The 4th Atlantic Seaboard Wine Competition invited 800 Eastern wineries from Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New...

With English wines now winning awards over and above some of their more established competitors and many international wine companies buying up acres of southern England now’s a very good time to find out what you might have been missing. 

If you feel a bit in the dark about what English wines have to offer English Wine Week from Saturday 26th May to Sunday 3rd June provides the perfect opportunity to find out more.  With events taking place throughout the country at vineyards, restaurants and local fairs there’s sure to be something in your area that will give you the opportunity to taste a drop or two or learn more about this emerging industry.

Editor’s Note: After reading the title of this post, you may be pondering why Catavino has an article on North-East Chinese cuisine, which is a very good question. Edward Ragg, our Chinese correspondent, has been sharing his experiences living in Beijing as a wine consultant, which have included very detailed and descriptive articles on the state of Spanish wine in east Asia, as well as his experience with pairing traditional Chinese foods with Iberian wine. Considering that Edward is magically finding time to share his knowledge with us, between wine fairs and teaching WSET courses, we are clearly very appreciative. And if you have any questions for Edward, please don’t hesistate to put them in the comments.

It?s now almost two years since my wife, Fongyee, and I moved to China to begin work as wine consultants, a profession that barely exists in a country that only really began importing wine some fifteen years ago and whose own wine industry is dominated by massive government corporations.

Much of that time has, of course, been devoted to setting up a company ? no easy thing in the PRC ? getting to know the wine importers and fledgling wine magazines as well as becoming more and more familiar with the different national wine markets ? Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and further a field ? the extent of wine knowledge at consumer and trade levels, people?s expectations of wine in general and what myths v. facts abide in an emergent wine culture.

Trying myriad Chinese wines, judging at Chinese wine competitions and the teething pains of setting up a website and blog ? ever works in progress ? have had their own challenges. But we can hardly complain: this invaluable experience, by turns exciting, frustrating and occasionally downright baffling, has whetted our appetites and got our palates salivating. We?ll definitely be here for the long-haul, if we can.

But just as I was planning a series of posts entitled, ?Confessions of a Chinese Wine Consultant?, going right back to January 2007 when we first landed in Beijing, I had the opportunity to go to Dalian, a popular tourist city about an hour?s flight to the north-east of China?s capital, on the attractive peninsula of Liaoning Province (which borders Hebei and Jilin Provinces, Inner Mongolia and North Korea).

As well as having a quick holiday peep at the wine scene there, Fongyee and I, at the behest of her Chinese relatives, were subjected to a two-day eating spree ? Chinese entertaining is beyond bountiful ? gaining some insights into how a typical middle class family sees eating and drinking and how the older and younger generations view Chinese and international wines.

Dalian is a good place to be fed to death. Our local Beijing market boasts fresh seafood from Dalian ? fresh because, as in all proper Chinese markets and restaurants, everything is still alive before purchase. So we were keen to see how local Dalian folk treat their seafood and other fish on their own turf.

Fresh off our morning plane, lunch was served (the Chinese generally rise early, eat lunch around 11.30-1 p.m. and consume dinner between 5.30-8 p.m., something Mediterranean visitors find intolerable). Fongyee?s cousin had already been to the main Dalian fish market at 5 a.m. that morning and was, I?m not kidding, plating up the following feast, ingeniously prepared from one of the smallest kitchens I have ever seen (even by domestic Chinese standards). The French talk about mise-en-place, the Chinese invented it:

steamed crabs (two types ? see below)
steamed abalone
steamed scallops
steamed razor clams
poached flat-fish: of Chinese origin (similar to a meaty version of sole or plaice)
stir-fried prawns with green onion and garlic
stir-fried squid with carrot, green onion, garlic and chilli
deep-fried oysters (in a very delicate batter dipped in white pepper and salt at table)
deep-fried fish in a chilli glaze: the fish was of Chinese origin (similar to perch)
braised red-cooked pork spare ribs (simmered in rice wine, dark and light soy sauce, ginger, star anise, green onion)
preserved pork gelatine salad (flavoured with star-anise and garlic)
salad of preserved pork with julienned cucumber, carrot and green onion in a garlic-soy sauce dressing
prawn soup in a delicate broth (de-shelled prawns, shaped into ovals a bit like French quenelles, with Chinese chives in a clear soup ? i.e. not fish stock)
fried buns with pork and onion filling (known as xia bing)

The two types of crab were ?flower crab? (hua xie), seen on the right above, with flower-like patterns on their shells, and ?flying crab? (fei xie), the bigger beasts to the above left whose shells look something like sting-rays.

Each crab was eaten with a special dipping sauce ? see middle above ? comprised of minced garlic, soy sauce and ginger. But there was plentiful pickled garlic on hand just in case anyone felt their daily intake of the herb was lacking. Fortunately, we eat everything and just about anything. And who could have trouble tucking into this?

To be Continued: What did they drink in Dalian?…

Cheers,

Edward Ragg

Edward Ragg & Fongyee Walker write for us from Beijing, and you can get more information on their website, Dragon Phoenix Fine Wine Consulting

• Part 2 - Dalian Delights: Seafood and the Wine Scene off China?s North-East Coast
• Exquisite Harmonies: Matching Iberian Wines with China?s Great Cuisines
• Shrimp and Mushroom Risotto with 2005 Barrel Fermented Alma de Tobia White Wine
• Could Albariño Substitute Hot Tea during a Traditional Chinese Meal?
• Can Spanish and Portuguese Wines Succeed in the Chinese Market?

The Award-Winning Wine:

Bianchi 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon

Reason for Reviewing:

Bianchi 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon is one of...

SIPPED: double entendre!
Unable to legally call a port style wine made outside of Portugal “Port,” Peltier Station Winery is calling their wine “USB”–you know, as in those ports on the side of your computer that you never seem to have enough of. Which European wine region will next made into a technology pun? [find this port; viaWired]

SIPPED: bling glassware!
During the GOP convention, filings now show that the McCain Victory 2008 spent $7,000 on 250 wine glasses adorned with elephant designs for donors. Had they already handed out $28 elephant-adorned beer glasses in honor of Joe Sixpack and Cindy’s beer distributorship? [HuffPo]

SIPPED: Joe Six-Pack wine
The rise of Midwestern wine is epitomized in Illinois, which has grown from 14 to 80 wineries in a decade. Marketing idea: Joe Six-Pack wine (sold in half-cases). [PJ Star]

SIPPED: herbicides
A new herbicide resistant grape variety has been developed for the Midwest. Mmmm. [Wines & Vines]

SPIT: international grape varieties
Rocked by a scandal earlier this year that involved blending grapes from outside the zone, Brunello votes overwhelmingly to stay traditional and not allow even a small amount of grapes other than sangiovese. [VinoWire]

Researchers from the University of Michigan mixed a powder made from green, red and black grapes and added it to food eaten by rats engineered to have high blood pressure.

Although I spend a reasonable amount of time (how much is reasonable?) thinking about which wine to enjoy with a meal, quite often I'll find that even if it's not perfect it is still entirely serviceable and rather than wail hysterically while tipping the bottle down my throat, I can enjoy both food and wine while making a mental note to try something else next time.

But then, when you most want to find just the thing to do justice to the efforts of the chef, you go and make an absolute clanger. Of course it is also about doing justice to the effort that has gone into the production of the wine so showing it off in the most flattering company  is desirous  in absolute propotion to the amount of effort it is to procure a bottle and how lovingly you cherish it.

I haven't gone too far out of my way to scout out the perfect steak to show off my £5.49 Argentinian Cabernet Sauvignon. Although they would be more laidback company than some, more intricate, menus.

Had the most wonderful meal a couple of nights ago courtesy of a former Masterchef contestant.  We kicked off the evening with some Champagne Drappier Brut Carte d'Or NV. A very biscuity nose with a fresh, light and clean apple palate with a broad, creamy bottom layer with an enthusiatic but not overwhelming mousse and very decent length.

The first course was mushroom ravioli in a wild mushroom (girasol) broth in which the  woodland flavours sang out in operatic fashion. We matched that with a Louis Latour, Domaine de Valmoissine Pinot Noir 2002 from Provence. Very light crimson this was correct and tasty. Already quite evolved but still lots of fruit, just not the concentration I'd hoped for.  Made a great pairing with the mushrooms though and the lightness and acidity in the wine lifted the earthy tones and richness of the ravioli.

The fabulously elaborate meal continued with roast duck cooked in red wine with cherry sauce. For the duck I had brought along a Feytit Clinet 2000 from Pomerol having enjoyed right bank Bordeaux with duck on many previous occasions. Here though the intensity and sweetness of the cherries and the reduction glaze reduced this otherwise rather lovely wine to thin, metallic, short nastiness. Really very sad!

We tried opening an Eldridge Blue Chip Shiraz 2003 from Clare Valley in South Australia, which alone was sweet, unctuous and jammy but this too couldn't take on the cherries.

Which came first - the cherry or the Feytit Clinet? They both lost that night.  Tant pis...learn from mistakes. Next time before rummaging through the cellar, I'll ask for an exact breakdown of the recipes from my host - NO, not really! This is just for fun.

How pretty is this? Not only pretty pink but tasty also.

A Thermomix recently found it's way to my  kitchen. A little snippet on David Lebovitz and I was off googling Thermomix.  A  couple of emails, a phone call and suddenly Eva was demonstrating and cooking us lunch on the Thermomix machine.

The Thermomix replaces a myriad of kitchen appliances which is perfect for those of us who have downsized to an apartment with a smaller kitchen and less cupboard space.

You can read all about my new best friend over at the Thermomix site.   I'd rather talk about the wonderful Blood Orange Sorbet I made today. This is how quick and easy it is to make sorbet in a Thermomix.

1. Place sugar in bowl and mill for 10 seconds on speed 9
2. Add the fruit followed by 1 tray of ice and egg white. Slowly turn speed dial to 10.
3. Add the remaining ice after 20 seconds and continue on speed 10 for 40 seconds.
4. Serve immediately or place in freezer until ready to serve.

If you haven't tried blood orange you must. The taste is very different to a conventional orange.

My previous sorbet recipe made the conventional way can be found here.

I'd originally written this for Lenn, but we didn't use it and I'm dry on material... read it and weep

Cabernet Sauvignon is for wimps.

Yep, you read right. Wimps, I tell ya. You want a dash of crème de cassis? Mathilde makes a pretty one for kir royales. Bursts of blackberry? Pass the Polaner All-Fruit. Chocolate and coffee notes? Starbuck?s can whip you up a mean frappucino. But please, don?t put it in my wine.

I admit, I?m being cranky. And I know it?s partially because I have a pile of dishes in my sink crying out for help as I try to type. But it?s also because I?m trying to make a point: while Cabernet Sauvignon can indeed produce beautiful wines, it?s often made into over-ripe fruit bombs smothered in vanilla-toasted oak.

I know what you?re thinking. Clearly, this woman has never tasted Silver Oak. Or Chateau Mouton-Rothschild. Or etc. etc. etc. I admit, Cab Sauvs can be made into some pretty smoking wines, but can you afford those? Nah, neither can I. The gloriously rated Howell Mountain Cabs are about as far from my price range as possible. As are top growth Bordeaux. Where does that leave me?

Cabernet Franc.

Granted, the two grapes are very different. Cab Sauvignon is all about tannins, dark fruit and leathery aromas. Cab Francs, while also firmly tannic, are lighter, earthier, and display much more herbal aromas. But for me, it?s one of the most wonderfully versatile grapes under vine, producing a plethora of styles, most of which are both food-friendly and age-worthy.

Cabernet Franc, as you know, is one of the grapes used in the classic Bordeaux blend. Along with the more famous Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, Bordeaux can also include Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot. Percentages of Cabernet Franc vary from chateau to chateau, but its typically used more on the right bank in St-Emilion and Pomerol to add tannic structure to Merlot?s juicy roundness.

But Bordeaux is certainly not where Cabernet Franc gained notoriety. That exhalted region is none other than the Loire Valley in France. The Loire is an interesting area that?s largely held on to traditional winemaking methods and indigenous grape varieties, including Muscadet, Pineau d?Aunis, and Cot (the local name for Malbec), among others. The AOCs (Appellation d?Origine Controlle) of Chinon, Bourgeuil, and St-Nicolas-de-Bourgeuil produce reds from Cabernet Franc. The wines tend to be leaner and more acidic than Bordeaux , ranging from the chalk-textured Bourgeuil to the richer Chinon to the juicy St-Nicolas-de-Bourgeuil. While lackluster winemaking can certainly produce bland wines, the true artists of the Loire have been known to craft earthy wines, loaded with mulberry, sage, and minerality that can age for 15 years or more.

Cabernet Franc, however, was largely overlooked in the United States until recently. Some experimental winemakers out in California have been producing Cab Francs that are big, bold, and brawny ? which is just fine, but not particularly true to the nature of the grape. Happily for us, Cab Franc seems to prefer the climate of New York State, and in particular, that of Long Island.

It turns out the maritime climate of Long Island is perfect for many of the Bordeaux grapes ? they dig the summer heat moderated by the surrounding water. Long Island is also cool enough in the winter to allow an appropriate dormant phase without great risk of extended freezes. The Finger Lakes have long struggled with red grapes for lack of sufficient sunlight to ripen, but Long Island has the best of all climactic combinations. And judging from a recent tasting, Long Island winemakers are producing Cab Francs in the all of its glory ? from light and juicy to tannic and mineral-laden.

Raphael and Jamesport both produce what are perhaps the most approachable Cab Francs. Lighter and juicier in style, these wines can both be served slightly chilled as delicious, thirst-quenching sippers. This is not to say that they?re not dinner-wines; indeed, serve them at room temperature paired with rosemary-roasted chicken and asparagus and they?ll certainly blossom.

Castello di Borghese has created a more new world Cabernet Franc that?s full on the palate with sweet cherry fruit and smooth tannins ? it?s a softer, rounder version of the grape that will appeal to dyed-in-the-wool Merlot fans. In a somewhat similar style, Vineyard 48 has certainly gone new world by oak-ageing the wines to impart toasty cinnamon nuances. It?s smooth, round, and creamy, loaded with blackberry and black cherry fruit. Pair either with a hearty beef stew for a midwinter treat.

Schneider produces the most classically-styled Cabernet Francs. If I were to taste their ?Le Breton? blind, I think I?d pick it out as a ripe Bourgeuil. The chalky nose offers plum, sweet red peppers, thyme, and rosemary, with a linear palate of blackberry that expands beyond the stoniness to a smooth, round finish of plumy licorice. Schneider?s ?Roanoke Point? is a bit more elegant, with toasty sandlewood aromas interlaced with rosewater and pluots. The blackberry fruit on the palate is enhanced by notes of roses, herbs, prunes, and roasted peppers. These are both Cabernet Francs for Cab Franc lovers. And a pairing? Why, Long Island duckling, of course!

Ok, now, I?m not saying that after trying Cabernet Franc, you?ll completely abandon Cabernet Sauvignon. But let it swish around your mouth for a while. Taste the lovely herbal notes and the layers of stone and fruit and try to convince me that it?s not an underappreciated grape.

And, if you really feel the need, send me a thank you note. It?s only polite.

I happened to finish two things about the same time last week. The first Wine Bloggers Conference and a book, The Billionaire’s Vinegar. This was perhaps a coincidence as I did not find time to read a word at the conference. Drinking trumped reading in Santa Rosa that weekend, but I finished the book a few days later. It’s hard to think of a greater contrast between the event I attended and the events and people in the book.

The Wine Bloggers Conference was defined by an almost innocent enthusiasm and love for wine, while The Billionaire’s Vinegar represents The Dark Side of wine. You cannot be help but be stuck by the ugly greed, arrogance and ignorance of the wealthy posers chasing “great wine” in this book. It’s one of those plots were there is no protagonist, they’re all bad guys. I highly recommend this book as it’s a great story based around the excesses and greed of big time collectors who were sold faked old wines and were just too greedy and had such massive egos they couldn’t taste the obvious.

One thing this book proves is that we are all too human in our abilities and no one can escape the trap of letting labels affect our perceptions. I’ll be the first to admit if someone told me I was getting a glass of 1787 Lafite purchased by Thomas Jefferson my esthetic distance would be right out the window. The trouble with the arrogant bastards in this book is that they thought that their palates were so great they could rise above human frailty. I can only guess they got stupid after they made their money, not before. The tacky glitz, excess and greed surrounding the elaborate tasting events described in the book cannot be overstated. What is perhaps most disconcerting is the attendance at these events of those that consider themselves wine “journalists” Certainly, attending such extravagant events gratis would not be acceptable under even the loosest code of journalistic ethics. It was clear to these writers that they would not be invited back if they offered even a hint of criticism in their reports. Rave reviews were the price of  next year’s admission and they were always invited back. It’s hard to be critical after enough foie gras and caviar.

The recent first ever Wine Bloggers Conference in America (there was one a few months before in Europe) painted a very different picture. The jaded arrogance that blinds so many established wine writers these days was replaced by the refreshing enthusiasm of the wine bloggers that descended on the Flamenco Hotel in Santa Rosa. Surrounded by the beauty and wonderful wines of Sonoma over 150 new media wine writers gathered to explore their emerging genre. The energy brought to my mind Gracie Slick and the Jefferson Airplane welcoming the dawn at Woodstock, “It’s a new dawn…” said Gracie before the band roared into that hippie political anthem, Volunteers.

Every blogger that attended was there on their own dime as no one is make a living from wine blogging yet. Everyone was there because of their passion for wine. They are truly volunteers and the generous spirit of this group stuck out starkly to the outrageously expensive, competitive and ego driven wine world documented in The Billionaire’s Vinegar.

While there are many wonderful examples of wine bloggers making a difference I can’t help to pick out Deb Harkness, better known as Dr. Debs, who has created a blog called Good Wines Under $20.  For what I hope are obvious reasons I won’t describe what Deb’s blog is about. Deb’s day job is as a college professor, but by night she’s a consumer activist seeking out great wines at great prices for her readers. Yet what is even more impressive about her is her deep commitment to a personal standard of ethics. While most mainstream wine writers are mostly concerned about what others will think of them when it comes to ethics, Dr. Debs, and many bloggers like her are concerned what they think of themselves. Their ethics are in their hearts. Their not in it for the money or glamour tastings, but out of a sincere love of food and wine. At the end of the day only self respect and personal pride can make ethics a reality. Deb and many bloggers like her are setting a new standard.

I’m well aware that I was one of the old guys at the Wine Bloggers Conference and most of my compatriots there were well under forty, but the energy and spirit there reminded me of an earlier time, before when some of them were born, when we thought we could change the world. The conference gave me hope that maybe, just maybe, that the pointy world of wine writing today can be brought down. Power to the bloggers.

It’s a new dawn for wine writing. Good morning people.