Restaurants and bars around the country (and the world) are using our wines in fantastic new drinks. As cocktail and aperitif culture expands so do the opportunities for our sweet wines. Patrons are discovering how nice it is to taste nuances in their cocktails, and to experience a lower alcohol cocktail that allows them another drink! A few of our favorites are listed here and in our holiday cocktails section. For more drink ideas check out our cocktail books on quadywinery.com andvya.com.

THE TRI-QUAD

2 oz Palomino Fino¾ oz Vya Sweet Vermouth½ oz Vya Extra Dry Vermouth

Chill a small wine glass. Add ingredients to a mixing glass with ice, stir until chilled and strain into the chilled wine glass. No garnish.

Watch Yanni making the Tri-Quad at Nopa in San Francisco by following the link on the Vya trade page: vya.com/trade.html.

ROUTE 99

1 ½ oz Vya Whisper Dry Vermouth 1 oz Campari½ oz lemon¾ oz HoneyBlack pepper

Combine ingredients over ice. Stir. Strain into cocktail glass.

VYA PERFECT ROSITA

1 oz Vya Whisper Dry Vermouth1 oz El Himador Reposado Tequila1 oz Vya Sweet Vermouth

Stir ingredients together with ice until cold. Straininto a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

DESSERT & Apéritif WINE DIGESTVol. 28 No. 1, November 1, 2013

Sherry and vermouth are experiencing a renaissance around the world. Bartender Yanni Kehagiaras created a delightful aperitif celebrating California products using Vya Sweet & Extra Dry, and our amontillado sherry, Palomino Fino.

Outstanding 2013 Apéritifs

Andy Quady calls it one of the most delicious expressions of tequila. Vya Sweet, Vya Whisper Dry, and reposado tequila are sensational together.Created by Andy Quady.

In honor of Cal State Route 99, which connects Quady Winery to shipping destinations North and South, Bourbon & Branch in San Francisco created this delicious traveler’s tonic.

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THE NORTHERN COMFORT

2 oz Laird’s Bonded Apple Brandy (or Applejack)2 oz Essensia Orange Muscat1 dash Fee’s Whiskey Barrel Aged Bitters1 squeeze fresh lemon juice1 tsp pure maple syrup

Add ingredients to glass with ice and stir. Strain into cocktail glass and garnish with an apple slice.

THE SCOFFLAW

derisive term in the form of a delicious cocktail.

1 ½ oz Bourbon Whiskey1 ½ oz Vya Extra Dry Vermouth1 dash orange bitters¾ oz grenadine syrup¾ oz lemon juice

Stir well with ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

THE HAUTE HOLIDAY

½ oz Elysium Black Muscat½ oz St Germain Elderflower Liqueur4 oz Mionetto Prosecco or other sparkling wine1 Luxardo cherry

Pour chilled Elysium and St Germaine into a chilled champagne flute. Add chilled sparkling wine and luxardo cherry.

50:50 MANHATTAN

1 ½ oz Vya Sweet Vermouth1 ½ rye whiskey2 dashes Regan’s #6 Orange Bitters

Combine all of the ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into glassware.

Mellow, softly spiced, and full of warm marmalade, apple and honey flavors. Pull up a chair and settle in for a good talk with an old friend. Thank you to Martin Doudoroff, of Vermouth101.com.

This cocktail was created at Harry’s New York Bar in Paris in 1924. The term “Scofflaw” originally referred to one who scoffed at the Prohibition Law, and was used to deride speakeasy visitors. The barman at Harry’s New York Bar in Paris had a rebuttal to the

The original 1870s Manhattan created at the Manhattan Club in New York called for equal parts vermouth and whiskey. Using Vya makes this recipe spicy, nuanced, and full of warmth. The bitters will balance out the sweetness.

Holiday FavoritesDrinks to warm you and your party

Festive and gorgeous in the glass, perfect for a party. This version was created by Flemings Restaurant. You can also make a simpler Elysium Royale by filling a glass ¾ full with sparkling wine and topping with Elysium.

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THE CHRYSANTHEMUM

2 oz Vya Extra Dry Vermouth1 oz Vya Whisper Vermouth1 oz Benedictine1 dash of AbsintheOrange peel garnish

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Twist the orange peel for a light squeeze of orange oil.

MULLED VYA

375 ml Vya Sweet & 375 ml Vya Extra DryOne peeled and sliced orange¼ cup of brandy OR ½ cup Essensia 8-10 cloves⅓ cup honey3 cinnamon sticks (plus 1 or 2 for garnish)1 tsp fresh or 2 tsp ground ginger

Slowly warm all ingredients on low to medium heat(avoid boiling), for 20-25 minutes in a large pot. Stir occasionally. Once the honey has dissolved and the stew is steaming it is ready to serve. Serves 4-6.

BLACK MUSCAT SOUR

2 oz Elysium Black Muscat1 oz good Bourbon1 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice1 tsp agave nectar or simple syruplemon garnish

Add ingredients to shaker with ice. Shake or stir. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, or into a tumbler with ice.

THE FANCY SOUR

1 oz Vya Sweet Vermouth½ oz Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur½ oz fresh squeezed lemon juice1 dash Bitter Truth Aromatic Bitters1 dash Regan’s Orange BittersOrange peel garnish

Shake all ingredients together (except orange peel)with ice. Serve in rocks glass over ice. Garnish withorange peel.

A feminine and approachable cocktail from the 1920s. First made with Vya at the Tales of the Cocktail event by Chantal Tseng, Mockingbird Hill, Washington, D.C.

A hot holiday toddy: warming, relaxing, inviting. Guests will want to linger. Created by Dana Fares, QuadyMixologist, Chicago.

Imagine a sour imbued with the rich cherry and red berry flavors of Elysium. Add strawberry and rhubarb compote, or make it simply using lemon juice and agave. Created by Allie Quady.

Vya Sweet adds holiday spice to this classic cocktail. Made at the Tales of the Cocktail event by Katie Nelson, The Columbia Room, Washington, D.C.

Holiday FavoritesDrinks to warm you and your party

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Michael Blaylock: Three Decades of Quality Winemaking

Congratulations to winemaker Michael Blaylock on his 30th crush at Quady Winery! Dedicated and passionate about his job, Michael makes Quady an outstanding winemaking enterprise. Quady would be a very different company without his enthusiasm and talent. Blaylock’s reach extends far beyond winemaking, into winery and vineyard management. Here are some notes from a recent conversation with Michael.

How have things changed since you first started making wine? Although innovations in technology and advances in research have accelerated exponentially, the basics haven’t changed. The grapes we grow need to be sweet and flavorful; the yeast we add still converts those natural grape sugars to alcohol; and the resulting wine is for your enjoyment. That may seem to be a little simplified but the more things change the more they stay the same. A well-made wine tastes great, compliments food, and is fun to drink. What is your most memorable moment making wine at Quady Winery? The pure pleasure of making port late at night with the help of my daughter, Jennifer when she was 5 years old is one of my most memorable times at Quady Winery. Those long quiet nights working and talking with her fostered a beautiful relationship that continues to this day. Over the years she was an integral part of Quady Winery from those early “helping” days to actual “cellar rat”, bottling crew, promotion and marketing.

What would you say to new winemakers just starting out? Winemaking is all about exponentials. You always need exponentially more tank space than you have available, work deadlines are exponentially sooner than expected, costs are exponentially more than budgeted for, and the biggest exponential is TIME. After a few crush seasons winemakers look enviously at H.G. Wells and the possibility of a Time Machine. What do you love about your job? Winemaking is like trying to surf a really gnarly wave. Pure exhilaration if you don’t wipe-out. You are never really in control but it sure is a lot of fun. Where do you see things going in winemaking (or in the wine industry) in the future?If I knew that I would be relaxing on a Caribbean island drinking a cool Elysium Spritzer. Do you have a favorite wine you’ve made? It is a little too difficult to choose. Are there wines you’d like to make in the future? A late harvest Orange Muscat, a Madeira from Madera, and another distilled spirit similar to the Spirit of Elysium but using the Sunbelt grape.

Michael Blaylock poses in the early 1980s in front of the original Essensia artwork. Essensia was Quady’s first commercial success in 1980.

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Cheryl Russell: Thirty Years as General Manager

Congratulations to General Manager Cheryl Russell on her 30 years at Quady Winery! Cheryl and Michael have a longstanding feud about who was at Quady first, but let’s just say that they both started at just about the very beginning of the Quady Winery story. Cheryl’s loyalty, experience, and jovial spirits are highly valued at Quady. She keeps the winery in order and morale high. Cheryl recently described some remarkable experiences over her three decades with the winery.

How have things changed since you first started working at Quady Winery?

We had a great deal of fun especially with the restaurant style water faucet that would shoot a 6’ stream at anyone walking by you wanted to harass, those were the days. What is most challenging about your job? Today by far the most challenges are with employment and governmental laws and regulations and making sure that you are implementing and staying on top of them all. Employee happiness, interactions, and personalities

and trying to sustain a creative, enjoyable working environment is a close second. What is your most memorable moment at Quady Winery? Trying to teach Allie Quady how to drive! I have had some great opportunities to meet interesting people like Julia Child, Emeril Lagasse, Mario Batali and Aaron Sanchez which would never had happened if I had not met them at events I was pouring wine at. At an event in Aspen we met Julia Child at the home of Barbie Benton, for those that remember her as Hugh Hefner’s long-time girlfriend. She gave us a tour of her home and asked Mike Blaylock if he wanted to see her bedroom. I thought his eyes were going to pop out! What do you love about your job? If you asked Andy Quady it would be that I have a covered parking area and a view from the upstairs windows, both of which are very nice to have. But I like having a variety of jobs, from working in the office to attending events, I guess variety is the spice of life. Oh yeah and I have tasted some incredible wines thanks to one of our growers John Simpson who likes to share and have formed some great friendships. Anything else you’d like to share? I love to cook and someday I hope to have time to develop recipes that pair with our wines or that include our wines in the recipe.

Cheryl and Michael at a Wine Spectator Halloween Party in San Francisco co-sponsored by Quady Winery in the 1980s.

When I started it was just Andy and I in the office and we were making 3,000 cases of Essensia. Mike’s office was in the kitchen with a little 3’ desk pushed up against the wall.

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Just Released! Starboard Vintage 2006

We select only the best wines from the best years tobe handled as “vintage port.” Starboard Vintage 2006 is made from Portuguese varieties Tinta Cao, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Amarela, Tinta Barroca and Touriga Nacional grown mostly in Amador County. You might want to get a couple bottles, one to try now and one to lie down because the character will continue to reach delicious new levels of complexity.

Our New Balcony To The Vineyard

2013 Highlights: Reviews & Awards

Wine Enthusiast Magazine ReviewsEssensia: Gold, 92 points, Best BuyElysium: Silver, 89 pointsElectra: Gold, 90 points, Best BuyRed Electra: Gold, 90 points, Best Buy

Beverage Testing Institute ReviewsEssensia: Gold, 93 points, Best BuyElysium: Silver, 87 points, Highly RecommendedElectra: Gold, 93 points, Best BuyRed Electra: Gold, 93 points, Best Buy

Essensia Awards Best of Class and Gold: The California State Fair Four Star Gold: Orange County Wine Society More gold medals at: Pacific Rim International Wine Competition, San Diego International Wine Competition, San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, Sunset International Wine Competition, Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits, San Francisco International Wine Fair and the Lodi Consumer Wine Awards

Elysium Awards Double Gold: The Tasters Guild International Wine Competition. Chairman’s award, Best of Class, and Unanimous Gold: The Riverside International Wine Competition. Best of Class and Gold: San Joaquin Valley Wine Competition and the Pacific Rim International Competition. More gold medals at: The San Diego International Wine Competition, The Sunset Magazine International Wine Competition, and The Lodi Consumer Wine Awards.

Vya Awards:Vya Sweet and Vya Extra Dry: Gold, The Winemaker Challenge International Wine Competition. Whisper Dry: Best of Class and Gold, The Pacific Rim International Wine Competition.

Starboard Batch 88 Awards: Gold, The Sunset International Wine Competition.

What’s New at Quady Winery?

Color: deep burgundy with brick red edges

Smell: cherry vanilla cola, spirits, saddle leather, dried plums, green thistle leaves, anise

Taste: smooth velvet mouth feel with brandy and grip, cardoon, lingering dry tannins, Fuyu persimmon

Aftertaste: “Pink-Lady” apple

Tasting notes from Michael Blaylock

Michael Blaylock calls it our “balcony to the vineyards,” the catwalk on top of our new 25 foot tall tanks lends a great view all the way to downtown Madera. The two tanks hold 25,000 gallons each, which means an increase of almost 22,000 cases. Wow!

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Essensia Spice Cake

Ingredients:1 package (18.25 oz) spice cake mix (store bought)⅓ cup vegetable oil3 large eggs½ cup water½ cup Essensia Orange Muscat1 tsp cinnamon1 tsp pumpkin pie spice1 cup solid pack pumpkin

Heat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour 17 1/2” x 12” cake pan. Combine cake mix, oil, eggs, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, water and Essensia in bowl. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add in pumpkin and mix till just combined. Pour into prepared pan and bake about 15 minutes or until done. Allow to cool 10 minutes, then spread HOT caramel frosting over cake.

Caramel Frosting:½ cup butter, melted1 cup brown sugar⅓ cup evaporated milk1 tsp vanilla1 Tbsp Essensia Orange Muscat2 cups powder sugar

For frosting: Melt butter in medium size saucepan, stir in brown sugar and Essensia and mix until dissolved. Bring to a boil and cook, stir constantly for 2 minutes. Add milk and vanilla; continue to stir about 30 seconds. Remove from heat and stir inpowdered sugar. Immediately pour over cake and spread quickly. Frosting gets firm really fast.

Triple Chocolate Port Cake

Thank you to one of our Dessert Wine Digest readers, Jeanette Magdycz, for this devastatingly good chocolate lover’s recipe.

Ingredients:¼ cup Quady Vintage Starboard ½ cup butter3 oz baking chocolate 3 egg yolks1 cup sugar ¾ cup flour3 egg whites ⅛ tsp salt

This cake is enhanced aromatically by the mingling of Vintage Starboard and chocolate while baking. Serve in thin slices as you would the finest cheesecake whose velvet-like texture it resembles. In a small saucepan bring ¼ cup Vintage Starboard to boiling point. Reduce heat immediately to warm and add ½ cup butter and 3 oz baking chocolate to melt. Cool.

In a bowl, beat 3 egg yolks + 1 cup sugar until well blended. Add ¾ cup flour alternately with the cooled port wine mixture in about 3 parts, blending thoroughly. In a separate bowl whip until stiff the 3 egg whites with ⅛ teaspoon salt. Fold into the batter in 3 parts. Don’t be afraid to fold vigorously on the first 3rd, as the mixture is quite thick in the beginning. Bake in a well-greased 8” round cake tin at 325 F for about 30 minutes. Due to the richness of this cake, no icing or frosting is necessary but it is indeed good showmanship. Dust with powdered sugar or top with whipped cream topping. If you split and fill the cake, we suggest baking it in a 6-6½” tin. Our choice of filling was blackberry preserves. This cake may be iced with chocolate butter cream frosting if desired.

Recipes from the Quady Winery Kitchen

This cake disappeared quickly around the winery when I brought it in for taste testing! It pairs fantastically with Essensia and is so easy to make. - Cheryl Russell

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