Goosecross: Wine Trivia du Jour
Which wine closure does the best job of protecting the wine from oxidation?
a) Natural cork
b) Plastic corks
c) Screw caps
d) They’re all about the same
What do you say? Find the answer in our Wine Trivia Challenge!
Teaser: This seal does such a superior job of protecting the wine from oxidation that some enologists believe that, over the long term, the wine will go the opposite direction and become reduced – which makes it smell like burnt rubber! Charming 
There’s just not enough long-term data to be certain at this point. Learn more.
Artichoke Season
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Fun Fact by Sherry Page, Culinary Getaways: Artichoke Season
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Herbes de Provence
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Fun Fact by Sherry Page, Culinary Getaways: Herbes de Provence
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NVWR® 86 – Wine Chemistry 101
May 26, 2009 by David
Filed under Napa Valley Wine Radio
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Have you ever wondered about the pipettes, burettes and other equipment you see in a wine lab? We certainly can’t make memorable wine in the lab, but attentive analysis, every step of the way, is vital to the health and stability of the wine. So, today, Jeff Booth, our technical guy, will tell us about the key analyses and how and when they’re done. Cheers!
It’s Flowering Time in Napa Valley
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Fun fact by Nancy Hawks Miller: It’s Flowering Time in Napa Valley
Related Content:
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Romance blossoms in the vineyard
The vines are in flower. Even as we speak, the flower petals are shedding their delicate caps to open up, liberating the pollen to fertilize the waiting ovules!
Gracious me! I think I need a drink!
Surely, if they are destined to become wine in a few months these must be spectacular, fragrant blooms hanging from our vines.
NOT!
I’m afraid these plain, tiny little blossoms are so unnoticeable that they’re not likely to attract a bee, much less, your attention.
And, actually, that’s all to the good. Our very busy vines don’t have to spend their precious time trying to attract insects or rely on the wind to get the job done. The flowers are hermaphrodites, which is just a college word to say they take care of themselves, if you know what I mean. The flowers contain the male stamens and the female ovary and could successfully pollinate if totally cut off from the outside world. Isn’t that convenient? We just need good weather and, fortunately, May is usually quite a nice month around here.
So far, aside from a little heat last weekend, the weather has been quite delightful. We’re looking for an even-keel weather situation to make for even pollination which leads to relatively even fruit-set. If the clusters are fairly uniform it makes it much easier for Geoff Gorsuch, our Winemaker, to make a harvest decision a few months from now.
I saw the first sign of flowering in our neighbor’s Chardonnay way back on May 8th, so I quickly ran to check our Merlot, but nothing. The Merlot and Cabernet Franc got going a few days later. Today, the 22nd, our Cabernet is in full bloom, so we should be all done here pretty quick, which means things are running right on time.
Interestingly, come harvest time, you’ll probably see a similar sequence for these grapes landing on our door step. The Chardonnay will probably be ready just about the time the Merlot and Cab Franc are. The Cab and Petit Verdot like to hang in there until the bitter end.
But, for now, we see adorable little baby grapes already taking the place of the buds.
Before you know it, they’ll look like little peas.
Next up: Geoff counts the clusters to see how this all turns out. Of course, there’s nothing he can do if there are fewer than he anticipated but if there are more, he’ll thin the excess out so that the remaining ones have plenty of flavor intensity.
Culinary Institute of America
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Fun Fact by Diane De Filipi, Let’s Go Cook Italian: Saturday’s At The C.I.A. (Culinary Institute of America), St. Helena, Napa Valley. The culinary college has begun offering affordable classes to visitors with no professional training.
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Potato Salad
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Fun Fact by Diane De Filipi, Let’s Go Cook Italian: With summer grilling just around the corner, Diane offers an “Italian twist” on our old favorite, Potato Salad.
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Winemaker BBQ
Good Food, Great WIne, Familiar Faces… all in “The Heart” of Napa Valley.
June 27, 2009
4:00-7:00pm at our Yountville Winery
Price: $30 per person
- Feast on tri-tip, chicken wings, & sausages
- The “Grillmaster†is our Winemaker, Geoff Gorsuch
- Picnic vineyard-side while enjoying Goosecross wines
- Special event-only discounts
We only have space for 75 people, so please make your reservations early.
We hope to see you here at Goosecross!
Sun-dried Tomatoes
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Fun Fact by Sherry Page, Culinary Getaways: Sun-dried Tomatoes
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