A tasting room question that leads to some investigation

A recent customer asked if our wines contained any sulfites.  'Hhhmm, yes some of them do,' I answered.  'Okay, I need to avoid those, those wines will give me a major headache since I'm allergic to them, so don't pour me any of those,' he said.  Noted!  But, his simple request sent me on a research mission. 

Does a sulfite allergy really exist?

Is the allergic reaction a headache?

Do ALL wines contain sulfites?

As we approach one of the biggest drinking celebrations in our culture (New Year's Eve), I thought I'd shed a bit of light for those of you looking to avoid starting 2012 with a pounding headache.

Let's start with what is a sulfite.  Simply put, it's a type of acid that is added to various foods, beverages, and pharmaceuticals for the purpose of preservation.  It's common in wine, but it's also commonly used in dried fruit.

Sulfite allergies really do exist in 1 out of 100 people.  However a real allergic response is not a headache.  It can be as minor as a rash to something as major as loss of consciousness. Typically the reaction is in the asthmatic category.

So now we have released the headache from the sulfite idea, what does cause the quick onset of a headache after drinking certain wines (most commonly the ones that are red in color).  Substances within the wine itself such as histamines, tyramine, and phenolic flavonoids can, and likely are, the culprits.  The good news is that taking aspirin or ibuprofin prior to drinking wine can significantly reduce any ill effects caused by these substances.  Also worth noting is that slipping in a cup of black tea during the course of wine drinking can also reduce any negative reactions.

So now we all know!  Happy 2012 from Lost Creek Winery where we are looking at some exciting changes in the coming year!  Stay tuned! 

Let's go wine tasting! Try LSITS for a better experience!

It certainly is more fun and a lot easier than the LSATS!  But if you want to improve your wine tasting experience, consider committing the L.S.I.T.S. to memory for the next time you are in a tasting room. 

Broken down, LSITS stands for:

Look - LOOK at what's in your wine glass, ideally against a white background.  Look for color, clarity, and cling.  If it's cloudy/hazy, something is not right. 

Sniff - Quickly give the wine a sniff.  Swirl the wine, then sniff again.  What are your first impressions?  What is your nose telling your brain to expect from the bouquet/nose/note/forward?

Inhale deeply - Did you know that 80% of our tasting process is determined by what we smell?  Get your nose down into the glass and really take a noseful in. 

Taste - Finally...taste it!  Let a sip roll around on your tongue.  Allow the flavors to mingle on your palate.  Don't gulp!  Leave enough in your glass to take a second taste.  You'll be pleasantly surprised how much your second taste may not always taste the same as your initial one.

Swallow & Savor - After you swallow your sip, what is the 'finish' like?  What is left in your mouth?  Sweetness?  Jamminess?  Tannins?  Does it change when you take that first breath in?  How would various foods change the finish?

Beware the power of suggestion whether it be from the one pouring the wine, the company you keep, or strangers at the bar.  Wine tasting and determining what you like/taste/think should be a personal and subjective experience.  While wine tasting is a social experience, better enjoyed by others (whether they be novices or experts) be careful of letting the perception of others influence your experience with a wine.

Cheers!

Bringing tasting room quotes to the blog

In the tasting room we get so many questions from beginner to experienced wine drinkers.  On the other side of the bar I know we 'Wine Educators' use terms that the average wine drinker doesn't necessarily know the meaning of when used in referencing wine's character or flavor.  I think this blog is an excellent source to discuss these terms with the hopes of making it easier for all of us to understand each other a bit better!

From a recent guest, "I've been told at other wineries that you should swirl the wine before tasting.  I do it.  But I have no idea why I'm doing it.  What am I looking for exactly?"  Well, I would tell you that you are watching to see what kind of film the wine is leaving on the glass, but that sounds disgusting!  So we'll just say that you are looking to see how thick the wine is before tasting it.  A thicker wine is going to be heavier bodied.  In reds, this could mean the wine is mature and/or heavy with tannins.  In whites, it could mean a high sugar residual.

From the mouth of a colleague behind the bar, "The next wine you will be tasting is the Rose, it's a floral forward wine made up of Chardonnay and Merlot grapes."  FORWARD - the dominant component in a wine that gives your mouth its first impression.  Your nose (olfactory sense) tastes the wine first and gives your tongue and mind an idea of what's coming.  A wine could have a floral, fruit, or oak forward, these are commonly heard references but honestly the list is virtually endless.

So come on in and try the floral forward Rose!  Or share with us the forward you are picking up when you taste the Merlot!

Cheers!

Wine for turkeys

In order to get to the most wonderful time of the year, we first must get through the long-standing, American tradition of all day football.  Oh, I meant to say, Thanksgiving!  Appetizers consisting of cheeses, crudites, and meatballs...oh no.  Dinner consisting of turkey, stuffing, and smashed potatoes...oh my.  Dessert challenging the bird for highest honors consisting of pumpkin pie, cheesecake, and trifles...oh no!    And somehow you're supposed to find a wine that will magically go with all of it?

The answer is simple.  No, no you don't have to find that one magical bottle that will compliment and capture the delicacies of each meal that will satisfy everyone's palate.  My Thanksgiving gift to you.  You're welcome.

So what then? you ask.  It's easy.  Find a light/medium bodied, yet fully textured red (like our Chambourcin Gold for example) and a medium bodied, dry white (might I suggest our Vidal Blanc) to satisfy all of the folks gathered around the table.  There is no "right" or "wrong" wine to serve your friends and family this holiday.  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes-and-cooking/thanksgiving-wine-pairings-drink-american/index.html

For dessert, a small glass of dessert wine is always a nice compliment to the end of the eat-fest.  Take this time to offer a toast to the coming holiday season and maybe even the new year.  Raise a glass of our Courtney's Christmas, with its subtle cranberry and accents of cinnamon/clove, there is no other wine that tastes quite like it.  Consider serving it chilled or slightly above room temp.  Before you know it, your guests will be heading out into the brisk night, thanking you for a fabulous meal and a wonderful evening. 

Lost Creek will be open today (11/20) until 5P and Monday (11/21) until 5P. 

From all of us at Lost Creek Winery to all of you, we wish you a safe and warm holiday.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Fall Festival!

Fall is a delightful time of year at Lost Creek. And if you can only pick one day to celebrate the season with us, make it Saturday, October 15, when we will be holding our first annual Fall Festival! Bring your friends, children (and dogs!) for a great day of autumnal merriment. There will be lots of delicious food (barbecue, ice cream and baked goods) and tons of fun for the whole family. Face painting, a moon bounce, pony and train rides for the kids.... and our fabulous wine for the adults! We will have fantastic live music, wine tastings, vendors and raffles. Our staff has been hard at work planning all the details, and we are so excited for the big day! The leaves will be changing, so the scenery will be picturesque. It promises to be a wonderful celebration of the harvest at Lost Creek. The festivities start at 11am and continue until 5pm, rain or shine! Hope to see you and your family there next Saturday!

Versatile Vidal Bottle

Okay, I admit that this post has nothing to do with wine. But it does relate to our Vidal Blanc.... our very popular wine that just happens to come in a pretty blue bottle. Not only is it a delicious wine, the bottle has proven itself useful to me long after I finished its contents. See here an arrangement of late summer wildflowers. Pretty, right? Who's excited for fall? It's our busiest season, and we are pumped.

Sweet Summer Sangria

All around me I see signs that summer is waning. Preseason football has started. School supplies are flooding the box stores. It even stayed below ninety degrees today.

Don't get me wrong.... I love me some fall. But I'm nowhere close to being able to part with all my favorite summer foods and beverages. So the other night I snagged a bottle of Sweet Summer on my way home from work, and set out to make sangria.... the perfect summer drink, and perfect with the tacos my husband made for dinner.

I used to work in a Mexican restaurant, and I would frequently observe the process of making sangria... literally everything but the kitchen sink was thrown into the mix. But I like to keep mine simple. Besides, Sweet Summer is sweet enough that you don't need to throw in any juice or other sweetener. I just cut up a bunch of peaches from the farmer's market, let them sit in a pitcher with the wine for a couple of hours, and topped it off with some club soda before serving it over ice. And I came to the conclusion that Sweet Summer is an excellent sangria wine. Its apple undertones melded very well with the peaches. I will definitely be putting this concoction together again before the summer departs us.

Chambourcin Gold Brownies

Super exciting discovery of the week: our Chambourcin Gold is great to use as an ingredient in baked goods. Brownies in particular. I simply bought a box of Ghiradelli brownie mix, replaced the water with the wine, and baked away. Chambourcin Gold’s smooth, blackberry undertones melded perfectly with the rich chocolate. We served the results in the tasting room, and received rave reviews. They really were delicious.... and of course, they paired perfectly with Chambourcin Gold :)

Alyce and Angel Food Cake

Angel food cake gets a bad rap. It lacks the buttery heaviness of its cousin pound cake, and it is frequently seen as a "diet option" for dessert. But sometimes in summer it can really hit the spot, particularly when paired well.

The other evening I poured half a bottle of our Late Harvest Alyce over day old (and somewhat stale) angel food cake. The result was quite delicious. The cake was extremely absorbent, so it soaked up every last drop of the Alyce. I added some fresh raspberries and blueberries to each slice, and passed them around at a family picnic. It won rave reviews and may even have converted a few people to the underrated dessert, and to our splendid dessert wine :)

I Love Chambourcin, Part Two

Happy Monday, wine lovers! We are recovering from a busy and wonderful Father’s Day weekend at Lost Creek.

Our latest concoction in the tasting room is a frozen “chamonade”, which is a blend of our Chambourcin and lemonade. It may seem like an unusual combo, but it is surprisingly delicious and refreshing (particularly on a sweltering summer afternoon). We’ve begun serving it on the weekends, and our winery guests have loved it. Come out and try a glass!

I Love Chambourcin, Part One

All of a sudden, it’s eleventy million degrees outside. When a heatwave like this hits, I can’t bear to turn on the oven and make my kitchen even more of a sauna. So we’ve been grilling up a storm this past week. I can’t complain... I’m always a sucker for a good steak or burger. Particularly when it’s paired with the perfect wine, which just happens to be our Chambourcin. It is wonderfully peppery, and a sip will have you daydreaming about what to do with that pound of ground chuck in your freezer.

One night last week, we decided to form a couple of patties to throw on the grill (minced garlic is my secret ingredient for them, along with a little salt and pepper). We then classed them up with shallots sauteed in sherry and butter. I put them on fancy brioche rolls and topped them off with peppered goat cheese. This, combined with a simple arugula salad, was an ideally fuss-free meal, perfect for the sweltering temperatures of late. And with every sip of Chambourcin, I marveled at the pairing.

Happy summer, everyone!

The Grapehound Wine Tour

So, what are you up to this weekend?

If you are free on Saturday, please join us at Lost Creek for the Grapehound Wine Tour. This greyhound rescue event has been months in the making, and we are very excited about it! A huge tent has been set up, and there will be many vendors selling doggie items, artwork, jewelry, etc. There will be a blessing of the hounds, a silent auction and even an ice cream (frozen yogurt) social for the dogs. Great food will be available for humans as well! Cindy McConnell and David Davol will be playing music. And of course, we will be doing wine tastings!

The event is $30 at the door and includes wine tastings at several other local wineries through Sunday, as well as a commemorative wine glass and car magnet. Check out their website for more details.

Greyhounds are wonderful dogs.... very docile, quiet and loyal. They make great pets. If you are a greyhound owner, a fan of the breed, or just looking for something fun to do on Saturday, come out to Lost Creek and help us celebrate this great cause. The vendors open at 10am, and wine tasting starts at 11am. Hope to see you there!

What are tannins?

One of the most frequent questions I get in our tasting room is “what are tannins?”. So I thought I’d delve into this topic a bit on our blog.

If you look for the definition of tannin online or in a book about wine, you will likely get a scientific explanation. And rightly so, because wine making is a science. But I’ll try not to get too technical here.

Tannins are mainly found in red wines, and are derived from the skins, seeds and stems of the grapes. They also occur in other beverages and foods such as coffee, tea, beer, berries and a variety of other fruits and vegetables. Tannins contribute to a red wine’s color, structure and capacity for aging. Have you ever taken a sip of wine and gotten the feeling that your mouth has been swabbed out with a cotton ball? That, my friend, indicates the presence of tannins. This drying sensation, along with a slight bitterness or puckering, is the signature sensation associated with tannins.

Generally, tannins are a very good thing for wine. As I mentioned before, they can give a wine structure and texture. Tannin gives a wine the capacity to age well, because it acts as a natural preservative. The tannic characteristics of a young wine tend to mellow as it ages. However, there is such a thing as too much tannin, which can give a wine a harsh, overly dry taste. The key is balance... and really, isn’t balance the key to everything?

More information on tannins:
http://www.winedefinitions.com/learningcenter/articles/tannin.htm
http://www.wineanorak.com/tannins.htm

I’d also highly recommend The Wine Bible by Karen MacNeil. I’ve learned so much on the topic of wine (including tannins) from this book. It is truly a great resource for anyone interested in the world of wine.

Merlot Release!

This weekend we are releasing our new Merlot! It is a little on the drier side than our previous Merlot, but still has its wonderful versatility. I have heard lots of people mention how great it pairs with Italian food, and I've been dying to try this combo.

I was running short on time last night, so I picked an easy pasta recipe that I could quickly whip up after a long day. And though the meal wasn't very fancy, I must say that this was probably my best food and wine pairing to date. The rumors are true... there is something about our Merlot that makes it a perfect match for tomato sauce. It is light bodied, with a hint of green pepper. In this dish it simultaneously flattered the sweetness of the tomatoes and the saltiness of the olives. Whether you are throwing a pasta dish together like I was, or picking up a pizza on the way home from work, I officially declare Lost Creek's Merlot the ideal weeknight dinner wine. Trust me, you won't be disappointed!

Pantry Pasta for Two

adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 red onion, diced

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 can diced tomatoes with juice

⅓ cup assorted olives, pitted and roughly chopped

⅓ cup red wine

2 whole boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to even thickness

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon butter
grated Parmesan cheese
½ pound linguine, cooked and drained

Heat skillet over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil. When warm, add diced red onion and stir. Cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, then stir and cook for one minute. Pour in diced tomatoes with their juice. Add olives. Stir and cook for a minute or two. Add wine, then simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While sauce is cooking, sprinkle salt and freshly ground black pepper over the chicken breasts. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a separate skillet. Cook on both sides until golden brown and done. Set aside.

Toss cooked linguine in olive oil and arrange on a small platter. Spoon 3/4 of the sauce over the pasta. Place chicken on top, then spoon remaining sauce over the chicken. Sprinkle on grated Parmesan and serve immediately.

Thai Chicken and Vidal Blanc

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, our Vidal Blanc is available again in our tasting room. And it just so happens to be on deck for my food pairing project! As soon as I tasted the Vidal, I knew I needed to find some strong flavors to match it. It has a faint sweetness to it, making it an ideal companion for a spicy, pungent meal. Have you ever had a really light, dry white wine with a heavily spiced dish? In my experience, the wine can literally fall flat in your mouth, losing its character. But this slightly sweet wine is an excellent contrast to fiery heat... it stands its ground when your mouth is tingling with hot pepper and garlic, and your nose is nudged awake by the perfume-y essence of basil and ginger.

Stir-Fried Chicken with Basil and Chiles, Thai Style

adapted from How to Cook Everything

by Mark Bittman

1/4 cup of corn oil

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

2 or 3 jalapenos

1 1/2 large onion, sliced

1/2 cup chopped scallion, plus more for garnish

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch chunks and blotted dry

1 cup shredded basil leaves, plus more for garnish

2 teaspoons sugar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon nam pla (Thai fish sauce)

1/2 cup chicken stock or white wine (I used Vidal!)

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Put a large skillet over high heat. Add half the oil, swirl it around, and immediately add half of the garlic and ginger and all of the jalapenos. Cook for 15 seconds, stirring, then add the onion and cook until soft (about 5 minutes). Turn the heat down to medium and remove the vegetables.

Add the remaining oil to the pan, then the remaining garlic and ginger. Stir, then add the chicken. Raise the heat to high. Stir once every minute until the chicken is slightly browned, about 3 minutes.

Return the vegetables to the pan and toss once or twice. Add the scallion, basil, sugar, soy sauce and nam pla. Stir and season with salt and pepper. Add chicken stock or wine. Raise heat to high and cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan, until liquid is slightly reduced (about 30 seconds). Garnish with scallion and basil and serve immediately over rice.

Springtime Risotto

When I mentioned to my mother that Lost Creek had a bottle named "Springtime", she couldn't get over what a great name that was for a wine. And it certainly lives up to this name... it is light, crisp and fresh. It is my absolute favorite of all our white wines, so I was very excited to do a food pairing for it.

When I think of Spring-y foods, asparagus immediately pops into my head. It is always the first vegetable that shows up at my farmer's market, and I've seen bunches of it on sale at the grocery store lately. I knew that I had to find a way to incorporate into my dinner.

Once again, my latest issue of Everyday Food beckoned to me, where I found a recipe for a basic risotto. It even called for Pinot Grigio as one of the ingredients! Our Springtime is a blend of four grapes (Vidal Blanc, Viognier, Chardonnay and Muscat Canelli), but it closely resembles Pinot Grigio in taste. So, with my bunch of asparagus stalks in one hand, and my box of Arborio rice in the other, I set off to tailor a risotto that would complement this delicious wine.

Springtime Risotto
Adapted from Everyday Food, April 2011

6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 large shallot, diced small
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine, such as  Springtime
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
1/2 pound asparagus, chopped into 1- inch pieces 
3/4 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined

In a medium saucepan, bring broth to a simmer; reduce heat and keep warm. In a large, heavy skillet or pot, heat 2 tablespoons of butter over medium-high. Add shallot, season with salt and pepper, and cook until it starts to soften. Add rice and cook, stirring, until rice is translucent at edges (about 1 minute).

Add wine and stir until evaporated. With a ladle, add about 1 cup broth to skillet. Cook, stirring constantly, until broth is absorbed. Repeat, gradually adding broth by the cupful and stirring constantly, until rice is tender but al dente and sauce is creamy. This takes about 20 to 25 minutes. Towards the end, stir in the shrimp and asparagus. Both need only a couple of minutes to cook.

Remove skillet from heat and stir in remaining butter and Parmesan. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Serves 4

The Springtime and the risotto were an excellent match, if I do say so myself. The wine pairs well with lighter meats, so seafood was a good choice. The mildly sweet flavor of the shrimp, the crispness of the asparagus, and the creaminess of the Parmesan blended well in the dish, but did not overpower this subtle wine. And my glass of Springtime brought out the bit of wine that was incorporated into the dish. All in all this was a great pairing, and I plan to do it again!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I have red hair and freckles, and my last name is McKenna..... needless to say, I love St. Patrick's Day. We are doing our own Irish celebration this weekend at Lost Creek. So don your green and join us for some delicious stew, provided by the fabulous Savoir Fare. It will be served with warm bread and a glass of wine of your choice, all for $15. Our festive meal will be served on Saturday the 19th and Sunday the 20th, from noon to 4:30. Reservations are recommended! David Davol will be playing acoustic guitar from 2 to 5pm. David has a great voice and is a wonderful performer. It's going to be a really fun weekend, so please come by! Erin Go Bragh!

Our Vidal Blanc is Back!

I couldn't be happier that spring is on the horizon. I'm looking forward to daffodils, baseball and evenings on the patio with a glass of our Vidal Blanc!

Our Vidal is such a clean, refreshing wine -- perfect for spring. Vidal is a French hybrid grape; its thick skin helps it to survive in colder climates. If you've tried an ice wine from Canada or the Great Lakes region, you were likely enjoying a Vidal! Our Late Harvest Alyce dessert wine is a Vidal as well.

Our Vidal Blanc is not as sweet as the aforementioned wines... one might compare it to a dry Riesling. It is one of the biggest sellers at Lost Creek, and it is back in our tasting room! Come by for a tasting; you will love it (and the pretty blue bottle it comes in). I guarantee it will inspire you to plan your first picnic of the season!

Hello!

Welcome to Lost Creek Winery's blog! We are very excited to join the world of blogging. To start things off, I am going to begin a series of wine and food pairings. I love to cook, and I think this will be a great way to feature our lovely wines.

So why not get the ball rolling with chardonnay, a wine that is notoriously difficult to pair with food? Sounds like a challenge! Our chardonnay is tank fermented and aged in stainless steel, so it doesn't have that distinct "oak-y" flavor that chardonnays are known for. This makes pairing it a little easier.... Lost Creek's chardonnay is surprisingly light and fruity.

My research leads me down a few paths. Seafood is frequently mentioned as a good choice for pairing. As are buttery and/or creamy sauces. I was pretty much set on making a shrimp scampi-type of dish, when another suggestion caught my eye: Caribbean food. Now, I have made many a cream sauce in my time, but I can't for the life of me remember cooking a Caribbean dish even once. So here is a great excuse to broaden my international cuisine horizons. Plus, I just so happened to have bookmarked the (hopefully) perfect dish in my recent issue of Everyday Food.

Jerk Pineapple Pork Chops

Everyday Food Magazine, March 2011

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2/3 of a whole (4 pound) pineapple
• 1 bunch scallions, sliced crosswise into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 small habanero or 1 large jalapeno, stemmed and seeded
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
• 1 1/2  teaspoons ground allspice
• 4 bone-in pork chops
• coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

 Directions:

• Cut four 1/2-inch-thick rounds from pineapple; set aside. Cut remaining pineapple into large chunks, discarding core.
• In a food processor, combine pineapple chunks, scallions, chile, thyme, garlic, and allspice and pulse until coarsely chopped. Reserve 3/4 cup pineapple marinade and refrigerate.
• Generously season pork with salt and pepper and place in a 9"x13" glass baking dish along with pineapple rounds. top pork and pineapple with remaining pineapple marinade and turn pork and pineapple to coat. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour (or up to 4 hours).
• In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Working in two batches, brush pineapple mixture off pork and cook chops until browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes, flipping once.
• Add 1 tablespoon oil to skillet. Brush pineapple marinade off pineapple rounds and cook until golden brown in spots, 5 to 7 minutes, flipping once.
• Top pork chops and pineapple with the reserved marinade, and serve.

I added some black beans and rice as a side. The results were surprisingly delicious! The marinade and topping were complex without being overwhelmingly spicy. The chardonnay really complemented its garlic flavor. The pineapple was a perfect pairing with the chardonnay, emphasizing the wine's fruity undertones. And the allspice was such an interesting addition. It warmed the whole dish without overpowering it, giving it a certain je ne sais quoi; perfectly subtle for a chardonnay pairing. This dinner let me escape a dreary, rainy  March evening, and transported me to a warm, breezy beach in Jamaica. One can dream.....

For further information on pairing chardonnay with food, check out these links:

Lessons in Chardonnay

Wine Pairing Tips -- The Best Food To Pair With Chardonnay

Chardonnay Wine Food Pairings