Spring Exploration

We are getting to that time of the year when we are close to giving up the soups and simmers for the season, spring break and the time change are around the corner and the gardening catalogs are showing up again!  The tasting rooms closed for the slow season are starting to open again and most will return to their regular hours in the next month or so.  Wineries have their new releases and the farmer's market fliers get us all ready to explore fresh flavors and new combinations.

So, get out there!  Whether it is exploring the new seasonal menus in restaurants, picking a new ingredient each week to experiment with or trying wines you wouldn't normal try, try it!  If you are a die hard red drinker - try an oaked white; only drink whites - try a fresh young red; don't drink dessert wines - try a port; not a fan of Vignoles - try a dry Vignoles, etc.   When you go exploring, choose a wine (or varietal) based on your mood that day - or explore blends.  Ask the server or the tasting room team to suggest recommendation for food and wine combinations - you may discover some fun and unusual pairings.  If you have an event coming up, take the menu or the recipes with you and get some ideas on wines that work well with your menu!

If you want time to explore and ask questions, pick a quiet time to visit the winery (when they first open or on a Sunday).  If you have more than 4 people or are taking snacks with you, call ahead so they can save some space for you and be more attentive to your needs.  And, use the pour bucket - if you are visiting several wineries in a short time frame or tasting a lot of wines to find the right ones, use the pour bucket to pour out samples you don't like or choose not to finish.  

Enjoy the exploration!  And if you find something you like, tell your friends!  Share the experience!  

Cheers!

What is the experience? Specifically, the wine experience??

What is the wine experience?  We have spent a lot of time wondering about this over the last few months.

Simply put - we grow grapes, we make wine and we sell wine.  We enjoy doing it.  We spend enough time in the vineyards and the winery that we also add things we like so that we enjoy being there (experimenting with cocktail, movies on the patio, live music, art, firepit, fireplaces, travel, food, etc.).  And we enjoy the people that we are getting to know so we also look for opportunities to spend time with them and create fun opportunities (walk in the vines, grape stomping, etc.).  We enjoy learning so we are constantly trying new things and evolving but also like to share the educational experience (blending workshops, paired tastings, etc.).  And, we need help from time to time so welcome the generosity of guests for things like harvest.  So - simply put - we grow grapes, make wine and sell wine.  This is our experience.

As we designed the new space and have been working on it - we have often thought about the experience for guests.  What is the experience they are after?  And since we can't make everyone happy, what are the experiences we should focus on?

Here are some of our thoughts - feel free to share yours.  We want our guests to be immersed in the wine experience - yes, it's a long drive up the drive way but as you wind up and around the vineyards, your view unfolds.  And we aren't as close to a highway or on blacktop as our guests would like but the land we are on is perfect for grape growing and wine begins in the vineyards and with the grapes!  From the gate you see the white block on the left and then as you round the bend, you see the Chambourcin block unfold.  [We grow grapes.]

Once you park, you see the pond with the picnic benches, the patios with chairs and tables and (if you visit at dusk or in the evening), bright lights lining the buildings.  It is a longish, windy path to the tasting room but you walk within a few feet of the vineyard block and depending on when you visit, see grapes ripening on the vines!  Some times you see hoses and tanks on the side of the Vintage building and sometimes you see barrels.  In the Vintage building you can hear the hum of the chiller and in the new building you can see the entire crushpad and some winery equipment outside.  During harvest you can see crush and how the grapes get from the vineyard to the tanks.  [We make wine.]

As you enter the Vintage facility or the new space, you see a tasting bar (with chairs) and plenty of options (indoors and outdoors) for enjoying a glass of wine. We have added an indoor/outdoor bar so you don't have to go far to get another glass and can continue to enjoy the movie, the music or your conversation without disruption.  We offer by the glass, by the bottle and innovative options for exploring (sangrias, mulled wine and wine cocktails). [We sell wine.]

So that is us translating our experience into what we hope you experience - take a breath, enjoy the views of the vineyards and the grounds as you take the winding path to the tasting room and savor the full experience.  Of course, if you enjoy your experience (and like the wine), you might want to spend time there so, we share and extend our things we like to do with what our guests like to do - sometimes they like what we like and sometimes they don't.  Rarely does someone think back to a pleasant wine experience and only remember the wine (flavors they tasted, mouth feel, aromas, etc.).  It happens but rarely.  What people do remember when they think about a pleasant wine experience is who they shared a glass with, where they were and how they felt that day, the stories they shared and the time spent.  With that in mind, we have tried to think through the details to help create the wine experience.  Of course - this is all subjective (and no, we won't make everyone happy so we won't worry about it)!

We grow grapes, we make wine, we sell wine and we LOVE doing it!  Cheers!