South of the 80: Iowa

It's back to the green hills and tulip beds of Southern Iowa again, kids.  I don't get to sample as many of the wine areas in the country as I would like and Southern Iowa is definitely one of the stranger places I tend to find myself wandering aimlessly.  But I do and I entertain myself somehow.

Last year I marked two wineries off the ol bucket list.   So, once again, consider this an addition to the greater saga that is Southern Iowa wine country.  This week, it's Tassel Ridge.

The thing that is attractive about wine in this area is that it is rather unique.  There are a couple of varietals that are only found in the Midwest and there are places that have built a business around selling the kind of stuff grandpa used to make in the barn.  Rural probably isn't the right right adjective, but that's as close as I can get.  There are very few cheese platters around and some guy named Guston isn't pouring the samples, but Napa Valley doesn't have anything like Piestegal.  Seriously, I think you could run your car on that stuff.

Tassel Ridge really doesn't fit in with this group.  They make fine wine, don't get me wrong, but they miss some of the local feel that other wineries in the area positively ooze.  The vast majority of their wine is made from juice they have shipped in from other states and their entire product line consists of nearly forty different styles and blends of wine.   Selection is nice, but... holy crap on a cracker.

They were, I will grant them, very nice about sharing though.  I didn't try all forty since I didn't feel like wandering punch-drunk through a corn field this week.  But I did run down their line of dry reds.

Pizzeria and Pasta Too!: A wine designed to pair well with... well, I assume you can guess.  Lots of dark fruit aroma.  It has a unusual peppery, fruity almost hoppy flavor among the dark cherry and plum.

Zinfull Red: Peppery, fruity aroma.  Lots of both in the flavor as well, slightly tart and very, very dry.

American Syrah: Floral blackberry nose.  I picked up pepper, leathery and woody flavors along with something almost... minty?  Maybe not the right adjective, but there was something herbal in the back there.  Fairly complex and enjoyable wine there.

2008 Iowa St. Croix: This is one of the few wines made with grapes grown at the vineyard. Not sure about this one.  The aroma was kind of unpleasantly skunky smelling.  The peppery, woody flavors underneath were fine, but there was something off about the smell.

In the Dark: A blend of Merlot, Syrah and local St. Croix grapes.  The aroma had a light, sweet strawberry and honey feel to it.  I pick up some green apple, strawberry and cherry in the palate.

American Merlot: This one had a strong floral aroma to it.  The flavor was intensely fruity; lots of plum and black cherry there with a hint of black pepper.

2009 Marquette:  The second of the two wines made with actual Iowa varietals.  I've run into this type before along with it's fairly unique caramel, fruit and molasses aroma.  The flavor runs much the same way, cherry and plum among the caramel with just a hint of pepper in the back.

Iowa Cuvee' 512: A blend of local grapes and a touch of Muscat.  It was still fairly young when I had it so the flavor still had quite a lot of tartness to it.  The floral, fruity aroma was very promising.  Among the tartness, I picked up some pair and a little citrus.

I've got one more to add to the list next week, so strap in for that.  Until then, cheers!