Hummingbird Ridge Winery Presents New Hummingbird Wine Deck Grand Opening with Acoustic Jimmy Buffett Tribute on June 4th from 1pm to 4pm

Hummingbird Ridge Winery, Central PA's Newest Winery, celebrates the Grand Opening of their new Hummingbird Wine Deck with a Jimmy Buffett Deck Party on Saturday, June 4th from 1pm to 4pm. Featuring Free wine tastings and an Acoustic Jimmy Buffett Tribute by "Son of a Beach".
Located just minutes off of Interstate 83, Newberrytown Exit 32, 1/4 mile from Susquehanna Speedway. Visit our website for directions or call 717-315-0209. "Experience the Flavor" of Hummingbird Ridge Winery's Delicious Award-Winning Hand-Crafted Wines.

Hummingbird Ridge Winery May 2011 Newsletter

 

HUMMINGBIRD RIDGE WINERY “WINE POURS”
MAY 2011 NEWSLETTER

In This Issue: New Wine Deck; Wine Award; Current Wine List; Tip and Recipe of the Month; Taste of PA Wine Festival; Restaurants Serving Hummingbird Ridge Wine

The saying "April showers bring May flowers" was never more appropriate than this year, with record-setting amounts of precipitation last month in Central PA. Thank You to all of you who braved the storms to come to Hummingbird Ridge Winery. Hopefully, warm and sunny weather will greet the hummingbirds as they arrive in Central PA. To follow the Spring hummingbird migration sightings, visit www.hummingbirds.net/map.html 

Our motto is “Experience The Flavor” and our goal is for every Hummingbird Ridge wine to be balanced and flavorful. We are open on Saturdays & Sundays from 11am to 6pm and our standard wine tastings are free of charge. If you belong to a group, club or association and you would like a Private Wine Tasting for your group during the week or weekend, please call us at 717-315-0209 for availability. We hope to see you soon at the winery!!!

- The April rains slowed down construction of our new Wine Deck, but our contractor tells us that it should be done soon, as long as the weather cooperates. So be sure to stop out in a few weeks and enjoy a glass of wine on the new deck!

- In case you haven't heard yet, Hummingbird Ridge Winery has won a Silver Medal with their very first entry into an International Wine Competition. Hummingbird Ridge Winery's Moonlight White, made from the Vidal Blanc grape, won a Silver medal last month at the Finger Lakes International Wine Competition. Moonlight White was judged along with over 3200 wines from 19 countries.
Tom Day, owner of Hummingbird Ridge Winery, stated "This really validates our small batch process and our attention to detail through every step of the winemaking process. It is great that professional wine judges deem Hummingbird Ridge wine to be worthy of a medal." The first bottling of Moonlight White sold out quickly after news of the Silver medal got out, but there is more in the tanks and we will be bottling more very soon.

- We are a microwinery and we make our wines in small batches so that we can focus on every detail of the winemaking process. So at times we will sell out of certain wines. Here is the current wine lineup in the tasting room for May:
Hummingbird Red, our full-flavored dry red: Available for tasting with a good supply in stock.
Red Reserve, Cabernet Sauvignon, full-bodied and delicious. Available for tasting with a good supply in stock.
Hummingbird White, our soft and elegant semi-dry white: Available for tasting with a good supply in stock.
Sweet Dreams, our sweet and flavorful Niagara: Available for tasting with a good supply in stock.
Wildflower White, our sweet white wine with layers and layers of delightful fruit flavors; Available for tasting with a good supply in stock.
Ruby Elixir, our semi-sweet best-selling red: Available for tasting with a good supply in stock.
Moonlight White, our award-winning semi-sweet Vidal Blanc: Temporarily Sold Out, more to be bottled soon.
Pordevino, our port-style red wine with layers of flavor: Available for tasting with a good supply in stock.
Pordeblanco, our port-style white wine, a unique flavor sensation: Temporarily sold out, more to be bottled soon.
Blue Diamond, our port-style blush wine, yep we said blush port: Available for tasting with a good supply in stock.

- Tip and Recipe of the Month: The tip this month ties in with this month's recipe. For those of us who are sensitive to onions when we are cutting them, there was an article recently that listed ways to reduce the tear-inducing fumes produced when cutting onions: 1. Use a sharp knife and work quickly 2) Cut near an open flame: The flame sucks in air and therefore pulls the gas away from your eyes. 3) Chill or Freeze the onion for 15 -30 minutes before cutting 4) Spritz the cutting board with vinegar before cutting 5) Cut the onions underwater 6) Use a Fan to blow the onion fumes away from you 7) Wet your hands with water or vinegar before cutting 8) Use plastic Safety Goggles 9) Cover the chopped onion as you cut the rest of the onion 10) Chew gum or bread 11) If you have contact lens, wear them 12) Breathe through your mouth, not through your nose 13) Rinse the cut portions immediately after slicing onion in half and keep onion halves face down.

Grilling season is upon us and Caramelized Onions make a great addition to grilled meats. Here is a great way to make perfect Caramelized Onions every time: Caramelizing significantly reduces the volume of the onions so even if you start out with a pan full of raw onion, they will cook down substantially. For most purposes, one onion per person serves as a good rule of thumb. A heavy non-stick or well-seasoned iron skillet is best. Get sweet yellow or white onions. After cleaning the onion of the skin and the root and stem tips, cut the onions in half, top to bottom. Then slice the onions, flat side down, to make thin strips of onion. Make sure to separate the layers.
 
Pour enough olive oil (or olive oil and butter) to coat the bottom of the skillet plus about a tablespoon more (about 1 teaspoon per onion). Heat the skillet on high until the oil is very hot but not smoking. Add the onion slices and stir to coat the onions with the oil. Spread the onions out evenly over the pan and let cook, stirring occasionally. After 10 minutes, sprinkle some salt over the onions, and if you want, you can add some sugar to help with the caramelization process. (add about a teaspoon of sugar for 5 onions. You will need to watch it very closely throughout the cooking to ensure the sugar does not burn.)
 
Let cook for 30 minutes to an hour more, stirring every few minutes. As soon as the onions start sticking to the pan, let them stick a little and brown, but then stir them before they burn. The trick is to let them alone enough to brown (if you stir them too often, they won't brown), but not so long so that they burn. After the first 20 to 30 minutes you may want to lower the stove temperature a little, and add a little more oil if you find the onions are verging on burning. A metal spatula will help you scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan as the caramelization proceeds. As the onions cook down, you may find you need to scrape the pan every minute, instead of every few minutes.

Continue to cook and scrape, cook and scrape, until the onions are a rich, browned color. At the end of the cooking process, add 3 to 4 Tablespoons of white wine (Hummingbird White works perfect for this) to help deglaze the pan and bring some additional flavor to the onions. Salt and pepper to taste. Optional ingredients- add any of the following for flavor: Add soy sauce, Bacon pieces, cooked apples or pears, fresh herbs, or cheese. Any extra Caramelized Onions can be sealed in a freezer bag and frozen, then microwave or reheated in skillet when ready to use. Use these to add flavor to pizza's, sandwiches, omelet's, fajitas, with fried, mashed or baked potatoes, added to mac and cheese or just on their own. However you enjoy them, make sure to serve them with Hummingbird Ridge wine. Enjoy!!!

- Hummingbird Ridge Winery will be participating in its first Wine Festival at the Taste of PA Wine & Music Festival on May 21st and 22nd at the York Fairgrounds. Come out and taste wines from 20 wineries and listen to top-notch music. See more information at www.yorkwinefest.com/

- We are proud to announce that the following Central PA eateries are now carrying Hummingbird Ridge wines:
Silver Lake Inn, Lewisberry
Back Woods Grill, Etters
The Field House, Etters
Two Brothers, Etters
Culhane’s Steak House, New Cumberland
Fireside Restaurant (formerly Pierres), New Cumberland
Etters VFW, Etters
Yorktowne Hotel, York
Please visit these fine establishments and enjoy a glass of Hummingbird Ridge wine!!!

- Thanks Again to all of you who have stopped in to see us and try our wine!!! Tell your friends about us!!!

- Visit us on the internet at http://www.hummingbirdridgewinery.com/ (official website), http://www.hummingbirdridgewinery.blogspot.com/
(our blog), and visit our new Facebook page and become a fan of Hummingbird Ridge Winery at
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hummingbird-Ridge-Winery/261984513530

- Hummingbird Ridge Winery is a proud member of the Uncork York Wine Trail!!! Visit http://www.uncorkyork.com/ for more information.

HUMMINGBIRD RIDGE WINERY

"EXPERIENCE THE FLAVOR!!!"

OPEN FOR FREE TASTINGS SATURDAYS and SUNDAYS

FROM 11AM TO 6PM

735 KISE MILL RD

YORK HAVEN PA 17370

717-315-0209

Email: info@hummingbirdridgewinery.com