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Cabernet Franc
For many, Cabernet Franc is only the grape that blends well with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot to create a Meritage and other Bordeaux style wines. It often is described as inferior to a robust, full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon. It was long believed that Cabernet Franc was a distant, less regal cousin of Cabernet Sauvignon. Recent research, however, has asserted that Cabernet Sauvignon is the progeny of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc.
Today some wineries are recognizing the subtle tannins, the spicy aromas, and berry flavors and are offering the grape as a varietal on its own. Cabernet Franc is a thin-skinned red grape that grows well in cooler climates. Most Virginia wineries are offering Cabernet Franc selections. It was in Virginia, that I first tasted and grew to love Cabernet Franc.
Many Kentucky wineries offer a Cabernet Franc wine, such as Prodigy Vineyards and Winery, Purple Toad Winery, StoneBrook Winery, and Elk Creek Vineyards. The flavors of luscious berries blend with the flavors of fruits such as cherries or plums. The wine is a clear deep garnet with a fragrant aroma of spices. Not only is the wine to be recommended, the grapes themselves are some of the most beautiful. While visiting Purple Toad Winery in Paducah, and Barboursville Vineyards in Virginia, I couldn’t resist the lure of the beauty of the Cabernet Franc grapes vineyard.
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Blackberry Wine
With blackberry season approaching, it seemed like a good time to discuss one of the most popular non-grape wines. Early Americans produced their own wines with whatever fruits they had available to them. One of the most familiar is blackberry wine. Blackberry vines have been known in history to grow wild and have been found on all continents except for Australia and Antarctica. They are popular because of their sweet fruit. Blackberries have many uses, from desserts to jellies, jams, and preserves. Those early Americans were quick to recognize that blackberries made a very tasty wine. Many people are familiar with homemade blackberry wine. Wineries are making blackberry wine and for many it is one of their best sellers.
Blackberry wines are often sweet and are lovely to serve with desserts. Others are more dry and used as an aperitif. Most Kentucky wineries offer a blackberry wine. While I’m not usually a fan of the sweeter wines, some blackberry wines are appealing to me because I love blackberries. Wight-Meyer offers an aged blackberry wine, aged for three years in oak barrels. Lovers Leap produces a blackberry wine and had a blackberry wine fudge created by a Kentucky candy company. Chrisman Mill’s blackberry wine goes well with many desserts.
Blackberry wine is excellent for cooking as well. One of my favorite recipes (which I shared earlier) is a blackberry jam cake. The wine gives it a deeper, richer flavor.
For those who remember the delight of picking a fresh blackberry and popping in your mouth, blackberry wine will be appealing.
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My Kentucky Wine Book
A Wine Lover’s Odyssey Across Kentucky should be available within a month. It is at the printers now. I wanted to give you a preview of what to expect. With lots of photos, the book takes readers on a tour of thirty-four of Kentucky’s wineries. These were the wineries with tasting rooms and regular hours at the time that I was writing. For nine months, my husband and I traveled across the state. With only two overnight stays and fourteen day trips, we were able to visit and tour the wineries, interview the owners or wine makers, and taste the wine.
The book gives a brief history of wine, a discussion of wine tasting and a description of the grapes grown in Kentucky’s vineyards. Readers will also find a map of Kentucky with the wineries marked, a glossary of wine terms, a list of grape varieties in the state, and a winery directory.
I will let you know when the book is released. It will be available at bookstores and wineries, and through my blog with a link to the publisher. Subscribe now and an e-mail will let you know right away when it’s available.
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Smith Berry Vineyard and Winery
Smith Berry Vineyard and Winery is located in New Castle, in Henry County. Those traveling on I-71 have seen the signs for the winery at Exit 34 for several years. The winery has made a name for itself it the state for producing excellent wines. It has been a favorite of mine for many years.
Chuck Smith and Mary Berry Smith have spent their lives farming, from dairy farming to tobacco to fruits and vegetables. They are still farming, now they are growing grapes. Their five-acre vineyard is made up of Norton, Chambourcin, and Vidal Blanc grapes. They purchase grapes or juice for some of their other wines.
Chuck has been making outstanding wines since the winery opened ten years ago. They offer a wide variety for wine lovers from dry whites and reds to sweeter selections and fruit wines. My favorites are Norton Reserve, Norton, and Barbera.
This weekend we spent a few hours at the Kentucky Renaissance Faire in Eminence. It was exceedingly hot, but we were able to enjoy ourselves as we always do. We decided to stop on our way home for a brief visit at Smith Berry. As always, our visit was fun. The winery has added Sunday hours and can now be enjoyed seven days a week. During the summer months many enjoy their concerts and dinners as well.
If you find yourself near Exit 34 on I-71 and have some time, I recommend a visit to Smith Berry Vineyard and Winery. You will find a lovely location, friendly people, and excellent wine.
Sauvignon Blanc
Occasionally, I do enjoy a light, white wine. One of my favorite white wines is Sauvignon Blanc. This wine is generally aged in stainless steel allowing the flavor and the aroma of the grape to show through. Sauvignon Blancs have the aromas of tropical fruits, herbs, and freshly mown hay and exhibit flavors of peach and melon. Some have less positive reviews of the wine including unripe fruit, asparagus, and cat’s pee. I must say I’ve never noticed those unappealing aromas.
Sauvignon Blanc has a long history. The word sauvignon appears to come from the French word meaning wild. Many believe that the grape was originally found growing wild. The grape has been recognized for centuries, found first in the Loire valley in France. Today Sauvignon Blanc is found in many regions of the world, from Europe to South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, South America and the United States. In California, the wines are often known as Fumé Blanc.
My favorite Sauvignon Blancs come from Barboursville Vineyard in Virginia and Oliver Winery in Indiana. Some Kentucky vineyards, such as Grimes Mill Winery in Lexington have planted Sauvignon Blanc grapes, but I have not tasted a Sauvignon Blanc wine produced in Kentucky yet. I’m looking forward to trying one.
by admin with No CommentsSangiovese
Many wine drinkers are familiar with the Sangiovese grape without realizing it. Sangiovese is the predominant grape in Chianti blends. Those rustic looking bottles one finds at their favorite Italian restaurants are most likely made with this grape. Sangiovese is the primary grape of the Tuscan region of Italy.
My favorite Sangiovese comes from Barboursville Vineyard and Winery in Virginia. Their winemaker blends Sangiovese with up to 25% of other varietals – Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Petit Verdot; and after fermentation in stainless steel, it is aged for 6-8 months in French Oak Barrels. The result is a light-bodied wine with a lingering finish with flavors of plums and red berries.
I’ve also enjoyed a Kentucky Sangiovese produced by Elk Creek Vineyards and Winery. Elk Creek’s Sangiovese is a soft, dry medium-bodied red. Recently we also tried their Estate Sangiovese. Estate wines are made from grapes grown at the vineyard. It was very good and is a good example of the high quality of grapes grown in Kentucky.
Sangiovese wines are excellent and I recommend them, even to someone who does not usually choose a dry red.
by admin with No CommentsMalbec
Even though Malbec originated in France, it is best known in Argentina. Wines made from the Malbec grape are deep in color and intensely flavored. Tasters generally recognize blackberry, plum, pepper, or leather flavors. Most Malbecs are aged in oak barrels, but some vintners choose to age it in stainless steel to bring out the fruit flavor.
This week I had the pleasure of drinking a Malbec from the vineyard of Gabriele Rausse, of Virginia. The wine was robust and mellow at the same time, inky in color, flavors of strong black fruits and pepper, with a spicy aroma. Wines produced by Rausse reflect his Italian heritage and are some of the premier wines of Virginia.
Some Kentucky wineries are producing Malbec wines. I was quite impressed with the Malbec offered at Grimes Mill Winery in Lexington.
Due to the intense flavors and tannins, Malbec is favored by those who enjoy big reds. Beef, Italian foods, as well as Chili would pair well.
by admin with No CommentsVerona Vineyards
Most people spend a lot of time planning trips and choosing spots to visit while they’re traveling. Often we miss out on great finds close to home. That is what happened to me. While spending time visiting wineries in the state and in the region, I overlooked visiting a local winery. After all, I could go there anytime. Saturday evening I finally visited Verona Vineyards. While it was worth the wait, I can’t believe I hadn’t visited sooner. The vineyards are lovely, the winery is located in a charming tasting room, and the wine is really good.
Verona Vineyards (Isn’t that a great name for a winery?) opened in the summer of 2011. The owners are Charlie Payne, his daughter Peggy Payne Montgomery and her husband Dan Montgomery. Charlie oversees the day-to-day activities at the vineyard. Peggy and Dan both have outside careers, but spend a lot of their time running the winery. Dan is the winemaker and is producing wines that visitors will enjoy. The winery is open to visitors on Friday evenings and on Saturdays. Special events such as Saturday’s Art Show are frequently held.
The vineyard was planted in 2005, mostly with Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc vines, later Dornfelder was added. Wines from those grape varieties are offered for tasting along with some sweeter selections of Muscato, Riesling, and Gewürztraminer. The sweeter wines are made from purchased juice.
As a lover of big reds, my personal favorite was their Dornfelder. The Dornfelder is a relatively young grape variety having been developed as a cross of two other red varieties. It is one of the most popular red grapes in Germany. Dornfelder wines are a deep red with a floral aroma and flavors of berries.
On Saturday, we strolled through the booths of arts and crafts vendors, dined on barbecue sandwiches, tasted the wines, toured the winery, and drove back to the vineyard. We were welcomed by the owners and made to feel at home. This won’t be our last visit.
Norton
Wine is a fun topic to discuss. Starting this week, I’m choosing a wine to recommend and am starting with one of my favorites – Norton.
The Norton grape is also called Cynthiana. Dr. Daniel Norborne Norton, at his vineyard in Virginia, developed Norton as a hybrid of a vitis labrusca and a vitis vinifera grape. His goal was to grow an American grape that could produce a wine that would compare to a big European red. He was successful. It was the most popular wine grape in the late 1800’s, but it nearly died out when prohibition stopped the production of wine commercially. In the last few years, Norton has reemerged as a popular wine grape in many states nearby. A number of Kentucky wineries have begun producing Norton wines, some as their selected reserves, and these wines are growing in popularity. The Wild Vine: A Forgotten Grape and the Untold Story of American Wine, written by Todd Kliman, is a good read for those interested in the Norton grape.
Wines made from the Norton grape are full-bodied, deeply dark in color, have a robust fruit flavor, and hold up well to aging. This wine appeals most to lovers of the big reds. I’ve tried Nortons from French Lick Winery in Indiana, Chrysalis Vineyards and Horton Vineyards in Virginia as well several from Kentucky.
There are several Kentucky wineries producing Norton (or Cynthiana) wines. At Chrisman Mill Vineyard and Winery, visitors have a choice between a Norton aged in American Oak and a Norton Reserve aged in French Oak. Lovers Leap Vineyards and Winery and River Valley Winery offers Cynthiana wines. Smith-Berry offers an unoaked Norton and brings out the fruity flavors. Wight-Meyer’s Norton is aged in oak for 12 months.
If you love red wines as much as I do, try Norton. You’ll find the flavors distinctive.
by admin with 3 CommentsWine and Vine Fest
Kentucky’s official wine festival at Nicholasville was a big success. We went late in the day on Saturday and the wine tent was crowded with people who were enjoying tastes of Kentucky’s wine as well as wine offered from domestic and international wines. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.
Chrisman Mill Vineyards, Prodigy Vineyards & Winery, Generation Hill Winery, Talon Winery and Vineyard, StoneBrook Winery, Rose Hill Farm Winery, as well as, Best Vineyards Winery and Indian Creek Winery from Indiana had booths and were offering tastes of their wines. Visitors who were expecting Wight-Meyer Vineyard & Winery and Purple Toad Winery were disappointed because they were unable to be at the festival.
Since the first year, the festival has grown and is becoming one of the most popular in the state. It is a really good time, start planning for next year’s fest.
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