As a bit of a compliment to my article the other day about Sangria I thought I would share my favourite sangria recipe.

3oz triple sec
3oz brandy
2oz rum (dark rum works well)
2oz vodka (Ketel One or Absolut Vodka work best)
1 cup strawberries, blended
Chopped fruit to taste (apples, mango, peaches, pear, etc)
1 bottle sparkling wine (you can use Cava, Champagne or just plain old sparkling wine. Rose sparkling wines work wonderfully!)

Mix everything but the sparkling wine together and let soak overnight. Add the champagne just before serving so it doesn’t become flat and enjoy!

Looking for a creative and tasty way to serve champagne for that special occasion?  The following gelatin recipe is a great way to do just that and it is very easy to put together.

1 1/4 cups champagne, chilled
1/4 cup granulated sugar (you can use a sweetener such as Splenda as well)
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup fresh raspberries (or any other kind of berry if you would rather something else)

In a saucepan heat ¼ cup of champagne with the gelatin and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved and comes to a simmer.  Remove from heat, and in a heatproof bowl combine the remaining champagne with the heated mixture.  Chill in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours until the gelatin mounds on a spoon.

In two champagne flutes add a couple of your berries to the bottom of the glass.  Fill about half way with your champagne mixture, add a few more berries and then fill with remaining champagne mixture.  Using a straw or the handle of a spoon, move the berries in the champagne mixture so they are scattered at various depths and “floating.”  Put back in the fridge for another 2 hours or until set.

Makes a great dessert and very beautiful to look at!

For those who have accomplished successfully making traditional wine from home, or for those who are looking to try something a little different here is a great little recipe to make strawberry wine that is very easy to follow.

Take 7 pounds of washed and hulled strawberries (preferable to use ones that are fresh picked, but if this is not possible standard supermarket strawberries will do too) and put them in a large earthenware crock and mash well.  Add the juice of one lemon and 2 gallons of boiling water and stir briskly for 2-3 minutes.  Cover the mixture with a clean linen cloth and then put in a dark and cool place for once week.  Be sure to not disturb the mixture during this time.

After a week, take the mixture and strain it using a double layer of cheese cloth into a clean bowl.  The strawberry pulp can be thrown away after it is strained.  To the juice add 5 pounds of sugar and stir until it is completely dissolved.  Once the mixture it completely combined pour the juice and sugar mixture into another clean crock and let it stand another week, making sure this time that you mix is daily so that the sugar does not settle on the bottom.

Once this second week is over take the mixture and pour it into one gallons glass bottles and loosely cork or use fermentation locks if you have them.  Place the bottles in a cool dark place for 3 months; when the wine stops fermenting (bubbling) it is time to pout it into individual wine bottles and tightly cork.  Even though it is now finished, this wine needs to age for at least 12 months before it will be completely ready to drink.

Once it is ready be sure to have your taste buds tickled!  Try this wine chilled accompanying chocolate cake or even use it as a sangria base on a hot summer day.

For those looking for something a little different, The Virtual Corkscrew Museum (www.corkscrewmuseum.com) online is a great website to visit for a little fun. The website was started on America Online in 1994 but has been growing and as of 1999 has over 18 million page hits. The museum is divided up into 30 virtual “rooms” filled with images of corkscrews divided up into various categories such as corkscrews that look like pistols or corkscrews that resemble birds. It is a very interesting website to have a look at, I personally was never one for corkscrew collecting but to see a collection as large and eclectic as this museum is impressive.As a side note, if you have the volume on your computer turned on be aware that the pages come with sound affects.

Today it is very popular for people to be buying organic products. Most people realise that organic meats and produce are very important especially with the adverse affects that the added chemicals and hormones can have on the human body but few people realise that there is a large range or organic wines on the market too.

The Organic Wine Company is based out of San Francisco and is an importer of organically grown and produced wines from France, Italy, Spain and even New Zealand. Their website is quite informative in terms of educating on what qualifies as “organic” which for many people might be different than what they originally thought.

The catalogue isn’t the best in terms of style but is quite easy to navigate and all of the wine labels are shown to help the customer better identify a bottle of wine. Not the biggest selection of organic wines I have seen, but the variety is good for those not necessarily looking for a particular wine. A good website if you do not have an organic wine shop near you and are looking to have a bottle of GM and chemical free wine or bubbly!