Cabin Fever!

It's that time again - time to hide indoors from the negative wind chills, time to say "I will eat better this year - starting tomorrow", time to start planning your Super Bowl Party snacks!! Well, we have started pairing junk food with wine @ Twin Brook. I will be able to elaborate more on this in the immediate future, for the time being my wine tasting must be halted. Post surgery meds do not mix well with alcohol! However, I can lay the ground work for what is to follow!



Why do certain foods and flavors pair well with some wines and not others?

Acids and flavors in wine can react with different components in food. Oaked whites like Chardonnay will make magic with things that are creamy or buttery. White chocolate, alfredo sauce, and cheeses match up nicely due to the presence of lactic acid in the wine.
So far, we have tried cookie dough with different wines, and found Vignoles to pair excellently!
Conversely, the Cayuga did not blend well with white chocolate or the cookie dough. It's higher acidic nature made the buttery flavors taste more like cheese. Not a good pairing!

We are still amazed with the Bellavitano from The Town Clock Cheese Shoppe, it pairs with every wine we try it with!! Just the right balance of creamy, fruity, and salty; it is the chameleon of the cheese world!

Next on the sample platter: buffalo wings. More on that soon!

Try your hand at pairing things!

We have ideas of what should pair well, but only taste testing will tell for sure! One of my favorites is Lindt's white chocolate with coconut paired up with an oaked Chardonnay, Vignoles, and Vidal Reserve. The tropical fruit and pineapple flavors in the Vignoles and Vidal make for a pina colada taste with the coconut especially!

Salud!

Get Thee to a Winery!

Maybe a nice glass of Merlot would have made Hamlet a little less paranoid!

Perhaps - but most unlike the Capulet's and the Montague's (oh wait - that's a whole different Shakespeare tale), we all like to get along in the wine business. As members of the Brandywine Valley Wine Trail, we promote not only ourselves, but the other local wineries as well. We all have a unique approach to what we think the consumer will like in the way of blends and traditional wines. Of course, I think all of our wines at Twin Brook are wonderful! I also have my favorites at our local wineries; Silk from Va La, Steuben from Kreutz Creek, May Wine from Mount Hope, Pinot Gris from Black Walnut, there are just so many! I highly recommend you try them all - not at one time however.

The most recent vintage out at TB is our oak aged 2008 Chardonnay Reserve. Waiting anxiously in the wings is Consiglieri - almost ready to hit the shelves! I was also excited to find out this weekend that Black Walnut has released their apple wine for purchase. Mmmm - just a little sweet, and a tart apple taste just in time for fall.

This is a great time of year to stop in too. Harvest time in the vineyards will continue through the month of October, we all have some fun fall events planned, taste some spice wines, apple wines, and even spiced apple wines! Stock up for the holidays and start gift shopping early - we carry wine related gifts and wine making supplies too.

The Links:

BV Wine Trail info: www.bvwinetrail.com

Twin Brook Winery: www.twinbrookwinery.com

Other local wineries not on the Wine Trail that I recommend:

Va La Winery in Avondale: www.valavinyards.com

Mount Hope Winery in Intercourse: www.parenfaire.com

Brandywine Valley Wine Trail page will give you links to each of the wineries, directions, and upcoming events. Knowing where to go is half the battle.

Go and get acquainted with a great wine!

Don't be like Hamlet, get out and enjoy yourself!

Buy your mother a bottle of wine while you are at it.