Wednesday, November 23, 2011

White Merlot


A what?” “Yes, you heard me, a White Merlot.” Now, we all know what a Merlot is, but a white merlot? Let’s delve a little bit further to discover what this wine truly is about.

Merlot grapes were harvested on November 11, 2011, at 24° Brix. (Brix is a form of measuring the amount of natural sugar in the berry.) This number will help us determine the final alcohol of our finished wine.

After picking, the clusters were left in buckets for attendees of the URWT 2nd Saturday, Grape to Glass. Participants now had a great opportunity to get their hands a little dirty. This process consisted of de-stemming (pluck the fruit from the stem), sorting (bug, leaf & stem removal) and pressing. After we were sure that we had clean berries, the grapes were then heaped into a wood grape press. Luckily, we had some savvy participants here to help operate the manual press. Once the berries were inside the press, pressure was forced down upon the grapes by a ratcheting motion. This light pressing of the berries was just enough for the juice to flow without extracting the bitterness of the skins. The juice was then racked off into a 5 gallon carboy for fermentation.

The White Merlot was then inoculated with active yeast drawn from a winery tank. It was clear that fermentation had taken hold as the gasses released through the fermentation bubbler were filling the kitchen. It is now time to let the yeast work their magic. I realized today that we did not have to leave the back door open to ventilate the kitchen so I thought I would take the juice into Jean-Michel’s lab for testing. Upon analyzing the juice, it was clear that we were indeed almost finished! The Brix came in at 3.3 and the Ph was sitting nicely at 3.55. We will need to stop fermentation within the next couple of days as the desired outcome will be to have a slightly sweet wine. The flavor of this wine is delicate and has just the right amount of sweetness, without being too cloying, which is excessive sweetness. I’m still not sure what I can smell on the nose as there is still a lot of CO2 remaining in my glass which is a byproduct of the fermentation. After we rack this wine several times, the CO2 will dissipate. Stay tuned to find out what happens next!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Cranberry, Fig, and Pinot Noir Chutney

1 1/2 cups Pinot Noir
12 dried figs, diced
3/4 cup sugar
3 strips orange zest
1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
4 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring the wine to a simmer in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat, add the figs, and let soak until soft, about 30 minutes. Drain, reserving the wine and figs separately.

2. Combine the sugar, 1 1/2 cups water, the reserved wine, orange zest, and ginger in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until the sugar has completely melted, a minute or two. Add half of the cranberries and cook, stirring occasionally, until the berries have popped and are very soft, about 10 minutes. Stir in the remaining cranberries and the soaked figs and cook for 5 minutes longer. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

3. Discard the orange zest and scrape the chutney into a serving bowl. Serve at room temperature or chilled. The chutney can be prepared 24 hours in advance and stored covered in the refrigerator. Bobby Flay's Bar Americain Cookbook 2011

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Thanksgiving Weekend!

Del Rio Vineyards & Winery invites you to our annual Thanksgiving Open House celebration. Escape to wine country, where friendly services and delicious wines await. This post holiday weekend is filled with something fun each day:

Friday: Black “Mystery” Case Special
Our doors open at 11am, but be sure to line up early for this amazing deal. All thirteen case boxes of our current releases from Rose Jolee to our 2008 Estate Reserve Petite Syrah will be wrapped in black paper and available for only $100.00. Limited to one case per customer and all sales are final. We hope to see you bright and early on Friday – we will have hot cocoa!

Saturday:
Escape to the warm tasting room where we will offer three new wine releases: 2010 Pinot Gris, 2009 Syrah, & the 2009 Merlot. Enjoy samples of light food pairings and delicious warm spiced wine. Be rewarded for participating in the nationwide event of shopping local! Bring in a receipt, proof of a local purchase (chain stores do not apply) and enjoy a discount of 15% off any Del Rio product from wine to t-shirts. As a wine club member enjoy the discount on top of your wine club discount.

Sunday:
Bring your family and friends to learn a little bit more about wine. Stop in for one of our quick and fun “Wine Tasting 101” courses taught by Jen. Classes will take between 30-45 minutes and are located in our upstairs ballroom. Three time slots will be offered: 12:30pm, 2:30pm and 4:30pm. To participate in a course there is a $5.00 tasting fee, however, it will be waived with purchase of wine.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Eat Local

Join us in supporting our local restaurants and wine bars. Check out some of our favorites and those that carry Del Rio wine: 

MEDFORD
ASHLAND
Bambu
970 N. Phoenix Ste E106, Medford, OR, 97504 (541)608-7545
Callahan's Lodge
7100 Old Hwy 99 S., Ashland, OR, 97520 (541)482-1299
Cicily's Pastaria & Grill
1451 E McAndrews, Medford, OR, 97504 (541)776-3500
Black Sheep Pub & Restaurant
51 N Main St E, Ashland, OR, 97520  (541)482-6414
Four Daughters Irish Pub
126 W Main Street, Medford, OR, 97501 (541)779-4455
Chateaulin
50 & 52 E Main, Ashland, OR, 97520 (541)488-9463
Elements Tapas Bar & Lounge
101 E Main St, Medford, OR, 97501 (541)779-0135
Dragonfly Restaurant
241 Hargardine St, Ashland, OR, 97520  (541)488-4855
Kaleidoscope Pizzeria & Pub
3084 Crater Lake Hwy, Medford, OR, 97504 (541)779-7787
Pasta Piatti
358 E. Main St., Ashland, OR, 97520 (541)488-5493
Porters Dining At The Depot
147 North Front Street, Medford, OR, 97504 (541)857-1910
Sesame Asian Kitchen
21 Winburn Way, Ashland, OR, 97520   (541)482-0119
Rogue Valley Country Club
2660 Hillcrest, Medford, OR, 97504 (541)772-5965
Standing Stone Brewery
101 Oak Street, Ashland, OR, 97520  (541)482-2448
Vinny's Italian Kitchen
970 N Phoenix Rd Ste# 10, Medford, OR, 97504 (541)618-8669
Taroko
62 East Main St, Ashland, OR, 97520 (541)488-7108
Red Lion Hotel
200 North Riverside, Medford, OR, 97501 (541)779-5811
Winchester Inn
35 South 2nd St., Ashland, OR, 97520  (541)488-1113
Thai Bistro
535 Stevens Suite  F, Medford, OR, 97504 (541)772-6200
Hyatt Lake Resort
7900 Hyatt Prairie Road, Ashland, OR, 97520 (541)482-1201
38 Central
38 N. Central, Ste H, Medford, OR, 97501 (541)776-0038
JACKSONVILLE
Café Dejeuner
1108 E. Main St, Medford, OR, 97504 (541)857-1290
Jacksonville Inn
175 E California St, Jacksonville, OR, 97530 (541)899-1900
Pomodori Ristorante
1789 Stewart Ave, Medford, OR, 97501  (541)776-6332
Bella Union
170 W. Cal St, Jacksonville, OR, 97530  (541)899-1770
Rosario's Italian Restaurant
2221 W. Main, Medford, OR, 97501(541)773-2230
Willows Bed And Breakfast
3347 Old Stage Rd, Central Point, OR, 97502 (541)665-3020
Rosso's Trattoria
31 S. Grape St, Medford, OR, 97501 (541)441-6122
UPPER ROGUE AREAS
The Wharf Fresh Seafood Market & Eatery
827 W. Jackson, Medford, OR, 97501(541)951-6000
Prospect Hotel & Dinner House
391 Mill Creek Drive, Prospect, OR, 97536 (541)560-3664
Adam's Ribs And Deli
2901 Doctor Park Drive, Medford, OR, 97504 (541)773-9696
Rogue River Lodge
24904 Hwy. 62, Trail, OR, 97541 (541)878-2555

Diamond Lake Lodge
N. Umpqua Hwy, Diamond Lake, OR, 97731 (541)793-3333

The Picnic Basket Deli
21873 Hwy 62, Shady Cove, OR, 97539 (541)878-4003
GRANTS PASS
Rosso's Trattoria
225 Se 6th Street, Grants Pass, OR, 97526 (541)476-8708
Galice Resort
11744 Merlin Galice Road, Merlin, OR, 97532 (541)476-3818
Summer Jo's
2315 Upr River Rd Loop, Grants Pass, OR 97526 (541)476-6882
Blondies' Bistro
226 Sw  G  Street, Grants Pass, OR, 97526 (541)479-0420
Taprock Northwest Grill
971 Se 6th Street, Grants Pass, OR, 97526 (541)955-5998
Hannah's Restaurant at Historic Steam Laundry
234 Sw 5th St, Grants Pass, OR, 97526 (541)450-4864
The Vine Restaurant
1610 Allen Creek Road, Grants Pass, OR, 97527 (541)479-8463
Mediterranean Bar & Grill
218 Sw G Street, Grants Pass, OR, 97526 (541)955-0549
Applegate Valley Ranch
13100 N Applegate Rd, Grants Pass, OR, 97527 (541)659-9336
Morrison Lodge
8500 Galice Road, Merlin, OR, 97532 (541)476-3825
Pongsri's Thai Cuisine
323 Ne  E  Street, Grants Pass, OR, 97526 (541)955-1662
Casa Amiga
200 Macdonald Ln, Grants Pass, OR, 97527 (541)956-8602
One-Fifteen Broiler
115 N.W.  D  St, Grants Pass, OR, 97526 (541)474-7115
The Soup Station
595 E Main St, Rogue River, OR, 97537 (541)582-9725
The Twisted Cork
210 Sw 6th St, Grants Pass, OR, 97526 (541)295-3094


Thursday, November 3, 2011

Free Shipping - Online Orders!

Enjoy free ground shipping for November

Just in time for the holidays and the gift giving season, Del Rio is offering free ground shipping for all online orders the month of November. 

Have your favorite bottle delivered for free this month or ship a gift bottle for free. Don't forget Wine Club members enjoy 20% off your wine purchase.

Start your holiday shopping today! Click here to enter our online store. 

** Excludes HI & AK**