A follow up to Gazapacho...

I spoke of some possibly wine pairings in my last post. I think many may be looking at their garden and thinking the same thing. Ironically enough, I received a nice little recipe from my friend Robin Garr who oversses the internet's finest wine & food discussion boards. For a quick gazpacho recipe, visit last week's Food Lovers' Newsletter and see my pervious post on what to pair it with. Robin seemed to come to may of the same conclusions about food matches - Rose, dry, crisp spanish whites such as Albarino or Txakoli and (as I added) bubblies of all sorts always work....

Quick Gazpacho - and Finding A Wine For It

(Note: I have discontinued the series of posts on choosing wine from a wine list as I have taken a job as Wine Director of a rival restaurant in Pittsburgh. But I will continue to write about matching food & wine, beginning right now.) If I take a peek at my garden, I have tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and corn. So I walked down to the grocery store and bought an onion and went to the fish market for some shrimp and - voila! - fresh gazpacho!

The problem is gazpacho isn't the easiest thing to find a wine for. Tomatoes have a good bit of acidity in them. + as a chef once taught me, the key to great gazpacho is a really good vinegar providing the balance.

If you search around the internet, you see a lot of people that aren't sure what will work. You also see a lot of people who give things a try and fail.

Here are my two suggestions. (1) Take a hint from the food. Where is gazpacho from? Spain. Try a crisp Spanish white. This was the solution I used. At my restaurant I'm currently pouring 2006 Albarino from the producer Vionta in Galicia. Crisp, fresh and lively, the albarino and gazpacho are perfect comlplements to each other, each as refreshing as the other. (2) One other choice is a rose with good acidity. I recommend either a Tavel Rose from France's Rhone Valley or an Italian Rosado.

In short, don't fret. You already know that you have the perfect ingredients for gazpacho in your garden. Follow my suggestios and you'll have no problems...

Garth Brooks - The Thunder Rolls (Brilliant)

Here's a good video

The Thunder Rolls

I seem to have an abundance of time recently :) Let's review, first, I nearly destroyed my shoulder and had to drug myself up for the better part of week. Then I had to skip out of town for a good friend's wedding (drinking a bit of madeira in the process). So I wake up Thursday, actually through no choice of my own, because frankly we were in the middle of probably the worst thunderstorms I have ever seen or heard. My power finally went out about 8:00 or 8:30 AM and about 10:00, bored out of my skull and with no TV, TiVo, computer/internet or radio, I went over a friend's house a few miles away. Sure enough about 2:30 as the storm continued if not intensified, his power got dinged too and I was back where I started. On Friday morning, with my power still out, I decided to leave my apartment and head for the "sticks", namely my mother's house about an hour away.

The end result no that I have returned to my home is that our "dinner" that we have been featuring in our choosing a wine from a wine list series of posts is becoming the longest dinner in history. Even so, I could't help but mention this article detailing the two upcoming and controversial films about the 1976 Judgement of Paris Tasting, a tasting that I have discussed previously. (I must admit that I was unaware of the two movies until this article was pointed out by Robin Garr, custodian of Robin Garr's Wine Lover's Page, a long running place for me to both learn and interact with wine geeks from around the world.)

I just want to add a small point, have we lost our _______ minds? (Fill in the appropriate adjective of your choice.) So I guess Sideways wins a few awards so now we're going to start making wine movies - in fact two rival wine movies - about a ______ wine tasting? I can just picture it now, thirty years from now, a movie about William Bellomo and I and our friends from Philadelphia cooking appetizers and drinking wine at the old apartment above the Detour (jazz club) in Manhattan.

Judgement at 13th Street

William Bellomo played by David Beckham

Alan Uchrinscko played by Ashton Kutcher

Doug Donovan played by Drew Carey

James Regan played by Ray Liotta

and starring Michael Madrigale played by Danny Devito.

Can't wait. Waterworld here we come...

Choosing Wine From a Wine List (Part 3)

This post is part of a series of ongoing posts that I began a few weeks ago on choosing a wines from a wine list. If you have not read the previous posts, please first visit:

Choosing a Sparkling Wine
Choosing Appetizers

(NB: I have no affiliation or financial interest in the Sonoma Grille, the restaurant featured in these posts.)

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So here's where we stand:

Aperetif
NV Iron Horse Brut Russian River Cuvee

First Courses
Tapas for Two: Shrimp Tempura, Veal Cheek, Ahi Tartare, Sesame Fried Calamari
Serrano Wrapped Diver Sea Scallops
Wild Mushroom and Goat Cheese Strudel

Now we need a white wine. We have already determined that we'd like a white wine that will have some or most of the following characteristics (as explained in our previous post): we need a wine that is palate-cleansing; it will cut through fatty fish or greasy fried foods; it should match the spiciness of our foods, be earthy and ripe with good acidity. The wine list is here so that you can follow along.

I'll be honest, instinctively I was going to shy away from a California Chardonnay because many of them are too full-bodied, creamy and/or buttery for a few of these dishes. For example, a full, buttery California Chardonnay would be a terrible choose for Shrimp Tempura or Ahi Tartare. But let's go back to this.

When I think of a palate-cleansing, spicy, earthy, ripe white with good acidity, I think Riesling or Sauvignon Blanc. Those are the two wines that are the most likely candidates. We've already determined that we're drinking California no matter what in the first post because we're at the Sonoma Grille. And California doesn't specialize much in Riesling, a fact reflected on the wine list: not one choice above $50. I'm a bit tempted by the Wente because they offer fairly consistent value, but a $40 isn't special enough for this dinner. We're really looking between $50 and $100, $75 would be about perfect.

So let's look at Sauvignon Blanc. Between $50 and $100 we have four choices. Three of four are from the Napa Valley, and the Napa Valley is generally very hot. We don't want to take the chance of getting a rich, full, buttery Sauvignon Blanc an unfortunate side-effect of heat on white wine. That leaves us with the Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc at $97, probably too rich for my blood for a Sauvignon Blanc.

Keep in mind, many of these choices would work perfectly fine with richer dishes, but considering that are appetizers run the gamut from Ahi Tartare to Goat Cheese Strudel, we need a wine with more flexibility.

Let's peak at the Chardonnays, between $50 and $100.

BV Reserve 2001 (Carneros) 15 52
Domaine Chandon 2001 (Carneros) 55
Trefethen 2003 (Napa) 17 56
Talbott "Sleepy Hollow" 2002 (Santa Lucia) 18 57
Marimar 2002 (Sonoma) 63
Simi Reserve 2003 (Sonoma) 64
Ojai 2003 (Santa Barbara) 65
Jordan 2002 (Sonoma) 20 68
Staglin “Salus” 2002 (Napa) 74
Chateau Montelena 2003 (Napa) 223 77
Mer Soleil 2002 (Napa) 78
Kalin "Cuvee LD" 1994 (Sonoma) 82
Sonoma Cutrer “The Cutrer” 2002 (Sonoma) 85
Cakebread 2004 (Napa) 89
Michaud 2000 (Monterey) 90
Rochioli 2002 (Russian River) 95
Grgich 2001 (Napa) 97
Patz & Hall "Dutton" 2003 (Napa) 98

Fair or unfair, we are going to eliminate the Napa wines for the same reason that we elminated them in the case of our Sauvignon Blanc, we don't want to take the chance that the wine is to full. So let's look again:

BV Reserve 2001 (Carneros) 15 52
Domaine Chandon 2001 (Carneros) 55
Talbott "Sleepy Hollow" 2002 (Santa Lucia) 18 57
Marimar 2002 (Sonoma) 63
Simi Reserve 2003 (Sonoma) 64
Ojai 2003 (Santa Barbara) 65
Jordan 2002 (Sonoma) 20 68
Kalin "Cuvee LD" 1994 (Sonoma) 82
Sonoma Cutrer “The Cutrer” 2002 (Sonoma) 85
Michaud 2000 (Monterey) 90
Rochioli 2002 (Russian River) 95

The BV Reserve and Domaine Chandon are probably less than we want to spend, plus Chandon is best known for it's sparklers. They are also widely available. Talbott "Sleepy Hollow" I always love, but it's too rich for our purposes.

I'm eliminating Rochioli because, despite the fact that their wines are delicious, they are also too ripe for our purposes. I'm elimating Sonoma-Cutrer because that wine has skyrocketed in price and really should be $60. Jordan is tempting, but probably also too ripe. Marimar seems interesting, and if it was recommended by my server I might consider it, but I know little about it other than the fact that it is owned by the Torres family of Spain and the vineyards are largely Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast. Stylistically I have no idea where it falls, so short of a recommendation, I'm skipping it. Simi is too widely available. I want something that I might not have every day.

We're left with these choices:

Ojai 2003 (Santa Barbara) 65
Kalin "Cuvee LD" 1994 (Sonoma) 82
Michaud 2000 (Monterey) 90

Ojai can be pretty nice. Earthy and with good acidity. I'm going to pass on Ojai only because I have found in the past that their wines take a little bit of time to fully integrate the oak and the primary flavors. In two years, especially if the price remained constant, this might be my choice, but not today. Michaud Winery is owned by Michael Michaud, former winemaker of Chalone. The vineyard is way up in the mountains - mountain vineyards are cooler and have better acidity. This is an excellent choice. But I'm taking Kalin. I have always loved Kalin's wines. First of all you'll notice the vintage on the wine - 1994. Kalin always holds bottles, only to realease them much later. This very well may be the current release for all I know. Kalin wines tend to have good structure (+1); because of their age they show a variety of complex earthy and developed charcteristics (+1) without sacrificing fruit (+1); and Kalin Chards tend to fall on the light- to medium- side in terms of body (+1). This is my choice, but if you're uncomfortable with the Kalin, a unique wine when compared to its peers, you can get the Michaud.

Next we're going to pick our main courses and reds...

What to drink with George Washington...

I'm fresh off a trip to New York as one of my best friends was married last Sunday. Actually, fresh probably isn't the best word, more like exhausted, but I digress. We'll return to the series on analyzing a wine list next time around, but I'm frankly just so happy to be relaxing after such a crazy week and a half. I was also reminded, since my hotel was in the financial district, of one of my favorite taverns in the whole world - Fraunces Tavern.

Fraunces Tavern is the restored tavern that was once the site where George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and the boys used to hand out for their relaxation. More often, when they were there, they drank one of the world's finest but very much forgotten beverages, Madeira.

Madeira is a fortified wine made in the Madeira Islands of Portugal, which is prized equally for drinking and cooking. According to Wikipedia, Thomas Jefferson used Madeira to toast the signing of the Declaration of independence.

I have spent quite a bit of time studying menus from early America, and it's amazing how much different a wine list looked in the 1800's compared to now. A typical wine progression was often:

Champagne
Sherry
Chablis
Red Burgundy or Bordeaux
Madeira

This would be a set of wines I'd love but admittedly the taking in of both Sherry and Madeira at every meal is pretty eclectic. Either way, a toast to Fraunces Tavern, our Founding Fathers and of course my good friends Giovanni Ruffini and Yelena Sorokina who were wed last Sunday!

(N.B., if you'd like to read more about Madeira and other fortified wines, please visit my good friend Roy Hersh's web site http://fortheloveofport.com)

Kryptonite and picking appetizers...

When last I blogged , I began discussing piece by piece what a wine geek might look for when looking at a wine menu. I chose a Pittsburgh Restaurant, the Sonoma Grille, as my sample restauarant and wine list, and in Episode I, we picked a sparkling wine to start with, NV Iron Horse Brut "Russian River Cuvee".



Then, I forgetting that I am not Superman and also forgetting that I am no longer athletic, decided to play two-hand tab football with some younger relatives. I was awesome on the first drive. The second drive, not so good. After landing directly on my shoulder after attempting to make a Deion Sanders-esque interception, I have now announced my retirement. And I don't mean in that "The Who" kind of way. I mean for good. I felt like Superman in that Lex Luther's swimming pool with the Kryptonite chained to me. For about a week. My flag football career is over because I have only in about the past 24 hours regained the ability to move my left arm and hence type. (Not so ironically, this coincides with the release of EA Sports College Football 2008.)



Back to the meal and menu. Okay, so we're sipping on some Iron Horse Bubbly and now we have to look at the appetizers/first courses and then start thinking about the white we will order. Let's look at the apps (http://www.thesonomagrille.com/DinnerMenu1.php?SECT=3)



[Disclaimer again: I have no affiliation with the Sonoma Grille. I know one of the bartenders vaguely that's about it.]



I'm going to purposefully order a variety of things so that this isn't to easy. (If you read part 1, there are four of us dining.)



My date and I are going to get the Tapas for two. One guest is going to order the Serrano Wrapped Diver Sea Scallops, and our other guest is a vegetarian and will be getting the wild mushroom and goat cheese strudel.



Okay let's start determining what we might be looking for in a wine by looking aty the important elements in the dishes:



Tapas for two:

Shrimp Tempura, Asian slaw, scarlet orange and apricot chutney: Normally with most breaded or deep fried things, I drink something with bubbles, either sparkling wine or beer. Our Iron Horse will continue nicely with this, but if we're going to drink a "still" white wine the slaw, orange, apricot combo leads us to something with sweetness - not necessarily sugar - but ripe fruitiness, spice and sour. This is a complex dish that needs a complex wine, not to full-bodied, but with a lot of character and probably a good dose of acidity to cleanse the palate just like the bubbles would.



Veal cheek and black truffle ravioli, roasted shallot cream, black pepper demi-glace: The truffle and veal cheek are going to be very earthy, the shallot cream sweet, the demi-glass spicy. Again sweet and spicy, and now a wine with some earthy flavors would probably be a good idea as well.



Ahi tartare, sushi roll, white truffle and wasabi mayonnaise, fried lotus root, Tobiko caviar: Spicy. Truffle again - earthy. Tuna is fatty, and the best thing for fatty foods is to use the counterpoint of acidity.



Sesame fried calamari, yuzu and roasted poblano remoulade: FRIED needs bubbles or acidity as we've already covered. Poblanos are a type of pepper of course, not real biting, but a little sweet and a little spicy.

And...

Serrano Wrapped Diver Sea Scallops: The Scallops have a fatty texture like the tuna + the spiciness of the serrano ham.

Wild Mushroom and Goat Cheese Strudel: The mushrooms, like truffle, are earthy. We'll go back to the goat cheese.

Okay so we need a wine that is palate-cleansing; it will cut through fatty fish or greasy fried foods; it should match the spiciness of our foods, be earthy and ripe with good acidity.

In the next post, we're going to start crossing off white wines from the list until we get a few possible choices for our white wine..