Wining and Dining Locally

The Granite State is known for its crisp apples, plump blueberries and abundant maple syrup. Here’s another local ambrosia to add to your table, a bottle of New Hampshire-harvested, fermented and bottled wine.

Wine was first officially produced here in the late 1960s. Today there are 24 wineries in the Granite State. Many vineyards export their bottles out of state, but all promote the movement to drink locally.

Carla Snow is a New Hampshire-based oenologist. She runs A Grape Affair, a wine consulting firm in Portsmouth, and is author of the book, Wine and Dine with New Hampshire which features seven of the state’s wineries and recipes created by area chefs, featuring the wines as an ingredient.

Wine and Dine With New Hampshire: Photos by Brian Smestad

Apple Wine Sangria
Featuring Dry Apple Wine from LaBelle Winery
Page 61 in “Wine & Dine with New Hampshire,” by Carla Snow.
Recipe by Amy LaBelle

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons sugar
3 ounces apple or apricot brandy or peach schnapps
1 pint berries
1 lime, sliced
1 lemon, sliced
1 apple, sliced
2 ripe peach or nectarines, sliced
1 bottle LaBelle Winery Dry Apple Wine (750 ml)
1 cup high-quality orange or passion fruit juice
Sparkling soda water

Serves 4 to 5

Instructions:
This sangria takes 5 to 10 minutes to assemble in a large pitcher, preferably one made of clear to show off the beautiful colors of the fruit. Prepare it a few hours ahead so the sangria has time to develop its fruity flavor.

For this recipe, you can use whatever fruits are in season and beautiful, so be creative! The more color, the better.

Combine all ingredients but the soda water in a large pitcher. Chill the sangria several hours. When ready to serve, add soda water to the pitcher. Spoon fruits from the pitcher into glasses or goblets, adding a few fresh berries in each glass; pour the sangria over the fruit.

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(Photo by rogersmj via Flickr/CreativeCommons)