Summer Sippers

It is hard to believe, but kids are headed back to school this week! Where has the summer gone? With plenty of warm days still left, I thought I would share some of my favorite warm weather sippers that I have enjoyed this summer.

Let's begin with Sauvignon Blancs from around the world! These summer sippers are wonderful alone on a hot summer or evening or paired with summer salads, asparagus, lobster, and crab cakes.

Gary Farrell 2013 Russian River Valley Sauvignon Blanc
A wonderfully crisp and zesty wine with citrus flavors of lemon and grapefruit with tropical notes as well. Gary Farrell is known for his Pinot Noirs, but this Sav Blanc is delicious. You can find online at www.garyfarrellwinery.com.  

Kim Crawford 2013 Sauvignon Blanc
The nose on this wine has the citrus and grassy notes Marlborough wines are known for. A fresh and zesty wine with a juicy acidity. Year in and year out a wonderful Sav Blanc at a great price and easy to find at your area wine and liquor stores as well as many grocery stores.

Sirius 2012 Maison Sichel Bordeaux Blanc
A nicely balanced wine with a more earthy aroma than the new world Sauvignon Blancs. This wine is 50% Sauvignon and 50% Sémillon with tropical fruits and floral aromas. Classic French mineral finish and well balanced, this wine is wonderful alone or with food.












Now a couple of white wines from Spain and Italy!

Fazi Battaglia 2011 "Titulus" Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi
The grape this Italian wine is made from is the Verdicchio grape from the Marche region. My husband and I first enjoyed this wine with a Margherita pizza at a café in Rome. It is also delicious with Bruschetta! The light bodied wine has citrus and herbal aromas - a bright and refreshing wine. I ordered mine at www.empirewine.com for $9.95 a bottle.

Martin Códax 2011 Albariño
Another favorite wine of mine year after year. This Spanish wine has citrus and fresh herb notes on the nose with a fresh palate of citrus and grapefruit. A favorite pairing of mine with this gem is guacamole! It also pairs well with seafood, shellfish, poultry, and mild cheeses.

Back in the US here are a couple from Oregon and the Finger Lakes of New York!

Elk Cove 2013 Pinot Gris Willamette Valley

Peach and pear with a full, almost creamy mouth feel that coats the mouth. This is an Editor's Choice from Wine Enthusiast receiving 91 points in the upcoming October issue. I will enjoy this delightful wine into the fall.

Barnstormer 2013 Chardonnay

This unoaked Chard has floral notes with pear and citrus on the finish. We discovered this wine from the Finger Lakes earlier this summer (See blog entry July 8, 2014). $17.99 a bottle at www.barnstormerwinery.com .

Last, but not least, a couple of Rosé wines to enjoy as well!

Herman J. Wiemer Dry Rosé Cuvée NV

Another delicious gem from the Finger Lakes. This wine is a blend of Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, and Chardonnay with notes of strawberries and raspberries. Fresh and crisp with a nice body it is easy drinking alone or with light fare. It is $13.50 at www.wiemer.com .

Isabel Mondavi 2013 Deep Rosé

This unusual Rosé is Cabernet based which gives it a bit more body than some Rosé wines. The wine is full of strawberry, cranberry and red apple. Wonderful alone or pair with spicy Thai, salmon, or this Labor Day with burgers and brats.

And if you are worried about taking your wine glasses outdoors, I have the perfect glasses for you! Govino shatterproof wine glasses. They are shaped like true wine glasses and are so thin you are able to taste the wine instead of the plastic. They even have an indentation for your finger to make it easier to hold on to your glass! You can find these glasses at The Wine Merchant in Clayton, MO or online at www.govino.com and www.amazon.com. Look for Champagne flutes, beer glasses, and decanters as well.

Cheers,

Beth

The Finger Lakes, New York

     

Lake Seneca, New York

     Recently my husband and I helped our son and daughter-in-law with their move to Boston. It was a bitter sweet event. We are very proud of Ben's new opportunity, but we will miss them-especially our grandson. My husband realized I might need some cheering up, so he planned a visit to New York's Finger Lakes region for some wine tasting as we made our way back to St. Louis. It was the perfect way to cheer me up!

     Our home base was the Harbor Hotel in Watkins Glen. A beautiful hotel at the tip of Lake Seneca. A quaint, small town, Watkins Glen has restaurants and shops all an easy walk from our hotel as well as a nice restaurant and bar on the property with a large patio for outdoor dining. The Tasting Room and Wine Merchant by Atwater also recently opened in town. They offer tastings of select wines from a variety of wine regions in New York and some wonderful cheeses from the Empire state as well. It was the perfect spot to have a glass of wine and cheese plate before dinner on the day of our arrival. I enjoyed a glass of the Atwater Chardonnay! The wine was bright and crisp and paired well with our cheeses.

     Over our two day stay we visited wineries on both sides of Lake Seneca. Views were beautiful, everyone was friendly and the weather perfect! Here are a few of our favorites.

Herman J. Wiemer Vineyard
From the outside the tasting room looks like a large barn. Inside it is a modern and elegant spot to sample their wonderful wines. Herman Wiemer (www.wiemer.com) is considered a pioneer in the wine industry here. The tasting room and staff, as well as his wines, are elegant and classy. Our favorite was the 2013 Dry Riesling that recently received 91 points from Wine and Spirits and 90 points from Wine Enthusiast. I also loved their Rosé that we brought home and have enjoyed by the pool. They also have vines to purchase from their nursery. This is a must if you are visiting the Finger Lakes!

View from Silver Thread Vineyard

Love the label from Silver Thread

Silver Thread Vineyard
This beauty is on the east side of the lake, down a dusty road with gorgeous views of the lake (www.silverthreadwine.com). They are primarily known for Riesling, a grape well suited for this terroir, but also produce Gewurztraminer, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay. We loved the 2012 Dry Riesling. Brought a few of these home and will be sharing with Lisa and Mary Jo soon!

Barnstormer Winery
This tasting room is in....... a barn! The barn itself is over 100 years old. Inside the tasting room is large and bright. The staff here was excellent. My favorite wine from Barnstormer (www.barnstormer.com) was their unoaked Chardonnay. A bit leaner than a California Chardonnay, it was bright and crisp. Also loved the Rosé that they offered. They also have a large deck to enjoy a glass a wine and cheese plate that we took advantage of.

Shalestone Vineyards 
I am a sucker for a wine dog, so when I saw this sign outside the Shalestone (www.shalestonevineyards.com) tasting room I knew I was in the right place. This unique winery only offers red wines! The Finger Lakes region is not known for having much luck with dry red wines, but Shalestone had some wonderful offerings. Our favorite was Harmony, a blend of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. Just to show you what a small world it is, our hostess in the tasting room, Martha, was from our hometown in Northern Illinois!

Watkins Glen State Park

     If you get a chance to travel to upstate New York, find time to visit the Finger Lakes. The scenery is breathtaking and the wines are delightful. And don't forget to take a walk through Watkins Glen State Park to see enjoy the waterfalls!

Cheers,
Beth