Saturday I attended Valley Wine and Liquor’ s 5th Birthday Tasting. It was fun! And it has taken me three days to write a post about it. But here it is:.
Everybody got into the spirit of the day!
The statue is of Jack Daniels. I could not back up far enough to include the base. My husband Steven, friend Kim and I walked around the store, enjoying 10 tasting stations.
Full disclosure: first station, last picture.
We started with Adirondack Winery, which we have tasted before. Lisa, the lady pouring, said she’d wondered if she’d see us. Kim and I are kind of known for going to tastings.
“Of course we were going to be here!” I said. I said I would only try the dry wines but changed my mind and also tried the Sangria. I loved the Baco Noir and the Pinot Gris. I left my friend Kim tasting the sweet stuff and went on.
Fisher’s Island Lemonade is a cocktail in a can. It comes from a family owned business off Long Island Sound. They own a bar, which originally mixed the drink from scratch for their customers. Then the daughter got the idea of canning and selling it. It is yummy! I’m afraid it would do me dirt, however, because it tastes like just good lemonade.
I backtracked to the Knob Creek booth and tried the Smoked Maple bourbon. They were doing free engraving if you bought a bottle, which a lady was doing just before I tasted. What a great present, if you’re buying for someone who likes bourbon.
At hhe Barcadi and Patron station, I tasted Paloma and Barcadi Lime. Both were nice. Then it was on to Cupcake wines, which I know are tasty and moderately priced. I tried Sauvignon Blanc, Rose, Red Velvet, and Chardonnay . The Rose was a little sweet for me, but the others were tasty.
Next I sampled The Crusher, a California vineyard I had not encountered before. I was quite taken with the Pinot Noir and the Merlot. I tried both Chardonnays, soaked and unoaked. I liked both, which surprised me, because in general I prefer my chardonnay aged in stainless (doesn’t that make me sound like a real connesiour? It is one of the few bits of wine knowledge I possess).
When I saw 19 Crimes, I exclaimed, “My favorite!” Kristina, the woman pouring asked did I mean her or the wine. I said both, of course.
Nice pourer and nice wines.
I tried the Hard Chard, the Cabernet Sauvignon, and the Banished, and liked them all. Full disclosure: I already knew I liked them. The next booth was the 1800 Tequila, poured by Mallory. I took two pictures.
She was very friendly, as were all the pourers.
I tried the Ultimate Margarita with jalapeno and lime, which was yummy! I also liked the Mango Margarita, but it lacked the bite of the jalapeno version. I got a free pen, and Kim got a necklace.
Two lovely ladies.
Next was DikinDurt Distillery, based right here in Herkimer, NY. I loves me some DikinDurt moonshine! I tasted Mohawk Valley Fire and Toasted Maple, although I already knew I liked both. I purchased the Mohawk Valley Fire, then went back and got wines from The Crusher and Thousand Islands Winery. I could have bought a lot more, based on all the times I wrote “yummy” in my tasting notes.
Kim at the distillery.
I close with a picture of DikinDurt Distillery. This was taken some time ago, when Kim and I visited the source. Another trip there might be in our future! In the meantime, I think I have finally finished my blog post about the Birthday Tasting at Valley Wine and Liquor in Herkimer.
Mohawk Valley Girl 