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"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." -- Emerson Emerson. Big drinkerWhen I read about the wines that a lot of blogging buddies drink, I feel sick with envy. Expensive, old-vintage, storied wines -- they drink them every day, or so it seems. My daily wine experience is a tad different, I assure you.I'm always casting about for reasonably priced and reasonably good wines that won't break the bank. In this I'm a lot more like Dr. Debs ("Good Wine Under $20") than Jeremy Parzen ("Do Bianchi") or...
Last week, I was joined by an adventurous group of diners and drinkers for a completely unique meal at Manresa Restaurant in Los Gatos, California. The result of months of discussions and planning between myself, Chef David Kinch, and Wine Director Jeff Bareilles, The Sake Dinner was an extraordinary experience.
To my knowledge, no non-Japanese, U.S. restaurant of the caliber of Manresa has ever done a tasting menu exclusively to be paired with world-class sake as we did last Wednesday night. Chef Kinch created a special eight-course meal that drew on his deep love of Japanese cuisine and its influence in his cooking, while I provided some of the best sakes available in the United States.
The result was a tremendous meal, made all the better by what was a great group of folks who chose to join us.
Sweetbreads fried chestnuts, and soft cooked eggs over rice Nishida Shuzoten "Denshu" Tokubetsu Junmai (served warm)
Sweet red bean cake with pluots and coconut ice milk Kamoizumi "KomeKome" Sweet Sake, Hiroshima Prefecture
I've eaten quite a few meals at Manresa, but this was certainly one of my favorites, irrespective of what I was drinking.
The sea bream and caviar dish was simply tremendous -- one of the best things I've put in my mouth in months. The lobster dish had a remarkable little bit of young artichoke cooked in wood ash on it that was stunning. The autumn tidal pool (which sadly I forgot to take a photo of) was unbelievable, from the quality of the sea urchin to the rich smoky foie gras at the bottom of the dish.
Everyone who attended was interested in learning more about sake, so I started the evening with a brief explanation of how sake was made, and then answered questions throughout the evening after introducing each sake that was poured.
Large dinners like this are always different, and the nature of the experience rests quite squarely on the dynamic of the people who are attending. This was one of the best such dinners I have hosted at Manresa because of the conviviality and enthusiasm of those who attended.
I didn't capture every dish, unfortunately, but I did manage to get a shot of most of them.
Perhaps you'll join us for another of these dinners at some point in the future?
NBC 10 invites you to celebrate the release of the 2008 Beaujolais wine at the French-American Schoola s 15th Annual Beaujolais Wine Festival on Friday, Nov.
It seems like every major city has dozens of food and wine festivals every year. San Francisco, compared to many urban centers, tends to be more selective in what it puts on, however. And that's a good thing, because I've certainly been to enough crappy food and wine events with lousy food and wine (and too little of either) to last my lifetime.
Honestly, the first time I attended FallFest in San Francisco, I expected it to be yet another mediocre attempt at a gourmet food and wine festival. But I was more than pleasantly surprised that first year, and have continued to be impressed every year since. It is a top notch event worthy of a city of foodies. The organizers (San Francisco Magazine, among others) have consistently produced an event with excellent food, fantastic wine, great logistics, and an excellent atmosphere.
The event includes the typical wine and food fair setup -- lots of booths handing out free wine and free food, along with cooking demonstrations. Some of the folks cooking at the event include The Ritz Carlton, Bocadillos, Fifth Floor, RNM, Spruce, and Sent Sovi. Those pouring will include JC Cellars, Fort Ross Vineyards, Medlock Ames, Saddleback Cellars, Yorkville Cellars, and more.
This year the event features the theme of Eat Local, which means that most of the food will be sourced within 3 hours of San Francisco, and that this will also be the theme of the demonstrations and lectures that take place throughout the event.
San Francisco FallFest 2008 Saturday, October 11, 2008 12:00 Noon to 4:00 PM Justin Herman Plaza, Embarcadero Center Market Street @ The Embarcadero San Francisco, CA
Tickets cost $95 in advance, $110 at the door; they can be ordered online at the event web site. The event will likely sell out, as it does every year.
*SPECIAL NOTE: Vinography readers can get $10 off the ticket price by using promotional code VNGRPHY at checkout.
Some advice for those attending: when it's sunny it gets quite hot in the plaza. Bring sunscreen and a hat and drink lots of water. Or, of course, it could be foggy and cold as hell. But that has actually never happened at this event, so if we all cross our collective fingers....
Embarcadero Center can be easily reached by all Bay Area public transportation options, including Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), Muni bus, underground Muni, ferry, cable car or the F-Line streetcar. For those who want to drive, underground garages are located in One, Two, Three, and Four Embarcadero Center.
The clever people over at Google have identified an apparently growing problem of emailing while intoxicated (EWI) and have taken steps to prevent it. The new “Mail Goggles” feature of their free email service challenges the user to 5 math problems before sending an email after hours. The user is in full control of which hours they want to designate and you don’t have to opt-in to this unique service. This should cut down on those drunk emails that seem like a good idea at the time but usually aren’t.
Although it will likely not catch drunk mathematicians, others who have a problem in this area will be well served. You know who you are
How do you keep up to date with the wine world these days? I’ve found out what works for me although I still suffer from information overload some times. My interests are as follows ?
current hot topics such as closures, global warming, harvest expectations and so on
recommendations on wines to try and buy
educational material especially anything that helps me towards my WSET Diploma
I’ve found the following sources really help me
Harpers magazine. I wish I could afford their annual subscription but it’s just too much. However I subscribe to their daily bulletins via Google’s reader and this really works for me. I see a couple of lines summarising news items when I’m on the computer at home or work and I can always click the link to go their web site if i wish to read more
an unusual source of news items is South African Wines. They send out regular emails which summarise the key stories from around the world by directing you towards the various publications, web sites, blogs etc which have something interesting and relevant
there is no substitute for a monthly magazine which is good for those train journeys commuting to work. Decanter and Wine and Spirit are my favourites. I was working in the US last summer and enjoyed Wine Spectator and thought about taking out a subscription but the cost including mailing back to the UK was prohibitive
I love reading other people’s blogs. People like Jamie Goode and Andrew Jefford talk about people they have met, wines they have drunk and places they have visited. The problem with blogs is that there are so many (and yes I have one also) that it’s possible to subscribe to too many of them using Google’s reader that information overload soon takes over.
Podcasts are great for car journeys if you put them on a CD or train journeys if you play them on your phone. I’ve learned a lot from some of the podcasts from Grape Radio
For bedtime reading or sitting in a chair (with a glass of something nice of course) there is no substitute for the hard stuff ie: books. You can’t go wrong with a copy of the Oxford Companion to Wine by your side. I also try to look up every wine I try in at least one reference book such as the World Atlas of Wine, Wine by the Label or Oz Clark’s pocket wine book. These often give the context for the wine leaving the label to give the detail (unless of course it’s French!).
I may occasionally suffer from information overload but I do learn a whole lot of interesting stuff about wine which vastly increases my enjoyment of the stuff.
You should never buy a wine on appearance alone, but the postage stamp label and odd shape of the 2006 Coppola "Encyclopedia Wine" Cabernet Sauvignon caught me hook, line, and sinker. This is from Bordeaux, $14, 12.5% abv. The embossed molecule on the side of the Erlenmeyer flask-style bottle is a diagram of resveratrol, the compound in wine linked in some studies to health and longevity.
Aromas of blueberry and plum, with flavors of dark berries and a touch of tart cherry. Nice pie crust aftertaste. The body was a little thin at times but was overall an easy drinking cab sav. My only complaint is that it doesn't taste much like a Bordeaux; I was looking for earthy or vegetal notes, maybe even a touch of tobacco or something, but it was a fruit-forward wine more in the California style.
The wine is pretty food friendly, going well with beef and salumi and a dozen other odds and ends, and I'd heartily endorse this as a good all-purpose wine selection for Thanksgiving. I also love the fact that it's relatively low in alcohol: 12.5%. Definitely a nice change of pace from the big 15% cabs.
I do like the concept of this line--single grape wines from around the world, presented in a fun and affordable manner. It's obviously a marketing strategy towards the younger, curious wine drinker, and I hope this is successful both for the winemakers and the newcomers to the wine market.
Events have conspired, the plot has thickened and now I call on you to say “non” to only one-third of Beaujolais Nouveau this year!
As you may recall, last week I asked you to ditch Beajolais Nouveau this year because of the high carbon footprint of the wine. The rush to bring this proto-wine to the world’s shops on the same day, November 20 this year, means that airfreight is commonly used, increasing the greenhouse gas emissions of the wine by at least fourfold for New York and many times more to places like San Francisco, Santiago, and Tokyo.
Word floated in to the Dr. Vino tower that major changes were afoot this year in Beaujolais with this year’s Nouveau. So I picked up the phone and called France (at the low rate of 2.3 cents per minute). First up, I spoke with Inter Beaujolais, a regional trade authority, where I learned that Beaujolais Nouveau last year had a volume of about 48 million bottles, about a third of the region’s production. Further, the Nouveau for EU destinations is not permitted to leave the region until November 13 this year, giving it a week to get places like Amsterdam and Athens. But non-EU destinations were given a special extra week this year and could leave the EU on November 6. Could it really get to store shelves in New York City by November 20?
To find out I called Georges Duboeuf, the largest shipper of Beaujolais Nouveau with around three-quarters of the Beaujolais Nouveau market. Yann Bourigault, who runs exports for North America, told me that, indeed, things are different this year. In July, Duboeuf had to set a price for the wine with the American importer, W. J. Deutsch. At that time the dollar was at $1.52 to the euro (it’s now 1.25) and with the softening economy, they made the call that they American consumer would not support the extra two dollars per bottle for the 2008 Beuajolais Nouveau that air freight would add.
So they lobbied the French authorities including the Minister of Agriculture and even Christine Lagarde, the Minister of Finance to be able to move the shipping date up to provide greater time for transportation via the cheaper (and greener) sea freight. Bourigault said that the wine had already been bottled and trucks were picking it up now to take it to the port where it would clear Customs and be loaded onto a ship for Boston, leaving November 6 as the new regulations allow. Barring storms or a French port strike, wine should arrive in Boston on November 13 where it will clear American Customs and then have trucks take the cases on the final leg of the journey to stores and restaurants. They can’t get it everywhere by sea and Bourigault estimated that about one-third of this year’s BN will still be airfreighted around the world, down from two-thirds last year. Still, that accounts for over a million cases of proto-wine that is flying around the world.
So there you have it! Some blend of the recently enfeebled dollar and the crippling strength of the clarion call to ditch Beaujolais Nouveau from this web site have now reduced the King Kong sized carbon footprint of the wine down to mere Sasquatch. Some producers have been more intentional in their efforts, such as Boisset who will roll out ultralight plastic wine bottles this year for the first time. Consider yourself on notice, Nouveau, for next year. In case of the dollar rally holds, we’ll see if they continue with the lower carbon footprint shipping option.
With the ends closer to being justified, I’m putting water in my own wine boycott, diluting it to one-third strength! On November 20, I still urge you to try a local wine, which has the smallest carbon footprint (see the site Appellation America for learning about wines made near you). Or, if you’ve been there, drunk that near you, try a cru Beaujolais; it’s a better direction for the region to head and, thanks to the shipping, a fraction of the carbon footprint of the Nouveau–and a thousand times better tasting.
Image credit: “Local” was commissioned from the talented Alex Eben Meyer.
I'm thrilled! We hired an experienced wine-business copywriter to do the mission & philosophy portion of the new web site, which is just under development. I decided not to write it because, frankly, you lack the clarity and perspective to do it yourself -- it's like trying to be objective about your baby. Can't be done. Based on this, we gave the writer the go-ahead to do the About Us section, which is even harder to do, I think. Let me know what you think! NAME THE BLOG One more...
Hmm. I wonder if anyone even bothers to stop by any more, even if it's just to note my conspicuous absence.
Lots going on, folks.
Thanks to all who wished the Chef and me well last month on the anniversary of our wedding.
On a similar note, best wishes to Scott and Jill on their nuptials last weekend. Such a beautiful party.
And, of course, there's the wine goings on. Much to do here in Northeast Ohio, especially this weekend. If you felt let down by the Tribe's oh-so-typical performance this year, you can return to Jacobs Field in Cleveland this weekend, Nov. 2-4, for a much happier occasion. It's the Heinen's/WVIZ World Series of Wine , a perennial joy for wine novices and aficionados alike. It really doesn't get much better than the grand tastings ($70-$75 a person; purchase tickets in advance). More than 400 wines, 100-plus producers, stellar munchies, unparalleled people watching. You'll find lots of opportunities to speak with winery and distributor representatives to get the real dirt on what you're tasting.
It's hard not to over imbibe with so many wines to try, so take a cab or a limo or book a hotel room. Some downtown Cleveland hotels are offering packages specifically for the occasion.
This is easily the biggest wine event of the year for Northeast Ohio. Oh, and it benefits public broadcasting, as if you needed another reason to go.
A two tier qualification proposal for Brunello? I can't believe it's come down to this... talk about making a mountain out of a molehill. Richard Woodard (decanter.com) writes:
Italian winemaker? Angelo Gaja has said that Brunello should operate a two-tier system and allow other varieties other than Sangiovese.
As the Brunello grape blending furore continues, the veteran Piedmont producer - who also makes Brunello di Montalcino ? has suggested DOC? Brunello should move on and no longer demand the wine is made from 100% Sangiovese.
In an article published this month in Italian newspaper Libero and local Tuscan paper La Nazione, Gaja says that if indeed Brunello producers have been adding other grapes illegally to the wine, then those producers should have been lobbying to get the appellation? rules changed.
Yes, monks can make great cheese. Abbaye de Tamie is such an example. It's a washed rind raw cow's milk cheese. It's not so easy to find, but worth the hunt.
Based on Winewaves' internal analysis of final tracking polls, exit polls and ongoing monitoring of election results, we declare that Barack Obama is the next President of the United States. Let's here it for President Obama: Ale To The Chief. (Posted 7:41 p.m. CST).
While others have a lot to lose on making such a projection, we have nothing to lose. Will anyone stop clicking through from a Google search for an obscure wine because they heard Winewaves goofed on an early election projection? Then, there's the fact that Winewaves' founder Jerry Hall studied statistics in graduate school. Not just a pretty face, but Jerry also knows when the chips are up or down. The chips are not up enough for John McCain to pull out a miracle.
While some may want me to remain unbiased, I'm not. Barack Obama is my choice and I'm glad he won tonight. He ran the better campaign and he is unquestionably the more intelligent and in touch candidate.
So, I suggest you have a glass of Avery Brewing Company's special edition "Ale To The Chief" to celebrate. This is a fantastic brew that combines over the top hops with a fullness of fruit flavors that makes for a big beer, a big noise, but very well balanced between the low and high notes.
The appearance of any brew is important, and this one delivers greatness. The color is beautiful, deep amber, copper-orange, with a slight turbidity that suggests it was just brewed. The nose is hoppy, fruity, along the lines of citrus peel, especially orange, and even tilting towards fruit cake. If you're like me, you think fruit cake smells better than it tastes. On the tongue, you get a nice complex interaction between bitter hops and also fruit and caramel. Fruit flavors carry through with the hops all the way to a crisp dry finish.
In the circles of wine lovers I travel in, many folks make a common observation about the evolving landscape of wine criticism. Namely that the era of Robert M. Parker, Jr. is coming to a close, and a new world of wine critics are emerging. I'm not sure I'd personally describe what I see happening in the wine world in quite those terms, but it's clear that Parker has been doing some succession planning in the past couple of years with many of the new additions to his staff. It's also clear that there are many new voices in the world of wine criticism, and some of them are beginning to carry serious weight.
One in particular seems to be rapidly gaining in power and influence, to the point that he is making markets for wine -- when he writes about a wine, it flies off the shelves and skyrockets in price.
His name is Shizuku Kanzaki, and he is a cartoon character.
Specifically, he is the sommelier hero of the Japanese comic book series Kami no Shizuku, or "Droplets of the Gods." Long time readers will remember that I have written about him before. But apparently he's gone from novelty to downright phenomenon. And when I say that he is gaining in power and influence, a single number may suffice to demonstrate that fact:
Number of subscribers to Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: 50,000 Estimated number of individual readers of Kami no Shizuku: 500,000
Influence on wine prices and inventories aside, the most impressive impact of this imaginary wine critic seems to me to be the fact that sommelier classes for women are "fully booked" in Japan.
How cool is that? Beats the heck out of the "Sideways Effect."
The Prosecco DOC? di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene Consorzio? has applied to the Italian government for promotion to the higher DOCG? status.
At the same time, the basic IGT? (Indicazione Geografica Tipica?) level Prosecco grown in the lower plains will also have to go though stricter quality control, the DOC says.
Some IGTs will be elevated to to DOC (Denominazione di Origine Controllata?) while others will be demoted, losing the right to put 'Prosecco' on the label.
DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita?), established in 1963, is the highest legal category of Italian wines.
The Prosecco Consorzio has applied to the Ministry of Agriculture to allow promotion of the best Proseccos in 2009.
Speaking at the Consorzio tasting in London on Monday, Consorzio director Giancarlo Vettorello told decanter.com it was time 'to push ahead with our UK promotion as sales in UK are on the rise and Prosecco seems to be all the rage.'
There were 37 producers at this year's tasting, 12 more than last year.
Today the Prosecco DOC produces some 57m bottles of which 15m are exported worldwide. The currently imports 6% of total exports, the equivalent of 1m bottles exported in 2007.
Au Jardin Les Amis (”The Friends, In the Garden”) is situated in the tranquil Singapore Botanic Gardens, on the second level of an 1920s home. We were seated on a glass enclosed balcony with a relaxing view of the gardens. It is a wonderful setting and was a great place to spend some time on my last day in Singapore.
The service was attentive, professional and was invisible except when needed. The food was very good, it wasn’t innovative - but with clean, elegant and pleasing flavour profiles it was memorable for the taste and technique. I have read that this venue can have good and bad days, and I think this must have been a good day as everything seemed to go well.
Like Iggy’s, the price was more than fair - the meal consisted of an amuse bouche, an entree, consommé, main course, dessert, les mignardises and coffee and cost $52 AUD (including 7% GST and a mandatory 10% service charge) per person plus wine. I guess when every corner of the city has wonderful (and cheap) food, you have to be fair to stay alive.
The wine;
The wine list is extensive and full of very special bottles, as well as being generally well above my budget!
Donnhoff Oberhauser Leistenberg Riesling Kabinett 2006 (Nahe, Germany) - 8.5% alcohol - Donnhoff is very quickly heading toward the top of my favourite Riesling producer list. This had aromas of sea salt, pears, tea leaves and mandarin. Delicate and long on the palate, there is some lovely fruit sweetness balanced by superb acidity. Lovely drinking now, but will age well over the next 10 years. 91/100
Bonneau Du Martray Corton Charlemagne Grand Cru 1992 (Burgundy, France) 375ml - 13% alcohol - Golden straw coloured. Butter, sesame, toast and honey aromas on the nose. Rich and creamy mouthfeel, with enough acid to keep the palate from being flabby. Very good length and texture. Drink now and over the next couple of years. 91/100
The food;
Prawn with Basil and Berry Foam with Apple juice
Cougette blossom stuffed with crab meat
Hon maguro with horseradish and roasted sesame dressing
Vine ripened tomato consomme with basil
Lightly smoked ocean trout with apple and fennel salad
Roasted flank steak and braised oxtail in red wine with seasonal vegetables
In this final part of this series, I would like to introduce readers to an extremely small winery which pays serious attention to their vines. Himmelsfeld vineyard began in 1991 when owner Elizabeth(Beth) Eggars decided to try something else besides nursing. Nestled on a gentle hill in Upper Moutere, the 10.5ha property has about 1.5ha dedicated to growing Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and SauvignonBlanc (roughly equal split). The rest of the land is still home to an apple orchard and many sheep!
Total production for all wines is roughly about 600+ cases so odds are you will not see this too often overseas. In fact, don't think we saw it in shops while in New Zealand either.
Of the many wineries visited - Beth struck me as one who puts emphasis on the Vineyard first and wine making second. She is adamant that "great wines are made in the vineyard", something which I hear echoed in the most zealous ( and coincidentally top notch) Burgundy producers. Her vineyard is the first one I have seen in New Zealand which does not "irrigate" - yes you heard it right - no irrigation. It was deemed that a deeper vine root system was preferable over "immediate results" and irrigation did not encourage this.
2002 HimmelsfeldMoutere Chardonnay Hints of citrus fruits and what is the beginning of some secondary aromas coming from the oak. Defintely French oak and probably not new oak either. Not as tight in terms of acidity which I suspect means it should be consumed within 3-5 years. 90 points.
2002 HimmelsfeldMoutere Cabernet Already achieving some secondary aromas, black and red fruits, not an inky black monster by any measures & soft smooth tannins. The core of the mid palate however shows some lightness in density indicating perhaps rain - grape bloat? Other than that a very nice wine but do not expect this to get much better and should be consumed within 3 perhaps 5 years. 90 points.
2003 HimmelsfeldMouter Noble Chardonnay Of the wines offered for tasting this is probably the got me excited the most. I am thinking this is comparable to top level Alsace SGN's but it also has that acidity which lifts the whole thing up. Defintely something I would be very curious to try again in 10-15 years - think this will be a knockout. 96+ points
It seems appropriate that the mythical figure of the phoenix should enter my imagination when searching for metaphors that could describe the variable fortunes of Verdejo throughout Spain's history. Wine production in general suffered during particularly crippling plague outbreaks, the Moorish Invasions, Reconquista, Wars of Succession and more recently under Franco, among several other trials. Not unlike the development and refinement of viticulture in Burgundy and the Rheingau, however, Verdejo cultivation in the Iberian Peninsula has distinct monastic roots. This is not by coincidence either, as the Castillian countryside, including the more important towns such as Segovia, Ávila and Valladolid gave Europe culturally transcendent figures such as Sts. Juan of the Cross and Teresa of Ávila.
Famous saints aside, the Sanz family has been involved extensively since the revitalization initiated in the region since the 1970?s and 1980?s, along the likes of larger houses such as Marqués de Riscal. Rueda wines, having achieved D.O. status around that time, in 1980, allow for Verdejo to be blended with other local and international white varietals. Sanz produces another (orange label) Con Class Rueda, which represents this type of blend, though I personally find the 100% Verdejo much more exciting and interesting.
I?m quite thrilled that consumers in export markets are now able to find stand-alone bottles of Castillian Verdejo from resurgent Spanish D.O.?s such as Rueda. Along with the producers? adoption of a more updated, state-of-the-art approach towards regional varieties that the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade (ICEX) people are striving to convey to foreign markets, I find it altogether more noteworthy to see the producers? attitudes themselves skewing towards their own tastes when it comes to the fork in the road that producing for said markets represents. The producer wonders: "What balance do we strike between what we believe regional, indigenous varieties such as Verdejo can achieve, and what North Americans or say, the Chinese and Japanese markets prefer in terms of taste and style?"
Argentines like myself are keenly aware of these issues, particularly when contemplating our neighbors from across the mountain range. The progressive viticultural methodologies and embrace of technology in and of themselves are assets that ultimately yield no rewards if utilized to please foreign sensibilities only. Heavy investment and updated production methods, in this case, however, have done well by
Tecnorati
The clever people over at Google have identified an apparently growing problem of emailing while intoxicated (EWI) and have taken steps to prevent it. The new “Mail Goggles” feature of their free email service 
