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

Washington’s Two Wine Growing Areas

Washington can be generally divided into two  grape growing zones with approximately 34 to 36 thousand acres under cultivation.  One zone is defined as the Interstate 5 corridor on the west side of the Cascade Range.  This zone receives adequate rainfall to grow grapes (average of 48 inches per year).  The other zone is defined as the plains on the east side of the Cascade Range.  Storms in Washington generally arrive from the northwest Pacific Ocean coastal area and move to the east.  As these storms push through the Cascade Range, abundant rainfall occurs on the west side of the mountains.  Later, these same air masses push over the Cascades much drier than when they arrived.  This produces a rain-shadow effect (average of 8 inches per year) because of the topographic lifting of the air mass over the coastal mountains.  Because of the rain shadow effects of the Cascade Range, this area often must use various irrigation techniques to maximize grape production.

Washington Wine Production Facts

The grape growing season in Washington is generally from March to September each year.  Harvesting starts in August and can run as late as November.  Washington is the second largest wine-producing state with only California out doing them.  Washington’s grape annual production is approximately 160 to 170 tons of grapes, which is only a fraction of California’s production of 3.6 to 3.8 million tons.  Prohibition arrived in 1920 banning alcohol-based beverages, and, as in other states, set the wine producing industry back.  The industry is building rapidly based on the availability of reasonably affordable land, but because most of the vineyards are small operations, the per bottle production costs are higher than most other areas in the country.  Washington wines are generally more expensive than wines produced elsewhere.  It remains to be seen if this will be restrictive and problematic as    Washington’s wine industry  grows.  Meanwhile, one article I reviewed stated a new winery opens about every other week with the current total around 650 wineries.

Washington Wine Types

The quality of Washington wines cannot be disputed.  The wines from this region have won numerous awards and are currently marketed in every U.S. state and 40 other countries.  Some of the leading red grapes found are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet France, Malbec, Sangiovese, Pinot Noir and Lemberger.  Some of the leading white varietals are Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Viognier, Semillon and Chenin Blanc.  White wine production is 54 percent of the total, while red wine is 46 percent of the total.  The  wine producing industry economic impact to Washington State is estimated to be in the neighborhood of 3 billion dollars a year.

Washington Wine Tour Planning

Touring wineries and vineyards is an excellent way to pass the time.  Cities in the Interstate 5 corridor that could serve as a tour base are Vancouver, Longview, Olympia, Tacoma, Seattle, Everett, Mt. Vernon, Bellingham and Fern Dale.  Wine production in the more arid eastern side of the Cascade Range is more scattered across the area.  Cities that could serve as a tour base are Spokane, Brewster, Chelan, Wenatchee, Yakima, Moses Lake, Toppenish, Richland and Walla Walla.  One thing I did notice, when visiting the few vineyards that I have, is that  during your wine tours often you will get a great view of a snow-covered peak.

When visiting Washington, touring its wine country will be very rewarding.  Some great wines are produced; the small wine growing operations are friendly to visit; and a landscape of beautiful views will reward you.  Remember, buy the wine you like, have a good wine storage cooler, serve it at the proper temperature and enjoy it immensely.

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

Egyptians: The First Cork Users

The Egyptians first used cork as a stopper thousands of years ago.  Later, ancient Greeks and Romans used cork for a variety of uses, including wine stoppers and olive oil.  In the 1600’s, a monk called Dom Perignon was using wooden stoppers wrapped in rags to seal his bottles of wine.  These crude plugs most often just popped out and were ineffective.  He started using cork plugs and successfully stoppered his best wines.  Wine bottling would never be the same, as cork soon became the essential answer to successfully sealing the bottles. 

First Cork Factory Was In Spain

In 1750, the first cork stopper factory opened in Anguine, Spain.  The widespread use of cork ultimately resulted in wine bottles undergoing a transformation from short and fat to tall and slender, because the slender neck was easily sealed with cork plugs.  Spain and Portugal produce over 80 percent to the cork used in the world.  Wine bottle cork comes  from the bark of a Cork Oak Tree.  The bark of trees older than 25 years is carefully stripped from the tree to protect it and perpetuate the life of the tree.  The bark is dried for up to six months then boiled for a few hours and then allowed to dry another 2 to 4 weeks.  

After the final drying process, the bark is carefully cut or molded into the correct sizes.  A washing process follows using chemicals that sanitize the corks from any bacterial growth.  Bacterial growth in the cork would quickly render a wine useless to drink.  New technologies for eliminating cork contamination are also being used such as irradiation.  Corks are then shipped in specially sealed bags to wherever they are needed. The entire cork making process could very well last a year.  

From Tree To Wine Cork May Take A Year

Portugal continues to be the world leader in cork production.  There are over 5 million acres of  cork forest in the world and over thirty percent of that area is in Portugal.  There are three basic sizes of natural cork from the standard size up to the larger champagne cork.  While cork is still the preferred sealer for bottled wine, some wine producers have begun using screw cap sealing systems on their bottles; thereby, throwing out the romance and sophistication of opening a corked bottle of great wine.  Corks can easily be used to re-seal partially used bottles of wine.  Smelling the cork when it is first removed will give you a quick idea of a wine’s quality.  Because of its fire resistance, cork is now also used in rocket technology.  Who knows what other uses may develop from this natural product. 

As I always say, buy the wine you prefer, have a proper wine storage cooler, and serve it at the correct temperature and you will enhance your enjoyment of this unique beverage.  Do not forget, smelling the cork will provide you critical evidence of what your first sip might taste like. 

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

You work for days on end until the time arrives when you get a day off from work.  It only took seconds to kiss my wife, grab my gear, hook-up the boat and hang the “Gone Fishing” sign on my office door.  My wife yelled at me as I was going out the door: “Don’t catch anything if you don’t want to clean it”.  Ten relaxing hours later, I appeared at the kitchen door with a stringer of bass, crappie and catfish.  Before my wife could corner me, I started immediately to clean the fish at the kitchen sink.  Of course, my wife would have preferred that I clean them outside.  She did give me the go ahead as long as I took the fish remains to the out door garbage can, scoured the sink with Lysol, mopped the floor and sprayed some aerosol fragrance that I will call “Odor de Normal”.  Time spent traveling to fish, catching the fish, cleaning the fish and sanitizing the kitchen totaled 12 hours and 27 minutes.  This was still better than 8 hours behind my desk. 

Couple of weeks later, I declared, “Tonight we are having those fish I caught for dinner.”  My wife said, “You cook and I will go to the store for some wine”.  She then asked a series of perplexing questions, “Are you leaving the skin on or taking it off?”, “Is the meat from these fish white, pink or red?”, and “How are you going to cook the fish?”  In a somewhat sarcastic way, I responded, “Skin on, white meat, grilled.”  She left me with the passing comment, “That is all I needed to know” and off to the store she went.  I did not have to be told that she knew what she was doing, because the “smarty-pants” grin on her face told me.  The fish and wine combination that resulted from our joint efforts made the evening for us. 

What she knew about wine and fish, I obviously needed to learn without her knowing it.  I do not do well when “smarty-pants” is right.  Research with help from the search engines was undertaken immediately.  I found a posting by Kara Newman in what she calls a “Whimsical Guideline” for wine and fish/seafood combinations.  She said, “White wine with white seafood, pink wine with pink seafood, and red wine with red seafood”.  I thought that rule might be too easy to be true.  More research merely uncovered the wide range of opinion and advice on this topic. 

I discovered there are principles to follow to get the right combination of fish and wine.  The principles involved are the weight and texture of the food, the intensity of flavors, the need to balance tastes and the need to match flavors, unless a counterpoint flavor would be better.  This did not make sense to me until a read an article on DrinkWine.com called Basic Principles of Successful Food-Wine Pairing.  I even found out what “umami” was. 

The WineDoctor.com has a whole series of paring wine with everything from soup to nuts.  The most important pairing that they tout is the paring of wine with people.  I am a firm believer that you should drink the wine that you enjoy the most and worry less about what food you may have paired with.  They said pair red wine with fish, but they also added plenty of “ifs and buts” to their basic rule.  I also came across an article by Sheral Schowe called “Choosing the Best Wine for Fish”. Her article provides more specific input on the wine and fish combinations.  Another website, Ehow.com has a complete array of instructions, tips and warnings to help guide your fish and wine selections. 

My research was complete and I was ready for the next time we had fish for dinner.  It did not take long for my research to pay off.  My wife said, “I bought some fresh halibut at the store for dinner tonight”.  I replied, “That sounds great to me.  You cook and I will pick up the wine”.   She responded, “What wine were you going to get”.  Without hesitation and with a Cheshire cat grin of my own, I said, “Without a doubt a Chardonnay, Condrieu or Rousanne would be the perfect match with halibut”.  The dumbfound look on my wife’s face was worth the research.  Who says that you cannot teach an old dog a new trick? 

Remember what I always say store your wine properly, serve it at the right temperature and enjoy it completely. 

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

Any one that has spent any time in Minnesota knows about the short growing seasons and the long winters. Infamous names in Minnesota wine growing lore include Louis Suelter, 1870 era German homesteader from Carver, Minnesota and A. W Latham, a Minneapolis transplant in 1865.  Both of these men spent considerable time and effort producing new types of growing grapes adapted to the climate of the state. 

Conditions as found in this state are not conducive to development of a substantial wine industry.  However, the University of Minnesota reported in 2008 that the wine industry’s total impact to the state’s economy was a little over 36 million dollars.  Employment was around 324 people with a labor income of around 10 million dollars.  Some would say “that ain’t hay”. 

Many grape varieties require special handling to protect them from the winter weather, including in some places burying the vines under soil for the season.  Research has developed several hybrid and other grape varieties that are cold hardy.  Grapes produced include Marquette, Frontenac Gris, Frontenac, Chambourcin, Chardonnay, Concord, Edelweiss, Delaware, La Crescent, La Crosse, St Croix and several others. 

There are approximately 30 wineries in the state of Minnesota.  Most are located within the lower Mississippi, Saint Croix and Cannon River Valleys in the southeast quadrant of the state.  Most of these wineries have websites one can visit to get specific information on their operations.  Wine crop harvest generally happens in September but will vary slightly depending on the variety. 

A recent addition to the wine scene in Minnesota is the Three Rivers Wine Trail.  This Trail was established to feature the Wine Haven, Northern, Saint Croix, Falconer and Cannon River Vineyards in the southeastern part of the state.  These vineyards are five of the oldest in the state.  There are several events planned at these wineries and at the same time, you can explore towns like Chisago City, Stillwater, Red Wing and Cannon Falls.

During my research, I ran across an article by Annie Baxter, Minnesota Public Radio, written June 25, 2006.  She stated, “It may come as a surprise that Minnesota even has vineyards, given a climate that can be fatal for wine grapes.  But a wine industry is emerging in a state that’s better known for producing corn and soybeans.”  Regardless of the current “growing pains” of the Minnesota wine industry, I believe its worth looking into.  Having been born in the state, I know Minnesota citizens will go out of their way to try any home grown product, including its wine.  

As I always say, buy your favorite wine, store it properly, serve it at the right temperature and enjoy it to the fullest. 

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

The state has over 100 wineries covering over 14,000 acres.  The wine industry contributes over 2 billion dollars to the state’s economy.  Approximately 230 distinct growers produce nearly 400,000 cases of wine annually.  The Pennsylvania wine industry accounts for over 10,500 jobs.  The wine industry is relatively young, but is growing fast and gaining recognition for its quality wines.  The grape crop harvest typically starts in late August and ends in the middle of October. 

The wine industry originated in the southeast and northwest portions of the state.  Today, wineries are scattered throughout the state.  The majority of wine production is in the eastern part of the state within a polygon defined by drawing a line from Williamsport east to Scranton, then southeast to Newtown, then southwest to Eddystone, then west to Orrtanna, and then north back to Williamsport.  In August 2009, Jennifer Eckinger, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Winery Association, in an interview with Joel Berg, The Patriot News, said, “There’s actually a winery within a 45 minute drive anywhere in the state . . .” 

The primary Pennsylvania varietals that can be found includes Cabernet Sauvignon, Catawba, Cayuga, Chambourcin, Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Reisling, Seyval Blanc, Vidal Blanc and Virnoles.   One of the strengths of the Pennsylvania wine industry is the diversity of the grapes grown.  Many of the wine makers have received awards and other recognitions for their quality vintages.  Most of the wine growing operations are family-owned and offer a special brand of hospitality should you opt to tour them. 

Touring Pennsylvania wineries can be fun endeavor to partake.  Plan your trip carefully before hitting the road.  If you do not like crowds and want a more one-on-one experience, tour during the week rather than the weekends.  Prepare yourself by learning as much as you can about the wineries you plan to visit by visiting their respective websites.  Do not forget to stop occasionally to “smell the roses” and experience the local cultures, museums, historical markers, restaurants, etc.  Manage your tour trip to get all the enjoyment you can and not let the trip become an onus to having fun. 

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

I have enjoyed a good glass of table wine many times with my meals.  Wine tasting parties have always been a favorite pastime, especially when combined with cheese.  No, I am not from Wisconsin so I do not rate a “cheese head hat”.  Recently, after a pleasant dinner party with good friends, I was introduced to a new class of wines that I had never tried before.  The dessert wine I was served turned out to be the fitting end to a fabulous evening. 

 Grapes used for dessert wines are not harvested in the same fashion and timing as your typical table wine grapes.  The goal is to increase the sugar content of the grape by mainly harvesting them later in the season.  Often in dessert wines a noble rot forms on the grapes before harvest.  In another dessert wine type named ice wine, grape harvest is delayed until the first freeze.  Some times these wines are developed by pausing the fermentation process. 

There are several types of grapes primarily used in the making of dessert wines.  Semillon grapes are commonly used in Sauternes that often smell like the wildflowers where it is grown.  Muscat grapes may remind you of orange and honey.  Fendant and Chasselas are typically found primarily in Switzerland.  Spicy Gewurztraminer wines are good tasting and seem to age well.  Fortified wines like sherry, port and Madeira are made differently than your typical dessert wine, but are also a great choice and considered in many circles to be “honorary dessert wines”.  Be aware that some wineries are making great dessert wines by “late-harvesting” table wine grapes used for Cabernet Sauvignon and Viognier. 

 When serving dessert wines, a general rule is the wine should be sweeter than the food it is served with.  Good matches include fresh sweet fruits, bakery goods and chocolate and toffee based dishes.  White dessert wines should be served chilled but not to cold, while red dessert wines are mainly served at room temperature.  Because of their sweetness, dessert wines come in smaller bottles and often are more expensive than table wines.  It is best to serve these wines in a small glass with a pour of only 2 ounces.  Dessert wine can be served without dessert, but in any case with or without, ready your body for the sugar high that will result. 

 Selecting the right dessert wine for your next entertainment event could be a little challenging.  A great suggestion is to try a “test-run” before you plan your gathering.  Get your chosen dessert prepared ahead of time.  Taste the wine you think will compliment your dessert choice and note your impressions.  Lastly, taste your wine along with your dessert.  If you find the combination pleasant to your palate, you are home free.  If the combination dulls the flavor of the wine, consider going with a less-sweet dessert or a sweeter wine. 

What I learned about dessert wines has been known for a long time by cultured Europeans.  On this continent, we have always appreciated having dessert after our meals, but have not extensively appreciated what a good accompanying wine could do to our “taste-buds”.   I have decided that having a dessert wine in my cellar to enjoy occasionally is a personal requirement.  As I always say, select your wine to fit your individual taste, store and serve it properly, and enjoy. 

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