Blog Posts matching EVOLUTION:Evolution & Pickerel in Winnipeg Monday, May 17th 2010 by
Our gal on the street, Staci Pettus, shows us how Evolution pairs with Winnipeg cuisine - pickerel and Evolution, anyone?
Click Here to ReTweet This! Sokol Blosser at Mona Lisa's in Eau Claire, WI Wednesday, May 19th 2010 by
Lee Medina, Regional Brand Ambassador
Lee Medina here - I had a great dinner at Mona Lisa's in Eau Claire, Wisconsin last night: seared Ahi tuna rare with fresh morels in a light ginger & lime cream sauce, paired with Evolution! So so tasty! I was the leader of the clean plate club... Great restaurant, owner Lisa is wonderful and fun staff. Lisa is a big fan of Sokol Blosser Winery and making fans for us in Eau Claire! Thank you Lisa!
Click Here to ReTweet This! Evolution Pairs Well with (Nearly) Everything! Monday, June 7th 2010 by
I was recently challenged at Whole Foods to try Evolution wine and they claimed that it goes with everything including a peanut butter and banana sandwich. Well, it's true. Here is the proof! - Jason Horne, Arlington, TX
Before...
After!
Click Here to ReTweet This! Pizza Antica Wednesday, June 9th 2010 by
Our man on the streets, Lee Medina, is visiting the Bay Area this week. Here he is, enjoying a chilled glass of Evolution before his meal arrives at Pizza Antica in Mill Valley, Callifornia. If you're in the area, be sure to stop by and say hi to Erica at Pizza Antica (and have a glass of Evolution!). 
Cheers!
Click Here to ReTweet This! Evolution - Explained Sunday, June 20th 2010 by
We recently received a wonderful piece of fan mail regarding our white blend, Evolution. Below is our winemaker's explanation and description of the wine - we hope you enjoy it. Cheers! "Dear Russ, Hello, my name is Scott Creekmore and I work for Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in Atlanta-Buckhead, GA and on Saturday June 19, 2010 I'll be giving a tasting on your Evolution #9 and was curious if you would be willing to help me out with some of your personal notes to entice my teammates with your wine. I personally have known about your product since 2004 or 2005 by another restaurant here in the greater Atlanta Area and would enjoy getting to share the delicious fun of your product. What I have found so far has been very limited and run of the mill, and I believe your juice deserves more than mediocracy. What do you say, how about a little help from the master himself?" From Russ Rosner, Winemaker at Sokol Blosser Winery: "I was just going to blow off this email like the thousands of others I get from adoring fans of Evolution, but you got me with that "master" comment. Actually, I'm always happy to respond to anyone who takes the time to write to me about our wines (especially if it's complimentary!). I'm always a bit amazed by the popularity of Evolution. Whenever I need a bit of an ego boost I read the customer reviews of Evolution on our website. Evolution may be the hardest wine I have to make, because it's all about blending rather than terroir. For a wine like our Pinot Noir, the grapes do most of the work; when it comes time to put the final blend together I have forty or fifty different lots to work with but they're all Pinot Noir, so they're fundamentally similar. With Evolution I have to put together nine different varieties, all quite dissimilar. Trying to fit together the flavors and aromas of nine radically different varieties is like putting together a large and complicated puzzle. The blend must be well-knit and integrated yet the individual varietal characters should still be evident. I think of it as trying to mix nine different colors of paint and end up with a rainbow instead of a muddy brown. One reviewer called it "a parade of flavors across your palate". Wine writer Howard Goldberg, reviewing Evolution for the New York Times a few years ago, called it “a successful liquid jigsaw puzzle”. For me, that was the ultimate compliment. The secret to Evolution is that when you taste it it starts off very slightly sweet but finishes dry. I don't know how it does that, but I know that when it does do that, the blend is right. The majority of the blend is made up of four varieties -- Semillon, White Riesling, Muller-Thurgau, and Pinot Gris -- but the flavors and aromas are predominantly driven by the Gewurztraminer and Muscat. Those two really provide the spice and perfume. The remaining three varieties -- Chardonnay, Sylvaner, and Pinot Blanc -- play minor supporting roles. Another wonderful thing about Evolution is that while it's pleasant to drink all by itself, it's also one of the most food-friendly wines I've found. It was originally designed to go with foods that are usually hard to pair with wine: ginger, wasabi, mint. Anything with spice and/or heat: Asian, Indian, Southwestern. I've found it to be one of the very few wines that seems to work with salads that have vinegar-based dressings (death to most wines). I've had people write in to say they drink it with steak; not what I would expect to be the best match but if it works for them, great. I think the real key to Evolution's success is that it is easy to drink and enjoy for novice wine drinkers but has enough complexity and nuance for experienced consumers. That's what I try to create every year. It is wine, and there will be vintage variation, but the goal is to have roughly the same flavor and aroma profile with each release, so that people can buy it knowing more-or-less what to expect. If you ever get up to our area, please let us know. We'd love to show you around the winery and vineyards. Best of luck with the tasting. Regards, Russ"
Click Here to ReTweet This! Spinach Salad with Pepper Jelly Dressing Friday, August 6th 2010 by
A mistake led to a wonderful discovery last Sunday night at McGuire Family Sunday Dinner. Normally, Mom and Pop McGuire make dinner for the 6 of us. In an effort to help out this week, I offered to bring a salad. I spent a good amount of time at home making a tasty looking Greek salad with tomatoes, feta, kalamata olives, spinach and other fresh greens, and a homemade lemon-Dijon dressing.
And... then I forgot it on the counter. Because my in-laws live about 45 minutes away and we didn't realize our (my!) mistake until we were nearly there, there was no going back.
Feeling like a total and complete goober, I explained what happened to my mother-in-law, who didn't even bat an eye. "No problem!" she said, and commenced to whip up one of the most delicious salads I've had in a long time: Spinach Salad with Pepper Jelly Dressing, which of course we paired with Evolution.
There was just the right amount of spice in the dressing, and with a few handfuls of candied walnuts to bring a little sweetness to the dish, I vowed to forget food at home more often just so she would have to make this salad again. Below is a recipe I found on AllRecipes.com that is very similar to hers. Enjoy!
Spinach Salad with Pepper Jelly Dressing
Ingredients
3 tablespoons mild pepper jelly 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/8 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon Dijon mustard 2 cups baby spinach leaves 2 ounces goat cheese, sliced 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts Directions
Click Here to ReTweet This! Evolution Bottling Tuesday, April 19th 2011 by
Lee Medina, Regional Brand Ambassador
Check out these fun pics of the beginning of our Evolution bottling today - that smiling face you see in a few of the images is none other than Mario Carbajal, our stalwart Cellar Hand! Watch out on that forklift, Mario - that's precious cargo!
  
Click Here to ReTweet This! Le Ciambelle with Evolution Monday, May 9th 2011 by
Lee Medina, Regional Brand Ambassador
We shared many of these treats at a meeting this morning - we all agreed this recipe is a winner, perfect for dipping in coffee like biscotti or for smearing with the fruit preserve of your choice!
Le Ciambelle: Semi-Hard Doughnuts (with Evolution)
Recipe courtesy CookingChannel.com
*Note: for this recipe, I reduced a bottle of Evolution down to about 1 1/2 to 2 cups. This concentrates the flavor and removes alcohol. I also did not use anise seeds on this batch.
Ingredients:
- 4-5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup white wine
- 2 Tblsp anise seeds
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Place the flour on a worktable. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the sugar, extra virgin olive oil and wine. Combine together and knead until the mixture becomes an even dough. If necessary, add a little more flour to absorb all the liquids. Sprinkle a tablespoon of anise seeds on the dough and knead well. Sprinkle the rest of the anise seeds, and continue to knead so that the seeds are evenly distributed.
- Cut off a small amount of dough and roll into a 1/2-inch thick log. Cut the log into a 5-inch long piece. Then form a "doughnut-like" shape by pinching opposite ends together. Repeast the above process with the remaining dough.
- Line a baking tray with cooking parchment paper and arrange the ciambelle approximately 2 inches apart. Bake for approximately 10 minutes or until golden brown.
Click Here to ReTweet This! Introducing Evolution Red Friday, November 4th 2011 by
 Thirteen years after
'advancing the entire wine universe a notch or two' with Evolution White, Sokol
Blosser introduces its worthy companion... Evolution Red.Anyone with any knowledge of science will tell you that evolution doesn't happen overnight. In fact, in the scheme of things, 13 years is half a blink of an eye. Along with Evolution White, just about all food pairings are covered, which means they're the perfect duo to bring to a dinner. Or a dinner party. Or just a party. Yes, the release of Evolution Red is about time. But, as the old saying goes, extraordinary wines come to those who wait. We invite you to try a glass or two yourself and reach your own conclusions. We think you'll love it and we'd love to hear your take. To purchase a 3 Bottle Sneak Peek Set that includes shipping, please click here. To let us know your thoughts, opinions, or to send us your haikus dedicated to Evolution Red, please click here.
Click Here to ReTweet This! Recipe: Ahi Poke on Fried Rice Cakes with Evolution White Wednesday, February 22nd 2012 by
Ahi Poke on fried rice cakes paired with Evolution White 1/2 lb sushi grade Ahi
Click Here to ReTweet This! Evolution's Trip to Montreal Monday, February 27th 2012 by
Michael Kelly Brown, Director of Consumer Sales and Marketing
 My
new partner (Evolution Red) and I just returned from a romantic week in
Montreal, Quebec. With all of the recent excitement we have hardly had a
chance for just the two of us. We spent Valentines Day roaming the
streets, practicing our French and enjoying wonderful restaurants. I hope
you enjoy our photo.
Click Here to ReTweet This! Evolution on 30 Rock! Thursday, May 24th 2012 by
Did anyone happ  en to see the season finale of 30 Rock on Friday? Guess who made an appearance with Jack and Liz...? Our friend and yours... Evolution White!
Click Here to ReTweet This! Castle of Evolution! Monday, June 4th 2012 by
A dream came true this week at Sokol Blosser in the form of a gigantic Evolution fort. This blog can only truly be expressed through a few staff pictures:   The brilliant Jenny Mosbacher constructing her castle. If she ever decided to leave the wine industry she would have a thriving career in architecture.
We’ve conquered the Evolution castle and there’s no telling what might come next… an Evolution skyscraper perhaps?
Click Here to ReTweet This! Evolution White + Indian Food = Perfect Summer Pairing Monday, July 2nd 2012 by
The tasting room staff has been thinking a lot about Evolution White lately. In anticipation for summer’s arrival to the Willamette Valley (which Oregonians know doesn’t start ‘til July 5th) we decided to have a dinner party surrounding the wine we all can’t wait to drink in the sunshine… Evolution White. We love Evolution paired with countless dishes (think sushi, Thai green curry and Cajun spices on the grill) but we all jumped at the thought of an Indian food feast paired with Evolution. So once again, the fine foodie folks of the tasting room gathered to Eddie’s house for a spicy, flavorful and fragrant evening of Evolution White and regional Indian food.
An appetizer of onion pakoras with spicy chili aioli were a perfect foil for Evolution White and started off the evening meal.
Although the evening was centered on Evolution White, we couldn’t help but open a bottle of 2009 Sokol Blosser Pinot Blanc (bottle in background). The tropical fruit notes of the Blanc were an ideal complement to the Peach Curry and spicy Palak Paaner (left). Eddie’s stove is loaded with pots and pans. Peach Curry, Channa Masala, Palak Paaner and Arhar Daal were served on lemon basmati rice (right).  Toasting to a successful summer spread and the eventual coming of sunshine to the Pacific Northwest (left). Cheers!
Eddie’s Carrot Cardamom Pudding was an incredible end to the Indian food feast. It was delicate and refreshing with just the right amount of custardy-sweet (below).
Carrot Cardamom Pudding 1 pound carrots, peeled and shredded ¾ cup sugar 1 cup heavy cream 2 cups whole milk, divided 1 cup rice flour 1 tsp cardamom (to taste) ¼ tsp saffron 1 tsp rose water Pistachios and almonds to garnish, toasted Warm up 1 cup of whole milk in microwave or on stove and add the saffron to the warm milk. Set aside while the saffron dissolves into the milk. Meanwhile, dissolve sugar in 1 cup water over medium low heat on the stove. Once it looks like sugar has dissolved, add carrots to the same pot and cook until carrots become mushy, approximately 30 minutes. When carrots are cooked all the way through, add saffron milk infusion, heavy cream, cardamom and rose water. Stir to ensure all ingredients are properly mixed then blend contents. An immersion blender is ideal, however, transferring to a blender works just as well. Blend mixture until smooth and there are no chunks of carrot remaining. Return the now smooth mixture to the pot over low heat and add flour ¼ cup at a time, whisking constantly to integrate. After all flour has been whisked into the mixture, add the remaining cup of whole milk to thin out until you have reached your desired consistency. Think standard pudding: it can be more or less ‘runny’ depending on personal preference. Chill the mixture in the fridge for at least a couple of hours to allow pudding to set. Pudding can be chilled for up to 2 days. To serve, spoon pudding into individual ramekins and top with toasted pistachios and almonds. Nuts can be toasted in oven, but keep an eye on them as they can burn.
Click Here to ReTweet This! The Evolution of Sokol Blosser Wines Friday, October 26th 2012 by
The Evolution of Sokol Blosser Wines Alison Sokol Blosser is in Portland, Oregon at the Wine Bloggers Conference (WBC) instead of being on her honeymoon. She just got married on the August weekend before the start of the conference at her family's winery in Oregon's Dundee Hills AVA (American Vitacultural Area), which is about an hour outside of Portland. As the winery's co-president along with her brother Alex, she's at WBC to pour for nearly 400 bloggers during an activity called live blogging, which is more like speed dating. Then she's hosting a bus-load of bloggers from the conference at Sokol Blosser Winery for a dinner with several other local wineries pouring. With all that going on and with harvest underway, Alison says she'll go on her honeymoon after the fall craziness is done.  The winery was founded in 1971 by Alison's parents, Bill Blosser and Susan Sokol Blosser. The winery led the way in caring for the environment by employing green and sustainable practices -- organically farming their grapes and becoming the first winery in the U.S. to receive LEED certification, which they were awarded for their underground barrel cellar. The Sokol Blosser motto: Be good to the earth. Sokol Blosser is known for balanced pinot noirs with a sense of place, as the grapes all come from the winery's estate vineyards. The wines are best described as having soft tannins. Sokol Blosser is also known for a white wine blend called Evolution, a wildly popular wine. Made from nine white varietals, this wine doesn't carry a vintage. Each year is a new "edition" of the wine, as the percentages of each variety depends on the vintage. Right now Evolution is in its 16th edition. Evolution is a fun wine, with pithy statements on the label, such as the instructions to "Chill. Pour. Sip. Chill. Think about how you might evolve." The wine is aromatic with white flowers, stone fruit, tropical fruits and a rich body.   If that isn't enough, Sokol Blosser is also building a new tasting room. They broke ground on September 10 and plan to open it in the summer of 2013. The building will be unique for two reasons. First, the design is being done so that it appears that the tasting room building itself is coming out of the ground. Alison says "there will be terraced wall and then the structure would be virtually all wood paneling inside and out with a green roof. So literally it's stone, wood and green like it grew up out of the earth." Another unique aspect of Sokol Blosser is that they are going for a new certification called the Living Building Challenge. Alison says it's a fairly new certification, which "looks at the materials," and the scope of the project and is much more rigorous and comprehensive than LEED certification. "There's a red list of materials you cannot use anywhere in the building." She believes Sokol Blosser will be the first U.S. winery to get this certification. It's another way the winery stays at the forefront of sustainability and being good to the earth. For now, the focus is on the 2012 harvest, which started at Sokol Blosser on September 29 and is winding down this month. Then maybe Alison can take a break and head off on her honeymoon. Thanks to Mary Orlin for a great article on all the exciting things happening here at Sokol Blosser! Stay tuned for more information about our new Tasting Room coming soon!
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This
Ahi Poke recipe might be one of the best things I've ever made, and it's super
easy. I got the inspiration for this recipe from a dish at Yoko's Sushi in SE
Portland. They do something called Taka's Tuna, which is poke on fried rice
cakes that look like a McDonald's hash brown. I figured I could make fried rice
cakes similar to Yoko's. The Evolution pairing took it to the next level. This
dish would be a great appetizer!
