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Obama Presents Italian President with Gift of Wine

July 12, 2009 – 7:29 am

I was delighted to discover that last week while President Obama was visiting Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, he presented a gift box of wines produced in the US. One of the wines was from a delightful winery in North Carolina. The Raffaldini wine included in the box of wines was Raffaldini Vineyards Vermentino 2008.

I visited Raffaldini Vineyards and Winery in the fall of 2008 and experienced a wonderful winery and tasting. The quality wines were very enjoyable. The location of the winery with surrounding vineyards was picturesque.  The Italian style winery and vineyards reminded one of Tuscany. Raffaldini is located in two AVAs – Yadkin Valley and the new Swan Creek AVA.

For more information about North Carolina wineries and Raffaldini Vineyards and Winery, visit the Wine Trail Traveler website.

Cheers! Kathy

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

South Coast Winery – Winery of the Year

July 11, 2009 – 8:05 am

South Coast Winery Resort & Spa won Winery of the Year at the California State Fair for the second consecutive year in 2009. Qualifications to enter include several stipulations. Any participating winery must enter at least 10 wines for tasting. In 2008, South Coast entered 29 wines. The winery won 24 medals. The 2009 award was announced in early July. South Coast Winery is located in Temecula Valley, a great destination area of California. To learn more about South Coast Winery read the article on Wine Trail Traveler. If you are planning a vacation to Temecula Valley, there are articles about 23 of the Temecula wineries also on the website.

Have a wonderful weekend! Cheers! Kathy

By Kathy | Posted in Wine News/Commentary | Comments (1)

Wine Events for July 11 and 12

July 10, 2009 – 8:55 am

Although there may not be many big wine festivals this weekend, there are smaller events at wineries.

In New Jersey, many of the 40 plus wineries are participating in “Take a Walk in the Vineyard.” This is taking place July 11 and 12 from 12Noon to 5pm. Travelers are invited to visit and tour the vineyards. New wine releases will be available to try.

Visitors will want to pick up a “passport” at a winery. When the passport is stamped and completed, return it to Garden State Wine Growers Association.  One lucky winner will win a river cruise in France. For more information and to learn more about New Jersey wines, visit the GSWGA website. Enjoy a trip to New Jersey. Check the New Jersey reviews on Wine Trail Traveler.

Cheers, Kathy

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

Finger Lakes Wine Festival

July 9, 2009 – 7:40 am

I have visited many of the individual wineries along the Finger Lakes in New York. Each has a charm of its own. It would be delightful to visit many of them again. However, if you want to discover many of the wineries all in one spot, consider participating in the Finger Lakes Wine Festival this month. The festival is held in Watkins Glen also known nationally for the Watkins Glen “race course.”

It’s not too late to make plans to visit the Finger Lakes Wine Festival. The festival is scheduled for July 17-19, 2009.

Finger Lakes Wine Festival is advertised as “the largest showcase of New York State wines.” It is expect that 80 wineries will participate.  Events include a Brewers Garden, Culinary class, demonstrations, live music, champagne breakfast and a taster’s banquet.

Reduced tickets are available for designated drivers. Designated drivers will be provided with grape juice and Pepsi products during the festival.

For more details about this event, visit the Finger Lake Wine Festival website.

Cheers!

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

Wine and Fish Pairing

July 8, 2009 – 8:59 am

Last night we decided to enjoy a dinner of fresh cucumber salad, potato salad and swordfish. We enjoyed a wine from Cape May Winery & Vineyard. Victorian Blush is a New Jersey table wine. This is a blend of 40 percent French Columbard, 30 percent Cayuga, 28 percent Viognier and 2 percent Marechal Foch. With a residual sugar of 3.25 percent, the wine was sweet.

The good news is that the wine was very enjoyable especially for a warm summer day. The dinner was also excellent. However, I would not suggest pairing this wine with this dinner. The swordfish flavors overpowered the delicate sweet nuances of the wine. My suggestion is to enjoy both the wine and the dinner but separately.

Cheers! Kathy

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

How many decisions go into a bottle of wine?

July 7, 2009 – 2:42 pm

Recently I was told that there are two thousand decisions that have been made before someone drinks the wine from a bottle. That’s a lot of decisions. When I mentioned this to winemakers on a recent trip to wineries in Wisconsin, I received knowing nods as well is questionable looks. Decisions have to be made in the vineyard as well as in the winery. When do you spray grapes in the vineyard and with what product? Do you irrigate the vineyard assuming that it is legal to do so? What grape variety should be planted in the vineyard and then on what rootstock? There are thousands of grape varieties to choose from each available on different rootstocks. I’m not certain how many decisions is involved in just choosing the grape variety. What kind of trellis system are you going to use? When should you harvest the grapes? And the questions go on.

In the winery, the winemaker is faced with many decisions. Should the grapes be cold soaked, sorted, de-stemmed, crushed and when should these be done? What chemicals should be added to the grapes and what yeast should be used of the hundreds available? Should you age the wine in stainless steel tanks or oak? If oak, what kind of oak? Where was the oak harvested; where were the barrels made how much toast was applied? How long should the wine be aged? What type of bottle and enclosure will you use? And the questions go on.

Perhaps with many products there are hundreds or thousands of decisions that need to be made before the product reaches your hands. I’ve only scratched the surface of wine decisions though.

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

Wine Shipping Decision

July 6, 2009 – 10:04 am

Recently in New York State, the 2nd Circuit Court of  Appeals decided to uphold a statute that prevents out of state retailers from shipping wine directly to consumers in New York State. This is interesting because according to the Supreme Court a few years ago, wineries in-state and out-of -state must be treated equally in terms of shipping. Thus if a state allows its in-state wineries to ship wine to its residents, then out-of-state wineries should be allowed the same opportunity.

Some interesting arguments were made to uphold the decision. Since I am not an attorney, I don’t know if this will ever reach the Supreme Court but it does make me wonder if the United States Supreme Court would agree with New York’s 2nd Court of Appeals. An interesting article is available on law.com.

Do you think out-of-state retailers should be allowed to ship wine into other states? If wineries can ship into a state why can’t retailers? Does it protect consumers or does it provide more taxes for the state?

Cheers! Kathy

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

Libraries and Wine: What is the Connection?

July 5, 2009 – 10:28 am

I am a big fan of  public libraries and wine. While I may not have a glass of wine every day, I do pick up a book to read every night. I consider books vital for information as well as just wonderful journey into other worlds. At my local library, I’m always on the lookout for new wine-related books whether it about wine history, food and wine pairings or the taste of wine.

So I knew why my daughter in Ohio was concerned that the governor had decided to make ends meet by making large budget cuts. According to an email she received, “Cuts of this size would be absolutely devastating,” said Tim

Kambitsch, Executive Director of the Dayton Metro Library. “We are struggling to stay open with the cuts we have already absorbed. If passed, there will be deep cuts in hours, elimination of services to residents of every age, and the closing of some libraries.”

Libraries offer a tremendous resource. I believe that the sign of a well functioning society is a vibrant library system. No matter what state you live in, work to make sure your libraries don’t close.

The next time your are in the library, check out some wine-related books including, The Oxford Companion to Wine, History of Wine Words, Heard it Through the Grapevine, Educating Peter:How Anybody Can Become an (Almost) Instant Wine Expert and Red, White and Drunk All Over.

Cheers!

Kathy

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

Sangria for the Fourth of July

July 4, 2009 – 9:27 am

Have a wonderful Fourth of July!

Sangria may be just the perfect beverage for today. Below is a recipe for Sangria from a winery in Texas.  For more beverage recipes including other Sangrias, check out the Recipe section on Wine Trail Traveler. Tip: When drinking wine, drink as much water as wine.

Texas Legato Sangria

Ingredients

2 cups Texas Legato Sweet Surrender (a Merlot)

2 cups Cranberry Juice

2 cups Sprite

1 ½ cups Orange Juice

Add any fruit you enjoy.

Notes

We paired this during our Picnic Road Trip with watermelon and goat cheese. Fresh goat cheese is available 1/4 mile on CR 111 at the Bradley Goat Farm. This is great on a hot day as a poolside cold beverage or to take on a picnic.

Provided by Texas Legato, Lampasas, Texas.

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

Buddy’s Select, a Texas Blend

July 3, 2009 – 8:48 am

Last night I enjoyed a glass of Buddy’s Select produced by Lost Creek Vineyard. Buddy’s Select is a blend of 34 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 33 percent Merlot and 33 percent Shiraz with an alcohol level of 13.6 percent. The result is a wine with a deep opaque purple color. The aroma and taste was of dark fruit like black raspberries and jammy. The wine was full bodied with mild tannins on the finish.

The label on the wine is a photo of Buddy. Buddy was an orphaned dog and David Brinkman, owner and winemaker at Lost Creek Vineyard, adopted Buddy.

We paired Buddy’s Select with a grilled hamburger, mixed green salad and baked potato. It was a very nice pairing.

Lost Creek Vineyard

Lost Creek Vineyard located in Sunrise Beach, Texas is a destination site with an elegant restaurant, sushi bar and amphitheatre. Read the review on Wine Trail Traveler and discover the devastating flood the winery suffered in 2007 and how the winery has made a tremendous comeback.

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

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