Tasting Room

You must be thinking at this point, “Hey!  I thought this was a wine blog?”

And so it is…  Though Marguerite and I often like to talk about our adventures on the road as much as the wineries we visit.  Kevin and I wanted to take the girls to Memphis for a little bit of a getaway, but that didn’t mean we had forgotten about wine.  In fact, it was part of our plan the entire time.  The morning after our dinner at Capriccio Grill,  we decided to start meandering our way towards home.

Delta White

This seemed highly appropriate as the south of Illinois the Mississippi River starts wandering across the river plain.  In fact, as I was mapping out possible locations to check out, I was astounded by how water had shaped the land.  For this reason, I think, there are not many wineries in the western portion of state.  Nevertheless, we headed from Memphis.  The thought was since we were headed that way, we might as well stop if we see something on the way (At least this was what we told the kids.  As I had chosen the route we would be taking home, it was somewhat inevitable that we would ‘discover’ a winery along the route.).

And where did we end up?

The Old Millington Winery
6748 Old Millington Road
Millington, TN 38053-6206
(901) 873-4114

Big River Red

This little winery is less than 20 miles outside of Memphis but it seems much more rural. Or maybe that is just Kevin and I being unfamiliar with rural Tennessee. It was a gray day as we headed out, but the intense greenery and flowering trees more than made up for it. When we pulled into the winery we could see the vines growing next to the tasting room. We learned that the grapes were Chambourcin which is the only varietal grown on site. According to Brandi in the tasting room, juice is brought into the winery to be fermented for the other varieties.

Red Port

We tried several of the wines, starting with the driest first. The Vidal Blanc was crisp and tasted of grapefruit though was a little lighter than I expected. The Crying Angel Red was named in honour of a local Civil War Memorial. It is a blend of estate-grown Chambourcin and Cynthiana (Norton) grapes. The color was a dark brick red with distinct tannins. The Big River Red was my favorite. It had the deepest flavors of the reds that we tried and was a rich ruby color.

Chambourcin Vines

Kevin and I also tried some of the sweeter wines. The Delta White was made with Vidal Blanc grapes but had a richer and sweeter taste. The Muscadine was also sweet but with an earthiness to the flavor. Lastly, Kevin tried the Red Port which was made from grapes grown in Western Tennessee. He enjoyed the minerally richness but we forgot to ask if they were fortifying the port.

Vineyard Dogs

While we finished our tasting, the girls enjoyed playing with the vineyard dogs who were checking out the visitors. Old Millington Winery is a nice family run winery which is providing wine and entertainment (most Saturdays from April til October) for Western Tennessee. If you are near Memphis, it is worth a stop to enjoy their Southern hospitality.

Awards (from the Wines of the South Competition):

Vidal Blanc
2008 Bronze Medal
2007 Bronze Medal
2006 Silver Medal

Delta White
2008 Gold Medal
2007 Silver Medal

Muscadine
2008 Bronze Medal

Red Port
2007 Silver Medal
2008 Silver Medal

Dancing Goat Muscadine
2007 Bronze Medal
2006 Bronze Medal
2005 Silver Medal

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After discovering that I would NOT be sampling the wines from Mississippi Delta AVA, at least without crossing over into Mississippi (and yes, I know that seems logical now, but I was lead astray with the promise that part of the MDAVA would be in Tennessee), I decided to check into what Tennessee to see what I could find.

As I am a lazy cartographer by nature (ask my former professor, I am sure he would agree with me), please note that the locations of the wineries are approximate. Please check for the actual locations at the http://www.tennesseewines.com/index.html.

Memphis is in the Southwestern corner of the state.  I am sure to be able to make it to the most Southwestern do on the map which is located in Millington.  Cross your fingers.  Maybe I can make it to a couple of other Tennessee wineries as well.

Tennessee Wineries

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The Mississippi Delta AVA

Our choice for this weekend?

Memphis, Tennessee.  Home of St. Jude’s Hospital, Sun Records, Graceland, Miley Cyrus and the birthplace of  The Blues, Rock and Roll, and Crunk.

So, as is my tradition…. I looked to see what kind of wine opportunities might exist in Tennessee… particularly around Memphis. Because we grownups should have something to look forward to also.  And on Wikipedia, I found this:

A small portion of the Mississippi Delta AVA, a designated American Viticultural Area extends into the southwestern part of the state.

Southwestern part of the state? That sounds like perfect Memphian territory. And so I checked. And because there is no map that I can find of the AVA, I checked with the records from the TTB (formerly the ATF) and mapped the AVA myself, so that I would know which parts of Tenneessee would be included in the AVA.

What did I find?

Well, even though the AVA is in Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee, the lions share of it is really in Mississippi. and by that I mean 99.827%. Less than 6,500 acres are in Lousiana and less than 243 acres are in Tenneessee.1.

And the portions of the AVA that are in the other states are largely there because of changes in the flow of the river or due to the ways that the levies were built.

Sigh.

So, I guess I won’t be having any Mississippi Delta wine on this trip.

But since I mapped the AVA, I figured I would share it with you. Maybe, one of you has been to one of the wineries and can tell me about their wine.

1. Thank you to Area and Distance Calculator By : mikebrewer.co.uk on Google Maps for helping me calculate the area. It would have taken me alot longer to figure it out…

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