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Now that summer is officially here, it's prime time to add some vim to your next get-together with a cocktail your friends will love. Try mixing up a sangrita, a traditional Mexican aperitif. This zippy drink was originally created as a chaser for tequila, to mellow the Mexican liquor's strong fire. These days, this spicy-sweet concoction is popular in many Mexican homes, and can be found in many variations.

Carlos Reyna--owner of Humboldt Park's Mexican restaurant Maiz (a previously featured gem)--has shared his favorite sangrita recipe with Tastybeat. Reyna's customers, family and friends think it's quite delicious. And if you'd like some vigor with your vim, accompany your sangrita with a choice tequila. Danny Passaglai, owner of Di Carlo's Armanetti liquor store at Grand and Western, offers his recommendations for premium tequilas.

Carlos Reyna's Sangrita Recipe

3/4 cup tomato juice
1 1/2 ounces Worcestershire sauce
1 ounce pineapple juice
1 ounce fresh lime juice
splash *Maggi Seasonings dash of crushed pepper and salt

Mix all ingredients and serve at room temperature, or chilled in a shot glass alongside tequila.

*Maggi Seasonings is an extremely versatile condiment similar to steak sauce

Sangrita (big batch) -This is a chunkier version

6 medium tomatoes, peeled and seeded
3 oranges, juiced
2 limes, juiced
1 small onion, chopped
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. chili pepper (or to taste, but sangritas are typically pretty spicy)
1 tsp. Tabasco sauce
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. celery salt
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1) Mix all the ingredients in a blender and whiz until tomatoes and onions are pretty well chopped up.
2) Pour into a shooter glass and sip with tequila.

This recipe from www.suite101.com

Sangrita article from April 2007 by Timothy Dzurilla

Danny Passaglai's Tequila Recommendations

Corralejo Reposado - Danny's favorite; a slightly aged tequila that grabs some color from the barrel. This small distillery in Mexico gives their tequila lots of hands-on attention and maintains excellent quality control over their end product. Corralejo Reposado retails for about $30 a bottle.

Zapopan Reposado - Danny's recommendation for mixed drinks; this tequila is a great price, retailing for about $15 a bottle.

Herradura Seleccion - Suprema - A blend of premium tequilas aged for over five years; this high-end tequila is a great but pricey choice. It drinks like a cognac and is meant to be savored. Danny has a bottle waiting just for you, retailing for about $300 a bottle.

Salud!

Tastybeat

Di Carlo's Armanetti
515 N. Western Avenue (map)
Chicago
312-226-4600
Hours
Monday - Saturday 9:00am - 9:00pm
Sunday 11:00am- 6:00pm

When you walk through the velvet curtains of The Violet Hour, you'll be transported to a bygone day when going out for a drink was truly an occasion. This hidden gem in Wicker Park is literally hidden, a nod to Prohibition days with no marked address or sign...only a simple light above the door.

The Violet Hour is a modern speak-easy where you'll be treated to a beautiful, serene atmosphere and the discreet attention of knowledgeable servers. This is cool and sexy Chicago at its best. Come to relax in the intimate seating areas with a special someone or group of friends, or cozy up to the bar and watch your stand-out bartenders make outstanding, classic cocktails. Impressively, The Violet Hour makes their own bitters and simple syrups and uses twice-filtered ice cubes. Attentive precision goes into the creation of each drink, from premium ingredients to exact mixing, shaking and pouring.

Tastybeat highly recommends these refreshing, flavorful concoctions:

• Fresh Fruit Gin Gimlet with gin, lime juice and fresh fruit


• The Vodka Part and Parcel with vodka, grapefruit and St. Germaine elderflower liqueur.

Both are delightful with just a touch of sweetness. Enjoy!

Smooth Drinking,
Tastybeat

The Violet Hour
1520 North Damen Avenue (map)
Chicago IL 60622
773.252.1500

Hours:
6PM-2AM Every day except Saturday, open until 3AM Saturday.

Tastybeat loves the Wine Discount Center because you can find brilliant wines at very reasonable prices. The folks at Wine Discount Center are incredibly approachable and extremely knowledgeable. Bud Schwarzbach opened his Chicago store over 20 years ago. Now his son Peter owns the store, and he and his friendly staff know their wines (and their customers).

When you pay a visit to the Chicago store, make sure to ask for Amy Johnson. She is a Tastybeat Gem--passionate and a true delight! Amy can help the overwhelmed beginner and the wine aficionado alike to select the perfect wine. One of Amy's tips is to look for the lesser known regions. She thinks the Loire Valley of France is one of the best. In addition to the value, it is rich in diversity, which can make wine hunting (and drinking) endlessly exciting.

And get this: Amy has created a sophisticated dinner menu just for Tastybeat readers! She's paired some of her favorite wines of the season with appetizers, salad, and main course suggestions. Click here for Amy's wine and food pairings.

Also, be sure to check out Wine Discount Center's newsletter via their website (www.winediscountcenter.com). A great way to sample Wine Discount Center's wines is at one of their complimentary Saturday tastings from 12-4pm, featuring about a dozen wines. And it's worth clearing your schedule for their First Look Tasting on the first Wednesday or Thursday of each month. These special tastings ($10/person) offer 35-40 wine selections for you to enjoy. The schedule is always posted online.

Cheers!
Tastybeat

Wine Discount Center Locations:

Chicago
1826 N. Elston Avenue
(773)489-3454
Monday - Friday 10-7
Saturday 9-6
Sunday 12-5

Highland Park
1350 Old Skokie Road
(847)831-1049
Monday - Friday 10-7
Saturday 9-5
Sunday 12-5

Barrington
311 E. Main Street
(847)277-0033
Monday - Friday 10-7
Saturday 9-5
Sunday 12-5

Forest Park
7714 W. Madison
(708)366-2500
Monday - Saturday 9-9
Sunday 10-6

www.winediscountcenter.com

provided by Amy at Wine Discount Center
for Tastybeat Readers

To Start

These two wines are great to start, either alone as cocktail sippers or with hors d'œuvres

Domaine Gadais Muscadet Sevre et Main "Tourmaline" 2005 - 12.49, France

This wine, like most Muscadets, is on the lighter side in terms of body, but is by no means a lightweight in flavor. Crisp citrus and soft melon backed up by juicy, mouthwatering acidity really gets your taste buds jumping before a meal. I love this wine as an aperitif or to compliment light appetizers.

Nicole Chanrion Cote du Brouilly 2006 - 17.59, France

I absolutely loved the 2005, and am equally as impressed with the 2006 release of this Beaujolais. Yes, you read correctly, a Beaujolais! This red is from one of the designated Beaujolais Cru villages which produce a much more substantial version of the fruity Gamay grape than the more commonly seen generic Beaujolais. Ripe red strawberry and raspberry swirl around a core of floral earthiness in this beautiful little wine. Hard to believe it is "just a Beaujolais." This is a perfect transition red - not too full and heavy, but enough going on to hunker down with on a cool evening.

Pair with

Crostini w/foie grois and truffle pate

Both wines have a slight earthiness that line up with the mustiness of the truffle in the pate.

Jamon serrano sprinkled with black truffle oil and shaved parmesan cheese

Again, both wines will pick up the truffle really well. The wines' acidity is a great foil for the oily jamon, and vice versa.

Salad

These two wines will compliment and hold up to the second course

Domaine du Salvard Cheverny Blanc 2006 -12.99, France

This wine, from the small region of Cheverny in the Loire Valley, provides beautiful Sancerre character without the Sancerre price. Produced from 85% Sauvignon Blanc and 15% Chardonnay, this is just one more reason I am head over heals in love with the Loire Valley. This wine is utterly delicious, providing the typical citrus, grass and gooseberry flavors you'd expect, plus a shade of Granny Smith apple - thanks to the dollop of Chardonnay. This is just beautifully made wine with everything in the right place. Crisp and classy.
Cheverny is a small sub-region of the Loire that is not as well known as its neighbors down the river Sancerre and Pouilly Fume, making this wine an outstanding bargain.

Thierry Puzelat Cheverny Rouge 2005 - 13.99, France

Another somewhat obscure wine from the tiny Cheverny, the Puzelat rouge is a blend of Gamay and Pinot Noir. Sometimes your guests just want a red, and Pinot Noir and Gamay are both low-tannin reds, making them quite versatile with food. They also work very well with seafood and fowl. Again, there is a wonderful burst of ripe red fruit, with flourishes of earth and leather around the edges. This is another perfect red for the warm-to-cool-to-cold transition. It's a great sipper and will pair nicely with light fare.

Pair with

Spinach Salad with Pears, Goat Cheese and a Light Citrus Vinaigrette

As we move into the next course, the Cheverny Blanc will match the tartness of the vinaigrette and simply melt into the creaminess of the goat cheese. One of my favorite pairings.
The Cheverny Rouge will have the brightness and juiciness to pair with vinaigrette and its earthiness will pull out the greens and blend nicely with the cheese.

Main Course

These two wines provide a substantial balance for the main course

Francois Pinon Vouvray Tradition 2006 - 16.99, France

This one literally makes me swoon. The aromas alone are fantastic, with apple blossoms, honey, peach puree and golden delicious apple. The palate confirms the nose and adds a nice dose of honeydew melon to round the flavors of this off-dry wine. There is a minerality and earthiness here that I just love. Perfect.
Another white from the Loire, this wine is 100% Chenin Blanc, which is in the running for "most under-appreciated white grape in the world." And while Vouvray is probably the best-known sub-region producing Chenin Blanc, it is still a comparative steal when up against some of the greatest white wines on the market.
Okay, before you get worried about the sweetness in this wine, bear in mind the region. Vouvray--and the Loire Valley itself--are actually north of Bordeaux and most of Burgundy, two major wine producing regions. Vouvray is a region with warm days and very cool nights, which means even demi-sec and off-dry wines retain outstanding zip and zing from the acidity remaining in the fruit at harvest. This balance of acidity and sweetness is the hallmark of a great off-dry wine. No matter how sweet they get, good ones always taste fresh.

Amisfield Central Otago Pinot Noir 2005 - 27.99, New Zealand

Ripe and lush, this Pinot delivers a swirl of red and black cherry, strawberry, and delicate baking spices. The sleek finish folds the core of fruit into a nice oak-spice fade. Very nicely submerged tannins on this wine.
For red wine lovers, a Pinot Noir is always a great choice for its elegance and versatility. As you probably know, Pinots can also be rather costly. We're always on the lookout for great value Pinots from lesser-known and under-represented regions like Northern Italy, the Loire, and in the case of the Amisfield, New Zealand. I think this Central Otago could be the best value on the market right now for Pinot Noir.

Pair with

Apple-glazed Pork Chops and a Stew of Sweet Potato and Leeks in Pork and Apple Gravy.

Both the Francois Pinon Vouvray and the Amisfield Central Otago Pinot Noir provide the right complexity, texture and strong fruit presence to match the fairly hearty flavors and textures in the pork and stew.

A Final Note from Amy

If I had to pick just one wine that could carry this meal from start to finish, it would be the Francois Pinon Vouvray, hands down. The balance of fruit sweetness, floral character and full bodied texture and zip makes this wine appropriate with an incredible array of food. And if you're going to move into a cheese course or dessert, it will hang in there in style. And if you need a red, go for the Amisfield Pinot Noir; it also has the complexity and body to pair well with a wide variety of dishes.