The 4 of July

    Our 14th Anniversary is in full swing, having just passed the halfway point, and ending this Sunday, with many of the free Anniversary glasses (with every two bottles purchased) moving out the door with the wine. One of the important decisions made early every year is which glass to feature, and having been open as long as we have, choosing something distinctive is becoming harder. This year's is a larger glass, one tailor-made for sangria, and suddenly a whole campaign was born.

 For anyone who doesn't know, sangria (with the Latin root Sanguis, or blood, for the color) was concocted by Romans stationed in Spain, at the edges of the Empire. Water purification is largely a modern development, and before 100 years or so, wine, beer or spirits were often the safer option to drink vs water (that might have harmful bacteria in it) that might kill you, and the Romans in Spain were no different. They added wine and alcohol to the water from local sources to make it safer, then likely added local fruits to make it taste better. An invention of necessity has evolved over the centuries, and there is now an official EU definition of sangria and many homemade variations on the opposite end, but at the core, sangria is akin to stage-two winemaking. Most who read this eNewsletter will not likely make wine beyond an amateur stage, and many more will enjoy but not ever make wine, but all of you are capable of making a sangria. We have embraced sangria as a theme for our 14th Anniversary and have published 4 recipes (the one below is the third, the photo above is all the finished products), but as always, we hope this is a launching-off point, inspiration to take what exists around you and make it more to your liking. A wine you like and fruits you like may not pair well together as a sangria, but for all anyone anywhere knows, they make go together like Romulus and Remus.