photos by Styrous®
I spent a beautiful, typically bright Californian afternoon today having fun with friends, talking and sampling wines at a wine pour. The event was given by the Vermont winery, La Garagista and hosted by the wine bar, Ordinaire, on Grand Avenue in Oakland.
The La Garagista winery is located on Mount Hunger at the edge of the Chateauguay and in the Piedmont chain of hills in Barnard, Vermont.
The winery is owned by Deirdre Heekin with husband Caleb. She is winegrower, organizer, writer, photographer, flower farmer and designer; Caleb is gardener, cook, designer, builder, mechanic, factotum and philosopher. More info about them on the winery website (link below).
The La Garagista winery is located on Mount Hunger at the edge of the Chateauguay and in the Piedmont chain of hills in Barnard, Vermont.
The winery is owned by Deirdre Heekin with husband Caleb. She is winegrower, organizer, writer, photographer, flower farmer and designer; Caleb is gardener, cook, designer, builder, mechanic, factotum and philosopher. More info about them on the winery website (link below).
Deirdre
was one of the servers who poured six varietals from their vineyard; she was pretty busy during
the event and this was the best shot I was able to get of her.
The reason she was so busy, she provided a wealth of information on each of the wines as she poured for every guest. She seemed to be enjoying the whole process. The six wines were:
Confonde petillant naturel White
Loups d’Or white
Confonde petillant Rose
Grace and Favour petillant naturel white
Vinu Jancu
Loups-Garroux
Confonde petillant naturel White
Loups d’Or white
Confonde petillant Rose
Grace and Favour petillant naturel white
Vinu Jancu
Loups-Garroux
All the wines were of the, Falanghina, a variety of wine grape, Vitis vinifera, used for white wines. It is a species of Vitis, native to the Mediterranean region, central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran. The exception was the 6th and last one, the Loups-Garroux.
I asked Deirdre about the name of this wine and she confirmed that it meant werewolf, but in this case, a benevolent one. She said Garroux was also a play on words. Roux in French is the word for redhead, thus, this werewolf is a red-haired one.
The Frontenac grape is a new varietal grape, released in 1996, a result of research and cross-breeding by the University of Minnesota. It was grown from a crossing of the complex interspecific hybrid Landot 4511 and a selection of Vitis riparia. It is a dry, acidic wine with a touch of a fruity flavor.
I asked Deirdre about the name of this wine and she confirmed that it meant werewolf, but in this case, a benevolent one. She said Garroux was also a play on words. Roux in French is the word for redhead, thus, this werewolf is a red-haired one.
Confonde petillant Rose
The Frontenac grape is a new varietal grape, released in 1996, a result of research and cross-breeding by the University of Minnesota. It was grown from a crossing of the complex interspecific hybrid Landot 4511 and a selection of Vitis riparia. It is a dry, acidic wine with a touch of a fruity flavor.
Deirdre has written a book about the winery entitled, An Unlikely Vineyard: The Education of a Farmer and Her Quest for Terroir, which was on sale during the pour. It is published by Chelsea Green Publishing whose maxim on its website is: "The politics and practice of sustainable living."
Also attending the Garagista pour was wine blogger, Elaine C Brown, who writes in the Wakawaka Wine Reviews blog.
An interesting aside, the bottles of wine on the shelves at Ordinaire are occasionally separated by old paperback books.
Life is good!
Net links:
Ordinaire
3354 Grand Avenue
Oakland, CA, 94610
510-629-3944
bradford@ordinairewine.com
La Garagista
lacantina@lagaragista.com
phone: 802-291-1295
Styrous® ~ Saturday, May 28, 2016
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