Wine

Fall Weekend Sangria

October 24, 2014

This chardonnay weekend cocktail is flavored with fresh pears, nectarines, and apples. Serve with your favorite autumn meal.

Champagne Cocktails

December 31, 2011

Champagne Cocktails

By the mid 1800’s the classic Champagne Cocktail was all the rage in genteel society. Cocktails using champagne as a base are as old as the beverage itself. Add fruit to anything that fizzes and you’ve got a drink that’s been around for hundreds of years. One has to believe that the monks who invented champagne put in some local fruit during their experimentation with the bubbly wine that they created. Today champagne cocktails are as hip as ever!

Champagne Cocktail Basics

1. Chill your champagne to 42 to 45° F.

2. Do not use cheap champagne for cocktails.

3. Good ingredients make for a good drink.

4. Use dry champagne for cocktails because most champagne drinks are on the sweet side.

5. Chill the glass/flute ahead of time.

6. Pour small amounts at a time to prevent a foam over. Repeat until the glass is filled.

Classic Champagne Cocktail (From the Metropolitan Hotel, NYC circa 1935)

1 Sugar Cube

Angostura Bitters

Chilled Champagne

Lemon Twist

Champagne Flute

Soak the sugar cube with a couple of good splashes of Angostura

Bitters and place in the bottom of a large champagne flute. Fill

Slowly with the sparkling wine. Garnish with a lemon twist.

For a stronger drink add a “float” of cognac to your Champagne Cocktail or add a splash of Campari instead of the cognac and you’ve got a “Goodnight Kiss.”

Prepare the lemon twists one or two hours in advance. Cover and refrigerate them until they are needed. Lemon twists are made from the entire peel. Peel half a lemon with your thumb (as you would and orange) and then cut several twists from the peel. A twist should be about ¼ inch wide and 1 inch long.

Kir Royale

½ Ounce Crème de Cassis

Champagne

Lemon Twist

Large Wine Glass

Pour the champagne into a large chilled wine glass. Add ½ ounce of crème de cassis and gently stir. Garnish with a twist of lemon.

Mimosa

1 Ounce Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice

5 Ounces Champagne

Orange Slice

Wine Glass

Pour the champagne and orange juice into any chilled wine glass and gently stir. Garnish with an orange slice.

Blood Orange Mimosas

April 3, 2011

Blood Orange Mimosas

INGREDIENTS

2 Cups Chilled Fresh Blood Orange Juice

1 Bottle (750ml) Chilled Dry & Good Quality Prosecco

Fresh Blood Orange Slices For Garnish

Into each of 8 champagne flutes, pour ¼ cup blood orange juice.  Top off each glass with Prosecco and a slice of blood orange. Make sure that both juice and Prosecco are super chilled.  Serves 8

Sangria

March 12, 2011

Sangria

Sangria has been important to Spanish culture for many centuries.  This wine punch has gained international popularity and is easy to make at home.  Versions of Sangria have held a planting of the Iberian Peninsula’s vineyards around 200 BC.  As Spain’s soil and weather are particularly well suited for growing grapes, the nation has maintained an abundance of red wine and its subsequent wine punch variations.  Interestingly, there is no one recipe for Sangria, as the ingredients of this wine punch are based on availability, season, and a number of other factors. 

Sangria requires a light, young Spanish red wine.  The most common of these come from the La Rioja, Castilla-La Mancha and Catilla-Leon regions.  It is also necessary to include fresh fruit.  Spain’s popular locally grown fruits include oranges, lemons and melon.  Any fruit can be used, however, one might find bananas, apples, grapes or any number of fruits in Spanish Sangria.  Sangria is meant to be light and refreshing so a certain amount of juice and sugar are generally added for a more refreshing taste.  Sangria is to be served ice-cold and generally is prepared in large pitchers and served to guests as an accompaniment to a meal or tapas in the summer time

Sangria is to be served ice-cold as a hot-weather refreshment. Generally, it is prepared in large pitchers and served to many guests as an accompaniment to a meal or tapas in the summer time.

INGREDIENTS

1 Cup Orange Juice

¼ Cup Lime Juice

1 Bottle Red Wine

½ Cup Brandy

¼ to 1/3 Cup Sugar

Ice Cubes

Orange Slices

Lime Slices

In a 2 quart pitcher stir together orange and lime juices.  Add wine, sugar and brandy.  Stir until sugar is dissolved.  Cover and chill for 3 to 24 hours.  Serve over ice.  Garnish each serving with orange and lime slices.

Latest Recipes

Roasted Cod Tacos

Roasted Cod Tacos

Black Eyed Pea Salad

Black Eyed Pea Salad

Eggnog Lattes

Eggnog Lattes

Christmas Wreath Pavlova

Christmas Wreath Pavlova

Spicy Mussels

Spicy Mussels