Experiments in wine blending
Tuesday | 23 June 2009 | Ashland Daily Tidings
By Vickie Aldous
Ashland restaurant and bar, vineyard in Jacksonville to host unique event
Diners will be able to mix wines together to make their own blends during an unusual event at Tease Restaurant & Bar in Ashland.
Tease has teamed up with Cowhorn Vineyard & Garden of Jacksonville for a dinner and wine-blending experiment that begins at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the restaurant, which is located downtown on the corner of Second and East Main streets.
The dinner will begin with three courses paired with Cowhorn's Rhone varietals — Voignier, Roussane and Marsanne/Rousanne, said Tease Co-owner Julie O'Dwyer.
Bill and Barbara Steel, co-owners of Cowhorn, will talk about blends and then give diners a chance to create their own.
After the experimenting, diners will have their fourth course and taste Cowhorn's newly released 2008 Rhone blend, O'Dwyer said.
"People are excited to try it themselves," said O'Dwyer, noting that 20 people had already signed up for the dinner as of Friday. "I think what will be interesting is that it's not necessarily an opportunity to go home and make your own blends, but it is an opportunity to see what a winemaker is trying to do, what they are trying to taste in the different wines and how to blend those together."
She said that wine blends are becoming more popular and people want to find out more about them.
Bill Steel said that, at Cowhorn, Barbara Steel makes up various blends, then another person assigns numbers to the blends to create a blind taste test. They go through the wines, tasting and ranking them. At the end, they open up the key that reveals the blends to see which one wins.
Bill Steel said he is looking forward to seeing the diners at Tease make their own blends.
"Barbara came up with the idea. We have a fair amount of fun blending wine together. Why wouldn't we let the consumer do the same thing? The goal is to let the patron have a little fun with wine. Wine is supposed to be fun, enjoyable and really interactive," he said.
Although the two are open to letting consumers play with their wines, that doesn't mean that blending isn't a precise mix of art and science.
Cowhorn's Marsanne/Roussanne blend, for example, is 77 percent Marsanne and 23 percent Roussane, Bill Steel said.
He said he doesn't think there are any secrets to wine blending, although having a good palette helps.
As far as what could go wrong if an average person blends wine, Bill Steel said winemakers know that consumers are already doing all kinds of things at home with wine — including adding seltzer water or 7-Up.
He said he is not only looking forward to what the diners create, but seeing their reactions to each other's blends and the new Rhone blend from Cowhorn.
"Finding out what the consumer likes makes a tremendous amount of sense," he said, pointing out that all types of industries test products in focus groups. "Why would wine be that radically different? I'm excited about this chance to get some feedback."
Nichole Lamb, the manager of the Enoteca by Edenvale wine bar and shop on Ashland's downtown plaza, said a consumer could make costly errors trying to mix wine together at home and could end up with a blend that is flat, bitter or has other bad attributes.
"I would never, ever recommend it. It's such an art. The true art of wine-making is to blend," she said.
However, Lamb said the diners at the Tease event might have better luck after getting some guidance from the Cowhorn winemakers.
"It would be a disaster if it were just a free-for-all. If Cowhorn is there to direct them, they can show them how to make a delicious blend. Maybe they will see how hard it is," she said.
O'Dwyer, the co-owner of Tease, said the results of the experiments should be interesting, no matter how they turn out.
"I'm really looking forward to there being some failures. Let people try it. They can ask, 'Does my combination taste good, or does their combination taste good?' People learn from their mistakes — and here's a great opportunity to learn," she said.
The cost of the four-course dinner with wine pairings, wine blending and dessert is $65 per person. For reservations, call 488-1458 or send an e-mail to reservations@teaserestaurant.net.
For more information about Tease, including information about a five-course dinner on June 28 featuring coffee used in new ways with descriptions by Trey Hansen and Jared Rennie of Noble Coffee in Ashland, visit www.teaserestaurant.net.
For more information about Cowhorn Vineyard & Garden, which also grows asparagus, artichokes, cherries and hazelnuts in a certified organic and biodynamic way, visit www.cowhornwine.com.
Staff writer Vickie Aldous can be reached at 479-8199 or vlaldous@yahoo.com.
Diners will be able to mix wines together to make their own blends during an unusual event at Tease Restaurant & Bar in Ashland.
Tease has teamed up with Cowhorn Vineyard & Garden of Jacksonville for a dinner and wine-blending experiment that begins at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the restaurant, which is located downtown on the corner of Second and East Main streets.
The dinner will begin with three courses paired with Cowhorn's Rhone varietals — Voignier, Roussane and Marsanne/Rousanne, said Tease Co-owner Julie O'Dwyer.
Bill and Barbara Steel, co-owners of Cowhorn, will talk about blends and then give diners a chance to create their own.
After the experimenting, diners will have their fourth course and taste Cowhorn's newly released 2008 Rhone blend, O'Dwyer said.
"People are excited to try it themselves," said O'Dwyer, noting that 20 people had already signed up for the dinner as of Friday. "I think what will be interesting is that it's not necessarily an opportunity to go home and make your own blends, but it is an opportunity to see what a winemaker is trying to do, what they are trying to taste in the different wines and how to blend those together."
She said that wine blends are becoming more popular and people want to find out more about them.
Bill Steel said that, at Cowhorn, Barbara Steel makes up various blends, then another person assigns numbers to the blends to create a blind taste test. They go through the wines, tasting and ranking them. At the end, they open up the key that reveals the blends to see which one wins.
Bill Steel said he is looking forward to seeing the diners at Tease make their own blends.
"Barbara came up with the idea. We have a fair amount of fun blending wine together. Why wouldn't we let the consumer do the same thing? The goal is to let the patron have a little fun with wine. Wine is supposed to be fun, enjoyable and really interactive," he said.
Although the two are open to letting consumers play with their wines, that doesn't mean that blending isn't a precise mix of art and science.
Cowhorn's Marsanne/Roussanne blend, for example, is 77 percent Marsanne and 23 percent Roussane, Bill Steel said.
He said he doesn't think there are any secrets to wine blending, although having a good palette helps.
As far as what could go wrong if an average person blends wine, Bill Steel said winemakers know that consumers are already doing all kinds of things at home with wine — including adding seltzer water or 7-Up.
He said he is not only looking forward to what the diners create, but seeing their reactions to each other's blends and the new Rhone blend from Cowhorn.
"Finding out what the consumer likes makes a tremendous amount of sense," he said, pointing out that all types of industries test products in focus groups. "Why would wine be that radically different? I'm excited about this chance to get some feedback."
Nichole Lamb, the manager of the Enoteca by Edenvale wine bar and shop on Ashland's downtown plaza, said a consumer could make costly errors trying to mix wine together at home and could end up with a blend that is flat, bitter or has other bad attributes.
"I would never, ever recommend it. It's such an art. The true art of wine-making is to blend," she said.
However, Lamb said the diners at the Tease event might have better luck after getting some guidance from the Cowhorn winemakers.
"It would be a disaster if it were just a free-for-all. If Cowhorn is there to direct them, they can show them how to make a delicious blend. Maybe they will see how hard it is," she said.
O'Dwyer, the co-owner of Tease, said the results of the experiments should be interesting, no matter how they turn out.
"I'm really looking forward to there being some failures. Let people try it. They can ask, 'Does my combination taste good, or does their combination taste good?' People learn from their mistakes — and here's a great opportunity to learn," she said.
The cost of the four-course dinner with wine pairings, wine blending and dessert is $65 per person. For reservations, call 488-1458 or send an e-mail to reservations@teaserestaurant.net.
For more information about Tease, including information about a five-course dinner on June 28 featuring coffee used in new ways with descriptions by Trey Hansen and Jared Rennie of Noble Coffee in Ashland, visit www.teaserestaurant.net.
For more information about Cowhorn Vineyard & Garden, which also grows asparagus, artichokes, cherries and hazelnuts in a certified organic and biodynamic way, visit www.cowhornwine.com.
Staff writer Vickie Aldous can be reached at 479-8199 or vlaldous@yahoo.com.