We celebrated St. Patrick’s Day over the weekend with friends and family. For dinner we had a traditional meal including mashed potatoes and a wonderful gravy, corned beef brisket, salad and homemade baked rolls. My sister brought a wonderful cream pie, piled high with strawberries and whipped topping. In addition, my brother-in-law brought a bottle of wine to share
The wine, a Zinfandel, was delicious. It was Ravenswood, 2005 Lodi Old Vine Zinfandel. The color was a translucent, almost opaque dark purple. The immediate taste was of layers of dark fruit including raisins. The wine was as smooth as any liquid can be and just glided over one’s tongue. The wine finished with spices and mild tannins. The wine was well balance. The alcohol was 15 percent.
This is a wine I would consider having again with an Italian meal.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Cheers, Kathy
If you enjoy wine but have shied away from making your own I recommend that you try the Winexpert Selection Spéciale Series. The Riesling Ice Wine Style won a gold medal and although costlier than other wine kits, the results are good. It took us about two months to make the wine. This is a bit longer than normal. The room where the wine fermented and clarified was in the lower 60’s. So after being bottled for only a week how did this wine fare at a dinner?
We had six people for dinner last night and I decided to pair the Riesling dessert wine with the appetizer, baked brie with walnuts and honey. The wine was sweeter than the brie and matched well. The brie cut some of the sweetness and helped to bring out the peach and apricot flavors in the wine. Everyone loved the wine, especially the “I don’t care for reds” wine drinkers. The red wine drinkers in the group enjoyed the Riesling dessert wine with the brie although switched to a Zin for dinner.
There are different price levels for wine kits. It seems like the old maxim “you get what you pay for” rings true for wine kits. Spend the extra money and buy the better kits. One of the differences in this kit and a lower cost kit was the added juice pack. Generally for clarifying the wine, you need to fill the carboy up to the neck. Lower cost kits instruct you to ad water to fill up to the neck, thus diluting the wine’s alcohol, sugar, and flavors. In a higher cost kit, you are given a juice pack to add. Although this will also reduce the alcohol it may increase the sugar and doesn’t dilute the flavors. In the case of the Riesling dessert wine, the 15% alcohol before the addition of the juice pack needed to be reduced a bit.
In addition to the wine, making wine from a kit is an education. Whenever directed to add an envelope such as potassium metabisulphite, research and find out what this does to the wine. You’ll learn a lot. Although making wine from a kit is not the same as making it at a winery, it is an enjoyable experience that you can also drink.
March 15, 2009 – 10:15 am
Yesterday, we made a return trip to Barrel Oak Winery in Virginia. This was for a special event where we met other bloggers and wine barrel owners. This was the first time we had the opportunity to visit Barrel Oak since it opened last June. When we had visited the winery a few days before it opened, the owners and workers were rushing to complete the structure for opening day. Therefore, for us it was delightful to see the winery and tasting room in operation yesterday.
The atmosphere at Barrel Oak is friendly and lively. Solid wood tables are available in the tasting room for visitors to gather around with friends and family. A section of the tasting room was set up for a music event in the evening. The overhead loft is a little quieter and presents a cozy atmosphere with a fireplace and nearby leather sofas. Small tables are available close to the balcony providing a nice view of the tasting room. A number of paintings decorating the tasting room are available to enjoy and for purchase.
Our event was downstairs near the stainless steel tanks. A table provided a selection of ham and appetizers and the second table provided desserts including cheesecake, strawberries and grapes.
If you are a dog lover or owner, this winery is especially for you. Yesterday we saw several dog owners with their pets on leashes. We met a Yorkie, two Pomperians and a St. Bernard. We learned from the Yorkie’s owner that the Yorkie prefers wine to beer.
If you haven’t been to Barrel Oak Winery yet, consider a visit there in the coming weeks. If you enjoy participating in winery events, this winery has events almost every week.
Cheers! Kathy
If wine is your choice of beverage, consider visiting a winery to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Whether winery has specific events for St. Patrick’s Day or not, make St. Patrick’s Day special by visiting your favorite winery or discovering a new winery in your own backyard. Since St. Patrick’s Day fall on a Tuesday, look for holiday specials this weekend or next.
Below are just a few ideas, although since St. Patrick’s Day is in the middle of the week, these celebrations are on weekends.
Every year Chateau O’Brien in Virginia goes above and beyond in its celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. This year the celebration is this weekend, March 14 and March 15. Enjoy a live band and bagpipes. The menu will have Irish food including: corn beef and cabbage, Irish stew, shepherds pie, Guinness cheesecake and Irish cheeses. The price includes the food and a glass of wine.
At Pearmund Cellars, Virginia discover a special deal of two of bottles of wine. According to their website, “Pearmund Cellars knows that the Irish like to celebrate twice as hard on the weekends before and after Saint Patrick’s Day. We are offering a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and a bottle of Chardonnay for the low price of $25.” This special is for the weekend before and after St. Patrick’s Day.
On Saturday, March 14 Miracle Valley Vineyard also in Virginia is celebrating with Shamrocks and Chardonnay. They are releasing their 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon. Miracle Valley will have live music from 2 to 5. Light complementary fare will be available with the purchase of wine.
Whether you are Irish or not, enjoy St. Patrick’s Day!
Cheers, Kathy
On Tuesday, I had the pleasure of attending the “Today’s Bordeaux 2009” tasting event in New York City. The tasting included 100 featured wines that were chosen by a jury of experts in a blind tasting of 350 wines. Robert Cavanaugh, the owner of Adventure Wine, for who I do tastings, invited me. I considered myself very lucky to be there, as this was an event that was only open to press and licensed members of the wine trade. As I stood there sipping wines and chatting with French winery owners, I found my mind drifting away. I envisioned marrying into the family of one of these wineries, tending to the grapes in a fine early morning mist in front of a beautiful French castle.
Someone asked me how Americans respond to French wines, as he was worried that Americans may take away a lot of the business. I responded that in my humble opinion, California wines are just as comparable, however people still see the French as the winemaking masters. No matter how amazing wines are in other countries, the French will always have a loyal following. Understandably too, the wines I tasted ranged from too young to absolutely delectable.
The highlight of the day was the barrel tastings where I had the opportunity to taste wines straight from the barrel presented by members of the “Cerle Rive Droite Primeurs.” I always love barrel tastings because there is something so raw and earthy about wines that are not quite ready yet. Let me just say that after this event it will be hard to go back to my “Three Buck Chuck.” I may just have to spring an extra twenty and go for a Bordeaux.
When I was ten years old I remember walking to K-mart and standing in line for what seemed to be hours to get an autograph from my then hero, Al Kaline of the Detroit Tigers. I was never in to getting autographs from movie stars or authors. When my children were growing up they too managed to get some sports autographs, most notably Cal Ripkin Jr. Just a few years ago my daughter gave me an autographed bottle of wine. The winemaker of the 2004 Bibich Riserva was promoting his wines in New York City when Erin had a bottle autographed with a silver pen.
I didn’t realize how important autographed bottles of wine were to some. After all, we visited more than 300 wineries and have not received an autographed bottle. That was until we visited the wineries in Temecula, California. Autographing bottles of wine with gold or silver pens is taken seriously. We have autographed bottles of wine from Ponte Family Estates, Thornton Winery and Baily Vineyard and Winery. While talking with the winemaker and assistant winemaker at South Coast Winery, a staff member from the tasting room brought a bottle of wine for them to autograph.
So now I have several autographed bottles of wine and am wondering what to do with them. I haven’t opened the Bibich Riserva yet. Should I let them age, keep the bottles as collector items or go ahead and drink the wine? Does having an autographed bottle of wine make a difference?
I feel the need to post something about Trader Joe’s famous “Two Buck Chuck.” I found myself meandering among the aisles of Trader Joe’s Wine Shop last Friday when I happened upon these insanely cheap bottles of wine. I had heard rumors in the past . . . murmurings of a wine that was both extremely inexpensive and actually good but had never quite believed it. But here it was staring me in the face. Bottles of Cabernet, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz, Merlot, Chardonnay, and Pinot Grigio all for three dollars! (It turns out that in New York City where I reside, “Two Buck Chuck” is actually a “Three Buck Chuck.”) Now, I have to admit that I am a bit of a wine snob so I was very apprehensive at first. I tend to dislike many of those kangaroo wines from Australia, (not to mention any names… Yellowtail) and have an extreme dislike for wines, disguised as fruit juices (ahem- Beringer’s White Zinfandel). But, I figured I would give the cabernet a whirl and here is the surprise . . . it was actually GOOD. Now, I’m not going to go around saying that this is the best wine I’ve ever had but I will definitely be back for some more of this Charles Shaw Californian wine. It is much better than many $10 wines I’ve had and a fraction of the cost. And in these economically hard times, that’s tough to beat. So, go out and grab a bottle of Two (or Three) Buck Chuck and give it a taste!
On Saturday we bottled our first sweet wine. This was our second bottling of a wine produced from a kit. Since our last bottling, we had purchased a floor model corker and it was definitely worth it. This corker only takes one person to cork a bottle. According to the wine kit, we should have produce 30 – 375ml bottles but we had 29 bottles. The kit had been labeled Ice Wine Style, so we didn’t expect a true Icewine aroma and taste. Actually we pleased with the wine.
We could have bottled the wine 10 days earlier but decided to wait to see if it would clear more. After the additional ten days there were more lees resting at the bottom of the carboy. The wine had cleared nicely and it was possible to read text through the carboy.
The color was golden. The taste had some nuances of banana and peach. This is a good wine and worth making but it lacks many of the qualities found in a true Icewine.
From making this batch of wine, we learned that the more expensive the wine kit, the better the wine. Of course this dessert wine was sweet. Sugar can mask many problems. However our dessert wine was delicious, sweet, had fruit aroma and taste and enough acid to cut the sweetness. Not bad for a dessert Riesling at about $3.50 for a 375ml bottle.
Do you have a favorite home winemaking kit or recipe? Write and let us know.
Cheers, Kathy
Many wineries support different causes. Sometimes it’s a donation of wine, perhaps a percentage of a sale of a particular wine or maybe an event. If you are a dog lover, the following special event may be of interest to you.
The event in Healdsburg, California will benefit the Healdsburg Animal Shelter. Mutt Lynch Winery is holding a BARKUS Wine & Treat Event on April 4 from 11am to 5pm. If you are a dog lover, this special event may be of interest to you. Contact the winery for more information at www.muttlynchwinery.com.
On the East Coast, check out one of our partners who features events with dogs frequently invited. Barrel Oak also features a variety of events that focus on helping worthy causes. Their site is at http://www.barreloak.com/ .
Cheers, Kathy
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Robotics Role in Winemaking
Does robotics have a role in the winery and the vineyard? What do you think of when you consider winemaking? Medieval cellars, aging oak barrels sitting quietly in the dark and winemakers hunched over in dark caves waiting for the moment to arrive when their precious liquid becomes wine? Wines stored in jugs rather than bottles?
Welcome to the 21st century where much of winemaking is done in bright, shiny stainless steel tanks, perhaps using the latest in filtering machines. Today wines can be discovered “bottled” in plastic bottles, paint-style cans (Paradocx Vineyard) or cardboard boxes. Robotic type machines are available to do the time consuming riddling. Check out Gloria Ferrer’s riddling machine. It may remind you of Star Wars.
New on the scene and still being developed is a robotic type machine for pruning vineyards. Vision Robotics Corporation has been designing a machine that can analyze each vine and make the proper cuttings. Will it be able to prune better than people can prune? Can you imagine driving, biking or walking past vineyards and seeing a machine pruning grapevines? What will this mean to the future of the wine industry? Only time will tell.
Cheers, Kathy