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Clif Family Winery & Farm Supports Green Shipping

May 13, 2009 – 8:19 am

Clif Family Winery & Farm promotes and supports “green”. After reading a short article about shipping “green” I decided to check out their website and was impressed with what I discovered. This is a family farm devoted to organic and sustainable farming.

This even extends to their support of NativeEnergy, an organization that works to lower the carbon footprint. Clif Family Winery & Farm has started using a new shipping program, “Green My Shipment.” When purchasing wine, buyers can select to add money to the package at 25 cent increments. The winery suggests that anyone who would like to support their cause may want to consider adding 25 cents per bottle ordered. According to the winery’s website,  “All of the money collected through “Green My Shipment” will go directly to NativeEnergy to help support the Cascade Sierra Solutions Trucking Efficiency Project. We recommend $0.25 per bottle which will offset approximately 42 lbs of CO2, the average emissions generated by the packaging and transport of one bottle of wine.”

Kudos to Clif Family Winery & Farm for helping to save our environment in many ways including organic farming and “Green My Shipment.”

Cheers! Kathy

 

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

Volunteers Needed at Wine Festivals

May 12, 2009 – 8:00 am

I received an email today that reminded me that many wineries want volunteers to help at wine festivals. Ray Brasfield of Cygnus Wine Cellars in Manchester, Maryland emailed that he needs volunteers for the Wine in the Woods festival this weekend (May 16-17.) Ray’s shifts for Saturday are full but he needs help for Sunday. 

If you are interested in volunteering at a festival, contact your favorite winery or one that you would like to know more about. The Wine in the Woods festival in Columbia, Maryland has many volunteers working at the winery tents. The camaraderie between the volunteers is great. There is a surge of energy as festivalgoers line up for tastings. From my experience, the festival hours are in shifts so a volunteer only works about three hours. Rewards include the fun, camaraderie, often if not always free ticket admission to the festival.

I volunteered for Fiore Winery in Pylesville, Maryland two years ago and really had a lot of fun. I would like to help at a festival again when time permits. The experience of working behind the tables is unique and very different from the waiting in line for a tasting.

If you decide to volunteer at a festival, dress comfortably and be prepared for rain or shine.

Cheers, Kathy 

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

Orange Muscat Wines

May 11, 2009 – 11:01 am

While visiting Texas Hill Country, we enjoyed some phenomenal Orange Muscat wines. The aroma and taste were very orangey. One of the Orange Muscats we tried was a Newsom Orange Muscat 2002. This is a late harvest wine produced by Fredericksburg Winery. The grapes are from Newsom Vineyards located on the Texas High Plains. With a residual sugar of 15.1 percent, the wine is perfect by itself.

TRY THIS: Peel an orange and dip a slice into your wine glass filled with Orange Muscat. This is the ultimate experience and fit for a king or queen.

I’ve had a few other Orange Muscat wines from other areas of the country, but the Orange Muscat wines we tasted in Texas and in Temecula, California earlier this year were more flavorful and aromatic than some others we have tried. If you have the opportunity, check out the Orange Muscat wines produced in Texas Hill Country and Temecula.

In addition, a visit to Fredericksburg Winery in Fredericksburg, Texas is a fun-filled experience. The owner, Cord Switzer, is delightful and passionate about producing quality wines, winery legislation and family. Cord also has a great sense of humor and easily jokes with staff and visitors.

Cheers!

Kathy

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

Mother’s Day Recipe with Wine #3

May 10, 2009 – 10:53 am

For anyone who may be procrastinating about Mother’s Day dinner, here is an easy recipe for a salad that Sandhill Crane Vineyards in Michigan donated to the Wine Trail Traveler website. If you can’t use it today, consider using the recipe sometime soon.

Michigan Vineyards Salad

Ingredients

Mixed greens

Dried cherries

Sliced pears

Blue cheese, crumbled

Pecans, toasted

Vinaigrette

½ c Blushing Crane wine

1 T Dijon mustard

2 T white wine vinegar

salt

freshly ground pepper to taste

1 c olive oil

Note: Substitute a blush or rosé for the wine.

Directions for Vinaigrette

1. Reduce wine over medium heat to one-half volume.

2. Whisk together mustard, reduced wine, and vinegar.

3. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Dribble oil into the bowl in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly, until dressing is creamy and thickened and all the oil has been incorporated. Yield: about 1 ¼ cups

Directions for Salad

Toss together ingredients and serve immediately.

Provided by Sandhill Crane Vineyards in Jackson, Michigan.
Wishing a delightful Mother’s Day to all moms!

Cheers!?Kathy

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

Mother’s Day Recipe with Wine #2

May 9, 2009 – 10:20 am

Below you will discover a recipe with wine as an ingredient. This recipe can make Mother’s Day dinner special and only takes about 20 minutes to prepare. This recipe is easy to make and can add a special sparkle to an entrée or dessert. Many thanks to Spicewood Vineyards located in Spicewood, Texas for allowing Wine Trail Traveler to use this recipe on the Wine Trail Traveler website.

Raspberry Balsamic Sauce

1/4 cup Raspberry Balsamic

1/4 cup Red Wine

1 Tlb. Honey (optional)

Mix all items in a saucepan, simmer for about 20 minutes. Pour sauce over pork loin, salmon, or tenderloin.

Make a double batch and use extra sauce over cheesecake and ice cream.

To browse other recipes that use wine as an ingredient, visit the Wine Trail Traveler recipe section.

Cheers, Kathy

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

Mother’s Day Recipe with Wine #1

May 8, 2009 – 8:20 am

Mother’s Day is just around the corner and what better way to honor your mother than by cooking dinner for her. Over the next couple of days, I’ll add a couple of more recipes with wine that you may find to be just what your mother would enjoy.

The recipe below was suggested by Merrill Bonarrigo. Merrill and Paul Bonarrigo own Messina Hof Winery & Resort in Bryan, Texas. Paul is also the winemaker. They have written Vineyard Cuisine; Meals & Memories from Messina Hof. Many thanks to Merrill and Paul for allowing us to share this recipe with you just in time for Mother’s Day.

Tonno alla Messinese (Tuna from the Straits of Messina)

Ingredients:

2 onions, sliced

2 ribs celery, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 ¼ cups olive oil

1 pound ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

½ cup Messina Hof Pinot Grigio

1 pound potatoes, peeled and cubed

8 to 10 large pitted green olives

4 tablespoons golden seedless raisins

2 ½ tablespoons capers

2 ½ tablespoons pinenuts

2 teaspoons minced fresh basil

1 teaspoon minced fresh oregano

Salt to taste

6 tuna steaks

Directions:

In a large skillet, sauté the onions, celery and garlic in oil. As soon as the onions are translucent, add tomatoes and wine. Bring to a gentle boil. Add the potatoes, olives, raisins, capers, pine nuts, basil and oregano. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a little water if sauce is too thick. Season with salt. Grill the tuna steaks; serve hot with sauce.

Serves 6

Cheers! Kathy

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

Special Wine Awards in Texas

May 7, 2009 – 9:17 am

texassaddleAwards and medals adorn many wine bottles at vineyard and winery tasting rooms. Texas also offers medals, however the grand awards are really grand! Bright ribbons and medals are proudly displayed on bottle necks, in framed pictures or on walls. After visiting our first few wineries, I asked a winemaker about all the awards and what they meant. He equated many of the ribbons to participating in a science fair when one was in third grade. Everyone gets a ribbon just for participating. Okay, so that brought all of these thousands of ribbons into perspective.

However, there are a number of wine competitions around the world where winning means a whole lot more than “participation.” The top awards frequently are a special engraved product that can be proudly displayed by the winning winery. These awards are very nice and mean a lot to the winery.

In Texas, they do things in a big way. At the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo International Wine Competition there are several unusual awards. Awards range from an inscribed medal to a saddle. That’s right – a saddle. We’re not talking about a tiny saddle for display on a shelf. This saddle is the real thing. Awards also include buckles and chaps. A winery owner placed the value of the saddle at about three to four thousand dollars.

Wineries who participate in this event and win the saddle, provide wine in large over sized bottles to the Champion Wine Auction. The proceeds from the wine auction are for helping Texas youth. Often these auctions raise tens of thousands of dollars. Kudos to the Texas wine industry!

Cheers! Kathy

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

Port Sippers

May 6, 2009 – 6:46 am

portsipper1As we travel to wineries we discover many new and interesting ideas. We have tasted many Ports while in Texas. However at Texas Legato Winery in Lampasas, Texas, we were introduced to Port Sippers. Do they make a difference?

I enjoy drinking wine from fine stemware. Is it better to drink wine from better stemware such as Riedel or is good stemware just hype? I have to confess that even water taste better when in good stemware and glassware. So I was interested in the taste of Port from a Port sipper.

Port sippers date back to the 17th century. The theory is that as you suck the Port from the bottom of the glass through the straw-like arm, you lessen the amount of Port that can be oxidized. Since you can hold the Port sipper in the palm of your hand, you can also warm the Port slightly. In comparing the Texas Legato Port from a conventional wine glass and from a Port sipper there was a difference. The taste from the Port sipper was fruiter and lighter bodied.

If you are not a Port drinker what can you do with a Port sipper? Bill Bledsoe, owner and winemaker at Texas Legato demonstrated how to use the Port sipper to make turkey sounds. He suggested that it might work when you go hunting for turkeys. If not, fill with Port and sip. You may not be upset that you didn’t catch a turkey.

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

Wine Trail Traveler May Newsletter

May 5, 2009 – 1:47 pm

The Wine Trail Traveler May Newsletter highlights some of the wineries we discovered in the Hudson River Valley. Last month we ventured into this wine region of New York. Hudson River Valley region is an interesting area for wineries. We visited Brotherhood, America’s Oldest Winery. The wine caves were fascinating and we found ourselves comparing these wine caves with ones we had come across in California. 

On our travels we take numerous photos and decided that for this issue of the newsletter we would devote to a photo collage focused on vineyards in the spring.

What would a May newsletter be without an article with Mother’s Day suggestions? Therefore, we added suggestions for your special Mother.

Finally, if you decide to serve breakfast to mom in bed, we included a recipe from Messina Hof Winery & Resort in Bryan, Texas.

Enjoy our latest issue of the Wine Trail Traveler newsletter.

Cheers! Kathy

 

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

Blossom Days on Old Mission Peninsula

May 4, 2009 – 9:20 am

A couple of weeks ago, I received an email with a press release about a special event in Michigan this month. Blossom Days is an event sponsored by the Wineries of Old Mission Peninsula. On May 16 and May 17 the public is invited to the wineries to celebrate Blossom Days. According to the press release, “This is the only time of year that visitors will have the opportunity to:

·      Be the first to preview/taste the season’s newly released wines

·      Sample upcoming/reserve wine directly from the barrel

·      Receive exclusive winery tours and discussion time with the individual winemakers”

Seven wineries will be participating and tickets are $15. The ticket includes a commemorative wine glass and tastings.

If you would like additional information, the Wineries of Old Mission website.

When we visited wineries on Old Mission Peninsula, we discovered a beautiful area of the country. So, this email brought back many fond memories of our visit. The press release included also detailed the history of Blossom Days that I found interesting.

“The event brings back to life a long-standing tradition of the Blessing of the Blossoms, which first took place in 1923. For a number of years the Fiedrich Tower (across from what is now Chateau Grand Traverse) was the site. Mr. Fiedrich built the observation tower, dressed it with garlands and sought to wed tourism and faith in the Blessing ceremony. The location moved to Center Rd and Old Mission on occasion, and on to Bowers Harbor Park where the temptation to float blossoms on the water proved irresistible. Others, private and public, have sought to renew this customized ‘liturgy’, which one can now participate and celebrate in at Chateau Chantal on Sunday May 17th at 12:30 p.m.”

If you have the opportunity to visit Old Mission Peninsula on May 16 or 17, it sounds like a lot of fun. 

Cheers! Kathy

 

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

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