William (Bill) A. Wroolie, Rep. Mike Thompson D-CA, Raymond Coursen and Stephen L. Ruckman
From the podium in room 2075 of the Rayburn House Office Building, Representative Mike Thompson D-CA said, “What’s better than Veterans and wine?” This was a very fitting statement for the introduction of the 2014 vintage of Purple Heart Red. Purple Heart Wine produces a red wine to help honor American military heroes. The brand was started by C. Mondavi & Family in March 2016. Mr. Thompson signed two magnum bottles of the wine and introduced William (Bill) A. Wroolie and Stephen L. Ruckman of the Purple Heart Foundation and Elyse winery owner and winemaker Raymond Coursen who along with winemaker David Grega helped craft the Purple Heart wine. The large signed bottles of wine were given to Bill and Stephen.
Purple Heart label design
Kathy and I arrived at the Rayburn House Building a bit early which gave us time to discover some things about the wine and the Purple Heart Foundation. In past winery visits, we have met veteran owners and/or winemakers that told us they attempted to put an image of a medal they received on one of their wine bottle labels. The TTB did not accept the label. I was interested in what Purple Heart Wine did. Jaki Palacious, Brand Manager from C. Mondavi & Family, explained that the wine’s label is not an image of the actual Purple Heart medal, which has a gold heart shaped enclosing a bust of George Washington on a purple background. Instead, the wine label shows an image of five gold stars (representing the five military branches) atop a purple-colored heart. A gold leaf design is at the top of the heart and its sides. The design was created in cooperation with the Purple Heart Foundation.
Ray Coursen, winemaker
Winemaker and Vietnam veteran Ray Coursen spoke about his philosophy of winemaking. He looks at winemaking “as cooking without a flame.” Ray spoke to the assembled and mentioned that he returned from Vietnam 47 years ago. He has been a winemaker in Napa Valley for over three decades. This brand of wine is near and dear to Ray’s heart.
The first vintage of the Purple Heart wine was a 2013 vintage that had 7,500 cases made. The 2014 vintage had a production of 15,000 cases. It may be hard to find on the East Coast since most of the allotment for this part of the country went to the White House. The 2014 Purple Heart Red Wine was a blend of 80% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Petite Sirah and 1% Petit Verdot. Ray mentioned to me that it doesn’t take much Petit Verdot to influence a wine. The Merlot was mostly sourced from the Yountville area of Napa Valley. The wine was an opaque dark purple color with a ruby hue and ruby rim. The aroma emphasized dark fruits. The taste reminded me of blackberries, blue berries and cassis. (I had a 100% cassis wine while in France, and since, have been able to pick out this trait in wines that have it.) The wine had a medium to full body with medium tannins. The finish was fruity with the fruit yielding to leather and a bit of licorice. The wine is 14.2% alcohol. The wine was delicious, but perhaps the best is the retail price of $19.99. At this price point, if you have a chance to pick up this wine do so.
Cheers,
Terry
February 27, 2017 – 1:38 pm
Try Butterscotch Gold Syrup for Shrove Tuesday!
(photo by Sugarlands Distilling Co, Tennessee)
Tomorrow, Tuesday February 28 is Shrove Tuesday. Traditionally, Shrove Tuesday is the Tuesday before Lent begins. In the old days, Shrove Tuesday was considered to be the last day to use up fats and other rich foods before the lean days of doing without during the 40 days of Lent. Frequently the day is also known as Pancake Tuesday and people enjoy pancakes with butter and syrup before fasting during Lent.
Whether you celebrate Shrove Tuesday or not, this recipe from Sugarlands Distilling Co in Tennessee is one you will want to use on your pancakes or vanilla ice cream any day of the year.
Butterscotch Gold Syrup
Ingredients
1/2 cup of Maple Syrup
1/4 cup of Butterscotch Gold Sugarlands Shine Moonshine
Directions
1. Combine ingredients into a small sauce pan, stir until warm.
2. Pour over a large stack of pancakes or vanilla ice cream.
Recipe provided by Sugarlands Distilling Co.
Enjoy!
Kathy
February 25, 2017 – 12:51 pm
Garofalo Artisan Liqueurs in Winchester, VA
Last year we visited wineries and distilleries in Virginia’s Shenandoah region. One of those is the unique Garofalo Artisan Liqueurs which is producing several yummy liqueurs. They have a very unique story which dates back to the founder’s grandmother who made liqueurs and wine during Prohibition. Francesca Inzero developed a Walnut Liqueur which her grandson Dick Garofalo began to replicate and offer for sale. Dick expanded the variety of infused spirits. Unfortunately Dick passed away in 2016 and at the time of our visit his business partner Dana Norris was seeking to increase production and distribution. For more information read the Wine Trail Traveler article.
We were happy to receive permission to add their delicious cocktail recipes to the Wine Trail Traveler distilling section of our website. Check out the recipes below as well as the recipes already added to Wine Trail Traveler distilling site.
Cheers!
Kathy
Negroni Francesa
Ingredients
1 oz Francesa
1 oz Bombay Sapphire Gin or other top shelf gin
1 oz Campari
Ice
Directions
- Add ingredients and stir with ice.
- Serve up or on rocks with orange twist.
Midnight Manhattan
Ingredients
2 oz Knob Creek or other top shelf Bourbon
1 oz Francesca
Dash of orange bitters
Directions
- Stir with ice.
- Serve up with brandied cherry garnish
The Boutonniere
Ingredients
2 oz single Malt Scotch
1 oz Francesca
Dash of orange bitters
Directions
- Optional: Serve up with candied kumquat garnish
209 Harvest
Ingredients
1/2 oz Edge Hill Port
1/2 oz Francesa
1 1/2 oz Dry Gin
Orange wedge
Directions
- Muddle with orange wedge and shake over ice.
- Serve in a martini glass with orange wheel garnish.
Raincoat
Ingredients
1 oz Francesca
1 oz Evan Williams or other top shelf Bourbon
1/2 t Monin almond syrup
Directions
1. Stir with ice.
2. Serve in chilled Martini glass with freshly grated cinnamon floater
Recipe provided by Garofalo Artisan Liqueurs, Inc.
Cristina
Ingredients
2 oz Francesca
1/2 oz Belvedere Cytrus Vodka
Directions
- Sir on ice and serve up.
Recipes provided by Garofalo Artisan Liqueurs, Inc.
February 23, 2017 – 1:59 pm
Set tomorrow, February 24, aside for the Canines & Cocktails for a Cause event at Homestead Gardens in Maryland’s Anne Arundel County. This charity event which benefits the SPCA will take place from 5:30pm to 7:30pm.
According to the Homestead Gardens website “Well-behaved people and dogs* invited!” *Please be sure to have your pet on a leash.
Beer and wine will be available for purchase. Raffle tickets will also be available for purchase. Proceeds from the raffle tickets and refreshments will benefit the local SPCA.
This special event takes place at the Homestead Gardens store in Davidsonville at 743 West Central Avenue.
The event is sponsored by Paws Pet Boutique and Homestead Gardens. It is co-sponsored by Dogwood Acres Pet Retreat.
All proceeds will benefit the SPCA of Anne Arundel County!
Cheers!
Kathy
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Adler Fels’ Delicious Pinot Noir and Chardonnay
Occasionally I’ll taste a wine that immediately evokes a memory. That experience occurred with a first taste of the 2014 Adler Fels Pinot Noir. I recognized the taste and was immediately transported back a few years to a wine judging of Santa Barbara wines headed by Steven Spurrier. During that judging we tasted several Pinot Noirs from Santa Barbara County. They were quite good and I enjoyed them. Just a few points separated the Pinots. This Adler Fels Pinot was very reminiscent to the Pinots that I helped judge.
The 2014 Pinot Noir retails for $27.99. Seventy-six percent of the grapes were sourced from Santa Rita Hills in Santa Barbara County while 24% of the grapes were sourced from the Russian River Valley in Sonoma County. The wine had a translucent dark ruby color and emphasized fruit on the aroma and taste. The most notable fruit was raspberry. Also on the taste were hints of vanilla, baking spices and blackberries. The medium-bodied wine also had medium tannins. It had a fruity finish. The wine had 14.4% alcohol. This is a very quaffable Pinot Noir that was delicious with a ham dinner.
The second wine sampled from Adler Fels was a 2015 Chardonnay that retails for $19.99. The intense aroma meets the senses before the face encounters the glass. The light gold colored wine was crafted with grapes sourced equally from Russian River Valley and Monterey County. Apple, pear and peach were noted on the aroma. The taste was predominantly apple. The silky mouthfeel was accompanied by a full-body. The finish was multi-layered. First the finish had apple notes followed by a hint of peach and ending with chalk. The wine was a 14.4% alcohol. The Chardonnay was delicious and paired well with perch and rice. I used a bit of the wine with the rice mixture I composed.
Both of these wines give consumers a taste of California with reasonable prices. Winemaker Aaron Bader crafted the Pinot Noir, and winemaker Linda Trotta fashioned the Chardonnay.
Cheers,
Terry