Indy International Wine Competition Slated August 4-6

Image by rpeschetz via Flickr

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Winemakers from around the world will send their best wines to Indiana for the Indy International Wine Competition, August 4-6th, 2010. Over fifty judges will travel to Purdue University from throughout the United States, Europe and Canada to taste, analyze and score the various wines.

The Indy International Wine Competition is the largest scientifically organized and independent wine competition in the United States, the world's largest wine market. More than 3,000 commercial entries from 12 countries and 39 US states will be evaluated by our distinguished judges. Wine writers and winemakers, winegrowers and enologists, chefs and sommeliers, wine distributors, retailers and consumers meet every year in Indiana, the heart of America, a truly central place for wines to be seen and recognized.

Competition categories include commercial and amateur entries. Amateur winemakers and commercial fruit winemakers will find the Indy International appealing since the Indy International provides special trophies and recognition for both of these categories. Trophies for the commercial wine class include Wine of the Year, White Wine of the Year, Red Wine of the Year, and a Pacesetter Trophy, awarded to the winningest winery at the competition.

The competition will be held at the Purdue University Memorial Union in West Lafayette, Indiana. Judging will take place from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday and from 10am-12pm on Friday. Information is also available at http://www.indyinternational.org/.

The Indy International Wine Competition is sponsored by Purdue University, Main Street Cheese, Rawles & Associates, Danville Honey, Graber Olives, Lallemand, Inc., Indiana Winery & Vineyard Association, Tippie Tasters AWS Chapter, The Phil Leisure Family, Indiana State Beekeepers Associations and Cintas.

4 Essential Items to Know Before Building Your Wine Room

Are you fascinated in the idea of having your very own customized wine cellar? As you have started down the path to collecting wine and bringing it back home, where are you storing it? Hopefully it’s not hidden away in your pantry, or tucked away in the closet. You need a place to show off all those carefully collected wine bottles! Your collection has turned into a piece of art that you want to show off and share with friends and family.

If you are thinking about building out a wine room, there are important things you should consider. With the amount of wine bottles you have collected in the past years of learning about wine, you may be running out of room or even just want more of a showcase look to entertain with.

With a customized cellar you know that you can add some personal touches and you can cater it to your particular specifications for keeping and storing your wine collection. There are actually a wide variety of options readily available to people who aspire to construct their very own customized wine cellar. Fortunately for them, these wine rooms or cellar styles and designs are for anyone interested - from the complete amateur to the enthusiastic do-it-yourself wine cellar maker, and to those who have state-of-the-art woodworking experts to work for their wine cellars.

Now, if you are looking to create a wine cellar that is custom-designed to your needs but you don't intend to build a wine racking system from scratch, then here is the basic remedy that will certainly enable you to create your unique custom-made wine rack style or design.

The modular wine racking arrangement is usually in the market in various grains and coatings. In general, the least costly are those made from pine wood. Traders of modular wine racking systems most likely will propose other materials of construction like premium Redwood, Malaysian Mahogany, or red cedar. After the style of wood is selected, you can have different lacquers and stains applied to really be unique.

With modular wine racks available today, it’s easy to buy different wine rack kits to create a customized cellar that fits into the available space in your home. The best part of opting for modular wine racks is the fact that it can be easily combined and complemented with several varieties of other cellar racking styles. This will satisfy particular requirements or generate a distinctive personal style.

After selecting the specific wine racks, the choices of crown molding and skirting items are offered so you can simply blend together various designs of wine racking components and kinds.

Several wine cellar rack manufacturers currently have particular pieces that can aid you further in modifying your modular racking scheme.

Recent designs include a built-in glass racking system which is tailored to suit conveniently in any racking system. This feature adds to the character or ambiance as well as efficiency of the custom-made modular wine holders.

The most cost-effective kind of component cellaring is the dozen-bin racking system. This type of racking in modular mode can accommodate a dozen of wine bottles in one compartment. This can be specifically suitable for wine fanatics who buy their favorite wines by bulk.

Case racking on the other hand, have two types - standing wine case and short wooden case. Case racking is quite an appealing and an efficient way of storing wine bottles in their original packaging.

If you are building out a complete wine cellar room, the most visually important aspect of the area is the door. Wine cellar doors are also deemed notable part of the style as well as constructing procedure. Knowing the layout of your room and how you want your door installed is the first step. The second step is deciding upon the style of door to complement your room. With different varieties of wood, glass, and wrought iron, the possibilities are endless.

Today we have a guest author, Kristi Davis. Kristi loves working at Grotto Custom Wine Cellars and helping wine lovers figure out the best way to store their wine. She has two kids, a loving husband, and some beautiful wine racks filled with wine.

Greg Norman 2007 Limestone Coast Shiraz/Cabernet

It's always good to spot an old favorite! Such was the case when Glorious T visited a convention hospitality suite last week. Wanting a break from the Charleston sweet tea (although delicious!), like any good wine chick she happily spotted a bottle of Greg Norman 2007 Limestone Coast Shiraz/Cabernet.

This is always a reliable and drinkable choice and it did not disappoint! As the dashing bartender (yes - he was handsome enough to be a prince) poured, the beautiful crimson purple color attracted the attention of fellow wine lovers.

This complex wine offers an array of dark fruit aromas and the cherry and blackberry were evident. Light vanilla on the finish with slight tannins. Well worth the typical $12.99 price tag, this is a good wine to keep on hand since it offers wide appeal.

Wine Tastings & Events: Week of July 26,2010

Wednesday, July 28

Anderson's Market, Sylvania, Wine Tasting. 6-8:00 PM.

Another blind tasting: Our blind tastings have been going over so well, we decided to do another, with yet another twist.
Stop in and add your input. Results will be posted for the next tasting. Flight $6.50.

Beer and Wine Cave, 4400 Heatherdowns, (419) 382-6221. 6-8 PM. Spanish & Italian Wines. $15.

Thursday, July 29
The Andersons, Maumee, Wine Tasting. 5-7 PM. Wines of the Tour de France featuring the Rhone Region. 1. Domaine de La Royere – Red Luberon, 2. Louis Bernard – Cotes du Rhone, 3. Domaine des Amariniers – Cotes du Rhone Villages, 4. Les Trois Couronnes – Vaqueras. $4.50 per flight.

The Andersons, Talmadge Road. No wine tasting this week. Wine department being relocated.

Beer and Wine Cave, 4400 Heatherdowns, (419) 382-6221. 6-8 PM. Spanish & Italian Wines. $15.

Corks Wine and Liquor, Promenade Plaza, 27250 Crossroads Pkwy., Rossford – (419) 872-6800. 6-9 PM. South American Showdown: We all know that South America is home to some amazing, world-class wines. It is also a definite hot-spot for top-notch values. But who really rules the roost here? Drop in as we call out the two South American powerhouses -  Argentina v. Chile.  $1 to $3 per sample.

Manhattan’s Restaurant, 1516 Adams Street, Toledo. Wine Tasting with Uptown Vineyard. 6:30 PM. $15. Five wines and appetizers. In Union Square room. Reservations required. E-mail info@uptownvineyard.com or call (866) 276-1984.

Friday, July 30

Aficionado Wine and Cigars, The Shoppes at RiverPlace, 26567 N. Dixie Highway, Suite 135, Perrysburg, (419-873-4444). 5:00 – 8:30 p.m. Unwooded Chardonnays: 1. Travis Unfiltered, 2. Razor's Edge, 3. Mossback "Russian River,” 4. Norton Ridge Late Harvest. $10 tasting.

Corks Wine and Liquor, Promenade Plaza, 27250 Crossroads Pkwy., Rossford – (419) 872-6800. 6-9 PM. South American Showdown: We all know that South America is home to some amazing, world-class wines. It is also a definite hot-spot for top-notch values. But who really rules the roost here? Drop in as we call out the two South American powerhouses -  Argentina v. Chile.  $1 to $3 per sample.

Saturday, July 31
Aficionado Wine and Cigars, The Shoppes at RiverPlace, 26567 N. Dixie Highway, Suite 135, Perrysburg, (419-873-4444). 5:00 – 8:30 p.m. Unwooded Chardonnays: 1. Travis Unfiltered, 2. Razor's Edge, 3. Mossback "Russian River,” 4. Norton Ridge Late Harvest. $10 tasting.

The Andersons, Woodville, Wine Tasting. 1-3 PM. Saturday tasting: 1. Kiona 2008 Riesling, 2. Burgans 2008 Albarino Spain, 3. Underwood 2009 Pinot Noir, 4. Urban Uco 2008 Malbec. Nominal fee per sample or $2 per flight.

Walt Churchill’s Market, 3320 Briarfield. Maumee, (419) 794-4000. Noon to 5:00 p.m. Understanding USA Pinot Noir. Pay by the sample or flight. Premium tasting, cost is somewhat more than usual.

[Information on tastings can be sent to TWAV@ATT.NET.]

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Klinker Brick Tasting: Farrah Syrah, Old Vine Zinfandel, The Old Ghost

The red and yellow blotches on the Doppler radar finally passed by Perrysburg swinging to the southeast. We were glad because we were planning on heading to Corks for a special tasting of Klinker Brick Winery offerings. The winery is owned by Steve, Lori and (daughter) Farrah Felten. Lori and Farrah were in town to pour three of their wines and a funnel cloud would have made our choices very difficult.

When we arrived at Corks there was a good crowd considering the tornado warning that was issued earlier in the evening. Mike Gregg’s tasting lineup had an interesting white blend from Pacific Ridge and some interesting Zinfandels for comparison with Klinker Brick. Some of the Zins are known for their higher alcoholic content, so we decided to focus on the three Klinker Brick wines.

A quick verdict is that these Klinkers aint no klunkers. We enjoyed three quality wines that exhibited finesse and are also great values.

Farrah did the pouring and was able to provide background on the wines. Klinker Brick Winery is in Lodi, a rustic and welcoming wine community about 40 minutes south of Sacramento. The winery produces 30,000 cases annually. Klinker has 15 vineyard blocks of zinfandel that range in age from 37 to 112 years old in the Mokelumne River sub-appellation of Lodi. The yields are small from these gnarly, ancient vines and they produce wines of intense color and concentrated flavor.

The Syrah vineyard is named after Farrah Felton, so there was no better person to pour and illuminate us on the Farrah Syrah. We tried two vintages. The ‘08 had a smokiness with flavors of berries and tobacco. The 2007 had settled down a bit and had a smooth mellowness to it. Both are in the French style with a nice balance and finished in oak.

I was surprised at the 2007 Old Vine Zinfandel. Upon first sip I expected to be smacked with aggressiveness but I was greeted with a supple, smooth glass with juicy flavors of cherry and plum. Farrah opined that I might be enjoying the results of the longer hang-time their vineyards enjoy. This was a much more elegant wine than I expected. This wine is blended from 14 different Old Vine vineyard blocks.

The much anticipated star of the evening was The Old Ghost, produced from a 97-year old vineyard. This is a more polished wine than the Old Vine and exhibited more spiciness. This is a fine wine and a multi-layered treat that you could sip and contemplate all evening.

The Syrah and Old Vines Zinfandel list for $17.99 while The Old Ghost goes for $39.95. Great values for brick solid wines.

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Wine Lovers Reap Benefits From Excess Inventory, Closeout Sales

A precipitous drop in demand for wines priced more than $40 means that thousands of wineries have millions of cases of expensive wine that they are unable to sell. The wines can't just sit around because they must be moved out of the warehouses to make way for the next vintage. Wine lovers are now able to benefit through a growing number of wine websites specializing in deep discounts and flash sales.

Among these discounters are: Wine Woot!, Wines 'til Sold Out, Wine Spies, Cinderella Wine, Wine Heist, Vinfolio Flash Sales, Cellar Thief, Winery Insider, Wineshopper and Vinobest.

When I read about this on another blog, I checked out a few and the deals are pretty impressive. You typically have to "join" at no cost by creating an account and password. You then receive e-mails once or twice a week offering large discounts but for a very short period of time.

Wine Shopper is an example. I received an e-mail on Thursday for a sale that ended the following Tuesday. Being offered was an organic, single vineyard Columbia Valley Riesling by Pacific Rim. It lists for $32 and was on sale for $17.49. Also being offered was Hogue 2006 Genesis Syrah for only $7.99 (regularly $16). The Genesis is sold in lots of 3 only. If you bought only one bottle of the Pacific Rim Riesling, however, the shipping was $12.45. I assume the shipping becomes more reasonable as your quantities increase. I noticed that one of their special offerings, a Barossa Valley Estate 2003 E & E Black Pepper Shiraz, quickly sold out. Wine Shopper is a spin-off venture of Wine.com.

Winery Insider is another flash sale site that I checked out. It offers "the world's best wine at insider prices." Its wines are really interesting and some of their sales are just 24 hours. Their most recent offering was a special case sale from Viansa Winery in Sonoma County. You could purchase cases of Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Vernaccia or Arneis for only $99. These last two wines are unusual Italian grapes. The Vernaccia usually sells for $300 a case while the others sell for $240. Winery Insider also had a recent sale of "cult" Pinot Noirs. This is a site to watch for the rare and unusual.

Another discount site is Wines 'til Sold Out. Their most recent deal was Iron Horse Vineyards Green Valley Russian River Valley Estate Chardonnay 2006 for $14.99 (versus the retail of $29.99). One nice feature is they offer free shipping when you buy the minimum quantity. In this case it was four bottles, but it is never more than six.

There is a sense of excitement in nabbing a bargain and then tearing open the shipping carton to view the newly arrived booty. That being said, there are great deals at your local wine shop too -- plus you are supporting local business.

Photo by Peter Kaminsky

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