Indiana. A buddy of mine sent me wine from Indiana. I was amused, even a little shocked. But hey, WHY NOT? I cracked these open and tasted them over a week. As you can see, I didn’t refuse to review them, so they passed the drinkability test! Read on, dear oenophiles:
Monkey Hollow Winery Chambourcin 2013, MSRP $18/bottle.
Color is violet with clear edging. Nose of bright red fruit and rose bush. In the mouth: cherry cola, blackberry, and green vegetation up front. There is powerful acidity in the mid-palate that makes this wine feel both more tannic and sweeter than it actually is. Notes of pencil shavings and more intense blackberry show predominantly on the medium finish. I’m fascinated by this, because Chambourcin is traditionally a dry red with intense color and flavor and I found this less dry and less intense, but very interesting to drink, pairing this wine nicely with steak, pasta, pizza, and asian stir-fry.
Monkey Hollow Winery Traminette 2014, MSRP $20/bottle.
Dark straw with medium opacity in color. A fragrant nose of honey, citrus fruit and wildflowers, in the mouth it immediately tastes like a midwestern cousin to gewürztraminer (which of course the grape actually is) lychee and apricot dominating the front palate with notes of delicate spice -candied ginger, cinnamon sugar, vanilla bean- on the finish. Over the course of a week, the apricot became more dominant but the wine stayed fresh and enjoyable ands paired easily with light flavors, as an apéritif or with chicken, salad, and delicate cheeses.
Monkey Hollow Wines are made in Saint Meinrad, Indiana which is closest to Santa Claus, Indiana. That’s about sixty miles from Evansville, IN, which has brutally hot summers and cold, windy winters. I know that because I lived there for three years.
(Alcohol by volume not listed on the Money Hollow Wines bottles or their website.)
jvb uncorked 
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