Travel is broadening because you never know what you are going to encounter… so you have to learn to be flexible.

And boy, am I finding the unexpected.

More explanations later.

I am just pleased to have survived to thunderstorms at night in the mountains.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

North Dakota! Where the winds go sweeping down the plains! Ooops, wrong song. But North Dakota is where I’ll wind up next and there are plains. So that much is accurate. To get there, all I have to do is cross the Red River from Minnesota. Easy-peasy. Now, I have seen the Red in action. it is no meek, mild river. I got to enjoy its delightful flooding during the summer of 1993 in the even more delightful city of Winnipeg. Do you know how big mosquitos get in Manitoba during a flood? I still have nightmares about them.

So what do I have to look forward to in North Dakota?

Well, there is Fargo. Still no Marge, but still. I also get to go through the capital, Bismarck, named for the German Chancellor, not the donut.

Other options for me:

The Roger Maris Museum
The National Buffalo Museum where there are albino bison.
A walking tour of Louis L’Amour’s hometown
I got excited about the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Hall of Fame, but it turns out that it is a portrait gallery of famous North Dakotans Now it is interesting because I learned that Lawrence Welk, Peggy Lee and Angie Dickinson all came from North Dakota.
Fort Abraham Lincoln and Custer House might be more up my alley so long as I avoid the guided tour (I have been banned from the Freedom Trail, after all. Marguerite is similarly banned. We are not good on historical tours, in fact, we are downright snarky.)
Salem Sue! I love giant animals! I visit the Big Duck often, how could I skip the duck’s dairy equivalent?
Dakota Dinosaur Museum. Did you just hear my nerd alert go off? WHEE!
Did I mention that this will be my first time seeing the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt_National_Park?

Now I just have to figure out what the quintessential food of North Dakota is… Any ideas? You know how to reach me or comment below.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

This year, I will once again, be driving out the Wine Blogger’s Conference. This year, the event will be held in beautiful Walla Walla, Washington. Naturally, I need to find places to stop along the way. No road trip is complete without a bite of the local color. So the key is to start planning now. I have two potential routes to adventure. I can either take the incredibly convenient to hop onto Interstate 90 which will lead me through Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Washington; OR the equally incredibly convenient to hop onto Interstate 94 which will lead me through Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho and Washington.

Choices, choices. The common denominator is the ease with which I will be able to hit the road as from Chez Neuman it is a five minute drive to either Interstate. Talk about your Gateway to the West!

Now is the time, for me to figure out as much as I can to make an informed drive. So if you know a cool, geeky spot, I should stop, a nice, but reasonable place to stay for the night, the local fare that should be tried or a great winery along the way? Email me at gretchen@vinoverve.com. If I use your suggestion a beautiful Locapour t-shirt could be yours!

Locapour Lite by VinoVerve
View more Locavore T-Shirts

Powered by Bookmarkify™

While in St. Louis, I did more than drag an underaged teen from one winery to another… I went out to dinner… With grownups even!

Yes, it is true. After spending a long day in volleyball and touring Daniel Boone’s favorite wineries, the girl and I headed back to the hotel where she immediately ditched me for team related activities and headed up to see my favorite wine-loving volleyball mom. After snacking on some cheese and crackers and drinking some delicious Mt. Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon we headed down to the hotel’s restaurant, An American Place.

The room for this restaurant is beautiful with ridiculously high ceilings due to the Mezzanine being above. The ceiling seemed to have Wedgewood cameos engraved, painted, however it is done.

One of the things that I liked about the menu was that the Chef/Owner Larry Forgione sources many of his supplies locally. Unlike many chefs, he extends this policy to his list of libations which contained selections from :

Mt. Pleasant
Chaumette Estate
Schlafly
O’Fallon

Better yet, the meals were terrific. We started out with an amuse bouche of blue cheese panna cotta with a reduced balsamic glaze and chip of cured pork shoulder. Next I had the sweetbreads which were a treat I haven’t had in a long, long time and finally the hanger steak which at that point I forgot to photograph because I was enjoying the food and conversation…. Oh, and I loved the presentation of the shrimp cocktail, which I thought looked like mini versions of the St. Louis Arch!

Powered by Bookmarkify™

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™

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™

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™

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™

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™

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™