Holiday Pairings & Black Friday Special

We hope you'll think of Jewell Towne this holiday season. Our wide selection of wines make great gifts and pair nicely with many holiday dishes. Some pairing suggestions....

MAIN COURSE

Riesling - Off-dry, medium bodied white with hints of orange and acidic finish.

Seyval - Off-dry, full bodied white with citrus and pear flavors.

Cayuga White - Off-dry, medium bodied white loaded with tropical fruit and melon.

DESSERT

Rhapsody in Blue -Sweet dessert wine made in Icewine style from the Vidal Blanc grape, with flavors of honey and apricot.

Orange Muscat - Sweet dessert wine, lighter in body, with flavors of orange and nectarine.

And don't forget about our gift shop! It's filled with wine inspired t-shirts, fantastic dining and entertaining accessories, and holiday gift bags!

Also, don't miss our Black Friday Special! Buy 3 or more bottles and receive 10% off! Open 11:00am - 5:00pm.

Live Free and Wine Festival

The 1st NH Wine Festival hosted by the New Hampshire Wine Association (NHWA) at Flag Hill's gorgeous establishment was certainly a success. We apologize to those of you who missed out on the event as tickets flew out the door immediately. NHWA is already organizing a committee to look into planning a much bigger event next year so that we can accommodate more of you wine lovers out there! Here are some pictures to see what we offered this year...next year will not fail to amaze you even more than this might...

South Hampton White 2009

Just in time for Memorial Day weekend.....

JTV would like to welcome back our beloved, limited production, Estate grown, South Hampton White 2009! As delicious as always, this slightly sweet white has mild flavors of ripe grapefruit that its followers rave about. We have to admit that the grapefruit is not as prominent as previous years, but its lingering nature is sure to catch your attention.

Stop in this weekend to try a sample of this sought-after wine. Don't wait too long though, because this limited production wine won't be here waiting for you! We hope you all get to enjoy this beautiful weather at some point and have a great holiday weekend :)

Pictures of the recovering vineyard will be posted first thing next week. It truly is amazing how resilient these grape vines have evolved to be.

Oh Mother Nature, ye cruel and unforgiving one...

"Spring" happens, as they say. This year in New Hampshire we were blessed with a terrific 'pre' spring. Our early May is typically referred to as 'mud season' due to the relentlessly frigid drizzling rains that, in tandem with melting snow, make for a lovely brown stew beneath our feet. This, we can deal with. Mud Season rolls off the back like the mud washes off our shoes. Our vines are used to it and stay softly in a sleep like trance until the warm glow of the sun stirs their constitution.

Yet this year, Spring 2010, was a wonderful spring - the rains came fast and furious resulting more in flash flooding than mud season. Then they were gone. In the following days we had some beautiful sunny days, it was warm, clear and crisp, we got our yard work done early, the outdoor drinking establishments opened early. Except this encouraged all our green growing friends to emerge from their hibernation early and begin sprouting, budding, and growing. And then, part way through the second week in May, came a real below-zero-honest-to-God Spring frost (25 degrees give or take). Our vines fell victim, and are currently paying dearly for their zeal in budding out so soon. (photos to follow).

So the tiny, tender green buds and shoots are now brown and fried (for lack of a better word.) Granted, this is not the end of the world, the vines are still alive and well, they just have had a minor setback. They will soon begin to push secondary buds. Mother Nature, as cruel and crafty as she is, has built a genetic safeguard into the vines. They have dormant secondary buds that will produce new growth if the other were to be accidentally frozen. yes, this has happened before. The vines Jewell Towne grows (known as the Hybrids, or French American Hybrids) are better able to deal with situations like this, and recover.

So what does it mean in terms of wine quality? Well, the vines just experienced a significant setback, all their initial energy is for nil, but they will survive and produce. But having spent all that initial effort and energy to spring forward early in the year has tired the vines and sapped their energies, so the second push of buds will be somewhat less dramatic and less vigorous. This in turn will mean fewer grapes and lower yields - resulting in less wine- but not necessarily effecting the quality in any way. Its kind of like getting too close to an open flame - you get burnt, but get out quickly enough and you'll be fine after you nurse your wounds. So though the scene looks dismal, thanks the recovery properties of our Hybrid vines, we're still good to go, just a little worse for wear.

"Spring" Happens. God Bless New England and the fool-hardy winemakers that choose to grow their grapes and make their wines here.

Live Free and (New Hampshire) Wine!

Join us for the first ever New Hampshire Wine festival!!! June 13th - save the date!

http://www.jewelltownevineyards.com/livefreeandwine.php

Pruning - a visualization featuring Dbrock, vineyard manager/supermodel

Derek (aka Dbrock) Loooooooooves bottling days!

Aurore 2009 Private Reserve and 'Organically Grown' Zinfandel are ready!!! Some of the first wines of the '09 vintage!

Lindt Chocolate and Wine!

Jewell Towne Vineyards hosted a delicious Holiday treat: our first-ever Wine and Chocolate pairing featuring the delightful confections from our own local chocolatier, Lindt. Representatives from Lindt were on hand speaking to and sampling their hearts out, and all wines were masterfully paired with individual chocolate selections. The Tasting room was decorated with much holiday cheer, the wines were flowing, and the chocolate was waiting. You really just have to try Icewine paired with Lindt's delicious new Eisdessert before you die. Here's a few photos of this exciting Holiday event.