My Favorite Sangria Pitcher

“What is the definition of a good wine? It should start and end with a smile.”
William Sokolin

Last night was one of my favorite times of year-turn the clocks forward one hour. As far as I am concerned it is the light at the end of the tunnel, the day that marks the beginning of spring. More light at the end of the day, less laziness. With spring comes the hope of summer and with that comes outdoor eating and drinking and a pitcher of sangria. What is sangria? It is a delicious blend of wine, brandy, and fresh fruit. There are many restaurants that serve a delicious sangria. I was just perusing the internet for a new restaurant to celebrate my first day of spring and at one site there was a link to a very nice website, wineintro.com, which had so many sangria recipes that I had to include it in my post. Why invent the wheel? So if anyone is looking for a great recipe for sangria, search no more! Of course, once the perfect recipe is found and followed, the ending sangria will need to be served from the perfect pitcher. What ever it is served from, as long as the wine and brandy are delicious and the fruit is fresh, the sangria will be relished!

Hot Spiced Wine
4 cups red wine
2 sticks cinnamon
8 whole cloves
lemon rind
2-3 tbsps. sugar

Use moderately cheap wine. Put wine, spices, and lemon rind in a large saucepot, cover and heat over medium low heat for about 1 hour. The longer it is heated the spicier the flavor will be. Add sugar if needed. Enjoy!

Another rainy November Saturday, what a perfect day for another visit to a winery for sampling. I ventured out with my friends Phyllis and Jane to Sharpe Hill Vineyard in Pomfret, Ct. We tasted a wide variety of their award winning wines. My favorite was the Ballet of Angels which is a bright, crisp, semi-dry white wine with a hint of citrus flavors. I enjoyed it but not so much as the story that I read about this label. I wish I could have heard more about it on our visit to the winery but unfortunately we were lectured about the awards the wines received, and not educated about the creation of the wines or the stories behind them which would have made this trip much more enjoyable. (Obviously, someone wasn’t listening to King Edward.) The label is of an ethereal young child with piercing eyes and an aged face. Supposedly the owner was trying to decide on an image to use on this new wine by looking through art books. Giving up without deciding on a picture, she fell asleep. During the night she was awakened by a noise. When she investigated as to the cause of the noise she found that a book had fallen to the floor and was opened to the picture that is presently on the label. It turns out that the artist of the picture was John Brewster Jr. and was born and lived in the town on the other side of Sharpe Hill. Spooky.

Massetts. Cranberry

Today was a great day in New England. The sun was shining, the air was brisk, the foliage was still somewhat colorful, and gas prices were down. I decided to start my visits to local wineries. My first wine tasting excursion was to Hardwick Vineyard and Winery located in Hardwick, MA where they were having winetasting in the upstairs of the barn which is adjoined to a mansion. I tasted 4 of the 8 available wines. I really enjoy a white zinfandel and was informed that the Yankee Girl Blush was very similar. It was very delicious. I then sampled Massetts. Cranberry which I also thoroughly enjoyed and also purchased for Thanksgiving. My friend Ann liked the Hardwick Red and the Yankee Boy White. I found the YBW not to my liking, which leans toward a sweeter wine. Between tastes, we rinsed the glasses and nibbled on the cheese and crackers provided for the tasting. The winery also has a small adjoining gift shop. We then went for a walk on the properties and located a huge foot. I have no clue what the foot is for but all I could think of was Lucy and Ethel stomping on grapes in a huge wooden vat. Can’t wait for my next winery visit. Hmm, wonder where that’ll be.

Grape Stomper?