Carpenter Creek Traminette with Mexican Dinner

Carpenter Creek Cellars Traminette with Mexican Chicken & Spanish Rice & Beans

Linda took the remaining meat from a roasted whole chicken and prepared a Mexican Chicken with Spanish Rice, Beans and Corn and Cheese crust for dinner. I pulled from the cellar a rare Traminette wine, known for pairing with robust vibrant spicy foods. 

We tasted and acquired this wine at the winery, featured in a previous blogpost - Carpenter Creek Cellars and Indiana Produced Wines, about the producer, the grape and the wine, excerpted here. 

Carpenter Creek Cellars is a family-run Indiana winery with a focus on producing high-quality local wines that capture and showcase Indiana and Midwest terroir.

I wrote at that time about the importance of selecting the right grapes to grow in an area based on terroir (terˈwär) - all the elements that affect the grapes in that location such as but not limited to climate, sun exposure, topography, soil, drainage and so on. The imperative is, of course, to determine and cultivate grapes most tolerant of or best suited to the terroir. 

Great wine producers and regions around the world are all noted for the specific wine grape varietals symbolic for their region and its distinctive terroir - Bordeaux varietals for example which are also suited for Napa Valley in the US. 

Traminette is the one popular grapes selected for Indiana and Illinois wines, a white hybrid grape that has become Indiana’s signature wine grape, selected for its versatility and suitability in the state’s climate, soil and growing conditions. It is one of the most popular of the eighteen different varieties of grapes grown in Indiana on a total of 600 acres of vineyard lands. 

Indeed, the whole concept of AVA's, American Viticultural Areas, is based on federally-recognized regions defined either by political boundaries, such as the name of a county, state or country, or by a designated area for that AVA. All the criteria for an AVA come down to terroir so that all wines from that AVA can be presumed to have the same characteristics, or from grapes grown under the same conditions. This is the same as in the old world wine producing countries, where they have rigorous grape growing and wine producing regulations subject to AOC - Appellation d'origine contrôlée regulations in France, and DOC and DOCG in Italy ((Denominazione di origine controllata e garantita (DOCG) is the superior classification to DOC). 

Notably, there are 60 official appellations in Bordeaux, seventeen in Napa Valley and nineteen in Sonoma County. Indiana has two designated AVAs, the Indiana Uplands AVA in the center of the state at the southern border along the Ohio River, and the Ohio River Valley AVA straddling the Ohio River along the southern border of the state.

Carpenter Creek Cellars produces this Traminette wine made from Traminette grapes grown in Indiana and neighboring states, known for its floral aromas, fruity flavors, and a spicy finish reminiscent of its parent, Gewürztraminer. 

This wine is described by the producer as pairing well with spicy dishes like Thai, Chinese, or Mexican cuisine, as well as heavier white meats such as turkey or ham. 

Traminette is a cross between Gewürztraminer and the Joannes Seyve 23.416 grape, initially bred at the University of Illinois in 1965 and further developed at Cornell University. 

Traminette was officially chosen by the Indiana Wine Grape Council as the state’s signature wine grape, representing the region’s identity. Traminette’s cold hardiness allows it to thrive across Indiana, surviving harsh winters with minimal bud damage and regrowing after freeze events.

Notably, Carpenter Creek lost much of their vineyard varietal plantings due to severe winter freeze conditions and rely largely on importing grapes from southern Indiana, neighboring states as well as California. 

According to Purdue University agricultural Extension office, the Traminette grape was designed to retain Gewürztraminer’s floral and spicy intensity while offering cold hardiness and resistance to fungal diseases, making it well-suited for Indiana’s variable climate. Traminette ripens mid- to late-season and is more tolerant to spring frosts due to its later bud break.

Traminette wines offer a broad spectrum of sweetness levels, from crisp dry to lusciously sweet, making them versatile and suitable for various tastes. The sweetness levels among Traminette wines vary widely, ranging from dry to sweet, depending on the winemaker’s choices and style preferences. The level of sweetness is determined by winemaker decisions about fermentation and finishing (backsweetening, skin contact, pH adjustment, etc.).

This label is crafted from vineyard sources across the Midwest, hence it is labeled ‘American (White) Wine’, as opposed to Indiana wine specifically. As noted above, Carpenter Creek source grapes from Indiana, Michigan, Missouri and California.

The Carpenter Creek rear label shows this wine as being moderately dry on the spectrum of dryness to sweetness. I would move the dial from left to right and characterize this as moderately sweet. 

Carpenter Creek Cellars Traminette NV

The Carpenter Creek packaging for this label is as unique as the grape, distributed in a blue glass bottle. 

This was an appropriate pairing, the sweetness and spiciness of the wine harmonizing and enhancing the tangy spiciness of the Mexican dish flavoring. 

Golden straw colored, medium bodied, rich unctuous and sweet, similar to a Riesling, ripe pear and green apple fruits with notes of clove and cinnamon spice, floral and hint of honeysuckle and apricot on a sweet moderate acidic finish. 

RM 87 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1891151

https://carpentercreekcellars.com/

Zaca Mesa & Carpenter Creek Red Blends with BBQ Ribs

Zaca Mesa & Carpenter Creek Red Blends with BBQ Ribs 

Hosting Linda’s friends at The Cove, our vacation rental home in Destin, FL, Linda prepared BBQ Ribs with baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, asparagus and salad. 

I brought from our home cellar a couple wines for a food wine accompaniment for the occasion. 

Playing on Kay Z’s name, we brought and drank a ‘Z’ wine, a Syrah from Zaca Mesa.

Zaca Mesa Toyon Santa Ynez Valley Red Wine 2019

We tasted this wine at the winery and acquired it through our wine club allocation and wrote about receiving the shipment in an earlier blogpost - Zaca Mesa Mesa Reserve Santa Ynez Syrah. 

We just received our wine club allocation fall shipment from Zaca Mesa Winery. We visited the Zaca Mesa Estate and Vineyards in Santa Ynez Valley during our Santa Barbara County Wine Experience last spring. We joined their wine club after tasting their portfolio of Rhone varietal based wines highlighting Syrah, one of our favorite varietals.

This was one of the last bottles from that shipment, a mixed case of Zaca Mesa wines, that we had been holding to share and enjoy with our friend Kay Z. We wrote about this label in an earlier blogpost, excerpted here. 

Brambly bushes and shrubs around 
Foxen Trail Vineyards

Zaca Mesa Toyon is a red blend wine named after a native shrub found growing in the sandy hills and terraces that surround the estate vineyards. Toyon (also known as California Holly and Christmas Berry) is a native evergreen that grows into a dense 10 feet tall and 8 feet wide drought-resistant shrub. Covered in leathery leaves all year, it blooms pretty, but unspectacular, white flowers in summer.

Zaca Mesa Toyon is a unique blend comprised of a combination of Santa Ynez Valley Rhône and Bordeaux grape varietals, sourced from fruit grown on and off the estate.

Zaca Mesa Estate Vineyard adjacent the winery

Writing about the unique combination of grapes in this label's blend,   Matt Kettmann of Wine Enthusiast called it a "kitchen sink blend".  He gave the 2016 release of this label 90 points. 

The primary grape selection is akin to a Châteauneuf-du-Pape from the so named appellation in the southern Rhône River valley where the primary grapes required to be in the blend are G-S-M - Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre. 

The GSM combination and so-called label is a popular blend released by many producers in Australia, California and Washington State - areas where Rhône varietals are grown. 

But Zaca Mesa take it a step further and adds the popular Bordeaux varietal grape Cabernet Sauvignon to the mix creating a complex wine that is somewhat a cacaphony of flavors, although the producer calls it a "seamless wine that is unlike anything else we produce".

Zaca Mesa Toyon Santa Ynez Valley Red Wine 2019

The actual blend consists of Shiraz/Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Mourvedre, and Cinsault grapes. Cinsault is another Rhône varietal. 

 

Toyon 2019 was aged 19 months in neutral oak 

Better than previous tasting, perhaps benefiting from a few years in bottle aging.

This was dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, complex, a cacophony of flavors with strawberry, black cherry currant and plum flavors with a layer of vanilla, accented by herbs, sweet tobacco and cinnamon spice, notes of earthy cedar and anise and a bit of pepper on a moderate tannin tangy acidic lingering finish. 

 

RM 89 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4443020

www.zacamesa.com

@zacamesawinery @zacamesa

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2022/11/zaca-mesa-toyon-santa-ynez-valley-red.html

Paying tribute to our shared Hoosier (Indiana) heritage, we also opened and enjoyed a wine from Northern Indiana based Carpenter Creek Cellars. 

Carpenter Creek Cellars Fence Row Red NV

We tasted and acquired this wine at the winery. We featured the producer and their wines in a detailed blogpost of that visited back in 2020,  Carpenter Creek Cellars Indiana Produced Wines, excerpted below. 

We stopped at Carpenter Creek Cellars while passing through Jasper County in Northwest Central Indiana. They're located just off Interstate 65 in Remington, Indiana halfway between Lafayette and Chicago, not far from our family farm, relatively speaking. 

We've passed this spot literally hundreds of times over the years before stopping to visit the local winery,  Carpenter Creek Cellars. Exit I65 from the North at exit SR114, or from the south at State Road 231. Follow the signs on the back country roads to the winery on Jordan Road. 

Various photos here of Carpenter Creek from visits there in December 2019 and again in 2020.  

Winemaker Randy Rottler (left) and proprietor 
partner Ed Courtright

During visits there we tasted and acquired several labels from their broad extensive portfolio - remarkable as they exceeded my expectations for Indiana produced wines. This is a testament to the craft and handiwork of partner proprietors Ed Courtright (right), who wanted to grow grapes in northern Indiana to supply wineries in the area, and winemaker Randy Rottler, who had dreams of starting a small winery.

The farm has been in the Courtright family for three generations. Ed and his son Byron planted their first grape vines in 2002, in what became Byron's vineyard. In 2011, they planted 1.1 acres of Traminette, the Midwestern grape used to produce Indiana's signature wine. After two years of building a business, and one year of restoring a barn/planting vineyards/doing paperwork ... they opened to the public in 2013. Just six months later, they won awards at the 2013 Indy (Indianapolis) International (wine festival) - a Silver Medal in Carpenter Creek labels - Gunny White, Sunset Rosé, and Sunset Red and Bronze Medals for both the Gunny Red and the Riesling. 

Carpenter Creek is a farm winery housed in a quaint picturesque renovated 1919 barn. There is the winery and a tasting room of Carpenter Creek Cellars broad portfolio of wines. The estate is actually visible from the interstate highway, I65.

They claim to produce "world-class wines which embody the best terroir and fruit the Midwest has to offer". 

While I agree that they 'produce wines that embody the best terroir and fruit the Midwest has to offer', the front of that claim leaves much to be desired. The terroir, climate and soil are not well suited to vinis vinifera (wine grapes). It’s not their fault that Indiana, and most of the Midwest for that matter, is not well suited to growing fine wine varietal grapes. Their challenge is that what makes Indiana a top producer of corn and soybeans, tomatoes and other vegetables and fruits, is precisely why it is not well suited for wine grapes. 

As I written often in these pages, the concept of terroir embodies all the elements of a place that affect the growing of varietal grapes - climate, soil, drainage, sun exposure, slope and elevation, proximity to climate impacting bodies of water, and so on. Needless to say, the terroir of Indiana in most respects is not ideal for growing wine grapes. In any event, there are now more than a hundred Indiana wineries that span virtually all regions of the agricultural state from corner to corner. 

World class wine growing regions are in certain latitudes in areas with moderate or hot climates, in areas that are arid and possess poor rocky, well drained soils that would otherwise be harsh to the likes of corn or tomatoes. Ideal grape growing conditions - terroir - actually stress the grapes, forcing them to establish deep deep roots to strain in capturing nutrients from the sparse soil, which is largely void of sufficiency to grow extensive vines and foliage, or corn. In short, the conditions for wine varietal grapes are almost the opposite of those for the cornbelt. 

While Bordeaux varietals are suited for Napa Valley in the US, not so much in Indiana. One popular grape selected for Indiana and Illinois wines is Traminette. There are eighteen different varieties of grapes grown in Indiana on a total of 600 acres of vineyard lands. 

The concept of AVA's, American Viticultural Areas, is based on federally-recognized regions defined either by political boundaries, such as the name of a county, state or country, or by a designated area for that AVA. All the criteria for an AVA come down to terroir so that all wines from that AVA can be presumed to have the same characteristics, or from grapes grown under the same conditions. This is the same as in the old world wine producing countries, where they have rigorous grape growing and wine producing regulations subject to AOC - Appellation d'origine contrôlée regulations in France, and DOC and DOCG in Italy ((Denominazione di origine controllata e garantita (DOCG) is the  superior classification to DOC). 

While there are 57 official appellations in Bordeaux, and seventeen in Napa Valley. Indiana has two designated AVAs, the Indiana Uplands AVA in the center of the state at the southern border along the Ohio River, and the Ohio River Valley AVA straddling the Ohio River along the southern border of the state. 

In order for a wine to be designated with an Appellation of Origin defined by a political boundary, such as a county name for example, federal law requires that 75 percent or more of grapes used to make the wine be from that appellation, such as Napa Valley.

Carpenter Creek Cellars source many of their grapes from California regions - central coast, Sierra foothills, central valley. They also source grapes grown in the Midwest, those tend to be from the southern reaches of Indiana in the two AVAs bordering the Ohio River, or from the wine growing areas of western Michigan, straddling Lake Michigan or Ohio, along Lake Erie, where the Lakes' have significant moderating effects on the local climate. 

Carpenter Creek have planted vineyards adjacent to the winery but they lost many of their planted vines due to the harsh winters and extreme cold and deep freeze of the soil. 

All that said, partners Ed Courtright and Randy Rottler have done an admirable job crafting some pleasant drinkable wines, that most assuredly represent nearly the best achievable outcomes from the grape sources available to them.

They produce an extensive portfolio of wines that cover the range from reds and whites, along with a port-like fortified wine, a dessert wine, and a Rose'.

Carpenter Creek Cellars Fence Row Red NV

Carpenter Creek Cellars sources many of their grapes from California regions - central coast, Sierra foothills, central valley. They also source grapes grown in the Midwest, those tend to be from the southern reaches of Indiana in the two AVAs bordering the Ohio River, or from the wine growing areas of western Michigan, straddling Lake Michigan or Ohio, along Lake Erie, where the Lakes' have significant moderating effects on the local climate. 

This label is a Bordeaux style red blend of grapes sourced from the California Central Coast.

This was a nice fun tasting accompaniment to the BBQ Ribs. 

Opaque ruby colored, medium bodied, moderately dry flavors of fresh black and red berry fruits with notes of leather and black tea with a pleasant flavorful finish. 

RM 88 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2577747

https://carpentercreekcellars.com/

https://twitter.com/carpenterwines

http://IndianaWines.org

Purdue Union Autograph Hotel Wine Dinner

Purdue Union Autograph Hotel Wine Dinner

Indiana Getaway features history, architecture and fine dining at the Purdue Union Autograph Hotel

Usually I am cautious about expectations of a hotel restaurant being more than a glorified coffee shop serving three squares a day. So it was that I was a bit dubious booking the 8eleven Bistro Restaurant in the Purdue Union Club Autograph Hotel for our Friday night dinner during our weekend getaway trip to (West) Lafayette, Indiana. 

We met dearest life-long best friends Eric and Cathy from Indy who made arrangements for the day, in the town of their alma mater, Purdue University. 

The attraction was the Indiana Automotive Lafayette Tour, an inside look at automotive landmarks and rare Indiana-made vehicles, sponsored by Indiana Automotive, and the Indiana Landmarks Foundation. 

Indiana Automotive celebrates and commemorates Indiana’s role in the birth and flourishing of the automobile industry and its legacy of places worth preserving and spectacular automobiles that match the best ever built, anywhere.

 Indiana Automotive celebrates the early auto visionaries and their products, and promotes the preservation of the cars, the factories and showrooms, the homes of auto moguls, and the landscaped parkways and roadside architecture birthed by the auto age.

During the first decades of the twentieth century, more than 250 automobile manufacturers opened shop in Indiana—Duesenberg, Stutz, Cord, Auburn, and Studebaker among them—whose products rank as landmarks on wheels.

Indian Automotive is an affinity group of Indiana Landmarks umbrella.

We then attended a reception at the historic Frank Lloyd Wright Samara House, recently restored and reopened to the public for tours and special events.  

The John and Catherine Christian House, commonly known as Samara, is one of the most complete Frank Lloyd Wright homes in the US. 

Samara, named for the winged seeds found in pinecones and several of the trees on the site, was completed in 1956 near the end of Wright’s career. It is a classic Usonian style home with floor to ceiling windows, garden views, and complete Wright designed furniture and fixtures. 

 Readers of these pages know of my interests in Frank Lloyd Wright and Prairie School architecture. As a Docent/Interpreter and Researcher for the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust in Chicago and Oak Park, IL, I give public tours at the FLW home & Studio in Oak Park and have done extensive research on Wright and Prairie style buildings and sites.   

My work as a volunteer certified docent/interpreter and research captain for the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust is enriched by my knowledge of work by Wright and his contemporaries. 

I publish a Wright site that includes a photo gallery of prairie style architecture and FLW sites I have visited as part of my travels and studies. and his contemporaries. 

Samara House Alexander Vertikoff Photo

Indeed, our hosts for the day, Eric and Cathy built and live in an authentic Prairie Style home in Indianapolis, which is also featured on my site.  

 

My photos from my library of over 25000, have been published on PBS, in text books, children's books, architecture and history books, and most recently, my photography was selected for the "Finn Juhl and Danish Chairs" Exhibition at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art. The exhibition highlighted some of the Finn Juhl's design works featured in Frank Lloyd Wright's iconic Fallingwater house.

https://mcnees.org/flw/

https://www.samara-house.org/

In planning our weekend getaway, I researched dining options in greater Lafayette and West Lafayette, looking at the numerous restaurants and exploring their menus and associated wine lists for the optimal food and wine pairing. In the end, we opted for the most convenient option, our hotel restaurant, which appeared to a have a suitable wine list and menu for the occasion. Thankfully, 8Eleven Bistro met, actually exceeded our expectations for a delightful fine dining experience. 

The clubby 8Eleven Bistro is named to commemorate Purdue alumni trailblazing tradition of two of NASA’s most daring aerospace programs, Gemini 8 and Apollo 11, missions commanded by Purdue alum, astronaut Neil Armstrong.

From the menu, we ordered for starters the Baked (Conneticut Blue Point) Oysters with brie, shallot chablis and parsley, Spicy Tuna Bruschetta clementine with avocado and pistachio, and the Golden Beets & Apple arugula salad with whipped goat cheese, sunflower seeds and citrus vinaigrette. All were delicious, delightfully prepared and presented. We had to ask for a serving of fresh bread with butter.

 

For our dinner entree we shared the Braised Beef with pommes puree, roasted pepper, pearl onion and shaved fennel. It too was delicious and ample for sharing. 

For a wine pairing we selected from the wine list the premium Napa Valley estate Cabernet Sauvignon from Chateau Montelena. 

The 8Eleven wine list is ample and artfully selected offering several favorite producers and labels with a range of offerings from the US, France, Italy, Australia and South American. There are varietals and blends to match and pair with all the food selections. Prices are targeted at the roughly 2.5x retail price, typical and customary for such venues. 

The winelist offer a nice selection of fourteen WBTG - Wines by the Glass, six red, five white, one rose and two sparkling. 

The separate Bottle Wine list features all the popular varietal and styles, five each sparkling wines and Sauvignon Blancs, eight Chardonnays and ten 'other' Whites. 

The red wine selection is comprehensive and well selected with six Pinot Noirs, sixteen Cabernet Sauvignons and Red Blends, and seventeen 'other' Reds. The Reds include labels from Napa, Oregon, Washington, Italy, Australia, France and feature Bordeaux varietals Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Malbec, Italian Sangiovese and Barolo, Australian Syrah/Shiraz, Rhone Blends and a popular premium American Zinfandel. For several popular producers they feature the estate, premium and ultra premium labels such as Caymus Napa and Caymus Special Select, and Trefethen Estate Cab, Reserve, and their flagship Halo label. 

Chateau Montelena Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2019

We ordered from the wine list the Chateau Montelena 2019 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. While it was posted at $132 on their website, the updated menu price was $150.

 

This is the standard premium label crafted from Montelena estate and select contract grower neighbor vineyards located in the northern end of Napa Valley, in and around Calistoga, sites selected for their alluvium soil profile which provides an earthy, complex and concentrated Cabernet Sauvignon. This label is not to be confused with their "Estate" flagship label which costs more than two times the price.

This release is a blend of 91% Cabernet Sauvignon and 9% Merlot from Oak Knoll appellation in southern Napa Valley, added to soften the wine. It was aged 16 months in 28% new French and some Hungarian oak.

Winemaker notes - "Everyone fondly remembers the wines from 2005 or 2013 when quality was simply there for the taking, and that was the case with 2019. Amusingly, as a winemaker, our favorite vintages are typically those that follow a Hollywood-esque storyline with unforeseen challenges, plenty of character development, and of course a final victory. With that said, it is just as gratifying to hit that pitch out of the park if the opportunity is there. Moreover, while it’s true that every vintage builds character, growing seasons like 2019 beget gratefulness and reflection in reminding us why Napa Valley in general and the Montelena Estate vineyard in particular are so special. In short, this vintage exemplifies all of the characteristics that one could seek in delicious, age-worthy wine." - Winemaker Matt Crafton.

"NOSE - Pure and powerful, this wine opens with fresh blueberries, blackberry pie and cassis, endless dark fruit is complemented by a range of baking spices: vanilla at first, but also clove and cinnamon.'

 

"PALATE - the first sip instantly reveals the character of this Cabernet: dense and chewy with bright red fruit, incredible tension and pure, fine grain tannins. Not only is everything in its place; but the layers of flavor, the depth of the fruit and the sublime texture are constantly rearranging. Each glass will be a unique experience.'

"FINISH - In contrast to the dynamic palate, the finish is focused and stout. Abundant cocoa, espresso bean and black pepper dovetail into dark, black fruit while tart raspberry and strawberry jam linger. The wines at Chateau Montelena are often described as having classic “old-world” structure with ripe California fruit, and the Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is emblematic of this style. These wines tend to have more acid and more moderate alcohol levels as compared to some of the “cult” Cabs. This combination of classic chemistry and California sunshine allows them to offer immediate pleasure and complexity on release, and the ability to develop beautifully."

This release was rated 91 points by Wine Advocate. 

Bright garnet colored, medium to full-bodied format, slightly disjointed with somewhat obtuse, vibrant, slightly astringent acidic plum, blackberry and black raspberry fruits, notes of cinnamon spice, expresso and vanilla, with fine grained tannins on the tangy lingering finish. Will likely improve as it integrates and settles a bit with some age. Still a nice tasty pairing with the robust hearty beefsteak.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3623924

https://montelena.com/wine/2019-napa-valley-cabernet-sauvignon/

https://twitter.com/ChMontelena 

@ChMontelena

https://www.8elevenbistro.com/

Carpenter Creek Cellars Merlot

Carpenter Creek Cellars Merlot

For simple casual sipping with some pasta leftovers from last other night's dinner, I pulled from the cellar this Merlot from Carpenter Creek Cellars in Northern Indiana. We tasted and acquired this wine during a visit to the winery last fall, picking up a couple bottles for such an occasion. I wrote in detail about Carpenter Creek Cellars in an earlier blogpost here. 

Carpenter Creek Cellars American Merlot NV

Winemaker's notes: "A medium bodied red with an herbal aroma with hints of walnut and tea leaves."

This is labeled as an 'American Red Wine' indicating it is comprised of grapes sourced in America without further specification. It is produced at the winery in North Central Indiana from grapes sourced from various suppliers and growers in Northern California. They procure some of the grapes through a middleman so in some cases they do not the precise provenance or specifics of the grower.

Ruby colored, medium bodied, tangy red berry fruits with notes of black tea, tobacco leaf and hints of leather and white pepper on the finish. 

RM 87 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3529433

https://carpentercreekcellars.com/

Country Heritage Vineyards & Winery Vintners Cuvee

Country Heritage Vineyards & Winery Vintners Cuvee

We discovered and acquired this wine during our recent visit to the Country Heritage Vineyards & Winery estate and hospitality center in northeast Indiana north of Ft. Wayne, which I featured in a chronicle of our estate visit recently. 

We opened this for pleasant casual sipping with roast beef and pasta leftovers - a suitable pairing and occasion for this wine. 

Country Heritage Vineyards & Winery Winemaker's Blend NV

According to the winery tasting wine flight offering sheet, this is a non-vintage blend sourced from grapes from Calaveras County, CA.

Dark garnet purple colored, medium-full bodied, somewhat complex tangy gripping blackberry and ripe plum fruits accented by a layer of smoke, tobacco box, woody leather with notes of toasted poppy seeds, soy and black pepper with a lingering menthol and whisper of cognac laced acidic finish.

RM 88 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4136331

https://countryheritagewinery.com/

https://twitter.com/CH_Winery

@CH_Winery

Indiana Wine - Country Heritage Vineyards and Winery

 Indiana Wine - Country Heritage Vineyards and Winery in northeast Indiana

Visiting northeastern Indiana we visited Country Heritage Vineyards and Winery outside the hamlet of LaOtta, Indiana, north of Fort Wayne. I chronicled Indiana wines in an earlier blogpost.

I've written before about Indiana wine and the challenges of growing terroir driven quality grapes in the climate and soil there, hence our expectations were fairly modest. Like many midwest producers, Country Heritage craft wines from estate grown grapes, grapes imported from around the region, and grapes imported from as far away as California and Washington State. 

We were surprised and impressed with the vastness and extent of the Country Heritage Vineyards, Winery and hospitality center. This is a serous operation with intent on producing quality fine wines as well as every day sipping wines. They vastly exceeded our expectations in every respect - their vineyard operations, their craftmanship in winemaking, their winery operations, and their marketing, branding and promotions. 

Country Heritage Winery & Vineyards are owned and operated by Jennifer & Jeremy Lutter on the Lutter family farm that has been in the family over several generations going back over a hundred years. 

On their several hundreds of acres of croplands across Noble County, Swan Township (shown below), they have planted over 70 acres of vineyards - practicing serious viticulture to grow select grapes suited to the terroir - soil, climate and all elements of place. 

Country Heritage also source grapes through contracts with numerous growers around the region, and from growers as far away as California. 

Shown adjacent below are the land holdings of the Lutter Family farms across Swan Township in Noble County, Indiana.

They brought in Kevin Geeting as Head Winemaker - locally born and raised, he learned winemaking through his own studies and experimentation, then learned the tradecraft as assistant winemaker at a winery in Virginia before returning to Indiana to take on responsibilities with the Lutters at Country Heritage. 

Teaming with the Lutters and their generations of experience growing excellent crops, they've developed an extensive estate of vineyards and winery production facilities to produced a broad extensive portfolio of wines. 

Traveling north from Fort Wayne on State Route 3, one comes across the vast Country Heritage estate vineyards and winery. The vast hospitality center consists of a retail tasting bar and giftshop, a vast tasting hospitality room that extends out to patios, gardens and an amphitheater with stage for concerts and entertainment. There is also a wine cellar with private dining room and barrel room for private tastings and dinners. 

The wine cellar dining room features a vast dining table that seats sixteen, handcrafted personally by proprietor Jeremy Lutter (shown below). 

The tasting bar offers tasting flights of personally selected flights featuring their broad portfolio of red, white, blush rose, sparkling and fortified dessert wines as well as fruit wines - estate, private label, special selections and vintage library wines.

They source grapes from notable wine regions to craft French and American varietal own label wines such as Petit Verdot from Sierra Foothills, CA, Petit Sirah from CA, Syrah from Horse Heaven Hills, Columbia Valley, and Merlot from Walla Walla, Washington, and a Proprietor's Reserve vintage Bordeaux Blend from various sources in California. While these were not available for tasting, based on the quality of some of the tasting selections, we picked up some of these premium labels to try at home. 

As always, our goal was to explore their signature wines that best represent their estate viticulture and terroir as well as their winemaking craftsmanship. 

Focusing on their estate (home grown) wines, our tasting flight consisted of these Country Heritage labels:

Traminette 2020
Vignobles 2020
Petit Pearl 2018
Norton 2018
Vintner's Cuvee - Winemaker's Blend (Calaveras County, CA) - Tasting Note
Auburn-Cord-Dusenberg Commemorative Bottling 2020
Ice Age White - Late Harvest blend of La Crescent and Vignobles 

They also produce this commemorative bottling of the annual car festival at the northwest Indiana classic car Auburn-Cord-Dusenberg Museum in nearby Auburn, Indiana, another regional destination, attraction.

Purchased Wines from their select premium and library collections

 

Ice Aged White Dessert Wine

 

 

Special private label bottling - New Year's Eve
also owner/proprietor's birthday - 1231

 

Special release - Proprietor's Blend Bordeaux Blend

Watch for future wine tasting postings as we explore these wines further. 

https://countryheritagewinery.com/

https://twitter.com/CH_Winery

@CH_Winery