Lost Creek - One Worth Watching

Our last trip to Virginia started as it usually does - with a lovely tasting at Tarara - thanks to Jordan Harris. We headed out from there,looking to make another stop and we were encouraged to go to Lost Creek.  We were skeptical; we had done a tasting there several years ago but the wines were not what we typically enjoy.  We learned that since our last visit, the property had been sold and that they were going in a different direction with their wines.  Ok, we're in!

The property is beautiful - the walk from the parking area is across a patio, under wisteria-covered pergolas, and past a bubbling fountain.  The tasting room has a more modern feel than I remembered from our last visit, in a good way, and the large fireplace makes it warm and inviting.  The music was great and there are plenty of tables for sitting and sipping.  While the flickering candles on each table were a lovely touch, the scent was overpowering and made the tasting a challenge.  Our pourer was friendly enough and, while we were not ignored, he was rather distracted by a problem with his XM Radio account and its eventual resolution.

The $10 tasting fee is for 8 wines.  We tasted five, starting with the 2012 Vidal Blanc ($22).  100% estate grown and fermented in stainless steel, it's bright and well balanced, with honeysuckle notes.

Chambourcin Gold ($20)- NV, "legacy" wine; slightly sweet - not my cup o' tea.

Reserve ($25) - another NV "legacy" wine; a light bodied Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot.

2011 Cab Franc ($29) - It's very light bodied; black cherry with hints of smoke on the nose that follow through to the palate; black pepper and spice on the finish.  We opened one the other night and it was enjoyable; it showed promise.

2011 Genesis ($29) - a blend of 10% Tannat, 43% Cabernet Franc, and 47% Petit Verdot.  The Tannat asserts itself in this blend.  It's earthy and peppery.

The other wines available for tasting were:

2012 Chardonnay ($24)
2012 Chardonnay Reserve ($27) - 100% estate grown
2012 Serenity ($22) - 100% Vidal Blanc; 1.5% RS

All in all, it was a fairly pleasant tasting experience and the Cab Franc showed enough promise that we will definitely give it another try this year.

Musings on a Late Summer Day

I sit drenched in the late September sun, my body absorbing the warmth as if charging my battery in preparation for the cold months ahead.  The cloudless sky is deep blue, the color that you only see this time of year.

I  close my eyes against the sun and consider the changes taking place around me.  The sun is sinking lower and lower behind the treeline.  The Cottonwood, having already dropped its ugly gray leaves, stands like a skeleton against the September sky.  I hear the call of a Red-bellied woodpecker high in an Oak, and the relentless scolding of Blue Jays in the distance, signaling the return of wintering raptors.  As if on cue, a Coopers Hawk glides silently into the Ash, sending Doves off with a frantic beating of wings.  Gathering food for Winter, a chipmunk squeaks as he scurries along the deck - with two Yorkies in hot pursuit!  How is it possible that summer passed so quickly?

Change.  I gaze at the garden.  Robust and productive all season, it now looks tired and worn - like the tattered wings of a butterfly on Zinnias that now tower over the garden.

Sunflowers bob their heads in the light breeze, ready to give up their seeds.

The Hummingbirds will soon be replaced by Juncos but until then, the Salvia stands tall and at the ready for the last of the residents and, with any luck, a migrant.

The Quinoa stalks are heavy with flower heads.

 Glorious in the sun, the Goldenrod continues to be loaded with honey bees.

The once colorful Echinacea flowers are now seed heads and irresistible to Goldfinches.  I hear them chirping as they work to pull the seeds but they dart away as I approach.

Butternut squash hang on vines that refuse to give up.

The fig tree, tangled in tomato vines, offers up an afternoon snack.

Red peppers peek through their thicket of leaves, assorted heirloom tomatoes show off their unique character, -

- and the tomatillos have filled out and split their husks.

Change.  The tunnels are set up and the fall crops have started to poke through the soil.  The once meandering sun now races across the sky; the long days will soon become long nights.   I already long for the endless days of summer when the sun refuses to set, and the nights filled with the song of katydids.  But, enough musings - there's salsa to make and tomatoes to roast; garden beds to clean up and garlic to plant!

Maya Angelou says, "If you don't like something, change it.  If you can't change it, change your attitude.  Don't complain."   I'll do my best.

Mystery on the Lake

The property across the street from our very favorite B&B has always been somewhat of a mystery.  For a long time, nothing ever happened over there.  But a few years ago, the once quiet property came to life.  Cars were entering and exiting; there was vineyard work being done; and we started to hear rumors of a new winery.  

All of that hustle and bustle became Ryan William - a small farm winery located on the eastern shore of Seneca Lake in Hector, NY.  The area is known as the "Banana Belt" - a unique micro-climate created by a combination of the deep lake water and the sloping hillsides - an ideal spot for grapes.

  

The vineyards extend from the road to the shoreline

They recently opened and we decided to check it out.  We scooped up a friend and headed down the long driveway to the tasting room.  It is a humble but comfortable space and our tasting room host was welcoming and pleasant.    

Clouds floating up the lake in the early morning

The tasting lineup was solid.  It started with the 2011 Riesling.  It was mineral and wet slate on the nose, nice acidity, and a hint of honey on the finish.  1.2% RS.

2012 Chardonnay - 50% barrel fermented, 50% stainless, no malolactic fermentation.  I'm not a big Chard fan but this one was quite nice.

2010 Pinot Noir - The fruit is from 3 year old vines.  This is a very young wine that would definitely show better with decanting.  It still needs to integrate a bit but there was some nice smoke and tobacco on the nose, with earth and cherry on the palate, and firm tannins that softened with time in the glass.  I'm very excited about this one; with some bottle age, this looks like it will be the "men's club"-type of Pinot that I love.

2010 Cabernet Franc - I would have poured this before the Pinot.  It's lighter bodied and fruitier and the Pinot just crushed it.  My partner-in-crime liked this one more than I did - for me, it was a little hot.

They were also pouring two dessert wines.  The 2010 Select Late Harvest Riesling - Sugar cane but oddly enough, not cloying at 18% RS; and the 2010 Bunch Select Late Harvest Riesling - Tropical fruit and peaches, also 18% RS.

Even after our visit, some mystery remains.  Despite our best efforts to chat them up we were unable to find out much about the winery, the winemaker, or the history of the property.  We asked friends in the area and scoured the internet but we still know little about Ryan William Winery.  I did reach out to them for some more information but they declined my request at this time.  All I can tell you is that we will keep trying and plan to stop in the next time we are in the area.

A Day in The Life

I was about to take the hummingbird feeder down for the season but it looked like the level of nectar was lower so I left it out.  Low and behold...

We noted the abundance of rust color on "her" but thought it was a young female Ruby-Throated that hadn't migrated yet.

With the help of Cornell Lab of Ornithology, "she" was ID'd as a Rufous Hummingbird, out of range.  Normally found in the west, she seems to have found herself off course and in our backyard!

She loves to preen and sun herself in the Virurmun next to the feeder.

We have her hooked up with feeders and hope she stays all winter so stay tuned!

Garden Trials (and Tribulations)

I have a confession.  I am a terrible garden planner.  Actually, I'm a pretty good planner, it's the execution where my skills are lacking.  I always end up with way too many seedlings and have to abandon my well thought-out garden plan just to fit everything in.  


This year I decided to call it research.  I planted everything we had to conduct my own garden trial - to determine which varieties do well for us and which ones just aren't worth the trouble.


We ended up with 18 varieties of heirloom tomatoes and six varieties of peppers, among other things, and the preliminary results are in.

Costa Rican Pepper

Alma Paprika Pepper

San Marzanos - lots of blossom end rot

Cherokee Purple

Brandywine Pink

Heirloom white cucumber

Speckled Roman - several plants are affected by blight

Summer Squash - borer got one plant so far (fingers crossed on the others)

Figs

Tomatillos

Red Pear Tomatoes - first harvest on the third try

Nasturtiums - nope, I haven't tried them yet!

A Wandering Mind

The flat of leeks that I started from seed sat on the patio for several weeks, guilting me into planting them.  It's not that we don't like them, we love them, but they're a pain in the ass to plant.  As I painstakingly teased the roots of each little plant from the other, I was transported back to another time.  A summer afternoon, my grandmother sitting in the living room watching her "stories" while eating a tomato and lettuce sandwich with mayo.  She always made one for me, despite my daily protestations that I didn't like them.  I usually pulled off the iceberg and fed it to Roscoe, my big orange tabby, and ate the rest.

I grew up in humble surroundings but I never wanted for anything.  I was an only child and took a lot of abuse for it.  My mom would have given anything for me to have whatever it was that I wanted so when I wanted a horse, a horse I had.  All I wanted was to spend every waking moment with Pokie, my Appaloosa pony that kicked big-horse ass in every show!  My parents sacrificed a lot of time (and money) to make sure that I was able to do just that.

So, I guess it should have come as no surprise to anyone that I decided to go to an agricultural college.  Yet, most of my friends and family didn't understand.  "Animal husbandry?"  "What?  Are you going to marry a cow?"  "You're going to go to school with.....farmers???"  "You're a smart girl; we thought you'd make something of yourself."  "What are you going to do with a degree in agriculture?"  To be perfectly honest, I wasn't sure.  Maybe I chose the field because it was in my comfort zone but, whatever the reason, I knew it was where I wanted...no, needed to be.

Back to today and the bigger picture.  When and how did we become a people so far removed from our environment?   When did agriculture become something so foreign to us that our children have no idea where their food comes from?  When did "farm" become a four-letter word?

My back is sore and my shoulders are sunburned; my hands are filthy and my nails are a mess; and I'd give anything to have one of my grandmother's sandwiches again.

A Pleasant Surprise

It's drink-it or dump-it (or give-it-to Dad) time here on the ranch.  We have been trying to reorganize the cellar and pull out bottles that, for whatever reason, we seem to have developed a bias against.  


Today's gamble:  Thirsty Owl 2005 Chancellor.  This poor bottle has two strikes against it from the start - it's Chancellor and it's from Thirsty Owl.  


As you may recall, we have a strange relationship with Thirsty Owl  The Owl and the One-eyed Cat so it should come as no surprise that we would have some preconceived notion that this one was a dog.  It sat on the "drink now" rack for several years with a sticky note on it that read "decant".  We brought the bottle in on several occasions, saw the decant note, and quickly banished it back to the garage.  Today was the day.  I put my big girl pants on and it was time to open this puppy.  


For those unfamiliar with Chancellor, it's a cold-hardy, highly productive, French hybrid, native to France, and once used to produce quality reds and rosés.   It has virtually disappeared from its homeland after being the most planted hybrid.  It is now being grown in the cooler regions of the eastern U.S. and in Canada.  Some say yippee but we say usually say, "why"?


So, how was the Owl?  It was dark and mysterious; medium bodied, and almost inky in color.  The unapproachable acidity started to really mellow after about six hours of decanting.  Initially, the nose was all Chancellor but with time, it became plum jam and cedar with a little bit of earth.  The wine continued to evolve throughout the evening.  As the tannins softened, a lot of nice dark fruit and hints of coffee came through on the palate.  The finish was earth and mushroom, with menthol and a hint of sweet vanilla.

It was a very confusing wine but I now understand why we bought it.  It's not a wine that I particularly loved but I also didn't hate it; it was fascinating.  Could it have gone longer?  The way it evolved over the tasting period tells me yes.  

The take-away?  If you can get it and you have 12 hours to decant, go for it.  It will be nothing less than a really interesting tasting experience!