Tassel Ridge Winery–May 2009
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Saturday, May 2—Mexican Fiesta Wine & Food Pairing Dinner
Wine tasting: 7:00 p.m.
Dinner seating: 7:30 p.m.
Cost is $45 per person, plus tax
It’s a Fiesta at Tassel Ridge Winery! Join us for a south of the border dining adventure. This festive dinner will feature grilled pork skewers with chili sauce followed by a crunchy jicama and mango salad and roasted green chili-chicken enchiladas served with our special fruit Sangrias. Dessert will be a dark chocolate cinnamon cheesecake paired with Tassel Ridge Finalé Premier Red dessert wine. Please make your reservation by Thursday, April 30.
Sunday, May 10—Mother’s Day Brunch
Seating times: 10 a.m., 12 p.m. (SOLD OUT), 2 p.m.
Cost is $25 per adult, plus tax; $12 for children 6 to 12, plus tax; children 5 and under are free
Let Tassel Ridge Winery pamper Mom or the special woman in your life with an exquisite Mother’s Day brunch featuring country smoked ham, chicken in garlic cream wine sauce, brown sugar glazed bacon, and other delectable dishes. Assorted pastries, desserts, and miniature sweets will be served with Tassel Ridge Winery’s special mimosas featuring Oskyfizzante White. Make your reservations early for this special event! Advance reservations required by Wednesday, May 6.
Saturday and Sunday, May 16-17—
Celebrate Tassel Ridge Winery’s
3rd Anniversary
Saturday 10 a.m.–6 p.m.;
Sunday 12–6 p.m.
Grapemobile & winery tours conducted on the hour
Cost: Complimentary
Join us at Tassel Ridge Winery as we celebrate our 3rd Anniversary. Enjoy grapemobile tours, winery tours, and wine tasting featuring the release of our new Oskyfizzante Pink, a sweet, fizzy wine paired with an appropriate appetizer. The first 100 visitors each day will receive a commemorative anniversary wine glass.
Iowa White Blossom Is Catching On Fast!
Iowa White Blossom was reintroduced over the first weekend of April 2009 and it is really resonating with our customers who like a dry, food pairing wine with prominent tropical fruit notes. This wine is made entirely from Edelweiss grapes we grow in our vineyard at Tassel Ridge. We think this wine is outstanding when served chilled with fish and chicken or with Asian stir-fries with flavors of cilantro and lemon juice.
We first made Iowa White Blossom in 2006 with part of our first small harvest of Edelweiss that year. Because it was a dry wine, it sold slowly at first but it gradually developed a real following. Our Edelweiss harvest in 2007 was again pretty small so we did not make it that year. We ran out of Iowa White Blossom and then we started hearing from people who really liked it. Our 2008 Edelweiss harvest was bountiful so we had enough fruit to make Iowa White Blossom again.
Iowa White Blossom is now available at retailers. If you don’t see it, ask for Tassel Ridge Iowa White Blossom.
Price: $14.00 per 750 ml bottle.
Did You Receive Your Spring 2009 Events Program in the Mail?
If not, it means that we don’t have your postal address. Please sign up again, but this time, please include your postal address and we will take care to see that you receive the Events Program quarterly in the future.
2009 Heart of Iowa Wine Trail Passport Is Your Ticket to Iowa Winery Experiences
A 2009 Heart of Iowa Passport makes a perfect for people interested in wine or simply interested in learning about wineries located around Des Moines. The Heart of Iowa Wine Trail includes fifteen wineries located within about 60 miles of Des Moines. Each winery offers a different experience, different wines, and a different and very interesting story. The Passport recipient presents his/her passport at each of the member wineries and it is stamped with that winery’s special stamp. A full passport earns the passport owner a set of two engraved Heart of Iowa Wine Trail wine glasses. Get prepared to enjoy the pleasures of the Heart of Iowa Wine Trail wineries.
2009 Heart of Iowa Wine Trail Passport - $25.00 plus tax
Tassel Ridge Winery Harvest Club
We are pleased to announce the formation of the Tassel Ridge Winery Harvest Club. Members receive four shipments of Tassel Ridge Wine each year in March, May, September, and November. We have picked those months because they are usually temperate enough that we can ship wine without excessive heat or cold to damage it. Each shipment contains two bottles of wine which are priced at retail plus shipping unless club members pick up their shipments at the Winery. In that case, there is no shipping charge. The average price of each shipment including shipping is $45.
We offer two wine preferences:
- Dry wines for pairing with food
- Sipping wines that are generally sweeter
Re-orders of full case quantities of the Harvest Club selections are always priced at retail less 20% when orders are placed within 60 days of the original shipment.
Harvest Club members have the first opportunity to purchase limited edition wines before they are offered to the public. They are also offered special tasting opportunities when they visit the Winery. In the future, we plan to have Harvest Club Members only wine and food pairing dinners, special tastings with the wine maker, and opportunities to see how wine is made. All of this is designed to make the experience of consuming Tassel Ridge Wines especially enjoyable.
The Tassel Ridge Harvest Club is open to people 21 years of age and older. Shipments are paid for with a credit card that is kept on file.
This is a great way to stay up-to-date on our new wines. Because some of our wines are never sold through retailers, you may not see some of these wines unless you visit the Winery regularly or are a Harvest Club Member.
Consider a Tassel Ridge Harvest Club membership as the perfect gift for a person who enjoys wine. Call 641/672-WINE (9463) for more information.
Interested in Pairing Specific Foods with 
Tassel Ridge Wines?
Are you interested in suggestions of foods that pair well with specific Tassel Ridge wines? We’ve put some suggestions on our web site under Recipes and Food Pairing Suggestions. You can link directly to this page at www.tasselridge.com/recipes.htm.
New Retailers and Restaurants Make Purchasing Tassel Ridge Wine Easier
Tassel Ridge Winery continues to add more new retailers and restaurants in order to make it easier for you to find and purchase our wines. The list of new retailers appointed in April follows. You can view our complete list of retailers at www.tasselridge.com/retail.htm.
Indianola • Express Liquor
Iowa City • Devotay (restaurant)
Norwalk • Fareway
Urbandale • The Machine Shed (both in the shop and restaurant)
Last Call on Wines About to Run Out
We are nearly sold out of the following wine:
- Fruit Stand Cranberry Fruit Wine
We have small quantities of this wine available at the Winery on a first come, first served basis. Case discounts of 10% on twelve bottles of any of our wines apply.
Our Hours:
In May 2009, we are open seven days a week, including Memorial Day for tours, tasting, wine, and gift shop during the following hours:
- Monday, 9 a.m.–6 p.m.
- Tuesday, 9 a.m.–6 p.m.
- Wednesday, 9 a.m.–6 p.m.
- Thursday, 9 a.m.–6 p.m.
- Friday, 9 a.m.–6 p.m.
- Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
- Sunday, 12–6 p.m.
Our Location:
Tassel Ridge Winery is easy to find. It is just south of State Highway 163 on 220th Street in Leighton. From Ottumwa and Oskaloosa, drive northwest on 163 to 220th Street and turn left toward Leighton. From Des Moines and Pella, drive southeast and turn right at 220th Street. Drive west on 220th about 0.7 miles from the Highway and right into the Tassel Ridge Winery parking lot. view maps
—Bob Wersen, President
Email Jody Brockway at info@tasselridge.com to sign up a friend for our e-newsletter.