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It may look like there is nothing going on here at VinoVerve, but we are always plugging away at something…

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Gretchen Neuman, VinoVerve.com Editor, September 28, 2011

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One of the advantages of “Back to School” time is that, I, your dear editor, regains access to my television (if not my sanity). This means that I get to watch my favorite part of the Today Show, the 4th Hour with Kathy Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb. One of the reasons that it is my favorite is because there is usually liquor involved and often wine. Yesterday Today had Alpana Singh on to pour Regional American wines. Go Alpena and thanks for your support for local American wines from up and coming areas!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Congrats to the wineries and wines featured:

Blue Sky Vineyards 2010 Vignoles (we’ve been there!)
Red Newt Cellars 2010 Riesling
Keswick Vineyards 2009 Estate Reserve Viognier (coming soon!)
Saint Croix Vineyards 2009 La Crescent Dessert Wine
Prairie State Winery 2009 Cabernet Franc (we’ve been there but I can’t find my own link!)
Bedell Cellars 2007 Musée (we’ve been there!)
Hinterland Vineyard 2009 Marquette Reserve
Barboursville Vineyards 2008 Petit Verdot Reserve (we’ve had their wine!)

Gretchen Neuman, VinoVerve Editor, September 1, 2011

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After visiting Monticello, it makes perfect sense that my first stop the next day was the Jefferson Vineyards. The property was originally part of Monticello and granted to Filipo Mazzei so he could develop a vineyard. Jefferson had been disappointed by his attempts to produce wine grapes so he brought in Mazzei, a Venetian viticulturist to take over the effort. This is a story about timing being essential. Luckily, the dream lives on at this winery.

Jefferson Vineyards
1353 Thomas Jefferson Parkway
Charlottesville, Virginia 22902
434-977-3042

Gretchen Neuman, VinoVerve Editor August 30, 2011

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Now that I have gotten the teens back and school, I can finally concentrate on stuff that matters – WINE.

When last I checked in, I was heading off to Charlottesville, Virginia for the annual Wine Bloggers’ Conference.

This was exciting to me as I had always wanted to see Monticello.  Instead, when I was 10, my family visited Mount Vernon.  George Washington may have been the founder of our country, but he had nothing on Thomas Jefferson.  He wrote the Declaration of Independence as well as being an architect, inventor, diplomat, President and of course, Gentleman Farmer.  Probably less known was that Jefferson was something of we now call a foodie.

Our third president was a lover of wine and tried to grow vinifera grapes at Monticello without much luck.  Why? a little critter called Phylloxera which killed off a huge number of vines throughout the world (once it got out of the US, that is).  While trying to grow wine grapes himself, he also worked with, Filipo Mazzei (founder of what is now know as Jefferson Vineyard) , John Adlum and John James Dufour all of whom were influential in American viticulture.

Oh, and in the food department he popularized macaroni and cheese (though he referred to all pasta as macaroni).

Naturally, I was raring to go!  But better yet, we bloggers discovered that we would have a dinner and wine tasting reception at Monticello!  The only part of the event that was disappointing was the weather.  While the sun was shining the temperature was about 105°.  And not the Arizona dry heat kind that everyone says is better (it isn’t).  Despite that we were served fantastic wine, a really nice buffet that included fried green tomatoes and shrimp and grits and PLENTY of water.  Oh.  and fans.  As the evening progressed there was a certain antebellum flair to the proceedings as we all fanned ourselves.

And for those of us who wanted to really cool off?  Well, house was open to us. and it was air conditioned.  YEAH! The interior of the house was amazing, unfortunately, I was not allowed to take pictures (flash or otherwise).  Naturally wino’s wanted to see the dumbwaiter that brought wine bottles up from that cellar.  And we got to see if from two perspectives.  One from the dining room and the other from the wine cellar that has just been renovated.  If you are looking at slideshow?  Yes, that is Jancis Robinson. She gave the keynote at the WBC.  Wow.

As for the wine tasting?  Viognier is the white wine of choice in Virginia.  I tried several that ranged in their fruitiness and minerality.  All were very pleasant and I wish it had been cooler so that I felt like tasting more.  Additionally, the standout wine of the evening was a Virginia Pinot Noir from Chateau Morrisette.

The highlight of evening was the presence of TJ himself (or a reasonable facsimile thereof). Now this was the guy to feel sorry for in the heat.  We could all wear light clothing but he was stuck in full period regalia  and in BLACK to boot!  But he spoke eloquently and then wandered around taking pictures of everyone.  What a trooper!

Gretchen Neuman, VinoVerve Editor August 25, 2011

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West Virginia always makes me think of a John Denver song. Not one in particular, just all of them in general. And I got to go there on my way home from the annual Wine Bloggers’ Conference.

Yes, I am looking at the states that I am visiting out of order. Why? because some of them I will visit both coming and going… I will get to them… eventually. It has been a bad month for me.

Anywho…

West Virginia.

The original plan didn’t include me driving through many of the parts of West Virginia that I wanted to visit.  Doesn’t that figure. The Greenbrier for instance. A great resort and home of a bunker for the government in case of Armageddon (the real one… not the California car version).  Given my new used fancy ve-hickle that was acquired two days before I hit the road, I was able to re-configure my trip.  White Sulpher Springs was now on the list.  Unfortunately, there was a golf tournament at the Greenbrier, so I couldn’t saunter into the  lobby of the resort.  Still, the area was quite beautiful.

On the other hand, the town of Matewan the subject of the movie by John Sayles was still not on my route.  It seems awfully small so maybe it was for the best.  I didn’t make it to anywhere  in Bloody Mingo.  I blame the Baldwin-Felts agents.

Even, even worse?  I didn’t get to taste any West Virginia wine.

Why?

Very simply bad timing.  I didn’t enter the state until nearly 6:30 pm and most of the wineries close before 6:00pm. sigh.  These wineries were along my route and I hope to lay my hands on some of those wines very soon.

Watts Roost Vineyard — located closest to my entrance into the state had already closed for the evening.  Given the number of tourists in town for the golf tournement, I am sure they were glad to close for the evening.  Still, they are producing wines from Chambourcin, Leon Millot and Vidal Blanc as well as elderberry, blueberry and blackberry wines that I would like to try.

Gretchen Neuman, VinoVerve Editor August 22, 2011

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Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

I have traveled nearly 2,000 miles in the last ten days. That is far enough to get to the Arctic Circle, assuming that I was inclined to do such a thing in March and April (which I am not).

So, now I have a dilemma. Where do I start on telling the tales of my journeys. I have decided to work backwards. Why? It is as good as anyway to begin… plus have I have fewer photos to dig back through….

so that means…

On to the Alexis Bailly Vineyard.

There were a couple of things that I knew about this winery before I got there. A. It is the oldest winery in Minnesota. 2. It is in the Upper Mississippi River Valley AVA which is one of the newest and definitely the largest appellation in the U.S.

The winery was established in 1973 by David Bailly and is named after the City of Hastings first permanent resident. David selected grapes varietals for his 20 acre former winter rye farm winery less on their cold weather heartiness and more for their flavor. The intent was not to just make a Minnesota wine but a superior Minnesota wine. Using the French adage that the vines must suffer to produce good wine, David Bailly believed that Minnesota was a place where the grapes would receive the requisite punishment.

Lately my wine journeys have been more of the solo variety but on this day, I had my Mom with me. We had travelled to the Land of 10,000 Lakes in order to attend the Mizuno Northern Lights Midwest Volleyball Qualifier. Which meant that we were in for three long days of volleyball. Oh, and it was Mom’s birthday. I am not going to tell you which one. Let’s just go with 19th (my mother’s traditional age) or as we learned at the winery “Plenty-nine”. Sophie wasn’t due to start playing until 3:00 so Mom and I headed out of the Minneapple and headed to Alexis Bailly.

We found the winery easily enough (sometimes directions out in the country can be tricky) and when we pulled into the lot we were greeted by the winery dog, who barked at as we headed into the tasting room. The funny thing was that the pooch stopped barking the second we walked into the building… He just headed over to his rug and plopped down. His job was finished.

Mom and I headed into the tasting room and were greeted by actual people! We decided to do the full tasting which included the special ice wine for $7.00 Being really early in the season (which opened April 1) and early in the day 11:30, we were the only folks tasting. The staff was getting ready for the winery’s first event of the season, their Chocolate, Cheese and Wine Tasting. Despite this, everyone was friendly and knowledgable. Perfect for Mom’s first time out with me!

We started with Seyval Blanc which was bright and crisp with green apple notes. Fermented and aged in stainless steel to maintain the full force of the fruit flavors this wine surprised me. Why? Mom LOVED it. And she is a dedicated red wine lover. She loved it so much that she bought some to take home. A real recommendation.

Next we tried the Country White. This wine is a blend of Seyval Blanc and La Crescent and is designed to be an easy drinking vins de pays. Perfect for everyday, though not terribly complex or aged.  This wine is off dry with a good burst of fruit and would be perfect for dishes with some spice or creaminess to them.

I bought a bottle of the next wine and am waiting for the proper weather to drink it…  The Golden Gris reminded me of Lillet Blanc.  Rich and full with an slight orange flavor.  Made of a  blend of La Crescent (90%) and Frontenac Gris (10%).  I am planning to use it on the first hot day of the season with a slice of orange and topped with bit of seltzer.

At this point we moved on to the reds, more familiar territory for Mom, though the first selection was actually a rosé, but a deep and rich one.  Aptly named Rosé Noir it is made of Marechal Foch and DeChaunac.  The color of this wine is much deeper than a standard rose but is rich with dark cherry flavors.  In another stunning move, Mom loved this wine as well…

Next we got to taste the Country Red, a proprietary blend designed to evoke thoughts of French Rhone wines.  The wine is dry, with good fruit and light, leathery tannins.  Truly, the perfect wine for a weekday meal.  The Voyageur on the other hand is a much bolder wine.  A blend of Marechal Foch, Léon Millot and Frontenac and aged 10 months in oak, this wine is inky black with deep, rich, woody flavors.  Voyageur is the most New World tasting of the Alexis Bailly’s wines.

After enjoying the biggest of Alexis Bailly’s wines, Mom and I moved on to the dessert wines.

The Hastings Reserve is a blend of grapes that are blended with vintages from several other years to create the consistency that is seen in solera aged ports.  In taste and consistency it was very much like a ruby port, though perhaps a little hot for me.  The Bailly’s Chocolate Port was a hit with Mom, who loved the richness of the chocolate essence.  I have to admit to preferring my chocolate separately from my fortified wines, but found the flavors to be much more lush than I have had in the past.  The last of the wines for the regular tasting was the Ratafia, a wine that I have read about but never had.  Ratafia  was something that I read about in Victorian novels or Restoration comedies.  Ratafias are fruit, nut and herbally flavored fortified wines that were produced in Mediterranean countries.  When checking my notes on this wine I laughed when I saw my scrawl of, “Holy Cow!”  The wine is rich with vibrant orange and spices – perfect for dessert or an aperitif.  It is totally out of the ordinary and worth a try.

The last wine that we tasted was their version of an ice wine.  Unfortunately the weather in Minnesota is so unpredictable that the winery can’t rely on the grapes freezing anything other than solidly making a real ice wine out of the question.  Instead they buy contract grown juice and freeze it, using the concentrated juice to produce the wine.  The wine is a lighter version of a German Eiswein. It was very nice.  In the meantime, the winery is working to grow grapes that will produce enough sugar to create the wine naturally at the vineyard.  I look forward to trying these wines in the future.

Sadly, at this point, Mom and I needed to head off to the Minneapolis Convention Center for six hours of volleyball.  We didn’t even get a chance to have dinner, which was a shame as it was her birthday that day.  I don’t think she minded, as she got to go to a wine tasting with me and see what I do when on the road.  I was glad that everyone at Alexis Bailly was sweet, personable and really well informed.  We even found a new way for my mother to express (not) her age.  Henceforth, she will no longer be 19, but instead will be “Plenty-nine”.

Thank you to everyone at Alexis Bailly for helping me give Mom a great birthday present!

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Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

The nice part of goals is missing them sometimes. Yes, it was your editor’s goal to complete podcasts for all four Missouri viticulture areas before leaving for the Show Me State… but that sadly hasn’t happened. Something about teenagers and their crazy schedules screwed that up. Oh, and randomly placed Spring Breaks. Ahhh.  Good times…

So, instead of showing you are about the Ozark Mountain and Ozark Highlands AVAs, I will postpone the publication of these videos so that I can gather some footage of my own…. and instead will talk about where I am planning to go on my Missouri adventures. While I am only going to be in Missouri for a long weekend and most of that time will be spent in St. Louis, I have found that I will be able to visit all four viticultural areas. Yeah!

As you can see, I have gotten lucky that all of these appellations are located at least in part near St. Louis. So naturally, given that I have no obligations to teens and/or volleyball (like last year or next week) I get to explore Missouri.

The conference location is the starting or ending point of the trip. At least from a planning perspective this is the raison d’être for my get away. Kevin is watching the teens, which earns him my pity as it is their spring break. He initially wished to join me along this journey but thought better of it as it is likely teens would have sucked all the joy out of me for this adventure, and I thank him profusely.

Why Ste. Genevieve? Simply, it is the oldest town in the state. Founded by the French along the Mississippi River before even the French and Indian Wars, the town has a collection of Creole-French buildings that were common among French settlers or habitants…  Obscure?  Perhaps.  But I love that kind of stuff.  Plus there are wineries there too which are located within the Ozark Mountain AVA. This AVA is the biggest in Missouri (especially since it extends into Arkansas and even Oklahoma) and the Ozark Highlands and Hermann appellations are located within its boundaries.

My next must see stop is the town of Kaskaskia, Illinois.  Crossing back over the Mississippi, you say?  Hardly.  Kaskaskia, also a French settlement, was located east of the Mississippi but as the river has changed course, so has the location of the town and it is currently located just a couple of miles south of Ste. Genevieve.  Actually, most of the original town has been lost to flooding and hardly anyone lives there anymore (the 2000 census indicated a population of 9).  The appeal of Kaskaskia is twofold.  It is the original capital of the state (or maybe territory) of Illinois.  Also?  It has a bell that was a given to the local parish church by Louis XV (Yes.  Louis XIV is dead, to answer my husband’s snappy response whenever hear hears the name of a monarch with a number attached to his name.. Thanks so much, dudes from Monty Python).

The next goals of the trip are to visit all three appellations that I haven’t been to before.  This means, stopping at wineries in Ozark Mountain (done… with stops in Ste. Genevieve), Ozark Highlands  (done with stops in and around Leasburg or Steelville, MO) and in Hermann.

As if this isn’t a busy enough weekend, I will then be attending the Drinklocalwine.com conference in St. Louis.  Whew.  I am going to be tired come Monday.  But I will have lots to talk about when I get back!

Hope you have as much fun this weekend!

Next stop

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Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

On my quest to be prepared for the DrinkLocalWine.com conference I am moving on from the Augusta AVA on to Hermann. The town of Hermann was founded by the German Settlement Society of Philadelphia in the 1830′s after they sent school teacher George Bayer to purchase land where they could establish a German utopia. Bayer selected the area that is now known as Hermann because it reminded him of his childhood home in Germany. Unfortunately the land was not ideal for traditional farming or industry, but was perfect for viticulture. Lucky for us!

Check out the new Hermann AVA page!

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Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

While wandering my Win(e)ding Roads in northern Illinois a while ago, I drove past what appeared to be a vineyard in the suburbs.  Now there are several wineries in the area, but unless they are further out into the exurban area, there are no vineyards associated with them.  They obtain their fruit either by contracting with vineyards for fruit or must.  It took me a bit to track down the vineyard name and website but eventually, I was ready to visit.

When we arrived at the winery we were greeted by the owner and winemaker, Rudolph Valentino DiTommaso who chatted with us about the winery.  Mr. DiTommaso started as a developer who had been making wine for years.  At one point he was speaking with a friend with more wine making experience and wondered what he needed to do to improve his wine.  The answer?  Improve the grapes that he was using.  Using grapes that were available for sale to home winemakers were not the first quality.  Those went to vineyards with their own wineries or were specifically grown for them.  That is when Mr. DiTommaso decided to grow his own grapes.  The remaining land that he originally thought would be used for single family homes were converted into vineyard.

The next interesting part of the Valentino Vineyards are the grapes that they grow.  Traditionally, northern type vineyards grow hybrid or native varietals that can survive our delightful Illinois winters.  This vineyard is growing a good selection of vinifera grapes.  How?  At the end of the season the vines are buried to protect their root system.  This is a time consuming process but can be done at a small operation such as this.  Yes, hybrids are grown as well, so not all the vines need so much tending.

As a result, there are estate grown Chardonnay’s in Illinois.  Wow.  Additionally, they produce fortified wines that are among the most unique that I have tasted.  Missing is the alcoholic sting of a newer port style wine.

The downside to everything? The winery is only open April to December on weekends only.

With spring around the corner? Stop by and visit!

Valentino Vineyards
5175 Aptakisic Road
Long Grove, IL 60047
847.634.2831
April thru December: Monday – Thursday, by appt., Friday, 5pm – 9pm, Saturday, 11am – 5pm, Sunday, 12pm – 4pm

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Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

Marguerite isn’t the only person who gets to drink Bordeaux!  While she got to go to the Boston Wine Expo to experience her tasting, I got to do mine in front of the fire in my own living room.  I have always loved Bordeaux for their respect to tradition.  Unfortunately Bordeaux wines have gotten the reputation of being expensive and frou frou and I frankly take exception to this.  I have been finding good bordeaux starting at $10 in the shops that I frequent and for $20?  Well, you can great wines.  So don’t avoid Bordeaux just because you think you have to spend a fortune.  You don’t.

Tonight, I am drinking the 2009 Axel Des Vignes Bordeaux Blanc a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon grown in clay and limestone soils and produced at Les Lèves winery near Sainte-Foy-la-Grand in Gironde France.  The wine was crisp with enough minerality to leave my tongue tingling (which makes me happy).  It opens with a fresh burst of the Sauvignon Blanc then lingers with the butteriness of the Sémillon.  Perfect for a pre-Valentine’s evening at home.

Disclaimer:  I received this wine as a sample from Planète-Bordeaux.

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