Designing the Happy Bitch Wine Label

I've always appreciated people who have artistic talent.  When I was in college I was friends with a few graphic designers and illustrators (yes, Matt, Jeff, Pete I'm talking about you) and was always amazed by their work.  Unfortunately when they were giving out the creative gene, I wasn't on that line.  Stick figures is it for me.

Now with Photoshop and Illustrator one can do wonders when you find your artistic ability you didn't know you had. I am still shy on the creative gene, but Keryl is a wiz at designing and has great creative insight.  Designing a wine is a little more than a design.  It has to get TTB (Alcohol & Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau) approval.

We knew we wanted bubbles on the label.  It has to contain of course the Happy Bitch logo, and all the other requirements by the Feds.  Then there is the back of the bottle.  We also have a special message for everyone on the bottle.  All of this has to be approved by the higher ups.

So now we sit here and wait...and wait....and wait....

Hopefully the approval will come soon and we will be able to bottle the chosen blend right after the Hudson Valley Wine Festival.

We will unveil the label and wine at the Launch Party on October 20 at the Grandview in Poughkeepsie.  Your invited, so don't forget to purchase your ticket. Ticket cost is $65 and $10 of every ticket purchased will be donated to Miles of Hope Breast Cancer Foundation.

Hudson Valley Wine Country - After Irene

Depending on where you were in the Hudson Valley depended on the rainfall from Irene.  We did experience high winds and different parts of the region experienced a various amount of rainfall.  The western part of the Hudson Valley experienced the most rainfall and damage.

Palaia Vineyards was hit the hardest from what I can tell.  They are located by the Thruway Interchange in Harriman, where the Thruway, Rt 17, Woodbury Commons all comes together.

I haven't heard or seen other damaging reports, but will report on them as I am made aware of them.

A Peach in my Riesling

Peach and apricot are two flavors that at times dominate a Riesling.  This 2010 Whiteceliff Vineyards & Winery Riesling is one of those times.

On the nose I got aromas of stone fruit and sweetness.  How does one smell sweetness, I would define it as sweet ripe fruit.

Time to taste...peach is what stands out as the dominate flavor of this Riesling.  It was a little rough mid palate with a hint of apricot and a fizz on the finish.  The wine did have a touch of sweetness. At least enough for me to recognize that there was some residual sugar in the glass.  Yup 1.5% RS in this Riesling.  Most people might not be able to detect the RS, but I am very sensitive to sugar and can tell right away.

I know you shouldn't compare vintages but I really like the 2009 Riesling better.

A Port After a Long Week

After a long week and a nice dinner, I took to the couch to relax.  As I started to fall asleep Paul puts in front of me a glass of Pleasant Valley Port.  We are not big Port drinkers, but are really beginning to enjoy it.  Being that I don't normally like raisins, I really enjoy the raisiny nose and taste. (Maybe I should revisit that little red box someday)

The Pleasant Valley Winery is located in the Finger Lakes and is US Bonded Winery #1 established in 1860.

The Port had a nose of alcohol and raisins.  A sweet light texture and  flavors of plum danced on my palate.  It was sweet, but not overly sweet.

This was a nice after dinner chillaxing drink.

In Search of Rosé - Donmaine Pelaquie Tavel

The Tavel region of the Rhone Valley only produces rosé wines made mostly from Grenache and Cinsaut. The region is considered one of the finest producing region of dry rosés in France and I was excited to try it.

The 2010 Domaine Pélaquié Tavel is made from Cinsault and Grenach Noir grapes and has 14% alcohol.  It had a beautiful strawberry color.

After the first pour the wine had a very yeasty, bready aroma.  After a few a few swirls in the glass the yeasty, bready aroma was gone and nose of flinty strawberry, cherry and raspberry appeared.  The wine was fresh, slightly acidic with flavors of strawberry, wet stone and a tart lime finish. 

When you think about wine and the grapes, one might not realize the many factors that contribute to taste.  This wine had aroma that were flinty as well as wet stone on the taste and lime on the finish.  That is attributed to the the grapes being grown on limestone banks.  You see how the flavor of the soil effects the taste of the wine. 

This wine was nice and fresh.  I give it a WO on the WOW meter.

We Nailed It!

Blending trials are challenging.  You like aspects of one blend, color of another.  You kind of wish you could just add chocolate chips and bake at 350 and it would come out wonderful and tasty.

At our 3rd blending trial everything was going well.  Each blend was the same color but slightly different.  It was unanimous we all like blend #4.  The winemaster said that was the blend you all liked from the beginning.

So we thought...I noticed it was missing something on the nose.  It wasn't as aromatic as the blend we liked at the first blending trial.  Same with the taste - it was missing something.  Just because I was the odd ball out, I said something.  Hey this has to be the perfect base blend.  Once I said "wait, there is something missing, who has their notes from the first blending?" the winemaster agreed that it wasn't true to the first blend that we liked, there was something missing.

So a few days later Keryl and I returned to try the blend with the missing ingredient. The color was good   the fizz was good, the aroma was wonderful, it put a smile on our face.  The taste - FANTASTIC!  Glasses clanking together, we nailed the base!

Now - visit us at the Hudson Valley Wine Festival, September 10 & 11 and vote on one of three blends made from this base.  The winning blend is the Frizzante we will produce.

The Other Side of the Table

By Chrystal Corsino aka "The Babysitter"

I received a phone call a few weeks back from Dominique the owner of Hudson-Chatham Winery asking if I could help pour at the 1st Annual Putnam County Wine Festival.  Without hesitation I agreed. I was a little scared as I do not know all the technical terms in the wine industry, I can barley open a bottle of wine without help, and I had some but not to much experience with Hudson-Chatham wine.

On August 13, I ventured to Carmel, NY to a park off Gypsy Trail Run, to find out what it was like to be on the other side of the table. 

Before anyone showed up I of course had to taste the wines so I could easily speak about them.  Bottles open and uh-oh no wine glass now what?  Dominique showed me a camping trick of hers, we used the tops to our water bottles one for dry wines, one for sweet wines. I dare you to try tasting wine like this and  not laugh and get it all over you... I succeeded somehow. I also quickly learned how to use the cork screw she bought and got wine bottles open with ease.  

The wines offered by Hudson- Chatham were :

Seyval Blanc- very dry citrusy wine
Guartzerminer- dry white with afloral noise and grapfruitty finish, very refreshing
Hudson River Valley Red- mainly Dechaunac grape and unoaked, a diffrent taste for a red but still smooth
Empire Reserved-  This is by far my favorite local red it has Merlot form long island, Baco Noir from Hudson Valley and Cab Sauvignon from Finger Lakes, great with a steak
Salamagundi- sweet but not to sweet white wine, almost a blush
Lindenwald White- made form the niagra so very grapey "adult grape juice"
Raspberry Dessert Wine, which was port base with raspberry wine mixed in and the raspberries are grown on their farm.

A very good range of wines to show exactly what the winery is about and enough variety for all.

As for the festival it ran 10-7 and it was very dead,  only 6 wineries showed and many did not return day 2.  Business was good 12 to 3 , otherwise all the vendors were catching up and tasting and trading wine. I do not think there was enough promotion, but maybe for year 2 they will be better prepared.

I did get to taste wine from Fox Run, Prospero, Inspire Moore and  Thousand Island.  El Paso and Cereghino Smith were also at the event but I did not have time to taste.

Fox Run had an excellent Riesling, very flavorful with a pineapple finish yet not sweet and a great Pinot Noir smooth, blackberry noise yet again not sweet.

Prospero had an excellent sparkling strawberry wine, very flavorful and very different.

I enjoyed pouring wine more then expected, I felt I learned quick and followed Dominique's lead.  Hearing peoples stories and experiences with wine was a lot of fun. I can not wait to work another event truly a day to remember.

The Other Wines in the House - Foppiano Vineyards Chardonnay

Last October we were in the Russian River Valley.  We were heading to our tasting at J Vineyards but had some time to kill, so we stopped at Foppiano Vineyards. (You have to make the best use of your time.)  We had some wines sent home from here and this 2009 Estate Bottled Chardonnay was one of them.

The Chardonnay was a beautiful light straw color and wasn't heavily oaked so it was light and refreshing on a summers day.  The nose carried aromas of pear, citrus, a tad of honey, creamy oak and a bit of spice.

One the palate I found pear and orange blossom with a long sightly buttery finish.  There was also hints of orange blossom on the finish.  A nice wine on a nice summers evening.

In Search of Rosé - Shinn Estate Rosé

My summer has been kind of hectic and jumbled and I haven't had time to road trip to Long Island like I try to do at least once.  Recently a friend of mine went out to the North Fork for a few days to wine taste and I told him to stop at Shinn and pick me up their 2010 Rosé. I wanted to try it in my quest.

He did and I opened it last week.  Their 2010 Rosé didn't disappoint.  I really liked the color of this Rosé. I know it is hard to see in the picture, maybe I should have taken it indoors, but it was pink with orange undertones.  A beautiful color.

The wine had aromas of floral and stone.  The palate was full of strawberry leading to raspberries, a beautiful soft mouth feel (very elegant) and a dry finish.  As the wine warmed up a little bit there was some watermelon on the finish.

We had this wine on a Tuesday evening which is CSA pickup.  We prepared some pasta and fresh veggies to go with the wine. A very fitting meal to go with a Shinn Vineyards wine.

I really liked the wine.  I give it a thumbs up and a WO\  on the WOW meter.

Bottle Shopping

Who ever thought choosing a bottle was going to be so difficult.  A wine bottle is a wine bottle. NOT!  There are many factors going into the bottle that we are looking for.  For starters, it has to be light weight.  I hate picking up a wine bottle and my arm gets a work out from the weight just by pouring.  I also get angry when I order wine and the shipping charge is so high because the bottle empty weighs 5 pounds.  Then there is the color, frosted, plain.

Next is the top/cap/closure/cork - whatever you want to call it.  We want this to be a fun beverage.  No worries and easy to access.  How many times have you gone somewhere and didn't have a corkscrew.  Did we want a screw cap, a crown cap, what type of cap.  Well that brings us back to the bottle.  

Since our first blend is a Frizzante - can the bottle hold the 2 volumes of pressure, be light, and of course the wine has to look good in it!  Not to mention the game of dressing up the bottle. Sorry I can't reveal any pictures of the clothes the bottle will be wearing (label etc..)  But let's just say Harry and Patricia Kislevitz the creator of Colorforms would be very proud of us.

Good news / Bad news...We found the bottle we really, really like...it's made in Italy...guess where everyone in Italy is during the month of August.  On vacation! They have the life.  No worries, we found a supplier in the good old US of A that has a bottle we love. We played dress up on it and wait until you see how wonderful she looks!  

An Afternoon at Robibero Family Vineyards

By Chrystal Corsino aka "The Babysitter"


I always enjoy weekend wine tastings in the summer especially when I can bring friends who are just beginning  to learn about Hudson Valley Wines and how much they have to offer.  


Elisa has spent time in Napa Valley and the Finger Lakes so slowly we are teaching her about Hudson Valley wine.  After the Benmarl trip she didn't hesitate when I said I really would love to take you to Robibero for a fun wine day, one of the best up and coming wineries around (in my opinion).  So this past Saturday Joe, Elisa and I braved New Paltz and Ulster County Fair traffic so I could show them how great this place was. A little family owned winery up on a hill with amazing views and relaxing setting, open for a little over a year I believe and so much potential.   


When we arrived the tasting room was packed with barely any room at the bar , one of the owners even had another station opened to help out, thankfully most groups were at the end of there tasting so we found a spot at the bar.  Since this was a first time trip for the members of my group we went with the standard flight tasting which offered 3 whites and 3 reds.  We all had the same to favorites the I-87 North a 2010 vintage blend of 50% Vidal and 50% Cayuga White. This white was very refreshing with honeydew and grapefruit flavor, smooth and definitely perfect for any occasion. This wine just came out and I hope they keep it around.  


Rabbits Foot, 75% Baco Noir/15% Cab Sav/ 10% Merlot was the other favorite for the day. This sweet red has a lot to offer and is a good sipping wine, it had the dryness of a merlot still but with a sweet smooth finish. Very even bodied. The other wines we tasted were the 2009 Chardonnay stainless steel fermented, no oak, 2009 Riesling, Pinot noir and 2008 Cabernet Franc. 


It was a great day and the gentleman that handled our tasting was well educated and informed on all the wines. 


**Quick tip make sure you check in from your phone on Facebook to receive a complimentary tasting.   Remember each person must do it to get a tasting, you can't use the same phone for everyone in the group. 


The tasting is a reasonable price at $6 per person. The nice thing is that when you are done enjoying this beautiful winery you are minutes from beautiful New Paltz, full of shopping and great restaurants. I can not wait to share my bottle of I-87 North with friends. I plan to return soon to this beautiful winery for Winestock .  

The Other Wines in the House with a Dill Pickle

This is a pairing I would have never thought would work.  In fact I didn't think anything would ever pair with pickles.

Paul and I are sitting on the deck enjoying a 2008 Goosecross Viognier - Napa  Valley.  Nose of honeysuckle and apricot.  It was very aromatic and layered.  The palate brought apricot and citrus notes with a tangerine finish with hints of honeysuckle.  It was soft, medium bodied with the texture of a Chardonnay.

Long an behold my daughter comes out with a large jar of Claussen Dill Pickles. She has been on a pickle kick and offered us one.  I was hesitant because I thought the pickle would ruin the palate.  The adventurous side of me kicked in and took a pickle.  WOW!  I was so surprised at this wonderful pairing.  I don't know what it was, but the chemical reaction of the dill was softened by the wine and you didn't have the strong dill finish, it was soft and just blended into your palate.

The crisp freshness of the wine was a perfect pairing for crisp freshness of the Claussen Dill Pickle

In Search of Rosé - De Rosa Rosé

Sitting out on the deck discussing the Hudson Valley Wine Competition with John and Michael, John uncorked a 2010 De Rosa Rosé from Roanoke Vineyards he recently purchased on a trip to Long Island Wine Country.  I was so excited because I am in search of Rosé and haven't been able to get to the North Fork.  So I grabbed phone for the picture and my notebook for the tasting notes.

This Rosé is from Roanoke Vineyards on the North Fork of Long Island - better known as "Long Island Wine Country."  It is a blend of 60% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Chardonnay.  That's quite a blend.  It has .5% residual sugar and was tank fermented.

The color on this Rosé was a pale salmon.  If I was to purchase this wine based on color, I would have overlooked it.  I like my Rosé a little more pinkish.  Maybe that's the girl in me.  I am also wondering if the Chardonnay had any effect on the palish color.

The wine had aromas of orange peel, grenache and roses leading the way to a crisp palate with fresh citrus fruits and hints of raspberry. The finish was a little bitter.

This wine sells for $18.

I am still waiting for that WOW factor.

Happy Bitch Wines Tasting Trial #2

Just back from the Society of Wine Educators conference in Rhode Island, and Keryl just back from vacation there is no time to waste.  It was time for tasting trials #2 of Happy Bitch Frizzante.

At this tasting we were going to narrow down the color, sweetness, flavor and aroma. There were two samples that the Winemaster developed for us based on our last tasting trials. A little cheese and crackers and we were set to taste.

Keryl did the honors of opening the first selection.  We compared the selections that were prepared for us to the selections we like from the first tasting trials.  We poured the two new selections in our glass and began the tasting evaluation.  It was quiet.  We swirled and sipped.  OMG I exclaimed, there is no fizz in this.  There were other comments that went around.  To sweet, little dryer, no nose, lacking flavor.  We were very disappointed!  However, all wasn't lost on the evening, we did agree on the color.

First item on Sunday's agenda was to let the Winemaster know of our disappointment and send him back to the lab to create something that will give us a WOW factor.  We're tough bitches! Nobody said creating a wine was going to be easy.

Remember - Happy Bitch Wines will be at the Hudson Valley Wine Festival, September 10 & 11 with two or three of the tasting trial blends for you to vote on.  The winning blend is what we will produce.  If you are in the area, make sure you stop at the festival and visit us in Booth 45 and cast your vote.

Wines of Burgundy

I am really glad to see that Millbrook Winery is taking the lead on wine education.  This summer they have been hosting a series of wine education classes once a month Saturday evenings.  A few weeks back I was suppose to be fishing off the coast of Massachusetts but family illness kept me in the Hudson Valley.  Making the best use of my time, I attended the Burgundy Wine Tasting at Millbrook that was taught by Bob Brink who is the chief wine buyer at Arlington Wines & Liquors.

The wines being tasted were 4 white wine selections and 4 red wine selections.  Of course one selection in each group was a wine from Millbrook.

Paul and I sat in the back of the tent quietly as the tasting began. We tasted through the whites and began the reds. The last selection of red was the 2008 Millbrook Pinot Noir Block Three East.  Bob was so excited about this wine.  He said "This makes the statement that New York is producing World Class Wines." Then he brought me into the conversation about this wine winning the Hudson Valley Wine Competition.  It was the 2007 Block Three East that won the Best Hudson Valley Wine in the 2009 competition.  I wasn't expecting that, but was delighted that I could add to the seminar.

There is one more wine seminar on Saturday August 13 - Loire Valley Wines with Valerie Antoine.  For more info visit the Millbrook Vineyards website

Here are the wines and my notes from the tasting.

Bernard Moreau Bourgogne Blanc 2009 - Melon lime and tangerine on nose with hints of minerals.  Palate is citrus and light.  Mineral after taste.  Wine was lightly oaked and finished in steel.

Chanson Vier-Clesse 2008 - Nose is musty and minerally.  Palate - high acidity, founded feeling, lime, lemony and racy.

Louis Latour Chassagne-Montrachet 2008 - retails for $30. Spice on the nose with some limestone.  Palate, not much flavor with a tart finish.

Millbrook Chardonnay Proprietor's Special Reserve 2009 - Grown on 2 acres with 1300 cases produced.  Aged in 80% 2yr old French oak.  Nose oaky with pear aromas.  The palate had pear, nice body with hints of oak.

Henri Delagrange Bourgogne Hautes-Cotes de Beaune 2009 - retails for $20.  The appearance was bright and exciting with aromas of cooked strawberry jam.  Palate had nice acidity, lean linear taste, sour cherry, red fruit and bright red fruits pop out on the finish.

Domaine Thenard Givry Premier Cru Clos Saint-Pierre 2006 - retails for $25.  Aged in 34% new oak and the rest neutral oak. The appearance was brickish, with a nose of cranberry, anisette and tea.  Strong anisette on the taste with fine tannins.

Nicolas Potel Nuits-Saint-Georges 2006 - retails for $54.  Aged in neutral oak and made with old vines.  The nose of maraschino cherries, strawberry and oak.  Palate is rich on the entry and full of cherries.

Millbrook Pinot Noir Block Three East 2008 - Nose of earth, mushroom and black cherry leading way to a palate of mushrooms, cooking spice and dark fruit.

Family takes Precedence

It was just a few weeks ago that I told my parents about my new venture with Happy Bitch Wines. They were very excited for me.  Even though dad was a beer drinker, if I didn't have a Bud in the house, he settled for a glass of wine.  Wine is better for gout anyway, I told him.


I had hoped to write about our next set of blending trials that were scheduled for last Thursday but on Monday my dad passed away after a brief illness.  Blending trials were cancelled and my week was turned upside down.

I learned so much from my dad and he made me the person I am today.  To learn learn a little about my background and my dad click here for the obit.

I will be heading to the American Society of Wine Educators conference today in Rhode Island.  I will be taking  some wonderful seminars and look forward to sharing the information with you when I return.  By next week, I should be back on track.

I leave you with a "cult" movie my dad made.  So grab your "cult" wine, sit back, relax and enjoy (and yes, it's okay to laugh).

Sangria with a View

By Chrystal Corsino aka "The Babysitter"


Three girls, 90 degree day what better to do then head down to Sangria Fest at Benmarl Winery.  We knew the day was gonna be awesome when we took the scenic route to find the winery.  We spent a half hour driving all around Marlboro and found 2 other wineries first but did not stop as we wanted Sangria! Eventually we found Benmarl.  They really need better signs... or we needed a gps...

We began our day with the 9 tastings offered to us 4 wines, 5 sangrias.  The Seyval Blanc was popular with Amanda and Elisa and both said it was great crisp white wine. I enjoyed the Red Zin it had a nice toasted marshmallow finish and was not to heavy for summer.

We were offered 5 Sangrias and we were given receipes for all of them except the Benmarl signature Sangria which was the overall favorite. You could only buy it by the glass, no bottles offered. They would make a ton of money if they bottled some up for people to take with them. The other Sangrias were Bee Tea (used riesling) which had a very nice honey and Camomile tea flavor with a kick of rum, Tropical, made with their  Trimanette and Seyval Blanc, Spicy Sangria using the Zinfandel and if you like hot sauce this was for you.  You don't feel it till the end and it kicks in.  Lastly Berry Sangria made with the Dechaunac.  All of these were amazing variations on traditional Sangria but the traditional Sangria won us over.  


In addition to the Sangria they had a food table set up with amazing pulled pork and sausage and peppers.  Benmarl is a great place for a picnic, and they allow you to bring in your own picnic as well. From 2-7 they had music and Flamenco dancing.  Unfortunately we missed this as we got there early and the heat took over.  Winery tours were offered on the hour.


The view alone is worth a day at this winery, so whether its for Sangria fest or just a day out and about, go take in the view at Benmarl and enjoy some great wines also.