Sunday November 10th we hosted another Wine & Dine pairing dinner at Staller Estate Winery. This Wine Dinner had a Thanksgiving theme to begin to give our quests ideas for the coming gatherings of family and friends. We paired each of the five courses with at least one wine and had a total of 7 wines that were served. The last wine was a Holiday Spice Wine and we demonstrated how to make your own Holiday Spice Wine. I prefer to make Holiday Spice Wine fresh instead of buying pre-made Holiday Spice Wine. Holiday Spice Wine is very easy to make and only takes about 5-10 minutes. Fresh made Holiday Spice Wine is has a deeper character and a much more vibrant aroma. Also, you can make the Holiday Spice Wine how you like it, different spices, sweeter, drier or add brandy for a little stronger!

Holiday Spice Wine Recipe

Ingredients:
1. 1 bottle Ruby Classico PORT (or Ouro Classico PORT)
2. ½ bottle Lady In Red (or Estate Blanc)
3. 1/8 cup sugar
4. 1 tsp ground cinnamon
5. ½ tsp ground clove
6. 1 disposable tea bag or coffee filter
7. 1 orange

Directions:
Combine wine and sugar in a heatable warming pot. Place cinnamon and clove in a disposable tea bag and seal (or use a coffee filter, fold and staple to make a bag). Place spice bag into warming pot. GENTLY warm and stir for 10-20 minutes (do not boil, you will boil all the alcohol away 🙁 . Just prior to serving, place 2-3 orange disks in pot. Serve in a heat resistant cup to avoid breaking your glassware.

Make it your own
1. You can add more PORT if you like a stronger spice wine (or brandy if you like it even stronger!)
2. You can add more or less sugar to your taste.
3. You can experiment with other spices that you like; allspice, anise stars, vanilla, ginger, etc.
4. You can substitute mulling spices for the cinnamon and clove.