Showing posts with label winery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label winery. Show all posts

Friday, July 1, 2016

A Day of Wine and Spirit Tasting in Cape Cod with Truro Vineyards and South Hollow Spirits

When summer arrives, Cape Cod comes alive. With beautiful beaches, seafood shacks, and more, this New England coastal getaway draws massive amount of tourists each year. If you're planning a visit to the Cape this year, consider a visit to Truro Vineyards for a tour of their vineyard and distillery. This relatively off-the-beaten path destination offers a great day of wine and cocktail drinking with grape vines in the backdrop.
Truro
Actually, Truro Vineyards is not a completely hidden gem - it's a popular spot for bachelorette parties and other celebrations, and once you get there, you can easily see why. Day drinking at its best!
Truro
Truro Vineyards has been producing and tasting wines for a while, but there's a recent addition to the family: South Hollow Spirits. Started by the son, Dave Roberts, South Hollow Spirits is producing rum and gin that are definitely worth a taste. We actually started out with the spirits tasting first before moving on to wines. I have to say , I loved all three spirits.
Truro

Monday, November 3, 2014

Certified Angus Beef and Wine at Bogle Winery

I was recently invited on a trip to the Sacramento area with Certified Angus Beef, learning about what the brand and organization is all about while eating plenty of beef (Certified Angus, of course). As part of the tour, we had lunch at the lovely Bogle Winery in the Sacramento Delta.
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A bit about Bogle: it is a family-owned winery and vineyard. The current owners are sixth-generation farmers and 3rd-generation winemakers. The family settled 20 miles from where the vineyard is now back in 1870, at Grand Island. They were growing produce and selling them to the gold rush people. Their grandfather moved to the current area during depression and started planting Petit Syrah back in 1968, being the first to plant grapes in the area. First, he grew them for other wineries but 10 years later started bottling for themselves with Petit Syrah and Chenin Blanc. When the grandfather passed away, their father decided to convert all their acreage to wine grapes.
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Not a bad setting for lunch, eh?
For lunch, we had some coulottes. This is the cap of the top sirloin, which is a highly marbled cut and acts like tri-tip. If you've gone to a Brazilian steakhouse like Fogo, you'd know this as the picanha. 
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Sunday, March 9, 2014

Lunch at Wilson Creek Winery (and their Pig Mascot!), Temecula, CA

I'll just admit it straight up. I'm biased. I loved visiting Wilson Creek Winery in Temecula because ... they have Molly Merlot, their pig mascot!

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Isn't she adorable with her tutu, though? I don't care as much about taking photos with celebrities or chefs, but I made sure I got one with Molly.

Wilson Creek Winery is one of the larger ones in Temecula Valley.
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It's beautiful and well equipped for weddings, with a stage already built for special occasions and perhaps live music concerts.
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Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Wine and Cheese Pairing at Miramonte Winery in Temecula Valley

Miramonte was one of the beautiful wineries I visited in Temecula, with an outdoor seating area overlooking the valley and vineyards.

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Miramonte opened in 2001, but they hired a new winemaker in 2008. The new winemaker is a UC Davis alum who used to work at Argyle in Oregon (great sparkling wines). His experience has brought gentler nuance to the wines. Miramonte has 9 acres which are all planted with Rhone varietals (Temecula Valley is said to be very similar to Rhone) and they have started planting some varietals from Argentina and Portugal.
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We had a nice little pairing outside, with the fine breeze and beautiful view. The pairing showcases some items from their food boards, from cheese to tapenades.
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The 2012 Grenache rose was paired with Spanish manchego and strawberries. The cheese made the wine less astringent.

Their 2012 Rousanne was paired with Apricot Stilton, poached peach, habanero infused olive oil. The wine had notes of apple and under-ripe pineapple. I didn't like the Rousanne at first because it was buttery, but it became much better with the pairing.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Albuquerque/Santa Fe, NM

Albuquerque Restaurant Reviews
Kelly's Brewpub
Sophia's Place

Albuquerque Breweries
Marble Brewery

Santa Fe Restaurant Reviews
BobCat Bite
Cafe Pasqual
The Shed
The Pantry

Chocolatiers
Kakawa

Hotel/Lodging
Eastside Compound - Kokopelli Real Estate and Property Management

Wineries
La Chiripada Winery (Dixon)

Festivals
Taste of Santa Fe 2010 - Gala Dinner
Taste of Santa Fe 2010

Saturday, July 3, 2010

La Chiripada Winery (Dixon, New Mexico)

Seems like almost every state makes their own wine now, and New Mexico certainly is no exception. In fact, Albuquerque's Gruet Winery is pretty well known for their sparkling wines. Put a group of graduate students in Los Alamos for 2 weeks and we won't fail to take advantage of the weekends to go wine tasting.

A quick research on the smartphone brought us to La Chiripada.

La Chiripada is a quaint and modest winery in Dixon (50 miles north of Santa Fe) marked by a small adobe structure, where casual wine tastings are held. We walked in with hair still wet from the rafting trip that morning. You can do that in New Mexico, it's just that kind of lifestyle.

Surrounded by the beautiful landscape of New Mexico

La Chiripada was started in 1977 in the Rio Embudo Valley of NM and now produces a variety of red, white, and dessert wines. Many of the red varieties are local, including Canoncito and their most popular, Rio Embudo Red, a local Leon Millot French hybrid grape variety.
Most of the reds weren't "quite there yet" for me being perfectly drinkable and enjoyable but without enough depth. Keep in mind we tried young wines during the tasting, though I did enjoy the Reserve selection.

The whites fared better, on the other hand, with the crispness I tend to look for in my whites.
Since the tasting fee is waived when you buy a bottle, I took home a bottle of the Special Reserve Riesling.

La Chiripada Winery
Hwy 75 (3 miles East of the Hwy 68 and Hwy 75 junction)
Dixon, NM

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Baja Winery Bed and Breakfast: Villa del Valle

Baja is not all about the parties, the beach, and the food (oh and how we love the food), but they have also seen a surge in wineries in the Valle de Guadalupe area. Just like Napa and Temecula, besides selling wines and holding wine tastings, some wineries also function as a cozy bed and breakfast.

One such place in Valle de Guadalupe is La Villa del Valle, a beautiful British-owned bnb/winery and one of the very few such places in Baja so far.

Perched on a hilltop, this B&B provides a magnificent view of the valley.
It only has a pool and a vegetable garden patrons can walk through.

Our group had our wine tasting in the cozy and swank living room (leather covered couches and tables - PETA would go nuts).
The wines that La Villa del Valle produced are called Vena Cava, and we tasted two-three of them.
The Vena Cava wine is organic and self-sufficient. As such, their white wines also tend to be unfiltered. This gives their Chardonnay a cloudy appearance which may turn some people off, but in reality this wine has more flavor and depth than your typical chardonnay.

We were also served some small bites during the wine tasting, including this zucchini fritter with kumquat sauce.
We thought the kumquat sauce was not only great but also creative.

Another appetizer I really enjoyed was the ground ostrich meat wrapped in kale.
Staying at a b&b in a wine country means you'd have to drive rather far for outside food and nightlife, but naturally La Villa del Valle offers dinners. We were served a few small bites of appetizers during the wine tasting, and if they are any indication, dinner here should be quite good.

La Villa del Valle
Valle De Guadalupe, Baja, Mexico
www.lavilladelvalle.com

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