With tomorrow being Father’s Day, below is a quick and easy recipe for Sangria to enjoy with Dad perhaps at a picnic or on the porch in the afternoon as you reminisce about the “old” times.
As we have lost our parents over the years, many times we have wished we had written down the stories they told as the details get lost in the telling. So as you are sitting and relaxing reminiscing about the “good old days” with Dad start keeping a little notebook – years from now you’ll be glad you saved these memories.
Cheers, Kathy
Sangria (Carlson Vineyards)
Ingredients
1 bottle Carlson Vineyards Laughing Cat Sweet Baby Red (Note: this is a sweet wine blend made from mostly Merlot)
1 c orange juice
1/4 c juice from one lime
1/4 c juice from one lemon
Directions
1. Pour all ingredients into a picture.
2. Add ice and slices of lemon, lime and orange.
Provided by Carlson Vineyards, Palisade, Colorado.
You can read a review of Carlson Vineyards on Wine Trail Traveler.
Have you had the opportunity to taste a West Virginia wine yet?
So, we are starting our exploration of wineries in West Virginia. Yes you read it right because yes West Virginia does have wineries producing wines. Currently there are 20 vineyards producing wines from their own vineyards and out-of-state vineyards. Some of these wineries are also producing fruit wines.
We visited Forks of Cheat Winery where we discovered almost 16 acres of grapevines located on slopes to protect them from frosts. The vineyards have Baco Noir, Marchel Foch, Leon Millot and more. The winery also consists of a cheerful tasting room with a tasting counter and room to walk around to browse gifts. On a second floor is located “The Hobbit’s Attic” a delightful room with carefully selected unique gift items to choose between. Outside the tasting room has been landscaped with an array of ornamental bushes and flowers as well as some vegetables. A large multi level deck leads to a large pavilion. This area is also landscaped and includes a fountain. This is available for rental.
Forks of Cheat Winery, a few miles off of Interstate 68, is worth a visit. Take your time and plan to stay a while and enjoy the experience.
Cheers! Kathy
What are your plans to celebrate the first week of Summer 2010 (June 26-27)? Do you want to attend a wine festival? Below some links are provided for your convenience to help you choose which one you might like to have fun at. Whatever festival you attend drink lots of water! Write and let me know what your favorite parts of the festivals were! What did you like, what would you change?
Cheers ! Kathy
California
San Diego
Annual Beer & Sake Festival
June 25
San Francisco
June 27
Pinot Days of San Francisco
Atascadero|
June 26
Atascadero Lakeside Wine Festival
Kenwood
June 26
Sonoma Lavender Food & Wine Festival 2010
Santa Barbara
June 26
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History Wine Festival
Colorado
Telluride
June 24-27
Annual Telluride Wine Festival
Hawaii
Kapalua, Maui
June 24-27
Kapalua Wine & Food Festival
New Jersey
Pennington
June 26-27
East Coast Food & Wine Festival
Ohio
Cleveland
June 25-26
Cleveland Wine Festival
Oregon
St. Benedict
June 26
4th Annual Festival of Arts & Wine
New Jersey
Pennington
June 26-27
East Coast Food & Wine Festival
By Kathy
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Posted in Winery Events
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Tagged California, Colorado, events, festivals, Hawaii, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Summer, wine, Winery Tasting Rooms and Cellar Doors
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The Wine Was Overpriced
I read on Twitter a comment that a wine was overpriced. Then I began to think about what this statement means. It seems way too subjective. If one is not willing to pay more than $15 for a bottle of wine, is a $20 bottle of wine overpriced? Suppose the cost to produce a bottle of wine is $35, if someone who is willing to only pay $15 says that $35 bottle of wine is overpriced, is it really overpriced? What criteria are used to determine an overpriced bottle of wine?
This question requires more thought. For sake of argument, lets say that a price set for wine is the cost of producing the wine. I’d like to use the $35 figure for this example. One may claim that cost is too high (overpriced?), however if one uses premium grapes the cost to produce wine is greater. If one uses a double sorting table to sort grapes, the price increases. If the wine is aged in French oak, the price increases. If the wine is aged past the next harvest, the price increases. It is very possible to produce a $35 bottle of wine. Now the producer should be allowed a profit for the wine made. Now things get interesting. If the producer only makes $5 a bottle, that raises the price to $40. However the price will have to be much higher if the bottle has to go through the three-tier system of producer, distributor and retailer. The $35 bottle of wine may have to sell in a wine shop for close to $80. That will include the cost to produce the wine and a profit for the producer, distributor and retailer.
If the cost is over $80, one may have a case to say that it is overpriced. But can someone who only pays $15 for a wine legitmately state that the $80 bottle of wine is overpriced. I don’t think so. It appears that a criteria for overpriced wine is a wine that cost more than the price to produce it and a profit for the producer, distributor and retailer. Perhaps bloggers should take this criteria into account before making statements that may be factual or totally subjective.