In a video interview with Regional Wine Taster, Michelle Meyer, owner of Holy-Field Vineyard, tells how a Californian wine connoisseur was gifted a bottle of their Holy-Field Late Harvest Vignoles dessert wine and took it to a blind tasting where it faced the best bottles his wine friends had to offer, including a Dom Perignon, a Chateau Mouton Rothschild and high-end Californian wines. Against this classy opposition, Holy-Field’s dessert wine was the hit of the tasting! Michelle says the Californian wine fans were “tickled” when the Kansas identity of the wine was revealed and they regarded it as the one everyone wanted to top.
Michelle says the response from these wine fans underlines the US public’s growing interest in trying regional wines. ”I think for a lot of people regionality is becoming more important and as that happens they’re pleasantly surprised to find something outside the traditional wine regions, ” Michelle says.
Perhaps today, some Kansas and Missouri wines stand in relation to Californian wines, how three decades ago Californian wines stood in relation to French wines (like that Judgement of Paris 1976). Maybe Missouri and Kansas wines could use a few more ‘bottle shocks’ like this to help both their reputation and challenge the wine status quo.
Give me a break! The wines mentioned (a Bordeaux and a Champagne) are worlds different than a late harvest/dessert wine, and remove any semblance of believability in this yarn. I appreciate that regional wines are important and deserve press in the targeted mainstream, but this is ridiculous – poorly executed and wholly inaccurate.
Thanks for your comment Todd. You’re just jealous you didn’t get to taste this lovely dessert wine! I think you may have misunderstood the yarn – this wasn’t a competitive blind tasting. The facts are correct. Perhaps the facts come through clearer in the YouTube interview. Have a look and see what you think: http://www.youtube.com/user/danjwood?feature=mhee
and make sure you try that Holy-Field dessert wine!
I gave that bottle to a friend of mine who is in the Stanford tasting group. I’ve been judging wine in competitions since 1982. I judge the S F Chronicle Wine Competition and the Sonoma County Harvest Fair and several other competitions. The Holy-Field dessert wine is one of my favorites; great depth and complexity. It is one of my favorite dessert wines of all time. If you haven’t had it you can’t understand how wonderful it is.
How does it compare to Marco Negre? That is the only “dessert” wine I know. A friend introduuced me to that.
I haven’t tried the Macro Negre…My guess is the Holy-Field dessert wine would be a similar golden color and texture in the mouth but sweeter? Perhaps some other wine drinkers can offer a better comparison. Thanks for your comment!
It is sweeter, richer, higher viscosity (thicker mouth feel) and no bubbles. Hope this helps.
As a semi-pro status wine drinker, an amateur wine connoisseur, and a reluctant sweet wine liker, I have a bottle of this delicious dessert wine just waiting for the the right opportunity to share it. Yeah! Holyfield Winery and Congrats to Michelle.