2011 Vintages From the Richest Soil in Arizona

Fall has fallen and given birth to winter. No matter what part of the world you are in, this is the time of year when a clean and spicy, full-bodied wine can really hit the spot. Thankfully, Arizona Strongholds Vineyards has just released some of their favorite vintages to sate your thirst.

With such fine tastes as: 2010 Lozen (at a steal for $40 per bottle), and the award-winning 2011 Dala Cabernet, Arizona Strongholds Vineyards has blends that pair perfectly with a wide variety of holiday meals.

For a full list of vintages and blends, visit www.azstronghold.com

Creamy Pasta with a Veggie Twist

Everyone loves the comfort you get from a dish of beautiful pasta in a wine and cream sauce, but sometimes it can be hard to spice things up and put a little change to the classic white sauce recipe.

This simple and quick recipe will help drain the monotony from your pasta, and spice in new and innovating culinary ideas.

Step 1: In a medium saute' pan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Next, add 2 tablespoons of minced white onion and two minced cloves of garlic. lightly saute' the garlic and onions for 1 minute before dusting the onion/butter mixture with 1 tablespoon of all purpose flour. Mix the flour/onion mixture into a paste and cook for 30 seconds to one minute.

Step2: De-glaze the pan with 1/2 cup of white wine (preferably a dry chardonnay) and mix the wine and onion mixture together until it is all combined.

Step 3: Add 1/2 cup of heavy cream and stir together with wine. Add 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Add 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper. Stir all contents and simmer on medium-low heat until sauce thickens. add 1/4 cup of grated fontina cheese and garnish with fresh chopped basil leaves.

(VEGGIE OPTION: Add diced portobello mushrooms to mimic chicken and keep it meatless).

And it is as simple as that.

 

Welcome

You have found "The Evening Glass," a blog in-which I writhe in my love for wine. Expensive wine, or a 2 dollar bottle, I love everything about wine.

My latest favorite thing from the world of wine is Bacchus Selections. As a member (membership is free), they send me all the top rated wines from around the world. Honestly, they have been amazing so far. Every wine I order from them has already been tasted and rated by their knowledgeable staff, so I can be sure that every bottle I buy, is going to be a tasteful and memorable bottle.

It is not just expensive wines that they carry. Bacchus has many affordable wines as well, proving that good wine doesn't have to be expensive.

Try them out at bacchusselections.com