Christmas 2012

Santa made an unexpected visit to Early Wines this year!  Workshop Elves started with a bourbon barrel head found in Louisville, KY for authenticity, then outsourced artistic license to a wood carver in Asheville, NC to make this exquisite, one-of-a-kind gift.

Que Syrah Syrah!

Just in time for the holiday's, Early Wines has released a rich California Syrah.  This latest release benefits from the longest aging in our oak barrel to-date: two months in hungarian oak, with a handful of French oak chips added in the final weeks for extra character.  The sleek new label features Earl from his Thanksgiving photo-shoot.  Be sure to see the Label Archives for the backstory.

Christmas Taste Test Results:
1st   Dascomb Cellars 2004 ($28)
2nd  Early Wines 2012 ($11)
3rd   Blackstone 2010 ($10)
4th   Alexander Valley Vineyards
        2008 Vinters Selection($15)
5th   Maycas Del Limari
        2008 Reserva Especial ($20)

Happy Birthday Benjamin!

Benjamin is Earl's best friend, so what better way to celebrate Benjamin's first birthday than with a special release of Early Wines?!  This limited release (only two bottles were made) is packed with organic grape juice - only the finest for the distinguished tastes of the neighborhood's youngest wine connoisseur.

Merry Christmas!!!

The holiday season is in full swing and Earl is getting excited to share good times and good wine with friends and family.  We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

California Grapes

Picked up our fresh California grapes this morning and went straight to work crushing and pressing them.  Two lugs (72lbs) of Cabernet Sauvignon and 1 lug (36lbs) of Merlot were picked up from Washington Winemakers and mechanically crushed/destemmed on site.  Back home we went to work pressing the grapes to get a beautiful rose-color.  It will be a few months until the wine is ready to drink, but after some "lessons learned" from Harvest Fest, we have high hopes for this batch!!

Yo Ho Ho and a Bucket of Grapes

The First Annual Harvest Festival was indeed an Event!  Our neighbor, Benjamin set (perhaps) a new world record for youngest grape stomper, nearly 108lbs of grapes were manually destemmed and quality inspected by our guests, and Early Wines "Rin Zin Zin" came in 1st place in the latest Double Blind Taste Test!!!

Final Results:
1st   Early Wines "Rin Zin Zin" ($9)
2nd  Truett-Hurst ($20)
3rd   Montoya ($14)
4th   Bonterra ($10)
5th   Ravenswood ($7)

Picking Grapes

We had a wonderful time meeting Bob White of Quail Vineyards in Manchester, MD.  He generously loaded us up with ~100lbs of Sangiovese and Barbera grapes.  We also got a personal tour of the vineyard where we picked up samples of 4 other types of grapes to show back at the party (Cabernet Sauvignon, Chancellor, Pinot Grigio, and Nebbiolo).  Next year we hope to be back for even more delicous grapes!

Harvest Fest 2012

It's our first fall season here at Early Wines, and what better way to celebrate the Harvest Season than with a First Annual Harvest Festival!?  We'll be ordering 200+lbs of California grapes and 100+ from a local vineyard for...wait for it...good ol' fashioned foot stomping!

And the winner is...

With six wines and seven judges, the selection of Meridian was unanimous as the winner.  There was significant debate over the rankings, but the results tallied up as:

 

1st Place: Meridian ($6)

2nd Place: AbbeyVille ($13)
3rd Place: Apex ($17, 91 pts)
4th Place: Trellis ($6)
5th Place: Duboeuf Pouilly Fuisse ($18)
6th Place: Dingo ($10)

Despite finishing last (Four 6th place, two 4th place, and one 2nd place votes), the judges commented that all the wines were very drinkable.  Dingo was described as, "A classic chardonnay: full bodied, oaky and buttery."  While it may not have been the style prefed by the judges, the buttery character of Dingo was created by the "sur lies" technique used in the making of the Chardonnay.  If you like heavy Chardonnay's, a "winter white" as one judge called it, you'll love the Dingo!

Taste Test: Results to Come

Early Wines Chardonnay will go up against some stiff competition this weekend:

• Meridian Chardonnay – California (2011) $6
• Trellis Chaonnay - Sonoma County  $6
• AbbeyVille Chardonnay – Napa Valley (2010) $13
• Apex Chardonnay – 91 pts  – Yakima Valley, Washington (2010)  $17
• Duboeuf Pouilly Fuisse Oak, White Burgundy – France (2010) $18 

 

Assessed by returning judges Jeff, Kristen, and Kyler; we will also joined by Jim and Jeremy - flown in from Nasheville for the competition.

Batches #2 and #3

The Chardonnay and Zinfandel are bottled, labeled, and ready to go! With their extra aging time in the barrel, both wines are ready to drink.  Some upcoming taste tests will determine if we've got the quality to match our Rioja batch.  With this much wine you have to hope it's good!

The Dingo is Out!

The first Early Wine to be aged in the Hungarian Oak barrel, our 2012 Australian Chardonnay was bottled on August 12th.  See the Seinfeld inspired artwork on the Label Archive page, and get ready for the "Dingo!"

And the Winner Is....

...Early Wines!  "Running of the Horses" took 1st and 2nd place over three commercial Rioja's at the first double-blind, Early Wines taste test!!!

Overall Rankings:
1st:   Early Wines, "Running of the Horses" Rioja, Reserva
2nd:  Early Wines, "Running of the Horses" Rioja
3rd:  Valsacro Dioro Rioja, 2005       ($20/bottle)
4th:   Campo Viejo Rioja, 2010          ($10/bottle)
5th:   Cincuenta Ugarte Rioja, 2009   ($13/bottle)

Given Valsacro was rated 92pts by Wine Advocate, and Cincuenta was rated 90pts by Wine Advocate;  the Early Wines Spanish Rioja has been rated a whooping 93 and 94 points by the somelliers of Wagner Lane for the red label and black label Reserva, respectively.

As described around the tasting table the Early Wines Reserva was described as:

• "Smooth" with delicious notes of "vanilla".
• Simultaneously "fruit forward" and "smokey".
• and "muy buena!!!"

Holiday Production

Cellar production is running full tilt as we rush to get wines properly aged in time for the holidays!

The Australian Chardonnay is crystal clear and ready to be bottled, the California Red Zinfindel is fresh out of the barrel and ready to be cleared, while the California Syrah is entering the barrel for two months of aging.

Come Thanksgiving, these wines should be hitting their prime and ready to celebrate the holidays with friends and family!

The Barrel is Ready!

The new Vadai Barrel is now engraved with the official Early Wines logo!
Here's what the Vadai company has to say about Hungarian oak:

The wood:
Sourced from the steep, rocky hillsides of the renowned Zemplen forest, the trees grow in a unique soil with a high mineral content. The wood used for Vadai's barrels is selected from 100 year-old trees that is air-dried for three years before being crafted into barrels.

The results:
The finished barrels have a high perceived-vanillin content along with bittersweet chocolate, subtle black pepper, roasted coffee, and leather notes. They gently structure the wine in a restrained and elegant way that never steps on the fruit (a quality that makes the Vadai barrels ideally suited for smaller sized lots where overpowering the wine might be a concern).

Oak Barrel Engraving

Coming Soon: Hungarian Oak Barrel!

Jeff is currently working his hand at wood burning to add the finishing touches to Early Wines' first oak barrel.  Once the logo is added, a lineup of Chardonnay, Red Zinfandel, and a Syrah are all ready for the character-building experience of being aged in an oak barrel.

Stay tuned!!

Coming Soon: Dingo

Coming this holiday season:
"Dingo" an Australian Chardonnay!

Stay tuned...

Earl's First Wine

The first wine produced and bottle by Early Wines, "The Running of the Horses", is a Spanish Rioja! The choice of the Spanish Rioja comes from Charity's love of all things Spanish, including the Tempranillo grape. The label, hand painted by Charity, is inspired by Earl's first encounter with horses in the mountains of West Virginia.

20 bottles of the original kit and 11 bottles of our "Reserva" are now bottled, labeled, and aging in the basement cellar.  The wine needs to rest until at least August and will be hitting its prime during the holiday season.  Check out the "Label Archive" and "Oenophile Files" for more information on the new release!

All About Earl

Earl was born September 22nd, 2010. He came home with Jeff and Charity when he was just 8 weeks old and has been a great addition to the family. Earl is an avid swimmer, soccer player, and collector of sticks. None of this has to do with wine...but he makes a darn good label.

Welcome to the Blog!

Welcome to the Early Wines blog.

Brought to you by Jeff and Charity, this blog is dedicated to bringing you the latest on wine produced and bottled in the Braden basement.