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Mulled Wines for the Holidays!

December 6, 2014 – 11:57 am
Listen to Jingle Bells while enjoying mulled wine!

Listen to Jingle Bells while enjoying mulled wine!

Walk into many winery tasting rooms during the holidays, and you will immediately notice a holiday aroma including cinnamon and cloves. Frequently the winery you are visiting has a crockpot of warm/hot mulled wine behind the counter awaiting visitors.

While some wineries bottle a mulled wine, my favorite mulled wines are made with a bottle of red wine, spices and fruit.

If you would like to create mulled wine to enjoy at home or when guests are about to visit, check out the recipes below.

Happy Holidays!
Kathy

 Chatham Hill Hot Mulled Christmas Red Wine

Ingredients

1 bottle Chatham Hill Christmas Red Wine
1 cinnamon stick
1 t whole allspice
6 whole cloves
1 T orange juice
¼ t ground cinnamon
¼ C sugar

Note: Chatham Hill Christmas Red Wine is a semi-sweet red wine.

Directions

1. Heat one bottle of Chatham Hill Christmas Red Wine in a crock pot (recommended) or a non-reactive saucepan over low to medium heat (do NOT bring to a boil).
2. Stir in remaining ingredients and continue to heat gently until sugar is dissolved.
3. Serve in coffee mugs and garnish with a cinnamon stick.

Recipe rovided by Chatham Hill Winery, North Carolina.

Glouvine (Vin Gewurtz)

Ingredients

1 bottle Lemberger wine
10 oz water
2 cinnamon sticks
1 oz Mulling Spices w/out sugar tied in cheese cloth to a cork
1 small orange covered with whole cloves
½ c brown sugar (more or less to taste)
2 Prunes (optional-Austrian version)

Directions

1. Place everything except wine into a saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Pour into a crock pot and put on low (do not let boil).
3. Add Lemberger and serve as guests/family arrive. Optionally, leave out the brown sugar and serve with the brown sugar bowl to allow guests to sweeten to their own preference.

Recipe provided by Cottonwood Cellars Olathe, Colorado.

Mulled Wine Recipe from Black Star Farms

Ingredients

1 bottle Black Star Farms Hard Apple Cider
6 oz. water
½ c sugar
½ t cinnamon
¼ t ground cloves
a couple sprinkles of ground nutmeg

Notes

1. Combine all ingredients into saucepan and give it a good stirring.
2. Heat gently (for approx. 30 minutes), but do not boil, and do not stir again.
3. Skim off the spices on top, serve and enjoy.

Recipe provided by Black Star Farms, Suttons Bay, Michigan.

 Mulled Wine Recipe

Ingredients

2 bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon
1/2 – 1 c sugar depending on how sweet you want it
1 orange sliced
whole cloves
one can of orange juice concentrate
1 c water
1 t cinnamon
2 cinnamon sticks
1/2 c apricot brandy

Directions

1. To a crock pot add the wine.
2. Add the sugar and stir.
3. Slice an orange and quarter. Stick whole cloves into the orange skin and add to the crock pot.
4. Mix the orange juice concentrate with one cup of water and add to the crock pot.
5. Add other ingredients to crock pot.
6. Heat the ingredients for a couple of hours and its ready!

Recipe provided by Kevin Sullivan, Wine Trail Traveler staff.

Get your mulled wine ingredients now!

Cheers!
Kathy

 

By Kathy | Posted in Wine/Food/Recipes | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)

Today is Sacher Torte Day!

December 5, 2014 – 8:04 pm

December 5 is Sacher Torte Day. What is Sacher Torte? It is a very special cake that originated in Austria in the19th century. An Austrian poll shows that the Sacher-Torte is an Austrian favorite.

The story of Sacher Torte tells of how 16-year-old apprentice, Franz Sacher, created a special dessert. In 1832 he created the Sacher-Torte for Prince Metternich. The original Sacher-Torte recipe is  a secret of the Sacher Hotel and is kept in a safe.

A pastry chef noted, “A key secret is the different chocolates used in the icing. A number of dark chocolates are specially produced for us and combined here according to a special recipe. But the perfect blend of high-quality ingredients isn’t all there is to it. The ingredients have to be the right temperature, the bakery must have the proper humidity and temperature, and the 34 steps, right up to the packaging of the cake in the fine wooden boxes, must be followed in the exact order.”

Cakes baked with the original recipe are available worldwide from Sacher. Visit the website to learn more.

If you do not have patience to wait for the Original Sacher-Torte to arrive, then try the recipe on Allrecipes.com. This particular recipe uses rum. Another online recipe I discovered calls for apricot schnapps or orange juice.

Have you had a slice of Sacher Torte? Have you tried to bake a similar cake? Let me know how it was!

Cheers,
Kathy

By Kathy | Posted in Wine News/Commentary | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Holiday Gift Guide: Ideas for Gifting the Twelve Days of Christmas”

December 5, 2014 – 10:03 am
Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays!

A recent email from Pearmund Cellars reminds us that Christmas is not just a one day celebration but that there are 12 Days of Christmas.

“On the 12th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me 12 bottles of fabulous Pearmund Cellars wine!”

For the wine lover who has everything, Pearmund Cellars has created a collection of wines to celebrate the spirit of the Twelve Days of Christmas.

Stop by the Pearmund Cellars winery in Broad Run, Virginia for the “12 Wines of Christmas” Case

The 12 Days of Christmas Case from Pearmund Cellars contains:

  • 2011 Old Vine Chardonnay
  • 2012 Old Vine Chardonnay
  • 2013 Viognier
  • 2013 Petit Manseng
  • 2013 Riesling
  • 2011 Merlot
  • 2012 Cabernet Franc
  • 2013 Cabernet Franc
  • 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon
  • 2012 Petit Verdot
  • 2011 Ameritage
  • 2012 Ameritage

If you cannot travel to Pearmund Cellars before Christmas, consider creating your box of wines with 12 bottles. Consider focusing on red wines, white wines, sparkling wines or dessert wines.

2) Decorative Wine Charms

On the first day of Christmas give a gift box with one decorative wine charm. On the subsequent Days of Christmas add a wine charm. The recipient will have enough decorative wine charms for a party.

3) Wine Glasses

Wine glasses come in all sizes, shapes and prices. Unfortunately they are also easy to break. Why not give a wine glass each of the “12 Days of Christmas?” Not sure what stemware to buy?  In my opinion, it is nice to have a set of glasses for red wines and white wines. Hint: When purchasing wine glasses look for clear glass and a thin lip.

4) 12 Custom-made Ornaments

Handcraft 12 ornaments out of corks. You can find suggestions online. Check out Pinterest to discover many creative cork ideas.

5) Wine labels

For the home winemaker create a set of 12 decorative wine bottle labels, one for each of the 12 Days of Christmas!

Do you have other ideas for celebrating the “12 Days of Christmas?”

Happy Holidays!

Kathy

 

 

 

 

By Kathy | Posted in Wine News/Commentary | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Holiday Gift Guide: Vin de Glace and Cidre de Glace

December 4, 2014 – 11:54 am
Icewines at Peller Estates

Icewines at Peller Estates

There are wine drinkers that will scoff at the idea of trying a sweet wine; however, at the proper time and place many wine enthusiasts enjoy dessert wines. A category of dessert wines is vin de glace or Icewine. Icewines are made with grapes left in the vineyard until the temperature reaches -8º Celsius (17.6º F) or lower. That usually means that the grapes are left on the vines while temperature freeze above -8º C and thaw, freeze and thaw over and over during the late autumn and early winter. When the temperatures reach the critical temperature the grapes are harvested and pressed also in sub-freezing conditions. The precious drop or two of juice per grape is fermented and an Icewine is made. Icewines are made in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia. In some years they are also made in Ohio and New York and a few other states. What is often done in the United States is to harvest grapes and place them in a freezer. This cryogenic method does not benefit from the constant freezing and thawing that mother nature provides. Wines made cryogenically are not called icewines.

Quebec poses another challenge. With the cold temperatures come snow, a lot of snow. Often covering the vineyard and grapes. To compensate for the deep snow, vineyard workers will harvest the grapes and hang in nets above the vines. The grapes have the same influence as those left attached to the vines. The opponents to this approach argue that in order to be a true Icewine the grapes must remain attached to the vine in order to benefit from the vine. The proponents argue that once the vine shuts down, there is no benefit from being attached to the vine. The benefit is what mother nature does with the temperatures. Whatever method, Icewines are complex wines that are sweet and work very well as a dessert during the holiday season.

Some of our favorite producers are from Ontario. We have not had the opportunity to visit British Columbia yet. We enjoyed Icewines made from Vidal, Riesling and Cabernet Franc from these producers:
Hillebrand
Inniskillin
Peller Estates
Pillitteri Estates
Reif Estate

Ice Cider in Quebec at La Face Cachée de la Pomme

Ice Cider in Quebec at La Face Cachée de la Pomme

We also enjoyed Icewine or Vin de Glace while visiting producers in Quebec notably:
Vignoble Mondor
Chapelle Sainte Agnès
Domaine Les Brome
Domaine St. Jacques

While in Quebec we visited a few cideries that made a cidre de glace or ice cider. Apples are left out to freeze until their sugar content of a drop reaches a certain point. These ciders are not like ciders made with apples that are not frozen. They are a treat for wine enthusiasts. Producer we liked include:
La Face Cachée de la Pomme
Cidrerie Du Minot
Union Libre

While searching for holiday gifts for wine enthusiasts, consider an icewine or ice cider.

Cheers,
Terry

By Terry | Posted in Wine News/Commentary | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

It’s National Cookie Day!

December 4, 2014 – 8:33 am
Galleano Winery, CA

Galleano Winery, CA

 

Today, December 4, is National Cookie Day! In celebration of the day, below is a recipe from Galleano Winery in Mira Loma California.

Galleano Winery is a National Landmark located in the Cucamonga Valley. The winery is not far from the California’s Ontario International Airport.

 

 

Almond Sherry Cookies

Ingredients

½ c butter
1/3 c granulated sugar
2 egg yolks, unbeaten
1 c coarsely ground almonds
½ t grated lemon zest
¼ t vanilla
¼ c Galleano Sherry
1 c all purpose flour
1/8 t salt

Directions

1. Cream butter; add sugar slowly.
2. Add egg yolks, beat until fluffy.
3. Add ½ c almonds, lemon zest and vanilla.
4. Sift flour and salt together.
5. Stir in Sherry alternately with flour and salt.
6. Drop by tablespoon onto remaining almonds sprinkled on waxed paper.
7. Pick up the ends of the paper and toss dough until coated with nuts.
8. Shape into balls of 1” diameter. Place on lightly greased baking sheet.
9. Place in upper middle of pre-heated 400º oven.
10. Bake 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned.

Recipe provided by The Historic Galleano Winery, Cucamonga Valley, California.

Cookies are very tempting for most people. Do you know that there are other special cookie days including National Sugar Cookie Day and  National Oatmeal Cookie Day? This week is also National Cookie Cutter Week. According to the Food Reference website, October is National Cookie Month.

Cheers!
Kathy

By Kathy | Posted in Wine Notes | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Wine Tourism and the American Wine Consumer

December 3, 2014 – 12:58 pm

An article in Wine Business.com highlighted a Snapshot of the American Wine Consumer in 2014 by Liz Thach, Janeen Olsen & Tom Atkin. Two items caught my attention. The first was: How often do you buy wine at the following locations? Wine/liquor stores was the most popular place to purchase wine while online was the least preferred. Winery tasting rooms was in the middle of the seven option list. One of the hopes that wineries have for wine tourism is to sell wine from their tasting rooms.

The other item that caught my attention was a word cloud that indicated places where 67% of 1028 respondents had visited tasting rooms. The most visited wine area was Napa closely followed by California and Sonoma. Considering this was a survey of an American audience, I found the next two wine regions, France and Italy, interesting. Those top wine regions certainly are some of the best wine tourist areas. Also on the list of wine regions visited were the Finger Lakes and Oregon, very easy wine regions to visit once you get there.

I have wine friends in both Virginia and Texas. They are very loyal to the wine industries in their state. On this word cloud, more people selected Virginia as a wine area they visited than Texas. One of the areas that was not visited by as many of the respondents, but still made the list was Georgia. The word cloud did not indicate if the word Georgia referred to the state or the country. My personal opinion is the the country Georgia offers the most unique wine regions in the world and is a must visit for all traveling wine enthusiasts. The cloud had listed the top 27 responses.

Research is important. One can take from this data that wine tourism is an important activity of the American wine consumer. Wineries can be heartened by the interest of consumers in visiting wine regions and purchasing wine at wineries. There is room to grow though, especially if you are a wine region without the name Napa.

Cheers,
Terry

By Terry | Posted in Wine News/Commentary | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Holiday Gift Guide: Books for the Wine Lover

December 3, 2014 – 7:24 am

Happy Holidays!

from

Kathy and Terry Sullivan
Wine Trail Traveler LLC

We hope everyone is enjoying the spirit of the holidays!

When looking for gifts for wine lovers consider a wine book from Wine Trail Traveler! Each book purchased from the Wine Trail Traveler site can be personalized and inscribed by the authors.

For a limited time when ordering from the Wine Trail Traveler store,  purchase all three books* for $30 plus shipping and receive a set of boxed wine charms (six charms) for free. The three book set includes: A Wine Journey, A Wine Tourist’s Guide: Visiting Tasting Rooms and Georgia, Sakartvelo: The Birthplace of Wine.

For more details visit the Wine Trail Traveler online store.

If you prefer, the wine books are available Amazon.

Cheers!
Kathy and Terry

Adobe Photoshop PDF

Adobe Photoshop PDFbookcoverfront

 

 

 

 

By Kathy | Posted in Wine Notes | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (0)

Holiday Gift Guide: Sparkling Wines

December 2, 2014 – 12:33 pm
Sparkling wines are both festive and pair well with holiday foods.

Sparkling wines are both festive and pair well with holiday foods.

Many people are in the holiday gift giving spirit during December and wonder what is the perfect gift. One common event is a dinner or party at a friend’s or relative’s house. A fantastic gift is a bottle of wine. But what wine?

Will the host open the wine during the dinner or party? Is the wine a welcomed aperitif or will the wine pair with the foods? Will the host keep the wine and not open it? These are some of the questions that answers can help you narrow a wine selection. If you do not know the answers, it is best to go with a wine that is rather universal, a wine that goes well with a wide range of foods or as an aperitif. Sparkling wines are among the most versatile wines plus they have a festive image that matches with the holidays.

You can select a domestic or international sparkling wine. In the United States many dry sparkling wines can be a bit pricy. So too are Champagnes. If you want to go with a French sparkling wine and Champagne is out of your price range, consider a Crémant, a sparkling wine made in a region of France other than Champagne. For excellent international values, consider Cava from Spain and Prosecco from Italy.

Why would a sparkling wine make a great holiday gift? Most dry sparkling wines are very food friendly. They can match a wide variety of foods. The effervescence helps to cleanse the palate, so they pair well with many foods that you may encounter during the holidays. Sparkling wines are also good as an aperitif. Greet friends as they arrive with a glass of sparkling wine.

We are going to have several cavas during the holidays. We spent a week in the Penedés region of Spain and visited several cava producers. We also had many Catalan foods and they all matched well with cavas. Some of our favorite cava producers include Cuscó Berga, Juvé & Camps, Llopart and Mas Codina. If you are interested in reading about great cavas, download for free the 50 Great Cavas 2014 pdf from the Wine Pleasures website.

You can make your holiday plans and gifts festive with sparkling wines. See how well they pair with foods and bring smiles to faces.

Cheers,
Terry

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Creative Mixologist in NYC Creates Gobble Go Cocktail Shooter

December 1, 2014 – 10:09 am

Our daughter, Erin Sullivan, provided a photo and cocktail shooter recipe in a recent edition of Food & Wine Magazine. Erin is a mixologist and beverage consultant in New York City.

Below is the photo of the Thanksgiving cocktail shooter created by Erin at The Third Man. The recipe follows.

Gobble Go

Gobble Go

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gobble Go Cocktail Shooter

Ingredients
4-5 cranberries
3/4 ounces celery simple syrup (recipe below)
3/4 ounces fresh pineapple juice
2 ounces turkey infused Wild Turkey Rye (recipe below)

Directions:

For celery simple syrup:
Cut three stalks of celery into chunks. Put into pot with 1 quart sugar and 1 quart water. Heat and simmer for 10-15 mins. Strain and cool.

For turkey Infused Wild Turkey Rye:
Take turkey drippings and run-offs out of pan after baking turkey. Mix in a separate container with a bottle of Wild Turkey Rye. Freeze overnight. Take out of freezer and dispose of solid fat. Filter remaining liquid through a coffee filter and return to bottle.

For shot:

Muddle cranberries in cocktail tin with celery syrup. Add remaining ingredients. Shake and pour into shot glasses. Makes six shots.

Enjoy as a belated Thanksgiving drink or save the recipe for next Thanksgiving!

Cheers,
Kathy

 

 

 

By Kathy | Posted in Wine Notes | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Counter the Cold Weather with Hot Peach Cobbler in a Mug

November 26, 2014 – 7:18 am

Anyone who is traveling through the cold weather for Thanksgiving will appreciate a hot beverage  to greet them upon their arrival. In addition to hot apple cider and hot chocolate, consider a unique beverage made with peach wine.

The recipe below is for Hot Peach Cobbler in a Mug from Carlson Vineyards in Colorado.

Carlson Vineyards, Colorado

Carlson Vineyards, Colorado

Hot Peach Cobbler in a Mug

Ingredients

1 bottle Carlson Peach Wine
4 – 6 T pure maple syrup
1/4 t cinnamon
1/4 t vanilla

Directions

1. Add wine to a non-aluminum pan.
2. Add all other ingredients and heat. Do not boil.
3. Serve warm and enjoy.

Adjust to taste.

For more beverage recipes with wine check out  these online beverage recipes.

Wishing everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Kathy

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