Cycling in Sonoma!

Today the Stay At Home Winos and their spouses embarked on a cycling adventure in wine country!  The weather was perfect, our guides, Dave and Andy (https://www.facebook.com/adventuresincycling), were wonderful - it was a perfect first full day in wine country!

One of the highlights was our delicious lunch at Martorana Family Winery.  Before we enjoyed our meal, we tasted Martorana's delicious wines with the help of Morgan and Wendy.  These two great hostesses educated the group about the history of Martorana and their wines.  Interestingly, Martorana's initial signature item was olive oil and after tasting it, we could see why.  Our favorites were the Chardonnay and the Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, but all the wines were amazing.

Next, we all enjoyed lunch outside at the winery, courtesy of our guides.  Our meal started with two local cheeses including a goat smoked cheddar and brie.  We then enjoyed bread, asian salad, orzo salad and salmon with brown sugar.  An ill-fated bocce ball game ensued with Lisa coming out as the winner.  Mary Jo was placed on the disabled list during this game due to an ankle injury.

This is just a snapshot of a wonderful day filled with friends, food and good wine.  Thanks Dave and Andy...the adventure continues...

Cheers!

Beth, Lisa and Mary Jo

Mother's Day - A Time To Celebrate and Be Celebrated!

Mother's Day is a beautiful day of celebrating our own Mother's and, for some, celebrating being a Mother.  I was happy to celebrate both!  On Saturday, we celebrated with dinner of chicken stuffed with spinach and Monterrey Jack cheese with parmesan au gratin potatoes.  We paired this dinner with Francis Ford Coppola's Director's Cut Chardonnay.  What a delicious wine!  This oak-aged Chardonnay was crisp with notes of vanilla and citrus.  It paired well with our dinner and is a bargain at $21.00.

The celebration did not stop there!  On Mother's Day, we spent a beautiful morning with my Mother-In-Law enjoying bagels and fruit.  The rest of the day, we decided, would be spent at home enjoying our four kids and the gorgeous Midwest weather.  I was eagerly anticipating my choice of Mother's Day wine, Isabel Mondavi Deep Rose Cabernet Sauvignon!  I had been waiting to kick off my summer with this delicious wine for weeks!  To me, this wine exudes the feel of summer.  Served chilled, it is wonderful to enjoy sitting next to the pool in the sun, which is exactly what I did.

This wine is very fruity and light, with the right balance of acidity!  It is made of 100% cabernet sauvignon and hails from Napa Valley, California.  It is hard to even look at this as wine, it is almost like a summery fruit juice!  For all the red drinkers out there, don't be turned off by the possibility of a "too sweet" wine.  As a dry red drinker myself, I still enjoy this wine and it is completely refreshing on a warm spring or summer day.  It can be paired with everything from Thai cuisine to salmon to chocolate!  What's best?  This wine can be enjoyed for around $15.00!

I'M wines are created by Isabel Mondavi's son, Robert Mondavi, Jr. in Napa Valley, California.  I'M Wines make Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and the Deep Rose.  The wines were originally made "for Mom", but quickly gained interest and have been repeat award winners.  Learn more about I'M Wines at http://www.imwines.com/press.php.

Cheers and Happy Mother's Day!

Mary Jo

Wine Word of the Week

Off dry - wine that is slightly sweet. 

A Toast to Champagne!

"Tiny bubbles in the wine...."  As you read those words does the tune pop into your head from the familiar song?  I'm not a regular drinker of Champagne but when celebrations, events or holidays roll around, I do like to enjoy a glass or two.  My husband and I toasted our wedding day with Champagne and we've enjoyed a few New Year's Eves with a sip, as well.  With the holidays coming up and many parties to attend, Champagne may be offered - so I thought I would read up and learn a little bit more.

First of all, what IS Champagne? We all know it's that bubbly, sparkling drink that we enjoy on New Year's Eve, but Champagne is actually a region in France-the country's northernmost winemaking region-and it's an hour and a half northeast of Paris. The grapes in this region are picked with higher acidity than in most other French regions, which is one of the reasons for it's distinct taste.

The Champagne region is divided into four main areas:  Valley of the Marne; Mountain of Reims; Cote Des Blancs; and Cote Des Bar.

Three grapes can be used to produce Champagne: 
               Pinot Noir: accounts for 38% of all grapes planted
               Pinot Meunier: accounts for 35% of all grapes planted
               Chardonnay: accounts for 27% of all grapes planted

In France, only sparkling wines that come from the region of Champagne my be called "Champagne".  Some American producers have borrowed the name Champagne to put on the label of their sparking wines, however, these cannot and should not be compared with Champagne from France.

Three major types of Champagne:
               Non-vintage/multiple vintage: a blend of two or more harvests, 60 to 80 percent base wine
               from current harvest and 20 to 40 percent wine from previous vintages. (These will most
               likely not have a vintage date since they are blends of various years).
               Vintage: from a single vintage
               "Prestige" cuvee: from a single vintage with longer aging requirements

There is definitely a price difference between the non-vintage and "prestige" cuvee. Why, do you ask? "Prestige" Champagnes usually meet the following requirements to be designated as such:
            * Made from the best grapes of the highest-rated villages
            * Made from the first pressing of the grapes
            * Spent more time aging in the bottle than non-vintage
            * Made only in vintage years
            * Made in small quantity, and the demand is high. (Price is dictated largely by supply and
              demand)

Another reason the price of French Champagne is so high is the production process, called the Methode Champenoise (Shahm-pen-WAHZ). Following are the steps:

            Harvest: usually late September or early October

            Pressing the Grapes: Only two pressings of the grapes are permitted.  Prestige cuvee 
            Champagnes are usually made exclusively from the first pressing. The second pressing, call the
            taille, is generally blended with the cuvee to make vintage and non-vintage Champagnes.

            Fermentation: All Champagnes undergo a first fermentation when the grape juice is converted 
            into wine (which takes two to three weeks and produces still wines).

            Blending: The most important step in Champagne production is the blending of the still wines.
            Each of these still wines is made form a single grape variety from a single village of origin.  The
            winemaker has to make many decisions here.  Three of the most important one are:

            1. Which grapes to blend--how much Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier?
            2. From which vineyards should the grapes come?
            3. Which years or vintages should be blended?

            Liqueur de Tirage: After the blending process, the winemaker adds Liqueur de Tirage (a 
            blend of sugar and yeast), which will begin the wine's second fermentation.  At this point, the
            wine is placed in its permanent bottle with a temporary bottle cap (similar to a beer bottle cap.)

            Second Fermentation: During this step carbon dioxide stays in the bottle (thus the bubbles) 
            and leaves natural sediments. (So how do you get rid of the sediment without losing carbon 
            dioxide? See next steps).

            Aging: The amount of time the wine spends aging on its sediments is one of the most important 
            factors in determining the quality of the wine.

            Riddling: The wine bottles are now placed in A-frame racks, necks down.  The remueur, or 
            riddler, goes through the racks of Champagne bottles and gives each bottle a slight turn while 
            gradually tipping the bottle farther downward.  After 6-8 weeks, the bottle stands almost 
            completely upside down, with the sediments resting in the neck of the bottle.

            Degorgement: The top of the bottle is dipped into a brine solution to freeze it, and then the 
            temporary bottle cap is removed and out fly the frozen sediments, propelled by the carbon 
            dioxide.

            Dosage: A combination of wine and cane sugar is added to the bottle after degorgement.  At 
            this point, the winemaker can determine whether he wants a sweeter or drier Champagne.

             *Brut: dry
             *Extra Dry: Semi dry
             *Sec: Semisweet
             *Demi-sec: Sweet
             Recorking: The wine is recorked with a real cork instead of a bottle cap

WOW!  With a process like that, no wonder it's so good.  Now when I raise a glass of Champagne for a toast, I will really appreciate all the effort that went into the making of it.

Cheers!
Lisa

         Wine Word of the Week

Remueur:  (winemaking) (in the making of sparkling wine, especially champagne) a person engaging in remuage, or the turning of bottles to remove sediment.