We are ending the season of tremendous growth and fresh, healthy fruits and vegetables. Among those fruits are grapes; it is harvest time in the northern hemisphere. It corresponds as well with our two seasons of industry wine shows, where we taste the new vintage wines and new wines that our distributors are bringing into Vermont. At the shop, our portfolio of wines shifts from mostly whites and ross, to about two-thirds reds, the rest whites, ross and sparklings.
As you can see from the images above, spring has finally sprung. Two weeks ago, with a day around 80 and another in the low 70s, the trees got the message and sent out little green buds which last week unfurled. We have reasserted the “green” in the Green Mountain state. And, . . . the hummers are back! Did anyone say rosé? We did. Speaking of weather and rosés, we have our final tasting of the fall-winter-spring 2017-2018 tasting season on June 2nd– rosés.
We have a lot of regions and styles to cover in our wine journey together. As I was considering where to head after the February clubs, I was discouraged by some industry articles that pointed to trends in California that are recurring in other wine regions as well, namely, wineries being purchased by nouveau-wealthy people for whom a vineyard is a hobby-investment and the tension between wine industry interests and environmental concerns in developing wine regions. In a somewhat circuitous route, these led me to pay attention to and want to celebrate some really interesting producers from California’s Central Coast region whose fingernails are dirty from work in the vineyards and who are engaging in environmentally sensitive practices in both the vineyard and the cellar.
Earliest sugaring start, mud season, town meeting day– spring is knocking on the southern door of Vermont. As usual, that means lots of tasting at Windham Wines as we see new vintage whites come dribbling in and the 2017 ross begin arriving. Meanwhile, we are preparing for another 8″ of snow; it is early March after all!
At Windham Wines and at home, we are celebrating having made it through the longest month of the year– January. It is longer than any other month, isn’t it? It is, at least, darkest. We have turned that corner. Winter is officially more than half over (though not really in Vermont) and importantly, days are […]
“I drink Champagne only on two occasions—when I am in love and when I am not.” —- Coco Chanel “I drink Champagne when I am happy and when I am sad. Sometimes I drink it when alone. In company I consider it compulsory. I sip a little if I am hungry. Otherwise, I don’t […]
