SWEET CAROLINA BLACKBERRY SNOW GRANITA

1 Bottles Sweet Carolina Blackberry Infused Wine
1 cup Fresh or Frozen Blackberries
1 cup Water
½ cup Sugar
½ cup Blackberry Liqueur or Schnapps
1¼ cups of Sparkling Wine

• Prepare simple syrup (sugar/water) by stirring water and sugar in saucepan over low heat until sugar dissolves - cool. 
• Puree blackberries in a blender or food processor. 
• Whisk ¾ cup of puree into simple syrup. 
• Mix in Blackberry Liqueur/Schnapps and sparkling wine. 
• Pour mixture into 8” x 8” metal baking pan. 
• Freeze mixture until icy around edges (45 minutes). 
• Use a fork to rake the frozen edges toward the center. 
• Place back in freezer. 
• Repeat the raking into the center every 30 minutes, until frozen through (about 5 hours total). 
• Cover and keep frozen. 
• Can make up to 2 days in advance. 

Icy delight - Serve in a martini glass with a fresh blackberry.

Carol's Pick

Carol at Artessa Winery in Napa

Today, we will feature one of our newest employees at the winery. While she is a new face behind the bar, she is certainly not new to the winery. Carol has been a loyal wine club member since 2008.

Carol has been “blissfully” married for almost 33 years to Bob who is retired Army. During the week, Carol is a self proclaimed “IT geek”, and she enjoys her “dream job” by working at the winery part-time. Carol has one daughter, Erika, who also works here at Chatham Hill Winery part-time, and they are spending the next year planning Erika’s upcoming nuptials.

Carol’s favorite pastime? Exploration!  During Erika’s first year at college, Carol and Bob decided to visit every pub in Raleigh listed on pubcrawler.com, and they succeeded in this quest!

Additionally, Carol loves to travel. She has lived in Germany, and she and Bob were able to travel to many European countries from there. During these travels, Carol’s love of wine started. In 2004, she attended the Wiesbaden Germany wine festival, and since then, she has visited wineries in Napa, Washington state, Colorado, Maine, New Jersey, Virginia and North Carolina. Carol also loves to read, cook, and make the occasional batch of wine in her pantry.

Currently, Carol’s favorite Chatham Hill Wine is the 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve which she likes to pair with grilled portabella mushrooms.

New Wines and Vines: Notes from the Winemaker

Guess what feature is back folks? Wednesdays with the Winemaker! 

This week's edition brings us Marek's tasting notes and food pairings of our newest Chatham Hill wines--including our very limited, wine club member exclusive: Sweet Cabernet Franc. 

 

2009 CABERNET FRANC – NEW VINTAGE

This is the first release of the 2009 vintage of Chatham Hill Cabernet Franc. It is a blend of Cab Franc grapes from two vineyards in Yadkin Valley, 70% Wilmoth Vineyard and 30% Winnbrose Vineyard. After undergoing extended fermentation and maceration, the wine was aged in French and American oak for 24 months with additional bottle aging prior to release. The wine can be enjoyed now but with proper cellaring will keep improving for up to four years.

Tasting Notes: The Chatham Hill 2009 Cabernet Franc is an elegant, rich yet soft wine. With fleshy black cherry, blackberry and spicy oak aromas the wine is worth drinking now or cellaring for a special occasion. Succulent, dark fruit flavors of tart blackberry, plum, black cherry with a hint of peppery oak fills the palate and gives way to a smooth, medium finish.

Food Pairing: The rich fruit in this Cabernet Franc pairs well with pan-seared pork or game with a variety of fruit sauces. Pan-seared duck with pomegranate glaze is an excellent meal to accompany this lush, dark, fruit-forward wine.

2010 SYRAH – NEW VINTAGE

The 2010 vintage of Chatham Hill Syrah was crafted from hand-picked grapes grown in the Winnbrose Vineyard in the Yadkin Valley AVA. The addition of 5% of Cabernet Franc. Cold fermented and aged for 12 months in French oak barrels. The wine is delightful now but try to cellar it for 2-3 years, which may be challenging to wait this long, to further develop in the bottle and you will be rewarded. Note: Only 50 cases were produced so stack up if you like it because it will be gone soon. 

Tasting Notes: On the nose, the 2010 Syrah reveals wild raspberry and boysenberry with delicate earthy notes, while the tart upfront berry fruit flavors (boysenberry, cherry and dark mulberry) give way to mellow tannins and soft acidity supporting the mid palate. The vibrant, juicy fruit runs the length of the palate and lingers with a "have another glass" finish.

Food Pairing: Enjoy with lightly spiced chili, slow cooker beef stew, or a lamb casserole.

SWEET CAROLINA RED – SWEET CABERNET FRANC - NEW WINE

This is a special release of Sweet Carolina Red made from 2011 Cabernet Franc grapes from Yadkin Valley. The sweetness in this fairly acidic wine revealed the richness of fruit flavors not noticeable in its dry equivalent. We encourage you to compare this wine with the dry Chatham Hill Cabernet Franc. This can be an eye opening experience revealing how even small changes in sugar concentration in wine can expose or suppress its aromas and flavors. We will appreciate comments comparing this new wine to our standard Sweet Carolina Red made from Carignan and Ruby Cabernet. Note: Only 50 cases were produced. This is a Wine Club Member Exclusive. 

Tasting Notes: Rich and fruity. Cherrypie and plum on the nose. Delicious flavors of sweet cherry pie, sweet black currant. Enjoy at room temperature or slightly chilled.
Food Pairing: A delicious match for ham or North Carolina barbecue dishes.

2011 RIESLING – DRY - NEW VINTAGE

This is a new vintage of the Dry Chatham Hill Riesling crafted in the French Alsace style. Residual sugar: 0.20%. 

Tasting Notes: Rich citrusy aromas dominated by yellow grapefruit and tart orange with hints of peach. Bursts with lime, green apple flavors with hints of pineapple and lemon. The refreshing crispiness and rich fruit flavors make it a great food wine! 

Food Pairing: Delicious with fresh steamed oysters or crab. Wonderful with Asian, Thai, and lighter poultry entrees.

2011 PINOT GRIGIO – NEW VINTAGE

The 2011 vintage of Chatham Hill Pinot Grigio is a delicious medium body, 100% varietal wine. Residual sugar: 0.15%. Despite low sugar it tastes very mellow and smooth. The wine was fermented at 45 deg. F and aged in a stainless steel tank. Cold fermentation and the absence of oak ageing allowed the wine to retain high concentrations of aromas and produced a fruity and refreshing wine. 

Tasting Notes: Light straw color. Aromas dominated by orange blossom, peach and melon with hints of lemon grass. Delightful flavors of orange blossom, lemon-lime, with a touch of mango. Clean, smooth citrusy finish with warm acidity and mineral nuances. 

Food Pairing: A great match with mild and creamy cheeses, fresh garden salads, and light pastas.

SWEET CAROLINA POMEGRANATE BEACH BOMB

This is a killer! Make sure you’re sitting down:
 
A stunning presentation of a delicious new cocktail made with Sweet Carolina Fruit Infused Pomegranate Wine.
The perfect drink for the perfect evening at any time of year.

3 oz. Sweet Carolina Pomegranate Infused Wine
1 oz. White Rum
1 oz. Dark Rum – floater
2 oz. Pineapple Juice

Shake all ingredients well with ice and strain over ice into glass.

Garnish with a fresh fruit. 

SWEET CAROLINA FRUIT INFUSED WINE PASSION SMOOTHIE

Yes, you read that right: WINE SMOOTHIE!!!

1½ cup Sweet Carolina Blueberry Infused Wine
2 cups Frozen Mixed Fruit
1 cup fresh or frozen Blueberries
½ cup Vanilla or Plain Yogurt

Put all ingredients into a blender or smoothie machine and mix well. For a creamier texture, use a bit more yogurt. 

This recipe is wonderful with any of our Sweet Carolina Fruit Infused Wines.

Nancy's Pick(s)

Our very own Nancy Maestri is celebrating her 10 year anniversary with us at Chatham Hill Winery. For those of you who have not had the pleasure of getting to know Nancy yet, here is a little bit about her:

Nancy is a UC Berkeley graduate in journalism and proud mother of two boys: Richard, 28, who will make Nancy a mother-in-law come September, and Charles, 25. 

In her spare time, Nancy enjoys reading, swimming, and cooking. She not only enjoys cooking, but she is a great cook who is starting her own soup business: Mr. Russell's. Marek is quoted as saying Nancy's soup recipe (which was created by her father) is "stupid good". We are so excited for Nancy's new venture.

Nancy is the "inventor" of Chatham Hill's famous Peach Sangria. Her favorite Chatham Hill Wines are, well...pretty much all of them. When I pressed her, she said the Chatham Hill Riesling and Viognier in the whites and the Cabernet Sauvignon in the reds. 

Nancy's favorite food pairing with wine? "An empty stomach." That wit is one of many reasons why we are so glad to call Nancy ours!

Cheers!

SWEET CAROLINA POMEGRANATE MARTINI

This is Jill’s (Chatham Hill Winery owner) favorite:

1½ cups Sweet Carolina Pomegranate Infused Wine
1 cup Ice
2 oz. Citrus Vodka or White Tequila
1 oz. Cointreau

 
Shake together and pour into a chilled, icy martini glasses.

Optional: Splash of sparkling wine and a squeeze of lemon.

Easter: Wine and Ham Pairings

Nancy is at it again! Today, she shared with me her perfect wine pairings for Easter ham, and as an added bonus, she shared a quick and tasty dessert idea. Enjoy!

Ham: 

For the dry wine drinkers try our 2010 Syrah: On the nose, wild raspberry and boysenberry with delicate earthy notes, while the tart upfront berry fruit flavors (boysenberry, cherry and dark mulberry) give way to mellow tannins and soft acidity supporting the mid palate. The vibrant, juicy fruit runs the length of the palate and lingers with a "have another glass" finish. 

For those that likes something a little sweeter try our semi-sweet Sweet Carolina Red which bursts with jammy cranberry and sweet raspberry aromas & tastes. Long fruity finish.

Quick and Delicious Dessert:

• Slice Strawberries
• Soak Overnight in our Sweet Carolina Strawberry Wine
• Pour Strawberries and Wine on top of Pound Cake
• Add a Dollop of Creme Fraiche
• TRY TO SAVE SOME FOR ALL OF YOUR GUESTS!

Chatham Hill Chardonnay Spice Cake Recipe

1 box of white cake mix
1 package (5 oz) instant vanilla pudding mix
1 tsp ground nutmeg
3/4 c fat free sour cream
3/4 c Chatham Hill Chardonnay
2 large eggs
1/2 c egg substitute
- Preheat oven to 350. Spray the inside of a Bundt pan with canola cooking spray,
then dust with 2 T of flour.
- Add cake mix, vanilla pudding mix, and nutmeg to a large mixing bowl and beat with mixer on low
speed to blend well.
- Add sour cream, wine, eggs, and egg substitute to mixture and beat on medium speed for 5 minutes.
- Pour into prepared Bundt pan and bake for 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cake
cool in pan for 10 minutes. Invert pan on serving plate to release cake. Enjoy!

Nancy Maestri Celebrates a Decade at Chatham Hill Winery

Today's blog features several short sentiments from various wine club members about Nancy.

Nancy… Caroline and I have loved making visits to Chatham Hill part of our Girls Day out—especially when you are there. You are fun, and your expertise and knowledge of wines have broadened our love of wine! Congratulations! ~ Lisa Hayes

Nancy makes us feel at home when we visit the winery. Her fun loving attitude is contagious and she always brings a smile to our face when we walk in and see that she is working.~Bonnie and Neil Banerjee

Wow, 10 years of putting up with Marek! Amazing... Congrats and thank you for making all of our visits to the winery so enjoyable. You always take care of us and every other visitor as if family and we really appreciate it. Thank you!~Mike & Sue Pail

So here’s to Nancy, who teaches all who walk through the doors of Chatham Hill Winery, to follow the advice of Thomas Jefferson, “Good wine is a necessity of life for me.” Chatham Hill Winery is where to find good wines, good friends and good times! Thanks Nancy for 10 wonderful years!~Jeff and Lisa

Congratulations, Nancy, on this amazing milestone! We appreciate all you do, for us and the rest of the Chatham Hill family, and we hope to have you with us for many, many more years! ~Mike Desposito & Shelley Benson

Nancy Maestri Celebrates a Decade at Chatham Hill Winery

The next blog about Nancy comes from Jill and Marek.

Nancy is such a special person...quick to laugh; ready to share a funny story; what would we do without her? For those of us who work day in and day out (these long 10 years...) with Nancy, we begin to see her gifts over and over again.

Just to share a few: the number of wine club members that have signed up because of Nancy are too many to mention; whenever our club members come into the winery and Nancy is not here, they are disappointed not to find her. She shares their lives the good and the bad. She remembers the small things about our members: who is sick, who has a new baby, and so much more. Nancy is our link to all who enter Chatham Hill Winery.

Nancy is a relationship builder extraordinaire with sincerity that comes naturally. The number of wonderful and kind comments that people have taken the time to share with me and Marek of Nancy's personal attention is astounding.

One of the strengths that we can always count on Nancy is her honesty in everything she does. If she thinks we are making a wrong decision, she tells us. If she thinks one of Marek's wines needs a little work, she tells him—always kindly, of course. The other strength is the mother of two incredible young men that adore her—how many of us can hang that on our shingle?

Space prohibits all that Nancy means to us here at Chatham Hill. She is Chatham Hill Winery, and she has been integral to our success. We love her as our very own.

Thank you, Nancy. You are one of a kind, and we are so glad you are ours!

Nancy Maestri Celebrates a Decade at Chatham Hill Winery

Now that is dedication! On March 29th, Nancy will be celebrating her 10th year at Chatham Hill Winery. Her extensive wine knowledge, humor, and sweet smile keep ‘em coming back for more.

We are so blessed to have Nancy as a part of our family here at Chatham Hill and she is certainly an invaluable asset to our operation. With this special day approaching we wanted to share a few tributes to our Nancy from a few of our club members. I will publish them over the course of the month, but you can also read some we published on our newsletter by using THIS link. The following is from long-time members Lisa and Jeff Price.

Lisa and I have been members of the Chatham Hill Winery Wine Club since 1999 so we count ourselves among the lucky few who were on board to welcome Nancy when she arrived at the Winery in 2002.

Throughout our unique experience as members of the CHW Wine Club, we have had the opportunity to become acquainted with nearly everyone who has worked there. All have been special to us and won places in our hearts as friends but none more so than Nancy. Her outgoing personality and knowledge of CHW’s wines endear her to us even more each time we visit the Winery.

The Winery, itself, has been, and always will be, a special place in our hearts where we have made many new friends. We feel this way because the wines are special, the people who visit the winery are special and the staff is special. We delight in getting to know each new member of the staff and allowing them to get to know us, especially the wines we enjoy.

As our own fascination with wines has grown over the years, so too have our friendships with those who helped to expand our knowledge and appreciation for fine wines, who helped us to travel boldly forth on a wine excursion we hope will last for years. Mark Twain said it best, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness.” Encouraged by Nancy to travel the Chatham Hill Wine Trail and explore the many different wines we found along the way, Lisa and I discovered our prejudices against some wine varietals evaporated as Nancy convinced us to try one new wine after another.

We have learned the combination of a crafty and knowledgeable winemaker and a friendly steward who knows her wines and knows how to convey that knowledge to customers, can help people overcome their prejudices toward certain wines.

So here’s to Nancy, who teaches all who walk through the doors of Chatham Hill Winery, to follow the advice of Thomas Jefferson, “Good wine is a necessity of life for me.”

Chatham Hill Winery is where to find good wines, good friends and good times! Thanks Nancy for 10 wonderful years!

~Jeff and Lisa

A Herald-Sun Article By: Teresa Engebretsen

*Note from Sara: this article is about 2 years old now, but it is so chock-full of good information that I thought it was worth it to publish it on our blog. You can find a link to the article on line HERE. Enjoy!


Did you know that if you buy a bottle of wine with the year 2009 on its label that the grapes are being picked this fall? Did you also know that Sir Walter Raleigh wrote that the area soon to be known as North Carolina had so many grapes that "In all the world, a similar abundance was not to be found?" And that by the beginning of the 20th century, North Carolina was the leading wine-producing region in the country?

That in 1900, North Carolina wines won medals at the Paris Exposition? Did you know that in 1904, a North Carolina sparkling wine took the grand prize at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, beating out ones from France and Italy, as well as other states?

The wine industry in North Carolina has risen to prominence several times in the past two centuries, only to collapse, due to the Civil War, natural problems with the cultivation of vines, and Prohibition. In the past 20 years, it has made another amazing comeback, with the number of wineries now around 82, triple the total in 2001. According to a recent study, the wine industry has brought in more than $800 million to our state's economy and created thousands of jobs. There is now more support from state government, as well as research being conducted at one of our leading universities, N.C. State University.

If you are looking for something to do on a beautiful fall weekend, a drive to the Yadkin Valley, north of Winston-Salem. The Yadkin Valley is the first area in North Carolina to be designated as an American Viticultural Area or AVA, earning that distinction in 2003. If you only have a few hours, however, and want to learn about wine-making here in your own back yard, take exit 285 off I-40 in Research Triangle Park, follow the grape signs and take in a tasting and tour at Chatham Hill Winery.

Chatham Hill Winery was started in 1999, making it the 14th bonded winery in North Carolina. Marek Wojciechowski, along with two partners, decided to try his hand at making European-style wine. Marek and his wife Jill, residents of Durham, have since bought out their partners, and he quit his "day job" as a chemist in Research Triangle Park a few years ago to devote himself to full-time winemaking. Legend has it that Marek first experimented with wine-making while living in an apartment in his native Poland and all was well until his "experiment" overflowed from the bath tub and flooded the apartment below him!

I recently decided to take Marek's Winemaker's Tour and learn more about his wine. Chatham Hill is known as an urban winery. You will not see vines growing anywhere near the facility. "Grapes care where they are grown but not where the wine is made" according to Marek. The conditions in our part of the state just are not conducive to growing European-style vinifera grapes. It does not cool off enough at night during the summer here (we all know that, right?) for the vines to thrive. They need hot temperatures in the daytime, but much cooler weather at night.

Marek works closely with three growers in the Yadkin Valley who grow exclusively for him. Grapes can be at his door within three hours of being picked and the crush begins immediately on site. (It's all machine done these days... you'll have to watch I Love Lucy reruns to see anyone stomping around in the vat!) As I write this, Chardonnay and Viognier grapes are arriving from Wilmoth Vineyard in Pilot Mountain. Marek is a firm believer in supporting North Carolina growers and will buy from producers here as long as he can find high quality grapes to fit the style of wine he wishes to make.

As well as buying most of his grapes from in-state growers, Marek uses synthetic corks made in Zebulon for his non-aged wine (he uses Portuguese cork for the barrel-aged wines). The discarded skins and seeds are hauled away to a landscaper in Apex for composting. Chatham Hill has helped other wineries get started because Marek believes the state's winemakers should work together to better North Carolina's wine reputation.

Marek can often be found in his office-lab tasting his wines to get just the right blend. The tour that I took included "thieving from the barrel." Merlot was drawn from an oak barrel using a wine thief, a glass cylinder, for the group to taste. My husband, who accompanied me on the tour, remarked that this experience "feels like taking communion." Winemakers must constantly taste to know what the wine needs and to know when it is ready for blending and bottling. The Chatham Hill barrel room is full of French, Polish and American oak barrels. There are also large stainless steel tanks for the young wines that do not require aging in oak.

Along with the European-style wines, Chatham Hill bottles Sweet Carolina fruit-infused wines. Flavors include peach, raspberry, blueberry, blackberry and pomegranate. These are delicious chilled (think of the raspberry wine in a glass rimmed with dark chocolate or a glass of peach sangria made with peach wine, peach nectar, with cut up strawberries and nectarines in it) on a hot summer day. Or the Sweet Carolina Red mulled, along with spices, at Thanksgiving or Christmas.

I recently visited the Durham Farmers' Market where I bought small red potatoes from one vendor and green beans from another. I then drove to the South Estes Farmers' Market in Chapel Hill at University Mall to buy swordfish steaks from Southport Seafood Company. I wrapped the potatoes, skin and all, in aluminum foil along with sea salt, pepper and rosemary from my deck herb garden and placed them on a hot grill. The fish was seasoned with salt and pepper and added to the grill. Think of this meal paired with a bottle of Chatham Hill's 2007 Viognier. If you can't make it to the winery, Total Wine at Patterson Place usually has a good selection of Chatham Hill wines. Harris Teeter, Lowe's Foods and Kroger stores carry them also, mostly the Sweet Carolina wines.

Even if Marek is a Ph.D. scientist and has test tubes sitting around in his office, I think there is an element of magic in wine-making. That magic, along with months of caring for the vines and grapes during the growing season, the labor of transforming the juice of the crushed grapes into wine and the tender loving care administered by the winemaker is in every bottle we uncork.

A Blog That Taught Us a Little About Ourselves

We are always striving to improve. When we came across this blog, we were delighted by the positive comments, but also learned a little bit on where we can improve in our guest services.

Recently, Colby and Stacy came to visit us to celebrate Stacy's birthday. They loved the winemaker's tour and the wines (of course!), but they also shared some crucial feedback with us about our presentation.

You can read my response to his blog (and his very kind remarks to my response) in the comments section following his blog entry which can be found HERE.

If you have a blog or a review to share, please email me at sara@chathamhillwine.com.

Thanks!

Merlot Brownies: Sophisticated and Sweet

Spoil a loved one with these decadent treats!

1c Chatham Hill Merlot

3/4 c butter

4 oz unsweetened chocolate

2 c sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 c all purpose flour

1 c pecans, coarsely chopped and toasted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 13 by 9 inch baking pan.

In a small saucepan, simmer wine over medium heat until reduced to 1/4 c. Pour into a large bowl and set aside. In top of a double boiler, melt butter and chocolate over simmering water. Pour wine and whisk until smooth.

In top of double boiler, whisk together sugar, eggs, and vanilla over simmering water until very light and thick. Pour into chocolate mixture and whisk until smooth. Stir in flower and 1/2 c pecans. Pour into prepared pan and sprinkle with remaining pecans. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool and cut into squares. Yields 2 1/2 dozen.

For additional panache, reduce down the rest of your Chatham Hill Merlot with sugar to taste for a delicious glaze to pour on top of your brownies! Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or with a glass of our Sweet Carolina Raspberry.

Did You Know? All About our Barrels and Stainless Steel Tanks

When you tour our winery, you will find various sizes of stainless steel tanks. At left, you see Marek offering a sample straight from one of our stainless steel tanks during his monthly wine maker's tour. Join us on the second Sunday of the month at 2PM, and you can enjoy a sample from the barrel or the tank, too! This experience is included in your tasting/tour fee.



People always want to know how much wine they hold. Well, here you go folks. Time to learn some stats and impress your family and friends:

	Gallons	Cases	Bottles
Oak Barrel	58	24	300
Small Tank	500	210	2,500
Blending Tank	1,055	450	5,000
Medium Tank	1,500	630	8,000
Large Tank	3,000	1,270	15,000