Uncorked: Turn your favorite wine into a frosty treat
For as long as wines have been known to humans, various potions have been added to alter them in some way. Ancient Greeks lined their wine containers with resin. This substance helped preserve the wine, but it also gave the wines a distinct Pine-sol flavor. A pine-flavored wine, retsina, is still made in Greece. There are many accounts of wines in ancient Rome that were adulterated with herbs, honey and some not so pleasant substances. Poisoned wine was the perfect way to dispose of one's enemy in ancient times. By the end of the 17th century, wines were routinely fortified with grape spirits or alcohol to make them more stable for travel. This practice rendered mundane Portuguese wines into fruit bomb, concentrated, high alcohol wines we now know as port. Colonial America cooking texts are rife with recipes for mixing fruit and fruit juices with wine or brandy to make punch, toddies, and shrubs. In more modern times, the 1980s brought us bottled wine coolers. Fruit juices were mixed with a cheaper grade of wine and offered as wine coolers. The consumer was encouraged to serve these over ice. Such beverages have largely disappeared from shelves because of the growing popularity of varietal wines. Now comes word of another wine and fruit concoction sweeping the country in the form of a wine slush. Wine Enthusiast Magazine says frozen wine slushes are hot. I first encountered the wine slush at a food show in Atlanta this spring. Along with those spinning machines that mix and dispense a gazillion different flavors of margaritas were two additional machines dispensing frozen chardonnay slush and frozen merlot slush. More recently, in the privacy of my home, I have been experimenting with making these refreshing concoctions. Slushes can be made in an electric ice cream maker or one of those frozen daiquiri makers from the likes of Williams Sonoma, but you don't have to have a fancy spinning machine to make these. All you need is a large plastic container capable of holding a standard 750 ml bottle of wine along with about two cups of a selected juice and perhaps a bit of sugar. If planning to serve these to guests, start preparation at least 24 hours ahead of time. A standard size bottle of wine in any flavor as long as it is cheap is needed. For purposes of experimentation, I have been using Charles Shaw Wines, aka "Two Buck Chuck" available for $2.50 per bottle in Atlanta at Green's Package Store on the Buford Highway or at three Trader Joe's in Atlanta. The basic recipe is one bottle of wine, two cups of fruit nectar, pureed fresh fruit, or fruit juice and sugar to taste. I find though the wine and juice may taste sweet when being mixed together, once frozen, the concoction becomes more tart. Usually a small amount of sugar, approximately one-quarter cup, added to the mix will do the trick. Once the ingredients are assembled, mix them together in the selected container and place in the freezer. The mixture will freeze to the slush stage first and then get a bit harder, but the alcohol in the wine keeps the mixture from becoming brick hard. The mixture will easily flake into ice crystals when scraped with a spoon. If you want to bypass some of the prep time, Tyson Art and Frame has a mix for $6 called Vineyard Frost to which is added your wine of choice or try one of the following homemade combinations: One bottle of Riesling Mix together and freeze One bottle Merlot Mix together and freeze. Serve in clear glass with spoon. These work well as an aperitif or offered before the main course to cleanse the palate. They are surprisingly refreshing. |
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