Posts Tagged: Union Wine Company

Redefining The Radler

July 5, 2019

Riesling Radler Granita with Grilled Pineapple

During these hot summer months there is very little as refreshing as an ice cold Underwood Riesling Radler. It’s light, citrus flavored, white wine makes for a solid afternoon beverage. But that got us thinking about how else we could bring the flavor of one of our favorite cans to life.

Enter the Granita. An Italian flavored ice dessert, it is similar to a sorbet but instead of needing an ice cream maker, Granita can be made simply with a pan and a fork for mixing. Often served as an intermezzo, Granita also makes a delicious and refreshing dessert. We decided to pair our Radler Granita with grilled pineapple as both can be done in advance when entertaining. This recipe will serve 4-6 people.

STEP ONE:

Preheat your grill.
Peel your fresh pineapple and slice into rounds that are roughly 1/2 an inch thick.
Lightly brush slices with canola oil and grill on both sides for about 5 minutes per side.*
Let slices cool and then keep in a container in the fridge until ready to serve.

(*To achieve the “crosshatching” grilled effect, simply turn the slice 45 degrees halfway through the grilling process.)

STEP TWO:

In a medium sized metal or ceramic dish, pour:

1 can of Underwood Riesling Radler
1 oz fresh lime juice
1 1/2 oz simple syrup

Place dish in the freezer. Set your timer for 20 minutes.
When the timer goes off, stir the liquid gently with a fork to begin incorporating the frozen bits into the liquid. This is done to create a shaved ice texture, and not have the liquid freeze into a solid sheet.

Continue this process, remembering to set your timer and stirring every twenty minutes or so. After about an hour, you will see the liquid becoming quite slushy.

Continue this process until the Granita is completely frozen and there is no more liquid in the pan.
At this point, you can transfer the Granita to a quart container. This will save room in your freezer and also make scooping it out easier.

STEP THREE:

When it is time to serve, place a slice of the grilled pineapple on a plate. Using a 2 oz ice cream scoop, dip the scoop into some warm water, pack the Granita tightly into the scoop and place in the center of the slice.

Serve with an ice cold can of Radler. Bon Appétit!

Photography, Recipe and Text by David L. Reamer. (@dlreamer)

Wine Can Chicken on the Grill

June 28, 2019

Wine Can Chicken
(The Best Damn Chicken You’ll Ever Eat!)

Most people are familiar with Beer Can Chicken, a technique where you barbecue a whole bird balanced on a beer can. This is done so that as the bird roasts, the beer steams and flavors the bird from the inside out.

Well, we wondered how this would work out if we used an Underwood Pinot Gris can instead, and let us say that we were absolutely blown away by how easy and how delicious this turned out! To make a more complete meal out of it, we roasted some potatoes at the same time, and while the bird was cooking, we whipped up a simple Chimichurri sauce.

STEP ONE:

Remove any offal or neck pieces from the cavity of the bird. Rinse well inside and out with cold water and pat dry.
Evenly coat the whole bird with olive oil and salt and pepper.

STEP TWO:

Fire up your grill. Whether you’re using charcoal or gas, you don’t want any heat directly under the bird, so keep the center free of direct heat.

Crack a can of Pinot Gris and drink about 1/4 of the wine. This is actually a very important step, as it will create a little room for the wine to steam and not overflow into the grill. Slide the can into the cavity of the chicken and place it in the center of the grill.

This is the most important part—make sure the can is sitting flat on the grill and splay the legs so that they form a steady tripod. We found it best to lean the legs into the grooves of the grill plate. Cover the grill and let the bird cook for about 10 minutes. Check to make sure the bird hasn’t fallen over and then recover it and DO NOT UNCOVER IT for at least another 45 minutes. If your grill has a temperature gauge, try to keep the heat around 450 degrees. The bird will take about 1 hour to cook altogether.

You can also place a few medium red potatoes on the grill—again, make sure they are not directly over the heat, and let them roast as the bird cooks. They should finish at just about the same time as the chicken.

In the meantime, make the Chimichurri sauce—a sort of zesty Argentinian pesto. There are many variations of the sauce. Here is ours:

CHIMICHURRI SAUCE:

1 bunch of cilantro
1/2 bunch of curly parsley
3 large sprigs of oregano
juice of half a lemon
1 TBS red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic
1 medium shallot
pinch of salt & crushed red pepper
1/2 C olive oil

Rinse, dry and pick all the herbs. Finely dice the shallot. Set aside.

In a food processor, place the 2 cloves of garlic and pulse several times Then add all the other ingredients except the shallot and the oil. Pulse a few more times.

Once everything is starting to be finely chopped, slowly drizzle in the olive oil while the food processor is running. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the diced shallot. Keep covered in the refrigerator until ready to use.

BACK TO THE BIRD…..

Cook the chicken until a thermometer inserted reads 165 degrees. Carefully remove the chicken from the grill and set it on a pan to rest. Gently remove the can, it will still have a good amount of VERY hot wine in it so be very careful.

Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes and then carve, removing both legs and breasts.

Arrange your desired pieces on a plate with a few pieces of the potato and a generous amount of Chimichurri. Crack an ice cold can of Pinot Gris and DIG IN!

Photography, Recipe and Text by David L. Reamer. (@dlreamer)

What is a Radler?

June 21, 2019

Traditionally a radler is a low alcohol (sessionable) beer-based beverage. Usually consisting of half beer (something light like a pilsner or wheat beer) and half lemonade (grapefruit juice is also common). Originating in Germany, radler roughly translates to cyclist. As the story goes, one hot day in 1922, an innkeeper in the Bavarian countryside mixed lemonade with beer to create a refreshing, quaffable beverage for all the cyclists riding by. Some say part of the reasoning behind this was because the innkeeper was running out of beer and needed to create a product that he could continue to serve.

Another common term you’ll hear referring to a beer based beverage mixed with a carbonated lemon/lime juice is a shandy. The shandy originated in Britain in the 1850s and was traditionally mixed with ginger.

What is our Riesling Radler?

We’re not precious about our wine. Like a traditional radler, ours emulates the flavors of hops and citrus (we use grapefruit puree), yet adds Oregon riesling to bring a crisp and refreshing approach. Our Riesling Radler is gluten-free with a 3% alcohol level, a perfect pairing for the hot summer months.

Learn more about the story behind our Riesling Radler here.

Another way to enjoy our Riesling Radler

While one of the things we love about our Riesling Radler is it’s sessionable quality, sometimes you want a little more to it. Or, if you are running low on the radler, this helps make it last longer. It’s the perfect base for a cocktail and is asking for a spirit with a pronounced character. The smokiness from the mezcal balances well with the sweet notes from the radler.

Serves 2

1 can Underwood Riesling Radler
2 oz Mezcal Unión
Lime and orange slices
Ice

Grab 2 old fashioned cocktail glasses and add ice to each glass. Pour 1oz of mezcal into each glass. Pour half a can of Riesling Radler equally into the glasses. Squeeze a slice of lime and orange into each glass. Top with extra citrus slices, stir and enjoy.

Cheers!

Thanks to our friends at Mazama Wares for the colorful cocktail glassware.

Its Strawberry Season! Pick ’em, Eat ’em, Drink ’em

June 14, 2019

Of all the seasons here in Oregon the absolute best one has to be Strawberry season! Oregon Strawberries are nothing like the ones you see around the country, (or, on the rest of the West Coast anyway.) A good bit smaller in size, Oregon strawberries pack a bright red center and a flavor that will put a giant smile on your face.

The strawberry season here lasts only a few weeks, so we recommend not letting it pass you by. Of course, you can go to plenty of local markets and co-ops around town and get beautiful pints of berries, but for the true fans, nothing compares to packing up the family, making the drive out to Sauvie Island and spending an hour or so in the fields picking your own. Besides saving money, it’s a family activity that everyone can enjoy.

For this adventure, we enlisted the help of the Alexander Family. Walter is a North Carolina native and one of the original owners of Pine State Biscuits, and Darcie is one of the best local real estate agents with PDX Green Team.

There are plenty of local farms that allow you to pick your own. We chose one of our favorites, Columbia Farms, on the far side of Sauvie Island, but they are all pretty great.

If it’s your first time out in the fields, you can bring your own reusable containers to fill up or the farms will provide you with everything you need to get your berries home safely.

Once you get out into the fields, the different varieties are marked with color-coded flags for easy identification. Some types are better for baking, some are better for straight munching. We love Hoods the best, but we encourage you to do a little taste test once you get into the fields, illustrated here by the Alexander children, Hazel and Lewis.

(so much for hiding the evidence…)

And, while the kids are busy picking and enjoying a few berries, we encourage the adults in the group to quench their thirsts with our Strawberry Cooler. Made with Pinot Noir and just a hint of lime juice, this punch is not super sweet or overly intense but a perfect balance of sweet and tart. And, it’s lower alcohol content makes it perfect for an afternoon out with the family.

As we like to say, Oregon pinot noir + Oregon strawberries + cranberry juice + lime = all summer long.

So don’t let the next few weeks slip by. Get out there and get those strawberries!

Photography and Text by David L. Reamer. (@dlreamer)
WALTER’S IG: @thewalternative @pinest8biscuits
DARCIE’S IG: @darshui @pdxgreenteam

The Perfect Afternoon Drink: Easy Summer Sangria

June 7, 2019

As Portlanders, we often forget that a gorgeous river runs straight through our fair city. We get so distracted crossing from one side to the other that the simple act of sitting on its banks and enjoying an afternoon with a friend can get lost in the shuffle.

There are great hidden (and not so hidden) parks all along the Willamette River from St. Johns to Lake Oswego to Oregon City. We recommend that you do a little exploring this summer and rediscover a few of these locales. And, we would certainly be remiss if we were to send you out on a Lewis-and-Clark-style Pacific-Northwest Expedition without an appropriate beverage to enjoy once you’ve found your spot.

So, allow us to introduce our new favorite summertime punch, the Easy Summer Sangria. We know that life is hectic, and sometimes the best plans are made at the last minute, so this recipe should fit those situations perfectly. With just a little prep the night before you can be enjoying a colorful and fruity glass of this sangria by the following afternoon.

STEP ONE:

In a large Mason Jar, combine:

3/4 C of white rum
1/2 C simple syrup
Juice of 2 limes
Juice of 1 large orange
1 C frozen blueberries
1/2 C orange slices cut into small triangles.
3 sprigs of mint

Let this macerate in your fridge overnight.
Call a friend and tell them where to meet you the next afternoon.

STEP TWO:

Once you’ve found a suitable spot, pull out your Mason jar and add 2 cans of Underwood Pinot Gris. For our less coordinated explorers, feel free to add one can at a time. But since we are pros…

STEP THREE:

Fill two smaller Mason jars with ice.

Pour each about three-quarters full of the sangria and then top off with sparkling water or club soda. Mix well, making sure you get plenty of blueberries and orange slices in each glass. Garnish with a fresh mint sprig.

While you are making up the sangria, have your friend shuffle and deal the cards, and then you are all ready to settle in to a fun round of Go Fish with a beautiful view.

Photography, Recipe and Text by David L. Reamer. (@dlreamer)

Posts Tagged: Union Wine Company

Redefining The Radler

Wine Can Chicken on the Grill

What is a Radler?

Its Strawberry Season! Pick ’em, Eat ’em, Drink ’em

The Perfect Afternoon Drink: Easy Summer Sangria

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