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Wines By Design – COVID-19 update

Wines By Design – COVID-19 update

In an effort to adhere to the new guidance from NYS and Monroe county concerning the COVID-19 outbreak, we at Wines By Design (WBD) will begin to implement some new internal procedures for the immediate future.

We have begun by asking our staff to practice social distancing by staying home and being safe.

We have thouroughly cleaned the store and will continue to do so after each visit. This includes, but is not limited to: all surfaces, bottling equipment, labeling equipment, shrink cap equipment, checkout area, etc.

We would also like to mandate that the two middle steps (racking and filtering) of the wine currently in process be done (for the immediate future) by WBD staff only. We know that a number of you like to come in and perform the middle steps, but we promise to be gentle with your wine and take very good care of it.

Finally, in an effort to practice social distancing ourselves, we’d like to ask you to consider that you begin to age your wines with us, for the short term. It will not hurt it and once again, we promise to be very careful.

If you have questions (or concerns), please feel free to reach out to us at [email protected].

Once again, we’d like to thank you for your patronage, and we appreciate your patience as we try to move forward during these trying times.

Please stay safe!

The Wines By Design staff

2020 Wine Tasting Competition – Postponed

2020 Wine Tasting Competition – Postponed

It’s here!  (Annnddd, it’s gone.)

The annual WBD Wine Tasting Competition has been postponed.

It’s with heavy hearts that we are announcing the postponement of our annual Wine Competition.

Due to the guidance of the CDC regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19) and followed up by recommendations from NYS and Monroe county, we are postponing the annual Wine Tasting Competition that was scheduled for March 21, 2020.  We were certainly looking forward to it, but it’s much more important to be safe.

 

For those of you with entries already submitted, we promise that we will keep them safe. If you’d like it back, we will happily return it to you. 

All entries will be kept in our “wine cellar” for automatic entry into the Wine Tasting Competition once we know when it’s safe to be rescheduled. 

In addition, we have been informed by our area school systems that the Spring Continuing Education classes (“Wine Making Made Simple”) have been canceled.  (You will need to reach out to the school you registered with for additional information.)

We will continue to be open for “normal” business, but we will reserve the right to space people out as appropriate.  This MAY mean that you may have to postpone or delay bottling your wine.

Remember: We can do the middle steps for you.  Some of you have set up appointments to do the middle steps. If you are uncomfortable coming out, or would simply like to continue staying home, we are happy to do them for you. 

(Additionally: If you don’t show up at your scheduled time, we will go ahead and do it for you.) 

 

2020 Wine Tasting Competition

2020 Wine Tasting Competition

It’s here!

The annual WBD Wine Tasting Competition!

You’ve worked hard perfecting your wines here at Wines By Design and once again, you have a chance to show it off.

Coming soon: (Saturday, March 21 from 12p – 4p to be exact) we are holding our annual competitive tasting event.

 

The store will be closed for “normal” business, the day is devoted to the event!

Special bonus: All attendees will receive an Owners discount of 15% off all wine kits during the event.
(Excludes the limited edition kits: Winexpert: LE2019, Vineco: Passport and RJS: Toasting the Twenties wine kits.)

You are allowed to submit up to 3 bottles per person for the 3 entry categories: Red, White and Dessert/Fruit. Your wine will be moved into numbered bottles and you will be the judge in the blind tasting. The highest scored wines will be the winner in each category and the highest scoring of those will be named Best of Show. Best of Show wins a $100 gift certificate at WBD and the other two winners will each receive a $50 gift certificate to WBD.

To enter, turn in your bottles at the store before Friday, March 20 (contest closing time is 7p).

For the day of the event: there will be a $5 fee for those not contributing a bottle of their finest vino. (Contest entrants are free!)

Note: This is limited to wine made in the Wines By Design store (from our kits). This does not include wine made from fresh juice.

A quick recap (TL;DR):

  1. Drop off up to 3 bottles per person by Friday, March 20 at 7p.
  2. Join us for wine judging on March 21 beginning at 12p.
  3. See how your wines stack up against all the WBD competition!

 We’ll provide: palate cleansing crackers, snacks, appetizers, munchies, and more!

Recipe: Herbed Pulled Pork

Recipe: Herbed Pulled Pork

Herbed Pulled Pork
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Ingredients
  1. 2 tablespoons whole fennel seed
  2. 1/2 cup olive oil
  3. 4 cloves garlic, grated
  4. 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
  5. 1 tablespoon salt
  6. 2 teaspoons each dried thyme and oregano leaves
  7. 1 teaspoon ground black pepper and paprika
  8. 4 to 5 pounds boneless pork shoulder
  9. 1 cup LE19 Cape Blend wine
  10. 1 large sweet onion, finely sliced
  11. 1 cup chicken broth
  12. 1/4 cup tomato paste
Instructions
  1. Use a spice grinder or mortar and pestle to coarsely grind fennel.
  2. Blend fennel with olive oil, garlic, rosemary, salt, thyme, oregano, pepper, and paprika.
  3. Cut pork into 6 to 8 large chunks. Coat in herb oil; marinate for at least four hours or overnight.
  4. Brown pork, in batches, in large, nonstick skillet set over medium–high heat. Transfer to slow cooker along with onion; stir wine with broth and tomato paste and pour over meat.
  5. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours (or on high for 4 to 5 hours) until meat is fork tender. Remove pork to a board and shred with two forks. Drizzle with a little cooking broth to moisten.
  6. Serve as desired.
Notes
  1. To prepare in an electric pressure cooker, use the "sauté" or "browning" function option to brown pork in batches. Set aside. Us wine to deglaze pan, scraping up any browned bits. And onions, broth and tomato paste; stir to combine. Nestle pork into liquid. Cook on high pressure for 60 minutes or until fork tender.
  2. For red wine gravy, strain cooking liquid and measure 2 cups into a small sauce pan; 12 tablespoons each cornstarch and water and stir it into cooking liquid. Set over medium heat; simmer, stirring often until thickened.
  3. Pair with LE19 Cape Blend
Adapted from Winexpert
Adapted from Winexpert
Wines By Design https://www.winesbydesign.biz/

Check out the Winexpert LE19 releases!

PDF version: Herbed Pork Pork
Recipe: Salmon with Citrus Tarragon Butter

Recipe: Salmon with Citrus Tarragon Butter

Salmon with Citrus Tarragon Butter
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Ingredients
  1. Citrus Tarragon Butter
  2. 1/2 cup softened butter
  3. 2 tablespoons finely chopped tarragon or parsley
  4. 2 tablespoons grainy mustard
  5. 1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
  6. 1 teaspoon honey
  7. 1 clove garlic, minced
  8. 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  9. Salmon
  10. Four boneless skinless salmon fillets (about 6 ounces each)
  11. one large orange (reserve from grading zest), then sliced
  12. Sea salt and pepper
Instructions
  1. Blend butter with tarragon, mustard, orange zest, honey, garlic, and pepper. Scrape butter onto a sheet of plastic wrap; form into a log and chill for one hour or until set.
  2. Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Arrange oranges on a parchment paper–lined baking sheet to create 4 beds for the fish. Place fish on orange slices; season with salt and pepper. Roast fish for 10 to 12 minutes or until just coral in the center.
  3. Remove pan from oven and immediately place a couple thin slices of butter onto each fillet to melt and glaze fish.
Notes
  1. Store extra flavored butter in the freezer as a quick flavor booster to all kinds of dishes. It is a delicious tossed with steamed green beans, asparagus or brussels sprouts topped with toasted almonds. And a few spoonfuls and quick rice for pilaf; or used to based roast chicken or pork chops.
Adapted from Winexpert
Adapted from Winexpert
Wines By Design https://www.winesbydesign.biz/

 

 

 

 

Check out the Winexpert LE19 releases!

PDF version: Salmon with Citrus Tarragon Butter