Capturing the Sun

 

_DLR6549In Oregon, we’re used to grey, rainy, and somewhat dismal winters. If you’ve lived here for more than a couple of years, you know what to expect. Though we appreciate it for what it does for our gardens and farms – it doesn’t mean we don’t yearn for the summer sun.

Inspired by a recent trip to the Mojave Desert, we came up with this cocktail as a form of liquid sunshine until the real thing shows up. Refreshing, with just the right amount of bite, it will cheer up even the bleakest of days as we impatiently wait for spring.

The recipe is for one drink – scale up for a party, just watch out for those cacti, they’ll bite.

_DLR6725Cactus Bite – one serving

5 oz Underwood Pinot Gris

4 oz Fresh Grapefruit juice

1 oz Campari

.5 oz Organic Agave Nectar

.5 oz Lime juice

 

Jacobsen Pure Flake Sea Salt

Lime wheel

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Strain grapefruit juice through a fine wire strainer into a pitcher. Measure all ingredients into a metal shaker tin. Add ice and shake until well chilled. Strain into a highball glass filled with ice. Sprinkle salt flake over the top of the drink. Garnish with a lime wheel.

**When scaling up for a party, measure all ingredients into a pitcher or punchbowl, stir, and serve over ice**

Photography by David Reamer

 

 

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What’s Old is New Again

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If you haven’t noticed, old school classic cocktails have had a resurgence in the restaurant and bar community. Barkeeps near and far are taking original recipes and putting their own interesting spin on them. Jeffrey Morganthaler, at Clyde Commons, puts his Negroni’s in a whiskey barrel to age. Mike Shea, at Rum Club, makes an Old Fashioned out of house-made ingredients and rum rather than bourbon (shocking.) And Evan Zimmerman, formerly at Laurelhurst Market, took the traditional combination of Whiskey on the Rocks and made it locally iconic by smoking the ice in-house and adding sherry and house-made pecan syrup.

We think just because we’re a winery doesn’t mean we can’t partake in this cocktail revolution. The long (very long) Portland winter has us wanting to hunker down with a robust drink to forget that we haven’t seen the sun since October. Originally, a Boulevardier consisted of bourbon, Campari and sweet vermouth; we found that our warm and spicy Kings Ridge Red Haute Pinot played well with the richness of the whiskey in place of a sweet vermouth, and that Aperol, rather than Campari, helped balance the bold libation.

Simple yet complex, that’s how we like to make ‘em.

 

Haute Pinot Boulevardier

1 oz Kings Ridge Red Haute Pinot

1 oz Bull Run bourbon whiskey

1 oz Aperol

cinnamon sticks for garnish

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Measure the liquid into a glass container, fill with ice and stir until well chilled.

Strain into a glass of your choice with a large ice cube, and garnish accordingly.

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Sip and stay cozy.

Cheers.

Photography by David Reamer

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Pizza Cook-Off

 

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Earlier this year our winemaker JP flexed his pizza making skills while making lunch for our team. Not wanting to be outdone, our owner Ryan threw down the gauntlet and challenged him to a cook-off. They both have a history in pizza: Ryan learned to sling grilled pies in the kitchen at Al Forno in Providence, Rhode Island, the birthplace of grilled pizza. JP was educated on all things pizza by the godfather of California wine country cuisine, John Ash. Each contender brought a different style and process to the table with only two rules: dough had to be made from scratch and cooking method was a charcoal grill. Taking a break from our daily tasks, we sat around Ryan’s truck and tasted each contestant’s fare…tough way to spend a lunch break.

As in any contest, a winner has to be named. Tallying up the tick marks, JP’s pancetta with seasonal toppings pie topped Ryan’s take on a seasonal margarita pizza, and the Pizza Champion was crowned. A friendly rivalry is always good; one that involves food and cooking is even better, and we can’t wait to judge the next round.

 

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QUIN CANDY

Gumdrops_2It’s no secret that Union Wine Co. loves QUIN Candy , so much so that we’ve worked together on a few sweet collaborations using Jami Curl’s candy making ingenuity and some of our favorite Union products. We snuck into the QUIN Candy factory to capture some of the behind the scenes inspiration. CAUTION: these photos will leave you with a serious sugar craving. Candy really is magic.Quin_6 Quin_7Quin_22Quin_2Quin_1Quin_14 Quin_1 Quin_18Quin_19 Quin_16qEK2S88di9mCCU_yiye6JMZQLN8cJiYsLENo9ycfqXQg
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Underwood Rosé Margarita

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The start of rosé season and the debut of our first pink wine is cause for celebration at our industrial chateau. Here is a fresh shake on a classic margarita using our new 2014 Underwood Rosé.

Tip from our crew: best enjoyed lounging with good friends and tasty food.

Serves 2

1.5 oz Underwood Rosé
3/4 oz Simple Syrup
1.75 oz Tequila, preferably 100% Agave
4 dashes Grapefruit Bitters
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/4 oz Strawberry Juice

Don’t forget the salt.Margarita_6

Photography by Julia Saltzman

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