Tuesday, November 24, 2015

5 Ways to Use Wine in your Thanksgiving Feast!

We're thankful for a wine that pairs well with turkey...and difficult relatives! We're also thankful for another great year serving up the best Missouri Wines, and thankful for all of our wonderful customers to have made this year so much fun. Thanksgiving dinner can be a melting pot of flavors, textures, and spices, so finding a wine to pair with all of that can be challenging.

Here are a few wine's that will go splendidly with your Thanksgiving feast, as well as some fun ways to incorporate wine into your meal, in more ways than just drinking it!

Thanksgiving Wine


You can't go wrong with these two Seven Springs wines with when looking for a delicious pairing with your dinner.

Pinot Noir

This medium plum wine has a beautiful garnet color that will really set off the look of your Thanksgiving feast. The berry and spice flavor will help to compliment the variety of flavors at your table, without being too powerful. This wine is medium bodied and has delectable velvety tannins with a long finish. It will make a wonderful selection for your Thanksgiving meal.

Chardonel

Red wine is generally the choice at Thanksgiving dinner, but when you want a white wine, you can't go wrong with our Chardonel. The light to medium straw color will pair well with the decor on the table, adding a sophisticated elegance only found with white wines. With its medium body and fruity toasted oak flavor, you'll find the combination ideal with your Thanksgiving dinner. 


Incorporating Wine Into Your Thanksgiving Menu


Oh, you mean the whole point of Thanksgiving isn't about celebrating wine? There are so many reasons to be thankful for wine, it tastes good by itself, it tastes good with food, and it tastes good IN food! Here are a few recipes that we dug out where you can incorporate your love for wine, and maybe introduce some new family favorites!

White Wine Turkey Brine 
Photo from Bobby's Kozy Kitchen

From: Bobby's Kozy Kitchen

Ingredients
1-quart vegetable stock
1 1/2 cups kosher salt
6 bay leaves
2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 bottle of Seven Springs' Chardonel
2 large shallots, thinly sliced
8 garlic cloves, crushed but left in the skins
1 bunch (a good handful) fresh thyme
2 lemons, sliced
Cold water (enough to cover turkey)
16-pound turkey (giblet package and neck removed)

Instructions
  1. Bring the vegetable stock, salt, bay leaves, peppercorns, and mustard seeds to a boil. Stir until salt is dissolved. Cool to room temperature.
  2. Pour the brine into a 5-gallon stock pot or container. Pour in the bottle of wine, then add the shallots, garlic, thyme, and lemons. Slowly lower in the turkey.
  3. Pour enough cool water into the pot to cover the turkey. Place lid on the pot and refrigerate for at least 24 hours.
  4. For a crispier crust - Remove the turkey from the brine the night before, pat it dry, and place on a baking sheet in the refrigerator uncovered overnight.

Wild Mushroom Gravy with Red Wine
Photo From The Clean Dish


Ingredients

2 tablespoon oil
1 cup chopped white onion
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced or chopped (I used Porcini, Shiitake, Oyster Mushrooms)
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme
¼ cup Seven Springs' Dry Rougeon**
2 cups vegetable broth
3 tablespoons organic soy sauce
2 tablespoons tapioca flour
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
salt, to taste

Instructions
  1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, then add onion and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until translucent.
  2. Add mushrooms and cook for 10 to 12 minutes or until they release their liquid and become tender. Stir in garlic, rosemary and thyme and continue to cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Add wine and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in broth and bring to a simmer.
  3. In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce and tapioca flour to form a thick paste. Add mixture to the skillet, whisking constantly to make sure paste dissolves. Bring mixture to a boil and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add pepper and serve gravy hot.
**Since you only need a 1/4 cup...I suppose you'll just have to drink the rest!

Photo From GirlieChef.com

Spiced Red Wine Cranberry Sauce


Ingredients
3/4 cup of Seven Springs' Pinot Noir
3/4 cup granulated or raw sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 whole star anise
12 ounces whole, raw cranberries

Instructions
  1. Combine the wine, sugar, cinnamon stick, and star anise in a medium-sized pot over high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved and the wine just comes to a boil, ~3 minutes.
  2. Add the cranberries to the pot, then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, stirring from time to time until the cranberries just begin to pop, ~5 minutes.
  3. Remove from heat and allow to sit until cooled to room temperature. At this point, you can transfer it to a bowl or container with a lid and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
  4. Remove cinnamon stick and star anise before transferring to a serving dish. Serve warm or cold

Tzimmes

Photo From Imperial Sugar

Ingredients
1 pound carrots, peeled and chopped into 1-inch chunks
2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1-inch chunks
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup dried apricots
1/2 cup fresh orange juice, plus the zest from 1 orange
1/2 cup of Seven Springs' Traminette
1/2 cup Imperial Sugar Light Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, plus more for greasing pan

Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 11x7 inch baking pan and place carrots, sweet potatoes, dried cherries and dried apricots in a pan.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together orange juice, zest, white wine, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Pour over the vegetable mixture and bake for 1 hour.
  3. After 1 hour, if the liquid is completely reduced, add a touch of water. Dot with butter and bake for 30 more minutes until vegetables are tender and liquid has become a glaze.

Dark Chocolate Red Wine Truffles
Photo From Imperial Sugar


Ingredients
• 8 ounces bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 4 tablespoons of  Seven Springs' Seven's Red Heaven
• 2 teaspoons Imperial Sugar Powdered Sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon espresso powder
• Cocoa powder, for dusting

Instructions
  1. Place chopped chocolate in a large mixing bowl. Heat cream in a small saucepan over medium-high, just until it boils. Pour hot cream directly into the bowl with chocolate, then add wine, powdered sugar, vanilla, and espresso powder. Gently whisk the mixture together until chocolate is smooth and melted. (If chocolate does not melt completely, place it over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring until it melts completely.) Cover bowl, and place it in the refrigerator to set, 1 to 2 hours.
  2. Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper and dust cocoa powder into a wide plate or pie dish. With a small scoop, melon baller, or spoon, scoop chocolate and form it into a ball, then roll it in cocoa powder. Place on baking sheet, then repeat with remaining chocolate.
  3. Refrigerate truffles for 30 minutes to set. Serve slightly chilled or at room temperature.


Find the Best Wine at the Lake of the Ozarks

From the first course to the last, your Thanksgiving feast can have many delicious hints of your favorite Lake of the Ozarks Wine. Don't forget to stop by and pick up several bottles of the best wine at the Lake of the Ozarks before the holiday. Happy Thanksgiving from Seven Springs winery, have a wonderful time with family and friends!

Come for the wine...Stay for the atmosphere...Remember the view! 

Seven Springs is the finest Winery at the Lake of the Ozarks with a full-service facility perfect for outdoor weddings, receptions, rehearsal dinners, corporate events and parties.  Call us today to make reservations for your special event!

Seven Springs Winery
573.317.0100
846 Winery Hills Estates
Linn Creek, MO 65052

Friday, November 20, 2015

The 7 S's of Wine Tasting

A Wine tasting is your chance to test out many different wines, without having to purchase the bottle. At Seven Springs Winery, we have a tasting area set up where you can enjoy all of our different varieties and flavors. For some, a wine tasting is a cultivated art, full of rituals that must be accomplished before the glass even touches their lips, while for others it's merely a chance to see what flavors they will enjoy the most. No matter what your wine tasting style, here are seven things you can keep in mind while at your next wine tasting!


See

As a general rule, color saturations tends to give you a hint about flavor intensity. You can hold the glass up to a white background and examine the colors and clarity.

Swirl

Before you even get a chance to taste the wine, swirling it can help you decipher a few more details about this wine. Heavy wines are generally more intense on the nose and have a deeper color. Sweeter wines will be denser, and will leave viscous streaks down the sides of the glass as you swirl it.

Smell

The "nose" of the wine is a large way of determining anything about the wine. Since a wine's quality can be judged by bouquet, and taste, your nose, and mouth will be key players in a wine tasting. The bouquet of a wine can tell you many hints as to what you will find when you take the first sip. From the smell, you can also learn of any fault in the wine, such as cork taint, oxidation or yeast contamination.

Sip

Fill your mouth with the first flavors of this delicious glass that you're holding! Let the flavors coat your mouth, and enjoy every little hint and flavor combination that you experience. This is a key moment in wine tasting, and so very delicious!

Swish

By swishing the wine around your mouth, you allow the flavors to coat your taste buds. Just as your nose keys in on specific scents, by swirling the wine around your taste buds you are allowing each taste bud to get a mouthful of flavor. There are over 10,000 taste buds in your mouth, and they will help you define the sweet, salty, bitter or sour flavors that you try.

Swallow

Unless you're limiting your alcohol content (in which case you'll spit here), swallow your wine. Allow the last hints of flavor to drift past your tastebuds and make their way down.

Savor

Savor every last drop of this beautiful beverage. From the moment you looked at it to the second it left your mouth, it was an enjoyable experience, we're sure. The best part is that we have the best wine tasting at the Lake of the Ozarks, and you can try three of our wines for free! If you want to try ALL of our wines, you can try every single one of them for a small fee - and get a souvenir glass too!

Lake of the Ozarks Wine Tasting

Our beautiful facility is set up in such a way that you can enjoy your wine. From the tasting bar to the outdoor patio that overlooks the beautiful Ozark hills, you'll find beauty in every corner of our winery. We offer a delicious menu of custom prepared items that compliment the wines we have available, and we can also help with any wine pairing decisions! Come out and spend a relaxing afternoon at the best winery at the Lake of the Ozarks before your holiday schedule sets in.

Come for the wine...Stay for the atmosphere...Remember the view! 

Seven Springs is the finest Winery at the Lake of the Ozarks with a full-service facility perfect for outdoor weddings, receptions, rehearsal dinners, corporate events and parties.  Call us today to make reservations for your special event!

Seven Springs Winery
573.317.0100
846 Winery Hills Estates
Linn Creek, MO 65052

Friday, November 13, 2015

Men in the Woods, Women at the Winery!

This weekend is the opening of deer hunting (with firearms), and many of the men will be heading out to the woods. Don't stay home and miss out on some fun of your own! While your men head out in their camo and orange, grab your purse and come out to the winery for a fun day of pampering! We have some great vendors, delicious food, and the best wine at the Lake of the Ozarks!



Doe Camp 2015, Seven Springs Winery

Come join us on Saturday, November 14th from 12 PM to 5 PM at the winery. We will have many great vendors with fun items. From hand crafted jewelry, belts, clothes, purses, gems, massages and mini manis! If men have the day off, so should you! Grab your girls, have some wine, lunch, shop and pamper yourselves.

2015 Doe Camp Vendors


Corner Boutique


The Corner Boutique is located behind the square in Camdenton. The items in the store have been personally selected by Debby and range from clothing, accessories, jewelry, gifts, candles and more, with selections you won’t find anywhere else!

Glitz and Glamour


This vendor features beautiful, jeweled designs. From blinged shirts with cute sayings and images to sparkling hats. They also have jackets, pet apparel, gifts and more!

West Shore Gems


We will be in the dining room along the front wall by the wine sampling bar.
Anyone booking a Younique Internet Makeup party with Linda prior to the end of Saturday's show will receive a free pair of Tibetan Earrings and will be entered into a drawing for a necklace & earring set from West Shore Gems!

Blue Water Treasures


Blue Water Treasures was established in 2009. They sell the latest trends in fashion accessories and fashion watches. Be sure to stop by their table at Doe Camp! You can find some great Christmas gifts!

Flip Back


FlipBack is a family run contemporary consignment shop owned and operated by husband and wife team Shelly and John Flippo. It is our intent to provide outstanding value for both our buyers and sellers while maintaining the highest level of quality, selection and service. You will find trendy, unique, one-of-a-kind new and like-new clothing and accessories at affordable prices.

Scentsy with Tammy Moore


For years I have used the basic candle. I guess you can call me the “candle junky”. However, the constant battle with the black soot and trying to light the candle when the wick was too short drove me crazy – but I still kept using them. Then for my birthday, my husband introduced me to Scentsy. We went to a fair and he bought me a warmer and bar. I had a hard time deciding which wonderful scent I couldn’t live without ...and the warmers were SO cute! Stop by my table and stock up on great scents for the season, and don't forget CHRISTMAS PRESENTS!


Best Events at the Lake of the Ozarks


Seven Springs Winery is perfect for any event! We have wine, food, a nice open layout, and friendly staff, you couldn't ask for anything better! Our wine tasting bar is a great place to gather with friends and try many fabulous Missouri Wines. From bold reds to sparkling whites, we have a great selection of wine's made from grapes we grow. You can try three for free, or you can try ALL of our wines for $8.00 and get a souvenir glass. Come out tomorrow from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM and enjoy a great experience full of friends, wine and shopping!




Come for the wine...Stay for the atmosphere...Remember the view! 

Seven Springs is the finest Winery at the Lake of the Ozarks with a full service facility perfect for outdoor weddings, receptions, rehearsal dinners, corporate events and parties.  Call us today to make reservations for your special event!

Seven Springs Winery
573.317.0100
846 Winery Hills Estates
Linn Creek, MO 65052

Friday, November 6, 2015

5 Tips for your Winter Wedding at Our Winery

Winter weddings have a touch of whimsy that can't be found in any other season. You can make use of the beautiful winter decor, scents and flavors, while cuddling up under warm blankets, and accessorize with cute mittens and earmuffs. Your beautiful, Lake of the Ozarks wedding will be perfect at Seven Springs Winery, even in the winter. There are a few things you need to know as you plan for your fun winter wonderland celebration.



Be Bold in Color Choices

You don't have to use cliche colors when planning a winter wedding. White, red and green are pretty, but don't be afraid to stand out. Deep, majestic colors like royal, charcoal, dark burgundy, or hues of brown can make a cold-weather wedding feel warm and inviting. You can also incorporate beautiful wine related colors, since you'll be at the best winery in the Lake of the Ozarks! Beautiful, sparkling purples, reds and champagnes will accent the sparkling snow and wonder, as well as accent our venue!

Coat Check

To keep the wedding a reception more enjoyable for your guests, you can consider having a FREE coat check available. This will keep them from having to carry their big, possibly wet coats around, but it will also keep your romantic wedding vibe free of those bulky outer garments.

The Sun Sets When?!

Remember that the sun sets earlier in the winter. If you have dreams of your guests arriving during a beautiful sunset; and your "I Do" being said with the last seconds of light fading through the windows - you'll need to have your wedding earlier. Also, since the sun will set earlier, you will need to decide when you want the photos taken. Unless you're having a morning wedding, where the photos are taken afterwords, you'll want to plan a time before the wedding to be dressed up and ready to smile.

Beware the Wet Floor

From snow, ice and wet dress shoes, the potential for wet, and dangerous, floors is a possibility. Make sure to take proper precautions, and prepare the event staff to keep the floors as dry as possible. You don't want someone to literally "break a leg".

Dress for the Weather

One of the nicest things you can do for your guests and your wedding party is prepare them for the weather. Be sure to tell guests exactly how you would like them to dress for your winter wedding in the invite. If you are having a casual wedding, let them know what the expectations are. If you are having a formal wedding outside, let them know! Your guests won't read your mind, but if you give them a friendly reminder about how you want them to dress, it will make the day 100% more enjoyable. In addition, dress your bridesmaids warmly. Use this season to incorporate warm cardigans, scarfs, matching mittens, or beautiful coats. Dress the wedding party warmly and they will love you forever.

Have Your Wedding at the Best Venue at the Lake of the Ozarks

Winter is such a prime time to have your wedding, you don't have to compete with other brides for your date, and you can generally have which ever vendor you want! Our winery is a beautiful and cozy place to celebrate your winter nuptials. We are nestled in the Ozark hills, and overlook a beautiful, rolling landscape. Our winery is complete with food, wine and a great dance floor - so you can celebrate all night long. Give us a call at 573-317-0100, and reserve your winter wedding date today!

Come for the wine...Stay for the atmosphere...Remember the view! 

Seven Springs is the finest Winery at the Lake of the Ozarks with a full service facility perfect for outdoor weddings, receptions, rehearsal dinners, corporate events and parties.  Call us today to make reservations for your special event!

Seven Springs Winery
573.317.0100
846 Winery Hills Estates
Linn Creek, MO 65052