Posted by: Catie McIntyre Walker in Wine, Events on
Nov 30, 2010
If you are a newbie to wine and want to know what barrel tasting all about - - no, it is not about licking the barrel to find out how it tastes. Barrel tasting is a special event where wine barrels are opened and the wine is sampled before the actual bottling of the wine takes place. Often the wines are still young, but barrel tasting allows wine enthusiasts the opportunity to taste and learn about future releases before buying.
There are also tools and other terms that goes along with tasting from the barrels such as "thief" and "angel's share."
No-no-no, a wine thief isn't a guy that sneaks into the winery and steals wine. A wine thief is a glass or a food-grade plastic tube,12 to 24 inches in length, and is used to siphon wine out of a barrel. Once the wine is removed by the thief, it is poured into another container such as a wine glass. The thief is used especially during barrel tasting events.
So, you may be wondering about the "angel's share" and if angels hang out with the wine thieves (If this were the case, there sure would be a lot of wine being pilfered by thieves and angels). The "Angel's Share" is an old term for the portion (share) of wine or spirits that is lost due to evaporation while aging in the barrels. Over time, some of the wine can slowly seep through the grain of the barrel staves and evaporate into the open air. The annual estimated loss can be around 2% per barrel. This loss of evaporating wine alludes to the belief that guardian angels watch over the wine as it ages and if you have ever been in a wine cellar the belief is also that you can actually smell the fragrant "angels."
Thanksgiving is around the corner and isn't it interesting that when asked what our favorite part of the dinner is, we don't always mention the turkey. Often our favorites are the ‘taters and gravy, dressing, Aunt Bessie's canned green bean casserole and most of all, the pie. Of course, I'm going to tell you that the favorite part of the meal should be the wine - and several choices, of course. It is Thanksgiving, after all and isn't this American holiday about giving thanks to our bountiful harvest?
The Walla Walla Valley just finished up a long and unpredictable crush as well as their Fall Release Weekend. Now that the crowds have thinned a bit, it's a great time to seek out some treasures to go with your Thanksgiving dinner. Check out the new releases from the area's wineries, but don't forget the older vintages as well. The older vintages will often gain complexity and tannic red wines will mellow and soften with age.
Posted by: Becky St. Clair in Tradition on
Nov 08, 2010
Last winter I wrote about my first experience choosing a Christmas tree from Klickers, a popular local farm located just east of Walla Walla Community College. As I mentioned in that blog, Christmas isn't the only time you can enjoy the farm's charms.
Autumn is a lovely time to visit Klickers, since they have a beautiful selection of pumpkins, a hay pile to climb with a slide to bring you back down, classic trucks kids can climb inside and pretend to drive, and dried corn stalks to make any front porch more festive.
Last year at this time my husband and I had a 3-month-old baby girl. Some friends of ours had a little girl who was only a day older, and we decided to take advantage of the sunny fall days and explore Klickers. The girls weren't quite old enough to smile yet, and my daughter even had a hard time holding her head up still, so we have a picture of what looks like my daughter being blessed in a pumpkin patch. Gotta love it.
This year we went back, and the good news was we had the whole place to ourselves. The bad news was that the reason for that was because it was raining pretty good and everything was muddy. We didn't care - we walked around and took pictures anyway.
Comparing photos later was a blast; our girls have grown up so much in a year! The great thing? I do believe we've started a tradition.
Posted by: Sam McLeod in Misc Stories on
Nov 01, 2010
I just returned to Walla Walla from New York City. I was there for several days and-as I always do when visiting the Big Apple-I ate my share of bagels at iconic delicatessens.
But never again!
My wife makes bagels that are way better than NYC bagels. And she's just started teaching a bagel baking class at out farm! That means that she's always tweaking her recipes. And that means I'm always sampling great bagels. (It's the least I can do to be supportive.) And that means I'm stepping up my exercise program.
It's all worth it.
My wife makes the best bagels on the planet-no joke.
Check out her classes at out farm website www.detourfarm.com and click on the "Baking by Hand" tab. You'll be glad you did!
