September 27, 2018
Georgia Winery: Dread Head Red
Most of you know that I enjoy a good Georgia wine. I have a special place in my heart for
Georgia Winery. This is thanks to a little-known
grape called Catawba that is found in their Southern Blush.
Catawba Island is a peninsula on Lake Erie in Ohio, not far
from where I grew up. Catawba grapes are
among the first wines I ever drank (now much too sweet for me), from two Ohio
wineries – Mon Ami in Port Clinton, Ohio, and Heineman’s Winery on Put-In-Bay
Island. The flavor is like tasting home,
a comfort food.
Lake Erie is a shallow lake that forms a border between
Canada and the US. It’s home to dozens
of tiny islands that grow cold weather grapes.
Some are Canadian, some are American.
All produced ultra-sweet wines for a century. Today, some wineries (like Mon Ami) are bringing
in “legitimate” wine makers to delve into the world of dry red and white
wines. If you’re ever in the area, try
Mon Ami’s Humeros. It is truly stellar.
If you’re curious what wine I cut my teeth on (at an age I’m
not willing to admit), try Mon Ami’s Pink Catawba. I might still have a bottle on my wine shelf –
strictly for sentimental reasons.
Now, I make a yearly trip to Ringold, Georgia, the home of
Georgia Winery. One sip of the sweet
Southern Blush is all I need to fill my homesickness. From there I move on to some of the nicer dry
Georgia wines that far north. An unoaked
Chardonnay I love. The Cabernet Sauvignon. And, of course, the Dread Head Red.
If you can imagine eating chocolate covered raspberries, you
can understand what Dread Head Red tastes like.
It isn’t the super sweet kind of chocolate that makes your gums
bleed. This is the Norton grape –
earthy, dark chocolate, full bodied, and fruit filled. It’s fabulous.
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