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Marani, a Georgian wine cellar
After visiting the country Georgia twice, we have fond memories of the Georgian people, history, culture and qvevri wines and so much more.
At the time of our visits Georgia offered little assistance for “vulnerable” people. One of the many striking memories we have is of a private enterprise established by an architect who established a “home” for vulnerable people including the very young and old. By the time of our visit, Read More
Bull’s Blood by TeSóAria Winery in Oregon
Kathy and I are preparing (researching) for an upcoming trip to wine regions in Hungary. Both Hungarian food and wine are subjects for our research. To inspire us, we decided to have Hungarian Goulash and Bull’s Blood for our dinner on a blustery March day that reminded us that we were still in winter’s grip.
Bull’s Blood is a Hungarian red wine that is made mostly with Kadarka. Why it is called Bull’s Blood is a legend and how we found a winery in the United States producing it is quite unique. We were told about the legend of Bull’s Blood from John Olson, owner of TeSóAria, a tasting room in Portland, Oregon. John explained that the story dates back many years to the time of the Ottoman Empire. According to the legendary tale, Hungary was invaded by the Ottoman Empire. The Hungarian soldiers were about to be overcome. Locking themselves in the castle, they managed to break into the wine cellar. Realizing they were about to be killed by the Ottomans, they began drinking. Soon they began fighting among themselves. Eventually they were covered with red wine. When the Ottomans discovered the Hungarians soaked in red wine and fighting among themselves, they incorrectly assumed that the Hungarians had killed their bulls and then consumed the blood. The Ottomans believed they were now demigods. Frightened the Ottomans quickly left the Hungarians alone and safe. According to John, the story of Bull’s Blood has several variations. When we visit Hungary we hope to hear about the tale and note differences.
How the Kadarka grape made its way to a vineyard in Southern Oregon is a common experience for grape varieties in the vineyard industry. A Hungarian vineyard owner moved from Hungary to Oregon. He brought plantings of Kadarka. When John acquired the vineyard and winery, he kept the Kadarka grapes and crafted Bull’s Blood.
Hungarian Goulash
We discovered that there are a plethora of recipes for Hungarian Goulash. Most American recipes added pasta to the pot. We wanted to try a recipe that was more like the goulash that we will experience in Hungary. A few years ago, we met Gabriella Gónusz, owner of Wine a’More Travel, a wine travel tour company in Hungary. Gabriella created our itinerary for our upcoming tour and sent me a recipe that she uses for goulash. About an hour before dinner, we were slow cooking the goulash on a wood burning stove, I added some of the Bull’s Blood to the pot.
Our dinner was wonderful. The 2014 TeSóAria Bull’s Blood had a dark ruby color with a dark pink rim. Black berry fruits were on the aroma and the taste was reminiscent of blackberries, black raspberries, leather and baking spices. The wine had a full body and medium/full tannins. The fruity finish yielded to spices. It paired well with the goulash which we found to be a comfort food. On a cold winter’s day, we found this combination warming and comforting.
We are looking forward to our wine journey through Hungary, along with wines and foods, especially those indigenous to the country.
Cheers,
Terry
Legende Bordeaux Blanc 2017
Recently we tasted and enjoyed two Bordeaux wines, a white and a red, from Châteaux Lafite Rothschild. These two wines, branded as Légende, are not from the Lafite Rothschild’s renowned aged vineyards but from younger and less prestigious vineyards owned by the famous winery and nearby vineyards. Compared to the venerated Châteaux de Rothschild wines, the Légende wine brand is much more affordable and a good value.
The Légende Bordeaux Blanc 2017 was a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon. This white wine, with 12% alcohol, was dry. The color was a light yellow. The aroma was mild with intense notes of tropical fruit with a hint of honeysuckle after a late spring rain. The mouthfeel was smooth and silky. The taste was racy with notes of citrus. There were also notes reminiscent of tropical fruits like pineapple and melon. The wine had a long finish. We suggest enjoying this wine as an aperitif or paired with seafood or white meat. We enjoyed our wine with the delightful Spanish Manchego white cheese.
The winery suggests pairing Légende Bordeaux Blanc with a Mango and Crab Salad. The recipe takes a short 15 minutes to create. Main ingredients include: mango, red pepper, avocado, pear and king crab. The Mango and Crab Salad recipe is available on the Château Lafite Rothschild website.
Legende Pauillac 2015
The 2015 Légende Pauillac was a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Merlot. The wine had a dark ruby color with a ruby rim. The aroma included black fruits. The taste was reminiscent of blackberries, cassis, black cherries, leather and licorice. The silky mouthfeel had soft tannins and the wine was medium/full bodied. The finish was fruit forward and the wine had a long aftertaste.
The winery suggest pairing the Légende Pauillac wine with Poached Beef. The main ingredients for the Poached Beef recipe include: fillet of beef, carrots, turnips, onion and potatoes. Preparation time is 40 minutes and cooking time is 25 minutes. This recipe is also on the Chateau Lafite Rothschild website.
If you are looking for a Bordeaux wine, check out the Legende wines from Châteaux Lafite Rothschild. Also try the recipes offered by the winery.
Cheers!
Kathy and Terry
Robin Hill Farm and Vineyard
March 2019 is the month for celebrating the Third Annual Maryland Wine Month. March is a good time to visit tasting rooms at wineries in Maryland. Tasting rooms tend to be less crowded in March. Less crowded tasting rooms usually mean that visitors get a bit more attention and therefore more time to ask questions about the wines and vineyards. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.
Catoctin Breeze Vineyard wine
For March 2019, wine enthusiasts are invited to download a “card” for Maryland Wine Month. This card has a list of all nine Maryland wine trails. Best of all, the 66 Maryland wineries are listed in alphabetical order and easy to check off as you visit each winery.
Be sure to check each winery’s website for days and hours that the winery is open.
Another great idea for Maryland Wine Month is a photo contest. Visit a winery take photos or take a photo of a Maryland wine. Share the photos on social media such as Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. The Maryland Wineries Association will choose the best photos and the winner will receive a pair of tickets to the Decanter Brunch Experience at the Decanter Reimagined-A Racing & Wine Experience. When posting your photos used the hashtag #WeAreMarylandWine.
Thanksgiving Farm
Four of our favorite Maryland wineries are Robin Hill Farm and Vineyard, Catoctin Breeze Vineyard, Thanksgiving Farm and New Market Plains Vineyard. Try to visit these wineries soon.
During March be sure to visit Maryland wineries and when visiting restaurants ask for a Maryland wine.
New Market Plains Vineyard
Cheers!
Kathy
Pillar Bluff Vineyards is celebrating Mardi Gras
The 11 wineries on the Texas Way Out Wineries trail are celebrating Mardi Gras with a Mardi Gras Road Trip beginning today, March 1 and continuing all weekend.
For participants, this weekend event begins with receiving a logo glass at the first winery followed by five wine tastings with suggested Mardi Gras inspired foods.
Texas Legato’s tasting room
The 2019 Mardi Gras event includes a contest for those who wish to dress up in a Mardi Gras costume. The winning costume consumer will have a chance to win a Mardi Gras mask.
Each ticket for the Mardi Gras event is $35 and includes wine tastings, food, logo glass and beads.
The Way Out Wineries trail includes 11 wineries:
Wine Trail Traveler has visited four of the Way Out wineries that belong to the Way Out Wineries trail and enjoyed discovering each winery story and the wines. Articles/reviews are available online.
Cheers!
Kathy
At the APVSA wine tasting in Washington, DC, we met Régis Moulin from Domaine de la Croix Blanche. The winery produces Cognac and an Elixir spirit wine. The Elixir was available for tasting at APVSA.
The Elixir is produced with Cognac.
The Elixir by Domaine de la Croix Blanche had 36% alcohol. The dark gold amber wine had multiple columns of tiny bubbles. It was deliciously sweet and very smooth. The smoothness of the mouthfeel with the high alcohol makes this a wine to sip slowly, enjoy and stand up slowly. This is a very unique wine product that should be available for wine drinking consumers.
Next to the Elixir a display sheet noted, “The Elixir has no history per se, indeed this spirit drink is unique. It is the fruit of the Domaine de la Croix Blanche and comes from a simple relection: how to make the Cognac more accessible!” Continuing on, “Our Elixir is a carbonated spirit drink made from Cognac.”
We discovered the Elixir to be wonderful and the wine appeared to be well priced for many people. Unfortunately Domaine de la Croix Blanche does not have a distributor in the United States. This is where you a consumer can step in and hopefully make a difference. Go to your favorite wine shop and start by asking for the Elixir and suggesting that wine shop contact their distributors about Domaine de la Croix Blanche.
Régis Moulin from Domaine de la Croix Blanche
Online Interview with Régis Moulin, owner and winemaker at Domaine de la Croix
Wine Trail Traveler: What are your most enjoyable aspects of owning a winery, vineyards, and producing your own wines?
Régis Moulin: The value of being a harvester lies in having complete control over the production chain, from the young vineyard foot just planted, passing from its establishment to its production by living at its sides through the seasons.
Then comes the harvest and the winemaking, which are important phases in this trade and which will determine whether if we made good strategic choices, this gives this profession a constant questioning and reflection.
These aspects make our lives exciting, despite the struggles that any entrepreneur may encounter. Finally, going from the beginning to the end of this process is humanly rewarding because what better recognition than to see the customer congratulating us on our efforts and who greatly appreciates our products.
Wine Trail Traveler: How long has the property of Domaine de la Croix Blanche been in your family? Was the property a vineyard and winery before your family owned it?
Régis Moulin: Our family started the business in 1934. A tiny farm at first (less than 1 hectare of vineyard). With the hard work of Marius Moulin, the farm was built little by little until Claude Moulin took over to enlarge the vineyard up to 12 hectares. During the Cognac crisis of the 1970s, Claude mill made the decision to create his own brand of bottle, being until then only delivery of spirits for Hennessy.
At last when I arrived after my studies, Me, Régis Moulin, has evolved the company to 30 hectares. Today the building structure has been moved, the old one no longer corresponding to the needs of the exploitation. And it was at this moment, in 1992, that the company Moulin became “Domaine de la Croix Blanche”
Wine Trail Traveler: Domaine de la Croix Blanche has 27 hectares of vineyards. What are the grape varieties growing in your vineyards?
Régis Moulin: Today Domaine de la Croix Blanche as grown up and our vineyard counts now 30 hectares, which are composed by a lot of grape varieties :
1 Ha. Of GAMAY for Rosé, 1 Ha. Of Saubignon Blanc for white wine, 2 Ha. Of Merlot for red wines, 1 Ha. Of Merlot and 1 Ha ; of Cabernet Franc for the conception of the red « Pineau des charentes », and then 24 Ha. Of Ugni Blanc, which is grown to be distilled for Cognac, and for the conception of the white « Pineau des Charentes. »
The unique Elixir
Wine Trail Traveler: We tasted your delicious Elixir wine. When and why did Domaine de la Croix Blanche begin making the Elixir? What food pairings do you suggest for the Elixir?
Régis Moulin: The Elixir was born from a long societal observation, indeed, How to make a woman, who would be afraid to taste a strong alcohol, love and consume cognac,. How to arouse the interest of a product that culturally, at least in our country is intended for male consumption ? The idea of Elixir was born.
This product can be associated with many things, but always after a night in the freezer. It will then offer all quintessence with caviar toast, smoked salmon or poured with a pear sorbet and hot black chocolate coulis. Of course it will also be the greatest partner as a digestive at the end of a good meal.
Wine Trail Traveler: Currently where are the winery’s wines available?
Régis Moulin: For now, Domaine de la Croix Blanche is looking for distributors and importers, this is the first time our company has set foot on the American continent. Thanks to APVSA, we have been able to participate in all these tastings across the country, which have enabled us to have many positive contacts, so we are currently organizing all this in order to finalize the distribution of our products on the American continent
Wine Trail Traveler: What would you like the public to know about Domaine de la Croix?
Régis Moulin: We would like people to know that we are an evolutionary company while retaining its human size, our semi-artisanal operation, respectful of its customers as well as the quality of our products.
The customer relationship as well as conviviality are the keys of our company that we want to bring to the greatest number, and always in the will to bring to people new horizons by the rarity of some of our products.
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Wine Trail Traveler hopes that distributors will discover the unique Elixir that Regis Moulin produces at Domaine de la Croix Blanche.
Mionetto Cuvée Anniversary Prosecco
The prosecco producer, Mionetto traces its history to their founder Francesco Mionetto who opened the winery in 1887. The winery is located in the heart of the prosecco region in Valdobbiadene. The winery preserves the flavors and aromas of the Glera grape by using the Charmat method of producing sparkling wines.
On Valentine’s Day we traveled to the Columbus, Ohio region to have dinner with our daughter’s family. We took the Cuvée Anniversary 1887 – 2017 bottle of prosecco. The wine had a yellow color with gold hue. Flowers, apples and freshly baked bread were noticed on the aroma. The creamy and lively mouthfeel offered a taste of apple, pears, freshly baked bread and citrus. The wine was dry and paired well with our dinner of baked salmon, baked broccoli and sautéed mushrooms.
Prosecco wines are good anytime whether to enjoy as an aperitif, everyday dinners or special occasions.
Prosecco pairs well with a dinner such as baked salmon and broccoli with sautéed mushrooms.
Cheers!
Terry
Oregon Solidarity (image from Oregon Solidarity)
Three Oregon Solidarity wines will become available during 2019. The wines include a Pinot Noir Rosé, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The Oregon wines will benefit a number of Rogue Valley vineyards who do not have insurance.
The story behind the Oregon Solidarity wines began late last September. At the time a California winery canceled contracts with several Rogue Valley vineyards for their grapes. The out-of-state winery claimed the grapes were affected by the smoke from the 2019 wildfires.
Willamette Valley Vineyards, OR
According to one source, the grapes had such a low level of smoke taint that it was not discernible by the human taste buds. So a few Oregon wineries in the Willamette Valley came to the rescue. Two of the wineries, Willamette Valley Vineyards and King Estate offered to buy the grapes at the original contract price per ton. Two other Oregon wineries have also participated in producing the Oregon
Solidarity wines including Silvan Ridge Winery and The Eyrie Vineyards. The winemakers from these four wineries worked together to produce the Solidarity wines that were labeled “Solidarity, Rogue Valley AVA.”
The best news of all is that the wineries have decided that the net proceeds of the wines will be used to help the vineyards in the area through the Rogue Valley Vintners.
The 2018 Oregon Solidarity Rosé of Pinot Noir will be released March 1, 2019. The 2018 Oregon Solidarity Chardonnay is expected to be released May 1. Finally, the 2018 Oregon Solidarity Pinot Noir will be released August 1. The three Oregon Solidarity wines can be pre-ordered and will be shipped at the beginning of August.
For more information about the Oregon Solidarity wines be sure to visit the Oregon Solidarity website. The website also has links to articles about the story behind the Solidarity wines.
Eyrie Vineyards, OR
The governor of Oregon stated, “The Oregon Solidarity wines exemplify the Oregonian spirit, bringing forth our best values by helping others during their time of need. The Rogue Valley often bears the brunt of wildfire season and it’s incredible that our wine community is stepping up to support one another and boost our local economy.”
Congratulations are due to the Oregon wine industry!
Hint: Wine Trail Traveler visited and wrote about the experiences at Willamette Valley Vineyards and The Eyrie Vineyards.
Cheers!
Kathy
Chateau Lafayette Renee (Seneca Lake)
Do you feel the need to rush out and buy flowers or chocolate for Valentine’s Day? Then rethink your plans.
A wine idea is to purchase a ticket for your special person. Perhaps consider a wine tasting over the weekend, when you are likely to have more time to enjoy a leisurely glass of wine.
Another idea is to purchase a ticket for a wine trail event coming up relatively quickly. For instance, check out the Wine & Chocolate Trail taking place in Ohio soon.
For the first two weekends of March, March 1-2, and March 8-9. From 12Noon until 6pm, 15 Ohio wineries will participate in the Chocolate and Wine Trail event. participating wineries include:
Andreas Dekar, Cleveland
Chateau Tebeau, Helena
Firelands Winery, Sandusky
Fox Winery, Galion
Gillig Winery, Findlay
Klingshirn Winery, Avon Lake
Matus Winery, Wakeman
Mon Ami Winery, Port Clinton
Paper Moon Vineyards, Vermilion
Quarry Hill Winery, Berlin Hts.
Rocky Point Winery, Marblehead
The Wishmaker B & B and Winery, Bellville
Vermilion Valley Vineyards, Wakeman
Vino Veritas Cellars, Cleveland
Chateau Tebeau Winery (Ohio)
The event includes complimentary appetizers and wine samples. At one winery, participates will include a box of Malley’s chocolates.
Tickets are $50 for a couple and $40 for single. The tickets are available online.
In New York State, the Seneca Lake Wine Trail is offering Preferred Pairings on February 23 or March 9. For this event, the wine trail is partnering with the Finger Lakes Cheese Alliance. According to the wine trail website, “Ten participating wineries will be matched up with a creamery, offering ticketed attendees 3-4 delicious pairings of regional cheese paired with our members’ wines.”
Tickets purchased in advance are just $25 per ticket.
Special spring events at wineries and on wine trails are available throughout the United States. Check and see what’s available at your local winery or complete an Internet search to discover wine events that would make a delightful Valentine’s Day gift.
Cheers,
Kathy
March Festival: Greater Fort Lauderdale Food & Wine Festival
The Greater Fort Lauderdale Food & Wine Festival is scheduled for March 20 to March 23. This large festival will include a range of alcohols such as wine, beer and cocktails as well as a delightful array of foods. Check out Sunday, March 24 which is Family Day with a focus on charity.
Special events include the Cocktail Confidential: A Spirited Affair, GFL on the Rise: An Elevated Culinary Experience and the Grand Tasting. A special VIP package for Friday & Saturday is also available. Purchase tickets online.
The Cocktail Confidential: A Spirited Affair takes place March 20 from 7 to 9pm. Ticket: $75
GFL on the Rise: An Elevated Culinary Experience is March 22 from 6pm to 9pm, General Admission ticket: $125
Grand Tasting from 1pm to 5pm – General Admission includes beverages and food samples, cooking demos, music and art, Ticket: $60
Grand Tasting – VIP is the same as above but includes an extra hour of wine tasting, VIP seating for cooking demos, a VIP gift bag and an open bar as well as a private entrance for the Grand Tasting,12pm to 5pm, Ticket: $105
Friday & Saturday – VIP Package includes a ticket to the GFL on the Rise and one VIP ticket for the Grand Tasting, Ticket: $184
All of the above are for those 21 and over. However, the great news is that the festival is concluding with FAMILY DAY on March 24 which will include local food trucks, children’s activities and live music. Family Day is offered by the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. The event is hosting a food and toy drive. The food benefit will help Feeding South Florida. The toy drive helps the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital.
According to the festival website, the Family Day event is free although everyone is encouraged to bring four canned goods for Feeding South Florida or an unwrapped new toy for the hospital.
What a great way to end a festival focused on good food and drinks!
For more information about the Greater Fort Lauderdale Food & Wine Festival visit the website and be sure to check out the details for Family Day.
Cheers!
Kathy