Wine & the Bible Follow Up
As we finished our program year, the Justice and Service ministry put together an opportunity for us to celebrate and learn together in partnership with the Farminary at Princeton Theological Seminary. The event was titled Wine & the Bible. To help offset the cost of amazing events like this one, please consider donating to the HPC General Fund. Costs included honorarium for our amazing teachers, the wine, and the cost of the bartender.
Just to recap this event we learned…
How to read the Bible like wine drinkers from Rev. Dr. Lindsey Jodrey. Click here to read more of Lindsey’s reflections on the story of the Wedding at Cana.
How to drink wine like farmers from Dr. Nate Stucky of the Farminary. Click here to learn more about the Farminary.
How to enjoy cheese while dodging rain drops. A big thanks to Olsons Fine Foods for their generous donations!
How to drink wine from Sandy Sherrard.
By popular demand, we are providing the names and tasting notes of the wines we shared. If you are curious about how to find some of these wines, contact Sandy Sherrard. If you need Sandy’s contact information, please reach out to the church office!
Wine List & Tasting Notes:
CVNE Cune Penedes Cava Brut (NV) – Catalonia, Spain
CVNE (Compania Vinicola del Norte Espana) is one of the most important wine producers of Spain. Founded by the Real de Asua brothers in 1879, it remains family-owned and family-run, with the latest generation committed more than ever to making great wine in meaningful quantities. The group currently has seven wineries in Spain’s principal wine-growing regions: CVNE, Imperial, Viña Real and Viñedos del Contino in Rioja, Roger Goulart in Penedés, Bela in Ribera del Duero, and Virgen del Galir in Valdeorras.
Grape varieties: Xarel-lo, Macabeo, Parellada
Pale yellow color with golden hues. A good release of tiny bubbles rising in trains to form a cheerful crown of mousse. This Cava displays fruit notes and typical nuances of aging in bottle. There is fresh acidity for balance, with a creamy texture and lingering finish. Produced using method champenoise.
Bodegas Ethereo Rias Biaxas Albarino 2020 – Galacia, Spain
Rias Baixas' coastline is comprised of inlets reminiscent of Norway’s fjords and boasts some of Spain’s most stunning beaches and an endless supply of fresh seafood. Rías Baixas is also the birthplace of Albariño, Spain’s best known white variety. In Rías Baixas, this grape shares the same nutrient-poor but mineral-rich soils and moderate climate as other renowned white wine producing regions.
Bodegas Ethereo was founded in 2003 by a group of local farmers with a total of 45 hectares (111 Acres) of vineyards. Bodegas Ethereo is located in the Condado do Tea subregion of Rias Baixas, a warmer area known to produce exuberant, tropical and dense Albariños, yet this wine maintains extraordinary minerality and freshness thanks to the unique granite and slate soils in the region.
Delicate, exquisite, dainty, elegant, graceful; this wine showcases a straw yellow bright color with notes of tropical fruits on the nose pineapple and passion fruit. The palate is citrusy with a creamy density and a long clean finish.
Bonpas 'Reserve de Bonpas' Cotes du Rhone Rouge 2020 – Rhone Valley (Southern Rhone), France
The Rhone region in France has over 170,000 vineyard acres broken into two distinct regions. The northern region, including such regions as Hermitage, Saint-Joseph and Cote Rotie, is significantly smaller than the southern region and is noted for producing some of the world’s greatest Syrah-based wines. The southern region is significantly warmer and produces some of the world’s greatest Grenache-based wines, most notably Chateauneuf du Pape. Cotes du Rhone covers 80% of the region’s wines and about 90% are red wines, including Grenache, Carignan, Syrah, and Mourvedre.
Located near Avignon, at the heart of the Rhone Valley, the fortified stronghold of Bonpas, from the French “Bon passage”, has watched over the safe crossing of the Durance River along the historic route that once linked Rome with Avignon. The estate marks the gateway to the southern Côtes-du-Rhône appellations and opens its gates to the discovery of the region’s terroirs.
Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Carignan.
Visual: deep ruby-red. Nose: Expressive, with notes of fresh red fruit. Palate: a warm, powerful wine combining flavors of mild spices, black olives and stone fruits. Ample and supple, with velvety tannins.
Ideally served at 16-18°C alongside grilled meats and fresh goat’s cheeses.
Schild Estate GMS 2017 (Grenache / Mourvedre / Shiraz – Barossa Valley, Australia
Australia’s most important wine state is South Australia home of the Barossa Valley wine region. Located about 40 miles northeast of Adelaide, vines were first planted by German Lutherans and English settlers in 1847. The climate is generally warm and dry with the eastern hills offering a much cooler growing area. The most popular grape grown for white wine is Riesling, while the most popular red grape is Shiraz (Syrah).
The Schild family (descendants of the German Lutherans) purchased their property in 1952. Today they have over 450 acres under vine, including one of the oldest blocks of Shiraz vines that date back to the late 1840’s.
Color: Dark cherry red, ruby. Bouquet: Inviting red fruit aromas of fresh cherries, red currants and raspberries combine with some blue fruit notes upfront before a hint of stony minerality and subtle notes of pepper spice, lavender and garrigue herb emerge from behind. Palate: Vibrant red berry and raspberry fruit show early on the palate providing a pillowy, velvet like feel to the wine early on. This fruity opening envelopes a firm Mataro core driving down the middle. Some white pepper spice provides an additional layer of interest and a super fine tannin presence provides some balance, containment and focus to the fruit.
Chateau Kefraya “Les Coteaux” 2018 – Bekaa Valley, Lebanon
The vineyards of Chateau Kefraya spread over 300 hectares of terraced slopes, 1000 meters above the Mediterranean Sea, on the foothills of Mount Barouk in the Bekaa Valley. It crosses the Yammouneh tectonic rift, source of a wide diversity of terroirs, with some geologies dating from the Jurassic and the Cretaceous period.
Clay-limestone, clay-chalk as well as sandy and gravelly soils compose a real mosaic of terroirs. The vines enjoy an exceptional sun exposure with no irrigation. They are mainly trellised with a planting density of 4000 vines per hectare and an average yield limited to 35 hectoliters per hectare.
All of Kefraya’s wines are vegan. A good share of the vineyard is already organic-certified and in the near future, the whole property will acquire organic-certification. Significant variations in temperatures between day and night ensure a perfect ripening of the grapes and optimal harvest conditions.
Named after Château Kefraya’s very first red wine, launched in 1979, Coteaux is a red wine with a proud heritage. With its slight hint of oak, it has the fruit and the freshness to be appreciated upon release or after a few years of aging. Born from a unique blend of Syrah, Marselan and Cabernet Franc, Coteaux reveals an intense nose of roasted coffee and vanilla. The wine is rich and smooth on the palate, with harmonious spicy notes of black cherry.