3 corks are a crowd-May 10, 2011

As we tried cramming as many stops into our two days as possible, we headed to the James Arthur Vineyard in Raymond after a quick lunch break in Lincoln. We arrived shortly after another group of ladies so we grabbed a couple of wine lists and staked our claim on a table near the cold fireplace to pick out the wines we wanted to taste. Jessi and I each picked out three or four of them before going to the bar to get our first tastings and some oyster crackers to… well, I’m not sure on the exact purpose for the crackers.

At first, I thought it was so we weren’t drinking on an empty stomach, but then I realized how much they cleansed the pallet so the flavors did not mingle in your mouth. It is probably a combination of both.

While Jessi and I swirled, sniffed, and sipped our wines before trading glasses and repeating the process, we discussed the other wines we wanted to try and how our wine adventure was doing so far. We also discussed future stops and general wine related topics.

At JAV, we tended to stick to ourselves unless we were going to the bar for our next tasting until the other group left. Then we did what we had done at the From Nebraska Gift Shop and planted ourselves at the bar so we could pick the brain of the lady behind the counter. We found out that her father was James Arthur and her husband was the master winemaker for JAV. We could not have been more excited. We spent quite a while talking to her about the vineyard, wine in general, competitions that their wines had entered (and won), and about her trips to the wine county both in Napa, CA and the Finger Lakes region of New York (I have a whole other post about that so I’ll hold off for now).

Then she brought up the topic of Port. According to wikipedia, port is a wine that has had “neutral grape spirit” added to it to stop the fermentation process and to keep a lot of the sugar in it. It also usually has a higher alcohol content and is usually drank in small quantities in place of a dessert after dinner and is strictly made in Portugal (if it is made somewhere else, it has to be called something else, much like champaign is only made in the Champaign region of France and a similar beverage made elsewhere is often times called sparkling wine). Port is something that I have always been afraid to try because I am slightly afraid of super dry wines. She talked us into having a taste of their port-like wine, Tropasti (read the name backwards and smile). Jessi and I were both pleasantly surprised. It was not at all what I imagined and I rather liked it.

Now, I do not consider myself a wine critic at all and I know that everybody has their own taste in wines. With that being said, I did not care for many of the wines that JAV offered. I recognized the quality of the wine, but most did not fit into what I look for in a wine. My favorite wine from James Arthur was the 2010 2 Brothers, and from the extra marks I put next to it on the page, I think I really enjoyed it!

James Arthur Specs:

            2 options for tastings: 4 tastings for $4 or 6 tastings for $5

Great wine-related items for sale in tasting room including costumes to dress up wine bottles, decorated decanter and glass sets, and wineaux t-shirts

You can purchase their wines at the vineyard and all over Nebraska

Souvenir wine glass included with tasting