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Cherryberry Port Brownies

Holiday sweets please!

The holidays are such a wonderful time of friends, families, holiday cheer, and of course don’t forget the sweets!  This year we have combined our two holiday loves of wine and chocolate in the Cherryberry Port Brownie recipe!  To find this delightfully rich chocolaty recipe we teamed up with Vicki at CC Celebration Cakes in Clarksburg, Ca.  Using the flavors of the Heringer Estates 2015 Red Dessert (port) wine Vicki was able to create an easy to use dry goods brownies in a jar mix.  Add this mix with the added recipe ingredients and the 2015 Red Dessert wine and you have a perfect combination of sweet wine and chocolate!

Ingredients

  1. Brownie in a Jar dry good mix
  2. 3 eggs at room temprature
  3. 1/4 cup melted unsalted butter
  4. 1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup Heirnger Estates Red Dessert Wine
Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
Makes: 16 brownies

Making the Cherryberries

  1. Remove the cherryberries from the jar and place into small saucepan along the 1/3 cup of port.
  2. Bring to a boil for one minute then remove from heat to cool.

Making the Brownies

  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. Prepare 8″ square pan by spraying non-stick baking spray and place a square of parchment in the pan bottom
  3. Lightly whisk eggs and set aside.
  4. Pour remaining jar mix ingredients into a large bowl, stir to combine.
  5. Add cooled cherryberries and stir.
  6. Add eggs, butter and additional port and stir just until combined; do not over mix.
  7. Spread batter into prepared pan.  Bake until toothpick comes and clean, about 35 – 40 minutes.

Holiday Gift Boxes

Treat yourself and your friends and family to the Cherryberry Port Brownie Gift Box!  The box includes everything you need to make the Cherryberry Port Brownie recipe and make your holiday season extra chocolaty special.

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Written by Creative Specialist Cara Gregor

Holiday Drinky Drinks

It’s the holidays!  Time to warm up with some holiday drinky drinks.

Heringer Mulled Wine

It’s getting chilly out there and mulled wine will warm you up with the winter spices that you love.  We chose the 2014 Primitivo this year for it’s balance between sweet and spice and everything nice.

  1. Combine mulled wine spices, ½ cup sugar, and 2 cups water, in a large pot.
  2. Slowly bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes.
  3. Reduce the heat, add Primitivo, and slowly reheat but do not boil.
  4. Add honey to taste.
  5. Serve warm in mugs.

Serves 8

Heringer Apricot Hot Toddy

Try the Heringer twist on a hot toddy!  This recipe is a little softer with Late Harvest Chardonnay instead of the traditional whiskey or brandy, but will warm your up and make you smile just the same.

  1. Boil water to make a half mug of apricot fruit tea.
  2. Add 2.5 oz Late Harvest Chardonnay to the warm mug.
  3. Stir in a spoonful of honey until dissolved.

Serves 8

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Holiday Gift Boxes

Give a fun Heringer Gift Box this year!  Both the Mulled Wine Holiday Time and the Heringer Hot Toddy Gift Boxes are both carefully constructed to include all the special ingredients you need to make your wine into a delicious wintry wonderland drinky drink.  Cheers!  Be merry!  Have a wonderfully warm and toasting holiday season!

Written by Creative Specialist Cara Gregor

Roasted Sausage Stuffed Pumpkin for your holiday feast

It’s November!  The time of year for feasting with friends and family.  This Roasted Sausage stuffed pumpkin will hopefully not make you too stuffed but will leave you smiling with a warm belly.  This is also a great dish for vegetarians with a meat substitute such as mushrooms or soy based alternatives.

2015 Tannat Pairing

The 2015 Tannat is the Heringer Estates Wine of the Month for November.  This new release pairs very well with pork or our more savory fall dishes and seasoning.  The components and structure of this wine accentuate the flavors and spices in the roasted pumpkin dish.  With a little sweetness from the dried cranberries, the Tannat and the roasted pumpkin really are made for each other.  

Serves 8
Prep Time: 45 min
Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

 

Ingredients

1 5 lb sugar pumpkin
8 cups dried bread cubes
1 tbs olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 lb ground sage Italian sausage
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chicken stock
3 eggs
3 tbs chopped sage
1 tbs chopped thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup dried cranberries

Prepare Your Pumpkin


Preheat the oven to 350°F.

  • Place rack in the center of the oven, line a rimmed sheet or baking pan with aluminum foil and set aside.
  • Carve the cap off the top of the pumpkin. Work at a 45° angle so the top will not fall into the pumpkin
    Make sure the top is large enough to work inside the pumpkin.
  • Clean out the insides of the pumpkin. Make sure it is super clean inside as if you were making a jack-o-lantern.
  • Season the inside of the pumpkin with salt and pepper and place on the prepared baking sheet. Set aside.

Prepare the Stuffing

  • In a large sauté pan, sauté olive oil and onions until tender on medium-high heat.
  • Add the ground sage Italian sausage and sauté until brown.
  • Add the diced and peeled apples and sauté until soft.
  • Add minced garlic.
  • Remove from heat and add sauteed meat and vegetables.
  • In a large bowl combine sauteed items and dried bread cubes.
  • In a medium mixing bowl combine chicken stock, eggs, sage, thyme, salt and pepper. Mix well.
  • Pour mixture over the bread cubes and stir. Let the bread cubes soak up all the stock.
  • Add dried cranberries and mix.

Fill and Roast the Pumpkin

  • Fill the prepared pumpkin with the stuffing mix. Press down as needed.
  • Place the cap on top of the filled pumpkin.
  • Bake the pumpkin with the cap for 1 ½ hours.
  • Remove the cap and continue baking another 30 to 40 minutes.
  • The pumpkin is ready when the outside is soft and can easily be pierced with a knife.
  • Let the roasted pumpkin rest for 10 minutes before serving.
  • With a spatula carefully transfer onto a serving dish.
  • Slice pumpkin and serve like you would a cake.

The Feast

At the end of it all you get to feast on a whole pumpkin!  Your friends and family will be so impressed!  It slices just like a cake and is a great way to get your daily dose of vegetable as we prepare for our winter season.  Don’t forget to add a bottle of the 2015 Tannat and you have a superb autumn meal!

Written by Creative Specialist Cara Gregor

Tannat is not a question

To do or Tannat?  Well, given a choice it seems like Tannat is an increasingly better and better option!  Tannat wine grapes are French in origin and have become worldly, traveling the globe to South and North America.  Tannat is known as the National Grape of Uruguay and is growing in popularity in California with increasing speed.  In Clarksburg, Tannat has been gaining traction with California winemakers for its structure and tannin without the high acidity or heavy fruitiness.  There is something really special about Tannat that draws people in.  Maybe it’s the dark chocolate and cardamon aroma, or the place it holds in our wine profile as a full bodied wine that won’t punch you in the mouth?  It’s not a Cabernet and it’s not a Malbec, but Tannat is a part of the conversation. 

New Release 2015 Tannat

The 2015 Heringer Estates Tannat is a perfect example of why California and Clarksburg are falling in love. With a gripping tannin you will enjoy beautiful flavors of blackberry, dried fruit, black plum, dark chocolate, and cardamom. The strong structure of Tannat will pair well with high protein and rich fatty foods. Perfect for holiday parties and hearty meals.

Vineyard

Heirnger Estates

Body

Heavy body, rich tannin, and complex flavor

Aroma

Rich dark berries, plum, oak accents

Barrel Program

36 months in French and American oak

Production

300 cases

Alcohol

15%

Wine of the Month for November

To celebrate the 2015 Tannat release enjoy the November Wine of the Month Gift Box!  Share the wine with your friends and family while feasting on the Roasted Sausage Stuffed Pumpkin recipe!  Give thanks for wine, friendly feasts, Tannat, family, and so much more!

Gift Box Includes

2015 Tannat
10 Thank you cards
Little Hoot owl salt and pepper shakers
Food pairing recipe for Roasted Sausage Stuffed Pumpkin

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Available for only for November 2018

Written and Illustrated by Creative Specialist Cara Gregor

Hosting a Hall-o-WINE Party!

Hall-o-WINE Party Time!

Trick-or-Treating is not just for kids anymore and Halloween is quickly becoming more and more of an adult holiday every year.  Wine not?  Right?  We get to dress up and be whoever we want to be.  Plus, it’s another great excuse to relax, hang out with friends, and party.  Some people prefer a Monster Mash but this year lets make it a Hall-o-WINE party!

Choose your Wine

The first step to hosting a fabulously spooky Hall-o-WINE party is of course making sure you have fabulously spooky wine!  Have a nice variety of bubbles, white, red, and maybe even some port.   A wide variety of available wine will keep all of your ghost, goblin, and ghoul guests happy.  This year we recommend:

 
2016 Bubbly Rosé
Mini Eco Cask White
Mini Eco Cask Red
2014 Petite Sirah
Embrace Port

Every Party Needs a Delicious Cheese and Meat Spread

After you pick your wine then you can carefully select your food.  A Hall-o-WINE party should really be called a Hall-o-WINE AND CHEESE party because let’s face it, the two go hand in hand like Gomez and Morticia.  You want to pick the foods that will bring out the best flavors in your wine and vice versa.  A great way to plan your cheese and meat plate is to incorporate a selection of cheese, meats, fruit, dried fruits, honey or jam.

Choosing your Cheese

Start by picking out your cheese.  It’s good to have a nice variety between hard and soft cheese as well as color variation.  A fun way to go about this and to get some very nice cheeses is to visit the “Bits and Pieces” section of your local cheese shop.  The “Bits and Pieces” are small bits and pieces from large cheese chunks that are usually just left over from pieces from their standard packaging.  It’s a great way to try new cheeses and get your hands on cheeses that can be very pricey.  For our selection of wines we chose a Beemster Gouda, a Petuluma Creamy Cheddar, L’Etivaz hard swiss, and Societe Roquefort 

Choosing your Meat and Fruit

With four cheeses it’s nice to have a couple meats.  With the wines for the party we stayed away from the pepper meats and went with two different styles of classic Italian prosciutto.  For the fruits, we chose autumn seasonal fruits that would add color and sweetness to our spread.  We chose apple, red pear, and red grapes.  Apple Persimmons could also be used and are a fantastic fall fruit with wines.  Instead of fresh fall figs, we chose dried black mission figs.  A fantastic combination with the L’Etivaz swiss and the Mini Red Eco Cask!

Nuts and Honey

Lastly you will want to add some nuts and honey to your spread.  We fancied our board with Marconi Almonds because it is a party after all!  For our honey we, of course, used the Heringer Estates all natural honey, natures favorite harvest treat!

This Year Let’s Hall-o-WINE!

You have your wine, you have your meat and cheese platter. . . Add some dry ice to your jack-o-lanterns and you are ready for this spooky holiday bash to commence!

Also remember to invite our bony friend over there.  He brings great wine and is the life of the party. 

Happy Hall-o-WINE!
Written by Creative Specialist Cara Gregor

Mini Eco Cask and Cream Cheese Stuffed Pumpkin Muffins Recipe

Pumpkin Muffins?  Yes Please!

October is ALL about pumpkins! These cream cheese stuffed pumpkin muffins are a perfect way to celebrate this autumn season.

INgredients

3 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground cloves
4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 pinch cardamom – optional
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
5 eggs
3 cups sugar plus 3 tablespoons
2 cups pumpkin
1 1/4 cup vegetable oil
8 ounces cream cheese
 
Chopped pumpkin seeds, walnuts or pecans – all optional
Brought to you by Office Manager Kristen Dean and her puppy!

Mixing Muffins

Preheat oven to 350

Mix cream cheese with 1 egg and 3 tbls of sugar.  Put mixture on a piece of wax paper or parchment paper and shape it into along log.  Put it into the freezer for about an hour.  
 
Mix all other ingredients in a large bowl except the cream cheese mix and the nuts.  
Unwrap the cream cheese and cut with a sharp knife so cream cheese disk equals 1-2 tsps.  If the cream cheese disks are too big around, cut thick slices and then cut them in half.  

Baking Muffins

Fill muffin tin- greased or paper cups 1/2 full – 3/4 full.  Put cream cheese disc in the middle pushing down.  Sprinkle top with chopped nuts.  
 
Bake at 350 for 20-25 mins. until toothpick comes out clean.  Do not touch the cream cheese. HOT!
 
Let cool in pan for 5 mins then move to a baking rack.  Cream cheese will still be hot.  Wait until cooled down and enjoy!

Try the October Wine of the Month Gift Box!

Share the spirit of Halloween!

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Available through October 2018

Mini Eco Cask Release and The Three E’s of Sustainability

The 3 E’s of Sustainable Wine Making

Environmentally Sound, Economically Feasible, and Socially Equitable are the three E’s that commonly define “sustainability.”  All three elements are intertwined and are not successful without equal attention.  With a priority in sustainable wine making, the three E’s have been the mantra of Winemaker Mike Heringer for the past 10 years and with each decision these three elements are considered to ultimately fill your glass again and again.  The three E’s are the driving factors behind the refillable Eco Cask program.

Eco Cask Program

So what is the Eco Cask exactly and what is the program? 

With conservation in mind the Eco Cask is inspired by the European tradition of purchasing wine in bulk at your local market for your weekly family meals.   At the end of each week you bring your empty cask to the market and refill.  Mike Heringer has brought this concept to California with premium blended wine from certified sustainable vineyards bottled in refillable casks. Each red and white blend is unique and composed of some of the best wines Clarksburg has to offer.  The casks are available in a 2 liter and 750 ml sized cask.  Both casks, in continuation with the tradition, are refillable.  Simply bring your empty cask back and exchange it for a new one.  Heringer Estates will clean and sanitize the empty cask and use it for the next bottling.  

New Additions to the Eco Cask Program

This year we are excited to expand on this sustainability driven program with the 2018 Mini Eco Cask Release!  The Mini is the same great cask but in 750 ml cask size, the same as a regular bottle of wine.  With this new size we will be able to ship the Eco Cask to any of our permitted states! 

We have also updated the program to allow our wine club members to enjoy their club discount, making the Eco Cask more accessible and bring some great benefits to you!

Vote for your next Eco Cask Blend of 2019!

You are the last and best piece to the Eco Cask Program!  The cask is only sustainable if you love it and at the Eco Cask Blending Party you get to vote for your favorite blend.  The winning blend becomes our next Eco Cask for 2019!

Tickets and Details

Mini Eco Cask is October’s Wine of the Month!

Get into the Halloween spirit and Boo everyone in your neighborhood!

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