Grape Spotlight: Michigan Blaufrankisch

"Blaufrankisch is a variety that has shown it can not just grow well here, but can also make stylistically unique wines that can stand out on a broader stage. It's a wine that is exciting to introduce to people as it opens up a different definition to them of what a great red wine can be", Drew Perry, winemaker at Aurora Cellars

Blaufränkisch was the prized red grape in the Austro-Hungarian Empire having originated in Lower Styria, now part of Slovenia, and planted across the Carpathian Basin. Its name translates to 'Blue Frankish' or perhaps 'Blue Francs' based on either the blue coats or currency used by Napoleon’s troops after their conquest of Vienna. Blaufränkisch's offspring, Zweigelt, is the largest planted red grape in Austria whereas Blaufränkisch is centered in Burgenland - just across the border from Hungary and the Magyar plantings of Kékfrankos. From this Capital of Kékfrankos near Sopron, the grape spread where it is now the most planted red grape variety in Hungary -- Szekszard and Villany in particular. In Germany, Blaufränkisch is known as Lemberger most likely from the Lower Styria town of Lemberg pri Šmarju where the grape was apparently export to Deutschland.


In the United States, the grape is labeled either Lemberger or Blaufränkisch, with the later adopted in Michigan.  In the Great Lake state, Blaufränkisch is planted primarily in the northern wine regions of the Old Mission Peninsula and the Leelanau Peninsula - regions suitable for this late-ripening and cold-tolerant grape. Aurora Cellars has four acres planted in this last peninsula, the first three planted in 2007. According to Perry, the grape requires a long ripening season because "it tends to stall a bit at the end" and proper canopy management encourages early skin development and provides airflow that reduces disease pressure.  One result of this process is the Aurora Cellars 2016 Leelanau Peninsula Blaufrankisch ($34)  - aged 18 months in  French oak.  Like its Central European counterparts, this wine provided distinct black pepper notes upfront and a spicier pepper profile in the tail accompanied by a proper mouthfeel.  On the other hand, its fruit profile was dominated by blueberries as opposed to red or black cherries usually associated with Central Europe Blaufränkisch.  Nicely done.

Before Perry became the winemaker at Aurora, he was the assistant winemaker to Brian Ulbrich at Left Foot Charley. This winery grows Blaufränkisch at their Benzie vineyard (located on Lake Michigan) and at a new vineyard on the Old Mission Peninsula, in addition to sourcing from other small family-owned vineyards.  Ulbrich believes that the grape is well-suited for Michigan because it’s relatively winter hardy. With bud break arriving early and its late ripening, assuming no spring frost, then the grape has a long season to ripen. In the case of the Left Foot Charley 2018 Blaufränkisch ($22) - a blend from both the two vineyards mentioned above - this means a brighter fruit-forward profile showing juicy red cherries and developing structure.  Little spice on the front end and finish leaving a refreshing and friendly wine.

Revisiting the 2011 Ventosa Vineyards Estate Lemberger

In August 2015 the annual Wine Bloggers Conference was held in New York's Finger Lakes and consisted of a pre-conference excursion to the Seneca Lake AVA. I participated in this trip which included a visit to Ventosa Vineyards - located on the Northeast shore of the lake. At this winery, we tasted their 2011 Estate Lemberger. Now as readers know, we are immediately drawn to this grape varietal whether named Lemberger, Blaufränkisch, or Kekfrankos. And we particularly gravitated to this wine when we learned that it had just been awarded the 2015 New York Governors Cup. That day winemaker Jenna Lavita (co-owner of Lake Drum Brewing) mentioned that the "blue" grape is planted on warmer sites because of its early budding nature, although it ripens later - translating to longer maturity time. My tasting notes refer to a dark black cherry wine, with subtle spice and tobacco, decent tannins, and generous acids. Naturally, I purchased a bottle to bring home and four and a half years later I pulled the cork. The acids have kept the wine fresh, with similar dark cherry fruit, textured, with more leather and spice instead of tobacco. The wine finishes with chewy tannins and still decent acidity. Nicely done Jenna.

Discover Hungarian Wine at Budapest's The Tasting Table

If you are spending any time in Budapest and are slightly interested in Hungarian wine then I strongly recommend that you visit The Tasting Table. This establishment was founded by Gábor & Carolyn Bánfalvi that augments their successful Taste Hungary tour company and showcases the many Central European wines they have discovered while scouring the Hungarian countryside. In addition to wine, the venue also provides a wide range of cheese, charcuterie, jams, craft beer, and the essential Hungarian spirit: palinka.

During a recent trip to Budapest we stopped in to partake in a range of Hungarian wines styles and regions. Our host Tamas started by introducing us to three Brut sparkling wines beyond the more familiar  Törley brand. These wines were well made and delicious showcasing different wine regions and grape varieties. The Pelle Pince Tokaji Pezsgo is made using Furmint grapes grown in the far eastern Takaj region. The Rókusfalvy Birtok Nyerspezsgo is comprised of Pinot Gris and produced just west of Budapest in the white grape growing region of Eytek-Buda. And finally, the Frittmann Gold Brut is produced in the Great Plains in Hungary's largest wine region, Kunsági, where vines share space with the Hortabagy horses. This is a proprietary blend of grapes which add velvety texture to the wine's bready effervescence.

We then moved down the dry Furmint path featuring the Hétszölö Tokaji Furmint 2012 and Fuleky Tokaji Furmint 2014. The historic Tokaj region is most famous for the Tokaji Aszu dessert wines but the volcanic soils can also produce minerally driven and racy dry wines. That was particularly true with the Fuleky whereas the Hétszölö contained significantly more depth and texture for this style.

Tamas then presented a few wines creating excitement such as the Böjt Egri Bikavér 2015 and the Böjt Egri Csillag 2017. The Böjt winery is located in Eger - home to the historic Egri Bikaver once dominated by native grapes such as Kadarka and Kékfrankos but now produced with large percentages of Bordeaux varieties. The Böjt Egri Bikavér provides layers of texture as it is drawn from 25 barrels of differing size and toast. It is also predominately Kékfrankos (Blaufränkisch) blended with lesser amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon, Zweigelt (a cross between Blaufränkisch and St. Laurent) and Blauburger (a cross between Blauer Portugieser and Blaufränkisch). The white Böjt Egri Csillag has similar depth but with creamy stone fruit and fresh acids and is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Olaszrizling (Welschriesling), Leányka and Muskotály (Muscat Ottonel). Excellent.

Szekszard is an interesting region located on the left bank of the Danube in southern Hungary just to the northeast of Villany. It is best known for producing full-bodied and spicy red wines and is one of the oldest red-wine-growing areas in Hungary as the Celts first planted grape vines. The Németh János Sygno Szekszardi Bikavér 2015 is an excellent example of a spicy full bodied red as it is a blend of Kékfrankos, Kadarka, Zweigelt, Syrah, and Cabernet Franc.Nicely done.

The highlight of our visit however was the Szaszi Birtok Badacsonyi Keknyelu 2017. This is a very small release from a producer located in one of the micro climates on the hills north of Lake Balaton. Kéknyelű is grown almost exclusively in Badacsony, translates to Blue Stick, and exudes stone fruit -- peaches and apricots -- before finishing with racy minerals and juicy acids. This wine would be so popular in the U.S.; but for now you can only get it at The Tasting Table. Cheers.

A Tale of Two Wine Regions: Seneca Lake, New York and Balatonfüred-Csopak, Hungary

Seneca Lake from Fox Run Vineyards

I recently discovered that August is the optimal time to visit Balatonfüred Hungary as the village hosts "The Wine Weeks of Balatonfüred". This festival features wines and palinka (grape brandy) produced in the Balatonfüred-Csopak wine region. This is a historical tourist destination located in the northeast corner of Lake Balaton.  August is also an optimal time to visit New York's Finger Lakes as I did as a participant in the 2015 Wine Bloggers Conference. Visiting both regions a week apart highlighted the numerous similarities in viticulture between the Finger Lakes and Lake Balaton and specifically between Seneca Lake and Balatonfüred-Csopak. These similarities include the climate, soil, and grapes.

Vineyard in Balatonfüred

Grape growing in both wine regions benefit from lake induced micro-climates. Lake Balaton is the largest lake in Central Europe whereas Seneca Lake is the largest and deepest of the Finger Lakes. Both lakes moderate severe winter temperatures and in some areas, vineyards located a mile from each lake are protected. Seneca Lakes provides more of this thermal retention as the lake never freezes, whereas Lake Balaton sports a thin layer of ice in winter - as it is much shallower.  In summer, the lakes lengthen the diurnal temperature by acting as a mirror during the daytime and elevating the temperature and then absorbing the excess heat at night - preserves the balance of natural acids in the grape.

At various times during our WBC15 visit we learned how diverse the soils can be around Seneca Lake. This was first revealed during the pre-excursion to Fox Run Vineyards and enforced during a presentation at the conference. This slide to the left shows the diversity of soil types in just a small area on eastern Seneca Lake, plots of  sand red clay, brown loam, shale, limestone, poor drainage and well drainage soils. And Fox Run has leveraged the different soil types into a Geology Series devoting two vineyards (Lake Dana Vineyard Block 11 and Hanging Delta Block 7) of Riesling in order to compare the interplay of terrior and wine making techniques.  Soil diversity is also prevalent in Balatonfüred-Csopak as the soils is based upon volcanic shale, mingled with red sandstone, limestone, dolomite, and basalt.  These conditions present a challenge for grape growers -- what to plant in each small plot.

View of Lake Balaton
from Ferenc Csarda

In some instances, the grapes planted in these soils are the same across both wine regions. An obvious similarity is Lemberger-Blaufrankish-Kékfrankos, the same grape known by different names.  That the grape fares well in both regions wasn't surprising after I read Finger Lakes Wine and the Legacy of Dr. Konstantin Frank (American Palate) and A Sense of Place: A Discovery of Finger Lakes Wine History, and Villa Bellangelo Winery, ironically on the plane to Europe. Both books mention that the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva had recommended planting vinifera grapes as far back as 1917, with one being the Hungarian variety Kadarka. This information was lost to the Finger Lakes until vinifera production was revived by Dr. Frank in the 1970s. Whereas Lemberger is a minor player in the Finger Lakes, it is the primary red grape in Balatonfüred-Csopak. Other red varieties such as Bordeaux grapes and Pinot Noir do have roles in both regions, although in Hungary only in the Tihany Peninsula just west of Balatonfüred.

Palinka & Swans

As for white grapes there is a preponderance of cold climate Riesling varieties, just not the same Riesling variety. The signature grape for the Finger Lakes is Rhine Riesling whereas in the Balaton it is Olaszrizling (Welschriesling) - no relation between the two. In fact the origination of  Welschriesling is still being debated - although it is extremely popular in central Europe - including Slovenia and Croatia. In both the Finger Lakes and Balatonfüred-Csopak, the Riesling grapes come in a range of styles from dry to semi-dry with plenty of acids to balance the sugar. Gewurztraminer (Tramini) is another common grape as well as Pinot Gris - although the Hungarian Szürkebarát version is more plentiful. Balatonfüred-Csopakis also home to several obscure indigenous grapes that I recommend sampling whenever possible: Juhfark (“Sheep’s Tail”), Leanyka (“Maiden”), Kiralyleanyka (“Princess”), and Zenit a rare modern day cross of the local Ezerjo variety, with the Slovenian Bouvier grape.Some of these are available at Ferenc Csarda in Tihany and in Balatonfüred at the Figula Borbár.

Wine Weeks in Balatonfüred

The main difference between the two regions - particularly during the "Wine Weeks of Balatonfüred" - is the ease of consumption in the village. Kiosks were aligned along the main pedestrian path and revelers were able to walk along Lake Balaton sipping their wine. No open container or drinking in public laws in Hungary. Would be nice if this policy immigrated to the States. Regardless, cheers to both wine regions.

Hungarian Wine at the Junibor Wine Festival in Budapest

Hungary is where I first became interested in wine, sipping dry Furmint and semi-dry Olaszrizling at the Budapest Great Market Hall followed by Kadarka and Kekfrankos on trips to Eger and Sopron. During my recent trip to Budapest I looked forward to revisiting the world of Hungarian wine; but never imagined that I would stumble upon the Junibor Wine Festival held at St. Stephen's Basilica. The festival featured wines from the Hungarian Young Winemakers' Association and represented all the major Hungarian wine regions from Sopron in the west to Tokaj to the east. Although the winemakers are relatively young, most of the wineries were from well established family wineries where the next generation was asserting their influence.

Our presence at the Basilica was not a co-incidence. I had been in contact with Birgit Pfneisl, the highly regarded winemaker at Pfneiszl Organic Estate. I had become acquainted with that winery's Kekfrankos through the Blue Danube Wine Company. When Birgit had mentioned that she was in Budapest at the Basilica wine bar, I incorrectly assumed she was pouring at the Divino wine bar - not at a festival. The winery is located adjacent to the Austrian border in the northeast where Birgit is both the vineyard manager and winemaker and her sister Katrin marketing and sales. I discovered that the sisters speak German to each other which makes sense as they were both born in Austria. Their grandparents fled Hungary when the Communists gained control and had to cede the family land to the government. While in Austria, their Father and uncles started Weingut Pfneisl. In 1993 the family recovered their lost land in Hungary and renovated the property with the sisters responsible for the wine making operation.  But Birgit gained plenty of wine making experience having interned in the U.S., Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, and Chile before returning to Hungary. These wine making areas are represented in her fabulous Távoli Világ wine - a blend of Shiraz, Carmenere, Malbec, Zinfandel, Sangiovese. In addition to this wine, Birgit poured her Merlot, Tango, and the "Köszönet I Thank you" Kekfrankos. This last is spectacular, jammy black fruit melding into a complex blend of fruit, chocolate, spice, and creamy dirt.

 
After sampling the Pfneiszl wines, the festival presented ample opportunities to sample Hungarian grape varieties as well as traditional international varieties. There was more Kekfrankos, Egri Bikavir blends, dry and semi-dry Olaszrizling, Portugieser, and Furmint. But one of the most unique was the Hungarian Királyleányka, which originated in Transylvania and now mostly grown in Eger. The  Hernyák Birtok Etyek Királyleányka possessed a strong floral aroma followed by a crisp citrus and mineral flavor profile and noticeable acids. Another unique wine was the Gál Tibor FÚZIÓ 2012, a blend of Viognier, Riesling, and Traminer, which was aged 15 months in oak. This is an elegant wine, one I returned to for a second glass. Part citrus, part stone fruit, some spice, some vanilla; completely enjoyable.

Finally, I have to mention the dry Furmint. Yes, the Tokaji dessert wines get most of the attention, but I am particularly drawn to the dry version. The first to note was the 2012 Estate Furmint from Erzsébet Pince, which I had tasted previously on our trip at various restaurants. I was also familiar with the winery from a WineStudio tasting last year.  This wine combines flavors of stone fruit and minerals with crisp acids - a very nice wine. But one to actively seek is the Tokaji Padi-hegy Furmint 2012 from Árvay Családi Pincészet. The wine's saline minerality seizes your attention, then subsides to delicious stone fruits and crisp acids. I still haven't found a source to purchase this wine, but hopefully Blue Danube will pick up one day. Cheers to Hungarian wine.

#WineChat: For the Love of Wine! What inspired your passion for wine?

Tokaji Wine Bar in Central Market Hall

This week's Wednesday  #winechat is hosted by Red Wine Diva who poses an interesting question: For the Love of Wine! What inspired your passion for wine?  A very timely topic since it was posed to a few of us in a van ride across the Grand Valley during the 2012 DrinkLocalWine conference. And the answer occurred exactly 15 years ago next weekend.

My route into the winosphere started like many other's - tasting wine at a local wine festival. Through college and my early professional career I was a craft beer drinker. Wine was what we drank when there wasn't any beer available. Then we started attending the Seven Springs Wine Festival in Somerset, Pennsylvania; where I sampled local wines for the first time. I don't remember much about the wines we drank, only that the whites were tasty and many of the reds sweet.  For some reason Clover Hill Vineyards & Winery registers in my memory. But I came away from these annual pilgrimages with the knowledge that local wines do exist, even though I had no clue what we were drinking: Catawba, Cayuga, Vidal Blanc, Niagara, Chambourcin, or DeChaunac. Concord, of course, was grape jelly.

Wine Cave - "Valley of Beautiful Women"

Outside Wine Cave - Eger

Then I had my "Ah ha" moment.  My wife and I decided to spend three weeks traveling through Hungary and Romania for our honeymoon. Our base was an apartment in Buda near Gellert Hill, but we started every day in the Central Market Hall just across the Danube into Pest. While lollygagging through the enormous building I stumbled upon the "Fountain of Youth" in the remote left corner of the market -  The Tokaji Wine Bar - specializing in dry Furmint. Every morning I would order a nagy pohar bor and watch old women stroll through filling empty two liter containers while the men loitered sipping and conversing over their pohar bor. One day we traveled to Eger and the wine caves dug into the "Valley of Beautiful Women", so named because after visiting 30 caves... Here we tasted big reds of Bulls Blood as well as Kékoportó (Blauer Portugieser). While visiting Lake Balaton we visited several "nano"

That's how they roll

wineries - basically home wine makers offering wine for sale in small plastic jugs - just like kids selling lemonade. Whites rule here - particularly Szürkebarát (Pinot Gris) and Olaszrizling (Welschriesling). Then off to Sopron, home to Kékfrankos, no surprise since the region borders Austrian Blaufrankish vineyards.

Wines Still Around from Hungary 1997

Through this unplanned wine adventure I learned that there was no real mystery about wine, just a lot of different wine grapes. Like other European countries, wine was an integral part of the Hungarian lifestyle meant to be consumed daily either from plastic containers or wicker flasks. I still had much to learn, like not aging already five year-old whites meant to open immediately; but that's another lesson. But I was no longer scared off by wine.  On our return, we soon discovered that there were local wineries in Virginia; although in the late 1990's not that many. Remember Farfelu Vineyards?  As we traveled throughout the northeast we realized it wasn't easy searching for local wineries. I couldn't find a central directory to my liking. At the time I needed to train myself in .net; so within a short time WineCompass.com was born and has been running off that 10 year old code since. And from its conception, our the focus has been to visit local wineries and broaden our exposure to new wine regions and grapes. Cheers to your next wine adventure.

"Tokaj and Beyond" - The Best Wines of Hungary

On the heels of tasting some fabulous eastern European wines at the Washington D.C. Int'l Wine Festival, we were invited to attend a special trade tasting of just Hungarian wines held at that country's embassy. There was an expanded selection from those presented at the festival which gave a fuller picture of the styles of wines produced primarily from Tokaji and Villány. Tokaji is located in the northeastern section of the country and is known for making sweet dessert fines from Furmint, the Tokaji Aszú . And there were plenty of the highest quality - 5 and 6 puttonyos - available. These wines are sweet, with generally strong apricot flavors. But they are balanced - with no gritty or syrupy finish. Two we really enjoyed were from Alana-Tokaj and Béres Vineyard and Winery. Both these wineries also had examples of dry Furmint as well as semi-dry Hárslevelü - which along with orange muscat are the only grapes authorized to be grown in the region. And Béres also provided a bonus - two versions of Hungarian palinka - these made in a grappa style. Excellent.

Villány is located in the southern region of Hungary is is known as "Little Bordeaux" for its ability to grow Cabernet and Merlot grapes. And wines from these grapes are made in the old world earthy style as opposed to the new world fruit bombs. We started with the wines imported by the Blue Danube Wine Company which culminated into the Attila - a blend of grapes that would give many premier or second crus a battle. Blue Danube also presented wines from native grapes - Kékfrankos and Kardaka which we profiled in our previous post. We then tasted several dry reds produced by the Château Teleki. They were pouring several single varietal Bordeaux style wines which were all representative of the old world miner-ally wines and tasty. But we were more pleased with their Pinot Noir, which shows that Burgundy also has a presence in Villány. This wine is velvety smooth and full bodied - very nice. The final set of reds were offered by Heumann Winery, which is owned and operated by Evelyne & Erhard Heumann. The couple found a suitable Villányi vineyard over 15 years ago and have been producing wines from native and Bordeaux grapes since. And, Mr. Heumann was present to showcase the wines personally. He offers several single varietals - including a Kékfrankos - but its his two blends, Terra Tartaro and Heumann which will remain in our memory. These are smooth classic Bordeaux cuvees, with light tannins and balanced acidity. And priced to sell - we start searching this week. As a bonus, we tasted the Heumann Chardonnay - a very impressive wine - full bodied with apricot flavors and a slight nutty finish. Perhaps the only version of Hungarian Chardonnay available.

Eastern European Wines Shine at the Washington D.C. International Wine & Food Festival

This weekend we attended the 12th Annual Washington D.C. International Wine & Food Festival and spent the majority of time tasting wine produced in Eastern Europe and the Finger Lakes. Yes, other wine regions were well represented, but on the heels of our article, Blue Frankish - A Great Wine By Any Name, we decided to taste the wines we described in the article. Our day started comparing Hungarian Kékfrankos and Finger Lakes Lemberger; although they weren't exact comparisons because the Finger Lakes versions were 50/50 blends with Cabernet Franc. On the Hungarian side we tasted the Heumann Villany Kékfrankos and the Pfneisxl Sopron Kékfrankos. The latter is lighter, made organically, but with the same smoothness and cherry flavors as the Heumann. On the Finger Lakes side, Fox Run Vineyards and Anthony Road Wine Company were both pouring Lemberger\Cabernet Franc blends. These wines reflect the natural balance that occurs with blending these two grapes - the fruit forwardness and spiciness of the Lemberger and the green fullness of the Cab Franc. We actually experimented, creating our own 50/50 blend of
Heumann Kékfrankos and Heumann Cabernet Franc - and this mixture was easily more enjoyable than each as a single varietal. Just remember, whether Hungarian Kékfrankos or Finger Lakes Lemberger, all are very good, affordable, every day drinking wines.

We also tried several other Hungarian wines, from dry reds and whites to the famous Tokaji Aszu. We tasted the Eszterbauer Szekszárd Kardaka Nagyapám, a dry, medium bodied wine with some similar characteristics as the Kékfrankos - without the complexity. Kardaka is a traditional Hungarian grape that was once the dominate grape in the famous Egri Bikaver - Bull's Blood. Its nice to see a single varietal Kardaka make the journey West. There was also plenty of dry Furmint available, another traditional Hungarian wine grape that is normally vinified into Aszu. Made dry, it is a refreshing wine, balanced between fruit and mineral characters. And we had to sample the sweet Furmint displayed in two wines: Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos and the 6 Puttonyos Aszu. Both had the powerful apricot flavors - definitely strong - but not gritty or syrupy. The "Dessert Wine of Kings". Check out the Blue Danube Wine Company more more information about these wines.

After tasting the various Hungarian wines, we moved to neighboring wines produced in Croatia and Slovenia. We are more familiar with Croatian wines, particularly those made from Crljenak Kastelanski - better known as Primitivo and Zinfandel. Another familiar grape is the indigenous Babić as well as its parent Placac Mali. Both of these were available today: Babić Piližota and the Lirica Plavac Mali Peljesac Dalmatia. Both these wines are produced in the warmer climates in the Dalmatia coast. The Babić was smooth and silky, balanced between fruit and earthiness. The Plavac Mali featured more red fruits and seemed more tannic and spicy. Both were very good and extremely affordable. Check out Fine Croatian Wines for more information.

Even with a visit to Slovenia, we are not very familiar with Slovenian wines, but after tasting the wines made by Ptujska Klet, that will change. This winery is the oldest in Slovenia with its cellars dating back to 1239. We started with the Pullus Pinot Grigio Ptuj. Normally not fans of wines made from this grape, this wine was more than drinkable - fuller than most of its kin with an actual tail. Not bad. But the second we tasted was the bomb; the
Pullus Sauvignon Blanc. This wine had everything you would expect from that variety - refreshing acidity, tropical flavors - this wine just exploded in the mouth. Will definitely give some New Zealanders a run. Wow. Once again, check out Fine Croatian Wines for more information.

We did try other wines, in particular several Pinotages from the large contingent of South African wines. The best trend was that most lacked the strong tobacco - smokey characteristic that repelled us from consuming more of wine varietal. In fact, most resembled its parent, Pinot Noir, with silky bodies and creamy texture. These were nicely done and very affordable. Time to re-evaluate these wines.

Then, of course, we had to sample the Finger Lakes dry Rieslings and the Rhatiselli from Dr. Konstantin Frank's Vinifera Wine Cellars. Combined with the reds we tasted earlier - we must include a trip north this summer. Too much good wine being made in that region to miss.

And finally, there were a few spirits. It was nice to see our friends from St Lucia Distillers Group, producers of Castries Crème, rolling out a new line of rum under the Chairman's Reserve brand - Chairman’s Reserve and Chairman’s Reserve Spiced. The spiced rum was very interesting - with the spices and botanicals contributing like a fine gin rather than a chemical additive as with many spiced rums. And Philadelphia Distilling returned, pouring their Vieux Carré Absinthe and Bluecoat American Gin. We didn't sample today, but expect a future episode featuring these spirits from MyJoogTV.com.

In sum, another enjoyable wine festival with enough diversity to keep us interested. Until next time....