II. IOWA NEWS. 5. For A Industry, Hints of Possibility By Eric Asimov - New York Times November 19, 2006 , and don’t have the ring of and . They will probably never connote the golden good life that has marketed. But that doesn’t mean they can’t make wines that are not only decent, but also enjoyable and distinctive. Tony Cenicola/The New York Wines of include a Penoach red table wine, Jasper Winery’s Behind the Shed Red and Seyval Blanc, and a Summerset sangria. It’s natural that states in the earliest stages of their vineyard development should rely on the grapes that are easiest to grow make that least difficult as they decide where — — the best vineyard sites are and which grapes will ultimately perform the best. Europe took centuries to determine which grapes should grow where; has made great progress over the last 60 years but is still working at it. If Midwestern states prove serious about winemaking, it will take decades at least to get pointed in the right direction. For now, modest are to be expected. Of five bottles of wine that I tasted, two stood out, both from the Jasper Winery in . The winery’s Behind the Shed Red, a nonvintage wine made from the St. Croix grape, is juicy and pleasing with a floral spice to it, like a nouveau. A Jasper Winery 2005 chancellor, made from chancellor grapes grown in the Cherry Creek Vineyard, is a little more polished, if not as exuberant. But others I tasted were sweet and cloying, more like wine coolers or backyard scuppernong wines than something you would want on your dinner table. The inconsistency is no surprise, nor is the rusticity. While producers in , have made gorgeous sweet wines of hybrid grapes like the vidal, those grapes rarely produce wines
II. IOWA NEWS. 5. For A Industry, Hints of Possibility By Eric Asimov - New York Times November 19, 2006 , and don’t have the ring of and . They will probably never connote the golden good life that has marketed. But that doesn’t mean they can’t make wines that are not only decent, but also enjoyable and distinctive. Tony Cenicola/The New York Wines of include a Penoach red table wine, Jasper Winery’s Behind the Shed Red and Seyval Blanc, and a Summerset sangria. It’s natural that states in the earliest stages of their vineyard development should rely on the grapes that are easiest to grow — make that least difficult — as they decide where the best vineyard sites are and which grapes will ultimately perform the best. Europe took centuries to determine which grapes should grow where; has made great progress over the last 60 years but is still working at it. If Midwestern states prove serious about winemaking, it will take decades at least to get pointed in the right direction. For now, modest are to be expected. Of five bottles of wine that I tasted, two stood out, both from the Jasper Winery in . The winery’s Behind the Shed Red, a nonvintage wine made from the St. Croix grape, is juicy and pleasing with a floral spice to it, like a nouveau. A Jasper Winery 2005 chancellor, made from chancellor grapes grown in the Cherry Creek Vineyard, is a little more polished, if not as exuberant. But others I tasted were sweet and cloying, more like wine coolers or backyard scuppernong wines than something you would want on your dinner table. The inconsistency is no surprise, nor is the rusticity. While producers in , have made gorgeous sweet wines of hybrid grapes like the vidal, those grapes rarely produce wines
November_25,_2006_e-News.docx