The Reader’s Corner
If you are near the Louisville area, I’d love to see you next Saturday. I’ll be signing A Wine Lover’s Odyssey Across Kentucky at the Reader’s Corner on Old Frankfort Avenue. Other authors from Butler Books will be there throughout the day. I’ll be there from noon to 2 PM.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Whatever your plans are for the holiday, I wish you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving! After the events of the big day, find a warm spot, choose your favorite wine, and relax.
For the weekend, if shopping is not your choice, you might want to check the winery websites for special events. Wineries, such as Chrisman Mill Winery at Hamburg in Lexington and Smith-Berry Vineyard and Winery at New Castle are hosting special holiday events.
However you plan to spend your long weekend, have a safe and happy time.
Thanksgiving Wine
Those wine lovers who want to serve the perfect wine with every dinner are probably wondering what to choose for that special Thanksgiving Dinner. My recommendation is to choose a wine you enjoy, whether it is red or white. The tastes and flavors of the typical holiday dinner are so varied that whichever wine you choose, it can be a good choice.
For white wine lovers, I personally recommend either Traminette or Gewürztraminer. Both wines have spicy and floral tones and are made in both dry and semi sweet. Since I prefer dry, I’d recommend the dry Traminette from Prodigy Vineyard and Winery.
If you prefer reds, I would recommend a lighter red, such as a light Cabernet Sauvignon. Lovers Leap Vineyard and Winery offer a lovely Cabernet Sauvignon that I’d suggest. Many wine lovers enjoy a Nouveau or a rosé as well and either one would pair with your dinner quite well.
The choice of wine for Thanksgiving doesn’t have to cause stress this week. Choose the wine you love and worry about cooking the bird and other fixings.
Hope you enjoy the week.
Kentucky’s Wineries
When visiting a wine festival, you don’t get to try all the wines you’d like. You might want to give it a try, but there are so many varieties offered that you usually have to pick and choose. At recent festivals, I’ve been talking to visitors and signing books and haven’t been able to try many at all. But our recent visit to the Incredible Food Show was different. I was a taster and enjoyed the experience of trying some new wines.
At Rose Hill Farm Winery, we tried their estate grown Cabernet Franc, which has a deep garnet color. The wine is a very nice dry red with herbal flavors. The Cabernet Franc from Horseshoe Bend Vineyard and Winery is also an excellent choice for tasters. The vintage we tried is blended with a Carmenere grape, which gives it a smooth finish. As lovers of Cabernet Franc, it’s good to find good varieties in Kentucky.
I also enjoyed getting the opportunity to try the wines from the site of Kentucky’s first vineyard. First Vineyard Winery is located in Jessamine County on the grounds where J. J. Dufour planted the first vineyard in Kentucky, in the late 1700′s. First Vineyard Winery offers a Reisling, that though described as semi-sweet, has enough dryness to appeal to me.
A tasting wouldn’t be complete for us without trying the available Nortons. The new one we tried was from Rising Sons Home Farm Winery. As one might expect from a Silver Medal winner, the wine is a welcome addition to Kentucky’s Norton selections. First Vineyard Winery also offers an exceptional Norton.
If you enjoy wines and love trying new things, I recommend going to wine festivals. They offer the opportunity to try many wines at the same time. Kentucky hosts many wonderful festivals each year.
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Kentucky’s Incredible Food Show
Last week’s food show was a resounding success. The exhibitors provided visitors with a wide array of Kentucky products. While we were there, we saw people enjoying themselves and the bounty that Kentucky has to offer. We tasted and sipped our way through many foods and wines and bought quite a few. Our personal favorites (besides the wineries) were Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese, Grandma Carolyn’s Ketchup, Browning’s Hams, and Steve’s Dips.
Look for information to follow about next year’s show. I’m looking forward to another great experience.
- Incredible Food Show – Kentucky Proud Event
Kentucky’s Incredible Food Show in Lexington on Saturday is one of the most enjoyable events in the state. Each year Kentucky products are put on display for visitors to savor. Foods and drinks from the state, such as country ham, beer cheese, cheese, candy, sauces and wine are available for tasting.
From 9 am to 5 pm, at the Lexington Center, you will be able to taste and buy products, get tips from the state’s producers, browse through cookbooks, watch cooking demonstrations, and enjoy what Kentucky has to offer.
I’ve attended for several years and look forward to returning each fall. If you love Kentucky and enjoy trying out new tastes, you’ll want to make time to visit.
-Northern Kentucky’s Fall Wine Festival
Saturday turned out to be colder than predicted, but the atmosphere at MainStrasse was warmly inviting. Over 2000 visitors enjoyed the event. The wine and good times were in abundance. It was really fun connecting with old friends, meeting new ones, and talking about wine.
It is always nice to meet people who have enjoyed my book on Kentucky wine, as well as those who are interested in getting their own copies. I was able to talk to many interesting wine lovers. Getting to catch up with some of those in the industry that I haven’t seen for a while was also fun.
Thanks to those of you who were able to attend, even though the weather wasn’t at its best. Wine lovers who were not able to make it, I recommend marking your calendars for next fall. This is one of the state’s premier wine events.
–Northern Kentucky Wine Festival
Don’t forget tomorrow’s festival at MainStrasse, from 3 to 10 pm. Wine lovers will enjoy a typical fall day tasting and buying Kentucky wines, from some of the finest wineries in the state.
I hope to see you there.
Unbridled Spirits at the Friendly Market
Unbridled Spirits just keeps adding more selections of Kentucky wines, bourbons, and microbrews. The store at Friendly Market is an excellent spot to shop for Kentucky’s alcoholic products.
When they first opened at the beginning of September, they had wines from around Kentucky that one does not generally find in a Northern Kentucky store. This past weekend, I stopped by and their choices have grown and more are expected to be added soon. Some of the choices are wines from Millanova Vineyard and Winery in Bullitt County, Old 502 Winery in Louisville, Chrisman Mill Vineyard and Winery in Nicholasville, Lovers Leap Vineyard and Winery in Lawrenceburg, Elk Creek Vineyard and Winery in Owenton, and Horseshoe Bend Vineyard and Winery in Willisburg. Of course, this is just a few examples of those you can find there.
If you stop by on Saturdays, you might find one of the wineries offering tastes. Elk Creek was there pouring selections this past weekend.
Wine lovers who love Kentucky’s wines but don’t have the time for travel can still enjoy many of the state’s offerings at this one spot in Northern Kentucky.
Northern Kentucky Wine Festival
This coming Saturday sounds like it is going to be a nice fall day in Northern Kentucky. A perfect way to spend the late afternoon and evening would be a visit to MainStrasse in Covington, at the Northern Kentucky Wine Festival.
If you’ve visited the festival in the past, you know that this is a great time to taste wines from wineries across the state: Atwood Hill Winery, Morning View, Baker-Bird Winery, Foster, Black Barn Winery, Lexington, Elk Creek Vineyards, Owenton, First Vineyard Winery, Nicholasville, Generation Hill Winery, Inc., Alexandria, Horseshoe Bend Vineyards, LLC, Willisburg, Lovers Leap Vineyards & Winery, Lawrenceburg, Old 502Winery, Louisville, Purple Toad Winery, Paducah, Redmans’ Farm Winery, Morning View, Rose Hill Farm Winery, Butler, Serendipity Winery, Florence, Seven Wells Vineyard & Winery, LLC, California, Smith-Berry Vineyard & Winery, New Castle, StoneBrook Winery, Melbourne, The Little Kentucky River Winery, Bedford, and Verona Vineyards, Verona.
Wine lovers will be able to enjoy good Kentucky wine, food, local artisans, and entertainment; and at the same time relax in one of Northern Kentucky’s historic neighborhoods.
Look for me at a table with my books, I’d enjoy meeting you and talking about wine.