Tassel Ridge Winery–April 2007
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Our Hours:
Effective April 1, we are open for tours, tasting, wine, and gift shop sales as follows: Wednesday-Friday, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m; Saturday, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.; Sunday, 12 p.m. - 6 p.m.
We are closed on Monday and Tuesday except by prior arrangement.
Our Location:
Tassel Ridge Winery is easy to find. It is just south of State Highway 163 on 220th Street in Leighton. From Ottumwa and Oskaloosa, drive northwest on 163 to 220th Street and turn left towards Leighton. From Des Moines and Pella, 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.
New Wines:
Edelweiss
The 2006 Edelweiss is a semi-sweet white wine with the scent of ripe pineapple followed by hints of Mandarin orange, pineapple, and pear on the palate. Pair this wine with spicy Asian food, meats seasoned with Caribbean jerk spices, or a salad that includes pear, apple, pineapple, and papaya. Or, consider it for traditional family dinners that include turkey and ham with all of the trimmings.
Our 2006 Edelweiss is packaged in an attractive blue bottle and is made entirely from Edelweiss grapes grown in our Mahaska County, Iowa vineyards.
Now, for my editorializing: This wine is SENSATIONAL! Fruity and semi-sweet, it will become an instant favorite for sipping in the afternoon and evening. And, because of its nice acid-sugar balance, it will accompany a wide variety of menus. For example, I paired it over a recent weekend with fondue one night and Caribbean inspired pork and chicken the next.
Price: 2006 Edelweiss in 750 ml bottle is priced at $13.00.
White Blossom
White Blossom is a dry white wine with the aroma of ripe pineapple on the nose and tropical notes and green apple on the palate. This wine will pair well with the same foods that Edelweiss does so well with: spicy Asian food, meats seasoned with Caribbean jerk spices, or a salad that includes pear, apple, pineapple, and papaya.
White Blossom is made entirely from Edelweiss grapes grown in Mahaska County, Iowa.
Price: White Blossom is priced at $13.00.
Tassel Ridge Winery Now Ships Wine to Iowa Addresses and Eleven Other States including California:
We can now ship wine to addresses in Iowa and the following states: Alaska, California Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. California was added in February. We ship via UPS provided the shipment can be received by an adult.
The approximate cost for shipping two bottles of wine in Iowa is $10-15 and the cost for shipping a twelve bottle case is about $15-20. Normal delivery time to Iowa locations is 2-3 days from date of shipment.
The cost for shipping outside of Iowa depends on the weight and which state we are shipping to. For example, the cost for shipping two bottles of wine to New Mexico is $13 - 18and the cost for shipping a twelve bottle case is $15 - 22.
Are you out of your favorite Tassel Ridge Wine and can’t make it to the Winery to pick up a new supply? We will make it easy for you to keep your wine cellar full. Or, would you like to give someone a gift of Tassel Ridge wine and have it sent directly to them? Give us a call. We will get your order on its way to you or to people located in the states noted above.
What’s Happening in the Vineyard?
The first frost of the year is the signal to the vines that it is time for the nutrients in the vine to be completely stored in the root system. This allows the vine to survive our cold winter temperatures. Warm weather in the spring brings rising ground temperatures that reverse that process and cause the vine to begin moving nutrients back up into the above-ground portions of the plant. When we started pruning on March 26, many vines dripped sap for 2-3 days indicating that this process was well along. Some varieties already have well-formed buds that could be damaged by a hard frost. As I write this, we are just beginning a five day period in which nighttime low temperatures are forecasted to be in the 21-22ºF range. It may be early enough that we won’t experience any damage but we won’t know for several days.
Pruning is the very time consuming spring ritual that allows us to influence the quantity and quality of the fruit that we will harvest beginning in late August. We hope to accomplish three things when we prune:
- By removing some of the still dormant vine, we hope to achieve a balance between quantity and quality of the fruit. We want to be sure that we don’t raise so much fruit that we risk damaging the ability of the vine to survive the winter.
- We remove wood that is or could be diseased.
- We adjust the vine to the trellis system we are using so that the vine is adequately supported. This simplifies actions we will take later in the growing season including leaf removal, fruit monitoring, spraying, and finally harvest.
We usually try to leave a certain number of buds on each side of the main vine trunk. The pruning process can take 3-5 minutes per vine. With more than 24,000 vines, we’ll be pruning for some time.
What’s Happening in the Cellar?
We’ve just labeled our new Edelweiss and White Blossom. We’ve removed the oak staves in food-grade nylon tea bags from the 2006 In The Dark and the 2006 Syrah and will begin the cold stabilization on both wines. We will also stabilize our Chardonnay and get it ready for bottling. During April, we will finish fermentation of the Cherry, Plum, and Cranberry wines. We will clarify and then bottle these wines late this month. Several other wines will be bottled this month as we start the annual process of emptying tanks in preparation for the next harvest.
The 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon continues its aging in American and Eastern European oak barrels.
Gift Ideas:
Wooden Gift Boxes of Wine
These gifts can include 2, 3, or 12 bottles of wine. The 2 bottle box will include two Tassel Ridge Winery glasses. These wine boxes make a very classy and memorable gift. Prices depend on specific wines included but are in the $50-60 range for 2 and 3 bottle boxed gifts and $250 for the 12 bottle box.
Gift Baskets with Wine
Does a gift basket work better for you? We offer gift baskets with two bottles of wine and several complimentary items for about $55.00 (price will vary with items you select). These baskets are very attractively packaged in cellophane and make a striking gift.
Gift Cards
Tassel Ridge Winery gift cards are an appropriate gift for wine lovers any time of the year. They can be issued for any amount. All gift cards are valid for purchase of wine and non-wine merchandise only and no cash refunds will be made. Gift cards are sold in an attractive gift envelope. They make a great gift for people who like wine.
Tassel Ridge Wines Now Appearing in Retailers Near You
For a complete list of retailers, click here. The retailers listed below were added in February. Note that most retailers do NOT offer all of our wines but rather focus on those wines that sell the best. Ask your retailer or contact us directly for other wines.
Albia: HyVee Food Store, Highway 34 West
Ames: Coe’s Floral & Gifts, 2619 Northridge Parkway
Ankeny: HyVee Drugstore, 849 S. Ankeny Blvd
Centerville: Bradley Hall, 519 Drake Ave
Centerville: HyVee Food Store, 609 N 18th Street
Coralville: Hy-Vee Wine & Spirits, Lantern Park Plaza
Davenport: Gifts, Greetings, and Gourmet, 102 E. Kimberly Road
Davenport: HyVee Wine & Spirits, 1823 E. Kimberly Road
Davenport: HyVee Wine & Spirits, 2351 W. Locust
Des Moines: Dahl’s Foods, 4343 Merle Hay Road
Des Moines: HyVee Food Store, 2540 E. Euclid
Des Moines: HyVee Food Store, 1107 Army Post Road
Iowa City: HyVee Wine & Spirits, 1720 Waterfront Drive
Johnston: Dahl’s Foods, 5440 NW 86th
Moravia: Aunt Mag’s Variety Store, 102 N. Williams
Nevada: Good Times Liquor, 519 L Ave.
Sigourney: TNT Liquor, 110 S. Main Street
If you have a favorite retailer where you’d like to purchase Tassel Ridge wines in the future or a restaurant where you’d like to consume Tassel Ridge wines, please e-mail me at bwersen@interpower.com and we will arrange to contact them. Please click here to get the complete list of retailers on the Tassel Ridge Winery web site.
Now Available Free at the Winery:
2007 Iowa Bed & Breakfast Directory: More than 100 Iowa B&Bs are listed in a 32 page directory that is available at the Winery free of charge. Please ask for your copy.
Email Brian Babcock at info@tasselridge.com to sign up a friend for our enewsletter.
Upcoming Events and Local Wine Tastings:
Hy-Vee Food Store
April 7
2-4 p.m.
Fairfield
2100 W Burlington
Bradley Hall
April 7
1-3 p.m.
Centerville
519 Drake Ave
Good Times Liquor
Deb Newell April 12
4-7 p.m.
Nevada
519 L Ave
Hy-Vee Wine & Spirits
April 13
3:30-6 p.m.
Windsor Heights
7101 University
Hy-Vee Food Store
April 13
4-7 p.m.
Knoxville
809 W Rock Island
Aunt Mag's Variety Store
April 14
1-3pm
Moravia
102 N Williams
Hy-Vee Drugstore
April 19
4-6 p.m.
Newton
1207 1st Ave E
Story City Historical Society wine tasting
April 20, 2007
6-9 p.m.
Sons of Norway Lodge, Story City
Hy-Vee Wine & Spirits
April 20
6-9 p.m.
Davenport
2351 W Locust
Hy-Vee Wine & Spirits
April 27
4-7 p.m.
Iowa City
1720 Waterfront Drive
Hy-Vee Wine Show
April 28
6-10 p.m.
St Anthony's Church
15 Indianola Ave
Complete list of local wine tastings
Previous Issues:
--Bob Wersen, President