Give the Gift of Iowa Wine

Looking for a unique gift that will be appreciated and enjoyed and doesn’t spend months out-of-site and unused in the back of a closet?

A great gift is Iowa wine. And the folks at www.buyiowawines.com have made it easy to select the wine.

From the website, you can select an Iowa Wine Sampler packages — sweet or dry. Each contains a bottle of red and a bottle of white.

Matt Wiskus at Muddy Creek Wine Company in Coralville, Iowa helps a lot of folks select Iowa wines for themselves and for gifts, and he knows what people like. When you shop on-line, you are benefiting from his ability to select fine Iowa wines.

I like the site because it is easy to use — the Iowa Wine Sampler packages are clearly marked on the home page — or you can select wines you are already familiar with or want to try when you assemble a mis and match case from various Iowa wineries.

I also like the site because they feature wines from the magazine’s Tasting Time with Make Mine Wine selection.

By the way, if you are buying for a martini-drinker, you can order the Clearheart Vodka from the site too. The Clearheart Vodka, Rum and Gin and other spirits on the site too. They are a great and unique gift from Iowa’s first legal still since prohibition!

I believe strongly in the “buy local” practice that is so important to our neighbors and our state, so please consider the Iowa wines as gifts and for entertaining this holiday season.

Now I’m headed home to wrap a few more presents, listen to some Christmas music and enjoy a glass of Jasper Winery’s Seyval Blanc.

Cheers!

Barbara Rasko

Make Mine Wine magazine

www.makeminewinemagazine.com

Great Spirits from Iowa’s First Legal Still are Gaining National Recognition

Have you heard of Cedar Ridge Winery and Distillery in Cedar Rapids, Iowa?

 

If you’ve attended the popular SWine Festival (where Pork meets Cork!), it is likely you met Jeff Quint and tasted one of the popular Cedar Ridge wines.

 

There is much more to the story.

 

In 2005 Jeff set up Iowa’s first legal distillery since Prohibition with a Christian CARL pot still. At this moment an expansion to the still is being built in Goppingen, Germany.

 

The spirits, Clearheart Vodka, Gin and Rum, and liqueurs, Lamponcella (Raspberry Liqueur) and Lemoncella (Lemon Liqueur), along with Cedar Ridge Grappa are gaining national recognition and winning awards – you can read about it on the center spread in the latest issue of Make Mine Wine or at www.crdistillery.com or clearheartspirits.com.

 

Cedar Ridge Distillery uses Iowa-grown grains, apples and grapes. I’m a fan of “buy local”, especially in today’s economy, and that, combined with the high-quality of the small-batch spirits and natural fruit liqueurs (yes, they use fresh lemons in the Lemoncella) was more than enough reasons for me to give Cedar Ridge products a try. 

 

It is exciting to see an Iowa native and winemaker grow their business in a new (or make that old) way. The spirits are currently available in Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin and Missouri and on buyiowawines.com. If you can’t find it at your local wine & spirits retail store, ask them to contact Jeff at www.crdistillery.com to order.

 

Cheers!