In the Wine Light is National Drink Wine Day. National Drink Wine Day is celebrated annually on February 18th. This is not to be confused with National Wine Day which is celebrated annually on May 25th.
According to the the National Drink Wine Day website, the wine holiday is meant “to spread the love and health benefits of wine.” The site goes on to say, “Wine has played an important role in history, religion and relationships. We embrace the positive benefits of wine such as new friends, reduced risk of heart disease and the enhancement of food and life.”
National Drink Wine Day was founded by Todd McCalla. In addition to their website, you can learn more and celebrate by following them on Facebook and Twitter.
Some of you could be like us and celebrate this wine holiday regularly. But give it an extra special try on February 18th!
In the Wine Light is National Rosé Day. This wine holiday was established in 2014 by Bodvár House of Rosés as way to celebrate everyone’s favorite pink drink. National Rosé Day is celebrated annually on the Second Saturday of June. In 2022, that’s Saturday, June 11th.
Rosé is made in three ways:
Maceration – The skins of red grapes (usually picked early for higher acidity) are left to macerate in the juice for hours to a couple of days.
Saignée – This is the bleed off method. Saignée is the past participle of the French verb saigner meaning to bleed. Here within the first few hours of making red wine, some of the juice is bled off into another tank for rosé. Not only does this produce rosé, but it intensifies the resulting red wine too.
Blending – A bit of red wine is added to a tank (or some other container) of white wine to make rosé. Generally less than 5% of the resulting rosé will have come from red wine.
Rosé is one of the most versatile wine styles when it comes to pairing with food. It will go with almost any food from cheeses to salads to Thanksgiving dinner. It’s the perfect wine to bring to a party if you don’t know what’s being served.
We’re big fans of rosés particularly those made from the maceration method. Do you have a favorite rosé?
In the Wine Light are two wine holidays for the last full week of North Carolina Wine Month, National Wine Day and National Chardonnay Day. Both are celebrated during the same week in 2022.
National Chardonnay Day is celebrated annually on the Thursday before Memorial Day, so the date is different year to year. In 2022, with Memorial Day falling on May 30th, National Chardonnay Day is May 26th. Chardonnay is one of the most widely planted varieties in the world and is one of our favorites. From stainless to barrel fermentation to sparkling to even desserts wines, Chardonnay is a versatile grape.
Some of you could be like us and celebrate these wine holidays regularly. But give it an extra special try on May 25th and May 26th!
In the Wine Light is Drink Local Wine Week. Drink Local Wine Week is celebrated annually during the second full week of October, so for 2020, the dates are October 11th – 17th.
This week started in 2008 by the Drink Local Wine organization to encourage wine writers and bloggers to write about and celebrate local wines. The organization has since taken a break, but this week long celebration has continued annually.
Local wine means different things to different people. Some say a wine is local if it’s sold locally. Some say it’s local if it’s produced locally. And still others say it’s local only if it’s both sourced from locally grown products (grapes, other fruits, honey) AND locally produced. We have some thoughts on that in another post.
Whatever you consider a local wine, celebrate with a local wine or two this week and tell others about it.
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!
This episode features Bob Binns, Cory Lillberg, and Justin Taylor from Parker-Binns Vineyards in Mill Spring, NC! The team at Parker-Binns Vineyard are doing some great things. They are making the most of their terroir and producing some outstanding wines, while also creating an environment that is family friendly where you can come relax, have fun, and enjoy some great North Carolina Wine.
Wine Class with the Wine Mouths is back. Jesse and Jessica talk to us about wine in the 1700s. For more information about the Wine Mouths, head to https://www.winemouths.com/ or find them on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok @Winemouths. The Wine Mouths theme was written and performed by Joshua Morris. You can find him at twitter.com/joshtimejosh.
If you like this episode, please leave us a rating and review. It really helps spread the word. Subscribing and sharing with a friend is another great way to support Cork Talk.
This episode was made possible in part by a grant from the North Carolina Wine and Grape Council. For more information, please visit https://www.ncwine.org/
