Today’s wine blending event at Jefferson Vineyards ranks high up there with the amazing wine events we have attended since I’ve been blogging
Notable KERF Wine Events
Kendall Jackson Capital Grill dinner with Barbara Banke and Katie Jackson
Kendall Jackson Food + Wine Pairing
Jefferson Vineyards Worldly Blind Tasting
Our morning started off in foggy vineyards
New shirt is a TREE made of BIKES!! Biker’s rights! Be green! When I blog reader sent this to me and said it reminded her of me, I had to order it stat! I love shirts with a message : ) Order one here!
The objective today was to blend the perfect meritage. We had 4/5 of the Bourdeaux grapes to use straight from the barrels:
- Cabernet Franc
- Merlot
- Cabernet Sauv.
- Petit Verdot
Thankfully I learned how useful spitting is when tasting LOTS of wine and used the technique today. Especially since we have a wine event tonight that I didn’t want to spoil with dehydration and burn out! Spitting was great and allowed me to keep my head clear and be the designated driver while tasting everything.
LOTS of chemistry in the form of beakers, milliliters and meniscuses (meniscusi?) was involved.
Thankfully Neeley and I let Matt do all of the hard work!
We all agreed that we loved the Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot and used the Cab Fran for the base of our blend. We ended up blending:
- 40% Cab Franc
- 30% Merlot
- 25% Petit Verdot
- 5% Cabernet Sauv.
Before tasting our blends, we paused for lunch
A delicious spread from Stixx kebob shop here in Cville
LOVED all the veggies! I had a veggie skewer (but tasted Matt’s lamb) plus sesame green beans, hummus + pita, and lots of salad!! I had seconds on salad
Some of Jeffersons’ Meritage was cracked open for lunch, and I did a little actual drinking of that one 🙂
After lunch we tried the 5 bottles we blended blindly.
Swirl. Sniff. Sip. Spit.
Rank. I love giving my opinion of wine! Neeley and I were able to pick out our blend – it was a bit oaked and heavy on the Cab Franc, which is a pretty distinct Virginia wine taste. We were right – ours was #5 – and we both wrote “Perfect!” in the blank. Unfortunately our blend did not win the popular vote!! Boo!
Plus, we all know which Meritage is the Mac Daddy of them all…
Thanks to Andy for inviting us to the event! Time to rest a bit before we prepare for tonight!
Heather @ Health, Happiness, and Hope says
Looks like SUCH a fun event! What an amazing experience! And that lunch definitely looks amazing. Enjoy your afternoon! 🙂
Stacy @ Every Little Thing says
That’s such a fun event! I love their wine bottles.
Lisa Fine says
What a great event! I hope that as my blog continues to grow, I’ll have opportunities to go to events like this.
I’d love to learn more about wines and blending, too. Fun!
lynn @ the actor's diet says
how fun! i drank a lot of wine this week too but it was all fake prop wine (grape juice)
KathEats says
That is awesome!!
Mary Frances says
Lynn,
So did you have to act as if you were becoming more and more intoxicated with each grape juice drink?
Molly @ RDexposed says
That kabob looks de-lish!
Annette @ EnjoyYourHealthyLife says
What a fun event! And a neat idea for a shirt. Your lunch looks awesome!!
love your jacket :), p.s. where is it from??
KathEats says
Thanks, LOFT
Gina @Runningtothekitchen says
that looks like an awesome event. good wine + good food, can’t get much better than that!
Miranda @ Working Mom Works Out says
Ahh, That looks like something that Adam and I would LOVE. I’ve gotta see if we can find something like that locally. I’m guessing that you guys got invited? I guess we could just call vineyards?
KathEats says
We got invited, but lots of wineries have them!
kaila @ healthy helper! says
Hmm that lunch plate looks delish! I love roasted veggies! Especially red onion….which I think I saw on the skewer! I totally would have taken that off your hands for ya!
KathEats says
And I would have given it to ya!
Cait @ Beyond Bananas says
Looks like such a great time, Kath! One thing I really want to do.. is wine tastings . I have never been.
Erbe @ ChefBlogDigest says
Very nice wine mixing event. I love wines, especially the sparkling red wine I’m curious about the taste of wines when the different types are mixed.
Jennie says
You always have cute t-shirts. Are there any other web sites that you could recommend?
KathEats says
Eatmorekale.com?
Baking 'n' Books says
I would love to visit a wine-yard one day. Preferably in California though…or France 😉
Mary Frances says
Wine-yard made me laugh 🙂
Baking 'n' Books says
Ahhhhh!!! LOL – only me 😉 I guess I had “wine” and “vine-yard” on the brain. Must stop drinking during the day…:)
Khushboo says
Fun! I know close to zilch abt different wines but trying to change that. In fact I went to a wine tasting last night!
Holly @ The Runny Egg says
I would love to go to an event like that — what a fun way to spend the day.
Those sesame green beans look really good!
Emma (Namaste Everyday) says
that sounds like so much fun! I am under drinking age, but spending time in New Zealand I am learning a lot about wine – and falling madly in love!
J3nn (Jenn's Menu and Lifestyle Blog) says
Chemistry is always fun! 🙂
Your lunch looks FABULOUS!!
Averie (LoveVeggiesandYoga) says
what a great event!! i have mentioned before, but i love wine, wineries, tasting flights, and just savoring the whole experience. what a great day!
and uber cute tshirt!
today is my 10 yr wedding anniversary and i just arrived in aruba…that’s my big news of the day 🙂
KathEats says
FUN!! Congrats!
Chad @ thebreakupnote says
Wine blending event? That’s fascinating – I need to get down to that area sometime to attend some of these cool wine things.
Heidi - apples under my bed says
wow, what a fabulous event! Blending your own sounds lie so much fun!
Heidi xo
Alison @ Hospitality Haven says
This might be a bit random, but what size is your t-shirt?? I’d love to get one, and I’m trying to gauge what size I need… and they only have medium left!
KathEats says
It’s a small
Allison @ Runs A Latte says
That’s so cool! I’ve never been to such an official wine tasting before. I LOVE my red wine, but just don’t know anything about it. I’d love to do something like that!
Kate (What Kate is Cooking) says
I really want to go wine tasting! I swear my extended family used to go all the time, and then I turned 21 last year and no one wants to go anymore!
Angel7 says
What a fun time wine tasting!
http://faithfulsolutions.blogspot.com/
SquatLikeALady says
OMG! I adore that shirt! I want one now =)
Also: while the event looks fun, the beakers are giving me flashbacks to O-Chem!
Nicole says
I am SO jealous. That sounds like my dream afternoon. Wine tastings are always fun, but being able to create your own blend…..that is such a creative idea.
Laura @Foodsnobstl says
What an amazing and unique event. I’m so jealous!
Meaghan O'Connor (My Spoonful of Inspiration) says
Wow- such beautiful photography! 🙂
Hope you had fun!
Chelsea @ One Healthy Munchkin says
What a cool event! I like wine, but I know next to nothing about it. I would love to become as knowledgeable about it as you! Did you learn from experience or have you spent some time reading and learning about wines?
KathEats says
Just by experience! We started going to wine tastings right out of college and haven’t stopped
Krystina (Organically Me) says
Wine event of my dreams.
Hannah says
Oh heavens,I actually thought for a second that you meant your shirt was made from recycled bikes. Oops.
Kim@ The Future Dr. B-S says
My husband and I did this at a winery in NC – Round Peak Vineyards. They actually ended up bottling our red blend and called it “dedication.” It’s not like we get money for bottles sold or anything but it’s a cool story to tell our friends! Round Peak is pretty close to the VA border – so it shouldn’t be too much of a drive!
Doc (The Healthy Ph.D) says
Chemistry is ALWAYS fun 🙂
Also, love the shirt. I had a cycling accident two years ago when a car t-boned me on my bike. I am ultra sensitive to traffic, but both my fiance and I have come within inches of getting hit this spring. C’mon people!