Tassel Ridge Winery

Tassel Ridge Winery–December 21, 2009

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Tassel Ridge Winery Christmas and New Year's Schedule

Monday–Wednesday, December 21–23, Open 9–6

Thursday, December 24, Open 9–4

Friday, December 25, Closed

Saturday, December 26, Open 10–6

Sunday, December 27, Open 12–6

Monday—Wednesday, December 28–30, Open 9–6

Thursday, December 31, Open 9–4

Friday, January 1, Closed

Saturday, January 2, Open 10–6

Sunday, January 3, Open 12–6

In case of inclement weather, please contact the Winery at 641.672.WINE (9463).

Four Christmas Gift Ideas Will Delight Recipients

1. 2009 Iowa Nouveau

2009 Iowa Nouveau is our first wine of the season at Tassel Ridge Winery. It is made from St. Croix and Foch grapes grown in our vineyards. It is a dry red wine but it is very fruity. One visitor to the Winery last week said that Nouveau is the best red wine he has ever had. He said that he doesn’t like red wine because it is too aggressive for him. But, the fruity Nouveau is perfect for the meals he prepares over the holidays! Consider serving 2009 Iowa Nouveau slightly chilled. And, plan to consume this wine soon. It drinks best when young and fresh!

Price: 2009 Iowa Nouveau is $14 per 750 ml bottle plus tax and bottle deposit—Buy now!

 

 

2.  Tassel Ridge Dessert Wines

We offer five different dessert wines that we call Finalé and Chocolate Granfinalé as follows:

These wines are sweet and all are about 18% alcohol. They are intended for consumption with select desserts (that are not sweeter than the wine) or by themselves. They make great sipping wines and a great finish to a holiday meal.

Price:

Finalé wines are $17 per 375 ml bottle plus tax and bottle deposit

Chocolate Granfinalé is $20 per 375 ml bottle plus tax and bottle deposit

 

 

3.  Gift Baskets

Our gift baskets usually combine wine and complementary non-wine items, and many are already put together so you can pick something up quickly. However, you are free to organize your own gift basket with just the items that will please the person you are giving the gift to.

Prices: Start at about $40 plus tax

 

4.  Heart of Iowa Wine Trail 2010 Passport

The 2010 Heart of Iowa Wine Trail Passport is now on sale. This Passport is the ticket to days of experiences visiting wineries in Central Iowa (all are within about 60 miles of Des Moines). Each winery is different. Some offer tours and most offer wine tasting. Some have gift shops, places where you can sit and enjoy a glass of wine, picnic grounds, vineyard tours, and entertainment. The Passport devotes two pages to each of the fifteen wineries that are members of the Heart of Iowa Wine Trail.

Price: $25 plus tax

2009/2010 Tassel Ridge Winery Catalog Was Mailed November 9

If you did NOT receive your copy of the 2009 Tassel Ridge Winery Catalog, we offer you two ways to check it out. On the left side of the splash page of our web site at www.tasselridge.com, there is a small thumbnail photo of our catalog. Double-click on this photo and on the cover of the catalog when it comes up. You will have then downloaded the catalog. You can turn the 32 pages by using the scroll bar on the right side of your screen. If you would like a print copy of the catalog, please e-mail jbrockway@tasselridge.com with your name and mail address and Jody will get a copy in the mail to you.

You Can Purchase Tassel Ridge Wine Three Ways

1. Purchase from any of the 220 retailers that carry Tassel Ridge wines in Eastern Iowa.

Most of our retail outlets offer at least three different Tassel Ridge wines and some offer as many as six wines. We have strong coverage in Central and Southeast Iowa and are expanding vigorously into Northeastern Iowa. 

2. Order Tassel Ridge Wine On-line.

It is now easy to order Tassel Ridge Wine on-line. Go to our web site at www.tasselridge.com. Click on wines at the top of the splash page. Our list of wines will then come up. Beside each listing, you will see “buy now” in red. If this is a wine you’d like to purchase, click the button and a detailed description of the wine will come up.  Click the orange box and the wine will be added to your shopping cart. You pay for your wine, shipping, and handling with a credit card. We ship via UPS and can ship to Iowa locations, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, Florida, and California. Please be sure to supply day-time addresses where wine can be received and signed for by someone who is at least 21 years of age and who has a government issued ID that shows their date of birth. You may also order by phone by calling 641.672.WINE (9463).

3. Purchase wine directly from Tassel Ridge Winery.

The Winery has the most complete selection of Tassel Ridge wines anywhere. And, we offer you the opportunity to taste before you purchase. You can earn a 10% case discount when you purchase 12 or more bottles at the same time. And, you can select from many non-wine items in our gift shop when you visit. If you have time, we can also give you a tour of the Winery during your visit.

Saturday, January 2—Artist Display at Tassel Ridge Winery Featuring Artist, Victoria Peterson Laird

12:00–4:00 p.m.

Artist Display—Artist Victoria Peterson Laird is a life long dog, horse and cat owner and the love she feels for animals is reflected in her paintings and drawings. Primarily in watercolors or pastels, but also graphite and colored pencils, Victoria has been doing commissioned portraits for many years to capture a favorite loved one in a timeless portrait. She is able to work up one composite portrait by including different elements from several different photos. She has exhibited her work all over the United States as well as Japan, and has been teaching art since 1979. She has been the Director of Visual Arts & Foyer Gallery Curator at William Penn University in Oskaloosa, Iowa, since 1991.

What is Happening in our Vineyards?

The recent snowfall is not expected to hurt the vines at Tassel Ridge Winery at all. First, they are all cold climate grape varieties and were bred for temperatures down to about
-20°F. So, the temperatures we’ve had so far in the 20°F range are not a problem. Finally, even as the temperatures drop down towards 0°F, the snow will provide some insulation to the base of the vines. What we most fear is very cold temperatures without any snow cover in place to offer some protection.

Having said this, the proof of the pudding comes in the spring when we see how well the vines bud out. We’ll start to see evidence of buds in March, and the vines will start to leaf out around May 15. 

What is Happening in our Cellar?

We are starting to clarify several of our white wines and are getting them ready for cold stabilization, filtration, and bottling. Time in the tanks and gravity do much of the clarification, but we also add natural substances that make the clarification process faster and more effective. When we cold stabilize a wine, we chill it down to 28°F and then let it sit for a week or two while the tartrates settle to the bottom of the tank. We cold stabilize in the Winery because if we don’t, the tratrates will settle out in the bottle in your refrigerator. The tartrates are not unhealthy, but most of us don’t like to chew our wine. We then filter the wine using our high tech cross-flow filtration system. This process removes all floating organisms bigger than 0.45 microns across. To put this in perspective, the smallest dot you can make with a sharp pencil on good quality paper is 40 microns. The smallest living organism, like a yeast cell, is larger than 0.45 microns. The wine emerges from this process in a very clear state, and yet the flavors that make it a good wine are not removed during filtration. Finally, we bottle.

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 December 2009, we are open seven days a week, except for Christmas and New Year's Day, for tours, tasting, and wine and gift shop sales.

We will also be closing at 4 p.m. on December 24 and December 31 for Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.

• 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

—Bob Wersen, President

E-mail Jody Brockway at info@tasselridge.com to sign up a friend for our e-newsletter.

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