2014 Cabernet and cherry muffins

International Cabernet Day is coming, and we celebrate by having our tasting sheet focus on all Cabernets and Cabernet blends. For the next few weeks, I will be sharing stories and recipes about our estate Cabernet Sauvignon. I am choosing this week our 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon that has yet to make an appearance on our tasting sheet but has last year during our vertical tasting. This is a wine; we haven’t opened up in a long while. But, this past week, I did! Every so often, I go into the closet…

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2015 Emmie’s Blend and Albarino Day!

When I went to the market the other day, my sweet tooth is calling to get something, I probably should not have had.  We all know what that’s like. Don’t ever go shopping when you’re hungry. Well it was already too late at that point, something made me turn my head because it looked so interesting, I had to get it. Back in January I started to see Ruby cacao bars.  And now every time I see one, my eyes go towards it. If you haven’t tried it, it’s something that is…

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2011 Robby’s Blend and a Calzone

After making jam, plum sauce and chutney this week I still have plenty more fruit left from my trip up north. I did make a second batch of chutney because it was so yummy.  I ended up making calzones stuffed with ricotta, Chutney, shredded chicken and Cabernet cheddar.  Also, when I went up north there’s this little dairy that makes fresh cheese and milk.  And of course, I brought some cheese.  How could I not….

I mentioned last week how I enjoy Robby’s Blend with plum dishes. Well, now I am craving a…

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2012 Petite Sirah and Plum Chutney

I’m gonna start off in the negative this week even though I try not to. I must share I had the world’s worst tasteless plums last week.  They were so bad… How bad were they? Sounds like the start of a bad joke.  Well, I bought five, I took a bite of the first one and struggled to take a second bite. I ended up not finishing it and I bit into the second one and it was just as bad as the first and really didn’t know what to do…

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2014 Muscat Peach BBQ Sauce

This week I found some beautiful Saturn peaches. Those are the donut or oval shaped fuzzy fruit.  Last week I had some plums and I will share they were horrible they had absolutely no flavor whatsoever, yet they were juicy. So, I was a little worried because it doesn’t seem to be a great year for fruit.

Back to my peaches, I was worried that they wouldn’t taste so great, but they actually surprised me, and they were quite yummy. So, I was thinking of a few different things I can do with these yummy peaches. The first thing that…

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Wine of the Week – 2014 Quinn’s Zin

Wine of the Week – 2014 Quinn’s Zin

 

For this week’s Wine of the Week, I have chosen a wine that hasn’t made that many appearances yet. It still hasn’t officially been released. I thought it would be fun for another preview of this favorite, 2014 Quinn’s Zin. We sourced the grapes for this vintage locally, from Lake Los Angeles.

A few weeks ago, we were saddened by the news that Efren Chavez from High…

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Tasting Menu update as of June 2020

Download the latest Tasting Menu

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Because of a passion for wine and winemaking, Robert Reyes envisioned having a small vineyard to produce small amounts of ultra-premium wines for family and friends. However, in 2002 when he purchased the beautiful piece of land where the vineyard is located today, the vision changed from a personal hobby to a winery. The 16-acre vineyard was personally planted by Robert Reyes and the Reyes family in April of 2004, and consists of…

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Father’s Day Crab Carbonara and 2011 Muscat

Father’s Day is coming this week and my dad loves crab cakes. I made that back in November for his birthday. So, instead of the same dish, I thought why not pasta with crab! I am making a crab carbonara pasta. The traditional way is with guanciale or pancetta. I am substituting it with crab.

This Sunday its going to be hot! Having a pasta dish with a cold glass of white wine sounds fabulous! I am going to pair this with 2011 Reyes Muscat. There are just a few cases left. I have had a lot of fun pairing…

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2013 Renaissance by Reyes Muscat and Baked Apple Raisin Bread

So, this week, I’m going to share a recipe for baked apple that’s re-imagined put into my bread. Now you can enjoy these baked apples by themselves don’t get me wrong they’re absolutely fabulous. But I like to take it to another level and put it into my bread. Kind of like you would do a cinnamon raisin bread this is going to be a cinnamon apple raisin bread. And of course, when I bake the apples in the oven, I do add a little bit of wine for that extra complexity and flavor.

Choosing either brown sugar or honey…

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Stuffed Peppers and 2016 Renaissance by Reyes Rosé

Stuffed Peppers and 2016 Renaissance by Reyes Rosé

SatuStuffed Peppersrday would have been my mom’s birthday. Its been three years yet it feels like yesterday she was here. I was thinking, what I should make for dinner that I know she would have loved. In the meantime, while I was thinking about different things she liked, I noticed this pan she had in the kitchen that she used for a few things like Stuffed Bell Peppers, Thanksgiving stuffing balls, and a few other dishes. It held 6 peppers perfectly. It…

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Strawberry BBQ sauce and Shredded beef sandwiches and 2011 Reyes Winery Cabernet Sauvignon

Strawberry BBQ sauce and Shredded beef sandwiches

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2011 Reyes Winery Cabernet Sauvignon

Last week I wrote about her newest release, our 2018 roses choice rose, and I was wondering what wine inspires me this week to share with you.  The 2011 Cabernet spoke to me and I’ve been thinking what dishes I am going to make for dinner that would pair the best. Every night I try to find something to prepare that we haven’t had for a little while just so that there’s variety every day. This week, we have had potato pancakes, poached…

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2018 Rosa’s Choice Rosé and Strawberry Cake

Yesterday, for the first time I made pretzels and pretzel buns. They came out perfect and they were so delicious. We had hamburgers with the buns. But I was trying to figure out what I should do with the fresh strawberries I bought at the farm on Monday. I was running out of eggs and I wanted to use one for the hamburgers, so I kept thinking what to do. Then it hit me as I starred into the fridge, Strawberry lemon cake! I took a fresh lemon from our tree…

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2011 Renaissance by Reyes Winery Merlot and General Tso’s Osso Bucco

So a2011 merlotgain, I went through the pantry and did a raid as to what we should have for dinner tonight. I ended up making Osso Bucco Asian style. I gave it a general tso’s flair to it.  All that means is I added soy sauce, hoisin sauce, rice wine vinegar, chili pepper and a few other fun ingredients.

Hoisin pairs very well with our 2011 Renaissance by Reyes Winery Merlot. This is definitely a great year of a Merlot. That year we ended up having a frost in April and losing part…

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Khinkali and 2017 Amber Chardonnay

 

Back in November 2015, I wrote about our 2013 Amber Chardonnay for the first time. I introduced the style of “orange” wine to you. In modern Georgia, along the southern slopes of the Caucasus Mountain range, archaeology finds have confirmed that wine making existed as early as 6,000 B.C. The word wine is thought to have originated from the Georgian word “Ghvino”. Georgia is to be considered where wine originated in the world. Georgia borders the Black Sea, Russia, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

There have been different methods of aging wine; steel containers, Oak barrels, qvevri and a few other…

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Renaissance by Reyes 2013 Sauvignon Blanc and Au Gratin Potatoes

Renaissance by Reyes 2013 Sauvignon Blanc and Au Gratin Potatoes

By Beth P. Heiserman

Comfort food sure helps us through this tough time. Comfort food should offer solace or a feeling of well-being, and sometimes memories of childhood. My mom would prepare this delicious dish with roast chicken and givetch, a Romanian mixed vegetable dish.

This week, I have been going through these special dishes and preparing them for us. I have been wondering what if my mom were here to be going through this with us and what she would do. I do know that we still…

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Moules à la Marinière and 2017 Reyes Amber Chardonnay

Moules à la Marinière and 2017 Reyes Amber Chardonnay

 

I knew that I wanted to write about a specific wine this week, but I didn’t know how many different things I could share about this fabulous new wine. So, next week will be about this wine but a different angle. I am sure you had enough of the suspense…. it’s the 2017 Amber Chardonnay. The style in which it is made fascinates me.  Every time I share what Amber is, I reminisce to when I read my first article about…

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Our Newest Rose Wine, 2017 Grenache Syrah Rose

This past weekend, we bottled our newest vintages of wine. Now I’m back in isolation at home, deciding what new wine we’re going to have for dinner tonight. There are so many delicious choices.
I must say, we have a brand new rosé that I would love to share with everyone. It is our new 2017 Grenache Syrah rosé. The grapes were locally sourced from the Vineyard about 45 minutes from here. This wine What is fermented in French oak barrels for 14 months. This is a delicate, yet…

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Our Newest Release, 2017 Viognier

The cold weather made me not want to go out at all yesterday so, I decided to make a chicken soup. And yes, like all my other dishes my soup contains wine. Since, our newest release is our 2017 Viognier I thought my dinner should Focus on this tasty delight. if you’re familiar with our 2013, it is slightly different. Just like every vintage of the of the same wine does vary slightly based upon the weather. This year we seem to have a lot of rain again, which most likely if our summer is moderate then we…

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Tartar Sauce and 2010 Reyes Syrah

Tartar Sauce and 2010 Reyes Syrah

By Beth P. Heiserman

Tartar sauce is a mayonnaise-based sauce or what we usually categorize it as a condiment. I love to read about the history of things and all week I’ve been trying to figure out when tartar sauce became a condiment for fish rather than meat.

Tartar Sauce is named after the Tatar people. The Tatar’s originated in the 5th century from the nomadic Mongols in the Gobi Desert. The Golden Horde, which were Mongols until the 13th century brought Steak Tartare…

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Crab Cakes and 2016 Renaissance by Reyes Chardonnay

This past week was my dad’s birthday, and every year I like to make him something special.  This year I made crab cakes and tartar sauce. I got up that morning and made him breakfast, lox eggs and onions. We then went to the cemetery to visit my mom and then for lunch we ended up having a scoop of ice cream.

I was going to serve avocado on the side and realized when we got home from our day that I forgot…

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Butternut Squash Chili and 2013 Renaissance by Reyes Sauvignon Blanc

Butternut Squash Chili and

2013 Renaissance by Reyes Sauvignon Blanc

By Beth Heiserman

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and knowing that I want to share some of my favorite recipes. Today, I went to the market to get some things and noticed all the pumpkin items. I must say, I never understand why the markets have items for Thanksgiving 6 weeks before. Then again, I saw Christmas stuff this week too.

Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay goes well with butternut squash, pumpkin and sweet potatoes. For this dish, I…

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Pumpkin Blueberry Bread and Reyes 2012 Merlot

Pumpkin Blueberry Bread and Reyes 2012 Merlot

This coming Saturday is my annual vertical Merlot tasting. I have been thinking today about what pairings I will have. Merlot is a medium bodied and low acidity wine that makes it easy to pair with many foods. It does pair well with lighter meats, like chicken and pork. The 2012 estate Merlot is an aromatic wine that has notes of blueberries and cedar. It is crimson in color with scrumptious notes of blueberries and spices. Being a well-balanced wine, its so enjoyable to have a glass by itself.

When I originally…

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Pumpkin Hummus

Pumpkin Hummus

by Beth Heiserman

Last week, I wrote about our 2010 Reyes Merlot and what pairs the best in my opinion. I have had many requests for this recipe. This is a great appetizer to serve at a Halloween party, Thanksgiving or even at any get-together. Every year, it seems pumpkin-spiced foods come out earlier and earlier. I must say, fall is my favorite season.

I have written many times about the 2010 Reyes Merlot. I feel this is the perfect wine to pair with pumpkin spice. Last year at the Merlot vertical, I paired a chocolate…

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Celebrate the Grape at Ladies Night!

I have been thinking what the meal should be for Ladies Night while I’ve been on my trip. Today we had an appetizer that reminded me of something that I thought would be delicious to share, a pumpkin ricotta tart with caramelized onions. I think this will be a perfecter starter to start the evening. Now, October is #MerlotMe month, so every course will pair with one of our award-winning Merlot’s. This will pair perfectly with our 2010 Merlot. It has notes of black cherries, blueberries and cinnamon. I love pairing…

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Paella Day at Reyes Winery

Annually we have Paella Day at Reyes Winery. This year we are celebrating Harvest with Paella. We do a mixed version with chicken, fish and vegetables. Robert started making paella in the 1980’s with his childhood friend in Miami. He has created this recipe we feature this coming Saturday September 28, by choosing things he likes.
Paella is a rice dish that originated in Valencia, Spain around the 19th century. Many people around the world have believed that it is the national dish…

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Celebrate #GrenacheDay at Reyes Winery this Weekend!

Grenache is one of the lightest red wine varietals, like Pinot Noir.  It grows well in hot, dry and windy climates like Agua Dulce. Our 2015 Grenache was sourced from Alonso Family Vineyards in Agua Dulce. This year, we brought Grenache in from Lake Los Angeles, which is about 37 miles north east of Reyes Winery. The climate there is similar to ours, but they have much more water than us. This varietal tends to be harvested later than most other grapes. This year was somewhat in the middle.

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Harvesting the 2017 Viognier

Harvesting the 2017 Viognier

by Beth Heiserman

A few weeks ago, my doctor put me on a special diet for 30 days. I’m not supposed to eat certain fruits and vegetables such as plums, apples, cauliflower, onions and several other things that I generally do eat.  I was also asked to remove wheat, lentils and kale. I will say when you must omit something it’s harder than you think it is. So, my meals lately have been a little different than I am used to. For instance, tonight ‘s…

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2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Pairing

This past weekend, I opened a 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon to see how it is developing. 2014, was a tough year for our grapes. We didn’t have a lot of water, which made the wine a bit astringent. If you follow me, you are aware that we have a Cabernet Vertical coming next week. I had someone ask me what type of petite bites I serve. Well, depending upon the wine and what is in season, from cheese to dessert and anything in-between.   Last year, the 2014 was paired with a dark…

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Our Newest Release, 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon!

Our Newest Release, 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon!

by Beth Heiserman

 

My annual vertical tasting is just right around the corner and spots are filling up fast.   This is a fun and educational event at Reyes Winery.   Every wine has a story and I have many to tell about each wine.

Our 2013 estate Cabernet Sauvignon has an interesting tale to tell.  When the time came last year to send wine for judging, this wine was not one on my list to be sent.   I hesitated because we only made such a small amount, only 48…

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Beef Stroganoff and 2012 Reyes Cabernet Sauvignon

Recently, I purchased a pasta machine. It makes pasta in 5 minutes, then you just need to boil water that really takes longer than making the pasta itself.  This week, I decided to make pasta from scratch. Flour, water and an egg are the ingredients in this simple recipe. Yes, you can buy pasta and it will taste good, but making your own from scratch is the best. The one thing that is frustrating that cleaning up takes too long.  Yes, all the parts can go into the dishwasher, which is wonderful, but the cleaning process is very…

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Reyes 2014 Julia’s Blend Cherry Jam

Reyes 2014 Julia’s Blend Cherry Jam

By Beth Heiserman

I’m sure everybody has seen at the market how abundant and beautiful the cherries are this year. This week I decided to buy some cherries and make some jam. And of course, like always I always infuse wine into everything, Jams and jellies are no different. When I think of cherries there are a couple wines that come to mind, but the one that made me think the most this week because I haven’t used it in any recipe recently was 2014 Reyes Julia’s Blend. It is a…

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Heirloom tomatoes and Summer Squash Casserole

Heirloom Tomatoes and Summer Squash Casserole

by Beth Heiserman

A crisp cool and refreshing wine with a lighter dinner on a hot night. Most of us will agree, that when we get home from a long day at work during summer that sometimes we don’t feel like cooking. I tend to cook a few meals at one time and then enjoy them all week. I will say, I do have more of a challenge than others on reheating foods, since I don’t have a microwave at home. With this…

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What is the function of a punt on a bottle?

What is the function of a punt on a bottle?

by Beth Heiserman

This past weekend a customer had asked a question, what is a punt for? First, I will answer, what is a punt before I answer what is it used for. A punt is the indentation at the bottom of a wine bottle. This is generally a topic that there has been no true explanation for its use or its history. I was taught it was from the mold.

More recently someone had told me they thought it…

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2019 June Wine Club Member Pick Up Party

2019 June Wine Club Member Pick Up Party

by Beth Heiserman

 

Its that time again for our members to have their quarterly choices and a lunch. Our wine club consists of four shipments are year. They are march, June, September and December. There is no fee to become a member, only a commitment that you will remain a member for at least four shipments. Every shipment you have an option of either having it shipped to you or picking it up at the winery. For instance, this weekend is our member pick up party which we offer…

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Port-style Wine Tasting Event

Port-style Wine Tasting Event

by Beth Heiserman

This coming Saturday, June 1, is our Port-style tasting.  We will be releasing our 12-year-old Aqua Dulce Delight. We have released two other Agua Dulce Delights. The first time was in 2011 and the second was in 2013. This is one remarkable dessert wine that is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah from the vintages of 2006, 2007 and 2008.

The first Release of the Aqua Dulce Delight was in 2011 and sold out over two years ago. I did save…

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Red, White and Blueberry Quinoa Salad

Red, White and Blueberry Quinoa Salad

by Beth Heiserman

 

This coming Saturday is our memorial weekend hike. Every month the brunch is seasonal. This week it is Red, white and Blue inspired.   First, I chose the food and then paired the wines. I will be featuring classic comfort foods with a twist and some of our favorite wines. Red, white and blue or I should say blueberry can be very inspirational.

I will have a “Red, White, and Blueberry Quinoa salad”. Quinoa is always a favorite when I serve it. Also, on the menu, are other brunch favorites…

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Renaissance by Reyes 2016 Chardonnay Citrus Coffee Cake

Renaissance by Reyes 2016 Chardonnay Citrus Coffee Cake

By Beth P. Heiserman

This coming Saturday, I have a white wine tasting event. I have been putting together what scrumptious treats I will be pairing with each wine. As I was thinking about Renaissance by Reyes 2016 Chardonnay, and reading different articles about the history of Chardonnay, like most grapes for many years we assumed the history that the information available was accurate. Nowadays with DNA Fingerprinting, has allowed us to have an accurate history about many different varietals.  It is suggested now that Chardonnay is a hybrid…

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Reyes 2013 Quinn’s Zin Chocolate Brownie

Reyes 2013 Quinn’s Zin Chocolate Brownie

by Beth Heiserman

Like I mentioned in my article on Sauvignon Blanc last Friday, when I was at the farmers market last week I had come across the most tasty and delicious blood oranges. All week long I’ve been enjoying this juice. Yesterday I was reading articles on my phone and came across a recipe that I had to try.  It was an olive oil chocolate cake with blood oranges.  This is a vegan recipe.  Of course I did alter the recipe that I did see. I…

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Celebrate Sauvignon Blanc Day!

Celebrate Sauvignon Blanc Day!

By Beth Heiserman

I’ve been in the mood for a green bean casserole. So, I went to the market the other day to get all the fixings that I would need. The first thing that I needed to put on my shopping list was celery to make cream of celery soup. Believe it or not they were out of celery. I had a very difficult time for a couple days finding a market that had celery. I went to another market and it was so…

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Is Moscato the same as Muscat?

Is Moscato the same as Muscat?

By Beth Heiserman

Every weekend, guests come to our tasting room and request Moscato instead of Muscat. Is there a difference, Yes! First, the name Muscato is Italian for Muscat. Muscat grapes are grown all around the world. Every country refers to the grape differently. In Italy it is Muscato D’Asti, Germany has Muskateller; while France, Australia and America have Muscat. France generally only uses the Muscat grape in fortified wines but can be found in sparkling and a still dry white wine depending upon the region. Germany grows predominately two…

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12-Year old Agua Dulce Delight and a Fig Goat Cheese Cake

Fig Goat Cheese Cake

By Beth P. Heiserman

In previous articles, I have mentioned about the history of a port-style wine, and single varietal ports, but not all the styles of a port-style wine. Solera is a process for different beverages like port wine. Some whiskeys can also be processed in this fashion.  It is a process of blending in such a way that the finished creation is a mixture of a port style wine from different vintages, with the average age that continues as every year, as a…

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Is Your Wine Gluten Free?

Is Your Wine Gluten Free?

By Beth Heiserman

Last week, I saw an article that caught my interest. Is wine gluten free?  And yes, there can be gluten found in wine, but it is insignificant amount. There are two ways it could be found in wine. One way are fining agents. Those are to remove the impurities and sediment in wine before bottling. We use bentonite, which is mineral based, wheat free and vegan.  Bentonite is used to absorb and remove what is not wanted in a glass of…

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Reyes 2011 Les Deux Rois Blackberry Serrano Jam

Reyes 2011 Les Deux Rois Blackberry Serrano Jam

By Beth Heiserman

 

Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, I would say are the two most famous red wines. They are the kings of red wine. This week, I am sharing with you a favorite, 2011 Renaissance by Reyes Les Deux Rois. This is our “Two Kings” red wine blend. The two grapes make up this amazing and award-winning Bordeaux-style red blend. For hundreds of years, these two grapes are widely known around the world.

Cabernet Sauvignon classically provides the blend’s structure, with heavier tannins and more acidity than Merlot….

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2019 March Quarterly Shipment

2019 March Quarterly Shipment

by Beth Heiserman

Its that time again for our members to have their quarterly choices and a lunch. Our wine club consists of four shipments are year. They are march, June, September and December. There is no fee to become a member, only a commitment that you will remain a member for at least four shipments. Every shipment you have an option of either having it shipped to you or picking it up at the winery. For instance, next weekend is our member pick up…

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What effect can the rain can have on grapes?

What effect can the rain can have on grapes?

by Beth Heiserman

 

This past weekend, I was watching a movie about a couple falling in love at a vineyard. It was driving me crazy watching it because it had so many false facts about vineyard care. While I was watching this love story, I remembered that this was a sequel to another one that I remembered that had so many wrong facts that I looked up on their Facebook page and saw already thousands of people, commented what I…

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Reyes 2009 Syrah Leg of Lamb

Reyes 2009 Syrah Leg of Lamb

By Beth P. Heiserman

I am probably writing for the last time about the award-winning 2009 Syrah, since we only have a few cases left. This has been one of my favorites since I started to work at Reyes Winery. I thought I would focus this week on a Syrah again, since it is International Syrah Day on February 16th. Last year for our annual Winemaker Valentine’s Dinner, I prepared a leg of lamb and served it with the 2009 Syrah. Currently, I…

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All Wines get a holiday…February 16th is International Syrah Day!

All Wines get a holiday…February 16th is International Syrah Day!

By Beth Heiserman

February 14 is celebrated as St. Valentine’s Day in various parts of the world. We have combined International Syrah Day and Valentines Day by having a winemaker dinner on the 15th & 16th of February. Come Celebrate Valentine’s Day at Reyes Winery.

What could be a more romantic way to celebrate your Valentine’s day than by bringing your loved one to Reyes Winery for a specially prepared wine pairing dinner? Every year, we have had a pink,…

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2013 Ryan’s Blend Food Pairing

2013 Ryan’s Blend Food Pairing

by Beth Heiserman

This past weekend someone asked me about why do wineries blend wine. Last July, I wrote an article about wine blends and I mentioned about combining two or more wines makes each one better than they would be on their own. Sometimes wine varietals need other wines to help them have the complexity that a wine needs. Sometimes a wine can be flat and if you blend an acidic wine, it will create a blend that is balanced. By blending you…

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Food Pairings and 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet Sauvignon is a very bold wine that has possibility to overpower some dishes. Depending upon the tannins as well as the oak notes can make a difference in food pairings. When Cabernet Sauvignon is young, as this wine is, its elements are at is peak.  As time goes on and the wine ages, it will smooth out, and the possibilities of food pairing will increase.

Cabernet Sauvignon’s that are higher in alcohol level do not pair well with spicy food. I remember doing a wine pairing event with other winemakers and…

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2015 Cabernet Sauvignon and Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches

2015 Cabernet Sauvignon and Hot Roast Beef Sandwiches

by Beth Heiserman

Usually when I decide upon a topic to write about, I usually choose a wine first.  This week I chose the food before I decided upon what wine I would pair a dish with.

I was watching a cooking show the other day and they were making open faced roast beef sandwiches.   It reminded me when I was growing up, how much I enjoyed when my mom used to make these for me.  My mom used to make…

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