Every good Northern Michigan resident has their favorite secret beach – a spot they can go to relax and enjoy some peace around the big water that surrounds us.
We strongly believe everyone needs a secret beach to call their own, to escape from the day to day grind, and that’s why we bottled one for you. We give you … 2016 Secret Beach – our table white wine blend that has finally returned to the tasting room and a store shelf near you.
One of our most popular wines, Secret Beach is a tropical delight of flavors. This year our blend is 65% Vignoles, 31% Riesling, and 4% Muscat Ottonel. You’re probably familiar with vignoles and riesling, and also (if you’re anything like me) shaking your head at muscat ottonel.
What is Muscat Ottonel?
Let’s head to the ever-helpful Wikipedia:
Muscat Ottonel is a white wine grape variety that is a member of the Muscat family of Vitis vinifera. It is most notable for its use in dessert wines from Austria, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and Serbia as well as dry wines from Alsace and Hungary. In Alsace, the varietal designation Muscat d’Alsace is allowed for the varieties Muscat Ottonel, Muscat blanc à petit grains and Muscat rose à petit grains blended in any combination -or not- (but not for other members of the Muscat family), and blends between these are not allowed for most Alsace Grands Crus.
First cultivated in Alsace by the Loire grower Moreau-Robert in 1852, Muscat Ottonel is believed to be a cross of Chasselas with Muscat de Saumur(which was originally given as “Muscat d’Eisenstadt”).
That clears it up, right?
The Flavor of Secret Beach
Secret Beach is a jubilee of tropical fruit flavors. You’ll notice hints of peach, pear, passion fruit, and pineapple in your glass. You can also pick up just a hint of coconut. It’s a light body wine, with bright acidity, and 10% alcohol by volume.
The Stats
Harvest Date: October 2016 Brix @ Harvest: 20.8* pH: 2.9 Blend: 65% Vignoles, 31% Riesling, 4% Muscat Ottonel ABV: 10% Residual Sugar: 3.6% TA: 10.6 g/L Fermentation: Stainless Steel Level of Acidity: High Tannin Level: Low Oak Level: None Ageability: Short-Medium (2 years) Bottling Date: 3-1-2017 Vineyard: Daddy Long Legs, Benzie Co. Winemaker: Michael Altesleben
Food Pairings
We recommend a tropical flair to go with Secret Beach. Some ideas include coconut shrimp, a jerk-seasoning (perhaps on some chicken), or a dessert with tropical fruits. For cheese, go with vlaskaas or cow milk gouda.
Find Your Secret Beach
You can get Secret Beach in our tasting room, in our web store, or request it at your favorite local wine shop.
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.
Winter is a time for hearty meals. Comfort foods take center stage at family gatherings and keep us nice and cozy on snowy, cold nights. When you’ve got a big and beefy dinner in the oven, which bottle of wine do you reach for? Well, you might consider our 2012 Syrah. A staff favorite, Syrah has a bold taste that’s strong enough to stand up to the heartiest of dinners without overpowering your food. Famously good with lamb, sausages, and other meats, Syrah is a red wine that can fit in with almost any menu you’ll encounter this holiday season.
What is Syrah?
Syrah is a dark, dry red wine – one of the darkest you’ll find – with a big, full-bodied taste. New World Syrah, such as those grown here in the US, have a more fruit-forward taste and spice than their Old World counterparts.
Our Syrah features a bold blackberry taste, with hints of black pepper and eucalyptus characteristics. The excellent acid balance in our 2012 Syrah makes it a great food pairing wine.
Made from Lake Michigan Shore grapes, our Syrah has had a successful run on the competition circuit. That includes a 2014 Silver Medal in the Taster’s Guild competition, a Silver Medal in the 2014 Michigan Wine Competition, and a Silver in the 2015 and 2016 Finger Lakes competition.
Syrah Pairings
Syrah is bold, and it likes bold company. We’ve selected a few recipes here that will keep you warm this winter and go great with a bottle of Syrah:
We hope you enjoyed this short intro to Syrah. All you need to do is take one look at our Employee Bottle sheet to know that it’s a good one – it heads home with folks every single month. Come down to the tasting room to give it a try in person!
It’s Thanksgiving season! You know what that means – food, family, and fun. And yeah, plenty of associated travel, stress, and potentially awkward situations. The holidays are stuffed full of the good, the bad, the awkward, and the ugly. We’re going to give you four ways that St. Ambrose Cellars can you help you survive unscathed.
Exercise Your Right
Uncle Joe has some strong opinions on recent events. Your cousins in college have been doing a lot of reading. And there’s always a nosy relative asking everyone questions a bit too personal. What’s the solution?
We, of course, want you to exercise your rights to free speech – but in a crowded space with lots of sharp kitchen utensils, you might want to exercise your right to refreshment instead. While everyone waits for the turkey, plop down a few of our XR Cyser bottles and change the topic of conversation yourself. “Apple Pie in a Bottle” is sure to get people talking about something a little less contentious.
Blend In
Ok, so maybe that didn’t work. Or maybe food is taking a lot longer than anticipated. Need to get away? The Real Tree AP Camo St. Ambrose long-sleeve will buy you the time you need. If the house doesn’t have a forest foliage themed wallpaper scheme, you can always run into the backyard. Nobody will notice, and you’ll get some needed alone time!
Show Your Red, White, and Blue Pride
The key to a peaceful dinner? Having a drink for everyone. We’ve got you covered, and you can show your patriotism.
For the red, we’ve got our 2013 Pinot Noir. Easy drinking Pinot goes great with the wide variety of big flavors you’re going to encounter on the Thanksgiving buffet table.
For the white, you’ve got 2011 Riesling Reserve. This classic from our cellar is running out and you’re going to want some of this before it’s gone! The refreshing taste of Riesling helps you get ready to mow down another turkey leg or six without overpowering the food.
For the blue, how about bringing in the Star Thistle? This traditional mead is unique and will be a new addition to many of your friends palettes. Star Thistle Mead is a semi-dry mead in the traditional style– simply fermented honey and water. It is a perfect entry point to the world of still mead and features a rich honey flavor with a crisp, dry finish.
Sweeten the Deal
Ok, let’s lay off the booze for a minute. How about adding some sweet, sweet, honey to your Thanksgiving meal? You could try this glazed shallot recipe, which features XR Cyser, for something different. Or you could some cinnamon raw honey, or the classic Tupelo, to pretty much anything on the table.
Close Strong
Finish the night strong with one of our dessert wine or dessert mead options. 2011 Forte is a red port-style wine that goes great with your favorite cigar, cheese, chocolate, or other after-dinner refreshment of choice, if you catch my drift. On the other side of the aisle, we’ve got the incomparable Royal Reserve.
Royal Reserve is aged in bourbon barrels for almost two years. As Noel says on the website, it is “The Nectar of the Gods!”.
There you go – a surefire survival guide to your Thanksgiving. And plenty of advertisements.
St. Ambrose Cellars participated in the 2016 Finger Lakes International Wine Competition. This year’s event featured almost 4,000 wines from 916 wineries, located in all 50 states, 26 countries, and 6 Canadian provinces. 73 judges from 20 countries evaluated the wines that were entered. We’re proud to say our wines held their own in this tough field, scoring four silver and two bronze medals.
Silver Medalists
Cabernet Franc 2013, Crescendo 2013, Merlot 2013, and Syrah 2012 brought back silver medals. These exceptional reds are all available in the tasting room and online right now.
Bronze Medalists
Our new Riesling 2014 and the Cabernet Sauvigon 2013 took bronze at the competition. These two are only going to get better with age!
Check out the full results of the 2016 Finger Lakes International Wine Competition here.
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!
