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.
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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,
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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.
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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-
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on the increase, people are willing
to spend more money on the higher
priced wines,” Brandborg said.
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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
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— Terry Brandborg,
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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.
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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
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“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
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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
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crispy egg rolls with garlicky-
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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
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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
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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
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offer me something hot and
cheesy and golden on top, and
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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
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(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
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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
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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
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JR$V\RX¿QLVKUROOLQJXVHD¿QJHUWRVSUHDGD
little water on the edge to help create a seal. Repeat
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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
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6WDUWWR¿QLVK 30 minutes (10 minutes active)
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2 teaspoons olive or vegetable oil
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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
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g trans fats); 45 mg cholesterol; 340 mg sodium; 3 g carbohy-
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