Joe Brock

Dec

2018

North Carolina Wines for Your 2018 Holiday Table

The holidays are here! It’s a time for celebration with family and friends which often means good food and good drink. With a growing industry and higher quality of wines, it is time to consider adding North Carolina wine to your holiday table. But where do you start? What should you pair with classic holiday foods? We’re back this year with some updated suggestions!

Biltmore Estate 2015 Chateau Reserve Blanc de Blancs

Appetizers – Start your holiday meal with an array of appetizers. What pairs best with appetizers? Sparkling wine! Sparkling wine is a versatile wine choice that pairs with just about anything. We suggest the 2015 Château Reserve Blanc de Blancs from Biltmore Estate Winery in Asheville. It’s a beautiful wine full of tropical notes with a yeasty undertone.

McRitchie Winery & Ciderworks 2016 Muscat Blanc

Winter Salad with Oranges – Oranges and spicy greens are perfect this time of year. Add some feta cheese, walnuts and a tangy vinaigrette and you have magic! To further that magic, pair the salad with the 2016 Muscat Blanc from McRitchie Winery & Ciderworks in Thurmond. Made in the Alsatian style this wine is dry with notes of citrus and honeysuckle.

Junius Lindsay Vineyard Viognier

Cypress Bend Vineyards Christina’s Magnolia Estate

Ham – Ham is a classic main course for any holiday. We love ham studded with cloves and topped with pineapple and brown sugar. We have two recommendations.

The first is the 2015 Viognier from Junius Lindsay Vineyard in Welcome. White peach, tropical fruits and a clean, crisp finish pair beautifully with ham.
The second is Christina’s Magnolia Estate from Cypress Bend Vineyards in Wagram. This dry Magnolia wine has a grassy undertone with nice citrus notes.

Overmountain Vineyards King’s Mountain Rosé

Turkey – Roast turkey is versatile. You can pair with a white wine or a lighter red wine, but rosé is the classic pairing. This is especially true if you have your turkey with cranberry sauce. We recommend the 2017 King’s Mountain Rosé from Overmountain Vineyards in Tyron. This wine is bright and crisp with notes of strawberry, watermelon, and lime.

Dover Vineyards 2015 Cabernet Franc

Duck – Ah, duck! It is poultry that has the umph of a steak! Classically you would pair duck with a Pinot Noir. This year we’re going with the 2015 Cabernet Franc from Dover Vineyards in Concord. Spicy and peppery, pair this wine with duck breast seasoned with salt and pepper with an onion marmalade.

Sanctuary Vineyards 2015 Double Barrel

Jones von Drehle Vineyards & Winery 2013 Steel & Stone

Roast Beef – Roast beef is another holiday classic. Of course, this calls for a hearty red wine! We have two best in show winners for you!

The first recommendation is the 2015 Double Barrel from Sanctuary Vineyards in Jarvisburg. A blend of Petit Verdot and Tannat, this wine definitely meets the qualifications of a hearty red. It wine was Best in Show at the 2018 NC Fine Wines Competition.
The second recommendation is the 2013 Steel & Stone from Jones von Drehle in Thurmond. This is a blend of Petit Verdot and Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s lush and rich with notes of fig, blueberry, and blackberry and was 2018’s Bunch Grape Wine Best in Show at the NC State Fair.

Laurel Gray Vineyards Barrel Fermented Chardonnay

Seafood Lasagna, Roast Chicken or Roasted Vegetables – Any of these dishes make for a great additions to your holiday table. For pairing with all of these, we recommend the 2015 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay from Laurel Gray Vineyards in Hamptonville. This wine is oaky and buttery yet retains good fruit.

Piccione Vineyards 2014 Sangiovese

Any Tomato Based Dish – Are you having a dish with tomato sauce and maybe a little spice? We recommend the 2014 Sangiovese from Piccione Vineyards in Ronda. This wine has notes of oak, caramel, vanilla, and bright red cherry with balanced acidity.

Lazy Elm Vineyard and Winery 2013 Selfish Port

Chocolate Desserts – Decadent chocolate desserts call for port-style wines. They are perfect with rich chocolate or just by themselves on a cold night. We recommend the 2013 Selfish from Lazy Elm Vineyard and Winery in Mocksville. This fortified wine is made from Cabernet Franc. It’s rich and decadent and pairs perfectly with chocolate!

Parker Binns 2017 Petit Manseng Dessert Wine

Pumpkin, Apple, or Pecan Pie – Fruit or nut pies pair wonderfully with white dessert wines. We recommend the 2017 Late Harvest Petit Manseng from Parker-Binns Vineyard in Mill Spring. This wine is warm and rich with notes of pear. At 18.5% alcohol, a little bit is all you need.

These are our recommendations for 2018. We’d love to hear your recommendations, so leave us a comment!

Happy Holidays!

Oct

2018

#NCWine Bloggers Visit the Tryon Foothills

We had the opportunity to close out North Carolina Wine and Grape Month 2018 with some of our fellow wine bloggers on a tour of three wineries/vineyards in the Tryon Foothills of Polk County. Our transportation was graciously provided by Ryan and Terri Watts of the Van In Black. The Van in Black is THE way to tour wine country. We highly recommend Ryan. He is the ultimate professional and takes great care of his guests.

Now on the the main event, wine tasting with fellow bloggers. Rather than a normal wordy blog, we’re going to let the photos do more of the talking. Some photos were provided by Ryan Watts. Ryan also runs Ryan Watts Photography. We appreciate the use of these photos.

Our first stop was Overmountain Vineyards where we had the pleasure of a tasting and tour with Sofia Lilly. Sofia is the one of the winemakers at Overmountain along with her father Frank. Frank stopped by to visit with us as well. Sofia also manages the vineyard and the social media presence for Overmountain. In addition to delicious wine, we also had delicious food from Olive Catering Company.

Tasting with the group
View of the tasting room at Overmountain
Tasting list at Overmountain
Frank stops by as Sofia pours the next wine
Brussel Sprouts from Olive Catering Company
Vines in the background at Overmountain

Our next stop took us to Mountain Brook Vineyards for a tasting with owners Jonathan and Vickie Redgrave and winemaker Liz Pickett. Mountain Brook has just completed extensive expansions to its grounds.

The expanded facilities at Mountain Brook
View of the remodeled tasting house at Mountain Brook
Beautiful New Fountain and Lawn at Mountain Brook
Tasting with Jonathan and Liz at Mountain Brook

We ended the day with Sunday Funday at Parker-Binns Vineyard. Kelly Binns was holding down the fort as owners, Bob Binns and Karen Parker-Binns, were on a well-deserved vacation. In addition to the great wines, we enjoyed wood-fired pizza. And since we were in a for hire vehicle with a designated driver, we did enjoy some Parker-Binns Rosé on the way back home.

Garden at Parker-Binns
Tasting with Kelly at Parker-Binns
Tasting list at Parker-Binns

Thanks to the Wine Mouths, Winery Escapades, and HD Carolina for joining us on this tour. We look forward to our next adventure with our fellow bloggers!

We forgot a take a shot before Winery Escapades left us. Ryan, Terri (HD Carolina), Us (NC Wine Guys), Jessica and Jessica (The Wine Mouths)

Cheers!

Aug

2018

Summer 2018 Visit to Blenheim Vineyards

Our group with Kirsty Harmon at Blenheim Vineyards

We recently had the pleasure of traveling to Charlottesville, VA. We met up with fellow bloggers, wine tourists, and oenophiles, Brian and Dax Yost. Brian and Dax are known for Wine Tourist Magazine. Brian also writes The Virginia Grape wine blog. Both are big advocates for East Coast wines.

Brian was able to arrange some tours for us. We started with a visit to Blenheim Vineyards. We had the pleasure of meeting Blenheim’s winemaker and General Operations Manager, Kirsty Harmon. Kirsty is a respected Virginia winemaker. She describes her wine style as fruit forward and approachable.

Blenheim does have a famous owner. Singer Dave Matthews who has ties the Charlottesville area owns Blenheim. Dave and Kirsty have an agreement. She sticks to the wine and he sticks to the music. Dave does provide artwork for some of Blenheim’s wine labels. Otherwise, Kirsty has pretty much free reign to create the wine she wants.

Blenheim is unique in that all of its wines come in bottles with screw caps rather than the traditional corks. Some folks turn their noses up to screw cap wine, but it has a much lower failure rate than traditional corks.

A view of Blenheim’s Vineyards from the back deck

Blenheim is a 30 acre estate with 17.5 acres under vine. They produce around 8,000 cases of wine a year.

Kirsty picks her grapes for acidity rather than sugar. This is typically between 21 and 22 Brix. She also makes picking decisions by tasting the grapes.

No wine is overly oaked. Ten months or so is about all a particular wine might spend in oak. Kirsty uses a combination of French, American, and Hungarian barrels.

Grapes are harvested by hand. They’re also sorted by hand. A sorting table is used to find the best berries for wine making. The 3 ton bladder press is used to press the juice from the grapes. Kirsty using punch downs during fermentation. The winery sits just below the tasting room. Glass enclosures allow for a bird’s eye view of the activity of the winery.

Tanks in the Winery at Blenheim Vineyards

Kirsty let us taste a number of wines from the 2016 and 2017 harvests. Stand outs were the 2017 Albariño and 2016 Painted White.

The Albariño was whole cluster pressed, fermented and then filtered. It had notes of peach and pear. The nose was soft and floral.

The Painted White whose label features a painting by Dave Matthews is a blend of 59% Sauvignon Blanc, 31% Viognier, and 10% Chardonnay. It spent 10 months in predominately French oak. It had notes of peach and honey with just a touch of oak. The finish was crisp and clean.

We highly recommend a trip to Blenheim anytime you’re in the Charlottesville area. They’re always one our of favorite stops.

Thanks to Kirsty for taking the time to show us around and taste some great wines! We look forward to visiting again soon!

Jul

2018

McRitchie 2017 Pétillant Naturel Wines

We recently hosted a wine tasting with friends. Late last year McRitchie Winery & Ciderworks released two Pétillant Naturel wines for the first time. We had heard of Pét Nats, as they’re sometimes called, but we had never tasted one before. Curious and big fans of McRitchie, we purchased a bottle of each and decided to share them with friends.

When we purchased these wines, we were advised to store them upright and serve them very well chilled. We were also advised to be very careful when opening these wines and to have something to catch any wine that might come rushing out.

We reached out to McRitchie for more technical information about the wines. The Petit Manseng was harvested at 26° Brix on September 7, 2017. The Petit Verdot was harvested at 21° Brix on September 27, 2017. In both cases, the grapes were whole cluster pressed, settled and racked with no filtration or added carbon dioxide. Both were bottled with residual sugar. The Petit Verdot had skin contact but there was no barrel aging. Both wines are off dry to dry with high acidity. The Petit Manseng is a bit higher in acidity at 8 grams/Liter vs 7.8 grams/Liter for the Petit Verdot. Thirty-three cases of the Petit Manseng were produced. While forty-five cases of the Petit Verdot were produced. The Petit Manseng was bottled on September 30, 2017. The Petit Verdot was a little later on October 10, 2017. Both wines were released on November 18, 2017. We’ll cover tasting notes later in this post.

So, just how are Pét Nats made? These wines are naturally sparkling. The wine is bottled before the primary fermentation has finished. Unlike méthode champenoise, no additional yeasts or sugars are added. Since fermentation is still on-going, carbon dioxide is produced by the sugars that remain. This method is referred to as méthode ancestrale or ancient method. It produces a more simple sparkling wine that isn’t filtered. Thus the wine is usually cloudy. Pét Nats are also usually bottled with a cap rather than a cork.

Pét Nats are believed to have originated in southern France. Monks in the early 16th Century near Limoux are thought to be first producers of these type wines. (Source – Vine Pair)

Not having tasted these wines before, we also reached out to Patricia McRitchie for suggestions on pairings. She suggested pairing the Petit Manseng with salty or creamy foods. For the Petit Verdot, she suggested anything that you might pair with a Nouveau or Sparkling Rosé such as charcuterie, turkey, dishes with a little heat, or foods with a some creaminess or nuttiness. We settled on creamy artichoke dip and brie with the Petit Manseng and spicy cured sausage with the Petit Verdot.

Now for our tasting notes, we really did enjoy both of these and have since purchased replacement bottles to enjoy them again. Both were funky and interesting and a delight to drink.

2017 Petit Manseng Pétillant Naturel

The nose was yeasty but was unmistakably Petit Manseng. The palate was also yeasty along with tangy. There was a light pineapple and grapefruit undertone.

The character was wild. It paired nicely with the creamy artichoke dip, but with brie, it was a match made in heaven! This wine tasted better with food than without.

The wine was definitely cloudy as you can see from the picture. The color reminded us of pineapple juice.

Sean McRitchie provided his tasting notes too. Sean says the flavor profile is honey and acid. It reminds him of Mountain Dew. The texture is rich with fun bubbles. The acid balance contributes to a general rich fruit dimension.

2017 Petit Verdot Pétillant Naturel

This wine’s nose was light strawberry. It was dry and sour. Some said it reminded them of a sour beer. The palate was funky and gave more strawberry flavors.

It paired nicely with the cured sausage, but it was even better without food.

This wine was also cloudy. The color was pink but nearly red. There was much more sediment with this one than the Petit Manseng.

Sean McRitchie says this wine has a flavor profile of sour candy and bright cherry. It’s foamy with high acid. There is some yeast grit as the lees are stirred. This is a fun wine that is good with an intense cheese.

We look forward to opening our second bottles of these wines. McRitchie still has a few bottles left, so if you’re interested, you should hurry to the tasting room and pick them up. They sell for $25 each. Hopefully there will be new vintages coming out later this year from the 2018 harvest!

Cheers!

May

2018

Sensoria Food and Wine Festival 2018

We recently were invited to attend the Sensoria Food and Wine Festival. This festival was a one day event to conclude “Sensoria: A Celebration of Literature and the Arts” at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte. The food and wine festival was presented by the Piedmont Culinary Guild with sponsorships from the North Carolina Department of Agriculture’s #GotToBeNC Program and Springer Mountain Farms.

The day featured classes ranging from Riedel glass seminars to turning wine into vinegar to blind tastings just to name a few. Another part of the event was a food and wine pairing. Food from Charlotte area chefs was paired with North Carolina wine!

Below are photos from the event. We hope this event is held again next year! We also appreciate the complimentary tickets for this event!

Charlotte / NC / United States - 4/15/18

From Wine to Vinegar Class – We learned about the science behind how vinegar is made. We also got to taste a variety of wines and vinegars made by the instructor. The fennel vinegar and carrot wine were very interesting!

Wine Line Up / A Blind Tasting – We blind tasted Chardonnays and Cabernet Franc. This lineup included the Jones von Drehle‘s Steel Chardonnay and Dover Vineyards‘ Cabernet Franc!

The highlight of the festival was food and wine pairing featuring Charlotte area chefs and North Carolina wines! Photos below show all over the beautiful and tasty creations!

Our first pairing turned out to be the winner of the votes for best pairing. It featured Chef Greg Collier of the The Yolk in Rock Hill, SC paired with Biltmore Estate. Chef Greg’s cornbread toast, smoked trout and apple salad, meyer lemon hollandaise, and charred strawberry espelette spice was paired with Biltmore’s 2015 North Carolina Blanc de Blancs Brut Sparkling.

Next up was Chef Chris Coleman of Stoke. His smoked and fried chicken wing with spicy peach and jalapeño chow-chow was paired with Laurel Gray Vineyards‘ 2015 Viognier!

Duck pâté en croûte from Chef David Quintana of dot dot dot was our next bite. This was paired with Shelton Vineyards‘ 2016 Reisling.

Chef Justin Solomon from Foxcroft Wine Company paired cured salmon with celeriac remoulade, fennel chutney and duqqa with Shelton Vineyards‘ 2016 Bin 17 Unoaked Chardonnay.

Surry Cellars‘ debut Albariño was paired with beef heart carpaccio, apricot mustard, pickled green strawberries, beet and petite greens from Chef Matthew Krenz of The Asbury.

Chef Joe Kindred of Kindred was next on our list. His pasta with green garlic, spring greens and lamb was paired with the 2016 Rosé from Dover Vineyards.

Jones von Drehle‘s 2014 Cabernet Franc was our first red. It was paired with rabbit-mushroom bolognese, grits and green garlic from Chef Clark Barlowe of Heirloom.

Chef Bruce Moffett of Stagioni was next up with his prosecro-battered crab-stuffed squash blossom, ramp aioli and red pepper agro-dolce paired with Piccione Vineyards‘ 2014 red blend, L’Ottimo.

Fahrenheit Chef Dave Feimster paired his kalua pork and pickled cabbage slider with RayLen Vineyards‘ 2016 Category 5 red blend.

RayLen was up again with their 2016 Petit Verdot paired with a cherry-smoked chicken thigh croquette with green chili mole, spring asparagus, and aji amarillo from Chef Blake Hartwick of Bonterra Dining and Wine Room.

Last but not least was Childress Vineyards‘ 2012 Finish Line Cabernet Sauvignon port-style wine paired with dark chocolate crémeux, coffee crunch, hibiscus and port gelée from Chef Ashley Boyd of 300 East!

This event was a fantastic way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

Apr

2018

Raffaldini Vineyards Tour

Prior to the first ever #NCWine Bloggers Summit, Thomas Salley of Raffaldini Vineyards offered to host a behind the scenes tour and tasting for bloggers who were attending the event. We graciously accepted Thomas’ offer. This led to additional tastings that day in the Swan Creek AVA.

Our Raffaldini tour began on a cold Sunday morning at Raffaldini’s winery. There was a bit of snow on the ground from the night before. The mountains of the Blue Ridge were covered in snow.

Thomas walked us through some of the history of the estate.

The site was an abandoned farm and was one of around 60 sites looked at by the Raffaldini family during their search for vineyard land.
The data collected from scouting the land was used in the case for the creation of the Swan Creek AVA.
The estate includes 120 acres with about 36 currently under vine.
Over 30 different varieties have been planted over the year.
The current estate grapes are Vermentino, Montepulciano, Sangiovese, Sagrantino, Petit Verdot and Nero D’Avola.

Small Drying Room

Large Drying Room

Racks used for Drying Fruit

It was appropriate that our tour began outside of the Fruttaio Grande. Raffaldini’s is known for the Appassimento process for drying fruit to concentrate flavors. This leads to more complex and structured wines.

The racks used for drying were self made and each holds about 5 pounds of grapes. The grapes are laid in a single layer. The room is pre-heated to 85 Degrees with about 20% humidity. Four to five days of drying removes about 30% of water from the fruit. In a typical year, around half of the harvest is dried. Raffaldini is one of the largest winery dryer of fruit in the US.

Large Tanks Inside the Winery

Raffaldini also uses a sorting table to sort the fruit harvested. This helps remove green berry and other undesirable items.

Production at Raffaldini is around 6500 cases per year.

Large Oak Fermenter

Raffaldini is one of the first wineries in the state to us a large oak fermenter. Currently grapes/juice spend about 30 days in the fermenter before moving to a barrel. Eventually this will change as barrels are phased out for the more cost effective oak fermenter.

Large Barrel Room

Smaller Barrel Room

After all of this information, it was time to taste wine! The first sample was the base wine for Raffaldini’s upcoming sparkling wine, Auguri (Cheers/Best Wishes in Italian). This wine will be made in the traditional method, but it will use encapsulated yeast yeast during the second fermentation. This means the traditional riddling method will not be required. This wine is set to be released in August, 2018.

We then moved to the barrel room. We first visiting the larger room and then moved to a second room to finish our tastings. We sampled 2017 Sagrantino with a bit of Nero D’Avola which had big gripping tannins. Next was a co-fermented 2017 Petit Verdot and Montepulciano which was inky and dark as well as tannic. Finally, we tasting a 2017 appassimento Petit Verdot. It was stunning already! Dark fig, cocoa and tart blueberry were the flavors.

Bottling Line

We ended the winery portion of the visit with a look at the bottling line. Then we moved to the villa. We made a quick visit out to the edge of the vineyard for a discussion of growing degree days and soil types. Growing degree days is a measure that predicts when fruit will be ripe. Raffaldini practices leaf pulling after bloom to provide as much sunlight for the grapes as possible. This is common throughout bunch grape growers in the state. Finally, we took a look at rocks in the vineyard. The soil consists of schist mica and granite with a loam topsoil. This is ideal for grape growing.

We concluded our visit with a private lunch and a tasting of current releases in the upstairs of the villa. We want to thank Thomas and the whole Raffaldini team for hosting our group and providing this in depth tour and tasting. It was much appreciated!

Be sure to go visit Raffaldini and see for yourself!

Cheers!

Apr

2018

Takeaways from First #NCWine Bloggers Summit

Networking at Lunch during the First #NCWine Bloggers Summit

On Saturday, March 24, 2018, we held the first ever #NCWine Bloggers Summit at Hanover Park Vineyard. Around 30 folks attended. This included bloggers, winery owners / representatives and wine industry folks. It was a great day of discussion, networking and excitement.

In reflecting back on the summit, we have a few takeaways what we would like to share. Here they are:

We should haven’t have waited until 2018 to hold this event for the first time. – Many wineries know bloggers exist, but often they don’t completely understand how we can help. We as bloggers had not had a chance to collaborate and make connections in person. This event was invaluable for this.
We should hold the next summit on a Monday. – While most bloggers have day jobs and work on Mondays, we would have better participation from wineries if we did not hold the summit on the weekend. Look for next year’s date soon so folks can plan.
Sunday Wine Tours for bloggers need to be a staple of the event. Thomas Salley at Raffaldini Vineyards offered to host a tour for bloggers following the summit. This spiraled into an whole afternoon of visits in the Swan Creek AVA. We want to thank Thomas for this idea and for his hospitality. We also want to thank Hailey Klepcyk at Piccione Vineyards for hosting us for a tasting. We ended the day with a joint tasting at Laurel Gray Vineyards hosted by Benny and Kim Myers. We would like to thank Benny and Kim along with Chuck and Jamey Johnson of Shadow Springs Vineyard and Windsor Run Cellars and Charles King of Dobbins Creek Vineyards for sharing their wines with us!
We need other bloggers to present content. – We did a lot of talking this year. Next year, we would like to break that up and have other bloggers present content. Look for a call for content a few months before the next summit.
A panel discussion would be a great way to break up the day. – A panel could provide unique opportunities for conservation and the sharing of ideas. This could include wineries, bloggers and industry insiders.
Wineries should utilize bloggers more. We are influencers with followers who can impact a winery’s business. – Wineries can engage bloggers to help to tell their stories and to assist with sharing events on social media. Many bloggers are also open to volunteer opportunities to learn more about wine. Also, bloggers are open to attending events and/or receiving story ideas. Just reach out! Finally, wineries can share our content to their followers as long as it is consistent with their brand. If it isn’t, please tell us.
We should make a larger effort to invite bloggers from other states. – After the summit posts got shared through social media and several folks commented how that want to be included in the next event. This will be a great way to expand North Carolina Wine‘s reach.
We need a few sponsors for next year’s event. – To control costs for attendees and/or allow for new options, funding from sponsors would be helpful.
We need an official press release about the event. – A press release could be used by local media to inform their consumers of the event. It would also be a great way to get press for any sponsors for next year.

We want to thank our fellow bloggers who participated:

Wines available for Sharing!

Finally, we would like to thank the wineries and wine industry folks who participated:

Notes from the event can be found here.

Stay tuned for the announcement of the date of next year’s summit and thanks for your support of #NCWine!

Cheers!

Feb

2018

McRitchie Winery – Ring of Fire Vertical Tasting

Ah! McRitchie Winery‘s Ring of Fire, a highly regarded red blend in the North Carolina wine world. Some have called it North Carolina’s Octogon. Octogon is the highly acclaimed red blend from Virgina’s Barboursville Vineyards. We’re certainly not going to disagree with that assessment.

Ring of Fire is consistently a great wine. And, that name, an homage to the classic song by Johnny Cash, makes for a memorable wine too. Although, the wine itself doesn’t burn, burn, burn. Well, perhaps, it does burn a memory. A memory of the first North Carolina wine that captured my attention near the time of the first vintage which was in 2006. It’s since become a favorite of Matt’s too. So, when we heard that Sean and Patricia McRitchie were planning a vertical tasting as part of their winery’s 10th Anniversary, we just couldn’t miss it!

Table Setting at Ring of Fire Vertical Tasting

The tasting was limited to about 25 or so people. We were seated at tables throughout the tasting room. The tables were beautifully set. The first wines poured were the 2013, 2012, and 2011. Before we began tasting, Sean and Patricia welcomed us.

Sean and Patricia McRitchie Welcoming Guests

Sean and Patricia thanked us for attending. Patricia apologized for not having their first two vintages, the 2006 and 2007, of Ring of Fire. They never imagined the success of it and didn’t consider keeping a few cases for an event such as this until a few years into making it. Patricia mentioned how proud she was of Sean and his winemaking. Sean talked about the “unique opportunity to taste from one label, from one winery, and from one winemaker.” He told us to expect subtle differences in each vintage. Patricia mentioned that Ring of Fire was the first North Carolina Wine offered by the glass at the storied Grove Park Inn in Asheville and the Umstead Resort in Cary. Sean said he keeps varietals separate until just before bottling. Then he blends them with the goal of making “consistent serious red table wine in a Bordeaux style.”

Tasting Note Sheet at Ring of Fire Vertical

Now, it was time to taste! We began with the 2013 and worked our way backwards. The first round allowed us to taste the 2013, 2012, and 2011. Each was served in a different glass. Later, we were served the 2010, 2009, and 2008.

To continue the similarities with Octogon from Barboursville, Ring of Fire is also predominately Merlot and Cabernet Franc with a bit of Petit Verdot. Only two vintages differ. The 2012 is Merlot, Sangiovese, and Petit Verdot. The 2011 is Merlot, Syrah, and Petit Verdot.

Apricots and Skewers

BBQ, Ring of Fire Meatballs and Shrimp

In addition to the wine, food was served. Some items were intended to pair with the wine. Other items were there to prove a point that some food and wine pairings just don’t work. The first plate consisted of apricots topped with blue cheese, a pecan, and rosemary along with a skewer of tortellini tossed in pesto with artichoke, mozzarella, and basil. The second plate consisted of meatballs made with Ring of Fire, BBQ sandwiches with a mustard sauce and a more traditional sauce along with a few shrimp. Our favorites were the apricots and the BBQ.

Here are our tasting notes:

2013 – The nose was woody with nice cherry aromas. The palate presented rich cherry and oak with smooth tannins. This wine is still very young.
2012 – An earthy yet softly floral nose led to a lush palate of cherry and oak. We preferred this one over the 2013.
2011 – A floral nose with notes of plum and dried herbs made way to a tannic palate of dark fruits, cedar, and vanilla. The tannins of this vintage surprised us.
2010 – Very old world in style, the nose had notes of spice with dark cherry. The palate gave us dried berries with soft tannins. This was our favorite of the lineup.
2009 – Spice and oak on the nose along with cherry and vanilla on the palate, this vintage really showed the Merlot. There was also good acid. The boldness of this vintage surprised us.
2008 – Sean hinted that one vintage was different. When we got to the 2008, we knew it was this one. The nose was floral and woody with a hint of sawdust. The palate was wild with dark fruits. There was something off. We suspected brettanomoyces.

Sean and Patricia Recap the Event

Following our tasting, Sean and Patricia spoke once more. Sean mentioned that blending is a way to deal with the difficult North Carolina weather. It allows you to control the winemaking a bit and make adjustments as necessary. His winemaking style is that of experiences. He thinks of what will pair with the wine. The desire with Ring of Fire is pair it with a steak from a Chicago steakhouse. Given that, Ring of Fire has more acid than a red blend from Napa making it better accompaniment with food.

Sean also provided his tasting notes. Here are some highlights:

2013 – This vintage is fresh with the most straight forward fruit. It will age very well.
2012 – Sean’s second favorite of the group, this vintage has notes of clay and earth. It reminds him of a terra cotta pot.
2011 – He found this vintage to have aggressive spice with notes of fresh flower. Complex and young with good berry and tannins, he feels this wine will be better in three or more years.
2010 – Sean’s number one standout features red fruits and light earth. Other descriptors are wet clay and stone. The tannins are balanced. This is very old world like.
2009 – Patricia’s favorite features bright fruits with tighter acid and tannins. It’s still excellent.
2008 – This wine still looks young with dark berry color. Cherry and anise are on the nose, but the wine is faulted. Brettanomyces is indeed the issue, but we had several folks who loved it. After this vintage, Sean purchased an ozone machine to clean barrels in the winery to prevent brett in future vintages.

Sean then finished with a few more remarks. He gave a preview of the 2014 Ring of Fire which has been bottled and will be released soon. He says, “I like that a lot.” It meets the Chicago steakhouse criteria. Sean purchases fruit by taste rather than brix. He added that he was pleased with the consistency of the each vintage of Ring of Fire and notes, “I feel like I passed.” He’s pleasantly surprised how well he liked the lineup. We agree!

Sean also mentioned that Patricia makes him keep a library of wines. We thank her for that. They also mentioned that reserve sit-down tastings of library wines might be offered soon! Sign us up!

We thoroughly enjoyed this experience. We thank Sean and Patricia for all they do for North Carolina Wine and Cider and look forward to the next vertical tasting! Go visit them and see for yourself!

Dec

2017

Festivus 2017 – Airing of Wine Grievances!

Today, December 23, 2017, is the celebration of Festivus. Created in 1966 by Daniel O’Keefe and popularized during an episode of the hit TV show, Seinfeld, Festivus is celebrated with Feats of Strength and the Airing of Grievances. So, in that spirit, we’re here to air a few wine grievances. We’re looking to make this our one post a year that’s not entirely positive. So, sit back. Pour a glass and read on!

These are in no particular order:

Lack of hashtags in posts on social media about wines, wineries, vineyards. You see we’re big proponents of hashtags as a way to brand. So, all you #NCWine folks out there, USE THE DANG HASHTAG!
Untrained tasting room staff. There’s nothing worse than a tasting room staff who know nothing about the wines they are pouring. We understand that getting good help can be difficult, but a poor experience affects your brand.
Poor tasting glasses. We’ll admit it. We’re glass snobs. Please no glasses with the “lip” around the rim. These just don’t show wines well. Upgrade the glass and the experience!
Too many wines on the list. We see this all the time. Wines lists with 10, 15 or even 20 wines. We feel this is just too many to be able to focus on quality unless you have a large production staff. So, scale it back. You don’t need a new wine for every season.
Wineries who aren’t forthcoming in where the grapes for their wine are sourced. We like to know what we’re tasting and where it was sourced. If you’re not using local fruit, admit it. Don’t try to hide it.

Children in tasting rooms. This is probably our #1 grievance if we had to rank them. Children can’t drink. Don’t bring them with you to a winery. Wining is an adult thing and many of us wish to adult in peace and quiet.
Parties of 6 or more in tasting rooms who have not called ahead. This is annoying for tasting room staff and other customers. If you’re in a group, be courteous! Call ahead!
People who only drink dry wine. You’re missing out on some really great sweeter wines.
People who only drink sweet wine. Again, most of the wine world is not sweet. You’re missing out on a lot more than those who only drink dry wine.

People who only drink Chardonnay or Cabernet or Merlot. Give us a break! We’ll try pretty much anything. We’re all into to food and wine pairings. Chardonnay with steak isn’t exactly the best match. A big, bold Cab with sea bass probably doesn’t work so well either. So, keep an open mind and try something different!
People who constantly bash muscadine wine. We get it. Muscadine wine is different. There’s a distinctive foxy quality in a lot of muscadine. We’re not big fans of red muscadine, but we won’t turn up our noses at it. You shouldn’t either. Find some that are well made. Maybe one that isn’t so sweet and try it. You might be surprised!
People who think all US wine comes from California. Yes, California is responsible for 85% of the wine produced in the US, but if you’re only drinking Napa Cab, you truly are missing out!

People who think cider is more akin to beer. Repeat after us! Cider is NOT brewed! It’s fermented! Thus, it is like wine! Just because you often see is on tap doesn’t mean it’s beer. Wine can be served on tap too. We’d like to see more of that!
People who think mead is more akin to beer. Mead is honey WINE! It’s fermented. It’s typically bottled in WINE bottles. If you’re drinking mead, you’re drinking WINE!
People who think all cider is sweet. Cider can go the range from super sweet to super dry. Again, don’t be afraid to try even if you don’t think you’ll like!
People who think all mead is sweet. Just because mead is made from honey doesn’t mead that it’s all sweet. Yes, it will almost always have a flavor of honey, but that’s different than sweet.

Farm to fork restaurants who don’t have local wine on their lists. This is probably #2 on our grievance list right after the kids at wineries. Don’t call yourself a farm to fork locavore restaurant if you don’t have local wine on this list. There’s just no excuse!
2017 wines that are already out for sale. Harvest just happened a few months ago. There are a few exceptions to this, but as a general rule, wine needs time to age, even white wines. Don’t rush it out!
Shiny black labels on a wine bottle. They look great, but they’re very difficult when it comes to taking a picture of the bottle. There are too many glares and reflections. Matte is the way to go!

So, that’s our list for this year. Here’s hoping next years list is shorter! And keeping with this theme, leave us your comments of what’s your grievances are. Just avoid personal attacks.

Cheers and Happy Festivus for the rest of us!

Dec

2017

North Carolina Wines for Your 2017 Holiday Table

Off Dry Pear Mead from Starrlight Mead in Pittsboro

Winter Salad with Pears – Pears and spicy greens are perfect this time of year. Add some blue cheese and a tangy vinaigrette and you have magic! To further that magic, pair the salad (pun intended) with the Off Dry Pear Mead from Starrlight Mead in Pittsboro. This mead is made with diluting the honey with fruit juice rather than water. The palate begins with pear moves to honey and finishes with more pear.

Riverton Estate from Cypress Bend Vineyards in Wagram

Carlos in the Buff from Dennis Vineyards in Albemarle

Ham – Ham is a classic main course for any holiday. While Riesling is a classic pairing with any ham, we’re recommending two excellent muscadine wines this year.

The first is the Riverton Estate from Cypress Bend Vineyards in Wagram. This dry Carlos wine is tart yet fruity. It tastes very much like a Riesling with great acidity!
The second is Carlos in the Buff from Dennis Vineyards in Albemarle. Also, Carlos this wine was made with no skin contact. It’s also only lightly sweet also with great acidity and less of the foxy quality often found with muscadine.

Grüner Veltliner from Burntshirt Vineyards in Hendersonville

Chambourcin from Carolina Heritage Vineyard & Winery in Elkin

Turkey – Roast turkey is versatile. You can pair with a white wine or a lighter red wine.

For the white wine, we recommend the 2015 Grüner Veltliner from Burntshirt Vineyards in Hendersonville. This wine is always stellar. It has notes of citrus, apple. and peach. This would match well with turkey and cranberry sauce.
For the red wine, we recommend the 2015 Chambourcin from Carolina Heritage Vineyard & Winery in Elkin. This Chambourcin is lightly oaked with flavors of dark cherry and warm spice. This would also pair well with turkey and cranberry sauce or turkey and gravy.

Provencia from Hanover Park Vineyard in Yadkinville

Duck – Ah, duck! It is poultry that has the umph of a steak! Classically you would pair duck with a Pinot Noir. But, if you can’t find Pinot Noir, Chambourcin is a great substitute! We recommend the 2014 Provencia from Hanover Park Vineyard in Yadkinville. This Chambourcin is a step above. It was so special that it got a special name! It’s smooth and bold with no hybrid bite.

Reserve Syrah from Junius Lindsay Vineyard in Welcome

Lamb – Lamb is one meat where you either love it or hate it. We happen to love it. A classic pairing with lamb is a wine from the Rhône Valley of France. We recommend the 2013 Reserve Syrah from Junius Lindsay Vineyard in Welcome. With warm oak and smooth cherry, this wine is easy drinking with light black pepper notes.

Tannat from Shelton Vineyards in Dobson

Reserve Merlot from Jones von Drehle in Thurmond

Roast Beef – Roast beef is another holiday classic. Of course, this calls for a hearty red wine!

The first recommendation is the 2013 Tannat from Shelton Vineyards in Dobson. This is a big, bold red. Yet it’s also smooth and balanced. It’s perfect for beef or any red meat!
The second recommendation is the 2012 Estate Reserve Selection Merlot from Jones von Drehle in Thurmond. Aged in French oak for forty months, this wine has soft tannins with cherry and cocoa. It also pairs well with duck confit.

South Mountain Vineyard Chardonnay from RayLen Vineyards in Mocksville

Seafood Lasagna, Roast Chicken or Roasted Vegetables – Any of these dishes make for a great additions to your holiday table. For pairing with all of these, we recommend the 2015 South Mountain Vineyard Chardonnay from RayLen Vineyards in Mocksville. Sourced from a vineyard near the South Mountains in Burke County, this wine is barrel fermented. This wine is oaky and buttery yet retains good fruit.

Barbera from Brandon Hills Vineyard in Yadkinville

Any Tomato Based Dish – Having a dish with tomato sauce and maybe a little spice? We recommend the 2010 Barbera from Brandon Hills Vineyard in Yadkinville. This wine is earthy yet with good cherry flavors. It’s very smoothed and well balanced.

Finish Line Dessert Wine from Childress Vineyards in Lexington

Chocolate Desserts – Decadent chocolate desserts call for port-style wines. They are perfect with rich chocolate or just by themselves on a cold night. We recommend the 2012 Finish Line from Childress Vineyards in Lexington. This fortified wine is made from Cabernet Sauvignon. It has strong notes of coffee and cocoa which pair perfectly with chocolate!

These are our recommendations for 2017. We’d love to hear your recommendations, so leave us a comment!

Happy Holidays!

Nov

2017

Napa and Sonoma Are Open for Business

We recently returned from the 2017 Wine Bloggers Conference held in Santa Rosa, CA. Santa Rosa is located in Sonoma County. Parts of Santa Rosa were directly impacted by the October, 2017 Wildfires. Yes, we saw fire damage. We heard stories from panelist who were directly impacted by the wildfires. Yes, there is recovery in progress. However, taken as a whole, the wine industry survived pretty much in tack.

Napa and Sonoma are open for business. Most vineyards saw little to no damage. So, if you’re able, go visit. Help revive the tourist economy on which these areas depend.

Below are some images we took during our trip. They show a beautiful region that’s still extremely picturesque. We have a new found respect for this region and its wines. We look forward to enjoying the wines we purchased and visiting again in the future!

Vineyards along US 101 Near Healdsburg in Sonoma County

Beautiful fall colors in a vineyard near Healdsburg in Sonoma County

Vineyards near Geyserville in Sonoma County

Another vineyard near Geyserville in Sonoma County

Red foliage on vines near Healdsburg and Alexander Valley in Sonoma County

Vineyard near Calistoga in Napa County

Vineyard on the approach to PlumpJack Winery near Oakville in Napa County

Vineyard near Windsor in Sonoma County

Head trained vines in the Alexander Valley near Healdsburg in Sonoma County

Front gate at Miner Family Wines near Oakville in Napa County

Vines with grapes still hanging near Calistoga in Napa County

Hill Family Estate tasting room in downtown Yountville in Napa County

Stewart Cellars Tasting Lodge in Downtown Yountville in Napa County

PlumpJack Winery Tasting Room near Oakville in Napa County

Vineyard on a beautiful November day in Napa County

Vineyard in the Stag’s Leap District of Napa County

Charred Trees look down on an untouched vineyard in the Stag’s Leap District of Napa County

Napa Town Center in Downtown Napa

Beautiful Mountains heading over Atlas Peak in Napa County

Nov

2017

#WBC17 Wine Dinner at Thomas George Estates

On Friday night of the 2017 Wine Bloggers Conference, we decided to take part in a wine dinner excursion at Thomas George Estates in Healdsburg. Thomas George is located in the Russian River Valley AVA of Sonoma County. They were founded in 2008 and focus on small production vineyard designated Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

We loaded on our bus and headed out. After a twenty plus minute drive in the darkness which included a wrong turn by the driver and a trip across a one lane bridge over the Russian River, we made it up the hill to Thomas George Estates. As we arrive the tasting room was on one side and the wine cave was on the other. Dinner was being served in the wine cave.

Cave Entrance at Thomas George Estates

Reception

Immediately upon entering the wine cave, we were greeted with glasses of the 2014 Brut Blanc de Blancs, Starr Ridge Vineyard, Cooper Block. The grapes for this wine were sourced from the Russian River Valley AVA. Starr Ridge Vineyard is located a few miles to the east of the winery. To accompany the sparkling wine, we were served house-made cured meats from the Black Pig Meat Company. The Black Pig is meat company owned by the evening’s chef, Duskie Estes. Duskie is co-owner of Zazu Kitchen + Farm with John Stewart. Duskie has also appeared as a judge on Guy’s Grocery Games on the Food Network. In addition to the meats, there were roasted vegetables, spreads, and crostini.

Table is set for dinner inside the Cave at Thomas George Estates

First Course

After reception, we took our seats at the long table. The first course was a roasted Brussel sprouts salad. The salad included bacon from the Black Pig, Asian pears, Marcona Almonds, aged sherry vinegar, and Capriago from Bohemian Creamy. The paired wine was the 2015 Chardonnay from Sons & Daughters Vineyard. This vineyard is located at the border of the Russian River Valley and Chalk Hill AVAs. This unoaked wine was aged sur lie with no malolactic fermentation.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts Salad

Entrée

The featured wine for the entrée course was the 2014 Pinot Noir from Baker Ridge Vineyard. This vineyard is on the winery site. Duck is, of course, a perfect pairing with Pinot Noir. This Star Anise Liberty Duck also included Cracklin’ Pork Belly with black rice, estate grown pomegranate and watercress. This was perfectly paired!

Cracklin’ Pork Belly & Star Anise Liberty Duck

Dessert

We were allowed some time to finish our Pinot Noir after dinner before dessert was presented. Dessert was a Quince and Apple Tartin with Bourbon Gelato. The 2012 Late Harvest Viognier from the Baby Block of Baker Ridge Vineyard was the wine of choice. The grapes for this wine are always hand harvested by the staff at Thomas George estates. This block is closest to the driveway leading to the winery. It was a beautiful wine!

Backyard Quince & Apple Tartin with Bourbon Gelato

Following dinner, Chef Duskie Estes came out to introduce herself and talk about her meal. She’s quite the accomplished chef including appearances on Iron Chef and a 2001 James Beard Award.

We made a few purchases and loaded the bus to head back to the hotel. If you’re ever in the Russian River Valley, be sure to go check out the Zazu Kitchen and Thomas George Estates!

Cheers!

Nov

2017

Acquiesce Winery & Vineyards – Lodi, CA

We visited Acquiesce Winery & Vineyards during the 2016 Wine Bloggers Conference in Lodi, CA. Fellow bloggers recommended it and since we’re big fans for Rhône Valley style wines we had to go. We thoroughly enjoyed everything we tasted. For more on that trip go here: Lodi Adventures after 2016 Wine Bloggers Conference.

Since we were returning to California for the 2017 Wine Bloggers Conference, we decided to allow for some time in Lodi again. We emailed Sue Tipton, the owner of Acquiesce, to see if she would be willing to let us come in for a tasting. Acquiesce is normally closed on Wednesdays, but Sue graciously agreed.

Arrival

We arrived just before 11am. Before going in we took a look around the vineyards closest to the road. Below are some of the pictures we took. Sue grows only Rhône Valley white varietals and Grenache for making rosé. This is because Sue only makes white wines and a rosé. She ripped out Zinfandel, Lodi’s signature grape, to plant these Rhône Valley grapes! Also, Sue is small production. She opens for the year in March and is usually sold out of the previous year’s vintage by early to mid-November. Sue is now closed for the season and will reopen in March, 2018.

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Tasting

After checking out the vineyard and snapping pictures, we headed inside. Sue was already behind the bar waiting for us to arrive. We exchanged greetings. Then Sue proceeded with the tasting. Here are out notes:

2016 Grenache Blanc – This wine had notes of green apple, apricot, and lime on the nose. On the palate, it had a crisp, minerally undertone with good apricot fruit. The finish was slightly minerally too. Sue paired this with a thyme cracker which provided perfect balance with the wine.
2016 Belle Blanc – A blend of 45% Grenache Blanc, 45% Roussanne, and 10% Viognier, light pear showed on the nose. Mildly ripe pear with some light mineral notes showed on the palate. Sue paired this wine with a manchego with a violet flower confit. This brought out the mineral notes in the wine along with a lightly floral undertone.
2016 Roussanne – A nose of honey and pineapple lead to a palate also of honey and pear.
2016 Viognier – This wine presented a floral peach note on the nose. Peach and apricot predominated on the palate along with a slight mineral undertone. Its pairing was a Moroccan spiced cracker with a mango chutney.
2016 Grenache Rosé – Picked at 22.5 Brix and whole cluster pressed, this showed light strawberry on the nose. Watermelon and lime showed on the palate.

Winery

After we finished the tasting, Sue took us out to the winery. A fairly new building, it was filled with several tanks of various sizes. But unlike most wineries, there were no barrels. Sue’s wines are only done is stainless steel. She had a few more things for us to taste.

2017 Picpoul Blanc – We tasted this straight from the tank. While not the finished product, this will be a great wine. It was highly acidic with notes of pineapple and pear.
2017 Bourboulenc – Sue said we were some of the first folks in the country to taste an American grown Bourboulenc. Again, this wine will be great. It had notes of pear with some light pineapple in the background. Sue has the only known planting of this grape in the US.
2017 Clairette Blanche – A floral nose along with notes of pear showed on the nose. There was more pear on the palate along with some herbal notes. Again, it was an interesting wine.

We look forward to tasting these wines again in their finished state.

We headed back to the tasting room and selected wines for shipping home to us. We thanked Sue for taking the time to host us, and we know we’ll be back to see her. If you’re ever in Lodi, you should do the same!

Cheers!

Oct

2017

Cypress Bend Vineyards

We recently had to a chance to visit Cypress Bend Vineyards in Wagram, NC. Cypress Bend is located near the Lumber River in Scotland County and opened in 2005. Dan and Tina Smith are the owners. The area is known as Riverton Farm and has been in the family since the early 1800s. They have been featured on North Carolina Weekend and Flavor NC Presents From the Vineyard in North Carolina. Continue reading →

Sep

2017

Grandfather Vineyard & Winery

We recently had the opportunity to visit Grandfather Vineyard & Winery in Banner Elk, NC. It had been a year or more since we had last visited. It was good to taste again, take in the beautiful mountain scenery, and just relax! Continue reading →

Sep

2017

NC Wine Month 2017 Kickoff Photos

On Tuesday, August 29, 2017, the first ever North Carolina Wine and Grape Month kickoff event was held at The Pavilion at Childress Vineyards in Lexington. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper was on hand to sign the official Wine and Grape Month proclamation designating September as North Carolina Wine and Grape Month. Below are some photos from that day. We hope this event becomes an annual celebration of North Carolina Wine! Continue reading →

Sep

2017

Celebrating NC Wine & Grape Month 2017

May is North Carolina Wine and Grape month! It was proclaimed by Gov. Cooper to celebrate the wine and grape industry’s contributions to our state. With a $1.7 Billion economic impact, 525 grape growers and more than 180 wineries, this industry is vital to our state. It deserves to be celebrated! Continue reading →

Aug

2017

Judging at 2017 NC State Fair Wine Competition

We spent the weekend of August 18th-20th at the Shelton-Badgett Center for Viticulture and Enology at Surry Community College in Dobson, NC for the North Carolina State Fair Wine Competition. This was our first time ever judging a wine competition. We were honored to have been chosen to be part of the panel of judges which included media, bloggers, educators, and Certified American Wine Society Wine Judges. Continue reading →

Aug

2017

NC Wine Month 2017 Kickoff Event

For the first time ever, there will be a kickoff event to celebrate North Carolina Wine Month things started! We’ve been busy helping plan this event. Here’s a rundown of the activities. Continue reading →

Aug

2017

NC State Fair Wine Competition

The North Carolina State Fair is held every October at the State Fairgrounds in Raleigh. Each year as part of the State Fair, a wine competition is also held. There are two categories. One is the Commercial Category. The other is the Amateur Category. Changes have been made to competition. Let’s talk about the Commercial Category specifically! Continue reading →

Jul

2017

June, 2017 Visit – Leicester, NC Wineries/Vineyards

We continue a look back at our mid-June wine visit to the Hendersonville / Asheville area. Day Two took us northwest of Asheville to Leicester, NC. Leicester is about 30 minutes from downtown Asheville. It’s an easy and beautiful drive. Located in Leicester are Fontaine Vineyards and Addison Farms Vineyard. Continue reading →

Jul

2017

June, 2017 – Visit to Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards

We continue a look back at our mid-June wine visit to the Hendersonville / Asheville area. Our second stop was Saint Paul Mountain Vineyards. Continue reading →

Jul

2017

June, 2017 – Visit to Burntshirt Vineyards

In mid-June, we planned a weekend getaway. We headed to the Hendersonville / Asheville area. The trip allowed us to relax, visit a “new to us” winery, and revisit other wineries in the area. Here are some of the highlights from our visit to Burntshirt Vineyards, our first stop of the weekend. Continue reading →

Jul

2017

Unofficial Wine Holiday List

Wine and holidays go hand and hand. Whether is having wine to celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s OR celebrating wine itself, it’s important to celebrate with gusto! Below are is our unofficial list of wine holidays that we’ve taken from various sources. Use this as your guide for what to drink and when! Also, be sure to join the conversation on social media by tagging the official wine holiday pages/account. Don’t forget those hashtags too! They’re even more important! Continue reading →

Jun

2017

NC Wineries Perfect for Summer Picnicking!

Summer is the perfect time for a picnic! It’s also the perfect time for wine. Why not combine the two for a wonderful afternoon of fun? Just pack your picnic basket and head to any of these wineries (or others in the state). Here are some of our suggestions (in no particular order) for great wine and picnic adventures. Continue reading →

Dec

2016

North Carolina Wines for Your 2016 Holiday Table

Ham – Ham is a classic main course for any holiday. Riesling is a classic pairing with any ham. We recommend the new 2015 Estate Grown Dry Riesling from Dobbins Creek Vineyards (http://dobbinscreekvineyards.com). This wine is the signature white at Dobbins Creek. It is one of the best in the state for Riesling. The nose has notes of pear and honey. It is classic Riesling. The palate continues with pear and honey before moving to a slight mineral note. The finish is crisp. The acidity is pleasing. You will not be disappointed with this pairing!
Turkey – Roast turkey is versatile. You can pair with a white wine or a lighter red wine.
- For a white wine, pairing we recommend the 2014 Traminette from Misty Creek Vineyards (http://mistycreekwines.com). Traminette is typically very floral with a nice spicy finish. This traminette is just that. The nose is almost perfumey. The palate has melon and good fruit. There are those hints of spice that you would expect as well.
- For a red wine, we recommend the 2014 Cabernet Franc from Divine Llama Vineyards (http://www.divinellamavineyards.com). This wine has a nose of cherry and vanilla that carries through to the palate. There a good oaky note as well. It would be perfect with Cranberry Sauce!

Duck – Ah, duck! It is poultry that has the umph of a steak! Classically you would pair duck with a Pinot Noir. But, if you can’t find Pinot Noir, Chambourcin is a great substitute! We recommend the 2012 Chambourcin from Dover Vineyards (http://www.thefarmatdovervineyards.com). This wine is made in same style as a New Zealand Pinot Noir. The nose has dark fruits with hints of spice. The palate is light cherry and hints of vanilla. The acidity of this wine is the perfect balance to the fattiness of duck.
Roast Beef – Roast beef is another holiday classic. Of course, this calls for a hearty red wine! We recommend 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon from Mountain Brook Vineyards (http://www.mountainbrookvineyards.com). The nose is herbaceous with notes of cherries. This wine is big and bold with fruity notes along with hints of vanilla. It is perfect with roast beef or any red meat.
Lamb – Lamb is one meat where you either love it or hate it. We happen to love it. A classic pairing with lamb is a wine from the Rhône Valley of France. These wines are classically earthy. The recommended pairing of the 2013 Mourvèdre from Hanover Park Vineyard (http://www.hanoverparkwines.com) is just that! From the nose to the palate, there is an earthy quality throughout. There are also notes of cherry. This wine is velvety, but light. It is perfect with lamb, mushrooms or manchego cheese!
Roasted Vegetables – We don’t want all of our pairings to be wine and meat. Vegetables should be a big part of any holiday table. Some of our favorites are roasted carrots, parsnips, celery root, garlic, onion, sweet potato and/or butter number squash. This calls for a full-bodied white wine. We suggest the 2014 Barrel Aged Chardonnay from Baker Buffalo Creek Vineyard & Winery (http://www.bakerbuffalocreek.com). The nose gives nice notes of oak with hints of butter. The butter carries through to the palate with notes of apples and pears as well. It also pairs well with any winter squash soup!

Palate Cleanser – Sometimes, it’s good to take a break from heavy food and cleanse the palate. A classic palate cleanser is lemon granita, but that can a lot of work. Continuously taking the granita out of the freezer, scraping the crystals with a fork, returning it to the freezer and the repeating the process for hours. Why not go with an easier route? We recommend chilling a bottle of Vino Limone from Elkin Creek Vineyards (http://www.elkincreekvineyard.com) in your freezer. Take it out and give your guests a small serving to cleanse their palates. Or use this wine as dessert itself. It’s lemon wine fortified with brandy. The nose has notes of charred lemons. The palate is tart lemon with a slight sweetness. The lemon allows it to maintain a nice acidity. It’s perfect to cleanse the palate or just enjoy with dessert!
Chocolate Desserts – Decadent chocolate desserts call for port-style wines. They are perfect with rich chocolate or just by themselves on a cold night. We recommend the Midnight Run from Windsor Run Cellars (http://windsorrun.com). This wine is made from Chambourcin and Petit Verdot and then fortified. There are notes of chocolate on the nose. The palate is warming with notes of cocoa and dark fruit. It’s the perfect way to end any holiday celebration!

Let us know your thoughts on these pairings! We’d love to hear what you think and what pairings you’ve come up on your own. For other food and North Carolina wine pairings, please see an earlier article on our blog. You can find it here: http://ncwineguys.com/index.php/food-pairings-with-north-carolina-wines/.

Whatever holiday you celebrate this time of year, may it be merry, bright and filled with North Carolina wine!

Cheers!

Aug

2016

Lodi – Post-Wine Bloggers Conference Adventures

We made it through the rest of the conference. The sessions were good, but the networking and connection with fellow bloggers and the Lodi wine community were invaluable. We’re so thankful for the experiences we had.

With the conference over, we decided to head out and explore a bit more of the wine scene in Lodi. We also wanted to pick up wine to ship back to North Carolina. We first needed food, so we walked to downtown Lodi and grabbed a Panini at Wine Social (http://www.lodiwinesocial.com). After that we walked back and got in our rental car and headed out to gather wine and explore.

We decided we’d head east a bit. We needed to see some gently rolling hills after days of flat land. Our first stop was Bokisch Vineyards (http://www.bokischvineyards.com). Bokisch specializes in Spanish varietals. They were tasting three of their Albariños side by side. Each was unique. We were really impressed by all of them. We moved on a few reds and then finished with our favorite wine, the 2014 Tizona Late Harvest Graciano. It was delightful with notes of dried cherry and spice!

Next on our list was Acquiesce Winery & Vineyards (http://www.acquiescevineyards.com). We just had to stop in here as we’re big fans of Rhône Valley style wines. Acquiesce did not disappoint! They only do white wines and a rosé made from Grenache. It was a perfect day for cool, crisp wine! We loved them all, but our favorite was the full bodied 2015 Roussanne. Its nose was apricots, almond and pear with a palate of pear and honey and a mineral-like finish. We also enjoyed a few freshly picked Viognier grapes and some freshly pressed Viognier juice! It was another unique experience in Lodi wine country!

The next stop was The Lucas Winery (http://www.lucaswinery.com). We had visited here on Thursday, but we need to pick up some wine. Sara greeted us again and offered us a small taste of the 2014 Chardonnay. It was perfect! We also shared with Sara and Mitra Lucas that Wine Enthusiast had shared Jameson Fink’s (Wine Enthusiast’s Senior Digital Editor) post on their 2001 Chardonnay. We tasted it during Live Blogging on Friday of the conference. They were delighted. Mitra was kind enough to offer us a bottle of that Chardonnay. We can’t wait to try it again! We made our purchases and moved along.

2001 Chardonnay from The Lucas Winery

We decided with the heat we should drop off our wines at the hotel before heading to our next stop, Harney Lane Winery (http://harneylane.com). Our favorites from this stop were the 2015 Albariño and the 2013 Petite Sirah.

We ended our day at McCay Cellars (http://www.mccaycellars.com). We had the fortune of sitting at one of the McCay tables at the Saturday night dinner at the conference. Linda McCay was at our table. Her husband Mike McCay (also the winemaker) was at the other table. Given the wines we had sampled the night before, we were interested in seeing the rest of the lineup and to purchase wine to ship back to North Carolina. Our favorite was the 2013 Cinsaut. This Cinsaut was made from grapes that came from vines that were planted in 1886. We certainly can’t find that in North Carolina!

We ended Sunday night early. We had more plans for Monday.

We started our day on Monday at Michael David Winery (http://www.mccaycellars.com). We were familiar with their wines as their flagship brands (7 Deadly Zins, Petite Petit & Freakshow) are readily available in North Carolina. We were very interested in seeing what else that had to offer. We also wanted to grab a bottle of the 2013 Inkblot Cabernet Franc. We had tasted it on Saturday during the live blogging event.

After we finished at Michael David, we head back to Van Ruiten Family Winery (https://www.vrwinery.com). We just had to get some of their wines to ship back to NC. Akaylia greeted us in the tasting room and took us through all the reserves wines. We had some of them during the Friday night dinner, but it was good to see the rest of the lineup. Our favorite was the 2012 Reserve Ancient Vine Carignane. It was woody and earthy on the nose with notes of cherry jam on the palate.

Talk then turned to the tree in the parking lot. Akaylia walked us outside and had us try to guess what kind of tree it was. We weren’t successful with our guesses. It turns out that it a California Cork Oak, a real cork tree! It was super cool!

Cork tree up close!

During our tasting Bill came in to greet us. He took us back to the crush pad where Chardonnay was being pressed. We also got to taste a few grapes!

Chardonnay heading to the press!

We finished our tasted, selected our purchased and head out to Livermore Valley. We found a few good wines in that area and would love to explore there again. However, it didn’t compare to the experience we had in Lodi.

Lodi, thank you! You were warm and welcoming! It was an experience like none other. We will always remember you fondly and hope to visit again soon!

Downtown Lodi, CA

Aug

2016

Celebrating NC Wine and Grape Month!

2021 Update – North Carolina Wine Month is now celebrated in May while North Carolina Grape Month is celebrated in August. There’s now two months to celebrate!

September is North Carolina Wine and Grape month! It was proclaimed by Gov. McCrory to celebrate the wine and grape industry’s contributions to our state. With a $1.7 Billion economic impact, 525 grape growers and 180 wineries, this industry is vital to our state. It deserves to be celebrated!

So, how do you take part? We’re glad you asked! Here are a few of our ideas!

Visit a local winery. Go for a tasting or an afternoon picnic or both! Visit ncwine.org to plan your trip!
Buy local wine! Either at a local store or better yet, from the winery itself!
Drink local wine! Celebrate with your favorite bottle of North Carolina wine. Dry, sweet, red, white or rosé, there’s something for everyone out there!
Ask for local wine at restaurants and wine bars. It’s NC Wine Month! Encourage restaurants to do their part.
Encourage your friends and family to join in. There are plenty of folks leaving in NC who have know idea that we’re 10^th in wine production in the country!
Talk about NC Wine on social media! Be sure to use the hashtags #NCWine and #NCWineMonth! Let’s get them trending!
Take a picture of what NC Wine you’re drinking! Share with us on Social Media! We’ll do our best to retweet or repost! Don’t forget the #NCWine and #NCWineMonth hashtags!
Follow us! We’re on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Just search for @NCWineGuys. We’ll give you tips on where to go and what to drink!
Follow the official North Carolina Wine accounts on social media! Find them at “North Carolina Wine” on Facebook and @ncwines on Twitter and Instagram!
Join us for #winechat on Twitter. We’re going to be talking all about #NCWine and #NCWineMonth on #winechat on Twitter. Our session is scheduled for September 28^th at 9pm ET. Just follow the #winechat hashtag to join the conversation! Let’s get #winechat and #NCWine trending!
Help with harvest! Many local vineyards will be harvesting in September. Most of them harvest by hand with the help of volunteers. Go volunteer!

Let us know if you have other ideas! Cheers!

Aug

2016

Friday Night Excursion – Wine Bloggers Conference 2016 – Van Ruiten Family Winery

The Wine Bloggers Conference had a full agenda. We focused on preparing for the actual conference sessions. We knew exactly what sessions we would attend. However, we realized on Thursday that we had not paid enough attention to the details about the Friday Night excursions. Thankfully, we were tipped off about that and looked at it in more detail.

The Friday evening excursions are a Wine Bloggers Conference tradition. The Lodi excursions were unique though. The excursion groups were smaller than past excursion and they were top secret! The only thing we knew was the name of our excursion, Dutch Crush. You see, you “signed up” by selecting a ribbon with an excursion name. Some of the names were “Gone with the Wine”, “She’s a Brix House”, “99 Bottles of Wine”, just to name a few. We had no idea what winery was associated with each. All we knew is that we would be whisked away to a winery for an evening of wine and food.

We all gathered by our sign – Dutch Crush!

The conference sessions ended at 4pm on Friday. We were told to head outside and find our group. It was there that we learned from Billy, our chauffeur, that we were headed to Van Ruiten Family Winery (https://www.vrwinery.com), his family’s winery. We piled in the van (Mercedes Benz no less) and headed over to the winery. We were greeted by Billy’s mom and dad, Bill and Angie along with Angie’s brothers, John & Jim, John (Winemaker), Bill (President) Rustin (Sales Manager), Akaylia (Tasting Room), and Elyse (Tasting Room). I’m sure we’ve missed someone though. We do apologize. The patio was set up for appetizers and a refreshing glass of 2015 Pinot Grigio. It was hot, and we were thirsty. The Pinot Grigio hit the spot!

Appetizers were ready when we arrived!

We all grabbed a glass and headed out on our tour led by John the winemaker. We visited the barrel room, the lab, the crush pad and stopped by the big tanks which were filled with recently pressed pinot grigio from the 2016 harvest. The yeast was about to be pumped in the tank. It was cool to see the yeast. It looked like bread dough. We ended out tour with a look at the bottling line.

Yeast ready to go!

Following the tour of the winery, we loaded back up in the van. We were headed to the vineyard. Chardonnay was being harvested. We were going to get to ride a harvester! How cool is that? Turns out it’s not that cool, but that’s only because it was still blazing hot out. It was also dusty, but the experience itself was amazing. We don’t see many machine harvesters in North Carolina. We may not have the chance again. One of the best things was being able to see the vineyard from on high. It made the expanse of the vineyards in the Lodi area really hit home. Acre upon acre upon acre of vines is not something we see in North Carolina either. We’re certainly grateful to have had this experience!

The view from atop the harvester!

We climbed back in the van to return to the winery for dinner. We were greeted with a glass of the 2015 Reserve Double Barrel Chardonnay. It was perfect timing! We were thirsty again. This Chardonnay certainly hit the spot! We soon took our seats at the table. Each table had at least one Van Ruiten family member (We also met Bill and Angie’s daughter, Mia) and at least one winery staff person. It was a great way to get to know the team. We were fortunate to have a seat at Bill and Angie’s table along with Bill (President) and Christine of girlsgogrape.com! It was a fun table! We especially loved hearing all the stories from Angie about her mom and dad, John Sr. and Ann. You could see the love on her face as she was telling the stories. You got a sense of what a remarkable couple they were. It was very moving.

The menu!

In addition to the great conversion, we got to experience a variety of the Van Ruiten wines. Some of the standouts were the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2013 Cab-Shiraz Blend. Of course, there was also great food to go along with those wines. Each course paired perfectly with the selected wines. The highlight for us was the homemade Dutch cookies (made by Angie) that were paired with the Late Harvest Viognier.

Van Ruiten Family Pictures hang in their tasting room.

After dessert, more wines and conversation were shared. Hugs and thank yous followed. We left feeling part of the Van Ruiten family and grateful that we’d been lucky enough to share the evening with them!

Our wonderful hosts!

If you’re ever in Lodi, please go visit them! We know we’ll be back!

Aug

2016

Lodi – Pre-Wine Bloggers Conference Adventures

We just got back from our first Wine Bloggers Conference. This year’s conference was held in Lodi, CA. It was our first time visiting this part of the Golden State. We really weren’t sure what to expect not only from the conference but also from the Lodi area itself. Boy! Were we pleasantly surprised! Lodi knocked our socks off! Ok, to be honest, most days we didn’t wear socks. It was hot. Regardless, it was an amazing experience!

We arrived on the Wednesday before the conference. We wanted to have time to explore the area. After we checked in to the hotel, we ventured out to downtown Lodi. We stopped in at Lodi Wine Cellars (http://www.lodiwinecellars.com ) for a quick tasting. The wines were good, but there were no standouts. After that we decided it was time to eat. We were a bit jetlagged given the 3 hour time difference. We stopped by Lodi Beer Company (http://www.lodibeercompany.com ). The food was delicious. The beer was great too. After dinner and a beer, we walked around downtown Lodi a bit more before heading back to the hotel and going to bed early.

Downtown Lodi, CA

Since we went to bed so early the night before, we were up early on Thursday. We had breakfast and had to kill time before wineries opened. Thursday was our tasting day. We decided to go out on our own rather than join one of the organized excursions. We like to be able to be flexible and just go with our gut. We also often ask locals where to go for food and drink. We are rarely disappointed with the suggestions we have received.

Our first stop was Oak Ridge Winery (http://www.oakridgewinery.com). They opened at 10am, so it seemed like a good place to start. The stand out wine there was the 2013 Moss Roxx Ancient Vine Zinfandel. The vines that produced the grapes for this wine are over 100 years old. The wine was jammy with hints of vanilla and a smooth finish. It was exactly what you would expect from a Lodi Zinfandel.

Next we headed to Lodi Vinters (http://www.lodivintners.com). Our favorite wine here was another zinfandel. This one was the 2012 Reserve Concrete Zinfandel. This wine comes from 105 year old vines. It’s partially fermented in concrete tanks that have been in production for over 75 years. The wine was full of dark plum and vanilla. It was fantastic!

We didn’t know a lot about Lodi wine before our visit. We did know Klinker Brick (http://www.klinkerbrickwinery.com) though. It was our next stop. We loved all the wines we tasted there. There were a few new ones for us. One was the 2015 Albariño. The other was the 2015 Rosé which was a blend of Carignane, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Grenache. The stand out new wine for us was the 2013 Farrah Syrah Grand Reserve. Aged for 23 months in French oak, this wine comes from only 2 rows of the Syrah vineyard. We had the pleasure of meeting Farrah, the namesake of the Farrah Syrahs, during the Live Red Wine Blogging session!

Klinker Brick Winery

After lunch at Fiori’s Butcher Shoppe and Deli (http://www.fiorisdeli.com) – it was so good we went back again on Saturday – we met up with another blogger, Heather of 10K Bottles (https://10kbottles.com/blog/) for the afternoon. Our first stop was Lange Twins Family Winery & Vineyards (http://www.langetwins.com). The standout there was the 2014 Winery Exclusive Nero d’Avola. This wine presented cherry flavors with hints of cocoa.

Lange Twins Family Winery & Vineyards

Next we headed to Oak Farm Vineyards (http://www.oakfarmvineyards.com ). We were struck by the beauty of the tasting room. It had a modern, lodging feel. It was also here, that Heather, Matt and I realized something special was in store for us on the Friday night excursions (more on that in another post.) The standout wine from our tasting was the 2014 Barbera. It was aged in oak and gave both a nose and palate of cherry and warm vanilla. While there we met the owner, Dan Panella, and the winemaker, Chad Joseph. They took us on a tour of the winery and spent time answering our questions and chatting. We appreciated their time and how warmly we were welcomed. This was a theme all through Lodi.

Fireplace in Oak Farm Vineyards Tasting Room

We ended out tasting adventure on Thursday at The Lucas Winery (http://www.lucaswinery.com ). Heather had received a recommendation to check them out. We’re so glad she did. Lucas is one of the original five wineries in Lodi. They produce only straight varietal wines. We were quickly greeted in the tasting room by Sara. She was such a pleasure! The tasting included wine in the tasting room, a short walk out the back door to taste zinfandel from the vine, wine in the barrel room and finally Late Harvest Zinfandel paired with freshly baked brownies. We ended on a high note!

The Lucas Winery

Thursday evening we headed back downtown for dinner. We also wanted to check out the farmers market. It’s a weekly staple during late spring through summer. Wow! This was more like a festival than a farmers market. There were all kinds of fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs, flowers and baked goods along with food trucks, live music, a beer garden and wine tastings! Lodi does their farmers market right! We were super jealous that we don’t have something quite like that here in North Carolina!

Our first full day in Lodi confirmed what we first experienced Wednesday night. Lodi is a special place. We would find more about just how special on the following day. We’ll have more on that in another post! Stay tuned!

Aug

2016

How to Read a Wine Bottle Label

This post originally was written by us for Craft Carolina. You can find it here: http://www.craftcarolina.com/2016/07/25/how-to-read-a-wine-label-by-the-nc-wine-guys/.

Shopping for wine can be a fun if you know what you want. On the other hand, it can also be a daunting experience. Unless you’re in the business, sometimes those wine labels can be confusing. We’re here to help. We’re going to take a look at how to read an American wine label. European wine labels are a different animal for a different time. We’ll look at labels for wine made right here in the USA. In particular, we’ll look specifically at a North Carolina wine label.

Label standards in the US are regulated by the US Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Bureau (TTB). The regulations are defined in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Per their website, the TTB works to ensure that alcoholic beverages sold in the US are properly described on their containers. The TTB goes on to state that they review over 100,000 labels and advertisements each your to ensure that they comply with Federal regulations. You can find more information at the TTB’s site. It was used for most of the information in this article. Here is a link: https://www.ttb.gov/pdf/brochures/p51901.pdf.

The basic parts of an American wine label are:

Brand Name – This is the name used to market the wine.
Vintage Date
- This is the year in which the fruit used in the wine was harvested.
- If state or county is used as an appellation of origin, then 85% of the fruit in the wine must have been harvested in the vintage year.
- If a viticulture area is used, then 95% of the fruit in the wine must have been harvested in that vintage year.
Estate Bottled
- This is used when 100% of the fruit came from a vineyard owned or controlled by the winery.
- The winery also must have processed the wine in its entirety at the winery.
Varietal Designation
- This is the name of the grape variety that comprises at least 75% of the wine.
- If this designation is used, then an appellation of origin is required. This means that the 75% must have all come from the appellation of origin.
- The above rules only apply to vitis vinifera grapes (Cab Sauv, Cab Franc, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sangiovese, etc). For vitus labrusca grapes (Concord, Catawba, Niagara, etc), the requirement is only 51%.
Other Designations
- As the varietal designation is not required, other designations may be used.
- These include Red Wine, White Wine, Rosé Wine, Table Wine (< 14% Alcohol) or Dessert Wine (> 14% Alcohol).
Appellation of Origin – This can be the state, county or geographic region in which 75% of the fruit in the wine was grown.
Viticulture Area
- This is the American Viticulture Area (AVA) in which 85% of the fruit in the wine was grown.
- An AVA is a designated wine grape growing area within the US so designated for its distinctive geographic features.
Name & Address
- This is the name and address of the bottler of the wine.
- The designation of “Produced” can be added to designate that at least 75% of the wine was fermented at the address listed.
- The designation of “Vinted” can be added to designate that the wine was cellared at the address listed.
Alcohol Content
- This is the alcohol by volume of the wine.
- Wine that is between 7% and 14% alcohol can be labeled as “Light Wine” or “Table Wine”.
Net Content
- This is the net content of wine in the container in metric units.
- Wine can be bottled in 50ml, 100ml, 187ml, 350ml, 500ml, 750ml, 1L, 1.5L or 3L sizes.
- Bottling greater than 3L is allowed at even liters only.
Health Warning Statement – This is required on all beverages at 0.5% alcohol or greater.
Declaration of Sulfites
- This is required on any wines that might be sold across state lines where the wine contains 10 or more parts per million of sulfur dioxide.
- It is not required for wines only sold within a single state.

Wine Bottle Label Details

Jul

2016

#NCWine – Our Consistent Brand

Hashtags are all over social media. They’re even in every day conversation. They’re used to identity messages/posts of the same type. But why is that important? How are they “made”? We’re going to explore that bit and help you learn why you need to use them in EVERY social media post.

As we’ve already stated, hashtags are primarily used to make searching for social media posts easier. You can find like posts more quickly. You can find others to follow more quickly. Others can find you more easily. You can join a conversation. Hashtags are often used for “chatting” online. This is particularly true on Twitter. Follow a hashtag, and you can follow a conversation.

Hashtags are also used to denote trending topics on social media. Social media users are often drawn to trending topics. It generates excitement and interest. Plus, it’s free! They are great marketing tools!

So, how do you build a good hashtag? You should start with something that is short and meaningful. This is especially critical on Twitter since there’s a character limit. The hashtag should be easy to read. Its meaning should be easy to discern.

How does all of this apply to North Carolina wine? It’s all about promotion and online presence. It’s about working together and creating a consistent identity for North Carolina wine. It’s all about #NCWine!

Here are some things to keep in mind:

Please use hashtags in ALL of your social media posts.
Please use hashtag #NCWine in ALL of your posts!
- We need a clear, concise standard.
- We need a hashtag that aligns with the standard for other wine regions. No ‘s’ on the end PLEASE!
- We need a consistent brand.
If you’re in an AVA, please use a standard for each AVA. We don’t recommend adding AVA to the end. It’s more characters that really aren’t needed. We suggest the following:
- #YadkinValley
- #HawRiverValley
- #SwanCreek
- #UpperHiwassee
- #AppHighCountry
Create a short and concise hashtag for your brand.
- Use it with every post on every social media outlet.
- Encourage its use in your tasting room, etc.
Other hashtags to consider:
- #GotToBeNC – Consistent brand for products from NC.
- #drinklocal – The local movement is big right now. Capitalize on that!
Other things to consider:
- If it’s a holiday or special event, find a way to post using that hashtag (e.g. #NationalWineDay, #WineWednesday etc.).
- #wine, #winetasting #winedinner are other good hashtags to use if they apply.
- On Twitter, use them anywhere in your post. On Facebook and Instagram, use them (typically) at the end of your post.
- Phrases or sentences should not be turned into hashtags. They’re often difficult to read.
- Case doesn’t matter, but sometimes capitalizing letters can make the hashtag easier to read.

To summarize, please use hashtags in EVERY social media post. And ALWAYS leave room for the #NCWine hashtag.

If you need more advice on hashtags, send us a note. We’re happy to discuss!

Cheers!

Jul

2016

Introduction to North Carolina Wine

This post originally appeared on craftcarolina.com (http://www.craftcarolina.com/2016/07/12/introduction-to-nc-wine-by-the-nc-wine-guys/). It has been modified for posting here.

North Carolina Wine has a long and storied history. We’re home to the oldest cultivated grapevine in the country, the Mothervine as it’s known. Located on Roanoke Island near Manteo, cultivation of this massive scuppernong vine, a variety of muscadine, began around 1584. By the beginning of the 20^th Century, North Carolina led the nation in wine production. Then prohibition happened crushing the wine industry. The wine industry grew very slowly over the next several decades until the mid 2000s when the industry exploded. There are now nearly 200 wineries in the state. They range from the largest commercial winery on the East Coast, Duplin, to the most visited winery in America, Biltmore, to small family run wineries only producing a few hundred cases a year.

North Carolina vineyards produce many of the grapes used by North Carolina wineries. Primarily two species of grapes are used for winemaking in the state. These are the native Vitis rotundifolia which are muscadine varieties and the European Vitis vinifera . The popularly grown muscadine grapes are Carlos, Magnolia and Scuppernong. The popularly grown vinifera varieties are Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Viognier. Hybrid grape varieties are also popular. Those include Chambourcin, Traminette, and Chardonnel.

North Carolina is also home to five American Viticulture Areas (AVAs). AVAs are designated wine grape growing areas within the US so designated for their distinctive geographic features. The boundaries are defined by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) which is part of the United States Department of the Treasury.

The five AVAs are:

Yadkin Valley – Established in 2003. It is located in Wilkes, Yadkin and Surry Counties along with parts of Davie, Davidson, Forsyth and Stokes Counties.
Swan Creek – Established in 2008. It overlaps the Yadkin Valley AVA in parts of Wilkes and Yadkin Counties. A small part is also located in Northern Iredell County.
Haw River Valley – Established in 2009. It is located in Alamance County and parts of Caswell, Chatham, Guilford, Orange and Rockingham Counties.
Upper Hiwassee Highlands – Established in 2014 and shared with Georgia. It is located in parts of Cherokee and Clay Counties in NC.
Appalachian High Country – Established in 2016 and shared with Virginia and Tennessee. It is located in Ashe, Alleghany, Watauga, and Avery Counties in NC.

A new AVA has been proposed for parts of the Southern Mountains in North Carolina. If approved it will be known as the Crest of the Blue Ridge AVA. It will include Henderson County in North Carolina.

Feb

2016

What Does Drinking Locally Really Mean?

The locavore movement has exploded over the last few years. Folks are really interested in eating food that is grown and cooked locally. It harkens back to the days when folks grew a lot of the food they ate. With all of this interest in local food, why not local drink? Well, there has been more interest in locally produced beer and now locally produced spirits. Local wine is starting to take off too, but is more difficult to find outside of the local winery. Let’s take a look at wine specifically and talk about what it means to drink local wine.

Drink Local Wine!

Local wine is more than just wine produced by a local winery. Truly local wine is wine that is fermented, aged and bottled at a local winery, but it is also wine that is made only from local grapes, fruit, or honey. These grapes should come from vines that are planted in North Carolina soil. The fruit should come from North Carolina trees, bushes, etc. The honey should come from a local bee hive. Let’s be clear, a true North Carolina wine is made from a North Carolina product. This means that wineries that produce wine from grapes, fruit, juice, or honey from California, South America, and/or Europe are NOT making local wine. They’re making wine locally, but it’s not a North Carolina wine and can’t legally be labeled as such. Think about that the next time you visit a local winery. Ask where the grapes, fruit, or honey originated. Look at the label. Is it labeled accurately? Inquire as to why local grapes, fruits, or honey weren’t used. The “North Carolina doesn’t produce quality grapes” line no longer holds water. The same goes for fruit or honey. Drinkers of truly local North Carolina wine know better! Let’s be sure our voices are heard.

We must insist that local wine bars and local restaurants sell locally grown and made North Carolina wine. Farm to Fork restaurants and the like who aspire to serve food made from locally grown ingredients are quite hypocritical if they don’t have locally made wine on their menus. The same would be said for locally made beer and spirits. Let’s do our parts to help promote truly locally made wine. Remember the costumer is always right!

Finally, it’s ok to drink something other than locally made wine. However, let’s be sure we do know the difference between a local wine and not. And be sure that we don’t use the #NCWine and #NCFineWines to promote a wine that’s not truly local. Just remember, drinking locally helps the local economy, which in turn helps you!

Let us know what drinking locally means to you! Cheers!

Feb

2016

Food Pairings With North Carolina Wines

Food and wine have been enjoyed together throughout the ages. Each enhances the flavors and richness of the other. From holidays and other special occasions to a weeknight meal, food and wine are matches made in heaven.

Some of the NC Wines suggested for Food Pairings

We always pair our wine and food, but sometimes the task is not easy. In an attempt share some of our pairing experiences, here are some suggested food and North Carolina Wine Pairings (in no particular order).

BBQ – Lexington Style – If you’re a fan of Lexington Style BBQ, we recommend pairing it with the Barbera from Hutton Vineyards or the Barbera from Brandon Hills Vineyards.
BBQ – Eastern Style – If you prefer Eastern Style BBQ, we recommend the award winning Syrah from Misty Creek Vineyards.
Spicy Thai – Do you like spicy Thai? If not this pairing works with any spicy Asian food (Chinese, Thai, Indian). We recommend pairing it with the Estate Grown Dry Riesling from Dobbins Creek Vineyards or the Dry Muscadine from Overmountain Vineyards.
Lamb – Lamb is one of those meats that you either love or you hate. We love lamb. It’s unique from beef and is great as turned into meatballs or grilled or roasted. We always have our lamb with the Mourvèdre from Hanover Park Vineyard. It’s a classic pairing that you’ll love!
Chicken with Creamy Sauce – Chicken with a rich buttery sauce demands a buttery, barrel aged/fermented Chardonnay. Our go to Chardonnays are either the Barrel Aged Chardonnay from Baker Buffalo Creek Vineyard & Winery or the Chardonnay from Mountain Brook Vineyards.
Steak – Steak calls for a big wine! Petit Verdot is one of those wines. We recommend the Petit Verdot from Jones von Drehle Vineyards & Winery.
Pasta and Tomato Sauce – Who doesn’t love pasta with a classic tomato sauce? Chianti is a classic pairing with tomato sauce, so why not have Chianti made in the Carolinas. Try the Sangiovese Riserva from Raffaldini Vineyards.
Grilled Sea Bass – Sea bass is a decadent fish. It’s rich and flavorful. Grill it with some olive oil and herbs, and you have perfection! A full-bodied white wine goes perfectly with the grilled sea bass. We recommend the Roussanne from Junius Lindsay Vineyard.
Chili – Chili with tomatoes, beans and a good bit of spice is a perfect meal for the cooler months. A big wine is the perfect accompaniment. We suggest the Estate Grown Zinfandel from Rag Apple Lassie.
Grilled Shrimp – Lightly seasoned and grilled shrimp are perfect on their own or in a nice, fresh salad. This calls for a light and delicate wine! We suggest the Pinot Gris from Laurel Gray Vineyards.
Soft White Cheese with Fig Spread – Ok, this one might seem a little odd, but trust us! Grab yourself a mild, soft white cheese. We recommend Yancey’s Fancy Champagne Cheddar. Get some fig spread or fig preserves. Slice the cheese and spread just a bit of the fig spread on top. Pair this was the Stainless Steel Chardonnay from Silver Fork Vineyard & Winery. Prepare to be amazed!
Brownies – Brownies are one of life’s simple pleasures. Chocolate that’s rich and slightly chewy. There’s not much better. A sweet chocolate treat calls for a warm, rich and slightly sweet wine. We recommend the Estate Bottled Port from Shelton Vineyards. This pairing is a great way to end a long day!

Try some of these and let us know what you think!

Feb

2016

Getting the Most Out of Your Wine Tasting Experience

Visiting a winery’s tasting room is one of life’s simple pleasures. Each experience is unique. It’s a great way to experience a variety of wine and find something new to drink. If you’ve never had the experience or if it’s been awhile, here are some suggestions to make the most of your wine tasting experience.

The tasting room at Parker-Binns Vineyard – Photo Courtesy of Karen Parker-Binns

Plan ahead! Check the winery’s hours. You don’t want to arrive within 30 minutes of closing and expect to taste. Most wineries stop tasting 30 minutes before closing. Some require a reservation.
Walk in and take a look around. If there’s line, patiently wait. Determine if you need to prepay for your tasting.
Don’t prematurely judge the experience by the look of the tasting room. We’ve had plenty of great tastings at hole in the wall wineries. The opposite is also true. The most opulent tasting room doesn’t necessarily mean the best wine.
Make your choices. Select a variety of wines. If you like sweet wine, pick at least one dry and vice versa. The same can be said for red vs white.
If a premium tasting is an option, take it. It’s premium for a reason.
Don’t be afraid to ask to taste something that’s not on a list. Often wineries will accommodate special requests.
It’s ok to share with a friend. This is especially true if you’re doing multiple tastings in a day. Most wineries allow this and will even split the amounts between glasses, so you don’t have to share one glass.
It’s ok to pour out wine even if you like it. Again, if you’re driving and/or doing multiple tastings in one day, you need to be able to remember what you’ve been tasting. Otherwise, you might end buying a bottle of wine you’ll hate later.
It’s ok to spit. This is another alternative to sharing and/or pouring out. If you’re not comfortable spitting directly in the dump bucket, ask for a small cup or another glass. Spit in that and then pour into the dump bucket.
This aerates the wine. It helps to open the wine up to its full smelling and tasting potential.
You taste what you smell. Try to pick out at least two distinct smells.
Check out the color, Color will tell you a lot about the health of the wine. You don’t want a red wine that’s got a brown edge. That means it’s likely too old.
Don’t gulp!
Hold the wine in your mouth for at least a second before swallowing or spitting. Do the tastes match the smells? Is there a difference between what you taste initially, the mid palate taste and the finish? Is the finish long or short?
Take notes! You want to be able to remember what you’ve been tasting. This will also help you later if you buy a bottle and want to pair it with food.
Have a cracker between different wines. You need to cleanse your palate. If crackers or other palate cleansers are not readily available, ask for them!
Don’t bring your children. Children are a HUGE distraction in tasting rooms. If they can’t drink the wine, they don’t belong there.
Be considerate of other tasters. Respect their space and their ears. Don’t be too loud.
Wine tasting should not be a way to get drunk! Don’t just gulp the wine. Your taster will not appreciate that and may refuse to serve you if you’re too far gone.
Engage with your taster. Ask questions about the wine. This helps your learn!

These are just a few suggestions to make the most out of your wine tasting experience! Let us know what you think! Cheers!

Feb

2016

American Wine – There’s more than just California!

American Wine has exploded over the last twenty to thirty years. The number of wine regions and wine regions producing quality wine has helped with this explosion, but does the average American wine drinker really know that there are more wine regions than just California? Sadly, it seems not to be the case. For those of us who love drinking local wine, it seems we have some educating to do!

Sure California produces great wine. It also produces nearly 90% of the wine made in American. Grocery store wine aisles, restaurant wine lists and even local wine bars are all full of California wine. California is known for its big, bold reds with high alcohol content. We would argue that these wines are overdone and take away the true essence of grapes when compared to old world wines. For those who don’t know, old world refers to Europe and the Middle East from where wine grapes originated in nature.

There are 32 other wine producing states recognized as having an American Viticulture Area.

Given California’s dominance in producing American wine, how are other wine regions going to breakout? As the saying go, it takes a village! Those of us fortunate enough to live near other American wine regions need to step up our game. We need to get out and visit local wineries. We need to buy local wine. We need to insist that local restaurants, particularly those claiming to represent the local food movement, add local wine to their wine lists! We need to introduce our friends and family to local wine. We need to share our experiences on social media. We need to attend events at local wineries. In addition, when visiting local wineries, we need to make sure that local grapes are being used. If you’re not sure, ask! We need to insist on high quality. If a wine’s not good, say so. Let them know!

So, what wine regions should you look at besides California? We, of course, are partial to North Carolina. Quantity and quality have continued to improve. 2015 was a fantastic growing year across the state. We expect 2015 to be THE vintage in North Carolina. Washington and Oregon should be considered. They account for over 4% of the wine produced in America. Other areas to consider are Missouri, famous for Norton. If you haven’t tried Norton and you like big bold, jammy wines, you’re doing yourself a disservice. Texas is another upcoming and coming wine region going Spanish, Italian and Rhône Valley grapes well. New York with the Finger Lakes and Long Island is producing high quality wines. The Finger Lakes in particular are now regularly reviewed in major wine magazines like Wine Spectator. Finally, Virginia can’t be overlooked. Just like North Carolina, quantity and quality have increased over the last several years. Virginia is producing superb Petit Verdot, Petit Manseng and Viognier just to name a few!

American wine is diverse as our country. Let’s all do our part in helping make sure that diversity is better known. Drink local, explore new wine regions and share those experiences with others! There is more to American wine than California! Get out there and explore!