Last month, Chuck had the pleasure of being on the Sip and Bite show on 105.9, hosted by Susan Monday. He had the opportunity to discuss Harvest Ridge Winery, wine and spirits in Delaware, the newly-formed Delaware Wineries Association, and the other business that belong to it. Do you want to know more about our winery and what is happening with wine in Delaware? Take a listen!
This was a great week for Harvest Ridge Winery! Three team members (Chuck, Chip, and I — Sofia) attended the expo in Lancaster, PA. This is the 2nd year for the expo that celebrates (as the name implies) Eastern wineries.
It started on Tuesday night with a welcome reception that included wines from all over the region for tasting as well as appetizers and the opportunity to meet and mingle with others in the industry. You could tell that people were excited to be there and were looking forward to the events to come in the next couple of days. We had the chance to meet a couple of the speakers for the convention including Laurie Forster (a.k.a. The Wine Coach http://thewinecoach.com/ ), and Terry Sullivan (who, along with his wife, Kathy, are the people behind http://www.winetrailtraveler.com/about2.php ) which was exciting!
Wednesday was a loooong and busy day. Chip, Chuck, and I were up early to meet for a quick breakfast before hitting the seminars. We learned about everything from Sustainability Programs, to Titrametric Analysis of TA and YAN (that was Chip’s department!), to Tools and Trends in Social Media Marketing. Wednesday was also the day that the exhibits were open allowing us to take a look at machinery, cork options, bottles, items for our retail space (you know… all that stuff you see in winery gift shops), etc. And yes, there was more wine to sample. 
Wednesday was topped off by the Industry Celebration Dinner where we shared a table with the owners of Lost Oak Winery in Texas. It was a great opportunity not only to socialize, but also to get advice from those who have been in the business for awhile.
Thursday began with a seminar that offered the opportunity to taste some sweet red wines (at 8:15 in the morning!) followed by more presentations on money management, and new event ideas for wineries, and a final spin through the exhibits.
We left thoroughly excited, exhausted, inspired with a lot of new ideas… and just a tiny bit dehydrated.
At Harvest Ridge, we want you to relax and enjoy. Wine is meant to be enjoyed; it is meant to be fun! We love wine and love learning about it. We do our best to provide information to help YOU enjoy it more. Our blog postings will often focus on informational elements about wine. We hope you find these interesting (and/or entertaining). We encourage you to try new things and experiment with wine; however, ultimately, what you like is what you like. There is no “wrong” with wine. So all that said, here are OUR Top 10 Wine Tips (a la David Letterman)!
10. Don’t judge a wine by its label – or its price. Great and enjoyable wines can be found in all sorts of packaging and prices. Don’t assume that a less expensive wine is going to be awful and don’t expect that a super-duper cool label is going to indicate it is a super-duper wine. Keep an open mind.
9. Sparkling wines do NOT need to be reserved for special occasions. They pair well with a variety of foods (that’s a whole other blog topic) and can be enjoyed more often than once or twice a year! Bust out the bubbly!
8. Swish out your mouth with water often when drinking red wine. Keeps your teeth pearly white! (Or, at the very least, keeps them from turning a dull grayish-purple.)
7. When possible, attempt to enjoy wines at an appropriate temperature. Red wines are often served too warm and white wines too cool. Reds’ best temperatures are 55-65F (lighter reds in the cooler range, heavier the warmer), whites’ are best served 50-55F (again, darker/heavier on the upper end, lighter – and rose on the cooler end), sparkling is best served at about 45 degrees. These are guidelines. And, it is ok to err on the side of cooler. It can always warm up while you hold the glass!
6. Serve your “best” wine early in the evening. Having a party? Don’t save your good stuff for later. Share it with your guests while they are “fresh.” (Once they’ve had a few glasses/tastes, what they are drinking becomes less important.)
5. Like something? Order a case. Many stores/wineries offer a case discount. Ask about it and take advantage of it. Always a good idea to have something you like on hand.
4. Food pairings. (Again, we’ll come back to this topic time and time again.) Drink what you enjoy BUT be open to pairing suggestions. Some foods and wines/drinks just naturally enhance each other. (Cosmopolitans and brie cheese do NOT enhance each other. The cosmo suddenly tastes like cough syrup. Just take my word for that.) Be willing to consider suggestions of sommeliers and others.
3. Never stop learning about wine. Have your favorites but enjoy others. Check out new ones. If you are a note-taking type of person, keep notes. (They actually sell wine journals for that!) If you are not that type of person, just try a wide variety. Different countries, different grapes, different blends. Branch out! (No pun intended.)
2. Drink in moderation. Wine is almost always better when you don’t regret it the next day. And, though I know you know, I’ll say it anyway. Don’t drink and drive. No one wants to wrestle the keys away from you at the end of the night. It ruins everyone’s fun. Let’s just avoid that awkwardness and imbibe responsibly. Enough said.
****Drumroll ****** And the number ONE Harvest Winery wine tip is:
1. Enjoy wines with those you love. (Except for the occasional family reunion when you might enjoy wine to tolerate family you rarely see.) Wine goes hand in hand with food and family. Wine+food+good company= good times.
What is involved in starting/opening a winery? If you have been there, you know. If you haven’t been there, this is a peek into our lives the past two years. In order to open a winery:
All of these things (and more!) have been on our proverbial plate throughout this process. It is a constant challenge to check things off the list, making sure “I”s are dotted and “T”s are crossed, while working to ensure that everything is happening in a comprehensible order. We have accepted the challenge. We have enjoyed the challenge. And we look forward to enjoying the fruits of our labor with our friends, families, and customers. Join us on our journey as we count down to and continue to finalize plans for our opening!
We’ve said this before and will stick by it. If you don’t like a wine, don’t feel like you have to drink it – even if it is the suggested wine for whatever meal you are enjoying. However, we also strongly recommend that, if you haven’t tried a certain wine/food pairing, you keep an open mind and give it a shot. All things being equal, some foods go better with some wines. There are few hard and fast rules, but some guidelines are:
The moral of the story is: don’t be afraid to stick with what you like, but don’t be afraid to branch out, ask questions, do some research and take pairing suggestions. You never know when you might stumble upon a wine that you didn’t even know you would enjoy – all because of the food with which it was paired.