9 Festive Wines to Make Your July 4th Celebration Fine

This weekend in the U.S, we will celebrate Independence Day.  This holiday commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 which declared our independence from Great Britain. It is a national holiday celebrated with fireworks, parades, cookouts, concerts and ceremonies across the nation.

 

In honor of this distinctly American holiday, I searched for a few wines to pour as you celebrate “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness …” along with those fireworks, and some red, white and blue thrown in there, too.

Life

Ripe Life Wines www.ripelifewines.com is as close as we get to “Life.”  This is not a winery or vineyard but a private label founded by culinary school grad and New York City sommelier, Mary McAuley. Ripe Life started business last year and offers one wine: Clambake Chardonnay. Tailgate Red is expected to be released in the autumn of 2015.

Liberty

Liberty Creek Vineyards www.libertycreekwine.com based in Modesto, California plays off the July 4^th motif with about a dozen offerings. Their web page features the liberty bell and phrases from the Declaration of Independence. Wine offerings include Cabernet, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Pinot Grigio, Pink Moscato and White Zin, along with a few Tetra Pak offerings.

Liberty School offers several wines. Started in 1990, Hope Family Wines www.hopefamilywines.com produces reliable vinos under the Liberty School banner including Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cuvee and Chardonnay. The winery is located in Paso Robles, California.

Liberty Vineyards and Winery www.libertywinery.com is a family-owned winery located in western New York state in the heart of Lake Erie's wine country.  Almost two-dozen wines make up their portfolio including an appropriately named Reds, Whites and Blues, which is a sweet blend of red, white and blue grape varieties. This wine won a gold at the 2014 Florida State Fair International Wine Competition, two Chairman’s Awards from the Riverside International Wine Competition, and a "Highly Recommended, Best Buy" from Beverage Testing Institute. (Shame they didn't have a better photo ...)

Pursuit of Happiness

Pursuit of Happiness is a dessert wine crafted from Norton grapes and blackberries. Produced by Wide River Winery www.wideriverwinery.com of Clinton, Iowa, this wine won a gold medal at the 2012 Mid American Wine Competition.

And we also associate fireworks, firecrackers and lots of big booms with the Fourth, so here’s a few more wines to consider.

All That Bang

Fireworks Red Merlot should get your weekend off with a sparkle. Crafted by Adirondack Winery www.adirondackwinery.com in Lake George, New York, this wine garnered silver from Florida State Fair International Wine Competition in 2011 and a bronze in the 2009 World Value Wine Challenge.

There is a Firecracker Wine www.firecrackerwine.com out there but again this is not crafted by a winery or vineyard. Instead the parent company is listed as Intercontinental Packaging. The Firecracker Wine website offers only two wines: a Firecracker Red Blend and a Firecracker Fusion White. According to the webpage, the wines are “crafted with innovative techniques” to “create intensely flavored wines that will make your mouth say ‘WOW!’” 

No boom but there is a Boom Boom wine available, thanks to Charles Smith  www.charlessmithwines.com. Crafted from Syrah grapes grown in the Columbia Valley of Washington State, this wine is called “The Bomb” by the winemaker, and was crafted to be consumed immediately. (Take that as you please ...)

Oh Say Can You See

Tassel Ridge Winery www.tasselridge.com in Leighton, Iowa produces two festive wines for the Fourth. Star Spangled White is a sweet wine made from Edelweiss grapes grown in their Iowa vineyard. Red, White & Blue is a sweet red crafted from Concord grapes.

Apparently no one thought that “independence” was a good name for a winery, vineyard, or wine. As close as we get is the Texas Independence Wine Trail www.texasindependencewinetrail.com, which boasts 8 wineries on it. Definitely an independent way to spend your day.

When All Else Fails

If there’s no time to find a festively named wine for your holiday gathering, you can always fall back on the standard: White wine with lunch; red wine with dinner and a nice Blueberry dessert wine for the fireworks! Just pour a glass and join in the celebration!

Happy Independence Day, America!

~ Joy

Message in a (Wine) Bottle

Wine bottles have more uses than just holding wine. For centuries they, along with beer bottles, have been used to send messages into the future. Writing a message and sealing it in a bottle before casting it out to sea sounds romantic, and a bit adventurous.  Where will it go? Who will find it? When will it be found? Will anyone reply? 

Theophrastus

The first known messages to be sent out in bottles occurred around 310 BC by the Ancient Greek philosopher, Theophrastus. He was intent on proving that the Mediterranean Sea was formed by the Atlantic Ocean. (There's no record as to if he received any answers.)

Queen Elizabeth the 1st

During the 16^th century, Queen Elizabeth created the official title of “Uncorker of Ocean Bottles” for the person designated to open bottle from the sea, which contained messages from the Navy about enemy positions on the high seas.

Coconut Wood

In 1784, forty-four Japanese seamen set sail in search of buried treasure on various Pacific islands when their ship was blown off course and stranded on a deserted island. One of the castaways, Chunosuke Matsuyama, carved their story into thin pieces of coconut wood then inserted them into a bottle and tossed it into the sea. In 1935, over 150 years later, the bottle washed ashore in Hiraturemura, Japan – the village where Matsuyama had been born.

To launch a message in a bottle, the sender usually writes a note or request, seals it in the bottle and then tosses it into the sea or river to see where it might end up. It appears that 1913 and 1914 were good years to send out messages in bottles as these three stories show.

Thomas Hughes

One hundred years ago, on September 9, 1914, 26-year-old Private Thomas Hughes, a British soldier on his way to fight in France, cast a bottle into the English Channel that contained a letter to his wife. The message read:

"Dear Wife, I am writing this note on this boat and dropping it into the sea just to see if it will reach you. If it does, sign this envelope on the right hand bottom corner where it says receipt. Put the date and hour of receipt and your name where it says signature and look after it well. Ta ta sweet, for the present. Your Hubby."

Granddaughter Emily Gowan

Hughes was killed in action two days later. In 1999, 85 years after the event, a fisherman found the bottle in the River Thames. Hughes’ wife Elizabeth had died in 1979, but the letter was delivered to his 86-year-old daughter, Emily Gowan who was living in Auckland, New Zealand.

Bottle & Post Card

Crew of Maria I

Another interesting find was in the Baltic Sea, near Kiel Germany: The skipper of the Maria I netted a brown beer bottle while fishing. A crewmember noticed a paper inside which turned out to be a postcard from Denmark. Dated May 17, 1913 the card had been written and released by 20-year-old Richard Platz, a German living in Berlin.  He requested that the finder forward the postcard back to him in Berlin.

Maritime Museum in Hamburg

Platz died in 1946, but his granddaughter, Angela Erdmann, now 62-years-old still resides in Berlin and was amazed at the find. The bottle and its message went on display at the Maritime Museum in Hamburg this spring, but is now being studied by researchers as they try to make out the remainder of the message which has been badly smudged over the years.

Glasgow School of Navigation

Again, in 1914, a scientist, Captain C. Hunter Brown of the Glasgow School of Navigation cast 1,890 clear glass bottles into the ocean as a way to study local ocean currents around Scotland. The notes read:

Bottle

Note Found Inside Bottle

Please state where and when this card was found, and then put it in the nearest Post Office. You will be informed in reply where and when it was set adrift. Our object is to find out the direction of the deep currents of the North Sea."  One of the bottles was found east of the Shetland Islands by a fishing vessel – 98 years later, in 2012.

Zeppelin L 19

It was during WWI, on February 1, 1916 when the crew of Zeppelin L 19 of the German Imperial Navy was returning from their first bombing raid on England. Engine trouble and malfunctioning radio equipment led to the Zeppelin flying off-course into Dutch air space where it was fired upon. The damaged airship was then blown offshore and landed in the North Sea.

King Stephen and Sinking Zeppelin

The next morning a British fishing vessel, The King Stephen sighted the L 19's distress signals. When the captain and crew arrived, they found Germans aboard the sinking ship: the captain refused to rescue them and left them to die. As the weather worsened, Zeppelin crewmembers wrote personal messages and an account of what had happened before placing the notes in several bottles and tossing them into the roiling sea. When the Royal Navy made a search of the area, no airship or crew were found. It was four months after the incident when a crewman’s body washed ashore, and six months until bottles began washing up on shore to tell the story.

And what “message in a bottle” tale would be complete with out the requisite love story. In 1956 a young Swedish sailor, Ake Viking wrote a letter addressed “To Someone Beautiful and Far Away.” In it he gave his address, a description of himself and closed with these words, "Write to me, whoever you are." Viking then placed the note in a bottle and tossed it overboard to see what, if anything, would happen.

Two years later, Viking received a letter in reply from a 17-year-old girl, Paolina, in Sicily.  She wrote, "Last Tuesday, I found a bottle on the shore. Inside was a piece of paper, bearing writing in a strange language. I took it to our priest, who is a great scholar. He said the language was Swedish and, with the help of a dictionary, he read me your charming letter. I am not beautiful, but it seems so miraculous that this little bottle should have traveled so far and long to reach me that I must send you an answer ..." The two began corresponding and in 1961 Ake moved to Sicily to marry Paolina, his message answered. An article was written about the couple in The American Weekly in 1959 titled "Love in a Bottle."

Message in a Bottle

Bottles are still being found today, around the world. In April 2013 a bottle washed up on the beach near Dubrovnik, Croatia.  It had been thrown out to sea in 1985 from Nova Scotia, Canada and made a journey over 4,000 miles.

"1906" Message

The oldest note in a bottle was discovered in April of this year, bearing the date of September 29, 1906. A Canadian man, Steve Thurber found the bottle near Schooner’s Cove in Tofino, British Columbia. Inside was a note signed by Earl Willard. Unfortunately, Thurber doesn’t want the bottle opened so independent verification hasn’t been done.

All told, only about 350 bottles have been recovered and reported around the world. Maybe it’s time to finish that bottle of wine, write a message, and send it off with the current, into the tides of history.

~ Joy

6 Campy Wine Trips for Summer

June is National Camping Month: Time to load up the camper/RV/motorhome and head out for some R & R & W (Rest, Relaxation and Wine.) But now your stay can be up close and personal at designated wineries and breweries across the country.

A growing number of agritourism businesses now offer RVer’s a chance to camp at their sites for up to 24 hours at no charge.

In return, it is hoped that RV travelers will visit the wineries, breweries, farms, orchards, and ranches to experience and enjoy what their hosts have to offer. 

Many wineries offer free tours of their facilities and a wine tasting to their RV visitors.  Animal ranches and farms may offer a chance to see the animals up close and purchase food and products made directly on the farm.  There is no obligation for an RV visitor to purchase anything while staying there, although buying a bottle of local wine to enjoy while watching the moon rise over the vineyard is a nice token of appreciation to your hosts.

If you prefer an RV Park with hookups and amenities, there are several located near wineries that charge a daily rate for parking, and some have extra wine-related perks.

Here are six places to check out for a wine country getaway in your motorhome this summer:

 

1) Harvest Hosts www.harvesthosts.com      

(Free Camping/Annual Membership Charge)

Started in 2010 by Don and Kim Greene, Harvest Hosts is the first membership program for wine-loving RVers. For a $40 membership fee per year, campers will receive unlimited access to the member website which provides maps, host locator, travel itinerary ideas, latest updates and host directory. The directory is a downloadable list of agritourism sites that allow self-contained RVs to park and stay. (Self-contained means that your camper has a toilet and built-in holding tanks for waste water.) Host sites are not normal campgrounds and do not provide water, electric, restrooms, trash or sewer facilities, but most will provide you with memories you wouldn’t get at a regular campsite. 

2) Wine Country RV Park      www.winecountryrvpark.com

(Daily Rates for Parking)

Located in the Lower Yakima Valley of Washington State’s Wine Country, Wine Country RV Park actually provides the parking site for your RV, with amenities, all within walking distance of 13 tasting rooms, and another 23 wineries are within easy driving distance. The park can accommodate different kinds of rigs and 125 sites are equipped with full hookups, a picnic table and WiFi. Daily rates run from $34 to $56 depending on the size of your rig. Discounts are available for Good Sam, Escapees RV Club and AAA. Located in the town of Prosser, there are also two local breweries and a walking/bike trail to burn off some of those calories.

3) Wine Country RV Park Sonoma www.winecountryrvparksonoma.com

(Daily Rates for Parking)

Sonoma is home to over 400 wineries, and Wine Country RV Park Sonoma will put you in close proximity to many of them. Located in Santa Rosa, California, the Russian River Valley is home to 25 outstanding wineries.  With over 150 full-hookup sites, the 5.5 acre park is located in the heart of Sonoma's Wine Country. All sites include water, sewer, electric, cable and WiFi for $49 per day. Weekly and monthly rates are available along with discounts for Good Sam, AAA, and seniors.

4) Vineyard RV Park     www.vineyardrvpark.com

(Daily Rates for Parking)

This campground is in Vascaville, California and located near Napa Valley; home to over 400 wineries. Amenities include full hookups, cable, WiFi, a catch and release pond, laundry facilities and a pool. Daily rates range from $52 to $55 with Good Sam, AAA and active military discounts available. Weekly and monthly rates are also available. No RV? No Problem! You can rent an RV here to stay in.

5) The Vineyards Campground and Cabins on Grapevine Lake

 (Daily Rates for Parking)                    www.vineyardscampground.com

Located in Grapevine, Texas, this 52-acre award-winning RV Park is close to five local wineries; all located on the Grapevine Wine Trail.

The park has over 90 full hookup RV sites with WiFi, located on or near the lake, with or without trees. There is a nature trail, and fishing and paddling are allowed on the lake. Rates are from $48 to $68 a day depending on whether you have a pull through or a back-in site. Discounts include Good Sam and TACO (Texas Campgrounds.)

6) Texas Wine Country Jellystone Park www.twcjellystone.com

(Daily Rates for Parking)

Located outside of Fredericksburg, Texas, this RV Park is on Highway 290 in the heart of Texas Wine Country and close to 12 wineries. Another 30 wineries are scattered around the area. This is definitely a park for families with kids. Amenities include full hookup sites, WiFi and cable, plus a pool, hot tub and amphitheatre. Twenty-four RV sites are located in the park with daily rates ranging from $58 to $70 depending on where you've parked.

If you’re an RV owner and a wine lover, then it’s time to head out to a vino-centric RV destination and enjoy camping and wine with like-minded oenophiles around the country.

~ Joy