Winery Tours in New Hampshire

Happy Holidays and Welcome 2019. To conclude 2018, ten New Hampshire Wineries Coordinated a fun Holiday Event by hosting special wine tastings during the month of December. We were able to visit six locations over two weekends. It was a unique way to see different parts of the state. The following is a description of the family-owned vineyards we visited.

Zorvino Vineyards, Sandown

This vineyard was established in 2004, and currently has about 2000 vines on 80 acres. It was the largest vineyard that we visited. Zorvino's has a large tasting room and gift shop that offers a wide

Entrance to Zorvino Vineyards

 variety of wines, including fruit and vegetable blends. Even if you aren't a wine connoisseur, you most likely will find a wine to enjoy. They also has a large post and beam barn which they use for hosting weddings and other functions. It was a great place to start our tour.

Flag Hill Distillery and Winery, Lee

Products Sourced by Flag Hill Winery

This 110 permanently conserved property was converted from a dairy farm to a vineyard in 1987, making it the oldest vineyard that we visited. In 2004 they expanded their operation to include spirits. The owners, Brian and Maddie Ferguson grow grapes, grain and vegetables on the property which are are all used to make into their wines, spirits and culinary dishes. The tasting included a sampling of wines and spirits as well as three of their delicious made meatballs. All their ingredients are either grown on site, or are sourced locally in New England.

Sweet Baby Vineyard, Hampstead

Sweet Baby Vineyard began operations in 2008, and moved to its current location in 2016, where they aspire to plant 1500 vines. They clearly have a love for the business. They have a spacious wine tasting facility, which had plenty of room for our baby granddaughter to stretch her legs. We were pleasantly pleased when they brought out brownie sundaes as part of the Jingle Bell Tour.

Entering the Tasting Room at Sweet Baby Vineyard

 Averill House Vineyard, Brookline

Entrance to Averill House Vineyard

Just as the sun was setting we made it to our last stop of the first day - Averill House Vineyard, the newest winery on the tour which has only been in operation for a few years. Although they currently  offer a limited selection, the wines we tried were good and unique, including their cherry and coffee flavored wine. In addition to participating in the Jingle Bell Tour, they also hosted dinner and crafting events in 2018. I predict a bright future for this small family run operation.

Haunting Whisper Vineyard and Spirits, Danbury

This past weekend, my son, who was visiting for the Christmas Holiday, and I decided to check out two more wineries. The first was in Danbury, about an hour drive north of Concord. It was nice to see a little snow on the ground, since December has been mostly wet instead of white.

View from Haunting Whisper Vineyard

Haunting Whisper opened to the public in 2009. They are located on a hill which have beautiful views of the surrounding mountains. Inside the tasting room, you can see where the wine and spirits are made. If you are looking for a picturesque place to visit in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire, I recommend checking out Haunting Whisper which will reopen in May.

Appolo Vineyards, Derry

Our last stop was to Appolo Vineyards which was established in 2004. Although not as large as some of the other vineyards we visited, they had an intimate tasting room next to the colonial style farmhouse. We appreciated the fact that they offered an organic wine from Brianna grapes grown on their own property. In the summer you can watch the grapes being crushed on their outdoor crushing pad.

Appolo Vineyards Entrance

And since we were in Derry, we decided to take a walk around the Robert Frost Farm, which I have wanted to visit for some time. The house was not open, but there is a nice trail that surrounds the property. You can read some of Frost's poems and a little of the history of the property, from markers located along the trail. It was a very nice way to end the day and the year.  

View of the Robert Frost farmhouse from a woods trail behind a field.

Simple Pumpkin Chicken Casserole

Pumpkin Casserole

This recipe is made simple by using boxed or canned pumpkin or squash soup. It is great for a week night since putting it together is a snap. You can make it with rice or pasta or add vegetables in place of the chicken to make it vegetarian.

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked rice
16 ounces pumpkin or squash soup
2 diced cooked chicken breasts
1 orange or yellow pepper chopped
2 green onions chopped
1 apple peeled and diced
1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries
1/4 cup slivered almonds
Parmesan cheese

Combine all ingredients except cheese. Spoon into a greased casserole dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bake at 450 degrees 20 minutes.

The Feast of St. Nicholas

from 123rf.com

The feast of Saint Nicholas is celebrated on many different days from December 4th (England and Scotland) to December 19th (in the East). In the United States, Saint Nicholas has given way to Santa Claus, who arrives on Christmas Eve bearing gifts for children. The historical St. Nicholas was a Christian Bishop of Lycia, now southern Turkey. He is known for secretly giving gifts. One legend has it that he provided dowries for 3 daughters of a poor man who could not do so himself. This allowed each of the three daughters to be honorably married, according to custom at that time. As we remember this tradition of gift-giving in December please give thought to where and how you make your purchases. Now that Black Friday is behind us, we can hopefully slow down and appreciate the holiday season by supporting your local merchants. I know you have heard the mantra "shop local" many times, but have you truly thought what your community would be like without small businesses and local stores? If you visit a brick and mortar store, and then purchase the product on-line because it is cheaper, would you still do so if it meant that a few months down the road your local store would be shutting its doors because it is no longer profitable?  Sadly that is what is happening in towns all around the country. Yes, you most likely will be paying more when you buy from your local merchant, but you are getting value from simply having a store that you can walk into, feel and touch its products, and have a face to face conversation with the owner or clerk. Further, stores keep our Main Streets alive, by attracting people to get out and socialize.

This November 15th article at Futurity.org has a sobering statistic that about 7000 stores in the United States shuttered their doors between 2016 and 2017. It also reports on research which showed that most people, and society as a whole, would be devastated if physical stores no longer existed. Not only would it have detrimental impact to local economies (think reduced tax revenues and increased payments for social services), it would would also have health and social impacts. Shopping provides an opportunity for engage with friends and to meet new acquaintances. In addition to mental health, many people use shopping as a means to get some exercise by walking.  

So please, in the spirit of Saint Nicholas have your shopping experience be impactful by benefiting not just the receiver of the gifts, but you as the shopper and the merchant as a critical component of our communities.

Easy Sweet Potato and Kale Soup

Sweet Potato and Kale Soup

Our son came home for Thanksgiving and made this delicious, hearty soup, adapted from the Run Fast, Cook Fast, Eat Slow cookbook. It comes together in minutes and only needs about 20 minutes on the stove. Serve with your favorite bread for a complete weeknight meal.

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 medium onion diced
2 carrots peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks chopped
1 large yam, unpeeled and diced into 1 inch cubes
1 can garbanzo beans drained
1 can coconut milk
1 can crushed or diced tomatoes
4 cups water
3 cups chopped kale.

In a dutch oven or heavy soup pot heat oil and saute onions, carrots, celery and salt about 5 minutes until soft, but not brown. Add curry powder and stir for 30 seconds. Add remaining ingredients, except kale. Bring to a boil and simmer until sweet potato is soft, about 15 - 20 minutes. Add chopped kale and cook until wilted, about 30 seconds.
Makes 4-6 hefty servings.   

Caching Food for the Winter

Squirrels and a turkey take advantage of bird seed on ground following the first snowfall of the year.

As Thanksgiving approaches, our thoughts are turned to food. As with the early settlers, without a means to access food, the outset of winter can turn tragic for those in the animal kingdom. This week in LIVESCIENCE an article titled "How Do Squirrels Remember Where They Buried Their Nuts" describes research conducted by Mike Maria Delgado, University of California Davis, and published in the Journal Royal Society Open Science. The article reports how squirrels will bury their collections in various areas based upon characteristics of the food and that they rely on memory to locate the stash during the winter. About 95 percent of the stored food is successfully found and retrieved. What I found most interesting in the article is that even when squirrels cache their food in the same vicinity of other squirrel's supply, each squirrel will return to their own personal cache. There was an abundance of acorns last fall, which contributed to a rise in the squirrel population this year. I counted at least six squirrels at our feeders this past weekend. They are probably leaving their acorn harvest for later in the winter, when other sources of food are more scarce.

Gardeners and farmers are fortunate in that we don't have to hide our harvest, and that we have means to freeze, dry and can our food to ensure a healthy supply of food over the winter. And, if we don't preserve enough, there are always winter farmers markets and organic food selections at the super market. For this I am grateful. Happy Thanksgiving All!

A Hike in the Lakes Region

Typically, when my friend Sue and I hike it is somewhere in the White Mountains, but today we decided to explore a lower elevation trail in Brookfield, NH. At only 1868 feet, Copple Crown is a relatively easy hike with rewarding views at the summit.

We parked at the plow turn-turnaround at the end of Moose Mountain Road. This was recommended to avoid the rough terrain of the road that follows for an additional .3 miles. If you have a vehicle that can handle it, there is an official parking area with a map showing the various snow mobile trails which intersect at this junction. There is a sign to the right that points to the Copple Crown hiking trail.

The first 1.3 miles of the hike is at an easy grade up an unmaintained Class VI town road. With heavy rains yesterday, the road was quite wet.

Certain wet areas  had a light coating of ice which reflected the surrounding trees beautifully.

A sign that the ground isn't completely frozen yet, was the "needle ice" or "frost pillars" observed in a couple spots along the trail. Needle ice forms when underground water is pushed to the surface and freezes as it reaches air temperature that is below 32 degrees Fahrenheit.

Needle Ice

This is in contrast to the icicles that we saw on rocks that were probably formed when the air temperature dipped below freezing during or following the rain storm.

Icicles

At approximately 1.2 miles there is a trail kiosk on the left with a map of the 732 acre conservation area managed by the Lakes Region Conservation Trust. This is the official beginning of the trail which is marked by blue blazes.

Trails are always more difficult to follow in the fall when they are covered with leaves. This one in particular required us to keep an eye on the blue blazes as it was not always evident when we had wandered off the trail inadvertently. Fortunately, we would realize our mistake before we got lost. The are two peaks atop Copple Crown - the main summit and East Peak. Unfortunately we never saw the sign for the main summit and only made it to the ledges of East Peak. In any event, it was a beautiful and warm spot to eat lunch and enjoy the views.
Snow is in the forecast for later this week which will paint a different picture when hiking. We hope to get out often this winter, but for today, it was great to be outside and enjoy the Autumn air. 

Fall Preparations

We have had a lot of rain this Autumn, so Sunday's partly sunny day was a welcome change. Our Japanese Maple tree finally dropped most of it's leaves. With daylight savings time ending Sunday morning, the earlier daylight in the morning was also welcome. My son and I spent most of the morning, sweeping up leaves with the tractor and raking them from the planting beds nearest to the house. All other beds are left as is until Spring, with the leaves providing extra insulation for the perennials underneath as well an overwintering home for insects and small mammals.

The browns have temporarily taken over the greens in the compost bin.

Since the temperature on Sunday was above freezing, it was also a good day to protect our broadleaf evergreens from the unpredictable temperature swings of winter with a pine resin spray. I typically use Wilt-Pruf, but found that Bonide also carriers a similar product. Since we started using these winterizing products we haven't lost a single rhododendron over the winter. Not only do they survive, but they thrive the following season.

The active ingredient in both Wilt-Pruf and Wilt Stop is derived from the resin of pine trees

Now that most of the leaves are fallen, we can see in which trees the birds have been nesting.

The mud lining of this robin's nest is clearly visible

Most of the annual flowers have succumbed to the freezing temperatures, so it was a pleasure to see a few perennial flowers still in bloom.

Mid-Autumn blooming flowers

Another interesting observation is that on our walkway the moss growing between the bricks has become more lush than it has been all summer. It definitely prefers the cool temperatures and shorter days.

Moss is looking very healthy this time of year.

I know that it won't be long before snow blankets the ground, so I consider each day of green this time of year to be a blessing.