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During the past two years we met many winery owners that were husband and wife teams. Often it is a small operation and they take part in every aspect including the winemaking. I remember surprise when one owner told me she gets her husband winery equipment for presents. If the equipment is expensive then it becomes a Valentine’s Day, birthday and Christmas present. I heard the same gift-giving story from other husband and wife teams. Two years ago my wife gave me a winemaking kit for a present. It was a lot of fun making the wine. Bottling was another matter. The hand corker needed two hands to hold the corker pushing the levers to make the cork smaller, two hands to hold the bottle and one hand to push the lever that plunged the cork into the bottle. The results were not always spectacular. So for last Christmas, my wife gave me a floor corker. What a pleasure to use. One person can use it with one hand. This was a perfect gift.
Perhaps for Valentine’s Day, you should get your loved one a winemaking kit. Where’s the romance in this? Unlike flowers, that last a week or chocolates that may last for days, a winemaking kit offers opportunities to make the wine together and enjoy it for years. Follow the directions for primary fermentation and do everything together. Do the same for secondary fermentation. Age gracefully together while your wine ages. How’s that for romance? Bottle the wine together. Now is the tough part. The wine may need to bottle age for several months to a year. However, have a romantic dinner once a month opening one of the bottles to have with your dinner. Notice how the wine is aging at this point. It will change throughout the year. Many wine kits make more than two cases, so you can have many romantic moments while sharing a bottle.
Then one day, you’ll notice the empty primary fermenter and empty carboy or two and think that they should be filled. Two cases then become five or ten. The romance of making and enjoying wine together has great potential. More hours will be spent making and drinking the wine than enjoying flowers, a box of candy and one evening dinner.
Interested in a fun Super Bowl activity for a pre-game or during the game party? Find some Tim Tams and a port wine. While visiting Cape May winery in Cape May, New Jersey we were treated to a Tim Tam slam with port. Tim Tam is a chocolate covered biscuit made by Arnott’s in Australia. The process is simple and delicious. Take the cookie and bite of a small piece at each end. Then use the cookie as a straw to suck up some port. As soon as the port reaches your mouth, remove the Tim Tam and eat. Many ports finish hot because of the alcohol. The Tim Tam pairs well with the port. The finish is tamed so you won’t notice the high alcohol and the flavor of the port flavors the cookie. This is a fun and delicious way of eating Tim Tams and would be a great party activity especially for the Super Bowl.
There are many who do not consider fermented fruit other than grapes to be a wine. While others consider any fermented fruit a wine. Some winemakers like to make wine from fruit because it only takes several weeks from fermentation to bottling. They can also make fruit wine at any time of the year giving them an option to use tank space rather than leaving it empty for a time. There are consumers who absolutely love fruit wines. Many wines made from fruit tend to be semi-sweet or sweet. Occasionally we’ve come across a dry fruit wine.
In Support of New York Wines
An unfortunate remark by New York State Senator Diane Savino about a New York wine she drank has led to shockwaves throughout the New York state wine industry. According to an article on the Democrat and Chronicle website, Senators Defend N.Y. Wines, Finger Lakes Winery, Senator Savino told Elizabeth Benjamin of New York Daily News blog The Daily Politics, “I like to shake them up a bit, keep them off-balance,” Benjamin quoted Savino as saying. “There were several double-takes, it was quite funny. … I ate their salami and told Jim Alesi to wrap it up for the Senate lounge, and I drank their wine; it was wretched.” As it turns out, the senator seems to believe she was making a joke but some remarks should never be made. As the old saying goes, diplomacy is the best policy.
No matter what transpired or why, what is more significant is the reaction of the winery industry including Gene Pierce of Glenora Wine Cellars and Peter Saltonstall, Chairman of the New York Wine and Grape Foundation. The Democrat and Chronicle article quoted Pierce, “I’m not terribly concerned,” said Gene Pierce, owner of Glenora and Knapp Vineyards Winery. “… Rather than an apology, I’d much rather have her … visit all of us.” The article continues, “He said he planned to invite her to visit Glenora and other Finger Lakes wineries.” According to Tamara Lindstrom in New York Wineries Take a Hit from Unexpected Guest on the News10 Now website, “Saltonstall recommends they all take a deep breath and enjoy a glass of wine.”
We have discovered that in our many contacts with wineries, winemakers and owners, there is a sharing among wineries and winemakers that one does not normally find in the business and political worlds. While winemakers will compete to make the best wines, it is still all done in the spirit of friendliness and good will. Congratulations to Gene Pierce and Peter Saltonstall for continuing to prove this point.
Cheers, Kathy