Kingman Winery, Denver CO

My mom and I came to Denver this Memorial Day weekend to see Les Miserables and my friend Emily but had a lot of time to kill before our show so we hit Hammond's Candy for the tour and to stock up on old fashioned candies. While we were waiting for our tour, my mom came across a pamphlet for Colorado wineries and vineyards....and there were a few really close to Hammond's

Woohoo!!! 

We tried hitting one with a fancy name first but saw that they were having a fancy party so we went back to follow the wine signs that mom had spotted on the way. They led us to Kingman Winery which was a small store-front with a nicely decorated tasting area and a wall that separated it from the production area. We got to try all the wines that they offered:

Whites-

Chardonnay

Viognier

Riesling

Reds-

Cabernet Sauvignon

Marv'lous 1680

Zinfandel

They also had a special wine that was a bled of Riesling and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes (which I can't remember the name of) and it is their summer wine for 2013. It was an interesting bled of white and red that made for a lovely wine to drink on a hot summer day. They designed the label using a painting from one of their featured artists (they do a art night once a month where an artist comes in and teaches people how to recreate one of their paintings while drinking wine... I should do this some day).

They prided themselves on taking familiar wines and making them unfamiliar. They don't age their Chardonnay in oak barrels so it doesn't have the creamy and buttery taste that most Chardonnays have. They also process their Riesling differently so it's not as sweet as most Rieslings go. As for the reds, they only age their Cabernet Sauvignon for about 8 months before bottling when it normally ages for a year. This gives it a strong beginning but a more mellow end than most Cabs.

When we were done with our tastings, we were offered a tour of their operations... Which was very small compared to what I had seen at other wineries. They get all of their grapes from a valley in another part of Colorado and process them all in the small space behind the tasting room.

My favorite of their offerings was their Chardonnay, which is strange since I don't usually favor them. I was not a fan of the Riesling and did not mind the Cab, two even stranger things. 

Kingman was an interesting little find and was glad we visited.

"Your adaptive unconcious is crying out to taste our wine."

Another Good Time at MONA

Wow. I had not realized that it had been so long since the last time I posted.

Well, this weekend brought the Wine and Jazz Festival back to Kearmey and of course Jessi ventured west to go with me. The weather was threatening nastiness like it usually does for the W&J Fest but we were not disheartened. We got there around 7, met up with some friends and found a table outside near the stage to plan our stratify. The lightening was flashing and the rain was just starting to sprinkle when we headed in for our first tastings... Which I got exactly one of when they told us the event was shutting down because of the weather. If it cleared, they would open back up and we were welcome to come back.

What to do until then you may ask. Well, we did what everybody else did... We headed to the closest bar to wait out the storm. The poor guy behind the bar at the Garage didn't know what hit him. He was ready for a quiet evening at work when he suddenly got slammed by dozens of people from the festival. He desperately called other bartenders for help while trying to serve drinks, which he was doing rather well considering. Everybody was cool with the wait so that made his job easier.

We stayed there for a couple of rounds, found one more friend and headed back to the MONA parking lot for round two of wine.

Most of the vineyards and wineries that were there were the same from years past but that didn't stop Jessi and I from hitting them up for our favorites (and not so favorites-Sweet Hattie anybody?). We did find some new good ones, my new favs of the evening were Silver Fox from Silver Hills and Wine-A-Rita from... somewhere. During the course of the evening, we found or were given about 20 extra tickets so we had that many more chances to try the wines that peaked our interest.

We had some good laughs, tried some great wine, and listened to some good music while thumbing our nose at Nebraska weather. Overall, it was what the Wine & Jazz Festival has come to mean to me: bad weather and an awesome time.

The Finger Lakes Wine Region

My first introduction to the Finger Lakes wine region was at my cousin, Ryan's, wedding at Belhurst (pictured below). They served wine from the Anthony Road Wine Company (Ryan is friends with the owner). I remember the Tony's White they served at the wedding being the best I had ever had and can't wait to try it again to see if it is as good as I remember.

Belhurst at Seneca Lake: Winery, Hotel, Spa, Event Center, Castle
Finger Lakes Wine Region

When Jessi and I visited James Arthur Vineyard last summer, the lady we talked to there reccomended that if we wanted to visit a huge wine region, skip Napa and visit the Finger Lakes. She said Napa was expensive, too commercial, and the people were less likely to spend time talking to you about the wines.... this coming from the daughter of James Arthur and wife of the head winemaker at James Arthur Vineyard. If they wouldn't talk to her, they probably wouldn't talk to us.

The Finger Lakes, she said, was more like the wineriers and vineyards in Nebraska. They were a close-knit group, friendly, and less commercial. Then and there, Jessi and I decided that sometime, we needed to find a bus tour of the Finger Lakes wine region and leave enough time afterwards on our vacation to New York to explore on our own.

I don't know a whole lot about the Finger Lakes wine industry, but exploring it is on my bucket list. With family in the area, it shouldn't be too hard to do... Plus, I'm hoping I can drag some of them along to enjoy the trip with us.

Here's a link that Anthony Road posted on their facebook page that tells about some of the New York wineries/vineyards and some of their wines: Drinking New York

Cheers!

Another Pour Decision

As Lent approached, the question of what I would give up continued to bounce around in my mind, daily.... helped along by others asking what I was giving up. I don't remember giving anything up last year so this year I decided to do something extra difficult to make up for my lapse.

So, I was sitting in the Lair one day, trying to decide if it was too early to have a glass of wine when it hit me: I found what I was giving up for Lent.... Wine.

FML

The first few days were fine, but as the weeks pass, it is getting more difficult. For example, I am sitting here craving a glass of the sweet red moscato I have in the fridge like you wouldn't believe. I can hear it calling and mocking me from half way across the apartment... its voice is amplified by the unopened bottles in my wine rack.

I am trying to stay strong. I think the only thing that is getting me through is the thought of Jessi and I hitting our first stop on the 2012 wine tour at the end of March. We have a stop planned for our way up to Wayne for March Madness and I am not allowing myself any slips until then.

It is my reward.

Broken Rule

I broke one of my rules for this one.... the one about not buying wine without a cork in the bottle. I'm sorry. It was just soooo damn cute!!!! It's like a pudding cup of wine!

God Bless 'Mur'ka!

NEWS!!!!

Exciting news today in the world of the Nebraska Wine Tour: I'm chalking it up to them knowing my address from sending in my passport from last year but I got a shiny new 2012 Wine Tour passport in the mail today!!!!

It wasn't really much of a surprise since Jessi had texted me earlier and told me that she had gotten one in the mail and that I should check my box when I got home. I ripped open the envelope to discover not one, but TWO passports just waiting to be stamped. Looks like they are encouraging me to recruit more friends to join Jessi and I on this year's adventure...

Challenge Accepted!!!!

Wine Review #3: Beringer's Red Moscato

With my adventures on the Nebraska Wine Tour, this blog, and my random wine-themed stories, my friends, coworkers, and random acquaintances know how much of a wineaux I am. This tends to have its advantages (although, it might look to outsiders that I have a serious problem).

For example, my friend, Cathy, and I recently got around to exchanging our Christmas presents (our goal was to do it by Valentine's Day, mission accomplished!) and I could not help but be excited by what she got me: 2 bottles of wine! The first was my favorite moscato, Rex-Goliath which is super cheap and has a rooster on the label (she had Puffy run recon so she got the right kind) and the second was one I had never heard of before, Beringer's Red Moscato. I was really excited to try it and I was proud of Cathy for stepping out of her comfort zone (she knows nothing about wine and is rather apprehensive about the subject) to get something new for me.

Beringer's Red Moscato is sweet and light like most moscatos but there is a definite difference. The only way I can describe it is the "red difference." Dry to Sweet, red and white wine have a different taste. Chalk it up to tannins or just the color but blindfolded, I bet most people could point out the red vs. the white.

Either way, I LOVED it!!! It was also a huge hit with my mom and friend, Matt... I made Puffy and Joey try it. They were not fans... so my mission to turn them into wine drinkers continues.

It has become my new favorite wine and the hunt continues for where to get it since Cathy refuses to tell me where she found it.

Pour Choices, Bad Decisions

Drinking copious amounts of alcohol usually leads to Pour Choices and Bad Decisions for most people. I am a wineaux who would love to present a refined and sophisticated air… but I know this first hand.

1) A general Pour Choice comes in the form of a design flaw by wine glass manufacturers. While I personally love the idea, I think it is a horrible thing to sell. What I am speaking of, is, of course, those HUGE wine glasses that you can fit a half a bottle of wine or more in.

While I know that you are not supposed to fill them to the brim, that they are made that big so the wine has room to breathe and you can swirl the wine to allow the different flavors and notes rise to your pallet, etc., but who honestly follows those unwritten rules when the second or third bottle gets uncorked?

2) My first true Pour Choice that involves wine came from a night of drinking with Jessi, my sister Laura, and our friend Owen. Jessi and I were drinking wine like we are wont to do when somebody had the brilliant idea of wine bombs.

Why? Oh, dear God, WHY?!

This is where a drunk and/or stupid person adds cherry flavored vodka to an innocent glass of wine. I want to say that it was to try to make that poor bottle of frozen strawberry wine from a previous post taste better, but I honestly can’t remember. I would think that that would be the only reason to add vodka to wine, but who knows.

After the suggestion, Jessi and I poured ourselves fresh glasses of wine and poured a about a half a shot’s worth of cherry flavored vodka in. Jessi did the intellegent thing- she sipped on it until it was gone… not the best idea but it was the better of the two.

I did what you are supposed to do with a bomb- I tossed it back in a huge gulp. Awful idea! One of the worst I have ever had. I was pretty much done for the night and spent a while holding onto the armrest so I wouldn’t tumble off the couch.

Damn gravity always trying to keep me down.

3) A fairly popular Bad Decision that has been known to spread mono is passing the bottle. While I love wine glasses too much to do this very often (they make me feel classy, what can I say?) it has been known to happen. It’s usually the cheap bottle that gets opened toward the end of the night when we have lost all ability to differentiate between good ideas and a hole in the ground.

Thank goodness that this does not happen all that much.

4) Pour Choice: Gallon of Sangria, ready at hand. This came about when Jessi and I were exploring the wine choices at the Bottle Shop. We picked out a couple different wines and then somebody decided it would be a good idea to get a gallon of Sangria… I probably had a hand in it so I could get a glass jug for round 2 of mead making (a fail any way you look at it since the jug got left at a friend’s house and then thrown away).

When we arrived back to my apartment, we cracked open the gallon of sangria and did something that shouldn’t happen (see #3 Bad Decision-passing the bottle) we drank straight from the jug. Mostly so we could get pictures.

It made us feel very Appalachian-esque, drinking moonshine out of a brown jug.

I’m ashamed to admit that it took a few minutes to figure out how to hook our thumb through the loop and rest the bottle just so on our elbow so we could drink one-handed. Something we accomplished amid lots of giggles and leaky chins. 

Well, that gallon of sangria did not fit in the fridge, so it got left on the floor under the coffee table in the living room. Bad idea… it left entirely too much wine too close at hand, which was evident one evening when I made supper for my friend/ roommie, Puffy, and friend Joey. We were sitting around watching movies after, the guys enjoying some beer… me drinking the wine.

My head hurt the next morning… and that’s all I have to say about that.

Wine Review #1: Manzanas Dulces

Since our wine touring days are over until spring, I thought I would keep my blog going by doing reviews of various local wines that I am discovering on my own... which might be new for the vineyards/wineries or just ones that I've never tried before.

I'm not 100% sure if this wine is new for Mac's Creek or if I've just never heard of it before, but I recently found Manzanas Dulces while shopping for wine.

It was a fall wine that was supposed to be launched at their harvest festival that Jessi, Jenna, and I went to, but that didn't work out. When we did not see it out, Jessi and I asked about it while we were there and found out that the labels didn't come in on time so it was still sitting in a holding tank, waiting to be bottled. I offered to sample it straight from the vat (who cares about a label when wine is involved) but I was shot down.

Manzanas Dulces is a white apple wine that is sweet, light, and the apple really comes through to delight the pallet. I really enjoyed it and think that it would be a great wine to use in the apple-cherry sangria recipe that I got from Arbor Day Farms. I have added it to my lengthing list of wines that I love from Mac's Creek.

The End of Our Adventure: January 5, 2012

Unbeknownst by Jessi and I at the time, but Miletta Vista would be our last stop on our very first Nebraska Wine Tour. The last months of the year flew by in a flurry of work, Christmas shopping, and missed opportunities to get together to try and squeeze in one or two more trips (a lot due to bizarre hours at the closest vineyards/wineries that we hadn’t hit yet).

The fates aligned once again and Jessi and I got the same day off so I made an impromptu trip to Lincoln to have a girls day with my bestie. On the To-Do list were shopping, gun shooting (which we didn’t get to do), cookie baking, movie watching, and wine drinking.

Jessi had the totally awesome idea of making color copies of our Wine Tour passports so we could send in the originals and have a copy to keep as a souvenir. We stopped at a copy place and had really good color copies made and laminated. We then made for the From Nebraska Gift Shop to pick up some Nebraska Wine.

I got two bottles of one of my favorite wines of the tour, Glacial Till’s Frontenac Rose, since it’s not sold in my part of the state. I have resisted cracking into them so far, I’ll probably save them for a “special occasion”: ie. when Jessi comes to visit. Then, we headed back to Jessi’s new apartment to watch movies, drink Nebraska wine, and make cookies.

The Nebraska Wine Tour is probably one of the best adventures I’ve ever been on. I met some interesting characters, drank some awesome (and not so great) wine, learned a lot, and created some amazing memories along the way.

Some of my favorite experiences of the tour (in no particular order):

1)      Finding Sir Drunkalot

2)      Glacial Till

3)      The "Posted Way" or "My Way" options at Windcrest

4)      Tropasti at James Arthur

5)      Tasting grapes off the vine at Soaring Wings

6)      Drinking wine with Grandma Liz at Cedar Hills

7)      Touring with my mom, Jessi, and Jenna to 5 Trails and Feather River

8)      Grape stomping at Kimmel

9)      The storm at Slattery

10)  The Harvest Festival at Mac’s Creek

As for my favorite vineyards/wineries of the tour, I enjoyed almost all of them but my top three would be (once again, in no particular order):

1)      Glacial Till

2)      Mac’s Creek

3)      Miletta Vista

Jessi and I plan on doing the tour again next year, and probably the year after that. I can’t speak for her, but I know I had an amazing time exploring the Nebraska wine scene. Hopefully, the experiences we had will only enhance our future adventures.
We always welcome the company of fellow wineaux on our escapades so if anything you see here or on Jessi’s blog, From Beneath The Cork, strikes your fancy, let us know. We’ll drag you along to share what we’ve learned and introduce you to our favorite stops and wines of the tour.

Sir Drunkalot still watches over us from atop my bookcase and will continue to protect our wine quests into the distant and hazy future.

Cheap wine

This one goes hand-in-hand with my Wine Snobs post because, for some reason, people have come to believe that in order for wine to be good, it has to be expensive.

Totally not the case.

While I am not proclaiming the virtues of Boon’s Farm or Fruit of the Vine (alcoholic Kool-Aid in my opinion), I am saying that you don’t have to spend $50 on a bottle to ensure that it is good.

My sister, Betsy, knows a man who owns a wine store in Denver called The Vineyard Wine Shop. They sell bottles of wine ranging from $7 a bottle to almost a thousand dollars a bottle. Everybody asks him for advice on wine, no surprises there, but I love his response when they ask him to point out a good wine. He says that if you like a wine, it is a good wine. No matter which one it is or what the price tag is.

During our wine quest, Jessi and I have found and tried hundreds (probably) of wines that were great and less than $20 a bottle. Most of the Nebraska wines are priced around $15-17 a bottle, usually a little more for dessert wines. Affordable, good wines made locally!

Don’t despair if you enjoy cheap wine… or boxed wine.

…But I do have to draw the line somewhere. It used to be at nothing less than $5 a bottle, which isn’t too bad of an idea when you consider the crappy wine you can find for less than $5. (Although, I’m not a total hater. One of my favorite Moscatos is usually on sale for around $4.77.) Now, I’ve graduated to nothing without a cork… or in a box… a girl has to have some standards.

Check out The Vineyard

Cougarlicious- Miletta Vista’s new vintage

After an especially rough day at work recently, I stopped at a local liquor store to grab a six pack of Boulevard to enjoy with a couple of coworkers. As I walked through the door, I noticed a poster hanging up announcing that Miletta Vista had a new wine out called Cougarlicious. My first thought was that I had to hunt it down and buy a bottle.

So I wondered around the tiny and packed sales floor of the liquor mart hunting for this new wine but finally gave up and asked the adorable, dreadlocked guy behind the counter. He searched for it on the computer to make sure that we had it and then joined me in the hunt, finally locating it nearly a foot and a half above his head on the top shelf of a display of Nebraska wines. I thanked him profusely, nabbed a bottle and my Boulevard and headed out. I didn’t even make it out of the parking spot before I had the bottle and my phone out to send a picture to Jessi.

“Miletta Vista has a new wine out that we are drinking next time you’re in town!!!”

“Yay!!!”

Was pretty much how our text conversation went.

When I got home, the newly acquired treasure found its home in a place of honor (the wine rack on top of our fridge), to await the time that Jessi would once again grace the Lair (my apartment, if you didn’t already know, is called the Lair) with her presence.

Thankfully, it didn’t have to wait too long.

Jessi made a pit stop in Kearney on her way home for Christmas and we finally got to crack into the Cougarlicious. It was very sweet, but not overwhelming. It reminded me of a sweeter Brianna or La Crosse. Jessi and I decided that it would be a great dessert wine with fruit or a dark, bitter chocolate.

I searched around looking for the significance of Cougarlicious, thinking that there might be a neat back-story to it. It’s not what I was expecting but here it is:

“Fun! Fun! Fun!
You've been asking when are you coming out with a fun wine label. Well here it is, New December 2011. Courgarlicious is a label and this sweet white wine will provide lots of fun!  A blend of two Nebraska grown grapes, LaCrosse & Brianna.  This fruity wine with flavors of citrus & pineapple will make a great gift this Christmas season. It's a prowlers cocktail, you're sure to enjoy and it goes very well with the Hershey’s candy cane peppermint candies.”

Jessi also suggested trying it as a breakfast wine, something I have never tried but I am always up for something new!

Cougarlicious

Wine Snobs

Facebook... along with pretty much everybody I know, knows I love wine, so my sidebar ads are often wine themed. Ads for things ranging from the Corkcicle- the icicle shaped wine chiller, to Wine Bottle Glasses (found at fab.com, hint hint), to Hobnob wines. So tonight, when I was creeping on Facebook, a sidebar ad made me giggle a little and reminded me of a post I’ve been meaning to write for a while now.

The ad was for Bordeaux wine that exclaimed: "Like Bordeaux if you are a real wine connoisseur. All wine connoisseurs like Bordeaux wine. Everybody knows that!"

WINE SOB ALERT!!!!

At the very beginning of my wine adventure, I was under the impression that my sister, Betsy, and her husband, Walt, were slightly snobbish when it came to wine. I can admit that I was wrong. Just because they do not like the same wines that I do, does not make them snobs. It makes them people who know what kind of wine they like. I also know that they are willing to try new wines.

My first true encounter with a wine snob came when I attended The Big Grape event in Grand Island with Jenna… I wrote about it a few posts ago. It was toward the end of our visit, we had tried most of the wines that we wanted and plopped down at an open table to chat and regroup. An older lady sat down at the table with us and we struck up a conversation when Jenna noticed and commented on the neat little bag she was holding.

(It ended up being a clear plastic bag with handles made to keep wine cold when you transported it. We hauled ‘glass’ it to the table where she got it and claimed ones for ourselves a little later in the evening.)

We chatted about some of the wines we had tried and made recommendations when she asked if we had tried a chocolate flavored wine from the same table that had the cool little bags. I said that I had and I had liked it, that it had tasted like tootsie pops and was WAY better than other chocolate wines I had tried. She made a nasty face at my opinion. She was almost physically upset that I actually liked it and soon got up and left our company. I was a little surprised… as was Jenna. We laughed about it a little but looking back, I am a little confused.

Most of the fun of wine tastings is trying new things. That’s why Jessi and I are able to drink drier reds now… because we kept trying things that we didn’t like in the beginning. Don’t be a wine snob. If you don’t try wines that don’t have a French name, or are the wrong color, or are too “cheap,” you could be missing out on your new favorite wine.

Semi-Sweet 16: October, 2011

Our trip to Miletta Vista Winery in St. Paul happened on one of those random trips that follow an impromptu visit to Kearney by Jessi. She came to town and we decided to venture to St. Paul to visit the place that makes Serenade.

Serenade is an amazing wine that Jessi and I discovered at the last Wine and Jazz Festival. I’m sure we’ve probably tried it before, but this year, it really stuck with us. We bought a bottle that night and many times since and it has become one of our favorites.

Setting out, we turned on the GPS and followed the directions diligently… until we got there and realized that we knew a much simpler and more direct route than how it took us. I am sensing a reoccurring theme of our tour-where the GPS gets confused and therefore we are confused. While we get to see some interesting countryside, it also gave Jessi’s car a mud bath and added about 15 minutes to a trip by taking us on unmarked gravel roads.

As we approached the tasting room, we could not help but admire the rows of grapes and the amazing view. Vineyard owners seem to really like putting the tasting rooms on top of hills, but the scenery is usually pretty spectacular, so I’m not complaining.

Jessi and I also decided that since we already knew (and loved) Serenade, we would not choose it for a tasting and give the other wines a shot. Something that worked out perfectly since that made it possible to try every other wine they offered.

We were the only people in the place when we arrived and we were the only people during our stay so we got to pick the brain of the girl behind the counter all we wanted. She was a wealth of knowledge and I enjoyed talking to her.

She gave us some food for thought while we were there. She introduced us to the art of matching particular wine glasses to different wines. For example, you want to drink red wine from a larger wine glass, leaving lots of room in the glass for air to mingle with the wine. White wine, you can drink from smaller glasses because they don’t need to breathe as much to enhance the flavors. She also told us about the Riedel class they offer that teaches people how to match wines to different glasses. The class was a little pricey sounding, but then she mentioned that everybody gets to keep the 6 different Riedel glasses used in the class (which are leaded crystal, by the way). Hopefully, Jessi and I will be able to get together to attend when it happens.

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed their wines. I don’t think, since Glacial Till, have I liked so many wines that a single vineyard had to offer. There was only one red I didn’t particularly care for, while I rated almost all of the other wines (including the other reds) at an 8 or above. I actually gave their Edelweiss (no surprise, once again) and their Prairie Blush 10s.

Once we finished with our tastings, put our e-mail address down to get info about the class and talked them out of a few corks for our collections, Jessi and I each got a glass of wine and headed to sit outside to enjoy the unusual warm weather and the view from the patio. I got a glass of my favorite of the day, Catawba (and later bought a bottle). We were joined by one of the uber friendly cats that live at the winery… I’ll have to ask Jessi what its name was. She is way better at remembering stuff like that than I am.

I had a great time at Miletta Vista. It is one of my favorite wineries in western Nebraska and definitely in my top three favorite stops of the entire tour. I hope to return, if not for the class, then during our tour next year!

Miletta Vista Specs:

5 tastings for $5-ish

Food and wine-related items for sale

Souvenir glass for $3-ish (I can’t remember for sure)

Wine for Christmas? Yes Please! Christmas, 2011

Christmas morning I realized that I may have a problem.

Opening presents I was excited to find a new, cheap DVD player (exactly what I asked for, even emphasized the cheap),  gift card to Cabela’s to get a holster,  cookbook, candle, and a wine kit complete with a bottle opener, pour spout, foil cutter and more goodies including a necklace for a wine bottle from my mom.

I continued opening gifts and found two super cute cutting boards and knife, perfect for cheeses to go with wine from my sister, Betsy, and brother-in-law, Walt.

Then my sister Laura, handed me a wine bottle gift bag with a bottle of Feather River Edelweiss from my mom. Yum!

As everybody finished opening presents, my mom and Laura told me to go open the giant present in the corner. Sitting on top of it was a wrapped bottle of wine from a Salida winery from Betsy and Walt. It’s a Riesling/ Chardonnay blend that I can’t wait to try.

As I worked my way into the huge present (Laura wrapped it and likes making it difficult to open), I uncovered an adorable wine rack! It has places for 16 bottles of wine, wine glasses, and a top the perfect size for munchies.

Then, when we thought we were all done, my mom walked out with one last gift bag that she handed me. Inside I found a Redneck wine glass. If you’ve never seen one before, allow me to explain…

It’s a short canning jar glued to the top of a glass candlestick.

Classy.

15 Minutes of Fame: October 1, 2011

After we drove the thirty-some-odd miles from Paxton back to North Platte, we headed to Feather River. I was looking forward to this stop since my mom had visited there already and she knew the lay of the land so she had the advantage over the rest of us.

Jessi, Jenna, and I were blown away at how beautiful Feather River was, even surrounded by the drab landscape of late-fall Nebraska The vines covered the hills and the tasting room was nestled in a valley below a beautiful house that was home of one of the owners.

The bar was occupied when we arrived so we spent a few minutes wandering around looking at wine baubles while they finished up their tastings.

Then we pounced.

We started chatting with the lady behind the counter while we chose what we wanted to taste. My mom had tried most of their wines already so the choosing was left up to Jenna, Jessi, and me. I was surprised at the number of wines that Feather River had to offer, more than most of the places we stopped on the tour.

Wires were crossed with the first choice and she gave all of us what Jessi (I think) had chosen first, but it was ok since the tastings were free. Plus, there was four of us so we all chose different wines and exchanged glasses. I tried quite a few of their reds, but I liked only one-a semi-sweet called Red Neck Revenge. I enjoyed the whites with Edelweiss (no surprise) and Frosty’s White being my favorites.

We enjoyed our afternoon at Feather River, all of us bringing home at least one bottle (they had some of their 2008 vintages on sale).

I would love to go back. I think that I will have to talk Jessi, my mom, and Jessi’s mom into going back when it gets warmer so we can enjoy the beautiful surroundings and a bottle (or three) on their veranda.

Feather River Specs:

4 Tastings for Free

Wine Glass-$2 for small, $3 for large

The Big Grape: Putting the Squeeze on Juvenile Diabetes, October 14, 2011

“Do you want to go to the Big Grape with me?”
“What is it?”
“A wine tasting thing.”
“How much?”
“Tickets were free.”
“Yep. I’m in!”

Jenna and my text conversation went something like that… but since my phone deletes text messages, I can’t tell you exactly what it was.

She had gotten free tickets from a radio station (which was good since they were $50 a piece) and she thought of Jessi and me as possible tag-a-longs. I wonder why…

Unfortunately, Jessi couldn’t go, but another of Jenna’s friends could, so us three set off to see what exactly The Big Grape was. Come to find out, it was a fundraiser thrown every year to raise money for juvenile diabetes research, not something I know a lot about, but a good cause none the less.

When we walked into the Expo building at the State Fair grounds, we were handed a glass and a nice little booklet that listed all of the silent auction prizes, sponsors, and beverages offered for tastings.

I spotted a banner that said “Vodka” and tried to make a bee-line for it. Jenna herded me toward the first wine table with promises to head there next. She made good on her promise and I got to try vodka that is made here in Nebraska. It was surprisingly good… plus, I impressed the socks off the owner of Cooper Chase Distillery who was there giving out tastings. He poured it into my wine glass and muscle memory took over. I swirled it, sniffed it, and then tasted it… just like I do with wine. He looked at me with wide eyes and said “You are a vodka drinker, aren’t you?” I laughed… Guilty as charged, but this blog is about wine, not vodka.

We spent the rest of the evening trying wines (and a couple different beers) from all over the country and world. It was fun to try wines that I would not normally have access to and wines that I had never heard of.

Some of them were Confectioners Angel Cake which was a sweet chardonnay, Emery Pink Moscato which was a little drier than most moscatos, and

Lucy Lane

from Jasper Winery that reminded me of Welch’s grape juice with a kick. My favorites of the evening were the delicious Chateau Ste. Michelle Harvest Select Riesling and Confectioners Chocolate that was a red wine with cocoa, it tasted like a tootsie pop with a kick.

I also felt a little adventurous and chose something that I wouldn’t normally try. I believe it was Warre’s Warrior Reserve Porto, a full-bodied red that I enjoyed at the first sip but it got a little much as I drank.

Scattered amongst the unknowns, it was good to see a few familiar faces. 17 Ranch Winery, Mac’s Creek, Prairie Creek Winery, Superior Estates, Cedar Hills Vineyard, Milleta Vista, and James Arthur Vineyards were there to represent Nebraska wineries and vineyards. They were all places that I have visited or are familiar with after seeing them and trying their wines at the Wine and Jazz festivals.

The Big Grape seemed like an event that was a little too classy to be held in the Expo Building of the Nebraska State Fair grounds. We had couples in formal wear (a step below black-tie) sitting next to people in jeans and work boots. It was an interesting juxtaposition that just made the event more fun to attend. It was a fun evening and for a great cause. I would love to go to another one in the future.

Go to this site to learn more! Avera-The Big Grape

Wining with the 'Chowskis

I read a news article recently (attached below) that said that more Riesling is consumed at Thanksgiving than any other time of the year and it is the #1 choice of wines for Thanksgiving in the U.S. I thought this was interesting since Riesling is a German style wine and most people think France when they think wine. The article turned into a news clip from a local news show that was discussing wine that was produced in Nebraska. In a blind tasting, Nebraska wines did, for the most part, better than some of the Goliaths from Napa... something I chalk up to the fact that Nebraskans seem to enjoy sweeter wines more than tart or dry.

Thanksgiving... well any holiday, come to think of it, with my family revolves around food and alcohol (now that we are all over 21), games and laughter. My sister, Betsy and her husband Walt, had brought a few bottles of wine with them from Denver, slightly dry reds that I think were from... Argentina or somewhere else in South America. They had an interesting bite to them and I would be willing to try them again.

I brought a bottle of Catawba from Miletta Vista to share, but we never got to open it before I had to leave. I told my family to enjoy it without me, but I have to admit, I kind of hope they didn't so I can help them enjoy it.

But the highlight of my visit was when my sister, Wendy, arrived from Nebraska City toting a cooler that held a jug of Arbor Day Farms cherry cider, a 2 liter of sprite, and a bottle of apple wine. I quickly went to work making the sangria we enjoyed during our visit to the vineyards of Nebraska City.

Oh! I've been meaning to share the recipe for that sangria:
2 Bottles Apple Wine (that's a lot, but go big or go home!)
1/2 gallon cherry cider
1 liter sprite
sliced oranges, lemons, and limes

The sangria was a huge hit with the family and glasses were refilled throughout the afternoon and into the evening. When it started running low, I added a bottle of Moscato we had lying around (can't let wine go to waste) and a bit more of the sprite and cherry cider. A recent conversation with my mother reveled that the sangria lasted through the weekend… they just kept adding to it.

I do miss having a few bottles of sparkling cider and grape juice around for the holidays, the treat that my mom got my sisters and I so we could drink something wine-like out of fancy glasses while she and my dad enjoyed a glass of wine with dinner, but I would not give up the fun we have trying new drinks and sharing our favorites as a family.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Years!

Nebraska's Wines Put to the Test

X plus 4: October 1, 2011

When we set out to visit 5 Trails Winery, we planned to get there shortly after they opened so we could do our tasting and get back on the road to get to our next stop on the tour… unfortunately, we forgot about the time change. We actually arrived to Paxton an hour too early so we decided to take Jenna out to Lake McConahay since she had never been there before. She was duly impressed by Nebraska’s largest man-made lake (although not too impressed since she grew up near the ocean). When we had killed enough time, we headed back to Paxton to check out what kind of wines the sandhills produced.

The tasting room was located on the main street in Paxton with the actual vineyard located a few miles outside of town. It was a nice open space full of tables and large windows. We were told to pick out a table and the owner brought us glasses while we made our first choices from the wine list written on large black boards hanging on the wall. Jessi and I explained our usual procedure to my mom and Jenna and shared some stories about our other wine stops. We all traded glasses when our wine arrived so we all got to try a lot of different options.

Looking back at my notes, I see that I liked the majority of the wines I tried. I rated their Brianna (no surprise) and Passenger blush, highest but Jessi and I were both rather disappointed with their Edelweiss. For a wine that we generally love, it was a sad discovery. Both Jessi and I agreed that if they had called it anything else, we probably would have enjoyed the light, bubbly wine, but as an Edelweiss, it left more to be desired.

5 Trails Winery was the first place that I was introduced to the Zork. It is cork/cap combo made out of a plastic/rubber type material. To open it, you peel back the tab (like old-style milk jugs) and simply pull it out of the bottle. No corkscrew needed. My corkscrew just shed a tear or two.

Once we had finished our tastings, Jessi and I purchased our glasses, mom and Jenna got a bottle or two, and we tipsily wandered our way across the street to visit Ole’s Steak House for lunch (it’s never a good idea to do a wine tasting on an empty stomach).

Our stop at 5 Trails Winery was a lot of fun. Usually, it’s just Jessi and I but it was fun to have a couple extra people along to offer new perspectives on the wine and new stories to share over a glass or two.

5 Trails Winery Specs:

5 tastings for $5

Food available to enjoy with the wine

Souvenir wine glass for $5

Lucky #13: September 30, 2011

Mac’c Creek Vineyard in Lexington has been a favorite vineyard of ours since my sister, Laura, introduced it to us a couple of years ago. One of her professors in college actually owns Mac’s Creek so she usually had a bottle around. I had been there once or twice already but it was one of the stops I was looking forward to the most on the wine tour. I was excited about the prospect of getting to talk to them about some of my favorite wines and about their operations.

Well… it didn’t quite work out like that.

Jessi, fabulous planner-a-header that she is, found out that they were having a harvest festival to introduce their fall wines: Pinky's, Frapple, and Manzanas Dulces. They were going to have food, music, and of course, wine tastings of their three fall wines. Soon after Jessi found out about the festival, my friend Jenna heard about it and said we should go. So we all set out together to enjoy what Mac’s Creek had to offer.

We arrived to Lexington much more quickly that we anticipated (we nearly missed the exit) and jumped in line to purchase our tickets and find out what was going on. We were given glasses, tickets, and told to head outside for wine tasting, hors d'oeuvres, and music. Jessi and I were able to persuade them to stamp our passports before we went outside to enjoy the vineyard, music by Once Were Three, and the beautiful weather.

We got to enjoy a bunch of their wines, including two of their three fall wines. Unfortunately, the labels for Manzanas Dulces did not come in on time so we could not try it that night.

Five tastings, a bunch of hors d’oeuvres, and a bottle of wine later, our evening at Mac’s Creek was over and we set our sights on North Platte, our layover before the rest of our quest west could begin.

Wines to check out from Mac’s Creek are numerous so here is a list of some of my favorite ones (in no particular order): River Valley Red, Buzzard’s Roost, Frapple, Buffalo Wallow, Brianna, and Spring Mist.