February- So much to do…so little time!

Post by Jessika Hane, Human Resources Director

Wow! January just flew by and my to do list didn’t get any shorter. I am excited that February is here because it brings with it so many reasons to celebrate- Valentine’s Day, Groundhog’s Day*, President’s Day and a whole list of wonderfully wacky holidays like Plum Pudding Day, White T-shirt Day and Hoodie Hoo Day. And it means spring is getting closer!!

If you are looking for some fun ways to while away the cold and chilly February evenings, allow me to offer a few suggestions. This is a list of some of the events that Oliver Winery is sponsoring and supporting in Indiana this month.

WFYI Wine Fest- Friday February 4th, 2011
6-9pm  Indiana Roof Ballroom, Indianapolis

Join WFYI for an elegant evening of fine wine tasting. Taste wines from around the world and from your own backyard! Many Indiana wineries will be there to showcase their best wines. Event and ticket information can be found here.

Wine Tasting Getaway at the Canyon Inn at McCormick’s Creek State Park
Saturday, February 5, 2011

This Canyon Inn Getaway includes Oliver Winery wine tasting, dinner and breakfast on Sunday and accommodations for two at the Canyon Inn at McCormick’s Creek State Park. Please join us for this elegant evening of excellent wine, cuisine and fun. Wine tasting starts at 6:30pm and dinner starts at 7:30pm. Hurry, tickets sell out quickly! For additional information, please call 877-922-6966.

Bloomington Playwrights Project- Kissing Frogs
Oliver Wine Tasting- Prior to the Saturday February 5th performance
Show dates- February 4-6, 10-12, 17-19 2011

If you haven’t purchased your tickets for this brand new musical, you had better hurry. Opening night is already sold out! This show is a collaboration of two IU alumni (Nicole Parker and Jeremy Schonfeld). Read all about it here.

Cardinal Stage Company’s Lovebird Sóiree
Saturday, February 12, 2011  5:00-8:00pm

Celebrate Valentine’s Day with your friends at Cardinal Stage! Enjoy dinner, Oliver wine, live jazz, dancing lessons and a silent auction during the evening. Bring your date, friends and coworkers to celebrate together. The event will be held at Cardinal’s new office building, guests will be dining, drinking and dancing in the wonderful new rehearsal space. Tickets are $40 and can be purchased here.

Indiana Uplands Wine Trail- Chocolate Lover’s Weekend
February 12-13, 2011 and February 19-20, 2011 (Oliver Winery and all wine trail wineries)

Visit each winery on the trail and enjoy complimentary chocolates paired with wines. Wine and chocolate, it’s the perfect combination! Each winery will offer a unique treat. What a fun way to spend the weekend! Click here for more details or for other Uplands wineries hours of operation.

Hoosier Hills Soup Bowl- Sunday, February 20, 2011
5pm Bloomington Convention Center

Join Hoosier Hills Foodbank as they host their 16th Annual Soup Bowl Benefit featuring handmade pottery bowls from over 30 local artisans, an extraordinary array of soups from two dozen restaurants and bread from local bakers. Oliver Winery will help you select the right glass of wine to pair with your soup. Warm up your body and soul on a chilly February evening at the Soup Bowl. All proceeds benefit Hoosier Hills Foodbank. Tickets can be purchased at all Bloomingfoods locations. More information can be found here.

I hope you have a wonderful February. If you attend one (or more) of these fabulous events, please stop by and say hello, or post a comment to our blog. We LOVE comments.

* Did you know that a Groundhog is also known as a Whistlepig? According to Wikipedia, a groundhog is sometimes called a whistlepig because of the high-pitched whistle they use to communicate danger to other members of their colony.  I can’t remember where I learned that little bit of trivia, but it makes me laugh every time I think of it.  I’m chuckling right now, as I type this. Happy Whistlepig Day on Wednesday. Here’s hoping for an early spring!

Sparkling Catawba- a labor of love!

Post by Bernie Parker, Vineyard Manager

Sparkling Catawba is a labor of love, and I do mean labor.  As you may remember, our sparkling wine making process is very hands on. The same holds true for our special (and super popular) Sparkling Catawba. After the wine is made, we bottle it and add yeast in order to do a secondary fermentation in the bottle, which can take up to 6 months or more to finish. This is the traditional French method of champagne making.

From disgorging to adding the dosage, everything is done by hand.

 

Members of the sparkling "crew" dry off bottles prior to labeling. How cute are they?

 

John, a member of our vineyard crew, installs the cork.

Justin Lovell, our Assistant Vineyard Manager, twists the wire cage into place.

The bottles are then cleaned, inspected, and placed back into the boxes by Ralph Keith (landscape crew)  to warm up to room temperature in order for us to apply the labels and foil.

I hope you enjoy the fruits of our labor, while it lasts.  The 2008 vintage of 110 cases sold out in less than a month and the 63 cases (out of a total 320 cases) of  2009 vintage we disgorged before Christmas sold out in one week. Our most recent “batch” of the 2009, disgorged last week, should sell out soon. Order it here or come and visit the Tasting Room.

Cheers from the Sparkling crew!

Garden Update-Early freeze forces creative bulb planting strategy

Post by Marian Keith, Landscape Supervisor

The spring bulb display at Oliver Winery this 2011 promises to be spectacular, with 44 tulip varieties and several new types of narcissus, muscari, allium and frittilaria, comprising a total of 4450 bulbs. Typically, we are still wrapping up our planting through the first couple weeks of December. But winter arrived uncharacteristically early following Thanksgiving, with snow and continuous sub-freezing temperatures cutting our plans short. We were also a little more behind than usual due to all the extra time spent watering during the long fall drought. Regardless, my assistant Ralph and I were on a nice roll of speed planting by the middle of November, and had half the bulbs in the ground before the Arctic Blast hit. By early December, the ground was covered with snow and frozen solid as a rock. Extended forecasts showed no signs of thawing in the near future. What to do?

Potted bulbs rest beneath a blanket of mulch and black plastic.

We finally resorted to planting the rest of the bulbs in plastic nursery pots, 5-6 to a container. They were then watered, stacked on pallets and allowed to sit in our cool but above-freezing Service Building for two weeks in order to begin forming roots, which they did beautifully. Following this, the pallets were moved outdoors and placed against the thick, east-facing retaining wall where our mulch is usually kept. They were then covered with black plastic sheeting and surrounded with a thick wall of mulch. This should give the bulbs sufficient protection from excessive moisture and temperature fluctuations while also allowing them the cold period they require in order to bloom in the spring. If all goes well, they will be transplanted to their designated beds when the ground thaws in March. In the future, pains will be taken to make sure everything is planted by the end of November!

Tulips 'Orca', 'Spring Green' and 'Banja Luka' in spring of 2005

On a smaller scale, we have had success in the past using a modified version of the above technique, heeling pots of bulbs into the ground against the east side of a building where the overhanging eaves afford protection against excessive moisture. These have been used to fill the colorful planter barrels that decorate the exterior of the Tasting Room in spring. It has not worked for us to simply plant the bulbs in the barrels in fall and leave them exposed to the weather, as it tends to result in rotting and poor flowering.

A pot of brilliant 'Banja Luka' tulips

Our many glazed, ceramic pots are planted up in fall, watered lightly, and placed in an unheated storage shed for the winter. Again, this gives them the cold they need while protecting from extremes that can cause cracked pots and bulb failure. When taken out, watered and placed in a sunny location in March, the potted bulbs take off wonderfully. This method was suggested to me by our own Tasting Room staff member, Julie J, who puts her own potted bulbs in an unheated garage to overwinter. Thanks, Julie!

Tulips 'Juan' and 'Professor Rontgen' brighten spring containers

Prime flowering time for spring bulbs should peak in early through mid-April. Please make sure to stop by, sip a glass of wine and enjoy the fruits of our labors!

Narcissus 'Quail' and tulip 'Black Parrot' shine in early May

New Year’s Resolutions

 

Post by Bill Oliver, Director of Winemaking

Three Resolutions for Winemakers in 2011

1. Spend more time in the vineyard. In fact, winemakers should resolve to actually CAMP in the vineyard, preferably without a tent on a moonless night. This would be an excellent way to bond with the vines and to better understand terroir. Repeated camp-outs could be necessary if one overnight fails to deliver the desired harmony with the vines.
2. Relax. Stop stressing about grape parameters, fermentation harmonics and label deliveries. Developing wine is sensitive and cannot reach its full potnetial in a cellar full of worry.
3. Cook. While this may not go over well with Oliver Winery’s capable financial controller, we should immediately install a full professional kitchen in the offices shared by the winemaking staff. How can we be expected to fully appreciate our wines without thoughtfully prepared foods to accompany them? We may need a chef as well.

Three Resolutions for Wine Drinkers in 2011

1. Free yourself from the bonds of Vitis Vinifera tyranny: European varieties make wonderful wines, but so does Vitis Rotundifolia, Vitis Deliciosis and Interspecific varities. Go ahead, blind taste test Creekbend Chardonel against a French or California Chardonnay. Just a friendly challenge. Please email us with your findings.
2. Drink WUP: Wine from Unique Places. Great wine is made in lots of places- Idaho, Colorado, Missouri and yes, Indiana. Have a WUP party at your home. Please invite me.
3. Entertain more. My parents had dinner parties seemingly every week when I was a kid! Has this gone out of style? Spending too much time hauling your kinds to sports practices? Less soccer, more barbeques!

Happy New Year!