Scheurebe- Looking for something different?

  How do you like your scheurebe?  What?  Never heard of it?  Welcome to the club.  When I received this bottle all I knew about it was it was sweet and light (it came as in a shipment from Vinesse Sweet and Light wine club). 
  It seems over the years Germany has crossed quite a bit of grapes.  Scheurebe (pronounced shoy-ray-beh) is a cross between riesling and silvaner.  I had the pleasure of having my first glass of scheurebe to be 2010 Louis Guntrum.  According to the information I received from Vinesse:

   "Louis Guntrum crafts its Scheurbe in a sweet (but not too sweet) style that's also mildly spritzy.  The 2010 vintage is an exceptional wine-perfectly balanced and fruitful, with just a hint of Germany's famous minerality."

  If you prefer your wines slightly sweet, not sugary, light and with a pop, you will adore this wine.  I think it's perfect for a mixed crowd of wine drinkers.  Not too sweet, not too dry, simple easy and fun to drink.  Check it out!!

 

Moscato by Lulu B Wine

What do you do when the weatherman is predicting a beautiful, warm day?

  Have a glass of Lulu B wine Moscato, what else?

If you know anything about wine, you probably know moscato is a sweet wine.  This grape has recently become one of the most popular types of wine for new wine drinkers.  Grab a bottle of Lulu B moscato and you will see why.  It's sweet, but not syrupy, crisp and fruity.  This bottle was empty before I even knew what happened!  Will I be buying more?  You betcha!

Spiced Apple Wine-Our Kinda Wine

This week on #winechat the theme was local wine. I was looking forward to this. I'd been wanting to find a wine that I could enjoy with my hubby (my drinking partner). Since he loves sweet, I thought of this as an opportunity to pick up a semi sweet flavored wine. I decided upon a bottle of Berrywine Plantations Spiced Apple wine from Linganore Winery.


Linganore Winery is a local Maryland wine. Located in Mount Airy, Maryland, this family operated vineyard is rich in beauty and history. From their website:

Berrywine Plantations / Linganore Winecellars is a family operated vineyard and winery nestled on 230 acres of picturesque rolling countryside, 4.5 miles northeast of historic New Market, Maryland.
Established by Jack and Lucille Aellen in 1971, our first 6 acres of vineyards were planted in 1972 and the winery opened in 1976 in the lower half of a 19th century post and beam barn which previously housed the farm’s dairy operation. Using Lucille’s father’s hand winemaking equipment, we processed 6 tons of grapes our first year. In 1977, we held Maryland’s first wine festival as a way to introduce our first vintage to the public. In 1978, to meet consumer demand, we introduced the state’s first semi sweet grape wines, an off shoot of our German-Swiss winemaking heritage. With the knowledge and experience in the production of these lighter style wines came the introduction that same year of our honey and pure fruit wines.
By the early ‘80s, the winemaking responsibilities were taken over by Jack and Lucille’s son Anthony. Also in the early ‘80s, new experimental grape varieties from the grape breeding program at Cornell University were planted in test plots in our vineyards. The success of many of these new hybrids has been shown in expanded acreage and dedication to winery production.

I've had the pleasure of tasting their wines in the past at local wine events. I knew when I walked into my wine store that I would find something fantastic from them. A wine that was sweet, but not too sweet. Spiced Apple Wine is just that. Having tasted quite a few apple wines in the past I was thinking this would be similar to those. Previous apple wines have been extremely tart. I often felt as if I was biting into a crisp green apple, with those wines. Berrywine Plantations Spiced Apple Wine, is no crisp green apple. First sip, it reminded me of biting into a slice of warm apple pie, and then allowing yourself to savour all those flavors. I tasted cinnamon, nutmeg, and baked apple. Yes, it is sweet. But I didn't feel as if it was too sugary or syrupy. I wasn't sure how my husband would feel. The bottle suggests to serve it warm. I knew he didn't care for warm wines that often. For me, leaving it room temperature added to the warm apple pie taste. The hubby, after one sip, smiled, looked at me and said, "This is my kinda wine!" I could not agree more. I will buy this again. I'm thinking a case may be in our future. I'm looking forward to pairing this with warm apples and pears! Please try and share your thoughts.

You can purchase their wine here.

Two Vines Riesling 2010

This week I went to the wine store not sure what I wanted. I had quite a few wines at home already and wasn't sure if I needed wanted to purchase something new. But then my eyes fell on Columbia Crest's Two Vines Riesling. I quickly recalled how much I loved their Cabernet Sauvignon and the Riesling was selling for $5.99, who could say no to that??

First, what is Riesling?
Riesling is most known for the sweeter-style German wine it produces. These wines typically taste of peach, honey and apricot fruit flavors. While Alsace Riesling are very well known and come highly recommended, Washington State also produces high quality Riesling.
Don't be mistaken, many assume (and you know what happens when you do that) that Riesling produces only sweet wine. Although sweet does dominate, there are some amazing dry and complex Riesling produced in Alsace, Germany and in the United States.

For this night I picked a Washington State Riesling, Columbia Crest, Two Vines.

I was excited to try this. As soon as I was able I opened it up and took a sip. It reminded me of biting into a Granny Smith Apple. It was sweet, crisp, juicy and a bit tart. Even with the tartness, I eagerly gulped down a second glass. I shared a bit with my drinking buddy and he actually liked it (so far he tends to only enjoy sweet wines. I'm working on it, give me time). I decided to leave enough left for another night, just to see if the taste changed. The next night it drastically improved. The tartness was all gone. It was semisweet, smooth, crisp and slightly dry. I really enjoyed it and for under $10.00, you can bet I'll be buying this again.