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Local wine!

Procured some Maine Coast Vineyards rosé at Rosemont over the weekend. Drank it. The light, fruity wine - which hit shelves just last month - was made right in Falmouth's "Hurricane Valley," from Maine-grown grapes. Here's what the Forecaster found out; and here's from the vineyard's Web site:

1. Maine Coast Vineyards wine is produced under federal regulations that ensure that the certified growing area is "Maine". If you don't see the word "Maine" on the front of the bottle in big letters, the wine was not made from at least 85% Maine-grown grapes (the same holds true for other states' wines, as well). A winery can bring in bulk wine or grapes from anywhere in the world and make wine at a winery in Alaska, but that doesn't make the wine "Alaskan wine." It just makes it wine produced from grapes from somewhere else and made into wine in a winery in another place. Not a bad thing, many wines in the world are made this way and we drink and enjoy them along with most consumers. But if you want to buy a wine made with grapes grown in Maine, then look for the word "Maine" right on the front label standing alone. Then you'll know you have a wine made from Maine grapes.  We believe that local wine belongs to the place it is grown and are making it our goal to have every bottle produced say "Maine" right on the label.

2. We may not make Chardonnay, or Cabernet, or Merlot, (because it just doesn't grow well here) but every bottle of wine we make will represent the expression of the Maine land on which it was grown, will be of outstanding quality, and it will be the best wine possible to drink with the superb seafood and meats and produce of our state. That is what wine is all about anyway, creating a beverage from a product grown on the land that goes with the native foods of that land. And that is what we are doing.

Our two cents? Tastes great with salad and turkey burgers.

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