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Recently, at a dinner with friends, one man's date turned to me and complained, "He's so boring. All he ever talks about is wine. All day long he talks about wine." I probably looked hurt, because I was just as engrossed in our discussion of Syrah as he was. Lorraine leaned toward me and whispered, "She's right, you know. We're all hopeless wine geeks. Look at us from an outsider's point of view."
Our dinner at The Restaurant at Meadowood was lovely. The restaurant has a pleasant, relaxed décor which is still elegant. This casual elegance is reflected in the food from Chef Christopher Kostow. The meal was very enjoyable and we would happily return.
Port wines can seem like a challenging subject. There are all sorts of bottlings: vintage date, late-bottled vintage date, Colheitas, single Quintas, and still others know as ruby reserve, crusted, or white — and let?s not forget the various tawny Ports of 10, 20, 30 and 40 years of age. Why are there so many different bottlings, and where does one begin to explore all of these fortified wines? Thankfully, we had the opportunity to talk with Louisa Fry from the Port and Douro Wines Institute, an inter-professional council of growers and producers from this famous Portugese region.
Join us as we hear about the origins of Port, what it takes to get a vintage declared, and whether it’s called Port or Porto. We?ll also discuss the amazingly steep terraces of Portugal’s Douro region, and the varieties of grapes that are able to be blended into the final product. Of course, it wouldn’t be complete without hearing about the optimum time to drink Port.
For more info on the Wines of Portugal: www.ivdp.pt
With the huge popularity gain for wine in the past five years, one could wonder if a recession in the wine industry is looming.
Much depends on factors in the grand scheme of things. The once-booming housing industry created much wealth for a lot of Americans, but a recent downturn in home sales has created a large-scale semi-panic in the mortgage and banking industry. The stock markets have been shaken by the idea that mortgage companies are virtually disappearing overnight. This has put into question the stability of the biggest banks, and what their exposure to these smaller (defunct) companies has been.
The wine industry is based much on excess wealth. Wine is seen by many, not as an essential, but as a luxury item that would be cut out of a budget if tough times arose. A recent look at distribution and retail inventory levels showed a large glut, sometimes in excess of 200 days worth of stock.
The ever-popular Pinot Noir seems to be immune to this kind of chatter, however. Spurned to new heights of acceptance by the movie Sideways, the "heartbreak grape" seems to be an indespensible red... a must for any cellar or pantry. The next couple of years will be crucial to the industry at the retail and restaurant level.
When people find out that I enjoy cheap wine enough to devote a website to it, they usually ask me if I have been to Trader Joe’s. My response, until last week, has always been “No, not yet”.
Well, I finally caved and took a trip to Detroit, the nearest Trader Joe’s location for me here in Lansing. Ann Arbor might actually be closer, but as an MSU Spartan, I try to stay out of there.
I’d like to preface this review of Charles Shaw Cabernet with a synopsis of Trader Joe’s. If you have one near you, go there. If not for the wine, then for the thousands of food items that pack the small market. I spent 80 dollars, which sounds like a bit much especially for me. I ended up leaving with 2 cases of wine and enough food for a week. Fresh mozzarella, fresh gnocchi, fresh salsa (notice a pattern?), Guacamole chips, Trader Joe’s Marinara, soups, veggies…. I was in heaven. They have got all kinds of cheeses, breads, meats, micro-brewed beers, and their wine selection was out of this world. What a great store!
Trader Joe’s is the exclusive retailer of Charles Shaw Wines, better known to most as “Two-buck Chuck”. In California these wines sell for $1.99, which is just amazing. Here in Michigan, though, the price was $2.99.
Did we like it? Was it worth the trip?
Hell yes it was! For 3 dollars, I don’t think it could have been any better. The Cabernet was great. At first, I found it to be a little sweet, but looking back, I was actually enjoying the salsa with the wine, which probably wasn’t a great combination. Along with the Cab, I also purchased some of the Shiraz, Merlot, and Chardonnay (reviews coming soon).
Congrats to Two-Buck-Chuck and Trader Joe’s for achieving the highest rating available here on Cheap Wine Reviews. Hats off to you!
Rating: 10/10 Price: $2.99 Place of PurchaseTrader Joe’s
Red Barn Winery opened May of 2004. It is located four miles North of the city of Syracuse in Liverpool, NY. Open Thursday thru Sunday 12 noon to 6 P.M.
Paul Martin is the sole owner and winemaker with decades of experience. Old world (European) winemaking experience and new winemaking techniques are incorporated to produce great wines. N.Y. State grapes and fruits are used exclusively. The 3000 sq. ft. winery is built around a ?Turn of the Century? design. Tasting room # 1 is cozy, consisting of a fireplace, rocking chairs, couches and plank floors. Tasting room # 2is of the Western saloon style, high ceilings ( 25?), hand hewn beams, plank floors and antiques.
The Hearty Red is a very nie, solid, table red. Dry, with notes of cherry and vanilla. Nice!
There is definitely wine in India, but who exactly is drinking it? I have tasted pretty much all of the local, at least grape, wine I can find, which was pretty easy, as that is a population of about three producers. I ran across fruit wines being sold up in the foothills of the Himalayans, but I didn't have a chance to try it, and I don't usually count it as wine, at least for the scope of this blog.
The most amazing thing about wine, at least this far from Delhi (I am up north in the large city of Chandigarh) is people's perceptions of it. They, at least the locals I have met, do not know exactly what wine is. They assume it is a sort of whiskey, and a high priced one at that.
When I had a chance to share wine with them they were delighted with the taste, although to be fair I started them off with a slightly sweet white. This is a beginner wine for many people, and it was well received here, and went nicely with the local foods.
People here drink whiskey, and they drink it with nibbles before a meal. Drinking wine with the dinner was not something they had ever thought of doing. In fact drinking wine at all was something they had not thought of doing.
Almost every block there is a store that sells liquor and beer, and while the signs say they have wine, none actually do. Only a few stores carry wine at all, and their selection is very small.
That is not surprising given that most of the people in India I have met have no idea what wine is. The few restaurants that have wine listed have "both kinds" red and white, and nothing more descriptive than that.
The wines made in India are not bad, but they are very expensive. In a country where a hair cut cost $1.50 a $12 bottle of wine is an investment that few consider worth the risk.
It is changing. The ultra rich are drinking the big name labels, as they always do. The middle classes are ordering Dominos pizzas in their Levi jeans over their cell phones, and sooner or later they are going to start equating wine with their lifestyles.
Once India gets a taste for wine, watch out, there is a huge potential market here, if you are very, very patient, or very, very proactive.
As you may have noticed, Enotheque has been missing some updates for some time now. At the moment, I'm on the road at a very challenging but rewarding consulting job. The days are long and the nights seem all too short, resting only in brief moments before it's time to attend to the task at hand again.
I'll bring back some good posts with recommendations, interesting regions, values and interviews soon enough. For the time being, enjoy the other subscriptions of your Google Reader, since nobody is ever truly caught up with it anyway.
This is a gentle red, with ripe plum, berries, flowers and mineral on the nose and palate. Medium-bodied, with a light, velvety mouthfeel and a clean, fresh finish, leaving a hint of chocolate. Delicate, but all in balance.
Okay, it was actually a few days before Valentine?s. But clearly our uncharacteristically small group of Vancouver American Wine Society members who had gathered to compare a horizontal flight of ten 2002 Zinfandels were jumping into the spirit of romance.
Here they come in the order we tasted, and although it would be fun, we can take no credit for the final ?heartfelt? evaluations of the ten offerings ? each was delivered from an appointed, if sometimes reluctant, spokesperson at a different table.
Wine #1: Paso Robles Westside from Peachy Canyon Winery Thin, weak, and presenting surprisingly little fruit either on the nose or the palate. This wine is like a ghostly and somewhat disappointing lover. Neat tasting room though as seen at the right.
Wine #2: Alexander Valley Todd Brothers Ranch from Dashe Cellars Made with 4% Petit Syrah, the general consensus was that this wine was approaching ? or perhaps even past ? its prime. Tannins were still a bit coarse, and there was definite sediment. This wine was ranked as a dark and sultry, if a bit over the top lover. Wine #3: Sonoma Valley Rhinefarm Vineyard from Gundlach Bundschu Winery Softer and with a better balance than the previous one, most people agreed this wine showed coffee, chocolate, and mint overtones. The finish was longer, smoother like a well-oiled lover ? apparently appealing as this wine was ranked Number One of the evening.
Wine #4: Amador County Grandpere from Renwood Winery Made from old vines though from a newer winery (shown right), this wine was deemed somewhat austere. Oak on the nose but light in fruit, this wine ? according to the table?s spokesperson ? would not be finding its way onto her table nor into her bedroom even on Valentine?s Day.
Wine #5: Dry Creek Valley from Chateau Souverain Not offensive, merely flat and faded from time with not enough fruit remaining to be worth mentioning. This wine is one lover who simply doesn?t deliver ? even after midnight.
Wine #6: Dry Creek Valley from Foppiano Vineyards Although we knew this vineyard specializes in ?affordable,? this vintage was rather like stuffing your face full of penny candy in the general store. A fickle lover ? even on a one night stand, first he thought he loved her, then he didn?t, then he did.
Wine #7: Napa Valley from Napa Wine Company Like a chameleon, this wine exhibited the most dramatic amount of change of any poured this evening and garnered second favourite in the process. On the palate cedar, tobacco, and barnyard. In bed, an almost schizoid lover ? but definitely one you?d happily suggest a roll in the hay with.
Wine #8: Napa Valley Old Vines from Fife Vineyards Simple and somewhat nondescript but still comfortable, this wine is from old vines. Good for mindless quaffing on an open-air patio. A lover wearing nothing but flannel pajamas.
Wine #9: Napa Valley from Ravenswood Winery Although this wine didn?t open as much as many of us had expected, it was ?no wimpy wine.? Brawny and well structured, a few people found a hint of cream soda. This one is a somewhat reticent lover but definitely well built lover ? perhaps even a redhead. (Note: these guys have a really fun website and a terrific sense of humour. Here?s an excerpt: At Ravenswood, there?s no pinkie raising, Brie eating, wine spitting wimpiness. Oh no. At the home of No Wimpy Wines, you?ll get to taste mind blowing zinfandel, witty conversation with our behind-the-bar staff and, if you so choose, private or group tours of the winery aka Zinfomania Central.)
Wine #10: Napa Valley from Rutherford Ranch Controversy swirled around this wine as it became clear there was an almost unbelievable amount of bottle variation between each of the three that were poured. Some felt theirs was corked, others said ?no, it?s just the style.? Was it a Madame wearing pancake make up and a feather boa or a great lover who hadn?t showered for a week? Few could agree.
A few quick things about cru Beaujolais, the smaller, distinctive growing areas of Beaujolais.
1. The Burgundy producers are coming! Prices are relatively low for grapes and real estate. That fact has attracted investment to the region from producers looking to expand: Earlier this year the Champagne (and Burgundy) house Henriot purchased the Chateau de Poncie, a key property in Fleurie. When I asked Joseph Henriot earlier this year about the motivation for the purchase, he pointed to the distinctive terroir (he loves Moulin-a-Vent and Morgon as well as Fleurie) but also the tremendous discount the property had compared to land in Burgundy.
2. Cru Beaujolais can age, maybe even longer than you think Louis Jadot was one of the earliest notable Burgundy producers to acquire property in the Beaujolais region, notably in Moulin-A-Vent. I tried their Chateau des Jacques 1996 a few months ago and was wildly impressed. Jacques Lardiere, the winemaker (pictured right), told me that the best wines can last decades! 3. I’ve got a cru Beaujolais vertical going–in magnum Magnums, twice the size of regular bottles, are generally baubles for captains of industry. But you can get a top cru Beaujolais in magnum for less than a lot of second label Bordeaux. Combine this price appeal with the age-worthiness and you can understand why I have several magnums of Deccombes, Desvignes, and a mini-vertical (three vintages!) of Clos de la Roilette cuvee tardive. Cru Beaujolais magnums also make great gifts; to wit, I just got a magnum of Lapierre Morgon 07 at Appellation Wine and Spirits yesterday.
4. Gamay is wildly food friendly! And at 12.5 percent alcohol, you can have a couple of glasses too and still be able to function after dinner.
5. It’s mostly less expensive than red Burgundy!
6. How would you change the region? In 1395, Duke Philip the Bold outlawed the humble gamay grape from Burgundy, protecting the premium pinot noir by fiat. What would you do differently if you were the Duke of Beaujolais? I asked Jacques Lardiere what he would do differently if he made his wine in Moulin-a-Vent outside of the appellation system, which mandates certain controls, such as planting the grape gamay. He said, “I would plant pinot noir.”
Don’t forget to join us tonight at 8 PM on Twitter Taste Live raising a glass of local wine or a cru Beaujolais! use #ttl in your comments or follow me.
In honor of Election Day, here's a historic campaign cocktail to enjoy, but please do so after voting.
I was charmed by this recipe over at Serious Eats for the Ward Eight Cocktail, hailing from 19th century Boston when candidates' victory parties took place before Election Day. This is a gussied-up Whiskey Sour, and I followed the footnote to the recipe by using fresh pomegranate juice and sugar rather than an old bottle of grenadine syrup.
This cocktail manages to be spicy and tangy and would work well as a punch for a party. The rye and fresh juices keep it sophisticated, and you'll get plenty of vitamin C here. You really wouldn't want to make this with Bourbon or Scotch, though a white or gold rum would probably be an acceptable substitute.
IN A DRAMATIC change of focus the Hardy Wine Company today announced that it was taking a great leap backwards - and changing its name. From the end of this month the Hardy Wine Company will be known as Constellation Wines Australia. This is an attempt to change the perception of the Hardys wine name from that of a corporate giant to, more simply, a regional winery 'known for quality and craftsmanship'
While this change is largely window-dressing, it is important. It marks a significant shift in thinking at Hardys. In recent years its super-premium portfolio has been sadly neglected, to the point where many premium wine drinkers (and wine media) today query whether the Jack Mann, Houghton Gladstones, Hardy's Tintara and Thomas Hardy super-premium labels still exist. The Hardy Wine Company has become known for good quality, cheap, non-region-specific fighting varietals. It has been at the forefront of the much maligned 'race to the bottom'.
And for a long time this strategy has been widely perceived as puzzling and myopic - like defecating in your own nest.
Hardy Wine Company President John Grant said today that ‘This is a pivotal time for our company as we embark on a range of activities to move our company to higher ground. From 31 March ... we aim to showcase to the world regional winemaking at its finest.
‘By drawing on Constellation’s global resources and tapping into our generational traditions, we aim to become Australia’s regional wine champion, recognised for our quality brands and winemaking excellence.’
‘Changing our company name provides greater freedom to shine the spotlight on the real heroes of our business - the outstanding regional wines. In particular, it allows the Hardys brand to return to being a winery, known for quality and craftsmanship, rather than being known as a corporation.’
‘We will be adding to our diverse regional offering and continuing our exploration of Australia’s premium wine regions’, he said, ‘as well as strengthening our front line staff, with additional personnel, tools, resources and training’.
Constellation Wines Australia brands include: Amberley, Banrock Station, Barossa Valley Estate, Bay of Fires, Berri Estates, Brookland Valley Estate, Chateau Reynella, Goundrey, Hardys, Houghton, Leasingham, Moondah Brook, Omni, Redman, Renmano, Stanley Wines, Starvedog Lane, Stonehaven, Tintara, Yarra Burn.
A few wines earlier this week at Atelier in Newtown.
Vilmart C?ur de Cuvée 1997. Light straw colour with a fine bead. Lemon, pear, brine and earth on the nose. There is subtle fruit sweetness balanced with excellent acidity on the palate. Long and intense, this is an excellent wine and one of the better 97s I’ve tasted. 92/100
Domaine Servin Les Blanchots 2000 Corked. NR/100
Louis Michel et Fils Grenouilles 2000. Behind the huge amount of sulfur was pear, marmalade and peaches. The palate is medium weight but very simple. 84/100
Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne 1999. Nutty, pineapple, tropical fruit, lemon rind and subtle oak aromas. A ripe, expansive palate without being too overbearing. Acid is good enough to focus the palate. Long length. 91/100
Marquis d’Angerville Clos des Ducs 1999. Earth, cherry, blood and chocolate aromas on the nose. Firm palate, with some sweet fruit in the background, the acid structure is a highlight. Powerful and very impressive. Starting to come around to drinking well. 92/100
Sylvie Esmonin Clos St. Jacques 2001 Rich, lifted nose of raspberry, cherry and a touch of earth and chocolate. The palate is more restrained than the nose but is still tightly wound and full of power. Good potential to improve from here. 91/100
Château de Beaucastel rouge 1990 A lot of complexity on the nose with smoke and smoked meats, cherry, spice, cedar and a fair bit of funky brett. Good intensity to the palate, but the brett affects the length of the finish. I would have rated this 2-3 points higher if the brett hadn’t affected the palate so much. 92/100
Dalla Valle Maya (Napa) 2000 Bold nose, with blueberry, chocolate, vanilla, autumn leaves and grassy characters from the Cabernet Franc. Very intense and youthful on the palate with good length and the ripeness is never out of balance. Primary, but surprisingly approachable and I think it will be at its best over the next 5 years. 93/100
Dr. Loosen Ürziger Wurzgarten Auslese 1995 Lemon, spice, floral notes and light honey aromas comprise the nose. The palate is excellent with light sweetness and refreshing acidity. Great balance and lingering length. 89/100
Claude Cazals Clos Cazals 1997. Green apple, honey and pear on the nose. The palate is awkward, it is almost both bitterly acidic and broad at the same time. Good, but I had this two and a half years ago and much preferred it then. 87/100
When I saw beef heart at the market, I got the idea for an odd dish. Most folks would just grimace and move on to the socially acceptable cuts of meat, but I grabbed un corazón de res and a few pounds of short ribs for dinner. Naturally the two go together in the chest, so why not cook them together?
Out of respect for the more squeamish readers I've omitted the pictures of the heart during the trimming phase, but it's a highly educational experience if you've never done it. It's a good four times the size of the human heart but works mostly the same way. And unlike the formaldehyde pickled samples you may have encountered in biology class or med school, this smells like steak. Tastes like it as well--once you trim off all the fat and the various arteries, you're left with something like filet mignon: a perfectly lean, fine grained meat that grills beautifully. I tried a few pieces in this fashion before chopping up the rest for the braised dish.
I started by roasting the short ribs in a hot oven for an hour to render out the fat and get some nice browning. Do this on a deep lipped aluminum sheet pan and it's a lot easier than doing it in a skillet (hat tip to Cook's Illustrated). I heated the roasting pan in the oven and then added a few tablespoons of the rendered beef fat and a standard mirepoix. Then I added the chunks of heart, the drained ribs, a couple of cans of tomato sauce, a can of chicken broth, and half a bottle of Bordeaux (more on that in a bit). I covered it and roasted it in a low oven for a good four or five hours until everything was nice and tender.
The whole thing was rich, velvety, savory, and sinfully beefy. This is a great method of preparing short ribs. The heart is actually milder and more tender than the short ribs, so it's sort of lost in the stew, but the cardiac muscle does provide an interesting textural contrast.
For the braising liquid I used half a bottle of the 2005 Mouton Cadet from Bordeaux. $13, 13% abv. 65% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Cabernet Franc. The label comes with a quote: "Le vin, il naît, puis il vit, mais point ne meurt, en l'homme il survit." Baron Philippe (1902-1988). This translates as "Wine is born, it lives, but it never dies; in man it survives." There's a dusty nose with elements of black cherry and hints of vanilla and lipstick (I promise I was using a clean glass) with a smooth mouthfeel and restrained berry flavors. 2005 was a banner year for Bordeaux and this is a very economical way to enjoy it.
I was going to open the other bottle to try something different, but I decided to save it for later. That's a 2004 Sella & Mosca Cannonau di Sardegna from the Italian island of Sardinia. $15, 12.5% abv. I've written about the Cannonau grape previously and was excited to see a bottle from a different producer. A few days afterward I opened it up to go with grilled pork chops and an apple-garlic-sherry vinegar topping. The wine has an intensely spicy, grape skin aroma to it and a full black cherry flavor. The spice continues on the tongue, black pepper and allspice. Medium tannins, clean finish, a little unusual but certainly strong enough to hold up against the grilled pork.
The growing sense of optimism over the 2008 vintage in Oregon has spilled over the edge of the fermenter into outright excitement. Veteran winemakers throughout the Willamette Valley are letting their enthusiasm for this vintage show now that almost all their fruit is harvested. Here are some comments on the 2008 vintage from some of Oregon’s most important winemakers.
Brian O’Donnell owner and winemaker of the one of Oregon’s finest estates Belle Pente describes 2008 this way, “In terms of my impression of the harvest, I’m really excited! We brought in 10 tons October 1st that is now done, and these are some of the most delicious young wines I’ve ever tasted! The chemistry on the stuff we picked later is a little bizarre, but with a few tweaks it should be fine….we’re planning to let fermentation run a little hotter than normal and do longer than normal post-fermentation maceration to try and “burn” some of the obvious fruitiness out of the wines to let the site characteristics show thru better. But frankly, I think we’ve got a tiger by the tail, and she’s wild and sassy and will take a lot of good (and lucky) winemaking decisions to get the best out of her.”
Few growers and winemakers have the depth of experience possessed by David Adelsheim one of the true founders and pioneers of the Oregon wine industry. About this vintage he comments, “Another weird year. Three weeks late, rain in July and August, and still we saw the beginnings of drought stress in some sites. We starting picking on Sep 29th and finished this past week on Oct 18th. A third of our Pinot noir was picked by Oct 3rd; during the next 10 days (which were damp) we picked only a few lots of white grapes; everything else was picked in the final six hectic days. And the quality is looking pretty grand. It will need to be – our crop levels were off by 30% compared to 2007”
Jerry Murray winemaker and vineyard manager of highly regarded Patton Valley Vineyards says of 2008, “The harvest has looked great. We pulled in the last of our fruit yesterday. Considering the way the season started out, late bud break and all, mother nature has given us exactly what we needed to not just to avoid a disaster but to really ripen fruit in a way that should make some amazing wines, true pinot. The chemistry of the grapes has been just about perfect, great acidity, moderate alcohol, great color and phenolic development. As a winemaker you hope for this sort of vintage every year but I would be surprised if you get more than a handful in a lifetime. All that is left is to see the quality through to bottle. It is very exciting.”
Top: Vines at the Belle Pente estate vineyard change color. Below: Harvest in Tony Soter’s Mineral Springs Vineyard
Designed as an aperitif the Farina Val de Reyes Vino Semi-Dulce is recommended with foie gras, pates and soft cheeses. Back in May of 2007 a bottle (of the previous vintage, 2004) was matched with delicious results with a Melon, Pecorino and Culatello Anti-Pasti.
A requirement for a wine to accompany Little Windfall Apple Tarts resulted in this being opened as a proper dessert wine.
Review0.3 Wine Tasting Note: Fariña Val de Reyes, 2005, Castilla y Leon, Spain [More: Adegga / Snooth]
The Botrytis effected Moscatel is really evident on the aroma with hints of orange, honey, pear and a heady honeysuckle edge. Is it the botrytis that gives that nice weight to the palate in addition to the sweetness? A good long spicy finish is clean and fresh from the citric acidity. Behind that spice is there a dimension not too dissimilar to that of autumn - well-kept apples, damp leaves, wild mushrooms and all? Alcohol 13%.
It is not a rich, sickly dessert wine being more fresh and lively than many. With the Little Windfall Apple Tarts it was rather scrummy with a lemon dimension matching the tarts lemon curd. With desserts you need the wine to be sweeter than the food; this match worked perfectly.
Andrew BarrowScribblings Rating - 90/100 [3.75 out of 5]
To wrap up Halloween Week, here's a dinner so terrifying my roommate left the house for the entire evening. Enjoy!
After the post on the literary James Bond's Vesper cocktail versus the vodka martini of the movies, I decided to tackle a similar movie/book/beverage change. In the film version of The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal Lecter memorably said, "A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti."
In the book, it was a "big Amarone". As I thought about this, I realized that some well-prepared liver, fava beans, and a nice Italian wine would be a pretty good dinner, if in somewhat questionable taste. Let's just go ahead and get this straight: this is a normal cow's liver from the grocery store. Benito's Wine Reviews does not endorse cannibalism practiced upon census personnel or anyone else for that matter.
Despite the disclaimers, it still freaked out The Roommate, as this movie gave her nightmares for years afterwards and one of the house rules is that I don't do my Lecter voice around her. More liver for me!
Liver and onions is a pretty common pairing, and I looked at a few different recipes. A big contender was Mario Batali's fegato alla veneziana, but I settled on Anthony Bourdain's foie de veau lyonnaise. At the end of the recipe, he suggests several variations, including adding apples and pork to the onions. I sliced up some of those Ozark Gold apples and a bit of prosciutto to go along with the onions, and the liver was just lightly fried on each side. The best parts of the liver were the least cooked, sort of a medium rare pink. It's difficult to achieve this using the thin slices commonly available; I'd like to get a full liver and cook one-inch cubes in the future.
The fava beans were prepared with onion, bell pepper, and tomato paste, amongst other spices and seasonings. I started with dried beans (I've never seen fresh ones around here), and by the time the dish was done the beans had fallen apart into a chunky mush. This did not affect the flavor of the dish, which was rich and savory. While there are many substitutes for Italian classics like fava and cannelini beans, somehow the real thing is always best.
And what about the wine? The 2003 Bolla Amarone della Valpolicella was a real treat. $46, 15% abv, made from a proprietary blend of partially-dried Corvina, Rondinella, and Molinara grapes. It had gorgeous aromas of fig, fennel, and cedar, with flavors of pomegranate and currant. I allowed it to decant for about two hours before the meal and it went along very well with the meal. This bottle, and other Amarones topping $100, would fall under the "special occasion" wines for most folks I know, but I felt it was well worth it here. It helped elevate the dish far above the sad, overcooked liver and onions that rest under heat lamps at diners and dives throughout the country.
All in all an unforgettable meal. While I won't be replicating it precisely anytime soon, I do want to experiment further with liver, and I think that fava beans could be a great addition to the Thanksgiving table.
I’ve decided to live blog tonight’s Twitter Taste Live using COVERITLIVE, a service I used for live blogging a tech event earlier this week. All the presenting bloggers Twitter accounts will be captured here along with others I will add during the tasting. You can also post comments right here in the view below. If this works, I’ll continue to cover these online tastings for those who can’t join us live.
Tecnorati
2. Cru Beaujolais can age, maybe even longer than you think
