I am not ashamed to say I’m a fan of Chardonnay.  “Real” wine drinkers, AKA wine snobs, will often say they won’t drink Chardonnay.  And I’m not exactly sure why?  There are some chardonnnay’s that are very heavily oaked and too buttery.  That heavy oak comes from aging in oak barrels.  You can tell that by the way your tongue feels after you drink a glass of wine.  It will feel like you want to wipe your tongue off!

The buttery taste and weight comes from a process called malolactic conversion, which involves the transformation of malic acid into lactic acid. While malic acid is tart, lactic acid is mild. After malolactic conversion, the wine feels creamy butter in your mouth.

While I don’t drink a ton of heavily oaked chardonnay’s, I do enjoy those that are a lighter style or aged in stainless steel tanks.

I picked up a bottle of Joseph Carr 2013 Chardonnay at my local wine retailer.  I thought the label was pretty.  Let’s be honest, we buy with our eyes first, especially if you are in a store and can’t try the wine.  So nice labels count for alot.

This was was roughly $17.  And it was so good!  I smelled vanilla, peaches and apricots when I took my first sniff.  My first drink tasted citrusy, lemony, and had a touch of vanilla.  It almost at a light creme brûlée taste.  It wasn’t buttery or heavily oaked.  To me, it was a nice balance of citrus and creamy.  I drank 2 glasses of this after the kids went to bed!  I could have consumed the whole bottle, but getting up for my workout and my workday the next morning would have been a bit painful.

What is your favorite Chardonnay?  Leave me a note and let me know if you have a go-to Chardonnay.  Cheers!

It’s not secret I like, or love, white wines.  While I’m always thrilled to pair that perfect red wine with a great medium grilled steak, I don’t always enjoy sitting down at night, back on my laptop finishing up work stuff, sipping a big red wine.  I’d rather enjoy a crisp, chilled white wine while I finish answering emails!

I also think wine is a great drink to enjoy during the Super Bowl!  You don’t have to drink beer with your food choices.  Plenty of white cheese dips, appetizers and main dishes go well with wine!

While at my industry’s fall board meeting, held at Bloomington’s Oliver Winery, I had a chance to try a new wine they had recently released.  I was hooked about bought 3 bottles immediately!  I just drank the last of those three bottles and need to go buy more.

III is a blend of Vignoles, Vidal Blanc and Chardonel. I love all three of these grapes as a standalone wine.  Blended they are nearly perfect!  

According to the Oliver Winery website:


This wine is the result of the winemaking team drinking too much coffee and brainstorming about the possibilities of a white blend from Creekbend.  Various white varieties were barrel fermented on an experimental basis in hopes that a nice blend would develop. The final wine from those trials is a blend of  barrel fermented Vignoles and Vidal Blanc, along with a fraction of stainless steel fermented Chardonel. All three portions underwent complete malolactic fermentation.

This wine has delightful aromas of pineapple and tropical flowers.  Its flavors of pear and apple resemble those of a good Viognier.  III has a rich mouthfeel and delightful lasting finish.

Because this wine carries the Creekbend label, that signifies these grapes are grown in Oliver’s Creekbend vineyards, just a few miles from the winery.  

This wine retails for $22/bottle.  It is more than worth it to buy a bottle, or two, or in my case…maybe six bottles!  It won’t take me long to enjoy this wine!  I’ll encourage you to buy some to, but not until I get mine purchased!

The first flight we tasted was a selection of Rieslings.  These are 2006, 2008 and 2011 dry Rieslings.

 

This tasting of three wines took place at 9am!  Don’t I have the best job?

Only the 2011 vintage is still available for sale.  Riesling does not have to be surgary sweet, as some may be familiar with. This is  a dry wine, meaning it’s residual sugar level is very low.  When you smell this wine you will notice citrus and stone fruits aromas followed by very subtle minerality. When you taste it you should find fresh apple, orange and apricot fruit flavors combine with a hint of spice for a crisp and refreshing finish. 

Since this wine isn’t sweet, it can be stored away for a few years in a cellar to age. Any wine that has a sweetness factor can not be stored for years! The sweeter the wine the faster it should be drank. The winemaker said this could be cellared for five to ten years. Personally, I always try to cellar wines but get too thirsty and drink them instead!

This wine is $18 a bottle and pairs well with Asian fare, curries, and seafoods! 

Because I’ve had a huge outcry (or just a few nice people tell me) for posts about what I drink, I’m starting a weekly (I hope) Wine Wednesday feature. In full disclosure, I work for Indiana’s fabulous wineries!  So quite a few posts will likely focus on Indiana wines.  However, I don’t just drink Indiana wine.  So I’ll share my other favorite vino’s too!

Then there is this exceptionally large wine barrel that is taking up a bit of floor space.  It is empty.  My Department Head/boss just came in to ask me if it had wine in it!! It’s part of my State Fair exhibit and needs a little TLC.

So now for the wine.  Oliver Winery is Indiana’s largest and oldest winery.  Opened in 1972, the Bloomington-based winery sets the standard for how wine should be made. Bill Oliver and his crew turn out nationally award-winning wines year after year.  

This 2010 Chambourcin is a dry red wine that could fool even the snootiest Cabernet or Zinfandel drinker.  This wine is outstanding! Chambourcin is a red grape that we grow a lot in Indiana.  The vines can withstand the harsh cold winters we have and the fruit quality is fantastic.

From Oliver’s website.


Chambourcin ripens beautifully in the hot Indiana sun, resulting in plump, bright purple clusters. While the growing season of 2010 was full of heartbreak due to the late frost that claimed most of our Catawba, Traminette, Marechal Foch and Valvin Muscat; it proved to be a banner year for Chambourcin. This variety produces buds later in the season and is also located at the high point of the vineyard, helping it to avoid the peril of late frost. What rounded out to be a beautiful, warm and dry season led to a bountiful harvest on September 28th yielding about 14.8 tons of superb fruit! 

Winemaking begins with 36 hours of skin contact to extract the optimal color, flavor and tannic structure. After fermentation in stainless steel tanks, this wine aged in barrels, of which 25% were new French oak. With soft berry flavors and mature tannins, this is arguably our best Chambourcin ever! 

I agree!  This wine would go perfectly with a big Hunk of Meat or a thick bolognese pasta sauce.  But don’t think too much about food pairings.  I’m not above pouring a glass and just drinking it because it’s good!  I don’t want you to get hung up on pairing the “perfect” food with the “perfect” wine.  

 This wine, at $22 a bottle, can be purchased at the winery in Bloomington or their new Wine Tasting  room in downtown Bloomington. 

If you have tried this wine, let me know! Or maybe you have another favorite Oliver Winery wine?  

Salute!!

Thanksgiving can be stressful.  Family, lots of food, and football can lead to a very long, noisy day.  If you are in charge of the Thanksgiving meal then you might wonder what is the perfect wine for your meal.

While my philosophy has always been to eat what you like and drink what you like, there are some really great pairings for a turkey or ham dinner.  For me, I prefer a rose’ with ham and turkey.  I recently bought this bottle of Domain Lafone Tavel 2013.  Wow!!  When I opened the bottle, I immediately smelled watermelon.  And the color is outstanding.  I paid about $17 for this bottle.  It won’t make it to Thanksgiving dinner.  Because I’ll have it gone before then!!

As a hog farmer, we normally eat ham for Thanksgiving.  So I normally look for a wine that will match a nice ham.  The spice and berry flavors this wine exhibits will be a great match for your ham.  But it is flavorful enough to pair with a citrus-brined turkey as well.

Here is the description from their website.

TAVEL
Grenache 60%, Cinsault 10%, Syrah 10%, Carigna 5% and with Clairette, Picpoul, Bourboulenc, Mourvèdre.
The LAFOND DOMAINE TAVEL is characterized by a lovely pure tender pink colour. The predominating aromas are complex: red and white fruit associated with floral notes. With time, these fruity aromas will evolve toward more mellow notes with a touch of spice and stone fruits, and the colour will take on amber tints. As of its first year, it disposes of all the necessary aromas to be appreciated, but it also has an exceptional ageing potential.

Even if you think you don’t like rose’ or that your guests will think it’s too girly, I encourage you to try a bottle.  Your guests will be pleased!

I love Rose’ wine.  I’ve written many wine blogs on my reviews of Rose’.  Everything from sparkling, sweet, Indiana’s own Chambourcin Rose’ to some fine French styles.  I drink Rose’ year-round and am not afraid to open a bottle just because.  It will always be my favorite style of wine!

California’s Holman Ranch recently sent me a bottle of their 2013 Rosé of Pinot Noir.  This wine is the perfect shade of pink and is delightfully crisp upon first sip.  Even when I popped the cork on the bottle, I was blown away by the floral nose that wafted from the bottle.  This wine smelled great!  I noted watermelon, wildflowers, and strawberry in both the nose and the glass.  I loved this wine and would encourage you to find a bottle!

But with that being said, I just visited their website, www.holmanranch.com, and it says the wine is SOLD OUT??  Wow.  I just got my sample a month or so ago.  I hate to write a review of a wine that isn’t available anymore.  However, this is the second wine I’ve had from Holman Ranch, the first being a Sauvignon Blanc that I purchased, and I enjoy their wine.  So while you may not find the Rose’ anymore, I would encourage you to consider their other wines as well.  I only wish I had another bottle of the Rose’ stored away for a cold day this winter.

From Holman Ranch’s press release:

Holman Ranch 2013 Blushing Bride truly does embrace the spirit of warm weather wine, all while staying true to the tenets of this classic bistro tradition. A bright nose with a subtle hint of wildflowers jumps out of the glass and its lengthy palate and juicy overtones finish off this all estate selection. Did we mention Absolutely Stunning? Personality, style, beauty and values. Sounds like the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

• No. of Acres: 4.73
• Year Planted: 2007
• No. of Cases: 104
• Price: $20

Located at the north-eastern tip of the Carmel Valley Appellation, the family-owned Holman Ranch resides approximately 12 miles inland from the Pacific Coast. Immersed in history and romance, the ranch has not only proven to be an excellent growing location for our vineyards but also for the Tuscan varietal olive trees which have flourished under the temperate climate.

• Our estate-grown wine varietals are planted on approximately 21 acres of undulating terrain.
• The wines produced are unfined and crafted to deliver the true varietal of the grape from harvest to bottle.
• The climate and terroir of the appellation has played a critical part in the success of our wines. The warmth of our inland valley coupled with the cooling marine layer has established itself as an ideal microclimate for the production of Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris. Our Burgundy Clones have thrived from the perfect blend of ideal climate, southern exposure and thin rocky soils.

Holman Ranch provided me this bottle of wine.  The opinions are solely my own and were written completely sober!

I’m often asked if I only drink Indiana wine.  Since I promote Indiana’s wine industry, I think it’s a a valid question. And the answer is “no”, I don’t just drink Indiana wines. Although I do love what my home state produces!!

Recently Holman Ranch provided me some wines for review. Periodically over the next few months I will review each bottle and tell you about the winery.  This is a winery I was not familiar with prior to receiving the wines. But I am blown away by the beauty of their Carmel Valley, California location! One look at their website and you will see beautiful vineyards, wedding facilities and even olive groves. I’m going to have to order some olive oil!

The first wine I want to review is their 2010 estate grown Chardonnay.  Everyone who reads this blog knows I love Chardonnay.  Some wine snobs roll their eyes are Chardonnay.  Saying it’s a basic wine, the wine only newbies drink, and so on.  I say bologna to all of that! Chardonnay can be a great wine, if made well.  And this one seems to fit that description.

I was very impressed with the information Holman Ranch.  Their media kit was well done.

Each wine had a nice piece of information about the wine, winery and vineyard.

But on to the wine.  Holman Ranch has 19 acres of vineyards, just under 2 acres are dedicate to Chardonnay grapes. The vineyards were planted in 2008.

The wine is a straw yellow in the glass.  When I smelled and tasted the wine I did get a hint of toasted oak, but no overwhelming. Many people who don’t like Chardonnay say it’s because winemakers turned their Chards into butter, oaken, heavy wines.  This wine is not like that. It has just enough oak to give it a toasted nose, but not so much that you feel like you are drinking wood chips!

The wine is quite acidic.  Acidity in wine is what makes your mouth water. The minute I tasted this I felt my mouth start to water! Wine acidity is great, if it’s balanced. I thought this was well-balanced and enjoyed my glass very much!

This wine is full of citrus and honey flavors. And at $28/bottle I think it would be a great wine to enjoy with friends and a good meal!

Holman Ranch provided me this bottle of wine for review.  Although my love of wine and my opinions are my own.  No one can pay me to like their wine!  

The Farmer and I recently had the chance to visit Panama.  Not the beach or Florida city.  But the country! And what a beautiful land Panama is.

I may be swayed, but I didn’t have any bad wine while on this trip. Although, I was right next to the ocean and in vacation mode. So maybe it all just tasted good to me!

We were able to have dinner at a very nice restaurant in our hotel the last night of our trip. The wines served in this restaurant were different than they were serving in the bars.  I love Sauvignon Blanc and quickly decided to try the Santa Helena Sauvignon Blanc.  

This wine was produced in the Central Valley of Chile.  Having just visited Chile last March, I was excited to see another wine from this region. The region makes some fantastic wines and nearly every winery I visited while in Chile was outstanding.

The wine was served much too cold.  I’m not sure if you can tell, but I can almost see how cold the glass is when I look at this picture!  White wine should be served much closer to room temperature than it normally is.  My rule of thumb is white wine goes in the fridge 20 minutes before you want to serve it.  This was living in a very cold refrigerator!

The wine was pale in color.  The taste had a bit of straw and green grass, which is common in Sauvignon Blanc’s.  I also noticed some gooseberry, albeit a bit unripe.  It was a fine wine for the resort.  We were staying in an all-inclusive, so I have no idea how much this wine really cost.  

While the wine isn’t probably something I would buy, I did enjoy it at the moment.  We were dining with great friends, laughing and enjoy a lovely meal.  In the end, that’s how I think wine should be enjoyed!  

I am sharing another Indiana wine with you, but I can almost guarantee you’ve never tried this one!

French Lick Winery is well known for their award winning wines.  The winery opened in 1995 and since that time they have established themselves as outstanding winemakers, winning numerous medals in wine competitions for their outstanding wines. 

French Lick also grows grapes in their Heaven’s View Vineyard, which was planted in the spring of 1998 on Hoosier Homestead Farm overlooking the White River Valley in Martin County. Located approximately 20 miles west of the winery, the vineyard’s eight acres are comprised of the first planting of Norton grapes in Indiana, as well as Chambourcin, Traminette, Vidal, and Vincent varietals. These varietals are new to many wine drinkers but they thrive in Indiana where traditional varieties often struggle due to harsh weather.

The winery is housed in the old Kimball Piano Factory in West Baden Springs, Indiana.  

But you’ve come for the wine.  And this is a good one.  Crema Dolce is a sweet wine that is a perfect drink with your after dinner desserts or cheese plate.

But I don’t eat cheese after dinner, unless I’m at a fancy work meal.  And I prefer to drink my calories instead of having dessert!  So I think this is a perfect “just-because” drink!  It’s great right before bed!!  By a roaring fire.  Or while reading a book.  Or yelling at the TV during a football game.

This wine is creamy.  In the glass is it almost amber in color.  When you smell and taste it you’ll find flavors of caramel, butterscotch, and a lot of nutty undertones.  It is decadent!

And it’s only $19 a bottle.  This isn’t meant to be guzzled, rather sipped and enjoyed.  

Have you been to French Lick Winery?  Any favorite wines from your visit?

There are two wines that I love to drink during the summer, Dry Rose’s and Sauvignon Blancs. Last week I talked about one of my favorite Rose’s. Today I will share with you a new Sauvignon Blanc I just discovered.

This wine was about $16. But I can’t remember where I purchased it!! Ack!! I have been racking my brain as to where I have been wine shopping recently and still can’t come up with the store. I may have bought this at The Fresh Market, but can’t be sure until I go back!

This wine is a screw cap and should be enjoyed when you buy it. Don’t let it sit around to age. Enjoy it now! And enjoy it chilled! This will be a favorite of mine for some time! As soon as I can figure out where I purchased it!!

Sing with me…

Aruba, Jamaica, ooh I wanna take you to
Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama
Key Largo Montego,
baby why don’t we go
Ooh I wanna take you down to Kokomo,
we’ll get there fast
and then we’ll take it slow
That’s where we wanna go,
way down in Kokomo.

I’m not sure the Beach Boys actually knew there was a town named Kokomo, in the middle of Indiana, when they wrote this song.  But the song makes me smile, as Kokomo is somewhat in the vicinity of where I live.  And Kokomo is known for a few things.  An old stuffed huge cow, the home of the first automobile, a workforce that is largely factory employed, many farm fields and the birthplace of a really great wine maker.

Erik Miller is one of the owners of Kokomo Wines, located in Healdsburg, California.  Erik grew up in Kokomo, Indiana and graduated from Purdue University.  He took his Midwestern values and headed west, for wine country.  The Farmer and I had the pleasure of visiting the winery a few years ago and it was a super great time.  You walk in to a very laid back atmosphere, surrounded by wine barrels and a wooden tasting bar.  Erik gave The Farmer and I a great “back room” barrel tasting.  Side disclosure, I know Erik and he is one of the greatest guys that I’ve had the pleasure of knowing in the wine industry.  I’m not sure everyone gets a barrel tasting like we did, but I guarantee everyone gets fantastic service at the bar.

It was at Kokomo Wines that my husband went from drinking super sweet wines to loving big, bold Zinfandel.  He still loves some great Indiana cherry wine, but he now has a taste for dry wines too!

Erik doesn’t make a bad wine.  I’ve enjoyed many of his offerings, one of my favorites being their Rose’.  Anything you buy is great!

This week, I opened the cork on his 2012 Merlot.  Wow!!  To say it’s good seems like an understatement.  The wine was awarded a silver medal in the recent Indy International Wine Competition.  One sip and you’ll think it deserves a gold medal!  You’ll taste and smell lots of berry, tobacco, currant and earthy notes.  While earthy may sound bad, it’s actually a good thing for a Merlot!  While I drank this wine one its own, sitting at night after the kids had gone to bed, while updating this blog, I am sure you could pair it with a great steak.  I wouldn’t be afraid to pair it with a bowl of comforting beef and noodles!

This wine isn’t available for sale yet, or at least I dont’ think it is.  In searching Kokomo Wines website, I don’t see if listed.  However, when it is, buy a bottle or two or twelve.  Drink a few now and save a few for down the road.

Kokomo Wines is distributed in various parts of the country.  I can find them in a few wine shops in Indiana.  But you may want to call and see if it is available in your area.  Or if they can ship to you.  Best bet, take a trip to California and pay Erik a visit!  You’ll love the experience.