2013 was a great year for WineGirl Blog, primarily because I was able to review New Jersey Wines (and even one New York bottle) for an international audience through PJLifestyle. In case you missed any of them, here are my reviews originally published at PJLifestyle:
New Jersey Wines: Challenge Your Assumptions - a wrapup of the Renault Summer Chill Wine Festival, featuring a review of Tomasello's Palmaris 2010 Cab Sav and Renault's 2011 Unoaked Chardonnay.
5 Tips for Novice Winos - drink the labrusca grapes, already!
Valenzano Winery and the Surprising Appeal of the Garden State - I can't lie; Valenzano is one of my unabashed favorites in Jersey. Their tasting room is welcoming and warm, their staff knowledgeable and friendly, and you can sample everything on their list. Take the tour of the barrel room for added insights. I loved the Plum Wine (drinks like an American saki) at their Holiday Wine Trail Weekend event and am looking forward to trying the Dry Hopped Chardonnay next time around.
Cold Soil White: The Finesse of German Wines American Style - a review of Terhune Orchards in Princeton, NJ. A gorgeous farm with a renown bakery (apple cider donuts, anyone?) Terhune also offers up a series of wines, my favorite of which is their traminette/muscat ottonel blend.
Sip Spanish Style Wines White You Walk Leisurely Among the Vines - Laurita Winery's Irish festival introduced me to a Jersey take on some gorgeous Spanish grapes, a wine that drinks like a fine scotch, and one of the most beautiful vineyards in the Garden State.
Savoring Almondberry with My Cousin Vinny - Cream Ridge Winery. Gotta love 'em, especially Tom. Again, a chill tasting room that leaves their entire selection open for the tasting, this warm and friendly winery makes some of the most unique wines in the state.
What Exit for Great New Jersey Wine? Old York, of Course! - Old York Cellars raised $5,000 for Sandy Relief with their What Exit Wines, proving that good wine makes friends of us all.
A Revolution in High Class Winemaking - Unionville Vineyards has the right combination of Revolutionary history and remarkable vinifera, making it one of the classiest wineries in the state.
5 Indispensible Wine-O Tools - Stock your bar right!
Beneduce Vineyards: The Next Big Thing in Jersey Wine - Can I tell you how excited I was to come across this vineyard in the middle of Northern-Central Jersey suburbs? The Cornell-educated 4th generation farmer and his Rutgers-educated sister who run the winery prove the Finger Lakes and Jersey are a winning match.
Give Thanks With these Jersey Wines - Featuring a variety of my favorite wines from across the Garden State.
Mulled Wine: Spice Up Your Holiday Table - Ever drink a Shakespearian-influenced wine that mirrors those served in the time of Elizabeth I? Don't miss this wine from the Lake Erie region of New York State!
About the Author
- winegirl
- A Jersey Girl who loves Jersey wine ...and the fermented fruits of the tri-state area.
Showing posts with label Tomasello. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tomasello. Show all posts
Friday, January 3, 2014
Sunday, January 22, 2012
let them ...drink wine
T-minus two hours-ish until Downton Abbey graces the screens of PBS viewers across the nation once more and here I sit, sipping a gorgeous Blackberry Wine from Buckingham Valley Vineyards.
It seemed only appropriate to pull something sweet and dark for the occasion. Apparently the series that homages the dusk of the British Empire has inspired a call for more than one sweet after dinner drink. According to WinesfromSpain.com the airing of Downton Abbey has inspired a 15% increase in sherry sales across London. Ironically, the spike in sherry sales has also been impacted by the opening of bars devoted to the sweet stuff. With names like "Capote y Toros" the bars are influenced by those of a similar nature in Andalucia, Spain, the birthplace of the sweet stuff. Not quite as popular in Jersey, Renault Winery is the only one I know of that has a sherry in their list.
The wine of Downton, however, is most likely claret - "a now uncommon dark rose" that once was the most common wine exported from the Bordeaux region of France. Originally a spiced red wine, claret eventually became an unspiced, dry dark red Bordeaux associated with the British upper class. Today, French wine makers are looking to re-fashion claret as a light, sweet, fruity wine akin to its Plantagenet roots. When it comes to Jersey, Tomasello Winery offers an American Claret, a semi-dry red table wine.
During the Downton era, wine was a commodity of the rich. Today, thanks to the prevalence of local wineries and the renaissance of the American wine-making industry (which has struggled to make a comeback since the repeal of Prohibition) wine is becoming as popular at middle class dinner tables as it once was in the great halls of now-defunct castles. Perhaps, therein lies one of the greatest appeals of Downton Abbey is the understanding that we, too, can live like royalty - at a fraction of the price.
Cheers!
It seemed only appropriate to pull something sweet and dark for the occasion. Apparently the series that homages the dusk of the British Empire has inspired a call for more than one sweet after dinner drink. According to WinesfromSpain.com the airing of Downton Abbey has inspired a 15% increase in sherry sales across London. Ironically, the spike in sherry sales has also been impacted by the opening of bars devoted to the sweet stuff. With names like "Capote y Toros" the bars are influenced by those of a similar nature in Andalucia, Spain, the birthplace of the sweet stuff. Not quite as popular in Jersey, Renault Winery is the only one I know of that has a sherry in their list.
The wine of Downton, however, is most likely claret - "a now uncommon dark rose" that once was the most common wine exported from the Bordeaux region of France. Originally a spiced red wine, claret eventually became an unspiced, dry dark red Bordeaux associated with the British upper class. Today, French wine makers are looking to re-fashion claret as a light, sweet, fruity wine akin to its Plantagenet roots. When it comes to Jersey, Tomasello Winery offers an American Claret, a semi-dry red table wine.
During the Downton era, wine was a commodity of the rich. Today, thanks to the prevalence of local wineries and the renaissance of the American wine-making industry (which has struggled to make a comeback since the repeal of Prohibition) wine is becoming as popular at middle class dinner tables as it once was in the great halls of now-defunct castles. Perhaps, therein lies one of the greatest appeals of Downton Abbey is the understanding that we, too, can live like royalty - at a fraction of the price.
Cheers!
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