4th of July Wine Style!

With no particular plan for 4th of July weekend, Scott and Pam set out for the Brainerd Lakes area in Minnesota. We had no destination or reservations on arguably the busiest weekend of the year in this beautiful resort area. As it happens, we stopped at a fabulous resort on Gull Lake, Grand View Lodge. Although there was no room at the inn, we did walk around the grounds and enjoyed this very large resort in a rustic setting, but with all modern amenities as well as 2 golf courses. Scott had heard about a possible wine tasting at the resort on July 3rd and sure enough-- it was true! We entered the Gull Lake Center and proceeded to a tastefully decorated meeting room on the lower level and were pleased to see tables set-up for the wine tasting. The event was hosted by the Lodge's own wine sommelier, Timothy Edmunds. For those who don't know, a sommelier is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional, commonly working in fine restaurants who specializes in all aspects of wine service including wine and food matching. The sommelier is often responsible to purchase the wine for the wine cellars at fine restaurants.
Mr. Edmunds treated us to 6 wines, chosen for the occasion-- all American, in honor of the holiday. The wines for the day were: Chateau St. Michelle Riesling, Bontera Viognier, Hamacher 2005 Pinot Noir, Michael David 2008 Petite-Petit, Kunde 2000 Zinfandel, and the bonus wine, Hahn Estates Meritage (rhymes with Heritage). With each wine presented, Mr. Edmunds provided background information as well as general wine information, no doubt gathered through his training. We also had a tour of the extensive wine cellar at Grand View and a generous spread of cheese, crackers, and fruit to enjoy with the wine.
An unusual 4th of July weekend to be sure, but definitely fun!