Welcome Our New External Relations Manager!

Fireside Winery, located between Marengo and Williamsburg, Iowa is pleased to announce the hiring of Brad Johnson as the External Relations Manager. In this position, he will be responsible for growing Fireside Winery’s wholesale program throughout Iowa, and enhancing the public relations and social media efforts of our award winning winery.

Brad Johnson’s affiliation with Fireside Winery began in 2008 during a volunteer internship, while working toward his enology certification credentials.  Since that time, he has actively been helping around the winery in various capacities.  He established the social media presence for the winery, assisted with media relations, developed a marketing research program, and for more than a year served as the winemaker’s assistant.

An experienced wine industry professional, Brad Johnson earned his enology (winemaking) certificate in 2010, is a skilled wine industry market researcher and conference speaker, and is an experienced professional wine competition judge.  Additionally, Brad is the founding editor and publisher of Winedustry™: wine industry news for the “other” grapes, and is a contributing writer for the regional “Make Mine Wine” magazine; and co-founding member of the Eastern Iowa Wine Club.

“We are excited to bring Brad on as our External Relations Manager” said Rona Wyant, owner, “and are confident his tremendous skill-set will be an asset as we build our wholesale program and enhance our pubic and social media presence.”

Retailers and restaurants interested in carrying the award winning Fireside Winery wines should contact Brad Johnson at Brad@FiresideWinery.com or call him (319-329-1509) to learn more.

Winemaker / Tasting Notes - NEW!!

For the past few months, in preparation for my new position (External Relations Manager) at Fireside Winery, I've spent considerable time putting our wines through a updated sensory evaluation process - for our new Tasting Notes. 

As advocates for locally made wines we appreciate and value an insiders view of the wine, and thought you might be interested in seeing an overview of our wines, a descriptive sensory analysis of each wine, along with our winemakers' (Zach) production notes, food-wine pairing suggestions, and finally (a pat on our back) the awards won.

The Winemaker/Tasting Notes are available on our Products Page if you'd like to view or download (pdf).

Overview

BLU is a light, crisp, semi-sweet white wine made from two delicate grapes: Seyval Blanc and  Geisenheim. Great by itself! BLU possesses incredible tropical characteristics and is perfect with spicy Eastern food.  Best when served chilled.

Color/Aroma/Palate

Light, straw colored wine with voluptuous legs.  On the nose, BLU offers delicate fruity aromas of pineapple, pear, peach and lychee. Crafted in the German white wine style, BLU’s tropical fruit character and acidity are enhanced with just the right amount of residual sugar. Perfect for sipping or accompanying a spicy meal.  

Wine Production Info

Cultivars: 50% Seyval Blanc, 50% Geisenheim

Harvest Year: 2009

Bottling Year: 2010

Vineyard: New York State, Finger Lakes Region

Alcohol: 12.5 %

Brix: 22.7

Residual Sugar: 2.5%

Oak: None

Cold Stabilization: Yes

Note: Cool fermented to enhance fruity character

Background: Seyval was developed in France in the 1930’s.

Pairing and Service

Optimal Serving Temperature: 50 degrees (chilled)

Cheese: Fontina, Havarti, Muenster, Monterey Jack, Colby, Gouda, BellaVitano

Meals: Light fare, spicy Thai or Mexican food, pasta with cream sauce.

Awards:  Silver (2010) Finger Lakes Wine Competition; (2009) Finger Lakes Wine Competition; Bronze (2009) Mid-American Wine Competition; Bronze (2008) Mid-American Wine Competition; Bronze (2008) American Wine Society Competition; Bronze; Bronze (2007) Mid-American Wine Competition.

Click here to view the online product page (then, click on the label you want to learn more about).

Thank you for supporting Fireside Winery!

Sincerely,

Brad Johnson