Virtual Happy Hour – May 7

We wanted to have a little relaxing fun with our friends by hosting a quiz and offering prizes for the wine gurus in the Facebook Live event. Grab a glass of wine and settle in for a few minutes with Teresa leading us through twenty questions of a variety of wine facts. Winners are listed below.

Congratulations to our winners: Billie Farley, Ann Gartley, Katie Burright

1. What does the term “vintage” refer to? For example, when you see “Vintage 2012” on a bottle?
Answer: That’s the year when the grapes were picked. It’s not the year the wine was bottled and it’s not the year the wine was released.

2. How many grapevines in the world are grafted (a grapevine plant attached to a different root stock)?
a.54%
b.77%
c.85%
Answer: 85% of the world’s wine grape vines are grafted.

3. Why is it traditional to store wine with the bottle lying on its side or upside down instead of keeping them standing?
Answer: The wine stays in contact with the cork and thereby prevents the cork from drying up and then shrinking. A shrunk cork destroys the wine by letting in air.

4. What does it mean if the bottle is ‘corked’’.
Answer: It simply means that a wine bottle has a contaminated cork and this is understood if the wine you taste has a very musty smell which is very similar to the smell of wet mold or wet cardboard.

5. Besides yeast, what must be added to wine grapes to ensure fermentation and thus wine?
Answer: Nothing. Due to a natural chemical balance, grapes ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, water, or other nutrients.

6. How many species of oak are available for use in wine barrels?
a. 57
b.299
c.400
Answer: C. 400 different oak species are available to source wood for wine barrels.

7. Which country invented ice wine?
Answer: Germany invented Eiswein, or wine that is made from frozen grapes.

8. A standard size wine bottle holds 750 ml. How many liters is in a Jeroboam?
A. 1.5 liters
B. 3 liters
C. 6 liters
Answer: C. 6 liters

9. How many liters are in a Nebuchadnezzar?
8 liters
15 liters
20 liters
Answer: C. 20 liters

10. How many pounds of grapes does it take to make an average bottle of wine?
Answer: It takes about 2.5 pounds of grapes to make a bottle of wine.

11. How many gallons of wine is in a single barrel?
Answer: There are 60 gallons of wine in a barrel.

12. About how many cases of wine are in one barrel?
Answer: 25 cases

13. What is fortified wine?
Answer: Fortified wine has brandy or another spirit added to a wine base.

14. How many calories are in a 4-ounce glass of red wine?
A. 67 calories
B. 85 calories
C. 90 calories
Answer. B. glass of wine has approximately 85 calories.

15. A “vertical tasting” involves:
Answer: Wines from the same vineyards or winemakers but from different years

16. What is the dominant grape in Chianti wines?
Answer: Sangiovese

17. A medium to heavy bodied wine with Black pepper, plum and blackberry flavors describe which wine?
Beaujolais
Syrah
Pinot Grigio
Answer: Syrah

18. What does the word “appellation” refer to?
Answer: Place of origin of the wine.

19. How long does it take before a new grapevine will bear fruit suited to winemaking?
About 6 months-year
About 3-5 years
About 20-30 years
Answer: B. A grapevine needs a few years before its grapes are suitable for winemaking. In general, grapevines should be able to bear good winemaking grapes for about 40 years.

20. If a wine is described as “hot,” it most likely means it:
Has too high an alcohol content
B. Is spicy flavored
C. Is served at warmer than room temperature
Answer: A. This is a negative trait in most table or sparkling wines. Too much alcohol in wine can produce a burning sensation in the mouth and throat while being swallowed.

Virtual Happy Hour – April 16

We’ve got wine cocktails! Check out the video hosted by Teresa Shively and then get the party started (albeit a responsible, socially distant party) using the recipes we’ve put into a PDF for your use – Wine Spritzer and other wine cocktails.

Posted by Williamson Orchard and Vineyard on Thursday, April 16, 2020

Idaho Wine Industry Dealing With Covid-19

A couple of the many things that farmers know about are patience and planning. With wine; grapes have to grow, be tended, harvested and then made into the finished product before there is any retail transaction. If farming was to stop, many of us would feel effects very quickly. The Idaho Press interviewed Mike Williamson and other wine industry leaders to get an idea of what effects the Covid-19 virus was having on both the wine growing and retail side of wine industry.

See the full story here

Roast Lamb and Vegetables

What better way to warm hearts and home this winter than with this simple and delicious sheet pan meal. If you haven’t noticed, cooking a meal completely on one sheet pan is the new trend. We say, anything that means less dishes to wash is alright in our books. Since this cooks in the oven, it’ll warm your kitchen and fill your house with delectable fragrance. Save this meal for a cold and blustery day and you’ll be delighted with the result. Our 2016 Petite Sirah has all the right bright fruit and mouthwatering pepper to be the perfect foil against the fat in the lamb and the umami flavors in the olives and tomatoes.

Ingredients
Serves 4 – 5

  • 2 1/2 pound boneless leg of lamb roast
  • 1 Tablespoon dijon mustard
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon salt divided
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 12 small white potatoes halved
  • 1 red onion cut into wedges
  • 1 pound items from olive bar – black & green olives, cherry peppers, sun dried tomatoes, roasted garlic, etc.
  • 1 pound tomatoes on the vine or grape or cherry tomatoes
  • 1 lemon thinly sliced
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375-degrees.
  2. Arrange potatoes, red onion, olive bar items, tomatoes and sliced lemon on a rimmed sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and ½ teaspoon salt. Toss to combine.
  3. Combine ½ teaspoon salt, with Dijon mustard, rosemary, oregano, onion powder and black pepper. Rub this mixture over the lamb roast.
  4. Roast until an instant-read thermometer registers 125°F to 130°F for medium rare, 60 – 75 minutes, or 130°F to 135°F for medium, 75-90 minutes. Transfer the lamb to a cutting board and let it rest for 10 minutes before carving.
Enjoy!

April Promotion

Save The Bees!

The Williamson family has farmed in this valley for 4 generations and have relied on our native pollinators for the health and success of our orchards and vineyards. Help us help Pollinator Partnership in their mission to promote the health of pollinators (not just Honey Bees) through conservation, education and research.

  Donate at least $1 to our Save The Bees program and receive an extra wine sample. 
*Promotion is valid only with the purchase of 5 wine samples for $5.

SavorNW Wine Competition

Savor NW Wine Competition is an annual wine competition held annually in February which showcases the best of Northwest wines. It is one of the largest wine awards programs open to all commercial wineries in the Pacific Northwest. We’re so proud to be in the Snake River Valley AVA with all the wonderful wineries in it. Go Idaho!

2014 Reserve Petite Sirah – Gold
2017 Dry Riesling – Gold
2016 Malbec – Silver
2016 Sangiovese – Silver

To see the list of winners and competitors, follow this link.


2019 West Coast Wine Competition

This wine competition was established in 1982 and the West Coast Wine Competition has annually recognized wines produced and bottled in the West. So naturally we were thrilled that the two wines we entered received awards. Our 2016 Malbec received a Double Gold-93pt. and Best of Class, excellent for a first vintage wine. To add to our excitement, we received a Gold-92pt. for our 2017 Dry Riesling. Both of these delicious wines are available in our tasting room.

Follow this link for more details of the competition.

 


October Promotion

BETTER WITH AGE
Complimentary wine tasting for guests 55 years of age and over during the month of October!

We appreciate our customers the same way we appreciate a fine wine – aged to perfection! Here at Williamson’s we have found that guests from the 1963 (or before) vintage are often very bright, bold, smooth and refined. So we encourage any of our prestigious followers to come visit us for a complimentary tasting.

Promotion excludes groups of ten or more people.

 (Please be prepared to show identification for age verification.)


2018 Winemaker’s Dinner

 

Our second annual Winemaker’s Dinner was held September 21st and was an enchanting evening of perfect weather, a beautiful sunset and delicious food. Our winemaker, Greg Koenig, and chef, Aaron Horsewood, made the night an event to remember by speaking to the guests about how the wine and food complemented each other. The highlight of the evening for Williamson Vineyards was the release of our first vintage of Malbec.