Snus Hill Aging Barrels
Snusalais Nouveau event, which is intended to be similar to the Beaujolais day celebrated on the third Thursday of November in France. It was a nice opportunity to visit with other wine lovers and to be escorted through the cellar where the grapes are fermented, put into barrels, and racked. We got to taste some Catawba wine in the middle of fermentation. It was much like apple cider. The completely fermented product was bitter as it had not yet been finished in the barrels. We had some Frontenac straight from the fermentation tank. It was, as we were told, high in acid and low in tannins. Actually, Iowa wines tend to have those characteristics, as opposed to west coast wines which are high in tannins and low in acid. We also got to try some Frontenac straight from the racking barrel. it was much closer to the finished product.
We were impressed with the owners’ concern and love of their craft and their commitment to make great wine here in Iowa. I will continue to tout this great wine every chance I get. It is great stuff.
Distilled Opinion 