An Outsanding Georgia Winery

I normally only post recipes in this blog but I thought that this was a food worthy subject. Last night a new acquaintance and neighbor of mine called and asked me to go to a wine and cheese tasting with her. It was very impromptu, but my dear husband was happy to watch the kids (God bless him) so I went. The tasting was held by the community we live in and among the different vendors attending there was a Georgia winery. What a treat the evening turned out to be.

Never having experienced a formal wine tasting, I was mesmerized. I knew that there were some vineyards in Georgia but, for no certain reason, I never tried any of their wines. Let me just say, I was very pleasantly surprised. The attending winery was the Boutier Winery. They have a store front in Acworth, GA, www.boutierwine.com, but their actual vineyards are in northwest Georgia www.boutierwinery.com. Being a Georgia winery they could hardly go without making a beautiful Peach Chardonnay, which for two consecutive years, earned a concordance gold medal at the Indy International Wine Competition. The Peach Chardonnay has also won best in class! They also earned a silver medal for their Elegance Vin Rouge, a unique blend of syrah, cabernet sauvignon and merlot, and a bronze medal for their What a Great Pear, a pear wine aged in coffee beans.

Now, honestly, I never even knew that there was an Indy International Wine Competition, but I was still impressed! And, the proof is in the pudding, or in this case the wine, which was outstanding. Their Peach Ice Wine blew me away. I learned that ice wines are harvested right after the first hard freeze or frost to make the flavors more intense, or at least I think that is how they put it. The Peach Ice Wine had a chocolate aftertaste, and it was divine. Because of how it is made the alcohol content in the ice wine is much higher, almost elevating it to a liqueur so it would be great as a dessert wine or in place of a cognac or brandy. I tried some of their reds and whites and brought a bottle of their Cabernet Franc (2005) home for my hubby as an early birthday present. If you like strong reds, this one has a incredible fig aftertaste, I could not stop sipping it.

If you are any kind of wine connoisseur I highly recommend checking out any of your local or state wineries. If you ever hear of a tasting for one of them, I encourage you to go! You will not only be supporting local business but you will be supporting something that is made in America! And, it's educational. Great job Boutier Winery!