By, Angela Avila

So you know what kind of wine you like to drink. But do you know why? I can drink a good bottle of Pinot Noir or Zinfandel with just about anything…steak, crab legs, salad, cheese, fruit, and of course… dark chocolate. I never knew my love of smooth dry reds was due to the fact that I may have 10 times as many taste buds as the wine drinker next to me. 

Strange, but true! According to the founders of “The Bud Test” at YumYuk.com, not only do our personal experiences shape our palate, but our physiological make-up plays a big role as well. 

Tim Hanni, a California wine consultant, developed the “Budometer” to help simplify the wine drinking experience. According to Jane Black of the Washington Post, Hanni and two other scientists “took into account a decade of research on taste and sensory perception.”  They have analyzed taste buds under magnifying glasses and broken wine drinkers into 4 major categories: Sweet, Hyper-Sensitive, Sensitive and Tolerant. 

 

To test their theory, I had my “buds done” (twice… just to make sure) and after being asked a series of questions on my preferences for coffee, salt, and alcohol it turns out I am a Hyper-Sensitive taster.  After the quiz, I received a break-down of my preferences…which were surprisingly true. I prefer balanced dry wines with moderate intensity, fruit, oak and tannins. Not bad for a five question web quiz. 

But wait, have I been pigeon-holed?  What about the bold, full-bodied cabernet I enjoyed last week?  Or the sweet and fruity Raspberry Honeywine that I have come to like so much… the one that is just as lovely to sip with chocolate as any one of my beloved Pinot’s? While it is all good and fun to have a quiz tell me what kind-of wine drinker I am, I shy away from the idea of having my tongue stuck under a magnifying glass and my taste buds counted.  The enjoyment and allure of wine is something science will never fully explain. One thing is for sure, the next time I open a bottle of wine to share with friends, I will not ask them to stick out their tongues before I serve them…

 

Want to get your “buds done”? Follow the link from Prairie Berry Winery’s webpage:

www.prairieberry.com/news/index.php?newsid=19

by Michele Slott

We get a lot of questions about wine storage and serving here at Prairie Berry Winery. Here are some very important basics we like to share with our customers.

1) Drink soon. Only about 5% of the wines sold in this country are purchased to cellar long-term. The style of wine we make is best consumed within two years.

2) Share with a friend. Once open, the wine starts to deteriorate, and is best consumed within 1-3 days. Sweeter wines may be kept a day or two longer.

3) Keep it cool. Preferably a stable, cool (50-60°F) place, such as the bottom of a basement closet. Storing wine too cold or too warm, or wild temperature fluctuations can all have negative effects on the taste.

4) Avoid light. UV rays can cause oxidation.

5) Hold still. Keep wine away from vibrations, as this can (believe it or not) disrupt it on a molecular level, causing it to lose flavor intensity.

6) Serving temp is important. Dry red wines are best served at a cool room temperature, 55-60°F. Dry whites, a bit cooler, at 50-55°F (put in the fridge for 20 minutes before serving - no more). A sweeter wine should be served well-chilled at around 40°F . If it’s been in the fridge all day, let it sit out for 20 minutes or so before pouring.

7) Stelvin tips. When preparing to open, simply twist and remove the Stelvin screwcap. No cork means no corkscrew, no “cork taint”, AND you can store the bottle upright. DO handle the top of the bottle gently. The seal on the  inside edge can get damaged if you drop the bottle or bang it too hard — air then leaks in, and weeks or months later, the wine is ruined.

Fear not the floaties. Although most commercial wines do not have sediment, you may occasionally come across a bottle with some present in older wines. One reason wine bottles were originally designed with the indentation, or “punt” in the bottom, was to allow these natural elements to settle out, instead of being poured into the glass. Light colored tartaric acid crystals form if the wine gets too cold, or you may find sediment from the grape or fruit. Besides allowing it to settle in the bottle, you can use a wine filter or pour into a decanter at a gentle angle. Don’t fear “floaties”, but you don’t want them in your glass, either.

9) Burp the bottle (well, sort-of). If storing for a day or so after opening, you CAN replace the Stelvin lid, but are best off using some type of wine preservation system such as a Vacu-Vin that removes the air from the bottle to slow down the deterioration of the wine. This is especially true for delicate dry white wines which can turn quickly. Store resealed bottles in the refrigerator.

by Holli Edwards

South Dakota is not considered on the leading edge of the trends - but this is not a bad thing, especially in this case!  In the Best of Year 2008 edition of Wine Enthusiast Magazine, and featured on their website,  is a story regarding wine now being served in rubber tipped baby bottles.  A restaurant in New York City, La Cave de Fondus (they feature a cow sipping wine from a baby bottle on their website) is serving beer and wine in these bottles modeled after a restaurant in Paris who creatively went this route to forgo paying tax on wine served in wine glasses.  Nursing your drink brings on a whole new meaning!

by Holli Edwards

With the holidays quickly approaching you may be thinking that it’s too late to bring the “WOW” factor to your party - not the case.  It’s the little things that people remember, so don’t resign yourself to a ho-hum get together just yet!

Some easy tips:

• A few spruce twigs and cranberries go a long way.  Fill wine glasses or vases with fresh cranberries and add a votive candle.  Fill a vase with water and add cranberries and floating greens.  Utilize an assortment of different containers, it makes things more interesting!

• Ask the deli staff at your local grocer or winery for gourmet cheese suggestions.  Pairing cheese with cranberry jelly, compotes, honey and other garnishes are a great way to introduce guests to something new.

• Serve your desert(s) in a wine glass and if using whipped cream, add a little nutmeg and cinnamon for a more festive look.

• Don’t be afraid to ask your local liquor store or winery for beverage ideas.  Let them know what you will be serving to get pairing suggestions - that’s what they are there for!

• A great party needs a big “surprise,” such as a signature drink that will have everyone talking.  At our recent holiday gatherings we featured the Red Assarita, a very festive red, white and green holiday drink that’s easy to pull off.  Have these displayed in wine glasses when guests arrive and the party will soon be hopping!  More signature drink ideas are provided in the link following, or come up with your own (it’s fun to perfect the recipe!) http://www.prairieberry.com/wine-know/index.php?id=20

• Be creative and have fun in the preparation.  Most importantly, be sure to “test out” the wine offerings and signature drink before guests arrive.  And, you’ve just added a little “jingle” to the mingling…Cheers!

by Sandi Vojta-Winemaker

I find myself drawn to wines produced by family’s who have been in the wine business for several generations.  I know that winemaking is who they are and that they are truly talented to be successful in such a volatile industy. 

One such family is the Seghesio family that immigrated to Sonoma County, CA in the late 1800’s from Italy.  They brought their family winemaking tradition to America along with several Italian grape varieties such as Aglianico (pronounced “ah-LYAH-nee-koe”), which actually originated in Greece.  They are one of the few wineries in North America that produce Aglianico.  The Aglianico grape produces a very powerful, full bodied wine with firm tannins, enabling it to be cellared for several years.  I recently enjoyed a 2003 Seghesio Aglianico.  It had an incredible deep garnet color with an equally deep plum nose, nice tannin structure, allowing an impressive finish. 

Wine Spectator just released their top 100 wines of 2008 and Seghesio Family Vineyards made #10 with their 2007 Sonoma County Zinfandel.  Did I forget to mention their Zins aren’t too shabby either?

Cheers!

Sandi

by Michele Slott
Prairie Berry Winery

While other people are out shopping, today winemaker Sandi Vojta is starting the new vintage of Raspberry Honeywine.

“Honeywines really need to be babied,” she says as she stirs.

The honey comes from the Sturgis Honey Company, owned by the Stolle family, shown at left handling a drum of the sticky stuff.

As the honey comes out of large drums, it is poured into totes where Sandi adds warm water and her father, Ralph, stirs. A hose attached to a pump moves the sticky, amber liquid into a fermentation tank. “It’s already at 70 degrees!” Sandi says happily.

The smell of the honey is rich and intoxicating, all on its own.

Ralph laughs at the sticky streams on the floor. “You should have seen my house the first time we made this back in Mobridge. What a sticky mess! It was unbelievable.”

Sandi agrees, “It was the first wine we started as a commercial winery, back in 1998, and it was a challenge.”

by Sandi Vojta- Winemaker

Some of my all time favorite wines are produced from a tried and true winery located in Napa Valley called Raymond Vineyards.  They are one of the authentic wineries that you have to seek out or possibly rediscover.  Coincidentally they are a Fifth Generation family of winemakers beginning in 1876 in California.  They produce four different labels of wine. These include the Napa Valley Reserve, R Collection, Limited Edition, and Small Lot Wines  They specialize in Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and are recently again producing a Meritage (last one was in 1991).   If you tend to prefer a chewy Cab to a Merlot …I highly recommend giving their Reserve Merlot a try……2 thumbs up for this wine!  Their lower end R Collection Cabernet is an outstanding every day wine up to their higher end silky smooth Generations Cab.  It’s all good.

Cheers!

Sandi

 

 

by Sandi Vojta - Winemaker

Our 2008 South Dakota grape season came to a close with the harvest of the Frontenac grapes this past weekend.  Frontenac grapes have always been the ones to hold on to summer with “white knuckles” and ripen last.  According to Greg Stach of Lewis & Clark Vineyards, this was the first year, out of the past 4 years, that the vineyards did not receive a “just before harvest” drenching rain of 3 - 5 inches.  

I’ve been producing wines for Lewis and Clark Vineyards for 5 or so years now.  Midwest winemakers and winegrowers learn quickly that Mother Nature loves to throw us curve balls, with consistency rarely pitched across home plate. Her inconsistency has given me the “opportunity” to produced many styles of wine from the Frontenac grape (as well as all the others), including dry oak-aged, to the more recent nouveau style.  I can attest to the absence of this years pre-harvest drenching rain, in that the grapes were not as willing to give up their deepened, garnet colored juice.  Hmmmmm…definitely not looking to be very nouveau-ish this year…..

 

Embrace vintage 2008!

           Sandi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

by Michele Slott

I got the pleasure of visiting Lewis & Clark Vineyard near Yankton this past weekend to shoot photos and video. Greg Stach was a proud papa, showing off the grapes he raises.

The nets cover all of the grapevines that still have maturing fruit. As Greg explained to me, small birds like robins, can be a real problem, making one little peck in each berry of the grape cluster, which can ruin the fruit for wine. Measures must be taken… Thus the nets. Turkeys for the most part, are a blessing — keeping the grasshopper population down. Although, true to their name, they can be “turkeys,” working together to get under the nets and get at any grapes hanging low enough to jump up, reach and eat. They eat the whole berry, though, without damaging what remains behind.

The nets are difficult to move, and come harvest time, Greg is ready to do some uncomfortable, if not necessarily heavy lifting, for HOURS at a time — as he lifts nets to allow picking of the grapes underneath.

“I do yoga and lots of stretching,” he says, to keep in shape for harvest.

The folks doing the picking tell him to “go faster” as he works his way down the row with his arms above his head holding the nets on either side.

A shot of a Frontenac grape cluster at Lewis & Clark Vineyard.

Not quite ready for wine yet, these Frontenac grapes get a closer look from Greg.