VINTAGE TIMES
Winter 2011

Holiday Shopping    We have great ideas for everyone on your Gift List! Let us festively wrap your gifts of wine, create a gourmet wine basket, hand-paint a wine bottle for that someone “special,” or just stop in for some fun stocking stuffers. Why not order family or business labels and give everyone a “vintage” bottle of your own stock-cellar-favorite. To allow our elves sufficient time to complete holiday orders, hand-painted bottle orders and special label orders need to be placed by December 15th. Currently, we can ship wine to AK, DC, FL, ID, LA, MN, MO, NE, NV, NH, NM, ND, OH, OR, PA, VA, WV, and WY. Come on out and get in the holiday spirit with tantalizing hot mulled wine to warm your insides, holiday sweets, wine tastings, and other great gifts from our elves' wine work shop.

Cellar Report    We will release our Vidal Frost (ice wine) in 375 ml blue bottles by December. Forte' Venango (ruby port aged in old oak barrels and a gold medal winner in the state) in 500 ml bottles and the Ice House Misty Bubbly (sparkling wine) in 750 ml bottles will also be ready for your enjoyment. We started vintage 2011 with cool and wet, then followed by a hot summer. Hurricane Irene and Lee tracked along the narrow corridor from DC to Albany NY to Vermont; thus not greatly affecting Lake Erie region. The overall vintage looks good with above average growing degree-days.

Events 2012    Red Wine & Dark Chocolate during February 11 to 14, Irish Soup & Artisan Cheeses on March 17 and 18, Open House on April 28 and 29, Blues Festival on June 16, and the Harvest Picnic on September 9.

Last Mailing!     In an effort to “go green,” this letter will be the last mailing you will receive from us. Let us know if you would like to receive email notifications about special events – about four to six emails a year. These notifications will be kept short and simple. You can also access our web site at www.CCW-Wine.com to pull the information. When visiting our gift shop, give us your personal and business email addresses or email us at info@CCW-Wine.com so that we can update your information. You can also opt-out at anytime by notifying us. If you do not want email notifications, you can still remain active in the 15-Bottle Club.

Two Outlets
• Johnston the Florist, 14179 Lincoln Way, North Huntingdon, PA, tel. 800-356-9371
• Castle Wines, 495 Lowries Run Road, Pittsburgh, PA, tel. 412-364-0800

Hours     Open everyday 10 – 6 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, and Easter.

We wish you a very happy holiday with family and
good friends, and delicious Conneaut Cellars wine!

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VINTAGE TIMES
Fall 2011

Tidbits   No newsletter would be complete without a few “believe it or not” in the world of wine!
• According to Gomberg-Fredrickson 2010 Annual Wine Industry Review, the U.S. last year edged out France to become the No. 1 wine-consuming nation on earth despite the annual consumption at just 2.6 gallons per capita. Wines & Vines, May 2011. Italy surpassed France in total production in 2010 according to European Commission and Huffpost Food. Sommelier News, June 2011
• Donald Trump purchased the financially troubled Kluge Winery, VA for $6.2 million. Mr. Trump and founder Patricia Kluge are longtime friends. Observer, May 2011
• You can buy a new Ferrari Italia or a 2-week stay at the Ritz in Paris for $230,000. Instead, an Asian bidder at a Sotheby's wine auction in Hong Kong chose to spend it on a bottle of 1869 Chateau Lafite vintage (Bordeaux) ... most expensive bottle of wine in the world. Sommelier News, December 2010. A Japanese importer paid $125,000 for 5 cases of 2009 Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon at Napa Valley Vintners' midwinter trade auction. Sommelier News, April 2011
• The top alcohol beverages consumed by vacationers from 2009 to 2010, ranked in order, are wine, beer, spirits, wine coolers, then hard cider. Beverage World, May 2011
• For Aussies, China is the next U.S. China has developed a big taste for wine due to their improved living standards, increase in demand for wine, and open wine market according to Australian Broadcasting Corp. Australia is among countries trying to slake the new thirst after it saturated the U.S. market. Sommelier News, June 2011
• Participants in blind taste challenge at Edinburgh Science Festival could not distinguish between cheap wine and those costing up to 6 times as much. ITN News said the study suggests many people are merely paying for the label when they spend more. Sommelier News, May 2011

New Picnic Pavilion   The new 640 square feet picnic pavilion was built and inspected in time for our Blues Festival in June. It has electric service (used by the bands), lighting, picnic tables, and a beautiful barrel truss ceiling. By next year, the pavilion should have running water, a charcoal grill, and landscaping.

Awards   At the 2011 Great Lakes International Wine Competition, our winery was awarded six medals. Our Forté Venango (port), Hazel Park Red, and Summit Red were awarded Silver medals, while Bronze medals were awarded to our Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling, and Princess Snowater. We were also awarded four medals at the 2011 Pennsylvania Key Stone Competition. The Forté Venango won gold medal, while Cabernet Sauvignon took the Silver medal, and Bronze medals were awarded to our Cabernet Franc and Wolf Island.

See You at the Picnic!

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VINTAGE TIMES
Spring 2011

Open House    Come celebrate our 29th Anniversary on Saturday, April 30, and Sunday, May 1, from 10 AM to 6 PM. You can enjoy snacks made with our wines, take tours of our cellar, and enter your name for prizes. Now is the time to look forward to spring and summer by joining us to try the fine wines of the 2010 vintage. There will be additional discounts on cases of wine.

Awards    This past November at the International-American Wine Society Competition, we won a gold medal for Pinot Grigio; silver medals for Princess Snowater, Sadsbury Red, and Colonel Crawford; and bronze medals for Hazel Park Red, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Locally, we also won 6 awards in January 2011 at the PA Farm Show for Summit Red, Wolf Island, Midway Blush, Colonel Crawford, Princess Snowater, and Pymatuning Rose.

Winery News    Thanks to VinoShipper.com, we are now able to ship by UPS to AK, DC, FL, ID, LA, MN, MO, ND, NE, NH, NM, NV, OH, OR, VA, WV and WY. Call winery for pricing. We are still able to ship by FedEx to PA customers. Also, our new labels for this year will be on linen paper, less verbiage, and little smaller to better fit the Bordeaux style bottle. The label will still have the gold foil stamping and embossing of our logo.

Tidbits

•  China's booming wine market created what the Telegraph calls an "astounding demand" for empty bottles of famous wine. The counterfeiters will pay up to $400 for these empty bottles and then refilling them to scam rich Chinese. A particular favorite is Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1982, which sells for $3,500 a bottle at auctions. First Press (Sommelier News, Feb 2011)

•  Prohibition era all over again? Last year, the PA Liquor Control Board acted on "anonymous" complaint that some beer from the Philadelphia craft beer pubs may not be correctly registered with the state. The officers raided and allegedly took beers whose labels did not exactly match the registration, regardless of typos and clerical errors. The Hit List (Beverage World, Dec 2010)

• According to the Telegraph, wine sales Down Under are set to overtake beer within a decade. Beer consumption in Australia dropped almost half to its lowest point in 50 years while wine sales have increased by three-fold during same period. First Press (Sommelier News, Feb 2011)

•  The New Scientist is reporting white wine is as good for you as red. According to Dipak Das, a molecular biologist at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, has found that the flesh of the grape can do the same job as the skin. Nick Stephens (eBacchus, Feb 2011)

•  About 8% of people get sneezy and stuffy-headed after drinking wine. The mild allergic reaction is often blamed on sulfites (a natural occurring compound), but they are only responsible for 1/8th of cases. Giuseppe Palmisano from University of Southern Denmark reported in the Journal of Proteome Research revealed that glycoproteins (compounds of sugar and proteins) are likely the culprit. The Economist, Nov 25, 2010.

Blues Festival    Our annual Blues Festival will be on Saturday, June 18 from noon to 6 PM, rain or shine, behind the winery. Listen to the sounds of two local bands for only $5. Bring your good friends, lawn chairs, a blanket, and a picnic. There is no food on site to purchase. Sorry, no carry-in alcohol beverages or pets allowed. Free juice is provided for designated drivers. Relax and enjoy chilled wine and good tunes - what a way to kick-off summer and celebrate Father's Day weekend! There will be special discounts on cases of wine.

See You at Open House in April and Blues Festival in June

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