May 11thChrisman Mill

The Chrisman Mill Vineyard and Winery, Hummingbird Ridge Distillery, and Fuego Grill, like all restaurants and wineries in Kentucky, have been closed during this pandemic. However, they are doing pickups and deliveries to the local region near their Nicholasville location.

As you know from earlier posts, we are from Northern Kentucky. But, this weekend was Mother’s Day and after being cooped up for so long with only trips to the grocery and pharmacy it was time to finally do something. Since we needed things from Whole Foods and Total Wine, it seemed the perfect time to get carry out dinners. Altogether we picked up dinners for six people. It was well worth the wait and the drive.

Not only can you get an assortment of excellent wines, and a really good Hummingtail Rum by the bottle, you can order from a full menu from Fuego Grill. You can also order a local farmers gift box from the winery. Our choices included entrees like Beef Short Ribs, Pork Tenderloin, and Wood Fired Steak, sides such as grilled vegetables, garlic potatoes, and Haricot Verts, choice of salads, appetizers like Bacon Wrapped Shrimp,  and to top off the dinner, desserts like Chef Dee’s famous Bread Pudding, Hummingbird Cake and an amazing Caramel Cheesecake. Everyone enjoyed their dinner.

So, until the state is open again, you might consider an order. Be sure and visit when they open up. You will be glad you did!

May 7thA Wine for Mom

Mother’s Day is Sunday. Mothers have been staying at home and not entertaining. Many Mothers have been drinking. Wine sales have risen around the country. For those wondering what would Mom want – think wine. Kentucky’s wineries are doing curb side sales and shipping their wines across the state. Many of our wineries are also offering specials as well.

For instance, Fuego’s, the restaurant at Chrisman Mill Vineyard and Winery, has specials on their menu for the weekend. Jester’s Winery has a special Mother’s Day menu along with their wines. Brianza Gardens and Winery has a special spa package for Moms and their continued curbside sales. Other wineries are also offering special wines, foods, or packages. Check the websites of the wineries near you to make your selections.

Moms deserve the best. Kentucky wineries offer some of the best selections around. You can choose from Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Zinfandel, Chambourcin, Norton, Riesling, Vidal Blanc, and a variety of fruit wines like Blackberry, Peach, Blueberry. Some even have Sangria or Chocolate flavored wines. There is something for every Mother in the Commonwealth.

Happy Mother’s Day! Here’s to you, Mom – Salute!

May 3rdNorth Carolina Wine Month

Enjoyed a wonderful bottle of Il Falco by Raffaldini Vineyards and Winery to celebrate North Carolina wine month. This wine is a dry red made with the Sagrantino grape.  Sagrantino is noted for flavors of dried plumbs, and dried cherries. This varietal is blended with Montepulciano and Petit Verdot to give this full-bodied wine a fruity character with a complex aroma.

Sagrantino is a varietal that is fairly unknown due to the limited acreage around the world. It is indigenous to the region of Umbria in Central Italy. Even though there has been a growth in the number of producers, there are still only around 2500 acres in the world.

Apr 15thBrianza Gardens and Winery

Wine lovers, like me, are missing visiting wineries quite a bit. However, the wineries are making sure their wines are available to pick up. We stopped by our local winery and picked up some of our favorite Cabernet Sauvignon from Brianza Gardens and Winery recently and enjoyed a bottle last night.

For this vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon, owner and winemaker, Tony Parnigoni, got grapes from Washington State. The grapes came from the Horse Heaven Vineyard. The wine is one of the best Cabernet Sauvignons that I’ve ever tasted. Many winemakers will tell you that the wine is made in the vineyard. That may be one of the reasons this wine is so good. For several years, my favorite Sauvignon Blanc is from Chateau St. Michelle’s Horse Heaven Vineyard. Obviously, the vineyard’s terroir produces excellent grapes.

The other reason for the wine being so good is the expertise of the winemaker. Tony’s wines are all exceptional. While stuck at home, call and pick up your favorite wine and be sure to visit as soon as they open up.

Mar 20thWine in the Bluegrass during the Coronavirus Pandemic

Like most other public events, unfortunately the Barrel Tasting at the Bluegrass Wineries hosted by McConnell Springs has been cancelled.

Wineries are not open for tastings. However, most wineries are still selling their wines in a drive thru, pick up mode. Check with your local wineries to find out if they are doing so.

Let’s do our part, follow all guidelines to prevent further spread of the virus, be kind and considerate of others, and raise a toast to better times and the successful end of this pandemic.

Mar 5thMcConnell Spring’s Barrel Tasting in the Bluegrass

On March 28, 2020, join other wine lovers in Kentucky for the 13th Annual Wine Barrel Tasting for the Springs. For $20 per person, start at any of the participating wineries and go to as few or as many as you want.

Chenault Winery in Richmond, 1922 House Vineyards & Winery, Chrisman Mill Vineyards, and First Vineyard Winery in Nicholasville, Equus Run Vineyards in Midway, Grimes Mill Winery, Jean Farris Winery & Bistro, and  Talon Winery & Vineyards in Lexington, Hamon Haven Winery and Harkness Edwards Vineyards in Winchester, Lovers Leap Vineyards & Winery and Rising Sons Winery in Lawrenceburg, Wildside Winery in Versailles and Prodigy Vineyards and Winery in Frankfort are the participating wineries this year.

Barrel tastings (check out my blog entry on tastings) are a great way to enjoy wine and to meet and talk about wine with the wine makers. McConnell Springs is an organization that works to preserve the state’s history and the founding of Lexington. Kentucky will be welcoming spring, we hope, with an excellent day. They’re all excellent reasons to plan your trip. Hope to run into you at one of the wineries!

Mar 5thEnjoying Wine – Vintage, Vertical, Horizontal, and Barrel Tasting

Wine lovers enjoy tasting wines, trying before buying so to speak. Wine tasting is the way one can decide which wines they prefer without just shopping for a bottle and finding out you don’t care for the wine.

Sometimes a winery gives visitors a chance to try different vintages of the same wine. A wine’s vintage is the year the grapes were harvested. Weather conditions of a given season can alter or enhance certain flavors and aromas. This is why wine connoisseurs will prefer a specific year for their favorite wines. A novice wine taster will notice the differences and have a preference even if they don’t know if the grapes were produced by a wet or dry growing season.

A vertical tasting allows you to taste one bottling from one winery over the course of years, with multiple vintages (such as from 1998 to 2003). Everything else stays the same (the producer, the land, the varietal), and you simply compare the years themselves. This is the kind of tasting where you’ll get a sense for the influence of yearly climate and its impact on a vineyard.

Another way to enjoy a tasting is a horizontal tasting or trying the same grape varietal made by different wine makers. Choosing a grape variety you love and trying wines from the same vintage but from different vineyards. This is the reason wine lovers may prefer wines from California or Virginia for example. Even without trying the wine, it’s easy to guess that the flavors of the grapes might differ.

A barrel tasting is a glimpse of the future of a wine. It’s a wine lovers chance to taste the wine during the aging process. Sometimes the wine is just weeks away from bottling and will taste much like the wine you will later pour from the bottle. Other times the wine may have been in the barrel for a short time and the tannin will be much more noticeable and cause you to pucker. Tannins are polyphenols from grape skins, stems, and seeds that give red wines dryness in taste, and are mellowed out by the aging process. Red wines are aged in oak barrels (American, French, and Hungarian are the most common.) for varied amounts of time. During a barrel tasting, wine is drawn from the barrel by the winemakers for the taster and savored to enjoy the make up of the wine. It is really enjoyable to taste a wine that is aged for two years and try it at different times during the aging. The hints of what is to come makes the waiting for the wine a lot of fun. And, if trying the wines isn’t enough, visitors get the chance to meet the winemakers and learn about the wine making process.

The more you learn about the wines you drink the more confident you will be in choosing your own wines and recommending them to your friends.

Once again, McConnell Springs is hosting a fundraiser featuring Barrel Tastings at Kentucky’s Bluegrass wineries. Mark your calendars for a day of enjoying an outing, tasting new wines and visiting with the winemakers.

Feb 23rdBeads , Beignet, and Rucca at Brianza Winery

Had a fun evening last night at Brianza Winery’s Beads and Beignets Mardi Gras Party. A lovely bottle of Brianza’s Cabernet Sauvignon, beads at the table, food from Gigi’s Grill Food Truck, followed by Beignets and Music by Rucca.

Feb 18th3 Reds by Wight

I first wrote about “3 Reds by Wight” on December 20, 2012, when Jim Wight at Wight-Meyer Vineyards and Winery shared the opportunity with us to buy a share of the barrel of wine he was creating. Over the last few years I’ve shared thoughts about this wine. For instance:

“3 Reds by Wight” is a blend of  50% Petite Syrah, 20 % Cabernet Sauvignon, and 30 % Cabernet Franc and is 100% Kentucky Proud. Jim Wight has proved, with this exquisite red wine, that Kentucky can grow quality varietals and produce quality wine.

The wine is a dry red with aromas of berries and spices. While the wine will benefit from aging, today it is a lovely dry meritage styled wine. There is a dry, tannic structure with flavors that remind one of an old fashioned blackberry jam cake. The first taste is one of berries and dark fruit, while the finish has blackberry and spice flavors.

We saved our first bottle for a Valentine’s celebration and it made for a memorable evening. We toasted the day with crystal wine glasses engraved with “3 Reds by Wight”. Now we look forward to the next special occasion.

Last night to celebrate a special birthday, we enjoyed the last bottle from the case, again toasting the day with the special glasses. “3 Reds by Wight” has aged perfectly. For anyone who has ever questioned Kentucky as a wine state, this wine proves what the quality of  Kentucky wine can be. This case of wine was excellent from the first bottle to the last. Congratulations to Jim Wight? We want another one just like this one!

Feb 18thNational Drink Wine Day 2020

Every day of the year is designated as “national” something. For instance, March 14 is National Pi Day. But many of them suggest a favorite drink, like June 14 is National Bourbon Day. My favorites, as you might guess have to do with wine. According to Wine Folly, there are 36 of them.

Today is one of my favorites, February 18th is National Drink Wine Day.  Choose your favorite, pour a glass, and celebrate a day just for us wine lovers! It’s a great day!