Wine Blogging Wednesday

It's been a while since I talked about wine. Great concept via Dr. Vino: I'm getting back in the game with a post on the theme of locally-produced wine. I don't know of any vineyards in the Twin Cities, but near my grandparents' house-on-a-lake there's a serious contender known as the Carlos Creek Winery. They maintain the largest grape vineyard in Minnesota, so they're a natural choice for sampling the full range of local flavors.

I visited a few weeks ago for the tour and free tastings. Sample pours are apparently offered on an all-you-can-drink policy, which I took advantage of by having a taste of nearly every wine on the menu. I gaffed by trying the port and icewine early on, but quickly recovered and sensibly made my way through the standard whites. None really jumped out at me, but neither was anything remarkably foul; it all struck me as simply passable.

Most of the reds were nothing to write home about, either. During the tour, however, we tried some Cabernet Sauvignon from the aging barrels. I drank some of the bottled stuff upstairs afterwards and liked it a lot. They also produce several tasty apple wines. In addition to the winery and tasting room, there's plenty of other stuff to see while there, such as an art gallery, maze, and the world's cleanest horse stable, and even 2- and 4-seater bicycle contraptions that you can hop on and pedal around the orchards. Overall, more than worth the trip if you're in the area.

Categories: wine