Check out Nassau Valley Vineyards for holiday sipping

Just received my Happy Thanksgiving Day letter from my pals at Nassau Valley Vineyards, with a great recipe for pumpkin cheesecake. Same as mine, with the exception that I prefer fresh pumpkin. Fresh is probably not a good option though, for the one- or two-pie maker, unless time is no problem. The Nassau Valley Vineyards recipe works beautifully for the pies. You may go here for the recipe and a full listing of wines with pricing and schedule of events: www.nassauvalley.com/wines.htm.

I really don’t give Peggy and Suzanne enough ink in this column. They do a spectacular job. Pioneers in Delaware wine making, the Raleys fought tooth and nail to get Delaware to allow them to place a winery in coastal Sussex County. The punditry panned the idea, sotto voce, with “It’llneverwork” rhetoric and "Who do they think they are?" articles, initially.  Wrong, as usual, bureaucrats and pundits! This little winery that could is probably succeeding better than even the ever-optimistic and adventurous Raley family were hoping it would. If you haven’t laid in your Turkey Day wine, a visit to the winery would serve you well. The value on these wines is A++! They make wonderful gifts.

Winemaker Mike Reese has added 29 medals to the impressive list the vineyard has accumulated over the years. Germane to the season are Cape Rosé, Meadows Edge and Peach Ambrosia from the 2011 vintage. These have won multiple awards, go well with holiday fare and can be sampled at the winery. Please try the wonderful fruit wines. These are especially good. In addition to a selection of 13 wines, NVV offers a wide range of fun stuff, instructional programs, a neat museum and some very cool, hospitable people to meet. If you are reading here and have not been to the vineyards you are cheating yourselves. NVV is located just a short drive off Route 1 or Route 9 near Five Points. Two accesses, just follow the signs. If you decide to visit the winery, please note it is right across the way from the Cape Gazette offices. Stop in to tell Dennis and Trish how much you love my articles and that you think my political comments, which are often edited out, are important also.

Alessandro Boga wrote to inform me Arnaldo Caprai has just been named European Winery of the Year at the Wine Enthusiast's 2012 Wine Star Awards. I was able to locate two places you could purchase these wines, one in Philly and one in Baltimore: Bin 604, 1001 Fleet St., Baltimore MD 21202 and PLCB Store 5185, 1844 West Passyunk Ave., Philadelphia PA 19145.

Many are trying to unload the 2006 Marchesi de Frescobaldi Castelgiocondo Brunello di Montalcino for $37. Suckling rated it 95 and Robinson 75 percent. I’m closer to the Robinson camp. If you must buy these overpriced Italian wines, I would go up a few bucks to buy the 2007, under $50, in its perfect window. Inky reddish violet, pungent bouquet of lavender, cherry and sandalwood opens to tart and dried cherry flavors on a decent frame. The finish is medium, clean and repeats the flavors.

I hate to be a vulture capitalist, my younger and middle-aged friends, but we are just beginning to enter  the best opportunity since the '70s to build a cellar. The disarray in Euroland can only be fixed if the frugal, productive, Dutch, Deutsche, Danes and Swiss decide to bail out the profligate, indolent Greeks, Italians, Spaniards and Portuguese. By the way, before you go nuts and Romney me, not all those in Southern Europe fit that description. Worst possible scenario, the war in the ME defers the Euro collapse.

I doubt in Euroland, where there is no shared citizenship and a whole lot of intercountry enmity, that the political will is in place to prevent some break in the monetary situation concerning the Euro. Great, Southern Euroland wine is already being discounted worldwide, some due to currency exchange, some due to liquidity issues  Don’t allow the media to obscure the  rebound in the USA as we become more fuel independent and the fiscal cliff is worked around. The currency wars are well under way, and those with the ammunition will win. Make sure you are one of them. The advantage to cellaring great wine is, if I am wrong you still win and if all else fails you can numb the pain.