Johnson Estate Sparkling Traminette

Not to brag, but I make a pretty
awesome apple pie.

Let's talk TURKEY!! Later this month is my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving-- a time for good food and good wine with family and friends. I can't wait!

In the spirit of the season, this week's Wine 101 class at Personal Wine Cellar will be dedicated to pairing wines with Thanksgiving meals. We'll be sampling four different wines that pair well with a traditional Thanksgiving dinner: Dr. Frank Gewurtztraminer, 90+ Cellars Mosel Riesling, Johnson Estates Sparkling Traminette, and Folie a Deux Zinfandel. 

Honestly, if I had to pick just one to recommend to you, I'd probably cry. Cause I can't do it. So, simply because I had it most recently, I'll tell you a little more about the Johnson Estate Sparking Traminette...

alternate label:
Golden Sparkles

This wine has BUBBLES, and here's an interesting fact about that: the Johnson Estates Sparkling Traminette is the only one made in the US using the traditional champagne method. Basically, that means the bubbles don't come from a carbon dioxide injection. Instead, they're created naturally in the bottle during a second fermentation process. While the traditional method comes straight out of the Champagne region of France, Johnson Estate puts it to good use right here in New York State.

 The Sparkling Traminette is also notable for it's great flavors. It's crisp and a little fruity, with some light citrus (maybe lychee) and floral accents. It's not super acidic, like some champagnes, but it's also not lip-puckering sweet, so it's great in a spritzer (you may recall that two weeks ago I mentioned splashing a bit of Chambord in there) and also makes one BOSS mimosa. 

Oh, and another thing: one of the "official" recommended pairings is TURKEY. But personally, I'd pair this one with my Thanksgiving leftovers. I mean, Thanksgiving dinner is great and all, but if you're family's like mine you've been snacking on beer-basted kielbasa and crab oobie doobies* all day, so when actual dinner happens around 2:30-3:00, you're kinda stuffed. And let's be honest: that sandwich you're gonna make at 9:00 Thanksgiving night, you know, the one with the congealed gravy, scooped stuffing and slices of jellied cranberry sauce on top...THAT's gonna taste awesome with some Sparkling Traminette. You're welcome.

Price: $$

Rating: B+

*in case any non-relatives are wondering, this just means "hors d'oeuvres" in Craig.

Looking for Wine or Liquor Themed things to do in October?

Earlier today I had the first migraine I've had in a long time. It was the sort of headache where I could no longer read, let alone look at the computer screen. So I'm about 11 hours late posting this review. And what's more...I'm not reviewing a wine this week.
But before you start booing and throwing tomatoes, I do have some fun stuff to share with you...if you're looking to expand your knowledge of wine and spirits and love freebies (I love freebies, who doesn't love freebies?), there are a few upcoming and recurring events you should check out at Personal Wine Cellar:

Event Number One-

Wine 101 with Greg Giorgio was
a blast!

Wine 101! Or, as I like to call it: Be Your Own Casual Wine Taster!
The second Thursday of every month at PWC you can take Wine 101, a wine tasting class with wine expert Greg Giorgio, who is a sommelier and cool guy to boot. For $10 (or $8 in advance) you get to sample three wines in your very own Personal Wine Cellar glass. It's a lot of fun!
The next one is Thursday October 16th at 6:30 pm and the focus will be on a fall favorite: hearty reds from Spain (yum!).



Event Number Two-
Cooking With Spirit!

Chef Brad is cooking up a storm!
I like this photo because you can
actually see the smoke heading
 toward the sprinkler system...

The second Sunday of every month PWC offers Cooking with Spirit, a FREE cooking demonstration that either utilizes wine or spirits in the recipe, or pairs a meal with a particular wine. After the demo you get to taste the recipe for yourself. The next installment of Cooking with Spirit will be on Sunday October 14th at 2:00pm with executive chef Brad Schmidt from the Gourmet Cafe in Glens Falls. I don't know what he'll be cooking, but I do know that it will be delish!

Here's the finished product from September's
Cooking With Spirit...
feel free to drool.

If you actually want to read
the ad, just click it.

Event Number Three-
Personal Wine Cellar's One Year Anniversary Extravaganza!
Yeah, that's right, it's an extravaganza. You know how I know? Because it's gonna be like Wine 101 and Cooking with Spirit all rolled into one, all day long, with extra prizes and stuff. So it'll be like Cooking-with-Wine-101-Spirit-Tasting-Discount-Fest. God I'm good at naming things.
All this is happening on Saturday October 20th.






So there you go, I've given you three great wine-and-spirit themed events that are going on in the next few weeks at PWC. Bring a date, bring your mom, bring a friend, bring yourself. I'll see you there!