Tassel Ridge Winery–February 10, 2010
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Tassel Ridge Winery Events
Saturday, February 13
Valentine's Wine Dinner—Sold out!
Sunday, February 14
Valentine's Wine Dinner—Space available!
Saturday, February 27
Red Wine Lovers' Event—Space available!
Thursday, March 11
Girls’ Night Out at Tassel Ridge Winery—Sold out!
Thursday, March 18
Girls’ Night Out at Tassel Ridge Winery—Space available!
Saturday, March 27
Moroccan Inspired Wine Dinner—Space available!
Get Your Valentine Gift Baskets Now
Delight your Valentine with the gift of Iowa wine! We offer a wide assortment of gifts, including gift baskets, custom made to suit that special person in your life! Choose from a variety of Tassel Ridge wines and wine related items, including gourmet chocolates and wine candies. Prices start at $25. For an easy gift idea, choose our ready-made Be Mine basket, which includes Oskyfizzante® Pink, a 5-pack of chocolate truffles, and a box of Champagne Chocolate Strawberries—$35.80, plus sales tax.
Saturday, February 20—Frank and Felix Mathias Art Exhibition at Tassel Ridge Winery
12:00–4:00 p.m.
Frank and Felix Mathias are two brothers who share a life-long passion for visual arts. Felix specializes in photography from beautiful landscapes and nature pieces, to studio portrait sessions. Felix’s current base of operations is in California where he works for a National Park. He makes frequent trips back to Iowa to stay in touch with family and friends. Frank’s portfolio contains a wide range of paintings and drawings, but his focus is in three dimensional works in metal, stone, wood, and ceramics. His home/studio near Knoxville, Iowa is secluded and surrounded by nature on the family acreage. He is also an active, licensed real estate agent for a local realty office. Both have been designing since they could hold a crayon, having taken full art courses through their high school and college years. Sharing nearly 50 years in art experience, their combined abilities, visions, and portfolios are spectacular.
Saturday, February 27—Special Event for Red Wine Lovers
4:00–6:00 p.m.
Price: $10 per person, plus tax
Join us for our inaugural Red Wine Lovers’ event at Tassel Ridge Winery. Meet in the cellar with our Winemaker, Rhonda Taylor, for a tasting of Marquette, a varietal wine made exclusively from grapes grown in our Mahaska County vineyards. The grapes were harvested on September 22, 2009, and processed on our crush pad that day. A portion of the juice and skins was placed directly into our new 8
00 liter French oak barrels, with the remaining into a stainless steel tank. Learn more about the wine-making process while tasting samples of the wine from both the barrel and the tank, and enjoy our finished dry reds accompanied by appetizers featuring products available in our gift shop. Steve Richardson, our Vineyard Manager and Certified Wine Educator, will also be available to discuss grape production, and will join Rhonda in a discussion of the evolution of this wine from harvest to release. Advance reservations are required by Wednesday, February 24.
If you like dry red wine then this event is for you. The cellar experience, tasting, and discussion is all designed to address your questions about red wine and the foods that pair well with it. By the way, this is the first of our programs for Red Wine Lovers. If you’d like to be notified about all of these programs, please click here and provide your name and e-mail address. We will add you to a special list for red wine programs.
Friday, March 5—Des Moines Metro Opera’s Wine & Food Showcase
5:30–8:30 p.m.
Location: Downtown Des Moines Marriott
Price: Tickets are $50 per person ($35 each for groups of 8 or more)
Call 515.961.6221 for tickets
Join us at Des Moines Metro Opera’s Wine & Food Showcase at the Downtown Des Moines Marriott. We will be sampling a variety of award-winning Tassel Ridge wines.
Saturday, March 27—Join Us for a Moroccan Inspired Wine Dinner
Wine Tasting: 7:00 p.m.
Dinner Seating: 7:30 p.m.
Price: $50 per person, plus tax (includes wine and gratuity)
Enjoy a three-course dinner under a Moroccan-style tent featuring a Moroccan Date and Orange Salad, Couscous Royale with chicken and a variety of vegetables seasoned to your taste with Harissa Paste, and an array of delicate Moroccan desserts. Each course will be paired with select Tassel Ridge wines. Advance reservations are required by Wednesday, March 24.
Last year a storm raged outside while everyone appeared to forget the weather and enjoy some great food and wine. In fact, we were seated in the visitors’ gallery in our Moroccan “tent,” and we could have been out on the Sahara Desert . . . without the sand fleas! After our long winter, some time in the desert sounds pretty good to me. Anyhow, some people are a little concerned about eating couscous. Couscous is a North African pasta. It looks a little like rice but it is made entirely from Semolina flour just like penne or spaghetti. Your plate will have a little mountain of couscous onto which you will put some nicely spiced chicken and vegetables. Then, you will take the ladle and take a portion of broth to which you will add as much harissa paste as you want. The harissa paste is made from ground chilies and olive oil, and it is HOT! But, it provides great flavor. The entire meal is just made for dry red wine.
I first encountered couscous in the 1970’s when I was visiting Paris on business on a regular basis. In those days, couscous restaurants were not tourist magnets. In fact, the Algerian war for independence from France was winding down and most of the clientele for these restaurants were Algerians living in Paris. I’d find one restaurant I liked and the next time I’d be in Paris, it would have closed. I did a little checking and found out that it had been shot up. This happened twice. Finally, I found a nice couscouserie and I understand that it is still open for business. In those days, the wine of choice was an Algerian red. These wines were pretty rough. I think you will like our reds much more.
I don’t expect any excitement at our couscous dinner, but I can guarantee some great food and wine and a nice evening.
—Bob Wersen, President
What is Happening Now in Our Vineyards?
I was reminded this week that a lot of people are not aware that in Iowa we are growing grapes that are different from those grown outside of the cold climate Midwest. Anybody who is paying attention won’t be surprised to learn that it gets cold in Iowa in the winter. So, the idea that our grapes have to withstand a lot lower temperatures than do grapes grown in California, Italy, Spain, Chile, Argentina, Australia . . . in fact, everywhere except cold climates like Iowa has won’t come as a surprise. But, consider that our last frost in Mahaska County is May 11 (at least we have a 90% probability of NOT having a killing frost after that date) and our first frost can be in early October and you can see that we have a total growing season that is no more than five months. In fact, we actually start harvesting in mid-August so for some varieties our growing season is just three months. Almost all of our grapes are harvested by mid-September. So, a short growing season is part of our specification for grape varieties.
When you taste and consume Iowa wines, you are consuming wine made from grapes that are different from those grown almost everywhere else in the world. We have a uniqueness that is worth experiencing.
—Bob Wersen, President
Interested in Pairing Specific Foods With Tassel Ridge Wines?
Are you interested in suggestions of foods that pair well with specific Tassel Ridge wines? We’ve put some suggestions on our web site under Recipes and Food Pairing Suggestions. You can link directly to this page at www.tasselridge.com/recipes.htm.
Our Hours:
In February 2010, we are open seven days a week, weather permitting, for tours, tasting, and wine and gift shop sales:
• Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–6 p.m.
• Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
• Sunday, Noon–6 p.m.
Our Location:
Tassel Ridge Winery is easy to find. It is just south of State Highway 163 on 220th Street in rural Leighton. From Ottumwa and Oskaloosa, drive northwest on 163 to 220th Street and turn left toward Leighton. From Des Moines and Pella, drive southeast on Highway 163 and turn right at 220th Street. Drive west on 220th about 0.7 miles from the Highway and right into the Tassel Ridge Winery parking lot. view maps
E-mail Jody Brockway at info@tasselridge.com to sign up a friend for our e-newsletter.
