Applegater Winter 2017
13
GRAPE TALK
A wine cocktail is
more than just sangria
BY DEBBIE TOLLEFSON
Holiday entertaining
is in full swing, and I
am ready with lots of
great Applegate Valley
wines, both white and
red. This year I thought
I would mix things up
a bit and experiment
with creating some wine
cocktails. I started my
research by reaching out
to some of my wine-
maker friends to see if
they had any recipes
for wine cocktails using
their wines. I know this
Wine cocktail made with Cowhorn viognier and Hopka.
is risky because wine
(Photo: Debbie Tollefson.)
makers spend every
waking hour trying to make their wines is one I created using Red Lily’s Cava (Aria
the best they can be, and mucking about Brut).
16 oz. Red Lily Cava (or brut
with that finely tuned profile could be
champagne or prosecco)
considered a major insult. Thankfully, Bill
2 oz. fresh lime or lemon juice
Steele of Cowhorn Vineyard answered that
2 oz. simple syrup (equal parts sugar
although he “doesn’t really make cocktails
and water heated until dissolved)
with wine,” his resident chef and tasting-
Fresh ginger (cotton-ball sized) peeled,
room ambassador, Dawn Strickmeyer,
chopped, and muddled in a
makes a great cocktail with Cowhorn
cocktail shaker
viognier. Thanks, Dawn, for this great
Splash of limoncello liqueur
recipe!
Club soda to fill glass
4 oz. Cowhorn viognier
Garnish with mint.
1 oz. Hopka (hops-flavored liqueur)
Traditionally
I have altered red or rosé
2 oz. LaCroix plain sparkling water
wine
when
creating
sangria. Here is a
Serve over ice.
One of my favorite uses of wine is to holiday sangria recipe using cranberries
create a great sparkling wine cocktail. Here that I particularly like. Using Herb Quady’s
Use Quady North Rosé in a
holiday sangria recipe using cranberries.
(Photo: Quady North.)
great rosé and Red Lily’s Night School
port, it is one of the best and most unique
sangrias I have ever made.
1 cup water, 1 cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
5 cloves
2 cups fresh cranberries
2 apples peeled, cored, and diced
Heat water, sugar, cinnamon stick, star
anise, and cloves until sugar is dissolved.
Cool, then add cranberries and apples and
refrigerate overnight. Strain the fruit and
set aside the spiced water. To the fruit, add
the bottle of Quady North Rosé and 1/3
cup Red Lily Night School port. Add 1/3
cup spiced water and chill. Serve over ice
with mint garnish.
(Make another
batch with the
remaining spiced
Debbie Tollefson
water or freeze for
later use.)
I also found a quick red wine cocktail
that is very refreshing and easy to make.
¾ cup any Applegate Valley red wine
¼ cup lemon-lime soda
Ice and garnish with a lemon or
lime wedge.
Here is a recipe using pinot noir and
tequila.
1½ oz. good tequila
1½ oz. pinot noir
(Schmidt 2012 pinot noir
is a good choice.)
½ oz. lime juice
½ oz. agave syrup
2 ozs. blood orange soda
(I love Trader Joe’s blood orange.)
Garnish with a lime wedge.
With any cocktail, either created from
a recipe or invented on your own, I think
you need to use the same rule that I apply
whenever I use wine in cooking: If I don’t
think the wine is good enough to drink, it
probably isn’t good enough to cook with
or to use in my wine cocktails.
I hope these recipes show you the
versatility of wine cocktails. Include some
in your holiday entertaining using our
great Applegate Valley wines.
Happy holidays and a happy, healthy,
and peaceful 2018. For everyone’s safety,
be sure not to drink and drive!
Debbie Tollefson
debbie.avrealty@gmail.com
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Burn reminder
Before burning outdoors any time of year,
check with your fire district to make sure
that day is an official burn day
and not a NO burn day.
Jackson County • 541-776-7007
Josephine County • 541-476-9663 (Press 3)
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— N O T I C E —
The Community Calendar, usually found on page 4,
has been temporarily relocated to our website at
applegater.org.
Winter Concerts
Where could you find autumn,
Christmas, and jazz combined? At the
winter concerts of Voices of the Applegate,
of course!
Hope Harrison, our energetic and
exciting director, has put together an
amazing collection of both the stirring and
the soothing. From “I’ll Be Seeing You” to
“Autumn” to the fanciful “Dance of the
Sugar Plum Fairy,” the concert should be
a showstopper. In addition to some very
listenable, familiar Christmas pieces, we
harmonize in a soul-moving rendition
of “America the Beautiful.” Audience
participation is always included, with a
sing-along.
Concert venues are Jacksonville
Presbyterian Church, 6th and California
Streets, at 7:30 pm on Friday, December
1, and Applegate River Lodge, 15100
Highway 238, at 3:00 pm on Sunday,
December 3.
There is never an admission charge, but
donations are welcome and appreciated.
For more information, call Joan Peterson at 541-846-6988.