Posts made in October, 2014

  How Wine is Made: From Harvest to Bottling Every year, in late summer, our harvesting process includes these basic steps:     Pick  Crush  Ferment  Age  Bottle    Everything starts in the vineyard, and the land is of primary importance. The late Dr. Robert Pool, grape specialist at Cornell University provided the following concise overview of vineyard site selection: “The most fundamental and irreversible...

The first installment of this two-part series, “Should I Have A Wine Cellar?”, can be found *here*. Creating a wine cellar consists of storing wine properly, addressing light, temperature, and humidity issues. Light Wine doesn’t like light—it can affect the wine’s taste negatively—which is why wine bottles are generally a very dark green. Keep your precious wines in the dark…but not your wine-loving...

Sumner Vineyards Pinot Noir is a perfect partner with lamb, and this recipe highlights other great Mediterranean flavors as well. Enjoy! Two 1-pound eggplants, halved lengthwise 1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing Salt Freshly ground pepper 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 3/4 teaspoons ground cumin 3/4 teaspoons sweet paprika 1/2 large onion, finely chopped 1/2 pound ground lamb 1 1/2 tablespoons pine nuts 1...

It starts off innocently enough. You join a wine club (or two), go wine tasting occasionally and buy a few bottles, and next thing you know, you have quite a few bottles on hand, and they need a place to live. What a fine problem. It’s inevitable that when you find a wine you love, you’ll buy a case for later consumption. Eventually, you’ll have enough wine to fill a small room, and when the weather warms you’ll begin to worry...

Here’s the third and final post in our Wine Tastings With Friends series. (Click here for the other tasting parties of Pinot Gris and Rosé) When wind and rain begin to make outdoor parties impossible, it’s time to warm up by hosting a wine tasting party. To review: First, choose a varietal. Next, choose foods that will work well with the wine. Then, send invitations out with varietal and food ideas for your guests to...