Posts Tagged ‘Bonny Doon’

Dessert wine for your Valentine…

Wednesday, February 13th, 2008

I’m still recovering from sleep deprived trip out West, but want to post a quick wine deal before the Hallmark Valentine holiday.

Bonny Doon’s Muscat Vin Glaciere is a dessert wine made (in the style of Ice wine) by a producer I have spoken of before and think highly of. This dessert wine comes in a somewhat typical half bottle (375ml).

These sweet wines are generally made by extracting the sweet nectar of the fruit and not the water. This is accomplished in two ways. Either the grapes are left to dry somewhat which causes the water to evaporate. Or, as is done in the case of ice wine, the grapes are frozen so that when they are pressed the water in the grape remains slushy while the purer fruit nectar is squeezed out for a richer & more concentrated juice. Since the fruit is not watered down by the natural water in the grape it is much sweeter. This sweeter juice is then partially fermented, with some of the (residual) sugar allowed to remain in the “must” (fermenting liquid) – leading to its residual sweetness. The better (balanced) ice wines have enough acidity so that the wine does not taste too sweet, thick or “flabby”.

The Bonny Doon Muscat Vin Glaciere is found here for $14.99. While there are several other online retailers offering the wine for the same $15, it is also sold for $16, $18, $20 and as much as $25 for the half bottle. So $15 seems to be a pretty good deal.

A final tip – serve your ice wine chilled with the dessert of your choice. The sweetness in the wine pairs beautifully with fruit, pie, chocolate, ice cream, etc…

Enjoy!

WTG

Wine Ingredients (part 2)

Monday, December 24th, 2007

I blogged this when Bonny Doon first released the news that they would be including ingredients on their labels.  They have just released more specific information, and have indicated that they will be including 2 types of ingredient notifications.   The first are for those ingredients that remain in the wine, and the second, for those that are used in the winemaking process but are then REMOVED from said wine.

Randall Grahm Discloses All on New Labels

SANTA CRUZ, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Bonny Doon Vineyard labels will disclose all wine ingredients beginning with the 2007 vintage white and 2006 vintage red wines. As of 2008, consumers will note that all ingredients are listed in two sections on the back label of each bottle of Bonny Doon wine. The first section highlights the wines basic ingredients, i.e. grapes and sulfur dioxide, a preservative, found in the wine. The second section will point out ingredients used in the production of the wine such as bentonite, (a type of clay used to clarify wine prior to bottling) that essentially no longer remain in the wine.I’m writing about this as I really find it to be a real breakthrough for the wine industry (specifically as someone who prefers to know what it is that I am eating/drinking).  I wonder how others who restrict certain ingredients from their diet feel about ingredients used strictly for clarifying wine – meaning the ingredients are added and then removed.  If you were trying to avoid said ingredients and were told it was added and then removed, how would you feel about it???

I welcome comments and at some point if I ever get an “email me” button up, I welcome direct contact as well.

Happy holidays.  Drink wine, but DO IT safely!!!!

WTG

Wine Ingredients – should they be posted on the label???

Monday, December 10th, 2007

Bonny Doon, of Santa Cruz CA thinks so. I’m a fan of Bonny Doon wines and I LOVE this move!

“Randall (Grahm – owner of Bonny Doon) feels that it’s important to openly share with consumers any additions made to the wine, and by extension to make other winemakers responsible for [acknowledging] their own additions and interventions,” explained Alison Davies, marketing associate at Bonny Doon. “We hope for a number of results: by stating all the ingredients, this could lead the industry in the direction of full disclosure and encourage winemakers to be more hands-off and less interventionist.”

I’ve stated on several occasions that I observe kosher dietary laws, but when it comes to wine, whose production MAY include problematic products (used for clarifying wines) I have looked the other way, figuring these problematic ingredients are removed from the wine before bottling. And there is virtually no way of knowing which wines are made using some of these problematic items. Until now!

I’ll be thrilled if Bonny Doon is in fact successful in getting other wineries to follow suit and begin to list ingredients on their wines. And who knows, this may become law – which would be GREAT for vegetarians, vegans, kosher consumers, etc…

Have a wonderful week!

WTG