|
|
| Greetings!
Welcome to 2012! A bit belatedly, but we hope you're enjoying your winter. The vines are dormant, but we've been busy.
In December, we released three new bottled wines from the outstanding 2010 vintage: an intriguing white blend, Tartaruga Bianco, and two reds: Shiraz and Sangiovese. In February, a crowd favorite returns: Better Red Than Dead - a hearty, port-style red wine. Read more below about the pleasures of port. Also, coming in February, our bottled Cabernet Franc.
The current wine list is rounded out by the Bronze-Medal Award winning Reserve Traminette as well as Terrapin Classics Cecil Red and Cecil White. Our wines are available at our webstore, in our Tasting Room, and at stores around the state.
Our Tasting Room will be open the weekend of February 11 and 12 from 12-4 pm. We will have Valentines' Day Specials and Gift Baskets available. We are currently open at other times by appointment only. Our Tasting Room will reopen with regular weekend hours beginning March 24. We hope you can swing by!
|
|
Better Red than Dead
Our hearty port returns!
Our popular port, Better Red than Dead, is being boxed now and will be available in the Tasting Room, in stores, and in our webstore in early February. We made this wine in honor of the Pyrates Royale, who have been entertaining audiences with their traditional (and not so traditional) sea chanteys and on-stage antics for more than 20 years. They were pirates before pirates were cool. It is a bold port-style wine for your adventures both sea-faring and ashore. This hearty, sweet dessert wine has rich fruit flavor with a touch of chocolate and infused spirits. |
Reserve Traminette Awarded
Bronze Medal at 2011 Indy International Wine Competition
Our Reserve Traminette was awarded a Bronze Medal in the 2011 Indy International Wine Competition, held in Indianapolis. The INDY is the largest scientifically organized and independent wine competition in the United States, the world's largest wine market. Nearly 3,000 entries from 15 countries and 40 US states were evaluated by 52 distinguished judges. Traminette is Indiana's "signature state wine" so we know we faced some stiff competition.
Our Reserve Traminette is an off-dry white that emphasizes the unique aromas and flavors of the Traminette grape - yielding a fragrant, floral wine with a touch of spice. We treated this wine with special care, including an extended cold soak prior to fermentation to extract more of the Traminette grape's unique aroma and flavors.
With its Gerwurztraminer parentage, the grape yields a spicy, crisp wine that goes exceptionally well with Asian foods, or all by itself. We bottle this wine to preserve its crisp fruit flavors for an extended period.
|
Tasting Room Open
February 11 & 12 from 12-4 pm
Our Tasting Room will be open on Saturday, February 11 and Sunday, February 12 from 12 pm - 4 pm. Stop by to try our new wines (taste any 5 wines for $5) or pick up a gift basket for your Valentine!
The Tasting Room is otherwise open by appointment only for the winter. Regular weekend hours - Saturdays and Sundays, 12-6 pm - begin March 24, 2012.
|
|
 What is "Port" Anyway?
And what makes it so tasty?
Port is what is called a fortified wine, and technically can only be called "Port" if it comes from a specific region in Portugal and made using a very specific process. However, the term port, much like how champagne is used to describe certain sparkling wines, is also used as a generic description for this style of wine. The traditional way to make port is to add brandy spirits to a fermenting red wine before all of the sugars have been converted to alcohol, thus stopping fermentation and leaving a sweet wine with a higher alcohol than regular table wine. In Portugal they use very specific red grapes in making port, and in some places the process is so traditional that they still use foot stomping to crush the grapes!
Our Better Red Than Dead is a port-style wine, but is made somewhat differently. First, we start with a dry red wine base made up mostly of Merlot. We age this dry red wine just as one would any red wine, except that during the aging process we add 190 proof brandy spirits to bring the alcohol up to 22-23%. At this level of alcohol, the wine is mostly immune from spoilage (this is why classic Port bottles have cork stoppers like liquor bottles instead of regular wine corks). This enables the wine to age with a little bit of air, creating some neat flavors in the process. Prior to boxing, we add grape and/or fruit concentrate to increase fruitiness as well as elevate the sweetness to about 10%. The addition of the concentrate also lowers the alcohol percentage down to about 19-20%.
Better Red Than Dead, like all port-style wines, is meant to be a dessert wine. It goes great with chocolates and other sweets, or for sipping after a big meal. But as a robust red wine with an alcoholic kick, we think pirates would be pleased...
|
TSW Links
Cool & important stuff
|
|
|
|
|
We're excited about our new lineup wines from the excellent 2010 vintage and we hope you get to taste them soon. We've tried to stay true to our roots - making both exceptional wines while keeping the FUN in Terrapin Station Winery.
In addition to the wines discussed above, we are busy getting more of our classic wines ready for boxing - Cayuga, Five Rivers Rose, and Traminette will be available this spring. We are also putting together some new events at the Winery this spring and summer; we'll let you know more soon. Stay warm and enjoy a glass.
  Morris & Janet Zwick |
|
|
|
|
