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Happy National Wine Day!
Cheers to all wine lovers! May 25, 2017 is National Wine Day. You probably remember that we celebrated February 18, this year as National Drink Wine Day. Now, happily, tomorrow is another special day for all of us wine lovers.
Dionysus and Bacchus, Greek and Roman gods of grapes and wines, would be proud to discover that modern wine lovers are still enjoying the drink of the gods. While most wine lovers enjoy wine one any old day, why waste a chance to pour a glass (or more) in celebration with your favorite drinking partner?
Happy National Wine Day! Here’s to you, may you always have good friends, good wine, and good days, Salute!
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Kentucky Wine and Vine of 2017
Kentucky’s annual Wine and Vine Festival was a resounding success. Wine lovers came from many miles away to enjoy a day of tasting some of the state’s best wines. With music playing, wineries pouring, and vendors offering some unique shopping, visitors wandered around enjoying themselves from 10 to 7. It was a perfect day for an outdoor festival!
Purple Toad, Horseshoe Bend, Chrisman Mill, Prodigy, Springhill, Talon, Hamon Haven, Wildside, Elk Creek, Rising Sons, First Vineyard, Equus Run, Cave Hill, and McIntyre’s hosted booths and shared their wines with the visiting wine lovers. Those interested in some shopping could buy olive oils from Stuarto’s, Tupperware, hand made jewelry, Larry Mac’s Beer Cheese, Good Ole Boys Leather items, Mary Jo’s Country Crafts, and many other specialities. I bought a gorgeous hand crafted clock made of wine corks.
If you love wine, you missed a great opportunity to enjoy a taste of what Kentucky has to offer. But, you’re in luck, the Kentucky Wine and Vine is an annual event. Watch for next year’s date. Maybe we’ll see you there.
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Wine Festival at Jane’s Saddlebag
May is a good time for wine lovers. Not only are the vines at the vineyards more welcoming with their spring growth, wineries are hosting more events, and wine festivals are scheduled.
On May 20 and 21, from Noon to Six, wine lovers around the northern part of the state will have the chance to visit one of the most interesting of the state’s wine festivals. Jane’s Saddlebag, known for its restaurant, petting zoo, and unique atmosphere, is hosting the annual Jane’s Wine Festival and Art/Craft Show. Wineries, music, arts and crafts vendors, and more food options are waiting for visitors this year. Local wineries as well as from other parts of the state will be pouring tastes and selling wine.
Sponsored by local businesses, this event each year has raised money for local causes and will again be donating a portion of their proceeds to the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. You can go, have fun, and support this year’s charity.
Jane’s Saddlebag is located just past Big Bone Lick Park, in Boone County. Check my links for their website. Tickets are available for a presale if you’re interested. Mark your calendar, plan to visit, taste wine, relax, and enjoy the day.
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Kentucky Wine and Vine Fest
Founded in 1798, Nicholasville is the county seat of Jessamine County, Kentucky. The city is also home of the state’s official wine festival of 2017, the Kentucky Wine and Vine Fest. It was at First Vineyard in Jessamine County that the country’s first commercial wine production got its start. The County today boasts of two of the state’s 72 licensed wineries, Chrisman Mill Vineyard and Winery and First Vineyard. On the second Saturday in May (the 13th), wine lovers can enjoy this historic city and sample many of Kentucky’s finest wines.
The Wine and Vine Fest kicks off on Thursday with a Farm to Table dinner, followed on Friday by a docent led Equine and Wine Tour of Taylor Made Farms, First Vineyard, and with a gourmet lunch served at Chrisman Mill Vineyard and Winery. The peak of the wine weekend is the festival itself held Saturday in downtown Nicholasville.
The following Kentucky wineries are scheduled to attend: Cave Hill Vineyard & Winery-Eubanks, Chrisman Mill Vineyards and First Vineyard-Nicholasville, Elk Creek Vineyards-Owenton, Equus Run Vineyards-Midway, Grimes Mill and Talon Wineries-Lexington, Hamon Haven Winery-Winchester, McIntyre’s Winery-Bardstown, Purple Toad Winery-Paducah, Prodigy Vineyards and Winery-Frankfort, Rising Sons Winery-Lawrenceburg, Wildside Winery-Versailles, and Springhill Vineyards-Bloomfield. The wineries will be pouring tastes from their fine wines and offering them for sale.
Wine lovers can do more than taste wines. Other activities include an art walk, and arts and crafts show, Kentucky Proud products, a Run for the Merlot, cooking demonstrations, wine tasting and wine pairings workshops.
The wineries will be pouring from 10 to 7, on Saturday, May 13. Other events may start earlier. Check out the festival’s website to get the full schedule.
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First Vineyard
In 2007 vines were planted to reestablish the vineyards at the site of the first commercial vineyard in the United States, near Nicholasville, Kentucky. First Vineyard Winery soon followed. Today, wine lovers can visit the winery that one can imagine resembles what one might have found in 1799. But of course, the current winery contains all the modern conveniences.
According to Kentucky wine history, Jean Jacques Dufour, sold stocks to the directors and the Society for Promoting and Cultivation of the Vine in Lexington, Kentucky, and established the first commercial vineyard in First Vineyard, Kentucky, in November 1798. The vineyard was located in Jessamine County, overlooking the Kentucky River. The vineyard produced wine that was enjoyed by the directors in Lexington. After a killing freeze in 1809, Dufour and his family relocated to Vevay, Indiana, where he developed Second Vineyard.
First Vineyard welcomes visitors from 1 to 7, Fridays through Sunday. They offer a variety of wines for all tastes. From a unique dry white, Cabernet Doré, to a Kenkoolas, a peachy wine slushy, visitors can choose a drink and enjoy a relaxing afternoon on the porch of the tasting room imagining themselves in the same spot in the early 1800s sipping a new Kentucky wine.
They also have lodging at the Sugar Creek Resort. Check my link to their website.
by admin with No CommentsHamon Haven Winery
Wine lovers in the Bluegrass had a new winery to visit in 2014. Just off I 64, near Winchester, Hamon Haven Winery opened its doors. Visitors are welcomed into a lovely, cozy tasting room from Monday to Saturday, on a flexible schedule. It’s best to call ahead. They have some nice wine gifts as well as a great selection of Kentucky wine.
Native grapes, such as, Catawba, Concord, and Niagara, can be found side by side with Chardonnay and Merlot. A unique wine offered at Hamon Haven is a Zinthiana. Yes, the spelling is correct. A grape breeding program to combine Vinifera grapes with the native Norton resulted in this hybrid. Zinthiana is a red hybrid, more hardy for the cold temperatures in Kentucky than a Zinfandel, the grape produces a high quality, robust, red wine with jammy flavors. The grape has become available to vineyards and I think you’ll be seeing more of this hybrid in Kentucky.
We visited Hamon Haven Winery during the McConnell Springs barrel tasting and certainly enjoyed meeting the winemaker and trying this new wine.
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McConnell Springs 10th Annual Wine Tasting
The Wine Barrel Tasting for the Springs, sponsored the by McConnell Springs organization, is Saturday, March 25. Kentucky wine lovers won’t want to miss it.
Start at any of the following wineries: Springhill Winery & Plantation, Lovers Leap Vineyards & Winery, Horseshoe Bend Vineyard & Winery, Wildside Winery & Vineyard, Chrisman Mill Vineyards, Talon Winery & Vineyards, Jean Farris Winery & Bistro, Black Barn Winery, Equus Run Vineyards, Hamon Haven Winery, Prodigy Vineyards & Winery, Grimes Mill Winery, Chuckleberry Farm and Winery, McIntyre’s Winery & Berries, First Vineyard Winery and Rising Sons Winery.
Enjoy a day of wine tasting and visiting wineries of the Bluegrass, in Lexington, Frankfort, Versailles, Lawrenceburg, Bloomfield, Bardstown, Willisburg, Midway, Nicholasville and Winchester. Choose your starting place and plan your visits. Times are 11 AM to 5 PM.
Visit McConnell Springs website for directions.
http://www.mcconnellsprings.org
Maybe we’ll see you at one of the wineries.
by admin with No CommentsSpring’s on the way
Even though it doesn’t feel much like it today, spring is on the way. You can tell because March Madness starts today and wine events are on the calendar in Kentucky. While you’re enjoying those basketball games, enjoy a glass of Kentucky wine and toast your favorite Kentucky team. Our state’s basketball fans can choose between University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and for the first time Northern Kentucky University.
Wine loving basketball fans can also look ahead to a March wine event. On March 25th, sixteen of Central Kentucky’s wineries will open their doors for the 10th Annual Wine Barrel Tasting for the Springs, a fundraiser for McConnell Springs, the twenty-six acre natural historic park at the springs where the city of Lexington, Kentucky was named. The event is a self planned visit from 11 to 5 PM. Visitors can start at any of the participating wineries, pay the fee of $20 per person, receive a map, and choose their route to their chosen stops.
Springhill Winery & Plantation, Lovers Leap Vineyards & Winery, Horseshoe Bend Vineyard & Winery, Wildside Winery & Vineyard, Chrisman Mill Vineyards, Talon Winery & Vineyards, Jean Farris Winery & Bistro, Black Barn Winery, Equus Run Vineyards, Hamon Haven Winery, Prodigy Vineyards & Winery, Grimes Mill Winery, Chuckleberry Farm and Winery, McIntyre’s Winery & Berries, First Vineyard Winery and Rising Sons Winery are ready to open their doors to visitors. Many will have special options like food or maybe even a barrel tasting with the winemaker. A barrel tasting is a one ounce sample of wine that is still in the barrel awaiting bottling. Wine lovers get the chance to taste an early stage of their favorite wines.
For more information, go to their website (www.mcconnellsprings.org). This is a special day, a chance to take part in a worthy cause for McConnell Springs and an opportunity to visit several Kentucky wineries as they are welcoming the beginning of spring. Hope you have the opportunity to attend.
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You know you’re a wine lover when…
You know you’re a wine lover when…
You know you’re a wine lover when you rent a motel room for your wine. While it wasn’t a large room and I wouldn’t give it four stars, it had the two important qualities we were looking for at the time – it was air conditioned and it was in the United States.
A few years ago, we were on a trip to Niagara Falls. As we left Kentucky and drove north, we visited wineries in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York on our way. Of course, we tasted wines and found many too good to pass up. We bought two cases of wine. That’s what caused our dilemma. Our reservations for the night were in Canada, and as we discovered that you were only allowed to take alcoholic beverages that you planned to consume while there. We only planned to stay one night. We’re both wine lovers and have drank a lot; but we were sure the border crossing guards would not believe we planned to drink two cases in twenty four hours. We needed a plan.
It is legal to ship wine to yourself, but it is quite costly and you have to be at home to sign for it when it arrives at your Kentucky home. That wouldn’t work, but what would? After some thought, we realized that the New York side of the falls had an awful lot of inexpensive motels. We found one close to our route, found they had a vacancy, rented the room, unloaded our wine, turned down the air conditioner, locked the room, and headed for the border. Problem solved.
We crossed the border and enjoyed a day and evening exploring the falls on the Canadian side. The views are gorgeous and the visit was an exceptional experience. The next day, we checked out of our Canadian hotel, crossed the border, checked our wine out of its room, and spent an enjoyable day visiting the American falls.
The wine, by the way, was worth the price of the room!
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Love the wine you’re with!
Happy National Drink Wine Day! Enjoy a glass or two, or more!
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