Wine Tips - Chateau St. Jean Chardonnay and Wine Glasses

Cheers from Vintage Connections!

The Great PA Wine Toast (click this link)

See last week's post.  This was a hugely successful and fun event.  We went to Manatawny with some friends and Dean served as the official "witness," filling out an official form to document the wineries participation and number of participants in the event for the Guiness World Record.  We should know in a few days if the PA count exceeded the current record of 17,429.   382 people toasted at Manatawny, so if the other 57 participating wineries averaged this number, we should have made it!\

Wine Tips of the Week! 

Chateau St. Jean Chardonnay

While out looking for donations to the Silent Auction which will be part of the USA vs. France Wine Tasting event on September 18, Lisa, Lori and Cecelia stopped for a bottle of wine to share over lunch. 

This rich, buttery chardonnay comes from vineyards all over Sonoma County in California.  It has aromas of creamy lemon and mango with flavors of Asian pear and golden delicious apples.  It has good balanced acidity and a lasting finish.  Alcohol is 13.4% by volume.  PLCB product code is 5524 and is available at most PA Wine and Spirit stores for $14.99 a bottle.


Wine Glasses

We're often asked if the difference in wine glasses really makes a difference in the taste of the wine.

What’s all the mystery about what glass to use for that glass of wine you’re having with dinner?  Don’t you just need something to hold the wine? 

There are many shapes and sizes to a wine glass, many different manufacturers and quality of glass.  They can even come stemless!  Wine glass shapes and sizes were created to allow the wine to be better appreciated according to its type.

A red wine glass usually has a broader bowl with a wider mouth than most white wine glasses, which allows more aeration to occur allowing the aromas and flavors to “open up”. 

White wine glasses come in many shapes and sizes also, though they are usually smaller bowled and the mouth is also smaller than red wine glasses. Their smaller size exposes the wine to less surface area, keeping it cooler than a larger glass with more surface area exposed to warmer air.

Champagne flutes are tall and narrow with a long stem allowing you to hold the glass by the stem keeping the champagne colder than if your hand held the glass bowl. It allows all those tiny bubbles to travel from the bottom of the glass to the top adding to the visual enjoyment. 

Most wine glasses are clear and colorless allowing us to enjoy the variety of colors in all the different wines.  Better wine glasses also often have thin-lips.  We’ve found that the thicker-lipped glasses don’t allow as much air into the mouth when you sip as the more expensive thin-lipped glasses.  The more air that enters the mouth with the wine when you sip allows the molecules to move around more letting you get more of the flavor of the wine on your tongue. 

Up-coming Events

NOW is the time to register!  (click here) We need your support.

Bottle Shock Revisited!
USA vs. France Wine - Blind Tasting
and
Silent Auction 
Silent Auction Item List to be published soon.
Total Value so far estimated at $3,500.


Saturday
September 18
6:30 - 10:00 PM
Perkiomen Valley Library, 

290 Second Street, Schwenksville
Benefits the American Wine Society Educational Foundation

Wine and Appetizer pairing and
"blind tasting" 
of USA vs French wines.

Taste and vote for your favorites!


$49 per person
$90 per couple
$350 per group of eight or more.
Bring a group of family, friends, and co-workers!

Visit the Perkiomen Valley Chapter of AWS website for more information and a registration form.
Please register by September 4th.  Late registrations available on a space-available basis.

Saturday, October 23

Mom's House
Benefit Wine Dinner

Five course dinner, each course paired with a different wine.  Kimberton Arts Center  6:30 PM

$75 per person or $525 for a table of 8.
For more information about Mom's House, click
HERE

Fun Fact

Chardonnay is one of the most planted grapes in the world with over 400,000 acres world-wide.  It is also planted in more wine regions than any other grape. (wikipedia)

Someday (soon) there will be a quiz!

Contact us to schedule an event in your home, at your business, or for your organization.