The Thirsty Cook

Mangiamo: Pork Chops Scarpariello with 2006 Villa Medoro Montepulciano D’Abruzzo

2010-04-20T22:13:00.000-04:00

Couldn’t be happier to cook a rustic Italian meal. Let alone pair it with the nice little Italian Red that I have tonight, the 2006 Villa Medoro Montepulciano D’Abruzzo.

Getting Thirsty...

I might have mentioned this in a previous posts, but Italian wine love to confuse even the most clever wine consumers by labeling bottles of wine with either regional labels, i.e. Chianti, Barolo, and Barbaresco, or grape varietal labels, i.e. Barbera D’Alba, Moscato D’Asti, and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. This last one in particular gives a crazed little confusion to even wine folks, especially with Montepulciano D’Abruzzo, which I’m drinking tonight. But an easy way to distinguish between your varietal label and your regional label is simple...just look for the “di” or “d’.” The part before any of these Italian articles will indicate the grape and the latter will indicate the region. If the label does not contain any of these articles then usually we’re talking about a town, but not always...think of wines like Pinot Grigio, they usually stand alone as solely varietal labels.

But the best way to become more familiar with the Italian labeling system, is to drink more Italian wine. Seriously.

So the wine I have tonight is a Montepulciano D’Abruzzo...the grape being Montepulciano “from” Abruzzo. The grape is considered a pretty big one. With a lot of opulent herbs, spiced plum and subtle earthen spices like cumin and nutmeg. The town is on the opposite side of the coast from Rome in the provence of Marche, with the Adriatic to the East. Typically, these dry wines can be pretty dirty, but this one in particular was one of the smoothest I’ve tasted yet. The quality of the Villa Medoro is so good in fact that it won the most prestigious award in the Italian Wine Press, Tre Bicchiere. This award is awarded to only about 1% of all Italian wines, of which about 25,000 enter. Typically these wines go for around $40 dollars or more, but the beauty of the Villa Medoro is that it’s only about $15, making it a cool little steal as far as highly lauded Italian wines come...and go.

Getting Hungry...

I chose a nicely little herb-roasted pork dish from Italy called Pork Chops Scarpariello. The recipe can be found on Epicurious.com. For the record, I have massive recipe compliance issues and chose to cook with the red wine I was drinking instead of the white wine the recipe suggested. But...

Overall, the dish was a little too hot for the wine. The tannin in the red wine increased the heat in the dish. The body of the pork paired nicely with the body of the wine. The rusticity of the bell peppers and cherry peppers with the red wine sauce matched really nicely with the dried fruit component of the wine. The heat still lingered though. And I got the sense that the dish wanted to cool the heat with a German Riesling, probably a Spatlese.

I probably should tone down the amount of cherry peppers next time....cooking with the red wine sauce instead of the white made more sense just to give the dish a richer flavor base. It lend-ed a little more rusticity to the dish and helped balance the dish against the wine. Not the best pairing. But it could be tweeked and tworked.

Roast Chicken Breasts with Garbanzo Beans, Tomatoes, and Paprika with 2005 Domaine Bzikot Bourgogne Rouge

2010-04-15T00:08:00.001-04:00

Tonight I crossed borders, pairing a Burgundian Pinot Noir with a Spanish roast chicken dish. While I tried to pair the wine with some regional French cuisine, I didn’t think it was necessary. That’s a lie. I just didn’t want to have to cook some French dish for 5 hours...but if you feel the urge, then by all means, knock your little, Francophile socks off.

Getting Thirsty...

The red wine was the 2005 Domaine Bzikot Bourgogne Rouge. A wine that coupled herb and spice with tart cherry and raspberry. No real gaminess in the wine. The wine had a higher level of acidity than I felt a 2005 red Burgundy should have. 2005, after all, had been a benchmark vintage for red Burgundy. Marked with elegance and sophistication, the vintage seemed to leave almost every critic with warm fuzzy feelings. Whatever...With the leaner body and higher acid, I felt that the dish it wanted was going to be lighter as well. Didn’t think it could have held up to some of the richer Bourgogne dishes that come out of the region, like lamb or duck.

Getting Hungry...

So turning my back on French cuisine, I decided to go to Spain, where leaner cuts of meats can be intelligently flared with clever plays of spices and herbs. I settled on a dish that I found on Epicurious.com. It was a Roast Chicken Breasts with Garbanzo Beans, Cherry Tomatoes, and Paprika. (I actually used a thigh and leg chicken piece, since it still had the bone in). An incredibly easy dish to make in no time at all that also offered those nuanced flavors that would accompany the wine.

The Roast Chicken with wine... The paprika coating brought out some really nice earthen spices from the wine. Think some cinnamon and nutmeg. The wine dealt back some herbaceous notes of tarragon and rosemary. The roasted chicken had just the right amount of body and weight to match the lighter style Pinot Noir. I almost even think that pork would be too heavy and rich for this wine. A salmon or tuna could pair very nicely though.

The wine with the Paprika Greek Yogurt Sauce gave nice notes of creamy, spicy dark cherries and raspberries. The little kick from the red pepper didn’t harm the balance, and the acid from the wine cleansed the palate quite nicely of the sauce.

The wine with the Chickpea Tomato mixture played a similar part to the sauce by cleansing the palate nicely. The acidity from the wine brought just enough to match with the acid in the tomatoes and the starch of chickpeas. Nice notes of earthy, peppered red fruit came out of the wine as well. The cilantro did not seem to get in the way of the wine, but sent hints and hits of refreshing garden herbs to the back of the palate.

Overall, I found the Spanish dish to work very nicely with its French friend. While the wine was a little leaner than I was expecting, it provided a very nice fresh fruit component to the otherwise savory dish. I would steer clear from fruit sauces with this wine. They might overwhelm you. And the wine has just the right touch of herbaceous qualities to give those savory subtleties some serenity.

Maple Glazed Pork Tenderloin Pairing

2010-02-16T22:16:00.002-05:00

Not the most kosher pairing this time, but good all way through. I chose a nice little Maple Glazed Pork Tenderloin Roast dish that was a nice winter warmer with the wines.

Getting Hungry...

This was one of the recipes from Cook’s Illustrated, which we used in my company’s wine club. The dish was very easy to make. Just watch the temp on the recipe. Pork roasts have a tendency to overcook, but consistently turning the roast over in delicious maple syrup reduction, helps to keep the juices guessing which way to escape.

Getting Thirsty...

This dish is a pretty nice winter meal, as such, I wanted to use some wines that had a little more heft. I chose a white and a red, to compare and contrast the different styles and weights of how whites and reds can interact with the same dish. For the white, I chose the 2008 Seebrich Nierstiener Oelberg Riesling Spatlese Trocken...Germans love words with their wines. To boil it down, the wine is a Riesling that is left on the vine for a little while longer, a late-harvest wine (Spatlese), but produced dry (trocken). The wine carries a fuller body with notes tangy lemon zest, and bold notes of brazen honeyed white peach. The wine also has a little more acidity to help cut through the little, lean fat of the pork.

The second wine I chose (the red) was a Spanish Garnacha, the 2007 Xiloca Garnacha. A wine that gave off crazy, complex spices when I first tasted it. Loads of nutmeg, clove, and vanilla. With cool little collections of reduced Szechwan strawberries. Very far from the norm, like most Spanish Garnachas. It also had other notes of reduced, raspberry balsamic and dried rose petal. It was funny, I had originally gone in with the idea of working with a Rhone blend, which is also mostly Grenache, but was convinced that the earth in the Rhone blend would not be as appealing with the dish as a spiced-laden Spanish Garnacha. I should have paired the two against the each other, but hindsight is humorous...

With the Seebrich Riesling...

The extra acidity from the white wine played its part as it provided a refreshing cleansing of the pallet to the pork. A little bit of unripe pineapple also came off the wine, giving a sort of tropical pork component to the dish, like leisurely enjoying the lingering tastes of a luau. The white pepper from the wine complemented the earthen spices of the dish. These complementary spice combinations made the the Riesling jump out with a little heat from the cayenne kicking on the end. The maple sweetness was not as strong as I was expecting, but, as I mentioned, all the spices played their part. A leaner pairing, but very poignant.

With the Xiloca Garnacha...

The richness of the red wine gave a lusher note to the tenderloin and brought out more savory spices from the maple glaze. The entire dish seemed to have more to play with. The play of spices from the dish brought out crazy connotations of cinnamon, cayenne, and a bit of blood orange pith. The wine itself did not carry much tannin, so it was not too overwhelming for the pork. In fact, the red, with its richer offerings of spiced raspberry and dark cherry to the pork, gave a more appropriate pairing to the idea of a winter warming dish. Needless to say, I was cold and this wine with this dish did the trick.

Overall, the circumstances preferred a richer pairing, which is why I preferred the Spanish Garnacha. But feel free to try it out for yourselves. Would love to hear feed back. Next, I’m gonna have to try it with a Rhone Grenache to see if my theory stands up, but that’s another meal for another thirsty time...cheers!

AM Wine Shop Article - Interview with Justin Abad

2010-02-15T20:17:00.002-05:00

It’s the PM of a Thursday night, and I’m walking through the newly established A.M. Wine Shoppe with proprietor Justin Abad. We talk about the wines he has on the shelf. Special selections personally picked from Justin for you, the lucky, little winos of Adams Morgan.

Justin got his start at Cashion’s Eat Place, which he is now the proprietor of, as well. He tells us about how he got his passion for wine...

“I had the opportunity to go Italy. And the owner at the time told me, ‘Go to Italy. Or you’re fired.” That’s some harsh convincing.

Once on the Italian soil, he, like many of us in this fine wine business, had one of those transformative experiences. An oeniphilic-awakening that is usually grounded in an experience of food and wine too good to describe. All you can really do is try to share shards of that experience with others. For Justin, it was a single bottle of Barbara given to him by a friend.

“It completely opened my eyes. Had no idea wine could be that good.”

While he tells his story he gave us the opportunity to taste some wines he had personally picked out for the feature. We started off with the Cottonera Barbazzale, a soft red wine that played with spiced red fruit, and a slight reduced strawberry component.

Then we start on a little tour of Pinot Noir. The first Pinot was the 2008 Jezebel Pinot Noir, a Willamette Valley Pinot Noir that was very smooth on the palate with notes of cracked nutmeg and clove with some raspberry notes on the front palate. The second wine was a California Pinot Noir, the 2008 Laguna Ridge, a Sonoma coast Pinot Noir that offered up some notes of spiced strawberry and some toasty vanilla with a very nice texture all around. The final wine was the Monthelie 2005, a Burgundian Pinot that gave off a typical savage taste, with notes of spiced vanilla bean and barnyard. All of the wines had that clever little bit of restraint that Justin admits he tries to offer in all of the wines he chooses.

While we’re tasting people peer through the glass windows, Justin offers a wave that everyone seems to respond to.

“I notice that when I wave them in, they almost always walk away with a bottle” Justin slyly mentions.

Tonight was no exception, as a bit of a line began to form at the register. Others perused the wine selections. And those same others also peered through another glass window, the artisanal deli case. Aside from fine wines, A.M. Wine Shoppe also offers up selections of fine cheeses, cured meats, and other antipasti assortments. But you’ll have to go in and ask Justin for the whole selection, because it...is...a lot.

Justin and I start talking about specific bottles on the shelf...a killer Sicilian wine here, the best Sparkling wine for the money their. He’s very eager to share his knowledge with any customer wanting to hear about the wines.

“What?! Grappa!” I shout.

“Oh Yeah.”

Grappa is not for everyone, but it is for me. And I love the stuff.

It was only a small selection, but it’s part of what else A.M. offers. Maybe they’ll get in some more distilled spirits. For now it’s a small operation.

The wine night starts to wind down. Justin starts to close up shop. I grab my bottle of grappa, and thank Justin for a very cool time in a very cool, new, wine shop. Walk by sometime, get waved in, hang out with Justin, and let him share that moment once upon time when he fell for the vine.

Los Pocos L0c0s -Espana Day 3

2010-02-03T02:44:00.001-05:00

Jesus Christ, aka Jesus Christo, it’s early. I dress early in the morning, so as to not make us late again. I hear that same rap on the door from the day before. I jump up ready.

Jonas, “Okay. You’re ready. I’m gonna be downstairs.”

He doesn’t tell me that he’s eating in the restaurant below us, but I figure it out when he doesn’t show up downstairs outside.

I walk back inside.

A gray haired lady expecting me, asks what I would like.

I look at Jonas and order the same egg and toast combo and cafe that he has in front of him. We eat and depart for my last vineyard spot, Celler Escoda.

We drive through the passes toward the DO of Conca de Barbera. An area about an hour and a half outside of where we were staying. We travel through heavier snow than we he had even seen on our first day in Terra Alta. We leave our car on the side of the road as per the instructions of our host....we wait...then a blue truck emerges opposite side of the street, it’s Juan Escoda, head master-crafter of Celler Escoda.

A jovial character with white hair drops out with such a gracious smile that you can’t even begin to deny a good time that you’re about have.

We dump into the trunk and are taking on a wild, slidin’ ride through Juan’s vineyards just trying to make it his cellars. But we do.

Juan is a purist. He is a believer in the vino pura. In the essence of vino. In a way of hoping to help the wine community understand what pure wine can...and might will do for the rest of all those “crazy” conventional winemakers out there.

We empty into the tank room and are given great samples of his Chenin Blanc (one of my personal favorites) it carries notes of spiced unripe pineapple and red apple skins. A very independent and uncalculated wine. I taste the Pinot Noir, it’s a mineral driven style with loads of elegant blackberry. Then we taste the Merlot, loads of spice and raspberry, pura molta...Then we go on to the Cab Franc, which has some herbacouesness, smoked cinnamon, thyme, and sage with a bit of blueberry.

“Boca esta la bomba!”

A huge bomb of of raspberry and wanting mint, with a little cinnamon on the finish...

Next to the blend of the Merlot and Cabernet Franc, with a little dancing and playing of fresh red strawberries from the Merlot and earthen spice from the Cab Franc.

Next we tasted the Coll d’Sabater 2008, a beautiful blend of Cab franc and Merlot that leaves tastes of rose and raspberry with pepper and cinnamon. With a natural beauty. I taste the Coll d’Sabater 2007 next with notes of bursting blueberry, with a chewy graininess, but bursting with lush notes on the back palate of reduced strawberries...

After the tank tasting, we head to the heaviest barrel tasting I’ve been to...

The best part of this barrel tasting is that I get to see Juan’s ingenious reasons for choosing his barrels...The first..Chenin Blanc out of Adour Barrels, which gave off honeyed apples and almonds. some grilled pineapple notes. This was the highest quality barrel I tasted.

Then we tasted the Chenin Blanc through Vicard barrels. While it was a very clean wine it had very muted fruit notes. But minerality was strong.

We tasted more and more and more....then Juan invited his good friend Ceres over...to do some more bottle tasting. ...and good god how many bottles we tasted....these were some of the most interesting wines that could have never found an audience in any market...geeky beyond geeky wines...

So, we finally leave the tank room and head to our lunch. Everyone is far beyond the norm by the time we get to lunch. With many bottles in our system, I find myself working my way through a hand-rolled cigarette that has the prettiest perfumed herbaciousness. All is calm and we begin to discuss the possibility of more than one life. Multiple dreams of growing the grape...to drink a bottle...to smoke an organic cigarette. And as it all hits...we all break out in amusement to the broken words of my friend next to me, who convinces me that there is only wine you should want is pure wine.

“La Vina pura, .... tu hace pura...”

Hilarity ensues. And as we climb a little bit out of that herbacious foreign consciousness, we all meet each other and find our way back down to that table to talk about the terroir. Where it all began. And this was the ezzenzia of los pocos locos.

Winemakers lost and found in and alone on the vine of the uva. Of the bodega. Of the piedre. they find little ways to struggle, just like the vines cutting through those soils, but at the end of the day they last. Fixed only on the idea of vine naturalemente. Pura. Limpia para la vina.

La Alma de Priorat - Parte 2 - Espana Day 2

2010-02-02T23:35:00.001-05:00

As the crazy conversations with August ensue, those of afterlives and possibilities of being what we are not, a somewhat of what some of us want to believe tests each other’s convictions. These “somewhats” and “maybe so’s” and “what if’s” eat the early afternoon, ‘til Jonas realizes that we have to conclude the conversation and head out to our next vineyard visit, Vinedos de Ithaca.

We walk outside of the restaurant, with that winter sun slowing crawling to rest. Many bottles of wine, with a few brandies and other spirits, give everyone the courage to leave with strong embraces of admiration. Everyone leaves smiling. An all too common theme on this trip.

We take off to our next winery, Vinedos de Ithaca, run by the never-stop-beating, Sylvia Puig. One of the strongest women I’ve ever had the fortunate opportunity to meet. She’s greets us in the tank room. She has been working all day pruning her vines. Oh, and she’s about 6 months pregnant.

“Do you want to taste all of it?” She asks.

Jonas’ eyes flare somewhat back, “I mean, show us what you think you should us. We’ll certainly taste as much as you’d like to.”

“Okay, we taste.” and she quickly darts away to gather bottles for us.

We begin to taste her whites from the tank. The first is the Odysseus Garnacha Blanca, tropical fruit flavors with banana, golden pear, and white peach, with aftertastes of honey and dandelion.

The next white was/is one of my personal favorites, Odysseus Pedro Ximenez. This is a grape that has long been a part of the history of Priorat’s soils, but very rarely ackowledge. The grape is typically known for its use in the Montilla-Moriles region of Spain for making sweeter style sherries. This is the only version of still Pedro Ximenez that I have every tried. It’s on another level. It has notes of rich golden pear with a spiced white pepper tang. It also carries cool notes of honey and tangerine reduction.

The last white wine was another unusual still varietal, Macabeo, which is typically blended in the sparkling wine of Spain, Cava. The wine gives off notes of white almond w/ white pepper and white grapefruit and tangerine. The acidity and balance of this wine makes it a great food wine, especially with tequila chicken dishes.

Then we moved onto the reds. The first was the 2007 Odysseus Red Label, a blend of Carinena, Garnacha and Cabernet Sauvignon from ancient vines, that had some sweet spiced ginger notes with shaved red apple skin. The over all profile seemed like a nutmeg and cinnamon infused apple orchard with a little dried rose petal. The finish had depths of leather and sweet tobacco.

The next red we tasted was the 2008 Akyles, a similar blend to the Odysseus Red Label, but with younger vines. The wine tastes of spiced raspberry, balsamic, red apple and cracked nutmeg.

Then we tasted to 2008 Odysseus Red label, with a pretty nose of rose, cinnamon, black pepper and smoked apples and balsamic braised blood oranges.

We then get to a conception project that Sylvia has been secretly masterminding, a dual tasting of Syrahs, one grown in clay, the other in slate. She displays such a passion to show the differing types of soils that give her wines their grace. We taste the wines and you can completely see how the Syrah grown in slate, a leaner soil composure compares to the richer clay grown Syrah. The slate style has a slight petrol leanness, with a characteristic wet rock note and smoky flint note, typical of the soil. The clay style is richer, with a rounder texture and fuller body. And as I taste the wines, I can almost picture their fruit notes of raspberry and blackberry bleeding over and through their respective soils. Though the depths of clay. Though the cracks of the slate. Picking up everyone ounce of their respective soil’s essence.

Sylvia then goes into how she wants to market both the wines as a single duo pack with samples of both soils in each package. Jonas asks my thoughts on selling such a package. And I’m honest.

“I don’t think it will sell. Maybe as separate bottlings. But not as one package.”

Sylvia gets somewhat up in arms over my dissent.

“But I really want to show these people the difference in the soils.”

“I know. And you can. But you just might have to do it another way.”

I see that strong woman show a stronger temper. Clearly not wanting to hear my opinion. She seems already set. Already sold in her idea. I can’t blame her. With her passion. Can’t imagine few people dissuading her. But the market is what it is.

Composure is reclaimed and we taste the pinnacle of Sylvia’s winemaking abilities, The 2006 Odysseus Black Label, which is only made in the best vintages from old vine Garnacha, Syrah, Carinena, and Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine has a sharp peppered anise flavor with a very soothing, mellow, sweet black tea bitterness contrasted with a sweet tobacco note. We then taste the 2007 Odysseus Black Label, with its rich concentration of blueberry and reduced blackberry. The tannins hold the wine back, but the years will be kind to this wine.

After the bottle tasting we head down to the barrel room, tens of barrels all labeled after mythological figures line the walls. I taste more than I record, but the one that catches my eye is Tor (Thor) a Cabernet Sauvignon blend that is quite potent with it’s toasty vanilla notes from the new french oak and depth of dark berries. Kinda my wine.

We taste barrel after barrel after barrel. Finally, realizing how late it is, Jonas and I leave Vinedos de Ithaca with a lot of thanks for Sylvia in all of her strength to remain head strong against what might be the norm, what might be what other people think, and what they pretend to know. A clever, innovative winemaker whose presence seems mythical in an area surrounded by so much tradition.

La Alma de Priorat - Parte 1 - Espana Day 2

2010-01-21T02:25:00.000-05:00

A sharp knock raps my hotel room door. Blurry eyed and blind, I some how get my legs to work and walk to the door. It's Jonas.

"We need to go. We were suppose to be there 10 minutes ago."

"mkay."

The shower is spared. I dress. Out the door. Down the stairs, past the restaurant. Oh, we're staying above a restaurant by the way. An old establishment owned by a lady that has welcomed Jonas since he first visited. I haven't met her yet, but I will. Out the front door. Onto the slushy cobble stone streets. The cracks and the grooves don't help me easily move. But I make do.

We arrive at Celler Cecilio. In the heart of Gratallops. An established producer in the town, and around the hillsides of Priorat. We walk in and upstairs. A young, posh woman sits in a office typing and taking care of things. Seems quite out of place from the medieval setting of Gratallops that we have just stumbled through. As Jonas catches up with the young professional, who I am introduced to as the winemaker's daughter, Raquel, the door opens. Steps in August Vincent, the flowed legacy of Celler Cecilio.

Maybe it was the bright, tangerine sweater the new arrival had on, or the beaming rays entering that office, but the guy made an entrance. August and Jonas embrace. August addresses me in Catalan. Jonas tells him that I can speak broken Spanish and Italian.

"Italiano?"

"Si, ma puo lento"

"Va ben..." he smiles back.

So, after our grandeur greeting, we walk over to a table filled with bottles of single vineyard Celler Cecilio, L'Espill. Raquel begins to pop the corks. The joviality of August turns the corner into a moment serious contemplation as he smells every cork being popped.

"The cork is the life of the wine."

We're poured glasses of a line of vintages from that vineyard. I taste the 2006 L'Espill, notes of black licorice seem to stick. August tells me that the vintage was strong. With very little pain. The palate also has cool, little notes of blood orange and dark cocoa. Then we taste the 2005 L'Espill, this one was a cool blend of cocoa and spiced black berry.

"Questo reposso" August whispers as he sips.

It's a rested wine. It's a wine that hasn't known the pains of moving from place to place. Very similar to Xavier Clua's sentiments the day before.

Then we taste the 2004 L'Espill, it was reductive with qualities of balsamic, blackberries, dried rose petal and cinnamon. Pretty complex stuff.

During the bottle tasting August goes into the history of the land he lassoed. A land that was devastated by Phylloxera, a Civil War, a World War, and just general ennui. His grandfather wrestled all of those dismays back from destruction. Gave that land life again. Gave it back its purpose. A Pretty pretty romantic story of redemption.

After it all sets in we slide back from our seats. Time for the barrel tastings...

We walk in and meet Blai, August's son-in-law and captain at the vineyards, we're escorted to the various aging barrels that impart that same vanilla fragrance from the day before. Loaded with that new oak spice that will become a nuanced. Fragranced in time. But, while I taste, I am captivated by the relics in this tasty little tomb. August shows me a picture that has been photographically blown up, depicting the monks that use to run the vineyards of Gratallops....the Stairway to Heaven...

Then one of many great treats, August offers me a glass of Rancio from a barrel that's 100 years old. He pours that ink out into my cup. It's dark. Deep. Rich. No real person would ever enjoy this right? Maybe not. I sniff....Iodine and burnt tobacco. I've taken a lot of drink in my short time here, but...Damn...this was quite the great new experience.The taste burned with charred oak that soon mellowed out to an incredibly rich complexity that ran through gamuts of burnt coffee, smoked hazelnuts, toasted almonds, rich tobacco, and bitter honey. I didn't even think honey could be bitter. But damn, it did.

After this little bittersweet treat, we set out to the vineyards of L'Espill. A trek that seemed treacherous in the snow, as we climbed our way onto the top of the hill. Once here, I see nothing but the gnarled, knuckles of dormant vines reaching out of the cracked hillside. Hard to imagine a wine could some how grow from these wrinkled, wounded vines, but underneath...they sleep and get ready for another vintage.

We head back down to Gratallops to Celler Celcilio and walk across the street to a restaurant that has seemed to open only for us to enjoy. We take the center table. Heaters are pushed to our table's side to keep us somewhat warm. Like some medieval court, August holds here with a clever reign of wine and wit.

Food begins to flow in a traditional Catalan style. August asks for the most traditional styles. We're given jamon, red roasted red peppers and anchiovies, and a refreshing insalata del mar. For the main, I had to try and recreate a dish that I had done with L'Espill before. A lamb pairing. This time the lamb had a bit more char on it, which actually went well the 2005 that had a very velvet flavor to it. The 2004 was a little too reductive for it, and the 2006 too big. But pretty great with the 2005.

Then the digestif kicked in. I was offered a glass of 1866 Spanish Brandy, which I promptly accepted and enjoyed. It was rich with a golden apricot finish. Very amazing, and not cheap. Then I was welcomed to a glass of Moet e Chandon Marc de Champagne, which I never knew existed. It had a crisp golden pear taste. Distilled and delicious.

At this point August is sipping on his Irish coffee and we start discussing the possibilities of afterlives.

"The wine has made a little bit crazy" August slurs.

It hasn't even begun yet...

Beekers and Bottles - Espana: Day 1

2010-01-19T01:04:00.003-05:00

I and my Spanish importer from Vin de Terra, Jonas Gustafsson, arrive into Barcelona and immediately set out in a white Mercedes that blends well with the weather that has just hit the country. We tunnel through passes on our way to Montsant. Patches of white begin to burst in the peaks.

A fine little fight with a blizzard and the mountains had ensued before I had arrived. Snow dredged and sulken is how it looks. But fresh and new is how it feels.

And after a little drive we find ourselves in the thick of Terra Alta.

Exhausted.

Tired.

We waste no time with the trip though. I step out onto fresh white snow. A new print in some sort of an unknown world of wine. We wait for the wine maker. I don’t know how to pretend to act. We wait. We wait. And then through that same fresh powder he, Xavier Clua is his name, and his wife arrive. Embraces ensue between Jonas and the winemaker and the wife.

We get into the skeleton of the operation. Xavier is very calculated. He brings us into a room full of beekers and pipes.

“This is my favorite room.” remarks Jonas.

“Why?” I ask.

“Because....this is where he has to decide what to use and what to make”

The mad scientist steps out of his office with a beeker and a couple of wine glasses.

“okay”...he some what insists.

We begin to taste all of the wine that he has been fermenting...Muscat, with all of its grapey, honey, and peach flavors....his Rose, with a blend of Grenache Syrah and Cab Sauv, which tasted like sour red apples and cherries. He tells me that the Syrah grows at the bottom of the valley with the sediment, giving greater depth to grape and to the drink. We taste his top shelf wine, Mil-Lenium 2009, which blends smoky black pepper dried roses and blackberry. We conclude the tasting and travel into town for a barrel tasting of his.

Once there, we step into the catacombs of a medieval winery. My first of a few. The Cellar is warm and damp. We begin to taste barrel samples of two batches that will be bottled, the Barrica and the Mil-lenium. And then you begin to see the difference that the oak imparts on the wine. Coarse. But a refined vanilla quality is given to the wine. As we taste, Xavier describes the constant dangers of the dampness that damages the wood in various degrees. Leakage from the barrels. Weakening of the seems. It is all present in some sort. He points out a collection of bottles that have all been damaged by the humidity, with their wrinkled, wrecked labels.

We walk upstairs to the tasting room for the bottle tasting. This is where we see, in some sense, of what to expect from these former tastes. The first bottle is popped...the Clua Blanc with its sharp acidity and clever lemon and pineapple rounding out its tropical finish...Then the Rose 2007 that we had first played with earlier. Delicious. but Xavier expresses his reluctance to make a rose...”It es difficult to make. Anda to sell.”...We Taste his entry level red blend...Sola 2008, with that similar smoky black pepper and black cherry...Then to the Mas D’en Pol Negre 2008 that had grip with great spice and some smooth tannins....Finally, was the Barrica 2006, which had a heavy oak and vanilla influence.

Xavier then begins to talk about how these bottles will not taste the same on the “other side”

“Que otro lado?” I inquire in a crappy spanish accent.

“El mar guarda el vino cerrado” he replies.

His point is that the trip from his cellar to our shores will shock the bottles. Leaving them unresponsive to the first taste. Closed.

It’s like trying to move a child that has known only one place, one area, one way of being for its first few years after knowing anything. When you move them...they’re a little shy. Closed off.

We leave the cellar and head off to a local restaurant around the corner. We enter. Cozy with smells of alcohol soaked oak and cigarette smoke, I immediately set in.

At this point I’ve been up for about 36 hours and fatigue hits me. I barely make it two sips into my beer before I begin to nod off.

“Drink more” Jonas exclaims, “Trust me”

“Christ, okay.” I mumble.

And then we get to lunch. And as the buzz sets in, I set myself in. Find myself in the middle of few courses of food I had never knew could be made...Fried Foie Gras with Black Olives...Soft cheese with sauteed white grapes...Creme of sweet endive soup with more foie and mint...A cod fish with honey aioli and Pomegranate...Per Dolce, Yogurt Ice Cream with mint and apple...I feel incredibly satiated. I take in every bite. All energy back. Here and wanting more.

Jonas tells Xavier how big a fan I am of distilled spirits.

I nod my head.

He tells me, in Catalan,”My father-in-law is making some Orujo right now.”

“Orujo? Que es esto?” I pregunta.

“Como Grappa”

“Grappa! Ah! Si.”

We leave the restaurant. Walk a few blocks in the slushy snow and get and arrive at a wooden door that slid away at the knock of a knuckle. And inside....oh....and inside...I became a kid in a distilled candy store.

We walk into the room. It’s damp and dark. There’s a long table. Clearly for many people to be drinking at. And an old man over a clay pot with burning pomace, Xavier’s father in law. His eyes are blue and glazed the hell over. They some how shimmer against all of the damn smoke in the room. An inferno this is. I get the honors of my own bottle of hand made Grappa. An incredible feeling of unworthiness sets in as I take shots with the father in law. It tastes of smoky grape, and smooth, though, always smooth. never astringent. I want to go back there when the tables are full, when the bottles are empty and when I could see the true spirits of the family being distilled there.

Jonas, me, and my bottle of Spanish grappa get back into the car. We head...finally...to our hotel. Over the sunset of Priorat, and finally find our way to Grattallops. I crash. Hard.

Carbonara Pairing

2010-01-04T21:23:00.002-05:00

It’s winter. It’s effing cold outside. As much as I want to be healthy and eat that seared tuna salad...it just not gonna happen. Hearty meals keep the blood a flowin’. Every culture knows this. Especially Italians.

This dish is truly an Italian-Americn fusion, believed to have been created after World War II when American troops stationed in Rome invaded the culinary scene with bacon and eggs. Carbonara has taken on many derivations, including the addition creme, which is how I was taught to make the dish at Le Cordon Bleu. French...creme...I mean, were you expecting something less? I think my favorite story of this dish’s creation would be the idea of Italians using squid ink to give the appearance of charcoal, where the word “carbonara” comes from. I’ll have to try that one next time.

Getting Hungry...

This was a great little meal to make. Hearty and delicious. The smoky bacon and the eggs make for a great gastronomical greeting from that cold weather outside.

This was a recipe that we featured in our new Cecile’s Wine Club. Sorry for the plug, but just had to be honest about it.

I took the recipe for this meal from Cooks Illustrated, which you can find here...

http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/detail.asp?docid=5061

So what are we drinking?

Getting Thirsty...

Dom PhilIippe Raimbault Pouillu-Fume 2007...went out on a limb on this first pairing. Not gonna lie. I chose a Sauvignon Blanc from Pouilly-Fume in the Loire Region of France. Now, this wine is high in acid with notes of gooseberry, flint, and smoky salt. It was this last little part that made me choose this wine for this dish. With all of the smoky, bacon goodness that goes into this dish

I was a little worried about the weight of the wine, which is light, with the weight of the dish, which is hearty and heavy. Thankfully the high acidity of the wine cut through the fatty egg yolk and bacon fat. The salty minerality might have bolstered that salty bacon a bit too much, but once again the acid helped cleanse the pallet. The garlic from the dish also served up a clever sweetness to the pairing.

Sulin Ornella Barbera Del Monferrato 2004...this is a nice, classical pairing. An Italian red that has just the nice amount of weight and acidity to mark and match this dish. What I mean by that, is that the wine has enough tannin to play with the weight of the dish and enough acid to cleanse the pallet, preparing you for the next bite. What this wine had, that the Sauvignon Blanc didn’t, were complex notes of smoky, sweet tobacco, which lasted on to the finish. The pairing was lush and lingering, with black pepper, bacony goodness, and softer notes of vanilla for good measure.

Over all the pairing helped to make that damn cold weather outside a little warmer. If you want a lighter show of pairs, take the Pouilly-Fume. Heavier? Go with an Italian Red. Cheers!

Fine Food, Finer Scotch

2009-11-13T23:21:00.001-05:00

So, I finally convinced my bank account to do a scotch tasting. A little on the pricey side, but most things, like fine food and finer scotches, are.

Now some detractors will decry...and detract...scotch with food. “Why go and waste a beautiful smoky amber, apricot, dram of supple single malt with some thing as unnecessary as food?”

And I would take a sip of my scotch. Casually raise my left eyebrow and say back, “Why not?”

Scotch has a history too storied to tell. But in a few quick cliff notes...the art of distillation was brought to Western Scotland by Celtic missionaries around the 6th and 7th century, whom had picked it up from Spanish Moors. The Moors had picked it up from their Eastern travels, using the technique to produce perfumes and aromatics. The rest of the story of scotch is, like most other whisky tales, riddled in rebellion between producers, practitioners, and politicians.

Getting Thirsty...

My favorite scotch to drink, and that is somewhat reasonable in price, is the Dalmore 12 year. A pretty Highland Malt that delivers a delicious dose of caramel in a glass. A little smoky ember, white pepper, and spiced apricot, makes it easy to enjoy.

The next drink I chose was a double malt from a producer that I am very much looking forward to soon trying. Eades is a distillery in my own backyard of Nelson county Virginia. In anticipation of their soon to be produced American-Scottish-style whiskey (can’t call it scotch, not from Scotland), they have released a few bottles of Double Malts. The one I chose for the evening was their Highland Blend, which is a beautiful blend of Ben Nevis and Clynelish malts. The result is a blend that delivers a spicy earthiness with a tinge of tangy stone fruit and orange zest.

Getting Hungry...

Menu - Bacon Braised Short Ribs and Oysters with Cajun Dirty Rice

So, to be honest, I had no idea what to pair with this meal. Everything I researched pointed to rich foods...game, braised anything, and of all things...oysters. So I thought, let’s kick the cholesterol up a notch and give the scotch what it wants.

The actual meal was very time consuming. For the short ribs, I rendered some bacon lardons low and slow for bit. In a separate, smaller pot, I did the same for the oysters. Once the bacon had rendered enough of its deliciousness to the pot, I added garlic and shallots. Those are kinda healthy, right? I seasoned, then let those sweat out some of their moisture, then I added half a bottle of Haut-Medoc. I brought that to a hard boil and let it simmer, reducing it by 3/4. Once that was nice and concentrated, I added my beef broth. While that was heating up, I seared off my short ribs. Once the broth was at a boil, I added my short ribs, covered, and reduced to a soft simmer. I let those go low and slow for a while. 3-4 hours. Probably could have gone longer. But oh well. In the last 30-45 minutes of the beef braise, I threw my dirty rice into the same pot. I also put oysters into the other small pot of rendered bacon I had going, and cooked those low and slow for about 30 minutes. After all was said and done, I had what the scotch wanted, a rich dish that would probably would have sent a heart attack into culinary arrest.

With the Dalmore 12 Year...With the short ribs there was a lush caramel note and a predominate smoked black pepper note. The scotch gave the meat a soft honey, maple note. With the oysters there was a nice buttery smokey richness. There was also a hint of smoky, sweet brininess with solid amounts of minerality. The weight of the scotch was great for the dish, and vice versa. Smoky, salty, and just a touch of amber sweet. Very nice stuff.

With the Eades Highland Double Malt...With the short ribs, rich enough, maybe too luscious. There was some notes of golden graham toastiness with white peppered spiced honey. Also the tanginess of the scotch brought lifted some of the dish. With the oysters, the scotch seemed to give off more of the smoked honey comb sensation, probably from some of the bacon as well, which helped to bring out some more of the maple notes from the double malt. Similar to Dalmore, but more notes of citrus tinges, honey and toast all around.

Overall the pairing seemed to work really well. I think the most important thing to remember with scotch is that it demands to be met with pretty rich foods. Anything less, will get it’s arse beaten by all of the smoke and alcohol in the scotch. It can work. Just have to play it rich. Try it. Why not?

Sherries - No Clever Title...Just Sherries

2009-10-28T23:41:00.000-04:00

Let’s get one thing straight. I love me some sherry. Love the fact that it can be enjoyed on its own and with food. It is probably one of the most versatile drinks in the wide world of drinking. Love the stuff.

Remembering back to my Sommelier classes, I recall that I was one of 15 people or so who dug Sherry. I always was tagged to give the wine evaluation. And I thought, “If I’m the only one here who likes the stuff, I want to hear why other people don’t. I was never given a solid explanation. The consensus among my comrades always seemed to be, “I just don’t get it. And I don’t like it.”

Maybe there was an intimidation thing going on, which I can completely understand. Sherry is in realm of wines, shared with Ports and others, as fortified. It is a minutiae of mesmerizing drinks that a mob once sipped and said, “No, put some more alcohol in there!”

Sherry, the word itself, comes from an English bastardization of the word Jerez, the area in Spain where the drink was spawned. The drink is, as stated before, fortified with a distillate wine. It’s main variation from Port, that shares the same fortified title, is that sherry is fermented completely and then blended with the distillate wine; where as ports are fermented halfway, then the distillate is added to the mix. The result allows Sherries to produce lighter, drier styles. Great for aperitifs and light hor d'oeuvres. But none of that tonight. No tapas. No small servings of salami. From Texas over here. Need a little bit more than lucque olives and anchioves.

Getting Thirsty...

The first wine I chose for this evening is one of my favorite sherry produces, Patricia Aragon Fino. The estate was founded in 1946 and breaks the mold when it comes to producing Fino sherries. Rather than using the typical Palomino grape for sherries, this producer has decided to use the Pedro Ximenez grape. The result is a slightly richer Fino with notes of saline green apple, white pepper, and tart baking spices. A sweet almond note kicks on the finish.

The next sherry is the Hidalgo La Gitana Manzanilla sherry. The estate was founded in 1792 and is currently in its 6th generation of familial succession. Manzanilla is one of the only regions to be allowed a specific Sherry designation. Lucky them. The wine is made from the Palomino grape, which, unlike the Patricia Fino, is lighter in style. A stark brininess is present with a green olive note, typical of most Finos, pervading the palate. Refreshing, and what one typically thinks of Fino.

The final sherry, and, oh yes, there is a third, is the Lustau Rare Cream Sherry. This is a non vintage Oloroso style...oxidized aged sherry, that is aged longer than Finos. The result is a rick, dark, and sweet...almost molasses style of sherry. And post some of the highest alcohol levels of any sherries. Great for digestifs and sauces. Speaking of which...

Getting Hungry....

Menu

Bacon wrapped Scallops with Golden Raisin and Shaved Almond Haricots Verts with Cream Sherry Demi-Glaze

So, speaking of sherry in sauces, I decided to use some. For the record, my demi has been reducing for the past 2 hours. I made an Espangnol Sauce first, which required me to cook some carrots, celery and shallots in tomato paste and a brown roux. Then I added some beef stock, reducing that by half. I strained that, then cooked off some shallots in butter and deglazed with the Lustau Cream Sherry. Then I added the Espagnol sauce to the mix. So...it’s not a straight Demi-Glaze, which is just Espanol and more stock...but it’s tasting pretty damn spectacular....

After the sauce got perfectly rich and creamy, I par cooked the bacon and let it cool, then wrapped it around the scallops. I kept the bacon fat and seared off the scallops in the remaining fat. I mean why let it go to waste? And...Bacon, ladies and gentlemen, for lack of a better word, is good. So, the scallops were seared off in the fat, then placed in a 300 degree oven to finish. Then I just quickly sauteed up some Haricots Vert (french for green beans), almond shavings, golden raisins, and shallots. Easy enough. The wait on the sauce was the worst part. I mean...unless you have three bottles of sherry to hang out with.

With the Hidalgo La Gitana Manzanilla...with the bacon-wrapped scallops the dish turned the white pepper of the sherry black. And a smoldering smokiness lingered, like slowly dying embers...with the green beans, raisins, and shallots, gave a delicious sweetness to the Manzanilla. The green beans gave an interesting, but not bad, vegetal quality to the sherry....With the Demi, the sweetness and earthiness of the sauce countered the the dryness of the sherry, and the two seemed to play pretty nicely together.

With the Patricia Aragon Fino...the smoke from the bacon and the richness of the Pedro Ximenez grape were pretty goddamn perfect. The scallops brought out the brininess of the Fino....With the green beans, not that great. The golden raisins and almonds gave off a nice little sweet tinge to counter the qausi-saltiness of the Fino. The sauce and the sherry didn't go so well, as both the brininess of the sherry and the salt of the sauce enhanced each other, and made the pairing too briny. Not exactly what I was hoping for/expecting.

With the Lustau Rare Cream Sherry...Alright, this sherry is sweet. Not “kickass” sweet, but sugary sweet. The savory character of the dish was a tough match, but here’s what I got...The scallops got pretty overpowered pretty easily, but still a nice smoky, sweetness from the bacon (damn, bacon DOES go with everything). Over powered the green beans. And gave an unwanted herbaceousnecss to the sherry. Too green. Though it was pretty damn amazing with the raisins, shallots, and sauce. all the sweetness complemented each other, with the weight of the sauce matching the weight of the sherry. An interesting sweet, umami note came out that I’ve never really experienced before in food and drink pairings, with the savory and the sweet satisfying each other.

Sherry, as much of an infatuation I’ve had with it, is in my humble opinion one of the best food wines out there. It really does offer so many combinations of flavors with so many combinations of dishes. So, don’t be intimidated. Give it a try. And if you don’t drink the rest of yours...well, hell, I will. Cheers!

Gypsy Cabs

2009-10-19T20:26:00.001-04:00

As one of the most popular grapes in the world, and wines for that matter, Cabernet Sauvignon has a pretty massive following. The grape is grown in almost every wine growing region in the world, with Bordeaux and Napa keeping the Cab king. But the grape does have other homes. Australia consistently produces some nice Cab juice, particularly from its Coonawara region. If Chile could get a little more consistent with its production, then its Maipo region could rank as one of the top Cab areas as well. There’s a lot of Cabs out there in the world. And I wanted to try some that were a bit off the beaten path.

Getting Thirsty...

I chose two wines for the pairing this evening. I wanted to do an Old World/New World comparison with Cabs, so I chose the Bodegas Vina Luna Beberide 1999 from Bierzo, Spain. The wine is a blend of 40% Cabernet, 30% Merlot, and 30% Mencia (the main red grape in Bierzo). Alright, so it’s not all Cab, but few wines in the world are. The wine has nice notes of black pepper and red currant. The Merlot and the Mencia give a generous fruit forwardness to the wine, without it being overtly jammy. The second wine is the Bodegas Benegas Finca Libertad 2005, an Argentinean blend of Cab Sauv, Merlot and Cab Franc. Truthfully, this wine has been one of my favorites for a while, and I’ve been meaning to cook with it for sometime. The wine has loads of spiced plum, black pepper with some slight notes of smoke and earth.

Getting Hungry...

MENU: Chipotle Chimichurri Stuffed Filet Mignon with Herb Fingerlings and Caramalized Onions and Shrooms.

For the meal, I wanted to use Argentina as inspiration. While researching Argentine recipes, I kept coming across Chimichurri recipes. So I thought, why the hell not...Only I didn’t just want to smother some steak in the Chimichurri Sauce. So, I decided to stuff the filet mignon with a blended mix of chipotle, red pepper, cilantro, olive oil, garlic, onion, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flake. The fingerling potatoes were oven roasted with a olive oil, salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, and tarragon (love some tarragon). The Onions were cooked low and slow with a couple pats of butter.

The filets were seared off then finished in the over. The result was a very cool little vibrant red center from the sauce, surrounded by the soft pink of the filet. Very nice.

So, with the 1999 Vina Luna Beberide...The wine picked up sweetness from the filet and chipotle. The chipotle itself gave the wine a cool little kick of smoke. It really delivered a lot of spice. The wine was pleasant with the potatoes. Hearty without being weighty. The herbs from the potatoes also gave a nice herbaceous quality, without being too stemmy. Not really a fan of the herbaceous flavor in wine, but with the dish, it was nice. The mushrooms brought out the umami and earthiness of the wine. All in all, the pair worked. Very easy to enjoy.

With the 2005 Bodegas Benegas Finca Libertad...The heat from the chipotle was not an issue. The wine gave a soft vanilla driven note with the filet. There was a heavy smoke influence with a delicious little roasted vegetal note in the wine. The plum in the wine gave a soft caramelized purple fruit note to the caramelized onions, and the earthiness of the shrooms brought out some of that depth from the wine. The potatoes released a lot of black pepper and tarragon from the wine. But the most interesting note was the dark cherry that the wine gave to the chipotle chimichurri sauce. Very cool.

All in all the pairing was nice. I could image maybe even doing a slightly chilled Vin de Pays from Provence (I know it’s not Cab, but it’s something different). You could also probably do a Mallbec for some more earth, though it might be a little over the top for the dish. Beers? Maybe a dark lager. Spirits? Not too sure. I mean Scotch goes well with me and steak. Maybe a Single Barrell Bourbon would have worked. Damn. Getting thirsty again...

Laboring on a Labor Day Pairing

2009-09-16T20:45:00.000-04:00

It’s Labor Day. And all I want to do is drink a cold Shiner Bock, eat some pork tamales or smoked beef brisket...or both...smothered in queso, of course. Maybe some rice and beans. Maybe a digestif of mescal...This was how it use to go down in my home town of Austin-town.

Now I’m in DC, I’m trying as hard as I can to recreate those labor-less labor day meals. And part of me wants to leave those tastes there in Texas. But part me doesn’t.

So I thought about the venture. In a place with so many influences of taste and texture, what in the hell was I going to cook?

Beer was very much going to be in the mix. In fact, I think I might have chosen too many...in an attempt to try, maybe, too many flavors that season this fair city’s fare. I chose an Octoberfest from Clipper City, a local Baltimore brewery. I chose The Brooklyn Local 2, a dark Belgian-inspired beer out of the borough. Next was a French orange hazelnut beer called Mandrin. And, finally, the Westmalle, one of the seven Trappists.

I was all over the map on creating this menu. I really didn't know where to go with flavors or food. Part of me wanted to do some thai, or at the very least, a little asian fare. Everyone talks about pairing asian food with beer. The spices and the weight complement, but there is more going on there. The food needs the spiced beer, and the beer enhances the spiced food. But asian fare isn’t the only spice food on this little globe of ours. So, since I was so all over the map on this menu, I thought I would cook from all over the map...

Gettin’ Hungry...

Hot n’ Spicy Barbecue Shrimp on a bed of Almond, Orange Zest Basmati

This was the easiest recipe I could find that could possibly bring cuisine from four continents together....

The shrimp was par cooked in a simmering mix of butter, garlic, thyme, cayenne, salt and pepper. A little throwback to New World Latin and Old World Spanish flavors. I added a little brown sugar and honey to bring out some Caribbean flavors. I took the shrimp out to let them sit and continued to reduce the sauce. I cooked off some basmati rice and threw in some sliced almonds and orange zest after the rice was cooked. The steam from the rice brought out the zest and gave the mix a cool kick of hot citrus. I plated the damn thing, then got ready to enjoy the meal...

Gettin’ Thirsty...

I wanted to try old world and new world brews with food on this one. Cant say that i was expecting so hard a pairing, but it happened...

The first drink of mine was the Clipper City Heavy Seas Imperial Octoberfest Lager...the beer is a nice spiced lager with a bit of brown sugar and hazelnut bittersweetness. Light, not overpowering...with the BBQ Shrimp...the dish presented a remarked bitterness with a little bit of that sweet brown sugar there too...a lot earthen spices, like, all spice, cinnamon, and nutmeg...with the basmati...The citrus from the basmati brought out some of the pith in the beer. And the almond added to that similar nutty toastiness from the beer. Nice.

The second drink was the French Mandrin Noir. I was kinda expecting a little more from this beer. All the flavors seemed to complement on paper, but an overt bitterness marked the entire pairing. The beer itself, presents nutty tones with orange pith...With the shrimp...the beer presented a little bit of that pith. Once again, a nuttiness came through from pecan sweet to all spice and even some cumin...With the rice...the beer became lighter with flavors of pistachio and lemon. Not bad, not great.

The third beer I had was the Brooklyn Local 2, a very nice pairing...With the shrimp...had a pretty clever sweetness with a kickass kick of cumin and cinnamon. Nice heat, and a very nice example of umami going on with the sauce and beer...With the basmati...the entire thing was very light, clean and goddamn delicious. The slight heat of the cayenne from the entire dish made me want to eat, drink, and repeat. Damn fine pairing.

Finally, was the Belgium Trappist Westmalle, one of seven Trappist ales (Belgium brews still overseen by monks). I started this guy off with the rice first...damn good. What I got was a huge flavor full of citrus and white pepper followed by a long almond-y sweet finish. The almond and the orange zest were very cool with this beer. They seemed to have a switch that would turn each of the flavors on and off every few second or so. Great stuff...the pairing continued to the same lingering notes of earthen spice til that final kick of cayenne in the end. With the Shrimp...the beer was very clean with the hops. The dish brought out a smoked salty character from the beer and gave the brew a sweet brininess.

This might have been one of the most fun/challenging/what-the-hell was I thinking pairings. For all the cookouts that go on with all of the fares that feed all the people drinking beers around the world...all I have to recommend is keep the food simple and keep the brews local. Getting complicated with beer pairing is too much work...hell, especially on Labor day.

The Lighter Side of Sicily

2009-09-03T22:36:00.005-04:00

I’ve been marinating on cooking some Sicilian fare for some time now. The island has produced some robust reputations for strong armed flavors. But what about the lighter style of Siclian life?

Went there once. The island was gorgeous. All I remember from my early childhood travels was the azure beach, pale white sands, and the most comforting breeze the Mediterranean could afford me. This is the Sicily I remember. And this was what I was trying to capture when I decided to do my Sicilian Pairing.

Gettin' Thirsty...

Sicily, despite its offshore profile, and sometimes underground reputation...is the largest grape growing region in Italy. The sun-soaked isle has been producing wine for thousands of years, only to now be really recognized. As one of the hottest wine producing regions-- literally, the place is set on a volcanic island--Sicily is exploding onto the modern wine market.

Tonight we’re gonna pair three wines, a Grillo, a Chardonnay, and, to close the whole thing out, a Marsala.

The Grillo grape is Sicily's most famous white grape. And Marsala is typically made from that guy, though it’s fortified...much like Port. Chardonnay is an interesting grape to grow in Sicily, especially when most of the wine drinking world considers the best expressions of Chard to come from Burgundy. Interesting thought that a quality Chard can, and is, produced on a Mediterranean island.

The first of the wines I’m opening is the Alcesti Grillo -- A wine that possesses a lemon oil composure with minerality and salinity. Dry but bursting with brute citrus force. Pretty refreshing stuff.

The second wine is the Planeta Chardonnay -- This guy really tries to belly up to the nuttier, butter-ier, bolder Meursaults. A pretty clever wine with regards to fruit and flavor. The golden apple is there, along with some citrus zest, white pepper, and browned butter.

Finally...comes the Florio Sweet Marsala -- a lush dessert wine that we’re gonna try with the main, just because we can. Rich blood orange and apricot. Very cool spices too, cinnamon, nutmeg, and maybe some cumin...I think.

Gettin' Hungry....

Our menu -

Primi -Shrimp and Shallot Croquettes

Secondi - Chicken Marsala with Sauteed Shiitake Shrooms

The Shrimp was par cooked with olive oil. I have to admit that I used butter, though not a Sicilian cooking regularity, just to add sweetness to the shallots and shrimp. Garlic was sauteed as well and the whole skillet was seasoned with sea salt, pepper, and paprika. I deglazed with the Grillo. Then added some pre-cooked rice pilaf to soak up the flavors of the skillet. Put it all on a baking sheet, and let it cool down. Once it was cooled, I flaked on some lemon zest, basil, and parmesan. Then I rolled the rice mixture into fitting formed eggs of deliciousness. I dredged them in an egg wash, then flour, then Panko. I fried them in vegetable oil, then finished them off in the broiler.

For the Chicken Marsala...I seared off the chicken breasts, seasoned with sea salt, black pepper, and paprika. I added a little more oil to the skillet then added some shallot and garlic. Then I took the Marsala and deglazed the pan. Once the alcohol was burned off I added the Shitakes. The water released from the mushrooms was able to incorporate into the reducing sauce. A nice little play of old world versus new world ensued in that skillet. Then I added the Chicken back into the mixture, covered, and cooked.

The Food and the Drink...

With the Croquettes...

The Alcesti Grillo gave off loads of lemon and lime. Little shreds of white pepper seemed to explode as well. The wine, actually, gave a minerality, a salinity, to the shrimp. As if to say, “remember where you come from?” The shallots gave off a little sweetness, not as much as the shrimp. But the Basil seemed to get lost amidst all the clever coastal flavor creations.

The Planeta Chardonnay was very killer with this dish. It gave the shrimp a smoky richness, and the shrimp gave the Chard a sweet tangerine accompaniment. The acidity seemed to be properly matched with the lemon zest in the dish and in the wine. But over all a much richer pairing.

The Florio Sweet Marsala...this drink was too heavy for this dish. The idea of a citrus nuttiness seems intriguing with this dish, but the alcohol was way too much. It also seemed to make the lemon zest saccharine. You could try to put some crushed, toasted pine nuts into the croquettes to level out some of the flavors, but, again, the alcohol seems to drown the flavors. Wanted it to work...

With the Chicken Marsala...

With the Grillo...this time the dish released the wine. The sauteed earthiness of the shiitakes brought out a very cool nuttiness in the Grillo. The Chicken Marsala and shallots gave the wine a deeper, citrus depth than it had probably previously known. Some rich grapefruit came out from the wine. Pretty. Enjoyable.

Again, the secondi seemed to have its way with the wine. Not in a bad way. The Chard gave off a lot of secondary flavors from the dish. The bold bright citrus was there, of course. But the cool part was the little vanilla sweetness that came from the shallots. The Marsala rich sauce also gave very nice nutty notes to the Chard’s underlying toasty tastiness.

And the Marsala...one word...Goddamn! There’s a reason you pair a drink with the what you cooked that drink in. My kinda pairing. The Marsala gave off massive smoke and earthiness to the chicken. A very crazy, cool pairing. The pepper and the paprika popped on the palate. HOT! DAMN HOT! But damn good. There was some lighter citrus at the front, but a lot of depth and spice. The mushrooms played a very interesting part, imparting more spice than earthiness. All the flavors they were holding, seemed to be let out at once. Great stuff.

Sicily is heating up. It’s been on a epicurean imperial mission. Give it its due. Don’t question it. Just do it.

Blind Pairings with Jacques Imperato, Chef Owner of Mediterranee

2009-08-24T15:42:00.006-04:00

I am sitting across from an ambassador of a foreign food lifestyle. He leans, with one arm over the chair, waiving his hand in a laissez - faire style, speaking about the subtle intricacies of food and drink. A manner of mastery is constant. And you can feel that, though the lifestyle is laid back, a certain self control in maintained. A paradoxical pair of inventiveness and institution are present in the chef. And I find myself blindly following him though the interview.

I met Jacques Imperato, owner and head chef of Mediterranee in Great Falls, Virginia, one week before this talk. He had invited me to a tasting of his at his restaurant.

The tasting Jacques had invited me to was a “blind tasting.” A clever spin on the wine and food pairings that typically form around a barbecue populated by European importers and long endured

chefs.

Jacques conceived of the idea.

“No! You will pick the wines and I will make the dish.” he told his wine importing fellows.

Fair enough.

The night of the dinner was crouched in a bit of hedonistic suspense. The laid back chef was in complete control of the flavors. Exactly where he wanted to be.

A Spanish Albarinho lapped up waves of lemon zest citrus with the cold leak soup and lime, honey, and lavender glazed pears. The cooled Domaine Plantevin, a Vin De Pay Provencal Rouge, played on the palate with smoky bacon and red beet flan. A sexy Santenay had its way with the salmon souffle, smoked onions, beurre blanc, and spring onions.

As we moved further from the coast of our own tastes’ leisure, we came across a spanish Garnatxa blend that fared well with a potato risotto with orange peel; lamb kebab with cumin and sage; fennel breaded with fried sesame seed; and a clever cisele of spinach in an orange and ginger reduction. We ventured on to a Spanish Pinot Noir. A dark meat setting of duck confit and rice with gizzard seduced a lighter, but more dangerous puree of carrot and dijon mustard. From this last sultry dish we were introduced to a fine finish. A Mango tatin, vanilla custard, apricot and almond cigar, pineapple and strawberry relish with Sichuan pepper and cinnamon paired with a Coteaux du Layon Chaume 1999. The elegant lushness of the glass was balanced with a stark acidity that refreshed the palate and balanced the heavier sides of the desserts. The faint white pepper and nutmeg of the wine also created a greater explosion of fancy flavors from the Sichuan spices and cinnamon.

The chef had guided his blind followers very comfortably from the first dish to the last.

So, now I sit back in a quaint New Zealand inspired Cafe, Cossett in Arligton, Virginia, with the laissez faire looking chef that knows how to handle taste all too well.

“I read that you’re Algerian.” I start.

“No.”

“No?”

“No.”

“I apologize. Must have read that wrong.”

A history lesson ensues. I broach sensitive issues. I casually cower while we begin to discuss Jacques real influences, coastal French, Italian, and Spanish cuisine. Raised in the French classical style, but with a blend of the rebellious Nouvelle way, Jacques Imperato is a chef that seems both intricate, yet simple. He doesn’t find the idea of new recipes novel, but rather the willingness to change the technique. Controlled, yet carefree. A la Mediterranee.

We begin to discuss ideas of pairing food and drink. The rise and fall of flavors. The clever hints of flavors that float around the food and the glimmering, glows from the glass. My idea was to get his own feelings of how to pair his dishes from his restaurant, Mediterranee...

The first dish I ask about is the “Fish soup with Garlic toast and Rouille"...

“A classic dish from Provence,” Jacques rustically states.

He mentions that the dish sometimes requires a bit of mechanical explantion on the best way to execute the eating of the dish. The Rouille, a saffron aioli can be added to the soup to thicken it, or spread on the bread and dipped into the soup.

“It’s however they want to eat it. Sometimes they don’t know how to eat it at all. So we have to explain.”

A clever play of spice is central to the soup. For this reason Jacques believes the Xavier Clua Blanco works perfectly. The wine is a blend of Garnatxa blanca, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay, with spiced white peach flare, white pepper, and a refreshing lime zest finish.

“Real BOOM! A little spicy, yeah. Really matching well.” Or a “dry Cote Du Rhone Blanc,” the chef also suggests. These wines typically carry the same floral white “Peachiness” that the Clua Blanco carries. with a similar white peachiness, and twists of citrus zest in there too.

I ask what a bad pairing for the soup might be.

“A Chardonnay or Pinot Noir. I mean, yeah right!”

The Chard might be too heavy for the soup. You need a wine that balances the complex spices with a dose acidity. The Chard would add a fattier component to the dish, and would probably weigh the soup down. While you could pair a Pinot Noir with fish, as a soup, it would be a difficult stretch. The pinot needs a earthiness that isn’t translated in this soup. You have a dish that wants salinity, acidity, zest...you need something to remind the fish of where it is from...

Jacques then begins to discuss his disgust with how many people order wine with his food.

“The problem I see with people is that they are in a routine of ordering. When they come in the first thing they say is ‘Give me a Merlot.’ I say okay, boring. I try to say the Cote Du Rhone or South part of France, Languedoc, or Provence.”

And I can see that his frustration, which simmers on anger, seems to carry a general care for his customers. He wants them to enjoy themselves. To be fulfilled. To trust him, his food, his taste.

I move on to the second dish. "Smoked Loin w/ curry"...

“We do this dish from scratch. I'm the one that smokes the pork. You could go with a sweeter, spicier wine. Gewurztraminer. It has mango, pineapple. That would be the better pairing. You need something to absorb the sweetness of the recipe.“

The sweetness and spice from a Gewurztraminer seems to play very well with a curry. Pork is a light enough meat to actually pair with the Gewurz. You wont have to worry about fat drowning out the wine. You could do another style, like an Alsatian Gewruz. Or even a Gruner Veltliner to play up a little tartness to balance the sweetness of the curry.

Jacques dives into a story about his experience with the dish.

“The curry is homemade. I use to live in India for three years, you know? First it’s a Masala. You have 3 base. One is coriander, one is cumin, and one is tumeric. Just a question of how you like it. Sweeter or rougher... ”

Like Earthier?

“Yeah that’s what I meant. What I like is that it’s not too hot. It has a bite, but not, you know...”

What’s a bad pairing that would drown out the spices

“Something dry. A very dry wine. Sauvignon Blanc or a Pouilly Fume for example. haha. I don’t think you would go with it.”

So maybe the Austrian Gruner Veltliner would be a stretch. But you might also be able to do a Lager. Or sweeter sake. Nothing unfiltered though. I think that would weigh the dish down with curry.

Finally, I ask about his "Beef Hangar Steak with peppercorn cream sauce with French Fries"...

“That’s an easy one. The best would be Pinot Noir or Cabernet Sauvignon. It can take a lot of different type of wine.”

This dish wants earth, spice, and tannin in its wine. The tannin can cut through the fat of the steak, and the earthiness and pepper dive a depth to the cream sauce, without adding to the fattiness of the sauce. This dish would also go well with a brown ale, or even a stout, though that might be a bit heavy. Liquor? Scotch, single malt. It could add a little vanilla sweetness to the cream and maybe tinge of that peaty minerality could add an interesting flavor to the meat.

Jacques goes into his personal preference for the Hangar steak as his favorite cut of meat...

“Actually, the Hangar steak compared to the Beef Tenderloin, I prefer. The Tenderloin can be a very sweet meat, eh? It’s too rich. I don’t like. The Hangar steak is more interesting in your mouth. and very surprising. The Hangar can be a very tender piece of meat if you know how to cook it. The tenderloin is too rich."

What would be a bad pairing?

“haha. a riesling....haha. I mean with red it’s a little harder. you can do Syrah, you can take grenache. malbec..."

Cote Du Rhone

“yeah, or Bordeaux”

I ask my last question to Jacques, “What is your personally favorite pairing?”

“Wine and food?”

Wine and food, beer and food...

“Yeah, I don’t like the beer and food. it’s too heavy, okay. how many can you drink and not feel full. 2 beer and i feel full”

Okay, then what what was your favorite pairing...that stands out in your mind.

“The one that I did that was really amazing. It is the white Cote Du Rhone...I served grilled sea scallop with panisse, that is a polenta made with chick pea and a sabaillon of sea urchin. with, uh, fennel confit...”

The wine seems to balance the lushness of the floral peach of the Cote Du Rhone with the savory sweetness of the scallops, while the minerlaity of the wine bolstered the sea urchin and seasoned panisse.

What would be an "out there" pairing for you...

“Carianne with a goat, basil terrin with dried fruit garlic confit. The wine balances acidity with sweetness. a...eh, nice final touch. ”

We discuss the experience of dining. The praises and pitfalls, the delectable times and the disastrous ones, of going out to restaurants that don’t try to make the passion of the food known.

For Jaques “flavor is the biggest ingredient.”

And while it seems that the laid back chef carries an intricate imagination of flavors, he seems to want to reduce all perceptions to a traditional style of cooking. Making it taste good. The same goes with his philosophy of pairing. Just...make it taste good. Make it taste precise. Make it taste fresh.

But there is an underlying current of non-traditional flavors that Jacques has seemed to embrace. And the blend of all those experiences can really only take one to the coasts of the Mediterranean. To where, in a laissez faire lifestyle, folks have been creating and blending flavors for centuries. It’s a tradition of innovation that Jacques has seemed to so easily master. Not afraid to break conventional notions of pairing. And as blind as the pairings may sometimes be, all Jacques so casually asks his patrons is ...”Jump with me.”

Pairing with Priorat DOC

2009-08-17T22:06:00.010-04:00

Priorat is an intense wine region. In landscape. In food. In drink. The sun bleeds on the vines. The ground gives the heat right back. So close to the leisure of the Barcelona beach side. Other writers have described this place as a paradox. Intense, yet inviting. Cleverly complicated.

Gettin thirsty...

The wines I’m having tonight are the Vinedos de Ithaca Odysseus 2004 and the Celler Cecilio L’Espill 2004. The Odysseus is a deep garnet in the glass. The aromas are rich purple fruit, anise, and a tar like licorice. The wine is bold and lays down flavors of peppered plum and currant. The finish lingers with notes of sweet tobacco and refreshing hints of dill and mint.

The Odysseus comes from winemaker Sylvia Puig. It is an homage to the Greeks that settled the land. planted the vine. gave the grape to the hillsides of Priorat. The wine is a blend of Caiñena, Garancha, and Cabernet Sauvignon. A wonderful food wine that brings out a lot of hidden, rustic flavors.

The second wine, the L’Espill, is a bit fresher in its fruit quality. The wine also gives off some floral. mostly rose petal. A little brighter boysenberry and rushes of raspberry, black pepper, and refreshing minerality give this serious wine a dry sense of humor. The tannins are lush and elegant.

The L’Espill is another wine coming from a family owned operation in Priorat. The wine is a blend of Grenacha, Carignan, and Cabernet Sauvignon. The grapes are fermented in tank, which I imagine is the chief reason why the wine seems so fresh. After blending, the wine is aged in French Oak for 12 months.

I wanted to pay homage to bold, beautiful flavors of Priorat. With their gentle nod to their ancient ancestors, I thought the following menu would work well for our wines...

Gettin hungry...

Rare Roasted Lamb. Cucumber, Mint, White bean slaw with caramelized corn and shallots. Garnished with oven baked tortillas.

The lamb was seared off and placed into the broiler, while the shallots and corn simmered in a little butter and olive oil. I should have probably used only olive oil, but the richness of the butter gave a richness to the corn and shallots. The cucumber and mint simmered in olive oil just for a minute or two. While the white beans were cooked off separately. I didn't want to run the risk of having the green of the cucumber and mint leech into the white bean while cooking. When the Lamb was roasted to a nice rare consistency, I took it out and let it rest. I threw some tortillas in the oven to bake real fast. Then I cut them into quarters and garnished.

The food and the drink...

Seemed to pair really nicely together. The robust earthy, mineral streak of the Odysseus seemed to cut, and compliment, the rich gaminess of the lamb as with the starch of the white beans. The meal also brought out an herbaceous-ness that enlightened the dill and mint qualities of the wine. The sweetness of the corn and shallots might have been a little much for the brawny Odysseus. But the wine was clever enough to bring out some sweeter spices of anise and cinnamon from the dish.

With the L’Espill, all of the fruit and floral characters of the wine seem to lift out and elegantly pair with the some of the sweeter notes of the dish. The lamb and the L’Espill seemed to work better, giving new notes of lush black cherry to the wine and meat. The tannins matched just right with the crusted skin of that meat. pretty damn delicious. The cool refreshing cucumber was nice withe the fresher style of the wine too. The mint might have been a bit too much for this wine. The herbaceous quality that was so welcomed in the Odysseus seemed clumsy and clashed with the soft floral finesse of the wine. Like an unwanted weed. oh well. again, by far the better with the lamb.

All in all a very cool pairing from a very intense wine producing region. A fun hike into the flavorful history of Priorat.

On another note...

The White bean slaw is great chilled too. Could probably pair it with a Grenacha Blanca for a richer pairing, or with and Albarinho for a crisper, more mineral driven pairing.

Pale Ales could have also worked. Liquor...I don’t know. Bourbon gave off a pleasant smoke quality to the meat. and even had a nice taste with the mint from the dish. Not too bad with the meat, but the white bean slaw had a little trouble pairing with it. A dark Rum, or tequila would be interesting pairing. I imagine you could enjoy a mojito or caipirinha with the chilled white bean slaw. Probably a pretty refreshing pairing on a nice summer afternoon.

Siesta time. Talk to yall in a few...

Here We Go

2008-09-30T23:20:00.001-04:00

This Blog is being created to help others with the often confusing and uncertain adventure of pairing food and wine.

As a culinary school graduate and wine and beer consultant, I take great pleasure in helping people find the perfect match of food and wine, or even beer for that matter. While food and wine can be completely enjoyed on their own, they're ability to enhance one another is incredibly compelling.

While many systems have been setup to to drive the common combos in pairings, there is a certain post-modern movement that is pointing toward new flavors from "New" worlds. I will strive to bring new wines and foods to the table. Hopefully we can create a new way of thinking about pairing and try to create some new pairings in the process.

So, Cheers and Bon Apetit....Let's do the damn thing.