During my favorite time of year, you'll find me at Balistreri, a local winery where passion makes the fruit that much sweeter.
During my favorite time of year, you'll find me at Balistreri, a local winery where passion makes the fruit that much sweeter.
The harvest season is my favorite time of year. And every year, I know the very place where I’ll be celebrating it: Right here in my home state of Colorado at Balistreri Vineyards’ annual Harvest Party. Surrounded by family and friends, I simply take time to enjoy the flavors of the season—handcrafted wines, local foods, and, of course, the sensational fall colors.
It's beautiful, festive, and filled with incredible wines. What's not to relish? But what I love most about this event is that it takes me to where some of my favorite local wines are made … and better yet, it connects me to the passion that the Balistreri family makes them with. Ah ha! Now I know why these wines taste so good.
For years, John Balistreri has been making dynamic wines, free from sulfites and aged in American oak. However, only being at the site of the winery and getting to know the winemakers could clue me in to the ingredients that make the wine that much sweeter.
As I look forward to the event this weekend, I couldn’t help but think about the Balistreri wine when I saw this week’s Watchword: Terroir.
The Lexicon of Sustainability writes:
Terroir is the notion that food has specific qualities defined by a sense of place. "Terroir" is a French word, often used to describe not how wine tastes but from where it tastes, and not from a winemaking region but from a single vineyard, even a single lot planted on a single hill. It’s that precise.
While the term certainly has a technical side—digging into the ways in which flavors are determined by minerals, soils, and more—I believe that the biggest factor in terroir is the people, passions, and beliefs behind the flavors.
Like so many brands lining the aisles of natural products stores, whether it’s a natural baby bath product inspired by a mom’s desire to help manager her child’s allergies, a snack food born from an age-old family recipe, or a supplement made from the same ingredients grown on the company's farm, the seeds of the best products, are planted by people who truly care about what they do. These are the companies that I truly connect with.
Every harvest season, I feel fortunate that the Balistreri family invites us into their home to celebrate the end of one season and beginning of another with a wonderful, heartfelt glass of grape that claims a terroir all its own.
For those of you Coloradoans, there are still some tickets left, so be sure to check out the event. For all of our other friends around the country who love to live deliciously, please share with us how you celebrate the harvest season.
