Tag

white wine

Last of the Season Sangria

written by Ali

We are already in the middle of September, and to celebrate, I’m sharing this last of the season sangria. We’ve had sunny lovely days the last few weeks. But the nights have just a touch of autumn in the air and rain is in the forecast again. I’m a seasonal wine drinker: when it’s above 60 degrees, I’m much more inclined to drink white wine. When the temperatures dip consistently below that, I hibernate and start drinking red.

The last of the season sangria is the last hurrah for white wine. I used my favorite nostalgia wine for this sangria: Bridgeview’s Blue Moon Riesling. I’ll admit that the first time I bought Blue Moon Riesling, I was totally attracted to the bottle design. I knew it was a white wine, but had no idea the difference between a Riesling or a Chardonnay or any other wine in between. I just thought the bottle was pretty. I also call this my nostalgia wine because it always reminds me of my very first trip to Oregon, nearly twenty years ago. I had no idea at the time that I would eventually end up living in this beautiful place, much less living on the Oregon coast. I didn’t have any idea I’d also develop a deep appreciation for Oregon wines, but here we are.

This last of the season sangria has the velvety flavor of caramel. I combined brandy, orange juice, and Riesling for the base of the sangria, and then tossed in the fruit I had on hand. In this case, it was the stragglers from the last blueberries from the farmer’s market, a lemon, slices of orange, and slices of apple. You could also make this with plums, pears, etc. I highly encourage you to make this last of the season sangria, sit back on the patio on a warm autumn afternoon, and enjoy!

Yum

Last of the Season Sangria

Ingredients

1 bottle slightly sweet white wine (Riesling or similar)
Juice from one orange
1 cup brandy
Assorted fruits (apples, oranges, lemons, blueberries, pears, etc.)

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a large jar or carafe. Refrigerate for a few hours. Serve over ice.
Enjoy!

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September 15, 2017 0 comment

Beverages

One Glass Gin Sangria

written by Ali

So I have to admit that I made this cocktail weeks ago and am just now getting around to blogging about it. This is important to know, because one component that I used is highly seasonally dependent. Fortunately, that one component is not absolutely necessary to enjoy this one glass gin sangria.

Let me back up for a minute. As you may know, if you follow me either here or on Instagram, we moved to coastal Southern Oregon about six weeks ago. One of the things I noticed during my first few weeks was that the evergreen trees were sprouting new growth. Many years of following various foraging oriented blogs has made me savvy enough to know that spruce, pine, and fir tree tips (the brand new growth in the spring) are edible. Trees + tips + desire to forage = a lunch break wandering around where I work, quietly slipping fir tree tips into my jacket. Mind you, this was my professional suit jacket, but who’s counting. Fortunately, I was able to get them transferred into a bag when I went back to my desk. From there, it was a logical step to toss the fir tips into some gin and let it steep for a few days.

From there, I stumbled onto this cocktail. I started out making a Spanish G&T with the fir tip infused gin. But then I still had the various bits from the Spanish G&T in my glass and tossed in a little fruity rose, plus some strawberries, and a mandarin orange. And then I tossed in a shot of the fir-tip gin. One glass gin sangria was born in that moment.

I’m pretty sure you could infuse the gin with other aromatics and get a similar result. I’ll definitely be trying this again with some lime basil a bit later in the season. I might even try out some of my ginger mint and infuse it with gin. In the meantime, I’ll just leave you with these pretty photos of infusing fir tips, plus my one glass gin sangria.

This was after the fir tips had infused for a few days -wish I’d gotten a photo when they were freshly harvested – they are so pretty!

Yum

One Glass Gin Sangria

Ingredients

1 ounce gin (infused with herbs of your choice, or fir tips, or just plain)
2 sliced strawberries
1 sectioned mandarin orange
3 - 4 juniper berries (optional)
Fruit forward rose or white wine to top

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a glass and enjoy!

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June 16, 2017 0 comment

Beverages Travel

Five Great Wineries in the Umpqua Valley

written by Ali

This week’s Friday happy hour post is a bit different from my normal cocktail post. This week, I’d like to introduce you to my favorite wine region in all of Oregon – the Umpqua Valley. When people think about Oregon’s wine scene, they most often think of the vineyards and wine makers in the Willamette Valley and those in Hood River. The Willamette Valley is known for its amazing Pinot Noir grapes, which are, without a doubt amazing.

However, if you are looking for a different wine tasting experience in Oregon, I encourage you to check out the Umpqua Valley. This region is in Southern Oregon and is easily accessible along the I-5 corridor. It’s about three hours south of Portland and easy to get to via either the Portland International Airport (which is swoon worthy in and of itself in terms of all the great shopping and food that’s in the airport, including the local wines that you can buy to take home with you) or the Eugene International Airport, which is about an hour and a half north of the Umpqua Valley region. The Eugene International Airport is absolutely adorable – very small, but very easy to get to and from. The nearest town to the Umpqua Valley is Roseburg. It’s a cute town with some great restaurants and a really nice Holiday Inn Express. Trust me, relaxing in the hot tub there with the view of the Umpqua River after a long day of wine tasting is a great way to end the day.

The Umpqua Valley has over twenty-five wineries. While I’ve not been to all of them, I’ve definitely toured my share. In no particular order, here are my five favorites.

Brandborg Winery

Brandborg is an easy to find winery off of Highway 138 in Elkton, Oregon. Elkton is a lovely tiny town – it’s got just a few shop on its main street, with spectacular views of the Umpqua River. Brandborg itself has lovely wines – great pinot noirs, in particular. The Love Puppets Pinot Noir is one of my favorites, though I also have room in my wine loving heart for the Ferris Wheel Estate Pinot Noir. Brandborg has a gorgeous tasting room and the folks there are so generous with their time and knowledge when you are tasting.

MarshAnne Landing

MarshAnne Landing is in Oakland, Oregon, easily accessible off of I-5. There distinctive logo includes a flying saucer because they want anyone, even space visitors, to have a great wine experience with their wines. My all time favorite here is the Red Planet red blend, though I adore the Cote du Umpqua, too. But really, all their wines are awesome. The tasting experience at MarshAnne is also lovely – great tasting room, friendly people. If you are lucky enough to be in the Umpqua Valley region in the spring and summer, MarshAnne also holds concerts both in the tasting room and on their patio.

MarshAnne Landing’s Pinot Noir. Bought this one from DC Farmer’s Co-Op in Roseburg (seriously). The Farmer’s Co-Op has a great selection of regional wines.

Pyrenees

One of the best parts about Pyrenees is a tasting room that opens up onto the Umpqua River. This vineyard is in a quiet spot in Myrtle Creek, a town about twenty minutes outside of Roseburg. If you are looking for a place to take a picnic and taste wines, Pyrenees is the place to go. They are open only by appointment in the winter, so this is definitely a place to call ahead and make sure they are open when you plan to go.

Abacela

The last two on my list are two of the larger wineries in this region. Both produce spectacular wine. I’ll start with Abacela. Abacela has a spectacular tasting room – it’s spacious and light and such a great place to cozy up, especially in the winter, and taste a full flight of wines. Abacela is also pretty easy to find in many larger liquor stores and wine shops, so if you can’t travel to the Umpqua Valley but want to try out a bottle from this region, look for Abacela. Again, as with other wineries on this list, all of the wines are worth tasting. My hands down favorite from Abacela is their Viognier. It’s a light, crisp white wine that’s perfect for summer months paired with grilled foods. Their Albarino (another white wine) is pretty awesome, too. I particularly love really intense bold red wines and Abacela delivers on these with their Tempranillo, Dolcetto, and Garnacha wines.

Abacela’s Albarino, purchased at PDX while I was on the way to New Orleans for a conference.

Abacela’s Vintner’s Blend #14 – bought as a special Thanksgiving treat.

Henry Estate Winery

Henry Estate Winery has a long history in the Umpqua Valley. They started producing wine in this region in the 1970s and are one of the most respected wineries in the Umpqua Valley. They have a lovely tasting room, and if you have a chance to go to an open house on a Thanksgiving or Memorial Day weekend, Henry’s is a must stop destination. Henry’s red wines are great, but my absolute favorite from this winery is the Veraison, which is a perfectly dry rose wine that pairs well with fish and chicken dishes, as well a variety of cheeses. If you are looking for a pinot noir, Henry’s has some great options here as well. Oh – and the chocolate wine truffles they sell in their gift shop are so good.

Henry’s Pinot Gris – this was was purchased at the grocery store in Bandon, Oregon. I love my Umpqua Valley wines!

Henry’s Estate all decked out for the holidays.

Eight years ago, hubby and my first wine tour in the Umpqua Valley. This is a photo of us in Henry Estate’s vineyard right around Thanksgiving.

So there you have it – five outstanding wineries in the Umpqua Valley region. The Umpqua Valley region has over twenty-five wineries to explore – if you want to check out some of the others or want to learn more about events in the region, check out http://www.umpquavalleywineries.org/wineries/

This post is linked to Saucy Saturdays #89. For more great recipes, check out the hosts’ sites:

Take Two Tapas, La Petit Chef, Mid-Life Croissant and The Flavor Bender

March 24, 2017 1 comment

Beverages

Stone Fruit Sangria

written by Ali

I’ve been posting a lot this week about my urban garden. I have to back up a bit and say that there hasn’t been a time in my life since I was a pre-teen that I didn’t have some sort of garden going. I learned how to garden from my grandparents and my mom, and spent much time in my childhood outdoors, in the garden. Whether I was reading, playing with imaginary friends (and sometimes real ones, too), or actually planting seeds and weeding, the garden was a focal point throughout my summers. As a pre-teen, I started taking over small plots of land in my mom’s garden (I am responsible for the blackberry that refuses to die in her yard, as well as an entire swath of allium that have reproduced wantonly for the past thirty years). As an adult, I’ve lived in both apartments and houses, as renter and as owner, and in every single one, including my two-year stint in the Marshall Islands, I’ve had either a full out in-the-ground garden, or a set of containers as my garden.

I also developed an early appreciation for herbs – I think I was caught up in the romanticism of using plants to heal, which led to many years of planting and experimenting with herbs for both health and culinary uses. I’ve loved living in Oregon, as some more herbs that wouldn’t make it past Colorado and New Mexico’s winters, like rosemary and lemon verbena, do really well here and winter over without too much complaint.

In recent years, I’ve discovered using aromatic herbs widely in cocktails, so many of my summer happy hour recipes have herbs incorporated. This one is no different. If you aren’t a big fan of herby drinks, no worries – you can leave them out and still enjoy the wine and fruit.

We’re starting to transition from early berry season into stone-fruit season. In my mind, there is little to compare to a tree-ripened peach, even though it’s a fruit that’s not nearly as convenient as a berry (a takes a knife to open up or a willingness to get very sticky to just eat – hard to gorge on after having just picked, unlike a strawberry or blueberry). I happened to have some very fruity, very effervescent, very light Vinho Verde in the wine rack, which paired very well with the peaches and plums. I think a Riesling would work, too (I’ll confess, when I ran out of Vinho Verde, I threw in some Riesling, thus mixing wines. It was pretty good. I don’t mix wines regularly – it just somehow seems wrong).

Stone Fruit Sangria
Serves 4

2 cups assorted stone fruits (peaches, nectarines, plums), pitted and chopped
½ cup orange curacao
1 bottle white wine
4 or 5 sprigs of citrusy herbs (I used lemon verbena, lemon basil, and pineapple sage)
Mix all ingredients in a pitcher. Let sit for at least two hours for flavors to combine. Serve with pieces of the fruit and a few leaves of herbs.

Enjoy!

July 15, 2016 0 comment