Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 23, 2016)
Page 4C EAT, DRINK & EXPLORE East Oregonian Saturday, January 23, 2016 Umpqua Valley recognized as top wine destination By EMILY HOARD The News-Review ROSEBURG — Local wine grape growers and wine makers are proud of the attention Umpqua Valley wineries have been receiving recently. Wine Enthusiast Magazine named Southern Oregon one of the “10 Best Wine Travel Destinations of 2016” and local wineries won 28 medals in the 2016 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. Central Douglas County has over 30 wineries and there are designated wine tour routes. ³7KLV LV WKH ¿UVW WLPH 6RXWKHUQ Oregon has gotten attention in a big nature,” said Earl Jones of Abacela Winery near Winston. “It’s colossal in terms of what we’ve seen in the past.” With a total of 7,162 entries, this year’s San Francisco competition featured the largest number of American wines in the country. “The fact that our local wineries did so well shows how our wines stack up compared to any other place, DQG,WKLQNWKDW¶VYHU\VLJQL¿FDQW´ said Terry Brandborg, the Umpqua Valley Wine Growers Association board president. “We’ve seen a lot of growth in Umpqua.” He said he hopes the recognition will help wine consumers pay attention to the world class quality of wines from the area. Brandborg began producing wine in California in 1986 and then moved to Elkton in 2002 to open Brandborg Vineyard and Winery. +H SRLQWHG WR WKUHH VLJQL¿FDQW wine related events in the Umpqua Valley. First, Reustle Prayer Rock Vineyards near Umpqua was named Small Winery of the Year in 2010 in the Riverside International Wine Competition, then Wine Press Northwest named Abacela near Winston the Oregon Winery of the Year in 2013 and tabbed Brandborg Vineyard and Winery for the honor The News-Review,Roseburg via AP The News-Review,Roseburg via AP Terry and Sue Brandborg of Elkton have owned and operated Brandborg Vineyard and Winery since 2002. Abacela Winery owners Earl and Hilda Jones were the first to plant Tempranillo grapes in Oregon. in 2015. “Hopefully that’s going to bring more interest to the area, both in wine tourism and from investors who are looking for new places to explore,” Brandborg said of the awards. “I think the Umpqua Valley is very attractive to new investment in the industry. We have an awful lot to offer.” According to an Oregon Wine Board survey, the winery-related economic impact on Douglas County last year was $44 million. That included the money spent by wine tourists and the amount wineries generated. VisitRoseburg. com showed more than 16,000 views for the wine page and Brand- borg said 4,000 people visited the tasting room at his winery last year. “As we recover from the reces- VLRQ DQG FRQVXPHU FRQ¿GHQFH LV on the increase, people are willing to spend more money on the higher priced wines,” Brandborg said. ³:H¶UHVHHLQJDORWPRUHWUDI¿FRXW and about, so I think it’s looking very bright.” Jones, who owns Abacela with his wife Hilda, was excited about Achievement Award and Wine Enthusiast Magazine nominated their winery for American Winery of the Year in 2015. For the past 15 years, Terri and -LP 'HO¿QR KDYH RZQHG 'HO¿QR — Terry Brandborg, 9LQH\DUGV ZKLFK LQFOXGHV D ¿YH Umpqua Valley Wine Growers Association board president star rated bed and breakfast. “We feel like it’s a tourist desti- Southern Oregon being rated as a Jones was a professor at Emory nation in and of itself,” said Terri top wine destination in the world University School of Medicine but 'HO¿QR D FRFKDLU RI 8PSTXD and mentioning Abacela and left to come to Oregon to plant Valley Wine Growers Association. 'HO¿QR9LQH\DUGVRI5RVHEXUJ WKH ¿UVW7HPSUDQLOOR RI WKH 3DFL¿F “And we’re close to other wineries Jones has been credited for Northwest in 1995. He named the in the area. You can take off for the bringing Tempranillo, Albariño winery Abacela, which derives day and we freshen it up for you. and other grape varieties to the from the Spanish word meaning When you come home, you can just 3DFL¿F 1RUWKZHVW 7HPSUDQLOOR “to plant a grape vine.” Since then, relax and go out again the next day was growing in California and was Tempranillo has spread all over the to Crater Lake or the coast, we’re used for jug wine, but Jones wanted U.S. really in a good location for tourists WR¿QGDZD\WRWXUQLWLQWRWKH¿QH “I’m proud to be the granddad of to come and visit.” wine it is today. all that,” Jones said. Wine Enthusiast has given “I studied the Tempranillo grape Abacela’s 1998 Tempranillo 'HÀLQRKLJKPDUNVRQVHYHUDORILWV in Spain, the mother country, and EHFDPH WKH ¿UVW$PHULFDQ ZLQH WR wines over the past few years. studied what it needed to produce compete in a world competition, “To see the recognition that ¿QHZLQH´ ZLQQLQJ D GRXEOH JROG ¿UVWSODFH we’re getting now is really exciting He said he discovered the medal in the 2001 San Francisco IRU XV´ 'HO¿QR VDLG ³:H ZDQW Umpqua Valley’s climate was International Wine Competition. people to come here and we want just what it needed, as Southern Abacela has been recognized people to go to all of our wineries. Oregon sits between the 44th and several times since then. Most We want people to taste all of our 42nd parallels, the same as northern recently, the Oregon Wine Board Umpqua Valley wines because Spain. awarded the Jones’s the Lifetime they’re really unique.” “The fact that our local wineries did so well shows how our wines stack up compared to any other place, and I think that’s very signiicant.” For serious Super Bowl comfort food, hot dip By KATIE WORKMAN Associated Press AP Photo/Matthew Mead Baked egg rolls with sesame-soy dipping sauce. Baked egg rolls can be as good as fried By MELISSA D’ARABIAN Associated Press Alice was our au pair from China, and when she joined our family she brought with her a slew of tasty dishes. Our family fell in love with her complex fried rice, dumplings ZLWKMXLF\PHDW¿OOLQJVDQGKHU crispy egg rolls with garlicky- PHDW\PXVKURRP¿OOLQJV7KH tricky thing was that Alice was one of those cooks who worked her magic without a recipe. I would watch, taking mental notes of the ingredients and quantities (writing it down felt, well, wrong), but replicating her dishes proved similar to me trying to capture the exact taste of my grandma’s cooking — impossible. Though we loved all of her cooking (well, except for her take on FKRFRODWHPXI¿QVEXWWKDW¶VDQRWKHU story), her egg rolls were the family favorite. And why not? Minced up goodies wrapped in delicate, fried (essentially) pasta? Yes, please! So I took the liberty (since I was missing the mark anyway) to create my own version, one that managed to get most of the crispy goodness with far less fat. After experimenting with a variety of methods — from spraying the eggrolls with an oil mister or cooking spray as well as dry-baking — the clear winner was the pastry brush method combined with a hot oven while also using a baking rack to allow for full air circulation during cooking. So what if these egg rolls are not completely traditional. I did capture the essence of Alice’s cooking, and when the girls are missing her I know fond memories are only an egg roll away. And by the way, my experimenting also proved that quickly sauteed bananas sprinkled with a little orange juice and a dark chocolate chip or two also make IRUDSHUIHFWGHVVHUWHJJUROO¿OOLQJ Brush with coconut oil and dip cooked eggrolls in tangy Greek yogurt. Yum! Hosting a horde of fans for the Super Bowl? Or are you crashing somebody’s party and tasked with bringing something delicious? Either way, you could spend a lot of time thinking about what to prepare. Or you could just make this and know beyond any doubt that you had picked a crowd-pleaser. What is it about hot dips? I can show some restraint around a room-temperature dip. Because VRXUFUHDPLV¿QHDQGDOO%XW offer me something hot and cheesy and golden on top, and \RX¶GEHWWHUZDWFK\RXU¿QJHUV This dip makes no pretense at healthfulness. Because it’s the Super Bowl! Not the day to start your diet. I don’t know about you, but I like my healthy foods healthy, and my decadent foods decadent. Still, if you insist, you certainly can pick and choose among the ingredients and decide where you want to slim down the dish. You could, for example, use reduced-fat shredded cheese or Neufchatel (low-fat cream cheese) instead of regular. And while we’re talking substitutes, you could use fresh spinach in WKLVUHFLSHEXWIUR]HQLVMXVW¿QH (and so convenient). If you are bringing this to someone’s house, you’ll need to heat it there, which means you’ll absolutely need to clear this with the host ahead of time. There are few things more exasperating than a guest rushing into your kitchen and surprising you with the information that they need a space in your oven and they need it now. But unless there is not an inch of oven left, your hosts probably will be fairly delighted by the prospect of a hot dip in their home. I know I would be. AP Photo/Matthew Mead HOT-AND-CREAMY PESTO SPINACH DIP BAKED EGG ROLLS 6WDUWWR¿QLVK 1 hour 20 minutes (1 hour active) 0DNHV 15 eggrolls 1 teaspoon vegetable oil, plus 1 tablespoon 1 link spicy turkey sausage (about 1/5 pound), casing removed RXQFHVEXWWRQPXVKURRPV¿QHO\FKRSSHG FXS¿QHO\FKRSSHGFHOHU\DERXWVWDONV 3/4 cup shredded carrot (about 1 medium carrot) 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger 3 scallions, white and green parts, chopped 1 cup frozen peas, thawed FXSV¿QHO\FKRSSHG1DSDFDEEDJH 1 teaspoon sesame oil 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce 1 teaspoon cornstarch 15 large (5- or 6-inch) egg roll (wonton) wrappers Heat the oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with foil, then set a wire rack over it. Mist the rack with cooking spray. In a large saute pan over medium-high, heat 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Once cooked, transfer the sausage to a plate and set aside, leaving the residual oil in the pan. Return the pan to the heat and add the mushrooms, celery and carrot. Cook until the mushrooms are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger and scallions, then cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the peas, cabbage and sesame oil and cook until the cabbage softens, another 2 or 3 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl mix together the soy sauce and cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water. Pour the mixture into the pan with the vegetables, then add the sausage. Stir, then cover and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool just until easily handled. Set a wonton wrapper on the work surface. Spoon a couple tablespoons of the vegetable mixture onto the wrapper. Start with one side and roll up the ZUDSSHURYHUWKH¿OOLQJIROGLQJLQWKHVLGHVDV\RX JR$V\RX¿QLVKUROOLQJXVHD¿QJHUWRVSUHDGD little water on the edge to help create a seal. Repeat ZLWKUHPDLQLQJZRQWRQVDQG¿OOLQJ Place the egg rolls on the rack on the prepared baking sheet. Use the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to brush the egg rolls. Bake until golden and crispy, about 20 minutes. If you do not have a baking rack, place the egg rolls directly on the baking sheet and turn the egg rolls over halfway through the cook time. Nutrition information per serving: 140 calories; 25 calories from fat (18 percent of total calories); 2.5 g fat (0 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 5 mg cholesterol; 350 mg sodium; 23 g carbohydrate; 2 g ¿EHUJVXJDUJSURWHLQ 6WDUWWR¿QLVK 30 minutes (10 minutes active) 6HUYLQJV8 2 teaspoons olive or vegetable oil WHDVSRRQ¿QHO\PLQFHGJDUOLF 9-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove excess liquid 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened 3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1/4 cup milk or cream 1/4 cup minced fresh basil Kosher salt and ground black pepper Heat the oven to 350 F. Coat a shallow, 4-cup baking dish or 9-inch pie pan with cooking spray. In a medium skillet over medium, heat the oil. Add the garlic, stir for 30 seconds, then add the spinach and cook, stirring frequently, until the spinach is cooked and no liquid remains in the pan, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, Monterey Jack, Parmesan, milk, basil and a hefty pinch each of salt and pepper. Use an electric mixer to beat until well combined, then add the spinach mixture and mix again until fully incorporated. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan, smoothing the top, then bake for 20 minutes, or until hot and bubbling. Serve hot with bread or crackers. Nutrition information per serving: 170 calories; 130 calories IURPIDWSHUFHQWRIWRWDOFDORULHVJIDWJVDWXUDWHG g trans fats); 45 mg cholesterol; 340 mg sodium; 3 g carbohy- GUDWHJ¿EHUJVXJDUJSURWHLQ
