Tassel Ridge Winery–August 2007
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New Wines:
2006 Iowa Steuben
Our new 2006 Iowa Steuben is a fruity semi-sweet rosé made entirely from Steuben grown in our vineyards. The 2006 Iowa Steuben displays cherry and apple notes with a tangy finish. Serve chilled with an Asian stir fry or chicken salad. Price: 2006 Iowa Steuben in 750 ml bottles is priced at $12.00
Fruit Stand Cherry
Fruit Stand Plum
Fruit Stand Cranberry
Our new Fruit Stand fruit wines capture the essence of the fruit from which they are made. They are all sweet and they make nice sipping wines. Consider serving them over ice on a hot day or perhaps with 7-Up or sparkling mineral water as a light spritzer. Price: Fruit Stand Cherry, Plum, and Cranberry wines in 750 ml bottles are priced at $11.00.
2005 Twilight
2005 Twilight is our beautifully balanced dry red wine made entirely from Cabernet Sauvignon grapes grown in Lake County, California. It was aged in American AND Eastern European Oak for 14 months and then blended and bottled. This wine displays jammy fruit and vanilla on the nose with plum and spice on the palate. Serve at room temperature. Store at 55º-60ºF. Great with fully flavored foods such as steaks, prime rib, and spicy pasta dishes.
Now available in selected retail locations.
Price: 2005 Twilight in 750 ml bottle is priced at $20.00.
See our full wine list: www.tasselridge.com/wines.htm
Summer is Rosé Season
The weather is hot. Bar-b-qued meats ranging from fish and chicken to pork and beef are popular foods. The combination of hot weather and grilled meats is made-to-order for a nicely chilled rosé that has enough body to compliment meats from the bar-b-que.
Tassel Ridge Winery currently offers two different rosés with different amounts of body and levels of sweetness.
- Brett’s Blush – a dry, light bodied rosé
- Tickled Pink – a semi-sweet, light bodied rosé
And, they are all on sale in August in full case quantities. Prices are:
- Brett’s Blush: $8.90 per bottle in full cases
- Tickled Pink: $8.10 per bottle in full cases
Tassel Ridge Winery wins 20 Medals in Three Competitions
July was a banner month for Tassel Ridge Winery. We won nine medals in the Mid-American Wine Competition here in Iowa, five at the Long Beach Grand Cru Wine Competition, and six at the Indy International Wine Competition. In fact, since the beginning of 2007, we have won 39 medals and awards for our wines. We know that the only medal that counts in the wine business is the medal that you, our customer, leave behind at the retailer. But, having some of the world’s most skilled wine tasters commend our wines provides us with a third party benchmark that keeps us on the path toward the production of better quality wine. Check out our recent successes at www.tasselridge.com/wine-awards.htm.
What’s Happening in the Vineyard?
We will start harvest on August 14 with our Edelweiss and will then proceed to St. Croix and Sabrevois. All of these varieties have Labrusca parentage and they are best picked at low sugar levels.
Harvest is about one week earlier this year than last. This is because of the hot days AND nights in June and July.
And how have the heavy rains impacted us? We don’t like rain right before we harvest. It throws off our sugar measurements because the vines absorb the rain, the berries swell up with the water, diluting the juice and reducing the sweetness. We will be re-running the sugar measurements as a result. Furthermore, wet weather supports growth of fungus, another of our enemies. So, we are watching and re-measuring carefully….and anxiously.
It is now clear that we did receive some damage to some varieties in some locations from the Easter Weekend freeze. For example, one Edelweiss block was hit pretty seriously and will have just a light crop. In another Edelweiss block only about 3000 feet to the northwest, the crop is normal at about three tons per acre. Fortunately, most other varieties don’t seem to have been much affected by the cold weather.
Our new Marquette vineyard is doing VERY well. Vines are all growing vigorously and most have already reached the top wire. These vines were pretty fragile nursery plants when first planted in mid-May, but they sure look good now.
Construction work continues on our fourth vineyard which is located on the eastern edge of Oskaloosa. We’ve done some tiling to improve drainage and a lot of grading. Because there is a city street that dead-ends into the future vineyard, we are building a cul-de-sac. We will seed the entire area with a bluegrass and winter rye mix by the end of August.
What’s Happening in the Cellar?
We are finishing some major bottling this week and will be ready for crush next week. We will start with Edelweiss followed by St. Croix and Sabrevois. We will also be making our 2007 Nouveau by the end of this month.
Gift Ideas:
Are you or a loved one approaching a special birthday or anniversary? Are you or a colleague retiring? We can prepare specially labeled wine that will be a gift that will be remembered. You can even 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 artwork fee. The wine is priced at the standard retail price. No case discounts apply on special labeled wine.
Tassel Ridge Wines Now Appearing in Retailers Near You
For a complete list of retailers, click here.
Selections of Tassel Ridge Wine are now available at the retailers and restaurants listed below. 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.
Ingersoll Wine Merchants, 1300 50th Street, West Des Moines, IA
Palmer’s Deli and Market, 2843 Ingersoll Ave, Des Moines, IA
The Apple Basket, 105 South Fourth Street, Montezuma, IA
Quick Shop, Madison Avenue, Ottumwa, IA
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.
Upcoming Events:
Iowa State Fair: Thursday, August 9 to Sunday, August 19. See us and other wineries from the Iowa Wine Growers Association in the Wine Tent at the Iowa State Fair. Tassel Ridge Winery will have personnel working in the Wine Tent continuously during the Fair, so come on out and see us. The Wine Tent is located behind the Bill Riley Stage near the giant slide. www.iowastatefair.com/commercial/2006foodexhibitors.php
Local Wine tasting: Friday, August 10 from 3-6 p.m. at the Pella Hy-Vee Wine & Spirits.
Iowa Wine Festival, Indianola: Saturday, August 25, 12:00 Noon to 10:00 p.m. Find us on the Square in downtown Indianola. www.iowawinefestival.org/index.html
Complete list of local wine tastings
Deb at wine tasting at Ingersoll Wine Merchants.
Our Hours:
Effective August 1, 2007, we are open for tours, tasting, wine, and gift shop sales as follows:
- Monday, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
- Tuesday, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
- 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 now open seven days per week!
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. view maps
Email Brian Babcock at info@tasselridge.com to sign up a friend for our enewsletter.
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--Bob Wersen, President