Wine Quote of the Week

"It is is better for pearls to pass through the lips of swine than good wine to pass through the lips of the indifferent" -- Mark Luedtke

Upcoming Wine Tastings!

Just want to mention some upcoming wine tastings in our area. On Wednesday April 21st, the event is at the Depot in Duluth. All proceeds are to benefit the Minnesota Ballet. The sponsors include Keyport Liquor, CPL Imaging and Cheng-Khee Chee (local artist). This is a wonderful event we have attended many times in the past. Good wine, great food and of course, the silent auction!
The next wine tasting is on Thursday April 22nd. Titled, Wine in the Woods is the annual Hartley benefit auction now a spring event. Delectable treats, delicious wines, top-shelf items to bid on, it's all here. We have never attended this one, Fall or Spring, but it looks like another fun event to benefit a great cause.
Last and surely not least, An Evening of Wine and Jazz is again being sponsored by the UWS Alumni Association on Thursday April 29th. This has been a fabulous event over the years. We were concerned that they weren't going to have it this year with the transition from Rothwell to the new Yellowjacket Union, but are now excited to attend this great event, and also explore the new student union at UWS!
Check out the websites for further event details and ticket info. Be sure to add any other wine tasting events you're aware of. We just hate to see the "season" end:-(

Educational opportunities

In the previous post, we mentioned the wine tasting event to benefit the scholarship program at WITC. We also wanted to mention that WITC offers wine tasting classes, both in the Fall and Spring semesters. A few of us took a couple of the classes, and found them quite informative as well as fun. Our "professor" Tim Grenier, from Saratoga Liquor is both well informed and humorous, as he teaches to eager students, who don't mind studying one little bit for these classes! Information about registering for upcoming classes can be found by clicking on the WITC link.

WineTimers in-between

So, no new meeting to report on as the WineTimers are not officially meeting until April 9th when Anna and Blair host a night with Spanish flare. We're all looking forward to that, but in the meantime, what are WineTimers to do? Well, the answer is go to local wine tastings! Several of the group have attended various wine tasting functions over the past 2 months. The events are nicely done and provide opportunities to support local charities through ticket purchases as well as the quintessential silent auction, found at all such events. For those of us who attend, we can agree that Karen and Jeff are the big "winners" at all silent auctions. They have collected numerous great deals and look forward to many more as the wine tasting season starts to wind down in April.
On Thursday March 25th, a few WineTimers could be found at the Taste of the Vineyards, a wine tasting hosted by WITC to raise money for scholarships. The event was held at the Nemadji Golf Course Clubhouse. Wines were provided for tasting by the Belknap, and Saratoga Liquor. We had a great time and thanks to the organizers who made this a success.
As an aside, Scott and Pam visited with acquaintances, Marv and Barb. After catching up on our kid's activities, we found out that they belong to a group of friends that call themselves "The Winers", and they make all of their own wine! Very cool. After talking with them, I saw a tremendous opportunity to have the Winers join the WineTimers for a meeting and talk about their winemaking process and possibly taste some home brew? We are going to work at trying to set this up for one of our future meetings-- should be fun, and informative...
Another opportunity for the WineTimers will be a future event held at Fairlawn museum. Karen and Jeff were all over this at the silent auction and got it with the support of other WineTimers, Bobbie and Frank, and Scott and Pam. This promises to be a fun event coming up in our future.
Let us know about other wine tastings. We're always up for a night of good friends and fine wine!

Wine Quote of the Week

"In water one sees one's own face; But in wine, one beholds the heart of another." -- An Old Frech proverb

Did You Know You Can Put Wine In Cupcakes?

A friend of our daughter's loves to bake. She even posts some of her favorite recipes on her blog, complete with pictures.

Which is how we found out she made Chocolate Red Wine Cupcakes!

Yes, they look delicious, so scoot on over to Ashley Sassy Pie to take a look at the pictures of her cupcakes and read how she baked the cupcakes.

Perhaps we will have to try Chocolate Red Wine Cupcakes at an upcoming WineTimers, don't you think?

Wine Quote of the Week

"Give me wine to wash me clean of the weather-stains of care." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

WineTimers March On!

The March WineTimers meeting commenced on Friday March 12^th at Nancy and Mike’s. They planned a picnic theme and despite 30 some degrees and a stiff wind off the Lake, Mike grilled fabulous bratwurst from Superior Meats out on his patio. As he said, the weather wasn’t a great deal different than some of the days we have during the summer when the wind is strong off of Lake Superior, with fog and heavy mist.

WineTimers were introduced to 3 wonderful wines prior to our picnic fare. The first up was a 2005 Monterey County Pinot Noir called Irony. The description boasted “layers of sweet cherry, fresh raspberries,cola and earthy mushrooms”. We weren’t too sure about the “mushroom” flavor, but found the wine to be a very pretty, light red wine that would be an excellent accompaniment to any picnic. Mike and Nancy invited the group to share a story of “irony” in our lives, and that provided many laughs for the group… “Embracing Life’s Strange Twists”.

The next featured wine was a 2008 Domaine Pichot Vouvray from the Jean-Claude Pichot winery (France), produced in the family tradition, dating back to 1734. This wine is described as a “fresh, floral chenin blanc with crisp acidity and rich concentration, the Vouvray is slightly dry, pure and intense”. I don’t think anyone goes immediately to vouvray, when we think about a white wine, but what a wonderful selection for a very early Spring(?) picnic.

The third offering of the night is a special wine that Mike discovered at an event at the Kitchee Gammi Club in Duluth, MN. The Triton 2005 Vinas Del Cenit (Spain) hails from the remote region of Zamora, where they have cultivated a unique clone of Tempranillo for centuries. For this wine, small, hand harvested clusters of fully matured grapes were carefully chosen from 100 year old vines which have grown as thick as one’s torso. “The wine has an elegant balance of ripe red fruit flavors and a delicate spiciness. A hint of dark chocolate completes the long finish”. This is a very “grown-up”, rich red wine that is now on my list of favorites. Although not usually available in our area, it can be found online.

Last but definitely not least, Nancy provided a chocolate experience for all. Chocolat by Quintessential Chocolates (California Cabernet), a European style liquid center chocolate with a sugar crust creating a barrier for the true Liqueur Praline found inside. The key is to place the entire piece in our mouth, then bite to capture all of the liquid essence. This was a wonderful chocolate experience and what can be better than chocolate and wine in one bite!

The WineTimers enjoyed a wonderful picnic with fabulous wine and look forward to our next meeting as we forge ahead in our quest to learn about and sample different wines of the world. So much wine… so little time…

Wine Quote of the Week

“When wine enlivens the heart, may friendship surround the table” --Oliver Wendell Holmes