Sip and Be Happy

A Slushy Surprise: How to Break the Ice with Frozen Wine

Autumn has come and now is the time to reflect on the warm winds of summer and look forward to darker evenings and brighter foliage. Though the drinks and deserts of the coming months will likely prove warming, the chilled-out beverages of summer can “wow” your party guests year-round.

Enter the slushy. This summertime favorite has been wetting tongues and cooling moods for decades. It’s chilled. It’s sweet. It can’t be beat. And (if we’re to continue our wine review in verse) it leaves the taste buds thrilled.

But you surely can’t apply this frozen delectable to wine, can you?

Oh, yes you can – and it is delicious.

The wine slushy works well with most wines, though fruitier wines tend to work best. There are several sites online that provide great recipes, but if you want a quick and easy way to get sipping on these frozen treat, you can buy an excellent mix here. Combine with a bottle of wine and voila!

Frozen wine makes for a fantastic icebreaker or party beverage. Do yourself a favor and give it a try sometime. 

 

The Fruits of our Forefathers - A Brief History of Wine part II

As society advanced from the ancient ages (or, well, devolved, really) into the Medieval Ages after the fall of the Roman Empire, wine became the main European drink; Although granted, the popularity of wine depended upon location. For example, Scandinavian regions were not well-suited for growing the grapes necessary to make wine, so beer and ale served as the major drink among the social classes. Those who did drink wine in northern Europe around this time were forced to import it from the southern regions; as such, it was quite expensive and only the wealthy could drink it.

In the church at this time, wine was used in almost every sanctimonious ritual or rite of passage, Communion in particular. Because of this, monasteries often oversaw the production of wine. The Benedictine monks and the Templars were both well-known as wine producers.

In America, wine was first introduced to Latin America around the 16^th century by the Spanish Conquistadores. In the centuries that followed, French, Italian, and German settlers expanded the production of wine in the Americas with their imported grapes and brewing techniques. American grapes also began to find use in winemaking, though settlers generally preferred their imported goods.

Today, California serves as America’s primary wine provider. Until recently, European wine was almost always seen as far superior to its American counterpart, but advances in technique has leveled the playing field, as fine Californian wine is seen by many as a worthy rival to the French and Italian competition.

Wine production, like society, has grown immensely since its first conception thousands of years ago, and is still growing today. As technology advances, more and more home wineries and vineyards continue growing in this day and age. What’s next for wine? Who knows? But one thing is for certain, the time is ripe (pun intended) for winemaking education; then everybody may know the tricks of the trade and be able to enjoy the fruits of their own labors. 

 

 

A little about us: Unicorn Wine Guild is a winery and wine resource center located in Belpre, OH. You can check out some of our wares at our online store. We're constantly updating and changing our internet specials, so be sure to keep checking back. Furthemore, you can follow us on Facebook here and receive regular updates. Cheers!

The Fruits of our Forefathers: A Brief History of Wine, part I

Wine has always been something of a status symbol. For centuries, it has been a beverage of choice for high-class social gatherings, important commencements, and even religious ceremonies. It is at once one of the oldest and most universally recognized beverages, its history spanning back to at least 8,000 BC and continuing on into the modern day.

Though we cannot place the exact time or place winemaking began, archaeologists and historians believe that some of the earliest wineries cropped up across the northwestern Middle-East where the countries of Georgia and Armenia now exist. In the following centuries and millennia, winemaking came to fruition in ancient Greece, Egypt, and China – Greece, of course, is the most culturally recognized of these civilizations when it comes to historic wine use. Scholars and fans of Greek mythology will instantly recognize Dionysus (or, perhaps his Roman counterpart Bacchus) – the god of wine. Greek and Roman mythology always personified things which people found naturally and culturally significant, so for wine to be given its own personification in the form of a god says much about the influence that it had on culture during the Classical Period.

Around this time and further south, the Egyptians also enjoyed the sweet, fermented juice. Red wine was the predominant beverage of choice in Ancient Egypt, though white wine may have also been in production during the times of the Pharaohs. In Egypt, much superstition surrounded the notion of drunkenness, as many Egyptians believed wine to be something as a spiritual tie, quite literally the “blood” of their forbearers, and that too much consumption of that blood would drive a person out of their senses. Consequently, drunkenness proves a major theme in writings coming from the Middle-East during that time, including many of the Old Testament passages from the Bible.

China, being the third of the great Ancient cultures, saw winemaking come about a little differently than its counterparts. For the Chinese, rice wine was more common than the classic grape or pomegranate wines prevalent in Greece and Egypt, respectively. Grape and other forms of fruit wine were considered exotic to the Chinese. Fruit wine did, however, eventually gain popularity in China, with red and white wines increasing in volume over the years along with the development of what we know today as Lychee wine, a golden Chinese wine.

As we continue discussing the history of wine throughout culture, we will be moving into more modern times, starting with medieval Europe. Check back in with us next week as we continue delving into this fascinating subject.

 

A little about us: Unicorn Wine Guild is a winery and wine resource center located in Belpre, OH. You can check out some of our wares at our online store. We're constantly updating and changing our internet specials, so be sure to keep checking back. Furthemore, you can follow us on Facebook here and receive regular updates. Cheers!

Winemaking with the Guild: The Winemaker’s Center

In following through with our previous article on the basic’s of home winemaking, we would like to spend some time introducing you to our very own Winemaker’s Center, located at our Belpre storefront.

While we think everybody should be able to enjoy the “fruits” of their labors by being able to partake in winemaking, we realize that often times, the facilities required are more than one can handle in his or her own home. Because of this, we have designated part of our winery as a “winemaking center”. Here, a person may utilize our equipment for a nominal fee and receive expert assistance with the winemaking process. We have all the necessary supplies readily available for making and bottling your own wine – bottles, corks, juice and juice kits, etc. In fact, legally speaking, all that is required from the winemaker is that he adds his own yeast and bottles his own wine – our vintners can and will handle just about every other aspect of the winemaking process.

We take great care to sterilize all equipment to ensure an immaculate winemaking experience.
 
Anyone using our winery is welcome to bring their own fruits, although the fruit must already be crushed, and the winemaker-to-be must bring his or her own sugar. Otherwise, we invite anyone interested in exploring the joys of home winemaking to come and try out the Winemaker’s Center.

Next week, we will discuss wine as a cultural item throughout history. Anthropologists believe that winemaking can be dated back to the around 8,000 BC in the Middle-East. We will look at the earliest forms of winemaking and follow its history up into the 20^th and 21^st centuries. Until then, keep checking with our facebook page for updates. And as always, sip and be happy!