Winter Blend from Barefoot

Used my large glass.  reduces my need to get up for refills.

We had a roller coaster of a week concerning the weather.  Monday was in the 50s, Wednesday dumped 3" of snow on us and temps dropped into the teens and single digits later on.  Friday it warmed up to near 60F and melted the snow.  I've noticed song birds returning to Iowa.  February that feels like March.  I like it!  What a better time to bust out a winter blend of vino!!

I stumbled upon this on Tuesday at my grocery store in Windsor Heights, Hy Vee.  Tuesday was the last nice day until Friday afternoon.  I had to stock up.  I thought it was a novel idea.  This is what breweries do but instead of a winter lager it it is wine.  The label had 2015 on it.  Not sure if that was the vintage of the first year it was available.  Given 2015 was in small print I suspect the latter.  Then I remember the two bottles of seasonal wine I purchased from Summerset Winery for Christmas.

Tuesday Stock Up:  One bag shown, two radlers, two bottles of Winter Blend, half and half for the weekend's coffee and Uncle Ben's long Grain & Wild Rice (Sunday dinner to go with the chicken in the other bag).  I've never lost a bottle or broke an egg shopping via bicycle.

Green bottle with a pale blue label.  "Notes of vanilla & blackberry jam."  A red blend of some sort.  "...pairs perfectly with gingerbread cookies and a cozy fire!"  We have neither.  I was hoping it would go well with Wifey, NetFlix and a leather couch.  What a long week until I could uncork!  It did go over well but she only had one sip and said nothing.  her preference is on semi sweets to sweet.  We watched an episode of Anthony Bourdain's A Cook's Tour (cookin' 'round the world!) an episode of The People v OJ Simpson and Caddy Shack.

First impression was how velvety smooth this blend was.  Felt light yet heavy like a tasty dessert. Definitely a dry red yet extremely smooth and soft.  Since our thermostat is set for 63F I felt no need to pre-chill this in the refrigerator beforehand.  Clocking in at 13.5% it is rather strong but the alcohol does not overwhelm the experience.  By the time Caddy Shack ended the bottle was finished.

Looking forward to the second bottle.  Possibly next weekend.  Also looking forward to next winter's seasonal offering.  If you like a rich and smooth red that is not sweet, try this one while it is available even if Spring is here according to the birds.

Williamette Valley Vineyards Riesling

For some reason my wine consumption has been down for about 6 months.  Don't know why. Perhaps beer consumption increased a bit then subsided.  Maybe winter has me wanting to shower, eat, and go to bed early.  Health issues, too.  But last night, despite a major gout flare up and a major change in meds I decided it was time to pull this bottle out of the fridge and uncork it.  It was after 8 pm, my leg was killing me like a mofo and the Aleve was finally kicking in.  That and Russell Crowe was on the screen fightin' 'round the world, Robin Hood.  It felt like time to enjoy an adult bevie.  Long week, long day.

Quality cork as well.  I did not murder it!

This bottle had been been chilling since October.  It missed our Thanksgiving Feast and Christmas dinner and Chill.  Not that I was avoiding it, just waiting for the right time.  According to the bottle, the best time to drink this is between 2015 and 2017, "peak drinkability."  The pressure, the pressure.

First taste and I knew I made the right decision, new meds be damned!  Cool and crisp with  almost pear taste.  Even Wife liked it.  Unlike most Rieslings I have consumed, the strong boozey taste was lacking, which is a plus.  Clocking in at 8% it should not overwhelm the palate with alcohol taste.  Definitely a medium on the sweetness scale which even the most bitter sweet hating people could tolerate.  Smooth, cool, delicious and not overly sweet.  A wonderful gift from 2014 Oregon.  I will look for this one again.

Life is precious when one can hoist their glass when Friar Tuck hoists his mead on the screen knowing that the vino in my glass is excellent!  Do yourself a favor and find this Riesling.  2014 was a good year!

Thanksgiving Left Overs

Almost came as a surprise.  We were leaving on a bicycle ride like we have done countless times since November 24, 2016.  In fact, my wife and daughter and myself walk on our back deck several times a day yet we have missed this.  In a blue tub that I used to keep booze chilled for our Thanksgiving Feast we discovered one bottle left behind.  A bottle of Cook's champagne, Brut, sitting at the bottom of the tub.  A small layer of ice floating on top.

Seeing that it was still sealed I grabbed it.  Tiny bubbles floated to the top.  "Still good, maybe.  Most likely temperatured abused but still sealed."  Almost a month after the bottle was placed into the tub the winter's first cold snap hit with temperatures dropping to -4F, -12F and a warm up to -1F.  We had another cold stretch at the first of the year that had lows at 5F, 4F, -3F and such for a few days.  On the other end of the spectrum, we have had several days in the 50s, upper 40s and one day it was 62F. Yet the bottle survived.

Aged in aplastic bucket with natural cooling and leaves.

I placed the bottle on the table to wait until we returned before testing it.  Since it was 40F outside it would be alright.  The cork was rather wet.  The foil did little to keep the elements away.  In fact, it appeared that there was some leakage.  The lack of floaties other than bubbles made my decision to taste it.

It was an effort to uncork the bottle because the cork was wet.  No spectacular pop off, just a hand  tug.  As the video shows, not my best effort.  No gushing champagne supernova.

The taste.  A little off, a little flat tasting.  yet plenty of bubbles in the flutes.  I poured three.  One for my daughter who filmed the proceedings, my wife and myself.  My other adult children, who happened to drop in, declined.  No one refilled and later that afternoon Mary poured it down the drain.  She does not care for Brut.  Should have purchased orange juice while we were away.  Another funny thing is that at a party we were at someone brought a bottle of bubbly, Brut!  No one liked it either.  Me, I was drinking Founder's All Day IPA.

Documentation in process.  NOTE Katie, the auxiliary documentarian can be seen in the reflection of the the mirror in the china cabinet.

That bottle was an interesting part of our day.  Shame we did not find it on Black Friday.  On black Friday we took all the partial bottles of booze for bicycle ride and drank them on a bridge over the Raccoon River.  I would have put the Cook's in the fridge.

I really wanted to launch it!

Frosted and Jolly, Back On the Bottle Again

Some late 70s murder mystery was on TV.  It had been a long day and Wifey nor I could be arsed into changing the channel.  Watching the little old lady murder the young man was intriguing, almost as much as guessing the name of the show or movie.  It was like Let's Make a Deal where you'd hear all about the potential behind the curtain but never knew until the it was lifted.  We were a good 10 to 15 minutes into it without seeing the star or knowing what we were watching.  Then Door #3 opened and Columbo waltzed in, wreaking of cigar smoke motor oil.  But that was ok.  I knew we were not going anywhere.  Time for a drink and a movie.

It had been quite a while since I enjoyed wine at home.  Beer and hard liquor seemed to be behind Curtain #1 during the past few months.  Two previous attempts resulted in half drank bottles sitting around long past their shelf life.  Just was not into it.  Life gets busy.

But now it is the evening of Christmas.  The kids are gone and our responsibilities are over.  Spent 3 hours in a car driving to and fro the farm in one of the strongest rainstorms of recent memory.  Time to relax.  When Columbo end I turned on NetFlix and found a Marilyn Monroe/Jane Russel movie. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.  Why not?  We never watched it before.  First open some wine.  Would this gentleman prefer the Red or the White?

On Thursday I purchased the bottles.  Craig and I were supposed to ride to the High Trestle Bridge but we got as far as Valley Junction.  The bike ride turned into my Christmas shopping adventure. And at the furthest point of the ride found me at Hy Vee Wine & Spirits looking for a bottle of Summerset's Caba Moch to give to my sister and Cedar Ridge's apple/cranberry wine for my father in-law.  He would like it as he used to make his own.  That hooch was available but the bottle for Patty would have to wait.  They were out.  But two other bottles caught my eye.

Frosted was a white table wine in a decorative bottle from Summerset Winery.  Jolly was its sibling, a red in a similar seasonal bottle.  Why not?  Our home would be hosting 12 or so people for Christmas Eve dinner and wine should be available.  "Monty, Curtain #2, please."  When I got home, in the fridge they went.

Well, beer, Bailey's and eggnog were the order of Christmas Eve and my wine supply stayed safe. But now it was a day later and it was time.  Grab the cork screw and pop that bastard!

Mary said white.  Frosted is a sweet white table wine.  It contains sulfites.  That's all the label really said.  Served chilled!  "Contains holiday cheer.  Enjoy with friends or enjoy alone.  Enjoy with food or without food.  Just enjoy."  No octane rating on the label.   Just a alcohol warning and a snowflake with a smiling face that says "get frosted."

I pulled out and rinsed out the two new wine glasses Wifey gave me for Christmas.  She listened when I said I needed a wine glass that could hold more than our current ones.  Both glasses can contain an entire 750 ml bottle.  Perfect!  Move to the couch and watch our movie.

Frosted is not as sweet as one fears.  This is good.  Made from Cawtaba grapes it is semi-sweet.  Not dry but won't rot your teeth.  Hint of a boozey taste.  Not as sweet as a Moscato nor the basic Iowa sweet wine.  No strong local aftertaste.  I liked it.  Mary did not.  Mine went down relatively fast.

Time to get Jolly.  I lapped Mary and opened the second bottle.  Once again, not much to read from the label.  I had to go to the website and read about it.  Made from their Marechal Foch and Cawtaba grapes.  A bit sweeter than the Frosted.  Would be great for making Sangria.  Summerset calls it a sweet Rose.

Mary did not want any so I drank the entire bottle myself on the couch watching Marilyn and Jane. And like those two starlets it was hard to determine which I enjoyed more.  I may have to make another purchase.  I'll bumble through the store like Columbo and picked the right bottles.

Cedar Ridge Apple Cranberry

It was an impulse buy.  At the store on a freezer filling spree when we walked past it.  I looked at Wifey and then the stack of bottles at the end of the organic produce section.  Apple cranberry.  I like this in Ocean Spray so why not vino?  Wifey affirmed.  An Iowa wine.  Help the local industry.  In the cart one bottle went.

Once home it immediately went into the fridge next to the moscato and a bottle of home brew mead.  Two days later it was time.

First impression it was sweet followed by that half second "Iowa sweet" weird taste, sorta like homemade, and then the tartness of the cranberry.  Perhaps I did not allow it to air out sufficiently.  I poured Wifey a glass and brought it to her.  regretfully, I did not have the camera ready for the expression on her face.  Nevertheless, she did not make a face but did report that it was indeed sweet.

Quality faux cork.  I like it when wineries take the $$ to have printed corks.  This one was a bit difficult to remove but did not break.

Time to read the label.  90% apple, 10% cranberry.  12% alcohol.  Government warning.  Swisher, Iowa.

Time to look at the webpage.  Cedar Ridge Wine They also distill spirits such as a single malt whiskey.  The apple cranberry wine is listed under "house wine."  As they say "A semi-sweet blend of apple and cranberry. Tart cranberry combined with sweet apple to create a delightfully balanced wine. A fabulous addition to your holiday table."

Ok, no grapes so I should not expect a traditional wine taste. Read the label first.  In the end it is ok.  Not my style.   If you are into sweet wines this may be for you.  Personally, I should have purchased vodka and an Ocean Spray as that apparently was my mood.

...About Last Night...

Ice ice Riesling!  After an hour or two fridge thaw.

The plan was to stay home.  We are usually devoid of energy on Friday nights.  Fix a nice dinner, split chicken breasts oven roasted with wild and brown rice and fresh beets.  Mary worried that the beets would stain everything including the plates.  The only beet stain was on Dora's whit fleece.  Afterwards sink into the couch and watch NetFlix with a glass of wine in hand.  A documentary on Blondie recording Parallel Lines was our pick.

Not long after Blondie's New York end my son and his friend came over.  Things got serious.  maybe 4 or 5 bottles were consumed by the four of us.  At one point I place 2 in the freezer for a quick chill.  One came out.

I don't know what prompted me to open the freezer this morning.  But there it was.  Ice cold frozen bottle of Barefoot's Riesling.  Perhaps it was there 7 hours.  Top to bottom ice.  I still am amazed that the bottle did not crack.  What is it, 7.5%?  Now thawing in the fridge.  I'll report back about the flavor.

Big Bold Red: Yellow Tail Redeems Itself

Took a chance when I bought this one.  Fortunately, it was purchased it when I made the terrible decision to get their Riesling.  Suffice to say it put a smile on my face and a stay of execution has been granted.  Yes Virginia, there is a decent Yellow Tail.

Big Bold Red.  Dark as the night in this photo. Smooth and evaporates in the mouth.  No after taste.  Perhaps a bit strong at 13.5% but acceptable despite tipping the balance but still a nice full body wine.  The alcohol does not dominate the flavor.

I started the bottle after work.  It was a cold bicycle ride home and I needed something to warm up with.  For the first time this day I felt good as it seemed to settle my heart and blood pressure.  It went well with our dinner of pork chops.

Alright you 'Rooheads, Big Bold Red has redeemed your country and your wine.