Celebrating the Wine-ter Holidays

If, like me, you weren't crazy brave enough to go shopping on Black Friday, you may still have a few people to cross off your holiday shopping list. Throughout my wine tour, nearly every stop has had a gift shop full of great presents for wine lovers. There are always shirts, glasses, wine charms, gift baskets, and wine bottle holders, but a few locations had unique items that would make any wine lovers' Christmas a little brighter. Here are a few of my favorite gift ideas:

Glacial Till's Ginormous Bottle of Wine

Ginormous is not an over exaggeration. The "Magnum", as the Murman's refer to it, is a six liter bottle of wine. Six. Liter. It's a great gift for hosts of holiday parties, or anyone who loves wine - a lot. The Ginormous (because I like the word and only get to use it so often) can be purchased in select varietals at the Ashland Glacial Till tasting room.

You had me at "Hello."

The Wino's Favorite Accessory

Wine-inspired jewelry can be cute, but the wine glass holder necklace is functional and practical. Katherine and I have often found ourselves awkwardly shuffling glasses, pens, tickets, and paper around because we couldn't hold everything and taste wine at the same time. This necklace holds most sizes of wine glasses, and would be perfect to have at the next Wine and Jazz Festival. We found these at Cedar Hills in Ravenna.

If only it came with rhinestones...

Why Should Beer Drinkers Get All the Fun?

I actually discovered Woozies at Barb's Hallmark in Lincoln. Woozies are coozies designed to fit wine glasses and keep chilled wine cool. They are adjustable and come in fun colors and designs. Plus, "woozie" is fun to say.

The also have a great slogan.

Finally, if anyone is wondering what to get this particular wine lover, I think my new apartment could use one of these.

*hint hint*

Happy Shopping!

Glacial Till's Website
Wine Glass Holder Necklaces
Woozie Website
Wine Rack

A Passing Zephyr

August 10
Stop #11: Glacial Till Tasting Room

On our way back to Lincoln, Katherine and I decided to stop in Ashland to visit Glacial Till's tasting room. We had already gotten our passports stamped at their vineyard in Palmyra, but because of our great previous experience, we wanted to drop by their second location. So maybe this should actually be "Stop #10 1/2" or "Stop #2.2"...

Since we had already tried most of Glacial Till's wines, we didn't do another tasting. Instead, I was excited to try their newest wine, named "Zephyr" after Tim's smiling dog. I was so confident that I would enjoy the Zephyr, based on my fondness for all their other wines, that I didn't even ask for a sample before ordering a glass.

I wasn't disappointed.

Zephyr, as its name implies, is a crisp white wine. It reminded me of autumn, and I think it will be a perfect fall wine. I had imagined that it would be a touch sweeter, but I still enjoyed it very much. As we were sipping our wine, Katherine and I went upstairs to look around the art gallery. The pieces were unique, and as I always am, I was drawn to the photography.

After we had wandered around upstairs, we went back downstairs and watched a slide show of photos from Glacial Till. A friend of the Murman's, who was running the tasting room, answered our questions about the pictures.

I was amazed to learn that Glacial Till went from making about 7,000 bottles when they first started to making around 30,000 bottles - a huge leap in such a short amount of time.

Now that their wines are some of my favorites, they'll have to bottle a couple more.

Another favorite: Zephyr

Glacial Till's Website

Time Flies

August 10th
Stop #10: Soaring Wings Vineyard

The previous night's thunderstorm may not have ruined our evening, but the booming of thunder and the intense lightening woke me up several times throughout the night. I also had a stand-off with Wendy's evil cat, which I eventually won. I came away unscathed (barely), but still, it was a small victory, and I woke up unrefreshed after a restless night.

Coffee and a breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and sausage revived me, and I plotted our day's plan of action while we waited for the vineyards to open. At noon, we thanked Wendy for the great day, waved goodbye, and headed north to Soaring Wings Vineyard in Springfield.

The building we approached was huge - so huge, we were discussing what it could be, not yet knowing that it was our destination. It was a beautiful day outside; the heat from the previous weeks was finally beginning to subside. Several people were enjoying glasses of wine outside as we went in for our tasting.

Soaring Wings in Springfield, NE

Soaring Wings is named for owner Jim Shaw's background in aviation. Jim was a pilot in the Air Force and for Delta Airlines before he began to seriously explore wine making. He and his wife Sharon have recently began brewing, and have just released a number of craft beers. Unfortunately, the beer wasn't quite ready when we stopped by. Many of their creations, both wine and beer, follow the theme of aviation with their names.

The two wines I was most excited to try, Red Phoenix and Blushing Hawk, were sadly sold out. They flew from the cases and into fellow wine lovers' glasses. I'll have to remember to try some sooner next year.

On a side note, a bit of advice: Don't eat a grape off the vine before it's ripe. Blech.

Good for photos, bad for tasting.

Favorites: Sunset Red and Ice Falcon

Soaring Wings' Website

Blown Away

August 6th
Stop #9: Slattery Vintage Estates

Katherine's sister, Wendy, had told us about Slattery Vintage Estates, so we drove the short distance from Nebraska City to Nehawka. This time, our group had expanded to five - with wine, it's always the more, the merrier. We had heard that the tasting room was in the owner's house, so we weren't quite sure what to expect when we arrived.

We were blown away.

The house was huge, and the surroundings were beautiful. There was a pond full of goldfish, ducks waddling among the guests, fountains, and multi-level seating areas worked into the charming landscaping. Despite the heat, a little black dog sporting a mohawk was tirelessly playing fetch with the guests.

Slattery Vintage Estates in Nehawka, NE

As we were entering the seating area, Barb, the owner, was greeting everyone. We had noticed several large white tents, so we listened as she was chatting with the couple in front of us about them. The tents are rentable bungalows. Each bungalow has a bed, dresser, table, and chairs - and they're fully electric! I would love to go back and stay overnight. Throw in a bottle of wine (which, of course, you can) and that's my kind of camping.

Our group found a seat, and Katherine and I made our way inside to do a tasting. Unfortunately, they were not doing tastings that evening because they were hosting a special event. We were still able to get our tickets stamped with the purchase of wine, though. Currently, Slattery Vintage Estates does not offer their own wine. Their grapes froze a few years ago, and grapes take several years to mature enough to yield a large enough quantity to use in wine making. Hopefully, within the next couple years, they will begin to produce their own wine again.

The five of us shared a couple bottles of wine, and also split a pizza, meat and cheese tray, and brushetta. Chris Saub, our entertainment for the night, was great, and the whole atmosphere was relaxed.

Even when the storm rolled in.

"It was a dark and scary night..."

Barb came around to every table, assuring everyone that there was plenty of room under cover, so we all made our way under a large tent and continued to enjoy our evening. Lightening lit up the sky above, but for the most part, the storm went around us.

A little bit of rain isn't enough to dampen our spirits, especially when wine is involved.

Slattery Vintage Estates' Website

Bruises by the Bottle

Whenever wine is flowing, small accidents are bound to happen. If you then pack everyone into a cattle tank to stomp grapes, the likelihood of injury increases by about 37%, roughly.

Not only did I witness this phenomenon, I myself became an example of that made-up statistic during the grape stomp at Kimmel Orchard on August 6th.

The grape stomp was scheduled to begin at five, and anticipation built as everyone began to crowd around the cattle tank, which was wrapped in vertical wooden planks to make it look like a barrel. In the initial excitement and rush to get into the grape tank, everyone crammed in, due to an apparent irrational fear that the grapes would suddenly disappear. Children were supposed to get into the tank first, but the adults were more excited and clamored over them.

Katherine and I were finally able to squeeze our way into the tank, but could hardly move enough to actually stomp any grapes. We snapped a couple of pictures, then decided to get out and return after the initial wave of stompers retired. As I was getting out, someone jostled me in an attempt to regain her balance.

I, in turn, lost mine.

As I toppled forward out of the tank, I cracked the top of my foot on one of the wooden panels. When I rinsed the grape skins off my feet, I realized that I had a large gash from my stumble. I limped around for the rest of the night, wining and whining about my foot - but it didn't stop me from getting back in the tank later.

Things could have been worse. I hadn't put a lot of thought into my outfit selection that day, and had settled on a tank top and a white skirt. Thankfully, I didn't get any grape juice on my skirt when I fell, but another lady and her white capris didn't come out as lucky. She ended up falling inside the tank, and everything from her lower back to her ankles was stained with grape juice. A few of her friends helped her get out and rinse off, while her other friends took several pictures.

A bit of water and wine cured us both, and managed to heal our battered and bruised foot, bottom, and egos.

Channeling Lucy

August 6th
Stop #8: Kimmel Orchard Tasting Room
                         & Wine Under the Pines Event

Last fall, Katherine and I went to Nebraska City to see her older sister, Wendy. While we were there, in the home of Arbor Day, I mentioned that I had always wanted to visit an apple orchard. Maybe I hadn't always wanted to visit one, but I really did that day since we had passed a couple on our way. Wendy obliged, and drove us out to Kimmel Orchard, where I stalked around the trees, pretending I was an apple thief.

... No apples were actually stolen.

Once we'd wandered around the orchard, we made our way inside and discovered the tasting room. Kimmel Orchard was my first official wine tasting, and more importantly, it was there that I first learned about the Nebraska Wine Tour. It was too late for us to get started last year, but I knew it was something I wanted to do this year.

We returned to Kimmel during their Wine Under the Pines event. We chose to start out inside with a regular tasting, and because Kimmel and Arbor Day Farm share many of the same wines, we were able to try ones that we hadn't been able to at Arbor Day Farm. The woman who was hosting the tasting was pleasant to talk to. It was her first day of pouring and she laughed as she told us that she had been to Kimmel a few times and was asked by a staff member if she would like to serve wine. She did a great job! Katherine and I joked that we need to start hanging around tasting rooms and vineyards more (is that possible?) in the hopes of getting the same opportunity.

When we had finished our regular tasting, we wandered outside to check out Wine Under the Pines. This year, proceeds from the event went to the American Red Cross to aide those affected by the 2011 Missouri River flooding. Six vineyards and breweries participated, so there was something suited to almost everyone's tastes. There were also different cooking demonstrations, a pairing class, vineyard tours, and live music all day.

The biggest hit was the grape stomp.

Before.

August 6th would have been Lucille Ball's 100th birthday. I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate than to kick off my sandals, let my red hair down, and stomp some grapes. Children and adults packed into a tank full of grapes and squished - everyone had a smile on their face and grape skin between their toes.

After. Stomping grapes is strangely cathartic...

Later, after I'd rinsed off my feet, I asked one of the men at the Kimmel tasting stand what they do with the stomped grapes. He said they get thrown into a ditch. I laughed, and asked if he promised.

"No," he replied, winking.

To be on the safe side, I think I'll avoid any wines with commemorative Lucy labels.

Favorite: Vignoles

Kimmel Orchard's Website

From the Horse's Mouth

August 6th
Stop #7: Arbor Day Farm Tasting Room

August is typically one of a vineyard's busiest months. Harvest is just beginning, and many vineyards host festivals and events to allow everyone to be a part of this special time.

Arbor Day Farm celebrated harvest season this year by hosting their Twelve Days of Summer event. Each day, Arbor Day Farm gave out different discounts and freebies with each purchase of a Tree Adventure. This was the first year of the Twelve Days of Summer, and it seems like it was a success - Arbor Day Farm has plans to make it an annual event.

Nebraska City is the home of the environmental holiday Arbor Day, from which Arbor Day Farm derives its name. Because of the abundance of apple trees, I was not surprised to see an apple wine on the tasting list. The apple wine had a great aroma and refreshing taste. Jody, who was walking us through our tasting, also let us try her apple cherry sangria. The crisp apple flavor blended well with the tartness of the cherry cider.

Most of the time, wines are named after the grapes they are made of. Sometimes, though, the name has a bigger story behind it. Porter's Pride, one of Arbor Day Farm's wines, is named after a former orchard owner and the horse that won the 1935 Triple Crown, Omaha.

Omaha, a chestnut beauty of a stallion, was the son of Gallant Fox. Like his father before him, Omaha grew from a losing season to become the a Triple Crown winning horse. He was the third Triple Crown winner, and was also the first winning horse to have been sired by a former Triple Crown winner. After an impressive racing career and traveling abroad, Omaha was sent to retire in Nebraska, and spent the rest of his days on Arbor Day Farm.

I hope he was able to enjoy all the apples he wanted while he was there. Omaha's story is able to stay alive through Arbor Day Farm and their Porter's Pride.

Favorites: Seyval Blanc and Cherry

Arbor Day Farm's Website