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…

Read More

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…

Read More

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…

Read More

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…

Read More

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…

Read More

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…

Read More

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…

Read More

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…

Read More

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…

Read More

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…

Read More

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,…

Read More

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…

Read More

2015 Oso’s Blend and the Red Blend Tasting Event

2015 Oso’s Blend and the Red Blend Tasting Event

by Beth Heiserman

 

Coming February 2nd, I am doing the first “Red Blend Tasting Event”. I have done many wine pairing events, but not a blend event. I have chosen specific Reyes Winery Blends for this educational yet fun food and wine pairing. Every wine has a story, and I love sharing each one of them with you. Its $15 per person and it includes a Reyes Winery 12oz glass to take home. Please make your reservations in our tasting room or online at https://squareup.com/store/reyes-winery/.

Annual Bottling Party

Annual Bottling Party

by Beth Heiserman

 

Someone asked me last week on a tour, its December, what are doing? There is always something happening at the vineyard all year long. Right now, we are preparing to bottle our 2016 & 2017 vintages. Every year we have an event at the vineyard for guests to see the bottling process. It will be January 5th from 12pm-4pm. Its $49 per person and it includes lunch, a glass of wine, a tour of the bottling line and you get to take home…

Read More

Our newest medals from the 2018 San Francisco International Wine Competition

 

Our newest medals from the 2018 San Francisco International Wine Competition

#ReyesWinery would like to thank the
San Francisco International Wine Competition
judges for this amazing recognition! We are so thrilled we won TWO more #DoubleGold Medals! It is now our 3rd & 4th!!!

The largest and most influential international wine competition in America, the San Francisco International Wine Competition has been setting the standard for professional wine judging since its debut in 1980. Now in…

Read More

What wines to pair for your family Thanksgiving dinner?

What wines to pair for your family Thanksgiving dinner?

by Beth Heiserman

Thanksgiving is around the corner and was creating my dinner menu with a wine list to match last night my dad. We were thinking what we wanted.  Of course, turkey.

Two years, my Thanksgiving article included my Chardonnay gravy recipe that I always do with my turkey. Turkey and gravy were a match made in heaven, but when you add wine, its paradise! When enjoying turkey, you can have a glass of the 2015 Amber Chardonnay or 2010…

Read More

What creates the color in a wine?

What creates the color in a wine?

by Beth Heiserman

 

Every weekend in the tasting room, we have guests from all over and I am asked an array of questions. This past weekend someone asked me what makes red wine…red? They asked if all wine starts out white and we add food coloring.   No, we don’t add anything. The coloring comes from the skin of the grape, well that is a red grape; like Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon or Grenache. Each variety of grapes has a different shade of red. Cabernet Sauvignon is ruby, Merlot has…

Read More

2011 Reyes Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Strawberry Peppercorn Cobbler

2011 Reyes Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Strawberry Peppercorn Cobbler

by Beth Heiserman

 

This past weekend, we hosted our quarterly member ship pick up party. Many of our guests have requested some of my recipes that have not yet been added to my blog, including my strawberry black peppercorn Cabernet cobbler.  Instead of having ice cream, It tastes amazing if you eat it with a little bit of brie or chèvre.  I pair this with our 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon.  Today I’m starting with dessert versus the salad or lunch course.  The first…

Read More

Petite Sirah, Syrah….are they the same or different?

Petite Sirah, Syrah….are they the same or different?

By Beth Heiserman

 

This past weekend, we had many people ask about Petite Sirah. Why are they spelled different? Is Petite Sirah a smaller grape, lighter on flavor? Many people had so many questions, that I thought I would elaborate about Petite Sirah. A few months ago, I mentioned a little about one of my learning experiences of wine and Petite Sirah.

It’s really called Durif. It’s grown mainly in Australia, California and France. In the past 30 years, its popularity has…

Read More

Why do we use Oak Barrels for wine?

Why do we use Oak Barrels for wine?

By Beth Heiserman
Over 2000 years ago, a Greek historian, documented that wood barrels were used for wine in ancient Mesopotamia.  I have mentioned before, in my article about “Orange Wines” that approximately 6000 years ago, wine was aged and stored in clay pots called Qvevri.  Then eventually besides the clay, people started to use wood. Wood was lighter than clay when traveling. As the Romans were expanding their empire, they brought wine with them.

Read More

The Myth Behind the Title of a ‘Reserve Wine’

The Myth Behind the Title of a ‘Reserve Wine’

by Beth Heiserman

Many people think that there are certain descriptive words that people look for on a winery’s label, like reserve, estate grown, single vineyard, old vine, etc. This past week, I had someone ask what our “reserve wines” were.

In the U.S., “reserve” doesn’t theoretically mean anything. When applying for label approval from the TTB (Tax and Trade Bureau) in our country, reserve is nothing more than a brand…

Read More

San Francisco International Wine & Spirits Competition “Double Gold” Tour Part 2

San Francisco International Wine & Spirits Competition “Double Gold” Tour

Part 2

By Beth Heiserman

Last week, was the second leg of a 6 six-city tour for the “Double Gold” medal tour with the San Francisco International Wine & Spirits Competition.  Last Tuesday, I went to Manhattan to Quality Italian Steakhouse on 57th street to the “Double Gold” Tasting event. I am excited to meet the media from New York.  I love to share that we are the only winery here from Los Angeles County especially because we…

Read More

SF International Wine and Spirits “Double Gold” Tour

SF International Wine and Spirits “Double Gold” Tour

by Beth Heiserman

 

Last week, was the first leg of a 6 six-city tour for the “Double Gold” medal tour with the San Francisco International Wine & Spirits Competition.  I will be traveling to New York, Las Vegas and Los Angeles in the next few weeks. Plus the wine will travel on to Portland and Chicago without me.  I was in San Francisco pouring our 2012 Syrah. This was our second Double Gold Medal. The 2011 Syrah won two years ago…

Read More

2017 Wine Education at the LA County Fair

2017 Wine Education at the LA County Fair

By Beth Heiserman

Last week, I attended a wine education class at the LA County Fair in Pomona for Award Winning Wines of Southern California. They presented our 2013 Syrah which won a silver award. I was so excited to be there and experience a class which I attend every year that had one of our wines. This was the first time we were included in this class or for that matter any class. As I waited in line, people kept…

Read More

Syrah or Shiraz?

Syrah or Shiraz?
By Beth P. Heiserman

When I first started at Reyes Winery in Agua Dulce, I remember trying the 2009 Syrah. It became my favorite instantly. It has such a great smokiness and is so fruit forward that I knew it would be perfect to pair with bison or lamb. I have paired this wine with everything from Sloppy Joes to a leg of lamb. Syrah is sometimes known as Shiraz. It is grown all over the world. Its dark skin…

Read More