Eagle City Winery - Email Newsletter #43 (May E-Newsletter)

Hello Wine Friends!

Happy Mother's Day!  This weekend is Mother's Day Weekend at Eagle City Winery and we invite you to bring mom out to enjoy an afternoon of wine tasting at our beautiful winery.  The vineyard is springing back to life and the recent rain is making everything absolutely lovely, rich hues of green, pretty flowers and our grapevines beginning to leaf again. 

We're gearing up for our annual Spring Open House (June 13-14) at the winery.  It's always such a treat to reconnect with our old friends and meet new ones.  Please mark the date on your calendar and join us!

We'd love to have you visit us this month.  We're open Tuesday-Saturday: 10am to 5pm; Sunday: 1pm to 5pm; and closed Mondays. 

Hope to see you soon!
Ken & Carolyn

SPRING OPEN HOUSE: Eagle City Winery is pleased to announce our Spring Open House will be held on June 13 and 14, 1:00 to 5:00 PM at the winery.  Each spring and fall we welcome our old friends, new friends, and those who want to know more about us to our open house.  It's a family-friendly event jam-packed with fun activities for all: tractor trolley rides to the upper Eagle City Park and Ken's famous Donkey Cart rides behind EC, the winery donkey mascot.

Open House Special - when you purchase 6 bottles of EC wines get 5% off (or a EC wine glass) or buy a case (12 bottles) and get 10% off or 2 wine glasses.

Our Spring Open House also features free wine tastings, live music and a chance to learn more about how wine is made, and an opportunity to stroll the vineyard grounds.  Bring your friends for a great afternoon of entertainment

NEED EVENT SPACE?  Looking for a location for your wedding?  Need a venue for your upcoming special event, business retreat, reception, reunion or party?  Eagle City Winery has facilities and space available to rent.  Please visit our website: www.eaglecitywinery.com or call 641-939-7755.

SECONDARY FERMENTATION:  You may wonder why some wines are tart and fruity while others are softer with less noticeable fruit notes. After primary alcoholic fermentation some winemakers will either inhibit or encourage a secondary fermentation, known as Malolactic fermentation (MLF).

The secondary fermentation converts malic acid, the tart acid you taste in a green apple, into the smoother, round acid you experience when drinking a glass of milk.  Many of the traditional red wines you may be familiar with go through MLF.  Similarly, some of the traditional white wines go through MLF.  Depending on what the style of wine the winemaker is wanting: smooth and buttery or lively and fruity, the winemaker may or may not choose to have a secondary fermentation take place.

How will you know if the wine you're drinking has gone through a secondary fermentation?  Overall, these wines tend to be smoother, fuller, rounder and the fruit notes may be subdued and buttery notes highlighted.

NEW WINES IN DEVELOPMENT:  Ken just made a brand new wine - Chokecherry!  Stop by the winery and sample this one-of-a-kind wine!!

ONLINE STORE:  Have you ever wanted to send a gift bottle or case of Eagle City Winery wines to your family and friends living out of state?  Good News!  We currently ship our wines to 18 states across the US.  Give your family and friends a taste of Iowa by sending them a bottle or case today!  Check out our online store: https://www.vinoshipper.com/wines/eagle_city_winery

IOWA GRAPE FACTS:  Terroir (ter-wah) is a French term that describes the special characteristics that the geography, soils and climate bestow on the wine. Iowa has over 400 types of soils and many different types of geography that can affect the terroir or the wines.

DID YOU KNOW?  You can save 5% at the winery on your Eagle City wine purchase when you buy six or more bottles?

ASK FOR QUALITY WINES.  With the addition of our Rhubarb and Riesling, Eagle City Winery is proud to report 90% of our wines are IQ certified!   What does that mean? 

Quality Wine Assurance - To increase consumer awareness of Iowa's wine quality the Midwest Grape and Wine Industry Institute has assisted the Iowa Wine Growers Association (IWGA) to establish the Iowa Quality Wine Consortium (IQWC).To be awarded IQWC status, wines submitted will need to pass both laboratory chemical analysis and sensory evaluation to be recommended by the Wine Institute Director and approved by the Iowa Quality Wine Consortium (IQWC) board.

RETAIL OUTLETS.  You can now find Eagle City wines at these fine retail locations.  Visit: www.eaglecitywinery.com and click on "Retail Outlets."

EC WINES IN IOWA:  Does your favorite wine store carry Eagle City wines?  You can help us find new homes for our wines, simply by dropping us a note winemaker@eaglecitywinery.com or posting a note on our Facebook page. 

You can find Eagle City wines at many Iowa locations:  http://eaglecitywinery.com/pages/ - click on the Retail Outlet tab.

FACEBOOK - We're on Facebook and post regularly.  If you haven't yet, please "Like" us on Facebook, share your memories and photos.  Feel free to ask any wine-related question and we'll do our best to answer them promptly.  Find us here:  www.facebook.com/EagleCityWinery