The United Grapes of America - Kentucky's StoneBrook Winery Vidal Blanc

The annual Wine America Congressional Tasting delivered once again with a new state wine, in this case, Kentucky and the StoneBrook Winery Vidal Blanc ($13). The winery is located in the western part of the Bluegrass state, just south of Cincinnati, in the Ohio River Valley AVA. This viticultural area is the second largest in the U.S. spanning portions of four states (Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, Kentucky) and encompassing 26,000 square miles. (The Upper Mississippi River Valley AVA is the largest at 29,914 square miles.) This region also possesses a long history of grape growing reaching back to the early 1820s with Catawba and Isabella being the featured grapes.  In most cases French hybrids have now replaced these native Labrusca grapes.

StarChefs.com: The United Grapes of America

StoneBrook Winery is a 5th generation farm composed of two farmsteads dating back to the 1870s and 1890s. Their tasting room is located in the remodeled Kool House originally constructed in the 1890s. Their Vidal Blanc was the winery's first estate wine and is fresh and floral on the nose, transitions to a sweet pear and grapefruit flavor finishing with decent acids to balance the sugar.  I'm sure this is their best seller. Cheers.

#SAVOR2016's Top Fifteen Beers That Blew Me Away

I attended SAVOR 2016 on Friday June 3rd and this Brewers Association sponsored event was splendid.  76 breweries poured two beers each and represented a mix of styles from IPAs, Stouts, Porters, Saisons, and sours. Many sours in fact and that's how I started off the evening. Out of the two dozen or so, there were a few that clearly stood out above the noise. Same for the many excellent barrel aged stouts and porters.  And in both categories top honors goes to Crux Fermentation Project. One caveat, I didn't sample many IPAs - just ran out of time trying to sample 152 beers. Cheers.

1. Crux Fermentation Project [Banished] Bretted Farmhouse 
2. D9 Brewing Company Systema Naturae Sour Ale fermented with wild lactobacillus & yeast, naturally conditioned.
3. Crux Fermentation Project [Banished] Tough Love Barrel Aged Imperial Stout banished to used bourbon barrels
4. The Lost Abbey Track #8  Barrel Aged Quad Judgement Day aged 9 months in new bourbon barrels and spiked with cinnamon sticks and dried chili peppers
5. Oskar Blues Ten Fidy Imperial Stout combines hefty amounts of various dark malts with 98 IBUs of hops
6. Urban Chestnut Brewing Company Schnickelfritz Weissbier
7. Center of the Universe Brewing Company IV Quadrupel aged in red wine barrels
8. Southern Tier Brewing Company Salted Caramel Imperial Stout based on a milt stout with Himalayan sea salt and caramelized sugar
9. Right Proper Brewing Company Diamonds, Fur Coat, Champagne Berliner Weisse brewed with Meyer lemon zest, elderberries, and dry hopped with Sauvin
10. New Belgium Brewing Company Tart Lychee Sour Ale barrel aged with lychee puree and cinnamon sticks
11. Perennial Artisanal Ales Savant Blanc Sour Ale Barrel Aged Belgium Blond Ale (aged in Chardonnay barrels) with Chardonnel wine grapes
12. Deschutes Brewery The Abyss Rye Barrel Aged Imperial Stout brewed with black strap molasses, licorice, cherry bark, augmented with vanilla, then aged 12 months in rye whiskey barrels.
13. Strange Craft Beer Company Cherry Kriek Lambic with loads of cherries
14. Bell's Brewery Bourbon Barrel Aged Expedition Stout
15. Lewis and Clark Brewing Company  Prickly Pear Pale Ale

Honorable Mentions (in no particular order)

• Hardywood Park Craft Brewery Bourbon Barrel Raspberry Stout with Vanilla Beans
• Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Seaquenchale Kolsch/Gose/Berliner Weisse Hybrid
• Perennial Artisanal Ales 17 Imperial Stout
• Schlafly Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout
• Lewis and Clark Brewing Company  Miners Gold Hefeweizen
• The Lost Abbey Ad Idem Sour Ale
• Uinta Brewing 23rd Birthday Suit Sour Ale
• Service Brewing Company Old Guard Biere de Garde
• Confluence Brewing Company Stavropol Imperial Stout
• Uncommon Brewers Steamers Lane California Common
• The Spencer Brewery Spencer Trappist Ale
• The Spencer Brewery Spencer Imperial Stout
• Allagash Brewing Company Sixteen Counties Strong Ale
• Stone Brewing Scout Wit
• Insight Brewing Hell Chicken Pale Ale
• Black Tooth Brewing Company 1314 Bourbon Very Strong Ale
• Short's Brewing Company Melt My Brain Golden Ale
• FATE Brewing Company Laimas Kolsch
• Bear Republic Brewery Tartare Sour Ale
• Brewery Ommegang Gnomegang Blonde Ale
• Hoppy Brewing Company Total Eclipse Black Ale Porter
• 4 Noses Brewing Company Vier Neuzen Barrel Aged Tripel
• Troegs Brewing Wild Elf Fruit Beer
• Stickmen Brewery Paddle Board Pale Ale
• Odell Brewing Company Friek Fruit Lambic
• Roadhouse Brewing Company Saison En Regalia
• Newburyport Brewing CompanyDas Kolsch
• Roadhouse Brewing Company Sacred Brett Sour Ale
• Port City Brewing Company COLOSSAL V Old Ale
• Port City Brewing Company Downright Pilsner
• Saranac Brewery Brett Saison
• Worthy Brewing Company Coeur De La Peche Saison
• Center of the Universe Brewing Company Monkey's Uncle Tripel
• Parish Brewing Company Blackalicious Stout
• Parish Brewing Company Ghost in the Machine Double IPA
• Boston Beer Company (Sam Adams) Kosmic Mother Funk Grand Cru Belgium Ale
• Saugatuck Brewing Company Neapolitan Mile Stout

#WineStudio Concludes it's Two Month Foray into DO Rías Baixas

Our two month #WineStudio foray into DO Rías Baixas wine concluded May 31st as the focus continued with their signature grape Albariño.  This has been an eye-opening venture into the region's wine and history as explained in these earlier DO Rías Baixas posts. We will finish this series by commented on a few additional wines we sampled during the sessions.

2014 Santiago Roma DO Rías Baixas ($11). This 100% Albariño is made from grapes harvested from estate vineyards in the Salnés Valley. It is unique in the sense that it offers ripe red apples that then lead into a lemon-mint profile. This excellent value wine concludes with a mildly salty finish.

2013 Baladiña DO Rías Baixas Lagar de Besada ($16). This wine is also 100% Albariño from the Salnés Valley made from one of the first bonded wineries in DO Rias Baixas. It starts with stone fruit which is quickly followed by strong citrus flavors, mild minerals, and a somewhat tannic and very fresh acidic finish.

2014 Tomada de Castro DO Rías Baixas ($14). The Castros had been making homemade wine for a century when Carlos Castro took the venture public. It is another 100% Albariño with plenty of maritime influences. The wine possesses the more typical tropical and stone fruits, mild minerals and saline, sweeter acidic finish.

2015 Torre La Moreira DO Rías Baixas ($18). This wine is produced by Bodegas Marqués de Vizhoja, a historic estate from the 16th century located near the Portuguese border.  This may be my very favorite wine of the sessions with it's very intensive stone fruit flavor, saline and herbal notes, and bright finish. Well done indeed.