Tassel Ridge Winery–July 2006
Our New Wines:
In the Dark, our new spicy, food pairing dry red wine is a blend of 75% St. Croix grown in our Mahaska County, Iowa, vineyards and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon that was grown for us in Lake County, California. This wine starts with white pepper on the tongue, transitions to soft tannins with plum jam in the background, and ends in a long finish with notes of cinnamon, ground cloves, and mocha. In the Dark is an elegant wine to serve with beef, spicy pasta dishes, and even fully-flavored pork and chicken dishes. $15.00 per bottle plus tax.
Prelude, our new spicy semi-sweet white wine is a blend of about equal amounts of St. Pepin grown in our Mahaska County, Iowa, vineyards and Muscat grown in California. Prelude is a fully flavored semi-sweet wine that is best when served chilled and sipped before a meal or possibly after dessert. $11.00 per bottle plus tax.
Red, White, and Blue is our latest release. It is a traditional sweet wine with strong grape flavors reminiscent of grape jelly. If you think wine ought to taste like fresh grapes, then this wine is for you. Best when served chilled, Red, White, and Blue is an outstanding sweet sipping wine. $10.00 per bottle plus tax.
What’s New in Our Vineyards?
New plantings: We planted about 8500 vines this year. The varieties planted included Edelweiss, Sabrevois, St. Croix, and La Crescent. They should produce fruit in 2008 for the first time. The Edelweiss and La Crescent will be used to make semi-sweet white wines, while the St. Croix and Sabrevois will be used to make dry red or fortified red dessert wines. We finished the planting the new vineyards in late May and installing the trellising related to the new vineyards in mid-June. The new vines are looking great in early July as they have already stuck their heads out of the grow tubes.
Vineyard maintenance: June is the time we focus on tying vine trunks to the steel pencil rod and vine canes to the top wire. Rapid growth combined with periodic winds make this job never-ending. We’ve also cleaned out weeds under the vines where they compete for water, and we’ve been mowing on a regular basis. Most of our vineyards are irrigated. So far, rains have come at just the right times, and we have not had to turn the irrigation on yet.
New vineyard construction: In May and June, we seeded down the ten acres that we will plant next year with a winter rye and Kentucky blue grass mixture. Our posts are on order, and they should all arrive by July 15. Then, we will start pounding the posts for the vineyard at Meadowcreek West and South where we will plant Marquette next May. We are excited about Marquette’s potential because it could help us make an outstanding red wine. Marquette is a brand new variety that was developed at the University of Minnesota. It has Vitis Riperia and Pinot Noir in its parentage so the possibilities are intriguing. We will plant 5500 plants. We expect our first harvest of this variety in 2009.
What’s Happening in the Cellar?
July and August are the months when we are bottling wine and getting tanks empty so that they are ready for harvest starting in mid-August. This year, we are installing cat walks along the tops of our tanks. That project will require moving most of our tanks which must be empty when they are moved. And, we will receive eight new 2,000 gallon stainless steel tanks in mid-July. The cellar is undergoing lots of changes as we prepare for the 2006 harvest.
We are working on a new semi-sweet white, raspberry and blackberry fruit wines, a Chardonnay, and a port-style dessert wine.
Cooper Cooler Rapid Beverage Chiller
Have you ever been ready to serve guests, only to discover that you’d forgotten to chill the white and rosé wines you’d planned to pour? The Cooper Cooler with some ice will chill a bottle down to 50ºF in 3.5 minutes or to 40ºF in 6 minutes. It will also chill pop and beer cans. The Cooper Cooler is perfect for parties or when you want that bottle of wine cooled for a nice afternoon on the deck. Available from stock for $90.00 plus tax.
Wine and Food Pairing Suggestion
Do you like barbequed swordfish or tuna? Pair our Brett’s Blush with any fish. Brett’s Blush is especially appropriate when the fish is blackened, Cajun style, or when you serve a nice salsa with the fish. Preparing blackened fish is easy. Just rub the fish with olive oil and then sprinkle lots of Cajun blackening seasoning on the fish. It is then ready for the barbeque. My favorite salsa for use with fish is really simple. Take ½ papaya and remove the seeds. Combine with chopped cilantro, diced red onion, sugar, rice wine vinegar, and a shot of Tabasco to give it some zip. This is more than enough for two servings and can work for four servings. Regardless of whether you pair Brett’s Blush with fish prepared Cajun style or with salsa, you’ll have a memorable meal.
See Tassel Ridge Winery at:
Friday, July 21 and Saturday, July 22, 2006: Taste of Des Moines, 5:00 – 11:00 p.m. Friday and 4:00 – 11:00 p.m. Saturday, Blank Park, Des Moines.
Saturday, August 12, 2006: Iowa State Fair Wine and Cheese Garden, 11:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m., State Fairgrounds in Des Moines
Saturday, August 26, 2006: Iowa Wine Festival, 12:00 noon – 10:00 p.m., Indianola Town Square, Indianola, IA.