American Fruit Wine

Those of us who live along the mighty Mississippi River know the majesty and strength of that great rolling river.  Many interesting and historic towns dot the banks of this river as it meanders from Lake Itasca to the Gulf of Mexico. Grafton is one such unique stop, enticing locals and tourists to cruise up the River Road and stay long enough in Grafton for food and drink Recently, another winery was added to visitors' choices. The Grafton Winery and Brewhaus offers an impressive second story view of the confluence of the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers along with good food and interesting wines.  (thegraftonwinery.com)

We sampled their Springberry wine - made of American blackberries and blueberries.  Chilled to about 50 degrees, this fruity table wine was bursting with rich berry aromas and flavors. It was sweet, but not too sweet.  Springberry was a very enjoyable fruit wine and was great with chocolate cake.

If you have an occasion to travel the Great River Road, make sure your trek takes you through Grafton, Illinois -- great views, fun shops, and nice wineries.

Balducci Chiaretto

On Highway 94 just passed Augusta and perched on a grassy hilltop with a wonderful view of the rolling Missouri hills is the Balducci Winery tasting room. Balducci Winery is one of the few wineries that still allow customers to bring in picnic baskets.We applaud that kindness on behalf of wine lovers who have limited budgets.

The Chiaretto is a semi-dry red wine with a rich ruby color and strong berry flavors that end in a pleasant finish.We enjoyed our bottle of Chiaretto and found it pared nicely with cheese and crackers. The Chiaretto is "aged in stainless steel and made from Chambourcin and St. Vincent grapes" (www.balduccivineyards.com).


Yet another delightful reason to visit the winery is the way Balducci provides visitors a taste of their port wine -- they serve it is a glass that has had the rim dipped in chocolate. A lasting marriage is that of a good port wine and chocolate.

A Wine Night to Remember

In beautiful Ste. Genevieve County, there are several wineries a person can drive to and have a nice wine experience. But with Crown Valley Winery, wine lovers really drive through it as well as to its many stunning properties. Not this week. Crown Valley came to us.  Referencing this blog, the Wine Girls were invited to a Crown Valley wine tasting held in Illinois.  Those who attended were treated royally to Merlot, extracted from the barrel earlier that day.  Made from 100% Merlot grapes, this wine was aged 30 months in French Oak. Talk about Barrel-select! Full-bodied, dark berry tones that give way to an appropriately dry but smooth, lingering finish. This wine would be great with a good steak.

Believe it or not, it got even better! Also fresh out of the barrel for the Wine Girls, was Crown Valley's reserve 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon.One year in Stainless, then a full 3 years barrel-aged. Rich, smooth, exceptionally pleasing to the palette! We all went back for more.

Many thanks to Crown Valley for a wonderful evening and the fantastic wines!  Brian, you were awesome!

Augusta Norton 2007

I had an occasion to purchase a couple bottles of the 2007 vintage of the Norton from Augusta Winery in Augusta, Missouri. I was in luck as the rest of the bin at Costco had the 2008 vintage. I love a find and had to grab the two bottles of the older vintage (not to show any disrespect for the 2008). I took one of the bottles to regular meeting of the Wine Girls.

We found the 2007 Norton to have a wonderful deep ruby color and offer a smoky berry flavor (more a berry tones with a touch of smokiness in the background) and a smooth dry finish. We ran the wine through an aerator as we were anxious to enjoy this full-bodied wine.  However, as time passed, we noticed the bouquet getting even better and the wine even smoother. Aerators are great when wine-lovers are in hurry to enjoy the wine, but real-time breathing for a wine is still superior. It wasn't long before the bottle was empty. Glad I have a second one on my wine rack!