“I often cook with wine. Occasionally I put it in the recipe.” ~ Unknown

For those who like to make their own wine, but don’t have the time or equipment, wine-making businesses are popping up in communities all over. They provide the facilities, the equipment and the expertise, so it’s a fun and fairly risk-free way to make your own wine. You can save a few sheckles along the way too.

James Fields owns Vintner’s Cellar in Waterloo, Ontario. He absolutely loves helping people make exceptional wine. http://www.vintnerscellarwaterloo.com/ He is a passionate wine maker and his mind is a treasure trove of wine history and trivia, so he’s very fun to chat with too.

One afternoon while James and some friends were drinking wine and making brownies, the inevitable happened. One of the glasses of wine accidentally spilled into the brownie dough. Frantically they tried to save both the brownies and the wine, but the dough quickly soaked up most of the liquid, so they had no choice but to bake the batch the way it was, drunken and soaked with wine.

The rest, as they say, is history. James and his friends loved how moist they turned out. It was a great surprise. They truly were on to something, but recipe did need some work. In the weeks that followed, James experimented with different wines and different instructions until he got it right.

A few weeks ago James baked these brownies in the “Real Men Can Cook” charity event in Waterloo and won 1^st place. Bravo!

“Drunken” Butterscotch Brownies

1 pkg (16oz) butterscotch chips
1/4 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sifted flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 or 1 cup walnuts
1/2 cup of Vintner’s Cellar Pinot Grigio

1. Heat oven 350°C
2. Melt butterscotch chips and butter in microwave for 1minute, then stir in the brown sugar.
3. Let cool for 5 minutes, then blend in eggs and vanilla.

4. Have a glass of wine while you wait.

5. Add flour, baking powder & salt, then stir in walnuts
6. Spread in greased and floured 13”x9”x2” baking pan and bake for 20-25 minutes.
7. While the brownies are baking. Put wine in a frying pan and simmer on low heat until it is half of the starting volume. It usually takes around 5 minutes.

8. Refill your wine glass as needed.
9. Drizzle the Pinot Grigio reduction sauce over the brownies when you pull them out of the oven. Let the brownies cool and they are ready to serve.

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“Real Men Can Cook” http://realmencancook.ca/index.html is a charity that was started by Trevor and Judy Strauss of Waterloo, Ontario, when their daughter Gabby was diagnosed with Cystinosis. Check out their site and watch their video.

James recently shared this video in his newsletter. May it save us all from drinking our wine with bits of cork floating in it. 🙂

“How to Open a Wine Bottle Without a Corkscrew. Use a Tree!”