Newsletter

Tassel Ridge Winery–August 7, 2009

If you are having trouble seeing this e-newsletter, copy this link into your web browser www.tasselridge.com/newsletter8-7-09.htm

Friday–Sunday, August 7–9
New In The Dark Released

Our new In The Dark is a blend of St. Croix (62%), Syrah (34%), and Foch (4%). This wine was blended and then aged in a mixture of French, Eastern European, and American oak barrels for 16 months. In The Dark is a big dry red wine with soft tannins, notes of black cherry and baking spices, all combined with nicely integrated oak on both the palate and finish. It should be served at room temperature with grilled meats and spicy pastas with red sauce. In my opinion, this is the best dry red wine we’ve made so far.

We will be releasing In The Dark Friday, August 7. We will have samples of roast beef canapés with a mild horseradish sauce to pair with your tasting.

Gift giving hint: If you are looking for the perfect gift for someone who loves dry red wine, a bottle of In The Dark might be an outstanding choice. This is a serious dry red wine that we are really proud of.

In addition, because earlier releases of In The Dark had so many devoted followers, we’ve produced both short sleeve and long tee shirts and a sweatshirt that carry the In The Dark label right on the front. They are on sale at $8 for the tee shirts and $10 for the sweatshrits when you buy a bottle of In The Dark.

Price: $20.00 plus tax for In The Dark wine in a 750 ml bottle.

Pizzeria & Pasta Too! Dry Red Wine is Very Well Received

We introduced our new Pizzeria & Pasta Too! two weeks ago, and people who came into the Winery and tried it, liked it well enough that many walked out with a bottle or two. Furthermore, some of our retailers expressed an interest in carrying it as soon as it is available through wholesale channels.

As its name suggests, this is THE wine to consume with pizza and pasta, particularly if the red, tomato-based sauces predominate. The acid in the sauce pairs really well with the fruity characteristic of the wine. And, this wine is made entirely from Sabrevois grapes grown in our Winery vineyard.

Since it is so fruit forward, we think it will appeal to people who don’t like red wine because of the astringency of tannins or because of other strong flavors.

Make sure you try this new wine on your next visit or look for it at your favorite retailer.

Price: $13.00 plus tax for a 750 ml bottle.

Lt. Governor Patty Judge Visits Tassel Ridge Winery

Lt. Governor Patty Judge visited Tassel Ridge Winery on Wednesday afternoon, August 5 as part of her Vacation Iowa tour. You can visit her blog to read about her visit at http://traveliowa.blogspot.com/2009/08/tassel-ridge-winery.html.

Join Us Friday and Saturday, August 7–8 at the National Balloon Classic in Indianola

Tassel Ridge Winery will participate in the Heart of Iowa Wine Trail Wine Festival at the National Balloon Classic on Friday and Saturday, August 7–8 from 4:30–9:30 p.m. both days. We will have wine tasting and will offer the opportunity to purchase bottles of wine. The Heart of Iowa Wine Trail is sponsoring musical performances on the Farmers Insurance Stage featuring the music of the Big Daddy Blues Band on Friday and the Tony Valdez Band on Saturday. Tickets purchased at the event are $15 for the wine festival in addition to the Balloon Classic admission price.

Be Sure to Visit Us in the Wine Tent at the Iowa State Fair August 13–23.

Tassel Ridge Winery along with several other Iowa wineries will be pouring tastes of several of its wines in the Iowa Wine Growers Association Wine Tent. You will find us again this year just south of the Bill Riley Stage (east of the Varied Industries building). The tent is a nice place to sit and enjoy a glass of wine or a Wine-a-rita made with Tassel Ridge Wine. We will offer several, but not all of our wines at the Fair. Someone from Tassel Ridge Winery will be present during the entire Fair. We look forward to seeing you.

Saturday, August 22—Join us for a Harvest Lunch in the Vineyard

Seating Times: 11:00 a.m. & 12:30 p.m.

Price: $25 per person, plus tax
(Includes wine, lunch, commemorative wine glass, and a Grapemobile tour)

Join us for wine & lunch in the vineyard as we celebrate the Harvest time at Tassel Ridge Winery. We’ll have a tent to shield us from the sun, and we will be right out next to the vines. You are welcome to take a stroll through the vineyard and sample Edelweiss and Sabrevois grapes right from the vines. After lunch, enjoy a winery tour, wine tasting at our tasting bar, and a Grapemobile tour through our beautiful vineyards. Advance reservations required by Wednesday, August 19. Seating is limited, so hurry make your reservation!

Saturday, August 29—Cooking with Wine Demo

Price: $5 per person, plus tax

Want to get some fantastic recipes for entertaining? Join Chef Gordon Rader and students from Indian Hills Community College Culinary Arts Program (http://acfofiowa.org/hillskitchen/) for a cooking with wine demonstration showcasing Tassel Ridge award-winning wines. Advance reservations required by Wednesday, August 29.

Sunday, August 30—Waterfront Seafood Market Comes to Tassel Ridge Winery for an End of Summer Salmon BBQ

Wine Tasting: 6:00 p.m.
Dinner Seating: 6:30 p.m.

Price: $60 per person, plus tax

Join us as we welcome back Des Moines’ finest seafood purveyor, Waterfront Seafood Market & Restaurant. Dinner will feature the freshest salmon of the season, a salad, sides, and dessert, all paired with select Tassel Ridge wines. Space is limited. Advance reservations required by Wednesday, August 26.

Your Copy of the Summer 2009 Tassel Ridge Winery Events Program Can Be Accessed Here!

In the future, we will put our events programs on our web site and will let you know when they have been posted with a note in our
e-letter. The Summer 2009 edition can be accessed here: http://www.tasselridge.com/images/Events-Prog-Sum09.pdf.
It is a 4.86 mb PDF.

Do You Tweet? Become a Tassel Ridge Winery Follower on Twitter

If you use social media like Twitter, Facebook, and Myspace, you may be interested to know that Tassel Ridge Winery can be found on these websites. Following Tassel Ridge Winery is just a simple click away. On Twitter, simply sign in (or create an account and then sign in), go to “find people” in the upper right of the splash screen, search for tasselridge (all lower case, no spaces). You will then be able to see all of our posts. On Facebook or Myspace, simply search for Tassel Ridge Winery and then become a fan or follower.

See pictures of events as they happen at the Winery in real time.

You might be interested to know that more than 3,000 people follow Tassel Ridge Winery on Twitter. In fact, Tassel Ridge Winery ranks in the top wineries in the world on Twitter.

Dinner on the Boone & Scenic Valley Train Was a Big Success!

We share some photos of event here.

What’s Happening In Our Vineyards?

Most of our vineyards look great now. We’ve gotten the weeds under control and the vines combed and ready for harvest.

Last week, we collected petiole samples to send to a lab for analysis. We’ve included a photo so you can see what we send. The results will help us determine what fertilizer is needed this season.

We are just past the start of veraison in which the individual grapes start developing sugar and color. Below is a photo taken about ten days ago of our Marquette grapes at Meadowcreek Vineyards.

We are still thinking that we will begin harvest about August 22. Stay tuned.

What Is Happening In Our Cellar?

We are getting the new catwalks in place and then will have the temperature sensor installed and the chilled water connections made to our new 2000-gallon tanks. We bottled 2008 Iowa LaCrescent late last week and are getting several other wines ready for bottling. We need to get our bottling done BEFORE we start harvest because crush takes most of our resources for about a month.

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.

Our Hours:

In August 2009, we are open seven days a week for tours, tasting, and wine and gift shop sales:

Monday–Friday, 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
Saturday, 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m.
Sunday, Noon–6:00 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 on Highway 163 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