Once again, wine lovers will be able to try a variety of Kentucky wines, in a lovely pastoral setting, at Jane’s Saddlebag in Union. Jane’s Saddlebag is a complex of 35 acres, consisting of a restaurant, a wine shop, a petting zoo, and a general store that is new this season. Their Second Annual Wine Festival will be on May 31, and June 1, from noon to 6 PM. Pre-sale tickets, which will guarantee free parking and quick entry, are available until May 25 either at Jane’s Saddlebag or at their website. (Look in my links.)
This year’s festival has over twenty wineries including some of the state’s most popular. Those attending are local Northern Kentucky wineries: Elk Creek Vineyards, Atwood Hill Winery, StoneBrook Winery, Verona Vineyards, Generation Hill Winery, Serendipity Winery, Rose Hill Farm Winery and Redman’s Farm Winery. Other regions of the state will also be represented at the festival by the these wineries: Smith-Berry Vineyard and Winery, Lovers Leap Vineyards and Winery, Forest Edge Winery, Wight-Meyer Vineyard and Winery, Talon Winery and Vineyards, Horseshoe Bend Vineyard and Winery, Noah’s Ark Winery, McIntyre’s Winery & Berries, White Buck Vineyards & Winery, White Moon Winery. Indian Creek Winery and Best Vineyards & Winery from Indiana, and Southern Wine will be pouring tastes.
Music will be provided throughout the festival with entertainment such as: Bluegrass Mafia, Jane’s Gang, Ron & Country Pride, Lonesome Jared & the Heart Attacks.
Over forty vendors will have booths offering a variety of products. Origani Owl, Crafted Quilts, KY Gentleman Cigar Company and others offering items such as jewelry and wood furniture.
I will be there signing copies of A Wine Lover’s Odyssey Across Kentucky. Hope to see you there.
by admin
Wine lovers visiting Verona Vineyards will find some changes. New additions, such as a larger tasting room and a lovely patio overlooking the vineyard are complete and more changes are coming. A kitchen and a private tasting room are both going to be coming soon.
As always a visit to Verona Vineyards is relaxing and enjoyable. Visitors are rewarded by wines made by one of Kentucky’s finest winemakers. We were able to sit on the patio and enjoy a bottle of Dornfelder when we stopped by last weekend.
Though the Kentucky spring weather was not so inviting, the wineries were. Bluegrass wineries welcomed many visitors last Saturday to taste wine from the barrel and ask questions about the winemaking process. Seventeen of Kentucky’s wineries opened their doors to wine lovers who chose to spend a rainy spring day indoors drinking wine. The seventeen participating wineries were scattered across the Bluegrass region, with tastings from 11 AM to 5 PM. The four wineries we decided to visit make some of our favorite wines.
We started our day at Grimes Mill Winery. Philip DeSimone, the owner and winemaker welcomed visitors to his winemaking facilities, offering tastes, as well as a lesson in recognizing the sugar content in the wines as they ferment. Tasting were given of both Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. Both wines show promise. My husband and I were also given the privilege of trying the long awaited Malbec that is to be bottled soon, can’t wait for that one. While there, we also spent some time in the tasting room. Grimes Mill is offering a Sauvignon Blanc (Kentucky) with grapes from their vineyard that have created an unusual aroma of butterscotch, while the flavors remain similar to other Sauvignon Blancs.
Following Kentucky back roads, our next stop was Chrisman Mill Vineyards. We were offered tastings of a Chambourcin from an oak barrel. Chris Nelson, owner and winemaker, uses this wine for his First Vineyard Reserve, a popular wine with their visitors. Visitors were also treated to a sampling of foods and wine pairings. Denise Nelson always has the tastiest munchies. We enjoyed some Norton Reserve with our food.
We decided to make Lovers Leap Vineyards and Winery our next tasting experience. Brian Sivinski, the owner, was providing tastes of Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. The wines show signs of being very good. Brian also shared with us a taste of his Norton from the barrel, which will be a good vintage. We enjoyed a lovely visit and took home a couple of bottles of the current Cabernet Sauvignon. We’ve been toasting the Cats with this wine during March Madness and don’t want to break the good luck.
Our last visit of the day was at Prodigy Vineyards and Winery in Frankfort. Chad Peach chose a Chambourcin for tastings; it seemed to be a popular choice. The tasting room was overflowing with visitors as the McConnell Springs Barrel Tasting was winding down. We had sandwiches and some Lemberger wine.
Once again, the McConnell Barrel Tasting was a success. We enjoyed ourselves and from the conversations we heard, so did everyone else. Rainy spring afternoons offer a great chance to enjoy a day, of wine tasting.
by admin