In wine, is truth. Or so Pliny the Elder said. Apparently, he believed no one could lie effectively while drunk. Good call man. In case you didn’t know this already, my family enjoys a good wine. Enjoys isn’t even the right word. Appreciate? Yes, that sounds better. After a short ski trip, we decided to wind our way down the mountain the next day to visit a few wineries I wanted to try.
The first one on our list promised to have some “historical honey mead” and since this was the drink of Vikings, we wanted to visit. Not only did they have mead, but they also had Cyser, which is an Anglo-Saxon apple mead dating back to the middle ages. We were so excited to get there that we arrived right when they opened. Melomel is made from honey and fruit, so of course we tried that as well. The daughter of the owner served us in a very nice informal tasting. She let us know right away which wines and meads were in stock, and sadly, which had sold out. I was looking forward to trying one that had sold out in only two weeks time after its release date. Don’t worry, she told us when to come back, and we will. The first mead we bought was called Rockfish River Cyser, and it was wonderful. You can read about it here. I wish I could describe it for you, but it was the perfect blend of flavors. Not too sweet and not too heavy. The honey flavors lingered on your tongue and you definitely wanted more to drink. Good job Vikings. Next, we purchased the Dragon’s Blood. Mainly, because it had an awesome name and a cool label. Seriously. Oh, it was delicious too, but it really does have a cool name. I think even Charlie Sheen would be jealous.
Next up was a winery I have been wanting to visit for a while. Veritas Vineyard. If you click the name, you can even check and see if the wines are available in your area. We opted for the full tasting and then even sampled a few special select wines. Okay, so I might have joined the wine club at this point, but shhh. Don’t tell anyone. The finish of the tasting was a wine called Othello and it was wonderful. I need a better word. Startling…yes, that’s it. It was crafted with two grape varieties, according to my description, 61% Touriga Nacional and 39% Tannat, fortified with brandy, yes indeed, and then aged for two years in oak. The resulting flavors were so powerful yet smooth. Wow. No wonder they named it Othello. You would be jealous of it too. I know I was. Another notable wine that was not on the tasting menu, was a dessert wine called Kenmar 2009. If you aren’t familiar with ice wines, you might want to consider trying some if you love sweet flavors. Personally, I love the flavors. The process is labor intensive, so these wines are usually more expensive for a slimmer bottle. At Veritas, they took Traminette grapes and froze them in the style of the classic ice wines from Germany. Since my husband lived in Germany, we buy ice wines once a year for special occasions. The balance of flavors was surprising as lychee, apricot and spice hit your tongue. Lastly, we tried the Claret 2010 as an extra not on the regular tasting menu, and enjoyed the blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. It had a lasting finish and was a great way to end our tasting.
“Always carry a corkscrew and the wine shall provide itself.” ~Basil Bunting
(I really must try this trick)
