Category Archives: Newspaper Column 2015

Oliver’s Bubblecraft a Big Hit

15 Friday Jan 2016

Posted by in Indiana, Newspaper Column 2015

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You’ve seen the bottles in your local grocery and liquor stores. They’re not just on the shelves but in most locations there is a case or two displayed on the floor.

Grape Sense LogoBubblecraft wines come the ubiquitous Oliver Winery in Bloomington, IN. Though Oliver is making an expanding array of vineyard designate wines and fine wines with California grapes, the winery’s calling card has long been Oliver Soft Red and White wines.

Bill Oliver and his winemaking team put a twist on the Concord and Niagara grapes to release a bubbly taste “we all grew up with.” Those are the words of Oliver who oversees one of the nation’s biggest wineries not located on the west coast.

Bubblecraft came from experimentation, a piece of equipment purchased to bottle cider, and a competitive expansion in the sweet alcoholic beverage market.

“We tried small batches of a spritzy wine,” Oliver said. “It was a fun project. It’s a subtle variation on Soft White and Soft Red. It’s not quite the full blown bubbles of sparkling wine and we just really loved it. It transformed the wines.”

Oliver

Bill Oliver opening a taste of Bubblecraft

Oliver had invested in new equipment for bottling cider that had a digital valve instead of a manual operation. It’s used to fill “spritzy things,” which is Oliver’s term for carbon dioxide. “Dealing with CO2 is challenging because it’s going to create foaming,” he explained. “Then if you introduce sugar, it makes it that much harder. We bought it for our ciders but wondered what else we could do with it.”

The experimentation with his two most popular wines paid off. “The result was an eye opener,” he said. “Our staff, distributors, and folks in the retail community were all like ‘Wow, this is really interesting.’ “

The wine was released late in 2015. Oliver said sales were expected to hit 10,000 cases. He hopes to sell 25,000 cases in year two.

A few years ago Oliver talked with me about the encroachment of sweet wines and sweet spirits challenging his market dominance. “It’s worse now,” he said. “It’s more than just the sweet wine market. It’s the flavored malts, vodka, and fake ciders. It’s just this whole all-in on the sweet wine consumer. We’re getting it from the ready-to-drink small containers (off the shelf). It’s an assault on our core customers so we’re answering with things like this. And, it’s working.”

The taste of Bubblecraft will feel familiar. But the carbon dioxide works to minimize the sometimes cloying sweetness of the two grapes.

Oliver, who has his eye on more new products and expansion, said the introduction of Bubblecraft can bump his revenue seven to eight percent.

If you like the Midwest’s sweet Concord and Niagara grapes the Bubblecraft may pleasantly surprise you. It will deliver the same familiar taste but with a really interesting twist.

Yes Virginia, Drinkable $10 Wines

17 Thursday Dec 2015

Posted by in California, Holidays, Newspaper Column 2015, Uncategorized

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Grape Sense started as a wine column to educate consumers they could be drinking better than supermarket wines. There are so many wonderful and well-made wines in the $12-$18 range. But an e-mail arrived after a recent column as a reminder some people have no desire to spend more than a ten spot or can’t afford it.

Grape Sense LogoThere are plenty of good wines in the category. The only drawback is if you avoid names you know and pick up a bottle for an interesting name or cute label, you might be picking up one of the worst things you’ll ever drink.

So, today’s column is intended to shine a light on some sure-fire winners.

There are a handful of supermarket, liquor store labels which consistently deliver great value and decent wines. I have two favorite value labels – Robert Mondavi Central Coast and Menage a Trois.

Menage a Trois is a mass produced wine which doesn’t offer a lot of complexity but will surprise with its balanced flavors, good finish, and ability to pair with food. The label, with some 15 different wines, is one of the fastest growing brands in the value category.

IMG_0940 (1)Menage a Trois is all about red blends. The red and white blends have been around for a number of years. The more-recent Midnight and Silk have really expanded the portfolio. The Midnight is bigger and bolder while the Silk lives up to its name of super smooth sipping goodness.

Midnight, a blend of Cab, Merlot, Petite Sirah, and Petite Verdot was the most successful new red blend of 2014.  Silk is a crazy-sounding blend of Pinot Noir and Malbec which works. This is the red wine for your non-red-wine-drinking friends. It has the nose of a Pinot and the rich flavors of a Malbec on the palate. It’s a bit of a stunner.

The Menage a Trois brand is owned by wine giant Trinchero Estates. Trinchero also owns the second-largest U.S. wine brand, Sutter Home.

The Menage a Trois wines are almost always under 14 percent alcohol, a rarity. But more impressive is that the tasty and drinkable wines have a suggested retail price of $11-$13. But wait, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Menage a Trois on a shelf over $10. A price check the week of Dec. 7 showed the Midnight, Red, and Silk all at $8.99 or less locally.

Menage a Trois is consistently in the Top 20 wines in the value wine category. Google the name and you’ll consistently find reviews with words like “great value label, wonderfully balanced, medium bodied wine, and great finish.”

Mondavi’s Central Coast scores with its line of wines selling at $9.99. Mondavi’s wines are individual varietals. They score big in my book for consistently delivering value wine which is varietally correct. In other words, the Cab tastes like Cab and Pinot tastes like Pinot. That can be a big problem with many wines under $10.

Other labels delivering for less than $10 include: Bogle, Blackstone, Mark West, Mirrasou, and Clos du Bois.

There’s nothing wrong with many $8-$9 wines. Just buy names you’ve heard before. Hopefully these suggestions will provide some guidance.

 

 

 

 

A Few Of My Favorite Things

11 Friday Dec 2015

Posted by in Gizmos & Wine Gadgets, Holidays, Newspaper Column 2015, Oregon, Uncategorized

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Thanksgiving is over and no one punched Uncle Harry. You survived or avoided Black Friday. It’s time to take a deep breath and get ready for the gift-giving and holiday-party season.

Grape Sense LogoOne of many discoveries from eight years of writing a wine column is readers are always asking my favorite wine, or how I save open wine, and many other basic questions. So today I’m offering gift-giving ideas based on a few of my favorite things.

Riedel stemware – Many experienced wine drinkers will scoff at the difference between wine glasses until they do a side-by-side taste comparison. I know, I was one of those people.

Riedel glassware is the gold standard for wine glasses. The company has no competitors. The company is being managed by the 11th generation of the Riedel family with 300 years of Austrian glass-making experience.

Riedel introduced the concept that the shape of the glass can profoundly change the taste of the wine. It works. There are no words a writer can choose to convince a skeptic. Do the taste test with same wine, different glasses and one Riedel varietal-specific glass. The taster will then reach for their credit card.

Riedel manufactures wine glasses at very affordable to ridiculous price points. I recommend the Vinum series. Riedel also offers a Tasting series of three different glasses for three different wines. The glasses mentioned run $30-$40 a glass. But again, they make less expensive selections to much-more expensive glassware, hand-blown from the original Austrian factory. A good houseware store will have Riedel collections for $20-$50. But if your wine drinker is a geek, they need the varietal-specific glasses.

LangeSavino wine storage – How to keep that half bottle of left-over wine? What is left-over wine? Okay, we all face that challenge. You can buy the pump, re-cork, and a zillion other ideas. The best thing I’ve found is the Savino. It’s a glass container big enough to hold one bottle of wine. The secret is a cylinder which floats atop the saved wine 1/100th smaller than the inner circumference of the bottle. A lid seals the Savino shut. The Savino doesn’t work quite as long as the company suggests. But it keeps wine several days longer than any other system.

The original glass Savino can be found in stores and online for $59.99. This year the company smartly introduced a plastic version for $29.99. Nothing keeps your wine tasting like the original sip better than the Savino.

Pinot Noir – Okay, for years I’ve always said I like them all and I do. But if I’m honest, Pinot is my favorite varietal. Pinot makes a great gift for a wine-drinking friend, or to take to a party. Great Pinot starts at $20-$30 a bottle. But if you want something easier, buy a Mark West or Mirassou Pinot at the market for under $10.

A great bottle of introductory-level Oregon Pinot Noir can be nabbed for $25-$30. Personally, the best under-$30 bottle of wine, any varietal, I’ve ever found is Lange Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. It’s widely distributed in Indiana and the rest of the Midwest. A great buy!

 

 

 

Easy-Drinking Thanksgiving Wines

20 Friday Nov 2015

Posted by in Holidays, Indiana, Midwestern States, Newspaper Column 2015, Uncategorized

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Thanksgiving is just days away and holiday entertaining is about to hit in a big way.

Grape Sense LogoIn the early years of Grape Sense, I’d frequently include specific wine choices I could highly recommend. It dawned on me recently I hadn’t done that in a couple of years.

Thanksgiving Wine: The first rule is really rather simple – just match the wine to the entire dinner and not just the turkey. Think about spice, bold flavors, and how your wine choice might pair up with the entire table of goodies.

Specific and safe pics would be Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Both work well with fowl and the usual side choices. If you’re feeling more adventurous look for a white Chenin Blanc or a Spanish Tempranillo red wine. A good French Rose or Oregon Rose would be another excellent pairing.

Here are a few wines or types of wine I’ve been drinking lately. They were all purchased or are available in Indiana.

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Oliver Winery: I spent some time with Bill Oliver a few weeks ago and tasted through his Creekbend vineyard wines. Several of those wines would make outstanding Thanksgiving wine and you can brag to your guests is grown and made in Indiana. The Creekbend Vignoles is a big winner in my book. It’s soft enough for the non-wine drinker and interesting enough for the more serious wine geek.

 

The Oliver Chambourcin is light like a Pinot Noir with good earthiness for any meal.

Red Blends: There is nothing hotter in the wine world right now than red wine blends. They tend to be softer and more drinkable than many red choices. Rook Washington Red is a wine that has strong dark raspberry flavor and a smooth delivery. It’s a steal at $14.99.

Go to your wine shop and look for Washington State red wine blends and you’ll seldom be disappointed with the many choices available for under $15. Of course, you get up to $20 and that’s where the quality difference becomes more pronounced.

Spanish Reds: There are few categories which over-deliver like Spanish red wine. Most Spanish wines will be predominantly the native Tempranillo grape. If you think of a light mouth feel, but full flavored-wine you’ve started a good description of most Spanish wines. Spain ages its wines before release so many are ready to drink right off the shelf.

Black Slate Porrera Piorat and Cogolludo Guadalajra Tempranillo-Syrah are great wines I purchased in state. If you want something really tasty go for the Tocs Priorat which is 100 percent Garnacha (or Grenache) for $20.

Tasty Whites: Alsatian Pinot Blanc from France, Rousanne from France or California’s Central Coast, Stoller Estate Chardonnay from Oregon, or a Grenache Blanc from southern France would be great pics for Thanksgiving or a holiday party.

These wines are meant to be crowd pleasers. The wines here should appeal to most any palate.

If you have specific wine questions, don’t hesitate to write.

Two Hoosier Wineries Visited, 40 To Go!

07 Saturday Nov 2015

Posted by in Indiana, Midwestern States, Newspaper Column 2015

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Indiana wine producers now boast 80 wineries with more opening their doors annually. Most important, Indiana wine quality has significantly improved over the past 5-10 years.

Grape Sense LogoA real emphasis on quality has no doubt driven sales and brought more people to Hoosier tasting rooms. The state’s wineries fall into a few different categories. There are a few which make truly great wine, a few that really should re-consider corn and beans, a few who grow grapes and many who don’t grow anything.

But it seems there is a vast emerging middle of the pack producing very consumer friendly, if not arguably boring, wine. Now, there is not anything wrong with that approach. If you make a soft easy-to-drink wine, you’re probably going to sell a lot of it.

Two such wineries, located in central and south-central Indiana, are Mallow Run and Cedar Creek. Recent visits on a rainy Saturday found both tasting rooms bustling with activity and brisk sales.

Mallow Run, just south of Indianapolis on Whiteland Road near Highway 37, has been around for about 10 years. Mallow Run has made a name for itself with event marketing. The winery grounds feature eight acres of vineyard and a huge outdoor entertainment venue.

Mallow Run Winery on Indy's southside.

Mallow Run Winery on Indy’s southside.

Mallow Run hosts all sorts of music, movie nights, and many other special events. It’s close to Indianapolis and packs in the visitors. The wines are definitely well made if not remarkable. I started with the semi-sweet Traminette which was just that. The Rose’ of Corot Noir was nice with just a hint of sweetness. The Chambourcin poured had clearly gone bad. The attendant quickly and politely popped open a fresh bottle. The wine was light on the palate and light on fruit but nicely balanced.

The best of the lot was the dry Traminette. It seems more Hoosier winemakers are moving to the drier versions. The prominent grapefruit-like flavor was very tasty with the dry approach.

There isn’t much variance in Mallow Run’s prices. All wines are in the $11-$19 range. Nothing on the tasting list sampled disappointed. But none stood out beyond the dry white.

Cedar Creek Winery just off 37 near Martinsville.

Cedar Creek Winery just off 37 near Martinsville.

Cedar Creek Winery & Brewery is also just off Highway 37 near Martinsville. Despite attempts, there are no grapes grown near the scenic creek turned into wine. All of the fruit comes from California for this Hoosier winery – but frankly, that’s not unusual.

The wines fall into a similar category with Mallow Run, but not as well made. I tasted a Pinot Gris that had nice honey suckle hints on the palate but a musty, unpleasantness on the nose. The Pinot Noir was also a bottle which had gone bad. The busy person in the tasting room said she would check it out later but didn’t offer to open a bottle for another pour.

The Merlot might have been the best wine of the visit. It was very light in the mouth and I couldn’t detect much oak, if any at all. It would be a great wine for beginners trying to move beyond the sweets. I was intrigued that the winery offered a Valpolicella. The Italian grape can be magical. The California version was disappointing and not varietally correct.

The best pour at Cedar Creek was the Harvest Moon desert wine made with Cabernet Franc showing flavors of honey, currants and strawberries. Though a bit sweeter than I would have liked, the spicy characteristics came through strong for a pleasant sip.

Prices at Cedar Creek run $12-$14 with its dessert wines priced $25-$28.

Two stops on one Saturday afternoon show overall quality continues to improve but consistency is still an issue for the Indiana wine industry.

Think French to Upgrade Your Vino

16 Friday Oct 2015

Posted by in France, Newspaper Column 2015

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There are those who believe if you continue to drink wine over a number of years you will eventually drink more French vino than others. Those folks just might be right.

There are many affordable choices in French wine, well-balanced wines which deliver great QPR – or quality to price ratio. The Old World style of wine making often offers more balance, less alcohol, and a smoother taste than found from many of the world’s other regions.

Grape Sense LogoThe French set the worldwide standard for great wine long before other countries planted a vine. The great French Rhone wines are some of the finest values and best drinking wines in the world. It’s not difficult to find an awesome Cotes du Rhone in a decent wine shop for $15.

The Languedoc, or Southern France, offers even more choices with wonderful red blends of Syrah, Grenache, and Carignan. The wines offer an earthier characteristic or perhaps more rustic appeal than the silky Rhones. Languedoc wines also come with a mid-teen price point. Even though it’s a large producer, try the wines of Gerard Bertrand as an outstanding introduction to the Languedoc.

The French’s best known wine regions are Bordeaux and Burgundy. Getting into those wines at a reasonable price point has always been a major challenge. An experienced wine drinker can pour a student of wine a $15 wine and then a $50 wine and few may be able to tell the difference. The taste difference between those price points in Bordeaux and Burgundy is much wider than most other regions.

If wine drinkers want to drink, arguably, the world’s greatest wine it means drinking Bordeaux. There are two problems with drinking great Bordeaux wine. The first is the confusing labels and the French’s hard-headed policy of making those labels difficult for the rest of the world to understand. Just try to find the words Cabernet or Merlot on a bottle of Bordeaux. That isn’t going to happen.

CruBourgeoisThe second problem is price. The top Chateau of France’s Left Bank Medoc wine region, can earn anywhere from $500-$1,500 per bottle. A more concrete example would be a winery of one of the five first growths classified in the 1800s – Chateau Margaux. Margaux’s varied offerings start at just over $500 a bottle up to $2400 a bottle for its best Grand Cru Bordeaux blend.

It has taken decades for French winemakers to address its consumer problem and still be profitable. The top Chateau will always be selling that expensive wine. But that leaves many properties fighting for a growingly smaller piece of the wine consumer dollar or Euro as the worldwide wine market expands.

The Cru Bourgeois was first drawn up in the 1930s and it has come and gone a few times since. The current version of Cru Bourgeois has grown and expanded by finding a niche with a value wine market for more serious wine drinkers.

The Cru Bourgeois du Medoc wines are produced in one of the eight prestigious regions on the Garonne River’s left bank – Médoc, Haut-Médoc, Listrac-Médoc, Moulis en Médoc, Margaux, Saint Julien, Pauillac, or Saint Estèphe. The difference with Cru Bourgeois du Medoc is that the average price point is $25.

The wines are made from the same grapes as the great examples from the Medoc region – Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. Most Cru Bourgeois are Cabernet-Merlot Blends.

The French got serious about the category in the last decade while market share continued to dip with the emergence of great wines from other growing regions outside France’s borders. At last count, nearly 200 different labels were distributed in the U.S. as Cru Bourgeois. So they’re out there folks, you just have to go looking.

Give Peace (Water Winery) A Chance

04 Sunday Oct 2015

Posted by in Indiana, Newspaper Column 2015

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All 80 Indiana wineries offer something a bit different. Sometimes that’s good different and sometimes not. Many have a unique niche’ in the Indiana wine industry.

Grape Sense LogoPeace Water Winery, Carmel, is one of the state’s newest and probably most unique wine operations.

Owner Scott Burton owns a winery in Northern California. He employs a California winemaker. His wines aren’t sold there. The Peace Water Winery tasting room is in downtown Carmel, Indiana.

“Indiana has many wineries,” Burton said. “But several (of those wineries) source fruit and juice from outside of Indiana to supplement grapes grown in state. We grow all our grapes from the vines and do everything in Napa. The entire process from vine to bottle occurs in California but we sell all of our wine here in Carmel; therefore, making us the only locally-owned California winery in Indiana.”

Scott Burton

Scott Burton

The concept is certainly unique but it doesn’t stop there.

Burton, a very successful corporate lawyer and entrepreneur, opened the winery in the fall of 2014 as a family business and as a philanthropic endeavor. He designates 50 percent of his winery’s profit to seven different local charities. His seven children picked the charities which would benefit from wine sales.

The unique twist is when a consumer buys a bottle of Peace Water wine at the tasting room they are given a ticket. They drop the ticket in a basket representing one of the seven charities of their choice. Burton uses the customer picks to determine the percentage of profit each charity receives.

“It’s an interactive experience,” Burton explained. “A lot of businesses have a charitable aspect. Here, you have to physically go make your donation instead of participating in a mindless transaction where you have no concept of who you’re helping. It resonates a lot better when you make that decision yourself. Hopefully, it creates a more lasting impression.”

Buy a bottle then select a charity.

Buy a bottle then select a charity.

The business has been a success in its first year. Burton said wine insiders said he’d be successful if he could sign up 100 wine club members in his first year. In late August, his wine club membership was more than 200. “Local restaurants have been talking to us about our wines so we’ll be on menus soon. That’s the next phase of our growth.”

His urban-feel tasting room was filled on a late August Thursday evening. The newly opened patio was also busy. His wines have done well already in the wine competition business. The high-end Cabernet and Sauvignon Blanc both scored well at the World Wine Tasting Championships in Chicago.

The Cabernet Sauvignon “Passion” has been his biggest seller. The $32 bottle is a good representation of California wine. The wines are definitely made in a consumer-friendly, fruit-forward style. The winery tasting notes suggested a lusty red with notes of blackberry and plum – right on target.

Most of the Peace Water wines range from $25-$48. The white, Rose’ and two reds tasted during my visit were all well-made wines. I particularly enjoyed the reds.

There is one indulgence and that’s “Nirvana” – a Howell Mountain, Napa Valley Cabernet which sells for $120. Howell Mountain fruit is one of the most sought-after regions in all of Napa.

Peace Water Winery, 37 W. Main St., Carmel. www.peacewaterwinery.com

Wine World’s Most Important Book

13 Sunday Sep 2015

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The book market is flooded with more wine books than any average wine consumer could ever imagine. And, there are actually two worth picking up online or at a good bookstore.

Grape Sense LogoKaren MacNeil’s Wine Bible is an encyclopedia of wine. The noted wine writer released a second version of the book this year and the paperback version is well worth the $20. Author MacNeil covers everything you ever wanted to know about wine. From the great wine regions, their quirks, and to every wine grape imaginable it’s a resource book any wino will get a big kick out of owning.

The other book, and a breezy read, is Judgment of Paris. George Tabor’s epic tale of the 1976 tasting of French and California wines is educational, fun, and even inspiring.

The gist of the story starts with a British man who owned a small French wine shop. Steven Spurrier was the wine merchant, now wine writer and critic, at the heart of one of the world’s most important wine stories. To spur interest in his small Paris shop he decided to host a tasting of great French wines and wines from upstart Napa Valley, California.

MontelenaSpurrier sought to get the snooty French press and others to the low-key tasting event but couldn’t attract any French reporter. He insisted at the time it was not a competition but chance to compare the colonies efforts against the grand stature of French wine.

The only reporter present was Tabor. At the time of the tasting, Tabor was a Time Magazine reporter with no real background in wine. His historic reporting changed the wine world. In reality, his short magazine piece was just four paragraphs but its impact gave California gravitas against Old World Wines.

Tabor did not write his landmark book about the tasting until 2005. The heart of his book is how he details the career of Spurrier up until the time of the tasting and, more importantly, shares the history of the wineries involved in the Paris showdown. The fascinating chapters are the stories of the California winemakers who made the wine which put U.S. vintners on the world stage.

It’s tough to spoil the ending of a story nearly 40 years old. But to the shock of the celebrated French palates that day, we won. The panel of judges, in a blind tasting, picked Stags Leap Cabernet the best red and Chateau Montelena as the best Chardonnay.

George Tabor

George Tabor

Many of those pioneers are gone now but many of the wineries still exist. The men who made California great live on in this book. A few, in their 90s now, are revered in California wine country.

There is an entertaining movie called “Bottle Shock” about the tasting. It’s beautifully filmed in Napa Valley and is fun for any wine lover. Be warned the movie fictionalizes large parts of the story to create an entertaining piece of cinema. The basic story is true but livened up a bit for the big screen.

I’d strongly recommend the book. The movie is fun with a nice glass of California Cabernet – maybe even one from Stag’s Leap!

The Making of a Great Hoosier Wine

22 Saturday Aug 2015

Posted by in Indiana, Midwestern States, Newspaper Column 2015

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As Indiana wine quality continues to improve and get noticed around the Midwest, a few efforts have reached the pinnacle of success.

River City Winery and Huber Winery won top honors with their Vignoles at the annual Indy International Wine Competition in 2012-2013. Easley Winery, in downtown Indianapolis, claimed the top prize this year with Indiana’s signature Traminette.

Grape Sense LogoMaking a great wine starts in the vineyard and carries throughout the winemaking process. Traminette is sold by half of Indiana’s 80 wineries. And it seems every new winery in the state plants some of the signature white grape. Unfortunately, there are occasions when the grapes are made into wine and sold before they’re ready for commercial production. It’s no surprise when the very best wines come from producers like Huber and Easley.

“Our Traminette varietal program is a culmination of several years of trial and research both by our vineyard team and wine making team,” said Mark Easley. “We have learned over the last eight years, through several research projects, some of the very key features to making great, world-class Traminette. Our winemaker Jeff Martin and cellar master Nathan Schaffer have taken the lead. They have coordinated field experiments in our vineyards in conjunction with wine making practices in our cellar.”

Easley explained the keys to his Traminette is controling the crop load to 5-7 tons per acres, keep the vines well drained, and make sure the fruit gets plenty of direct sunlight just before harvest. “In red wine making, we like to run the temperatures up in the high 70s and 80s for color and tannin extraction, no to sin fruit aromatic white wine make. We like to make our Traminette in a semi dry style that is food friendly.

Traminette being delivered to winery in 2014.

Traminette being delivered to winery in 2014.

“After getting the perfect grapes from our vineyard the work begins at the winery crush pad,” the second-generation winery owner said.  “We like to see four to 12 hours of cold soak for the grapes in the large boxes we pick them in. This gets the juice in contact with the sun-exposed skins. We then destem and press the grapes in bladder grape presses. The press uses very low pressure in a gentle way.

Keeping the juice cold throughout the process maintains the wine’s aroma and flavor. “We treat it like fresh fruit,” Easley said. “We like to make our Traminette in a semi-dry style so that it is food friendly.”

The Easley Traminette is widely distributed through Meijer stores. I liked the wine a lot because it was done in a dry style. The signature floral bouquet in Easley’s wine is present without being over-powering. The wine is a great representation of what Indiana can do right.

Easley’s Traminette Tops Indy Competition

08 Saturday Aug 2015

Posted by in Indiana, Midwestern States, Newspaper Column 2015

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Approximately half of Indiana’s wineries sell a Traminette wine. Wine lovers can find the very sweet to bone dry examples of floral wine in stores and tasting rooms from north to south.

Grape Sense LogoThe hybrid wine grape may have won its crowning achievement in early August at Purdue University when Easley Winery’s 2014 Traminette was named the competition’s 2015 Wine of the Year.

Before writing off the honor as just another ribbon or contest understand the Indy competition is one of the nation’s largest. Wines arrive from 40 states and 12 countries. More than 2,100 wines are tasted during the event.

Indiana recorded 316 medals during the competition. Huber Winery, Starlight, In., was again the Governor’s Cup winner for most awards. Ted Huber was the 2014 Winemaker of the Year. But others had a big showing as well. Country Heritage and Vineyards, near Fort Wayne, took home more than 20 ribbons along with the Indiana Farm Winery of the Year award. French Lick Winery won 19 awards. Turtle Run had its best showing with two ‘Best of Class” winners, two double golds, and two golds. You can find a link for all Indiana awards here.

But after all the awards judges taste the best of the best and selected the Easley Traminette as the show’s best-made wine. The downtown Indianapolis-based winery has been on a roll with the state’s signature grape.

Ryan Robertson, cellar crew, Blake Loudermilk, grower relations, Jeff Martin, winemaker, Mark Easley, Nathan Schaefer, production manager.

Ryan Robertson, cellar crew, Blake Loudermilk, grower relations, Jeff Martin, winemaker, Mark Easley, Nathan Schaefer, production manager.

The 2014 wine won a gold medal at the 2015 Mid-American Wine Competition in Iowa, a double gold at the 2015 Tasters Guild International in Michigan, and a gold at the Great Lakes Great Wine competition in Michigan.

“Back in 2009 we really got behind growing and making Traminette wines,” said second generation winemaker and owner Mark Easley. “Our first Traminette grapes came out of the Kauffman Vineyards in Posey County. The vineyard was owned by our winemaker Jeff Martin’s grandfather, Harley Kauffman. When we saw how well it grew in Indiana, and the fact it was going to become the signature grape of Indiana, it was a no brainer.”

Today the Traminette grapes come from four vineyards all within 300 miles of downtown Indianapolis. “All of our grapes are planted on at least two farms so that we always have grapes even in a frost year,” Easley explained. The farms are located in Harmony, Indiana, Jennings County, Berrien County, Michigan, and Yates County in New York.

Easley produces approximately 2,500 cases of Traminette annually. Some wine or juice is sold off to eight Indiana wineries. Traminette has done so well for Easley he continues to plant. “We’ve been planting one to five acres of Traminette at three of our four farms each year over the last five years.”

Ribbons and medals help sell wine. Easley’s wife Meredith heads up marketing efforts. “Wines that are presented in a tasting room with gold medals typically get tasted more often than those with a lesser medal or none at all,” she said. She explained wine drinkers realize medals come from judges with expertise and background to determine well-made wines.

Meredith Easley said awards validate quality in the vineyard and winemaking. But the goal in the tasting room is to always find the wine a taster likes.

The Easley name is familiar in Hoosier supermarkets like Kroger, Marsh and Mejier particularly with their Raggae line of sweet wines. Their award winning Traminette can be found in many of the same stores.

In the next Grape Sense, Easley will talk about what it takes in the vineyard and winery to make his award winning Traminette.

wine-tramHoward’s take on Easley Traminette: The wine is known for its floral nose and taste with apricot and even honey on the palate. For wine purists, it’s most often compared to Gewurztraminer. While too many Indiana wineries let the grapes stay on the sweet to very-sweet style, Easley’s award winning wine is far more restrained. The approach makes the wine more drinkable for those without a palate for sweet wines. (SRP $13.95)