The following article was published in the Patriots’ Herald, Eureka Springs, AR (November 22, 2006 issue):

Vinifera by Michael Jaschke and Brent Rhodes

“To all locals and valued visitors to Eureka, greetings and Happy Thanksgiving!!! From all reports, the Eureka Springs Food & Wine Festival for 2006 was another outstanding event for all that participated. I know that here at The Crescent it was an elegant turnout for our venue! One of the best attend venues was at Keel’s Creek and rightly so. Even though I was unable to attend that particular event, Tony Harland and I went out to their tasting room on friday to sample their wine. To this entire readership let it be known that Keel’s Creek Winery is truly the real deal. Doug and Edwige’s dedication to small batch production is key to the quality of their wine. What can I say but, Eureka Springs, you now have a vintner that will impact the quality of wines that Arkansas is known for and has raised the bar that I hope will followed.

Here is some of what we tasted:

Vignoles: This wine presented a shimmering straw color, soft on the nose with a slight licorice aroma; citrus flavor abounds and is wel balanced and easy to drink.

Vidal: Excellent soft harvest straw color, again soft on the nose with nuances of lemon and peach, it has a quick finish that is refresing, but has a unique taste of port on the end that is a nice surprise.

Chardonel: It is this wine that separates Keel’s Creek from the rest of the pack. They take the time to age ina oak casks, this one ever so slightly that it adds to the overall character of the grape. This is a blend of Chardonnay and Seyval (dwh: This is a hybrid of Chardonnay and Seyval, not a blend), very well balanced. Just a touch richer in color than the previous two, a pleasure to drink an Arkansas Wine that has just that touch of oak, leaving a light taste of tannins on the palate.

Eureka Cyn: This is a late harvest wine, where the grower was directed by Keel’s Creek to allow the Cynthiana grapes another 4-5 weeks on the vine to enhance the sugar content of the grape. Truly worth every extra day on the vine, because by the time the grapes were pressed the juice has naturally taken on the color of it thick skinned host. Meaning that all reds or blush wines are left in contact with their skins, after pressing, to give the juice its color, this one did it naturally. Creathing a deep magenta jewel-like color, rich in earthy aromas, hints of black cherry and currant are evident. Soft tannins and excedllance balance make this a prefect for the upcoming holidays. “