Rosella Vineyard & Winery and others...

This weekend saw us revisiting many of our favorite haunts.  On Friday, we went to Dunbar Farms/Rocky Knoll Vineyards to checkout out their Belgian Draft horses, Bonnie & Clyde, they are using to cultivate their land. While there, we also enjoyed a nice glass of Rocky Knoll Dunbar Red, a very nice, easy to drink Cab Sauv, Cab franc & Merlot blend.

Afterward we went to to RoxyAnn for Friday night music where we were treated to TC & the Reactions rocking the house. Catch these guys, they are a vary talented band that performs "Power Rhythm & Blues". We enjoyed the RoxyAnn Viognier, always a tasty and refreshing wine on a hot summer eve, and got to share in some bubbly (not sure what we were drinking at that point, too busy dancing and visiting with the old gang).

On Saturday, we were off to the beautiful Applegate Valley. Local legend has it that there are more airline pilots per capita living there than anywhere on the west coast. Apparently, when flying from San Francisco to Portland and Seattle, there is always a break in the clouds over this little valley, revealing an amazing view from above. Upon visiting you can experience it yourself; the weather is beautiful, they have more blue sky days than the Rogue Valley and it is a gorgeous valley, unspoiled by development and "progress". It is also home to a growing number of excellent wineries. One can make a day of visiting the various tasting rooms, each with their own, unique story.  We spend a lot of time out there, as the in-laws are Applegate residents, so you will be hearing more about the Applegate in the future.

We enjoyed the day with the in-laws (out-laws?!) and ended up at Rosellas Vineyard and Winery.  Rex and Sandi Garoutte opened it back in 1998, concentrating on making quality wine from self-grown fruit.  They currently grow Cab Sauv, Merlot, Chardonnay, Zin and Syrah.  They produce nice, smooth wines with great fruit and low tannins. Rex achieves great balance with his wines and are always quite tasty.

I absolutely love going to Rosellas, it is the most unadorned, unassuming tasting room, very intimate... it must be 12' x 15' inside, but  Rex and Sandi have such effusive personalities, it feels much larger.  It may be small, but it is not lacking in the fun factor. Especially when Rex is holding court. He is a kick with a wealth of knowledge about grapes, farming, wine and the Applegate.

On this particular trip, we got to revisit his Merlot Blush. Wow, we loved it, it possesses great fruit, just a touch of sweetness and bright acidity with a light strawberry color. Rex has been kegging this wine for sale at the Britt Festival and was a huge hit last year!  His Cab Sauv is coming along great, the vines have been in the ground long enough that they are now well established and showing off some of the terroir of the property. Rex had a new wine, a sherry called Wai Kula "Liquid Gold", a fortified white blend. Amber in color, it shows nut and vanilla with spicy notes. It will make a great aperitif or as a special treat with some chocolate at the end of the evening. Rex called drinking the the Wai Kula, "running with scissors", meaning it is dnagerous- goes down easy and packs a bit of a wallop! Rex did assure us we can open it, put the cork back and forget about it, no hurry to finish this bottle, savor and enjoy!

We thank Rex and Sandy for their hospitality and friendship; do not miss this winery when you venture out to the Applegate. You will not be disappointed.

We will be back on the wine trail in coming weeks and we will share with you. Until then...

CHEERS!

QUADY NORTH

We recently popped into Quady North in Jacksonville. What a fun, funky little place. From the outside, it looks like the typical turn-of-the-century building in J'Ville. Inside, it is an intimate room with whitewashed walls, modern, colorful furniture and a cool, breezy air about it. The first thing I learned- it is pronounced Qwah-Dee, not Qwāy-Dee, as I've always thought.

Jeannie took us through a tasting, I was particularly fond of the 2011 Rose`, a Syrah/Granache blend that epitomizes the “new style” of American Rose`s- clean, dry with a great nose and supple acidity. In other words, a perfect summer wine.

I got chatting with a wonderful couple from McMinnville who told us of a guy up there making oak stave furniture (from used wine barrels), in particular, an Adirondack chair that had notched arms for wine glasses- brilliant! This let to a story that owners Herb & Melanie Quady had a baby last year and had received a cradle made from a wine barrel. Wow, talk about starting them young. Future winemaker there, or at least an aficionado.

Speaking of children, Herb makes a great Syrah called 4-2,A, a term created by his daughter. Little Margaux was blending juice and water and called her concoction 4-2-A, or fourtooay (she thought of chardonnay, Cabernet, Viognier). If not winemaking, she has a bright future in marketing.

One last trick I learned- if using a wine barrel as a planter, put plastic gallon jugs on the bottom as fill to make the planter lighter. This still gives you plenty of soil. I wish I thought of that before I planted my tomatoes. But, luckily my ½ barrel is on castors, so I can roll it into the sun for best exposure.

Here is a tip for all you tasters. 

When you go tasting, do you rinse your glasses between tastes?  

Please don't rinse. The average taste is around an ounce, not much liquid at all.  

When you rinse, water is left in the glass due to the adhesive nature of water.  Enough is left to dilute your next sample of wine.

 

Most wineries pour from lightest to heaviest wines, so you should not have to rinse between tastes. If the wines leave some stuff (we call this MOG- matter other than grapes) in the glass, you should either rinse it with the next wine or ask for a new glass.  Same thing if you happen to go backwards from a heavier to lighter wine, say from a cab to a Pinot noir. 

If you've had a dessert wine, get a new glass before venturing on.

Another factor to consider is the chlorine in water, it can affect the taste of your wine.  Generally you don't have to worry about this when glasses are washed, they are normally left to air dry and the chlorine blows off quickly.

Well, until next time...

Try something new this week.

CHEERS!

The Egyptians were the first to make glass containers around 1500 B.C.E.

Saturday was a blustery, rainy afternoon. In short, a perfect day to wine taste indoors. The Better Half and I decided to make a quick jaunt to Caprice Vineyards, about a mile from downtown Jacksonville on Old Stage Rd.

We entered a small, intimate tasting room packed with Alpaca products, many of which were hand crafted by Jeannie, the owner. In addition to grapes, Jeannie and her husband, Jim, also raise Alpacas.

Caprice Vineyards has only been around for a short while, but the vines have their own, unique history. Many years ago, the original owner, Tony Miglarese (spl), decided to plant grapes. He went to his family's vineyard in Southern Italy and brought back (smuggled) plants in his suitcase. The vines self-rooted and today produce the wonderful fruit that goes into Caprice Wines.

We were joined by two other couples, the cozy atmosphere made it ideal for socializing. A couple from Grants Pass and a young couple from Bend, on tour with Main Street Tours.

We had a great time talking with the them. The couple from Grants Pass were quite the wine aficionados. They belong to 10 wine clubs and currently have in excess of 400 bottles of wine. Of course, we all suggested we retire to their place and help them winnow down their collection. The guy was hilarious, he explained that he and his wife have an understanding that should he pass along before her, the new husband was not allowed to have his wine. He said, it will be one big party where everyone drinks all his wine. I suggested “Open Casket, Open Bottle”, to great laughs from all.

We had a wonderful time, we enjoyed their Claret (2011 World of Wine Gold Medalist), bought a bottle of the 2008 Cab and promised to return for a chance to visit the alpacas. That should be another story later on. 

https://www.facebook.com/CapriceVineyards