There is always time for shrimp!

Post by Pam Bonin, Marketing Manager

“Moscato March.” This exciting month has almost come to an end, but there is still time for one last recipe. We give you… Moscato Marmalade Shrimp!

Once upon a time, we had a talented tasting room staff member that had her own personal chef business.  She loved to cook and she loved Oliver wine, and even better she loved to cook with Oliver wine.  Over the years she would create wonderful concoctions using our wines.  The sad day came, when she and her family relocated a few states away.  We all miss her dearly, but because of the world wide web, she is not too far away.  She has agreed to continue to create her delicious dishes for us to share with you.  So keep an eye out for more recipes from Heidi.

In celebration of Moscato March, here is a wonderful recipe that highlights the citrusy sweetness of our Moscato.  It is super easy and a really great dish.

I added a little bit of orange juice to my couscous to freshen it up a bit.  If you are a recipe improviser, add some fresh vegetables to the sauté for a little extra color.  Enjoy!

Moscato Marmalade Shrimp

The perfect marriage of citrus and sweetness. Serve alongside fresh salad greens and a glass of Oliver Moscato.

• 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• ½ cup Moscato
• 1 ½ Tbs orange marmalade
• thinly sliced scallions (garnish)

Marinade:
• 2 Tbs soy sauce
• 1 Tbs orange juice
• 2 Tbs Moscato
• 1 Tbs Hoisin sauce
• 1 ½ tsp Dijon mustard

Combine marinade ingredients and transfer to large zip-top bag.  Add shrimp and marinade for about 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Heat 1 Tbs oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Remove shrimp from marinade, reserving 1 Tbs marinade.  Sauté shrimp for about 3-4 minutes, just until cooked through.  Remove shrimp from pan.   Add 1/2 cup wine, marmalade, and 1 Tbs reserved marinade.  Increase heat, bring sauce to a boil, simmer and reduce until liquid is about half and sauce starts to thicken slightly.  Return shrimp to pan and heat through.

Garnish with sliced scallions and serve with steamed rice or couscous.

Hug your Indiana Farmer Friends!

Post by Pam Bonin, Marketing Manager

March is Agriculture Appreciation Month in Indiana.

Indiana wineries are the leading agri-tourism destination in the state of Indiana, attracting over 2 million visitors each year.  With over 600 acres of grapes growing in the state, viticulture in Indiana is a growing and vital part of Indiana’s agriculture landscape. A special thanks goes out to Jeanette Merritt of the Indiana Wine Grape Council for her hard work and dedication in promoting Indiana’s wineries. We truly appreciate all of the support from our neighbors and friends.

So help celebrate Agriculture Appreciation Month! May we suggest a few ideas:

• Purchase Indiana wine, beer, fruits, vegetables, flowers or meat from a farmers market, local store, local restaurant or local winery.
• Tour an Indiana farm.
• Hug your favorite Indiana farmer.  They deserve a little extra love this month.  We did….

The following websites are great resources for finding Indiana farms and farmer’s markets.

• Going Local
• Local Grower’s Guild

Hug a farmer! Celebrate Agriculture Appreciation Month and the arrival of spring! Cheers!!

Oak Ovals-The King of Wine Barrels

Post by John Metzcar, Assistant Winemaker

We just finished putting the last of our 2010 dry reds into barrels for aging and maturation.  This year, in addition to our typical barrel aging program, we began an experiment with large barrels…very large barrels.  We will be aging our 2010 Zinfandel and 2010 Merlot in beautiful, handmade, 1585 gallon French oak barrels (or ovals as we like to call them).

We have two of these oak ovals. They live in our cellar and can be seen on our weekend tours.

 

Now, why would you want to deal with these behemoth barrels/ovals?  Well, there are  a couple of reasons.

First, wines age differently in different sized containers – merlot in a 60 gallon barrel will age differently than in a 70 gallon barrel, which will age differently than in a 1585 gallon oak oval.  Our hope is that these large format barrels will develop tannins more slowly and give us something slightly different than maturation in a 70 gallon barrel.  Thus, the oak ovals will provide a new tool for our red wine program.

Second, it really changes our barrel management strategy for the Zin and Merlot.  Our oak ovals are the equivalent volume to almost 23 of our more typical 70 gallon oak barrels.  Instead of tracking, tasting, and topping 23 barrels, we can keep our focus on one tank of wine for the whole aging process.

A regular 70 gallon barrel looks tiny compared to the oak oval.

 

Finally, they are just great to look at!

So beautiful!