Happy New Year!!

I'm changing it up a bit, I'm starting my NYE off with a little Infinium Ale from Sam Adams and Weihenstephan, a Bavarian Brewery, open since 1040 AD. A light Bière de Champagne....I even served it in flutes. Not being a beer aficionado or knowing the lingo, my thoughts on this sound like a bubbly review: nice foam on the top with flavors of citrus and wheat with a tart, slightly dry finish. 2011 might be the year that I admit to being a beer drinker.

Hope 2011 is filled with the best wine that life (and your wallet) has to offer!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

What a year it's been! I hope this holiday season finds everyone thankful for what they have and hopeful for the future. Here's to an AMAZING Christmas spent with family and friends.....and the best wines you have!!

I'm not sure what will be in my glass today/tonight, but it is sure to be fantastic :-)

Merry Christmas from The GrapeVine!!

Turkey & Wine

People always wonder what to drink for Thanksgiving - what goes well with the turkey, yams, stuffing, etc... Well, a lot of wines to go with a lot of different foods! Here is what I drank (am drinking) today in no particular order:

Lumos Pinot Gris (Oregon)
Prosecco
Tegernseerhof Zweigelt (Austria)
King Estate Pinot Noir (Oregon)
Ravenswood Zinfandel
Jeremiah Weed Sweet Tea Cocktails

And yes they were all delicious! Everyone has something to be thankful for, think upon those things today. Happy Thanksgiving!!

A New Vintage

People just love new stuff. That new car smell, a new car, new clothes...and of course new wine! So people just line up, place orders, and can't wait to get their hands on the 2010 Beaujolais Nouveau that is released the 3rd Thursday of November, which happens to be this Thursday November 18th.

Beaujolais Nouveau is sometimes considered young and immature to many a 'seasoned' wine drinker, but it's fruity, jammy flavors make it approachable to many and also a possible gateway into some of the wines of France. It's also the perfect wine for Thanksgiving which is next week.

According to Wikipedia, Beaujolais Nouveau, made from the Gamay grape, always had a huge event to celebrate its end of harvest but not until the end of WWII were the wines available to the public. Negociant Georges Dubouef saw the marketing potential of this wine and worked with the UIVB to promoting this 'new Beaujolais'. Not only was it a way to clear lots of wine for a great profit, but selling wine within weeks of the harvest was great for cash flow. Hence the idea was born of a race to Paris carrying the first bottles of the new vintage. This attracted a lot of media coverage, and by the 1970s had become a national event. The races spread to neighbouring countries in Europe in the 1980s, followed by North America, and in the 1990s to Asia. In 1985, the date was changed to the third Thursday in November to take best advantage of marketing in the following weekend.

This "Beaujolais Day" is accompanied by publicity events and heavy advertising. The traditional slogan, even in English-speaking countries, was “Le Beaujolais nouveau est arrivé!” (literally, "The new Beaujolais has arrived!"), but in 2005 this was changed to "It's Beaujolais Nouveau Time!".
So this Thursday, visit the French Embassy, or your local wine shop for fun, friends, and free wine because 'It's Beaujolais Nouveau Time!'

Another Year

It's my birthday! So I decided to celebrate with a trip on the much talked about Frederick Wine Trail. I had a driver ;-) of course and we stopped at Black Ankle Vineyards and Elk Run Vineyards both in Mt Airy, MD.

Black Ankle has gotten much press and much buzz as one of the greatest wineries in Maryland. The buzz is well worth it, the tasting room is beautiful and the wines are fantastic! I had a coupon for a complimentary tasting for two, and we were lead through a tasting of Bedlam, Viognier, and Gruner Veltliner for whites; and Syrah, Rolling Hills and Crumbling Rock reds. I think I got the birthday tasting special with a few gems thrown in. I absolutely loved the crisp, tart flavors of the Gruner and I was already a fan of the Crumbling Rock. I ordered a glass of the Viognier to sit back and enjoy.
At Elk Run Vineyards, they let you select 6 items off their tasting menu for a small fee or for a smaller fee, you can taste 6 wines that they select. Since there were 2 of us, we picked out 12 wines which gave us a great tasting of almost all of their tasting menu. Some of the standouts were the Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Merlot. A birthday gift of the Maryland Merlot (also known as Marilyn Monroe) was given to me.

I had a fantastic birthday meeting new wine friends and tasting new wines. Cheers to another great year!

Farewell #VAwine Month

October is/was Virginia wine month. A month to celebrate, promote, and of course drink VA wine. I celebrated by having at least one VA wine a week. I promoted by participating in the Twitter Taste Live last Monday for VA wine. So today, as I bid farewell to Virginia wine month, I toast FAREWELL to the month with a Chardonnay Reserve from New Kent Winery.

I visited New Kent last year during a trip to Williamsburg, VA. The winery has just opened in May of 2008 and boy was it beautiful! The entire building and it's contents are made from recycled materials. The tasting room staff were so knowledgeable about the winery, the wines, even the are itself. It did help that there weren't too many people in that day since there was a huge storm coming. (We happened to get caught in that storm after the winery visit)

I purchased a few wines during my visit and decided to try the Chardonnay tonight. The Chardonnay Reserve, that I aged a little in the bottle myself, was fermented in the barrel and aged sur-lie (on dead yeast cells). Mostly yeast and bread in the nose but loads of creamy-ness and acidity on the palate, with a bit of apple and pear notes as well. The finish reminded me of buttered toast.

Here's to you Virgina Wine Month!

Happy Trails

I am a supporter of Maryland wines! There, I said it. So when they picked the Patuxent Wine Trail to promote this past weekend, I was all in! Especially since it's the trail that's closest to my house. Of the 7 wineries on this trail, I've already been to 2 of them, 1 was just too far to drive since I was hitting the trails alone...which left me with 4 wineries to hit.

1st stop, Port of Leonardtown. This winery is interesting because it's actually a cooperative. They don't grow any grapes on site, instead their 15 members have vineyards that grow multiple grape varieties that they bottle and sell under the Port of Leonardtown Winery label. They do ferment and age a few of the wines on premises however. Of course, they had all of them available for tasting in their tasting room. Starting with their 1634 Chardonnay, which I'd had at the Maryland Wine Festival last month, I still think this wine is amazing. Fermented in French oak, but the toasty oak flavors were smooth and soft not overpowering. The regular Chardonnay (winner of the 2010 MWA Bronze medal) was fermented in stainless steel it has such a crisp apple and pear flavor. There were even hints of lemon on the finish. The grapes from the Vidal Blanc are grow solely in St Mary's County, which works because Vidal Blanc seems to do well in Maryland. Very floral in aroma with red apple and honey on the palate. McIntosh Run is an apple wine, no grapes allowed! It won a Gold Medal this year from MWA and was voted Best Fruit Wine. Light acidity, with flavors of spice and apple (duh!). Very easy drinking, and although still has alcohol it can be enjoyed by those who really may not be fans of wine. The last white, Breton Bay Breeze, was very aromatic. Rose petals, citrus zest, perfume, and in all actuality I smelled grapes. Go figure!

I tasted 2 reds the Captains Table and Breton Bay Shoals. My fav of the whole tasting was probably the Captains Table. A Chambourcin and Merlot blend, it was very earthy on the nose with mushrooms and dark berry/cherry notes. I was told that this would benefit from a bit of decanting and is also aging well in the bottle. Aging a Maryland red, alright! Now back in the car for the next stop.

I read that Solomons Island Winery is best known for its fruit infused varietals wines so I passed on visiting that vineyard and headed to Cove Point Winery in Lusby, MD. Unlimited tasting for $4. I tasted 6 whites, including a cherry wine and vidal blanc blend, 7 reds including an ice-style pinot noir, and 3 of the 15 mist wines. I definitely had to spit at this winery. Of note was their Symphony, a floral white wine with spicy aromas and a sweet citrus finish; Chambourcin, slightly tart with notes of black cherries and plums, I got a little popcorn on the finish; Cab/Syrah (2007), great acidity and tannins with ripe red fruit flavors. I'm starting to get a little hungry, thank goodness I only have one more stop to make. Let me take a quick moment to say that since there was a big promotion of the Patuxent Wine Trail, I did expect a few more people out on the trail along with a few activities. So far, I've been the only one in the tasting rooms and it seemed like any other day at the winery....

Perigeaux Vineyards and Winery in St Leonard, MD was the last winery stop of the day. A sample of every wine they offered was only $3. I handed the gentleman my money and we got started. 5 whites, 10 reds including 2 semi-organic reds with reduced sulfites. They even had a Pinot Gris Blush that was semi-sweet with a crisp berry finish. Since I was the only one tasting I got the story behind the vineyard owners, wine names, and some of the winemaking techniques. That alone was worth the $3 for the samples! Perigeaux sits on a 27 acre estate with 8 acres planted and they produced their first vintage in 2006, wine sales in 2008. Wines of notes here were the 2007 Merlot, flavors of dark berries and oak and the 2007 Chardonnay, ripe apple and pear flavors moved into a creamy finish. Perigeaux did have an artist on site as well as someone from Knit Works and their whole tasting was done outside which was great because the weather Sunday was wonderful!

The sun is starting to go down and my stomach is growling so I headed to Jake & Al's for dinner. Why there? I had a $50 gift card :-) A lot of good it did once they told me it expired in March 2009 and did I have another form of payment. WHAT?! Nothing on the gift card said anything about an expiration date! Of course I ordered like I had $50 to spend... Thank goodness for credit cards.