After Sunset in the Vineyard, hosted by Jeannie Carpenter for the Assistance League, I kept in touch with a few of our local winemakers.
One, Roman Weiser, aka “Wine Bordeaux”, suggested an idea for my readers. Wade through our wine soaked journey below and send me your thoughts.
At this time of a year the newly made wine is already resting in barrels, but there is plenty of other fun stuff to do. For example the ‘chores’ like tasting barrel samples or racking (separating wine from the lees sediment). This is also the time to think about the name for our wines and design the label. Every wine has a story behind it and the label usually reflects just that.
It’s like finding the right name for a newborn; home wine makers are funny that way.
Vineyards are getting ready for dormant stage. The leaves will soon fall and vine growers sharpen their pruners as this will be time to give our beloved vines a healthy ‘haircut’. And then we wait while continue racking the wines and taste them carefully to see if the oak is at bay and the wine continues healthy upbringing.
Eve, we are planning many new things and we will inform you about them as they crystallize.
In the mean time, I have a suggestion for your column. This would involve local wine merchants, exciting reviews, great fun source of wine educations for your readers, promote local business and interest in wine in general … let me know if you are interested to hear more
To: Wine Bordeaux From: Eve
From: Wine Bordeaux To: Eve
Peak into your cellar.
This little idea could be a fun theme for a weekly column don’t you think? Your readers would write in about the wines they believe people don’t have in their cellar with brief, geographic info about the region, description and maybe few tasting notes? Your readers will be surely compelled to write in and show off a little. This could be a great fun source of wine education as well! Good thinking Eve. Let’s give it a little test:
I think you don’t have any Alsatian wines… Am I right?
Alsace is located in North East of France, between the Vosges and the Rhine river. All wines planted are white. The grapes in Alsace are: Riesling (23% of Alsace wines), Pinot Blanc (20%), Gewurztraminer (18%), Tokay Pinot Gris (13%), Sylvaner (12%).
The best producers: Albert Mann, Zind Humbrecht, Barmes-Buecher among others. I love Albert Mann’s Riesling and Gewürztraminer. They are semisweet and oh so seductive!
OK, you are on – what wines do you think you have that I don’t?
From Eve to Wine Bordeaux:
Splendid idea.
No, I don’t have any Alsace in my cellar, I think, at the moment. But I’ve had them! Does that count?
I bet you don’t have the inaugural year of Agua Dulce’s (AD) champagne! I have a list…wait…ok so my husband has it hidden from me…don’t know why…but I know for a fact I have an 1986 Lynch Bages (LB)…the rest I’d have to look up. Gee talking to you is like talking to COC’s Wine Classic wine chair Jeff Jacobson.
From: Wine Bordeaux To: Eve
Very well! See, this was fun for us two – it surely will be fun for your readers. I am sure the idea can be taken bit further, to bring a little of competition into it!
LB 1986 scored well on Parker – 92 pts and it can be a good bottle to open now, and next 10 years. I have large collection of Bordeaux wines, they are my passion.
I didn’t even know AD makes sparkling wines (Champagne only comes from Champagne France)
Oh yes I do know Jeff Jacobson. We are friends. I always assist him pouring wines at the Wine Classic.
From Eve to Wine Bordeaux:
We’ve been buying Bordeaux futures since 2000. But we can’t open the LB as it’s the year we were married (yes, that’s how I remembered it). So I’m guessing that we better drink it by our 30th – thanks for the advice!
Yes, I know AD’s is a Sparkling, damn!
From: Wine Bordeaux To: Eve
