Unexpected Gifts… Christmas in February

Well, not completely unexpected; I had threatened bodily harm to Gretchen if I wasn’t gifted with a bottle of the fruits of her first foray into home winemaking. But I was still surprised…

I came home from a really long day at work about 10 days ago to discover a large box on my front porch. I didn’t remember ordering anything, and couldn’t imagine why anyone would be sending me something in mid-February – so you can guess my delight when I saw the return label said “Gretchen Neuman.” I knew – just knew – it was a bottle of the first Neuman vintage – Rebel Girl.

But actually it was even better – it was TWO bottles of Rebel Girl and a very large bottle of Cider of Eden – along with several jars of lovely home-made sauces and jams. Yum!

A few days later, I opened my first bottle of Rebel Girl. A pale yellow, almost straw color, it has a very delicate nose. There are notes of citrus, but they are very subtle. The wine is delicate, light,and has notes of grapefruit; all in all it’s a very nice sipping wine.

No oak – not surprising given Gretchen’s preference for low-oak whites. I later learned that “to oak or not to oak” was a matter of great debate in the wine-making process. Gretchen ultimately won that argument, and I think it was a wise choice. This wine is a bit too light to handle much oak, which would very likely have overpowered the wine.

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I wasn’t expecting much – I’ve tried other home-made wines – but was very pleasantly surprised. It’s a charming wine.

So, I have a second bottle in the wine rack for another day – as well as the Cider to look forward to. Christmas will extend well into the spring!

And I understand there are two new wines in the offing… Congrats, Gretchen!