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A Return to Yadkin Valley in North Carolina

November 28, 2012 – 4:59 pm

Our return visit to Yadkin Valley and Swan Creek AVAs in North Carolina began Monday with a delightful visit with Chuck and Jamey Johnson, owners of two wineries about half an hour west of Winston-Salem.

The Johnsons had already started Shadow Springs Vineyard when a nearby winery became available. They purchased the neighboring winery, renaming it Windsor Run Cellars.

Chuck and Jamey knew they wanted the two wineries to have their own individual personalities and wines. Today the outside of Windsor Run Cellars tasting room is a natural reddish wood reminding one of a large cottage. Inside it offers a relaxed, cozy atmosphere. Large windows overlooking nearby vineyards make one feel as if they are in the vineyard. Wines are produced from their own vineyards and the nearby Ferguson Vineyard, a vineyard owned by “the Judge.” In addition to traditional wines, Windsor Run Cellars also produces Apple Mead and Cherry Smash. The Windsor Run wines have intriguing names including Justice, Judge’s Verdict, Hillbilly Holiday and Midnight Run.

Wine enthusiasts will also enjoy a visit to Shadow Springs Vineyard tasting room just minutes away from Windsor Run Cellars. When approaching the tasting room, travelers will see what might appear to be a small stone castle, elegant with its stone walls and trim. Inside the tasting room is a combination of maple, cherry and oak. The tasting counter is maple. Plenty of light provides a bright and cheerful atmosphere. A selection of gift items is available for purchase. Shadow Springs’ wines include traditional varietals as well as a strawberry wine named Shortcake and a red blend with dark chocolate named Dark Shadow.

When visiting Winston-Salem area be sure to stop at Windsor Run Cellars and Shadow Springs Vineyard.

Cheers, Kathy

By Kathy | Posted in Winery Tasting Rooms and Cellar Doors | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Firsts

November 27, 2012 – 5:31 pm

There are always firsts. Some may be cause concern while others are to be celebrated. Our first book, A Wine Journey, was published on November 9th. Today we signed our first copy. It was a dreary rainy day in the Yadkin Valley of North Carolina. Our 1:00 appointment didn’t show up at their winery so we had to quickly decide what to do. We did contact another winery to visit, one that previously did not respond to our inquiries nor the person setting up our itinerary. We were in luck, he was at the winery and we could visit at 2:00. That let us some time, so we decided to stop in at Rag Apple Lassie, a winery we previously visited and wrote about on the Wine Trail Traveler site.

The owners, Lenna and Frank Hobson, were not at the winery. We did want to leave them with a signed copy of our book since we mentioned Rag Apple Lassie in the book. Opening up to the first page, we signed the book. Hopefully they will receive the book we left in the tasting room. This was the first of what we hope to be many book signings.

The hardest part about the whole book process is the publishing and selling part. Writing was simple in comparison. We do not know how many books were sold by the publisher or Amazon. We can keep track, though, of the ones we sign. We are scheduled for a book signing event on December 15th between 2:00 pm and 5:00 pm at Pearmund Cellars in Broad Run, Virginia. That will be our first book signing event. Another first to celebrate, hopefully.

Cheers,
Terry

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

“A Wine Journey” Now on Amazon, Sometimes

November 26, 2012 – 8:12 pm

Our first book, A Wine Journey appeared on Amazon.com last week. Originally it was marked as “Temporarily out of stock” but Kathy and I were able to create our author pages. On Friday they had stock and by Friday evening the book was once again “Temporarily out of stock.” The hard cover edition has always been “Temporarily out of stock.” As new authors we do not know what to make of this. We assume that Amazon received a few copies and it looks like another reseller picked them up and has them for sale. Amazon had a better deal if you were able to order other books because ours was eligible for free super saving shipping.

How Amazon works is a part of our learning curve. Just their logo is part of our learning curve. For example I didn’t realize that there was a smile as a part of the logo. With television advertisements I learned that it is a smile. Furthermore, my son-in-law, Andy, pointed out the smile is an arrow that moves from “A” to “Z” in the name Amazon. In other words Amazon has everything from A to Z. I never saw that before. It is like the arrow in the FedEx name – just look for it.

Now that our book is sometimes on Amazon, we are curious to see how long it will remain “Temporarily out of stock.”

Cheers,
Terry

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

Italian Pumpkin Risotto Recipe from La Tavola Marche

November 25, 2012 – 12:01 am

La Tavola Marche in Le Marche, Italy is an organic farm, inn and cooking school. The facility is located in central Italy. Be sure to check out their fascinating website. La Tavola Marche Agriturismo & Cooking School  was the winner of the 2011 and 2012 Certificate of Excellence from tripadvisor.

Cheers! Kathy

 

Pumpkin Risotto

Risotto di Zucca

Serves 6

Ingredients

4 Tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove
3 big handfuls of diced pumpkin (about 3 cups or 400 gr) butternut squash or sugar baby
5 cups or so fresh vegetable or chicken stock
3/4 cup dry white wine
scant 2 cups risotto rice – Arborio or Carnaroli are best
salt & pepper
Parmesan cheese
sage leaf (optional)
few tablespoons of cream (optional)

Directions

  1. Heat the oil in a pan over low heat, add the onion & garlic and a little salt and pepper and sweat for 10 minutes or so with out browning.
  2. Next, add the pumpkin with a few spoonfuls of vegetable stock and cook them slowly until tender. Then raise the heat, add the rice and herb sprig and saute for a minute or two. Add in the wine and let it cook out but be sure to continuously stir.
  3. Season with a little salt and pepper.
  4. Meanwhile, bring the stock to a boil in another pot and check that the rice is now on a medium low heat.
  5. Add a ladle-full of the hot stock to the rice and cook, stirring constantly, until it has been absorbed.
  6. Continue adding the stock, a ladle-full at a time, constantly stirring until each addition has been absorbed. This will take 18-20 minutes.
  7. When the rice is al’dente, turn off the heat, add in a handful or two of graded cheese and give the rice one more stir, check seasoning. Rice should be thick & creamy but not runny. Cover the pot and allow the rice to sit for a couple of minutes. Make sure to remove the thyme sprig or sage leaf.

To serve, spoon the rice into the bowls and sprinkle with Parmesan, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and serve immediately.

If you like to make the rice a little richer, try adding 2 tablespoons cream at the point when the Parmesan is incorporated.

Recipe provided by La Tavola Marche, Italy

By Kathy | Posted in Wine/Food/Recipes | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Your Choice: Spend Black Friday at Crowded Brick and Mortar Stores or Enjoy the Day at a Winery?

November 21, 2012 – 10:36 am

 

Three Brothers Wineries in the Finger Lakes

While many people look forward to shopping on Black Friday for great deals, wineries offer what may be a more enjoyable experience. Numerous wineries from the East Coast to the West Coast are offering Black Friday specials. This may be the perfect time to purchase wine or related items for the wine lovers on your holiday list.Three Brothers Wineries & Estates in New York’s beautiful Finger Lakes region is offering special deals on wine purchases from 8am until 3pm. Plus the winery is supporting a Boys and Girls Club by collecting unwrapped toys and clothes for ages 6 to 11. These donations will be used for a “shopping night” for parents. Each contributor will receive a Christmas ornament

Penguin Bay Winery, also in the Finger Lakes area, is offering wine specials for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Robert Hall Winery in Paso Robles, California has “gift-boxed specials, package deals, wine, gourmet items, books, ornaments and more.”

Wildside Winery near Versailles, Kentucky (yes Kentucky does have wineries in addition to distilleries!) has specials for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Paradise Springs Winery in Virginia is featuring special Black Friday sales and raffle drawings every hour.

Barrel Oak Winery also in Virginia is planning a Recovery Ward Weekend and Holiday Bazaar for Black Friday. They are also accepting canned goods donations for F.I.S.H.

Contact the wineries in your area today to discover their plans for Black Friday.

Wishing everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Cheers! Kathy

 

 

 

 

 

By Kathy | Posted in Wine Notes, Winery Tasting Rooms and Cellar Doors | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Looking for an Early Holiday Gift? Take a Home Winemaking Class

November 20, 2012 – 9:49 am

Vint Hill Craft Winery in Virginia

If you live in Northern Virginia, Vint Hill Craft Winery, a bonded winery, has the perfect gift idea. It’s such a good idea that you may want it for yourself.

Starting December 1, Vint Hill Craft Winery is offering classes in home winemaking using kits. If you are interested in making wine from a kit these classes will help you with following the directions and reading a hydrometer.

In our recently published book, A Wine Journey, we wrote about our first experience with making wine from a kit. Terry had the wine kit (a gift) that he did not open for six months. As it turned out for us after reading the directions multiple times and using the hydrometer several times, we finally made the wine. It was a little better than plonk but one we decided would be better left to use as a mulled wine. If only we had access to a class like Vint Hill Craft Winery is offering.

Participants can choose from four varietals: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. Vint Hill Classes consist of four sessions with each session two hours each. The dates for this first class are December 1, December 15, January 12 and February 9.

  • Session 1 – Intro, terminology, overview of winemaking, and preparation of musts and juice for primary fermentation
  • Session 2 – Rack into carboys (secondary fermentation if appropriate)
  • Session 3 – Rack and Return
  • Session 4 – Bottling

More home winemaking classes are being planned. A Gift Certificate is available for birthdays, anniversaries and holidays.

If you are interested in participating in the class beginning December 1, contact Vint Hill Craft Winery by Friday November 23.

Cheers,  Kathy

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

Community Family Resources to Receive Support From the 2012 Auction Napa Valley Proceeds

November 19, 2012 – 12:01 am

The Napa Valley Vintners announced that from the Auction Napa Valley 2012 fundraiser proceeds, $1.14 million will go “for resources, education and services for at-risk families….” The press release notes the importance of early intervention for families in need. Eleven organizations are receiving funds from this current allocation. They include family centers, CASA, Napa Emergency Women’s Services, Healthy Moms & Babies and Children’s Health Initiative.

According to last month’s news the Napa Valley Vintners provided $1.9 million dollars for medical care to Community Clinic Ole, Queen of the Valley Medical Center, and St. Helena Hospital. Over the next four months four more categories will be supported by the NVV.

More than 400 wineries belong to the Napa Valley Vintners organization. “The Napa Valley Vintners is the non-profit trade association responsible for promoting and protecting the Napa Valley appellation as the premier winegrowing region.”

Each year the organization sponsors the Auction Napa Valley. The next auction event takes place June 1, 2013. Registration is available at

http://www.auctionnapavalley.org/Registration.aspx.

In addition to the live auction, people who are unable to attend in person can participate in the auction online. Register now so that you can get the updates about the 2013 charity auction.

Congratulations to the Napa Valley Vintners for helping those in need.

Cheers, Kathy

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

Special Fruity Turkey Stuffing

November 18, 2012 – 2:26 pm

With only a few days left before Thanksgiving, do you have your recipe for stuffing ready? Below is a stuffing recipe from Butterball. It is a combination of apples, apricots, golden raisins plus white wine and several other traditional ingredients. Are you going to try the old and true recipe or try something unusual for Thanksgiving?

Turkey with Wine-Simmered Fruit Stuffing

Ingredients

10 slices oatmeal bread, cut into cubes
1 cup white wine
1 cup chopped Granny Smith apple
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup golden raisins
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 (14 pound) Butterball® Whole Turkey, thawed if frozen
No-stick cooking spray

Directions

1.    Preheat oven to 325°F. Spread bread pieces on a large shallow baking pan. Bake 20 to 30 minutes or until lightly browned and dried, stirring occasionally.

2.    Bring wine, apples, apricots, and raisins to boil in medium saucepan on high heat; reduce heat. Simmer 5 minutes or until wine is absorbed. Remove from heat. Cool slightly.

3.    Cook and stir onions and celery in butter in large skillet on medium heat 8 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Remove from heat.

4.    Stir fruit mixture, pecans, salt and pepper into skillet. Place mixture in large bowl. Stir in bread pieces and broth.

5.    Remove neck and giblets from body and neck cavities of turkey. Refrigerate for another use or discard.

6.    Drain juices from turkey. Pat dry with paper towels.

7.    Fill neck cavity with part of the stuffing. Turn wings back to hold neck skin against back of turkey. Fill body cavity completely with stuffing.

8.    Place turkey, breast up, on flat roasting rack in shallow roasting pan. Spray turkey with cooking spray.

9.    Bake 4 to 4-1/2 hours, or until meat thermometer reaches 165°F; when inserted in center of stuffing and 180°F; when inserted in deepest part of thigh. Cover breast and tops of drumsticks with aluminum foil after 2-1/2 hours to prevent overcooking of breast.

10. Let stand 15 minutes before removing stuffing and carving.

Recipe provided by Butterball

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

Appetizer: Blanquette of Oregon Dungeness Crab with Riesling

November 17, 2012 – 12:01 am

With Thanksgiving and the holidays quickly approaching, appetizers are a delightful way to entertain guests. Fifteen appetizer recipes that use wine as an ingredient are available at http://winetrailtraveler.com/recipes/food.php. Another appetizer recipe, Blanquette of Oregon Dungeness Crab, is below. The recipe calls for Riesling, so it is a good idea to serve Riesling with the dish.

Blanquette of Oregon Dungeness Crab

This recipe is from Stoller Family Estate was created by winemaker Melissa Burr.

Serves 4 as an appetizer

Ingredients:

1lb. Dungeness Crab Meat, picked clean of any shells
1 stalk celery, minced fine
1 small shallot, minced fine
½ cup Stoller Estate Exclusive Riesling
1 cup heavy cream
½ teaspoon white pepper
½ teaspoon curry powder
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
zest of ¼ lemon
salt to taste
2 tablespoons minced chives
10-20 toast points

Directions:

1.Place crab in clean dish towel and squeeze excess water out, then set aside.
2. Place shallots, celery and wine is small sauce pan and reduce until almost dry.
3. Add cream to sauce pan and cook over low-medium heat until thick and bubbly (15 minutes).
4. Season with salt, curry, white pepper and lemon zest.
5. Add Dungeness crab and heat through.
6. Spoon over toast points and sprinkle with chives.

Recipe provided by Stoller Family Estate in Oregon. Created by Melissa Burr.

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

Wine Conference to Take Place in Maryland

November 16, 2012 – 4:22 pm

DrinkLocalWine (DLW) announced today that Baltimore, Maryland will be the site of its fifth annual conference. The focus on Maryland wine occurs less than two years after the state permitted direct shipping and three years after the number of wineries in Maryland nearly doubled. The DLW conference takes place April 12th to the 14th in Baltimore.

One of the highlights of the DLW conferences is a Twitter Taste Off. Wineries will serve a few of their wines while conference attendees vote for the best red and white. The press in attendance during the taste off will taste, tweet and taste again while they post tweets to Twitter and write blog posts. Having attended three of these Twitter-Taste Offs, I consider this work. It’s one thing to taste and another thing to compose a message limited to 140 characters, less if you want retweets.

The four previous conferences took place in Texas, Virginia, Missouri and Colorado. The 2013 conference returns to the East Coast placing the spotlight on Maryland. Hopefully this conference will help raise knowledge about Maryland wine and dispel some of the myths such as Maryland only makes sweet wines.

In addition to the Twitter Taste Off, there will be three sessions offered by the top names on the Maryland wine scene. The primary sponsor for the conference is the Maryland Winery Association, one of the few winery associations in the country with 100% membership of the wineries in the state.

Kathy and Terry, from Wine Trail Traveler, will attend and report from the conference. Perhaps we will take a bottle of a White Cabernet Sauvignon we are making with Maryland grapes.

Cheers,
Terry

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

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