Scattered with bright colored rose bushes, the vineyards line the roads and hills like artwork. This is not only used to label the vineyards by color: roses and grapes are succeptable to the same diseases, but roses are more delicate. - so roses are used to decorate the vineyards for an early disease detection system. I'm very curious as to the history behind this discovery.
We went to three different vineyards in the valley and an individual wine tasting at each.
The first vineyard was both the best and the smallest of our stops. The owner gave us generous samples while thoroughly explaining the process behind making, naming, and drinking of each glass. He told us which meals to have with each and explained how each variety was so persinal to his family, they were named after a deceased family members. (They are only renamed after that relatives ashes are spread across the plot of that variety.)
He also explained methods to protect the vines from birds:
Dogs
Shiny foil on braches
Popping machine to sound like gun shots
Nets to cover each row
One of the most interesting facts he told us was that there are no Native Australian grape vines. Australia primarily uses European vines grounded with American root stock vines, because they are the ony vines resistant to disease and bugs. He mentioned a love of reminding obnoxious French wineries that they ground with American roots, so they don't have purely French grapes.
He also went into detail about wines:
- As white wine gets older it oxydises and darkens
- As red wine ages, the pigment from the skina fades (rose wine is from red grapes but skins are removed first)
- Dry has to do with the sugar left in the wine (less sugar = drier wine)
- As wines age their acidity drops off
- Alcohol creates "body in the mouth"
- If you mix grape varieties, you must list any grape variety over 15% of content and list the grapes higher in content first
- Partial fermentation sweetens the wine
- Dessert wines are in smaller bottles because more water is extracted
... And the process of tasting:
- Look, smell, swirl, smell, taste
- Hold the glass from the stem so you can't smell your hand
Finally, he explained the business model of ownung and running a vineyard:
- They produce 72,000 bottles of wine per year
- His family drinks 15,000 of those bottles without charge
- It would cost $250 per case to ship to the US (it is against MD legislature to import wine)
The second winerynwas less personable. They seemed to take more interest in their spirits and this one spicy chili based wine.
Finally, the third location incorporated both wine and cheese. They had the best set-up for a large group and were styled more like a wine resort. They gave us a majority of sweet dessert wines rather than Semillion or Chiraz like tastings.
Overall, the wine tasting experiences were surprisingly educational and extremely interestings. After leaving the last vineyard we returned to the first to purchase more wine and thank the owner for being so personable, informational, and generous in his tastings.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone :)
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