Wine Lovers United

When I think of a food coop, I instantly imagine a group of people, working together to provide each other and their community with farm fresh food. I also imagine the closeness and the dedication it takes to run a food coop, all in the name of volunteerism, sustainability and affordable food for shoppers and members alike.   However when I stumbled up a wine coop article, I was intrigued.

These two coops captured my attention. As you read their story you get a great sense of integrity, passion, and social responsibility. The connection each member has with the other and the community they serve is endearing.

I image the endless flavor varieties and delicious pairing possibilities offered by these two wine coops.

To read their stories and to purchase your own special coop bottle, please visit:

Suisun Valley Wine Cooperative

http://www.svwinecoop.com

http://www.sunsetcellars.com

Suisun Valley Wine Coop holds weekly wine tasting events and lists their national distributors.

Rock Room Winemaking Cooperative

http://www.rockroom.com

Rock Room offers direct purchasing from their website.

Black Berries

African American owned vineyards

Experience the difference! According to NPR, there are nearly 6,000 wineries in the United States, yet African Americans own less than a dozen of them. However,the wine industry is taking notice of blacks' increase in buying power and interest in wine in recent years. Here are a few "black berry" brands to try, grown exclusively in black-owned vineyards.

• Esterlina Vineyards- Family-owned vineyard, based in California. The Sterling family has over 30 years of experience. The vineyard has four different locations, each growing their own unique blend of wine. 
• Daily wine tastings at the Anderson Valley of the Esterlina Estate

• Black Coyote Chateau- founded by four prominent gentlemen in 1997, in Napa Valley.  They specialize in award winning Cabernet Sauvignon, and recently introduced Sauvignon Blanc.              

• Brown Estate-Located in Napa Valley, Brown estate has thrived on the purity of their wine since 1981.  This family-owned estate specializes in Zinfandel, but also produces a few other favorites.  Tastings at the private estate Mon-Friday by appointment!

• Sharp Cellars- Sharp Cellars produces world-class Zinfandel, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, and Pinot Noir from four Sonoma vineyards. It was founded in 1998, by Sharp, a founder and past president of the Association of African American Vintners. Sharp produces organically farmed wine from a hilltop estate in the mountains.

• Vision Cellars- Texas inspired! Boutique winery established in 1995, and specializing in Pinot Noir. Join them! Oct. 20 & 21st 2011 6:30pm-10pm Critics' Choice Grand Tasting @ the New York Marriott Marquis

*Mark your calendars for the 8th Annual Wine Symposium and Tasting June 16th 2012*

Check this out! http://www.colormagazineusa.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=346

For more info on African American vintners visit: http://aaavintners.org/

Wine me, dine me~ C'est la vie

Our next stop on our fabulous worldly wine tour is the city of love, Paris!!! My time spent in Paris was amazing; I felt like a princess in a fairy tale the whole time. Everything there seems to be made of crystal and gold; sparkle and shine around every corner!

Of course part of the lavishness that is Paris is the famous bubbly, champagne! The history of champagne dates back to the Roman era, in the region of Le Champagne, where wine making monks worked in endless vineyards. The alleged creator of champagne is none other that Don Perignon, Benedictine monk, who simply decided to let the bubbles out of the wine one day, and champagne was born!

The best way to consume a glass of champagne is in a flute glass, to ensure all the bubbles are secured tightly.  Taste with your eyes first, enjoy the tint and glow, and then let it speak to your nose with its fresh floral aromas.  Never take big gulps of champagne, it is meant to be sipped slowly and tickle your taste buds gently. Some popular names to try are Dom Perignon of course, Champagne Duetz, and Champagne Henriot.

One of the best kept French secrets, which I am about to shed light on in the States, is Vin Chaud, or hot wine. Don't make that face! I know, it sounds ridiculous, but hot wine is where it's at! It's especially great on a  cold winter eve.  I visited Paris in late November and it was freezing! I attended a festival outdoors, which had me miserable until I found Vin Chaud! It was the perfect thing to warm my body, and ease my trembling from the cold. Vin Chaud is slightly spicy, yet warming, with a dash of cognac to liven those senses! It's actually the word amazing in a glass! The warm combo works very well for a cocktail party or a cuddle night. Today is your lucky day, because I will tell you the secret to making your own Vin Chaud! Red wine works best with the recipe; slightly sweet to mix nicely with the strong cognac. You will need:

• 1 bottle red wine
• 4 cinnamon sticks
• 1 5-inch piece of orange zest (white pith removed)
• 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 cardamon pods
• 5 whole cloves
• 1/3 cup Cognac

Mix all the ingredients into a large saucepan and set it to low heat.  Allow it to simmer, not boil. Wait until the wine is steaming and the sugar is dissolved. If you so desire, you may strain the spices from the wine. Add 1-2 teaspoons of cognac to a mug, and pour the wine over it.  There you have it, a warm sensation, straight from France!

Cheers To A Good Cause

Here at VineVibe.com not only are we passionate about wine, but we care about giving back to the community in which we all live. To help in this effort, we’ve compiled a list of celebrity studded fundraising wine tasting events around the nation for this month. 

Event: Children’s Bureau’s 2nd Annual Celebrity Chefs & Wine Tasting

Date: Thursday, September 22

Time: 6:00pm - 10:00 p.m. at

Location: Magnolia Place Family Center
              1910 Magnolia Ave Los Angeles, CA

For more information and giveaways click here 

Event: 6th Annual Newport Mansions Wine and Food Festival
Date: September 23-25 2011
Location: Newport, RI
For more information and tickets click here

Event: New York City Food & Wine Festival
Presented by FOOD & WINE "Eat, Drink, End Hunger"
Date: September 29 - October 2
Location: New York City
For tickets, celebrity appearances and schedule click here

Event: Hawaii Food & Wine Festival
Presented by FOOD & WINE "Eat, Drink, End Hunger"
Date: September 29- October 1
For complete details and tickets click here

 Find an event near you and support a great charity today!

Celebrity Vineyards

Celebrities. We pay attention to everything about them; style, careers, relationships. How about the wines they love to drink or even own? Celebrity owned vineyards are all over the world. Some of the most famous international celebrities own vineyards, some for their own personal use and others are open for business.
Let's take a look at a few celebrity owned vineyards and what wine they might be enjoying tonight!!



1. Madonna (World famous singer, songwriter)
    Ciccone Vineyard & Winery

2. Dave Matthews (Lead singer, songwriter and guitarist for famous Dave Matthews Band)
    Blenheim Vineyards

3. Arnold Palmer (Considered one of history's greatest professional golfers)      
    Arnold Palmer Wines

4. Gerard Depardieu (Golden Globe winning French  actor and film maker)
    Chateau de Tigne

5. Frank Sinatra (Academy award winning American actor and singer)
    Sinatra Family Estates

Why not plan a wine tasting excursion to one of your favorite celebrity vineyards.  Imagine the excitement, glitz & glamour coupled with a wonderful wine tasting experience with friends and family!

Natural and Organic Wine: The Not So New Obsession

Natural wine has been around for ages. In France, Italy and other European countries, it's the norm. In the US, however, it’s considered the exception but becoming more popular.

When you think about natural or organic wine, it isn’t difficult to assume organic grapes are used in it's production. When you dig further, you find the production method equally as important as the grapes themselves. It isn’t enough to use organic grapes. What matters is how these grapes are treated that affect the quality of the wine. That factor alone differentiates between mass produced, predictable tasting wine and a distinct, pure and flavorful wine.

How To Identify Natural Wine

Natural wine is made:

• in small batches,
• by independent makers,
• on low-yielding vineyards,
• from handpicked, organically grown grapes,
• without added sugars or foreign yeasts,
• without adjustments for acidity,
• without micro-oxygenation or reverse-osmosis.

Pros And Cons of Natural Wine
As with any decision in life, there is always the need to weigh the good and the bad. In regards to natural wine, the pros most certainly outweigh the cons.

Pros: Natural wine is healthier for you, is less expensive, supports the environment through sustainable agriculture and allows you to support independent farmers and producers.

Cons: Natural wine comes with very careful handling, serving and storing instructions to avoid fast spoilage. Being produced in small batches makes them hard to find unlike mass produced wine. Natural wines lack consistency even with bottles made in the same year.

On your next trip, enjoy a glass of natural wine at these selected restaurants:

The Ten Bells, Lower East Side, NYC  http://www.thetenbells.typepad.com
The Tasting Kitchen, Venice Beach, CA http://www.thetastingkitchen.com
Diner, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NYC http://www.dinernyc.com
Fix St. James, Sydney, Australia http://www.fixstjames.com.au

End of a Summer Dream, Beginning of an Autumn Love

I was recently introduced to a great summer white wine, New Age. It actually looks like a bottle of vodka at first glance, but don't be fooled; New Age is a very light, crisp white wine. The aroma and taste both provide a burst of peach and floral accents to the senses. New Age comes from Argentina and has a zesty citrus taste. It is actually one of  Argentina's oldest and most popular wines, yet fairly new to the scene in the States.  This particular wine is unique because you can also enjoy it on the rocks with your choice of lemon or lime, as if it were a cocktail! Also, for a little twist to your wine needs, you may fancy trying New Age Rose, which pairs great with any fruit juice as a cocktail! I recommend cranberry or grape juice. Delish!  You can find New Age in any large grocery chain or liquor store, and it is actually reasonably priced around $10 a bottle.  New Age (white) pairs well with spicy dishes, while Red goes great with barbeque! This Argentinian wine is a perfect end to the summer!

In order to ease into the fall season, the perfect wine to please your palate is Sweet Red.  Sweet Red reminds me of a warm kiss on a cool autumn eve.  I actually have a glass in hand now as I write! It possesses a lovely cherry taste, but in my opinion is not too sweet.  It is velvety smooth going down, and evokes wonderful grape aromas.  It is produced right here in the USA, in California.  The Sutter Home brand is easy to find and very inexpensive.  Sweet Red pairs well with grilled meats, or is also a great everyday indulgence by itself.  You know what they say, a glass of red a day keeps the doctor away!

Worldly Wine: Spanish Flare

Welcome to the world of wine! As I traversed through various landscapes of the world I felt it my duty, as a self-proclaimed wine enthusiast, to indulge in the many taste bud tantalizing wines of the world.  Each country I visited had their own unique blend of goodness for me to wet my palate with.  The wine tour begins in Spain, the country which I spent the most time in, and enjoyed the most servings of wine.  Spain is famous for its perfectly aged and classic wines.

The first lesson of Spanish wine is the various age grades; Joven, which is made with no oak, Crianza, Reserva, and Gran Reserva, which is aged a minimum of sixty months and boasts a smooth oak finish. Among Spain's famous reds are my two favorites, Rioja and Ribera del Duero.  Rioja is a favorite to many Spaniards because it comes from the classic Rioja region, and boasts an aged taste, while remaining fresh and light. Some popular Rioja brands include Cune and Marques de Caceres.  Ribera del Duero comes from a Tempranillo wine variety, which is an early-ripening grape variety.  Ribera del Duero possesses a powerful, strong taste, yet maintains elegance; emitting aromas of black plums and cherries.  This wine pairs well with a hearty steak or beef. Popular labels of Ribera include 5 Jotas and Fiel. Although famous for its red wine, I discovered some delectable white wines as well.  One of my fanorites was Albarino, which is like an ocean breeze in your mouth, and pairs well with seafood and pasta dishes.  Also, you may be in the mood for adding  kick to your cooking with wine. Spain has some wonderful selections of Sherry fortified wine. Sherry can also be used as a great dessert wine.  There are two main types, fino- a lighter dry taste, and oloroso- a very rich and full taste. Either will add bursts full of flavor to any meal! Finally, if you are not in the mood to cook or drink wine, put yourself in a more festive mood with Spain's excellent version of champagne, Cava sparkling wine.  It is cheaper than french Champagne, but has more bang and bubbles!

If you happen to be visiting Spain, a couple famous regions for wineries are Rioja and Navarra, where you can visit old wineries, experience tastings, and smash your own grapes! Overseas travel may not be high on your list of priorities in today's backwards economy, so you can always make your way to the nearest spirits vendor and just ask to be directed to the Spanish wine aisle!  If ever presented with the opportunity to go to Spain, GO! It is a beautiful country and culture, and boasts some of the world's best wines.