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Wine for your Valentine!
Happy Valentine’s Day! My favorite way to celebrate a day of love is a special someone, a special dinner, and a special wine.
The special someone is always the same; Mike and I have shared many special days for over 50 years. The special dinner has been Lasagna for many years. The special wine has changed but is almost always a favorite dry red wine. This year we will be sharing a dinner of Lasagna Supreme and a bottle of Nebbiolo from Barboursville Vineyards and Winery.
Hope you and your special someone have a great day! Celebrate your love in your own special way!
by admin with No CommentsEagle Creek Vineyard
We’re still not traveling, but Eagle Creek Vineyard is just a short drive down the river from Northern Kentucky, we visited last week for an afternoon. Located on Main Street in Warsaw just a few doors away from the well-known Jewells on Main, Eagle Creek Vineyard was a nice diversion on a dreary, rainy day in February. Owners Dave and Beth Lynn have created a nice place to visit that’s made even nicer because they have good wine. Their wine list includes many of the sweeter wines such as Concord, Niagara, and Catawba, native grapes that are well known to most Kentucky wine drinkers. Purchasing juice mostly from New York, the winery also feature dry reds such as Shiraz, Malbec, and Dornfelder as well as dry whites like Sauvignon Blanc and Vignoles. Sauvignon Blanc and Dornfelder were our favorites.
My favorite dry white is Sauvignon Blanc and I’m always excited to find new offerings especially in Kentucky, this was a pleasing find. The wine offers the crisp, acidic, tart apple flavors with the herbal aromas that lovers of this wine expect. Dornfelder, a German grapes, is not often found in Kentucky. We were pleased to see the wine on their list prior to visiting, but their offering on their wine list was sweet. We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived and found they had a dry Dornfelder. For those unfamiliar with this grape, the wines have a dark fruit taste with dark spicy overtones and made for lovers of a nice dry red wine.
The weather was somewhat dreary and wet, so photos of the outside were not possible, but here’s a glimpse of the tasting room which provides a cozy welcoming place to enjoy some good Kentucky wine. A visit to Eagle Creek Vineyard is a nice way to spend an afternoon.
by admin with No Comments
Treat January Blues with Reds
The only cure for the January blues is to enjoy some delightful reds. Our favorites are Cabernet Sauvignon from Brianza Gardens & Winery and Old Vine Zinfandel from Chrisman Mill Vineyards & Winery. They’ve boosted our morale through this cold, dreary month.
January is nearly over, 2020 is in the past, vaccines are available, and the future is brighter. Let’s look forward to February, Valentine’s Day, and the upcoming spring. Raise a glass to your mental health and let the red wine chase your blues away!
by admin with No CommentsEnjoy the Bubbly
New Year’s Eve makes many people think of drinking bubbly at midnight to celebrate the possibilities of that new year beginning and say goodbye to the year that is ending. Midnight this year may be one of the most momentous in recent history as 2020 has been a year like no other we can recall. 2021 gives us all hope for better times. So bring on the bubbly!
Champagne is the bubbly that comes to mind, but most people have never really had Champagne. For most people this is just the generic name they give to bubbly wine. The only true Champagne comes from the Champagne Appellations in France with requirements on its making. But sparkling bubbly wines are made almost everywhere that wine is made using Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes. Some countries have put their own customization on this popular celebratory wine.
Germany’s sparkling wine, Sekt, is not very well-known outside of the country. Until recently it wasn’t able to be purchased except in Germany. The uniqueness of Sekt is that it is made with Riesling grapes. Spanish sparkling wine, Cava, is made with Macabeo, Parellada and Xarel·lo grapes, though also sometimes with Chardonnay or Pinot Noir. Probably most wine lovers are more familiar with Prosecco, a sparkling wine made in Italy with the Glera grape. Prosecco has been around for centuries and in much of the twentieth century was a rather sweet wine. Today, Prosecco is generally a crisp aromatic wine. It is sometimes made with Perera, Bianchetta, and Verdiso, and the better known wine grapes Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, and Pinot Noir.
New World wineries in the Americas, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa are also contributing excellent sparkling wines. Names like Brut and Blanc de Blancs are on labels from California, Washington, and Oregon. Kentucky wineries Smith-Berry Vineyards and Winery and Talon Vineyards and Winery make sparkling Moscato wines that are sweeter choices.
My personal favorites tend to be Prosecco. La Vostra Prosecco, a crisp Italian sparkling wine is easier to find than some and is excellent.
Whatever your choice, raise a glass at midnight tomorrow, say goodbye to 2020 and welcome 2021. “To a better year!”
by admin with No Comments
Christmas Wine
“I’m dreaming of a wine Christmas!”
Celebrating Christmas this year means a quiet evening at home enjoying a special wine. The good thing is there are so many wonderful wines. I always recommend choosing your favorite, whether it is red, white, rosé, dry, or sweet.
Some Kentucky wines I recommend: a red – Brianza’s Cabernet Sauvignon, a white – Sauvignon Blanc from Forest Edge, a rosé – Lover Leap’s Rosé, a dry – Chrisman Mill’s Old Vine Zinfandel, or a sweet – Blackberry wine from Smith-Berry.
For a perfect Christmas Eve, start a fire in the fireplace, turn on the lights on the tree, dim the lights, and share a glass (or two) with the one you love.
Merry Christmas to wine lovers everywhere!
by admin with No CommentsChristmas 2020
Brandy at Brianza
Brianza Gardens and Winery has a new release and it’s not wine – their new release is a Brandy.
For those unfamiliar with brandy, it is a liquor produced by distilling wine and contains a higher alcohol content that wines. Owner and winemaker, Tony Parnigoni’s new brandy is made using his Chambourcin wine, distilling a portion and blending that with the remaining wine then aging it in a Buffalo Trace barrel. He did an excellent job!
Brianza Brandy offers complex aromas and flavors. Wine lovers will find it very enjoyable. When you pour a glass, let it breathe just a bit, then enjoy the first aromas of dark spices (cloves and cinnamon) and hazelnuts. Take a sip; the first flavor you taste are those same spices. Then when you swallow, the taste is of a just picked blackberry, leaving you with a warm finish. This brandy made from Chambourcin is a pleasant addition to the Brianza list of wines.
by admin with No CommentsDrink up and Celebrate
Cheers! Here’s to you! Salute! Whatever your preferred libation, drink up!
Today is the anniversary of the end of Prohibition. From January 17, 1920 to December 5, 1933, the United States prohibited the making and sale of alcoholic beverages.
So whether your drink of choice is gin, tequila, vodka, bourbon, beer, or wine, it’s the day to raise your glasses in a toast – “to the end of Prohibition”.
by admin with No CommentsCooking with Kentucky Wine
Though it seems like forever since I started the adventure of writing a cookbook, with assistance I have finally reached my destination. The manuscript for Vineyard to Table-Cooking with Kentucky Wine was just sent to my publisher. Hopefully, it won’t be too long before the book is in my hands.
The book contains 69 original recipes created using Kentucky wines, as well as some informative chapters on the history of wine and food, tips for cooking and choosing wines, health benefits, and cooking healthy.
I can’t wait to share the cookbook with you!
by admin with 2 CommentsHappy Thanksgiving, 2020!
Thanksgiving Day is this week. Even though 2020 has been a rough year and we have lost many loved ones and many experiences, we are thankful to be here. Thanksgiving celebrations will be different with most of us staying at home and not spending the day with family. Things appear to be looking up so stay safe and look forward to a new year. Have a glass or two of your favorite wine and enjoy a quiet day at home.
by admin with No Comments