Tassel Ridge Winery–May 2007
If you are having trouble seeing this newsletter, copy this link into your web browser www.tasselridge.com/newsletter5-07.htm
Last Call:
The 2005 Iowa Frontenac is nearly sold out. Only five cases remain as of Monday, April 30. This dry red wine is made entirely from fruit grown in our Mahaska County vineyards. It has a prominent cherry nose and is soft on the palate. We have served it at the Winery with beef, seasoned pork, and as a stand-alone sipper. If you’ve enjoyed this wine over the past few months, now is the time to pick up a few bottles for an upcoming event or maybe to have in the cellar for unexpected guests. Note: this is not a wine that I recommend aging for any length of time. It is just too light.
New Wine:
2006 White Blossom
The 2006 White Blossom is a dry white wine with the scent of ripe pineapple followed by hints of Mandarin orange, pineapple, pear, and green apple on the palate. Does this sound like our Edelweiss? In fact, White Blossom is made entirely from Edelweiss grapes grown in our Mahaska County vineyards. But, White Blossom is dry whereas our Edelweiss is semi-sweet. Pair this wine with spicy Asian food, meats seasoned with Caribbean jerk spices (see recipe below), or a salad that includes pear, apple, pineapple, and papaya. White Blossom is truly a food pairing wine and it draws out and accentuates the tropical fruit flavors noted above.
Plant Your Own Grape Vine:
We’ve been asked on several occasions about how to plant and grow grape vines and thought that our customers and visitors might like to grow a grape vine themselves.
We have a limited supply of Edelweiss and Reliance vines that are potted in two gallon containers and are ready to plant in your garden. Edelweiss is a white grape with seeds that Elmer Swenson, its developer, liked “because it tasted good!” Reliance is a blue, seedless table grape.
Both grape varieties can be grown on the side of a wall or fence. They provide copious amounts of seasonal green leaves during the growing season. They should produce fruit by September 2009.
We have a limited supply of each variety and we won’t get additional inventory this season. They are first come, first served.
Price: Grape Vines priced at $14.95 each.
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?
That frost that was just around the corner when I wrote the last Tassel Ridge Winery e-letter lasted longer and was much more severe than anyone predicted. We understand that it wiped out as much as 95% of the grape crop in Missouri and that there was serious damage to primary buds on grape vines at Iowa State University test stations in Iowa. At this point, we are gathering information about how much, if any, damage we suffered in our vineyards. After a preliminary survey of our vineyards, it appears that Marechal Foch and St. Pepin, both of which are early budding varieties, experienced serious primary bud damage. We are not sure about the Edelweiss at this point.
This is all more complicated than it appears on the surface. When we lose the primary bud, we still have secondary and tertiary buds. In some varieties, secondary and tertiary buds can be pretty vigorous but in others, they don’t produce much fruit. We don’t know yet which is which.
So, we will wait until fruit set in July to know for sure. We will keep you posted.
How frost actually causes damage
When we have warm weather in March like we did this year, the vines start to think that summer is right around the corner. Sap starts moving up the trunk and out along the canes and on early budding varieties, buds begin to form and swell. The bigger and more swollen these buds are, the more susceptible they are to frost damage. Smaller, less developed buds tend to be hardier. So, we’ll lose buds that develop early and then are zapped with a hard frost. When we lose buds, we also lose the fruit that will develop on them.
We have about 7-10 days of pruning left as of April 26.
In early May, we’ll start planting about 800 bare root vines. Most of these vines are replacements for vines that died or that were never planted because we did not get all that we ordered in past years.
On the evening of May 14, we’ll receive the 5500 Marquette vines that we have had on order for more than one year. These vines are nursery plants and they were grown from tissue culture cuttings. They are quite small and fragile so we will be hand watering them for the first season in spite of the fact that we will install irrigation. Planting these vines at Meadowcreek West and South will take about two weeks.
What’s Happening in the Cellar?
We’ve just finished bottling another batch of Red, White, and Blue. Fans of this traditional, sweet wine will have a big supply to work on for several months.
We will soon bottle our 2006 Chardonnay (we will use a proprietary name for this wine, however) as well as our Cherry, Plum, and Cranberry wines. We will also be bottling our 2006 In the Dark and our 2006 Syrah (also with a proprietary name).
In addition to lots of bottling right now, we are also blending, stabilizing, and filtering wine, all in preparation for bottling.
Recipe Idea:
I’ve never been to the Caribbean and tasted jerk pork where it originated but the idea of a spice blend like Mexican chili powder or Indian curry intrigued me. The salsa mentioned in this recipe is essential for the food and wine pairing outlined here to work well. The whole idea of pairing a specific wine with food is an exciting journey and this time I think that we hit a gold mine. I recommend pairing the jerk pork outlined below with our new White Blossom. This combination makes both the wine and the food taste better.
Pan Fried Jerk Seasoned Pork Loin Medallions
By Jene Cain
(May also be prepared on a gas or charcoal grill)
Jerk seasoning, thought to originate in Jamaica, is spicy and like curry can contain different spices depending on the maker. The following is the list of spices in Penzeys* Jerk pork version: paprika, allspice, ginger, red pepper, sugar, ground Grenadian nutmeg, black pepper, garlic, thyme, lemon grass, cinnamon, star anise, cloves and mace.
Ingredients
1 Whole pork tenderloin, not seasoned or packaged in a marinade
Jerk pork seasoning
Vegetable, peanut or olive oil
Rinse the meat and trim off any excess fat on the tenderloin. Cut crosswise into ¾-inch medallions (rounds). Place the meat on a dish or in an aluminum pan and sprinkle with the jerk seasoning covering both sides. Season lightly if you want mild spicy heat or heavier for a hotter pepper flavor.
Bring a medium skillet, non-stick, plain or cast iron up to temperature using medium heat on a stovetop. Pour in a small amount of oil; just barely coat the bottom of the skillet. Arrange the medallions in the pan in a single layer. Brown on both sides, turning occasionally, until done. Pork is best served cooked medium-well, leaving just a tinge of pink in the center. If you are cooking to temperature, the thermometer should read 150°+ to 165°F. The USDA recommends 170°F. Allow the meat to rest for several minutes before serving. Serving suggestion: place the meat on a warm platter or serve on warm dinner plates.
Garnish with fresh lime wedges, and a tropical fruit salsa. Make the salsa with course chopped fresh or canned pineapple, mangos or papaya along with finely chopped jalapeño and red onion. Squeeze a small amount of fresh lime juice on the salsa mixture and add a few drops of rice wine vinegar to taste.
Rice or couscous makes a perfect side dish.
*Jerk pork seasoning can be purchased from Penzeys at www.penzeys.com or at their store: 8801 University Ave, Clive, IA (515) 267-0777
Gift Idea: Personalized Labels!
Are you or a loved one approaching a special birthday or anniversary? Or, are you or a colleague retiring? We can prepare specially labeled wine that will be a gift that will be remembered. Or, you can provide the wine for your party that everyone will remember!
Our minimum order is 12 bottles of one kind of wine and there is a $10 set-up fee. The wine is priced at the standard retail price. No case discounts apply on special labeled wine.
Custom Birthday and Retirement Labels
Tassel Ridge Wines Now Appearing in Retailers Near You:
For a complete list of retailers, click here. The retailers listed below were added in April. 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.
Ames: Lillie Mae Candies, 417 Main St.
Des Moines: Dahl’s Food Store, 3425 Ingersoll Ave.
Des Moines: HyVee Wine and Spirits, 3221 SE 14th St.
Mt. Pleasant: Hy-Vee Wine & Spirits, 1700 E. Washington
Woodward: Northern Prairie Chevre, 1247 310th St.
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.
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.
Upcoming Events and Local Wine Tastings:
May 3
Des Moines
Hy-Vee Drugstore • 4100 University
6:30-8pm
May 6
Woodward
Northern Prairie Chevre
12-4pm
May 11
Davenport MDA
John O’Donnell Stadium
7-9pm
May 12
Centerville
Bradley Hall
1-4pm
May 18
Knoxville
Swamp Fox
6-8pm
May 18
Wine and Food Pairing Dinner
Tassel Ridge Winery
The evening will feature a multi-course meal paired with different wines for each course. Musical entertainment will also be provided. Look for ticket and menu information coming soon! E-mail Sarah Thompson, Public Relations Manager and Events Coordinator, at sthompson@tasselridge.com with questions.
May 25
Pella
Cammie’s Coffee
7-9pm
Complete list of local wine tastings
Our Hours:
Effective February 1, 2007, we are open for tours, tasting, wine, and gift shop sales as follows:
- Wednesday, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
- Thursday, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
- 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.
Email Brian Babcock at info@tasselridge.com to sign up a friend for our enewsletter.
Previous Issues:
--Bob Wersen, President