"Good wine is a necessity of life for me."  Thomas Jefferson

Blackberry Wine

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Blackberry Wine

Blackberry vines grow wildly throughout the state of Arkansas.  Harvesting wild blackberries, however, is very time consuming and painful (there are a lot of thorns).  The blackberries are usually small, the thorns are large and sharp and because the vines are fragile, they tend to grow in a large clump making it difficult to navigate through them while avoiding the thorns..   Fortunately, through extensive research by the University of Arkansas's agricultural experiment station, blackberry varieties have been developed that exhibit more pleasant qualities.   For those who have picked even a single wild blackberry, imagine the berries being  nearly the size of a golf ball and having no thorns!  Also, imagine the vines growing free standing in narrow rows that you can easily walk between.  Actually, blackberry varieties with these characteristics have been in existence for a number of years now, but they continue to be refined.   Improving the characteristics of the stalk and berries to make harvest easier is only half the battle.  The quality of the fruit must also be maintained, especially for blackberry wine production.  Through cross pollination, blackberry varieties that exhibit excellent wine qualities have been propagated and are being produced in considerable quantities around Arkansas. 

For those that like a semi-sweet to sweet wine, Mount Bethel's Blackberry wine is sure to be a hit!!

And for the true blackberry lover, try this recipe to satisfy your sweet tooth!!....

Blackberry Wine Cobbler:

Ingredients: 

2 pieces of ready made pie crust

1 package of frozen blackberries (or if you are close to Mount Bethel Winery you can stop by and see if we have some fresh blackberries)

1/2 cup of white sugar

1/2 cup of brown sugar

A little of nutmeg, lemon juice and cinnamon (just put in how much you like for seasoning)

¼ cup of Mount Bethel Blackberry Wine 

1.     Place one of the pie crusts in a square Pyrex dish.  Put it in the oven at 350 for about 8-10 minutes.

2.     While the one crust is baking, place the rest of the ingredients in a bowl (keeping the Mount Bethel Blackberry wine as the last ingredient)

3.     When the crust is done, pour the blackberry mixture into the crust (I like to put a little bit more of the Mount Bethel Blackberry Wine on the top after this step).

4.     Put the second crust on top of the blackberry mixture.  Press the two crusts together.  I like to take any extra crust and roll it into small balls and place it on top of the blackberry mixture as well as a couple of pats of real butter.

5.     Cook at 350 for about 30-40 minutes.

This is the most wonderful Blackberry Cobbler…..we believe that the secret is in the Mount Bethel Blackberry Wine and we don’t mind if you tell everyone!!!!!  Serve this dish while it is warm with a scoop of ice cream on top. 

I personally like to serve a glass of Mount Bethel Blackberry Wine with this as the final touch to a wonderful dessert!

BLACKBERRY WINE CAKE

Ingredients

1 pkg (3oz) Royal blackberry gelatin
1 pkg white cake mix (18.5 oz)
8 oz of egg substitute (equal to 4 eggs)
1/3 cup of applesauce
1 cup Mount Bethel Blackberry Wine
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 325F. Combine gelatin and cake mix, add egg substitute, applesauce and Blackberry Wine.
Beat with mixer on low speed until moistened, then beat on medium speed 3 minutes, scraping bowl frequently.

Spray "Pam" cooking spray and line bottoms of a bundt cake pan with wax paper or lightly flour.
Sprinkle pecan pieces in bottom of pan. Pour in batter and bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes.

Make glaze while cake is baking. When cake is done, take from oven and pour two-thirds of glaze over the
warm cake while still in the pan. Let cool 30 minutes. Turn cake out of the pan and let it cool. Finally, add
powdered sugar to remaining glaze until thickened and pour over cake.

GLAZE

1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup light margarine
1/2 cup Mount Bethel Blackberry Wine

Mix ingredients together and bring to a HARD boil.

Enjoy!!!

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Last modified: 06/24/07