Eagle City Winery- Email Newsletter #64 (March E-Newsletter)

Hello Wine Friends!

It's the time of year those of us that grow grapes are beginning to prune our vines, to encourage them to produce the best fruit by cutting off last year's fruitful canes. This odd late winter weather can cause problems for vines as they come out of hibernation but we're hopeful that we don't get a serious cold snap once the vines start to awaken and bud-out.  We'll keep tending to our vines and hoping for the best. 

When was the last time you visited us at our winery near Iowa Falls?  We'd love for you to visit us! Make sure to stop by the winery soon to try our wines and spend some time sipping wine and relaxing in our gathering room, wandering in our vineyard, and checking out our latest gift shop items. We're open Tuesday-Saturday: 10am to 5pm; Sunday: 1pm to 5pm; and closed Mondays. 

See you soon!
Ken & Carolyn

PARTY SPACE?  Do you need a special gathering place for 2017?  Are you 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) 648-3669

GIFTS AND WINE SUPPLIES - Our gift shop, inside our tasting room, is filled with a wide variety of gifts and supplies for the wine lover in your life.  We've got a fantastic selection of functional and attractive wine racks, wine supplies and tools, and cork cages where you can keep your collection of wine closures. 

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

FUN WINE FACTS: There are so many interesting things to learn about the history of wine, winemaking, and winegrowing. Here is an interesting fun wine fact:

Wine was discovered about 6,000 years ago in the Middle East. The earliest remnants of wine were discovered in Iran, dating back to the Neolithic period (8500-4000 B.C.). The oldest evidence of cultivated vines were found in Georgia, dating from 7000-5000 B.C. It is supposed that the drink originally fermented by mistake. Native yeasts accidentally came in contact with grapes stored in containers, turning the sugars in the grapes into alcohol. The art of winemaking was later refined by the Egyptians and spread throughout the Mediterranean by the Greek. The Romans made it popular all over Europe and the Spanish as well as other Europeans took their brew to the New World, Oceania and South Africa.

KEN ON CAMERA:  The Wine Diamonds documentary film team visited us late last winter and filmed an interview with owner/winemaker Ken Groninga and then afterwards shot a short web series episode called, "on the road."  Click here to watch the short video: https://youtu.be/w_djLgueJOg - learn more about the film project by visiting: www.winediamondsfilm.com\

APPETIZER RECIPE:  Love bacon?  We do too! So try this amazing bacon appetizer recipe the next time you're planning a get-together. 

Ingredients

• 1 sleeve of club crackers

• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese.

• 1 cup brown sugar

• 1 package thin sliced bacon, cut in half

Instructions

1. This recipe will make TWO varieties of appetizer. Three ingredients each.

2. Set the oven to 250 degrees. On a baking sheet with a rack on top, set out your crackers.

3. Pick up a cracker and add a teaspoon of Parmesan cheese. Take a half of a bacon strip and gently wrap it around the cracker. Set down.

4. Repeat with half the crackers.

5. With the other half of crackers, add a teaspoon of brown sugar and wrap with bacon.

6. Bake in the oven for 2 hours. Serve warm or room temperature.

Pair this tasty appetizer with your favorite Eagle City Winery wine and enjoy!

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 20+ states across the US. 

We can ship Eagle City Winery wines to these states: Alaska, Washington DC, Florida, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Special Process Shipping to: Alabama and California

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

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.

RETAIL OUTLETS.  Eagle City Winery wines are available across Iowa at many retailer locations. Wonder if we're near you?  Visit:www.eaglecitywinery.com and click on "Retail Outlets."

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

ASK FOR QUALITY WINES.  Eagle City Winery is proud to report 18 of our 20 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.