Tired of Turkey?

Tired of Turkey?

By Beth P. Heiserman

 

I always have someone asking me can you drink red wine with fish…YES!  a red/pink fish can be paired with a red wine, like salmon or ahi tuna. I love having Zinfandel with salmon. Our 2013 Zinfandel has won silver medals in the 2016 Los Angeles International Wine Competition,   plus 87 points in the 2016 Toast of the Coast Wine Competition,  and in the 2017 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. Plus a bronze in the 2016 San Francisco International Wine Competition.

This California…

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Come enjoy our newest release in October, the 2013 Merlot

Come enjoy our newest release in October

2013 Merlot

By Beth Heiserman

 

I had gone to a wine and spirit tasting and they had a cinnamon vodka. So…me and my inquisitive nature asks, what kind of cinnamon did they use? I did ask before I tried it. The response I got was, uh…there are different types? Yes, there are many different types of cinnamon. Not all cinnamon is the same, just like grapes. There are so many varietals of grapes.

True cinnamon comes from India, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri…

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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…

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Oxidation in Wine

Oxidation/Oxidative

by Beth Heiserman

Oxidation in wine is the most common wine fault. It is presence of oxygen and a catalyst is what makes the process to transpire. Oxidation can happen during different stages of winemaking through aging in a bottle. It can cause a loss of color, for instance the red wine will have a brownish tint. It reminds me of the color of a raisin. Sulfates are added to wine, to prevent this.

The Romans used sulfur dioxide in winemaking, they had discovered that burning candles inside empty…

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What element of wine makes it taste dry? ….Tannins in wine

What element of wine makes it taste dry? ….Tannins in wine

By Beth Heiserman

 

There are different types of tannins; skin, seeds and from the barrels. They all have a different complexity. It is a naturally occurring polyphenol which is found in plants, seeds, wood and skins of a fruit like grapes. Tannins are usually from red wines unless the white wine was aged in a barrel or was a skin-contact white wine, like our 2015 Amber Chardonnay.

Skin tannins make you feel like you just had a bite of…

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Celebrate one of the oldest wine varietals…Tempranillo

Celebrate one of the oldest wine varietals…Tempranillo

By Beth P. Heiserman

Tempranillo ripens earlier than other varietals. It grows around the world, but is mainly grown in the Rioja region of Spain. This varietal has been growing since Phoenicians settled in the Iberian Peninsula somewhere around 1000 BC when the wine trade was flourishing. The Phoenicians had created a widespread wine trading network around the Mediterranean Sea ports. It is possible that they started trading around 800 BC when they founded Carthage in 814 BC. They also founded Málaga,…

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Let’s celebrate Grenache

Let’s Celebrate Grenache
By Beth P. Heiserman



Grenache is one of the most widely planted red wine varietal in the world. It grows well in hot, dry and windy climates like Agua Dulce. It ripens much later than most varietals. There are different types of Grenache; Noir, Blanc, Gris and Rose. It is mainly grown in France, Australia, Sardinia/Italy and the Central Valley of California. Most likely the grape originated from Spain during the period when the Aragon Crown ruled according to ampelographical evidence.The study of ampelography helps identify and classifies…

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