Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

I don’t think it is news to anyone that I love wine. Ok. Stop laughing already. I SAID it wouldn’t be news. And as much as I love local wine, I love trying wine from all over the world. Is this inconsistent with my locapour ways? Not at all… I refer to it as the Tip O’Neil Corollary, when speaking of politics, Speaker O’Neil once famously pointed out that “All politics are local”. And I believe that the same holds true with wine. It is local to somebody.

when I got a chance to try some wine from the “local” vineyards of the Clare Valley of Australia, I naturally jumped at the chance.

The wine is produced by Some Young Punks. Already, you know that I was enjoying this. Their name alone, indicates to me that while they love their wine, they don’t take themselves too seriously. The wine was the 2007 Passion Has Red Lips which was a Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz blend. I thought it was earthy, almost leathery. 1500 cases were produced. The artwork was taken from an old pulp fiction novel, Sin On Wheels.

I am hoping to find more of it soon.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

Kevin and I continued our exploration of local wines with the winery that sits on our 100 mile mark and at the very edge we discovered the Cedar Creek Winery.

In all fairness, we had a heads up on Cedar Creek.  Kevin had discovered the wine while at Mars Cheese Castle.  But the actual winery was new to us.  The funny thing is that we love a winery’s story and we had no idea of that from his trip to the ‘Castle’.  The trip to the winery… or at least the tasting room provided the rest.

The winery in Cedarburg, Wisconsin is one of a pair.  Cedar Creek’s sister winery is in Prairie du Sac and is within the Lake Wisconsin AVA (and now the Upper Mississippi River Valley AVA) which I will undoubtably illustrate for you later.  Because, when push comes to shove?  I am a map geek, and geography major, thus meaning that I know how to make maps.

Cedarburg, Wisconsin is one of those quaint little towns that is full of artists, antique shops, cute little restaurants and “general stores” .   Often they have no connection to the reasons that we consider them unique.  But in the case of Cedarburg, the town was home to largest wool mill outside of Philadephia in the 1800s.  In the 1890s the town began to produce electricity through a contract with the Cedarburg Light and Electric Commission.  The company still exists.  Now the town still contains its “quaint” antecedents while still moving into the 20th century.

This includes the winery.

The winery is owned by the same family that owns Wollersheim Winery in the Upper Mississippi Valley AVA and share a wine maker, Phillipe Coquard who has been with family since 1984 and is now part of the family having married owners Robert and JoAnn Wollersheim’s daughter Julie.  Because of the cold temperatures in Wisconsin, the vitis vinifera grapes used to produce Cedarburg’s Chardonnay,C abernet Sauvignon, Riesling, Pinot Grigio and Syrah are contract grown in California, Washington and New York.  The vineyard in Prarie du Sac grows hybrid grape varietals, St. Pepin and Lacrosse, which are used in some of their wines.

The winery produces 16 different wines, including a non-alcoholic champagne, an oaked and non-oaked Chardonnay (which is a nice contrast of flavors), a number of fruit blends and holiday spiced wines.  Additionally Beaujolais made by the winemaker’s Uncle Pierre is also available.  (The Wollersheim winery carries the wine produced by Uncle Jean’s Beaujolais as well as  Phillipe’s brother’s Lombardian Bonarda.

Cedar Creek Winery
N70 W6340 Bridge Rd.
Cedarburg, WI 53012
(262) 377-8020
1-800-827-8020
info@cedarcreekwinery.com

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

For my next installment of Lists for Locapours I am going to tell you about a Chicago restaurant that includes local wines on their list. Naturally, you would assume that this restaurant is of a lower quality.

You would be wrong.

Charlie Trotter’s even has a page on his website dedicated to American wines, stating:
“….By 2001, there were licensed wineries in all 50 states. All these producers have great pride in what they’re cultivating. Thus far, the results are good, with incredible potential in the years to come…..we invite you to enjoy our ongoing search for the quintessential wine produced in each of the 50 states, either from European and native North American grape varieties, or from other fruits. They may be red or white, dry or sweet. This chapter, like winemaking in North America , is a work in progress, and evolution. The search will continue as we cross borders and venture into Canada and Mexico .”
Some of the wines that are included on this list are:

1994 Lynfred Cabernet Sauvignon, from Roselle, Illinois… We have been there!
Hopkins Vineyard Cabernet Franc, Western Connecticut Highlands (VinoVerve has been there!)
Cedar Creek “Semidry” Vidal, Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin (VV has been there but I forgot to post it… ugh! But I will soon)
2003 Sakonnet Vidal Blanc, Southeastern New England (from Rhode Island, and yes… we’ve been there!)

So, remember, the next time someone tells you that there are no decent local wines, and they certainly don’t pair in a fine dining environment remind them that Charlie Trotter disagrees.

Viva the Locapour, Charlie!

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

When I was driving out east for my Grandmother’s birthday last year (can you believe she is 102 already!), I passed all sorts of signs for wineries…

Unfortunately my timing was awful and I didn’t get to visit any in Maryland. I am working on rectifying this in the future and have started mapping out AVAs and wineries.. ok. mostly AVAs.

I was ridiculously close to this AVA and am now annoyed that I missed it.  The Linganore AVA was established August 18, 1983 and contains portions of Frederick and Carroll Counties.  There are 57,600 acres in the area which is part of the Piedmont Plateau northwest of Charm City (Baltimore to the rest of you).

There are 4 wineries in the AVA:

• Linganore Winecellars at Berrywine Plantations
• Loew Vineyards
• Black Ankle Vineyards
• Elk Run Vineyards

Frankly, if I had known that I was that close to Black Ankle, I would have veered off the road in a heart beat.  I have had their wine before and it is great!  Maybe for Nanny’s 103rd!

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

So you want to try a local wine and don’t know where to go in Chicago to get it? (And I am using Chicago because that is where I live… if YOU find a restaurant wine list that includes local selections email me at gretchen@vinoverve dot com and I will include it in my links….

But this week, I am starting off with a restaurant that is known for its excellent wine.

Bin 36 recently featured these American wines including one from the Upper Mississippi River Valley AVA.

All American Whites
12.35
These domestic beauties are worth raising a flag over. Each of these unique wines express individuality, great purity of flavor and distinctive personality. Explore these compelling wines and get patriotic!

6 oz | 2.5 oz

BIN 17

8.65 / 3.60
2007 Chardonnay, Gruet Winery, New Mexico
Skillfully balanced with bright fresh apple, pear and citrus notes accented with vivid minerality.

BIN 18
7.50 / 3.15
2007 Pinot Gris, Wallace Brook Cellars (Adelsheim), Wilamette Valley, Oregon
Medium bodied, balanced and round with juicy apples and stoney minerals.

BIN 19
9.00 / 3.75
2008 Seyval, Wollersheim Winery, “Prarie Fume,” Prarie du Sac, Wisconsin
This French-American hybrid is widely grown in the eastern United States, the midwest, England and northern France. This lively, juicy expression delivers notes of grapefruit, lime and grassy flavors similar to a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc.

BIN 20
7.75 / 3.20
2007 Gewurztraminer, Pacific Rim (Bonny Doon), Washington/Oregon
Classic floral nose with fresh juicy flavors of apple, lychee and minerals.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

Recently, I ran across this question on a message board (if you can call LinkedIn that):

Should the “Eat Local” ethic apply to wine as well?

Not surprisingly alot of the commenters couldn’t see the point of extending that philosophy to what they drank. Some because “freshness” isn’t exactly a quality sought in wine, others because of economics of the restaurant business or the wine business. Naturally, I have a point of view. Here is what I wrote:

What would you think about a San Francisco restaurant that REFUSED to sell California wine?

That is exactly what local wineries all over the country face.

And by wineries, I am NOT referring to ambitious hobbyists making wine in their basement (like I do) but rather licensed and bonded wineries which exist in every state of our nation. Without retail and restaurant exposure these wineries remain undiscovered gems. “Local” may be seen as environmentally friendly and good policy when it comes to foodstuffs, but in the wine world has become synonymous with “inferior”. Why? Because there is no recognition for these wines because the distributors control all the marbles. Without distribution, the chances of a wine ending up on a restaurant menu or in your local liquor store are close to nil. And of course, without name recognition, most distributors won’t be bothered with a winery.

What bothers me are people who recognize the positives that come from supporting local producers but drawing the line a local wine. If you are going to promote locavorism then you should support locapourism too.

Think about the restaurants that you frequent. Do they serve local wine? Do they talk about “local” produce? If they do, ask for a local wine pairing. And tell us if they have one. I would love to start a listing of restaurants that carry local wine.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

Once you have an AVA designation for your region there seems to be something that happens that makes you want to make yourself more and more distinguishable. We see it all the time with California AVAs that have been subdivided into smaller and smaller sub-regions. I am beginning to think we will end up have an AVA for each individual vineyard.

That being said, some areas make more sense than others. Such is the case with Seneca Lake. Like the other Finger Lakes, Seneca Lakes was carved by glaciers as they retreated from Upstate New York. It is, however, one of the longest and deepest of the lakes, averaging about 290 feet and up to 600 feet deep. During the winters, the lake does not freeze which allows it to be a heat sink that protects the surrounding lands from frost, extending the growing season. As a result, vitis vinifera grapes are able to be grown as well as hybrids.

Vineyards have existed around Seneca Lake since 1829 when Rev. William Boswick establish one in his rectory garden.  Cuttings of those Catawba and Isabella vines helped establish vineyards all over the region.  The first commercial winery was established in 1866.  Today, there are 36 member wineries on the Seneca Lake Wine Trail.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Marguerite Barrett
Contributing Writer

Each year since moving to Connecticut, I’ve made the trek down to New Jersey to spend Thanksgiving with my cousins, the Garlicks. Under normal circumstances (i.e. the drive home in the evening), the trip takes just over two hours.  Driving down on Thanksgiving morning, though, is like “traveling through another dimension… you’ve just entered the Twilight Zone.”

The first year, 2007, my friend and occasional wine trail buddy, Maree Prendergast, also joined us for Thanksgiving, so my first stop was Jersey City where she lives. The drive down the Merritt Parkway in Connecticut was both lovely and a breeze, until I hit the Bronx and the parkway became a parking lot. After 45 minutes of almost total inertia, I decided it was time to move – and by this point didn’t really care which direction I headed in.  So I hopped off the parkway and made my way over to the Queensboro Bridge, figuring crosstown traffic on Thanksgiving afternoon couldn’t be that bad. Whoops – forgot there was that little thing called the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade (which in my defense had finished hours before), forcing me and everyone else in Manhattan to head downtown and cut across the impossibly narrow streets of the Village and Soho to that traffic nightmare more commonly known as the Holland Tunnel.

Needless to say, we were several hours late…

Last year, 2008, Maree skipped Thanksgiving at the Garlicks in favor of spending the holiday with her parents who were visiting from Sydney, Australia, so I decided to cut across Connecticut and drop down into New Jersey from the north – thus avoiding Manhattan altogether. Great plan until I hit a 15-mile backup caused by an accident on the Tappan Zee Bridge, forcing me to detour down to I95 and that traffic nightmare more commonly known as the George Washington Bridge.

Needless to say, I was several hours late…

This year, I informed my cousin Andrew before Easter not to expect me for Thanksgiving.   Instead, I’m spending the day close to home with my friends David & Deirdre, their three kids, and the various and sundry people that come for the weekend or just wander in off the street. In some ways David & Deirdre remind me of my own family – they collect people, all kinds of people, and have the most interesting dinner table conversations.  I anticipate a lively Thanksgiving and a 20 minute commute.

I called Deirdre several weeks ago to ask her what I could bring.  We actually have a bit of a routine: if one is hosting dinner the other calls and says “what can I bring,” only to be answered with “nothing…  except maybe a bottle of wine.”  But this being Thanksgiving, and Deirdre now having three children (the youngest born a scant 2 1/2 months ago), I figured if I nagged her every few days like one of her children (what can I bring, what can I bring, what can I bring…) she would break down and tell me something – anything – to get me to stop calling her.

It appears her children broke her first, because I had barely gotten the words out of my mouth when she laughed and said “I was just going to ask if you’d mind bringing dessert?”  I just about fell off my chair.  Good thing I wasn’t asking just to be polite.  :)  We settled on my bringing a Cranberry Upside Down Cake and a Chocolate-Espresso Volcano Cake, which when joined by the Deirdre’s pumpkin bread pudding and David’s childhood favorite strawberry and pretzel dessert will make a nice dessert buffet for the roughly 20 people coming for Thanksgiving.

And what better to go with a dessert buffet than a selection of local dessert wines, especially if they are seasonal wines that evoke that lusciousness of Thanksgiving?  So along with the desserts, I’m pulling a few bottles of Connecticut wines from the cellar:
Digrazia Autumn Spice I can only describe this as “pumpkin pie in a glass.”  White wine fermented with sugar pumpkins, honey and spices (including nutmeg and cinnamon).  Yum!
Land of Nod Chocolate-Raspberry Wine I first tasted this in August of ‘07, just before it was released and loved it so much I went back and bought a case last Thanksgiving to share with friends (and hoard for myself).  Not too sweet and the chocolate and the raspberry are perfectly balanced.
And to round out the mix, I’ll bring a more traditional dessert wine, but am still trying to choose between Hopkins Vineyard’s Night Owl, a lovely late-harvest Vidal Blanc, and their Ice Wine, one of the best non-Niagara region/non-German Ice Wines I’ve found.  Decisions, decisions…
Of course I can always have the one I didn’t choose chilling at home for a late-night Thanksgiving toast in front of the fire…

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Marguerite Barrett
Contributing Writer

Shortly after I heard about the New Jersey Thanksgiving Wine Trail weekend, I received an email from Haight-Brown Winery in Connecticut announcing their participation in the
1st Annual Litchfield Hills Winter Wine Trail
The winter wine trail is comprised of six participating wineries all clustered around Litchfield, Connecticut.  Visit any of the wineries between December 1st and March 15th and pick up a Winter Wine Trail registration card.  Get your card stamped at all six wineries by March 15th, and you’ll be eligible for the grand prize drawing of an overnight stay at a Litchfield County Bed & Breakfast with second and third prizes being a a family 4-pack of passes for Ski Sundown and dinner at a Litchfield County Restaurant.

The participating wineries include:
CT Valley Winery ~ New Hartford, CT
Jerram Winery ~ New Hartford, CT       **Vino Verve Visited**
Haight-Brown Vineyard ~ Litchfield, CT     **Vino Verve Visited**
Hopkins Vineyard ~ New Preston, CT     **Vino Verve Visited**
Miranda Vineyard ~ Goshen, CT       **Vino Verve Visited**
Sunset Meadow Vineyards ~ Goshen, CT      **Vino Verve Visited**

The Litchfield Hills are lovely any time of the year and the towns scattered throughout the region often feature charming 18th and 19th century farmhouses and Queen Annes (or newer houses styled like more historic buildings), local farms and vineyards with a wide area of fresh produce and wines  and picturesque town squares (particularly in the town of Litchfied).  Decked out for Christmas, especially if there’s snow on the ground, the area is practically a Currier & Ives lithograph come to life.

Combine all that with the chance to win some great prizes, and you’ve got a new Locapour Holiday Tradition.

I’ll be hitting the trail on Saturday December 5th with three of my newest wine-trail buddies, Cheryl Grayson and sisters Deb Shaw-Esteves and Melissa Shaw.   It will also give me the chance to check off one more winery in my quest to complete the entire Connecticut Wine Trail.   Hope to see you there!

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Gretchen Neuman
VinoVerve Editor

With Thanksgiving looming before us this week (Please keep your Christmas references at bay, please… I can only handle one holiday at a time), many people are trying to decide what to have for the big feast.

Turkey is the obvious choice (though venison would be traditionally correct as well, as the local Wamponoag people brought five deer to the feast)

One thing that we can be sure of? Those people celebrating their first feast of thanksgiving in Plymouth (or Virginia) dined on local food. There was no Beajolais Nouveau or Beaujolais Vieux for that matter…

What seems totally appropriate?  Drinking local.  During the colonial period, the Pilgrims would have had beer from home grown barley, or cider from home grown apples or even wine from from native grapes (fox grapes named for their flavor… think Concord and tell me if you can avoid thinking of grape jelly!) or other local fruit.

So my plan?

To drink as much local wine as possible…  The thing holding me back?  Well… my parents are hosting our feast.. and Dad does have all of those wine clubs that he is a member of…  I will do my best to bring more wine than Lionstone International can send my father.

Powered by Bookmarkify™