"Port" news and stories

• Hanukkah starts tonight! What's that song? "I have a little latke..."
• There's more to Hanukkah than potato pancakes. (But not much more.)
• All those trendy shaken cocktail drinks result in worn-out bartenders.
• So how about a nice port instead?
• Or try out Mark Bittman's granita -- a truly sophisticated slushie.

Dessert wines are great to pull out as after-dinner drinks when entertaining at home. After fussing through the preparations of a dinner party, by the time dessert rolls around you'd probably rather linger with coffee than fret about a souffle. Pair any of these dessert wines with a slice of cake or scoop of gelato and you've got dessert with a wine course.

2007 Seven Artisans Petite Sirah, Sonoma Valley, Clayton Road Ranch ($18)
Of the Petite Sirahs sampled, this one was the deepest and darkest. Syrupy blueberry on the nose with a touch of smoke was followed by a full, luscious body. If there was a Petite Sirah to use as a dessert wine, the Seven Artisans wine is it. (This would be fabulous with blueberry pie!)

2008 Bella Late-Harvest Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County ($25, 375mL)
Lots of raspberry, black currant and chocolate notes -- what's not to like? There's a sultry hint of chocolate and cinnamon on the finish too. Each year the winery designates different vineyard blocks for its dessert wine, leaving grapes on the vine longer to develop a higher level of sugar and ripeness. The late-harvest Zin is 97 percent Zinfandel and 3 percent Muscat.

After the jump find five more dessert wines to try.

Tomorrow one of the most historically significant Presidential Inaugurations will be upon us. Whether you're whooping it up or crying tears of sorrow into your glass, we've got ideas for what to drink at your party (or pity party).

If you're celebrating:

The obvious drink of choice is sparkling wine--American, of course. According to Iron Horse Vineyards, their sparkling wines have been served at the White House for five consecutive Presidential administrations, and Iron Horse hopes Obama will do likewise. Their Wedding Cuvee ($38) is a popular choice and widely available, or try the Russian Cuvee ($33), which is slightly richer and sweeter than the regular Brut.

Roederer Estate sparkling wines have also been featured in White House dinners over the years. The Brut NV ($22) is affordable and widely regarded by critics as one of the top sparkling wines in the U.S.

Korbel has been the official sparkling wine for the past six inaugurations, but apparently Obama won't do sponsorship agreements this year and Korbel has to angle for honors with all the other wineries. At home, try Korbel's Brut Rose ($12) or Extra Dry ($12), which, ironically, is a little sweeter.

With any of these sparkling wines, splash in a bit of pomegranate liqueur or blue carucao (but not at the same time!) for the red, white, and blue look.

Another all-American wine is Zinfandel, a big, bold, fruity wine also ideal for celebrating. Try one from Lodi or Paso Robles for even bigger-than-normal flavor (Seven Deadly Zins ($17) is a good example) or a classic from Sonoma like Seghesio ($36).

What to drink if you're not celebrating--after the jump.

Sure, you can have one of those silly, jiggly mounds of cranberry sauce still shaped like the can it came in, but why not delight in fresh cranberries seasoned with tasty port, courtesy of Bon Appetit and Epicurious?

Cranberry Sauce with Port and Cinnamon

Ingredients:

1 cup ruby Port
2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
1 cup dried cranberries
1 12-ounce bag of fresh cranberries
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar

• Bring the port and cinnamon to a boil in a heavy saucepan. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Add dried cranberries, simmer until slightly softened (about 3 minutes). Then add the fresh cranberries, water, and sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves.
• Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until sauce thickens, the color darkens, and the berries collapse -- stirring often (about 20 minutes).
  
• Transfer sauce to bowl, remove cinnamon sticks.

This can be made 3 days ahead -- cover, chill, then bring to room temperature before serving.

I've never had an Angel's Sangria, but this Sinner's version sounds pretty good. Normally, Sangria is made by macerating fresh fruit in brandy and sugar, and mixing with wine and club soda, ginger ale, or juice. The Sinner's Sangria cuts the macerating step: the extra alcohol is already in the port, after all. So (pardon the pun) it's sinfully easy and sinfully potent. This recipe is from Sandeman Founders Reserve Port from Portugal.

Sinner's Sangria

1 bottle of Sandeman Founders Reserve Port
1 liter ginger ale
1 orange cut in small slices
1 green apple cut in small cubes
4 oz. fresh squeezed orange juice

Directions: Combine all ingredients into a medium size punch bowl.

White Sangria is lovely in summer (that must be the Angel version), but I love red Sangria in fall and winter. The extra brandy (or Port, in this case), will send nice warm fuzzies down to your toes.