Do Valle

In honor of National Margarita Day (tomorrow, February 22) I thought it was best to post a recipe on how to make an actual Skinny Margarita.

Recent food intolerance tests have left me without the ability to consumer table sugar for at least 6 months, but the good news for me is that agave and Stevia are on the good list.

Short note: Agave is the plant from which tequila is made, it is also a naturally occuring sugar that you can purchase in syrup-form that is absolutely delicious. Once this is all over, I trust I’ll use it more often in general. Stevia, which is the most common of the two these days, is a naturally occuring sugar from the Stevia plant that has a minute amount of calories (just be careful to check labels because sometimes Stevia is mixed with other sugar derivatives such as malodextrin.)

To make  this margarita, opt for a bottle of Silver Tequila… for branding purposes, I usually choose Patron. I’m choosing silver because sometimes gold and Anejo undergo the addition of caramel and/or the barrels the tequila was aged in were generally used for brandy/whiskey/scotch, etc before hand leaving behind a malty residue (for me, Malt is also on the bad list.)

Recipe:

1 jigger (1.5 ounces) of tequila
Spalsh Lime juice
1/2 tsp of Agave syrup or Stevia (or more if you like them sweet)
Club soda to fill the glass

Garnish with a wedge of lime and voila! Easy enough, right? If you like it stronger, feel free to add more tequila, just beware that sugar can cover up the taste of alcohol and considering National Margarita Day is a Wednesday this year, you might want to take it easy.

Cheers!

I haven’t any idea who determines these things, but today marks National Drink Wine Day (as if we needed an excuse!) Lucky for us, it is a Saturday so you can uphold this celebration all day and all night.

In general, the short research I did about the day revealed nothing significant to report… but I figured it best to leave a couple tips on “How to Celebrate” and “Why to Celebrate.”

#1: Because…wine is amazing. Whether you are drinking First Growth Bordeaux, or Australian Shiraz, what’s most important about the wine in your glass is that you enjoy it…. OK, we’ve heard that one before. Why not take this day to celebrate a special bottle you’ve been meaning to open?  After all, you know what they say about keeping special bottles of special occasions? They either end up going past their prime or you don’t have enough attention span available to appreciate the wine.

#2: Think of the health benefits! You are helping your heart, your waistline, your fight against cancer, your fight against Alzheimers, your relaxation, and, potentially, your overall happiness because drinking wine with friends is always better than drinking it alone.

#3: It’s a chance to learn something new. Whether you’re a card-carrying member of the Century Club, or not, wine is always a business in which you’ll learn something (a new producer, region, grape, style, etc.)

A couple great ways to learn something new: Hop into a local store and see what sort of in-store tastings they have today. While you’re there, grab a bottle off the shelf you haven’t seen before.

Drinking at home not your style? Drive down to your local wine bar and grab a wine-by-the-glass with which you’re unfamiliar. Certainly the sommelier or bartender will help guide you through the list.

#4 Try out a new recipe you’ve been meaning to cook up for a while and taste-test a variety of wines to find the best fit.

As for me? I’ll be celebrating drink wine day on a flight to Chilean wine country. Lucky for me, international flights generally mean free wine… I imagine it will be something cheap… but I will also bet it is something Chilean and chances are I haven’t had it before so at least I can mark one off my list!

How will you be celebrating today?

A recent study release by Prowein reveals that consumers across three continents: the US, Europe, and Asia, prefer wines with lower alcohols… meaning wines with under 10.5%abv.

Now, before we everyone decides the best decision really is to start following the moscato craze, let’s review.

First of all, the markets listed are actually not Asian, Europe, and the US, despite what the study will have you believe. The target research markets are actually just Germany, Britain, the US, and China. Naturally, the US should be given the same weight as just Britain or Germany, this makes complete sense.

According to Decanter, the study says:

Significant minorities in each country said their ideal wine would have less than 12% alcohol.

In China this was most noticeable, with 91% of drinkers saying their desired level would be 8.5-10.5% by volume.

In Britain, 22% said their ideal wine was 10.5% or less, with similar numbers in Germany and the US saying the same.

The preference for lower alcohol is most marked in the younger generation. In China the survey found that women, and those aged 18-39, were more likely to say their preferred level of alcohol was 5.5-8%

A similar demographic was found in Britain, with 27% of the 18-39 age group saying their preferred strength was 10.5% or less.

What “a signification minority” means is another story. I have a few issues with this study. To start, who did they ask ? If they asked knowledgable wine consumers, those consumers would likely understand that their chances at finding a wine under 10.5% (or even under 6%!) alcohol isn’t very easy, especially for someone that prefer their wine sweet. To that point, I have found that a lot of people blame wine for horrible hangovers if it is involved in their night of drinking, but poor wine has received a bad name. It is not beer and should not be consumed as such. Higher amounts of alcohol means smaller servings. Do the people who were polled in this study understand that a lower alcohol wine might mean sacrificing quality?

Of course, we’ve heard for years that consumers prefer lower alcohol wines, but, especially in the US, their purchases suggest otherwise. While I’m sure you can find them, it’s not likely you’ll find many made here that are low in alcohol and because Americans have a generally “sweet” palate, they look for those jammier, bigger wines.

I wonder how many consumers actually checks the alcohol content when purchasing a bottle of wine…. with the exception of college students who are looking for a good buzz on a Friday night.

Thoughts?

In case you unfamiliar, the Daily Sip is a daily publication sent to wine lovers across the country by the wine website, Bottlenotes. This newsletter sends interesting wine infobytes featuring anything from wine profiles, to events, to specialty deals, and more.

Bottlenotes was among the first wine websites to launch it’s iPhone app that allowed users to log their favorite wines, search for ratings, food pairings, user reviews, etc. and judging from the quality of that app, I have no qualms introducing you to their newest app: Daily Sip Deals.

This newly launched, free app gives users the opportunity to identify nearby wineries and, in turn, those wineries are able to offer deals to the app’s users…it’s sort of like Foursquare for wine lovers only. A quick run-through shows that  most wineries offer discounted tastings and/or tours, or special discount on bottles purchased from the tasting rooms. It’s a great way for anyone traveling wine country to discover nearby wineries and, perhaps, at a discount. For wineries, you can list your tasting room and special for free as well.

So far, the app is only tracking wineries in Napa, Sonoma, Santa Barbara, Oregon, and Washington, but any US wine region is able to be uploaded – could the CT wine trail be next?! Eventually, I hear, they plan to expand the app to other countries as well.

The downfall: the app is currently only available for iPhones and/or mac products (us Android users are out of luck again!) We can only hope they’ll let the rest of us play soon.

Happy Valentine’s Day to you and yours! If you’re like me, you haven’t finalized your dinner plans yet, which means you are staying in tonight!

No worries, though. You can still have a wonderful meal at home that will impress your sweetie’s palate and it may even help increase their opinion of you…at least for the night.

Start with the classic, oysters. When shucking at home, you have to be careful that you are purchasing oysters that are meant to be consumed raw. A safer bet is to grill, steam, or bake the oysters and add appropriate condiments. To dress, make a light minogne sauce (champagne vinegar, shallots, and some sugar) and add a dollop of cavier. On the side, bake some asparagus in the oven using a drizzle of olive oil, and cover with sliced almonds – two more foods for you there.

For dessert, a natural choice is chocolate, but for a touch of something different also opt for dried figs or maybe opt for these chocolate covered figs.

Pair the whole thing with an aphrodisiac drink: Champagne.

My current go-to has been Gosset Champagne Brut Excellence NV ($32) after I received it for a Christmas gift from Palm Bay. It’s a blend of Chardonnay (42 %), Pinot Noir Premier and Grands Crus (45%) and Pinot Meunier (13%) and is a great example of a Champagne that really lets the acid from the grapes come through and balance the biscuit notes.

For a touch of something fun, you can always pick up one of my personal favorites, Beau Joie Rose NV The medieval bottle is sure to add a little something extra to the night. The rose is a blend of 50% Pinot Noir and 50% Chardonnay. It is slightly sweet, but is still fresh and fruity and has hints of rose petals in the nose. In a word, it screams romance…perfect for Valentine’s Day.

Of course, I have to also recommend GH Mumm Brut Cordon Rouge NV (full disclosure, I work with them.) I actually had the chance to try this wine for the first time at the Mohegan Sun Winefest, though, and I was thoroughly impressed. Tropical fruits, vanilla, and caramel would make it a perfect match for dessert….they even recommend you saber this one.