Ponzi Blog
Wild Mushroom Risotto
Pair with Ponzi Arneis
Ingredients
2 C. Arborio or Carnaroli rice
9 oz. fresh mushrooms
3 tsp. olive oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/4 C. chopped fresh thyme
1/2 C. roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
S&P
2 qt. chicken stock
1/3 C. butter, divided
1 medium onion, chopped
3/4 C. medium-bodied white wine
3/4 C. freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, divided
Technique
1. Prepare the mushrooms by cleaning as gently as possible. Don't wash unless it's really necessary, as they are so tender. Be sure to use a soft brush or cloth.
2. Heat the oil in a saucepan and quickly sauté mushrooms with the garlic, thyme, 1/4 cup of the parsley and the lemon juice. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
3. Heat the chicken stock in a saucepan and keep warm
4. Melt half the butter in a heavy-based saucepan. Add the onion and sauté until soft.
5. Add the rice and sauté, stirring constantly, until the rice absorbs the butter and begins to look transparent.
6. Add the wine and boil until it is almost evaporated.
7. Add 2 ladles of warm stock and keep stirring.
8. Add the sautéed mushrooms and keep stirring. Reduce heat.
9. As the rice dries. Keep adding ladles of stock in small amounts until the rice is at your favorite consistency.
10. Add 1/2 cup of the grated cheese and stir in. Adjust the seasoning.
11. Serve in shallow bowls and garnish with reserved parsley. Additional grated Parmigiano-Reggiano may be served to accompany the risotto.
Note
Once you feel confident making risotto, variations are limited only by your creativity. Red wine risotto is also a classic dish more commonly served with game birds. With red wine, use vegetable, veal or beef stock instead of chicken.
Jan 1, 2019 at 4:02 PM
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2018 Giving: Thank you to our patrons
Since its founding in 1970, Ponzi Vineyards has proudly championed local organizations that offer vital support to our community. With the opening of the new tasting room in Sherwood in 2013, the Ponzi family launched the Charity of the Month program. The program benefits a different local charity each month with the donation of a portion of all tasting fees.
In 2018, the following organizations received support thanks to patrons like you.
Family of Friends
David Sheldrick Foundation
Henderson House
Hope for Autism
Project Lemonade
Adelante Mujeres
POST
Breast Friends
Oregon Parenting
Community Action
¡Salud! (Auction host and member of the Vintners Circle)
We are grateful to you and wish you a peaceful New Year.
Dec 26, 2018 at 11:56 AM
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Last Minute Gifting
Let them Shop!
Surprise the wine lover in your life with a Ponzi gift card. Use the little blue card online or in the tasting room toward wine, tastings or tours. Purchase a $50 or $100 gift card and we will gift wrap it in a beautiful champagne gift box.
Available in denominations of $100, $50 & $25.
How to Set a Formal Table
Formalities and etiquette can often go by the wayside, but taking a little extra time to slow down and make things extra special can be fun, especially during this festive time of year. Why not start with your holiday table setting?
Watch our 2 minute How-To video:
Dec 22, 2018 at 2:49 PM
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Make Your Holiday Meal Memorable
Toast to the Season!
An unforgettable holiday meal begins and ends with something special in the glass. From the first libation to the last savored sip, this is the time of year to pull out all the stops.
When guests arrive, fill their glass with something festive and impressive, like the 2014 Ponzi Sparkling Brut Rosé. At the meal’s end, pour a splash of something fun and a bit decadent, like the 2016 Ponzi Vino Gelato. Memorable wines will let even the most basic dishes sing and make any gathering feel like a celebration. Now that’s something to toast to!
Shop our selection of specialty wines.
Tips for Flawless Wine Service
You’ve selected the perfect wine for your holiday meal. What you pour your wine into may come as an afterthought, but selecting the right stemware will enhance the wine and the occasion.
Read our wine service tips and recommendations.
Dec 12, 2018 at 1:57 PM
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Charity of the Month: December - Community Action
Throughout the month of December, a portion of tasting fees from the Ponzi Vineyards tasting room will be donated to Community Action, an organization that works to eliminate conditions of poverty and create opportunities for people and communities to thrive.
Community Action’s vision is a Washington County whose residents are strong, resilient, involved in the community and living with dignity and security. They work and innovate with community partners to offer hope, help and change for residents in need. They do this through programs in the areas of Energy Assistance, Family Development, Early Childhood Development and Housing Stability. They have a genuine concern and knowledge regarding issues of poverty. Recognized and respected, they work collaboratively with funders and other service providers and act as a community leader and catalyst in community efforts to address homelessness and affordable housing.
We invite you to visit Ponzi Vineyards this month and join us in support of this valuable organization. A portion of every tasting fee will be donated to Community Action through the end of December.
- Learn more about Community Action.
- Get directions to our Tasting Room, just 40 minutes from Portland.
- Read about our Tasting Room.
Dec 4, 2018 at 2:25 PM
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Give the Gift of Variety
Why select just one wine, when you can gift several stunning selections in one. Beautifully displayed in a hand-crafted wooden box, choose from one of our signature gift sets:
Ponzi Reserves Gift Set
Ponzi Pinot Gift Set
Or customize your own set with a selection of any Ponzi wine added to a 1, 2, 3 or 6-bottle wooden box. Shop wooden boxes and other merchandise.
One of our favorite gifts is a gently aged Pinot noir or Chardonnay. Browse our selection of library wines online, or contact us directly: orders@ponzivineyards.com
Learn about the beauty of aged wines.
Dec 3, 2018 at 2:46 PM
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A Glimpse into the Barrel Room
Look at these lovelies in the cellar!
The 2018 Ponzi Pinots and Chardonnays will spend anywhere from 11 months to nearly 2 years in barrel before they are bottled. During that time, they are closely monitored by Winemaker Luisa Ponzi and her team. When the time is right, they'll be bottled and aged a few more months before they are ready to enjoy. We can hardly wait!
Nov 24, 2018 at 1:18 PM
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A Sparkling Alternative for the Holidays
Add a touch of sparkle to your holiday table. Cugini Sparkling Grape Juice is a lovely, non-alcoholic option for toasting to the holiday season. Up the festive factor and try Cugini in a fun mocktail or cocktail. Browse recipes at cuginisparkling.com.
We invite you to enjoy a glass in our tasting room or order a case to share with family and friends at home.
Here are two our favorite holiday recipes:
CUGINI ROY ROGERS
- Ice
- Grenadine syrup
- Amarena cherries or pomegranate arils
- A bottle of Cugini
Put block ice in a cocktail glass. Add a splash of grenadine, a few Amerena cherries or a tablespoon of pomegranate arils. Pour Cugini over the top.
CAMPARI e CUGINI
- Ice
- 1 ½ T. Campari
- 10 oz Cugini (approx.)
Put block ice in a tall glass. Add the Campari and Cugini. Garnish with pomegranate arils if desired.
Nov 20, 2018 at 11:25 AM
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Classico Vineyards Series: Sufi
The Willamette Valley has become synonymous with world-class Pinot noir, with a perfect spot for the varietal seemingly around every corner. Ponzi Vineyards farms some of the best at our Avellana, Aurora and Madrona sites, which form the foundation of our signature Classico Pinot Noir. To enhance the blend and showcase what this region can produce, we work with area growers to source the finest fruit from exceptional vineyards. When sourcing from these growers and from our own vineyards, second-generation Winemaker Luisa Ponzi looks for fruit that contributes the desired aromatics, structure or fruit intensity to complement her vision for the vintage. For the 2015 Classico blend, she selected Sufi Vineyard for its aromatics.
Named after the ancient culture of Persian monks, who relinquished their material possessions in the pursuit of divinity, Sufi was planted in 2009, making it one of the younger vineyards in the Classico blend. Located on Bald Peak in the Willamette Valley’s Chehalem Mountains, this is a high-elevation site resting between 600-800 feet. On a clear day, it has gorgeous panoramic views of Portland, Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens. It is LIVE certified and Salmon Safe.
The soil type at Sufi is Laurelwood, a fertile loess formed by windblown silt during the last Ice Age. Laurelwood soil famously lends spicy and bright fruit flavors when vines are young, and earthy, blue fruit flavors when the vines get older and the roots tap into the basalt layer underneath. They grow the Pommard clone of Pinot noir; combined with the elevation, cooler days and nights, and the Laurelwood soil, the result is a fruit that is spicy and dark, with loads of pepper on the nose, which it lends to our Classico blend.
Get a bottle of Classico Pinot Noir for yourself. The dusty tannins, hints of roasted coffee and mouthwatering acidity are balanced by almond sweetness. Pairs beautifully with food.
About the Classico Series
Our Classico Pinot Noir is blended from 100% Pinot noir sourced from the exceptional sites throughout the Willamette Valley with Ponzi’s most established vineyards at its base. The result is a classic New World expression of Oregon Pinot noir with nuances and flavors that are a hallmarks of the region’s varied soils and cool climate. Follow along as we explore some of the vineyards chosen by Winemaker Luisa Ponzi as the truest expressions of the vintage.
Nov 15, 2018 at 12:22 PM
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Charity of the Month - November: Oregon Parenting Education Collaborative
Throughout the Month of November, a portion of tasting fees from the Ponzi Vineyards tasting room will be donated to the Oregon Parenting Education Collaborative, an organization that supports the delivery of high-quality parenting education programs and systems throughout the region.
OPEC works towards a vision of all Oregon parents having access to high quality, proven parenting education programs that support them in their roles as their children’s first and most important teachers. They hope that all Oregon communities will be served by a network of strong parenting programs and a regional parenting educational hub, and that Oregon will be a national leader in professionalizing and normalizing parenting education.
“Parent involvement in a child’s education is the most important factor in their academic success,” notes Ponzi Vineyards Accountant Jeffrey Huffman. “We love our teachers, every one a dedicated professional, but without strong parental support, they’re at a disadvantage educating our kids.”
Thanks to generous funding, OPEC provides research-based resources including monthly newsletters and blog posts to help parents on their parenting journey. In addition, OPEC sends trained Parenting Educators into our communities to share training and build a network for support and resources to promote quality education.
The Oregon Parenting Education Collaborative is a program of the Oregon Community Foundation. The mission of The Oregon Community Foundation is to improve lives for all Oregonians through the power of philanthropy. They work with individuals, families, businesses and organizations to create charitable funds—more than 2,800 of them—that support the community causes donors care about. These funds support the critical work that nonprofits are doing across Oregon. Through these funds, OCF awarded more than $118 million in grants and scholarships in 2017.
We invite you to visit Ponzi Vineyards this month and join us in support of this valuable organization. A portion of every tasting fee will be donated to the Oregon Parenting Education Collaborative through the end of November.
- Learn more about the Oregon Parenting Education Collaborative.
- Get directions to our Tasting Room, just 40 minutes from Portland.
- Read about our Tasting Room.
Oct 31, 2018 at 2:48 PM
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