Showing posts with label riesling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label riesling. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Sasha's Kitchen: Riesling Chicken


I was looking for a new chicken dish and came across this recipe from an old issue of Gourmet that combined chicken with a Riesling sauce. I love Riesling - as I am a fan of slightly sweet white wines from the Finger Lakes and of course Alsace. So, I used one of my favorite reasonably priced Rieslings to prepare this dish - Dr Konstantin Frank's Salmon Run Riesling, one of the Finger Lakes' best Rieslings. The flavor it lent to this dish was delicious - not too sweet but just delicious. The carrots were also especially lovely as part of the dish. I mashed the potatoes, but they were perfect as well. Such a winning dish that certainly doesn't say "boring chicken" but spells out a wonderful, homecooked French countryside dinner!



Chicken In Riesling (based on this recipe)
1 whole chicken, cut up (about 3/2 to 4 lbs)
1 T canola oil
3 T butter
2 T shallots, finely chopped
4 medium leeks (green parts only), finely chopped
4 medium carrots, halved
1 cup Riesling
1 1/2 lb small red potatoes
2 T finely chopped flat leaf parsley
1/2 creme fraiche
fresh lemon juice to taste

Preheat the oven to 350. Wash the chicken and pat dry, before seasoning with Kosher salt and fresh pepper. Heat 1-2 T of butter in a dutch oven and brown the chicken on all sides over medium high heat, about 10 minutes total per batch. Transfer the chicken to a plate.

Cook the shallots, leeks, 1/4 tsp salt and 2 T of butter in the dutch oven until the leeks are pale golden, about five to seven minutes. Add the chicken, carrots and Riesling and bring to a boil, reducing the Riesling by half, about 3-4 minutes. Cover the pot and place in the oven, and braise for 25 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.


While the chicken is cooking, cover the potatoes in a pot of cold water. Add 1 1/2 tsp salt and bring to a boil. Then simmer about 20-25 minutes. Drain and mash the potatoes with the chopped parsley and a tablespoon or two of additional butter.

Take ut the dutch oven with the chicken and stir in the creme fraiche. Serve hot. Yum!
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Saturday, November 27, 2010

Sasha's Kitchen: Maple Glazed Thanksgiving Turkey with Oranges, Paired with Wagner Vineyards Riesling





Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving. This year, my family came in from Rochester for Thanksgiving and Brad and I hosted, which meant quite a bit of holiday cooking. It was such a nice meal, and everything turned out great, just the way I had hoped. There is so much to be thankful for - my family, my wonderful husband, our health and all the things we have. Sometimes it is so easy to just think about the things we want and don't have more often, but there has to be a balance between the two. At any rate, this year, we made quite a few recipes for Thanksgiving - some new recipes and some old favorites. I look forward to sharing them here over the next week or so.

For the turkey, I decided to do an orange-maple flavored turkey, which seemed perfect for the season. Of course, and not surprisingly, they key to an amazing turkey, the centerpiece of Thanksgiving, is the quality of the bird you start with. Our turkey was a free-range, organic turkey from Plainville Farms, which might just be the best turkey I have ever had. When cooked properly, it is succulent, juicy and just perfect. You can order these delicious, organic turkeys from Fresh Direct.

We paired the Turkey with Wagner Vineyards' semi dry Riesling, a light, refreshing citrus infused wine, that was more citrus than sweet and an excellent table wine. We also noticed hints of pear and peach.



Sasha's Orange-Maple Roast Turkey
1 12-14 lb organic turkey
sea salt and pepper
paprika
two oranges
1 onion
fresh thyme
fresh oregano
1 stalk of celery
bay leaf
fresh tarragon
6 T of butter
1 cup of orange juice
1/3 cup of Vermont maple syrup
1 T of fresh grated ginger

Gravy
2/3 cup Riesling (I used Wagner Vineyards' Semi Dry Riesling, which I received in a generous shipment several months ago with several bottles of their other wonderful wines)
3 cups of turkey stock
3 T flour
1 T canola oil
1 T butter

Heat the oven to 425 and wash the turkey inside and out with cold water. Pat dry with paper towels and empty the body cavity. Keep the various turkey parts from the body cavity, and put in a pot to make the turkey stock. Add three cups of water, a stalk of celery, a dice onion, a couple carrots and some herbs to the stock solution (tarragon, thyme, a bay leaf and oregano). Bring the pot to a boil and allow to simmer for about two hours on low until you can strain the vegetables and turkey parts and keep the stock.



In the meantime, fill the cavity of the turkey with the two oranges, chopped celery, quartered onion, and fresh bay leaf, thyme, oregano and tarragon. This should be bulging out of the turkey cavity. Generously season the bird with sea salt (which is much healthier than regular salt) and pepper. Rub the turkey with paprika as well, to season. Set the bird in a roasting pan. Cover with a double layer of cheesecloth. Melt two tablespoons of butter and combine with 1/3 of a cup of orange juice. If you prefer, you can based with canola oil instead, but I recommend butter. Use the butter/orange juice solution to baste the turkey with a baster.  You can add a bit of water to the bottom of the roasting pan after you baste the turkey. Roast for 30 minutes. Then, take the turkey out and rebaste with another 2 T of melted butter combined with 1/3 cup of orange juice.  Lower the heat to 350, and loosely cover with a piece of aluminum foil. Roast for thirty minutes more and rebaste. Continue roasting at 350 for approximately three hours, basing periodically (about twice) during the interim. The turkey should be done after about three hours, when a mean thermometer registers 170 degrees in the breast and 180 degrees in the leg.


Heat 1 T of grated ginger in a pot with the maple syrup over medium heat until combined.  Glaze the turkey with this solution using a pastry brush, and allow to sit for about 20 minutes until you carve the turkey.


To make the gravy, combine the flour with a tablespoon of canola oil. Add to the three cups of turkey stock that you prepared and heat for about five minutes over medium heat. Add the Riesling and cook until reduced by half, and longer until the gravy thickens. Season with a bit of pepper.




Carve the turkey using an electric knife, and serve with the gravy and plenty of delicious side dishes (recipes soon!). Yum!
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Sunday, May 16, 2010

Sasha's Kitchen: Food & Wine Pairing: Maple-Glazed Tuna with Potato-Pear Salad and Wagner Vineyards 2007 Riesling


Last  night we had a wonderful three course Saturday night dinner.  I made a wonderful bruschetta using black truffle oil for the appetizer, and then we had a recipe from Marcus Samuelsson's cookbook, New American Table, maple-glazed tuna with pear potato salad.  For dessert, we had my newest cupcake recipe, some pretty little coconut cupcakes.  For today, I'm writing about the tuna, but the other recipes will appear on the blog soon.  The truffle oil was such a nice addition to my cooking and well worth the $15 I spent on the bottle.  I plan to use it in making truffle creamed spinach next week.

At any rate, I am a huge fan of Marcus Samuelsson's culturally infused style of American cooking, with all the cultural influences from his own background as many of the different cultural and culinary traditions that make of America.  I'm not sure that this recipe has too many of those unique influences, but it is still a great recipe.  The salad was the perfect pairing for the sweet glaze on the tuna.



Wagner Vineyards' 2007 Dry Riesling, from a wonderful Seneca Lake winery in the Finger Lakes Region was a great pairing with the fresh fish and the sweetness of the maple-mustard glaze. I love so many of the finger lakes wineries because of my affinity for excellent Rieslings - and they make some of the best in the world.  Wagner's Riesling was crisp with plenty of citrus, and hints of apple or tropical flavors as well.  It was a nice smooth Riesling with a gentle sweet finish.  We really enjoyed it - thanks for sending me the wine, Wagner :)



Maple-Glazed Tuna with Pear Potato Salad (from Marcus Samuelsson's New American Table)
Fish
1 T dijon mustard
2 T maple syrup (use the real thing, please)
juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup olive oil
Four six oz tuna filets (I only made 2, but made the full salad and glaze anyhow)
salt and pepper
4 cilantro sprigs

Salad
1/4 lb olive oil
1 lb baby yukan gold potatoes (cut into quarters)
2 bosc pears (I used three for extra pear flavor)
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 clove of garlic
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
salt and pepper
juice of 1 lemon
1 1/2 cups of shredded baby spinach (the original recipe only called for 1 cup, but I prefer a bit more)

First, whisk together the mustard, maple syrup, lime juice and a tablespoon of olive oil and set aside for the glaze.


Season the tuna with salt and pepper on both sides.  Heat 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the tuna and cook for 30 seconds on each side. This should be enough to sear the outside of the tuna, but the inside should remain raw.  It goes without saying that to make a recipe like this you must use the freshest, high quality tuna. I also sliced the tuna before serving, but that was mainly for presentation.

Remove the fish from the pan and glaze with the maple-mustard sauce on both sides. Garnish with the cilantro and serve with the pear-potato salad.

To make the salad, heat 1/4 cup of olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat.  Add the potatoes and saute until golden, about 12-15 minutes. Add the pears, red onion, garlic, almonds and curry powder and saute another five minutes.  Toss with the lemon juice and baby spinach after removing from the heat.



This was a delicious combination!
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Monday, March 15, 2010

Sasha's Kitchen: Apricot Almond Couscous Sidedish Paired With Rooster Hill Riesling




We had a wonderful home-prepared dinner on Saturday night.  Tomorrow, I will be doing my post of another wonderful New York State Riesling wine & food pairing with the main course of that meal.  However, I wanted to first introduce a sweet sidedish that also complemented the fruit-forward scents of the Rooster Hill 2007 Estate Semi Dry Riesling that I just received in the mail to review from the lovely Keuka Lake Winery, Rooster Hill Vineyards.

This side dish is very simple to prepare, and contains apricots.  I decided to prepare the couscous with apricot and almond to complement the fragrant apricot and white peach aromas in the wine, and its smooth, lovely honey finish), as well as cinnamon, almond and a bit of lemon.   The wine was a true bouquet of fresh summer fruits, the way a good Riesling ought to be.  I will give full detail on the pairing of the wine in tomorrow's post, so stay tuned.  In the meantime, here is the recipe for the super side dish that (like the lamb main course) was a wonderful complement with Rooster Hill's aromatic white wine.

Sasha's Sweet Apricot Almond Couscous
1 cup plain couscous
1 1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup dried apricot (cut into small pieces)
1/4 cup almond slivers
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon

To prepare the couscous, I placed the couscous in the pineapple juice in a small pot (instead of using water, like one normally does with couscous).  Then, I brought it to a boil and simmered until the juices were mostly gone.  This infused the couscous with the flavors of the pineapple.  Then, I mixed the couscous with the almond, cinnamon and apricot and sauteed for a couple of minutes in a small amount of canola oil (just enough so the couscous would not stick to the pan).  Finally, I added a small amount of lemon juice to add some tartness to balance out the flavors.  This couscous is a sweet and delicious side dish that can be served with either lamb or chicken dishes.  Don't be afraid of this dish even if you don't have a sweet tooth - even my husband (not normally a fan of overly sweet foods) enjoyed it.

I am pleased to enter this dish in the multi-blog sidedish showdown!


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Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Michelle's Kitchen in Toronto - Road Trip to Niagara


A few weekends ago I was lucky enough to take a trip to Niagara with fellow blogger Sasha, her mother, her mother's friend and our dear friends Shannon, Lisa and Lisa's husband Jeff. Lisa, Shannon, Jeff and I drove down on the Friday night and stayed at the lovely Hilton Doubletree in Niagara Falls. The next morning we drove to meet Sasha and her party at Inniskillin. You can read about Sasha's impressions of Inniskillin in her article.

After Inniskillin, we headed to Lailey where the wonderful Derek Barnett guided us through his beloved winery. Derek's passion for winemaking was clear to us from the very beginning. His enthusiasm and verve were evident the whole afternoon!

Derek and I really bonded over our mutual passion for local, sustainable eating and drinking; as well as our passion for Ontario wines and pairing them with food. For those of you unfamiliar with Canadian wine, there is a reason why; most of it never sees its way out of the country or into a Canadian liquor store! Lailey is a small winery that sells most of its wine out the door; only a few varieties (such as the VQA Pinot Noir) ever see the inside of an LCBO liquor store, and the bottles that do can only be found in the Vintages section as production at these boutique vineyards is so small, the price can become high for retail. Lailey specifically trains their vines to curtail and control growth, which also makes it expensive for them to grow the grapes.

After our tour, we got down to some serious tasting. Derek first brought out two Chardonnays for us to try; the 2008 Brickyard and the 2008 Canadian Oak. I absolutely did not realize how different the soil can make in the taste of wine, but it was clearly demonstrated to us at Lailey! Though grown in the same year, the Brickyard grapes were grown in red clay soil and the Canadian Oak grown just a few dozen metres away in looser, more aerated soil. Most of our party preferred the citrus notes of the Canadian Oak, however I and a few others preferred the smoothness and textures to the Brickyard. Derek is determined not to sacrifice flavour for alcohol or sugar content; either of which can overwhelm delicate flavours; especially in whites.

Our next tasting was a revelation to me. Derek brought out two Pinot Noirs for us to compare; again from the same year but different soil. The 2008 Pinot (which is usually the Lailey wine most likely to be found at the liquor store) was ruby red in colour and quite lovely and jammy; a wonderful wine all around thoroughly enjoyed by our party.
My revelation came with the 2008 Brickyard Pinot Noir. Right away, the colour was more of an earthen red and I could see the difference the red clay soil made. Honestly, I could have sat at that table all day without drinking - simply smelling that wine. I just looked at Derek and smiled. It was like vanilla and violets in a glass; it tasted like I would imagine the colour purple would taste in food form. I told Derek that the wine reminded me of the African Violets my Granny used to keep when I was a child. All of a sudden, Derek got the biggest smile on his face, lighting up like a child on Christmas morning who knows he got a bike under the tree.

He asked if I wanted to try other reds and I readily agreed. All of a sudden, wine was coming at us with the enthusiasm of a man who knows he's found an appreciative audience; people who appreciate his art.
So began my journey; and the journey of our table. Next came the revelatory 2007 Meritage, a blend of Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. This was my favorite Lailey red by far; the notes of violets and vanilla were a bit stronger here and I ended up buying a bottle. To me, this was joy in a glass! This wine begs for lamb or a steak to go with it, or just to be sipped before a fire or on a sunny patio.

Before this trip, I had never tried an aged wine (I know, I'm a bad foodie!) and had told Derek that as we were discussing the Pinots and how the flavours change with aging. The dear man brought in a 2002 Merlot with gorgeous jamminess and vanilla hints, a 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon which was redolent of potatoes, grass, earth and ocean. It sounds odd, but it was absolutely delicious!

Next came what we were actually meant to be tasting that day; the icewines. Another revelation to us all. Along with the other vintage red wines he brought out, Derek was generous enough to bring out the very last bottle of Lailey's 2001 Riesling Icewine. It had a tropical aroma with dried fruit flavours like fig and dates. It had this beautiful amber colour with a thicker consistency from the aging. Lisa rightly described it as drinking liquid gold.

From there, we went from an aged icewine to a relatively young one; the 2007 Vidal icewine. It was a deep yellow gold colour and had an amazing aroma and flavour of lychee and peaches. I also picked up a couple of bottles of this one. I still haven't decided if I should drink it or age it!

I had no idea before this trip that aging icewine was an option, but Derek explained that the fruity tropical elements give way over time to more dried fruit flavours, and the colour goes from gold to amber.

Last, but certainly not least came something special I had never tried; a red icewine. We tasted the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon icewine which had a lovely cheese aroma with jammy and berry-like tones to it; strawberries, blueberries, cherries. An amazing new experience and I know many of our party loved this one as well.

We were so lucky to have this unique experience at Lailey; this was certainly not an ordinary wine-tasting. Derek's knowledge and infectious enthusiasm for his product and region were such a joy to behold. Thank you so very much to Derek and all those at Lailey who gave us such a special afternoon. I will never, ever forget it and will hopefully be back at Lailey with my family later this year to stock up!
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Friday, March 5, 2010

Sasha's Kitchen: Food & Wine Pairing of Cheese Fondue With Heron Hill Riesling





For last night's meal, my husband and I paired a wine that we had received from Heron Hill Winery to review with one of our favorite dishes, homemade cheese fondue.  This meal featured a wine & cheese fondue, various fruits, vegetables and bread for dipping, as well as the New Release of the 2007 Ingle Vineyard Riesling from Heron Hill Winery in the Finger Lakes Wine Region of New York State.  The combination was perfect, with the light fruit and citrus fragrance of the wine with is strong hints of lemon and melon character, alongside the gruyere and emmental hard swiss and/or french cheeses, as well as the accompanying fruits and vegetables, particularly the apples.

The flavors of the Riesling were pleasant and fruity, but also crisp with a taste of acidity and a mineral balance.  It was quite pleasing to the palette with the melted cheeses.   New York's Finger Lakes Region has become famous for its Rieslings, and this wine was a great example.  Heron Hill's Riesling was perfect with the balance of acidity and mineral characteristics.  I thought it combined nicely with the melted cheeses and vegetables.  I also loved how its citrus and melon undertones complemented the tartness of the green apple that we used for dipping in the fondue.



To prepare the accompanying fondue, here's what you will need:

Sasha's Cheese Fondue

8 oz gruyere cheese (grated)
8 oz emmental cheese (grated)
2 T cornstarch
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 1/2 cup dry white cooking wine
1 T lemon juice
1 T brandy
pinch of nutmeg
1/2 tsp dry mustard powder
1/2 tsp ancho chile powder
pinch of pepper

For Dipping:
Broccoli
Strawberries
Green Apple
Carrots
French Bread

Follow the instructions for your electric fondue pot, which generally involves bringing all of the ingredients besides the cheese to a boil.  Boil for a minute, then reduce to a simmer and slowly add the grated cheese mixture.  The cheese in the fondue should never boil, so don't turn the electric pot temperature up too high.  Add the cheese until the fondue reaches the desired consistency.  For me, this required most of the cheese, with a little bit leftover.  Then, enjoy by dipping your favorite fruits, vegetable and breads into the fondue, along with a glass of wine.   We used strawberries, green apples, broccoli, french bread and carrots for dipping but you can substitute other fruits or vegetables.  My husband's favorite was the broccoli, while I really liked the combination of the strawberries and applies with both the fondue and the wine.

You should be sure to use Gruyere and Emmental cheeses for your fondue and not substitute.  I selected these cheeses because they are the traditional cheeses used in  Switzerland for making fondue.  Emmental is similar to swiss cheese, while Gruyere is hard yellow cheese made from cow's milk with a creamy and nutty flavor.  The fondue recipe worked very nicely, with flavors of wine, mustard and ancho chile to complement the traditional cheeses.  It pairs nicely with Heron Hill's new Riesling, and was quite an enjoyable and easy weekday meal.



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Sunday, February 21, 2010

Sasha's Kitchen On The Road: Ontario Wine Tasting & Ice Wines At Inniskillin


Until recent years, Canadian wines produced in the province of Ontario were known primarily only to Canadians.  Most Americans would give you a blank stare in response to a discussion of the wines produced in Canada.  However, over the last decade and a half, this conception has changed, as Canada has developed an international reputation for producing some of the best Ice Wines in the world at the Inniskillin Winery, as well as other smaller wineries located in Southern Ontario and the Okanagan region of British Columbia.  Ice wine, a late harvest dessert wine, where the grapes are harvested at lower temperatures, have put both Inniskillin and Canada on the map for its wine production.  But I discovered during my trip to some local Ontario wineries, that Canada's climate also allows for production of some excellent Rieslings and medium bodied red wines as well.

Yesterday, I spent a lovely day wine tasting with a group of old friends (Lisa, Jeff, Shannon and Michelle; as well as my mom and one of her friends) at two Ontario wineries, Inniskillin and a wonderful small winery called Lailey Vineyards.  A trip to local wineries, whether you live near the Finger Lakes Region, Canada, Oregon, Napa or Sonoma is a wonderful way to have a pleasant get together with a group of old friends.  It also makes a perfect girls day.  Whether you are a wine connoisseur or a casual wine drinker, wine tasting is a fun and relaxing way to spend a day, and you can learn a great deal about wine and the local wine making process.  In this article, I will write a detailed summary of how Ice Wine is made at Inniskillin, one of Canada and the world's most famous ice wineries, as well as our experience tasting wines at Inniskillin.  Michelle (who writes from Toronto), will follow up with an article about our tasting experience sampling the wines at Lailey Vineyards.  I will also discuss Inniskillin's other excellent wine varieties, including its regular harvest Riesling and Cabernet Franc.


Ice wine, we learned was first produced in Germany and Austria (where it is referred to as Eis Wein).  Inniskillin has produced Ice Wine in Canada every year since 1984, while the climate in Germany and Austria is only suitable to harvest Ice Wine grapes every couple of years.  The winery first obtained its license to produce wine in 1975, after Ontario's prohibition on winery licensing ended, and was founded by Karl Kaiser and Donald Ziraldo.  Crush, or harvest of regular grapes occurs in Ontario between September and November, while Ice Wine Crush occurs between December and February.  In order to comply with international standards, Ice Wine grapes must be harvested at a temperature between minus eight to minus twelve degrees Centigrade.  Grapes for Ice Wine are harvested between 2 AM and 4 AM for the most stable low temperatures.

There are several varieties of grapes that are used both for Ice WIne and regular table wines in Canada's cooler climate.  These include Riesling, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc and Vidal (a hybrid grape).  The soils, which were formed in Lake Huron thousands of years ago, as the glaciers of the last ice age receded, are clay-like and rich in minerals that are excellent for growing a number of varieties of grapes.  Winemakers generally believe that Ontario's cool climate allows for the production of excellent lighter, fruitier wines, whereas a warmer climate allows for production of less fruity, full bodied wines.  Ice wine is made from three grapes:  Riesling, Cabarnet Franc (which has a lovely raspberry sweetness to its flavor) and Vidal.  Eighty percent of Canadian Ice Wine is made form the Vidal grape, which is hardier and can be harvested later since it is a hybrid grape.

During our tour of the winery with our friendly and knowledgeable guide Jonathan, we saw the fields where the grapes are grown (and have already been harvested) as well as the wine production rooms at Innniskillin and learned how wine and Ice Wine are made in Canada as well as the history of Ice Wine production in this emerging wine region. We had a sampling of wines and local Canadian artisanal cheeses in one of the tasting rooms.


We sampled three wines while at the winery, each of which was fantastic.  The first wine we sampled was the 2008 Legacy Riesling, a light and fruity Riesling had a wonderful taste full of nectarines, honey, fragrant flowers and apple.  This Riesling, another wine that Canada is known for, was every bit as good as some of the very best Finger Lakes Rieslings, and nearly every member of my party purchased a bottle to take home.  It paired nicely with the local creamy Canadian cheese that we tasted.

The second wine we sampled was a light and fruity red wine made from Cabernet Franc grapes, from the 2007 Cabernet Franc Reserve Series.  This wine was also fabulous, a floral red wine with the flavor of raspberries, chocolate and spice evident on its nose.  The wine is a nice well-balanced wine that highlights the spiced raspberry aroma.  It paired nicely with the Canadian blue cheese and with a Quebec cheese called Oka (a trappist cheese that was the perfect pairing for this wine).

Finally, we tried our first Ice WIne of the day at Inniskillin, a 2007 Riesling Ice wine, which paired well with the Blue Cheese.  This was perhaps my favorite Inniskillin wine (although it is a hard choice).  The Ice Wines we tasted both at Inniskillin and nearby Lailey Vineyards were some of the best well-balanced dessert wines I have ever had.  The 2007 Riesling Ice Wine had hints of lemon, lime and honey that was simply delicious.  I loved the Cabernet Franc so much that we tasted that I purchased a mini-bottle of its Ice Wine cousin at the store, along with a mini-bottle of Vidal Ice Wine to try at home.  I can't wait to pair these lovely Ice Wines with some of my favorite cheeses and desserts when I return to Brooklyn.


To learn about the wineries I visited in Napa and Sonoma on an earlier wine tasting trip, click here.



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