TRAVESSIA Winery Blog

One stage at a time

Have you been following the Tour de France?  I have and I’m surprised as to how much I’ve enjoyed it.  I don’t fully understand all the tactics and unwritten rules that seem to play such an important role in the race.  Lance has no chance to win the Tour this time but it’s still quite impressive that he’s even able to compete at the highest level of his sport after being out for 4 years.

But I’m not following the Tour just because of Lance Armstrong.  I’m following because I’m captivated by the tolerance for pain that these cyclists are able to sustain, day after day for three weeks.  And I haven't decided what is more impressive... the uphill grind or the downhill speed.

From the interviews, most of these cyclists seem like pretty humble guys.  Most of them really dream of winning just a single stage not the entire race.  Most are just happy to reach the finish line in Paris.  The few who aspire to win the Tour seem to take a stage at a time, slowly reaching to their goal.

This week Travessia reaches an important stage in its 7-month old life.  We are having our very first Wine Club Day.  On Saturday, July 25th, our wine club members are invited to come to the winery for a Members Only event.  They will be picking up their very first wine club package which includes 3 wines and a few other goodies.

It’s been a lot of work to put this wine club together.  One of the biggest difficulties we have faced is the fact that most people around here (and by that I mean a wide area, not just New Bedford), aren’t familiar with how wine clubs work.  Well over 90% of Travessia Wine Club members have never been members of any wine club.  So, explaining how a wine club works has been a challenge.  Despite this, we have over 100 members in the club which far exceeds my expectations at this point.

If you are interested in joining, you can do it at the winery or via the Travessia website.   If you like our wines and think that you could drink three bottles of Travessia wine in the span of three months… what are you waiting for?

Sparkling Matters

With the Celtics beating of the LA Lakers in the NBA finals, there is no doubt that Boston is the #1 sports city in the world right now.  Over the past few years all of its professional sports teams (all but the Boston Bruins) have reached the finals in their respective leagues and in most cases won it all.  So it's natural that plenty of “Champagne” is being poured not only in locker rooms but all over town.  The Boston Three Party was finally able to pop the Champagne last night, but I wonder how much the three amigos really know about the bubbly stuff.

Technically and legally, “Champagne” is NOT a type of wine, it's a region of France.  The wine itself is called “Sparkling” in English, “Espumante” in Portuguese, “Spumante” in Italian, etc.  So, when you buy a bottle of “Champagne” you are buying a sparkling wine specifically made from grapes grown in the “Champagne” region of France.

There are three main methods used in the production of sparkling wine. The first is simple injection of CO2 just like it is done for soft drinks, but this produces big bubbles that dissipate quickly in the glass.  The second is called the Charmat process in which the wine undergoes a secondary fermentation in bulk tanks and is bottled under pressure. This method is used mostly for Italian sparkling wines and produces smaller, longer-lasting bubbles.  The third and most expensive method is the traditional method or Méthode Champenoise.  With this method the bubbles are produced by secondary fermentation in the bottle - very labor intensive and time consuming.  This third method usually results in a much more complex wine and also higher price.
 
Champagne is typically made from three grape varietals:  Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.  Sparkling wines can be made from any grape varietals and in fact Australia has become known for making some interesting sparkling wines with the Syrah grape.  You can drink Champagne or Sparkling wine anytime, not just on New Year’s Eve or when your favorite team wins a title.  Don't just take my word for it.
 
I still don't know why is it that every champion must proclaim his or her status by quaffing this stuff.  Or for that matter... why is it that we celebrate a New Year and other special events with this type of wine?  Anyone out there know why?

Go Pats!

I came to America in 1990.  The New England Patriots sucked.  They finished the 1990 season with a record of one win and fifteen losses.  They were so bad that tickets would not sell out and as a result their games were rarely televised due to the local TV blackouts.  I learned the rules of the game that was so violently portrayed in the European media by watching Dan Marino and the Miami Dolphins instead.

Have times changed… this season it was Miami who finished 1-15 and the Patriots accomplished a 16-0 season for the first time ever in NFL history.  A 16-0 that the football expert that I am predicted back in the middle of September just after their second game of the season.  I’m not one to gamble on things I have no control over but after the Patriots and Bill Belichick were found to be braking the rules against Gary V’s Jets it was easy to see that a team which was already stacked with great talent and experience would just take it to another level.  It was an easy bet to make, and oh by the way Rajat and Paul… time to pay up... where’s that bottle of wine you promised?  So, in just a few years the New England Patriots went from an horrible team and big underdogs to multiple titles and the most hated team in the country.  I love it! 

If Tom Brady leads his team to their fourth NFL Super Bowl title this coming Sunday against the New York Giants, the comparison to the great Joe Montana who won four NFL rings will be inevitable.  If I had a vote in selecting the best quarterback to ever play the game it wouldn’t be a slam dunk for Brady just yet.  See, Joe Montana has an extra credit in my book... a wine.  A few years ago Montana agreed to partner with Beringer Vineyards and created the Montagia label, a Cabernet Sauvignon-based wine that the Montana family uses primarily for charitable causes.  The 2001 and 2002 vintages sell for $80 a bottle.

Now, keeping the trend of not being surrounded by super stars (at least not until this season), in case Brady ever wants to launch his wine brand he should not use grapes from Napa Valley’s renowned Howell Mountain region like Montana does, nor should he partner with an experience winemaker or a winemaking family with a legacy that goes back to the 19th century.  He should instead build something from the ground up right here in the Southeastern New England AVA and work with an inexperienced winemaker like… ummm let me think… maybe me?  Then he’ll for sure have my vote for the best quarterback EVA.