Run for the Roses Release Party

Enjoying getting the plans for the  this Saturday's big release party organized.  The day will be lots of fun and very entertaining.  Stop in for a quick visit or plan on spending the day.  The weather looks good and if it is even close to this past Saturday's weather we offer a fine excuse to come out and enjoy the scenery.  The horses in the pastures and the vineyards are just spectacular right now as you can see from the pictures of the mare and foal.  

Our planned schedule for the day for those of you can't spend the entire day with us is...

Run For the Roses Release Party Schedule:

12:00 - Opening of the first bottle of Run for the Roses Red with a free sample of our special RFR Mint Julep

12 - 2:00 Broadcast of last 20 Kentucky Derby Races 

1:00 Post Time For The 1st CVH Derby (first jewel in the Cassel Vineyards Triple Crown)

2:00 - 4:00 live music by Dave Knott

3:00 Break for Derby Hat and Attire Contest (Crowning of Derby King and Queen)

4:00 - 6:00 Pre-race Food and Derby Pre-race show

menu:

Kentucky Bourbon Drunk Dogs

Kentucky Caviar

Kentucky Bourbon Sauce with Pecans over Cream Cheese on Graham Crackers

RFR Mint Juleps

The Day the Buds Broke

The weather broke cool and crisp in the vineyard this morning.  The horses were stretching their legs in the morning sun and running back and forth to feel the soft earth beneath their hooves.  There was just a hint of winter left in the breeze as we finished up the pruning in the Cabernet Franc.  By noon, I noticed the buds on the Chardonnay 

Had swollen and were beginning to open into the afternoon sunshine.  The horses were settling down, out of the wind and basking in the warm rays  of sunshine.  Meanwhile at the vineyard we were entertaining a bus full of visitors from Reading who stopped by our tasting room for an afternoon of wine and sunshine.  When you want to enjoy the feeling of sunshine on your face and see the horses playing in the pasture and marvel at the beauty of the rebirth of the vineyard, feel free to stop by and visit our little corner of heaven.

A Tribute to Our Tables and Their Maker

Jim makes some of the most beautiful tables I have ever seen. They are made of salvaged pallet wood which he gets from the construction site at the Hershey West factory. The wood is some type of European Spruce or Fir and I have never seen such beautiful scrap wood. I can't believe we are fortunate enough to have Jim making these beautiful picnic tables for us. We are happy to share a table with you if you would like to come out and have a picnic in the vines or enjoy our live shows this summer. I have a few pictures of Jim's production process which begins with his disassembled pallets. Progresses through his tables aw and planer before he cuts, assembles and polyurethanes the final product. Here is a sequence of pictures showing his progress.

Chocolate Wine and Cheese Pairing Results

This past Sunday Cassel Vineyards hosted our first ever chocolate/wine and cheese pairing benefit at the Hershey Country Club. The event was to help raise money for the All Saints Episcopal Church Accessibility for All Campaign. More than 100 people came out and enthusiastically sampled 4 wines with 4 chocolates and cheeses. When we were all done everyone submitted their choices for favorite wines with each cheese and chocolate. The results were tabulated by Jim Johnston (thanks for the help Jim!) and appear below in the table. Thanks to everyone who came out to make this event such a huge success. It was a lot of fun and I think everyone left happy and satisfied.

Wine	Cheese/Choc	Responses	Best paring	% of Responses
Chamborcin	Manchego	36	11	30.56%
	Jarlsberg	36	12	33.33%
	Quark	36	5	13.89%
	Bursin	36	8	22.22%
	Chai	30	5	16.67%
	Toffee	30	7	23.33%
	Berry	30	10	33.33%
	Haz/ Currant	30	8	36.67

F/L Red	Manchego	32	12	37.50%
	Jarlsberg	32	9	28.13%
	Quark	32	8	25.00%
	Boursin	32	3	9.38%
	Chai	29	7	24.14%
	Toffee	29	4	13.79%
	Berry	29	8	27.59%
	Haz/currant	29	10	34.48%

F/L White	Manchego	34	10	29.41%
	Jarlsberg	34	8	23.53%
	Quark	34	9	26.47%
	Boursin	34	7	20.60%
	Chai	29	7	24.14%
	Toffee	29	11	37.93%
	Berry	29	6	20.69%
	Haz/currant	29	5	17.24%

Blush	Manchego	35	4	11.43%
	Jarlsberg	35	9	25.71%
	Quark	35	8	22.86%
	Boursin	35	14	40.00%
	Chai	38	6	15.79%
	Toffee	38	8	21.05%
	Berry	38	8	21.05%
	Haz/currant	38	16	42.11%

Peacocks in Full Mating Plumage

If you stop by the vineyard this weekend the chances are pretty good that you will see one or two of our 18 free ranging peacocks strutting their stuff to impress anyone who will take the time to notice.  Of course they are trying to catch the eye of one of the many peahens that are shopping around for an eligible mate.  The tails of the males are at their peak of color and vitality for about 6- 8 more weeks until all the girls take to their nests.  Then the peacocks begin to molt their feathers and become very self-conscious of the fact that their once beatiful tails are no longer there.  The hens use the tails of the males to help choose which male is the strongest and healthiest. 

 I once had the opportunity to remove one of the tales from an old male that had died of old age during the mating season.  I was amazed at how heavy the tail was and even dried out it weighed 15 pounds.  The males strut and fan their beautiful feathers as the hens act like they could care less.  Charles Darwin was amazed by the excessive nature of the peacocks tail and it is not until recent studies have shown that the length of the tail and number of eye feathers are the measure by which hens choose their mates.  So at least between peacocks and peahens size does matter.  

Another Big Show

Cassel Vineyards of Hershey is looking forward to another great season of events both at the vineyards on Shetland Drive every 1st and 3d Friday of the Summer, but also at several Summer festivals.  The first one of the Summer is the annual music and wine festival at Fort Hunter in Harrisburg.  June 15 & 16 are two days of music and fun to kick off the Summer season.  We hope you can visit us at the festival and enjoy some great music and wine.

http://www.dauphincounty.org/government/Parks-and-Recreation/Festivals-Special-Events/Pages/Music-and-Wine-Festival.aspx

http://www.dauphincounty.org/government/Parks-and-Recreation/Festivals-Special-Events/Pages/Music-and-Wine-Festival.aspx

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Run for the Roses Release Party

It is now one month before our big release party for our Run for the Roses Sparkling Chambourcin.  The plans for the May 4 release are shaping up.  As the day nears I would love to hear any suggestions or ideas to make our party amazing.  At this point, we are planning a pre-race, infield party with special Mint drinks, live music pre-race munches, a hat competition and the release of our first sparkling, summer wine.  I will share a link to a page that has given me some interesting ideas. Please post any ideas here or on our casselvineyards Facebook page. http://www.kentuckyderby.com/party/derby-info/traditions