Wine Club Member Spotlight: Jeff and Lisa

Welcome to another new feature of our blog. At Chatham Hill Winery, 2011 is Wine Club Member Appreciation Year. Each quarter we are thanking and spotlighting a handful of our long-time Wine Club Members. While we appreciate all of our guests and club members at the winery, the wine club members that we are spotlighting have been with us through thick and thin (and years and years!), and we want to take a special moment to thank them. Additionally, we are asking them to share with us a fond memory they have of the winery.

Our first spotlighted club members are Lisa and Jeff. Below, read in Jeff’s words what he and Lisa have gotten out of their wine club membership, and also, their ambassadorship of North Carolina wines to others. Lisa has included a tried and true (and totally yummy sounding) recipe she makes that features our Sweet Carolina Wines; this will be a perfect Memorial Day dessert! To Jeff and Lisa, we thank you for your continued support and your friendship!

Chatham Hill Winery has been, and remains, a special place for Lisa and I since that day in 1999 when we walked in the door of the original tasting room that wasn’t much larger than a closet. Perhaps it was the tight confines of that little tasting room that fostered the special bond we have always felt with the winery staff and the very talented winemaker. Even those staff that were hired long after the Winery expanded into much larger quarters and even later into its current location, we just enlarged the bond to encompass the new arrivals. The winery and its people occupy a special place in our hearts. Lisa and I have visited hundreds of wineries throughout the country and have enjoyed tasting delicious wines and meeting enthusiastic staff at nearly every winery we have visited but none compares to how we feel when we walk through the doors of Chatham Hill. It is our home winery and the source of many good wines that are consumed in our home with our family and friends and just between the two of us when there is no family or friends present. On those quiet evenings, it is fun to reminisce about our early experiences at Chatham Hill, when we were wine novices, and think about how much we have learned about wine, all the many different wines we have sampled at Chatham Hill in the years since, and how much more enjoyable and fun it is to appreciate good wines. Each time we walk through the doors, it is like coming home from an extended trip – it feels good to be home!

Throughout our travels, Lisa and I have taken Chatham Hill’s wines with us to many places and used them to educate others around the country that good wines do come from North Carolina and that, aside from good basketball, the State has an additional export for which it is gaining ever widening recognition. A bottle of Chatham Hill wine was served at the table in the home of the Vice President of the United States and Chatham Hill wines were served at an awards dinner recognizing some very distinguished people in our government. Through our efforts to “share the good wines of North Carolina,” Chatham Hill wines have been served in nearly every state in our great nation. We enjoy Chatham Hill wines and it is our hobby to ensure that all of our friends and family, business associates, professional acquaintances, etc. have an equal opportunity to taste and appreciate Chatham Hill wines!

Jeff

Lisa's Sweet Carolina Wine Dessert

1 cup Chatham Hill Strawberry Wine

1 cup sugar

1 small package strawberry Jell-O

1 to 2 lbs fresh strawberries

Heat 1 cup wine (do not boil) add the sugar and Jell-O – stir until dissolved.

Remove from heat, add fresh berries.

Spoon over sliced pound cake or angel food cake – serve warm.

Serve remaining wine as you your beverage.

Refrigerate any leftover, and reheat just enough to make Jell-O liquid again.

Can also be served over pancakes for crepes for brunch; we serve remaining wine mixed with champagne for brunch.

Variations:

Raspberries, Raspberry Wine, Raspberry Jell-O

Blueberries, Blueberry Wine, any red Jell-O

Blackberries, Blackberry Wine, any red Jell-O

For winter time – substitute frozen berries for the fresh berries – our favorite is the mixed frozen blackberry/raspberry/blueberry.

It is quick, extremely easy and always a crowd pleaser!

Cheers!

Lisa