Excitement of Le Beaujolais Nouveau Extends to Iowa Wine Releases

Aren’t traditions fun?

 

The first wine of the fall harvest can be legally bottled on November 19^th, then, one minute after midnight on the 20^th, the bottles are rushed to Paris to be shipped around the world. This ritual of Le Beaujolais Nouveau kicks off a legendary celebration of wine drinking and fun.

 

Wineries, restaurants, bars and inns tap into this inspiring French tradition with a variety of events featuring the new wine releases, Beaujolais Nouveau-inspired menus, seminars, live music and more.

Join the fun and head out to a local winery to celebrate their new releases. Today, I enjoyed tastes two new vintages at Summerset Winery—Iowa LaCrosse, a white table wine, and Iowa Frontenac, a dry red table wine. I visited with Ron, Kristen and David about this year’s new wines and had a nice afternoon at the winery. If you haven’t been to this winery, between Des Moines and Indianola, plan a visit soon. It’s a great place to do a little holiday shopping, host a social event or hold a seminar or business meeting. By the way, their Wine and Women Luncheon sold out and many folks on the waiting list missed the fun. Summerset Winery has more great events coming up, so keep an eye on their website (www.summersetwinery.com) and reserve early.

I highly recommend you head to Baldwin, Iowa this weekend for Tabor Home Vineyards & Winery’s 12^th Annual Iowa Nouveau Festival. Again, this is a great time place to experience excellent regional wine. From 11:00 – 6:00 p.m. Saturday, November 22^nd and Sunday, November 23^rd, you can sample and buy wine, learn more about holiday food and wine pairings, and shop for unique holiday gifts. Saturday night from 6:00 – 10:00, Scott and Michelle Dalziel will entertain with live music. Winemaker Paul Tabor was featured in the latest issue of Make Mine Wine magazine. His estate winery continues to produce award-winning wines made from the locally grown grapes. He has a scientific mind and a refined sense of taste and I know you will find several wines at Tabor Home to enjoy.

Tassel Ridge Winery has two fine events on Saturday, November 22^nd. The first is a Nouveau Taste-Off to compare Tassel Ridge Winery’s 2008 Iowa Nouveau with France’s famous Nouveau Beaujolais from Georges Duboeuf and Luis Jadot. There is also a pairing dinner with Pears in Nightgowns for dessert! Reservations are required, so check the website, www.tasselridge.com.

 

Check with your local Midwest Wine Country winery about their new release events. Then spend some time at the winery and enjoy the new wines.

 

Cheers!

Barbara Rasko

Publisher

www.makeminewinemagazine.com

Learn More from Experts at The Wine Stage at The Celebrity Food & Wine Expo

A nice lineup of experts has been announced for The Wine Stage at The Celebrity Food and Wine Expo later this month in Hy-Vee Hall at the Iowa Events Center in Downtown Des Moines. The dates are November 21^st – November 23^rd.

 

Chardonnay Ladder Seminar presented by Gary Ramona, Domaine Napa Wine Company: Friday and Sunday

The Science of Food presented by Kristen Robbins, Kemin Industries: Friday

Whiskey presented by Brown Forman, Whiskey Professor: Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Wine & Cheese Pairings presented by Tim Nash, Fine Wine Specialist for The Wine Merchants: Friday

Trinchero Fine Wines by Kelly Fabor: Friday

Tabor Home Wines presented by Tabor Home Vineyards & Winery: Friday

Jasper Wines presented by Jean Groben, owner Jasper Winery: Saturday

Jasper Wines presented by Mason Groben, winemaker, Jasper Winery: Saturday

Chardonnay Blending presented by Tim Nash, Fine Wine Specialist for The Wine Merchants: Saturday

Fairtrade Wines Introduction to Iowa, Chris Woods, Prestige Wine Group: Sunday

Comparative Red Wine Tasting, Brennan McGrath, Certified Specialist of Wine, Johnson Brothers: Sunday

 

You can learn more about the Celebrity Chefs and local experts– see my blog from last week – or log on to www.cfwexpo.com.

 

I will be holding a drawing for four people who read this blog to receive 2 tickets each. Just send an email by Monday, November 17^th to makeminewine@mchsi.com, subject: Tickets. I’ll inform the winners by Wednesday, November 18^th.

 

Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door and each ticket gets you in for an entire day of activities: the gourmet stage, meet and greet zone, the book store and plenty of shopping! You can have a reserved seat at 1 celebrity chef demonstration – take the ticket to the box office and let them know which one you want to attend. You can go to other performances based on availability of seating. If you are 21 years of age or older, you can enter the sampling zone, for an additional $12.

 

Send me an email by Monday the 17^th – I’ll draw three – if I haven’t contacted you by Thursday, November 19^th, you can buy advanced tickets online at cfwexpo.com.

 

Cheers!

Barbara Rasko

Publisher

MakeMineWinemagazine.com