Eiswein, Icewine, we all whine for Eiswein

Saturday Jan 23rd
We decided to hit some Haw River Valley Wineries this weekend.
Number one on our list and forty three on the master map was Iron Gate Vineyards & Winery located in Mebane, NC
http://www.irongatevinyards.com/
2540 Lynch Store Rd.
Mebane, NC 27302
919-304-WINE

M-F 10am-7pm
Sat 10am-6pm
Sun 1pm-6pm

Now would be the perfect time to explain that I am not a wine expert. The truth is we would probably be driving around drinking beer if there were a map of breweries in North Carolina. (Same applies to BBQ restaurants and shoe stores) I usually explain this to the person pouring the wine at a tasting by saying something like “I like wine that tastes like Kool Aid.” Don’t be intimidated by wine tasting. It’s not a big deal, and you don’t have to be a Snooty McSnootington to enjoy it. I personally have never tasted ‘subtle oaky undertones’ but I know what I like, and I like Grape Nehi. Some of it tastes wonderful, and when it does not I try to at least keep my scrunched up face making to a minimum.

The details at Iron Gate were perfect: even the wooden rockers on the porch outside had red plaid lap blankets tossed over the backs to accommodate for the cold weather. The wine gallery was small but nicely organized and interestingly decorated with original artwork. Even the ceiling fan was beautiful. The winery makes special labels for some of their wines that are sold to benefit their charitable causes, and those are available to purchase with all proceeds going to benefit the Conservators’ Center or the NC Lung Cancer Partnership. The tasting room was nice, with tables and chairs, very comfortable. We were served a series of wines, with one spectacular standout: Once in a Carolina Blue Moon. This one was amazing, like an eiswein, and no longer available for sale although we would have paid almost any price for a bottle. It was syrupy sweet, perfect for dessert. Or breakfast, you know, like with waffles or something. Like on a Saturday or a Sunday, not a weekday before work or anything. I mean I don’t really want to sound like a lush, but this wine was BETTER than wine, it was that special.

So we bought a bottle of Flue Fire, which is a sweet white wine, their best seller. It is a really nice dessert wine too, but once you’ve stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel, it’s tough to go back to the Hampton Inn if ya know what I mean. Seriously, if we had lucked in to this wine at Total Wine we’d be thrilled, it is a really nice one. It’s in my fridge, it’s for dessert tonight, and I, for one, am excited about it.

Janet’s note on Mebane: Seriously, go shopping! Allow enough time to stop for at least a couple of hours to explore the cute little shops downtown (Clay Street). Solgarden is a really cute shop with tons of sterling silver jewelry and some beautiful stained glass, and there are a couple of nice antique stores too. I like The Curious Peddler, I saw a keishi pearl brooch there that is on Dan’s list of stuff to buy for me if he ever does anything stupid enough to warrant ransoming back my affections (like John Edwards stupid, John Ensign stupid or Mark Sanford stupid, you get the idea) I’m not saying I could be bought back, but the brooch couldn’t hurt. (and it’s a long list)



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