Monday, September 7, 2015
Labor Day
On the way back home from a weekend trip, we decided to hit a winery we hadn't previously visited. The town of Strasburg, PA, was along the way, so we decided to stop and do a tasting at the Strasburg Winery, which sits just off of Main Street in the center of town.
It's all a part of a Strasburg Center, which has a Creamery, a pretzel shop, and a couple of stores in its complex. The Creamery was a real treat, the ice creams were just like homemade, but we did wait until after the wines to go there. The wines are provided by Allegro Winery in nearby southern York County. We had been there for a tasting, but had not yet posted a review.
The tasting sheet is a two-sided affair, with a selection of about a dozen dry wines on the front and the sweeter and fruit wines on the back. For $5.00, you can select 7 wines to taste. We stayed on the front side of the sheet.
They offer three Chardonnays. There is a 2013 that they refer to as "a complex blend of French oak barrel and stainless steel aged Chardonnay." Both of us thought it was a very nice wine. It was not overly oaky, but subtle oak effects were still there. The steel aged portion brought out the crispness and flavor of the grape.
The second Chardonnay was the 2014 Steel. It is a fine wine, offers the crisp flavors of the grape, and is very satisfying.
The final Chard was the 2013 Reserve. Billed as "an opulent expression of this variety. Creamy, rich and luxurious," it lived up to its description. We like to compare reserves to the "regular" vintages, and this one did not disappoint. We noted that it did have a mildly heavier oak taste than its "regular" counterpart, but that didn't ruin our appreciation of the offering.
The final white selection was the 2014 Fanfare. "A blend of Chardonnay (53%), Bianca (24%), Sauv Blanc (18%) and Traminette (5%), aged on its lees in stainless steel tanks." The blend was fruit-forward and had a great flavor. The Chardonnay was present, but the Sauvignon Blanc grapes also made their presence known. Both of us enjoyed it immensely and a bottle of Fanfare made its way home with us..
We also tried the four dry red varietals on the front sheet. One of the things we thought interesting about the reds was that there was an "Enjoy now through 20xx" notation in the description. It's the first time we've noticed such a date from a winery, and we thought it a great touch.
Chambourcin is one of our favorite varietals. The 2013 Chambourcin was slightly different than we were used to tasting, but by no means bad. It was aged 10 months in Pennsylvania oak barrels, but that would have had no bearing on what finish we encountered. The ones we are used to are fruit-forward and have almost a sweet finish. This, on the other hand, had a slight peppery finish, which reminded us of a Carmenere from Chile or Argentina.
The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon, with an enjoy through 2018 date, is "aged 10 months in French oak barrels, this wine is bold and assertive with strong tannins and firm structure." I thought it might be at or near the upper levels of tannins I enjoy, but it was nice and dry and the finish was quite good, and this was the second bottle we bought for home.
The last of the reds available that day were a 2013 Merlot and a 2010 Reserve Merlot. Both had a solid Merlot flavor, the more recent vintage was a little less full-bodied, but still a good choice. The Reserve (both were enjoy now through 2020) was a really remarkable, full-flavored, and well-aged selection, well worth the extra $10.00 price tag.
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Thursday, December 25, 2014
How We Got Started
How We Got Started on Wine Tasting or
"Damn You, Mr. Smythe, Look What You've Gone And Done Now!"
We both had our cell phones so we could keep in contact and avoid his being lost in a strange area driving a strange car. Weekends can be a challenge to park in or near the town, and when he arrived, we were very lucky to find a space in the lot by the trestle where I had waited. Once I got rescued, we loaded my bike along with his and decided to wander into the quaint business district in downtown Ellicott City.
Back in 2011, when we first started to hang out together, I was in the Baltimore area and Robb was in northern Delaware. We would visit each other on various weekends and much of the weekend would involve showing each other interesting sites in our areas.
One afternoon, we decided to ride our bicycles from the Swinging Bridge Area in nearby Patapsco State Park and head out on the bike trail toward Ellicott City, MD.
The town is a popular tourist area which boasts of art, antiques, collectibles, a Christmas store, and some great restaurants offering many different styles of food. Just off Main Street, aside the trestle pictured, is the old Ellicott City Station. It served as the first terminus of the B&O Railroad, and its museum shows the importance of the railroad to the town and vice versa.
Unfortunately, my front tire decided not to cooperate any further, and flattened out. After a brief discussion, we decided that Robb would ride back to my car, load his bike on the rack, and then come to collect me. I would wait in a shaded parking lot on the east end of town.
The town is a popular tourist area which boasts of art, antiques, collectibles, a Christmas store, and some great restaurants offering many different styles of food. Just off Main Street, aside the trestle pictured, is the old Ellicott City Station. It served as the first terminus of the B&O Railroad, and its museum shows the importance of the railroad to the town and vice versa.
Unfortunately, my front tire decided not to cooperate any further, and flattened out. After a brief discussion, we decided that Robb would ride back to my car, load his bike on the rack, and then come to collect me. I would wait in a shaded parking lot on the east end of town.
 |
| A view of the railroad trestle in downtown Ellicott City, MD |
We both had our cell phones so we could keep in contact and avoid his being lost in a strange area driving a strange car. Weekends can be a challenge to park in or near the town, and when he arrived, we were very lucky to find a space in the lot by the trestle where I had waited. Once I got rescued, we loaded my bike along with his and decided to wander into the quaint business district in downtown Ellicott City.
A few doors down from our parking area we spotted a sandwich board sign outside a shop advertising "Wine Specials: 4 for $20.00, must buy 4." Intrigued, we decided to walk in. Both of us enjoyed wine, but knew very little about it. Robb's usual rule was not to buy wine that cost more than $10.00, and I had about the same standards, so the $5.00 bottle sounded really great. We laugh about those guidelines now.
We encountered a very charming and engaging shopkeeper, probably in his 70s with a long gray pony tail, a quick smile, hearty laugh and a British accent. His shelves had all manner of various distilled spirits, wines, and even beer, many of them were varieties that one normally wouldn't see in a liquor store. At the front, he had his shelving with the special wines.
He explained that some of these wines sold for much more than the $5.00 he charged, but that they were odd lots, so he didn't have a case if someone wanted one. He had them available for people who were interested in trying new things, and the minimal investment wouldn't break the bank if it didn't appeal to their tastes. We saw varieties we hadn't heard of before: reds like the Malbec, Carmenere, and Corbieres, and a white like Torrontes.
He then asked us what types of wines we liked. Both of us tend to the red than the white, and more to the dry than the sweet. After asking a couple more questions, he suggested an Astica Malbec from Argentina, a Gato Negro Carmenere from Chile, a Torrontes from Chile, and a Gato Negro Cabernet Sauvignon.
We greatly enjoyed each of the selections and went back the following weekend both to thank him for his recommendations and to try a few more varieties. He introduced himself as John Bassett, and we introduced ourselves to him. We chatted a bit, got more suggestions, and, so it went. We got hooked, and when we had Baltimore weekends, we had our obligatory stop at Mr. Bassett's shop.
As we got to know him better, we realized just how much of a character he is and his sense of humor. One shining example was how he got the moniker "Mr. Smythe" (as referenced in the subtitle to this post). Seems that he, his wife, and brother were staying at an inn in Nova Scotia. As he was signing in, the innkeeper asked how he pronounced his last name. Not missing a beat, John replied, "Well, it's spelled B-a-s-s-e-t-t, but, with the peculiarities of the English language, it's actually pronounced 'Smythe.'" With a wry grin, he related that, for the rest of his stay, another 3 or 4 days, the innkeeper referred to them as "the Smythes."
He had recommended some stores in the area where we could find more selections of the wines we liked and also suggested we might want to visit some wineries to do tastings. We visited our first winery, Linganore Vineyard and Berrywine Plantation in Frederick County, MD, in January 2012.
In the spring of 2012, John gave up his liquor license to concentrate on selling antique glassware in his shop. We continued to visit, sharing stories of our tasting visits and hearing more of his exploits. John closed his business in the summer of 2012, about the same time as I moved to Delaware.
We named our wine rack the "Damn You, Mr. Smythe! It's All Your Fault We Had to Buy This Rack!" to honor his role in getting us started in our wine hobby. We learned quite a bit from him, and have learned even more from the fifty or so wineries we have visited since we last saw him.
Unfortunately, we lost contact with John between the closing of his shop and my move out of state, but we have not forgotten him. We would very much enjoy the opportunity to catch up with him again!
So, that's our story, and we're sticking to it.
He explained that some of these wines sold for much more than the $5.00 he charged, but that they were odd lots, so he didn't have a case if someone wanted one. He had them available for people who were interested in trying new things, and the minimal investment wouldn't break the bank if it didn't appeal to their tastes. We saw varieties we hadn't heard of before: reds like the Malbec, Carmenere, and Corbieres, and a white like Torrontes.
He then asked us what types of wines we liked. Both of us tend to the red than the white, and more to the dry than the sweet. After asking a couple more questions, he suggested an Astica Malbec from Argentina, a Gato Negro Carmenere from Chile, a Torrontes from Chile, and a Gato Negro Cabernet Sauvignon.
We greatly enjoyed each of the selections and went back the following weekend both to thank him for his recommendations and to try a few more varieties. He introduced himself as John Bassett, and we introduced ourselves to him. We chatted a bit, got more suggestions, and, so it went. We got hooked, and when we had Baltimore weekends, we had our obligatory stop at Mr. Bassett's shop.
As we got to know him better, we realized just how much of a character he is and his sense of humor. One shining example was how he got the moniker "Mr. Smythe" (as referenced in the subtitle to this post). Seems that he, his wife, and brother were staying at an inn in Nova Scotia. As he was signing in, the innkeeper asked how he pronounced his last name. Not missing a beat, John replied, "Well, it's spelled B-a-s-s-e-t-t, but, with the peculiarities of the English language, it's actually pronounced 'Smythe.'" With a wry grin, he related that, for the rest of his stay, another 3 or 4 days, the innkeeper referred to them as "the Smythes."
He had recommended some stores in the area where we could find more selections of the wines we liked and also suggested we might want to visit some wineries to do tastings. We visited our first winery, Linganore Vineyard and Berrywine Plantation in Frederick County, MD, in January 2012.
In the spring of 2012, John gave up his liquor license to concentrate on selling antique glassware in his shop. We continued to visit, sharing stories of our tasting visits and hearing more of his exploits. John closed his business in the summer of 2012, about the same time as I moved to Delaware.
Unfortunately, we lost contact with John between the closing of his shop and my move out of state, but we have not forgotten him. We would very much enjoy the opportunity to catch up with him again!
So, that's our story, and we're sticking to it.
Friday, November 21, 2014
Boyd's Cardinal Hollow Winery
Boyd's Cardinal Hollow Winery West Point, PA
After having spent Sunday with friends wandering around Lambertville, NJ, going to dinner, and staying overnight, it was time to wend our way back home. At our hotel, the Lambertville Station Inn, we picked up a winery brochure offering some free tastings if you presented it at one of their locations. Cardinal Hollow has its main winery in West Point, PA, and five satellite tasting rooms in eastern Pennsylvania, with their newest in Jim Thorpe.
We looked at their website: Cardinal Hollow Winery and saw quite a selection of wines, including a Jalapeño Wine and a Jalapeño Wine with Strawberry. (More on these later.) Since our only planned stop was just inside west Philadelphia, we opted for the main winery and party room on West Point Pike.
We entered the building and were greeted by Renee, who welcomed us and walked us down to the party room/tasting room floor. We handed her the flyer and began our tastings. She has incredible people skills, loves a good laugh, kept the tasting lively, and we bantered for most of our visit. Except for a few minutes, we were the only ones in the building. It was a great afternoon!
Cardinal Hollow does their tastings a bit differently than we had seen before. They give you the options of as many shot glass measured tastes as you like for $1.00 each, with the exception of two premium selections.
The first premium is a 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve and you get a shot for $5.00. While that sounds a bit steep, we were blown away by how fantastic the wine was. At nearly $50.00 per bottle and $15.00 a glass, the wine had a wonderful taste, mild tannins, and a great finish. Robb mentioned that "at this stage of my life, I don't ever expect that I would pay $50 for a bottle of wine, but, if I did, this would be worth every penny!"
The second premium wine is a Chambourcin Reserve, aged in whiskey barrels, for $2.00 for the shot. We dutifully tried the regular Chambourcin first, good fruit forward flavors, and it was tasty. The Reserve kicked it up a notch, with the barrels adding a slight flavor of the whiskey they once held. It's a grape that we really enjoy and the unique taste made it a good buy at $30.00.
The other reds we tried were the Merlot and the Meritage. The Merlot was not bitter and overbearing like some Merlots, but had a smooth finish. Robb thought the Meritage was a good blend and liked the dry notes. It had a bit more Sangiovese than I liked, but I still thought it was pretty good.
Renee also recommended we try the Sauvignon Blanc, a nice crisp citrus flavor, easy on the palate, and a good finish. We got a bottle of that as well.
One offering you don't often see in a winery is mead, which is a fermented honey drink. Cardinal Hollow has two: one is a Whiskey Mead, fermented in whiskey barrels; the other, a Raspberry Mead. We both tried the Whiskey Mead, and thought it a great flavorful combination. Where many times, mead can be overly sweet, this one was toned down by the whiskey notes and left a great finish.
Earlier I mentioned the Jalapeño Wine. She told us there were no grapes, only the peppers, and it was a hit in California. I actually expected Robb to give it a shot, because he likes spicy stuff, but he passed. I knew I wouldn't be able to handle it with digestive issues, so I didn't bother to try. Renee did say it was a popular item for cooking, and I'll have to take her word for it.
All in all, the visit was a great one. Both of us enjoyed it greatly, and we would go back!
After having spent Sunday with friends wandering around Lambertville, NJ, going to dinner, and staying overnight, it was time to wend our way back home. At our hotel, the Lambertville Station Inn, we picked up a winery brochure offering some free tastings if you presented it at one of their locations. Cardinal Hollow has its main winery in West Point, PA, and five satellite tasting rooms in eastern Pennsylvania, with their newest in Jim Thorpe.
We looked at their website: Cardinal Hollow Winery and saw quite a selection of wines, including a Jalapeño Wine and a Jalapeño Wine with Strawberry. (More on these later.) Since our only planned stop was just inside west Philadelphia, we opted for the main winery and party room on West Point Pike.
We entered the building and were greeted by Renee, who welcomed us and walked us down to the party room/tasting room floor. We handed her the flyer and began our tastings. She has incredible people skills, loves a good laugh, kept the tasting lively, and we bantered for most of our visit. Except for a few minutes, we were the only ones in the building. It was a great afternoon!
Cardinal Hollow does their tastings a bit differently than we had seen before. They give you the options of as many shot glass measured tastes as you like for $1.00 each, with the exception of two premium selections.
The first premium is a 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve and you get a shot for $5.00. While that sounds a bit steep, we were blown away by how fantastic the wine was. At nearly $50.00 per bottle and $15.00 a glass, the wine had a wonderful taste, mild tannins, and a great finish. Robb mentioned that "at this stage of my life, I don't ever expect that I would pay $50 for a bottle of wine, but, if I did, this would be worth every penny!"
The second premium wine is a Chambourcin Reserve, aged in whiskey barrels, for $2.00 for the shot. We dutifully tried the regular Chambourcin first, good fruit forward flavors, and it was tasty. The Reserve kicked it up a notch, with the barrels adding a slight flavor of the whiskey they once held. It's a grape that we really enjoy and the unique taste made it a good buy at $30.00.
The other reds we tried were the Merlot and the Meritage. The Merlot was not bitter and overbearing like some Merlots, but had a smooth finish. Robb thought the Meritage was a good blend and liked the dry notes. It had a bit more Sangiovese than I liked, but I still thought it was pretty good.
Renee also recommended we try the Sauvignon Blanc, a nice crisp citrus flavor, easy on the palate, and a good finish. We got a bottle of that as well.
One offering you don't often see in a winery is mead, which is a fermented honey drink. Cardinal Hollow has two: one is a Whiskey Mead, fermented in whiskey barrels; the other, a Raspberry Mead. We both tried the Whiskey Mead, and thought it a great flavorful combination. Where many times, mead can be overly sweet, this one was toned down by the whiskey notes and left a great finish.
Earlier I mentioned the Jalapeño Wine. She told us there were no grapes, only the peppers, and it was a hit in California. I actually expected Robb to give it a shot, because he likes spicy stuff, but he passed. I knew I wouldn't be able to handle it with digestive issues, so I didn't bother to try. Renee did say it was a popular item for cooking, and I'll have to take her word for it.
All in all, the visit was a great one. Both of us enjoyed it greatly, and we would go back!
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Welcome to the DeuxWineaux blog!
Over the past nearly three years, my partner, Robb, and I have gone to probably 100 or more different wineries in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. We enjoy going for wine tastings, where we sample various offerings, and we'll jump at the chance to take the tours when they are available. As we travel to new areas, we are always on the lookout for wineries. (And maybe even the occasional brewery or distillery--hey, it's alcohol, right? But the emphasis will be on wines.)
What you can expect from us is commentary on our trips to various wineries. You're going to get the straight shot from us. We will talk about the wines. We may mention amenities at the winery, such as outdoor tables, comfortable seating during and after the tastings, gift shops, and so forth. We may even comment on some of the tasting staff and our experience with them. If we like a winery, you'll know it. If we don't, we may tell you why. We definitely will recommend places to go, and may even speak of places to avoid.
But, we're not going to get all technical--that's not us.
We started out as novice wine-bibbers in January 2012, but we have learned quite a bit about it since. By summer, we needed to buy this:
We were shopping in a junk store in Dover, and it was behind the door in a dusty warehouse. The next weekend saw it strapped to the roof of my Cavalier, a la the Beverly Hillbillies. All we needed was Granny in her rocker to complete the look. While a lot of the half inch (1 cm) of dust on the bottom shelves blew off during the 40 mile (64 km) trip home to northern Delaware, it still needed a lot of work and tender loving care. I took the hose to it on the patio and disassembled it.
Thank God for Murphy's Oil Soap and, once it dried after a solid rinse, some Watco Danish Stain. It took me a week or so to thoroughly clean, stain, and reassemble the rack, and we subsequently bolted it firmly into the studs in the dining room.
It's a conversation piece.
It's thirteen rows of nine slots each, one hundred seventeen total. A new one has 14 shelves and retails for about $200. We got a deal! And, yes, we've needed some overflow storage since then, for much more than the nine bottles the missing shelf would've given us.
Thanks for reading! We welcome your comments! If they are profane, defamatory, or otherwise distasteful, we reserve the right to redact or remove them.
Over the past nearly three years, my partner, Robb, and I have gone to probably 100 or more different wineries in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. We enjoy going for wine tastings, where we sample various offerings, and we'll jump at the chance to take the tours when they are available. As we travel to new areas, we are always on the lookout for wineries. (And maybe even the occasional brewery or distillery--hey, it's alcohol, right? But the emphasis will be on wines.)
What you can expect from us is commentary on our trips to various wineries. You're going to get the straight shot from us. We will talk about the wines. We may mention amenities at the winery, such as outdoor tables, comfortable seating during and after the tastings, gift shops, and so forth. We may even comment on some of the tasting staff and our experience with them. If we like a winery, you'll know it. If we don't, we may tell you why. We definitely will recommend places to go, and may even speak of places to avoid.
But, we're not going to get all technical--that's not us.
We started out as novice wine-bibbers in January 2012, but we have learned quite a bit about it since. By summer, we needed to buy this:
We were shopping in a junk store in Dover, and it was behind the door in a dusty warehouse. The next weekend saw it strapped to the roof of my Cavalier, a la the Beverly Hillbillies. All we needed was Granny in her rocker to complete the look. While a lot of the half inch (1 cm) of dust on the bottom shelves blew off during the 40 mile (64 km) trip home to northern Delaware, it still needed a lot of work and tender loving care. I took the hose to it on the patio and disassembled it.
Thank God for Murphy's Oil Soap and, once it dried after a solid rinse, some Watco Danish Stain. It took me a week or so to thoroughly clean, stain, and reassemble the rack, and we subsequently bolted it firmly into the studs in the dining room.
It's a conversation piece.
It's thirteen rows of nine slots each, one hundred seventeen total. A new one has 14 shelves and retails for about $200. We got a deal! And, yes, we've needed some overflow storage since then, for much more than the nine bottles the missing shelf would've given us.
Thanks for reading! We welcome your comments! If they are profane, defamatory, or otherwise distasteful, we reserve the right to redact or remove them.
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