Cast iron skillet filled with cooked cherries and batter

July – Williamson’s Cork to Fork!

This edition of Williamson Cork to Fork still features our lovely Wine of the Month – Blossom Rosé, but also another ingredient we’re rather fond of – cherries! It’s a sweet treat we’re sure you’ll enjoy AND it requires about the same amount of time to prepare as it does to brew a pot of coffee. Let’s dig in!

Cherry Clafoutis with Blossom Rosé wine sauce
Cast iron skillet filled with cooked cherries and batterFirst things first, preheat your oven to 350°f degrees. Generously butter or grease (we chose the latter) a 8-9 inch pie dish or cast iron skillet (there we go again, we chose the latter), and place the cherries into the bottom of the prepared dish. It may seem like too many cherries, but you want a lot of them. I mean, steal one and eat it if you must, but don’t get worried that you have too many stuffed in there. Set aside and make the batter.
ingredients pre-set: cherries, eggs, sugar, cream, flour, moreGrab a large mixing bowl and whisk together the milk, sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, and salt until smooth. It won’t take long at all – two minutes of your life, tops. Pour batter carefully over the cherries in the skillet or pie pan.
skillet filled with cherries and batter being poured over the topBake for one hour, or until the top is golden brown and a knife plunged to the center comes out clean. The clafoutis will be a bit puffed up, and as it cools it will deflate a bit – totally normal.
Here’s where our wine comes in! In a small sauce pan you’re going to make a simple syrup with 1/3 cup Blossom Rosé and 2 TBSP sugar. Whisk until dissolved and heat on high until it reduces by half. While it’s still hot, pour it onto the cooling clafoutis.

Once you’re ready to serve, dust lightly with powdered sugar and enjoy. The clafoutis has a rich, custard-like texture that’s perfectly complimented by the sweetness of the cherries. You could serve this for brunch just as easily as you could for dessert, and then you could get up the next day and have it for breakfast – there are no rules, just vibes.
Cast iron skillet with cooked cherries and batter dusted with powdered sugar
We hope you enjoy this wine-infused twist on a French classic brought to life by our delicious Blossom Rosé and cherries from our orchard. If you make it, let us know how it goes!

INGREDIENTS
1 TBSP butter or shortening
1 ¼ cup whole milk
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 TBSP vanilla extract
½ TSP kosher salt
½ cup all-purpose flour
3 cups cherries, pitted or unpitted
Powdered sugar, dusted for serving
SAUCE
1/3 cup Blossom Rosé
2 TBSP granulated sugar

Pro Tip: Make sure  you inform your guests whether or not they need to be on the look out for cherry pits!

Farmers In It For The Long Haul

Williamsons Orchards & Vineyards has been growing a variety of crops for 4 generations and we’ve seen first hand the importance of stewardship on agricultural land. When we started grape growing in the late 1990’s, we came to realize that growing grapes is capital intensive, and risky. Unlike row crops which can be rotated each year, planting a grape vine is a commitment to the future.
It’s an agricultural gamble fueled by passion. Because our family is focused on taking the best care possible of the agricultural land entrusted to us, we do our best to focus on the sustainability and environmental best practices as well as the economic and social responsibility aspects of a family business.


ripe red wine grapes on the vine

How Many Grapes In A Bottle Of Wine?

close up bottle pouring wine into glassFUN FACT!!
Did you know that it takes 600-800 grapes to make a bottle of wine?
Wine grapes can vary from about 50-100 grapes per cluster. It could take anywhere from 8 to 12 grapes clusters per bottle. Each variety of wine grape can hold anywhere from 30 to 50 clusters, depending on what a winemaker requires.
Thus, the winemaker and the wine grower are entwined in their efforts for the grapes to reach their maximum potential for the wine produced.
We believe that wine is defined by its “terroir” (the characteristic taste and flavor imparted to a wine by the environment in which it is produced) and shaped by the decisions of both the grape growers and winemakers!

2020 Sangiovese takes Platinum!

Sip Magazine has hosted their 12th annual Best of Northwest wine competition. They place an open call for submissions put out to wineries of all sizes across the Pacific Northwest with an impressive 665 wines sent in this year. These submissions underwent blind tastings, meticulously evaluated by a distinguished panel of judges comprised of sommeliers, wine buyers, journalists and industry professionals. The top four medalists (platinum, double gold, gold, and silver) and Judges’ picks were selected for each respective wine category.Bottle of Sangiovese wine with glasses behind

We’re proud to announce that Williamson Vineyards 2020 Sangiovese received the highest award for a Sangiovese this year. Full article can be found here: Sip Magazine BEST OF THE NORTHWEST WINE AWARDS

Emerging American Wine Regions and climate challenges – VinePair

A freelance writer named Shana Clark spoke with Beverly, Patrick, and Mike about what grows well in the Snake River Valley AVA. She then wrote an article for VinePair, an online wine magazine. Her article touched on how terroir can affect the grapes grown in a particular region. She spoke with several wine makers in the Snake River Valley AVA and winemakers in Arizona about the challenges of climate and grape varieties.  You can read the full article here: For Emerging American Wine Regions, Can Trends Trump Terroir?

 

 

2023 Harvest Wrap up

grapes on grapevines with yellow leaves, backlight by sunlight

With roughly 310 tons of grapes, this was our largest grape harvest ever to date!! We experienced a compressed harvest, meaning that there was a lot of grapes to harvest and everything became ripe and ready to pick, basically at the same time. This compressed harvest was caused by a cool, wet spring that delayed bud break by 10 – 14 days. The vineyards were delayed again when we had 20 days of temperatures over 100°, causing the vines to go into “survival mode” versus expending energy to ripen.

This year also marks the latest start date to harvest on our records. Luckily, the weather held through the end of October. We didn’t feel a killing frost until end of October but this was late enough and it stayed cold enough that it helped to dehydrate the grapes and concentrate the sugars in the grape berries.

Since everything was ready to pick all at once, we ended up machine picking all our white grapes, something we have never done before. We are excited to see how this will translate into the glass. Especially the Grüner Veltliner, which will hopefully be ready to bottle by June or July of 2023. We will also be patiently waiting to see how a few red grapes will do. The 2022 vintage will be a first for our Petite Verdot and Tempranillo, but we will have to patiently wait until spring or summer of 2024 for these wines.

Cheers and Happy Sipping!

Women in Wine article with Beverly

Beverly had the opportunity to visit with Paige Comrie this summer. Paige is a wine lover with a passion to connect other wine lovers with great wines from across the world. She choses wines that range from delicious & affordable Tuesday night picks to high-end limited edition releases that are truly something to celebrate. She wants to share not just the wines with her followers but the stories of the folks that make those wines.

Find the entire article here: Women in Wine: Beverly Williamson


one bottle red wine and one bottle white wine next to wine barrel

Idaho Wine Competition 2022

We are thrilled to have two of our favorite wines as gold medal winners at this year’s Idaho Wine Competition. If you haven’t had the opportunity to taste our Sangiovese and Albariño, what are you waiting for?

one bottle white wine and one bottle red wine against a tree backdrop

2021 Albariño won Double Gold and our 2019 Sangiovese won a Gold. Check out more detail at our webstore here: Williamson Vineyards wine shop

If you’re interested in more  information about this year’s Idaho Wine Competition, head over to their website here: Idaho Wine Competition

Available for purchase in our tasting room or via our webstore. Psst! Wine club members – remember to sign into your account to receive your special discount.

Yummy Quick Pizza Bites

Why not put that amazing air fryer you have to good use by making a crispy and delightful treat? We think pizza is a food group all on its own and deserves to be eaten as a snack, appetizer, or dinner. Use this recipe as a template and substitute your favorite pizza toppings. Pineapple & ham would be delicious paired with Albariño, Riesling, or Harvest Moon Red. Maybe you have a bottle of Cabernet or Homestead Red, then make your topping pepperoni. Have fun and explore some new wine and pizza pairings. Cheers!

Air Fryer Pizza Bites

  • 2 sheets frozen puff pastry- thawed overnight in refrigerator
  • 1/4 cup pizza sauce (more to taste, but not enough to be soggy)
  • 3.5 oz. shredded ham
  • 8 oz. can pineapple chunks in juice, well drained
  • 2/3 cup shredded pizza cheese
  • Quantities are guidelines, you might want more or less of each ingredient.

Preheat your airfryer to 350°F. Spray the basket of your air fryer with non stick cooking spray. Use a 3in. round cutter to cut 9 discs from each pastry sheet. Or  if you don’t want to waste any pastry, cut into small squares with a sharp knife. Place on prepared basket/tray. Spread evenly with pizza sauce. Top with ham, pineapple and cheese.

Bake for 10 – 15 mins or until cheese melts and base is crisp.

Pro Tip: make sure all your topping ingredients are already cooked before putting them on the puff pastry to prevent a soggy crust.
Enjoy!

Alaska Airlines lets Idaho Wine Fly Free

Great deal for taking wine on Alaska Airlines


The Idaho Wine Commission has brokered a terrific partnership with Alaska Airlines. You may have heard that Alaska Airlines has agreed to allow their Mileage Plan™ members, to check a case of Idaho wines at no additional cost.

They have now added another bonus which Williamson Vineyards is participating in:

When consumers show their Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan membership and in-bound boarding pass (paper or digital) to winery tasting room staff, they receive one complimentary tasting at that location.
The Idaho Wine Commission has more details, click here.