JAV's St. Vincent Red Wine Cake

Rich, moist, and flavorful, this red wine chocolate cake carries a unique taste and an irresistible smell!

 Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (210 g/7.4 oz) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup (75 g/2.7 oz) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup (2 sticks/227 g) butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups (250 g/8.8 oz) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (100 g/3.5 oz) brown sugar (preferably dark)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups James Arthur Vineyards St. Vincent red wine
  

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F/180C degrees. Grease a 12-cup bundt pan and set aside.

In a medium bowl sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.

In a mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary. Beat in vanilla extract. On low speed, beat in (or fold by hand) the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating it with the wine in 2 additions (starting and ending with the flour). Do not overmix. 

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes on a wire rack, then turn it out and let it cool completely. Dust the cake with powdered sugar.

Store cake at room temperature in airtight container for up to 3 days. 

Cake can be frozen for up to 2 months.

A Passion for Nebraska & Misconceptions Cleared - by Owner/Winemaker, Jim Ballard

Since our purchase of the From Nebraska Gift Shop, in the Historic Haymarket District in downtown Lincoln, Nebraska, we’ve received a few comments, phone calls, and even a letter, from people who are upset with the fact we no longer sell ALL Nebraska wines – and, only sell our own JAV branded wines there.  Hopefully, the next few thoughts will clear up any of the misconceptions which may be leading to those upset feelings.

We will operate as the James Arthur Vineyards Tasting Room AND the From Nebraska Gift Shop.  We will continue to carry Nebraska-made gifts, gourmet food items, and other great Nebraska-made products very similar to how the previous owner had.  None of that is going away.  Our family is very excited that we’ve been given the opportunity to purchase the store and will do everything we can to continue the 25-year tradition that has been established under previous ownership, by highlighting the best our state has to offer.  Again, that will not change.  Being born, raised, and having lived in Nebraska all of my life, I especially am looking forward to this new venture!

It is true we no longer carry other Nebraska wines.  There are a number of reasons behind this.  We are James Arthur Vineyards, so our first priority is to market the award-winning, Nebraska wines we have worked so hard to create.  More importantly, however, is that our Farm Winery license allows us to sell only what we produce ourselves.  Therefore, even if we wanted to sell other Nebraska wines, we would be unable to do so in accordance with the Nebraska state liquor laws.

Here at James Arthur Vineyards, we have built our business, and in essence our reputation, on creating a great Nebraska product.  We have done everything possible to create a legacy here at JAV that future generations of Nebraskans can be proud of.  We hope to continue that legacy in the Historic Haymarket District.

We invite everyone to stop by the store at 8^th & Q Streets and see that our family is thrilled to be a part of the Haymarket.  We are making some exciting changes to even better market the best of Nebraska products, including our passion for what we feel is a great Nebraska product in and of itself…James Arthur Vineyards wines.

Jim Ballard

Owner/Winemaker

James Arthur Vineyards

More Fun Wine Facts

Over the years, we (mostly my wife Barb) have collected interesting, and yes, quirky facts about wine.  We both love trivia and interesting facts about, well…just about anything.  I’ve filled my brain with so much useless and trivial information over the years, it’s amazing I have any room left up there.  However, the journey to get to that point has been enjoyable.  So, I thought I would share some of those interesting, quirky and unusual facts we’ve held on to.

• The highest price ever paid for a bottle of wine. An imperial…which is a six-litre bottle…of Screaming Eagle Cabernet 1992 technically fetched the highest price ever paid for a bottle of wine. It went for a mere $500,000 during a Napa Valley charity auction in 2000.
• Did you know that wine has some 200 odor-producing compounds? If you think that is more than you could ever recognize, think again. According to research done by the
• American Wine Society Journal, a normal person can detect about 10,000 distinct odors and can actually learn to identify close to 1000 of them.
• On average, 1 ton of grapes makes about 60 cases of wine, or 720 bottles. One bottle of wine contains about 3 pounds of grapes.
• Grapes are the only fruit that are capable of producing the proper nutrition for the yeast on its skin and sugar in its juice to ferment naturally.
• Champagne was discovered many centuries ago, long before we had a clear understanding of atmospheric pressure. However, most champagne bottles are under 5 to 8 atmospheres of pressure, and when the cork is popped, it can travel at speeds of 35 to 95 miles per hour.
• However, perhaps the most interesting story of high priced wine is of The Chateau Margaux 1787. It was authenticated to have at one time been part of the wine collection of Thomas Jefferson. The initial price tag was said to be $500,000 though there was never a chance to confirm that value. From Jefferson’s cellar, it eventually became the possession of wine merchant William Sokolin who brought along this bottle at the Four Seasons Hotel for a Margaux dinner. However, a waiter accidentally shattered the bottle. Sokolin collected $225,000 in insurance money.
• In ancient Greece, a dinner host would take the first sip of wine to assure guests the wine was not poisoned, hence the phrase “drinking to one’s health.” “Toasting” started in ancient Rome when the Romans continued the Greek tradition but started dropping a piece of toasted bread into each wine glass to temper undesirable tastes or excessive acidity.
• In The Story of Wine, Hugh Johnson notes that, in the whole of the Biblical Old Testament, only the Book of Jonah has no reference to the vine or wine.
• Along those same lines, wine is considered the oldest drink of time, and one of the most quoted legends about the discovery of wine is the story of Jamsheed a semi-mythical Persian king (who may have been Noah). A woman of his harem tried to take her life with fermented grapes, which were thought to be poisonous. Wine was discovered when she found herself rejuvenated and lively
• There is much debate about what lead to the fall of the Roman empire. There were probably many causes, but wine may rank up towards the top. You see, Romans discovered that mixing lead with wine not only helped preserve wine, but also gave it a sweet taste and succulent texture. Chronic lead poisoning has often been cited as one of the causes of the decline of Rome.
• Hippocrates, widely considered the father of medicine, includes wine in almost every one of his recorded remedies. He used it for cooling fevers, as a diuretic, as a general antiseptic, and to help convalescence. In fact, I think Hippocrates was on to something, because in the United States Pharmacopeia, alcohol is actually listed as a medicine.
• Speaking of health, the calories in a 5 ounce glass of wine ranges from about 80 to 100.  Lighter wines tend to have fewer calories than heavier wines.  Some wines are higher in carbohydrates than others due to their residual sugars. Wine is fat free and contains no cholesterol and contains 13 minerals necessary for human life.

These are just a few of the fun and interesting facts we’ve run across during our time in the business.  I would encourage you to take a little time, pour a glass of wine and discover your own quirky bits of information.
Jim Ballard