A Casual Celebration of our 2011 Vintage

 Family and Friends celebrating the end of a great meal at Dafno's wine pairing dinner.

Cheers to the last glass of Chocolate Port from our 2011 Vintage

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pairing the Chocolate Port with a Peanut Butter Cheesecake 

but not just any Peanut Butter Cheesecake!  Melissa's Cheesecake had a dark chocolate glazed graham cracker crust.  It's hard to describe how amazing it tasted

The first course was a puff pastry wrapped brie cheese with Carmel sauce paired with our Vidal Blanc Semi-sweet.  Just there right balance of sweet, cream and nutty ripeness.

Some of our friends and family waiting as we explain the wine list and pairings prior to each course.

Just finished our wine pairing dinner at Dafnos Restaurant in Hershey where we paired 7 of Cassel Vineyards Best wines with their delicious appetizers, salads, soups, entrees and dessert.  As you can see from the pictures everyone was very happy with each course preceded by an explanation of the wine and the pairing.  We tried to make it very informal and fun without going into detail about the technical aspects of wine pairing.    We had such a great time.  The price was $50 dollars and in the 2 hour dinner I can safely say nobody went away hungry, thirsty or unhappy.  

The final course was just amazing with a chocolate, peanut butter cheesecake and our Chocolate Port.  The Chocolate  Port was our first wine to sell out this year and promises to be one of the most popular choices for next year.  It takes 2 years to make each batch and 2 years ago we never expected this type of demand.  Fans have enjoyed it in many ways as a syrup over ice cream, an accompaniment to a great cigar, over and with cheesecake and as a dessert standing alone.  In my opinion, it is one of the best wines and a perfect way to end a perfect meal.  Thanks to all our friends and fans for the support you've given us this year.  We plan to close on Dec. 15 but will open again with our 2012 vintage in May. 

That's Sustainability

With all the talk in the media today about sustainability and green environmental practices, its difficult to decide what is real and what is hype.  Last week I read a water bottle label that announced that the company was using 20% less plastic to make the lid of their bottles.  As a result, they claimed that their product was "eco-friendly" and "green".  I don't know about anyone else but I feel like using those words in that context really creates a lot of confusion.  Just because we waste so much, does that make us "green" and "eco-friendly" when we don't waste as much? 

 Well all of that thinking caused me to sit up and take notice when I was talking to some other Cassels who happened to visit our winery yesterday for their father's 50th birthday.  They were a great group and we talked about our possible relationship.  After a long discussion we found that indeed we were related from 4 generations back.  My Great Grandpa Christian who started the farm was one of 16 children and their Great Grandpa was his brother.  So we are cousins 4 generations removed.  I have enclosed two article to prove my Great Grandpa was indeed the man I claim he was.  He was recognized as a sustainable farmer back before environmental consciousness was even heard of.  My father was just telling me the harvest figures for this years soybean harvest and the numbers were incredible.  Most of the farms in our area who do not practice sustainable practices really struggled in the heat and variable weather but our soybeans and grapes produced huge crops.  Looking back, I guess we have Great Grandpa Chris to thank for teaching us the right way to treat our land since 1900.  Now that's Sustainability.

Chocolate and Wine

After eating chocolate and drinking wine all week, these are the 4 types of chocolate we came up with to present at our wine pairing event this weekend.  I have put together instructions and am asking visitors for their opinions about which chocolate goes with our Chambourcin, Finish Line Red, Concord and Blush wines the best.  We tried to find a chocolate to match each of our wine choices but want to see what other people think.  Food and Wine are very personal experiences and what I like may not necessarily be what you or the next person likes.  Therefore, I set up a voting program on my cell phone and our visitors can text their choices in and get results from each of the wines and chocolates.  It's a pretty fun little interactive experience and I plan to do it next week with wine and cheese.  If you are able to make it all you need is a glass of wine and a cell phone.  We'll provide the chocolate and the cheese.  Every vote counts so help us do some of the difficult work by drinking wine and eating chocolate!

White Sangria Recipe

Even though the cool weather is setting in, I had a request to publish my recipe for this Summer's White Sangria that we served during our Jazz Nights in August and September.  If you would like to mix up another batch before the cold winter snow hits, here is what you will need.

1 bottle Cassel Vineyards Vidal Blanc Dry
1 bottle Cassel Vineyards Niagara
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup fresh orange juice (reconstituted frozen works fine)
2 cups 7-UP or other lemon lime soda
1 lemon,
1 lime
1 orange

slice lemons, lime and orange and sprinkle with sugar to draw out juices, meanwhile combine liquid ingredients.  Pour over the fruit until the sugar is dissolved.  Serve over crushed ice. Enjoy.

Great Weather for Spiced Wine

     With cold weather upon us, the time for spiced wine is here.  We just received our third order of spice packets after our first two orders sold out.  So many people have asked for my secret recipe the past several weeks that I'm going to share it with you.  All it takes is one bottle of Cassel Vineyards Concord and one bottle of Blush in a crock pot, throw in the lemonade and sugar and our secret spice pack and you are prepared for any storm.  (You didn't really think I was going to tell you what's in the spice pack did you?)
     The weather continues to get colder but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy a warm glass of wine beside the fire.  Stop by and pick up a spice pack today and mention my blog and tell Chris to give you my family discount if I'm not there.  Thanks for reading my blog and enjoy a glass of spiced wine on me.

Cassel Vineyards of Hershey's Swedish Meatballs

What a weekend!  Thanks to all the friends and fans who came out and gave us such wonderful compliments.  With the help of some great friends and the family our inaugural Hershey/Harrisburg wine trail event was a HUGE success.  Our friends both new and old made our harvest festival a great time shared with great people.  One of the biggest hits was the Swedish Meatballs in our own Cassel Vineyards Vidal Blanc Cream Sauce.  So many people asked us for the recipe I promised to put it out here on the Cassel Vineyards of Hershey Blogspot.  The recipe comes from my old school friend Kisa who now lives in Minnesota with all her Swedish friends.  Thanks to Kisa, Dave, Greg, Anne and everyone who spent\ their time helping us for this event and the many to come.

Swedish Meatballs in Vidal Blanc Cream Sauce

1 Bag Frozen Meatballs (Swedish style if possible)

Cream Sauce
2 Tbs. melted butter
2 Tbs. flour
1 1/4 c. Beef Bullion
 1/2 c. Cassel Vineyards Vidal Blanc
dash of nutmeg
dash of ground ginger
dash of white pepper
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 quart 1/2 and 1/2

Melt butter, stir in flour and make a roux, slowly mix in beef bullion and H20 and heat while thickening.  Add 1/2 and 1/2 and slowly increase the heat.  When mixture is warm and thick add ginger, nutmeg and pepper.
Meanwhile, heat meatballs in the microwave and cover them with the sauce.  Heat the mixture in a crock pot and serve.  Enjoy with Cassel Vineyards Finish Line White or the remaining Vidal Blanc or both. 

Fall Harvest Celebration at Cassel Vineyards (Italian Meatballs)

     Today we had 500 people pass through our winery.  Everyone seemed to have a great time sampling wine,  talking about the harvest and eating different foods we prepared to pair with our wines.  The wine received some great reviews.  Our Vidal Blanc Semi Sweet nearly sold itself out and we turned many friends on to our new Warm Spiced Holiday Wine.  We switched it up a little bit and Becky ended up in the production facility giving tours to several of our interested guests.  She did a great job and got several compliments.  As promised, I will also give my secret recipe for my meatballs in the next several days.  The Meatballs in Italian Concord Wine Sauce was a big hit served with our Finish Line Red.  Tomorrow, Sunday October 28th from 11 - 5:00, will be the last chance for everyone to try these and other delicious wine paired treats.

Italian Meatballs in Italian Concord Wine Sauce
1 jar of your favorite Italian Tomato Sauce (I use Rague)
1/4 cup Cassel Vineyards Concord Wine
1 bag Moma LaRossa precooked meatballs (or your favorite brand)
Warm sauce and wine in a pot.  Add the meatballs and warm until meatballs are completely heated through.  Enjoy over spaghetti with a glass of Cassel Vineyards Finish Line Red.