The Barberians - Boeger Winery

September 2004
CLASSIFIEDS Buy-Sell-Trade
NEW NEWS
What's new at Boeger Winery
Vinegar (continued from page 1)
Epicurious' food dictionary defines Mother of
Vinegar as: A slimy, gummy substance made up
of various bacteria - specifically mycoderma
aceti - that cause fermentation in wine and cider
and turn them into vinegar. Known as mère de
vinaigre in French and sometimes simply as
"mother" in English, its growth is best fostered
in a medium-warm environment (60°-85°F).
The mother should be transferred to a new
mixture or discarded once the liquid has turned
to vinegar.
Seen on the left, the Mother is quite disgusting
to look at and most people are not sure they
would like to try the final results after they take
a peek into the crock.
As stated by Epicurious, it is best to throw the
old Mother away or better yet, fish it out and
give a slab of it to a friend. I have given away
pounds of this stuff to my friends here in Detroit
as well as Internet wine geeks from all parts of
the globe. The furthest location my Mother has
been mailed is the Isle of Jersey off the coast of
France.
Once the Mother has sunk to the bottom, I pour
out the resulting vinegar and strain it through
several layers of coffee filters. This technique
of removing any sludge or bits of floating
Mother works well. The vinegar, though cloudy,
is dark and intense and better than anything you
could buy in a store.
Over the years, my crock of vinegar has been
blessed with the dregs of incredible wines left
over from large tastings. Every time I dump a
glass or empty the bottom of a bottle of Ridge
into the crock I smile, knowing that the crock
has thanked me.
Vinegar Making
Additional tips and info:
-Feed your Mother every other week or so with
a glass of wine
-Let your Mother breathe. A linen napkin or
cheesecloth works well if you are using a crock
-Throw out or give away the slab of Mother
once it sinks to the bottom of your crock
-Don't add fortified wine (port, sherry, etc.) to
your crock
-Don't add corked wine to your crock!
"don't starve your mother."
Back 40 or Bust!
by Lexi Boeger
With the recent purchase of a small parcel
of land adjacent to the Boeger Winery
back 40, this back property is now big
enough to cultivate. The acreage covers
both sides of a steep canyon that runs
East-West creating a south facing slope
that is ideal for sun loving varieties such
as barbera.
Clearing has already begun on the 10
acres designated for the new vineyard,
giving a wide berth to the stream bed
and riparian areas as well as the large
stands of pines and oaks.
The soil type here is ideal for grapes.
It's an iron rich clay-loam with excellent
drainage due to the steep slope. The only
downside to this spot? It will take a daredevil to drive the tractor through it! But
we didn't get this far by being timid, and
since Greg Boeger has survived two tractor
roll-overs in his career already, he has at
least seven more lives left.
Planting of this vineyard is scheduled to
begin in the spring of 2006 giving us our
first crop in 2009. The varieties to be
planted have not been decided for sure,
though Barbera is a good bet and rumor
has it that Greg is looking at some new
and unusual varietals that are new to the
area (like he never does that! Tempranillo
anyone?) .
Add a little common sense...
By Linda Baldwin:
What I've learned mostly is that there's nothing very scientific
(or artistic) about making vinegar. Mainly, don't starve your
mother, add some wine every couple weeks, amount isn't too
important, but the bigger the batch, the more I'll add. Or little
remnants of leftovers each night. Use some common sense....
if you double the volume each time you feed her, she'll never
have time to eat it all and put out enough acid proportionally.
Give it air but keep the bugs out, cheesecloth is good, I use an
old linen napkin. Keep it at room temp, not in the fridge. Dark
is probably good for a good rich color of end product.
B to B (Boeger to Barberian, Barberian to Barberian )
Gossip from the
CAVE WALL
Lorene Lenhart- back from a
2 month stint in Europe! Come
into the tasting room to hear
tales of strange wines from
strange lands.....
Psst! Have you seen the new
NEIGHBORS? Two new
wineries on the Hill: Wofford
Acres (Holy view!) yeah...
cool cats from Santa Cruzever heard of Bargetto winery?
Yup, that winemaker-this
winery.
And Primus, yes they DO have
flatscreens in the bathrooms!
Absolutely GORGEOUS
tasting room (marble floors
anyone?). hmmmm...raising
the bar? OK!
Did I hear German back there?
Yes you did! Winemaker Justin
Boeger spent a season interning
at a German winery to broaden
his training and now he's returning the favor.
Intern Michael Huller from the
Franconian wine region of
Germany is spending 3 months
here working the Boeger Winery
harvest.
What is the benefit of working in
a region not your own? As Justin
puts it: "Learning how to do the
same things differently.". You said
it Justin! Shouldn't we all?
Michael has already worked in a
couple of wineries back home, so
what is he learning about here?
Big foothill reds, warm climate
grapes and HOT piqueno peppers...
ASK
HERALDA
Dear Heralda, My husband and I
recently went to a new neighbors house
for dinner. I brought a nice bottle of
Cabernet to contribute for dinner but
when we opened it it was corked! If it
had been better friends of ours it wouldn't
have been a big deal, but we barely know
them. I was so embarrassed! I feel like we
made a terrible first impression. What
can I do?
-Mortified in Montana
Club member since 1999
Dear Mortified, when going somewhere
for dinner or a get together I always take
an extra bottle just in case. You can leave
it in the car so it's there if you need it. (This
also comes in handy if the first bottle is
drunk before dinner is over and you can
come to the rescue by producing yet another
fine wine!).
As for opening a corked wine, this is
nothing to be embarrassed about. You have
no way of knowing ahead of time if a bottle
will be corked and .05 percent of all
wines are going to be, so it could happen to
anyone. I would take the opportunity to
educate your company on what a corked
wine smells like, since many people are not
familiar with it. It will make for an interesting
conversation piece! As for saving your
reputation with the neighbors, invite them to
your house next where you can check the
wines ahead of time.
Heralda's TIP of the DAY
Got a corked bottle? Don't dump it
out! Re-cork it and return it to the
place you bought it. Most wineries
and retailers will gladly replace it
for you, no charge!
Have a question for Heralda? Email it to
[email protected]. Please
include the year you became a Barberian
Club member.
1998 Chardonnay, 7 bottles.
Older Chard., Soft, rich.
$20 each. call BOEGER
530-622-8094
OLD VINES! Cool old
vines. Very thick, old and
knarled. Decorate your patio
or make a still life... $20
Pick up only, no ship.
BOEGER 530-622-8094
1997 Pinot Noir, 3 bottles.
Beautifully aged elegant
Pinot Noir. $35 each. call
BOEGER 530-622-8094
1998 Petite Sirah, 8 bottles.
Big and Bold. $35 each. call
BOEGER 530-622-8094
1997 Tempranillo, 9 bottles.
In it's prime! Smooth, lush.
Going fast! $35 each. call
BOEGER 530-622-8094
1998 Tempranillo, 6 bottles.
Full bodied, tons of fruit left.
$35 each. call BOEGER
530-622-8094
Cave-Clearence
YOUR AD HERE
Got wine you want
to buy, sell or trade?
SPECIALS!!
Bare-bones prices!
List it here!
Send your info. to:
[email protected]
This is a great way
to get that wine
cellar in order. Want
every Barbera from
1983 until now? Ask
for it! Someone
somewhere has just
what you are looking
for.
Crackle glasses
Were $17, now $9!
Cobalt, green, amber, purple
example:
Will trade Hawaii
time share for Boeger
1989 Cabernet.
call Bob: 644-4444
Neuf winerack was $30
now $15!!
MiniWine Coolers
The Barberians
Little electric blue refrigerator
(looks just like a fridge!). Chill
wine, soda, juice. Plugs into
your cigarette lighter for travel
days!! Was $135 now $70
Stemware
30-40% off select styles of
our wine ware. Come in and
see what's on sale!
2000 Cabernet Franc
Rich, earthy and herbaceous,
this vintage is smooth and
drinkable with elegant oak
nuances. On sale! was $15
now $10!!
September 2004