Outcast, Steele Wines

This is a beautiful red blend: 51% Syrah,23% Zinfandel, 11% Petite Sirah, 7% Merlot, 5% Malbec 3% Petite Verdot and is brimming with black raspberry, cherry and plummy fruit with hints of mocha, cedar-y perfume and black pepper spice. The final pepper spice gives it a short finish, which of course, begs you to reach for your glass again. I have enjoyed this on it's own and with beef nachos. It was perfect.

 

This was a gift from my wonderful friend Diane (and I wish I could have enjoyed it with her!), so I know it's a splurge. However, it is definitely worth the splurge and I plan to add another bottle to my cellar soon.

 

Steele Winery is located in Lake County California, which is an area of great wines and few tourists! As they do not see as many people as other northern Califonia wine areas, they are the "Outcasts." Pretty sure this would be on my must visit lists!

Sure Thing, a white wine

This was given to me on the occasion of our 10th anniversary, along with a bottle of Fat Basterd Merlot and Mad Housewife Chardonnay. (Awesome theme gift.) I enjoyed both the Merlot and Chardonnay, but we've been so busy with settling in that I forgot to blog or take pictures.

This is a fruity white wine, bright with citrus and a pineapple finish. It is a sweet wine, but not overbearing. This would be a great "deck" wine -- if it were warm enough to enjoy a glass of wine on the deck :)

 

The Naked Winery is located on the Hood River in Oregon and with wine names like Sure Thing, Fore Play and Climax I can only imagine how much fun wine tasting could be!

 

Once Upon a Vine, a Blanc

This is a wine Rocky picked up the day we moved into the house. This is a light bodied Sauvignon  Blanc and a label I've enjoyed before. This is smooth and delicate like a "glass slipper." A taste of pitted fruits like nectarines and peaches makes this a really nice late summer/early fall wine. We've got the windows open and I'm watching the sun set from our new living room.

 

I'm not sure of the cost, but as this is a great "grocery store" wine and I know my husband won't pay more than $10/bottle (unless asked ;) ), I know it's under $10 and a definite purchase again!

Finca Don Cano Cabernet Sauvignon

It's been a long week. Heck, it's been a long couple of months. But our time as transients is coming to a close. We signed the closing documents on our house in Billings today. We close on our Brookings home on Wednesday. This is our last weekend in Watertown. Next weekend we will be in our house, unpacking boxes and cheering on the Jackrabbits at the Hobo Day football game (homecoming). Even better we are just a few short days away from our first pay checks in about 2 months! Which means, I'll be able to get more wine and so why not just drink what I've got?

Last night I opened this Cabernet Sauvignon, a 2010 from Mendoza, Argentina. I am very impressed with this region. I have yet to be disappointed in any of the selections from there. This is a solid, full bodied Cabernet, deep ruby red with purplish hues. Red & black berry aromas and a bit of a peppery taste. The label claims a "wild personality." It's a dry Cab and I think it would be good with some cheesy or spicy appetizers.

I believe this was a wine club, so I'm going to call it a splurge. I don't know that I would seek this out again, bit if I saw it on sale, I'd most likely pick up a bottle or two.

Mestis, Mustiguillo Winery

This wine is one of my last from the Simply Wine Club. And while I will miss Sue's selections, I'm happy I was able to get this last one!

 

A Spanish red blend from Bodega Mustiguillo, it has a strong spicy aroma which greeted me when I opened the bottle. The wine is so smooth and balanced, I enjoyed sipping it throughout the evening. Definite hints of a variety of berries and maybe some lingering coffee flavors.

 

I also love the label -- fun and artsy. I'm sure this is going to be even more enjoyable this evening.

 

As this was part of the wine club, I'm sure it's a splurge, but well worth it. I'm definitely keeping an eye out for this one!

Honey Wine

As my reward at the winery last weekend, I selected a Honey Wine. After tasting, I thought it would be a nice one to share with my mother-in-law [who loves Schade wine].

This is perfect at room temperature which is bringing out the sweetness and smoothness of the wine. The vineyard uses local honey and grapes.

These wines retail around $12. While a bit above my typical price range, as it is a local winery using local produce, I'm keeping this as a buy!

A Wine Stomping Good Time

Maggie & I met Rocky's sister Tammy and some of her girls at a South Dakota vineyard & winery. Yes, you read that correctly, a South Dakota Vineyard. I didn't realize this winery actually grew its own grapes. There is winery in Billings, MT that gets its grapes from other vineyards around the Northwest and I assumed this winery was no different. But I was wrong. Outside Volga SD, not far from Brookings, is Schade Vineyard & Winery. They have a number of rows of grapes, growing near a corn field. They use all locally grown fruits, including Black Chokeberry, Elderberry, Buffaloberry. My mother-in-law enjoys the berry wines, so I was pleasantly surprised to see that they also make "real" [grape] wine as well.

On Saturday, they hosted their annual Grape Stomp. For $5 a car and 2 buckets of harvested grapes, you get to stomp some grapes and take home either a gallon of grape juice or a bottle of wine. We got their early and helped harvest the Valiant grapes. Maggie wasn't quite sure what she thought of this part if the "fun," but she was a trooper! And what a deal for the vineyard! Lots of people paying for the privilege of harvest! People were lined up waiting for their turn as we finished and turned in our buckets & harvest tools.

 

Once we turned in our 2 buckets each, we headed back to the winery to STOMP! This was definitely Maggie's favorite part. They had music, food and later in the afternoon, a wine press demonstration, but we were ready to head back to Watertown around lunch time.

 

At the end of our turn, Tammy and I headed inside to taste some of their wines (Maggie & Taylor stomped some more). Schade has a great selection of grape and berry wines. I'd like to taste their grape wines again, especially not after drinking grape juice! Their juice is a little sweet and a little tart, and not Welches ;) I picked out a bottle of their Honey Wine [a sweet, light bodied wine with a bold finish -- waiting for a cool fall evening open this one; love a nice warm Mead] as my prize and purchased their Goldsmith White, which is a semi-dry white blend. I'm sure I'll be writing about their wines more in the future as I be these are very easy to find in the Brookings area.

 

Check out all the photos on Facebook.

Definitely going to make this an annual event and maybe get some of my wine loving friends to come out for the weekend to check it out!

 

Salut!