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What The Pregnant Lady Will Be Drinking

Wednesday, November 26th, 2008 | California, Chardonnay, Cocktails, Germany, Holidays, Non-Alcoholic, Riesling, Wines Under $20 | 1 Comment

The holidays can be difficult for someone like me who loves wine or a cocktail and wants to celebrate along with everyone else, but happens to be in a situation where she can’t drink. But being pregnant or having a health issue that prohibits you from drinking doesn’t mean you can’t raise a glass of cheer — you just have to pick something non-alcoholic.

A couple weeks ago, we were at The Christmas Tree Shops and I saw a bottle of non-alcoholic Chardonnay (which I have since lovingly nicknamed “Chardon-not”). I joked to Drew that I’d be drinking the St. Regis Alcohol-Removed Reserve on Thanksgiving. At a mere $3.99 a bottle he suggested I give it a try. So we left the store with two bottles — one to try that evening and one for Turkey Day, provided it wasn’t terrible.

St. Regis is produced by Inglenook. It is made in California and has an APV of less than 0.5%. To my surprise, it was actually decent! There were floral notes on the nose, as well as hints of apricot and apple. Upon tasting I detected mostly apple flavors as well as a bit of grape (which didn’t surprise me). Overall it reminded me of flat champagne. Drew thought it reminded him of some of the Australian whites he had tasted. Now, obviously you can’t compare a bottle of alcohol-free wine to a bottle of regular wine. To try it with the same expectations is ridiculous, honestly. If I weren’t pregnant I wouldn’t be drinking this, but for the price it ain’t bad and I will happily chill a bottle for myself for tomorrow. I’ve had worse “real” Chardonnay, and I find this to be an acceptable substitute.

Another problem I’ve had to solve is the pre-dinner cocktail. In our family, we always like to enjoy a drink while we nibble on cheese, crackers, and sausage. Under normal circumstances, my go-to drink is a gin and tonic. Luckily, this one is easy to solve. I simply mix together tonic water, a twist of lime, and some sweetened lime juice. I used to prefer Rose’s lime juice, but recently I discovered Master of Mixes lime juice. I find it to be less sweet. (As a bonus, if you’re plagued by leg cramps later in your pregnancy, this make a mighty fine remedy as the tonic water contains quinine, which helps alleviate the cramping.)

My other favorite cocktail is a whiskey sour. By chance, last night I discovered a drink that comes pretty darn close. I simply mixed Cuervo margarita mix with ginger ale (I think I did I one-to-one ratio). Again, it has no alcohol in it so it’s not as potent, but hey — when you only have so much to work with, you make the best of it. Garnish with an orange slice and a maraschino cherry or two and enjoy.

Tomorrow we’ll be bringing a bottle of BEX Riesling to have with Thanksgiving dinner, so I am planning on tasting and spitting and seeing if it tastes any different to me now than it did when I tasted it a few months back.

To all my American readers, I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving! Please remember to enjoy responsibly.

Happy Pi Day!

Friday, March 14th, 2008 | Food & Wine Pairing, Holidays | No Comments

Several of our fellow wine bloggers have discussing Pi Day on Twitter. Pi, of course, is approximated to 3.14159… and goes on infinitely. Therefore, Pi Day is celebrated on 3/14 at 1:59. This made me start thinking about pie wines, and I set my Google Fu into action, hoping to seek out a few. But really, there aren’t a whole lot of pie wines out there. The Shallon Winery in Astoria, Oregon has a Lemon Meringue Pie Wine that they describe as so:

A little sweeter, tried to do in the style of Beerenauslese (how presumptuous can I get), tastes like lemon meringue pie (or so I think), and you can whip it and get a “meringue” on top, nice served with wine crackers to give the taste of pie “crust.”

But if you’re not able to get your hands on a bottle, you could always make your own apple pie “wine” (and trust me, I am using the term “wine” very loosely here, folks): 

Homemade Apple Pie Wine
1 gallon apple cider
2 quarts apple juice
3 cups of sugar
7 cinnamon sticks
1 pint of Everclear

In a large pot, bring to a boil everything except for the Everclear. After it boils, simmer for ½ hour, making sure to stir occasionally to dissolve all the sugar. Remove from heat, and add Everclear and stir. Let it cool completely.

Remove cinnamon sticks and strain through a coffee filter. Pour into a bottle. You can drink this warm or cold.

Makes 6 quarts

Now, since the “original” 190-proof Everclear is illegal in several states including Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Washington, California, Michigan, Ohio, Florida, Virginia and West Virginia, you can look for Everclear 151, which is 151-proof, as you might have guessed. If you still can’t find that, I’d suggest using a 100-proof vodka. Absolut, Smirnoff, Stolichnaya, McCormick and Popov all make them.

Or you could just swing by a local bakery and pick up a delicious apple pie and pair it with a late-harvest Riesling, or a demi-sec sparkling wine. That’s what I’d do!

Bailey’s Irish Cream Cookies

Friday, March 14th, 2008 | Holidays, Liqueurs, Spirits | No Comments

If you’re like me and you don’t care for the traditional (albeit traditionally American) St. Patrick’s Day meal of corned beef and cabbage, you can still celebrate the holiday in style. I’m not sure where I originally got this recipe for Irish Cream cookies (it was just printed out and stuck in my recipe binder), but they’ll certainly add a delicious and festive touch to your St. Patty’s Day meal, no matter what you eat!

Bailey’s Irish Cream Cookies

Dough:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup Bailey’s Irish Cream liqueur
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add egg, vanilla, and 3 tablespoons Bailey’s. Sift in salt, baking powder, and flour and mix just until incorporated. Roll dough in two batches flat onto cookie sheets or cake board and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350°F and remove one batch of cookie dough from refrigerator. Cut and remove shamrock shapes, transferring to cookie sheets to be put in oven. Re-roll scraps, switch to second batch of cookie dough, and repeat until all cookies are baked off. Bake for about 10 minutes, just until cookies begin to turn brown around the bottoms. Edges will not brown as much as normal sugar cookie recipes, so watch them carefully. Allow cookies to cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheets then remove to racks. Immediately brush remaining 1/2 cup Bailey’s over warm cookies with a pastry brush (will take 3 to 5 glazings of each cookie to use the entire 1/2 cup). Cool completely and frost with Bailey’s Icing.

Baileys Icing:
4 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons Bailey’s Irish Cream liqueur
4 tablespoons meringue powder
Green food coloring

Mix sugar, Bailey’s, and meringue powder together until all ingredients are well incorporated and no pockets of sugar remain. If icing is too thick, add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached. Mix in food coloring paste for desired color. Use immediately or store in airtight containers or under damp paper towels while working.

If you have a favorite Bailey’s recipe, share it!

Wine for St. Patrick’s Day

Wednesday, March 12th, 2008 | Holidays | No Comments

My friends are the best friends
Loyal, willing and able.
Now let’s get to drinking!
All glasses off the table!

Although I can’t imagine celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with anything other than a cold, frothy Guinness, I am sure there are people who either don’t like beer (the horror!) or else they want to try pairing up their corned beef and cabbage with a wine. This is tricky business! Corned beef is a very salty meat, and cabbage… well, it has a strong flavor of its own. They work well together, but finding a wine to complement both foods at the same time might not be so easy.

Natalie MacLean to the rescue! Ms. MacLean is the author of Red, White, and Drunk All Over (currently topping my “to be read” pile). I consulted the food and wine matcher on her Web site. If you’d like a white wine, Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Blanc top the list of your best options. If you’d prefer a red wine, a Bordeaux or new world-style Cabernet Sauvignon should fit the bill.

Of course, no one would would fault any wine lover for pouring off a pint on St. Patty’s Day, so by all means do!