Fourth of July events at Minnesota Wineries

Check individual websites for more details.

Alexis Bailly Vineyard
Jazz/Bebop with ABV’s house band, Gondwana. "Sounds as if Monk were still alive." With saxophone giant Max Ray (The Wallets, Suburbs) Rod Gordon (The Wallets) on the piano, Larry Hennessy on drums, and Jerry Gorman on bass. 1:30pm to 4:30pm

Three Rivers Wine Trail
Red White and Blush. "Declaring Our Independence from Traditional Grape Varieties" Each winery will have wine tastings from noon to 5pm. Wear Red, White & Blue and get 2 for 1 glasses of wine at WineHaven, Northern Vineyards and Saint Croix Vineyards and get $1 off a glass of wine at Cannon River Winery. Falconer Vineyards is also on the trail.

Carlos Creek Winery
Live country music from Gregory Michael Bruce in the vineyard 2:00pm to 6:00pm.

Crofut Family Vineyard
Corvette Collectors Club. Over 75 classic Corvettes at the winery 3:00pm to 5:00pm

Millner Heritage Vineyard and Winery
Live music from the 50s, 60s, and 70s by Duke Zecco. 2:00pm to 5:00pm

Seyval Blanc - Introduced in the 1920's

Seyval Blanc is a hybrid (Seyve-Villard 5-276) developed in the 1920's in France. It ripens early, is disease resistant and is well suited to relatively cool climates such as England where it is one of the most planted vine varieties. Seyval tends to overproduce so grape clusters must thinned for optimal production of usable fruit.

Planted heavily in Canada and the eastern United States, its popularity among winemakers is growing rapidly in the midwest and other non-traditional wine regions East of the Rocky Mountains. "...because it contains some non-vinifera genes, it is outlawed by European Union authorities for quality wine production, a bone of contention in the English wine industry." (www.winepros.com.au)

Frequently used for blending, crisp and dry versions of single varietal wines have flavors and aromas of grass, hay, melon and citrus and can have a slight minerality. Seyval produces light bodied wines with quality that is improved with oak aging.

Sources:
www.winepros.com.au
www.winegeeks.com
www.mngrapes.org

Tasting #4 - Alexis Bailly Seyval Blanc

From the AB website (www.abvwines.com): "The Seyval Blanc is our premium white wine. Named for the French Horticulturist who developed the variety during WWI, the Seyval came to the United States in the 1960's when pioneers, like David Bailly, were looking for wine grapes that could be grown outside of the norms of Califonia. With its balance of clean bright fruit and a dry crisp finish, the Seyval is a wine that is both elegant and appealing."

I couldn't agree more. I would choose this over more traditional dry whites. It's lighter in body than chardonnay and, to me, instantly more pleasant tasting. It's fruity and crisp, period. There is great reward in this simplicity. We drank it with pork tenderloin and it worked beautifully. More research is necessary (dang!), as this is a delicious white wine that I'm anxious to pair with Alexis Bailly's recommendations as well.

Minnesota Wineries & Vineyards Online

For your reference, a list of Minnesota wineries including website links, social media, email and blogs where applicable. If I'm missing any vineyards, wineries or links, please let me know!

Alexis Bailly Vineyard - Hastings, MN
Website Facebook Twitter Email Blog

Bevens Creek Vineyard and Nursery - Chanhassen, MN
Website Facebook Twitter Email Blog

Brush Wolf Winery - Alexandria, MN
Website Facebook Twitter Email Blog

Cannon River Winery - Cannon Falls, MN
Website Facebook Twitter Email Blog

Carlos Creek Winery - Alexandria, MN
Website Facebook Twitter Email Blog

Crofut Family Winery and Vineyard - Jordan, MN
Website Facebook Twitter Email Two Blogs! Blog Blog

Diamond Ridge Winery - Peterson, MN
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Falconer Vineyards and Nursery - Red Wing, MN
Website Facebook Twitter Email Blog

Fieldstone Vineyards - Morgan, MN
Website Facebook Twitter Email Blog

Forestedge Winery - Laporte, MN
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Glacial Ridge Winery - Spicer, MN
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Goose Lake Farm and Winery - Elk River, MN
Website Facebook Twitter Email Blog

Great River Vineyard - Lake City, MN
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Indian Island Winery - Janesville, MN
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Luedke's Winery - Princeton, MN
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Millner Heritage Vineyard & Winery - Kimball, MN
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Minnestalgia - McGregor, MN
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Morgan Creek Vineyards - New Ulm, MN
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Northern Vineyards - Stillwater, MN
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Olde Country Winery - Lake Lillian, MN
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Parley Lake Winery - Waconia, MN
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Post Town Winery - Byron, MN
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Saint Croix Vineyards - Stillwater, MN
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Salem Glen Vineyard and Winery - Rochester, MN
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Two Fools Vineyard - Plummer, MN
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Whitewater Wines - Plainview, MN
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WineHaven Winery - Chisago City, MN
Website Facebook Twitter Email Blog

Winterhaven Vineyard and Nursery - Janesville, MN
Website Facebook Twitter Email Blog

Woodland Hill Winery - Delano, MN
Website Facebook Twitter Email Blog

Wine by State

I ran across a very helpful website yesterday: www.catchwine.com. It is, among other things, a state by state directory of wineries with navigation points on a Google Map.

The mission of the site is to help you discover American wineries and vineyards and share your winery experiences by using the wine journal (available to registered users). I registered--it's free--and will update as I use the site. I expect I'll use the directory as we travel.

Tasting #3 - Wollersheim Winery Port

Wisconsin's Wollersheim Winery, a favorite of my parents, makes a really interesting port. They describe it this way: Our Port is made from Foch grapes and fortified with grape brandy. The brandy is added to stop the fermentation, which leaves the natural sweetness of the grapes. Aged in American oak barrels for thirteen months. This is a smooth sipping wine to be enjoyed with loved ones and friends.

My dad joined us for this tasting as well. We all enjoyed it. It isn't as rich tasting as other ports I've tried. Clearly, more research is needed in this area so a side by side comparison can be made.

Overall this has more of a wine flavor than I expected but still served its role as a very nice after dinner drink. This port was less sweet than I expected. Other ports I recall have almost a raisiny sweetness. That ripeness is present, but not as strong. This is made with 100% Marechal Foch grapes from New York.

We drank this while eating some very decadent fudge brownies and had a very pleasant experience. I have a standing order with my parents to bring home more when they visit Wollersheim again.

Tasting #2 - Saint Croix Vineyards Frontenac

Saint Croix Vineyards describes their Frontenac as a dry, medium-bodied red wine aged in American oak barrels with cherry aromas and pleasant tannins in the finish, and recommends pairing it with beef, steak, flavorful cheeses, or a hearty pasta dish.

My dad joined my wife and me in this tasting. He's a guy who doesn't normally like red wine but found this to be very approachable. The three of us liked it immediately. I should have purchased two bottles! There was a surprising crispness to this, similar to dry whites, that made it stand out. It has just-ripe fruitiness up front balanced with a perfectly dry finish.

We drank this with a BBQ'd pork rib dinner. The fruit in it played well against the pork. Next time we drink this, we'll try it with steak as recommended.

Our bottle was an '07, no longer available on the SCV website. If anyone's tried the '08, let me know. We're definately going to drink more of this one.