by stambrose | Dec 14, 2016 | Wine
You may have heard about the new discount in the tasting room. If you haven’t, get ready: you get 10% off (and a free travel wine key) if you buy six bottles of our wine! Armed with that info, it’s time to prepare for the holiday season. You’ve got parties to attend, gifts to give, and then more parties to attend. You need to bring something, or give something, for all these events. We all know wine is the best gift – and this six pack of wine is going to cover all your bases. Let’s dive in on another #WineWednesday …
Christmas Parties
You’re heading to a Christmas party, and you know someone is making dinner. The menu at these things can be all over the place, and you want to bring a bottle of wine. How to prepare? Take one red, and one white, of our best food-pairing bottles. These two wines will hold their own against all the sumptuous flavors you encounter this holiday season.
Syrah – which we talked about last week – is a bold red that works well with the hearty meals we often eat during the winter months.
Our Vin Gris is one of our most popular white wines, and it’s exceptional for pairing with food. You can’t go wrong with each other choice, and they’ll both be welcome at any table you head to this winter.
Gift Giving
Tell someone you love how special they are with a nice bottle of wine. Simple, classic, and elegant, wine is a great gift idea. Really, it’s great anytime.
The two bottles we’ve selected here are excellent gifting bottles. Our Late Harvest Riesling is a sweet, unique taste of Northern Michigan that will make a stellar addition to anyone’s cellar. On the red side, our classic Cottage Red is a table red wine that is at home in any setting.
Ring in the New Year
You’ll be the life of the party if you show up with our New Year wines. First, we’ve got our 2013 Pinot Noir – a traditional red wine that’ll be great for getting the festivities warmed up. For the later evening, we’ve got our exquisite Royal Reserve. This dessert mead has a rich, sweet flavor that pairs well with a New Year’s cigar, or some delectable chocolates.
by stambrose | Mar 31, 2016 | Live Music, Wine
This Friday at St Ambrose will feature two hot dishes~ one is our returning musical guests, Saldaje, the “darkest ukulele band in Northern Michigan”. Saldaje is comprised of two talented artisans, Melonie Steffes & Shaun Anchak, whose self described style is “New Old World, Apocalyptic Folk, Cabaret”, and what we like to call too good to miss! With influences like Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave, Suzanne Vega and Nina Simone, this duo call us out from the cobwebs of winter and thrust us into this vernal season with their contradictory dualities; dark and ethereal, sinewy yet robust.
We’ve also recently released our 2014 Late Harvest Riesling, and on Friday, April 1st, we will be pouring it alongside its cousins; a treasure trove of our Riesling Reserves, for our Friday Night Flights of Fancy. Paired with a delicious oblation of goat cheese and an impressive balsamic, strawberry & riesling relish for $12, the flight features this Late Harvest from 2014 as well as the 2011, 2012 & 2013 Riesling Reserves. Our newest vintage combines a stunning floral, fruit forward crispness with finishing notes of citrus for a beautiful late harvest wine we think you’ll want to savor as much as we do.
Plus, if you come in for music on Friday you’ll get to elect the next president! (April Fools)… But we do guarantee you a place of refuge from endless political commercials. You can say that twice and mean it!
by stambrose | Mar 18, 2016 | Wine
In honor of the sweetness of spring, we have a nectarous treat now available here in the tasting room. It pairs so nicely with our range of Rieslings that you can get this deliciousness alongside a flight of all four for $12.
As our menu expands, it was time to add a little sweet to all our savory options. This feature includes decadent chocolate glazed pretzels served alongside a rich and creamy spreadable coconut and rosewater aperitif, sprinkled with pistachios, dried cherries & sunflower seeds.
Our flight of Rieslings include our 2011, ’12 & ‘13 Riesling Reserve(s) and our Late Harvest Riesling from 2013. We are especially proud of these noble wines because the grapes were all grown for us right here in our beloved Benzie County.
Our 2011 & 2012 Riesling Reserve & Our 2013 Late Harvest Riesling were produced from Evans Bros Block II Vineyards and our 2013 Riesling Reserve grapes come from the Schutzki Family at Daddy Long Legs Vineyards.
Evan’s Bros, out in Joyfield Township, come from a long line of farmers in our county’s most well-known farming district. Five generations of their family have tended to their land and fruit crops and have helped us produce a world class wine.
Daddy Long Legs Vineyard is the result of hard work, focus and deep pride. The Schutzki family all tend devotedly to their horticultural crops just down the road from St Ambrose.
It is a privilege to partner with these two family farms to produce these delicious wines, which vary greatly in taste despite being the same grape. We love the subtle nuances that a grape can pick up from different season and harvesting times. That’s why we make wine.
You’ll notice the 2011 Riesling Reserve is quite dry but packs a punch with notes of citrus and traditional Riesling flavors. The growing season in 2012 was quite warm, and thus allowed us to extend the growing season and pick fully ripened fruit, so our 2012 Riesling Reserve is much sweeter, but with just enough acidity to provide structure to this perfectly balanced wine.
Our 2013 Riesling Reserve was fermented in Hungarian Oak barrels, which added complexity and structure to the cluster pressed fruit, and the 2013 Late Harvest Riesling takes its rich sweet flavor from allowing the grapes to mature on the vine, concentrating the flavors.
Come see for yourself how the chocolate with coconut cream just melt in your mouth, paired with these beautiful wine selections.
