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Mussels on the half shell are as exotic and flavorful as they are inexpensive.
(serves 6)
6 basil leaves
2 T fresh thyme, remove and discard stems before measuring
2 T fresh tarragon, remove and discard stems before measuring
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 shallot(s), minced
3 lemons, 1 * zested, 1 /2*juiced, 1 - 1/2* cut into wedges and reserved for garnish
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley sprigs, remove and discard stems before measuring
1/2 t celery salt
1/4 t freshly ground black pepper
3 T butter at room temperature
1 lb. cultured blue mussels, rinsed, and debearded with a quick tug
1. . Mix all ingredients except the butter and mussels in a small food processor or blender or dice finely and mix by hand in a small bowl.
2. . If using a processor or blender add the butter. Otherwise, add the butter to the mixture in the bowl and blend thoroughly with a spoon.
3. . Place a vegetable steamer in a large pot and add 1 inch of water Bring water to a boil. Add the mussels, cover and steam for approximately 40 to 60 seconds, or just long enough for the shells to open (this is the sole object of the exercise). Remove opened shells and continue steaming any closed shells for I minute. Discard any mussels that have not opened by this time.
4. . Allow the mussels to cool. Remove the top shell.
5. . Set the mussels on a baking sheet (facing up) and spoon 1/4 teaspoon of the butter/herb mixture over each.
6. . Place the pan under the broiler on the level closest to the element or flame. Broil for about 2-1/2 minutes, or until butter is melted and the mussels just begin to brown.
7. . Serve on the half shell.
le secret. .Do not oversteam or overbroil mussels.
the adventure club . .Add a few droplets of Pernod (a licorice-flavored liqueur) to each mussel just before cooking.
garnish . .Lemon wedges.
suggested accompaniment . .A martini.
alternatives . .i) Butter may be replaced with an equal amount of olive oil. ii) This recipe also works with oysters, but you will have to pray for a pearl in order to finance the difference in price.
notes . .Buy the mussels from a reputable fishmonger on the day of the dinner. Select only mussels that are closed. ii) Keep mussels refrigerated. iii) Mussels are best washed and cleaned just before using. They begin to dry out once the beard is removed. iv) Don't worry if you are missing any one of the herbs. v) If you open a mussel and it looks questionable, give it the smell test.
guest assignment . .Mussel debearder.
hints for advance prep . .The butter mixture may be prepared days in advance and refrigerated or frozen.
cooking apparatus . .A baking sheet, a large pot, and a vegetable steamer.
serving apparatus . .A large serving plate, a plate for the empty shells and cocktail napkins.
Rocket Science 2004 Proprietary Red $45 Wine Label says: “Son, your 21 years old. It’s time you learned the art of wine tasting.” “I already know how you taste wine,” replied the sure young man. “This wine has an inky, purple hue with a sensational purity, flavors of a blackberry liqueur with a creme de cassis intensity and [...]
I've often wondered why New Zealand was anointed/anointed itself as the land of Sauvignon Blanc. To be sure, NZ SB has been quite successful as an import to the US wine market (and certainly names like 'Monkey Bay' don't hurt its mass appeal to the garanimal-wine-loving crowd). However, I think this success has come at a price. Kiwi Blanc has overshadowed every other grape variety. And this is a very sad thing.
Think about it. When was the last time you sampled a New Zealand Riesling or Gewurztraminer? These grapes have found a very cozy home on the Islands way down under. In fact, while I find most New Zealand Sauvi Blanc, easy-to-enjoy, I also find it a tad bit uni-dimensional (see here for a great descriptor of NZ SB). I have discovered extraordinarily sublime Riesling and intoxicating (in the figurative sense of the word) Gewurz. Think I'm nuts. Take this little NZ non-SB challenge:
Huia Gewurztraminer 2006 - A chewy, thick wine, which echos the Alsatian style but with a bit less earth
Villa Maria Riesling 2005- A remarkable feat of a wine. This Riesling stews together new world heft with teutonic crispness.
Am I alone in thinking the OenoKiwis might want to diversify their white wine portfolio?
I did a search on Google Scholar for wine. A lot of articles were returned in the search result. At first glance, I could not figure out why these results had been returned. At closer inspection, the author of the first few articles had the last name of Wine.
RH Wine has written many articles in the field of biology. JJ Wine has authored many papers on Cystic fibrosis. RN Wine writes on topics in the field of toxicology. These are just three of the authors with results dominating my search for wine on Google Scholar.
I changed my search in Google Scholar from wine to red wine. The first scholarly article returned in my search for red wine was ?Inhibition of oxidation of human low-density lipoprotein by phenolic substances in red wine?. This article was published in 1993 in the British edition of Lancet.
An article entitled ?The red wine phenolics trans-resveratrol and quercetin block human platelet aggregation and eicosanoid synthesis: implications for protection against coronary heart disease? was published in Clinica Chimica Acta in 1995. There were five authors cited on this paper.
The American journal of clinical nutrition published ?Consumption of red wine with meals reduces the susceptibility of human plasma and low-density lipoprotein to lipid peroxidation? in 1995. This paper has been cited over two hundred times. The author credited with writing it is B Fuhrman.
There were over sixteen thousand results returned when I did my Google Scholar search for red wine. The article entitled ?Antiplatelet activity of synthetic and natural resveratrol in red wine? is another article that has been cited many times. The International journal of tissue reactions published this article in 1995 and now it has been cited 116 times.
The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry published an article in 1980 entitled ?Wine aroma composition: identification of additional volatile constituents of red wine?. The article has been cited five times. The author, P Schreier, has also written an article entitled ?Flavor composition of wines: a review?.
SPIT: wine in France! Over the past year, as the economy has been grinding down, some Parisians have decided to cash out of wine by pawning their wines to the Credit Municipal, who, in turn, just auctioned off 2,500 bottles. [AP]
SIPPED: wine the beverage “Red wine patches? No thanks, I?ll take mine orally,” quips Mark Fisher about a resveratrol ad he saw in his Sunday paper. He continues, “What?s next? A suppository?” Hey-oh! [Uncorked]
SIPPED: haggling! The NY Post delights in the fact that the recession brings the end of water sommeliers. And they point out that negotiating with the (wine) sommelier is now not only acceptable but encouraged at David Burke’s restaurants: diners are given a list of “auction selections” where they can bid. The sommelier has “never been insulted” by an opening bid.
SIPPED: change at the Times dining section Come August, Frank Bruni will be pushing back from the restaurant reviewing table at the New York Times and heading over to the Magazine. [Diner's Journal]
It's not a huge leap from veterinary medicine to winemaking, and that leap is made even shorter when you're enrolled at UC Davis which happens to be the top school in the nation for both. Dan Lee initially thought he wanted to work with animals, but a few courses as electives during his vet school tenure were enough to convince him to immediately enroll in the Enology program as soon as he finished his undergraduate degree.
While he still loves animals, Dan hasn't looked back, graduating and continuing on to become a winemaker for Jekel and Durney (now Heller Estate), all the while plotting to start Morgan Winery. In 1982 he and his wife Donna celebrated their inaugural vintage with the release of a Chardonnay and since then have been making a wide variety of high quality wines with fruit sourced from other vineyards, and starting in 1999, with fruit from their own vineyard, the "Double L."
With the maturation of their estate vineyard, Lee switched to focus exclusively on Monterey County fruit as well as to completely organic farming at the estate. Winemaker Gianni Abate also came aboard, fresh from a career as winemaker at some of the country's largest wine companies, including Bronco, Delicato, and Robert Mondavi Winery, allowing Lee to assume the title and responsibilities of "Winegrower."
After more than 25 years, the Morgan portfolio includes nearly 30 wines, including those produced under the second label "Lee Family Farm." Lee has been making this Metallico Chardonnay for the last 7 years, with fruit primarily from the Arroyo Seco appellation of Monterey County. The bulk of the grapes come from the winery's estate vineyards along with their neighbors, the Lucia Highlands Vineyard.
The grapes for this wine are crushed from whole clusters into stainless steel fermenters that are cooled to make sure the fermentation takes place slowly and in a controlled fashion. After the primary fermentation, the wine is racked into neutral, three-year-old oak barrels and is not put through a secondary malolactic fermentation (one of the chief sources of the buttery qualities of most California Chardonnays). It is aged for several months in these barrels on its fine lees (the yeasty sediments that fall to the bottom of the barrel) which are stirred to give the wine more body.
Unoaked Chardonnay is a wonderful invention as far as I am concerned. I think I had my first such wine in Australia about a decade ago, and fell in love with Chardonnay all over again. While it doesn't achieve the profundity of some of the great white Burgundies, unoaked Chardonnay from the New World preserves some of their most appealing characteristics: crisp, pure fruit coupled with a nice minerality, usually accompanied by great acidity. More versatile than their heavily-oaked brethren, these wines are yet more proof that anyone swearing off Chardonnay on principle is really missing the boat.
Tasting Notes: Light gold in the glass, this wine has a lively nose of crisp apples and unripe pears, with a hint of guava. In the mouth it is crystalline in quality, with restrained lemon curd, cold cream, green melon, and wet slate flavors that slide refreshingly across the palate. A hint of buttered sourdough toast creeps into the finish, which, like the rest of the wine can only be characterized as refreshing.
Food Pairing: I had this wine with a crab, tomato, and watercress terrine, and while most Chardonnays would have been a little heavy for the dish, this wine was a great match.
E & J Gallo, the enormous, privately held wine company, is well-known (notorious?) for protecting their brand. Ernest and Julio sued their own brother Joseph in 1986 to prevent him from marketing his cheese as “Joseph Gallo.” They also sued unrelated East Bay company, Gallo Salume Inc., to limit the number of their meat products that could carry the name.
In 1990 the company successfully sued the Gallo Nero wine consortium of Chianti who had used the word ?gallo? (cockerel) on their bottles. Ten years later the brothers took the Chianti wine-makers to court again over their domaine name.
In the meantime they put pressure on a small domaine called Santa Marcellina in Chianti because they had a ?Marcellina? trade-mark among the many they had patented. In 1994 they attacked a Mexican company called Pasatiempos Gallo. In 2002 it was the turn of a lady potter in Texas, who used the word ?gallo? because she made ceramic representations of roosters. Gallo himself made no excuses for his behaviour, saying: ?We don?t want most of the business. We want it all.?
While it’s no doubt important for mark holders to protect their marks, there’s no point in being a cockerel about it. The situation smacks of Monster Cable’s overreaching and suing a mini-golf company and engendering consumer ill will. Perhaps we should take a page from Gizmodo’s book and come up with a list of items that Gallo legal eagles might want to put in their sight:
Sicily is an exciting place to be making wine these days. Producers that range from tiny family outfits to the major estates are all playing various roles in the internationalization of the region?s presence and potential clientele. That very process, of increasing the notoriety of Sicilian wines, of course, does not preclude both sacrifice and experimentation. Much like in other exciting regions such as Spain?s Somontano, experimentation with international grape varieties can drastically set the production profile apart. Seeing how, unfortunately, many of the largest export markets such as the United States seem to be fashion and trend-driven, being at the forefront in some ways can prove to be quite beneficial. In turn, sacrifice comes into the picture when such experimentation casts aside indigenous varieties and yields spoofed, confected and to a great extent, contrived wines bereft of the terroir?s individuality.
The more one reflects upon this dialectic between experimentation and sacrifice, which producers of all scales face when tending to their craft in promising regions that are in the process of developing the capacity to attract the world at a level that New World nations have done, the more I see Sicily on the winning side of the equation. Even if the creation of the IGT scheme (indicazione geografica tipica) in 1992, to allow for much-needed innovation in Italian winemaking has attracted criticism, this measure, along with investment, has done Sicilian wine much good. Critics have alluded to a point that can best be characterized in the following way: ?Innovation is wonderful, but what can the IGT label guarantee, in terms of quality?? The point is a valid one, as in a parallel situation, one cannot really know how great a disparity in quality to expect when presented with two bottles of French Vins de Pays. The issue of disparity, in light of this example especially, can particularly become a prominent annoyance. One bottle may be lovely, whereas the other one may be insipid. Though a fair point to bring up, I think that those who dismiss the Vin de Pays, as well as the Italian IGT schemes are reluctant to acknowledge an ?elephant in the room? of sorts that is pertinent to such a discussion?the painstaking work involved in tasting enough to discern between enormous gulfs in quality.
This last aspect of the discussion is what brings me to my conclusion regarding Sicily?s developing industry. Taking into account the type of challenge that Italy?s IGT scheme presents to producers as well as consumers, as well as the usual set of industry factors that together yield a barometer reading for success, so to speak, I am anticipating many great things coming out of Sicilian vineyards and cellars over the next decade. The level of investment necessary is there, along with serious local involvement and conscientious integration of the indigenous varieties and perspectives that yield something unique. In light of the global financial downturn, consumers in all the major export markets are as open-minded as ever when seeking out quality bargains. Having had the opportunity to taste the wines of the prestigious estates that are spearheading Sicilian wines? cause to the world, as well as the efforts of more modest cooperatives, my research has always yielded nothing more than pleasant surprises. Egregious discrepancies in terms of quality, as a result of the IGT scheme, may perhaps be more of relevant a discussion point in regions such as the Veneto, but not yet in Sicily.
One of the most important lessons to draw from watching a developing region like Sicily is the paramount importance of diversity. From a producer?s standpoint, it is simply not good enough to adopt innovative methods and practices alone, but to complement the approach with diversity. A great many of the Sicilian Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sangiovese and blends featuring indigenous varieties such as Nero d?Avola all provide a unique opportunity for showcasing the island?s distinct strengths. This reminds me of a relatively recent episode in the world of wine, where a handful of Bulgarian producers began to make exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon. Sadly, however, when reminded of the varietal-driven trends, sometimes by fashion, though increasingly clinical studies about the benefits of consuming wine, the Bulgarian producers had not anticipated the degree of experimentation their innovative approach would require to yield a diverse panoply impressive enough to generate the buzz required to attract more attention. For better or for worse, and if one permits the expression, the world now moves much too swiftly to put all of one?s grapes in one basket. The surge in notoriety of Sicily's quality wines, at all price points, is well evidenced by this particular lesson.
This Week?s Pick: 2007 Cusumano Merlot Sicilia IGT
I never thought that any of the Cusumano wines, at the varietal label level at least, would ever really elicit much more excitement than a passive nod. Not in the case of this Merlot, however, which happens to be a great example of how Sicilian wines are capable of putting on a masterful tightrope act. Rather than sacrificing originality and aligning with the juicebomb-oak paradigm that many New World producers turn to, this Merlot?s expressiveness is a real breath of fresh air. Despite the plain, unassuming packaging, this intelligent value Merlot packs great varietal expression with the island?s warm, west-central climate?s tendency toward spice notes and good concentration. Full-bodied but with a smooth texture,the prune and soft berry flavors are nicely balanced with berry acidity. Other complex accents include subtle pepper, liquorice, cinnamon and a hint of smoke. Though a couple of years in the cellar would certainly help develop more finesse, this is a great wine to enjoy now. It would pair well with a beef stew or a mushroom dish with a similarly hearty sauce.
All it needed was our 'lecturer' to lob a stick of chalk at my head and I'd be right back at school. I ended up, as I did at The Misbourne, in the back row, this time stuck between old boy Brett and cheeky-quipping Douglas. Brett found a fascination with the bread... Douglas was, well, being Douglas. I tried desperately to not indulge in their mischief...
We were here for a Circle of Wine Writers Wine and Charcuterie Tasting hosted by Fiona (matchingfoodandwine.com) at the new Terroirs wine bar in William IV Street, London. The Charcuterie comprising a delicately flavoured Jamon de Teruel from Spain, a nicely textural Duck Rillette, Saucisson Sec from the Pyrenees and a garlic and spice Terrine Terroirs.
Rather than the 'usual suspects' to accompany charcuterie (simple rustic French wines) Fiona picked a more eclectic list of bottles to sample, each calling on the intrinsic flavours of the food (smoky, spicy, garlic). The only thing not offered was a sparkling...
Review0.3 Wine Tasting Note: Maitres Vignerons de Saint-Tropez Rosé Carte Noire, 2008, France. Price: £9.99 Nicolas A nice opening shot - and as expected a fine match for the array of foods. Nice berry fruits and a decently long, dry, finish. A 'standard' rosé wine for such fare and I thought a superb foil to the Terrine, although others disagreed. Review0.3 Wine Tasting Note: Assyrtiko Hatzidakis, 2007, Santorini, Greece. Stockist: Caves de Pyrene Waitrose Price: £9.00 Not a wine I would ever have considered, interesting but didn't really work for me lacking a bit of zip and zing. Seafood and shellfish apparently work better. The pepper edge in the saucisson was really emphasised by the wine. Review0.3 Wine Tasting Note: Weingut Christmann Riesling IDIG Grosses Gewaechs, 2007, Pfalz, Germany. Stockist: Charles Taylor Price: £35 Not being a lover of Riesling - heresy I realise - I did enjoy this wine. Very young still but the way I like it; a touch of weighty sweetness, superb fruit but sadly not a wine that worked well with any of the food. Too delicate in flavour I think; but then what do the Germans eat with all their charcuterie? Review0.3 Wine Tasting Note: Chapel Hill Verdelho, 2007, Australia. £9.49 in independents including Planet of the Grapes, Ongar Wines Ltd, Australian Wines Online, Rehills of Jemond, Badmington Wines A zesty citrus and nettle wine; far too forceful with the charcuterie though. Review0.3 Wine Tasting Note: Lambrusco Reggiano Concerto, 2007, Emilia Romagna, Italy. Stockist: Everywine, Harrods, Booths Price: £8-£10 In terms of matching with the food this was the star. A combination of bubbles, a bitter twist to the wine and perfect acidity was great with the rillettes and the (positive) fat of the jamon. Review0.3 Wine Tasting Note: Jean-Luc Matha Cuvee Lairis Marcillac, 2006, Marcillac, France Stockist: Caves de Pyrène Price: £9.99 Not convinced this rustic country wine (from the South West of France) really worked as well as others seemed to think. Remained rustic and overly tannic for me. Review0.3 Wine Tasting Note: Domaine Jean Foillard Morgon, 2007, Beaujolais, France Price: around £16 a bottle from Caves de Pyrene, slurp.co.uk I believe there were a couple of markedly different bottles of this being poured; I managed to get some of the 'good' bottle. The lack of tannins and the soft fruit brought out the wonderful sweetness in the jamon particularly. For someone who never drinks Beaujolais this was a revelation; my second choice for the top match. Review0.3 Wine Tasting Note: Isabel Estate Pinot Noir, 2005, New Zealand £18.55 Berry Brothers & Rudd A lovely fruit-forward Pinot that worked with the charcuterie much better than expected. Lovely spicy, sprightly palate that seemed particularly good with the duck rillette (duck plus pinot is always a good choice) and managed the garlic infused Terrine too. Review0.3 Wine Tasting Note: Manzanilla La Gitana Sherry, NV, Spain. £8.49 at Tesco, Waitrose, Sainsbury, Majestic, Somerfield, Wine Rack, plus independents. Not a fan of Riesling nor Sherry; more howls of derision from my neighbours. Despite being a tapas favourite this wine just trampled over all the food. Far too forceful and strong. The salty component matched the salt in the jamon OK but the delicate flavour was lost. Unsurprisingly this was many peoples preferred choice. Review0.3 Wine Tasting Note: El Grifo Canari, 1997, Lanzarote, Spain. A cream sherry (or rather sherry-style wine) from Lanzarote. Far too sweet for the charcuterie but a marvellous opportunity to try such a delicious wine. There you go - sherry and delicious in the same sentence!
A learning experience; just much more enjoyable than my (detested) school days. I did miss the juvenile giggling at the cookery teachers hairy legs encased in green tights mind...
Kopaonik is the largest Serbian ski resort. It is a popular place for domestic skiers and is becoming increasingly popular with foreign visitors. Although “Kopaonik” is actually a large mountain, the term usually refers to the area around the “Grand” hotel and the apartment complex “Sun?ani Vrhovi”. The area is small but contains quite a few hotels and private houses. It’s self contained, with shops, banks, a post office, etc. Apart from the restaurants in hotels, there are a few good restaurants around. In this article I’ll write about the restaurants I’ve visited this year, it might help you make the right choice (I didn’t have any tips at all…).
Etno club “Sunce”
This restaurant is located at the end of a quiet cool-de-sac, in the woods, a 5 minute walk from the Grand hotel. It looks very small from the outside, but it’s quite a spacious place. The atmosphere is great, fairly traditional, with two open fire places, a mixture of smaller and larger tables, a nice blend of loudness and privacy. The music wasn’t great, but that’s the easiest thing to change . The food was excellent and so was the service. They offer mainly Serbian dishes, if you’re not sure what to choose from the menu, the waiters will help you with their recommendations, you can trust them. The wine list includes wines from some of the better Serbian cellars, such as Radovanovi? and Aleksandrovi? (Topola). Go for Aleksandrovi?’s red or white Triumph, they are some of the best wines Serbia has to offer. Overall, it’s a great place, I’ll be back.
Food quality 5/5 Atmosphere 5/5 Service: 5/5 Price 3/5 (moderate, but excellent value) Wine list 3/5 (Radovanovi?, Aleksandrovi?)
Na?a ku?a
This place reminds me of modern pubs-restaurants in Ireland. It has a large bar area in the center, with large tables around, a couple of two seater tables in the corner for some extra privacy and a cosy open fire in the front. Both the interior of the restaurant and the furniture are made of light coloured wood, and there are stripes of small red lights throughout. There’s also a big video beam that mainly shows snow scenes during the day. It is a place frequented by the younger crowd and is open quite late into the nigth (until 3am). They have a small but well-chosen menu (which is also extremely well designed) and it’s obvious they put a lot of effort to make it a bit different from other restaurants in the vicinty. The chef is excellent, and the food is great, so give “Na?a Ku?a” a try if you get tired from the Serbian cousine and are looking for some European tastes. It is one of the more expensive restaurants, with a full dinner for two with a bottle of wine and a dessert producing a bill of around 50 euros. The wine choice is not great, but they do have a few wines apart from the regular choice, we recommend the wines from the Terra Lazarica range.
Food quality 5/5 Atmosphere 4/5 (nice mix of modern and traditional, younger crowd) Service: 4/5 Price 2/5 (expensive) Wine list 2/5
Etno ku?a Studenica
If you’re on a lower budget looking for good quality Serbian food you should visit the etno restaurant Studenica. Pick one of the two tables on the far left to avoid looking at the interior of the kitchen and to avoid the local crowd on the right side. The place is clean, the food was great and the waiter was top-notch, but the problem with this place is that it has too much light, it is visited by the local crowd and generally the level of privacy is quite low.
Food quality 4/5 Atmosphere 2/5 Service: 4/5 Price 4/5 (relatively cheap, good value) Wine list 1/5
Zvrk
This is a very popular restaurant located at the center of ski activities (the “baby slope”, ski lifts Karaman Greben and Pan?i?ev Vrh), just besides the Grand hotel. The restaurant has two levels, the upper one being more packed and colorful, the lower one containing a large center-located open fire place. This fire creates a very tempting smell outside the restaurant, which is the main reason you probably won’t resist getting into it. In general, it’s not a bad place, but there are much better choices around…
Food quality: 2/5 Atmosphere: 4/5 Service: 3/5 Price: 3/5 Wine list: 1/5 (just the very basic Serbian wines)
1999 Frédéric Esmonin, Ruchottes-Chambertin Medium, medium-plus colour – paler than the Mazy. The nose starts quite dark and oaky – some dark toast notes that take at least 30 minutes to lift. Redder, less dense fruit is the result, though the dark oak slowly turns to make a nice coffee ‘coating’. Nicely [...]
I’m a big fan of brevity, probably why Twitter suits me so well. Here: Paul Ford’s 1000+ 6-word reviews of songs by bands attending SXSW. I don’t really care about most of these bands, but the sheer number of bon mots in this little document is worth a scan. For example: “Finally, Swedish bluegrass I can [...]
Is it just my ungratefulness or does everybody find it excruciatingly frustrating to receive expensive and useless things when there's a long list of basic necessities that they, well, need?
With the season of giving quickly approaching, it's the perfect time to lure your friends and family out of their familiar patterns and into the giving of spirits. But, to lead these gift horses to water, one must first identify the reasons why well-intentioned people give lame presents:
1 They don't know what you like. 2 They were in a hurry, and couldn't find what you like. 3 They think plaid cartegan sweaters are always in fashion. 4 They're under the mistaken impression that you're difficult to buy for. 5 They saw something similar in your place and assumed you liked whatever it is. (A classic case of compounding misfortune perpetuated by a sense of obligation to display other useless gifts you've been given). 6 They have trailer park taste.
In order to get what you want, one must first condition the givers. This is easier than it may seem because givers are usually eager to please -- they just don't always have the good sense to recognize the glaring solution to their gift-giving dilemma. Here's how to help them help you:
1 Keep a running list of things you want or need. Think of the things you would buy yourself if you found a twenty, fifty or a hundred dollar bill on the ground. Every once in a while you luck out and get asked what you'd like. Be prepared, and be specific. There's no such thing as too specific -- size, store and even stock numbers help reduce guesswork.
2 Become unabashedly obsessed with a particular store (i.e., Williams Sonoma, Ikea, etc.), then endear yourself to someone on the sales staff so you can discretely exchange gifts without a receipt.
3 Develop a reputation (or perpetuate the myth) of being an aficionado or collector of something that's relatively easy to find. Wine and food lovers are already one step ahead of the game. You can never have too much fine wine or extra virgin olive oil, or too many cookbooks. Prominently display your cache, or create a shrine from the empty bottles to act as a constant reminder to potential gift givers. And once again, be specific about your tastes (e.g., Bordeaux from the St. Emillion region). If the giver is a militant teetotaler, embrace another collectible. Just be careful not to be perceived as fanatical about something that is too general (i.e., golf or cows) or you may open up a Pandora's box of useless novelty gifts. As part of the conditioning process, be expressive when receiving gifts you like (think: The Price Is Right), and restate your appreciation like a mantra each time you speak to the giver -- "I made a salad dressing last night with your olive oil, and it rocked my world."
After you graduate from this simple three-step program, you'll discover you can always get what you want. In fact, you just might find that you get a lot of it. Be sure, however, to let me know when you have too much Burgundy wine.
Bringing a strawberry charlotte recipe ? a firm, chiffonlike mousse set in a fanciful mold ? that appeared in The Times in the 1940s into the 21st century.
This is a dry, slightly sparkling wine, with a pleasent, rich, complex aroma. A pleasure to sniff and taste, there’s a fruity note and there’s quite an undefined spicy note, definitely requires another bottle of researching . The producer specifies it as a wine “with characteristic Muscat taste and smell carrying combination of spicy tones of incense, cinnamon, basil and fruit tones of pine apple and strawberry”.
Although it does have the muscaty taste it’s a dry wine, but still does go well with desserts such as nutty cakes. Also goes well with lighter meat dishes and on it’s own.
The Ivanovi? winery is a winery with a long tradition, one of those where the younger generation has embraced it’s ancestry recipes and combined it with modern trends. Some of the details are available online. It is located in the ?upa region in southern Serbia.
A16 tops the list of the best wine bars in San Francisco. The owner-sommelier Shelley Lindgren?s wine list is focused on Southern Italian varietals. This wine list is an integral part of the A16 experience and what makes it the best of the wine bars in San Francisco.
Andalu on 16th Street is another one of San Francisco?s finest wine bars. They are awesome because they offer small plates with big flavors. This is one of the San Francisco wine bars that has an approachable wine list and offers 35 wines by the glass. The crowd there is mixed and energetic.
Wine bars don?t usually come as good, or as small, as Bacchus on Hyde Street. Bacchus has knowledgeable bartenders that make innovative saké cocktails and they pour over 50 wines that range in price from under $10 a glass to more than $200 a bottle. The signature drink at Bacchus is their sake-version of the mojito.
Cav is one of the wine bars in San Francisco that takes itself extremely seriously. Cav has a well-chosen wine list of over 300 international wines. Some of the wines on the list are offered by a taste, or the glass. The chef has crafted unique takes on lots of dishes and Cav actually offers a cheese course that is served at the proper temperature and is on par with some of the finer restaurants in San Francisco.
Wine bars like Piccolo on Fillmore street handpick the wines on their wine lists. Piccolo is one of the wine bars that choose limited availability and small production wines. They prefer to concentrate on Italian wines. The owner of Piccolo has wonderful antipasti on his menu. There is fierce competition between wine bars to have the most excellent food to accompany their spirits.
Varnish Fine Art is both an art gallery and one of the top wine bars in San Francisco. The atmosphere at Varnish Fine Art is comfortable and it draws a post-work crowd for beer or wine during happy hour. The wine list at Varnish Fine Art is well chosen and features a number of delicious fine wines, as well as soju and saké cocktails.
There isn?t a day that goes by when I don?t think of Abruzzo from my first visit there in the early 1980?s, when they adopted me as one of their native sons, to the years of friendship and collegiality among the many winemakers there.
The Gran Sasso, the Great Spirit Mountain that looks over the area, is as much a product of the trembling earth of the millions of the year, as the people now trying to rebuild their lives.
The land oozes soul; the grapes burst their energy forth for lively wines. When one hears about all the tankers of Montepulciano that move north at night to vivify weaker wines in the north, this is an unsung hero of a region.
My friends at Illuminati, not trampled by the crashing bricks or rumbling dirt, but none the less affected by their neighbor?s cries of pain. Over the years their wines have changed, like their labels, but always for the better. Today they are a success story for Abruzzo. Some of their neighboring wineries near Aquila are searching for their way through back to the future.
Some day they will open bottles of sparkling wine to celebrate a gathering, a success, a landmark.
For now, we remember those whom we have given up to the Greater Power.
How bittersweet it is to be so blessed to live in Italy and then have to die and say goodbye to all of that beauty.
Face it: when the term "baby" is attached to a well-known product -- unless that product is Ron Jeremy -- you expect miniaturization and, well, the short-bus version of the original. So when we scored the new Gaggia Baby Twin Espresso machine for abuse, er, review, we expected (yaaaawn) a smaller, plasticized version of their reg machine.
Our humble apologies and a deep Japanese-style bow.
Ain't nothing baby about this fab machine except its compact, low-riding size. It grips the counter like -- well, you might not have seen that Jeremy movie. The solid filter holder arm, which lets you make two cups at a time, twists and locks into place with the confidence of their professional machine (I know because I was a barista in a past life). The "turbo frother steam nozzle" (a name possibly larger than the machine) froths with the best of them, and the brewing selection panel allows you to brew at will (one strong, two weak, manual pour, etc.). Genius!
Only drawback (unless I misread the instructions -- which, knowing me, isn't out of the question) is that you can't brew two strong espressos at once. But you can adjust the amount of flow for each setting, so if you're not jonesing for a Big Gulp-sized espresso, you can manufacture two fairly macho average-size drinks. (Then you can do the walk of shame. Uh, same movie.)
Lots of other pro touches I won't bore you with, but this machine is a killer downsized version of Gaggia's commercial series.
Did I mention there was also a Griotte to open? – well, it’s so long since I opened the Fourrier! Now I should also correct myself; Esmonin was one of the rare bottlers to say ‘Griottes’ rather than Griotte! An interesting trio these 99 Esmonins; the Mazy was smooth but full of concentration, power and [...]
My addiction started innocently enough, through a college job waiting tables at a Japanese restaurant. That's when I had my first sushi buzz. I'm not sure if it was the gorgeous presentation, the sinus-clearing rush of the green horseradish or the sublime flavor of raw fish that sucked me in. Whatever it was, I was hooked.
My obsession didn't stop with this one restaurant. I worked at three more sushi bars after college, while in pursuit of the perfect fix. But even that wasn't enough. I had to learn how to make my own sushi, ending my dependence on Japanese restaurant chefs forever!
I began my sushi-making quest by picking up a bamboo rolling mat and an assortment of sushi fixin's at a Japanese market in San Francisco. Finding a recipe for sushi rice was a bit challenging, but I eventually managed to dig one up in a Japanese cookbook. Over the next year or so I tried making sushi exactly twice -- with disastrous results. Suffice it to say, my sushi wouldn't have looked much different if I'd made it with my foot.
I decided it was time for professional help. Not in the form of a shrink, but rather a two-hour sushi workshop offered by a nearby cooking school.
I happily forked over 70 bucks for the class, certain I'd learn some secret technique that would transform my homemade sushi creations from frumpy fish wads to exquisite culinary works of art. The workshop was held in a smallish room above an upscale kitchen store, outfitted with professional cooking equipment and mirrors above the food prep counter for easy viewing. I took a seat at one of the large round tables scattered around the room and eyed the magical sushi implements set on a plastic cafeteria lunch tray before me: a bamboo rolling mat, sheets of dried seaweed of various sizes, and plastic ramekins filled with crab and pickled ginger. In the center of the table, a communal plate of sliced avocados, Japanese radishes and cucumbers beckoned. Soon, I'd be able to make sushi at home whenever the urge struck -- I could sit in front of the TV nightly, munching tekka maki like it was popcorn!
My fantasy was soon interrupted when the instructor appeared to reveal the secrets of proper ricemaking and sushi assembly. After about an hour of cooking-show-style demonstration, she set a plate of raw fish and a large bowl of rice on each table. Elbow to elbow with my fellow students, I set to work trying to emulate the beautifully prepared sushi on the sample dish at the front of the room.
Fat chance, brother.
Despite my best artistic efforts, my sushi came out looking like some kid had run it over with his bike. The rolls practically exploded as I cut them; my unagi lay flacidly on its bed of rice like a lopsided toupee; my futomaki spilled its guts onto the table like a disgraced samurai committing hara kiri.
After trying in vain to detach the sticky sushi rice from my forearms, shoulders and face, I surveyed the room. To my great relief I was not the only aspiring home sushi chef with mutilated maguro. Some people's sushi looked even worse than mine!
SO WHERE DID WE GO WRONG?
Leafing through my workshop handout sheets I found the answer: 10 years. In Japan, that's how long an apprentice sushi master is required to train before becoming a full-fledged chef. This information made me realize that expecting to make beautiful California rolls after a two-hour sushi workshop is the culinary equivalent of trying to dance the lead in Swan Lake after one ballet lesson. Chances are you're going to fall on your face.
Even if I didn't learn any double-secret sushimaking techniques in class, the workshop did teach me one very important lesson: $50 is a small price to pay for a gorgeous plate of sushi made by real chefs who actually know what the hell they're doing. Get thee to a sushi bar!
WINE WITH SUSHI: Sacrilege or a Perfect Pairing?
There are people out there who'd say that drinking wine with sushi instead of downing Japanese beer or sake is nothing short of blasphemous. Of course, none of those people is me.
Sure, beer and sake are obvious choices at Japanese restaurants, where wine lists are often notoriously lame or nonexistent. But what to drink when at home? For me, that's where the wine and sushi combo makes the most sense. I just order myself a mess of sushi from my favorite raw fish emporium and open up a bottle of whatever I've got lying around the house.
On such occasions I've discovered that wine is actually a better match for sushi than beer or sake. That's because wine has the power to enhance sushi's flavor, while beer and sake simply stand back and let the sushi take center stage. Wine's complexity and inherent compatibility with food take the pairing concept to a higher level.
Although finding a wine to match the combination of delicate raw fish, sweet sushi rice, spicy wasabi and salty soy sauce may seem tricky, it's actually easier than you'd think.
RED OR WHITE?
When choosing the ultimate sushi wine, the old "red wine with red meat, white wine with fish" rule still holds true. Although reds can be wonderful with grilled fish, they tend to overpower the delicate flavor of the raw variety. (If you must have red wine, try something like Beaujolais or a very light pinot noir.)
STYLE
Crisp, clean wines work better with sushi than rich, intensely flavored wines. If there's too much going on in your glass, the sushi's subtle flavor may not be able to compete. Think sauvignon blanc, sparkling wine or a crisp chardonnay from Carneros or Burgundy.
SWEETNESS
Fear not the gewurztraminer. Wines with a touch of sweetness tend to be excellent with spicy foods like wasabi-smeared sushi. Even if you don't normally like sweet wines, you'll be amazed how well they work with sushi.
THE MOMENT OF TRUTH
Sure, pairing tips are nice, but how well do they hold up in the real world with real sushi? To find out, I recruited a couple of like-minded friends to join me in a little sushi and wine pairing experiment at our local sushi hangout.
In the name of hard-hitting investigative reporting, we sampled seven varieties of sushi with five different wines. Our sushi selection included maguro (tuna), hamachi (yellowtail), spicy tuna roll, sake (salmon), California roll (crab and avocado with fish eggs), Kamikaze roll (yellowtail, scallions and avocado) and unagi (eel). We washed down our sushi delights with a white wine from France's Rhone Valley, a riesling/gewurztraminer/pinot blanc blend from Alsace, a California fume blanc, a California chardonnay and an Italian merlot. (Ain't research tough?!)
Following is a summary of our findings, in order of overall preference:
Riesling/gewurztraminer/pinot blanc blend:
Great with the maguro. The sweetness of the wine cut through the spiciness of the wasabi very nicely. For the same reason, it was excellent with the spicy tuna roll. The wine was deemed "a tasty match" for the hamachi, and everyone agreed it was "wonderful" with the California roll and "excellent" with the Kamikaze roll. The only disappointments were the salmon and unagi. This wine was the clear winner!
Fume blanc:
The wine was a little dry for the maguro, but we loved it with the hamachi. One taster was inspired to remark, "Damn it, that was good!" after trying it with the spicy tuna. It was "excellent" with both the Kamikaze roll and unagi, and "good" with the sake and California roll. This one tied for second place, along with the chardonnay.
Chardonnay:
The chard was good with the maguro and hamachi, but disappointing with the salmon. It matched surprisingly well with the spicy tuna roll, and everyone thought it paired well with the California roll and unagi. The wine was also good, "but not amazing," with the Kamikaze roll.
Rhone white:
This wine was fabulous with the maguro -- refreshing and clean. It also did well with the hamachi and spicy tuna, though these pairings were "nothing to write home about." We all liked it with the salmon, and loved it with the California and Kamikaze rolls. The wine was a bit too dry for the unagi.
Merlot:
This wine was awful with the maguro, but surprisingly good with the hamachi. After sampling it with the spicy tuna, one taster advised, "Don't ever try this at home!" Similar warnings were issued for the salmon and California roll. It was declared "pretty good" with the Kamikaze roll and "excellent" with the unagi, due to the barbecue sauce. Not surprisingly, this one came in last place.
With the exception of the merlot, I'd heartily recommend any of the above wines as great companions for sushi. But then, for sushi freaks and wine geeks like me, even the bad combinations are still pretty damn good.
Quite an unusual combination for the Balkans, since Syrah is fairly rare in the region. Skovin is probably trying to follow the world commercial trends with this Syrah Cabernet Sauvignon combination, and it’s not doing a bad job. Syrah brings in the spiciness and the earthy taste, which brings memories of those strong South African tastes of Syrah wines. Cabernet softeness it a bit, so overall it’s a nice wine, but distinctively dryer than the famous Australian Syraz-Cabernet’s.
Rating: 6/10 Price: 400 RSD (5 euro) Retailer: Super Vero
This is another great wine from the WinEco winery (Podrum Radenkovi?) from Southern Serbia. It is a not-very-dry Chardonnay, without a strong nose, but with an exceptional balance of fruity and barrique aromas. It is easy going, with a full taste, definitely one of the wines to accompany your lighter meals. It’s barrique traces make it a great complement to slightly smoked fish or cheeses, but it’s also great on it’s own.
In general, Chardonnay is particularly suited for the barrique (oak aged) treatment. Chardonnay Barrique develops a pronounced cognac aroma and becomes a truly full-bodied wine - all hints of fruity flavours become very subdued.
Score 9/10 Price: 800 RSD (?10) Retailer: Super Vero
Dulka is one of the most famous wine producing families in the town of Sremski Karlovci, near Novi Sad in Vojvodina. They produce wine since 1920 and have won a handful of awards at the Novi Sad agricultural fair throughout the years. Apart from producing wine, this familiy also produces bermet and brandies of highest qualities.
They have just recently started growing Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2005 is their second vintage. However, this wine is quite rich in both aroma and taste, much richer and deeper than other pure Cabernets around. The color is dark ruby red, the nose rich, so reminiscent of forests and the flavours are those of forest fruit and chocolate. It’s a good wine, can be enjoyed on it’s own.
Treana Red 2004 $36.99 Wine Label says: Treana Winery is located in Paso Robles, at the center of California’s Central Coast. Having spent more than two decades developing vineyards in and around Paso Robles, the Treana Red blend reprewsnet grape varieties best suited to the region’s unique calcareous soils and distinctive climate. The Treana vineyards are [...]
California Pinot Noir lovers take note. Wine lovers with a free weekend, listen up. It's Spring, and the wine events are coming fast and furious. It seems like every week there's a new wine tasting to go to. But some are more worth paying attention to than others.
Anderson Valley is known for two things in California, and not coincidentally, it has more or less two major wine tasting events per year. The first, the International Alsace Varietals festival took place a few months ago, and I was sadly prevented from attending.
The second is the annual Pinot Noir Festival, which it looks like I'll also be unable to attend, much to my disappointment. But if you're a fan of Pinot Noir and you don't have plans for the weekend of May 16th, I seriously recommend it. It's definitely worth the three hour drive.
Not only is this a gorgeous time of year in the Anderson Valley, but the Pinot Noirs on offer include a few of the better ones in the state. This isn't a huge tasting, and consequently you'll find very few huge wineries there. Instead you'll find a bunch of small, dedicated growers and producers pouring their (mostly) small production wines.
The event includes a technical conference and BBQ on Friday May 15th with speakers that include Rusty Gaffney, author of PinotFile, Dan Duckhorn of Goldeneye Winery and Duckhorn Wine Company, and Joe Phillips, MS, sommelier at Bellagio Las Vegas.
Saturday features the grand tasting and winemaker dinners, and those who choose to stay through Sunday can wander around to the many open houses hosted by the valley's wineries.
Participating wineries include: Littorai Wines, Saintsbury, Husch Vineyards, Foursight Wines, Handley Cellars, Esterlina Vineyards, Londer Vineyards, Navarro Vineyards, Elke Vineyards, Toulouse Vineyards, Goldeneye Winery, Claudia Springs Winery, Raye's Hill, Jim Ball Vineyards, Standish Wine Co., Harmonique, Breggo Cellars, Roederer Estate, Scharffenberger Cellars, Philo Ridge Vineyards, Ferrari-Carano, Lazy Creek Vineyards, Waits-Mast Family Cellars, Zina Hyde Cunningham, Roessler Cellars, Drew Family, Black Kite Cellars, Brutocao Cellars, MacPhail Family Wines, Phillips Hill Estates, Woodenhead, Demuth Winery, Greenwood Ridge Vineyards, Harrington Wines, La Crema Winery, Copain Wines, Chronicle Wines and Couloir Wines.
12th Annual Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival Grand Tasting Saturday, May 16th, 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM Goldeneye Winery 9200 Highway 128 Philo, CA 95466 707-895-3202
The $85 tickets to the Grand Tasting can (and should) be purchased in advance online. The Friday technical conference will cost you an additional $100 (yes there is wine to taste at this event), and winemaker dinners vary in price.
If you are driving up for the event, I recommend giving yourself a bit of extra time to get there. Perhaps drive up in the morning and have some breakfast before the tasting.
The 2004 vintage of this wine received a bronze medal at the Decanter World Wine Awards last year (2006). I’ve only been able to find the 2005 vintage in Belgrade wine shops. It has an intensive and complex aroma with hints of flowers. Dominant tastes are those of melon and slightly of apricots. However, I wasn’t impressed, perhaps I expected more due to all the hype. Or perhaps there’s a significant difference in the two vintages. We should note that this winery has a good reputation. The Simcic Sivi Pinot 1990 was awarded the Cordon d’Excellence; their Chardonnay has won two gold medals at the Ljubljana Wine Fair and the 1994 vintage was declared Champion by the Knights of the Burgerland-Pannonian Order.
We're speeding up the narrow two-lane road to Montalcino in Yoshi's somewhat dilapidated Datsun. After a great weekend in Siena, where I experienced a mild art glut, I was anticipating a few days in a quieter setting. Luckily I had met Yoshi four years ago during language school in Italy. After I went home, he kept hanging out and never went back to Japan. Being a confessed Italophile and vinophile, he studied Italian wine and ended up as the head wine guy at Banfi Castle in Montalcino. Now Yoshi lives and "works" in an Italian castle drinking some of Italy's most celebrated wine. Tough.
Luckily I don't suffer from nausea, so the semi-suicidal 2,000-foot climb to Montalcino rewards me with stunning views of Tuscany's grandeur. "That's where I live," Yoshi mentions casually with just a hint of pride. I follow his gaze up the mountain to the rustic hamlet now barely visible behind its wall. A few church towers rise above the crowded maze of tenant buildings. A woman opens the red shutters of her rustic apartment. March in Montalcino is a long, lingering month. With that in mind, I feel the urge to kill Yoshi and steal his job and life when I'm suddenly quelled by some amalgamate image from childhood: the Italian equivalent of Julie Andrews running down a green, mountain pasture, arms aflight, Ave Maria wafting in the background. I relax and enjoy the scenery with only mild pangs of jealousy.
We're in southern Tuscany -- the place Adam and Eve had to leave after Eve bit into that ripe sangiovese grape. Here, there's no shortage of excruciatingly quaint hilltop towns; no problem making you feel like writing home to say, "Sell everything. Never returning." Southern Tuscany is wine country, is Italy, is civilization at its very best. And if southern Tuscany is all that, Montalcino (Moan-tall-chino) is the capital in my eyes -- what most Americans must envision when they think of Italy. Picture the medieval burg clinging to its pinnacle, the serpentine cobblestone streets and squat grandmothers who negotiate them. Churchbells can be heard from anywhere in the city. Good wine is a given. Here, the pace is slower, the olive oil greener, and the entire town seems to reek of the perfection of daily life.
"There's not much to do in Montalcino," Yoshi says. But he says it in such a way that leaves me thinking "nothing to do" in Montalcino is most definitely a good thing. Here, hours are stretched free of charge. Wineglasses swell with content, and like the mythic Hydra, dishes of savory pasta seem to regenerate threefold every bite you take. There are no teenybopper discotheques, no cheesy trinket venders peddling their weary wares on the streets. Not even the Let's Go and Rick Steves backpacker hordes find their way up the mountain (often), as it's a bit difficult to reach. No train braves the perilous climb up to Montalcino's summit. Without a car, you're better off taking the one-hour bus ride from Siena.
Once at Montalcino, you're greeted by a perfectly preserved medieval hamlet. Start with a walk to the far end of the city where the fortress, or Rocca, lies. Familiarize yourself with the one main street. This requires little effort and will also let you kick off your stay in Montalcino at its Rocca. Walk the grounds, take a stroll along the catwalks, or cruise inside the turrets. And though the views from just about anywhere in Montalcino are truly inspiring, those from atop the Rocca feel somehow even more regal. Plan secret attacks on neighboring villages, wax philosophic, or just suck in the mountain air.
Although constructed in the 14th century, the Rocca has been "modernized" inside with the addition of its own wine bar, or enoteca -- arguably the first Italian term you should memorize. These blessed creatures, these enoteche, curiously absent (or at least endangered in America) thrive in Montalcino. And enoteche make me very happy. This particular one allows you to sample not only some of Italy's finest wines ($1.50 to $5 a glass) but also local meats and cheeses, like the indigenous wild boar sausage and the smooth Pecorino cheese.
Someone dead and famous once said, "To truly appreciate someplace, go there poor." That sums up my travel philosophy as much in principle as out of necessity. And while northern Italy is no budget traveler's dream, we will endure. Believe me, you'll feel better spending money on a truly memorable Tuscan experience -- like a few glasses of wine in the Rocca -- than you will getting your caricature taken outside the Duomo in Florence for triple the price.
If you're looking for something a little less, well, fortress-like and expensive, check out Enoteca Franci, one of Yoshi's hangouts. You'll find it in the main piazza to the side of the clock tower on Via Mazzini. Enoteca Franci is the Cheers of the city, attracting every living inhabitant in Montalcino, young and old, hip and otherwise. During sunny days, get a bottle of great Montalcino wine, sip a cappuccino or snack on some rustic salami and Parmigiano cheese. At night, the atmosphere is right out of a Hemingway novel: red vinyl benches; mirrors; chandeliers; and a dark, cavernous back room full of wines to choose from or to ogle, or both. Sound expensive and chic? Nah. Plus you get the whole "ex-patriot, grainy black-and-white" feeling to boot.
And there's plenty of great wine to go around. First and foremost, the top wine, the black rooster of the town: Brunello di Montalcino. Actually, its reputation doesn't just apply to Montalcino, Tuscany or even Italy. In the world of wine, Brunello is a big boy. A strain of the more familiar sangiovese grape of Chianti, Brunello (so named because of its brownish hue) is responsible for Italy's finest red wine alongside Barolo. With a minimum aging of four years -- six months of which must be in bottle -- Brunello is a dark, dry, potent wine that goes with anything it wants. For that reason, it's, well, a bit expensive. A bottle will start around $20 and run as far as your credit card can. And further. And faster. Keep in mind, though, that the same wine in America -- provided you can even find it -- costs much more. From the little investigating I've done, you're looking at around a $10 to $15 price hike in America on Brunello. In addition, you have the usually insane "dock fees" or whatever American restaurants call their premiums. Translation: if you feel like doing it up in Montalcino, Brunello is the one.
But I have good news for those who don't want to mortgage their mothers for wine: Rosso di Montalcino. This wine is made from the same sangiovese strain. In many respects, it's the same wine, the only difference is the aging time and price tag. And sure, I could probably tell the difference between Brunello and Rosso. But I can also tell the difference between a Mercedes and a Honda. And which is better for the money? Rosso starts at $5 and runs to about $10 for the top producers. Don't sweat these big names, though. Every bottle I had was a lesson in how to enjoy life. And if you're not a total wine geek, Rosso, in most cases, is a much better choice than the far pricier Brunello.
The more established wineries in Montalcino excel in most all the varietals, though. Apart from the slew of red wines, you can peruse anything in white from sauvignon blanc to the syrupy sweet moscato. In short, Montalcino is a wine town. You merely need to visit Enoteca Franci or any one of the some thirty million bars or enoteche (or so it seems, as potential wine pit stops appear with blissful regularity). And when drinking wine in Montalcino remember: being snobbish with wine doesn't come naturally to Italians. Wine is their mass consumption, normal beverage which, for most Italians, still comes in a water glass. As such, wine drinking seems a touch more genuine, more enjoyable. No pedantic rigamarole, just good wine and, of greater importance, kind, witty people.
If you're itching to taste the proverbial "fruit of the vine" and want to experience what really put Montalcino on the map, go to the tourist office and get a bus schedule for the wineries themselves. They're located outside the city, it takes a vehicle, a Japanese friend with a vehicle, a bus, a taxi or a long thumb to get there. For a taste of the original Brunello, head toward Biondi Santi. Clemente Santi was responsible for isolating the Brunello strain of the sangiovese grape in the last century. Since then, Biondi Santi has claimed awards around the world for its Brunello. Good for them. Also good for us -- if we want to spend around $40 a bottle. Prices and standards are high. However, if you're a Brunello freak, or plan on becoming one, this wine is a "must taste;" and the winery, a connoisseur's "must see."
I also highly recommend Banfi: one of the most established yet progressive wineries in Montalcino. You can enjoy the views from the tasting room, the Banfi Villa, the Banfi Castle and, most importantly, slurp some vino with Yoshi. (Tell him I sent you. Heck, it might be good for some perks.) You can even eat at the winery, if you want to drop some major cash and really impress your significant other. However, any type of winery experience is possible. Montalcino has everything from space age, stainless steel producers, to old school brothers with unpronounceable names.
Just about any type of winery experience is possible, though. Montalcino has everything from space age, stainless steel producers to old-school brothers with unpronounceable names. The smaller estate of Campogiovanni, for example, doesn't have the esteemed reputation and, therefore, must make quality wine at the lowest cost possible. Although owned by the larger San Felice, Campogiovanni is fighting to make a name for itself in the highly traditional ground of Montalcino And in this category, there's a plethora of great wineries ready to sell you on wine before non-existent, or at best, respectively small, reputations. Apart from Campogiovanni, definitely try Marchesato degli Aleramici, Col d'Orcia, Castelgiocondo, Mastroianni and la Poderina. Brunello from these producers usually runs in the $18 to $30 range; Rosso from $6 to $10. Though their wines are easy to acquire, information on most of these wineries is scarce. Check with the tourist office, or call directly upon arriving.
"But we must eat," you say. "We can't live on wine alone." Sadly, this is true. Have no fear, though. If the Montalcinese know anything beside wine, they know food. And the question is not where or what to eat, but how to sample everything without breaking your budget or your new Italian leather belt. Yoshi and I checked out his favorite place, Osteria di Porta al Cassero. From the street it may not seem like much. The actual surroundings are quite simple and unpretentious -- my favorite style. But the smell alone is enough to merit a try. I almost floated in on a wave of heavenly aromas a la Tom and Jerry. Definitely try anything with wild boar, usually prepared as a stew or ragù. And if tripe is your game, it's also the specialty. Yoshi partook. I did not. If you're like me, check out Pici -- thick, worm-like spaghetti -- or Pappardelle -- big ribbons. Both are traditionally served with one of many rustic treats from meat lover's heaven and come almost attached to a bottle of Montalcino vino.
For espresso, cappuccino and every derivative thereof, stop by Bar Mariuccia, sort of across from Enoteca Franci. I never asked, but the elderly couple who slings the java must be the Mariuccias. A real mom-and-pop operation complete with sweets from another Mariuccia who runs a pastry shop and rents rooms down the road. Stunning views of the countryside await in the backroom of the bar. There is no charge to sit down or be waited on as there is in the bars of some of the more touristy hilltop towns.
Now you're beat. You pounded out the last drop of your Brunello and went for the after-dinner grappa. Feeling oh so Italian, you even stopped for the late-night espresso. Where to stay? Hotels are scarce and expensive, but fortunately rooms abound. While taking your non-goal-oriented strolls, you probably saw signs here and there saying: "camere/zimmer/rooms." These could be anything from private rooms inside family houses to quasi-condos.
The best I found was a place called Il Moro. Also located on Via Mazzini but away from the main piazza, Il Moro is attached to the trattoria of the same name. There are four double rooms, beautifully refinished with wooden interiors, superb views and a combined kitchen/dining room/sitting room downstairs. I was there in March, and my girlfriend and I had the whole swanky place to ourselves. A room will run you about $40 a night, but it increases to $60 from Easter to the festival month of June. Well worth it, even if you have to bend, twist or otherwise alter your budget. If Il Moro doesn't turn your crank, check with the Mariuccia family or the tourist office by the main piazza for listings. Otherwise, take another leisurely stroll around the city inquiring about prices when you see the sign "camere/zimmer/rooms." Nothing could give you a better feel for Montalcino and its inhabitants.
More rustic getaways are also possible. If you're bent on getting away from everything, try an agriturismo: usually a rural hotelesque setting on the road less traveled. Being that Montalcino is already a tad "out there," agriturismo offers you the possibility of stretching your days even further. For a really different take, try Abbadia Ardenga. This ex-abbey now rents entire apartments at reasonable prices (starts at about $20 per person per day). This is particularly worthwhile for larger groups. A minimum stay of three days is required.
If Il Moro and the rustic hideaways don't turn your crank, there are, of course, the star clustered hotels. Montalcino's best -- Hotel Bellaria and Albergo Ristorante Il Giglio -- boast three stars and have all the amenities. Get the full treatment and opt for "full pension" -- two square meals along with the room, all at the same place for around $85 per person.
If you go for a posh pad, save money on eats by grabbing some sausage, cheese, good Tuscan bread and wine from the COOP supermarket. Have a picnic on the church lawn at the opposite end of the town from the Rocca. And don't worry if you find yourself becoming more Montalcinese than you thought possible: hanging out in bars when you're not thirsty, chatting with locals when you don't speak Italian. I was even eyeing Yoshi's overtly Italian shoes and coat thinking, "those are pretty sharp." Just enjoy these metabolic changes -- what I group collectively as "The Montalcino Syndrome" -- while they last.
This wine is characterized by a yellow-green colour, a fresh citrusy aroma with hints of honey and a complex flowery aftertaste. It’s a semi-dry riesling, dryer than the Slovenian rieslings (such as Laski Riesling for example), but sweeter than those found in Serbia. It is a nice wine to accompany a lighter meal.
This is one of the wines available in Belgrade restaurants in 0.2l bottles, so if you’re a driver among non-wine drinkers (meaning you can’t order a whole bottle of some fine wine) it’s a good chance you’ll be in a position to try it. Do so.
A 64-page softcover pocket guide that you can keep handy. Offers everything you've ever wanted to know about wine from A-to-Z. Learn about wine-production regions along with their maps major grape varietals storing pairing serving and selecting the perfect wine glass. Softcover 64-pages. Size: 8-'H x 3-'W
The Wine Bottle Glass Funnel is perfect for those instances when have a little wine left over in your decanter or even in your glass. The thinness of this glass funnel allows you to insert the funnel right into any bottle. Then easily and cleanly you can pour the wine back into the bottle for a later date.
The elegance of the Wine Enthusiast lead-free crystal 'U' Decanter enhances your wine experience with an inner dome to increase the oxygenation of fine wines. The finger-hold punt ensures controlled pouring every time. Gift Boxed. Recommend to hand wash. Size: 10-3/4'H 46 oz.
As Seen on Ellens 12 Days of Giveaways & Good Morning America The pocket-size electronic talking Wine Master offers a sleek and slim design easy control panel and over 10 000 wine and spirits reviews ratings and suggested retail prices at your fingertips. The newest version of the Wine Master is the most essential wine tool you can own. Bring along with you to wine shops and restaurants and never make another wine buying mistake again. Requires 2-AAA batteries (not included). Over 10 000 wine and spirits reviews ratings (100 pt. scale) and suggested retail prices from Wine Enthusiast Magazine Food and wine pairing guide Digital display screen with back-light and compressed text functions Talking navigation with on/off Type Varietal Winery or Vintage search option Handsome non-zipper black case Wine Master is a mighty wizard that gives you mastery over the most serious wine shop clerks and sommeliers. Brushed aluminum with chrome accents. The Wine Enthusiast 2008 Wine Buying Guide is also available. Size: 4-3/4'H x 3'W NOTE: The information included in the Wine Master is based on the reviews and ratings conducted by The Wine Enthusiast Magazine. For the 2008 edition we added 10 425 reviews. Therefore if you look at a review of a 2002 Caymus in 2007 and in 2008 the review will be the same. Since we cannot review all the wines produced in a year some wines may not appear with a newer year review which does not mean that the wine is discontinued but just that particular vintage (year) was not reviewed.
Always know 'whose glass is whose' with these wine cellar-themed charms! Set of 6 cast metal charms are finished in antique silver and dangle from 3 strands of glass-faceted beads. Magnetic closures make sure the these mini-medallions stay secure around the base of each guests' wine glass. Set of 6 charms includes a wine bottle corkscrew grapes wine glass chiller bucket and cheese wedge.
You needn't interrupt your enjoyment of the wine now to fuss with pumps and dispensers. Deliberately low tech our Wine For Later Set eschews pumps spray cans nitrogen gas canisters and complicated dispenser systems for the graceful time-honored process of decanting. When you uncork a bottle simply pour off the wine you wish to save for later using an elegant glass funnel. Top off either the 1/2 bottle or the 1/4-bottle decanter and seal it with our airtight glass stopper. Since no air comes in contact with your wine it remains unoxidized and unspoiled. Adorn the decanter with our ornate silverplated grape-cluster cork pin for easy identification. Only from The Wine Enthusiast. Gift-boxed 6-piece set includes: 2 Wine For Later glass decanters 1/2 bottle size and 1/4 bottle size. 2 airtight glass stoppers. A beautiful glass funnel. A silverplated cork pin.
Choose the right wine every time! From the editors of Wine Enthusiast Magazine comes the most current comprehensive and informative wine buying guide on the market. Based on tastings by a distinguished in-house panel this wine buying guide features qualitative ratings reviews and prices for more than 50 000 wines. Plus tips on when each wine is best enjoyed. Also includes expert advice on tasting and storing vintage wine charts and Top 10 lists. 990 pages. Softcover.
Pair your wine with top chef recipes! A memorable meal starts with the wine! Find over 80 delectable recipes organized by wine style. This first cookbook by the editors of Wine Enthusiast Magazine guides you in selecting the right recipe for your wine. Includes recipes from top chefs such as Bobby Flay and Rick Bayless along with expert wine pairing tips. Whether you're serving a light aromatic white or a big powerful red you'll choose the right dish here! 256 pages with full color photography. Hardcover. Take A Look Inside At Sample Recipes.
The Riedel Syrah Decanter is a great wine decanter to use everyday. It's perfect for Syrah or any other red wine. Crafted in Germany of lead-free crystal the Syrah decanter holds 49-ounces and stands 9-5/8' tall. Add to your wine decanter collection or give as a gift any season. Size: 9-5/8'H 49-3/8 oz.
Make wine your next party theme! Consider this your personal party planner! Step-by-step instructions and essentials make hosting a wine tasting easy. Includes 100 wine tasting sheets 6 cloth blind wine tasting bottle bags with embroidered letters A through F 6 wine tasting masts Wine Enthusiast Magazine vintage chart corkscrew and a 15% Off Coupon for Wine Enthusiast glassware. Sip save enjoy!
The Wine Clip uses principles of magnetics to improve the taste of wine as it is being poured out of the bottle. The effect is instantaneous and has been found by many wine professionals to result in a genuine improvement in flavor and mouth-feel especially when used on red wines. Using magnets to treat fluids water fuel wine etc. - is not a new idea and the technology has been applied successfully in many industries. What causes the effect has been the subject of some debate but it is generally thought that passing a conductive fluid through a properly designed magnetic field has an effect on the polar molecules in the fluid. In wine it is believed that the large polymerized tannins in wine that normally result in a high degree of astringency are broken up or otherwise affected resulting in a less astringent softer flavor. The Wine Clip may also accelerate aeration by drawing higher concentrations of oxygen to the wine as it is being poured. In contrast with most gases oxygen is highly magnetically susceptible and is attracted to a magnetic field. This would explain testimony from wine experts that The Wine Clip instantly produces the benefits of time consuming aeration. Lifetime warranty.
Learn how to host a tasting party! Host a great wine tasting party with this complete new essential wine tasting kit. Created by the editors of the prestigious Wine Enthusiast Magazine you'll find all the how-to's and essentials of hosting over 30 wine tastings. Kit includes: Wine Enthusiast Magazine Pocket Guide to Wine plus 2006 Vintage Chart 2 tasting checklist notepads 6 bottle bags 6 bottle stoppers 24 bottle tags a blank wine journal 2 wine label removers and a coupon for two free issues of Wine Enthusiast Magazine . Size: 6'H x 9'W x 3-'D
Luigi Bormioli Esperienze Wine Decanter is a complete innovation in the field of wine appreciation. Designed by Federico DeMajo the lead-free crystal wine decanter is a combination of technical skills and creative artistry. Made in Italy the interior base of the decanter is designed with ripples; tiered concentric circles that facilitate rapid wine oxygenation as the wine is poured into the decanter and flows down over them for an excellent wine tasting experiences. Dishwasher safe. Size: 9-1/4'H 88 oz.
Love your wine? Show your metal! Serve it with the help of this animated bottle holder handcrafted from recycled steel copper and wood. German artist Guenter Scholtz skillfully bends welds brushes and carves these materials to bring this whimsical wine taster to life a discriminating gent leaning on a wine rack fitted with a wine barrel. Holds most standard size wine bottles. Comes with a Certificate of Authenticity. No two Scholtz pieces are exactly alike. 12'H x 6'W x 5'D
A One-of-a-Kind GiftFor the wine lover that has everything a fun gift theyre sure to cherish. Weve matted and framed our Wine Enthusiast Magazine cover with your choice of tiles (Man Woman Wine Enthusiast or Chateau of the Year). Theres a careful 7 1/4' x 7' cut-out in the cover so you can slide in a photograph of your favorite wine enthusiast. Every wine lover on your list should have one. You can purchase it as a special package with a one year subscription to Wine Enthusiast Magazine and SAVE $16.95 off the regular subscription price. Size: 14'H x 11'W Framed Print
An elegant arc turns serving into ceremony. Geometrically designed Parabola wine decanter offers a unique shape to a classic wine accessory. This stunning mouth-blown wine decanter is visually exhilarating and optimally functional. Made of 24% lead crystal the Parabola decanter offers a unique handle and spout holding a full standard-sized bottle of wine and provides flawless aeration. Size: 10-1/2'H 56 oz. NOTE: Please use the recommended Decanter cleaning balls when cleaning the Parabola decanter.
Make the hippest wine bar in town yours! Three wines any time no waiting! This professional wine preserve and wine serve system keeps 3 opened wine bottles fresh for weeks and primed for pouringright at home! Spigots serve as both stoppers and dispensers of argon gas. Argon prevents wine from oxidizing and spoiling over time. Non-electric and compact. Black with stainless steel trim. Accommodates most standard-size wine bottles. Non-electric and compact. Black with stainless steel trim. The argon gas cartridges are hidden in a compartment underneath your wine bottles. The system includes two argon cartridges which will power 12 to 15 wine bottles each. Size: 11-1/2'H x 10-1/2'W x 5'D
Attract more wine loversglass by glass! Increase your bar or restaurant sales by offering a wider selection of premium wines 'on tap'. This professional preserve-and-serve system keeps 5 opened wine bottles fresh for weeks and primed for pouring. Spigots serve as bottle stoppers. With each pour argon gas is dispensed into each bottle to blanket the wine's surface from oxygen and prevent it oxidizing and spoiling over time. Wine Saver PRO's commercial grade quality is ideal for restaurants hotels bars and wineries or for any wine lover that enjoys serving wine. Wine Saver HOME also makes the ultimate addition to any home wine cellar. Accommodates most standard-size wine bottles. Non-electric and compact. Black with stainless steel trim. The argon gas cartridges are hidden in a compartment underneath your wine bottles. Available here and sold seperately argon cartridges will power 12 to 15 wine bottles each.
Inspired by furniture pieces originally found in Bordeaux and used by the regions expert wine makers for tasting sessions of their Grand Cru wines. Special guests wine merchants or the wine makers themselves would taste some of the finest vintages at the very foot of elegant furniture pieces such as this. EuroCaves contemporary version has been designed to accommodate the needs of todays wine connoisseur. The Elite Wine Buffet is ideal for entertaining and can be placed in any room. The ample display shelves are ideal for storing glasses displaying decanters keeping reference books and storing spirits. The storage drawers can hold other accessories such as corkscrews label savers tasting albums and much more. The Elite Wine Buffet can hold a maximum of up to 20 bottles. Sold seperately the wine cellar space can accommodate a EuroCave Performance 83. Size: 56-5/16'H x 54-5/16'W x 29-9/16'D. Light assembly required.
Tecnorati
. The food was excellent and so was the service. They offer mainly Serbian dishes, if you’re not sure what to choose from the menu, the waiters will help you with their recommendations, you can trust them. The wine list includes wines from some of the better Serbian cellars, such as Radovanovi? and Aleksandrovi? (Topola). Go for Aleksandrovi?’s red or white Triumph, they are some of the best wines Serbia has to offer. Overall, it’s a great place, I’ll be back.
This is a dry, slightly sparkling wine, with a pleasent, rich, complex aroma. A pleasure to sniff and taste, there’s a fruity note and there’s quite an undefined spicy note, definitely requires another bottle of researching 
There isn?t a day that goes by when I don?t think of Abruzzo from my first visit there in the early 1980?s, when they adopted me as one of their native sons, to the years of friendship and collegiality among the many winemakers there.
The land oozes soul; the grapes burst their energy forth for lively wines. When one hears about all the tankers of Montepulciano that move north at night to vivify weaker wines in the north, this is an unsung hero of a region.
My friends at Illuminati, not trampled by the crashing bricks or rumbling dirt, but none the less affected by their neighbor?s cries of pain. Over the years their wines have changed, like their labels, but always for the better. Today they are a success story for Abruzzo. Some of their neighboring wineries near Aquila are searching for their way through back to the future.
Some day they will open bottles of sparkling wine to celebrate a gathering, a success, a landmark.
Quite an unusual combination for the Balkans, since Syrah is fairly rare in the region. Skovin is probably trying to follow the world commercial trends with this Syrah Cabernet Sauvignon combination, and it’s not doing a bad job. Syrah brings in the spiciness and the earthy taste, which brings memories of those strong South African tastes of Syrah wines. Cabernet softeness it a bit, so overall it’s a nice wine, but distinctively dryer than the famous Australian Syraz-Cabernet’s.
This is another great wine from the 
Dulka is one of the most famous wine producing families in the town of Sremski Karlovci, near Novi Sad in Vojvodina. They produce wine since 1920 and have won a handful of awards at the Novi Sad agricultural fair throughout the years. Apart from producing wine, this familiy also produces 
The 2004 vintage of this wine received a bronze medal at the Decanter World Wine Awards last year (2006). I’ve only been able to find the 2005 vintage in Belgrade wine shops. It has an intensive and complex aroma with hints of flowers. Dominant tastes are those of melon and slightly of apricots. However, I wasn’t impressed, perhaps I expected more due to all the hype. Or perhaps there’s a significant difference in the two vintages.
This wine is characterized by a yellow-green colour, a fresh citrusy aroma with hints of honey and a complex flowery aftertaste. It’s a semi-dry riesling, dryer than the Slovenian rieslings (such as Laski Riesling for example), but sweeter than those found in Serbia. It is a nice wine to accompany a lighter meal.