Louisiana – Great Food, Great Wines
“Wine makes daily living easier, less hurried, with fewer tensions and more tolerance.” — Benjamin Franklin
Louisiana is well known for its excellent food and mixed drinks flowing freely –especially during Mardi Gras. Louisiana is also home to several small breweries, wineries, and distillers. During a family trip home from our annual LSU football game and visit to New Orleans, we decided to take a detour to begin exploring one of the places on the Louisiana Libation tourist website.
Landry Vineyards is in Monroe, Louisiana (www.landryvineyards.com). Monroe is in the northern half of the state complete with rolling hills that are well suited for growing grapes. Landry Vineyards is a family owned winery that sits less than 10 miles from Interstate Highway I-20 and is easily accessible.
Libby and Jeff started Landry Vineyards in Folsom Louisiana with a hybrid European American grape Blanc de Bois developed at the University of Florida to grow effectively in Southern climate fluctuations of cold and hot. Both members of the Landry family are native to Louisiana agriculture and wildlife. Libby came from a Southeastern Louisiana fishing family, and Jeff came from a family in the cotton industry. In 2003, the winery was licensed as a Louisiana native winery. After the devastation left behind by Hurricane Katrina, the Landry’s relocated to Monroe for higher grounds and rolling hills. Libby and Jeff run the winery with their four sons.
Grapes at the vineyard are primarily harvested by hand with help from neighbors, church and family members. The vineyard hosts tastings Monday through Saturday and offers a variety of white and red blends. The Landry’s import some grapes from Washington state and California to complement their native Muscadine and Blanc de Bois vineyards. During our visit, we tasted the complete flight of wines and really enjoyed the Peach Muscadine offering. This wine has a fresh peach aroma and is a great semi – sweet wine. This would be a great wine for picnics with cheese and fruit. Landry also makes jams and jelly using this Muscadine grape as well as others and these are excellent. My family purchased a couple of jars along with bottles of wine to take back to Dallas and Los Angeles.
PositiveVines Helpful Hint: Muscadine grapes are native to the humid, hot weather conditions of Southeastern America. It grows up to 100 feet tall in the wild. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has developed mature Muscadine varietals for commercial production.
Landry Vineyards has a beautiful outdoor patio to enjoy your wine and a picnic lunch. During March –October the vineyard hosts concerts featuring local performers. The website lists the 2017 calendar for early planning. In August, a Lucille Ball themed grape-stomp is the highlight of the vineyard with ladies stomping grapes in traditional garb in a large wine vat. The pictures are great, and this is an event that I’d like to come back to enjoy!
All the Landry wines are well priced starting at $9 and going to $15 per bottle. Consider taking a visit to Landry Vineyards to sample and talk with the Landry family. This is a fantastic family who takes winemaking seriously and would love to share the fruits of their labor.
Remember to drink what it is that makes you truly happy and always think positively!
Drink Responsibly!
@landryvineyards @louisianatravel #wbc2017