Our friend Willie finally sent the vineyard photos from our July visit to Tartan Hill Winery. Although the pictures missed the original blog post, they’ve made a great addition to the below video by Cecil B. DeTwav…
Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.
Image by Jim Bahn via Flickr
The Williams Aero Estates Annual Fly-In and Chateau Aeronautique Winery's 2nd Anniversary Party will take place Saturday, September 17, 12:00 Noon to dark at the winery grounds in Jackson, Michigan.
Musician “Bigfoot” Bob Shultz will be playing keyboards and sax and there will be free hamburgers and Hotdogs on the grill, along with potato salad, chips and dessert. There will plenty of wine available to go with your meal.
A unique aspect of this event is the planes. there will be antique airplanes, homebuilt airplanes, cool airplanes and airplane rides.
The address for those coming to the winery by land is 1849 Rives-Eaton Road, Jackson, Michigan, (517) 569-2132. Lorenzo Lizarralde is the Chateau Aeronautique vintner and a pilot.
If you are flying in, here’s the information: Williams Aero Estates, 5MI7, 122.9, 05/23. Grass, 300' x 3000’. No fuel, no lights. This free party is open to the public and will be held rain or shine. You should RSVP to help with the planning for the food.
The Green Dragon loves her Sauvignon Blanc. The more robust and tangy the flavor, the better.
Her past two favorites have been Kim Crawford and Starborough, so you can tell she has a preference for the New Zealand style versus a more restrained version from California or France.
Sauv Blanc is a great wine for the summertime and we also enjoy it a glass now and again after dinner. I purchased a pair of bottles from Lot 18 from SOHO Winery. They were both 2010 Sauvignon Blancs from the Marlborough winery, but one was dubbed White Label and the other Black Label.
We cracked open the White and shortly after she began swirling and tasting, she announced she had a new favorite.
The SOHO White Label is crisp, clean and untamed. I got an immediate pulse of lemon zest with crackling acidity. Green Dragon pointed out the grassy aroma and tropical fruit.
There were 3,000 cases made of this wine, so it isn’t a mass market vino flooding the streets like the aftermath of a tropical storm. To me it displayed just the right touch of craft and refinement to be true to its terroir but wildly elegant.
This is a winning wine **** and we can’t wait to contrast it with the Black Label.
Image of Altos Las Hormigas via Snooth
Zinful Wine Bar & Restaurant, (419) 878-9463, 7541 Dutch Road, Waterville.
Nothing better to start your pre-weekend than a Thursday night bottle from the Russian River Valley.
After a competitive tennis match, I was able to kick back and enjoy the Balletto Vineyards 2009 Pinot Noir, BCD Vineyard, courtesy of TWAV tasting team members Glorious T and Ace of Bass.
This is a rare wine with a special connection. Acquaintance Ray Carlson is a well-known grape grower in the Russian River Valley and is the “C” in BCD Vineyard along with Balletto and DeLoach.
Ray is a very active member of the National Exchange Club and through that connection, Glorious T was the happy recipient of several bottles.
A single vineyard Pinot Noir, only 12 barrels of the 2009 were produced. The BCD Vineyard was previously blended with other vineyards and this is its first solo performance. It’s quite a treat to be able to sample a special wine like this.
The wine is ruby in color and gave forth a flowery blast as it swirled in the decanter, but the nose was mostly closed after that.
Cranberry and dark cherry flavor notes are evident as well as flavors of tea and earthiness. The wine had noticeable astringency, but as the wine opened up in the glass, it took on more of a rounder feel.
The finish was short and featured not the red fruit notes I expected, but a drier earthier feel. The wine is very complex and structured.
Although this is a nice sipper now, it really needs a year or two to mellow the tannins. The wait will unquestionably be worth it. The wine retails for $34.
A wonderful evening filled with friends, fun, and fabulous homemade food is planned for the 16th Annual Bowling Green Parks and Recreation Foundation Wine & Cheese Social on Friday, September 23.
WTOL-TV news anchor Jerry Anderson will serve as guest auctioneer, and bid helps reach the goal of enhancing the youth recreational playing fields in Bowling Green. In addition to the live auction, there also will be a 50-50 raffle and a silent auction featuring an array of items.
A great selection of wine will be available courtesy of Bowling Green Beverage.
It’s all happening Friday, September 23, 2011 from 5 to 8 p.m. in the Simpson Building (1291 Conneaut Avenue, Bowling Green).
Get your tickets ($35 each) by calling 419-354-6297 or email rblickensderfer@bgohio.org.
