"thomas jefferson" news and stories

When President Obama took over the White House last month, the wine world was abuzz with, well, the buzzword of his administration: hope. Story after story declared him to be the savior, the messiah, of wine. He would rescue the White House from its teetotaling predecessor and bring the cellar back to its glory.

My two cents? Obama has bigger things to worry about. But 200 years ago, when the country was a lot smaller and depressions, world wars, and recessions were unimagined events of the future, Thomas Jefferson did not. After touring Europe, Jefferson returned home convinced that our county could produce wines on par with Europe's best. He imported vine cuttings form some of the best vineyards in Europe and planted them at his Virginia estate, Monticello.

Jefferson actually put wine on par with national issues, saying, "By making this wine vine known to the public, I have rendered my country as great a service as if I had enabled it to pay back the national debt."

More Wine of the Week after the jump.

So what's the best way to celebrate both the Fourth of July and National Ice Cream Month? Recreate the recipe from one of our forefathers, of course.

Best Life magazine has the recipe for Thomas Jefferson's Ice Cream. It only has four ingredients (heavy cream, eggs, sugar, and a vanilla bean) but who says that ice cream has to be complex? Though the actual preparation is a little bit more involved than the four ingredients would have you believe, it's great to see a recipe with such basic ingredients.

But it has eggs. Oh oh. I wonder if Andy Rooney would approve?