Mesilla, New Mexico – Chaucer Winery of Santa Cruz, California has added a Pomegranate Sangria recipe created at the Double Eagle Restaurant in historic Old Mesilla to its Drink Recipe Booklet.  The booklet is tagged onto every bottle of Pomegranate Wine they produce and is shipped nation-wide.  In the booklet, the Double Eagle is credited with the recipe.  Chaucer has never before accepted a recipe for publication said Regional Manager Jim Vaughn but they found this concoction “brilliantly fresh.”  Chaucer is recognized nationally as the premier producer of dessert wines, especially non-grape wines such as the Pomegranate.  The family has been in the wine business in California since 1933.

 Production of pomegranate wine was a hallmark of the Chaucer line even before the surge on interest in anything pomegranate due to the anti-oxidant properties.  While the anti-oxidant properties survive the fermentation process, it was the taste that first attracted Win Ritter, Beverage Manager at Double Eagle Restaurant. But, “Wine sales with dessert is a pretty small niche in Las Cruces so I looked for another way to market the wine.” said Ritter.  An obvious partner for a sweet wine was fruit and Ritter began experimenting.  Citrus proved to be the perfect ‘tart’ to pair with the ‘sweet’ of the pomegranate wine and the Pom Sangria was born. 

 The taste proved a winner with lunch, afternoon and dinner guests and Ritter ordered cases and then more cases of the wine.  Such a sudden spike in New Mexico sales drew the attention of Chaucer Production Manger Jim Vaughn who contacted his distributor to congratulate them on their sales efforts.  The distributor confessed that it was actually only one business ordering most of the wine – the Double Eagle.  Vaughn booked his flight to New Mexico that afternoon.

 “I was a little surprised to find the tiny town of Mesilla had a restaurant in a historic building filled with art, antiques and crystal with a nationally recognized wine list, award winning margaritas and its own beef ageing room.  Wow!” said Vaughn as he sat at the Imperial Bar with Ritter and sipped the Pom Sangria.  In early October, the winery sent out an initial production run of 24,000 bottles with the recipe booklet tagged around each neck.  The response to the Double Eagle recipe has been immediate and positive commented Vaughn.  “It’s very exciting to listen to customers across the country say the same thing about the drink: wonderful!”