Saturday, September 04, 2010
A Western Kentucky Tour
Beverly and I were thinking of things to do over the long Labor Day weekend. We were looking over the map of Kentucky vineyards and noticed several in western Kentucky. We decided we'd call my mother and sister in Madisonville and find out their plans. They had no plans so a wine tasting tour it was. The tour expanded when we elected include visits to the Clement Mineral Museum in Marion and the Camp Breckinridge Museum near Morganfield. The Google map of our route is available.Bill and Susan, my Mother, and Beverly and I started the day at the Ben E. Clement Mineral Museum. Marion is in Crittenden County and is in the heart of Kentucky's flourspar district. Mr. Clement accumulated an impressive collection of local and international mineral specimens many of which have been documented and borrowed by such institutions as the Smithsonian. The collection is now curated by Mr. Clement's family and is open to the public.
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From the mineral museum, we went to the James D. Veach Museum and Arts Center at Camp Breckinridge. Camp Breckinridge was built at the start of WWII and was an infantry training center. After WWII, the 101st Airborne was reactivated there to train soldiers for the Korean War. Early in WWII, German prisoners from the North African campaign were incarcerated at the camp. One of the prisoners, Daniel Mayer, began painting European landscapes on the plywood panels comprising the walls of the ballroom in the NCO club. The facility later became the Officers Club. He painted scenes from memory and from postcards he received from home. Unfortunately, Daniel contracted pneumonia before the end of the war and never return to the countryside for which he longed. The panels have recently been restored.
We decided to stop at the Feed Mill Restaurant for a late (2:30ish) lunch. This restaurant on Hwy 60 serves traditional country fare (fried chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes), cajun, steaks, and includes a full bar (looking forward to our wine tasting, we didn't partake). We had an appetizer of fried pickles and ordered etouffe'e, red beans and rice, fried chicken, fried catfish, and jambalaya. It was all good.
We arrived in due time at the Ruby Moon Vineyard and Winery near Henderson. The tasting room was busy (a good sign). We tried the estate wines: Chambourcin (dry) and Traiminette (semi-dry and fruity). We had the Peach (semi-sweet) and Razzle Dazzle Raspberry (sweet). These fruit wines were made with locally grown fruit ("across the road"). Beverly and I purchased a bottle each of the Traiminette and Peach wines. For relaxing on the patio under the pergola covered by a wisteria, I choose a glass of the Chambourcin and Beverly had the Traiminette. To accompany our wine, I got a small block of garden herb havarti cheese and crackers. The cheese is from Kenny's Farmhouse Cheese crafted in Barren County and was a good accompaniment to the wines.
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All in all, it was a wonderful day for tour along Kentucky's rural byways.
