Easter is less than two weeks away. Do you have your travel or at home plans made? While some wineries may be closed on Easter Sunday, others are open and some wineries are hosting special wine events on Saturday, April 3.
Below are a few of the events with descriptions from the partners of Wine Trail Traveler. If you have the opportunity to participate you will be happy you did.
California – Suisun Valley
Vezér Family Vineyard
Saturday, April 3rd; 6:00pm – 9:00pm
Cooking With Liz
Vezér Family Vineyard and Blue Frog Restaurant present “Cooking with Liz” wine paired dinner with musical entertainment. A Night of Food, Fun, Wine and Music whether the meal or music there’s always something good cooking in Lizzie’s kitchen.
Ohio
Ferrante Winery & Ristorante
Saturday, April 3 6:30-9:30pm
Entertainment: Uncharted Course
Texas
Messina Hof Winery and Resort
April 3rd – 4th – Texas Bluebonnet Wine Trail: Bluebonnet Wildflower Trail
April 4th – Cooking Party with the Visiting Chef- Chef Matthew Gray at 2:30pm
April 4th – Easter Celebration at The Vintage House Restaurant 11am to 6pm
Virginia
Barrel Oak Winery
April 3rd, 6:00 pm
Watson! Hudson! aka The Fabulous Exaggerations These guys absolutely rock!?Ticket : Free
DelFosse Vineyards and Winery
April 4th, 1:00 pm
Easter Sunday Brunch
Celebrate Easter Sunday at an elegantly prepared Brunch by Chef Genevieve. The menu includes 4 elegantly prepared dishes, paired with 4 generous samplings of our award winning wines. Menu by Genevieve DelFosse;?Wine from DelFosse Winery? A 10% discount on wines purchased at that event.?Cost: $45 ?Reservations
Winery at LaGrange
April 4th and 11th, Noon – 4:00 pm
Barrel Tasting
Cost: $25 per person, includes light fare ?Join us for a very special barrel tasting of our 2009 vintage wines. Now is your chance to have a little taste of what’s to come!?Light fare is offered throughout the tasting. ?No reservation necessary – drop by anytime between noon and 4pm to meet our winemakers and enjoy a guided tasting tour through some of our best barrels.
Veritas Vineyard & WineryApril 4th; 12pm
Easter Sunday’s Winemaker’s Brunch
Reservations Required
A four-course, wine-paired brunch in Saddleback Hall $65/pp inclusive of the meal, wine, tax and gratuity. For more information or to make reservations, please call 540-456-8000 ext 108.
Check your favorite winery’s schedule of events for Easter weekend.
Enjoy a visit to a winery to help celebrate Easter!
Cheers! Kathy
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The Term Claret Has Roots in Virginia
While visiting a Virginia winery, I tasted a wine called Claret. Several other Virginia wineries also make wines they label as Claret. It seems fitting to do so. The word Claret was used for hundreds of years in England to describe a wine made in Bordeaux, France. Today the word has no legal definition. Why is it fitting for Virginia wineries to use the term?
Virginia had a strong relationship with England. While a colony, laws were passed stating that every male in the colony had to plant grape vines. People in England liked their wines and were always wary that the French might cut off their supply. So when the new colony was founded, males were required to plant grape vines. The dream that Virginia would become England’s supplier of wine was short lived. Vines quickly died. Even Thomas Jefferson had problems keeping vines alive. Four hundred years later, though, it’s a different story. In 2007, many wineries in Virginia sent their wines to England for a tasting. There were many positive reviews.
The early Jamestown colonists would certainly be aware of the term Claret. So it seems fitting that some Virginia wineries use the word today. Since there is no legal definition of the term, you may want to ask what varietal grapes are in the wine. If it is a Bordeaux-like blend is it made up of at least three of the five Bordeaux grapes? Have you had a Claret recently?