Tuesday, May 28, 2019

What Snacks Should You Bring?


  1. White wine Sangria with jalapeño poppers
    1. A crisp white sangria is the perfect drink for baked jalapeno poppers. The acidity of the wine cuts through the creamy cheese, while the jalapeño pairs with the fruity qualities of the wine.
  2. Strawberry Sangria with watermelon caprese
    1. Strawberries and a crisp white Sangria are a great pairing for cubes of watermelon, balls of fresh mozzarella and fresh basil drizzled with balsamic vinegar.
  3. Moscato peach sangria with prosciutto-wrapped melon
    1. Moscato and peach balance the salty prosciutto and complement ripe melons. This pair is perfect for hot summer nights.
  4. Red wine Sangria with sweet-and-sour meatballs
    1. The sweet and sour flavors of the classic cocktail meatball need something bold, and a red wine Sangria is just right.
  5. Red wine Sangria with cheese, charcuterie and crackers
    1. Red Sangria is sweet yet acidic and works well when it comes to balancing the heaviness that can come with fatty cheeses and cured meats. A platter of assorted rich cheeses, charcuterie and crackers served with a pitcher of sangria is a match made in heaven.
  6. Rosé Sangria with shrimp cocktail
    1. A crisp and fruity rose Sangria over ice is the ideal companion to a platter of fresh chilled shrimp and zingy cocktail sauce.
  7. White or red Sangria with cold cuts
    1. Cold cuts work well with Sangria because of their saltiness and smokiness.  Serrano ham and salami are good options. Terrines and pates offer a rich, fatty balance to the sweetness of the sangria. Serve them with crackers and a fruit spread.
  8. A few more options
    1. Olive Oil Tortas
    2. Lemon and Coriander Marinated Olives
    3. Spanish-Style Toast with Tomato (Pan Con Tomate)
    4. Tortilla Española. (Spanish Omelet)
    5. Stuffed Piquillo Peppers


PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING A LARGE WINE GLASS. 

Saturday, June 15, 2019
5:30 to 8:30
Grotto Hall at the Greater Pittsburgh Masonic Center
3579 Masonic Way
Pittsburgh, PA 15237



 The cost for members or guests

$5

Please reply before Tuesday, June 11, 2019 to:


Or you may reply to:

 412-979-6565 or 412-979-9594


Mail your check, payable to AWS to:

Robert Dering
38 Perry Lane
Pittsburgh PA  15229

Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Summer Sip 'n Share




Did you attend last year’s wildly popular
“Sip ‘n Share” event?

If you missed it, we’re having another! If you enjoyed last year, we hope that you'll join us again!

Sharing wine is the best way to drink our favorite liquid. What other bottle of beverage has five servings and should be finished soon after it’s opened? Wine is meant to be shared. (That’s why we raffle a large format bottle at most of our tastings.) In keeping with that idea, our “Unofficial Official Tasting” this summer will be a Sangria Sip & Share event.

We would like each attendee to bring a pitcher of Sangria, either commercial or homemade, and a snack to share.  We will place them on a serving table and you can help yourself! 

Then, you get to put your “two cents” in.  We will vote for “people’s choice”. There will be one winner for “Best in Show” commercial and one for homemade.  There will be a door prize for one attendee just for showing up!

PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING A LARGE WINE GLASS. 

Saturday, June 15, 2019
5:30 to 8:30

Grotto Hall at the Greater Pittsburgh Masonic Center
3579 Masonic Way
Pittsburgh, PA 15237



 The cost for members or guests

$5

Please reply before Tuesday, June 11, 2019 to:


Or you may reply to:

 412-979-6565 or 
412-979-9594

Mail your check, payable to AWS to:

Robert Dering
38 Perry Lane
Pittsburgh PA  15229

Friday, May 17, 2019

To Your Health!

Sangria is one of the most versatile drinks in the world.  However, very important wine folk (not AWS members) might sometimes turn their noses up bigly at sangria. That’s a shame, because sangria is not only a great party drink but also has a rich history and enough variation to please just about any palate. If you
doubt its seriousness, bear in mind that, just as there are specific stemware designs for wines made from certain grape varieties and in different regions, sangria now has its own dedicated glass!

Sangria dates to the Middle Ages when most water was unhealthy to drink and drinking fermented beverages carried a much lower risk of causing illness. People would mix wine, which was much lighter and less potent than what we’re used to today, with spices such as cinnamon.
The word “sangria” is much more serious than the drink itself. It comes from the Latin word for bloodletting, thanks to the original sangria’s reddish hue, a result of the red wine first used to make it. Since then, various European countries and hundreds of restaurants have created their own variations on the sangria theme. Spain alone offers various traditional options based on region. For example, sparkling recipes come from the areas that produce Cava.
If you are a home winemaker, there are kits available at your local wine supply store to make your own ready-to-drink Sangria.

You can also buy high-quality, ready-made sangria in bottles or boxes, but it’s more fun to start with a wine that you enjoy, add your favorite fruits and spices and take a shot at making your own.
Here are some suggestions for making sangria, based on wine type.
Red Wine
The traditional Spanish version of sangria uses wine made from Tempranillo, the famous red wine of Rioja. You can substitute your own favorite in place of Rioja in just about any red wine sangria recipe. Just keep in mind that not all red wines will make a sangria mix equally well. Look for dry red wines that are reasonably priced, tasty and offer simple, fruit-driven flavors and aromas. It’s best to avoid older red wines (which are usually too delicate for mixing), tannic reds (which might make the sangria taste astringent), and overly complex wines (which are often more expensive and usually best left to be consumed on their own or paired with a meal rather than having their more interesting aromas and flavors mixed away).
 White Wine
It’s a bit more difficult to find the right white wine and fruit combination for a good sangria. This is because white wines tend to show their fruitier side, so you’ll need to pay attention to what grapes are used in the white wine sangria. For example, a Sauvignon Blanc with citrus aromas might not mix well with a sangria recipe that calls for a lot of lime and lemon. You’ll need to experiment a bit, but lighter, un-oaked Chardonnays do well, as do Chenin Blanc wines. As with red wine sangria recipes, aim for simple and tasty and avoid older white wines, expensive and complex white wines, and fuller-bodied white wines like oaked Chardonnay.
 Rosé Wine
With the number of excellent dry rosé wines available, don’t overlook using a pink wine for your sangria. These have the added benefit of creating some beautiful color combinations for the drink, since rosés can be found in every pink hue from light salmon to blood-red. Not surprisingly, with the lighter red berry flavors and aromas of many rosés, this wine type tends to do best in sangria recipes that include raspberries, cranberries, and peaches as the main fruit ingredient.
 Sparkling Wine
If you’re considering giving your sangria a kick, try using a sparkling wine in the recipe instead of still wine. Just as with still wines, simple and fruity options will work best; think Spanish Cava or Italian Prosecco, both of which are good, value-priced options. Most sparkling wines will work in sangria recipes that call for white wines, and rosé bubblies can be substituted in sangria recipes that include rosé still wines. The key to using sparkling wine in sangria isn’t so much the choice of bubbly as it is how you prepare the recipe. Many sangria recipes specify soaking the ingredients for an extended period. While that will help to integrate the flavors in the sangria, an extended soak will be bad for the sparkling wine’s bubbles. In this case it’s best to let all the other ingredients combine and then open and add the sparkling wine just before serving.
 Dessert Wine
Sweet wines might not seem like a good sangria option, but with a little careful planning, a dessert wine can produce a tasty mix. Look for simple, fruity, sweet wines that aren’t pushing the sugar levels or the alcohol content (fortified wines like port, Madeira, and Marsala, while excellent for some mixed drinks, are best avoided here). To maximize your chances of a winning sangria combination when using a sweeter wine, look for recipes that call for fruit with a lot of acidity, such as pomegranates, lemons, oranges, and limes. That extra acidity will help to counteract the sugar in the sweet wine, making the sangria taste a little drier overall and improving the sense of balance of the various ingredients when you drink it.
Whether you choose to use red, white, rosé, sparkling, or dessert wine in your sangria, the process of making and drinking this versatile drink is a great way to celebrate the warm weather and a different, more party-oriented take on wine this spring and summer.
ANTIOXIDANT SANGRIA RECIPE
Antioxidant Sangria is a refreshing summer cocktail to sip poolside or at the yacht club with the free-radical fighting power of antioxidants!
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: about 6 drinks
INGREDIENTS
  • 2 cups blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, and diced peaches
  • 1 bottle (750 ml) red wine (I like to use chianti)
  • 1/2 cup triple sec
  • 1/2 cup 100% pomegranate juice
  • 1 cup club soda
  • Ice
INSTRUCTIONS
1.   Place fruit in the bottom of a large pitcher.
2.   Add wine, triple sec, pomegranate juice, and club soda. Stir to combine.
3.    To serve, fill glasses halfway with ice. Pour sangria and fruit over the top. Garnish with more fruit. Cheers!

Monday, May 13, 2019

Sangria


Would you name your wine
after an old medical procedure?


As AWS members, we understand that naming and marketing a wine are important steps to that wine becoming a success. I’m an amateur winemaker and I’ve named my wines after some strange things. I usually name them for one or more of my dogs, but sometimes I use family or other ideas. I have never used a medical procedure. Our next tasting will be a Sangria “Sip ‘n Share”, so we thought that a little history was in order.

One of the stories about how Sangria was named claims that it was derived from derramamiento de sangre, which is Spanish for the medical procedure known as bloodletting. To treat diseases blood was drawn from a patient and allowed to flow into a bowl of water. It’s been said that Sangria wine resembles the appearance of that blood and water mixture.

There’s another story. An 18th century Castilian dictionary claimed the British invented a red wine infused with fruits and sweeteners that they drank during hot summers in their American colonies. In the same century, a drink of red wine, lemon, sugar and fizzy water called Claret Cup was popular in the U.K.
Adding things to wine is an ancient practice. The Romans brought the concept to what is now Spain more than 2,000 years ago.


Maybe it is or maybe it isn't the birthplace of Sangria, but Spain certainly has been the wine's home for quite some time. For many generations, and for an obvious reason, the wine used for Sangria was red. Now we also have white Sangria (perhaps someone along the way reasoned that since we have white blood cells ...)

The EU has had the last word regarding what can be called Sangria. The wine is identified as a mixture of wine, citrus fruits or extracts, possible spices, a sweetener, possible spirits, carbon dioxide, and it must be under 12% alcohol by volume. Each EU member country producing Sangria must label the product “produced in - followed by the name of that country”. Iberian Peninsula producers are exempt from the rule. If there’s no country of origin on the label, then that Sangria was produced either in Portugal or in Spain.

Under labeling rules in the United States, Sangria is considered a formula wine, classified as “grape wine, usually red wine, with citrus flavors or juices.” The formula must be documented and supplied to federal regulators.


According to which story you believe, in 1951 Lorenzo Granados introduced Sangria to the “Beat Generation” in New York City in his Greenwich Village restaurant.





Or, it was introduced to the U.S. at the 1964 World’s Fair. Whenever it was introduced, New York Baby Boomers tasted their first Sangria as they came to drinking age, which was eighteen in the 1960s. The popular wine then was Yago Sangria, which is still available at your local Fine Wine and Good Spirits store (LCB # 7934 - $13.99 for the 3-liter bottle). There was even a fashion craze in the '60s for Sangria-style dresses.

We’ve come a long way, Baby Boomers. Bloomfield hipsters now enjoy sangria produced in their Iberian home as well as across a variety of nations, including the U.S. At the end of August 2018, Nielsen listed almost 250 Sangria wines sold in the U.S. In that month alone, $17 Million worth of Sangria was sold retail. In the 1960s, pre-packaged Sangria was primarily in glass bottles. Today, Sangria comes in many packages, from glass to boxes to cans to kegs.

Classically, Sangria has been a summer drink, so we hope that you’ll join us for our official summer “unofficial” tasting. We are going to have a Sangria Sip ‘n Share. Details to follow soon, so keep checking the website.

Thursday, May 9, 2019

Un grand merci à tous !




A visit to Languedoc-Roussillon may not be in your immediate plans, but last night we had a wonderful sampling of the food and wine of le sud de la France.  It was almost like being there!

None of our tastings happen without the generous help of our hosts and volunteers.  We enter an empty room on the second Wednesday of the month and it becomes transformed into a new and exciting territory.

We’d like to thank all the people involved in creating this magic!

  • Terry Germanoski
    • Baguettes & Rustic Breads
  • Melissa Passafiume:
    • Fig & Walnut Tapenade with Goat Cheese
  • Marie Pietraszewski & John Hoffman:
    • Sautéed Shrimp
  • Julie Underwood & Mary Ann Hirt:
    • Salade Niçoise
  • Mary Eld:
    • French Mushroom & Beef Stew
  • Ellen Barner & Susie Colville-Cook:
    • Ratatouille
  • Kevin Dering:
    • Marinated Olives with Herbes de Provence & Lavender
    • Chocolate-covered Strawberries
  • Penn Mac:
    • Roquefort & Ossau-Iraty cheeses
  • Rachel Gallagher:
    • Cream puffs with chocolate filling
  • Welcome Wines:
    • Terry Germanoski - Sauvignon Blanc
    • Thom Harding – Pink Moscato
  • Wines
    • Dreadnought Wines & PLCB
  • John Eld:
    • Music & Decorations
Keep checking the website for news about our next event:
Sangria Sip 'n Share


Saturday, May 4, 2019

Reservations are closed


The "I only speak wine bottle French" 
dinner and tasting is sold out.

Join us on Saturday, June 8 
for our official "Unofficial Tasting"

Check the website for details!

Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Reminder




ATTENDANCE IS LIMITED TO 30 PEOPLE

WEDNESDAY, MAY 8, 2019
Evergreen Community Center

3430 Evergreen Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15237

7:00

PLEASE REMEMBER TO BRING YOUR WINE GLASSES

 The cost for members or guests

$30

Please reply before Saturday, May 6, 2019 to:


Or you may reply to:

 412-979-6565 or 
412-979-9594

Mail your check, payable to AWS to:

Robert Dering
38 Perry Lane
Pittsburgh PA  15229

Don’t forget to visit the website for directions, useful tips, and recipes.