Sack Posset

You can tell the holiday season is upon us, just by the amount of Christmas commercials on television, as well as the re-runs of old Christmas shows. This week, I watched an interesting show on the History Channel about where our holiday traditions came from, and it got me thinking about traditional holiday drinks. Last year, I did a blog about mulled wine, and the previous year, I did one about the origins of eggnog. So this year, I went into the archives, and did some digging. Are you familiar with Sack Posset?

“Sack what?” you say? Sack Posset was a popular, custard-like drink of Elizabethan England. That may be the nice way of putting it. Since many in the population of that time, were of lesser means, Sack Posset was more of a curdled milk and wine/beer concoction. It went out of style about 200 years ago, but a newer recipe I was able to find, may revive this once popular drink.

First, where did the name come from? “Sack” is a common old English term used to refer to a fortified wine. It may have come from the Latin, ‘siccus’ meaning dry or harsh. But, not all fortified wines are dry and harsh. You may be familiar with Dry Sack Sherry (which can be harsh). This is a dry, fortified wine from the Sherry (Jerez) region of Spain. Since “sack” can refer to any fortified wine, we can assume Sherry, Madiera, or even Port could be used as an ingredient. The word, “posset” used to refer to a small pot or saucepan. Today, a posset is a type of small pot. They have large bodies, lids and usually, two handles. There is a spout at the front that was not used for pouring, but for actually sucking out the liquor. The remaining curds were eaten with a spoon.

Sack Posset was made from various recipes. Originally, it appears to have been for medicinal use. But by the 17^th Century, it became more popular as an actual beverage. Also, remember that hygiene, pasteurization, etc, were not known at this time, so alcohol was the way to kill germs. Sack Posset typically featured spiced, warm wine mixed with milk, or cream. The milk would curdle and float to the top. So you would drink the wine from the bottom, then eat the sweet curds that floated to the top.

A properly made posset was said to have “three different layers. The uppermost, known as 'the grace' was a snowy foam or aereated crust. In the middle was a smooth spicy custard and at the bottom a pungent alcoholic liquid. The grace and the custard were enthusiastically consumed as 'spoonmeat' and the sack-rich liquid below drunk through the 'pipe' or spout of the posset pot.”

The first published recipe is from Sir Kenelm Digby (London: 1671):

Take a pottle of Cream, and boil in it a little whole Cinnamon, and three or four flakes of Mace. To this proportion of Cream put in eighteen yolks of eggs, and eight of the whites; a pint of Sack; beat your eggs very well, and then mingle them with your Sack. Put in three quarters of a pound of Sugar into the Wine and Eggs, with a Nutmeg grated, and a little beaten Cinnamon; set the Bason on the fire with the Wine and Eggs, and let it be hot. Then put in the Cream boiling from the fire, pour it on high, but stir it not; cover it with a dish, and when it is settlede, strew on the top a little fine Sugar mingled with three grains of Ambergreece, and one grain of Musk, and serve it up.

I was able to find an updated/current recipe for Sack Posset, that was published by Reader’s Digest (Australia), it is written as follows:

Ingredients

6 egg yolks

3 egg whites

1 cup fino sherry

1⁄4 teaspoon each ground cinnamon and mace

1⁄4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

2⁄3 cup caster sugar

4 cup pouring cream

grated nutmeg for sprinkling

Preparation

Put the egg yolks, egg whites, sherry and spices into a large mixing bowl and whisk until they are well blended. Place the bowl over a saucepan of gently boiling water and stir until warm. Take care not to let the egg mixture overheat or it will scramble.

Reserving 1 teaspoon of the caster sugar, heat the remainder with the cream in a saucepan until it rises to the boil. Pour the cream mixture immediately, in a steady stream from a height, onto the egg mixture, whisking as you pour to make it frothy.

Leave the posset to stand in a warm place for 5 minutes, then sprinkle the reserved sugar and a little nutmeg over the surface and serve in heatproof glasses. This drink goes well with mince pies and, because it is rich, one glass per person should be sufficient.

So, try something different this holiday. Make some mulled wine, or homemade eggnog….or if you are really adventurous, make some Sack Posset, and share the history with your friends.

Rancho de Philo Winery

Mission Grapes at Rancho de Philo

When one of the three remaining wineries in the Cucamonga Valley opens its’ doors only one week out of the year, the only thing to do is rush over, and check it out. In last week’s blog, I shared some of the history of the Cucamonga Valley, and the three remaining wineries. Of those three, the only one I hadn’t visited was Rancho De Philo. They make only one wine: an award winning Triple Cream Sherry. I had the pleasure of visiting their winery, and was pleased with this new “find”.

Rancho de Philo doesn’t have a website, so finding out when they are open to the public can be a bit difficult, unless you get on their mailing list (which I now am). From what I can determine, they open on the second Saturday in November, and remain open for about 7 to 9 days, or until their inventory of wine runs out. They only bottle a little over 300 cases per year, and as the word gets out, the inventory will be depleted even faster.

Rancho de Philo is located in Alta Loma, just northwest of Chaffey College, at 10050 Wilson Avenue. Their hours are from 9:00am to 5:00pm. I drove there on Sunday, and found a sign on the road, indicating “Sherry Sale” which pointed me to the driveway of a 6.5 acre piece of land, surrounded by expensive homes, overlooking the valley below. A vineyard in this area seems out of place, but given the history of the area, it is not so far-fetched.

As I pulled up, I was greeted by a young boy, who encouraged me to sign their guestbook and get on their mailing list. There was a small umbrella set up in front, with almonds, cookies, crackers and small tasting glasses. It was here, that I met the owners, Janine Biane Tibbetts and later, her husband Alan. Janine was pouring three different bottlings of their Triple Cream Sherry: 2013, 2012, and 2011. Their Sherry is created by using the Spanish solera system, a fractional blending system.

Solera systems consist of a pyramid of barrels (in the case of Rancho de Philo it is 15) stacked in a racking system, where the top layer of barrels will contain the youngest wine (the latest vintage), and the bottom level will be a blend of the wines above, and is where the latest bottling is drawn off. As wine is drawn off, the barrels are filled from the level above, blending all the different years, for a consistent product. All the time, the wine continues to oxidize, creating a nutty, raisiny flavor, and turning the wine to a wonderful amber color. Rancho de Philo uses neutral American Oak barrels (used barrels from whiskey distilleries) in their Solera system. But there is a difference between Spanish Sherry and Rancho de Philo Sherry. Traditional Spanish wines are made with Palomino or PX grapes, but Rancho de Philo uses 100% Mission grapes (Southern California’s original grape, brought in by the Spanish Missionaries). Make no mistake, this Sherry is a dessert wine. Since it is a fortified wine, the alcohol level is around 18%, and the residual sugar comes in above 13%.

Philo Biane

I had a brief opportunity to talk with Janine, and learn a little about the history of the property, which was started by her father, Philo Biane. But, the winemaking history of her family goes back much further. She told me that her grandmother’s family, the Vachés, arrived from France and settled in San Juan Bautista in 1832, where they planted grapes and built a winery. They later had a winery in downtown Los Angeles, called Vaché et Cie. In the late 1800s they planted a vineyard and opened a winery near Redlands in the San Timoteo Valley. There was a brook adjacent to the winery so they named it Brookside Winery. The Vaché and Biane families met, and eventually produced a son, Philo Biane (Janine’s father). Rancho de Philo was founded by vintner and wine industry pioneer Philo Biane in 1973, after he retired as the President of Brookside Vineyard, which was sold to Beatrice Foods. He made his first Sherry bottling in 1974, from the grapes on the property. Unfortunately, those grape vines had to be replaced around the time of Philo’s death, in 1999, when they were attacked by Pierce’s Disease. They were able to salvage cuttings from the remaining 30+ vines, and replant. So, the current vines are only about 10 to 14 years old, but do come from the original Mission grape rootstock.

Janine told me they no longer ferment the wine on the property, as too many of the neighbors complained about the fruit flies. So, she ships her wine to Galleano Winery for fermentation, then brings it back up for aging in the solera. Her family has a longtime relationship with the Galleano family, so much so, that the three friends, on the label of the award winning Galleano "Three Friends" Port, are her family members.

Rancho De Philo was recently named the top microwinery in California, for its’ style of wine, and their Triple Cream Sherry continues to reap awards at local, national, and international competitions.

Don’t miss out. Buy it now, and enjoy for the holidays and beyond. And, don’t worry about that open bottle. Since this is and aged, and oxidized wine, it will hold just fine, sitting on your kitchen counter, waiting for you to enjoy.

Sherry

Last week, our wine club held a Spanish tasting. In addition to the wines of Rias Baixas, Ribera del Duero, Rioja, La Mancha and Priorat, we began and ended the night with the wines of Jerez. Not familiar with those? I bet you've heard of Sherry.

PX Sherry over ice cream

There was a common reaction when I started the evening with a bottle of Manzanilla Sherry..."I don't care for Sherry, it's too sweet". It was my mission to re-introduce the tasters to the world of Sherry.  The tasting consisted of a small pour of Manzanilla, paired with their choice of: Cabrales Cheese, Marcona Almonds, Manzanilla Olives, and/or Serrano Ham. I ended the evening with a pour of PX Sherry, served over a scoop of vanilla ice cream (yes, this one was sweet). I gave a brief talk about Sherry, but thought this might be a good vehicle to expand on it a little more.

Albariza Soil

Sherry is a protected/registered name for the fortified wines produced in the Cadiz region of Southern Spain. The growing area is a triangle bordered by Jerez, Sanlucar de Barrameda, and El Porto de Santa Maria. This is a hot, dry region, nestled right up against the Mediterranean Sea. This area is known for it's chalky white soil, known as "Albariza". By law, 40% of the bottled Sherry must come from grapes grown in this soil. The unique feature of this soil is it's high content of chalk (which can absorb the limited rainfall, and retain it during the summer months), and the ability to reflect the sun back up to the grapevines, for improved photosynthesis.

All three grapes grown on the region for Sherry are white grapes. They are Palomino, Pedro Ximenez (PX) and Moscatel. Palomino is the main grape used in all dry Sherry. PX and (to a lesser extent) Moscatel, are used to make sweet Sherry, or used to sweeten dry Sherry. By itself, the Palomino grape produces a rather neutral and bland wine, but this is the perfect type of grape for the process of making Sherry, as the processes used will determine the final product.

Flor

As mentioned, Sherry is a fortified wine, meaning that a distilled wine (brandy) is added to the still wine at some point in the process. In the case of Sherry, the juice is fermented to dryness, and the brandy is then added (unlike Port, where the brandy is added before fermentation is completed, to preserve the residual sugars). Here is a little trivia for you...traditionally, the grapes for Sherry, were foot trodden (not done much any more), after adding a small amount of gypsum (to adjust for the low acidity). This was known as "plastering". So if you ever get "plastered" you now know where that saying came from. Back to the vinification process...Before the brandy is added to the still wine, the winemaker will sample the wine, and make a determination of its' future. A mixture of brandy and wine (known as "mitad y mitad") is added to the now fermented wine, and the total alcohol level is brought up to 15% (to allow the growth of "flor") or to 17.5% (to prohibit the growth of "flor"). Flor is a naturally occurring film of yeast that grows on the surface of the wine. This film serves to protect the wine from oxygen exposure. The flor contributes to the nutty, yeasty flavors of the final product.

Solera System

Sherry is a "fractionally blended" wine. What this means is that the bottle of Sherry you purchase, can be a blend of many vintages of wine. Picture a bunch of wine barrels (typically American Oak is used for Sherry), stacked on top of each other. The top barrels contain the newest vintage of wine, the row below it is a year older, and so on, all the way to the bottom row of barrels, which contain the oldest wine. As wine is drawn off the bottom barrel, a little from the barrel above is added in, and the then the barrel above that one is added in, all the way back up to the top barrel. This system is known as a "solera" system. By using this process, there is a consistent style produced by the winemaker, year in and year out. Every bottle can, and will, contain some portion of wine going back to the beginning of the solera.

There are numerous styles of Sherry produced:

• Fino is the lightest, and most delicate of the traditional varieties of sherry. The wine is aged in barrels under a cap of flor.This should be drunk young, and pairs best with almonds, fried food, green olives, seafood and tapas (think shrimp and calamari).
• Manzanilla is an especially light variety of fino Sherry made around the port of Sanlúcar de Barrameda.It has a salty character to it. Best paired with: almonds, Spanish hams, fried foods, green olives, oysters, Seafood and tapas
• Manzanilla Pasada is a Manzanilla that has undergone extended aging or has been partially oxidised, giving a richer, nuttier flavour.
• Amontillado is a variety of Sherry that is first aged under flor but which is later exposed to oxygen, producing a sherry that is darker than a fino but lighter than an oloroso. Naturally dry, they are sometimes sold light to medium sweet.Best paired with almonds, Manchego Cheese, nuts, richer tapas dishes, and beef stock based soups.
• Oloroso is a variety of Sherry, aged in the presence of oxygen, for a longer time than a fino or amontillado, producing a darker and richer wine. These are the highest alcohol Sherries, around 18 to 20%. They are naturally dry, but can also be sold in sweetened versions.Best paired with blue cheese, and hard cheeses (something with a bit of salt to it), as well as nuts, and beef dishes (with the drier styles).
• Palo Cortado is a variety of Sherry that is initially aged like an amontillado, typically for three or four years, but which subsequently develops a character closer to an oloroso. This either happens by accident when the flor dies, or commonly the flor is killed by fortification or filtration.This is a relatively rare style of Sherry
• Jerez Dulce (Sweet Sherries) are made either by fermenting dried PX or Moscatel grapes, producing an intensely sweet dark brown wine, or by blending sweeter wines with a drier variety.  I like PX sherry with dark chocolate desserts, or over vanilla ice cream.
• Cream Sherry is a common type of sweet sherry made by blending different wines, such as oloroso sweetened with PX. 

Bodega Sandeman - Jerez

Have you ever noticed that both Sherry and Port, have English names on the label? If you go back in history, you find that the English dominated the shipping lanes, and imported wines from all over the world. Cadiz was the site of a famous incident involving Sir Francis Drake. After he had sacked the port, and returned to England with a ship full of Sherry, England's thirst for the wine grew. many English families moved to Spain and took over the wine cellars in the region. Think: Sandeman and Harvey's. Cream Sherry used to be one of the most popular beverages in the United States, particularly in the South and East.

So, are you ready to venture into the world of Sherry? Next time your order that big plate of seafood paella, consider a glass of Sherry, and let the magic begin.