In 1999, the state had a grand total of 2 licensed wineries, but now can boast that there are more than 85.  In the twelve years since 1999, Iowa can boast about what many call an “explosive expansion” in wine related industries.  The first commercial vineyard planted in the state was in 1857.  When Prohibition became a reality in the United States and following many unplanned events in the late 1800s, the Iowa grape growing industry pretty much disappeared until its recent growth spurt. Iowa was recently ranked 14^th nationally in the number of wineries and 22^nd in production.

Iowa wineries are in what I would call a time of trial and error when it comes to grape growing.  Many times new vineyards are initially planted with several grape varieties just to see which ones will grow and which will not.  Some of the grape types currently cultivated are: Bluebell, Catawba, Chardonel, Concord, La Crosse, Niagara, Steuben and Vidal Blanc.  Several other varieties are also grown, but most commercial wine growing focuses on French hybrids and grapes native to America.  Agricultural Extension Services at Iowa and Minnesota Colleges continue to provide expert advice to current and potential grape growers to improve the odds of success.

There are no recognized official wine growing regions in Iowa.  The three primary grape growing areas that I recognize are located near the cities of Dubuque (Dubuque and Jackson Counties), Des Moines-Ames (Story, Polk, Dallas, Madison, Warren, Boone, Jasper and Marion Counties) and Council Bluffs (Fremont, Mills and Pottawattamie Counties).  Other counties that have notable grape growing operations are Carroll, Jefferson and Van Buren Counties.  Many of these operations are small family run collaborations where grapes are often harvested by hand.  Total Iowan area in grape production is about 1200 acres spread out on over 400 vineyards.

While the Iowa grape industry is considered in its infancy, a 2007 economic study showed it did account for an economic impact to the state of $235 million dollars with over 10 percent of that total attributed to tourism.  Wine touring trails are starting to develop that will further enhance the tourism aspect of this industry.  Many wineries make addition income by renting their tasting rooms for use in parties or wedding receptions.

If you are ever in Iowa, take the time to visit some of these family wineries and vineyards.  You may be surprised to find a wine you will really like, but I do know you will meet some wonderful, hardworking people in the process.  Remember, buy the wine you like, store and serve it at its optimal temperature and enjoy it completely.

Author: Ronald Senn, Vice-president, Idealwinecoolers.com

French Wine Producing Regions

Three of the best known wine growing regions in France include Burgundy, Bordeaux, and Champagne.  The Burgundy area produces various wines from the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay varieties.  The Bordeaux area features the “noble” vine, the Cabernet Sauvignon.  The best sparkling wines in the world are produced in the Champagne region.  Other wine growing regions in France include Loire Valley, Savole, Rhone Valley, Alsace and the Midi and Provence Regions near Montpellier, France.  These other regions produce a wide variety of different full-bodied reds, whites, aperitif and dessert wines and popular roses.

Les Coteaux De St Christol Winery

As we drove into the entrance to Les Coteaux, it was obvious that most of the acreage of the farm was cultivated in grapes.  Most of the vines we saw were mature and laden with grapes moving towards harvest.  Harvest of these grapes would not occur until late August or early September.  Most of the vineyards in the same area also had acres and acres of grape vines stretching as far as the eye could see.  One farm had started some new vines that had been lost in a wild fire in 2010.  It was clear from looking at the landscape why France is the leading wine producer in the world.  I was surprise to find out that Luxembourg actually drinks more wine per-capita than France.

As we approached the winery, warehouse and retail shops, I was impressed with the simplicity and neatness of the lay out.  Grapes were harvested here, processed into various types of wines, boxed wine was warehoused and shipped from here and retail sales were also conducted.  The store had a neat but comprehensive display of all the wines that Les Coteaux De St Christol Winery offered.

We shopped and selected some of the ones we wanted to taste before buying.  A cheerful young lady assisted us by carefully pouring into fresh glasses the portion of wine needed to make a decision about its taste.  A black vat was located nearby for us to pour off the unwanted taste tests.  Of course, when we found one we liked, we drank the whole sample.  The best part of visiting a winery like this for me was the rural French hospitality that was coupled with a simple wine tasting experience that I soon won’t forget.  We ended up buying several bottles and I am happy to say they made it back to the States without breaking.

Wine Touring

Touring the wine regions in France provided me many fond memories.  The vineyards we visited were beautiful to behold and included a back drop of historical structures that date back hundreds and hundreds of years.  If you get a chance to tour a French vineyard, you will enjoy the wine tasting, the country style hospitality and at the same time soak up the historical significance of this area of Europe.  For example, several vineyards in the area where we were staying were bisected by an old Roman aqueduct built around 92 A.D.

I failed to mention that the winery we visited had recently won an award for some of its offerings.  I intend to follow up with more details on our trip to France.  In the meantime, buy the wine you like best, store and serve it at its optimum temperature and enjoy immensely.

Author: Ronald Senn, Vice-president, Ideal Wine Coolers

FRENCH WINE GROWING HISTORY

Cultivation of wine in France has been an enduring enterprise since thousands of years before Christ.  Romans occupying the area around 90 AD produced a surplus of wine that forced Emperor Domitian to order half of the vineyards uprooted.  Viticulture in France during the Middle Ages (400 to 1200 AD) was primarily kept alive by various monasteries located in the country.  During the period of English rule (middle 1100 to middle 1400 AD) of the Bordeaux region of France, much of the wine produced there was shipped to England.  Wine growing in Europe and France was set back in the mid to late 1800s because of disease and insect problems.  In the 1930s, France led a movement to ensure the authenticity of wine related to where it was produced.  Today, France is still producing some of the best wines in the world.

FRENCH WINE PRODUCTION

France is the leading wine producer in the world.  Rankings based on 2002 wine production totals, put France number one followed by Italy, Spain, United States and Australia, respectively.  In 2002, France produced 5,199,930 metric tons, which was nearly 17 percent more than Italy.  Other countries that are top ten producers of wine in ranking order are Argentina, China, Germany, South Africa and Portugal.  However, France is not the per-capita wine consumption leader, but is second to Luxembourg.  The other top three consumers of wine are Italy, Portugal and Croatia.  The United States doesn’t even make the top thirty per-capita consumers.

FRENCH WINE GROWING REGIONS

Basic Wine Storage Requirements

Storage requirements that are basic to any wine are reasonably straight forward.  You must keep your wine in a horizontal position to keep the cork moist.  The storage location should be vibration free and provide protection from light and UV rays.  Temperatures should be stable and optimally range from between 42 to 58 degrees F. with red wines stored at the upper part of the range and white wines the lower.  Ideal storage would be in an environment where relative humidity is at least 70 percent.  Finally, do not store wines where their corks can pick up strange odors from a source like a stinky cheese or worse.

Common White Wine Types

Some the most common white wine grapes include Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Pinot Grigio, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc.  Other popular white wines include Semillon, a favorite dessert wine, and Viognier, primarily grown in France and California.  California is the primary state where white wines are made, but other important growing states include New York, Oregon and Washington.

White Wine Storage Temperatures

You should always store and serve white wines colder than your red wines.  Most people recommend storage temperatures between around 42 degrees to 48 degrees F.  Wines, such as Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc and Champagne are best stored at the lower end of that range.  Remember, storing temperatures for white wines are colder than their respective serving temperature.  You should research the optimal temperature requirements for storing and serving your particular favorite white wine.

Caves or Wine Refrigerator?

Much of the wine made in France is stored in caves where stable temperatures are near 55 degrees F.  Most of us in the United States do not have caves handy for this use.  Manufacturer’s today offer many different styles and sizes of wine coolers and wine  refrigerators that can provide a stable temperature, provide for horizontal wine bottle storage, reduce UV rays and run with little or no vibration.  Wine coolers are also made that can provide dual temperature zones to store different classes of wine at their respective optimum temperatures.

Closing Advice

If you only occasionally grab a bottle of wine to enjoy with your dinner, your standard refrigerator will work fine for short term storage.  If you like to keep a wine collection on hand to later select from or if you have intent to age your wine to improve its value and taste, investment in a wine cooler, cellar or refrigerator is what would be best for you.  No matter what you decide, I only offer this last bit of advice: buy the wine that you like, store it correctly, serve it at its best temperature and enjoy it to the last drop.

Author: Ronald Senn, Vice-president, Ideal Wine Coolers, June 2011

RED WINE TYPES

Some of the most popular red wines include Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Zinfandel.  Grenache grapes are often used as a blending additive when wine making from other grapes and are one of the most planted red wines in the world, especially in Spain and France. Other red wines that are not as well-known but deserve mention are Barbera, Malbec, Sangiovese, Tempranillo, Nebbiolo and Gamay. Syrah and Shiraz wines are made from the same grape, but are developed using uniquely different grape processing techniques. The modern era has brought an increasing popularity for red organic wine, produced with no fertilizers or chemicals.

RED WINE STORAGE REQUIREMENTS

The best rule of thumb for red wine storage is to store them at a temperature between 50 and 60 degrees F.  When temperatures approach 90 degrees F., red wine can easily be damaged.  Imagine it is August in the Arizona Desert; you stop to buy your red wine for dinner and leave it in the trunk of your car while you  continue to shop for several hours. Your red wine will be damaged. You will not be able to undo the damage if you rush home and stick the red wine bottle in the freezer. That action of moving your wine from one temperature extreme to another will also cause damage to it.  Alexander J. Pandell has written an excellent article on How Temperature Affects the Aging of Wine that is worth reading.

Red wines are best stored in a wine fridge, bottles properly racked in a horizontal position and with the temperature precisely regulated. The horizontal position will insure that the cork won’t crack or leak from drying out. Relative humidity should be around 70 percent. Leaking corks can cause premature oxidation of the wine.  Disturbance of the bottles should be minimized to the best of your ability, particularly if you intend to age them awhile.  Look for slide out shelving in your wine cooler appliance to make access to your bottles easier and to minimize movement of the other stored bottles.  Your storage appliance should be placed out of direct sunlight to maximize your wine cooler’s ability to hold a constant temperature.

RED WINE SERVING TEMPERATURES

Most red wines should be served at room temperature, which means an average of 60 to 65 degrees F.  If the red wine is served too warm, the taste will be dominated by the alcohol and if it is served to cold, it will definitely be less flavorful.  Red sweet and sparkling wines should be served much colder than room temperature, about 45 degrees F. Lighter reds like Pinot Noir and Zinfandel should be served around 60 degrees F. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, full bodied red wines, are best when served at 65 degrees F. Use the serving guidelines, but good wine tasting often comes down to personal preference in balancing flavor and alcohol taste. It is best to experiment on your own when serving your favorite red to find your personal temperature niche.

The more you refine your red wine storage and serving parameters, the more you will appreciate the quality of your taste experience.  As popular as wine is becoming as an addition to our lives, I still recommend to everyone to buy the wine you like best, store and serve it the proper temperatures and enjoy it any time you want to.  Wine refrigerators are designed today to address all the critical conditions needed to keep make your red wine storage easy and keep your bottles ready to enjoy.

Author: Ronald Senn, Vice-president, Ideal Wine Coolers, May 2011

History of Virginia Wine Growing

Although grape growing first started in the infamous area of Jamestown in the 1600’s, the wine industry was pretty much a failure to begin with.  Success finally started to become a reality in the early 1800’s.  Notoriety for Virginia wines really came to light at the Vienna’s World Fair in 1873 when a Virginia Norton wine was named “Best Red Wine of All Nations”.  The wine industry in the entire United States was drastically set back by Prohibition (1920-1933) and Virginia was no exception.  Virginia commercial grape growing totaled only 15 acres in the early 1950’s.  Since then Virginia’s wine industry has experienced wide spread growth and now can claim over 190 different wineries in the state.  Virginia is currently ranked 5^th amongst U.S. states for wine production.

Wine Growing Regions

Virginia is divided into nine recognized wine growing regions.  The Northern Virginia, Shenandoah and Central Virginia Regions have approximately 78 percent of all the wineries in the state.  The Blue Ridge Highlands, Southern Virginia and Chesapeake Bay Regions account for another 17 percent of the wineries.  The remaining regions, Heart of Appalachia, Hampton Roads and Eastern Virginia account for the remaining 5 percent of the state’s wineries.  Annette Boyd is the Director of the Virginia Wine Board Marketing Office.  In her presentation to the Virginia Vineyards Association in 2009, Annette stated that “Total grape production was up 25% in 2008 from the previous year” and “Total grape production was up 22.8% in 2009” from 2008.  The wine industry in Virginia is definitely quickly on the rise.

Wine Types Grown

Virginia’s climate, topography and soils allow growers to cultivate a broad range of great grapes.  The combination of these special characteristics that affect wine helps vintners create wines that are especially tasteful with food.  Standard wines include Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet France, Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Merlot, Virginia Norton, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier.  Virginia Viognier is now recognized as an acceptable term among wine fanciers.  Virginia Viognier wine, along with Virginia Cabernet Franc and native Norton, are fast becoming the state’s most notable wines.  You will most probably find a Virginia Wine available to enjoy in many upscale restaurants.

Touring Virginia Wine Country

If you like to tour various areas that produce wine, Virginia offers an extensive choice of “wine trails” to explore.  Bedford County, Blue Ridge, Chesapeake Bay, Loudoun, Monticello, Mountain Road, Shenandoah Valley and Tuskie are just a few of the wine trail names.  The character of Virginia abounds with American history and small scattered communities across the state that will make any wine tour you decide to try a truly enlightened experience.

I intend to try some Virginia wines when I visit my son on our next trip.  I am sure that I will find one or more to my liking.  I am betting, given the broad range of grape varieties found in Virginia, that you also will find one to your liking.  As I always say, buy the wine that you like, store it properly in a wine refrigerator and then serve it at the perfect temperature.  Your enjoyment of that favorite vintage will be enhanced.

Author: Ronald Senn, Vice-president, Ideal Wine Coolers

New York Wine Growing Areas

New York State has six areas that currently define its wine country.  The areas are 1) Lake Erie-Chautauqua, 2) Niagara Escarpment, 3) Finger Lakes, 4) Hudson River Valley-Catskills, 5) New York City and 6) Long Island-North Folk-Hamptons.   Another area that previously has not been considered a part of the state’s wine country is Central New York-Lake Ontario, an area experiencing recent wine industry growth. The three most important areas Lake Erie-Chautauqua, Finger Lakes and Long Island-North Fork-Hamptons have over 95 percent of the vineyard acres, over 75 percent of the bonded wineries and over 95 percent of the tons of grapes produced in the entire state.  In an article by Debra J. Goon, she discusses New York’s grape and wine industry as contributing $3.76 billion to the state’s economy.  New York ranks third behind California and Washington in grape production by volume.

Wine Grape Types

The grape growing seasons in the state range from about 180 days in the northern areas (Finger Lakes and Upper Hudson River Valley) to 230 days near the Long Island area.  Annual precipitation across the state averages 30 to 50 inches per year.  Wines produced include Sparkling Wines, Seyval, Riesling, Pinot Noir, Ice Wines, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gewurztraminer, and Merlot.   Many American hybrid grapes such as Catawba, Delaware, Elvira, Ives and Isabella are also grown.  Important French hybrid grapes grown, noted to make great wines, are Cayuga, Vidal and Vignoles.  Concord grapes are grown primarily for use in juices.

Wine Trails and Tours

The state has several notable wine trails that would make excellent tour destinations.   Trails can be found near the cities of Fredonia, Niagara, Penn Yan, Fayette, Watkins Glen, Marlboro, Clinton Corners, Williamson, Alexandria Bay and Riverhead.   Visiting a winery could easily be coupled with visiting other state attractions like Niagara Falls, Sterling Renaissance Festival, Erie Canal, Everson Museum, Allegany State Park, Catskill Park or even the Long Island Beaches.   Often a side-trip taking you away from your primary destination focus is a welcome relief; at least it has been that way for me.  I bet you might even find a wine that you can add to your list of favorites.

Take the time to check out New York’s wine industry.  As I always say, buy the wine you like, store wine properly in a wine refrigerator, serve it at the proper temperature and enjoy it immensely.

Author: Ronald Senn, Vice-president, Ideal Wine Coolers, October 2010

My spouse and I have traveled through California many times on my way to see family in Monterey.  We have traveled the “101” up the coast from Los Angeles and have used I-5 as well.  Everywhere you go in this part of California you will see grapes grown.  California can brag that it produces about 90 percent of the total wine production in the U.S.  Many say that if California were a country it would be the fourth largest wine producer in the world behind only France, Spain and Italy.

California Wine Growing Regions

You cannot tour California’s entire wine country in a short period; it is wide spread and with too many different wineries.   It must be broken down into logical visitation stops and with a clear base camp of operations from which to travel.  Generally, the eleven wine growing regions in California are located in the coastal counties from Mendocino County in the north to Santa Barbara County in the south.  Other wine production can be found near Lodi and in the Sierra Nevada Foothills.

Paso Robles Base Camp 

One of our favorite “base camps” on the “101” route is the town of Paso Robles about 30 miles south of San Luis Obispo.  Paso Robles was aptly named in the 1800’s because of the huge oak trees that characterize the area.  Franciscan Friars, in the late 1700’s, planted the first grape vines in the area.  Grape vines became a common addition to the grounds of early Spanish Missions that were built in the area.  As in most areas, Prohibition set the local wine industry back, but new generations of wine growers have steadily increased vineyard plantings and wine production since the late 1960’s.  There are now over 200 wineries currently operational in the area around Paso Robles.  The wine production future of the area in terms of both quantity and quality is definitely on the rise.

Paso Robles Wine Types

Key leading grape varieties include Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah and Zinfandel.  Paso Robles enjoys a long grape-growing season due to the cool nights, warm days and late season rains.  The grapes grown in this area are held on the vine typically longer than other California grape growing areas; resulting in fully mature fruit.  Soils in the area are typically high pH and are primarily derived from bedrock materials like weathered granite, volcanic rocks and various ages of marine sedimentary rocks.  Other wine growing areas outside the central coast are geologically different and most often are characterized by fertile valleys with deep loam soils.

Paso Robles Wine Tours

Touring the wine country using Paso Robles as your home base is relatively easy.  A day trip could be made by heading east of town on State Route 46F.  Another trip could be planned by heading south on Highway 101 to State Route 46E.  There are literally vineyards everywhere you go.  The Paso Robles American Viticultural Area (AVA) comprises 614 thousand acres with more than 26 thousand acres in grape vines.  This AVA lies on the inland side of the Santa Lucia coastal range with its western border just 6 miles from the Pacific Ocean.  Touring wineries in the area will keep you busy but the beauty of the landscape around you will keep you smiling.

Visiting Paso Robles will definitely result in your adding some new wines to your favorites.  As I always say, buy the wine you like, store wine properly in a wine cooler, serve it at the proper temperature and enjoy it immensely.

Author: Ronald Senn, Vice-president, Ideal Wine Coolers, September 2010

 Wine Growing History 

In the 1770’s, French settlers first introduced wine making to small village in Illinois now called Peoria.  Emile Baxter, along with his sons, opened a winery along the banks of the Mississippi River near Nauvoo in 1857.  The Baxter Vineyard remains the oldest operating winery in Illinois.  Before prohibition, Illinois laid claim to being the fourth largest wine producing state in America.  Prohibition, as it did in many states, virtually caused the wine growing industry to disappear in Illinois until resurgence in the late 1970’s.  By the year 2001, there were 27 wineries and, in the last nine years, another 63 have been added – a 330 percent increase in the past decade. 

  Wine Growing Zones

Illinois is divided into four major wine growing zones.  Each zone approximately divides the state into quarters with the growing zone boundaries running east to west.  The zones are aptly named the Northern, Central, South Central and Southern.  Nearly one-half of the vineyards are located in Jackson, Union, Johnson and Jo Daviess Counties.  About 55 percent of the wineries are located in Union, Jackson, Madison, Adams, De Kalb and Randolph Counties.  Illinois has the capacity to produce approximately 850,000 gallons of wine per year but is currently operating at about 65 percent of capacity.  Grapes are cultivated on approximately 1200 acres in the state. 

  Wine Grapes Cultivated 

Of the grape area harvested, twelve wine grape varieties comprise nearly ninety percent of the harvest.  The following twelve varieties, listed from most produced to least are: Chardonel, Chambourcin, Vignoles, Traminette, Concord, Foch, Seyval, Norton, Vidal Blanc, Frontenac, Niagara and Cayuga White.  The Northern and Southern zones account for 57 percent of the cultivated acres of grapes.  Many of the grapes grown are considered hybrid varieties adapted to the cold climates of the state.  Fruit wines from apples, peaches and berries are also recognized as a key category within the state’s wine industry. 

 Wine Tours

The wine producing community of Illinois has four designated wine trails that are ideal to tour.  The wine trails are Shawnee Hills (Southern Zone), Northern Illinois, Illinois River and Heartland Rivers.  Any of these trails are worth the effort to explore and enjoy.  There are established bus tour companies that will allow you to taste as much wine as you want and leave the driving to them.  Interstate highways abound and make traveling to one of the wine trail tours easy.  Award winning wineries like the 2010 State Fair entry from Prairie State Winery will surely reward your palette.  Other notable wineries winning awards at the 2010 Fair were Lynfred, Spirit Knot, Hickory Ridge, Hill Prairie and August Hill Wineries. 

Illinois offers a great selection of tasty wines you should try.  It will still boil down in the end to what wine suits your palette.  As I always say, buy the wine you like, store wine properly in a wine cooler, serve it at the proper temperature and enjoy it immensely. 

Author: Ronald Senn, Vice-president, Ideal Wine Coolers, July 2010

Biggest Wine Country

Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay

Visit Texas Hills Area

Many of us have danced the Texas Two-step.  I found another Texas tradition, the Texas Two-sip.  The Texas Two-sip is a challenging, blind taste test of a collection of in state and out of state wines.  The goal is to use your taste buds to find the best.  There are special rules and forms to fill out, but no specific rules on what food you can eat.  Sounds like a party to me.  The only caution I have is I did not find out the rule when you get to take your blindfold off.  Be careful where you step.

When I was in the military traveling home on leave, I had car trouble in Fredericksburg.  The people took me in, fed me and housed me, while the resident mechanic repaired my heap.  When I was getting ready to leave, they gave me the gift of a thank you for my service and covered all my bills.  Because of the wine growing there, I now have another reason to take a pause there.  Look out Highway 290 here we come.

Author: Ronald Senn, Vice-president, Ideal Wine Coolers, June 2010