Tummy Tuesday : Otis wine, Wine Tree Farm

Tummy Tuesday Food Blog Hop : Otis, Wine Tree Farm

(I hope you’ll join me for this round. Add your link at the bottom of the post to the blog hop if you’ve got a food-related post or pic.)

Otis

I was given this bottle of wine. It rang my bells with flavors of cherries with a bit of pepper. When I did a bit of research, what I discovered was a very cool winery.

As many of you know, I used Topaz Labs to create artwork out of my cat photography.  Turns out the son of Wine Tree Farm, did the same.  When their dog Otis died, NIc made this commemorative image. His mom Corinne created a special blend for Otis of Mourvedre and Grenache grapes.  Now I’m a straight wine girl — I like my merlot and syrah straight, thank you very much. No blends for me.  However, when i tasted this, I realized I’m going to have to change my mind about blended wines.  This is a bit like merlot or syrah but a little more robust, a little richer. I like it a lot. I didn’t buy the wine as it was a gift but if you go to the wine or buy the wine online, $1 from each bottle goes to their local shelter in memory of Otis.

Wine off the grid

The other thing about the winery is it uses solar power to generate the power for the 40-acre farm. The aforementioned son Nic Moore installed the solar power. His mom, Corinne Moore, bought the winery when she decided to leave the tech world to spend time doing what she loved. Corinne was a show jumper and loved animals so a place in the country appealed to her.  The resident cats and dogs wander in and out of the wine tasting room. I’d love to see them. Gold Country Cowgirl who went out to the farm photographed baby doll sheep mowing the grass. She also blogged that Corinne used power as little as possible so instead of pumps they relied on gravity to transfer wine from barrel to barrel. As much as they can, Wine Tree Farm practices sustainable viticulture.

Creating your own unique blend

I wish Wine Tree Farm were in Arizona instead of California. GC Cowgirl blogged about attending their regular wine blending class. It’s a two-hour session where you taste three varieties and then create a blend according to your own preference on how you liked them.  So each participant creates a unique blend.  The best part is at the end of the class, a full bottle of their blend is made for them to take home.  Even better, if you keep your formula, you can come back and have them mix you up another bottle.  In 2019, the class was only $50 for the session and that includes the bottle of wine.  If you convince a friend to go with you, it’s $90 for the two of you together.  I really want to go! Wouldn’t it be fun to make up a label for my own Pinkie or Midnight blend?

Wine Tree Farm
Hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday-Sunday, or by appointment
14467 Highway 49
Amador City, CA  95601
(209) 470-7617
www.winetreefarm.com
blending class schedule

Wine Blending at Wine Tree Farm
Gold Country Cowgirl Hitting the Trail, March 3, 2017

Few frills at friendly family winery
By Carey Sweet, San Francisco Chronicle Gate, April 4, 2014

Tiny Amador City is big when it comes to wine tasting and gourmet dining
by Mike Dunne, Sacramento Bee, August 29, 2018

You can use the Amazon search bar to do any search at Amazon like I did with “Wine Folly”. April 26, 2019, Wine Folly won the James Beard Award in the Beverage Books category. Amazon describes it, “Wine Folly became a sensation for its inventive, easy-to-digest approach to learning about wine. Now I’m not sure which version won the award : Wine Folly: Magnum Edition: The Master Guide or Wine Folly: The Essential Guide to Wine

As an Amazon affiliate, I may earn a fee if you click on the above links and buy something. This has no effect on your price. You pay the same price you would normally. Amazon disclosure: “We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.”

 

Roundup of last week’s Tummy Tuesday (5/7/19-5/13/19) :

 

Lady Manila: Salads, food photos	Irene: Ham Oniguiri – Cultural and Gastronomic Fusion, recipe	Blacky’s Burrow black bean vegetable burritos
Cactus Catz: L’ Grande Cafe, Casa Grande

Note on Blacky’s bean vegetable burrito post.  His WP went down and his previous posts were wiped. Luckily he reposted it so the links in the roundup have been updated to the new url.

This week’s Tummy Tuesday (5/14/19-5/20/19):

This Tummy Tuesday is closed. Please visit the most recent Tuesday to see the latest Tummy Tuesday.