ZINFANDEL

Zinfandel is a red grape that is made into a very rich and full-bodied wine. Flavors consist of blackberry, cassis, plum, and boysenberry with a briary character. The color is deep red with a purplish hue.

Due to the popularity of White Zinfandel, a good number of people assume that Red Zinfandel is also a sweet wine. Although it has extensive fruit and boldness, it does have a dry finish, with a hint of pepper. This wine pairs well with steak, hearty barbecue ribs, and red sauce dishes.

The Zinfandel grape is also used in making the White Zinfandel wine. Since all grape juice is white or clear, it is the skins that give the wine color. For White Zinfandel, the skins have contact with the fermentation process for a short time. This results in a blush color rather than a deep reddish, purple color that you get with a glass of red Zin. The other major difference is that the white version is lighter and sweeter. This is due to the short fermentation process. This leads to less alcohol and more residual sugar.

The origin of the Zinfandel grape has always been a little sketchy. George Gibbs originally brought the grape in the United States from Long Island. It is said that he brought it from Vienna. He took the vines to Boston where it was planted all over New England. This was probably sometime in the 1830s. By 1852, it made its way to California where it was planted and cultivated. In 1990, DNA tests were done and it was proved that what we call the Zinfandel grape is really the same grape as the Italian grape, Primitivo. It is also linked to the Palvac Mali, a grape vine of Croatia, where most now believe is the origin of the Zinfandel grape.

There are only a few countries other than the United States that produce this grape. Australia and South Africa are growing the Zinfandel grape which is helping to increase its production. For the most part, the majority of Zinfandel grapes are produced in California. There are many producers all over the California wine country, including Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino to mention a few.

You can also try this wine in one of its blended forms. It is often blended with other grapes such as Syrah or Cabernet Sauvignon. Whether blended or in its purest form, try this wine and I am sure that you will be pleasantly surprised with its full, deep, rich flavors.

Blackbeary wheat sounds like a breakfast cereal, tastes like beer

The best known fruit flavored beers are the lambics from Belgium, but some American microbrewers also offer seasonal beers accented with everything from berries to peaches and apples.

The folks at Vermont’s Long Trail Brewing have been offering Blackbeary Wheat Summer Brew since 1996. I guess they elected to spell it Blackbeary because a black bear lends itself to an appealing label better than a blackberry. Never mind. The important thing to remember is that Blackbeary Wheat is July’s beer of the month at The Little Rooster, and if you’re in the mood for an inexpensive adventure, you should stop by for a six-pack.
Blackbeary Wheat, available only into the early Fall, is a great thirst quencher that can even be poured over ice without sacrificing its subtle fruitiness. I realize that it sounds like heresy to pour beer over ice, but after all, adding blackberries to a fermenting wheat beer isn’t exactly an ordinary practice, is it? Try this beer out on someone who doesn’t ordinarily drink beer … they may well change their tune.

All beers are a complex yin-and-yang balance of sweet and bitter. A beer like Blackbeary Wheat illustrates this seesaw better than most. Its bitterness level is at the higher end of the scale brewers use to measure this quality, yet “bitter” is not the first adjective that will leap into a first-time sampler’s mind. Rather, Blackbeary Wheat is crisp, refreshing and slightly aromatic. Above all, the blackberry flourish at the end of that first (and successive) sips will cause the corners of your mouth to tilt up a bit. And that, of course, is what beer is all about.

Turkey on the grill:
impressive, easy and delicious

When a couple of friends heard I’d cooked a turkey on the grill, they were amazed. Doesn’t it take forever? Isn’t is messy? How do you avoid burning it to a crisp?

The answers are no, no, and easy.

Here’s how:
With a charcoal grill, configure the coals so that they are on either side of your bird, but not directly under it. Directly under, place a Pyrex or metal cake pan to catch the drippings. With a gas grill, follow the manufacturer’s instructions, but the idea is the same: indirect heat. (Weber makes a neat little set of metal “fences” that keep the coals where you want them).

Take a 10 pound fresh turkey and rinse the cavity, reserving giblets and other parts for gravy, if desired, or as a cooked treat for a favorite pet.

Salt and pepper the cavity and rub the interior with a half a lemon, squeezing as you rub. Leave the lemon inside. Use the other half to run the exterior of the bird and then add salt, pepper and ground sage. Spray with cooking oil or olive oil.

While your fire is heating up, give the bird 10 minutes on high in the microwave, loosely covered with Saran Wrap. This starts the cooking from the inside out and minimizes the time the bird must spend on the grill. Transfer the bird to the grill, making sure the dish to catch the drippings is in place. Cover the grill, keeping the vents open all the way. Go enjoy a couple of Blackbeary Wheat Beers. Other than taking one peek, you don’t have anything to do for about two hours.

Most turkeys have a pop-up timer, but if yours doesn’t, cut where the drumstick joins the body and see if the juices run clear. If so, the bird is done and you will be a hero.

The gravy is just as easy. Skim most of the fat off the drippings, then add salt and pepper, a bit of flour for thickening and a half cup of chicken broth to stretch it out so you have plenty for the week’s worth of leftovers.


Did you know?

“Belgium is the Disneyland of the beer world,” writes Charlie Papazian in The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing. By that, he means Belgian beers are fun, even wacky. Belgian white beer, Flanders brown ale and all the famous ales from the country’s Trappist monasteries help give Belgium this kind of reputation. Often fruity, the Belgian family of beers is always distinctive and frequently heavy. In fact, while most beer drinkers think of their beverage as a warm-up preceding dinner, many Belgians drink theirs as a post-prandial selection.

-- Scott Brinckerhoff

Scott Brinckerhoff of Haddam is a freelance writer specializing in business communications. He also brews beer, keeps bees and cooks "seriously." Each issue, he'll provide offbeat comments on our monthly beer, long with a recipe.