Uncork Your Mind: Recent Episodes
Debbie Gioquindo
In this episode of Uncork Your Mind, Debbie Gioquindo, the Hudson Valley Wine Goddess, travels virtually to Italy's Friuli Venezia Giulia region to speak with Francesca Mecchia of Vigna Petrussa Winery.
Together, we dive into the story of Schioppettino, one of Italy's most fascinating indigenous red grapes known for its black pepper spice, elegance, freshness, and incredible food pairing versatility.
Francesca shares the history of her family's all-female winery, how Schioppettino was brought back from near extinction, and why preserving indigenous grapes is so important for the future of wine.
The conversation also explores: • Friuli's unique terroir and Ponca soil • Traditional and modern winemaking practices • Climate change in the vineyard • The rise of quality-focused wine consumers • Why wines with a sense of place matter more than ever
If you enjoy discovering hidden wine gems and hearing the stories behind the bottle, pour yourself a glass and join us for this fascinating conversation from northeastern Italy.
Learn more about Vigna Petrussa at: https://www.vignapetrussa.it/
Uncork Your Mind is a podcast for curious wine lovers — the stories, the people, and the grapes worth knowing.
What do wine appreciation and parenting have in common?
More than you might think.
In this episode of Uncork Your Mind Conversations, Debbie Gioquindo, the Hudson Valley Wine Goddess, sits down with Danielle Frank, author of A Wine Lover's Guide to Parenting: The Fine Art of Wine & Whine Management.
Danielle shares the inspiration behind her book and explains the surprising parallels between raising children and appreciating wine — from patience and perspective to learning how to embrace life's unpredictable moments.
This conversation blends wine, humor, and real-life parenting, offering a refreshing reminder that sometimes the best parenting advice comes with a sense of humor… and possibly a glass of wine.
What You'll Learn in This Episode * The inspiration behind A Wine Lover's Guide to Parenting * How wine appreciation can mirror the parenting journey * Why patience is essential for both wine lovers and parents * Danielle's humorous take on balancing family life and wine culture * How humor and perspective can help parents navigate everyday challenges
Episode Timestamps (Adjust if needed once you review the interview)
00:00 – Welcome to Uncork Your Mind Conversations 01:10 – Meet author Danielle Frank 03:30 – The inspiration behind A Wine Lover's Guide to Parenting 07:15 – Wine wisdom and parenting lessons 11:45 – Finding humor in the chaos of parenting 16:20 – Why wine culture and parenting share common ground 20:10 – Danielle's advice for parents who love wine 23:00 – Final thoughts and where to find the book
About the Guest Danielle Frank is the author of A Wine Lover's Guide to Parenting: The Fine Art of Wine & Whine Management, a witty and relatable book that explores the similarities between wine appreciation and raising children.
Through humor and storytelling, Danielle offers parents a refreshing perspective on family life and the role wine culture can play in bringing people together.
About Your Host Debbie Gioquindo, known as the Hudson Valley Wine Goddess, is a wine educator, writer, and Certified Specialist of Wine. Debbie is passionate about making wine fun, approachable, and accessible while sharing the stories behind the people and regions that shape the wine world.
Subscribe & Follow 🍷 Subscribe to Hudson Valley Wine Goddess for more wine stories and conversations.
Website https://hudsonvalleywinegoddess.com
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In this episode of Uncork Your Mind, I chat with David Sheldon, owner of Hampton Roads Winery in Surry County, Virginia, and author of You Can Wine Too, about how he and his wife Diane transformed retirement into a life of winemaking, farming, and creativity.
We talk about: 🍇 Lessons from starting a winery from scratch 🏠 Turning a Victorian mansion into a tasting room 🐐 Building the world's tallest Goat Tower 🐄 Raising cattle and saving a calf named Nicholas 💡 The passion that keeps them pouring
🎧 Listen & read more → https://hudsonvalleywinegoddess.com/ 📘 Buy You Can Wine Too on Amazon or Barnes & Noble 🍷 Visit hamptonroadswinery.com
#DreamBuildPour #WinePodcast #UncorkYourMind #VirginiaWine #YouCanWineToo #HudsonValleyWineGoddess
Welcome to another episode of Winephabet Street, where we explore the world of wine one letter at a time! This episode features the elusive and extraordinary Usakhelauri – a rare Georgian grape known for its deep color, natural sweetness, and limited production.
Join us as we dive into: ✅ The history and origins of Usakhelauri 🍇 ✅ What makes it so rare and highly sought after ✅ Tasting notes and food pairings 🍷🍽 ✅ How it represents the rich winemaking traditions of Georgia 🇬🇪
Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more exciting wine explorations! Have you ever tried Usakhelauri? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
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If you missed the live episode of Winephabet Street’s this month we talked all about Traminette, Our guest was Michael Migliore, owner and winemaker of Whitecliff Vineyard & Winery. Michael brought 45 years of winemaking expertise to the table, providing invaluable insights into this fascinating grape known for its floral, fruity, and spicy characteristics
What is Traminette?
Traminette is a hybrid grape, a cross between Gewürztraminer and a French-American hybrid. It boasts the aromatic intensity of Gewürztraminer while offering the hardiness and disease resistance of hybrids. Traminette thrives in regions with cooler climates, making it a popular choice in New York’s Hudson Valley and the Midwest.
Key Highlights from the Webinar
The History and Development of Traminette
Michael shared the grape’s unique origin story, developed as a resilient and flavorful alternative to traditional European varieties. Introduced in the 1990s, Traminette has gained a foothold in vineyards across the Northeast and Midwest due to its cold tolerance and disease resistance.
Vineyard and Soil Preferences
Traminette thrives in sandy loam soils and prefers slightly sloped sites for optimal drainage and sun exposure. Michael emphasized the importance of early leaf pulling to allow sunlight to develop the grape’s flavor precursors, ensuring a rich and complex wine profile.
Winemaking Techniques
Michael detailed his winemaking process, highlighting the importance of cold fermentation and short skin contact to retain Traminette’s signature floral and fruity notes. He also touched on experimenting with non-intervention wines, using natural yeasts to create unique flavor profiles.
Tasting Notes
Traminette’s bouquet is a sensory delight, featuring aromas of rose petals, orange blossom, and jasmine. On the palate, expect notes of guava, lychee, Honeycrisp apple, and a medley of spices like ginger and cloves. Michael’s description painted a vivid picture of a wine that’s both elegant and versatile.
Food Pairings
One of the standout moments was the discussion on food pairings. Michael recommended pairing Traminette with:
• Spicy Asian Cuisine: Think Thai green curry or dumplings with chili oil.
• Seafood: Oysters and other light, briny dishes.
• Cheese: Gruyere is a perfect match for Traminette’s nuanced flavors. For sweeter versions, desserts like cheesecake or roasted meats complement the wine beautifully.
Why Traminette Matters
Traminette is more than just a hybrid grape; it represents the innovation and resilience of modern viticulture. Its ability to thrive in colder climates while offering a sophisticated flavor profile makes it a valuable addition to any wine enthusiast’s repertoire.
What’s your experience with Traminette? Share your thoughts in the comments!
In this episode, we dive into the fascinating world of Kopke 1638 Port House with winemaker Carla Tiago. Carla discusses the 400-year history of Kopke, from its German roots to becoming a staple of Portugal’s port wine legacy. She explains the various port styles, including the unique Colheitas, aged solely in barrels and bottled only upon request, preserving their distinct vintages for decades. Carla also shares how Kopke is bringing port into the modern era, with innovative projects like their limited library collection of century-old vermouth and quinine-infused ports. With insights on pairing port with food, modern cocktails, and upcoming projects, Carla paints a vivid picture of the dedication and tradition that make Kopke a standout in the world of port wines.
In this episode of Uncork Your Mind, I chat with Shawn Pearce from Familia Vicente Pearce, a winery with roots in both Buffalo, New York, and Mendoza, Argentina. Shawn shares his fascinating journey from studying wine in college to creating a family-run vineyard with his wife, Celia, in Argentina’s renowned wine region. We explore their sustainable vineyard practices, the artistry behind their wine labels, and their delicious range of wines, including a rare Gamay Rosé and a bold Cabernet Sauvignon. Tune in to hear more about how passion for wine shaped Shawn's path and what makes Familia Vicente Pearce so special!
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In this episode of 'Winephabet Street,' co-hosts Lori and Deb welcome guests Jim Quarrella and Larry Coia from Bellview Winery in New Jersey. The discussion revolves around the San Marco grape, a unique variety being cultivated by Bellview Winery in the United States. Jim and Larry share the grape's history, how they imported it from Italy, and its resilience and characteristics that make it promising for New Jersey's climate. The conversation touches on the grape's disease resistance, vibrant acidity, and fruit structure, drawing parallels to well-known varieties like Syrah. As they taste different vintages of the San Marco wine, they discuss its flavors and potential food pairings, emphasizing its versatility. Additionally, they delve into the challenges of grape farming and winemaking during varying seasons and the importance of lesser-known Italian varieties in American vineyards. Throughout, the passion for innovation and collaboration in wine production is evident, as Bellview Winery emerges as a pioneer for this new grape variety in the U.S.
So excited about this episode of Winephabet Street. We are exploring the letter 'R' with one of the wine world's hidden gems, the Rkatsiteli grape. This ancient varietal, which hails from the storied vineyards of Georgia, offers a captivating blend of history and unique flavors that few other wines can boast.
Joining us is a very special guest, Meaghan Frank from Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery located in the Finger Lakes region of New York. Meaghan represents the fourth generation of her family's winemaking legacy, bringing both a deep respect for tradition and a fresh perspective to the craft.
The Journey of Rkatsiteli
The Rkatsiteli grape is considered one of the oldest known to viticulture, with origins that trace back over 3,000 years in the Republic of Georgia. This grape has survived and thrived through millennia, making it a testament to the resilience and enduring appeal of indigenous varietals.
At Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery, the journey of Rkatsiteli is intertwined with the personal history of the Frank family. Dr. Konstantin Frank, a visionary viticulturist and Meaghan’s great-grandfather, first introduced Rkatsiteli to the Finger Lakes, recognizing the region's potential to nurture this robust and versatile grape.
Tasting Notes and Pairings
Rkatsiteli produces a wine that is vibrant and aromatic, with a crisp acidity that makes it incredibly food-friendly. It exhibits flavors ranging from ripe apple and pear to herbal and floral notes, making it versatile for pairing with a wide array of cuisines. The wine's high acidity cuts through the richness of fatty foods and complements spicy and aromatic dishes, making it an excellent match for everything from Indian curries to traditional Georgian recipes.
We were spoiled and got to taste 3 types of Rkatsiteli Dr. Frank produces.
2021 Amber Rkatsiteli - Spent 2 weks on skins. Fresh floral with orange blossom and chamomile
2022 Rkatsiteli - Bright acidity, notes of pear and nice salinity on the finish
2021 Rkatsiteli Extra Brut - it has a touch of dosage and spent 3 years aging. Nice floral notes and fresh and exciting.
Sustainability and Innovation at Dr. Frank Winery
Under Meaghan’s stewardship, the winery continues to focus on sustainable viticulture practices, including the use of solar energy and participation in New York State's Sustainable Winegrowing program. This commitment ensures that the legacy of Dr. Konstantin Frank not only preserves the environment but also continues to innovate and lead in the American wine industry.
Experience and Education
Meaghan’s approach to winemaking is deeply rooted in both tradition and science. With a background in wine business and enology, she blends practical experience with academic knowledge, enriching the winery’s offerings with both classic and innovative wines. Her involvement in teaching local WSET courses further reflects her commitment to educating others about wine, ensuring that the passion for viticulture is passed on to the next generation.
Visiting Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery
For those intrigued by the story of Rkatsiteli and the rich history of Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery, a visit to the Finger Lakes offers a picturesque setting to experience these exceptional wines. The winery provides a range of tasting experiences that showcase the diversity of their wine portfolio, from their traditional method sparkling wines to their exquisite Rkatsiteli.
Rkatsiteli is not just about a grape, but about the enduring legacy of a family that changed the American wine landscape. Meaghan Frank continues this legacy with a dedication to quality, sustainability, and education, ensuring that the history of Rkatsiteli will continue to be enjoyed for generations to come.
We hope you enjoyed this exploration of Rkatsiteli on Winephabet Street. Join us next time as we uncover another exciting chapter in the world of wine. Cheers!
In this episode of Winephabet Street, Debbie and Lori tackle the questions you've been hesitant to ask about wine. Remember, in the world of wine, no questions are considered foolish. Whether you've been pondering about tannins, wine pairings, or curious about corks, now is your opportunity to gain clarity without hesitation.
We had such a good show and didn’t get to all the questions, we have a part 2 coming up.
I hope you enjoy!
Welcome to another engaging episode of Winephabet Street, where the world of wine becomes more accessible, one letter at a time. In this episode we're delving into the letter "P" with a focus on Petit Manseng, a varietal that may not be on every wine lover's radar but certainly deserves a spotlight for its distinctive qualities and growing popularity, particularly in Virginia.
Lori and I are joined by Lee Hartman from Bluestone Vineyards in Virginia, who shares his deep insights into Petit Manseng. Lee's journey in the wine industry, from his initial reluctance to his aha moment realizing the magic of winemaking, is as inspiring as it is educational. Bluestone Vineyards is nestled in the Shenandoah Valley, benefits from its unique microclimate and terroir, contributing to the distinctive character of their Petit Manseng.
Petit Manseng is a white grape variety native to Southwestern France, now gaining ground in Virginia and even Arizona. Known for its small berries and loose clusters, is celebrated for its resilience against common vineyard challenges such as mold and mildew. Its ability to thrive in Virginia's climate, retaining acidity while achieving high sugar levels, makes it an intriguing varietal for winemakers. The grape's versatility shines through in the variety of styles it can be crafted from dry to dessert wines, showcasing its broad appeal.
Lee Hartman's discussion on the challenges and rewards of working with Petit Manseng provides a fascinating glimpse into the art and science of winemaking. From the considerations in the vineyard to the decisions made in the winery, it's clear that crafting wine from Petit Manseng is a labor of love that requires patience, skill, and creativity.
As Petit Manseng gains recognition beyond Virginia, exploring this varietal offers an exciting opportunity for wine lovers to expand their palates and discover new favorites. Whether you're a seasoned wine drinker or new to the wine world, Petit Manseng's unique profile is sure to captivate and surprise.
For those eager to learn more about Petit Manseng and perhaps even taste it for themselves, Lee's invitation to visit Bluestone Vineyards is an open door to explore the beauty of Virginia wine country. As Winephabet Street continues to uncover the Winephabet of wine, Petit Manseng stands out as a memorable chapter that enriches our wine journey.
So, pour yourself a glass, settle in, and listen to the podcast.
In December on Winephabet Street we learned about the Orange Muscat grape with our special guest, Andrew Quadi of Quadi Winery. Nestled in Madera, California, Andrew and his wife have been crafting exceptional wines since the late '70s, transitioning from an engineering background to the art of winemaking.
Orange Muscat, is a grape variety that boasts a fusion of orange and apricot flavors that fascinate the senses in a surprisingly delightful way. Despite its green skin, the wine reveals a captivating golden orange hue and an irresistible aroma,
The winemaking process for Orange Muscat is a meticulous art. The grapes undergo one to two days of skin contact at a low temperture before being pressed and fermented, bringing out the unique apricot-orange flavors. Aging in French oak barrels adds to its rich, vibrant taste and golden appearance.
What sets Orange Muscat apart is its natural sweetness, with grapes maturing to at least 23% sugar content. This sweetness, combined with layered fruit and floral aromas, usually leads to the creation of delightful sweet wines.
Orange Muscat can elevate your tasting experience. It pairs wonderfully with desserts, particularly those less sweet than the wine itself. Imagine it with nice creamy New York cheesecake. Orange Muscat offers a unique and memorable experience. Its distinct taste and color make it a delightful discovery, perfect for pairing or enjoying solo.
Quady Winery 2020 Essensia Orange Muscat SRP $23.99 - Nice slightly orange in color to match the name. Smooth on the palate with hints of orange and apricot. This wine is on the sweeter side, but nice consistency on the palate. Serve slightly chilled.
Back in the fall, I had the opportunity to spend an afternoon with Michael Migliore, owner of Whitecliff Vineyard and Winery, at their Olana Vineyard in Hudson, NY. This is a 10 acre site just over the Rip Van Winkle Bridge on the Hudson side, in the shadows of the Olana Estate and on the banks of the Hudson River.
Michael established and started farming this land in 2015 with Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Gamay Noir, and Chardonnay. The vineyard is situated on land that has a long agricultural history dating back to indigenous peoples who inhabited the area over 3,000 years ago. Artifacts like arrowheads and a 4-foot-long mortar pistol for grinding corn have been uncovered on the property.
In the 19th century, the land was primarily used to grow Concord grapes which were shipped to major cities along the East Coast. After Prohibition, it transitioned to apples and cherries before Michael brought grape growing back to the site. Some legacy cherry and apple trees still remain scattered throughout the property.
On our tour, which was just before harvest, we tasted grapes right off the vine. We check the seeds for maturity and flavor.
Listen to the podcast and you will receive a lesson in history dating back to the Mohegans who inhabited the property, to Frederick Church who built Olana in the 1870’s and the town of Greendale (which doesn’t exist today) to present day grape growing and vineyard management.
It is an inspiring podcast for the history buff and wine geek. I hope you enjoy it.
I wanted to talk to you today about an article that was in the Daily Catch. org. It was written by Scott Davis and full disclosure, I am quoted twice in the article. The article is about Milea Vineyard's plans. with Clinton Vineyards. And if you're not already aware, Clinton Vineyards was purchased by Malaya in 2022.
And it was a great article, talks about Phyllis and Ben Feder, how they started Clinton Vineyards, with the Seyval Grapes, because they knew that the Save All Grapes grew well on that property. And they made Meth and Champagnois, still wine. So what they plan on doing with the Clinton Vineyards property is make it a sparkling wine house.
Now, I thought that was great when I first started to read it. I'm like great because Long Island has Sparkling Point. They make sparkling wines from grapes grown in Long Island and we have Hearts and Hands that focuses on sparkling wines in the Finger Lakes. So why not in the Hudson Valley? Well, as I read deeper, here's what I don't agree with.
They are going to create a label called Hudson Valley Vineyards. And in that label, you're going to have the left bank and the right bank. So I thought, oh, that's great! They're going to designate grapes from the right side of the river and the left side of the river. because that Hudson River can be a great divide.
But no. The right bank is going to be the focus of sparkling wines made with New York grapes. The left bank is going to be sparkling wines coming from Oregon. Don't know if they're coming already made or if they're coming and going to be finished at Clinton Vineyards. Honestly, I am unclear on that.
However, when people go out wine tasting in the Hudson Valley, they want to taste wines made in the Hudson Valley. They want to taste wines that the winemaker can speak to, the tasting room staff can speak to, that have the terroir of the Hudson Valley and when you're bringing in grapes from Oregon, you know, or already finished sparkling wine from Oregon.
You're really kind of messing with the integrity of Hudson Valley wines and Hudson Valley wine region. And if people want to go and taste Oregon sparkling wine. They're going to do one of two things. They're either going to go out to Oregon and go wine tasting and purchase sparkling wines and bring them home or they're going to go to the liquor store and they're going to purchase a sparkling wine from Oregon.
Um, I don't agree with that. The Hudson Valley is viticulture. We have wonderful winemakers. We have wonderful vineyards and Why bring Oregon wine into the Hudson Valley to sell? There's so many opportunities within purchasing grapes from New York State and making sparkling wine and even just purchasing grapes within the Hudson Valley and making wonderful sparkling wines with them
Why are you going to bring Oregon sparkling wine to the Hudson Valley and include it in some type of wine tasting and put it on a label that says Hudson Valley Vineyards. The grapes are coming from Oregon. So, like I said, I don't usually get my point of view known because I kind of keep to myself.
But this really got my panties in a bunch because I love the Hudson Valley. It's my baby. The wine region is wonderful. There's new wineries. There's younger winemakers. They're experimenting with different varietals. , and it's just a wonderful place for wine tasting. Bringing Oregon wine into the Hudson Valley to sell out of a tasting room, it messes with the whole integrity of our region that we have spent a long time building up.
So I'm going to leave the article, link below. , make sure you click on it and read it and I'd love to hear,, your point of view on it. Thanks for listening.
https://www.thedailycatch.org/articles/staatsburgs-milea-vineyard-plans-expansion-a-wine-club-and-culinary-offerings-as-it-reimagines-aquisition-property-for-a-new-age/
I’m taking you on a virtual journey down Winephabet Street, where we dive deep into the world of N for Nero d'Avola, a red wine varietal from Sicily. In this episode of Winephabet Street, our special guest comes from the heart of Sicily, Gaetana Iacono from VALLE DELL' ACATE Winery.
Gaetana hails from a family in the wine business for six generations. She has a great affinity for the native wines of Ragusa, Sicily. Determined to continue the legacy, she works hard to promote the value of the native wines of her region. The region is known for it s beautiful landscapes and rich cultural heritage.
The Essence of Nero d'Avola
Nero d'Avola is considered the 'king of the grapes' in Sicily. This variety is full-bodied yet versatile. Depending on viticulture and winemaking techniques, it can be made into wines to be enjoyed now or aged for later enjoyment.
A Land of Diversity: Sicily's Wine Regions
Sicily, described as a continent in itself, boasts a range of climates and influences. The eastern part, including Ragusa, is heavily influenced by Greek culture, offering many fish, vegetables, and cheeses. In contrast, western Sicily showcases stronger Arabian influences, focusing on agro-sweet flavors.
The Unique Terroir of VALLE DELL' ACATE
A standout feature of VALLE DELL' ACATE is its seven distinct soil types, each contributing uniquely to the flavor profiles of their wines. Gaetana's approach to vineyard management and wine production is meticulous, ensuring each variety expresses the essence of its specific soil type.
Bridging Tradition and Innovation
Gaetana's philosophy revolves around continuity and innovation. Her commitment to organic and sustainable practices, coupled with respect for the land's heritage, sets the stage for producing exceptional wines that truly reflect the spirit of Sicily.
The Future of Sicilian Wines
The potential for Nero d'Avola and other native varieties to gain international recognition is immense, especially as wine enthusiasts become more adventurous in their selections.
Watch the webinar or listen to the podcast and learn more about the “King of Grapes” in Sicily.
About the Hosts:
- Lori: Owner of Dracena Wines, wine educator, and advocate for Cabernet Franc.
- Debbie - Hudson Valley Wine Goddess: CSW,WLS,CSWS, author, and restaurateur, with a focus on wine education and promotion of the Hudson Valley wine region.
Special Thanks to Our Guest:
- Gaetana Jacono: A visionary winemaker from VALLE DELL' ACATE, dedicated to preserving the legacy of Sicilian wines.
What We Tasted
VALLE DELL' ACATE Il Moro Sicilia 2019 -This wine was grown in the black soil. Smooth on the palate with nice raspberry with a hint of spice on the finish.
VALLE DELL' ACATE BND Cerasuolo di Vitoria DOCG 2020 - This is grown in red soil. It's 60% Nero d'Avola and 40% Frappato. Bursting with raspberry on the nose. Very well-balanced palate with notes of red fruit and plum.
VALLE DELL' ACATE Tane 2014 DOC - Serious notes of chocolate on the nose. It is a full-bodied wine, nicely balanced with notes of cherries, red currants, vanilla, and tobacco.
Join us on our journey to South America, where the rich soils of Argentina have produced some of the world's best Malbec wines with guest Veronica Kathuria from Wines of Argentina.
Argentina it's located in the southern most corner of South America the South American content And it's about in a better way I have I will speak kilometers and miles because I still go to kilometers but it ranges about 38 kilometers distance from extreme north to extreme south.
A Brief History: Malbec's Journey to Argentina Malbec's origins can be traced back to France, especially in regions like Cahors and Bordeaux (It's one of the Bordeaux 5). However, the grape variety found its true calling in Argentina, where it thrives.
It was in 1868 when Michel Aimé Pouget, a French agronomist, introduced Malbec to Argentina. He had been hired to help improve the country's wines. Today, Argentina is the leading producer of Malbec, with the province of Mendoza being where the concentration of Malbec is grown. The high-altitude vineyards provide Malbec with the ideal conditions to develop deep colors, velvety textures, and an incredible range of flavors.
Understanding Malbec: The DNA Deep Dive In 1992 it was discovered that Malbec is a sibling of Merlot. They share the same mother, Magdeleine Noire des Charentes, and its father is Prunelard. What Does Malbec Mean to Argentina? For Argentines, Malbec is more than just a wine; it's a symbol of national pride and a celebration of their unique terroir. Argentina has become synonymous with this varietal with over 75% of the world's Malbec acreage. Don't forget to mark your calendars for World Malbec Day, April 17
Our conversation with Veronica will provide insight into the Malbec grape, the growing climate in Argentina and travel to Argentina. Veronica is a wealth of knowledge and kept of captivated for an hour! Our conversation could have gone longer and we hope to have her back again. I hope you enjoy the episode.
PS. My Boykin Spaniel Gigi makes her Winephabet debut during our tasting.
Malbec Wines Tasted:
Argento Single Vineyard Finca Agrelo Organic Vineyard Malbec 2021 - Notes of cooca, stewed tomates, smooth with black fruit, baking spice and nice acid on finish.
BenMarco Sin Limites Valle de Uco Organico Malbec 2020 - Intense color. You’ll get purple teeth color. Medim bodied. Not a heavy heavy red. Will drink nice in the summer with steak. More austere, nicely structured with dark plum and black fruit and refreshing acidity. Hint of cinnamon on finish.
Alta Vista Single Vineyard Albaneve, Campo De Los Andes, Valle De Uco, Malbec 2018 - Alta Vista was the first Argentinean vineyard to produce single vineyard wine. Nice structured wine with big tannins and bouncing acidity. Notes of plum, blackcherry, leather and tobacco.
In the heart of Alto Adige, a region nestled amidst snow-capped mountains and verdant valleys, thrives a grape as bold and characterful as the landscape itself - Lagrein. Join us on Winephabet Street, as we delve into the fascinating world of this indigenous Italian variety, accompanied by a very special guest - Karoline Walch from the esteemed Elena Walch Winery.
The Magic of Lagrein
Born from Alto Adige's mineral-rich soils and varying climatic conditions, the Lagrein grape creates an intoxicating wine that commands attention. Its dark fruit flavors, robust tannins, and slight spiciness make for a compelling, multi-layered wine experience. Each sip of Lagrein hints at the very essence of the terroir it hails from, allowing us a taste of the unique microcosm that is Alto Adige.
A Commitment to Sustainability
The story of Lagrein is incomplete without a mention of the Elena Walch Winery. This family-owned estate is a bastion of sustainable winemaking and the birthplace of some of the finest Lagrein wines. The winery's commitment to the environment is reflected in their approach to viticulture, ensuring each vine is nurtured with utmost care and respect for nature.
Meeting Karoline Walch
Our journey into the world of Lagrein would not be complete without insights from an expert. That's why we're thrilled to have Karoline Walch join us on Winephabet Street. Daughter to Elena Walch herself, Karoline has been instrumental in shaping the winery's ethos and maintaining its position as a beacon of innovative winemaking practice.
During our show, Karoline will delve into the intricacies of Lagrein, the winemaking process, and what sets their wines apart. Her passion for wine is infectious, and her knowledge about this unique varietal is sure to leave you wanting to explore more of what Alto Adige has to offer.
The Unveiling
So, if you're a wine lover with a curiosity for unique grape varietals, join us on Winephabet Street for our latest episode, "Lagrein Unleashed: A Journey into Alto Adige's Bold Red". Here's your chance to be entranced by the flavors of Lagrein and to learn from the expertise of Karoline Walch, from a winery that's a true reflection of innovation and sustainability.
See you on Winephabet Street, where every bottle has a story, and every story takes us on a journey through the world's most cherished wine regions.
Don't forget to bring your glass!
The Kotsifali grape is an indigenous red grape variety from the Greek island of Crete. This grape is an essential component of many Cretan wines and is highly prized for its unique qualities.It is known for producing wines with medium to full body and moderate acidity. The grape is often blended with the Mandilaria grape to create wines with a deep ruby color and notes of dark fruits, herbs, and spices. The Kotsifali grape also produces rosé wines with fresh fruit flavors and floral aromas.
The winemaking tradition of Crete dates back to ancient times, and the island has a long history of producing wine. In the Middle Ages, Crete was under Venetian rule, and during this time, the wine industry experienced significant growth. The Venetians introduced new grape varieties and modern winemaking techniques, which helped improve Cretan wine quality.
Last month during Winephabet Street we explored the Kotsifali grape with Evan Turner the Wine Director/Sommelier at Krasi Meze + Wines restaurant in Boston. During the webinar, Evan shared his knowledge and experience with the Kotsifali grape, providing insights into the winemaking techniques used to create these unique wines. We also discussed the history and culture of the island of Crete and how it has influenced the region's winemaking tradition.
Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm (but does change depending on our schedules) and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us. It is sponsored by Dracaena Wines and Trio North Wildwood.
Grab a bottle of wine, relax and listen to the podcast.
The Jampal grape, also known as Jampel or Malvasia Fina de Jampal, is a unique and rare grape variety native to Portugal. It is believed to have originated in the Douro Valley region. It is predominantly grown in the Terras do Dão region, located in the country's central northern part.
The Jampal grape is a white grape known for its high acidity and aromatic qualities. It is said to produce wines with a rich, full-bodied flavor that is often described as having a mineral quality with notes of citrus, green apple, and stone fruits.
Jampal grapes are known for their thick skin, which helps protect them from the intense heat and sun the region is known for. They are also known for their resistance to disease, making them a popular choice for growers in the region.
Despite its unique and complex flavor profile, the Jampal grape has remained relatively unknown outside of Portugal. This is partly due to its rarity, as it is only grown on a small number of vineyards in the Terras do Dão region. In fact, as of 2021, only around 200 hectares of Jampal grapes were known to be cultivated in Portugal.
March edition of Winephabet Street we explored the Jampal grape with Special guest Direu Vianna Junior MW. a renowned Portuguese wine expert, who will share his insights on the near-extinct Jampal grape. 🌟 Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm (but does change depending on our schedules) and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us. It is sponsored by Dracaena Wines and Trio North Wildwood.
Listen to the podcast and you will:
🔍 Discover the history of Jampal
🥂 Learn about its unique flavor profile
🏞️ Explore winemaking techniques & regions
🎤 Hear firsthand accounts of reviving this rare grape
In this episode of Winephabet Street, we learned about the Isabella grape with Stephen Casscles, a viticulturist and winemaker from New York's Hudson Valley. His project is Hudson Valley Heritage Wines where he works with indigenous, native or historically notable grapes and re-introducing them and a national audience to bring these grapes back.
Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm (but does change depending on our schedules) and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us. It is sponsored by Dracaena Wines and Trio North Wildwood.
The Isabella grape is a “Chance Hybrid or Chance Seedling” grape explains Stephen. Horticulturist George Gibb planted the grape in his garden in Brooklyn, New York and Nurseryman, William Prince from Flushing, New York went to Gibb’s house, like the grape and got cuttings from it. Date, 1819. He began selling it out of his nursery and named the grape Isabella after Gibb’s his wife. Today, Isabella is grown in Brazil, India, Moldovia and the Ukraine, covering over 70,000 acres.
Learn more about Isabella from Stephen who is so knowledgeable in this grape and may others by listening to the podcast of watching the webinar.
Unfortunately we didn’t get to sample any wines during the webinar. If you do find and taste an Isabella wine, please let me know.
Enjoy the podcast!
Have you heard of the Txakoli region of Spain and/or the Hondarrabi Zuri grape? First let me tell you how these words are pronounced.
Txakoli is pronounced chah-kuh-lee and Hondarrabi Zuri is pronounced ohn-dah-rah-bee Zoo-Ree.
Our January episode of Winephabet Street we explored the Txakoli region of Spain and the Hondarrabi Zuri grape with special guest Rick Fisher, Spanish Programs Director at the Wine scholar Guild.
Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm (but does change depending on our schedules) and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us. It is sponsored by Dracaena Wines and Trio North Wildwood.
Txakoli is a unique wine-growing region located in the Basque Country along the northern coast of Spain. The region is known for producing a distinctive and refreshing white wine made from the Hondarrabi Zuri grape.
The Hondarrabi Zuri grape is an indigenous variety that is well adapted to the cool and damp climate of the Txakoli region. The grape produces crisp and zesty wines that are high in acidity and low in alcohol.
The Txakoli wine-making process is also unique, as the wine is often bottled before it has completed fermentation. This results in a naturally carbonated wine that has a lively and effervescent character. The wine is traditionally poured from a height into glasses to create a frothy head and enhance its flavor and aroma. Rick demonstrates this during the webinar.
In recent years, Txakoli and the Hondarrabi Zuri grape have gained international recognition and become increasingly popular with wine lovers. Despite this popularity, the Txakoli region remains small and traditional, with many vineyards using sustainable and organic methods of production.
On this webinar, I was sipping on Zudugarai Bodegas Txakoli Malda from the Getariako Txakolina D.O. Made with 100% Hondarrabi Zuri grapes. Aged for only a few months on fine lees prior to bottling.
Tasting Notes: lots of green apple, lime zest, salinity, crisp, high acid and a minerality finish.
Have you heard of the Graciano grape? I didn’t until we featured it on Winephabet Street in November. Graciano is mainly grown in the Rioja and Navarra regions of Spain. It is difficult to grow, is low-yielding, late harvesting and susceptible to mildew. It is used a lot as a blending grape for its deep color, strong aromas and ability to age.
Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm (but does change depending on our sechedules) and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us. It is sponsored by Dracaena Wines and Trio North Wildwood.
In this episode we were joined by Josh Harp, winemaker at Jada Vineyards and Winery. Jada is a small winery with a 3000 case production.
The wine we sampled during this webinar was Jada’s 2019 Hell’s Kitchen. It’s a blend of 55% Syrah, 17% Graciano, 15% Grenache and 12% Tannat from the Willow Creek District of Paso Robles. Aromas of cassis, plum and leather escaped the glass. The wine is serious but exciting. Nice expression of tannins, dark fruit, black currant with a plum pepperiness and a touch of earth on the finish. Very easy to drink!
I will add, I did have a bottle of Ser 2018 Graciano in my cellar that I drank recently. Ser is women-owned and located in Santa Cruz, Ca. The grapes for this wine that was 100% Graciano came from Bokish Vineyard in Lodi Ca. It had lots of cherry aromas with hits of violets. This led to a palate that was soft, not complex with silky tannins and full of black cherry. There was a wonderful black pepper spice that is soft and lingers on the finish. Very easy drinking.
Listen to the podcast and hear what Josh has to tell us about the Graciano grape and Jada Vineyards and Winery. If you find yourself drinking a glass or bottle of Graciano, please let me know what you think.
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 3, Episode 6- F is for Frappatto. In this episode of Winephabet Street, we talk about the Frappatto grape with Pietro Russo, the winemaker at DonnaFugata Winery.
Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
The Frappato grape is grown in the southeastern coast of Sicily. It produces a wine that is low in tannins and light bodied. It is bottled as a single varietal and used as a blending grape with Nero d’Avola.
Pietro talks with us all about the Frappato grape and the estates of Donnafugata. One of the items discussed is that s Frappato does very well with climate change.
We got to taste Donnafugata 2020 Bell’Assai Vittoria DOC Frappato. The name Bell’Assai is the noble family of Vittoria. The wine is 40% Frappato and 60% Nero d’Avola. Beautiful rose petal and floral freshness with hits of lavender, strawberries, and a soft, delicate spice finish.
I invite you to watch the webinar or listen to the podcast. You will be reaching for a bottle of Frappato! PS. It will go well with your Thanksgiving dinner.
If you haven’t tasted wines from the Jumilla region of Spain, you must. You will become a fan instantly! Trust me!
On October 12, I had the opportunity to attend Spain’s Great Match at the Mercado Little Spain, NYC, and learned a little more about the wines from this region of Spain. The Jumilla region has some beautiful wines, and the predominant grape is Monastrell. Take time to read the article and listen to the podcast about the Jumilla region and the wines. You will have a better understanding of the grapes and wines from this region. You will reach for a bottle next time you are in the wine shop.
Here are some interesting facts about Jumilla. At the end of this article, please listen to the podcast about Jumilla.
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Jumilla is pronounced hoo-mil-luh
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There are 1600 growers and 42 wineries.
- It is located 60 miles inland and does get Mediterranean influence.
- The topography is high altitude with rolling hills. High altitude is between 1300 - 2950 feet above sea level.
- They have 3000 hours of sunshine. Great conditions for organic agriculture. 70% of the vineyards are certified organic.
- There are 8 red varieties and 8 wine varieties grown in the region. They produce 70% red wine, 5% wine, 4% rose wine, and 1% dessert wine.
During the Jumilla seminar, we got to taste 8 wines. I wouldn’t hesitate to pick up a bottle.
Parajes del Valle Bodegas y Vinedos Monastrell Organic 2020 - 100% Monastrell and aged in a concrete vat. Very fresh with red jammy fruit. Lots of red currants, cherry, and raspberry.
Bodegas Cerron La Servil 2020 Monastrell - 96% Monastrell grown at a high altitude of 3000 feet. Aged in 5000 liters French oak founders. It shows some soft minerality and soft and silky red fruit with a hint of baking spice on the finish.
Bodegas Luzon Altos de Luzon 2020 - 100% Monastrell from a single plot. Maceration for 10 days and aged 12 months is American and French oak. Fine tannins lace this wine with red and black fruit and sweet spice.
Bodegas Juan Gil Silver Label, 2019 - 100% Monastrell, grown at an altitude between 1800 and 2300 feet. It spends 12 months in French oak. It’s a fresh, easy-drinking wine with mild tannins, floral notes, and fresh berries. Would work well with Thanksgiving dinner.
Bodegas Vina Elena Familia Pacheco Barrica 2019 - This is a blend of 60% Monastrell 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 20% Syrah from 30 - 40-year-old vines. Medium-bodied with notes of plum, red fruit, licorice, and a Syrah finish of blue fruit.
Bodegas Carchelo Altico 2018 - 100% Single Vineyard Syrah. Aged 12 months in 225 Liter French Oak and 12 months in the bottle. Floral and fruity aromas with hints of violets. Fresh and silky on the palate with nice integrated tannins, blackberry, and spice.
Bodegas Ego GORU 18M 2016 - 70% Monastrell, 20% Syrah 10% Petit Verdot from 50 year old vines. Aged 18 months is new French and American oak. Soft and complex on the palate with notes of blackberry, red currant, licorice, cinnamon, and vanilla. Nice integrated tannins.
Bodegas Olivares Dulce Monastrell 2017 - This is a special wine that is not made every year. It’s 100% Monastrell from the oldest vines in the vineyard harvested into the fall. It spends 30 days in maceration. It is a sweeter dessert wine aged in concrete vats for 2 years. Aromas of black olives, tomato, balsamic, and figs lead to a rich palate with dark sweet fruit.
Listen to the podcast and learn about the Jumilla region of Spain and its wines.
I got invited to a Madeira wine tasting a few weeks ago. Madeira? I realized I didn’t know much about this type of wine. I went to the tasting and attended the seminar and educated myself all about Madeira. Madeira is very versatile and pairs well with many foods.
I’m going to give you 7 facts about Madeira and at the end is a podcast that will give you a better understanding of this wine from the seminar I attended with Bruno Almeida, Sommelier and Portuguese Wine Ambassador.I hope you learn as much as I did, and give Madeira a try.
7 Facts About Madeira Wine
- Madeira is a Portuguese island located off the coast of Africa. The wine produced on the island has the same name - Madeira.
- When Madeira wine is made using the Estufagem method, the wine can never be bottled and sold before the October 31 of the second year following the harvest.
- Wines made in the Canteiro method (fortified during or right after fermentation and aged in wood cask) can’t be sold until at least three years from January 1st of the year following the harvest.
- Grapes used to produced Madeira
- Sercial
- Verdelho
- Boal
- Malvasia
- Terrantez
- Madeira wines are classified Dry, Medium Dry, Medium Rich (sweet), Rich (sweet)
- Madeira Dry is made with the Sercial grape.
- Madeira Medium Dry is made with the Verdelho grape.
- Madeira Medium Rich is made with the Boal grape.
- Madeira Rich wine is made with the Terrantez grape.
- Designations of Madeira Wine
- Frasqueira - produced by the Canteiro system,referenced by vintage year and aged 20 years in wood.
- Colheita - indication of vintage year and aged in wood at least 5 years.
- Canteiro - Fortified during or right after fermentation. Aged in wood a minimum of 2 years. Can’t be subject to the heating production process, nor bottled aged with less than 3 years beginning with January 1 of the year following the harvest.
- Reserve (Old) - 5 years old.
- Old Reserve (Very Old) 10 years old.
- Extra Reserve - 15 years old.
- Selected, Choice ou Finest - Showing special quality for the age of the wine.
- Fine - Perfect balance in freshness of the acids and the aromas evolving with the aging in wood.
- Solera - produced by the Canteiro system and whose base wine is from only one harvest and aged in oak for 5 years.
- Rainwater - This wine will be pale to golden in color. The Baume degree (sugar content) will be between 1.0 and 2.5 and aged no longer than 10 years.
- Store Madeira wine upright
- The bottling date is always listed on the bottle.
Located 35 miles from Sacramento, California lies the El Dorado AVA. Designated in 1983 it covers the majority of El Dorado County with beautiful views of the Sierra Foothills.
There are 40 wineries that grow 76 grape varietals and the highest altitude vineyards is 3,500 feet above sea level.
We welcomed Kara Sather, Executive Director of El Dorado Winery Association, to talk to us and familiarize us with the El Dorado wine region.
Pre-prohibition the El Dorado wine region had more vineyards the Los Angeles. The region is very sprawled out and not heavily populated, and you can see the mountains in Tahoe. The American River flows through El Dorado, which is one of the top whitewater rafting destinations in the world.
This is a destination you can go wine tasting, hiking, skiing, and rafting. It’s a region you come to experience!
We got to sample 2 wines from El Dorado - 2019 Skinner Native Red, El Dorado, and 2016 Toogood Estate Zinfandel, Fair Play. They both really show what nice wines the region produces
2019 Skinner Native Red, El Dorado - As one of the country’s first wineries, Skinner dates back to 1861. Wanting to make a unique wine, the Native Red was born. The wine is a blend of Petite Bouschet, Mission, Trousseau, Carignan, Cinsault, Grenache, Counoise, Mourvedre, Marsanne, Zinfandel, and Viognier. The wine is light in body with notes of raspberry, cranberry, and plum. It’s a fun wine that will be great for a Sunday afternoon.
2016 Toogood Estate Zinfandel, Fair Play - Located on 40 acres of rolling foothills, Toogood Estate Winery produced its first vintage in 2002. The 12 acres of vineyards are planted with Zinfandel, Primitivo, Tempranillo, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petite Sirah. In 2019 the Ron and Darin Mittelstaedt family purchased the winery. Their sons Bradley and Timothy work the day-to-day operation.
The 2016 Zinfandel is a wine that needs to open for a bit. It evolves nicely! It is full of baking spices and ripe dark fruit. As it opens, there are some coffee and cassis notes.
Listen to the podcast and familiarize yourself with the El Dorado wine region. It might be the next trip you plan
The Delaware grape is an American hybrid. While its dark purplish skin would make you think it produces red wine, it’s typically used in the production of white and rose wines.
For this episode of Winephabet Street we were joined by Abby Wilkens (Stamp), Assistant Winemaker at Lakewood Vineyards in Watkins Glen, New York. I first met Abby when she was 16 years old, helping at the New York Classic wine competition. I have watched her grow into the amazing winemaker she is today.
In 1951 the Stamp family purchased an old run-down peach and apple orchard called Lakewood Farm. They began planting grapes and selling them to large wineries and grape juice companies. In 1988 Monty and Bev Stamp along with their children, pressed their first vintage.
It was our honor to have Abby join us. Please listen to the webinar or podcast. Learn about the Delaware grape, Abby and Lakewood Vineyards.
We got to taste Abby Rose, which is Abby’s namesake wine. It is a blend and has 15% Delaware. It is a sweet fun wine with candied and floral notes. On the palate you’ll find fruity notes of strawberry and other red fruit.
Last month on Winephabet Street we explored the Carignan grape with Tana Cole, Winemaker at Jessie’s Grove Winery in Lodi, California. We were also joined by the big boss - Owner Greg Burns.
Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Exploring the Wine Glass and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us. (Dates do change due to our schedules)
Greg talks about the history of Jessie’s Grove Winery and it’s quite interesting. (no spoilers here, you have to listen or watch). Tana talks all about Carignan.
Carignan is a medium-bodied red wine and the grapes are grown mostly in southern France. It is also grown in Spain, where it is known as Carinena. Jessie’s Grove Winery in Lodi, California planted Carignan grapes in 1900. These vines are over 120 years old.
We got to taste the 2019 Jessie’s Grove Estate Carignane. This wine retails for $45. WOW! “It’s dense and complexity is beauty in a glass,” exclaimed Tana.
Very complex with layered aromas of cigar box, baking spice, cranberries and cinnamon. The palate is incredible. Very soft and romantic with notes of plum, and cranberry. There is a meatiness and earthiness to the wine. It is very easy drinking and beautiful.
Listen to the podcast and learn all about Jessie’s Grove Winery and the Carignan grape.
Are you familiar with Baco Noir. It’s a French-American hybrid grape but don’t let that scare you. It makes a really nice red wine with aging potential. Think of it as a poor man’s Barolo.
In this episode of Winephabet Street Lori and I spoke with Carlo DeVito, former owner of Hudson-Chatham Winery in Gent, New York. Carlo grew Baco Noir as well as sourced some from the Finger Lakes. He has in-depth knowledge of Baco and he shares it with us.
Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Exploring the Wine Glass and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
During this episode I poured a 2010 and 2016 Baco Noir from Hudson-Chatham Winery and a 2016 from Benmarl Winery. It was very interesting to see the aging potential of the wine. I was pretty amazed.
2010 Hudson-Chatham Baco Noir Reserve Casscles Vineyards - Brickish in color but smooth and elegant on the palate. Hints of chocolate and baking spices on the nose that leads to a palate of bright bing cherry, raspberry and sour cherry.
2016 Hudson-Chatham Baco Noir Block 2 North Creek Vineyard Hudson River Region Estate Grown - This wine too, was smooth and elegant with dark cherry, black raspberry and baking spice.
2016 Benmarl Baco Noir Hudson River Region Estate Grown - This version of Baco was a bit more acidic. Notes of black cherry, sour cherry, black raspberry with the acidity popping throughout.
I had the wonderful opportunity to interview Dana Spaulding the Founder of Wander + Ivy. Wander + Ivy are classy single-serving wine bottles.
Dana made the transition from the financial service industry to the wine industry after feeling that she was wasting wine. She would sit down at the end of the day and have a glass of wine while her husband would have a whiskey. She hated throwing out the wine after a few days. She searched for high-quality single-serving wine and couldn’t find any that was in line with what she was looking for.
In the Spring of 2017, she took the leap and started Wander + Ivy. The bottles are very classy as is the label design. The labels feature animals that represent the region. On the front, they are serious animals and on the back, they are playful after they have drank their wine. The wines are sourced from different regions of the world; Italy, France, Spain, and California.
Wander + Ivy gives back 1% of sales to charitable organizations that provide healthy and organic food to those in need.
All the wines I tasted were nice but these three stood out.
Wander + Ivy Chardonnay 2020 California - it’s a nice oaked Chardonnay. With that being said, the oak isn’t overpowering. The wine shows nuisances of pear, vanilla and green melon.
Wander + Ivy Rose 2020 Languedoc, France - a blend of 70% Grenache, 20% Cinsault and 10% Syrah. Aromas of strawberry fields fill the glass. The palate shows minerality, orange peel, Macintosh apple and raspberries. It’s a very easy drinking wine.
Wander + Ivy Red Wine Blend Valencia, Spain 2019 - a blend of 55% Bobal and 45% Merlot. The Merlot really shines through on this wine with the Bobal saying, “I’m here too.” Lots of red and black fruit with hints of cassis, vanilla and mocha.
Watch the Webinar - one note..this is take two with this episode. We began taping a few weeks back and had issues. During this taping as Dana will say did not turn on her video because she recently had a baby and we had to film around baby time. That is an overlay picture from the first try.
Areni is a grape that is grown in Armenia and for our first episode of Winephabet Street, we got a double A.
Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Exploring the Wine Glass and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
Armenia is considered the birthplace of viticulture. It’s a dark and mysterious grape that comes from the village of Areni located in southwest Armenia.
On this episode we were joined by Wines of Armenia’s Stepan Baghdassarian and we tasted 3 different wines that expressed the grape differently and priced from $25-$50
Please watch the webinar or listen to the podcast and hear the excitement in Stephan’s voice and expressions as he talks about the grape and wine region he loves.
Noah of Areni 2017 - Aromas of blackbery, tobacco and violet lead to a palate that is easy drinking. Juicy blackberry, light mouthfeel with dark fruit and hint of black pepper spice on the finish.
Old Bridge Areni Noir Reserve 2014 Estate Bottled - Aromas are dense, very berry with a hint of menthol. The palate has a very nice structure, more tannin structure. Notes of sour cherry and raspberry. This wine spent 24 months in oak.
Voskeni Old Vines 130 Reserve Areni - very complex in both aromas and palate. 130- year-old-vines that are bushes and low yielding. Aromaas of ripe black raspberry, plum, clove and tobacco leads to a palate that is smooth and complex yet elegant. Lots of red and black fruit with mouth watering tannins.
In 2006 when Dan and Jacqui Heavens purchased their wine trail event ticket, they had no idea 14 years later they would own a winery. It was during that event that they discovered Glorie Farm Winery. They kept coming back.
When Jacqui saw that Glorie Farm Winery was for sale, she jokingly sent it to her husband Dan. That “joke” soon led the two to purchase the winery from Doug and MaryEllen Glorie.
I had the opportunity to sit down with Dan and Jacqui recently and talk about the winery and what they plan for the future.
Just after our interview where they briefly mentioned the change, they changed the name of the winery to Quartz Rock Vineyard at Nightingale Farm.
While the name has changed, they will be keeping the legacy going of what the Glorie’s began.
Listen to the podcast and learn about Dan and Jacqui Heavens and their plans for the winery.
Zweigelt is not a grape name you hear often, let alone are familiar with. It’s a grape I always wondered about. I knew of its Austrian roots and for the first time tasted a Zweigelt from the Finger Lakes not to long ago. But still, knowing a bit about grapes, I knew Zweigelt’s home is in Austria.
For the final episode in Season 2 of Winephabet Street, Lori and I chose Zweigelt to learn about. Lori reached out to Christina Artner-Netzl of Winery Franz & Christine Netzl in Austria. She grows Zweigelt and produces some great wines featuring the Zweigelt grape.
Watch or listen to the webinar and learn about the Zweigelt, especially the Zweigelt planted in Carnuntum and how special it is.
We had the opportunity to taste two Zweigelts and here are the tasting notes as we tasted. I will tell you I am really liking the grape!
Netzl Ried Haidacker Zweigelt 2016 - Aromas of blackberry and black cherry lead to a palate of soft tannins, black cherry and nice spice on the finish. It is a little heavier on the palate than the below 2019.
Netzl Rubin Carnuntum Zweigelt 2019 - Aromas of red fruit in particular fresh raspberry showing that lead to a palate that has soft tannins, juicy plum, raspberry fam, hit of chocolate and a burst of white pepper on the finish.
Listen to the webinar and feel free to reach out with any quetions.
We don’t get to drink or taste many Turkish wines and I was so excited when we chose Yapincak for the letter Y on Winephabet Street. We reached out to Andrea Lemieux who is known as the Quirky Cork and a champion in Turkish Wines to be our guest. She has just published a book The Essential Guide to Turkish Wine and it’s available on Amazon.
Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Exploring the Wine Glass and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
Yapincak is pronounced ya-pin-juck. The grape produces a wide range of wines from dry aged in stainless steel or oak and sparkling. It is grown in the Marmara and Aegean regions of Turkey areound the Gallipoli Peninsula. Yapincak is also known as Kinali Yapincak. There are not a lot of wineries that are growing this grape and making wine with it. This was a real treat and such a great find.
During the webinar I got to sample 2018 Sevilen Yapincak. I really liked the label and it was designed by their winemaker Sibel Coban Urentay. It pays honors the original architecture at the winery’s Murefte vineyards that sit along the Sea of Marmara. The wine was golden yellow in color, medium bodied with notes of red apple, hints of minerality, white spice and medium acidity.
Please listen to the podcast and learn about the amazing Yapincak grape.
Xarel-lo is a Spanish grape used in the production of Cava and grown in the Catalonia region of Spain. It is indigenous to Spain and I personally only thought of it as a blending grape. Little did I know……A little research, special guests on Winephabet Street an Xarel-lo is more than just a blending grape.
Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Exploring the Wine Glass and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
For episode X featuring Xarel-lo we had two special guests on the show. Rick Fisher, SipWSET, SWS and Spanish Programs Director for the Wine Scholar Guild along with Ignasi Segui from Vinyes Singulars. Ignasi is the 23rd generation farmer/vinegrower managing the family estate that has existed since 1405. He is the first generation winemaker to bottle and produce wines with grapes made from his vineyard.
This episode is so special, because as I mentioned, I only thought of Xarel-lo as a blending grape in Cava. As you watch or listen, you will see all four of us are drinking Xarel-lo produced in different ways. I was drinking a Cava, Lori a Xarel-lo as a still wine, Rick Xarel-lo as an orange wine and Ignasi, a late harvest Xarel-lo. It was pretty amazing as we all got to discuss the different ways the grape was used.
Sit back, grab a glass of wine and listen to the episode. If you have any questions, feel free to email me and I will do my best to answer them.
On the 23rd episode of Winephabet Street we visited the Waitaki Valley of New Zealand. Well virtually, with the help of Jim Jerram, owner of Ostler Wines and David Harlow of NZ Wine Navigator.
Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Exploring the Wine Glass and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
Where is the Waitaki Valley? The Waikati Valley is nestled between Central Otago and Canterbury. It is a fairly new wine region with the first vines planted in 2001. The region has cold winters and hot summers. The autumn months are long which allows the grapes to reach their ripening potential while holding onto the crisp acidity. The rocky limestone soil retains the heat and reflects the sunlight onto the grapes.
Jim provided us with two of his wines and WOW! I don’t drink enough of New Zealand wines!
Ostler Lakeside Wines 2016 Riesling Waitaki Valley North Otago - Beautiful! Nose of clean petro a little lime and earth. The palate brings a hint of stone fruit and apple, medium body, a hint of minerality and a bite of acidity.
Ostler Caroline’s 2016 Pinot Noir Waitaki Valley North Otago - This is an elegant Pinot Noir with lots going on. Strawberry jam and vanilla aromas lead to a clean nicely balanced palate with a hint of chalkiness. Flavors of black and red cherry, cranberry with a pop of acidity on the finish.
Grab a glass and listen to the webinar and learn about the Waitaki Valley region of New Zealand
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 2 Episode 22 V is for Villany
Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Exploring the Wine Glass and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
In this episode we are discussing the Villany region of Hungary. I love talking anything Hungarian as my grandfather is from Budapest and his Grandparents had vineyards in the Tapolca region on Hungary. Although Tapolca is a three hour drive Villany, I felt close to my roots during this episode.
The Villany region of Hungary is focused on red grapes. It is known for their big reds. Located close to the Croatian border, Villany PDO is the southernmost wine region in Hungary. It has a sub-Mediterranean climate that has very warm summers and mild winters. Spring comes early which allows for a long growing season which many red varieties need. Cabernet Franc is Villany’s signature grape.
We are joined in this episode by Andras Horkay, dipWSET, Director, Central European Wine Institute; Andrea Gere, Attila Gere Winery and Erhard Heumann, Heumann Winery. I hope you enjoy the episode!
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 2 Episode 21- U is for Ugni Blanc
Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
In this episode, we are discussing Ugni Blanc. Not a grape you hear about a lot, but it is the most widely planted grape in France. If you are a Cognac or Armagnac Brandy lover it is the Ugni Blanc grape used to produce them.
We were very fortunate to have Hine Madison De Cognac sponsor this episode. Joining us from France was Eric Forget, Cellmaster and Etienne Bardoulat, Vineyard Manager from Hine and they shared their Hine Rare VSOP and Hine 2010 with us.
This is a fantastic episode full of information about the region and Cognac. Please watch the webinar or listen to the podcast, it’s an amazing one. I had to leave shortly into the episode due to a family commitment. I apologize.
I will be upfront, I don’t drink Cognac but I did taste these two and was very impressed. Here are my notes.
Hine Rare VSOP - Aromas of orange holiday potpourri escape the glass with a plate is smooth with a touch of sweetness.
Hine 2010 - Eric said this was the best vintage. They only make vintage when the grapes are good. The label is very detailed. The bottle date was July 21, 2020, Cask 18/18 and I received bottle 105/450. I feel very privileged that they shared the Cognac with me. This one was darker in color but with fresh orange grove orange aromas coming from the glass. It’s fresher and smooth. Finishes with orange zest
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 2 Episode 20- T is for Tavel
Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
In this episode, we are joined by Val Caruso, DWS, CWE FWS and are drinking Chateau D’Aqueria Tavel.
Tavel is located in the Rhone region of France, just across the river from Chateauneuf-du-Pape. It was awarded AOC status in 1936 and produces France’s leading Rose wine. It’s a Southern Rhone Cru and the only thing made in this AOC is Rose wine.
The appellation has 960 hectares that are comprised of 3 terroirs. Terroirs with flat white stones called Les Vestides, sand and stones called Olivet and pebbles called Vallongue. There are nine grape varieties that grow in Tavel that you will find in the bottle. They are Syrah, Mourvedre, Cinsault, Clairette, Grenache, Bourboulenc, Carignan, Picpoul and Calitor.
Tavel is pretty easy to find in the liquor store. Grab a bottle and watch or listen to the webinar and see why Tavel differs from all other Rose wines and what makes it special.
Special thanks to Chateau D’Aqueria for providing us with the wonderful 2018 Rose wine. This Tavel Rose is 45% Grenache, 20% Clairette, 15% Cinsault 8% Mourvedre, 6% Syrah, 4% Bourboulenc and 2% Picpoul. Aromas of orange blossom, with a hint of almond lead to a palate bursting with red. I did get to share the bottle with my daughter after the show.
Sancerre is a wine region located in the central Loire Valley. It looks over the river Loire. It’s basically known Sauvignon Blanc, but Pinot Noir also grows there and they produce a Pinot Noir and a Sancerre Rose.
The Loire Valley is quite large and Sancerre is closer to Burgundy than it is the center of the valley. They were granted AOC status in 1936.
The soil is what brings the complexity and minerality to the Sauvignon Blanc. The freshness comes from the minerality not the acidity.
Listen to the podcast as Lori and I explore the region, the history, the wine and food pairings.
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 2 Episode 18- R is for Riesling.
Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
In this episode we are so honored to have Stu Smith of Smith-Madrone join us and speak to us about Riesling. It was just recently that I got introduced to Smith-Madrone and their wines. Honestly, I’ve never experience anything so elegant and exciting than his wines. His Riesling is a wine that you must try. The wine dances on your palate with notes of stone fruit, green apple and a brush of citrus on the finish.
Riesling is a white grape that originated in the Rhine region of Germany. It grows well in cool climates. When I think of Riesling, I think of Germany, Austria and the Finger Lakes. However, the grape is also grown in Slovenia, Serbia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Luxembourg, Northern Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, China, Ukraine, Michigan, California and New York.
What can you expect when you drink a Riesling? First I want to break a myth - “All Rieslings are sweet.” Not true. There is a sweetness scale that many wineries put on the back of the bottle. Rieslings come dry, semi dry, semi sweet, sweet, late harvest, ice wine.
Flavors you will in the wine range from stone fruit (apricot, peach, nectarine), citrus(lemon, lime, pineapple), and apple. Sometimes there is an aroma of petrol that comes from the wine. This is due to a compound called TDN (trimethyl-dihydroaphthalene). You will find TDN in aged Rieslings and Rieslings grown in a hot season. When it’s a hot season the skin on the Riesling produces TDN and it acts like a sunscreen to the grape giving it wine produced a hint of petrol.
Riesling is a high acid wine. When there is some residual sugar in the wine it will balance out the acidity. One note on a sweeter Riesling, it pairs well with spicy foods.
Sit back and relax with a glass of wine and enjoy the Riesling conversation with Stu Smith.
Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
The month of Q we decided to change it up a bit and answer your wine questions. The letter Q is tough, but we know there are always wine questions. Moving forward when we reach the letter Q it will be all about you and your wine questions. Make a list and we’ll answer it.
Sit back and relax with a glass of wine as we answer your wine questions.
This past weekend I ventured out to some area wineries and took advantage of the nice weather.
Wine tasting is a lot different today. Appointments are needed and you need to think out your route and stops. Gone are the tastings where you belly up to the bar and tasted 5-8 1 ounce pours and dump or spit in the dump bucket. But you know what, I like it this way. It is actually more enjoyable. What I did miss is the interaction with the employees over the wine. You know, where they talk to you about the wine, answer your questions and you can see their face light up with enthusiasm when talking about one of their favorite wines.
I know the wineries are doing their best and they have had to adapt and change many times. This is no way meant to criticize but to show you how tastings have changed and every winery is different. Know the rules set forth at each of your stops. One winery we went to had no time limit, while the other winery had a time limit of an hour and a half. An hour and a half is plenty of time to taste. If you want to camp and picnic make sure the winery allows that.
When making reservations, it’s like making reservations to go to dinner. Make sure you show up or cancel with plenty of notice so the winery can sell that reservation time to someone else. Don’t be surprised if there is a cancellation fee the closer to the time of your reservation. Trust me, coming from owning a restaurant, decisions are made based on reservations. If you cancel an hour before your reservation, that time slot could have went to someone else who was disappointed they couldn’t get in, and they can’t rely on walk in business. OK - I’ll get off my high horse on that subject.
White Horse Winery
Located in Hammonton, New Jersey our reservation was for 1pm. This winery handles reservations by phone and we reserved a fire pit and there was no time limit.
When we arrived we were greeted by their friendly staff who showed us the tasting menu by the glass. I ordered a glass of the Chambourcin and Jenn ordered a glass of Cabernet Franc. While we ordered another staff member went out and lit our firepit #2 and brought a pitcher of water to the area. All tables and firepits are labeled with a wine bottle with a number on it. I could have sat out there all day, it was so delightful.
A second round was ordered, another Cab Franc for Jenn and a 2017 Merlot Reserve for me. At the end of our time here, I went in to purchase a bottle of the Merlot and noticed people ordering flights. I so wish we were told they had flights, because we would have ordered them. All good, we enjoyed our time here.
Bellview Winery
This winery was a 20 minute drive from White Horse and located in Landisville, New Jersey. We made our reservations right off their sight on OpenTable. Beautiful spacious grounds and when making our reservation we had the choice of inside or out. When we got there we notice there were firepits. Upon checking in there was no check from a reservation system or list. The person behind the counter showed us a menu and said we can do a wine by the glass, bottle or get a red or white flight and she would bring it out to us. I did ask some questions about the grapes that were in the rose and the blends, but unfortunately she didn’t know the answer.
We got to pick any picnic table outside and we chose a picnic table just outside the tasting room. After 15 minutes I went back inside looking for our flights. I got the deer in headlights look. They found our flights sitting on the back bar, the server forgot to take it out to us. I get it, things happen.
This is the first time I’ve been out tasting since Covid. The biggest thing I missed was the conversation about the wines, learning about the blends, the grapes, the process and who is behind the winery. I know every experience is different at every winery. I feel Covid has limited that personal information transfer between employee and customer, perhaps for fear of catching the illness.
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 2 Episode 16- P is for Petite Sirah
Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
February was all about Petite Sirah. We had special guests Steve Tenbrink from Tenbrink Vineyards and his daughter Lisa Howard from Tolenas Winery. Steve is a big Petite Sirah grower and we did a deep dive into Petite Sirah.
First some facts on Petite Sirah:
- Petite Sirah is known as Durif a grape named after its founder Dr. Francois Durif. He was a grape botanist and breeder who in 1880 released the variety that he grew from a cross between Peloursin and Syrah.
- In 1884 Petite Sirah was imported to California by Charles Mclver for his Linda Vista Vineyard at the Mission San Jose in Alameda County.
- 1900 Petite Sirah became a popular variety in California
- 1920’s - Petite Sirah was shipped from California to home winemakers in the East during Prohibition
- 1930’s There were approximately 7,500 Petite Sirah acres planted in California
- 1960’s acreage was down to 4,500
- 1976 California acreage of Petite Sirah is up to approximately 14,000
- 1988 A big decline in California’s Petite Sirah crop to just 5,000 acres between Napa, Sonoma, Monterey and the Central Valley
- Today according to an article in the Napa Valley Register article dated Nov 2016, Petite Sirah acreage is roughly 7,500.
Steve Tenbrink and Lisa Howard
Steve and Lisa are located in the Suisun Valley and they explain whythe Suisun Valley is the Petite Sirah Capital of the world. Many winemaker were coming to the Suisun Valley to purchase Petite Sirah and said that the grapes purchased from there makes the best wine. The favor structure is what shines. The tannins in the Petite Sirah in the Suisun Valley are so soft, not mouth gripping like the grapes grown in other regions. The tannins are still very structured, but they aren’t overdrying abrasive tannins. They believe it’s from the shift in temperature and they are a tad warmer than other areas growing Petite Sirah.
Steve and Lisa go into the physical growth of the grapes. Talking about the cover crops, planting and the weather. The need to thin the grapes down. It’s all about what happens in the vineyard then comes the wine.
2017 Tolenas Suisun Valley Red Blend This is a blend of 50% Petite Sirah, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Zinfandel. The wine is all pressed and aged on its own and then comes together in the bottle. The Petite Sirah is put in an 8 ton wooden fermenter. The wine gets gentle pumpovers and is fermented at a high temperature.
The wine has beautiful aromas of sweet herbs and blueberry leading to a soft and silky palate with notes of black cherry, blueberry and black plum. The tannins bit on the finish as the acidity brightens the palate.
Typically Petite Sirah is dark and inky - think purple teeth! It’s a big bold wine and can be very tannic. It has great structure and a unique flavor.
Suggested food pairings for Petite Sirah are red meat, pasta, cheese. It’s a great food wine.
Listen to the podcast or watch the webinar. Unfortunately for this episode I kept getting booted off. Weather, minor technical difficulities, but Lori carried on….
For more episodes of Winephabet Street visit http://winephabetstreet.com/
Listen to the Podcast
We are coming up on Spring, nice weather where we will be hanging outside gardening, boating, going to the beach, hiking and more. What goes best along with those activities, music and wine.
As we know wine is an important part of my life and so is music.
I worked in radio for many years. Well, I actually grew up in radio. My dad had a dream of owning his own radio station since he was a child. He was working as a Sound Engineer at Candid Camera and the show was coming to a close. It was at this time in his life he decided to go for it! The year was 1967 he purchased his first radio station. I grew up with the tunes and found out my dad's family has history in the Hungarian wine trade. I was destined for music and wine in my life
Meet Nicholas Hammeken
Back in October when we were doing Monastrell for Winephabet Street and we had Nicholas Hammeken, founder of Hammeken Cellars as our guest. While researching for this episode I noticed he also produced a wine brand called Radio Boka. This immediately caught my attention. Me and the wine connected!
Hammeken Cellars isn’t your ordinary winery. Nicholas is Danish and was working in the wine industry in the UK. His wife who is a dentist had the opportunity to relocate to Spain and in 2001 Hammeken Cellars released their first wine brand.
Their philosophy is to source indigenous grapes from the best places in Spain and create fresh, approachable wines with growers that share the same vision.
Radio Boka
Music plays such an important role in our lives as does wine. When you hear that song on the radio or digital music platform it brings you back to a memorable time, the right tune can create excitement on an otherwise boring day.
You open that bottle of wine and the aromas take you back to a time in your childhood. The wine's bright acidity might create excitement or chewy tannins, romance.
Now combine the music and wine and you have an explosion of good vibes around you. Excitement. Romance. Love. Fun. Memories!
Radio Boka is where friendship and music collide. It’s about having fun in life, enjoying today with the people you love and creating memories. The best is it comes in “three frequencies” Verdejo, Rose and Tempranillo all produced to show their fresh and lively expressions. Also packaged in a three-liter box in the shape of an old car radio. That will be great for the beach, the boat or the pool this summer. The bottles are all priced at $9.99 - so affordable.
Radio Boka Verdejo - 100% Verdejo from 25 year old vines. This wine is unoaked with lively citrus and green apple notes followed by medium-plus acidity. I see this wine sitting by the pool or watching the summer sunset.
Radio Boka Rose - This is a blend of 80% Tempranillo, 20% Bobal from 30+-year-old vines with strawberry, cherry and rhubarb notes. The perfect wine for the beach or the hike.
Radio Boka Tempranillo - 100% Tempranillo from 30+-year-old vines and partial aging in 100% French oak. Nice fresh red fruit with cinnamon spice on the finish. This wine is perfect for the summer BBQ!
Cambourcin isn’t a grape that you hear about in daily wine conversation. I’ve had Chambourcin before grown in the Hudson Valley. Many wineries use it in a blend with other red varieties. I wasn’t really a fan and a wine made with the Chambourcin grape wasn’t one that I would reach for. That all changed recently on a media tour of the New Jersey Wineries.
Chambourcin is a French-American hybrid grape, a cross between a European and American grape. The grape was created in France by Joannes Seyve in the early 1960s in France but the exact parentage is unknown. It is very resistant to fungal diseases especially downy mildew and grows well in cool climates. You will find the grape planted in the North East and Mid West as well as New South Wales, Australia and in its native France, Loire Valley. Chambourcin is the parent to the new disease-resistant grape Regent grown in Germany, Switzerland and Okanagan Valley.
Chambourcin Profile
Chambourcin is a deep-colored red wine. You will find some herbaceous notes, red fruit, black cherry, black pepper, big on tannins and acidity.
On my whirlwind media tour of New Jersey Wineries I tasted four wines made from the Chambourcin grape that really changed my mind! I did come home with two bottles.
Here is what my notes have to say about the wines.
Sharrott Winery 2019 Chambourcin SRP $25.99 - 100% Chambourcin with 10 months in American oak. It’s made like a Cabernet Sauvignon. 100% Malolactic fermentation. Smooth and silky on palate. Lots of red berry. This is really nice!
Bellview Winery 2017 Chambourcin $18 - Silver Medal 2020 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. 100% Chambourcin with 18 months in American oak. High acidity, fruity red nose. Nice red raspberry, soft baking spices on finish. Love!
William Heritage Winery 2019 Burn Pile Vineyard Chambourcin SRP $45 - The vineyard is next to an old burn pile used to burn brush from pruning the fruit trees. The soil has a lot of ash and is carbon-rich. Aged in French oak with 15% of it new. Nose of fig dates and blackberry. Palate full of blackberry, black raspberry, silky with prune on the finish. 275 cases Get it!
White Horse 2018 Estate Chambourcin SRP $19 - Beautiful aromas of pomegranate, plum and a palate of blackberry, black cherry, soft and silky with baking spices on the finish.
After spending a week exploring the New Jersey Wineries, I’ve become a Chambourcin lover!
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 2 Episode 15- O is for Orange Wine
Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
This month to geek out with Orange wine we had the famous Craig Camp from Troon Vineyard with us. Craig is a wealth of knowledge on so many fronts. I remember tasting their Orange Riesling at an Oregon Wine trade show. I wasn’t a fan. Little did I know that was their first, and neither was Craig. I am very happy to report they have mastered the process and the Amphora Amber Vermentino was outstanding.
What is Orange Wine? Orange wine isn’t new. The tradition began many centuries ago in Georgia and is still practiced there today. White wine grapes will sit on the skins and extract color and some tannin. That is just the beginning. It really begins in the vineyard because you have to farm these white wine grapes as if you were going to make a red wine. You need to give them more skin exposure to get phenolic ripeness that you will need to make the wine. With Orange wine you are skin fermenting so you need those phenolics to be ripe just as you would if you were making a red wine. Orange wine has some of the same structure and tannins as a red wine.
Listen or watch the webinar and hear Craig speak so passionately about Orange wine. You’ll learn about the structure and how versatile it is. What grapes are good for making Orange wine and what food pairs well with it. Craig will have you thirsty for a bottle by the end of the webinar.
Troon Vineyards
Troon Vineyards Applegate Valley Oregon 2019 Estate Grown Amphora Amber Vermentino SRP $35 - If you have never tasted an Orange wine, this would be a great bottle to introduce it to your palate. It’s elegant and complex, smooth and creamy on the palate. Notes of grapefruit and orange rind with bright acidity. Don’t drink the wine too cold. Let it warm up a bit after taking it out of the fridge. The cold will mute the flavors.
For more episodes of Winephabet Street visit http://winephabetstreet.com/
The first time I had a South African wine I didn’t know what to expect. I remember it clearly, it was a Sauvignon Blanc from the Stellenbosch region. I liked it so much I went and ordered a case. That was years ago and frankly, I don’t think I’ve tasted many since. I am very eager to learn more about this wine-producing country.
I got invited to a South African Wine Zoom on Saturday from Red Wolf Imports and set out to find some South African Wines to taste during the seminar. Just so happens that I received a wine club shipment from Somm Select Tuesday and there was a bottle of David & Nadia Wines “Aristargos White Blend 2015 from Swartland, South Africa. That bottle went right into the fridge. Off I went to the liquor store. I was shocked at the small shelf space for wines from South Africa. I’m talking choice of 6 bottles. No Sauvignon Blanc, No Chenin Blanc, No Pinotage, and none of the producers that Alyssa suggested I purchase. I did come home with a bottle of Wolftrap and Indaba Mosaic Red Blend.
While we are here in our bubble, we really don’t have any idea of what is going on in other countries. In South Africa they have had a very challenging time. The government has shut down wine sales in the country three times. The first time they banned exports and domestic alcohol sales for 6 weeks in the spring when the pandemic began. Then a month after they allowed the sales, they shut down domestic sales again. After the holidays, again, they shut down domestic sales with the date expiring February 2. Now the only potential for revenue for wineries is through exports to the international markets.
The landscape is very different in South Africa. You don’t see the huge estates like you do in Napa or France. Many are small wineries and family-owned farms. It’s these small family-owned farms that the wineries source their fruit.
Businesses care about their people. To give you an idea Dave & Nadia Wines employ a permanent staff that are four local homeless people. Their philosophy is “to try to employ people instead, to give hope to them.” At Indaba, every case purchase $.50 is donated to the Indaba Foundation, which was founded by their parent company Cape Classics. The foundation brings skilled and resourced educators to communities to help children during their informative years to develop and learn.
The price points for South Africa wines are anywhere from $6.98 to $30+. The wines I purchased covered the scope of the price range.
David & Nadia Wines “Aristargos” White Blend, Swartland, South Africa 2015 SRP $35 This was a wine club purchase. They say drink now until 2025. I think now is a good time. It is a great winter white. A nice full-bodied wine that is a blend of 35% Chenin Blanc, 23% Roussanne, 15% Clairette, 19% Viognier and 8% Semillon. The Chenin Blanc vines are 35 - 50 years old and the Semillon vines are 61years old. You can taste the maturity in the wine. Beautifully balanced with stone fruit, apple and a citrus zing on the finish.
Boekenhoutskloof “The Wolftrap” Red Blend 2018 SRP $6.98 - Established in 1776, Boekenhoutsklof is located in the furthest corner of the Franschhoek valley. Boekenhout is an indigenous Cape Beech tree and the farm's name means “ravine of the Boekenhout.” They pride themselves on being Syrah specialists. The Wolftrap is a Rhone-style blend inspired by the pioneering spirit of the early settlers. A blend of 85% Syrah, 14% Mourvedre and 1% Viognier you will find lots of dark fruit, black spice and smoky oak with a medium body on the palate.
Indaba Mosaic Red Blend 2017 SRP $7.99 - A blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot. This wine was very jammy with notes of raspberry, cherry, blackcurrant, soft tannins and hints of black spice.
My team the Buffalo Bills made the playoffs. I was so excited for game 1. I was thinking chicken wings and beer. But, quite frankly, beer fills me up and I wanted something I could drink and celebrate with, or drown my sorrows. I though bubbles in keeping with the carbonated beverage and Vilarnau Cava because even if they lost, their beautiful labels would keep me in a decent mood. I could sip cava, eat chicken wings and watch the game. Or so I thought.
I did ask Google what time the game began and I swear it said 4:25pm. About 4:15 I head to the TV and turned on the game to find out that there was 27 seconds left in the Bills game. I popped the cork and stood in front of the tv for the exciting last 27 seconds of the game. Yes, I was screaming and holding my glass of Cava. My dog thought I had gone nuts. Afterward, I sat down and #sampled the Cava and made my chicken wings. All was good!
Why Cava? Cava is a beautiful sparkling wine from the Penedes region in Spain made in the Methode Champenoise where the second fermentation takes place in the bottle. Vilarnau Cava is exciting, beautiful and delicate and rich with history and so reasonably priced.
Vilarnau
The first Cava with the Vilarnau name was produced in 1949 with grapes grown on the “Can Petit I Les Planes de Vilarnau” estate. This vineyard is 20 hectares with beautiful views of the Montserrat mountains, while only 30 kilometers away from the Mediterranean sea.
A little background, the Vilarnau family was of Spanish nobility and settled on this estate in the 12th century. Albert de Vilarnau was the single person responsible for increasing the family’s power in the 14th century. In 1982 Vilarnau was acquired by the Gonzalez Byass family of wineries.
The label which is a bottle wrap reflects the avant-garde imagery of Antoni Gaudi. Antoni was a famous Catalan architect known for his style that reflect freedom of form, voluptuous color and texture. His quote “ Color in certain places has the great value of making the outlines and structural planes seem more energetic.” As beautifully shown on the Vilarnau bottle.
The Cava
Vilarnau Brut Reserva NV SRP $14.99 - A blend of 50% Macabeo, 35% Parellada and 15% Xarel.lo. The wine is aged for 15 to 24 months in the bottle. The Cave featured elegant fine bubbles shooting their way up the glass. Nice acidity and fresh with notes of green apple and a hint of orange rind.
Vilarnau Brut Reserva Rose NV SRP $15.99 - This wine is a blend of 85% Garnacha and 15% Pinot Noir. The grapes come from the vineyards their Vilarneau d’Espiell” winery. The Pinot Noir was planted in 1991 and was one of the first vineyards in the Penedes planted with Pinot Noir. A beautiful pink color and fine bubbles. Notes of red fruit on the palate that shows freshness, yet elegance.
One note I do want to say is don’t save sparkling wine for a special occasion. Wines like Vilarnau Cava are wine that can be poured every day. Remember, there is always something to celebrate.
Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
With no special guests this month, Lori and I talk to you about the Nebbiolo grape. The grape that is behind Barolo and Barbaresco. The only difference on whether you see Barolo, Barbaresco or Nebbiolo on the label is where the grape is grown as the region and soils have everything to do with the wine.
Nebbiolo is the grape of Piedmont. The word nebbia means fog, because the fog rolls into the hills where the vineyards are planted. The vineyards usually rises above the fog. Nebbiolo is a thick skin grape that is early to bud and late to ripen. It needs lots of sunlight. The wines that are produced from the grape are high in acid and tannins and are worth aging.
I do suggest opening the bottle and decanting it for at least 45 minutes prior to consuming.
For this episode I chose a Seghesio 2018 Langhe Nebbiolo. Seghesio is located in the heart of Langhe on the eastern side of Monforte d’Alba. They produce 5000 cases a year which include, Langhe Nebbiolo, Dolcetto d’Alba, Barbera d”Alba and Castelletto Barolo.
Ettore Seghesio worked as a tenant farmer and saved his money so that one day he can purchase the farm, which is exactly what he did in 1964. Their philosophy is to craft wine that reflects the terroir where the grape is grown. They are committed to protecting the environment and are SONPI(Integrated Crop Management National Quality System.) SONPI is a certification for integrated farming that aims to increase product quality while protecting the environment. In the vineyard they use environmentally sustainable plant protection products.
Seghesio 2018 Langhe Nebbiolo - a wonderful delicious wine that keeps you sipping. Lovely notes of sour cherry and elegant red licorice on the finish with puckering tannins throughout.
Enjoy the podcast!
Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
We were so excited in this episode to have Nicholas Hammeken from Hammeken Cellars in Spain to talk all things Monastrell and a little background on himself and how he got into wine. Nicholas started out in wine in Denmark as a cellar master and landed in the UK working for Seagrams. It was here where he learned about what the consumers need. His wife who is a dentist, got a job in Spain in 1996 and Nicholas got a job in a winery in Jumilia and the rest is history.
Nicholas founded Hammeken Cellars in the early 2000’s and its foundation is Monastrell. They believe that Spanish wines should be crafted with the focus on the fruit with freshness and pure expression of the varietal sometimes with oak sometimes without oak.
Nicholas talks about Monastrell, the history, and how 2 regions in Spain are responsible for all the Monastrell produced in the country. It’s a fascinating discussion as he talks about the types of wine the grape produces and what you have to be careful of from the vineyard to the winery, from the old bush vines to the younger vines.
I don’t want to give away the entire conversation. I do want to say it was awesome and we learned a lot about Monastrell and Spain. I can’t wait to visit there one day. Give the w podcast a listen.
We did get to sample three of Hammeken’s wines. All three were different and wonderful. I love the saying on the bottle of Creencia
“Creencia: trust, faith, confidence
Belief in powerful balance of the Monastrell varietal
Belief in the dry farming, that brings out the best of the grape
Belief in this wine, that will linger in your memory forever”
2015 Hammeken Cellars Creencia con Actitud - 100% Monastrell from 45+ year old vines at an altitude of 700 - 900 meters. The wine spent 12 months in 100% French Oak barrels. This was a very difficult vintage and kudos to the wine team. The wine is dark red in color with complex aromas of blackberry, violet, toasted oak and mocha. The palate is smooth and structured. It’s a full-bodied wine that has wonderful minerality and soft velvety tannins with hints of black licorice on the finish. SRP $22.95
2017 Hammeken Cellars Creencia con Juventud - This is a younger style wine. It is dry-farmed and comes from ungrafted vines 35 years old. They maintain the freshness and acidity much more. They use small French Oak barrels new and used oak for 6 months. Beautiful red color, Nice freshness and acidity and wine dances on your palate. Nice deep dark red with aromas of black cherries, fig, and rosemary. The palate is is fresh with nice balanced acidity, firm tannins with a hint of black pepper on the finish. SRP $14.95
2018 Hammeken Cellars Pasas Gran Pasas DO Yecia - This wine is made to revive an old tradition to harvest in late October when the grapes have the highest concentration of flavors and begin to shrivel up. The wine spent 6 months in French oak barrels. The wine is very fresh and well balanced. Dark red in color with aromas of blackberry, ripe black cherry, dark chocolate and wild herbs. The palate has a sweetness to it, and so well balanced with the acidity. Big concentration of red and black fruit on the palate with hints of dark chocolate. SRP $14.95
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 2 Episode 12 L is for Lugana.
Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
This episode we were lucky to have as a special guest Susannah Gold. Susannah is the Lugana’s East Coast Brand Manager and Founder, of Vigneto Communications. Susannah is so knowledgeable on Lugana!
Lugana DOC sits on the southern shore of Lake Garda in Lombardy and in the Provence of Verona. The wine, made from Turbiana grape is a beautiful white wine crafted in 5 distinct styles. Susannah talks all about the Lugana DOC, the wine and food pairings.
For more information on Lugana and the Turbiana grape, I recently wrote two articles on Lugana and they can be found at https://hudsonvalleywinegoddess.com/turbiana-the-grape-the-wine/ and https://hudsonvalleywinegoddess.com/lugana-and-turbiana-the-jewel-of-lake-garda/
Lugana Wines
Susannah was nice enough to send us two samples of Lugana wine. Most wines are aged in stainless steel and are nice and crisp with mineral notes and nice acidity.
2018 Podere Selva Capuzza Lugana DOC - On the shores of Lake Garda Selva Capuzza is a winery, restaurant, farmhouse and truffle ground. The first vintage of this wine was produced in 1983. The vineyard the Turbiana is grown in is at an evelation between 110 and 125 meters above sea level. It has a rich presence of stone. The grapes are hand harvested and vinification takes place in steel tanks.
The wine has beautiful aromas of white flowers, salinity, citrus. The palate is fresh and crisp, hints of minerality, citrus and peach. A beautiful wine!
2018 Citari Conchiglia Lugana DOC - A family winery that was founded in 1975. The 25 hectares are south facing on morainic soils mixed with calcareous clays rich in mineral salts. The vines are 25 years old. The wine is aged in steel for seven months and six of those months are spent on the lees. There is a freshness about the wine with notes of lemon curd and white peach with hints of minerality. The wine has a creamy texture, balanced and medium + bodied.
If you see a bottle of Lugana DOC wines, reach for it. You won’t be disappointed.
For more episodes of Winephabet Street visit http://winephabetstreet.com/
September is a great month. I usually spend most of it in the Hudson Valley. I begin with the Hudson Valley Wine & Spirits Competition at the Hudson Valley Wine & Food Festival followed by a seminar or two at the festival. Then there is harvest and apple picking. By the end of September, my sister can’t wait to get rid of me. Boy is this year different.
The Hudson Valley Wine & Food Festival went virtual and so did I. While I missed being at the festival and the people I get to see, this was second best. Just being able to share my knowledge with you and being a part of the festival made my day. I did have fun making the video, however I missed my tech guy Todd. Todd and I have a lot of fun during the set up on Friday. He’s usually putting together the sound for the festival and I’m setting up for the wine competition. Todd hooks me up for the audio for the seminars. This year it was just me as the audio visual tech person. I apologize for any feedback you may get when you watch the presentation.
My first presentation is pairing wine with take-out. I though this was a good topic due to the situation we are all in. Restaurants may or may not have indoor dining and you might not feel comfortable with indoor dining.
I begin with some tips on pairing wine with different take-out foods and then I sit down with Executive Chef Gus Zimmerman and talk take-out. He will give you tips on what to order for take-out, what to stay away from and why. It’s not that the dish isn’t good or exceptional, it is about how the dish will travel.
If you have any questions for me or the Chef, feel free to email me at debbie@hudsonvalleywinegoddess.com
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 2 Episode 11 - K is for Kabar. Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
This month we had a special guest Edit Bai, winemaker from Chateau Dereszla located in the Tokaj region of Hungary. It is a pretty historic winery dating back to 1406. It has switched hands a few times, but is now under Hungarian ownership.
Kabar is a grape that was created by a crossing of the Harslevelu and Bouvier grape. Some of the flavor profiles you will find in Kabar is pear, vanilla, oak, lemon, honey and crisp acidity. My kind of white wine!
I’m looking forward to visiting Hungary soon and will seek out a glass of Kabar! Until then, I hope you enjoy the webinar and podcast.
For more episodes of Winephabet Street visit http://winephabetstreet.com/
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 2 Episode 10 - J is for Jura. Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
The month of July saw us visiting the Jura region of France. Known as Franche-Comte it is located between Burgundy and Switzerland. In 2016 the Franche-Comte region was joined with Burgundy to form a new administrative entity of Bourgogne-Franche-Comte.
There are 4 main appellations in Jura:
Arbois - the first appellation d’Origine Controlee, France appointed
Chateau-Chalon - home of Vin Jaune
Letoile - Chablis of Jura. Known for good Chardonnay wines and Cremants du Jura
Cotes du Jura - catch-all appellation for all the wines made in the region.
The wine I chose for this episode is one I found in my cellar. A 2011 Cotes du Jura by Jean Bourdy. Jean Bourdy is one of the oldest Domaines in the Jura region being founded between 1475 and 1500.
Unfortunately, the wine was past its prime. A bit oxidated. Sometimes you just never know. It goes to show you that it’s not always beautiful and tasty. I am sure this wine in its prime was a wonderful wine and a great vintage.
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 2 Episode 9 - I is for Indigenous Yeast. Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
This month we have a special guest - Guy Parcurar from Fathers + Daughters Cellars. All their wines in their portfolio are produced with indigenous yeast. Guy talks about his wines and the indigenous yeast found in the vineyard and winery.
You may not realize if you are drinking a wine made with indigenous yeast. Look on the label as it can be labeled
- Ambient yeast
- Feral yeast
- Wild yeast
- Native yeast
The yeast is carried in on the grapes and occurs naturally in the vineyard. Once in the winery there is yeast that is present in that environment. They call the yeast in the winery - finishing yeast. There can be some complications from using indigenous, like a stuck fermentation. It can be very finicky and the winemaker has to watch and monitor the winemaking closely.
Fathers + Daughters Cellars
Listening to Guy talk about his journey into wine and the creation of Fathers + Daughters Cellars flashed memories of special times I had with my father. Especially just looking at their label triggers those memories.
Fathers and Daughters is a journey of a family of fathers and daughters. Guy moved up to Mendocino County and purchased an inn - Brewery Gulch Inn. Then he met his beautiful wife Sarah Schoeneman, whose father owns Ferrington Vineyard in Anderson Valley.
The family always sold the grapes from Ferrington Vineyard and never made wine. When Guy and Sarah had their daughter Ella, they decided to make a Pinot Noir to celebrate her birth. That is where it all began. The currently produce approximately 600 cases of wine. The wines they produce are: Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, The Dance which is a white blend, Rose of Zinfandel, Petillant Naturel (Pet Nat) and an occasional cider.
I had the opportunity to taste 4 of their wines. My tasting notes are below.
Most important, please watch the video or listen to the podcast for all the detailed information about Fathers + Daughters Cellars with Guy Pacurar. He talks about everything from his family, the vineyards, the yeast and production.
Fathers + Daughters Sarah’s Rustic Bubbles 2018 SRP $21 - This is a petillant naturel rustic sparkling wine made with 100% Chardonnay from the Roederer Estate Vineyard. Very nice and easy drinking with notes of pineapple, citrus, melon and some stone fruit with hints of minerality. Guy said it pairs well with breakfast danishes. I can see why. It has a slight sweetness to it but balances out with the acidity.
Fathers + Daughters Sauvignon Blanc 2018 Ferrington Vineyard SRP $25 - Pale in color with aromas of lemon and some herbal notes. Moves to a palate of juicy pink grapefruit, apple, balanced acidity with apple and a hint of lemon curd on the finish sprinkled with cinnamon.
Fathers + Daughters Gewurztraminer 2016 Ferrington Vineyard SRP $23 - Lovely aromas of jasmine, floral, pear and lychee notes that lead to a palate that is soft and silky with layered flavors of pear, tropical fruit, lime and pineapple. The finish has a touch of sweetness to it.
Fathers + Daughters Ella’s Reserve Pinot Noir 2016 Ferrington Vineyard SRP $52 - This is the wine that started it all. It is a stand-out. The aromas are just coming at you from the glass. Black Cherry, pomegranate, hints of roses as you swirl the glass. Complex plate that is well balanced with flavors of raspberry, bright red cherry, pomegranate with a hint of black spice on the finish mixed with the lingering flavors as it winds down.
Watch the webinar or listen to the podcast
For more episodes of Winephabet Street visit http://winephabetstreet.com/
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 2 Episode 8 - H is for Hunter Valley. Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
The month of May we traveled down under to Australia’s Hunter Valley. Did you know that the Hunter Valley is the Birthplace of Australian wine? It is also the oldest Australian wine region, home to 150 wineries, gourmet restaurants,, spas, and concerts in the vineyard. It is a two hour drive North of Sydney.
Hope Estate
This months wine selection was from Hope Estate, located in Pokolbin. They are more than a winery, with a brewery on site and a large concert venue. They hosted entertainers Elton John, Bruce Springsteen and the Rolling Stones.
Hope Estate is owned by Michael Hope and his family. He began the winery as a retirement hobby that grew into a national brand. He wants to continue to grow and build on his brand.
2017 Hope Estate Basalt Block Shiraz, Hunter Valley - A lovely Shiraz! I was pleasantly surprised by this Shiraz, as I was expecting something fruit forward and it was not. It wasn’t a bold in your face wine. It was very enjoyable! The aromas escaping the glass were a mix of red and black fruit, plum, cherry, black spice and vanilla. The palate was biting into a freshly picked ripe plum, with licorice spice on the finish.
Watch the webinar or listen to the podcast
For more episodes of Winephabet Street visit http://winephabetstreet.com/
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 2 Episode 7 - G is for Glera. Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
The month of April we talked about the Glera grape. Glera is the grape in Prosecco. It is thought to have originated in Slovenia’s Karst region and brought to the village of Prosecco.
Prosecco was used to indicate a wine as well as both a production area and grape variety. In 2009 to identify Prosecco as a designation of origin the name couldn’t represent the grape and region. Glera was chosen as the grape of Prosecco.
This month's wine selection was Jeio Bisol 1542 Prosecco. Jeio is a love story. Jeio is the name Giovanna Bisol called her husband.
The vineyards are on top of steep hills in the Veneto region. The wine was fermented in stainless steel for 15 days. Made in the Charmat method.
The Prosecco is very elegant. Aromas of green apple and wisteria. The palate is soft and elegant with a slight creaminess to it. Flavors of green apple, pear with a citrus peel finish. The price point on the Prosecco is $20.
Hope you enjoy the podcast!
For more episodes of Winephabet Street visit http://winephabetstreet.com/
Nine Pin Cider is New York’s first farm cidery. I am familiar with them, I’ve used their ciders in seminars at the Hudson Valley Wine Festival but I never had the chance to sit down and talk with them. That all changed last week when I sat down with Benji and Joshua and we talked about all things Nine Pin.
They had sent me a sample in advance of their Cidre Rose which is right up my alley. It’s cider crafted with apples from Samascott Orchard that they co-fermented with the skins of grapes. The grape varietals they used are Concord, Traminette, Chancellor and Noiret from wineries in New York State. The cider is a beautiful pink in color. You can taste hints of the grapes in the cider, it’s subtle, not overwhelming and refreshing. It’s really a beautiful cider, not completely, but now sweet enough to stand out.
Nine Pin Cider is offering a 10% discount to all my readers, listeners and fans. Ordering is easy from their online store. They ship everywhere! Just choose the correct button to purchase (either you live in NYS or Out of State. It’s that simple.
In conjunction with Nine Pin we are holding a give-a-way for a $25 Nine Pin gift certificate and a copy of my book “Tapping the Hudson Valley.” Although it says tomorrow in the video/podcast, it’s happening now. Got over to Instagram and follow hvwinegoddess and ninepinsider and tag two friends. The contest will end tomorrow, Tuesday, April 30.
Listen to the podcast and learn about Nine Pin Cider. The process of making cider and why they chose an urban location for their tasting room
What’s your wine unicorn? That was the question proposed by Lori Budd of Dracaena Wines. She runs a monthly online get-together called Wine Writer’s Wrap-up where we discuss different topics. I was in, but I had no idea what a wine unicorn was?
Upon further explanation, she told me it was a wine you are dying to try but perhaps out of reach, like Screaming Eagle. I did some soul searching and realized my wine-unicorn is an experience. An experience that could be tasting wine with a famous winemaker in his cellar or when a friend brings over a special bottle of wine they have been saving.
I’ve had many wine-unicorns. Here are just some of them:
- Drinking Barons de Rothschild Champagne with Philippe Sereys de Rothschild at the US launch in New York City.
- Lunch with Piper-Heidsieck’s cellar master Emilien Boutillat
- Drinking Burgundy wine in the cellars of wonderful winemakers in that region
- Drinking a bottle of Dom Perignon when a friend paid off her mortgage
- Being the first to taste a new release at a winery.
- Taking part in blending wine for the new release at a winery.
Those are just a few that come to mind. Watch the webinar or listen to the podcast as a group of us discuss our wine unicorns and what they mean.
Tell me what your Unicorn Wine is.
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 2 Episode 6 - F is for Fume Blanc. Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
The month of March we talked about Fume Blanc. Fume Blanc is Sauvignon Blanc but sometimes it’s oaked, sometimes it isn’t. It was actually a brilliant marketing idea created by Robert Mondavi to differentiate his Sauvignon Blanc that was dry from the sweeter style that Sauvignon Blanc was known as at the time.
For this month I tasted a Fume Blanc from Ferrari-Carano. Ferrari-Carano is located in Healdsburg California owned by Don and Rhonda Carano. They accidently fell into the wine industry while shopping for wine in Sonoma for their hotel and casino in Downtown Reno. It all began with one 30 acre plot and now they have 24 vineyards all throughout six appellations. In 2015 2015 they earned the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance.
2018 Ferrari-Carano Fume Blanc - The Sauvignon Blanc grapes came from the Dry Creek, Alexander and Russian River Valleys. Once pressed they sat in steel tanks for 48 hours and then transferred 65% to stainless steel tanks and 35% to French oak barrels for fermentations. The wine that went in to the barrels was sur-lie aged then blended and bottled.
This Fume Blanc is really wonderful. Not the grapefruit acid bomb like you get in a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Nice lemon, lime and citrus undertones escape from the glass. The palate is acidic but not overpowering. Flavors of lemon, lime, pear and honeydew melon mix nicely on your palate with a nice bright acidity, just enough to make you smile.
Watch the webinar or listen to the podcast
For more episodes of Winephabet Street visit http://winephabetstreet.com/
Last Monday I held a Sparkling Wines of the World seminar over Zoom. It seems to be the thing these days for get-togethers. I wasn’t sure how many people, if any would even show up. When I go in front of people, I tend to get a little nervous. Nervous I am going to leave something out, but if you run into me on the street, I’ll vomit at the mouth with information. I guess the more I do these the more I won’t get nervous.
Here are the video and audio of the seminar. It is an introductory seminar discussing many of the different sparkling wines around the world and how they are made. We touch on Champagne, Cremant, Prosecco, Asti, Franciacorta, Cava, Espumante and Sekt. I also explain the different methods used to produce sparkling wine so that you have a better understanding of what is in the bottle.
I might do some more of these in the future. I have a big list of subjects. So stay tuned. I hope you enjoy!
I met Emanuela Gianfreda at the Slow Wine World Tour at Eataly last month. She is fifth generation and along with her sister Dalila, they are Antica Masseria Jorche. While Dalila runs the business side, Emanuela followed the path of her father is the enologist behind the wines.
Located in Salento, which is the heal of the boot in the southern end of Apulia, Italy the area has a dry climate with beautiful sea breezes that allows the grapes to mature nicely with not alot of human intervention. The vineyards vines that are about 40 years old.
The vineyard is home to a “trullo.” Way back when the workers were in the vineyard they gathered the stones and built themselves a house. This house is used for them to rest. They are found in the vineyards in the region
Recently they built a new modern winery and planted six hectares around it. The new winery has an underground cellar where they age the Primitivo in big barrels and barriques.
While their main grape and wine is Primitivo, they also grow Negramaro, Bianco d’Alessano and Fiano.
Emanuela led me through a tasting of her Primitivo wines from new, young wines to old and mature wines. Here are my notes from the wine and I hope you listen to the podcast to hear her so passionately talk about her winery.
Antica Masseria Jorche 2017 Soltema -The grapes for this wine come from the youngest vineyard of 8 years. It’s a great everyday Primitivo. Aged 9 months in barrels then an additional 3 in the bottle. Lots of mix berry soft and easy drinking
Antica Masseria Jorche 2015 Primitivo di Manduria Riserva - The grapes for this wine come from vines 40 years old. They are hand picked and aged for 12 months in barriques and capasuni. Then the wine spends 3 months in the bottle. This is a fantastic wine and is quite complex. Lots going on in this wine with nice tannic structure.
Antica Masseria Jorche 2015 Primitivo di Manduria - The grapes for this wine comes from vines 70 years old. The wine spends 5 months in barriques. It’s an elegant wine that shows the fruit nicely. Lots of blackberries, wildberries, hints of prune and nice acidity.
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 2 Episode 5 E is for Egri Bikaver. Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
This month of February we learned about the Egri Bikaver. Egri Bikaver is from Hungary and better known as Bulls Blood. It is not a grape but a blend of 50% Kekfrankos (which we know as Blaufrankish or Lemberger) and the rest can be Kadarka, Syrah, Merlot, Portugieser, Minoir, Blauburger, Pinot Noir, Zweigelt or Turan. It is quite a funny story how it got its name. The condensed version is in 1552 at the siege of Eger the captain brought red wine to the soldiers. The soldiers drank the red wine and it stained their beards and the Turks thought the soldiers in Eger drak blood from the bull. There are a couple other legends out there as well.
Lori and I had a great time with this topic. I hope you enjoy the podcast or webinar, whichever you choose listen to or watch.
2016 Egervin Egri Bivaker (Bulls Blood) SRP $9.99
I didn’t have much of a choice here at the liquor store. In fact it was the only choice for Bulls Blood. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the wine and I was pleasantly surprised how I liked it. It was not a heavy, big red. It was light on the palate with a lot of character. There were some plum, cherry and blackberry notes with a hint of earthiness. There was a strong sour cherry finish. As the wine opened there was hints of red currant and fennel. It was quite enjoyable.
Learn more about Egri Bikaver (Bulls Blood) and the wines we tasted by listening to the podcast or watch the webinar.
For more episodes of Winephabet Street visit http://winephabetstreet.com/
I attended a Wine & Food Pairing class at VinExpo in New York City last week. The class was geared towards discussing how wine and food interact. How certain aspects of food (saltiness, sweetness and acid) interact with the wine. Acid in food with acidic wine brings out the fruit in the wine and tones down the acid.
We tasted 3 wines - a Sancerre, Cabernet Sauvignon and Moscato all tried with 3 foods - marshmallow, lemon, and salt - or so I thought.
There was this little strip of paper next to the salt. So naturally, with the corona-virus on top of mind, I figured that strip was to lick and dip in the salt. Right, wouldn’t you think so? The instructor forgot to tell us about the strip of paper.
Listen to the podcast and see what the strip of paper represents. That explained why everyone thought I had an extremely off palate. For the record…I wasn’t going to lick my finger and dip it in the salt after shaking many hands prior to the seminar. Naturally, I used the strip of paper.
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 2 Episode 4 D is for Dornfelder. Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
This month we learn about the Dornfelder grape. Dornfelder is a cross between Helfensteiner and Heroldrebe born in Germany. Helfensteiner a dark skinned grape is a cross of Fruhburgunder (Pinot Precoce noir) and Trollinger (Schiava Grossa.) What I found very interesting about Dornfelder is that it has a lost little sister called Hegel. The crossing took place in August 1955 by August Herold and it was given variety protection in 1994.
Other regions Dornfelder is grown is Fingers Lakes Region in New York, the Cantons of Zurich, Schwyz England, Chech Republic, California in the Sta. Rita Hills and Lodi, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Hokkaido Japan and Brazil Rio Grande do Sul.
2017 Windisch Dornfelder
This wine I chose for Winephabet Street hails from the Rheinhessen region of Germany. The Windisch family has been growing grapes since 1780. This is the first German Dornfelder I have tasted. It was a semi-sweet red wine. Not one of my favorites, but if you like sweet red wine, this is the wine for you. It was a very deep dark red in color. I immediately tasted cherry pie, lots of red berries and notes of boysenberry. Soft smooth tannins and a slight hint of tartness to the wine on the finish.
Learn more about Dornfelder and the wines we tasted by listening to the podcast or watch the webinar.
For more episodes of Winephabet Street visit http://winephabetstreet.com/
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 2 Episode 3 C is for Chenin Blanc. Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
This month we learn about the Chenin Blanc grape. It is believed that the grape was established in the Anjou region of France. The Abbey of Glanfeuil a French Benedictine Monastery in the village of Saint-Maur-sur-Loir wer growing these grapes.
The DNA of Chenin Blanc was always in question. However, in July 2019 at the First International Chenin Blanc congress it was revealed that the DNA of the grape is Savagnin and Sauvignonasse.
Chenin Blanc is a very versatile grape. It can and is produced dry, semi-sweet, sweet and cremant style. There is a Chenin Blanc for every palate.
2016 Chappellet Chenin Blanc
The wine I chose for this episode came from my wine cellar. A Chappellet Chenin Blanc. Full disclosure, I am a Chappellet wine club member and have been a member for a very long time.
Chappellet was founded in 1967 after Don Chappellet settled his family on Prichard Hill. His goal was to create world-class wines. Although they produce predominately red wines and are known for their Cabernet Sauvignon, Chenin Blanc grapes were originally on the property when they purchased it. They did replant the Chenin Blanc in 2004 and re-introduced it as a signature designation with Molly Chappellet’s signature on every bottle.
The wine is elegant, bright and lively with notes of tropical fruit, citrus, Meyer lemon, honeydew. It’s balanced and soft with a burst of acidity.
Learn more about the Chenin Blanc and the wines we tasted by listening to the podcast or watch the webinar.
For more episodes of Winephabet Street visit http://winephabetstreet.com/
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 2 Episode 2 B is for Barbera
Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
This month we visit Italy and the Barbera grape. The Barbara Grape is grown in the Piedmont region of Italy. The hills of Monferrato are considered its native home. It is said that the best Barbera comes from Barbera d’Asti - DOCG and Barbera d’Alba. Barbera is a late-ripening grape and retains acidity even when fully ripe. The high acidity is the hallmark of this grape. It’s light-bodied with low tannins.
Flavors you can get from Barbera are: Strawberry, raspberry, red and black cherry, blackberry tartness, plum, toast, vanilla, sour cherry, spice. Interesting that winemakers began introducing Barbera to oak in the 1980’s and it tames the acidity. It also brings some vanilla, spice and oak to the wine. The oak makes the wine rounder, softer, a bit more complex and makes it age-worthy.
Join us in this episode as Lori and I both have wines from two different regions. See how we compare and learn a little about Barbera.
Terre del Barollo - 2017 Barbera d’ Alba
For this episode I visited Viscount Liquor in Fishkill, NY and purchased a bottle of 2017 Terre del Barollo Barbera d’ Alba.
Cantina Terre del Barolo was founded in 1958 when Arnaldo Rivera who was Castiglione Falletto’s mayor decided to set up a cooperative with 21 local growers. Today they represents all 11 villages that make up the appellation with more than 300 members and 650 hectares.
This Barbera is grown in the Langhe area in calcareous clay. It was hand picked and the maximum yield is 10 tons hectare.No oak - it spent 3-4 months in stainless steel before bottling.
Tasting notes: Raspberry, blackberry with minerality on the palate. The wine is light in body with light acidity.
Learn more about the Barbera and the wines we reviewed by listening to the podcast
For more episodes of Winephabet Street visit http://winephabetstreet.com/
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season Episode 1 A is for Assyrtiko
Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions on letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
As we begin Season 2 we travel to Greece and learn about the Assyrtiko grape which makes its home on the island of Santorini. It produces a nice dry wine, some aged in oak. Some are also sun dried and made sweet.
Assyrtiko Wine
For this episode I visited Viscount Liquor in Fishkill, NY and purchased a bottle of Assyrtiko. However, this bottle from Alexakis is from the island of Crete just south of Santorini. It is a family winery and the largest private winery on the island.
Learn more about the Assyrtiko and the wines we reviewed by listening to the podcast.
For more episodes of Winephabet Street visit http://winephabetstreet.com/
Cava I think is the most underrated sparkling wine on the market today. I fell in love with Cava about 10 years ago and didn’t know that much about it until I went for my CSW designation. Cava is my go-to for an every day sparkling wine.
Here is what you need to know about Cava:
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Cava is produced in the traditional method where the second fermentation happens in the bottle.
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Three main grapes in Cava - Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel-lo
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Cava can be produced from Chardonnay, Pinot Noir Garnacha or Trepat
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Cava is white or rose. Rose. If rose, blending is not allowed and the wine must be made Saingee method using Pinot Noir, Garnacha or Trepat
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Cava is produced in the Catalonia region of Spain and holds a Denominacion de Origen (DO)
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There are 4 categories of Cava
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Cava - 9 months on lees
- Cava Reserva Cava - 15 months aging on lees
- Cava Gran Reversa - 30 months aging on lees
- Cava Qualified Place - 36 months aging on lees
I recently went to a Wines of Spain tasting in New York City called “Spain’s Great Match” where I met Patricia Correia who is Directora de Comunicació Consell Regulador de la DOP Cava. I asked to her talk to me a little about Cava. She was a little nervous because she is new to the job but not the region. I assured her she would be great and she was. So, pour yourself a glass and listen to Patricia talk all things Cava.
It’s not too often you get to taste vertical tastings of wine unless perhaps you go to an event at a winery featuring verticals of their wine. Other reasons are, well, you just don’t keep the wine in your house long enough.
Last month for Winephabet Street our topic was Z for Zinfandel. I had two bottles of Artezin Mendocino County Zinfandel. I chose the 2017 Artezin Zinfandel one for the program and later did a vertical tasting with their 2016. It is interesting to see the differences and we’ll discuss that in a bit.
About Artezin
Artezin’s winemaker Randle Johnson has been with the winery since it began in 2002. He makes Zinfandel from old vine plantings through-out Medocino and Sonoma Counties. He works with family owned farms and if you visit their website they introduce you to the farmers they work with to create their Zinfandel. Besides Zinfandel they also use varieties such as Carignan and Petit Sirah. Artezin is part of the Hess Family Wine Estates
Vertical Tasting
A vertical tasting is a tasting of the same wine but different vintages. The 2016 and 2017 Artezin Mendocino County Zinfandel are similar yet different. The blend and price are slightly different. I’ve participated in blending before and it is an art. Not every vintage will be the same as the growing season is different so for the winemaker to achieve what he/she is looking for there might be more, less of a grape blended in, if blended at all.
Let’s take a look at each of the wines. The similarities and differences
2016 Artezin Mendocino County Zinfandel SRP $18.00
A blend of 85% Zinfandel, 10% Petite Sirah and 5% Carignan. Notes of juicy cherry, blackberry and pomegranate aromas with subtle hints of chocolate fill the glass. The palate is full of red jammy fruit with hints of baking spices.
2017 Artezin Mendocino County Zinfandel SRP $16.00
This wine blend is slightly different. It’s 85% Zinfandel and 15% Petite Sirah. This wine had a lot going on. Notes and flavors of blackberry, plum and boysenberry with hints of black pepper, clove and cinnamon on the finish. As the wine opens you get some chocolate on the finish.
Two different years, two different growing seasons. I felt like 2017 had a higher alcohol content than in 2016 when the difference is 0.3% with 2017 being higher. The 2017 had much more black fruit with the 2016 having more predominant red fruit.
Both Zinfandels were very good. Nicely made, easy to enjoy and pair with food. Inexpensively priced under $20 makes it a go-to wine.
Learn more about Zinfandel with Winephabet Street
In September Winephabet Street concluded their first season with Zinfandel. Learn about the Zinfandel grape and the some of the great winepairings with me and Lori. Listen to the podcast
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 1 Episode 25 Y is Yarra Valley Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions on letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us. In this episode, Lori and I take you to the Yarra Valley located just outside Melbourne, Australia, and Victoria’s first wine-growing district. It’s known for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and one of the leading cool climate grown regions of the world. Learn more about the Yarra Valley by listening to the podcast or watch the webinar below. For more episodes of Winephabet Street visit http://winephabetstreet.com/ Yarra Valley Wine Tasting For this episode I got my hands on a 2016 Shoofly Pinot Noir. Shoofly was founded in 2003 by Ben Riggs. The fruit for this wine comes from the Yarra and King Valley regions in Victoria. There was no oak used. The wine matured on the lees for nine months and then was bottled. The Pinot was plumish in color, a bit of acidity. Flavors of cherry and spicy notes especially on the finish. Not complex but enjoyable. Enjoy the podcast!
I thought I’d make this a Left Coast week, from one left-hander to a family of them. (you’ll see what I’m talking about in the podcast) Today we hear from Taylor Pfaff, CEO of Left Coast and next article will be their summer wine selections. Enjoy. Last fall I hosted Taylor Pfaff from Left Coast Estate for a wine dinner at Kitchen 330 in Stone Harbor, New Jersey. Chef Gus prepared a fabulous menu that paired 5 Left Coast wines with some amazing dishes. In this podcast Taylor, the youngest child in the family, currently the CEO talks about Left Coast, his family, the wines and the clones used in producing 3 different Pinot Noirs. At times he gets pretty geeky with the clones. Taylor talks about the name of the winery, the Pinot Noir clones, the Lewis and Clark Label, and Truffle Hill explained. Grab a glass of Left Coast or any wine for that matter and listen to Taylor talk so passionately about Left Coast Cellars and his family.
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 1 Episode 24 X is for Xinomavro.
Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions on letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
We take you to Greece and discuss the Xinomavro grape and the wine it produces in this episode of Winephabet Street.
Xinomavro is the signature grape of the Macedonia region of Greece. It is grown predominantly in the Naoussa region. The name means acid black and is pronounced ksee-NOH-mah-vroh. For more on the pronunciation watch this video by Constantine Boutari. Otherwise, watch the webinar or listen to the podcast below as we talk Xinomavro.
Xinomavro is a wine that ages well. Can be drunk young or aged. As you will see in the webinar, I had a younger wine than Lori and there were some differences.
Alpha Estate 2016 Xinomavro Single Vineyard Hedgehog
Alpha Etate is located in the Amyndeon region of northern Greece. It was founded in 1997 by viticulturist Makis Mayridis and chemist-oenologist Angelos Latridis.
Hedgehog is a subregion of Amyndeon that has northern exposure and faces lake Petron and Mount Voras. The wine was cold soaked with skin contact and aged sur lies for eight months, then twelve months in French oak and twelve months in the bottle before being released.
I opened the wine about 15 minutes before Winephabet Street began. In hindsight I should have opened it about an hour before. As the wine began to open the fruit flavors became apparent. The tannins in the wine do hold the flavors on your palate. At first I got a little of tapenade and tomato (yes tomato) and not much fruit. As time progressed there were some hints of plum and red fruit.
The Podcast
Listen to the podcast. If you do find yourself drinking a glass of Xinomavro, I would love to hear your feedback on the wine.
Meet the wineries of the Haro Station District of Rioja, Spain, where old tradition born out of innovation.
Haro District
Haro, a historic city was one of the first cities in Spain to have electricity. While winemaking history in the region dates way back, in the 1860’s several wineries made their home near the railway station. It was the Railway that brought them together, put Rioja in communication with the rest of the world and allowed them to showcase their wines to the world.
Today the Haro Station District has the highest concentration of century old wineries creating incredible wines that are continuing the tradition of innovation and what makes the Haro Station District so special.
I recently went to an event showcasing 5 of the historic wineries in the Haro Station District. I had the opportunity along with my Winephabet Street partner Lori Budd of Exploring the Wine Glass to interview 3 of the wineries from the Haro District at the Rioja Railway Wine Experience held at the High Line in New York City.
Vina Pomal Bodegas Bilbainas
Vina Pomal Bodegas Bilbainas established in 1901 is the oldest winery in the Haro district. It produces still and sparkling wine along with brandy. It has the largest surf area of underground cellars in the region. They have 250 hectares and bottle about one million bottles a year or about 83,000 cases.
Listen to our interview with Nolan Jones as he talks about the history of the winery, the grapes, the tradition and the wine.
Vina Pomal Wines
2018 Vina Pomal Blanco A blend of Malvasia and Viura with each grape bringing a different element to the wine. Very aromatic, fresh and vibrant. SRP $20
2014 Vina Pomal Reserva This is 100% Tempranillo aged for 18 months in American oak and 2 years in the bottle. Lots of dark fruit and cocoa with soft tannins. SRP $20
2011 Vina Pomal Gran Reserva This is a blend of 90% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano aged for 2 years in American oak and another 3 years in the bottle. Elegant with layers of black and red fruit. This will pair with many foods. Drink now or age.
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 1 Episode 23 W is for Weissburgunder.
Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions on letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
Weissburgunder as it’s known in Germany, but you may be more familiar with it as Pinot Blanc. In German Weiss means White and Burgunder means Pinot, hence Weissburgunder - white pinot grape. It is a mutation of Grauer Burgunder which is Pinot Gris which is a mutation of Pinot Noir. Yup, lots of mutations here.
The grape originated in Burgundy and there was no distinction between Pinot Blanc and Chardonnay. Pinot Blanc is somewhat of a full bodied wine as is Chardonnay. When you see a wine labeled Bourgogne Blanc it has Pinot Blanc blended in with the Chardonnay.
La Maison Willm 2016 Pinot Blanc Reserve
The wine for this episode I chose a 2016 Willm Pinot Blanc Reserve. Foundd 120 years ago by the Willm family. Adolphe Willm both a restaurateur and winegrower. His passion for the wine side was stronger and he decided to go at it full time giving birth to Maison Willm.
Willm’s wines were among the first Alsace wines to be exported to the United States when Prohibition ended.
The 2016 Pinot Blanc Reserve was hand harvested and fermented in stainless steel. It matured on it’s fine lees for 2 to 3 months. It’s full of lemon, pineapple and grapefruit with refreshing acidity. They say it will keep up to 5 years, but I would drink it now.
The Podcast
Listen to the podcast and let me know your thoughts on Weissburgunder
When you think Lodi you think all things Zinfandel. Did you know there is a German side to Lodi where there are 51 varieties of German and Austrian grapes planted? While I was in Lodi we met the Koth family, third generation grape growers. They grow the German-Austrian Collection. You may wonder why German grapes? In the 1990's Bob’s daughter Ann-Marie was in college studying in Germany. This led Bob and Marylou to visit where they fell in love with the German varieties. Upon his return, he studied the German varietals and now grows 51 of them at his Mokelumne Glen Vineyards called ***“The German Austrian Collection.”*** The vineyard is located on the banks of the east side of the Mokelumne River. The rivers sandy loam, crushed granite soil lends itself to give the grapes the natural acidity needed as if in a Mediterranean climate. The German Austrian Collection is gaining popularity with-in California. There are nine wineries that currently purchase grapes from the Mokelumne Glen Vineyards with interest from neighboring wineries in Napa and Sonoma. All the wines that we tasted were very good, but the one standout for me was the **Trailmarker Wine Company 2017 Lodi Blaufrankisch.** The fresh expression of the fruit and bright acidity won my palate, I’d say blew me away. I am not a Blaufrankisch fan but the way this wine is produced makes if light, fun and enjoyable. I can even see it slightly chilled on a summers evening. Listen to the podcast of our tasting of the German-Austrian Collection. You’ll hear from the owners of Mokelumne Glen Vineyards along with a few of the wineries that produce wine from purchasing their grapes. You’ll get a feel of the winemakers and owners and the passion they have for what they do.
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 1 Episode 22 V is for Valdiguié.
Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions on letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
Before this I wasn’t really familiar with the Valdiguié grape. In fact I can say I really hadn’t heard of it, so researching it was fun for me. I found out it originated in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. For many years it was known as Napa Gamay. But in 1999 after genetic analysis the name was banned from being used on US wine labels.
The grape also is known as Gros Auxerrois. It’s a high yielding grape and the wine can be drunk young but it can also be made to age.
J. Lohr 2017 Wildflower Valdiguié
The wine pick for this episode was J. Lohr 2017 Wildflower Valdiguié from Monterey California.
I visited J. Lohr in Paso back in 2006 and had a wonderful experience. Jerry Lohr started J. Lohr in the 1970’s and was an early pioneer of the Monterey and Paso Robles region. He began with 280 acres planted in 1972 and today has more than 1400 acres of estate vineyards in the Arroyo Seco, Santa Lucia Highlands of Monterey county where the emphasis is on Chardonnay, Riesling, Valdiguié and Pinot Noir. They have a total of 39 acres of Valdiguié. In Paso Robles they farm over 2700 acres dedicated to red varietals.
The J. Lohr 2017 Wildflower Valdiguié is dark in color but light and fruity on the palate. Flavors is full of field ripen raspberry with hint of blueberry and very fresh. Although I did not chill the wine, it would do well with a slight chill and be very nice during the hot summer months.
The Podcast
Listen or watch the webinar and let me know your thoughts on Valdiguié.
A short interview with David Bova, General Manager of Millbrook Vineyard & Winery inviting guests to the Millbrook dinner at Kitchen 330
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 1 Episode 20 T is for Tannat. Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions on letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
My first glass of Tannat was in Virginia about 10 years ago and I wasn’t sure what of it’s background. I did enjoy it. My second experience with Tannat was from Uruguay and I never knew that Tannat actually originated in the Madiran region of France, or so they say because they think it might have actually originated in the Basque country just on the other side of the Pyrenees Mountains.
Factoid: Tannat is a palindrome - spelled the same backwards and forwards.
For this episode I let my daughter who at the time was working in a liquor store pick my bottle out. I really wanted a bottle from Uruguay but her choice was limited to a bottle from California from Rock Wall Wine Company, the 2013 The Palindrome.
Rock Wall Wine Company is located on the former Alameda Navel Air base in the East Bay. The name Rock Wall refers to the defensive perimeter wall built during WWII in the San Francisco Bay to protect the base from Japanese air to sea torpedoes and it is visible from the winery.
Rock Wall Wine Company began with Shauna Rosenblum and her dad Kent Rosenblum. Kent was the founder of Rosenblum Winery and I’m sure you have had one of his Zinfandels at one stage of the game. He sold Rosenblum Winery in 2008 and started Rock Wall with Shauna.
The wine showed some juicy blueberry at first with some raspberry, elegant and silky with tannins mid palate.
Listen or watch the webinar and see how the chocolate pairing I did with the Tannat turned out.
A few weeks ago I had the honor to interview Andre Shearer owner of Cape Classics just after he accepted the 2018 Wine Star Award for “Importer of the Year” from Wine Enthusiast Magazine.
Cape Classics was co-founded more than 25 years ago by Andree Shearer and his brother Gary after the end of apartheid and trade between the United States and South Africa resumed. Cape Classics is the importer for wines in South Africa and France. In fact Andre didn’t even drink or taste wine until he tasted Thelema’s 1988 Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest is history.
In this interview we talk about his life from being in medical school and being a model. We discuss as an importer he looks for in a wine brand. As Andre said “If the juice isn’t brilliant you might as well forget it right away.” Wine quality is paramount. The people are critical, wine quality is essential and as natural as possible and respectful of the environment.
We touch on Andre’s passion the Indaba foundation, a foundation he would like to take global and have the wine industry do more to help their workers.
Sit back as I chat with Andre and you can hear in his voice his passion about Cape Classics and what he wants to accomplish.
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 1 Episode 19 S is for Sangiovese. Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions on letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us. Because I was traveling this episode aired on Saturday, January 26.
Sangiovese, what is the first thing that comes to your mind. Me, pizza, because it’s my go to pizza wine, or actually any type of Italian food. Tuscany is home to the Sangiovese gape and it goes under various descriptions.
- Chianti
- Chianti Classico
- Brunello di Montalcino
- Vino Nobile di Montepulcian
For this episode I tasted a 2014 Chianti Classico Storia di Famiglia from Cecchi that was given to me as a sample. Checchi is one of the most prominent producers in Tuscany and was established in 1893.
The wine is 90% Sangiovese and I am not sure what the other 10% is. It spent 12 months in wooden casks and 2 months in the bottle. It was light in body and had nice acidity with some spice on the nose and integrated tannis throughout. Flavors of red fruit,, cherry, plum, raspberry with hints of licorice. I believe this retails for about $21
Sit back and learn with us about the Sangiovese grape. Listen to the podcast or watch the webinar.
Don’t forget to register for February’s episode on Tannat. You can register here: https://events.genndi.com/channel/tannat
We are seeking you help in coming up with the letter U. Any good ideas for what we should cover email me at hvwinegoddess@gmail.com
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 1 Episode 18 R is for Roussanne. Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions on letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
In December we got to know the Roussanne grape. A grape normally used for blending and is also good on its own. The term Roussanne stems from the French word for reddish brown which is Roux as when Roussanne goes through verasion the grape turns a reddish brown color.
My husband actually picked out the wine for me for this episode because I couldn’t find a Roussanne in South Jersey where we now reside. Since he was up in the Hudson Valley I asked him to go into the liquor store there and find me one. The wine, Cuvee Laure by Domaine Rabasse Charavin is a blend of 40% Roussanne and 60% Clairette Blanc.This is one of the important states of the southern Rhone run by Corinne Couturier and her daughter Laure.
Sit back with a glass of wine (perhaps a Roussane) and join us as we explore the Roussane. We’ll cover the history, the wine and the food that pairs well with it.
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 1 Episode 17 Q is for Quarts de Chaume. Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions on letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
In October we explored the Quarts de Chaume region of the Loire Valley. This is a special region that produces sweet wines made from Chenin Blanc. Quarts de Chaume was awarded the first Grand Cru title in the Loire Valley.
The wine I chose for this episode was Barton & Guestier 2016 Vouvray (Chenin Blanc). I tried to stick with the grape knowing that I wouldn’t be able to find a true wine from the Quarts de Chaume region. They are very hard to find - this sweet Chenin Blanc.
Sit back with a glass of wine and join us as we explore the Quarts de Chaume region of the Loire Valley. We’ll cover the history, the wine and the food that pairs well with it.
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 1 Episode 16 P is for Picpoul de Pinet. Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and myself work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions on letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
September we explored the Picpoul grape. I choose Picpoul from the south of France although it is grown in California too. It’s one of the 13 varietals in Chateauneuf-de-Pape used as a blending component for it’s acidity. It’s good it drank the first three years after its release
I chose one of my favorite producers from the Languedoc region of France to taste for this episode, Paul Mas Estate 2016 Picpoul de Pinet. The vineyards are full of limestone and you can taste that minerality in the wine. White flowers, tangerine and unripened white peach flavors will put a smile on your face. It pairs well with herb goat cheese as well as cheddar.
Sit back with a glass of wine and join us as we explore Picpoul de Pinet, the history, the wine and the food that pairs well with it.
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 1 Episode 15 O is for Orvieto. Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and myself work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions on letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put in on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us. September took us to Italy once again and we explored the Orvieto. Orvieto is not a grape but a a wine region in Italy located between Umbria and Lazio known for the white wines they produce. Orvieto white wine is made primarily from the 60% Trebbiano and 40% Grechetto combine The wine I chose for this episode is 2015 Tenuta Di Salviano Orvieto Classico Superiore DOC. It’s a nice food friendly wine, nice and crisp with balanced acidity and a long finish with a bite of white spice. Sit back with a glass of wine and join us as we explore Orvieto, the history, the wine and the food that pairs well with it. Watch the webinar or listen to the podcast. You can find all past episodes on Winephabetstreet.com.
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 1 Episode 14. Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and myself work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions on letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put in on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
August took us to Italy and we explored the Negroamaro grape. I know I’m a little late with these but I’m catching up after an extremely busy summer.
Negroamaro is one of the 13 native grape varietals of Puglia and believed to be a Greek import connected with the Hellenic colonization between the 7th and 8th centuries BC. The best terroir for the grape to grow is in the Salento area. The grap was the first bottled Rosé in Italy by Five Roses, de Castris in 1943.
Wine made with the Negroamaro grape is best between 3 and 7 years. The wine is medium to full bodied and can show lush dark fruits of blackberry, plum black currant and black cherry with soft tannins and hints of clove, cinnamon, cocoa leather and cedar.
The wine I chose for this episode is Cantele 2013 Negroamaro.Flavors of black fruit, cassis, black cherry, cocoa and hints of spice on the finish, it is a very nice wine. It was aged in 1 and 2 year old oak barriques for six months. It will age well for the next 3 to 4 years.
Sit back with a glass of wine and join us as we explore Negroamaro and listen to the podcast.
You can find all past episodes on Winephabetstreet.com.
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 1 Episode 13. Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and myself work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions on letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put in on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us. This month we explored the Mencia grape grown in the Northwestern part of Spain. Mainly in the Bierzo region. It was once thought to be a clone of Cabernet Franc but through DNA profiling they found it was identical to Portugal’s Jaen do Dao variety. This is a grape new to me. Someone at the restaurant left a bottle of Mencia and I tasted it and wasn’t impressed. I was a little worried about the bottle I had at home. Worry not! I was wowed and very impressed with Godelia Mencia SRP $19 and highly recommend it. The grapes in the Godelia Mencia come from 40 to 80 year old vines. The wine goes through malolactic fermentation in barrels and is aged for 12 months in French oak. To learn more about Godelia and the wines they produce visit my previous article on Godelia and the white wine they produce. Click here. Sit back and relax and watch or listen to the webinar. Learn about Mencia and the wines we are drinking. The best is to look at our expressions when we taste what we are drinking. You will see how much Lori and I loved this grape and the wines we chose. Don’t forget to sign up for July’s episode of Winephabet Street where we go to Italy and learn about the Negroamaro grape. Winephabet Street will take place Monday July 23 at 8pm ET from the comfort of your living room (or wherever you may be). Register here You can find all past episodes on Winephabetstreet.com and don’t forget to visit our sponsor WINC.com the wine club where wine experts select wines matched to your taste, personalized for you and shipped right to your door. Listen to the podcast
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 1 Episode 12. Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and myself work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions on letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put in on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
This month we explored the Lambrusco. Did you know that the wine is made from different Lambrusco grapes. It is kind of a wild child and a misunderstood grape but is one of Italy’s oldest grape varieties.
Sit back with a glass of wine and join us as we explore Lambrusco. Watch the webinar or listen to the podcast.
You can find all past episodes on Winephabetstreet.com and don’t forget to visit our sponsor WINC.com the wine club where wine experts select wines matched to your taste, personalized for you and shipped right to your door.
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 1 Episode 11. Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and myself work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions on letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put in on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
This month we explored the Kabinett classification in Germany. Did you know it was also known as Cabinet and Kabinettwien. The term was first used with the Cistercian monks at the Eberbach Abby in 1712 and was used for their best wines.
Learn all about the classification and the two wines me and Lori opened during the program. I opened a Weingut St. Urbans-Hof Kabinett Riesling that had hints of petrol apricot and grapefruit on the finish. As it warms up peach flavor surface. Lori’s was much different than mine.
Sit back with a glass of wine and join us as we explore Kabinett. Watch the webinar or listen to the podcast.
Don’t miss the next episode of Winephabet Street Monday, May 21 at 8pm where we travel to Italy and learn about Lambrusco.
You can find all past episodes on Winephabetstreet.com and don’t forget to visit our sponsor WINC.com the wine club where wine experts select wines matched to your taste, personalized for you and shipped right to your door.
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 1 Episode 10. Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and myself work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions on letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend.Put in on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us.
March took us to the Savoie region of France as we explored the Jacquere grape. Two years ago I had purchased some wine from this region and remember how much I enjoyed the crispness of the wine and made a note to research it. Ha, that day didn’t come until Winephabet Street. I learned so much about not only the grape but the region itself. I think it’s a hidden gem, especially for some nice crisp acidic whites with wonderful balance.
Sit back with a glass of wine and join us as we visit the Jacquere grape and the region it’s grown. Watch the webinar or listen to the podcast.
Don’t miss the next episode of Winephabet Street Monday, April 16 at 8pm where we travel to Germany and learn about the Kabinett classification. Register here
You can find all past episodes on Winephabetstreet.com and don’t forget to visit our sponsor WINC.com the wine club where wine experts select wines matched to your taste, personalized for you and shipped right to your door.
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 1 Episode 9. Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and myself work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions on letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put in on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us. .
Itata Valley, Chile
February took us to the Itata Valley in Chile which is known as the “Forgotten Viticulture Region” in Chile. It is 250 miles south of Santiago and covers an area measuring roughly 60 miles from north to south and a little less from east to west. There are approximately 26,000 acres of commercial grapes planted. One of the questions asked during the webinar was about the altitude and we aim to please and found the altitude of Itata ranges from 195 feet to 1475 feet. It is one of the oldest wine growing regions in Chile planted not far from the bay of Concepcion by Spanish conquerors in 1551. This wine region is the forerunner to Chilean winemaking.
Wine Tasted
The wine I chose for this episode was a De Martino Gallardia 2014 Cinsault. I was batting double with this because it was my first wine from the Itata region and first 100% Cinsault tasted. Usually Cinsault is used as a blending grape. Although Lori and I had different producers and vintages we both tasted a Cinsault. I found the wine very one dimensional with red berry flavors. As the wine opened the fruit became more apparent but there was a hint of menthol.
Sit down and grab a glass of wine or your favorite beverage and watch or listen to Lori and I as we explore the Itata Valley region of Chile. If you don’t have time to watch the webinar, feel free to listen to us on your drive to work, in the gym or when you have spare time. The podcast below is available on Itunes, Stitcher and a bunch of other platforms for your listening pleasure. To watch older episodes visit our website http://winephabetstreet.com/ and visit our sponsor Winc.
Welcome to Winephabet Street Season 1 Episode 8. Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and myself work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm and is free, but you must register to attend. Put in on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us. .
January took us to the Horse Heaven Hills AVA in the Washington State. I had so much fun researching this region because I am not familiar with wines from Washington State. The Horse Heaven Hills appellation is located in south-central Washington along the Washington-Oregon border. The area takes its name from an early pioneer who said, upon seeing hte region and its wide prairies and expanses, “Surely this is Horse Heaven!”
Two-thirds of the acreage is planted to red grapes and one-third to white grapes. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot dominate for red and Chardonnay and Riesling for white. The area is 570,000 acres with elevations ranging from 200 feet above sea level along the columbia river to 1,800 feet at the northern boundary.
The wine I chose for this episode was a 2014 Double Canyon Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet Sauvgnon. Double Canyon is part of the Crimson Group which has 9 properties combined in California and Washington. Founded in 2007 Double Canyon has been focusing on producing exceptional Washington Cabernet Sauvignon on their 90 acre Double Canyon vineyard located in the heart of Horse Heaven Hills and 6 miles from the Columbia River.
This wine is a blend of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Syrah, 5% Petit Verdot, 3% Merlot and 2% Malbec and spent 14 months in 19% new French oak and 8% new American oak. Juicy black fruit, ripe blackberries with some blueberry notes, dry herbs and a spice burst on the finish. This is where I usually tell you how much the wine cost. In this case, I want you to watch the video or listen to the podcast because you will see a huge discrepancy in price from my local wine store Boutique Wine & Spirits to the winery’s website. (in favor of the wine store)
Listen podcast as Lori and I take you to Horse Heaven Hills as we explore the history, characteristics of the region, fun wine pairings and facts. Don’t forget to join us February 19, as we head to Chile and explore the Itata Valley. Register here
I thought I’d begin the new year with some wine education. So if you missed Winephabet Street in December, here is your chance to catch up and learn about Gruner Veltliner the signature grape of Austria.
Winephabet Street is a series where every month Lori Budd of Dracaena Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions. The show is live the third Monday of the month at 8pm. It’s free but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us. If you miss it, you can always catch up here on my blog.
December took us exploring Gruner Veltliner which is the signature grape of Austria. It wasn’t until 1990 through DNA analysis they identified who the mother of Gruner was which is Savagnin and in 2007 the father was identified as St. Georgener-Rebe. Most of the Gruner Veltliner is grown west of Vienna in in the lower hills of the Wachu, Kremstal and Kamptal regions. In the hill of these regions is where they plant the Riesling.
I had a tough choice deciding on what Gruner to open. I had three of them in the house. I opened for this episode was a 2016 Buchegger Gruner Veltliner “Pfarrweingarten” Kremstal Reserve that I purchased for $19.71. Just for your notes the other Buchegger was priced at $13.81 and the Mayr was priced at $9.98. The reason I opened the Pfarrweingarten over the others is Lori was joking on us trying to pronounce it, so I thought, might as well give it a good try. The wine had nice minerality, but I was a little disappointed on the acidity. I thought it would have a bit more zing, but I think that is what I was expecting. A little nectarine, grapefruit and hint of white pepper.
If you like Sauvignon Blanc you will like Gruner Veltliner, I urge you to try it. It has nice zing of acidity, it’s food friendly. Let me know if you pick up a bottle and how you enjoy it.
I hope you enjoy this episode of Winephabet Street. Please let me know if you have any comments or questions.
Want to listen on the go - download the podcast below.
Welcome to Winephabet Street F is for Furmint. Winephabet Street is a series where every month Lori Budd of Dracaena Wines and I work our way through the alphabet in exploring wine and wine regions. We learn about the history of the grape or region, the characteristics, fun facts and suggested wine pairings. The show is live the third Monday of the month at 8pm, it’s free but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar to hang out with us, pour yourself a glass and chat with us.
This episode takes us to Hungary where we explore their signature grape Furmint. This grape and country are close to my heart. My grandfather is from Budapest and his family is from Tapolca located near Lake Balaton. It was here where my Great, Great, Great Grandfather and his brothers established himself in the wine trade. The main Lessner house on Main Street is the house my family lived in and they held the keys to the cellar. From the research I’ve done, they were very instrumental in the Hungarian wine trade. Now that I got you all off track, let’s get back to Furmint.
Furmint is a white grape indigenous to the Tokaji region. Many people think of it as a sweet wine like Furmint Aszú but over the last 15 years they have been producing single varietal Furmints made in one of three styles; stainless steel and barrels both old school and new school.
The Furmint in my glass wasPajzos T Furmint 2015.The blend is 90% Furmint, 6% Harslevelu and 4% Yellow Muscat, clocks in at 13% alcohol and was aged in stainless steel for 6 months. It’s a high acid wine that lingers on the finish. Love that acidity! At first the wine was skunky, but as it warmed up the skunkiness went away and white flowers, lemon and minerality came to play. It’s a nice white wine and would hesitate to purchase it again. $11.99 at Viscount Wines & Liquors in Wappingers Falls.
Sit back and enjoy a glass of Furmint and watch or listen to the show. The podcast is just below the video and can be downloaded.
This month on Winephabet Street Lori and I explored the Mt Etna region of Italy for the letter E. I had a great presentation all prepared and then my 18 month old Lenovo computer crashed. I wasn’t a happy camper and tried to recreate what I had put together for the event.
Mt Etna is a DOC regions that sits on the north, east and south slopes of the Etna Volcano in the province of Catania. It’s been farmed since ancient times going way back to when the Greeks conquered the region in 729 BC and planted grapes.
Thirty years ago there were just 5 wine producers in the region. The resurgence is due to Giuseppe Benanti who began producing wines from local varieties on his farm in the Etna region in the early 1990’s. Now many are buying up land and planting in the region.
Etna’s primary wine producing zone rises up the slopes of Mt. Etna to an elevation of 3,500 feet and higher. They are the highest commercial vineyards in the world. Due to the steepness the harvesting is all done by hand. Etna’s soil is rich wiht volcanic nutrients that are hospitable to growing frapes. The high elevation vineyards are also an inviting environment for growing grapes with the hot Mediterranean sun while the warm Mediterranean breezes are conductive to an extended growing season. Etna’s rich volcanic soil also contains a high concentration of sand a compination that has proved to be highly resistant to the phylloxera root pest that decimated other European vineyards in the late 1800’s.
The wines produced in the region are primarily red and white with some Rose (Rosato).
Etna Rosso (red) is a blended wine with 80% Nerello Mascalese and 20% Nerello Cappuccio both indigenous to the region. It’s been said that Etna Rosso wines have a nice structure similar to Barolo. They don’t require aging and like to be drank young.
Etna Bianco is a blend of 60% Carricante and 40% other whites grown in the region.
For this episode I choose a Firriato Le Sabbie Dell’Etna Etna Bianco which is a blend of Catarratto and Carricante. I was so pleasantly surprised on how much I enjoyed this wine. You’ll see how excited I am when you listen to the video or audio. I’ll save it for there.
Don’t forget to sign up for November 20th when Winephabet Street explores F for Furmint. Sign up here.
Last Monday was the monthly edition of Winephabet Street and Lori and I strolled down D street and explored Dolcetto. Honestly, I haven't had many Dolchettos so this was a great learning experience for me as well.
Dolchetto hails from the Piedmont region of Italy. There are seven DOC's and one DOCG. It's one of the first grapes to be harvested in the region and with that, it's a wine that is meant to drink young within 5 years of harvest. It has nice tannins and low acidity.
For Winephabet Street, Lori and I each talk about two topics and we rotate each month. This month I had Five Fun Facts, and the Characteristics of Dolcetto. Lori took on the History and Food Pairings. I didn't even look at Lori's information and made myself Jalapeno Popper Mac N Cheese for dinner and had it with my Dolcetto. I wasn't expecting it to go well with the wine but it did. I attributed it to the bacon, but actually one of the best food pairings for it is Mac n Cheese.
Lori and I don't live in the same area, she picked a Dolcetto di Dogliani and Paige from Boutique Wines & Spirits picked me out one from Dolcetto d'Alba. Both wines were under $20 from different areas of the region. As you will see remarked in the podcast, one wine had more purple hues and one was more garnet in color.
I hope you enjoy the podcast. Don't forget to sign up for next month's Winephabet Street October 16. Sign up here http://snip.ly/jtqtk
Cheers!
In preparing for the seminars I do at the Hudson Valley Wine & Food Festival I came across a brand called Liquid Altitude that produces FREEFALL Sangria in the Hudson Valley. For my seminars I prefer to use businesses that are at the festival, so when during my seminars, they see how well a wine pairs with food, they will want to take a bottle and the food item home with them. I met up with Christine this past Saturday at Ribibero Winery 2 hours before my book signing and her tasting at a liquor store. We sat down and chatted like we were friends that hadn’t seen each other for a long time. Christine story begins at The Ranch, Skydiving Center where she was the manager of the Cafe, serving the skydivers her Sangria after their jumps. The skydivers loved the Sangria so much she expanded to other skydiving operations where it was very well received and people began to ask here where they could purchase a bottle. This past May her baby FREEFALL Sangria was born. What’s in the Sangria? Don’t expect your normal run of the mill Sangria. In fact her tag line is “Dare To Drink Different.” The Sangria is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Baco Noir all sourced from the Hudson Valley infused with 4 kinds of berries and stone fruit from the Hudson Valley and orange which isn’t sourced locally. I tasted the Sangria and was impressed on how the flavors of the wine all had a unique presence. A lot of black and red cherry, plum fruit and blackberry finishing with a hint of citrus. It was dry yet sweet so it would pair well with spicy food. It’s a big Sangria. In fact Debbie the cheese lady I was working with said “this is how Sangria is should taste. It’s real Sangria!” With that I left her the Sangria and she is going to pair it with a big bold cheese at for the wine and cheese for Sunday’s seminar at the Hudson Valley Wine and Food Festival. If you want to pick up a bottle of FREEFALL Sangria it’s sold in just under 100 liquor stores in 6 counties in the Hudson Valley and it retails for $17.99. If you want to experiment with the Sangria you can check out some creative recipes for cocktails to make with FREEFALL at https://liquidaltitude.com/cocktail-recipes/ Listen to our conversation about the brand below.
In June I partnered with Lori Budd of Dracaena Wines to bring you some quick at times witty wine education and began with the letter A for Albarino. In July we brought you the letter B for Beaujolais. Now Beaujolais is not only referred to as a wine, but it is a wine region in France.
In case you missed our conversation about Beaujolais and the Gamay grape, you can watch it below or listen to it as a podcast.
It's fun and we explore:
- The general characteristics of the grape / region
- The history of the grape / region
- Food and wine pairings
- 5 quick facts
- What Beaujolais is in our glass.
I hope you enjoy it and join us Monday, August 21 at 8pm as we explore the Letter C - for Carmenere. You can register for the Letter C - for Carmenere here. Register now
I recently attended an Israeli wine tasting and it’s the first time I’ve tasted wines from Israel. I went in with an open mind and wasn’t sure what to expect. In my mind I was thinking Israel = Kosher = Manischewitz = Mevushal Wine (Wine that has been flash pasteurized to allow non-Jews to handle it)
Well, what an eye opener. There are an increasingly large number of kosher wines that are non-mevushal. No flash pasteurization. How is the process different and is it still Kosher? All the workers involved in producing non-mevushal wines need to be orthodox Jews. They do process a little different, like use Sturgeon proteins to fine the wine and no use of flour products that can sometimes be used in the making of the barrels.
At the tasting I had the privilege to interview Micha Vaadia, the winemaker of Galil Mountain Winery located in the Northwest corner of Israel on the border of Lebannon in the Upper Galilee mountain range. History has it that over 2,000 years ago, the mountain range was a prime location for grape growing. Today Micha and his team are trying to reclaim it to the region it once was. Established in 2000 they have replanted 70% of the vineyards with vinifera. He wants to bring the terroir into the glass and reclaim the Galilee region as the winemaking region it once was.
Galil is a 87,000 case production where 40% of the grapes come from vineyards that are managed by them. The remaining 60% come from vineyards they have long term contracts with. In these contracts they pay based on the quality of the grapes. It makes the vineyard owner take pride in what they are doing and producing.
Here are some of the wines that stood out from Galil Mountain Winery. I wouldn’t hesitate to pick up a bottle for the upcoming holidays.
2015 Galil Sauvignon Blanc Very nice flavors of fresh citrus, white grapefruit and pineapple.
2014 Galil Ela A blend of Syrah, Barbera and Petit Verdot. Dark and inky. You can smell a bit of the spice aroma coming from the glass. Lots of black fruit and a soft spice finish.
2014 Galil Yiron A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and Petit Verdot. Lots of black fruit, nice finish with the Petit Verdot being dominant.
Grab a glass and sit back an listen to my interview with Micha Vaadia the head winemaker at Galil Mountain Winery.
I am very lucky to say that sometimes it pays to have dual residency. I split my time between the Hudson Valley and Cape May, NJ. I met Marie and Ed at a Slow-Food dinner a few years back and we've been friends since then.
When my book got published they asked me if I would be a guest on their radio show. Of course I said yes.
Listen to me on the Good Morning Friday with Marie & Ed show talking about wine and the Hudson Valley
I was on the Mark Bolger show this morning. If you missed it here it is.
Thank you Mark to time on your show!
I stopped in an saw Steve and Kim over at Stoutridge Winery and checked out their new distilling operation. Steve is one of the most enthusiastic and passionate person when it comes to everything he does. Please listen to the podcast because my summary is nothing compared to the information imparted by Steve during my tour.
A little back history, Steve and Kim have always been interested in making natural wine with no chemical alterations where terroir is better expressed by these naturally made wines. They didn’t expect it to be successful. When they set out eleven years ago they built a distillery attached to the winery to make spirits when the winery failed them.
Now 11 years later, they had a moment, what are we going to do. Should they go onto distilling. Steve says there are parallels in distilling to the way they make wine. They decided in keeping to their focus of naturally made, they will naturally produced whiskey but they needed to add to the distillery they already had to accomplish this.
Steve goes on to show me the process on how he is making his whiskey and a tour of the facility.
- Dump grain into the grinder.
- The grinder blows it into a cooking tank. You cook it to soften it.
- Add enzymes that convert starches to sugar.
- Put it into fermenters. This becomes sugar water.
- Then they put it into stainless steel tanks they purchased from Benmarl, which were their original tanks that date back to 1960.
- Then into the stills.
To make a complex whiskey you need to soften the grain to germinate them to create the enzymes. So they built a malt house to accomplish this. The process is:
- Dunk the grain in water to hydrate it in the dunking tank. Lay the grain in the dunking tank for about a day in a half.
- Dumped on the malt floor which will maintain a temperature of 60 degrees.
- The malt gets raked and moved to a new quadrants each day until it has been in all four quadrants.
Next step is drying it in the kiln. They fit the kiln with a screen on the floor depending on the type of grain they are using. Then he heads to the basement and decides what he wants to smoke it with.
When it’s done drying they shovel it out the back and knock the rootlets off. The malt then gets crushed and dumped into the cooker. Instead of fermenting in stainless steel they are fermenting in wood with an open top. The fermention will take on the characteristic of the distillery because of the bioam in the air. They want to develop complexicity in the whiskey.
The single malt whiskey will then head to old Pinot Noir barrels from Oregon for aging.
They have built a massive store room for all their spirits to be aged and stored. It’s a heck of a warehouse and he plans of filling up all the space.
I had the wonderful opportunity to attend a seminar in New York City featuring the winemakers of the Codorniu Raventos brands: Bruno Colomer of Codorniu, Diego Pinilla of Bodegas Bilbainas, Ana Diogo-Draper of Artesa, Richard Rofes of Scala Dei, Paula Borgo of Bodega Septima, Elizabeth Figueras of Raimat and Jorge Bombin of Legaris. The seminar was moderated by Kevin Zraly as each winemaker took the stage and spoke about the winery, winemaking and the wines.
At the bottom of this post is the podcast from the seminar. I hope you take some time to listen to it and meet the winemakers of Condorniu Raventos.
To add to the experience, I recently went to a dinner featuring their wines. It was "Around the World Wine Dinner" at the Avalon Links in Cape May. (I apologize my flash wasn't working on the camera)
The dinner began with a Pork Belly and black beans paired with 2013 Septima Obra Malbec. The grapes are grown at high altitude of 3100 feet. As the wine opened up it showed that it was fruit forward with flavors of blackberry, black currant and dark fruit. It is a wine that does very well with food. Paired nicely with the Pork Belly.
The salad was paired with Raimat 2015 Rose. This Rose was a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Tempranillo. It has a beautiful floral nose with flavors of apple, apricot, strawberry, cherry and raspberry. It really brought out the apricot in the salad.
The main course was a choice and all three of us chose the Duck. We did get to taste the Albarino that was paired with the Shrimp. The 2015 Vina Zaco Albarino was stellar. The Vina Zaco Tempranillo was a nice pairing with the Duck. The nose had a bit of chocolate, berry, earthiness, spices of clove and nutmeg. The palate showed dark fruit, molasses, black cherry.
You have to save room for dessert especially when it's Creme Brulee paired with Anna de Codorniu Cava.
All these wines are very reasonably priced - all under $20 and good too! I would suggest them for sipping and pairing with your meal. Think about the Rose and Albarino with your Thanksgiving dinner.
I met Monica Pennings about 10 years ago when we both got involved with Hudson Valley Wine & Grape Association. She was just beginning to get her feet stained with grapes and I was beginning my relationship with the local wine industry.
Having only been open for a year, I visited Monica recently at her winery and vineyard and we talked about the struggles I didn't realize they went through almost losing the vineyard. I toured the property with her talking wine, kids, dogs and ended my visit with a wonderful tasting.
The winery named after her two sons Christopher and Jacob have 1.5 acres of grapes planted. They planted Norton, Seyval Blanc, Cayuga White, Oberlin, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc.
Also planted are table grapes. They hosts a "you pick" table grapes during the season. The "you pick" has a short season usually 2-3 weeks. Bring the kids and enjoy the day. It's a great way for the entire family to enjoy and appreciate the vineyard.
Grab a glass of wine and enjoy the podcast as you learn about Monica, their story and the wines of Christopher Jacobs Winery..
I apologize a head of time for the wind. It was a tad bit windy during our tour.
Last week I did a segment on the Mark Bolger & Kimberly Kay show on Mix 97.7. I was thrilled and excited. I love talking about wine and especially on the radio! The only worry was fitting it all into 3 minutes.
There was so much I didn't hit on and wanted to say and let people know, but three minutes goes by fast.
It was great chatting with Mark and Kimberly! I've known Mark for a very long time and I know he's a beer guy, so it was great talking wine with him. I made Kimberly's day talking about wine and the price points. Wine doesn't have to be expensive to be good!
I hope they have me on the show again. I really enjoyed it!
Here is the segment for you to listen to and get some suggestions for the wine you want to sip this summer.
In case you missed the Good Morning Friday with Ed and Marie LaDuca radio show last week, I'm bringing it to you. Just click below and listen as I discuss wine, how I found my passion, my family history in wine and more.
I love Marie & Ed! They were one of the first like minded people we met when we moved down here. We met when we attended a Slow Food dinner and also found out that Marie actually heads up the South Jersey Chapter. We've been friends ever since.
I was thrilled when they invited me to their show, but I didn't realize I was their first in studio guest. I feel very honored. I hope they invite me back because I have a blast!!
Even though the broadcast was a bit slanted towards Mother's Day, the gifts I spoke about are great gifts for anyone, anytime. Since it is radio, here are the visuals for what was shown. You can find out more about the Savino and Goverre at http://snip.ly/lt7g4 and the wine sippy cups at http://snip.ly/lt7g4
A few weeks ago I caught up with Kimberly Peacock of Tousey Winery. We had a great time catching up with life, kids and wine. I think we covered just about everything in the hour I was at the winery.
One of the main items I wanted to cover when I met with her is their Scarlet Tiger brand. I was always curious about it, as I know Scarlet and Tiger are the names of two of her children.
There is a story and only her husband Ben knows how it is fully played out, as he wrote it. The story is about a missing tiger and only The Queen of Clermont knows where the tiger is. The story begins in their first vintage. After each vintage is sold out a new chapter is born. The trick is you need to save the wine bottles to get the entire story.
There are 4 wines in the Scarlet Tiger label. The notes in the wine are reflected in the characters they play. You have The Queen of Clermont who is beautiful, elegant and positive. She is a semi dry wine, a blend of Riesling, Cayuga and Traminette and compliments most food. She is a best seller. Everyone takes the side with the Queen.
Then you have Riot who is a Cabernet Franc, Merlot blend. He's dominating and has a plan. He's also a troublemaker.
Then you have the Killer Red who is full bodied, dark, smooth and sexy.
Last but not least you have the mentor, Tawney style Port. He is shown giving advice.
Start collecting and get in on the story!
Kimberly also filled me in on what's new at the winery, like their private tasting room. Here you can bring a group and do a cupcake or cheese and wine pairing and the room is also good for corporate events.
You can listen to my entire conversation with Kimberly below and get all the scoop about Tousey.
I recently ran into Phyllis Feder of Clinton Vineyards and she brought me up to speed on the new and exciting things happening at the vineyard.
Listen as she tells us all about it.
In this podcast I talk to Shane Rai of Vino Rai a Turkish wine importer. When you listen, you will get an overview of the history of the wines of Turkey. We talk about the 4 wine regions along with the vinifera and indigenous grapes of the region. To get you excited I'll briefly touch on the 4 regions and the indigenous varitials and then you can hear the details in the podcast.
Diren, Tokat Region, Sahova valley Narince Vineyard
Wine Regions of Turkey
- Marmara - Bordering the three seas, Black, Aegean and Sea of Marmara. The climate is Mediterranean with hot summers and mild winters. The soil depends on the subregion, but you will find limestone to gravelly loam to cracked clay.
- Agean - This region is in the western part of Turkey and faces the Greek Islands and the Aegean Sea. They have a Mediterranean climate with soil ranging from clay loam to calcarious chalk. This wine region accounts for 53% of all the wine produced in Turkey
- Mediterranean - This region is in the southern part of Turkey and accounts for only 1% of the wine produced in the country. You will find a Mediterranean climate and soil that ranges from pebbly clay loam to calcareous chalks.
- Anatolia - This is the second most wine producing region in the country. This region produces 33% of the wine in Turkey. Located in the middle of Turkey, it is divided into 4 sub-regions. The summers are hot and dry and the winters cold. The soils vary per sub-region but you will find sandstone, volcanic, pebbly clay loam, glaciated alluvial fan, red clay, granites, chalky, so just about all kinds depending on region
Yazgan Vineyard
Indigenous grapes of Turkey
- Narince - Grown in Anatolia, it has a profile similar to what you know as Pinot Gris. Often sees oak and has flavors of apple, pear, citrus and pineapple.
- Okuzgozu - Red grape the word means "eye of the bull'. You will find it produces a medium bodied wine with dark cherry, pomegranate and hints of earth and spice. It is often blended with Bogzkere
- Bogzkere - Primarily grown in Anatola, this grape produces a full bodied wine with complexity. You will find dark fruit with dark chocolate flavors.
- Emir - This is a grape that I am looking forward to tasting one day. Grown in Anatolia, it has citrus and tropical fruit aromas with a crisp refreshing palate of pear and apple. Sounds like a great wine for the summer!
- Kalecik Karasi - Grown in mid-Northern Anatolia, this grape produces a fruity wine with low tannins and bright acidity.
Shane imports 4 soon to be 5 wines from Turkey and you can find information on them on his website.
Gali Winery Stainless Steel Tanks[/caption]
Devin Britton & Albert Wilklow
The Hudson Valley is exploding with cideries, wineries, distilleries and breweries. In this podcast I visit with Devin Britton and Albert Wilklow, two guys in their early 30's who are turning a hobby into a full time business with Bad Seed Hard Cider.
Albert grew up in the local Hudson Valley apple farming industry. In fact, I use to go apple picking with my kids at his family orchard in Highland, NY "Wilklow Orchards" and to this day still receive the newsletter his mom sends out. That is where I got my first introduction to fresh cider donunts! The best!
What many people might not realize is the Hudson Valley is a large apple growing region. (If interested, this whitepaper will give you more on the history of apple farming in the Hudson Valley http://bit.ly/1te5IOl)
Cider Sampling
Albert and Devin are childhood friends. They've been experimenting with hard cider for many years. Devin is the brewer so to speak.
In 2011 they decided to take their hobby into production. They received their license and began selling in the spring of 2012 at the Fort Greene Greenmarket in Brooklyn. Now along with the Fort Greene Farmers Market, you can find them at Grand Army Plaza Market on Saturday and Union Square Farmers Market on Wednesday and Saturday.
One year into their venture Manhattan Distributors reached out to them. That is a huge accomplishment as it is very difficult to get picked up by a distributor. You can find their ciders throughout New York City distributed through Manhattan Distributors.
Fermentation Tanks
The base of their cider comes from three apples, Winesap, Ida Red and Empire. They will then mix in some Northern Spy, Braeburn, Pink Lady as well as some others.
The apples that go into their cider can't be to high in sugar and have to have good tannin content. If the sugar is to high, when fermented, you will loose all the flavor.
Blending Tank
There are between 12 and 14 varieties that go into Bad Seed Hard Cider. All blended when bottled.
For every 75 gallons of Bad Seed Cider, there are 800 pounds of apples in it.
Bad Seed Cider produces three signature ciders, their Dry Cider, Belgian Abby Cider and their Bourbon Barrel Reserve Cider.
The Dry Cider is dry and nicely balanced.
The Belgian Abby Cider uses a Belgian beer yeast. It's a cider for people who like Belgian Sours. It's tart and tangy with sour tart apple tones.
Their Bourbon Barrel Cider is aged in Bourbon barrels for 8 weeks. This cider is not carbonated. By aging the cider in the barrels it balances out the acidity, gives it a full mouth feel and keeps more of the cider flavor. They say "It's not your little sister's cider!"
Asked what is driving the cider explosion, they say it's the generation coming forward today. Their parents generation is brand loyal. Their generation is NOT. Their generation wants to explore and try new things. They don't go to the store to buy the same thing twice. There is no brand loyalty!
People want to try something new and cider is the NEW and people are excited about it.
They will always have their three core ciders and begin to produce seasonal ciders so people can keep trying new.
When Devin and Albert began in 2012 they began with 2,000 gallons of cider. Today they are producing 20,000 gallons.
Asked about their future projection, they want to grow but keep it craft. When they can't keep the standards that they want, that is where they will cap it.
Bad Seed Hard Cider is located at 43 Baileys Gap Road, Highland, New York. The Tap Room is open Saturday from 12-8pm and Sunday 12-7pm. You can find them on the web at http://www.badseedhardcider.com/
Tucked away on a beautiful country road in Ancram, New York you'll find Hillrock Farm, home to Hillrock Estate Distillery and Jeffrey Baker producing whiskey under the direction of Master Distiller, Dave Pickerall. I recently toured the distillery with Tim Welly, who I knew from his days at Millbrook Winery. I am not a bourbon or whiskey drinker (bad experience at 18) but I received a huge education about the distilling process with Tim. I did taste at the end and was pleasantly surprised how my palate reacted. Read through the brief show notes, listen to the podcast then view the video and you will have visited and experienced Hillrock Estate Distillery. At Hillrock they have 36 acres planted that they do rotational planting between barley and rye. They lease and farm an additional 225 acres. Plant with winter varietals of rye and barley which adds a spicy character to the whiskey and really brings the terrior to the whiskey.
Their malt house is the first purpose built malt house at a distillery in the US since before prohibition. Malt is a controlled germinated seed (Rye and Barley) that is planted in the fall and harvested late July. They malt or mill to create a flour like grist. When grist is added to water it’s called mash (wart when making beer.) The picture above shows them floor malting. They sprout the grain. The grain sprouts inside and above the seed, grows a new piece of grass. The new piece of grass will signify they are producing amylase, which is an enzyme that concerts starch into maltose in the mash. Then they steep grain for three days with water for 12 hours at a time and draining allowing it dry for 12 hrs at a time in a controlled environment as they wake the seed up and make it sprout. They can ferment naturally without the use of enzymes
The grain is aerated with a malt rake. Once dry they will burn Peet brought over from Scotland to flavor their grain to make it taste like scotch styled whiskey..
Water is then added to the malt and is then pumped over to their fermentation vessels, inoculated with yeast and fermentation begins. Fermentation only lasts 4 to 5 days and the mash looks like oatmeal.
Once fermentation is done it heads to the still. Then it is aged in 8 different sizes of new oak barrels
At this time they produce 4 products.
Double Cask Rye Whiskey – 100% rye grain, aromas of cinnamon and clove, caramel and butterscotch. Single Malt Whiskey - Single malted grain.100% malt barley. Aged in new American white oak cask and finished in sherry oak casks from Spain. Highest end whiskey. Aromas of sweet, honey, caramel and brown sugar. 86 proof. Solera Aged Bourbon Whiskey – Aged in Sherry Oloroso Casks this whiskey had sweeter notes. Has much more oak character. A little creamer and sweeter on the palate than the rye and a little nutty. George Washington Original Recipe White Whiskey –Dave Pickerall, Master Distiller (who came from Makers Mark) worked with historic Mt Vernon to create this white whiskey. It is 60% Rye, 30% Corn 10% Malted Barley, fermented and distilled, aged in a barrel for 1 day. Estate Edition. Each year the Limited Edition is released at Mt. Vernon. The Regents allow them to produce some of the spirits each year to increase donations to their educational foundation. Has nice tropical aromas. The recipe was taken from George Washington's original notes and created to simulate the type of whiskey they were making at the time. 86 proof.
Many times when I begin the podcasts there are some great conversations that don't make it to the final cut. One of these conversations was about Rhode Island and what Stacia really wanted to do when she graduated high school. Wine making wasn't even in her vocabulary. So I begin these show notes with a little background on Stacia Williams that we spoke in detail about after podcast. Stacia grew up in Rhode Island and wanted to go to college at Johnson & Wales and major in Hotel & Restaurant Management. Her family talked her out of it, they said they are all engineers and scientist she should follow in those steps so she went into computer science. Once in the real world she entered into the software industry where she found herself drinking lots of wine, attending wine tastings, then she wanted to make wine. Stacia and Edwin met at a party where she took him down to taste her the wine that she was making in her basement and the rest is history! They moved to Fresno, CA so Stacia could study enology and viticulture at Fresno State and worked in the vineyard and winery on campus. After she was finished with her studies they looked all over the world for their place to settled and decided on Napa. Why? Because out of all the places they looked, they realized the wines that are made in Napa are the wines they like to drink the most. They found a 50 acre parcel in St. Helena. Their goal was to have a small winery with a small vineyard out front and make enough wine to support the vineyard and house. That would take a while since it takes 3 years after you plant vines to harvest your first crop to crush. They began to look at other vineyards and they purchased a vineyard in the Coombsville AVA, just east of Napa and began farming on it right away. This vineyard, Acquaintance is home to mostly Cabernet Sauvignon but all 5 Bordeaux reds are planted there. The following year they looked at a vineyard in Sonoma County which was planted with Pinot Noir and Syrah. The cool weather Syrah is dark and rich, not jammy, very expressive of Syrah character and the Pinot Noir is very cherry and bright fruit. Sold. They purchased this vineyard and began farming it as well. This vineyard they named Confidant Vineyard. Confidant, because of the rolling hills in this vineyard and the size, let's just say what happens in the vineyard stays in the vineyard because nobody will ever know what happens in the vineyard except the vines. Their Atlas Peak Syrah was just rated 98 points, best in class and region and best in California at the California State Fair wine competition. This is mountain fruit from Atlas Peak aged in 70% new oak, half French half American for 3 years. Soon to be released and you will get a preview of the tasting notes in the podcast. [caption id="attachment_277" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Game Pie[/caption] They also have an on premise restaurant that opened June 5, 2014 "The Farmer & The Fox" and it's been very well received. Executive Chef Joseph Humphrey has a wealth of knowledge and great creativity. It does have a Scotch flare with gastro pub menu featuring items such as burgers, smoked mussel chowder and popovers. Unique and special items such as Lamb Tartar, Rabbit Wellington and Game Pie (soft pastry dough, mustard cream pie, wild boar, duck and venison). A great feature is no corkage fee at the restaurant. Cairdean Estates is located on Highway 29 in St Helena, drive through downtown St Helena and they are 1.5 miles outside of town on the left. Visit them on line at http://www.cairdeanestate.com/ and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The tasting room is open until 8pm.
It makes people happy. they come to you, they want to enjoy their experience, they want to drink the wine and enjoy the food and that makes me happy. ~ Stacia Williams
Tasting Notes 2012 Haley Margaret - This wine is named after Stacia's cousin who passed away from cystic fibrosis 2012 at the age of 25. This wine is a tribute to Haley Margaret to keep her memory alive and to raise awareness of the disease. They pledge $10 sold of this wine to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. This is a blend of Roussanne, Pinot Gris and Viogner. A wonderful wine and supports a great cause. Expressions of lemon curd, grapefruit and some stone fruit. Very light with balanced acidity is smooth and delicious. Great with food or a stand alone wine. 2011 Cairdead Vineyards Unoaked Chardonnay Napa Valley - Aromas of green apple, ripe pear and hints of citus lead the way to a soft palate with nice acidity.
[box] On a personal note before we get into the show notes and the podcast, I have to say I am so honored to be the first person outside Brotherhood winery to read this book and to have this interview with Bob. Growing up in the Hudson Valley I always heard about Brotherhood winery. I have had the privilege to work with Cesar Baeza who to me is the face of Brotherhood. I have learned so much from Cesar and am ever so grateful to him for sharing his knowledge and kindness. He is a true gentleman and it is to him I raise my glass. Thank you Cesar ![/box] When you think wineries in the Hudson Valley the first winery to come to mind is Brotherhood, America's Oldest Winery. Do you know the story behind the oldest winery in America? In this podcast, I am joined by Bob Bedford author of "The Story of Brotherhood, America's Oldest Winery." The book is to be released June 14, 2014 and commemorates Brotherhood's 175th anniversary. The book not only tells the story of Brotherhood but has many artifacts from all the various eras. It's fascinating to see the many different logo designs, the advertisements, the invoices and the pictures that document the years. You will see how instrumental Brotherhood was with many practices that continue today. Also, the California tie to Brotherhood, from vineyards they owned in the Livermore area to winemakers that they hired. It all began with a man named John Jaques a cobbler who moved to a small town called Little York with his recently widowed mother in early 1810. Little York is known today as Washingtonville, NY. He planted a few vines in his backyard and well the rest is history. Up until the late 1800's wines were often adulterated and doctored with drugs or foreign elements and had little regulation. Jaques produced wine that was pure and earned the reputation for a quality product. All his wines had the same message: [box] " Pure wine from the grapes without alcoholic addition or adulteration. Pure, old and superior for family, medicinal and sacramental uses."[/box] 1839 was the first commercial vintage and construction of the underground wine cellar began, which is still in use today. Jaques brought his three sons into the business (Oren, John Jr and Charles) and in 1858 he deeded the winery to them. Fast forward to 1886 and the last surviving son, Charles in poor health sold the winery (the plant with the vineyards, cellars, orchards and thousands of gallons of wine) to wine merchants Jesse Mm Emerson Srm and his son Edward Emerson. In 1894 Emerson incorporated The Brotherhood Wine Company and received Federal Designation US Bonded Winery B.W.2. The Emerson's expanded the vineyards, purchased a 139 acre plot and planted more vines. They began construction on a new cellar in 1893 that connected to the cellarv Jaques built. In addition they also expanded by working with various winemakers and smaller wineries in the Finger Lakes. He also was one of the founders of the American Wine Growers' Association, an organization that was created to correct trade abuses and to keep unfriendly and unfair legislation in check. The membership included producers east of the Rocky Mountains. In 1924 Emerson unexpectedly passes away. In 1920 he had partnered with Louis Farrell who after his death took over the business. We are in Prohibition years and Brotherhood supplied 70% of the Archdiocese of NY with wine. Louis Farrell died suddenly in August 11947 and his son Junior took over. Shortly after harvest, November 20, Junior passed away from complications after a medical procedure. He wasn't married, had no children and left no will. The estate was now transferred to his only relatives, his three cousins Francis L Farrel and siblings Herman J Diehl Jr and Leocadie L Diehl. It is in this era 1947-1987 that wine tourism is born. Events and parties at Brotherhood. Growing up in the area I heard all about the parties at Brotherhood. 5,000 people a day would pass through the winery on a 75 minute tour. The 1980 recession hurt Brotherhood hard along with a 25% excise tax (ouch!) In 1987 the winery was sold to a consortium of local business partners and enter winemaster Cesar Baeza. Cesar began making wines with Amerian native varieties and select New York State grapes from five different regions. He introduced four premium varietals to the Brotherhood line, a dry Seyval Blanc, dry Chardonnay with a hint of oak, dry, full bodied Cabernet Sauvignon and a semi-dry Johannisberg Riesling all made from 100% New York Grapes Tragedy struck the night of January 7, 1999, I remember it like it was yesterday. Brotherhood was burning. The fire devastated Brotherhood. But Cesar switched to "survival" mode and continued on. In 2005 Cesar partnered with The Castro and Chadwick families from Chile. It is at this time the restoration of Brotherhood begins and Brotherhood is what it is today. I realize these are pretty long show notes and it is just a brief taste of the information you will find in the podcast and the book. The book is set to be released June 14. You can reserve a copy and purchase on the website of Flint Mine Press, the publisher of the book. Bob, you did a fantastic job and I realize there is so much more that can be told. I enjoyed the book and looking at all the historical memorabilia throughout. If you are in the Hudson Valley, a trip to Brotherhood is a must with a tour of the cellars where you will find many of the artifacts shown in this book on display.
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If you are anything like me who was a cheerleading mom, or a soccer mom or dad, going to your child's sporting event or just going to the beach....where there are no glass allowed, heck no alcohol. What do you do?
Me, I filled up Melanie's Elmo sippy cup she got from Sesame Place with wine and went to practice. Whether you agree with this or not, how many times have you been challenged with wanting to pour a glass of wine somewhere where it wasn't acceptable or should I rephrase it where the container (cup or glass) wasn't acceptable.
All that has changed with Goverre. Goverre is an "adult to go cup" with class, yes because it's glass. It's glass with a silicone sleeve and lid for no spills and great taste.
Regan and Shannon met when their kids were in pre-school together. Friendship turned into days or evenings at the beach in Southern California enjoying a glass of wine in a red Solo cup.
They thought there has to be a better way where they can drink out of a glass and not plastic. They put their heads together, purchased materials and made something that looked like a 2nd grade craft project. Then they sought out an engineer to work with and started the process.
Goverre is set to be released in October 2014 for $20 per glass in 4 colors.
Listen to the podcast to hear more on the evolution of Goverre, the design, the kickstarter campaign and production.
For more information and to pre-order (yes I did) visit Goverre at http://www.goverre.com/
In this episode of Uncork Your Mind I talk with Courtney Quinn of Our World Our Community. She imports wines from Uruguay and Argentina.
Like many people, Courtney didn't begin her career in the wine industry. She actually worked in the not for profit sector and wanted to make a career change. All it took was a trip to Napa and she knew the wine industry was for her. She went home and enrolled in San Diego State Business in Wine program. Then quit job, sold house and moved to Napa and studied at CIA Greystone in their wine immersion program.
Now that she had some wine education she needed to decide what to do and where to go with it. When talking to people one thing was constant they kept telling her "Have you thought of Mendoza Argentina" she thought this was sign and she packed up and went to Mendoza.
One thing she realized very fast is she needed to learn Spanish. So she enrolled in a Spanish class, and spent the mornings in class and the afternoon scouting out vineyards.
Returning to the states, speaking with people in the industry, she took their advice and began OWOC. She began importing with wines from Argentina and then someone suggested Uruguay wines. She did her research and went to San Franscisco for the wines of Uruguay tasting. She was very impressed with Bodegas Carrau's Tannat and Sauvignon Blanc and the rest is history.
Courtney sees her growth in the South American market. At the moment she only imports to California, but wants to expand to other western states. She wants to focus on other producers in Argentina, Chile and Brazil.
You can find more information on OWOC wines at http://www.owocwines.com/ and if you don't live in California, you can order her imports from Protocol Wine Studio http://protocolwinestudio.com/
Listen to the podcast as Courtney talks about the wines she imports and the history behind the wineries.
Wine Review: Bodegas Carrau
There are only 230 wineries in Uruguay and Bodegas Carrau has two different vineyards , one in the southern part of the country and one in the northern part of the country. The Sauvignon Blanc is from northern vineyard in the Cerro Chapeau region which is a continental climate at an elevation of 1000ft. The highest vineyard in the country. Down in the southern part the Las Violetas region has a maritime climate. This vineyard has the influence from Atlantic ocean. Two very different terriors, two vineyards, one winery. The only gravity flow winery in Uruguay.
2013 Bodegas CarrauSauvignon Blanc Sur Lie - Amazing! Aromas of passion fruit and fresh citrus just pouring out of the bottle. Nice soft acidity with hints of lime.
2010 Bodegas Carrau Tannat Reserva - Aromas of black cherry,oak and vanilla. Plums and hints of raspberries on the palate with soft tannins. I paired this with Paul's Chicken Marsala and it was a great pairing.
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I met Ron on #winechat and was intrigued by his knowledge of wine and cigar pairings. A blog post can only touch the surface and I thought he would be a great guest for Uncork Your Mind.
For this podcast #9 I called down Ron Barker of Cigar Volante and The Virginia Wine and Cigar Trail.
A parting gift from his day job lead Ron to his next stage in life. While he had 5 years to bridge that gap he thought if he could do the three things he liked best in this next stage and turn it into a job he'd be set. The three things being drinking wine, smoking cigars and riding his motorcycle and that is exactly what he did.
Ron first began selling Panacea cigars, but it was hard to get them into cigars shops. When he began to attend festivals as a vendor he realized that people really liked these cigars and they paired very well with wine. The people coming up to try the cigars, were not cigar smokers, they wanted to try something new.
At the festivals he began to work with a few wineries and put together some initial pairings. These cigars are mild to medium in strength, they don't kill the palate and they enhance the flavors of the wine.
Then the idea came to Ron one morning to put together a virtual association to facilitate people who smoke cigars and wineries. Wineries are ideal because of the open space and serve the same demographic that he was looking at.
He began with 5 wineries and now The Virginia Wine & Cigar Trail has 20 host wineries who stock the cigars. Ron works with the wineries to create the pairing menu. When you go to taste you can also purchase a cigar to go with that wine.
How does that pairing work. Yes the cigar smoke does change the chemistry in your mouth. However, an example with the Pennsylvania Green Broadleaf he has paired with Sauvignon Blanc. What happens is you have a very acidic wine and the cigar tempers that acidity so you get more of the fruit flavors in your mouth.
When you purchase cigars it is important to keep them humidified so they don't dry out. You don't need to purchase anything fancy. A Tupperware container with the cigar in one corner and a wet paper towel in the other should do the trick. It is important to keep the cigar stored at a temperature of 60 degrees. If it's too cold you will dry it out and if it is to warm, you'll get cigar beetles (yuck!).
Listen to the podcast, as Ron goes into detail about the cigars, how they are blended and how their paired with the different varietals of wine.
For more information on pairing wine and cigars visit The Virginia Wine & Cigar Trail http://www.vawineandcigar.com/ or Cigar Volante http://www.cigarvolante.com/
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A couple months ago I read about Glasshaus Wine Company and did a short blog post (which you can find if you click here) That post only scratched the surface. I really liked the idea of a community supported winery (CSW) that is just like your local CSA that I asked Rodney to join me on my podcast. Rodney developed Glasshaus CSW based on the agricultural model CSA (community supported agriculture). He thought "Why can't my customers become my investors." Where investors/members pledge support early prior to getting the product and take on some of the risk. Randy wants to make the best wine possible and make his customers happy. Members benefit with guaranteed production and 20% discount. Rodney makes sure he only pre-sells enough shares to cover his production. This year there was only 250 shares available but he produced 500 cases. A CSW is not like a wine club. Wine clubs you get billed each time and a wine package shows up via UPS or FED EX. With the CSW, every year you have to enroll. Prior members who don't enroll, can still purchase, but they will be purchasing at retail and they will still have voting rights. As a member Rodney will keep you informed throughout the growing season on conditions and what is going on in the vineyard. April through October all members receive updates. The first of the month is weather update from the previous month. Middle of the month he gives out a community update. This gives members an insider view and makes the members feel like they are part of the company.
First vintage for Glasshaus is 2013 and it was a great growing season! The Chardonnay is very refined this year and he's doing a lot of stirring of the lees, which is giving it a nice rounded mouth feel on top of using 20% oak. The Pinot Noir is showing complexity early. With 30% aging in new oak the rest aging in 1 use and neutral oak. The Chardonnay should be bottled in August just before he 2014 harvest. The Pinot Noir just a little bit after harvest. It really all depends on when the Pinot is ready to be bottled. Afterbottling the wine will be shipped to members with important instructions on when to drink the wine.
Future for growth, Rodney is going to take it to his members. Ask his members what they want to see before he goes and adds more wine to his portfolio. For more information on Glasshause Wine Company visit http://glasshauswines.com/ Shares are still available for the 2013 vintage until January 31. To purchase the shares visit http://glasshauswines.com/shop/2013-glasshaus-csw-wine-share
Holiday food and wine pairing decisions can be more stressful than holiday shopping. When you walk into that wine shop you can be completely overwhelmed on the choices you have in front of you. What wine to pair with your dinner, dessert and then after you make the purchase you hope it was the correct one.
In this podcast we sit down with Mary Cressler, wine writer, blogger and consultant at Vindulge as she dishes out some great advice on looking for that bottle(s) for the dinner and celebration.
Remember, you are the host and as a host it's great to introduce your guests to new wines.
Some thoughts for your food pairings on your holiday table:
Serving Fish, salty and fried pair with a Sparkling. Sauvignon Blanc for light delicate white fish. Spanish Albarino goes well with seafood. Avoid red and tannic wine but a nice Pinot Noir with Salmon is a nice pairing.
Serving prime rib, roast beef or a big chunk of meat go for the rich and tannic wine like a Cabernet Sauvignon, or Tempranillo from Rioja. You want a rich and full bodied red wine.
Serving a pork roast or tenderloin - Go with a Rhone style wine,. Syrah or Grenache
After you are all done with dinner comes my favorite, dessert. For dessert reach for the Port and Ice wine
Most of all find a trusted wine shop that can steer you in the right direction. Tell them your price range and if they make you feel uncomfortable, leave and don't shop there.
Happy Holidays!
I was first intrigued with 90+ Cellars when I received a media sample from them this past summer. I knew nothing about them but a gentleman named Dave who I shared a table with at a tasting enlightened me on the brand. I thought it was brilliant! (You can read my post about the wine by clicking here.)
In this podcast I will introduce you to Brett Vankoski, Vice President and Co-Founder of 90+ Cellars and Jeannie Hanningan their Marketing Manager. Both have pretty amazing stories on what brought them all together. Brett ditched the corporate life (took a break but never returned) to pursue a wine career and Jeannie answered an ad for an intern that later lead to a part time then full time position.
Premise behind their wine brand:
· We are a global wine brand
· They want to offer a great experience and a great bottle of wine for the customer
· Special occasion wine priced that you can enjoy it any time.
· Spend less without settling for less.
· 90+ Cellars looks for wine surplus from wineries that wine has been rated 90+. They look for wineries also with a pedigree and tradition.
There wines are priced in three tiers:
· $10-$14 where they have the greatest volume
· $15-$20 their reserve wines
· $20-$30 Collectors Series
They just launched a wine club so you won't miss out. You can receive quarterly shipments in 6 or 12 bottles and the prices are quite reasonable at $90 for the 6 bottles and $170 for 12 bottles. You can choose between all white, all red, or mixed.
Find 90+ Cellars online at http://www.ninetypluscellars.com/
Listen now to Brett and Jeannie and learn about 90+ Cellars
What happens when you have two people with two different backgrounds, each having different AHA moments in wine unite? You get Protocol Wine Studio, showing today's true wine culture.
Meet Tina and Eric (Guy). Tina, a pastry chef had a thriving wedding cake company. Goes to a wine dinner at The Herbfarm in Woodinville, Washington and drank a 1910 Madeira that was mind blowing. The rest is history, she sold her business, enrolled in the Court of Master Sommeliers.
Eric, the finance guy. Fifteen years in investment and banking industry. He wanted a change and a trip up to Northern California and he was intrigued by the wine industry. So he quit his job and took a job in a liquor store to learn more.
Tina and Eric met as they worked in the liquor store, he as the manager and she as the wine buyer. A friendship develops and soon grows into an idea and business...Protocol Wine Studio. It became clear that a traditional retail model was not where they wanted to go. At Protocal Wine Studio they do wine retailing, consulting, wine clubs and a think tank for wine.
They have recently took over #winechat which happen on twitter Wednesday evenings from 9-10PM EST / 6-7pm PST. They feel that #winechat can really propel the industry and merge wine bloggers with the wine industry. If you never sat in on #winechat, please do on Wednesdays. If that isn't enough they host #winestudio on Tuesday evenings from 9-10PM EST / 6-7pm PST on twitter. This is an educational tasting that is themed for 4 weeks and concludes with a tasting on the last day of 6 wines. #WineStudio is curated by Aaron Epstein and Le Metro Wine Underground.
Tina and Eric see a need in the industry for sharing of information so we can all grow. They want to be advocates for workers in the industry and for people who want to get into the wine industry.
"Wine is not about drinking, but about sharing." says Eric. When asked what their favorite wine pairing is, they both answered, it's not about a pairing with food but a pairing with experience and I couldn't agree with them more. There is much more information about Protocol Wine Studio and their mission in the podcast. Don't forget to check them out online at http://protocolwinestudio.com/ Cheers!
I recently had the opportunity to speak with Lou Caracciolo of Amalthea Cellars located in Atco, New Jersey. In this podcast you will get a little introduction to New Jersey wines, a little history on the region, the different AVA's and the style of wine that Lou crafts.
There are approximately 50 wineries in New Jersey and the wine region dates back to 1750's when the Renault Winery was founded. They had a lot of trouble growing vinifera due to black rot, downey and powdery mildew gave them such problems until the middle of the 20th century. Then came some changes in agriculture chemistry in the 70's and that changed as they were able to tackle the issues at hand.
There are three AVA's in New Jersey. The Outer Coastal Plain AVA which is South Jersey area established in 2007, Warren Hills AVA established in 1988 and the AVA they share with Pennsylvania is Central Delaware Valley AVA established in 1984.
The Garden State Wine Growers Association hosts New Jersey wine festivals throughout the state. This weekend in it's 5th year is the Cape May Wine Festival the last in a series of wine festivals in the state that began back in April.
There are a few wine trails throughout New Jersey. The Garden State Wine Growers Association lists them at http://www.newjerseywines.com/wine-trails.html and there is also another website I found Vintage South Jersey http://www.vintagesouthjersey.com/page.php?page=trips-and-trails/main that lists some of the trails in South Jersey.
A little about Lou Caracciolo and Amalthea Cellars. They grow Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot and some French American hybrids. Lou takes the hands off approach and makes wine like it was made in Bordeaux. They are open Friday - Sunday for tastings from 11am-5pm. For more information you can find them online at http://www.amaltheacellars.com/index.html
Both the Garden State Wine Growers Association and Amalthea Cellars can be found on Facebook and Twitter.
Hope you enjoy the podcast.
It is a pairing at Clinton Vineyards. Last Wednesday Phyllis Feder of Clinton Vineyards released her 2012 Victory White. This is the latest chapter in the Clinton Vineyards tradition of support for Bill and Hillary Clinton that dates back 23 years.
The first Victory White was released in 1992, inspired by Bill Clinton's election. Then again in 1996 to celebrate his re-election and in 2008 to support Hillary in her quest to become the Democratic candidate for presidency.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013 Clinton Vineyards released their 2012 Victory White in the hopes that Hillary with throw her hat into the ring. As a part of the Victory White 2012 campaign, Phyllis will make a generous contribution to the Ready for Hillary Pac.
Victory White is 100% Seyval Blanc that is estate grown in Clinton Corners, New York. It's crisp and refreshing with hints of green apple. It does have a slight aftertaste, but by far a very good vintage and a double gold medal winner at the 2013 Hudson Valley Wine & Spirits Competition.
Clinton Vineyards was established in 19977 by Ben Feder, a New York book designer and artist who fell in love with the Hudson Valley. He modeled the 100 acre Clinton Vineyards in the tradition of European vineyard estates and chose to specialize in producing white and sparkling wines.
In 1988 Ben's wife Phyllis joined him and together they created a line of Estate Bottled Wines. Ben passed away in 2009 and today, Phyllis continues to maintain her husband's legacy.
For this podcast I am joined by Bryan Diaz of Summertime in a Glass. Summertime in a Glass is an organization based around the Sauvignon Blanc grape.
The Sauvignon Blanc grape is a classic varietal that has a lot going for it. Summertime in a glass advocates for the grape. It wants to build a community around consumers and people in the wine industry as a place to learn and share ideas. Their mission is to promote, educate and entertain the industry on Sauvignon Blanc.
You can find Summertime in a Glass online at www.summertimeinaglass.org
They are also very active on social media and you can find them on Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Instagram Google+
Enjoy the podcast!