Tasting room open daily
11am - 5pm
open all winter
(On route 7, immediately south
of historic Shelburne Village
between the Shelburne Museum
and VT Teddy Bear Factory.)
6308 Shelburne Rd., Shelburne VT
802-985-8222
www.shelburnevineyard.com
Visit us on Facebook
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January
Wine & Pairing
2008
Meach Cove Red
Zweigelt
Made
from 100% Zweigelt estate grown on our Meach Cove vineyard site. A dry,
medium bodied red with bright fruit on the palate and finishing with
soft tannins.
A fine accompaniment to Lamb and Vegetable Stew or Sheep's milk
cheese.
$15
&
Lamb & Vegetable Stew
3 lbs. lamb shoulder, cubed1/4 cup olive oil2 med. onions, chopped2 potatoes, peeled, chopped2 lg. carrots, chopped1 lg. clove garlic, chopped1 28 oz. can whole peeled tomatoes, roughly chopped with juice1/2 cup red wine1/2 tsp. dried mint1/2 tsp. dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb. fresh green beans
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Heat oil in heavy stew pot. Season lamb with salt and pepper and brown on all sides. Take meat out and set aside.
Saute onions until soft. Add carrots and saute until softened. Add garlic and saute for a minute. Add tomatoes and wine and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to med-low and add meat back into the pot along with any accumulated juices.
Add seasonings and stir. Cover and simmer gently on low for 1 hour or until lamb is tender. Add whole green beans and simmer on low approx. 30 minutes or until green beans are tender.
Serve with crusty local bread.
Serves 4
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Greetings!
Happy New Year to all our friends!
A fiery sky glows overhead as our vineyard lies blanketed
with the first big snow of the season.
One of the fun things about working here in the tasting room is the opportunity to meet and chat with people from all over the country and all over the world. In 2009 we had visitors from many countries including Thailand, Italy, Australia, Japan, Denmark, France, Argentina, Spain and Russia; not to mention from all over the United States!
Twelve months of tasting room visitors generates lots of conversation, questions and answers. Below are just a few from 2009.....
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Q & A
What grapes do you grow?
We primarily grow hybrid grape varieties designed to thrive in our cold climate. Hybrid grapes developed at the University of Minnesota are the newest additions to our vineyard and include such varieties as Marquette (red), Louise Swenson(white), La Crescent(white) and St. Croix(red). We also grow the French American hybrids Vidal(white), Vignoles(white) and a small planting of European Riesling (Vitis vinifera).
We'll be expanding our plantings next year to a plot in Charlotte that we'll be calling our Haight Farm Vineyard. Ultimately we hope to plant 20 acres there, the first 5 of which will be planted next year. Our first planting next spring will be
composed of Marquette and LaCrescent.
What are hybrid grapes?
The hybrid grapes we grow are the product of crossing common European grape varieties (Vitis vinifera) with native North American Grapes in order to express certain desirable characteristics like cold hardiness or disease resistance.
Do you use all your own grapes for
your wine?
We use our own estate grown grapes as well as grapes from other growers in the region. The percentage of our own grapes used varies from year to year, depending on the seasonal yield, and as our Minnesota hybrid vines mature, we hope to increase that percentage. In order to offer a wider selection of wines we source some grapes and juice from other northern vineyards (all within a 300 mile radius of our winery). All our wine is handcrafted in our winery here in Shelburne.
Do you actually stomp the grapes?
No, but our grape press is named "Lucy" in honor of the most famous stomper of all. (it would be fun to try it sometime...)
What is the best temperature for serving red and white wines?
Everyday white wines are best served chilled, around 45°- 50°F. Barrel-aged whites and light reds like Pinot Noir may be served at a slightly higher temperature, around 55°F. Fuller -bodied reds are best when served a bit cooler than room temperature, around 65°. Ice wines may be served quite cool, between 40°-45° F.
How many wineries are there in VT?
Grape cultivation and winemaking are growing industries in Vermont. The Vermont Grape and Wine Council lists 21 members who are involved in the growing and making of wine in the state of Vermont. (And there are certainly quite a few others growing grapes and making wine out there) We encourage you to visit as many Vermont wineries and try as many Vermont made wines as you can! Check out the Vermont Grape & Wine Council
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Events
SAVE THE DATE
Love in the Afternoon
Wine, Chocolate and Decadent Pastries
Saturday February 13, 2010
1:00-4:00pm - Shelburne Vineyard Tasting Room
An afternoon event to benefit the Shelburne Food Shelf
Wine, Lake Champlain chocolate, pastries, jazz....and massage!
Very romantic.
Stay tuned for more information...
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New Releases....
2008 Meach Cove Red
This medium bodied red wine is made from 100% pure vinifera Zweigelt grapes grown here on our Meach Cove vineyard site. With 5 months of oak aging this lovely complex red has a brilliant nose of currant and white pepper with notes of ripe raspberry on the palate and soft herbs in the finish.
Farewell to Zweigelt...
Sadly, this will be our final vintage of Zweigelt. While it makes a wonderful wine, this tender vine has had a difficult time struggling through our Vermont winters and we've opted to replace the tender vines in favor of cold hardy Marquette red grapes.
Enjoy a bottle of Zweigelt and savor the final vintage!
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In the Winery
 Winemaker's Notes:
January in the winery!
People are always asking "so what do you do in January....It must be very slow for you!".
Well yes and no. The tasting room is slow at this time of the
year as people recover from the holiday season, but we are still humming
along in the wine making end. The wines have largely completed "cold stabilization" leaving the inside walls of the containers used
for this process coated with tartrates that have been coaxed from the
wine via the 2 week cold period.
January is wine tank clean-time!. We circulate a strong soap for
about 30 minutes to melt off the tartrates, followed by rinse water,
followed by circulating a dilute citric acid solution to remove any
traces of the soap. This is not the most glamorous part of
winemaking.........but alas, much of winemaking is cleaning!
Next month, tasting and blending!!
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Event Planning?
Are you looking for a beautiful & unique place to host a party, birthday or anniversary celebration or a wedding? Consider
Shelburne Vineyard. Our elegant tasting room can accommodate small or
large groups for cocktail or sit down style events. Call, email or
stop by for more information.
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Our Mission
Simply,
to make the best possible wines from Vermont and regionally grown
grapes, while using sustainable agricultural practices and maintaining
good stewardship of the land.
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