Wish Upon A Chef: wine

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That thing called life

Sunday, June 07, 2015 | Labels: dessert, fruit, ice cream, sauce, wine

Life is a funny thing.

One minute you are on top of the world and realize that you’ve had it really good for quite some time and you are so thankful for that. But in the back of your mind, you secretly know that at some point you are going to have to pay a price for the good times. Something is bound to happen to knock the goodness right out of your life.

And sure enough a funny thing happens. Life just sucks the life right out of you.

I started losing my voice here at Wish Upon A Chef when my mother was diagnosed with cancer in September 2013. Thankfully, so thankfully, she is in remission and on the mend. My voice continued to dwindle after the loss on Super Bowl Sunday 2014 of my 4-legged companion, Jesse James. And my voice was completely knocked out when my best friend and partner of several years announced that he no longer wanted to be in a relationship.

I had nothing left to say. It seemed frivolous to snap a photo, share a recipe and talk about how delicious my dinner was or talk about how great my batch of cookies turned out. And the truth of the matter is that I’ve been eating like crap for quite some time. Definitely nothing worth mentioning on a food blog!

Life ain’t always a bed of roses and I can no longer pretend that it is. This blog initially started years ago to keep me accountable for things that were going wrong in my life at the time and it’s time to turn to it again for the same accountability. I’ll never find my voice again if I don’t make an attempt through the things that I find therapeutic – cooking, writing and gardening.

My life needs to start simply and work its way to the top again. So today I am sharing this simple recipe for wine syrup that I made a few weeks ago. I was very proud of my accomplishment of getting back into the kitchen and simply mixing liquid and sugar and simmering it into goodness – it was a starting point. The syrup was delicious served over pound cake and fresh strawberries and added a decadent touch to real vanilla bean ice cream. I’ve even drizzled it over a salad with a splash of balsamic vinegar. How great would this be on morning pancakes or waffles?

Any red wine will do, even one of the inexpensive ones. I used a bottle that had been opened for a tasting at work and was destined to be poured down the drain until I saved it. I work for a wine distributor and see this tragic event happen often so I’ve made it my life’s mission to rescue abandoned wine.

Enjoy the simple things in life and never ever take them for granted!

Wine Syrup
Makes about 1 cup

1 cup sugar

1 vanilla bean, split

3 cups red wine

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 30-45 minutes or until liquid has reduced to about 1 cup.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

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Chacewater Winery offers organic wine

Friday, January 23, 2015 | Labels: just for fun, travel, wine

The Boy Toy and I just returned from a much needed week long vacation of swirling and sipping our way through the California wine country. Not long before we started planning this trip, I accepted a job at a North Carolina wine and beer distributor and I soon found out that being “industry” ensured that the wine flowed and preferential treatment ensued during our winery visits. And I was not one bit ashamed of throwing my business card around - tastings and tours in Napa and Sonoma can get pretty pricey and we visited eight different wineries.

We also spent a couple of days seeing the sights of San Francisco since we were so close and Boy Toy had never been there. I took over 400 photos! I managed to whittle them down to a select 156 few and you can view them all here if you’d like.It’s been really hard to get out of vacation frame of mind and back into real life – I’m still pretending to be in the wine country each evening by pouring me a glass of wine while preparing dinner and trying to dissect its nuances.

Of the eight wineries we visited, six were suppliers that my company represents, which meant that I didn’t need to bother with buying their wine to bring home if we enjoyed it – I can just call out to the warehouse and have it brought to me. And you would think with that job perk, I wouldn’t need to buy wines from any other source. But there was one winery that I WANTED to buy from called Chacewater. Their grapes are grown organically and farmed bio-dynamically and their products carry a certified organic label. I had high hopes of coming back to work and spreading the good word about Chacewater in anticipation of adding them to our distributor portfolio, but my boss informed me that the word “organic” on a wine label is the kiss of death. I was shocked to learn that – I know there aren’t many organic wines on the market but I would think with more and more people migrating to an organic and real food lifestyle it would be a growing part of the industry. But then again, I also know that the concept only appeals to a minority. So I’m singing the winery’s praises here and hoping it benefits someone looking for organic wines.

We found ourselves at Chacewater’s tasting bar one afternoon based on a recommendation from my doctor. In addition to a wine tasting, we were also offered an olive oil tasting. It was here that we learned California wineries do not offer by- the- glass purchases of wine to enjoy after a tasting like we are used to here in North Carolina but Ryan, our pourer, allowed us to “revisit” as many wines as we wanted. Each of their wines was very impressive and I liked them all – I walked away with a bottle of Highlander Red and I don’t even consider myself a lover of red wine! I also brought home the four-bottle sample pack of olive oils and a bar of lavender mint scented soap.

The founders, Paul and Kellye Manuel, had been tending to vineyards for nearly twenty years and selling the organically grown grapes to Fetzer when they had the opportunity to purchase 10 acres of vines in Lake County from the monks of Saint Gregory of Sinai Monastery. Shortly thereafter, they built Chacewater and the name plays homage to Manuel’s ancestral town of Chacewater in England.

It wasn’t long before Chacewater’s winemaking portfolio gained recognition and in addition to wine, they produce certified bottles of award-winning Tuscan extra virgin olive oils and citrus infused oils from 8 varieties of olives grown on site. Any of their olive oils that are two years or older in age are sent out and returned in the form of luxurious EVOO-based scented soap products.

Chacewater olive oils, wines, and soaps are not distributed in states other than California but they may be purchased online. Once my funds recover from vacation spending, I plan to stock my wine refrigerator with more of Chacewater’s products.

If you happen to be visiting the Lake County area, their tasting room is open Monday – Sunday from 11am to 5pm. They are located at 5625 Gaddy Lane, Kelseyville, CA .

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That thing called life

Chacewater Winery offers organic wine