After a visit to New York State, we returned home where our ornamental pear tree is blossoming and our grapevines are weeping. It seems as if spring has been struggling to reach the East Coast but maybe it’s finally here after all.
In the mail, I received a reminder of a festival in York, Pennsylvania that reminded me that with spring weather almost here food, wine and music festivals will abound. Small or large festivals, each offer their own unique appeal.
We have a notice of a Pennsylvania wine festival. On May 30 and 31, the Taste of Pennsylvania Wine and Music Festival will take place at the York Fairgrounds. Whether you are a Pennsylvania winery, vendor or fan, plan your trip now. More information is available at the festival website.
Wherever you may live or visit, check out the festivals in the coming weeks.
Cheers! Kathy
With Easter only a week away, consider what wine you will be serving with dinner. Of course, you’re favorite wine store or winery tasting room should be able to help you with what pairs well with your dinner. If you don’t care for their suggestions, choose a wine that you like.
For Easter dinner, our main entree will be honey-glazed ham served with mashed potatoes, perhaps made Rachel Ray’s style, and of course butternut squash. We are considering a white wine and for dessert, the dessert Riesling we recently made from a kit. Ham can also be paired with East Coast Cabernet Sauvignon or a Pinot Noir. White wines to consider are Gewürztraminer or a dry Riesling. If you enjoy meads, you may want to choose a dry mead. Fruit wine lovers should consider a cranberry wine.
One suggestion is not to wait until Easter Sunday to purchase your wine. Numerous winery tasting rooms will be closed for this special day.
Cheers, Kathy
By Kathy
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Posted in Wine/Food/Recipes
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Tagged Add new tag, Cabernet Sauvignon, cranberry wine, Easter, Gewürztraminer, ham, mead, pairing, Pinot Noir, Riesling, wine
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King Ferry Winery (Treleaven wines) of New York sent me an announcement about the spring opening of the Ithaca Farmer’s Market. The first day of the season is today Saturday, April 4 from 9am to 3pm. If you have the opportunity to go, be sure to stop by and meet Pete and Tacie, the owners of King Ferry Winery.
The email intrigued me enough to check it out and wish I could be there. The Farmer’s Market has 150 vendors who offer their specialties to the public. The vendors live within 30 miles of Ithaca, NY. A long list of goods available for purchase includes: wine, fruits, vegetables and meats. Local artists also participate.
Here is a community supporting their community and everyone benefits. Have a great time and discover quality foods and gifts. For directions, visit the website .
Cheers! Kathy
Several of the wineries in New York’s Hudson River Valley and Catskills Wine Regions use the word “bucolic” to describe their setting. To many the word conjures images that are pastoral and serene. I have trouble with the word though. For me it is a bit too close to the word “bubonic” which calls to mind deadly images and population reduction.
We visited two wineries on a rainy day, and our second day a fog hung to the surface until late morning. The bucolic setting was diminished by the weather as well as the season. In early spring most of the plant world was still asleep. The grapevines haven’t begun to weep and just a few trees are beginning to show a faint color of buds swelling. Still the view of the distant rolling hills from Demarist Winery, were pastoral. The fog just began to lift revealing the white cliffs as seen from the deck of the tasting room at Whitecliff Vineyards. One can catch a glimpse of the Hudson River from Benmarl Winery.
Small towns dot the area that seems rather forested. Although the black dirt farms in Warwick provided a contrast to the browns even on a dreary day. Interstate road interchanges see much of the same urban sprawl as seen elsewhere in the country near interstates. My image of the word “bucolic” is probably clouded by the image conjured by Washington Irving’s description of Sleeping Hollow. I didn’t get a sense of this image as we traveled the interstates and country roads searching for the wineries. Perhaps another season and clearer weather can provide a bucolic setting. Do you know of wineries in a bucolic setting?
I was recently reminded that April is Michigan Wine Month. The Wineries of Old Mission Peninsula (WOMP) are ready to celebrate. Whether you are interested in special wine prices or special events, you will want to check out these participating wineries. We visited several of these wineries in January 2008 and enjoyed the experience. They are excited about producing quality wines on Old Mission Peninsula. Chateau Chantal offers much more than a tasting room for visitors. It has a bed and breakfast and has a large assortment of events including cooking classes. Discover a suggested 2-day itinerary for Old Mission Peninsula on the Wine Trail Traveler website.
April 3 Brys Estate Vineyard & Winery “Seven-Course Wine Dinner”
April 4 Chateau Chantal “Dishes From Around France” 12:30 – 5:30 p.m.
April 9 WOMP Wine Dinner Mediterrano Restaurant in Ann Arbor Reservations: 734.332.9700
April 14 Chateau Grand Traverse “Featured Wine at the Cherry Stop in Traverse City”
April 18 Chateau Chantal “Tuscan Spring Dishes” 12:30-5:30 p.m.
April 23 Bowers Harbor Vineyard Wine Dinner at Bowers Harbor Inn
April 24 2 Lads Winery Wine Dinner at The Boathouse Restaurant
April 25 Chateau Chantal “Wine Immersion Seminar” 11 a.m. – 9:30 p.m.
April 27 “Northern Michigan Wine Summit” 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. NMC Hagerty Center
If you can’t visit Old Mission Peninsula wineries during April, you may want to consider a summer vacation to the Peninsula.
Cheers, Kathy
The results of the Finger Lakes International Wine Competition were recently released. As I looked over the information about this competition, I was impressed with a unique aspect of it. Not only do the participating wineries benefit especially the winners, but another winner is the Camp Good Days and Special Times, Inc. This organization is a nonprofit camp offering a camping experience on Keuka Lake. The weeklong camping experience is for children whose lives are affected by violence, cancer and HIV/AIDS. Adults with cancer have the opportunity to participate in weekend camping programs.
Congratulations to the wine industry for supporting those in need!
Cheers, Kathy
P.S. For a list of the 2009 competition results go to 2009 results.
After handing off the car at the Times Square Hilton in New York City, we were ready to check into our room and then head out for an early evening dinner. Just a few feet away from the Hilton, Ruby Tuesday offered casual dining. At 5:15 PM we had no trouble getting seated and catching up with our daughter, Erin. As I peered at the wine list, a white and red flight caught my eye. The White Flight featured a Simi Sauvignon Blanc, Frei Brothers Chardonnay and Estancia Pinot Grigio. The red wine flight offered a Neyers Ranch Merlot, Bogle Old Vine Zinfandel and a Sterling Vintner’s Cabernet Sauvignon. I opted for the red flight and paired it with a hamburger.
The three wines were brought to the table with a three wine glass holder. The nice thing about flights is the ability to compare and contrast the wines since all three wines are in different glasses at the same time. I liked the aroma of the Neyers Ranch Merlot. The wine had black fruit aroma and taste. The fruit lingered on the aftertaste and the wine had a perceived sweetness. The Sterling Vintner’s Cabernet Sauvignon paired well with the hamburger. The blackberry fruit and peppery aroma and taste added to the taste of the hamburger. The Bogle Old Vine Zinfandel offered a spicy and blueberry aroma and taste. The crispy finish was palate cleansing.
Ruby Tuesday’s wine flights offers people the ability to experiment with food and wine in a relaxed casual atmosphere. All three red wines added to the dining experience. Offering flights like this gives customers the opportunity to enjoy and learn about what wines they like and to learn more about wines.
I always find it a bit sad when I see a winery for sale. Even more so, when it is a winery that I have visited and written an article about the experience. This morning as I was perusing the Internet, I decided to look at a site that lists wineries for sale.
I saw a name that I was totally surprised at seeing – Cobblestone Vineyards and Winery along the Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes area of New York. This is a winery where we met the owner and he talked with us about his plans and events. After being there once I always wanted to return. It is a delightful winery with numerous events to attend including a cherry festival in July.
With 148 acres that include views of the lake, a cobblestone home, and winery, this property has a lot to offer a potential owner. Anyone who has the wherewithal and interest in owning a winery in New York State may want to visit this winery.
In the meantime, I believe that the owners put their heart and soul into making this winery work and must be disappointed at needing to sell it after only a few short years.
We wish the owners well.
Kathy
With the uncertainty of the economy, many are cutting expenses in several areas. One of these areas is travel. In recent Internet travel discussions, authors point out that the airline industry, hotels, restaurants and theme parks all have seen a decrease in usage. Winery and vineyard tasting rooms are likely going to see a downturn in visitors. However the current economic conditions may offer winery and vineyard tasting rooms other options than joining the doom and gloom bandwagon.
Add travel to the eat and drink local movement and you now have an “Eat, Drink and Travel” locally movement. Just as people are reluctant to stop drinking wine, they are going to be apprehensive to give up travel completely especially when there are other options. Many winery and vineyard tasting rooms are within a hour’s drive of millions of wine enthusiasts, others are a day trip away. There are certainly advantages to visiting winery and vineyards that are close by.
One advantage is that they can be visited often. Vineyards are alive and ever changing. Witness weeping and bud break in the spring. Observe the grapes develop during the summers. From Veraison to harvest offers many photo opportunities to amateur and professional photographers. Fall colors abound and winter solace offers tranquil escapes.
Wineries offer new releases throughout the year and tasting their portfolio is never static. Compare wines from different vintages. Taste wines that you tasted previously. Perhaps your interest in the wines has changed.
Many wineries offer events especially during the summer months. Consider a local winery’s events as opposed to a city escape for a weekend.
One does not have to give up on travel during these economic times. Explore new travel opportunities to the local winery and vineyard tasting rooms.
Wine flights can offer a better way to taste wines in winery tasting rooms. The first wine flight that we encountered was at the New York Wine and Culinary Center in Canandaigua, New York. We chose our wine flights and after making our selections, the wine attendant provided us with a paper placemat that included information about the flight and about each wine. She placed a wine glass with each wine selection on the placemat and poured all the wines immediately. We were able to compare the wines by color, aroma and taste. We were able to sip between the wines to discover the wine we liked best in each flight.
A short time later, we visited a winery and he asked if we would like a wine flight. This particular tasting room had a different take on wine flights. We chose a flight and then the server proceeded to pour the different wines in the flight, one at a time, using the same stemware. I suppose this may have been a flight but it lacked the ability to provide a comparison of the wine colors, aromas and tastes.
When we visited Callaway Vineyard & Winery in California, we discovered that they have a special wine flight, a Wine & Truffle Tasting. They provide plastic covered placemats that are divided into four sections. The placemat lists wines at the top with a description followed by photos and descriptions of the truffles. The first section is a 2008 Special Selection Sauvignon Blanc paired with a Citrus Lavender Honey Truffle. The 2005 Special Selection Chardonnay pairs with a Ginger Praline Truffle. Next, pair the 2005 Special Selection Merlot with a Salted Caramel Truffle. The experience ends with a 2005 Special Selection Cabernet Sauvignon paired with Origin Peru Truffle.
I really enjoy wine flights. It can increase the enjoyment of tasting wines and discussing them with others. What other wine flights do you know about?
Cheers, Kathy
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Finger Lakes International Wine Competition 2009
The results of the Finger Lakes International Wine Competition were recently released. As I looked over the information about this competition, I was impressed with a unique aspect of it. Not only do the participating wineries benefit especially the winners, but another winner is the Camp Good Days and Special Times, Inc. This organization is a nonprofit camp offering a camping experience on Keuka Lake. The weeklong camping experience is for children whose lives are affected by violence, cancer and HIV/AIDS. Adults with cancer have the opportunity to participate in weekend camping programs.
Congratulations to the wine industry for supporting those in need!
Cheers, Kathy
P.S. For a list of the 2009 competition results go to 2009 results.