Sign of the Times

    

       Just giving everyone a sneak peak at the new signs that will be going up in the vineyard this Spring to mark the rows.  Avery has spent some time this winter putting several coats of paint and varnish on the signs so that they will be visible.  With these signs on the trellis posts we just may get a break from the same question asked over and over, "what kind of grapes are there?"  

Wine Chocolate and Cheese Pairing with All Saints Church at Hershey Country Club

All Saints Wine, Chocolate and Cheese Event

Cheese/Choc. Type	Chambourcin	Finish Line Red	Chardonny	Blush
Feta	8	15	7	5
Jarlsberg	1	5	7	12
Dubliner	18	11	11	12
Gouda	13	7	9	11
Milk Choc Chai	5	8	8	6
Dark Choc Berry	13	7	5	14
Milk Choc Hazelnut	13	6	11	7
Dark Choc Blueberry	6	10	7	4

     Here are the results of our All Saints Episcopal Church Second Annual Wine Chocolate and Cheese Tasting at The Hershey Country Club.  This year with new wines, chocolates and cheeses there were some interesting results.  The event was a huge success with everyone having a great time and raising a good deal for the Churches Accessibility to All Campagne.  Thank you to everyone who participated in our fun, quasi-scientific endeavor.

    To summarize, participants chose...

Chambourcin (dry red) paired best with Dubliner Irish Cheddar and two chocolates which were Dagoba Dark Chocolate Berry and Milk Chocolate with Hazelnuts

 

Finish Line Red (semi-sweet red) paired best with salty Feta and Endangered Species Dark Choc. With Blueberries

Chardonnay (dry white) paired best with Dubliner Irish Cheddar and also the Smoked Gouda while Dagoba Milk Chocolate with Hazelnuts seemed to be the favorite chocolate

Finally, our Blush (semi-sweet Gold Medal Award Winning) paired equally well with Dubliner Irish Cheddar, Jarlesburg Swiss and Smoked Gouda but there was a decided winner in the chocolate with the Dagoba Dark Chocolate and Berry. 

  We hope the participants enjoyed drinking and eating the wine, chocolate and cheeses and hope to do it all again together next year.

Books to Read

    I was given this book by my friend Penny who knows little about making wine but loved the book.  It is a really great read for anyone.  Ray Walker writes as a self professed  wine newbie and tells his story about how he was able to make great wine with no experience.  You might think that I would be critical of this imposition into the world of winemaking.  However, Ray pretty much demonstrates our beliefs at Cassel Vineyards of Hershey.  The old cliche that great wines are grown not made is something we have always believed.  We work hard 4 seasons out of the year in the vineyard so that our wine take on a personality that reflects our hard work.  The other theme of his story that really resonated with me was his search for happiness and satisfaction in his quest for making his first wine.  I hate to sound like a know-it-all but putting your heart and soul into something that you love to do is the key to happiness.  Here at Cassel Vineyards it is what we do with every vintage.  It gives our wines a sense of place ang grounds our families and friends in the reality that fresh, local is not just a sales pitch but it's the reality of our life here on the farm.  Enjoy a glass while you settle in with a good book and enjoy some of our happiness with us! 

Before and After Pruning

    Here are some pictures of the Vidal Blanc grapes before and after we have began our pruning today.  What started this afternoon as a sunny, improving day ended as a freezing cold, snow squall with all of us freezing, stomping with stiff feet and frozen fingers.  The vines look great after last summers amazing growing season.  When we were done, the newly pruned vines looked organized and controlled.  It was a nice start to our pruning kick-off, but it could have been a better ending.  Hopefully our workers Cole and Tim will return when the weather gets a little better.

White Weather

     After todays snowstorm, the vineyard looks very peaceful cloaked in white.  The snow fell all night last night and gave us the gift of a day off school.  We had quite a few days off school this year with all the snow.  It has complicated many of our lives and schedules with days off and make-up days added to the Easter Vacation and Summer.  But in the end we have made the most of our days off by working in the winery to complete the transfer, sweetening and filtering of all our wines.  Without these days off, we would be staying up late doing all the same work on top of our days at school.  The snow we are enjoying is just another one of those blessings in disguise.  

Ice Vines

When wine enthusiasts talk about the virtues of ice wine they are not talking about wine taken from frozen vines like these.  Instead they are talking about grapes that are harvested late in the season when temperatures drop low enough to freeze the late hanging fruit.  While the grapes are frozen, the winemaker presses the frozen fruit in a hydrolic press which exerts enough pressure to extract the high sugar juice which remains unfrozen.  The high sugar content of the juice then allows a very sweet, concentrated wine to be crafted for our enjoyment.  

     Our vines have been frozen several times this winter.  Although they look beautiful the haven't produced any ice wine yet.