Ingleside's Champagne Decadence

Last night Ingleside Vineyard's had a Champagne Decadence event.    I attended this event alone due to the fact that my sweet husband was out doing his job.  Sadly my pictures are not of the best quality because I took these with my iPhone (Which still rocks!) instead of a camera.  And the lighting was a bit dim to ensure the proper mood for the event.  My photography professor would be so ashamed.  But hey I made a 2.5 hour trek on a Friday night.  I won't even start on how the traffic was.  At least I was able to get myself put together.  And get there within a reasonable amount of time.  The event started out with a glass of wine as you signed in.  Either Chesapeake Cabernet/Merlot or Chesapeake Chardonnay.  I chose the Cab/Merlot, since it is a favorite of mine.  And they put your name on a little tag so that you wouldn't loose your glass.  Very nicely done.  Doug Flemer then welcomed everyone and off we went to where the magic begins.

  

Once we arrived we were given a wonderful education in the making of Champagne.  Or as they call it in Ingleside, Sparkling Wine.  They call it sparkling wine to avoid confusion with wines from the Champagne region in France.  It was very detailed and informative.  Sadly I can't remember everything.  There were a lot of people there.  I tend to get distracted.  Always tend to keep my ears open when I don't have the hubby around.  And there were a number of people who felt the need to chat during the presentation.  They showed what the yeast looked like during the fermentation process and the racks that they sit in.   We also learned that it's very labor intensive.  Each bottle is handled more than forty times and it takes more than four years from grape harvest until the first glass is enjoyed.  No wonder the price for sparkling wine is a bit more.  A lot of hard work and love go into it.
We then went on to the barrel room to taste some of this bubbly happiness.  We tried three different types.  Bad me I don't remember their names and I didn't take notes.    As I recall one was natural, one had liquor in the dosage and I'm not sure about the other.  I liked the natural the best.  Each one had a different aroma and taste.  Very educational and fun.  The racks are barely visible in the first photo, but I had to take the picture.  I got a pretty good shot of Andrea as well.  She's always on the move, so most of my photos of her turn out blurry.  Which sucks.  She helped serve the sparking wines as well as some of the goodies that they served.  

I was able to get a shot of Amy Otis, the events coordinator.  She's thought up some really good events.  And she has even more planned for 2009.  She also took many pictures at the event and has promised to email them to me.  So if and when I get them I will post them here.  Hers should be so much better.  She had a nice camera, unlike me.  So to all my Ingleside friends please remind Amy to email those photos from the event.  I'd appreciate it.  Every event that we've attended that she's been in charge of so far have been great.  If you're ever curious as to what event is coming up at Ingleside you just need to click on the events tab on their website, which Amy is also in charge of, and they will list it.  I highly recommend calling in advance for reservations to the events.  Just in case it's a limited number for the event.  Like this one was.  I lucked out and called in plenty of time to reserve my spot.

No Champagne Event would be complete without a picture of the winemaker, Bill Swain, pouring a glass of the sparkling wine.  This one had a pink tinge to it.  It was served at the end of the evening with a nice toast to everyone who had worked so hard to put this event together.  Bill's wife, Maria, is the assistant winemaker.  She's actually the one who does all the work on the sparkling wine.  It's hard work, but she does seem to enjoy it.  And all of us enjoy the fruits of her labors.

The caterers are in the next photo.  Barb and Gary did a fantastic job!  Everything was extremely tasty.  The food was separated into four different 'regions'.  All of which have some very good wines that come out of them.  They were Spain, Italy, France and California.  As well as the wonderful food, they had sparkling wine and another wine.  Something different for each 'region'.

France had mini quiche lorraine, brie cheese and stuffed mushrooms.  The mushrooms were my favorite, but I'm a big fungus fan.  They also served the Chesapeake Cabernet/Merlot.   A very nice drinking wine. 

Italy had ravioli with white wine sauce, Gorgonzola cheese, antipasto and prosciutto pinwheels.  I really enjoyed the ravioli and prosciutto wheels.  They served Sangiovese at this station.  Which goes oh so very well with Italian.

Spain had tuna and goat cheese empanadas, manchego cheese, and calamari frito with safron aoli.  I really enjoyed Spain.  It could be that was because Maria was there.  She passionate not only about the wines, but food as well.  And she's a good one to ask questions about wine.  The calamare was done very well.  Just right so it did not become rubbery.  The wine served there was the Rosato di Sangiovese.  One of my absolute favorites.  It goes very well with just about everything.  But I like to drink it just by itself.

California had sturgeon and salmon caviar, shrimp salad and fresh shucked oysters.  Phil, in the last photo, actually shucked the oysters that evening.  Cleans up quite nicely doesn't he?  I tried the oysters for the very first time with a little cocktail sauce on it.  I was egged on by Phil.  Let me just say I've experienced it once.  I don't need to do it again.  A Chardonnay was served here.  And Bill Swain was at this station.  So it was another good spot to be in if you wanted to pick the wine maker's brain.  Which I, of course, did.

It was a wonderful event.  Kudos to all that worked on it.  It was something that I hope they do again.  I would go for sure.  I look forward to the other events that will occur this year.

-Michelle