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1st Annual Apple Smash yields 47 gallons of cider

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The word for this weekend is most certainly “extraction” – that is, getting the juice from what mother nature has given us. Gently pressing, or violently smashing, it’s all good. On Saturday, I helped the Specters press their grapes in Dave’s refurbished grape press. On Sunday, we did our “1st Annual Apple Smash” using the cider press my dad refurbished but never got to use. Many years later, it finally did it’s maiden smash. Two truckloads of green, red and yellow apples, a dedicated cart, wash, cut and smash crew, and we have 47 gallons of liquid gold. Everyone took home more then enough, and I have enough left to make 20 gallons of apple wine… and 5 gallons of Apple Jack.

Thanks to Dave and Sara Specter, Mark and Tracy Webster, Libby, the kids and my wonderful wife Susan. Special thanks to the Kinkers for providing the beautiful venue, the means, and some mysteriously good coconut curry soup.

With a week of gloomy, dank, cold rainy weather a week before, and a frost the night before, it turned out to be a BEAUTIFUL day and a perfect end to a summer with a very strange crop cycle. I look forward to doing it again next year!

10 Bottles Of Wine You Can’t Afford To Uncork

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Bottled in the Crimea and prized by Russian Czars, the oldest Western European sherry was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in 2001. The most rare bottles of the sherry bear an imperial seal.
Bottled in the Crimea and prized by Russian Czars, the oldest Western European sherry was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in 2001. The most rare bottles of the sherry bear an imperial seal.

No liquid beyond water is more storied than wine. It’s the subject of literature and art, legend and myth. 

Good batches are part science: climate, grape genetics, yeast growth, water impurities and otherwise. The best wines are an almost indefinable art, an essence, feeling or quality that many try to bottle, but few ever uncork. 

To celebrate those wines that have become legendary to collectors around the world, here are the 10 most expensive bottles of wine in the world.

Read this story on StyleCrave

Thomas Family Winery, Madision IN.

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We grabbed a group of friends and headed to Madison, Indiana to visit the Thomas Family winery and attend the “Hot” Luck dinner. It’s apparently an annual event that is free ‘o charge and all are welcome to bring a dish made in the “spicy tradition.” Everything was “hot.” There was cayenne pepper in the fudge and my favorite was the chocolate lamb curry. There was so much food and all of it was awesome.

Of course the old vine Zinfandel was what I most looked forward to. I hear they are 100-year-old vines. They definitely have a better grip on the red wines but I thought the whites were very average. They tasted similar to my own wine… that is still being mastered.

Overall, great food and wine and a good round of friends can’t be beat. I’ll be looking forward to heading back next year and I think I’ll bring my white bean deer chili… with some heat added.

Worlds oldest champagne opened

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1825-champagne…and I wasn’t there for it!

The world’s oldest champagne, bottled before Victoria became Queen, is still drinkable, with notes of “truffles and caramel”, according to the experts.

An “addictive” bottle of 1825 Perrier-Jouet was opened at a ceremony attended by 12 of the world’s top wine tasters.

Their verdict: the 184-year-old champagne tasted better than some of its younger counterparts.

There are now just two 1825 vintage bottles left – and Perrier-Jouet has no plans to open them soon.

Click here for the whole article on BBC.

Cincinnati Wine Festival 2009

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This was the 19th annual Cincinnati Wine Festival. It’s grown to be one of the largest ones in the country. This year, over 600 wines and 130 wineries were present. If you are a wine enthusiast, this is the opportunity to sample hundreds of wines in one place.

Since I am always on the hunt to find wines I like, I’ve found it is very difficult without doing the tastings. The alternative is to buy full bottles which can get real expensive, real fast.

The admission for the event is pretty steep at $70 for the grand tastings… and another $35 if you wan to attend the master tastings. While it makes it a little less attractive for the person only getting into wine, it’s w ell worth it if you ar going for the reasons I do. You also get to bring home a couple $20 Riedel glasses after the event. Much of the funds go to several big charities so that too makes it worth it for me.

The food is gourmet. The Cincinnati State Midwest Culinary Institute was present with some amazing food and desserts. I got a few pics. I have a lot of respect for this school and the emerging chefs that come from it. I’ve attended several events that were served by the students and it makes me want to go back to school.

Overall, another great event. My wife and I were able to escape for the first time in a long time, and we had transportation to and from… so we did it right.

 

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