As you enter the world of wine and beverage this article may provide some insight into where we have been and where we are going…

The word “Sommelier” http://punchdrink.com/articles/why-is-the-word-sommelier-being-co-opted/

Summer Fields
white wine
Seyval Blanc

tasting the international red
a fruity blend
great with spicy foods

Clearview vineyard

Baco Noire starting to sprout

clearview vines

Waywayanda white
Cayuga Grape

The journey to my vineyard and winery visit was a painfully long one partly because I am not one to endure hours long rides. However, the outcome was very enjoyable. Would I do it again? Nope. I visited the Apple wood winery where I took in the beautiful scenery and participated in a few tastings which included wines like:

• International Red- it was a semi-sweet, tart wine that was a blend of Pinot Noir and Baco Noir. This wine was not aged.
• The Ruby’s kiss – it was a sweet and jammy type of red wine made from 100% Concorde grapes. It was my first tasting that had my taste buds dancing in appreciation so much so that I bought a bottle so my family especially my mother could enjoy it for mother’s day.
• The Wawayanda white – as the name says it was indeed a white wine made from Cayuga grapes. It was light and crisp wine very nice but not my favorite.
• Summer Field- a white wine from Seyval Blanc grape. Its aroma was melon and peachy both to the nose and palate as well a very delightful wine.

All the wines that have tasted was bottled and produced by the Applewood winery.

As I continued on my wine journey the next stop was at the Clearview Vineyard where I met vintner Frank Graessele who shared some history and a tour of his vineyards where I got to see some vines where some were beginning to sprout. In the beginning the vineyard was originally grown organic for seven years. However, after a while three grape varieties were affected by a disease called black rot and they couldn’t control it organically. Though they were growing the grapes organically prior the wine couldn’t be sold organically because they use metabi sulphite to allow the wine to taste and be the best so the wine couldn’t be sold as organic anyway. At the vineyards eight grape varieties were grown which were Cayuga white, Vidal blanc, Traminette and New York 81 grape which they named divinity, (white wines) it’s a hybrid grape developed by Cornell. In the red variety Cabernet Franc, Baco Noir and Noire. Mr. Frank was such a nice man spearing time to engage and teach some of his vineyard even though he was providing wine to other guest for tasting. It was a good day.

At Mattebella Vineyard I had the pleasure of tasting some of the wines that they have to offer.

Top Row 1st from the Left 2013 Steel Chardonnay

My personal favorite of the Chardonnays was the 2013 Steel Chardonnay. It had no oak flavor to interrupt the clean taste of citrus and pear  because it is aged only in steel. On the palate the citrus did not stand out but the taste of pears was slightly present. The wine has medium- low tannin’s and low acidity. It was very light and would have paired perfectly with a fruit salad that contains mostly berries and melons and very little or no citrus fruits.

The second wine that I tried this semester was a 2014 Riesling from the Columbia Valley in Washington that was produced by Myth. It was a clean, medium intensity wine with a bright and light straw color. On the nose you could smell pears, oranges and cantaloupe; however on the palate I only tasted pears and orange. This low intensity, full body wine would pair perfectly with an arugula salad with walnuts, blue cheese and Craisins dressed with a spicy buffalo ranch dressing. This wine was light and perfect for a summer picnic.

In preparation of the lecture on beer please read and view the following:

Who makes Brooklyn Brewery Beer? Learn about Garrett Oliver

How Beer is made:

Click here for another video (this is a concise video)

Some history and the current state of Brooklyn Brewery, press here.

There is a difference: Ales and Lagers

There are various types of beer: types of beer

For and in-class activity: press here and pick two beer styles. Reply to this post with the beer style you are going to share with the class.

Use this site to learn the following terms:

Aerobic, ale, amber, anaerobic, barley, beer, bitter, black malt, bottle conditioning, bottom-fermenting-yeast, brew kettle, caramel malt, dosage, dty-hopping, hops, lager, lauter, tauter tun, malting, mash, wort

At the 2015 Society of Wine Educators Conference, Will Costello, MS told the audience how New Zealand is a “land like no other,” during his presentations titled “New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc: Breakthrough Approaches and Individual Expressions.” You can download a copy of the presentation here: NZ Sauvignon Blanc presented by Will Costello

http://winewitandwisdomswe.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/NZ-Sauvignon-Blanc-presented-by-Will-Costello.pdf