On my most recent trip to the Kroger Fest-A-Ville, I spent over 3 hours at the Wine Fest. When I went in, I had bright and shiny ambitions about giving every single vineyard a fair shake. I'd write up a brief but useful review of their best wine and let the world know where to find it.
It's a great theory. The problem is, in reality I'm not that fond of local wines. I swear I tried. I don't know if the problem is me or the wines. Maybe the local growers err on the side of sweet because that's what their customers want. They could have secret barrels of tasty dry reds hidden away to only be shared with family. Or maybe the soil here really isn't all that good for growing, so vineyards make due. I want to be a locavore with my wine, but my tastebuds just don't agree.
The Kentucky Derby Festival didn't want to share their usual attendee swag with us unclean members of the press. I didn't get useful things like the complimentary list of this year's medal winners, a Kroger bag to carry away any purchases, or a commemorative wine glass. However, the second time I went to Horseshoe Bend Winery (I went back because they had the single most drinkable wines at the festival) the owner took away my sad little plastic cup.
"You're back? This time you're not drinking my wine out of a plastic glass." He gave me a very nice engraved stemless red wine glass to keep. It was a smart move. In addition to making me feel like a big girl wine drinker, regular festival goers loved my glass and kept asking where to get one for themselves.
I'm not going to bash on the wines I didn't like. Instead, I'm going to gush about the few I found appealing. There aren't many, so they deserve some attention.
WIN: Horseshoe Bend Winery's Red Jester Chambourcin
Horseshoe Bend Winery's Red Jester Chambourcin, a $10 bottle which won a bronze medal this year, was hands down my favorite. It had a mild nose followed by berries, somewhat earthy midnotes, and a surprisingly smooth finish.
"I call Chambourcin a Midwest Malbec," said Craig Karsner. "Chambourcin grows well in our soil, but the grapes have that richness of flavor people expect from Malbec."
PLACE: Milla Nova Winery's Shamrock Red
Craig wasn't the only person to tell me Chambourcin grows well in our climate. That explains why it figured so prominently at nearly every booth. Gosh - a grape that grows well in this climate makes the best wine at the festival? Shocking! The Chambourcin's I tasted made me wish local vineyards would please stop committing crimes against alcohol by trying to grow local Merlot.
According to John Miller of Milla Nova Winery, "Before Prohibition, Kentucky used to be the number one state in the US to produce grapes. Now that they're phasing tobacco out, a lot of the old tobacco farmers are getting help from the federal government to go back to raising grapes."
Milla Nova's Shamrock Red, a gold medal winning Chambourcin, had a reasonable nose, a hint of blackberry, good midnotes, and a nice finish. At $17, it was also one of the pricier wines at the festival.
SHOW: Elk Creek Winery Sweet Mellow White
I'm stunned to be writing this, but yes, one of the best wines at the festival came from a box. It won a silver medal, so I'm not alone in liking this blend of cayuga grapes (essentially white zinfandel) and videl blanc. The Sweet Mellow White had a mild, sweet nose. On the tongue, it was strongly reminiscent of an alcoholic version of a nice white grape juice with hints of apple. It was sweet without tasting thick or jammy.
According to Terra Cooper, "Our boxed wines came out at the beginning of February. We got some slack for not having red boxes for Louisville. Those are next. Then hopefully we'll venture out to Orange for the Bengals, too. We have 7 different boxed wines. Two of them are $30, the other five are $20 - and every box is the equivalent of 4 bottles of wine. Once you crack the seal, they won't start to turn for at least 45 days, so it's a great deal. you don't have to feel pressured to chug it. You can take your time or finish everything at a party - like with our Tailgate Red.
Honorable Mention: River Bend Winery Rhubarb Wine
I had to mention this one. I've never had a vegetable wine before. They say human beings both can and will ferment anything. Rhubarb wine is proof.
Nigel, the weekend wine tasting host at River Bend told me vegetable wines are catching on all over the country. Apparently, tomato is popular in Florida.
"Our grapes are grown by former tobacco growers who took subsidies to switch to grapes. It's all grown right here in Kentucky by Kentucky farmers," said Nigel. "The Rhubarb wine, we make from juice." Rhubarb juice? I shuddered at the thought of what he was pouring into my glass. Because I have a tiny vestigial bit of tact, I didn't actually close my eyes before drinking it. To my complete surprise, it tasted like a mid range Gewurtztraminer. If he hadn't told me what it was made of, I never would've guessed what was in my glass hadn't once been a grape.
River Bend also won a place in my heart for dressing one of their employees up as a giant walking bunch of grapes and sending him out with a photographer so he could pose with the ladies. They had the best walking advertisement - although Acres of Land Winery sold delightfully bedazzled T-shirts with slogans like "Bubbalicious" and "Living in Zin." The later is the only thing I actually bought for myself all night.
