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December 2005 Monthly Newsletter ~ Last Minute Gift Ideas…
This Month's Wine Notes
Food Recipe
Newsletter Archives
Dear Wine Lover,
As a last minute service you can request that we send a personalized notice to your gift recipient,
by mail or email, letting them know that their gift will arrive soon. This is especially nice for those last
minute shoppers who have missed the December 10th guaranteed Christmas delivery deadline.
Our most popular gifts are Club Memberships. You can give 3-month, 6-month and 12-month Memberships for family,
friends and clients. Buy a 12-month gift and pay for 11 months – that’s one month FREE!
Wine tasting party
Want to host a fabulous wine tasting party?
Take thiswine tasting party linkto find everything you will need to know to have a successful and entertaining wine tasting party.
It’s a fun event for friends and family.
Fine Wine Adventures
The 15th Annual Zinfandel Advocates & Producers (ZAP) Festival Tasting; Jan 28, 2006, Ft. Mason, San Francisco, CA – Almost 300 Zinfandel wineries will pour their 2003 vintage and 2004 barrel samples to over 10,000 Zinfandel enthusiasts. The common focus is the preservation and recognition of Zinfandel as America’s heritage wine. All tickets are available fromwww.zinfandel.org.
South Beach Wine & Food Festival, Feb 24–26, 2006; Miami, FL – Celebrating its fifth anniversary in 2006, the South Beach Wine & Food Festival has become one of the largest and most well-known festivals of its kind, in the country. The festival continues to attract the best in the industry to its three-day wine and food celebration set against the Atlantic-framed, sandy beaches of America’s Riviera, South Beach – right in Miami.
Info:www.sobewineandfoodfest.com
John Davis
Founder & Chairman
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This Month's Wine Notes....
by Sharon Rosenbaum, Senior Wine Buyer
We are getting good reports around the world about the 2005 harvest now.
The Bordeaux harvest was so consistently good, it should ensure very fine wines over the next year or two.
Burgundy 2005 is set to be a great harvest quality-wise as well.
Spanish wine harvest should be of good quality though low in quantity.
Happy New Year! Say “Cheers” Internationally!
How to toast in the New Year in a few of the world's languages.
Slainte: “To your health” in Scotland and Ireland.
Na zdravi: “To your health” - Czech.
Na zdorovje: “To your health” - Russian.
À votre santé: “To your health” - French.
Skål: “To your health” - Sweden and Norway...but not in Finland.
Kipppis: “To your health” - Finland.
Prosit—Prost: “To your health” - Austria, Holland, Germany.
Gan bei: “Dry the cup” - Chinese.
Pura vida: “Pure life” - Costa Rica.
Ziveli: “Let's live long” - Serbia.
L’Chaim: “To life” - Hebrew.
Salud: “To life” - Spanish.
Chin Chin: “To life” - Alternate Spanish.
Tchim-tchim: “To life” - Portuguese.
Mabuhay: “Long life” - Philippines.
Bunden i vejret eller resten i håret: “Bottoms up or the rest in your hair” - alternate Denmark.
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Food Recipes to Enjoy with Wine
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Baked Brie
Two ways to treat this delicious treat…one sweet, one savory.
Baked Brie with Apricots in Puff Pastry
• 2 lb wheel Brie
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1/4 cup dried apricots
• 1/8 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
• 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tb sp water
Place Brie in the freezer for 30 minutes for slicing. In a saucepan, bring wine and fruit to a boil and remove from heat. Cool. Cut Brie in half lengthwise.
Chop fruit into 1/4-inch pieces and mix with toasted walnuts. Place mixture on bottom half of Brie, spread evenly and cover with top half. Roll out thawed puff pastry to about half the original thickness or until it will cover both the top and bottom of the brie. Whip egg yolk and water. Place filled brie in the center of the rolled out dough and wrap brie completely, sealing dough with egg wash.
Chill for half an hour. Preheat oven to 400°F. Brush with egg wash. Bake on a greased baking sheet for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for a few minutes and serve with freshly sliced baguette or toasted croutons.…
Pesto–Pine Nut Filling • 1/2 cup pesto
• 3 tb sp toasted pine nuts
Prepare brie as above. Spread pesto over bottom half, sprinkle pine nuts over evenly. Place top on pesto and continue with pastry wrapping and baking instructions as above.
Holiday Bruschetti
Toast bread slices and top with these different flavors.
Basic Toast Recipe • 1 long loaf Italian bread
• 1 garlic clove, cut in half
Preheat oven to 350° F. Slice bread diagonally into scant 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place slices on 2 cookie sheets.
Toast bread on 2 oven racks 15 minutes or until crusty and dry, turning slices once. Cool slightly on wire racks. Rub 1 side of each warm toast slice with cut side of garlic.
Tomato And Basil Bruschetta • 11/4 lbs ripe plum tomatoes
seeded and chopped
• 2 tb sp thinly sliced fresh basil
• 2 tb sp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
In a small bowl, gently toss tomatoes, basil, oil, salt and pepper until combined. Spoon 1 heaping tb sp mixture on garlic-rubbed toast.
Tuscan Ham & Mozzarella • thin slices parma ham
• thin slices mozzarella
• anchovies
Place on top of each toast, ham, mozzarella & anchovy. Put it under the broiler for 3 to 4 minutes to melt cheese.
Rosemary–Garlic Bruschetta • 1 cup olive oil
• 1 large fresh rosemary sprig – chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, chopped
In a 2-cup jar, combine olive oil, rosemary, and garlic. Cover and let marry 4 hours. Heat broiler. Brush 1&1/2 tsp. of oil on each side of bread. Place bread under broiler for about 1 minute to heat through.
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