark a wine’s aromatic intensity as inexpressive, discrete, expressive or very expressive. You can also place your mark between these descriptors. You can add gustatory comments, useful if you want to know what you thought of a wine at a later date. You can rate the wine between one to five stars and indicate how long the wine should age before you drink it.

Perhaps the most valuable tool of this Internet site is your score based on your analysis and the analysis of a professional panel. You will see where you placed your mark and where the marks were placed by a professional panel. If there is a large difference between your score and that of the professional panel, that would indicate an area for you to practice. Wine homework, where you have to taste wines, is the best homework one can ever have assigned.

The Wine Profilers is the creation of husband/wife team Michel Buillard and Melba Allen from France. They both have extensive backgrounds in wine and want to share their knowledge with the public. Their website offers gentle wine education as well as a basis for evaluating wine. Melba presented a wine tasting seminar at Messina Hof Winery in Bryan, Texas on Sunday July 28th. Several people attended the presentation and, along with their computers as an aid, evaluated three Messina Hof wines. The participants liked the session, one that opened their eyes towards wine evaluation.

Don’t think wine evaluation is only for professional writers. Anyone can do it. Evaluating a wine does take practice. If you enjoy computers and Internet sites, The Wine Profilers website may be the perfect tool for you to learn to evaluate wine.

Cheers.
Terry

By Terry | Posted in Wine Notes | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Harvesting Grapes at Messina Hof Winery

July 27, 2013 – 11:07 am

About 150 people showed up for the harvest at Messina Hof Winery in Bryan, Texas today. A testament of how much this winery is appreciated in the Lone Star State. Paul Mitchell Bonarrigo, son of founders Paul and Merrill Bonarrigo, gave a brief family history, history of the vineyard and instructions for harvesting grapes. The group then proceeded out to the vineyard. It was a cloudy day with a light breeze, perfect conditions for harvesting Lenoir (aka Black Spanish). Each couple received a lug and Kathy and I headed to a row and settled down to harvest.

It was easier for me to kneel. The clusters were generally towards the bottom of the vines up to the middle. We used curved harvesting knives to cut the grape cluster from the vine. This was the second time Kathy and I were in a vineyard cutting grape clusters. We filled three lugs in 30 minutes. A pace that is too slow for professionals, but out performed our earlier attempt at harvesting grapes.

There was a contest for most unusual grape clusters. One of my clusters was selected in the top 20. The competition then turned into a talent show. Each person had to preform something. I resorted to comical opera. As a result I made it to the final six. After the competition it was time for us to sanitize our feet and start to crush grapes by stomping on them. After this delightful experience, I stepped on a tee shirt to leave a foot imprint made of grape juice. This is a lasting remembrance of a wonderful day at Messina Hof Winery.

Cheers,
Terry

By Terry | Posted in Wine News/Commentary | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

“A Wine Tourist’s Guide: Visiting Tasting Rooms”

July 26, 2013 – 9:53 am

For years we have monitored our website traffic. One article, month after month, year after year, has consistently had the most views. That article is Tasting Room Etiquette. In the spring of 2013, we decided that since that is the most viewed article over a seven year period of time, we should expand the content of the article. We became carried away. What was to be a revision turned into a book chapter. That led to other chapters. Now we have a book.

A Wine Tourist’s Guide: Visiting Tasting Rooms was sent to our publisher this week. Based on last year’s experience, it should take them three months before we see the printed books. Infinity did note that they now have a quicker turn around then they did a year ago. This book is designed for the novice wine taster as well as the road warrior who has visited hundreds of winery tasting rooms.

Chapters include:

Tasting Room Expectations
Tasting Room Etiquette
Wine Tasting
Common International Grape Varieties
Some Common Wine Myths and Misconceptions
How to Plan a Visit to a Tasting Room
Appendix: Wine Tourism Club
Glossary of Wine Terms

The paperback book is 90 pages and we are hoping for a below $10 price point, although our publisher has not given us the retail price yet. This book would be prefect for wine tour operators to give to their clients. Winery tasting rooms and cellar doors may also want copies of this book in their tasting rooms.

For those wine enthusiasts that like to visit winery tasting room, A Wine Tourist’s Guide: Visiting Tasting Rooms is a wonderful guide for expanding your experience. For the beginner, this guide will help you overcome any fears about visiting wineries and vineyards and give you an idea of what to expect.

Watch for further blog reports over the next couple months. Once we receive a retail price from the publisher, we will start taking pre-publication orders at a reduced price.

Cheers,
Terry

By Terry | Posted in Wine News/Commentary | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

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