Reviews of wines and spirits for the curious drinker.
Mixed Meadia’s whole premise is Door County and Wisconsin-grown ingredients, cold-climate grapes, native fermentation, and minimal-intervention winemaking. It produces wine, mead, and cider inside the Hatch Distilling Co. facility.
Continue reading “Mixed Meadia Côte de Mort Blanc de Blanc 2023 Review”
Wisconsin native Thomas J. (Tim) Lawrie had a 26-year career in the U.S. Army, including two tours in Vietnam as a combat officer, and was awarded the Purple Heart. He served as an Army Infantry Airborne soldier before finally retiring with the rank of Colonel. After which, he was almost universally referred to as, “The Colonel,” a somewhat surprising affectation for a Northerner, I think. As with most military personnel, he had assignments throughout the country, including California, where he acquired an interest in wine and wine production. Continue reading “Simon Creek Tempranillo Review”
Eric and Amy Gale are the owners and sole full-time employees of Anchored Roots, in Door County, founded in 2020.
The couple make an ideal front-of-house/back-of-house duo. Amy grew up in Milwaukee, with hospitality at the forefront of her career path. Her initial focus was event planning, from non-profit fundraisers and catering, to corporate events and weddings. This was followed by experience in tasting room management at Airfield Estates in Prosser, Washington.
The story of Parallel 44 Vineyard & Winery began in 2005, when husband and wife team Steve Johnson and Maria Milano planted their first grape vines. Steve grew up in Green Bay, where his father Carl experimented early on with growing grapes. Maria grew up in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, where her Italian-born father continued his tradition of making wine for friends and family celebrations. Steve and Maria met while in school at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, and then attended law school together. While working as attorneys, they attended seminars on grape growing in Wisconsin, with an eye towards getting into the wine business.
Mixed Meadia’s whole premise is Door County and Wisconsin-grown ingredients, cold-climate grapes, native fermentation, and minimal-intervention winemaking. It produces wine, mead, and cider inside the Hatch Distilling Co. facility.
Eric and Amy Gale are the owners and sole full-time employees of Anchored Roots, Door County, Wisconsin’s newest winery, founded in 2020.
The couple make an ideal front-of-house/back-of-house duo. Amy grew up in Milwaukee, with hospitality at the forefront of her career path. Her initial focus was event planning, from non-profit fundraisers and catering, to corporate events and weddings. This was followed by experience in tasting room management at Airfield Estates in Prosser, Washington.
The Ledge Blanc Project is much more ambitious than simply three Door County wineries deciding to put the same name on a white wine. It is an attempt to create a signature appellation wine for the entire Wisconsin Ledge AVA—something consumers can eventually associate with northeastern Wisconsin in the way certain wine styles become identified with particular European or American regions.
Harbor Ridge Winery in Egg Harbor, Wisconsin, was established in 2010, making it a relatively recent addition to Door County’s wine scene. Its original releases were Knockin’ Heads Red and Mademoiselle, and the winery has subsequently built a portfolio of more than 20 wines ranging from dry barrel-aged reds like this Harbor Ridge Field Blend to Riesling, rosé, cherry wine and sweeter blends. The sweeter selections are largely aimed at the tourist trade.
Although made in the Italian Asti style, this Field of Dreams Moscato actually comes from Australia’s Barossa Valley. It is one of the few varietals that, when turned to wine, tastes as fresh as the grape from which it is made. It is sweet, but not cloying. And although there are tiny bubbles in the glass, there is no fizz. If you like Coke or Pepsi with dinner, you could pair it with the entrée, but I’d save it for dessert, especially with fresh fruit or delicate cookies. With an alcohol content of only 8%, it would even be welcome at weekend brunch with waffles or pancakes, instead of the more traditional champagne. Back to blog posts: winervana.com/blog/
This Byington Alliage Cabernet Sauvignon comes from an Iowa farm boy who amassed enough wealth as a northern California industrialist that he was able to realize his dream of becoming a winery owner in Sonoma.
Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars is one of the genuinely consequential wineries in American wine history. It is not simply a famous Napa Cabernet producer: its 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon was the wine that finished first in the red-wine portion of the 1976 Judgment of Paris, an event that fundamentally changed international perceptions of California wine. The winning bottle is now part of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History collection.
Torres Brandy is the spirits arm of Familia Torres, the large, still-family-controlled Catalan wine company founded in 1870. The spirits division is now formally presented as Juan Torres Master Distillers, and brandy production dates to 1928.
Delord grows grapes, makes wine, distills, ages, blends, and bottles Armagnac in the tiny village of Lannepax, in the Bas-Armagnac appellation. And unlike some producers whose “family tradition” has become mostly marketing hype, the Delord family remains directly involved. The current operation represents the fourth generation. Continue reading “Delord Bas-Armagnac 25 Ans d’Age Review”
Artages Single Cépage Armenian Brandy is made by the Yerevan Brandy Company [YBC], that did more than any other to define what Armenian brandy means, first within the Russian Empire, then the Soviet Union, and now internationally. It has roughly 140 years of institutional ancestry, exceptionally deep stocks, control over grape procurement and distillation, indigenous grape varieties, a distinctive oak regime, its own cooperage, and a highly developed blending culture.
Boduen Extra Old Black Edition Armenian Brandy is a product of the Armenian wine-and-brandy factory Shaumyan-Vin, in the Ararat Valley. The distillery was established in 1927 and reconstituted in 2002.
Shahumyan-Vin uses five grape varieties for its brandies: Kangun, Rkatsiteli, Azateni, Megrabuyr, and Mskhali. These are grown in the Ararat Valley, and harvesting begins around mid-October. The grapes are hand-picked, sorted/inspected, gently pressed, and fermented in 50 to 200 hectoliter vessels. Continue reading “Boduen Extra Old Black Brandy Review”