Fireside Winery 2013

We were blessed with another wonderful year at Fireside Winery.  We met so many new people and enjoyed spending time with our Fireside fans and family.  This video is a collection of highlights from the year. Enjoy!

 

Fireside Winery, Marengo, Iowa
Please enjoy our wines responsibly.

Can we ship direct to YOU?

We are so excited about our newest partnership with VinoShipper which provides us with two new benefits for our wine fans.  First of all, on our site, there is now a direct link to our very own Fireside Winery shopping portal.  You can also access it directly with the address:  https://www.vinoshipper.com/wines/fireside_winery

On VinoShipper, you can pick and choose which Fireside wines you want, whenever it works for you and whereever you are.  That means, yes, you can buy wine at midnight, in your pajamas, while eating popcorn and watching your favorite TV shows.  

Screen shot from Fireside Winery's Homepage - click on Wine, then Buy Now

The other great benefit from the partnership is we now have the ability to ship direct to the consumer more than ever before thanks to VinoShipper's ability to share their shipping license in certain states with us.

We can now ship to all the states shaded in purple.  The states in purple with lines through them indicate states that we previously had licenses to ship direct to the consumer.  As you can see, the new partnership opened up Fireside wines to be shipped to 14 new states, with a grand total of 23 states.  Very exciting!!!

The process to order online is fairly simple but if you have troubles, give us a call and we would be happy to walk you through the process.  Happy shopping!

Fireside Winery, Marengo, Iowa
Please enjoy our wines responsibly.

Giving Thanks

At this time of year, we take pause and think of all the wonderful things we are thankful for.  The list is long here at Fireside and includes visits from old (and new) friends, stunning sunsets, a bountiful grape harvest and incredible musical events.  

This year we are also thankful for a gracious grant we were awarded by the Iowa Tourism Office.  The grant program was open to all tourism-related businesses in the state of Iowa.  We applied for grant assistance to help with costs associated with hosting the many live, musical entertainment acts we have at the winery during the year. 203 applications were submitted and Fireside Winery was one of 69 organizations to share in the grant awards.  

Many thanks to the Iowa Tourism Office and Iowa Economic Development Authority for awarding us with this grant and for helping us spread the joy of wine and live music to our Iowa and visiting guests.

For more information on the grant program, visit www.traveliowa.com.  

Fireside Winery, Marengo, Iowa
Please enjoy our wines responsibly.

Another Reason to Try Autumn Spiced

I'm in love with our new Autumn Spiced wine.  It's my "go to" wine on evenings when I can effortlessly polish off a bottle of it on my own.  For me, it's the perfect blend of sweetness with the wonderful flavors of the season.  

This week I found another use for my delicious fall favorite.  We recently had a friend of the winery bring us a bunch of delicious pears.  While cooking a family dinner, my mom decided to try sauteing some pears in the Autumn Spice for dessert.  The outcome was fabulous.  Of course, it didn't hurt that the warm, cinnamon-spiced pears were served with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.  Even my dad and husband, who aren't huge fans of dessert, gobbled up their portions.  For me, it was light and soothing after a heavy meal.  If you are looking for an easy fall dessert to impress your guests, this would be my suggestion.

Here's our recipe (albeit not exact as we didn't use any measurements or times)

1. Peel and slice 4 pears in half and place cut side down in a large sauce pan.
2. Pour Fireside Winery's Autumn Spice wine over the pears, enough so pears are resting in 1/4 inch of liquid
3. Sprinkle cinnamon over the pears, cover and steam over medium high heat until the pears are easily pierced by a fork and most of the liquid is cooked off (about 10-15 minutes)
4. Serve each half pear with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and ENJOY!

Fireside Winery, Marengo, Iowa
Please enjoy our wines responsibly.

Fireside Winery Sets Sail Again

Fireside Winery is putting together its 3rd cruise for fans looking to get away.  In 2014, they are returning to the west coast 7 night, California Coastal Cruise.  

The 7 night voyage starts off in Los Angeles on Saturday, September 20. You'll spend a day at sea, traveling to the furthest north port on the trip, before arriving Monday in San Francisco   There you will have a full day of sight seeing.   

Tuesday is another day spent at sea, soaking in the wonderful California sunshine and watching for whales on the horizon.  Wednesday's port is at charming Santa Barbara.  On Thursday, we visit the California gem, San Diego.  The last stop on the journey is to Ensenada, Mexico before traveling home to Los Angeles on Saturday.

California Coastal Cruise Flyer

ABOUT THE SHIP 
We will be setting sail with Princess Cruise Lines on their Crown Princess.  The Crown 
Princess is one of the largest Princess ships.  

Crown Princess at Sea

The Crown Princess has many amenities on board including basketball, paddle tennis, jogging tracks and state-of-the-art gyms equipped with machines that'll keep your heart rate pumping. Enjoy a peacefull time in the Lotus Spa or take a splash in any of the 5 pools on board.  For a full listing of activities on board, click here.

Crown Princess Top Deck Pool

CABIN INFO
Fireside Winery has upgraded cabins on reserve.  Room types and deck locations are as follows:

Inside Cabins - Riviera, Aloha, Baja, Caribe, Dolphin, Lido
Outside Cabins with Obstructed View - Emerald
Outside Cabins - Emerald, Plaza
Balcony Cabins -Caribe, Baja
Balcony Suites - Dolphin

Cabins outside of this block are available with group rates as well.   Click here to view the Crown Princess Deck Plans.

The following rates are  based on double occupancy and will vary by exact cabin selection. Cabin prices include the Ultra-Deluxe Beverage Package, government taxes and a $25 on-board credit.  Third and fourth person occupancy rates are available and are subject to availability.

Inside Cabin - $1209.00 pp
Outside Cabin - $1289.00 pp
Balcony Cabin - $1539.00 pp
Mini Suite Cabin - $1819.00 pp

Details of the Ulta-Deluxe Beverage Package

• Red/white wine with lunch, dinner and in all bars (limit up to $7.95)
• Sparkling wine by the glass
• Standard and premium spirits/liquors (limit up to $7.95)
• Cocktails up to $7.95
• All imported and domestic beers
• Alcohol free items including mocktails, juice, soda, coffee, tea & expresso
• Beverage gratuities

PORTS AND EXCURSIONS
If you choose to step off the boat and explore, adventures await you at all of the ports.

 Princess Cruise lines has a full up of excursions for each stop along the way.  You can view them all on their website.  

In addition to the Princess excursions, Fireside Winery has created their own private side tours as well.  

San Francisco
Platypus Tours will pick us up at the pier at 8:30 am and return our group no later than

 6:00 pm.  We will visit four wineries in the the Sonoma and Russian River Valley areas.  The highlight of the tour will be a tour of Korbel where we will learn about their history and making of sparkling wines.  
Cost:  $129 per person, gratuity for driver is included, as well as lunch.  Korbel tasting fee is also included.

Santa Barbara
Cloud Climber Jeep Tours is offering two tour options.  Pick up is at the Santa Barbara Train Station which you are responsible for walking to.  Tours are in 7 passenger, open-air jeeps so you could be sharing a ride with fellow travelers of our group.

Option 1:  8am - $144 per person, includes 4 wineries, lunch, gratuities and tasting fees
Option 2:  10am - $195 per person, includes 1.5 hour horseback tour, 2 wineries, lunch, gratuities and fees

San Diego
Winemaker Tours will pick our group up at the San Diego pier at 8am.  Our tour will take us north to the Temecula wine region. 
Cost:  $120 per person, includes educational tour, 3 winery visits, lunch and tasting fees.

Excursion bookings are required by January 1, 2014 and follow the same cancellations as Princess Cruise Line.

LEARN MORE
If you would like more information on this cruise or would like to book your space, please contact Rona Wyant at rona@firesidewinery.com or give her a call at 319-662-4222. 

Past Fireside cruisers will be available for an informal Q&A on Sunday, October 27th from 2-5pm. Billy Heller will be performing live, for our last Sunday afternoon music series of the year too!  

As an added bonus, Fireside Winery is offering a reduced deposit of $100 per person through October 31. The deposit is refundable (through 7/7/14) so if you're interested, contact Rona as soon as possible.  


Fireside Winery, Marengo, Iowa
Please enjoy our wines responsibly.

Crafted Vine Art Expo

We hope to have a great crowd join us this Sunday, September 29th for our 1st annual Crafted Vine Art Expo.  Visit and shop with local artists from around Iowa from 12-5pm.  We will also have musical favorite, Billy Heller performing from 2-5pm.  

Artists Attending:

Carver’s Ridge - carversridge.com

·         Engraved Natural stones and glass items

·        

Carvers Ridge

Carvers Ridge

 

Carvers Ridge

RS Welding - rsweldingstudio.com

·         Iron and rock creations for the home and garden

RS Welding

RS Welding

RS Welding

Kanbeon -  etsy.com/shop/Kanbeon

·         Handmade jewelry & unique items, incorporating natural elements, inspired by nature and spirit

· 

Kanbeon

Kanbeon

·         FUNTRX (Jerry & Susan Fruendt)

·         Wooden Flip Flops, Cork Bird Houses, Wine Bottle Peacocks

 

FUNTRX

FUNTRX

FUNTRX

Nancy’s Fancys 

·         Handpainted wine glasses and beer mugs, knitted handbags and scarves, quilted bags, painted wooden items, handmade necklaces and bracelets

·        

Nancy's Fancys

Jennifer Leavy's Winenot Crafts & Gifts

·         Wine Bottle lights, bird feeders and wind chimes; etched wine glasses

Pink Pergola -        https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/175866089218197/

Cadet hats, variation on flower/bows for hair or hats, super hero capes and much more!

·  

Pink Pergola

Pink Pergola

AM Artistic - amartistic.com

Fused glass pendants & glass deco pieces, hand knitted scarves, ladder yarn necklaces

AM Artistic

AM Artistic

Cari's Creations

     Custom Crafts & Carpentry

Fireside Winery, Marengo, Iowa

Please enjoy our wines responsibly.

Strawberry Peach Sangria

The finished Product

This years Sangria Recipe Winner goes to Jayne V. of Overland Park, Kansas. Jayne submitted a delicious recipe for a Strawberry Peach Sangria that used our sweet and delicious, GLOW wine as a base. We thank her for sharing this delicious recipe with us.

Strawberry Peachy Sangria Recipe

Making our Strawberry Peach Sangria for the Sangria Sunset Party

Fireside Winery, Marengo, Iowa

Please enjoy our wines responsibly.

  1 bottle of white wine (Fireside's GLOW)

  2 oz of Peach Schnapps

  2 oz of Club Soda – (or to taste)

  Sliced Peaches

  Sliced Strawberries

If you have time, allow this to soak over night to bring out all the mouth-watering flavors.  Serve cold and enjoy!   

iPICK iSTOMP iDRINK

It’s here!!!  The moment many of you have been waiting for!  The dates for the 2013 iPick, iStomp, iDrink!  After a cool spring, we anticipated a late harvest, starting in September; however, the heat we received in July moved our projections up.  The grapes look amazing and we’re anticipating a bumper crop this year!  If you need some convincing, below are some photos of the fun we've had over the years!

The dates for this year’s iPick will be:

August 24 (FULL)

August 31 

September 7 (FULL)

September 14  (FULL)

September 21 

Note: Picking dates are subject to change on short notice and are weather & grape ripeness dependent; grapes may be harvested faster than anticipated, therefore we recommend if you want to harvest to join us earlier in season.

Here are the details:

What:  Help Fireside Winery harvest the 2013 grapes.  In return, we’ll provide you with a lunch, free bottle of wine (for those 21 or older), grape stomp, production tour, and a 2013 harvest t-shirt.  Participants must be at least 15 years old to participate in the pick.

Where: Mainly at our Brickyard Hill Vineyard (Marengo, IA) about 5 miles west of the Winery.  Some picking will be done at the Winery.

Times: 7am-noon for picking; lunch and stomp to follow.

What to Bring:  Hat, sunscreen, gloves, water bottle and garden pruners if you have them.

REGISTER NOW: Send an email to Cassie Bott at cassie@firesidewinery.com to reserve your spot.  In your email, please identify the following information:
1) date(s) you’d like to attend (if you have an alternate date, please include)
2) the number in your party and their names
3) contact phone number for group leader
4) t-shirt sizes for those in your party

Fireside Winery, Marengo, Iowa
Please enjoy our wines responsibly.

Simple Pairings: Dinner Ideas with Red Wines

An additional note to our earlier post regarding pairing Fireside white wines with dinner menus: our recently released LaCrosse, made with Iowa-grown white grapes, would pair well with most of the suggested recipes from the June 10 blog. It is an off-dry white which pairs nicely with food and provides a refreshing respite from summer heat. 

BEVERAGE SELECTIONS

CoCo and Cordovan are both dry red wines made from grapes that cannot grow in harsh Iowa winters. Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are used for CoCo, and red Zinfandel grapes are primary in our Cordovan.

 

CoCo enhances the flavor of any red meat, but we have a recipe for rib eye steak you may not have tried before. Choose sides of potato halves and green beans with mushrooms to round out your meal.

Ribeye Steak with Red Wine Pan Sauce  (CoCo)

http://www.dadcooksdinner.com/2010/05/ribeye-steak-saute-with-red-wine-pan.html 

(if grilling is not an option, use ½ cup of CoCo for the pan sauce.) 

Baked Potato Halves 

1 potato per guest, scrubbed and halved lengthwise  Butter                                                                        Seasoning salt

Dried or fresh parsley                                  Parmesan cheese, if desired

Heat oven to 350 degrees (can be higher or lower to accommodate other dishes in oven). Melt enough butter to cover bottom of appropriately-sized baking dish. Sprinkle desired amount of seasoning salt and dried parsley over butter.

 
Arrange potatoes, cut side down, in buttered baking dish. Dot tops of potatoes with a little more butter. Cover with foil and bake 35 minutes to 1 hour, depending on oven temperature, number of items in oven and rack location.

Remove when fork tender. Flip each potato over. Add cheese if desired. Just before serving, set oven to broil and brown the cut sides. Can serve with sour cream or ranch style dressing.

Green beans with mushrooms (or bacon or other favorite preparation) and the zucchini medley both make nutritious side dishes for the rib eye or the marinara dinner. The garlic bread loaf featured below is also a tasty accompaniment to either main course.

Marinara (Cordovan)
Use Cordovan for the red wine listed in this recipe. 

http://www.mommiecooks.com/2011/09/09/homemade-marinara-sauce/

Zucchini Medley

Zucchini            Fresh tomatoes             Mushrooms               Minced Garlic

Choose at least 2 other fresh vegetables to blend with the zucchini (carrots, green beans, onions, yellow squash, kale, spinach etc)

Sauté most dense vegetables and garlic first in small amount of olive oil. When they approach tender crisp, add at least 1 tomato with its juice. Add more tomatoes, mushrooms and squash last - unless you are using kale or spinach, both of which should be last - and cook until they have reached desired tenderness. Freshly grated parmesan can be sprinkled on top.

Garlic Loaf

1 loaf French or Italian bread, sliced in half lengthwise

Butter                                                              Minced garlic

Italian seasoning (optional)                             Cheese, if desired

Place loaf halves side-by-side on a cookie sheet. Butter them. Spread or sprinkle minced garlic over them. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning (optional). 

Put in oven to warm. Remove to add cheese if using it (parmesan, mozzarella, Italian blend, rounds of provolone). Cut into slices or chunks to serve.