Winter Newsletter!

We have some exciting things coming up this winter here at the Georgia Winery! Click on the link below to bring up a glimpse of our Winter newsletter, with info on all our happenings!

DECEMBER_2011_NEWSLETTER

 

Don’t forget, our WINTER SALE begins January 1st and lasts ALL MONTH LONG! Celebrate the start of 2012 with up to 50% off select wines and gift shop items the entire month of January! 

Take 25% off Tennessee Tangerine, Muscadine Gold, Gewurztraminer, and Holiday Cheer, and 50% off Vignoles, Martha’s Muscadine, and Chanticleer! Also, take an additional 50% off the already-low sale price of Georgia Apple, Georgia Peach, and Lookout Mountain Rose!

Stop by next month and start off the New Year right with our amazing WINTER SALE!

If you would like to sign-up to receive our bi-monthly E-Newsletter, simply enter your email address in the box below!

 

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Ancient Wine-Making

Check this out! Archaeologists unearthed the oldest known complete winemaking site early last year in southern Armenia. This article from the Epoch Times, quoted below, talking about the archaeological find has a great photo of the winemaking site, as does the article about the discovery written for National Geographic.

The unit comprises a raised pressing-platform made of packed clay, which is slanting toward a large jar. The researchers also found other large storage and fermentation jars. Preserved remains of grapes, grape seeds, and some vines with the fruit skin intact were found near the press.

“This is, so far, the oldest relatively complete wine production facility, with its press, fermentation vats, and storage jars in situ,” lead author Hans Barnard said in a press release. Barnard is an archeologist from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Cotsen Institute.

The artifacts unearthed from the site have been dated to approximately 4100 B.C.E, which puts them at around 6,100 years old! Through this discovery, we’re able to learn even more incredible information about the ancient winemaking process and how winemaking has changed (evidence suggests the ancient vintners really did stomp the grapes with their feet!) in our modern times.

“For the first time, we have a complete archaeological picture of wine production dating back 6,100 years,” Gregory Areshian, co-director of the excavation and assistant director of UCLA’s Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, said in the press release.

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Rumination for the Weekend

Within the bottle’s depths, the wine’s soul sang one night.

Charles Baudelaire

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7th Annual Winemaking Competition

 Congratulations to the winners of the 7th Annual Wine Making Competition! We had very some wonderful and unique wines entered this year! Thank you to all who participated!

This year, Georgia Winery awarded twelve 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place medals as well as a “Best of Show” to the winners of the 7th Annual Amateur Winemaking Competition.

Each year the winery hosts a small competition to feature local winemakers in the community. This is an exciting event in which winemakers in our community get to show off their winemaking skills. Participants enter the competition each year by stopping by the winery or calling in their entry forms by phone. Each participant enters two bottles of their very own handcrafted wines for judging. One bottle is opened for the judging process and the second bottle is opened at the awards ceremony for tasting by all participants present.

This year, we received 54 entries ranging across four states including Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida. Wines varied from sweet to dry and tomato to elderberry.

A panel of judges at the local winery blind tastes each wine so that the label and name of participant are not seen. The only information given to the judging panel is the class of wine. Every wine is then recognized by an assigned number so that each entrant stays anonymous. The panel evaluates each wine according to appearance, aroma/bouquet, taste/texture, aftertaste, and overall impression.

Thank you to all who participated. Keep up the wonderful winemaking!

Grapes/Meads
1st Place: Doug Seibern, McDonough GA”Cabernet Sauvgnin”
2nd Place: William Gist, Ringgold GA “Port”
3rd Place: John & Kathy Houser, Sugar Valley GA “Calville Blanc D’Hiver”

Blackberry/Blueberry
1st Place: Tommy Cross, Chickamauga GA “Blueberry”
2nd Place: Jimmy Arnold, Chickamauga GA “Blueberry”
3rd Place: Tommy Cross, Chickamauga GA “Blackberry”

Muscadine/Concord/Peach
1st Place: Jimmy Arnold, Chickamauga GA “Scuppernong”
2nd Place: John & Kathy Houser, Sugar Valley GA “Sterling Magnolia”
3rd Place: Joe Lockhardt, Signal Mountain TN “Gold Muscadine”

Miscellaneous Fruit
1st Place: Ric & Linda Engle, Whitwell TN “Apple Betty”
2nd Place: Ric & Linda Engle, Whitwell TN “Plum Cherry”
3rd Place: Brenda Eller, Lookout Mountain GA “Old Mom’s Apple Pie”

Best of Show
Tommy Cross, Chickamauga GA “Blueberry”

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Wine & Chocolate >EDIT<

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Rumination for the Weekend

And Noah began to be a husbandman, and he planted a vineyard.

Genesis 9:20

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Wine Pairing of the Month: February

WINE
Name: Pretty In Pink
Grape: Muscadine

Our bubbly take on a Muscadine-based sparkling wine, this sweet wine is a blend of Muscadine and Concord, giving it a juicy, fruity body enhanced by the effervescence of the wine. Drink this with a sweet, fruity dish to capitalize on the wine’s prominent Muscadine and tart berry flavours; or, for a slightly more rebellious pairing, try it with a smoked pork butt or brisket. 

DISH
Name: Souffléed Strawberry Jam Omelets
Region: French-inspired American
Prominent flavours: Jam, berry, sweet, sugary, egg

SOUFFLÉED STRAWBERRY JAM OMELETS
from Food and Wine

4 large egg whites
1/3 cup superfine sugar, plus more for dusting
3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup strawberry jam
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

  1. Preheat the oven to 425°. Position a rack in the upper third of the oven. Generously butter a large rimmed baking sheet and dust generously with superfine sugar. In a large mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Beat in the superfine sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition, until firm peaks form. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks until pale yellow. Gently fold the egg yolks into the beaten whites.
  2. With the spatula, use half of the egg mixture to form four 5-by-3-inch ovals on the prepared baking sheet. With the back of a spoon, make a 2-inch-long indentation in the center of each oval and fill with 1 tablespoon of the jam. Cover with the remaining egg mixture to enclose the jam.
  3. Bake the soufflés for about 10 minutes, until puffed and golden brown but still slightly jiggly in the center. With a metal spatula, gently transfer the omelets to plates. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve right away.

PAIRING
The perfect breakfast in bed, celebrate this Valentine’s Day (and any other day!) with our brunch-worthy take on strawberries and champagne. Our Pretty In Pink is definitely a star, but it shares the spotlight graciously with the impressive strawberry omelet soufflé. The berry notes in Pretty In Pink are tarter than strawberries’ sweetness, so the fruitiness of the pairing doesn’t overwhelm the palate, and the airy, eggy omelet gives a richness to the saccharine wine.

When you’re pairing two delicate things- a sparkling wine and a soufflé, you need to be aware of any imbalance in the pairing. Too rich/heavy of a dish or a wine with too full a body can dominate the meal, and you’ll lose the lighter of the two. By focusing on the sweetness of both Pretty In Pink and the Souffléd Strawberry Jam Omelets and keeping the airiness of the soufflés and sparkling wines matched, the meal is perfectly balanced without losing either part to the other.

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Rumination for the Weekend

Beer is made by men, wine by God!

Martin Luther

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Amateur Wine Competition Winners!

Our annual Amateur Wine Competition exceeded this year with amazing entries in every category! We had 45 entries from across 4 states! While we can’t profile each entry, here are the winners from each category in this year’s competition:

GRAPE/ MEADS

FIRST

CABERNET SAUVIGNON
Doug Siebern
McDonough GA

SECOND

PORT
William Gist
Ringgold GA

THIRD

CALVILLE BLANC D’HIVER
John and Kathy Houser
Sugar Valley GA

BLACKBERRY/ BLUEBERRY

FIRST

BLUEBERRY
Tommy Cross
Chickamauga GA

SECOND

BLUEBERRY
Jimmy Arnold
Chickamauga GA

THIRD

BLACKBERRY
Tommy Cross
Chickamauga GA

MUSCADINE/ CONCORD/ PEACH

FIRST

SCUPPERNONG
Jimmy Arnold
Chickamauga GA

SECOND

STERLING MAGNOLIA
John and Kathy Houser
Sugar Valley GA

THIRD

GOLD MUSCADINE
Joe Lockhardt
Signal Mountain TN

MISCELLANEOUS FRUIT

FIRST

APPLE BETTY
Ric and Laura Engle
Whitwell TN

SECOND

PLUM CHERRY
Ric and Laura Engle
Whitwell TN

THIRD

OLD MOM’S APPLE PIE
Brenda Eller
Lookout Mountain GA

BEST OF SHOW

BLUEBERRY
Tommy Cross
Chickamauga GA

We give our most elated congratulations to all our winners, and we look forward to next year’s Amateur Wine Competition to experience a whole new batch of amazing homemade wines!

Coming Next Month…

WHEN: Saturdays in February, from 1:2:00 – 4:00
Join us for a SWEET visit to the Georgia Winery this Valentine season and experience the classic aphrodisiac combination of wine & chocolate- the perfect pair! Our second annual Wine & Chocolate Open House features the re-release of our desirably delicious Love Potion, an undeniably decadent, velvety smooth red Muscadine wine infused with rich, dark chocolate. Indulge in a cascading chocolate fountain with an accompaniment of delectable dipping items provided by Dove Chocolates, complimentary wine tasting, and lovely mini massages!

Also next month…enjoy an exclusive, seated wine and chocolate pairing, with decadent Dove chocolates and award winning wines. This guided, one hour class also includes a souvenir wine glass for each guest to take home! Our Wine & Chocolate Pairing class is available each Saturday in February at from 3:00 – 4:00, and is $20 per person. Email ashley@georgiawines.com to reserve your seat today!

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Rumination for the Weekend

What is the definition of a good wine? It should start and end with a smile.

William Sokolin

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Cooking With Wine Series #2

In the second installment of our new Cooking With Wine series, we’ll be preparing a classic aphrodisiac indulgence, just in time for Valentine’s Day: oysters and champagne!

First things first: fresh shellfish can be difficult to find if you don’t know where to look. Talk to the people behind the fish counter at your local market for information on the oysters in their store and in the area, and learn what to look for in buying fresh oysters (ex: cracked shells are bad). You can order fresh oysters through reputable companies online if it’s difficult to find good seafood in your area. Also, brush up on the different types of oysters. For instance, these bivalves, when harvested from the West Coast, can be creamy and delicate, whereas East Coast oysters often have a brinier, citrus flavour. It usually isn’t as important which oyster you use for a dish in terms of the dish itself; what you’ll want to keep in mind is the palates of your guests. This site, oysters.us, is a great resource for a crash course in oyster-ing.

© Michael Turek

Okay, now onto the cooking with wine portion! A mignonette sauce is a vinegar- and pepper-based sauce typically served as a condiment for oysters. While oysters on the half shell are fantastic served sans any type of accoutrement, many people like to dress them up with a simple sauce. In this recipe, we are adding a bit of sparkling rosé to the traditional mignonette to give a slight sweetness to the sometimes brackish pairing.

When you are choosing a wine to use in a long-simmering dish, it’s not as important to choose the best wine out there. Sure, you want to select a good, sound wine, but using your fanciest bottle isn’t going to make the dish any better than that $10 bottle will, since the wine will reduce into the dish as it cooks. When you’re using wine in a sauce or to finish the dish, however, you’ll want to choose a wine that really shines. This is where using your fancier bottle will be beneficial. Without cooking the wine down with other flavours, the true quality of the wine used will come through in the dish. For this recipe, definitely choose a sparkling rosé that you find to be exquisite, as it will be a dominant flavour in the mignonette.

 

Oysters on the Half Shell with Rosé Mignonette
from Food and Wine

1/2 cup sparkling rosé
2 shallots, minced
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 dozen oysters, shucked
Shaved ice, for serving

  • In a bowl, combine the rosé, shallots, vinegar and pepper.
  • Arrange the oysters on a bed of ice and serve with the mignonette.
  • The mignonette can be refrigerated for up to 6 hours. Serve chilled.
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