Red Bubbles

Wow, we're only about an hour from ringing in 2010. I have tasted a lot of interesting wines this year, and my last one for 2009 was the 2008 Paringa Sparkling Shiraz. I am a fan of Australian shiraz but I had never tried the bubbly version.
This one had a pleasing tartness and pretty mellow tannins for such a young red, but it didn't seem to hold its effervescence for long. At $11.99, a great deal for any decent sparkling wine in my book, it was an amiable match with tonight's dinner of homemade caramelized onion pizza with parmigiano reggiano.
Here's to a new year of adventures and delicious wine!

Two Italians

Our friend Krista, on her way from London, made it through the terrible storm in the Northeast and landed in New York last weekend. She was stopping by for a drink before dinner, and alas, the only red wine in the house was the 2004 Antinori Chianti Classico Riserva we've been saving (a gift from my sister, who got it directly from one of the Antinori daughters, who is a neighbor of hers). It retails for around $28. Well, it was time to pop that cork. I had sampled another vintage of this wine in class last spring and had a similar verdict on this one: It had a very intense red fruit aroma, and was slightly tight and tannic at the start. But it softened after about 20 minutes. As Kevin Zraly said, "This wine cries out for food," so we dived into some parmigiano reggiano with crackers. (Cue contented sigh.)
We set out for Taboon, a Hell's Kitchen restaurant we love at 10th Avenue and 52nd. It's a pan-Mediterranean menu, and they have an adventurous wine list, with several bottles from Israel, Lebanon and Greece. I decided to order an Italian wine I was unfamiliar with: the 2005 Mandrolisai Bovale - Cannonau (Sardinia), at $44. As far as I can recall, the bovale and cannonau grapes were entirely new to me. The wine had notes of spice and leather and was bright and zingy in the glass -- very different from the wine we started out with.
So glad to make a new friend! The wine paired comfortably with the tzaziki and bread (one of most scrumptious loaves in New York City, made in the taboon, or clay oven), fig and pear salad, falafel and chocolate lava cake. What would the holiday season be without a little -- or a lot of -- indulgence?

Photo of the taboon from New York magazine

A Wallflower

Lately I have been loving The Manganaro Italian Family Cookbook, which I picked up last year at their old-school market here in Hell's Kitchen. (They make the best fresh mozz.)
So on Thursday, a bitter, howling-wind kind of night, we dreamed of Italy with garlic scallops with sun-dried tomatoes and capers, and asparagus with pine nuts and garlic. That's right, at least a dozen cloves of garlic in this dinner; vampires beware. Also, this meal served to satisfy my burgeoning pine nut addiction.
Italian food deserves Italian wine, right? So I picked up the 2006 La Carraia Sangiovese from Umbria ($12.99 at Grace Wine & Spirits on Tenth Avenue). While the wine had a slightly musty-in-a-pleasant-way aroma, it otherwise just did not make much of an impression on me. Sangiovese has high acidity and usually a bit of spice, which I thought would stand up nicely against all the strong flavors, but this one was rather flat and bland.
Can't win 'em all.

Tivo and a Tipple

After a rough day at the office -- and I've had a few of those lately -- a little decompressing time is in order. My new favorite time-waster on TV is "Clean House" on the Style network, and last night my show went famously with a glass of 2006 Jean-Luc Colombo Les Abeilles Côtes du Rhône ($11). This wine had an aroma that reminded me of rain (the fresh, country kind, not the kind that washes the stench off Eighth Avenue), and while it was slightly bright and tannic at the start, it opened up nicely.
On "Clean House," a home makeover show, the hosts pry clutter away from various nutty families (some of them are literally living in a landfill with a roof), and then redecorate. I realized why this show has struck a chord with me: It's editing -- on a certain level, a lot like what I do all day. There is something comforting about trying to impose order on chaos. Even better with a little Côtes du Rhône.

Vin Rouge, Vin Blanc

I subscribe to an email newsletter called My Little Paris, a once-a-week missive about happenings in the City of Light. (Who doesn't need a little escapism these days?) I was intrigued by the one I received this week (see below), because I thought that picking the right wine was just part of a French person's DNA. Apparently they need help, too! It's kind of a relief to know that they don't necessarily know everything. Maybe they're just better at faking it.

Wine tasting 101
November 26, 2009
Why they always ask you to taste the wine, you have no idea. Every single guest at the table is staring at you, waiting for you to take a sip. Can’t they tell that you are completely clueless when it comes to wine? You take a shot : “it’s perfect, thank you”. And then you pray to Dionysus, the god of wine, that it is indeed at least drinkable.
This is not a nightmare, it happens to the best of us. And thanks to Joël, it won’t happen again. Built like a rugby player, he shows up in the middle of your dinner party at home and teaches you the ultimate French skill: wine tasting. For Joël, it’s all about plaisir. From his mysterious briefcase, he extracts tiny aroma bottles that he gently slips under your ignorant nostrils. Delightful fleeting sensations appear on the tip of your tongue. The lesson begins. A sweet buttery flavor in your mouth? A Chardonnay from Bourgogne. The smell of honey, honeysuckle and acacia? A great Chablis. Enough inhaling, let’s move on to the serious stuff. Tasting. Cold cuts and selected wines from small producers from all over France.
You now have a real nose for wine.

Joël:00-33-6-13-17-45-58
Association Terra Vitis
Price : from 30 to 60€ per guest depending on the number of participants and the number of wines that you wish to taste

Film Plus Feast

Bobby and I met up with our newly unemployed friend Patrick the other night. First we saw "A Serious Man," the latest from the Coens. It is seriously worth seeing: a vivid story, economically told, with great dialogue and an amazing ending.

Afterward we dropped in at one of our favorite Hell's Kitchen spots, Five Napkin Burger. That eponymous dish has become Bobby's No. 1 burger in the city, even beyond Peter Luger's. Patrick and I both got the veggie burger, which I've had on several occasions. It is huge and tasty; FNB always has the ripest tomatoes, even in the winter -- a rarity in these parts. The burger itself has little structural integrity (I have been known to describe it as "fall-y apart-y" -- they're not kidding about the five napkins), but it is extremely satisfying. The fries are crisp perfection, too.

So what did we drink? I ordered a 2005 Zuccardi Tempranillo (Mendoza, Argentina) that had a note of raspberry and a slightly smoky quality. It was well-balanced and full-bodied (14 percent alcohol). And, at $38, not bad for Midtown.

Wine Rules

I had an amusing email exchange with my sister the other day regarding the proper season for certain wines.
Her: Is it wrong to drink rosé wine in winter?
Me: I don't think wine should have rules. Anyway, it's not winter yet!
Her: I had a darn fine dry Spanish rosé tonight at Arline's. It was up
there with this one, which is my fave rosé:
http://www.erobertparker.com/newSearch/pTextSearch.aspx?wine=Chateau%20Grande%20Cassagne%20Rose%20Costieres%20de%20Nimes

It reminded me of Kevin Zraly's strict rules for drinking port, in which you must be sitting in a big, comfy chair by a crackling fireplace, with snowflakes falling outside the window of your country home and your golden retriever at your feet. I just thought, heck, I would never have the chance to enjoy port if I followed his rules since I have no fireplace, dog or country home. I think people should just follow their fancy and drink whatever they feel like having at the moment. Sometimes, that boils down to whatever's in the wine rack.

Paris Style

Bobby had been wanting to check out the new steak frites place on the East Side, Le Relais de Venise, at 52nd and Lexington. So we went last week with a big group (eight of us strolled right in and sat down at 9:30 on a Wednesday night).
It's an outpost of the original location in Paris, and it's a pretty simple formula. They serve everyone the same salad (greens with a dijon dressing, topped with walnuts), then steak and fries. Dessert and wine are separate, but the main meal is $24 a person, which isn't bad for Manhattan. For me, the only non-meat-eater, there was an extra salad and a cheese plate.
We ordered a red and a white for the table: a 2003 Vincent Lataste Bordeaux Blend 55 (55 percent merlot and 55 percent cabernet sauvignon); this girlish red had notes of apple, and it was a hit around the table. The other bottle was a 2008 Château Caillou du Haut, a white Bordeaux (100 percent sauvignon blanc), which was slightly flowery but had a nice zing. Both were extreme bargains, under $25.
My summary judgment: The food was good, not great; the wine was what it should be, an enjoyable accompaniment to the meal; and the waitress was a crackup, a bossy young thing with a look that shouted Madonna circa 1986 (bleached hair, dark eyebrows). Don't ask for ketchup or she will smack you down.

Soho Crush

It was my first visit to City Winery in Soho.
It was a chance to have a small part in winemaking.
It was me, paying $50, for the privilege of doing some manual labor on Sunday afternoon (only in New York!). Of course, my parting gift was a bottle of their Downtown White (chardonnay with some muscat, light and pleasant, thankfully unoaked), and next year, a bottle of the wine from the grapes that came through that day.
We were a group of about 20 people helping to process two-and-a-half tons of pinot noir grapes from California. I worked for a couple of hours, loading grapes into the sorting machine and removing debris at the sorting table. It was a bit dizzying, so many grapes (they're pretty small, the size of blueberries), but we finished processing the whole shipment. The grapes were not actually crushed that day; the winemaker, David Lecomte (right), says they sit in the maceration tank for a number of weeks before crushing. The winery was also processing two-and-a-half tons of zinfandel grapes later that day, so they're pretty busy this time of year.

Loading the clusters into the sorting machine.

The sorting table, a popular spot.

The conveyor belt to the maceration tank.

Emile pours excess juice from the sorting table into the tank.

Grapes in the tank, soon to be a liquid delight, we hope.

I take a load off in the City Winery restaurant. A tiring but exhilarating afternoon!

Two on 21st

I love summer, but when it's over I get to see a lot more of Laura, who finally stays home on a weekend once in a while. Hanging out at her place in Chelsea, we had great thin-crust pizza from Waldy's last weekend, along with a rosé she's fond of, the 2008 Chateau Montaud Cotes de Provence. It was light pink, with a scent of pear and a minerally finish (12 percent alcohol). A great value: $11.99.
And last night was another girls' night in Chelsea -- we finally went to see The September Issue (fascinating for us media types, although Anna Wintour scares the bejesus out of me) -- and a veggie-packed dinner at her apartment: shaved zucchini salad with olive oil and parmesan; tomato salad with goat cheese; veggie burgers; and corn on the cob. She opened a 2007 Mark West pinot noir (Central Coast, California); it had medium body (13.8%) and contained notes of straw, tobacco and black cherry ($9.99). A very friendly wine.

Message From the Guru

I got the following e-mail today from my wine guy, Kevin Zraly. I'm telling you, if you have the slightest inclination to take his course, do it *now* ... as he said during the spring term, he is teaching it only five more semesters. It's expensive but worth every penny.

Dear Wine Students,

I hope you are all doing well and drinking only great wines!! Looking forward to the fall, below is the list of latest events and information.

Upcoming Events:

Windows on the World Wine School

Mondays, October 5 through November 23, 2009 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel

As alumni, you can attend any class at the discounted rate of $100 per class.

Don’t forget to tell your wine friends. Please have them visit our website at www.kevinzraly.com

or call the office at 845-255-1456 for the full fall class schedule.

Saratoga Food and Wine Festival – September 12 at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Saratoga, NY. I will be the auctioneer on Friday night and Saturday and also presenting my One Hour Italian Wine Expert on Saturday. Please visit www.spac.org for more information and to purchase tickets to the event.

New York City Wine & Food Festival – October 10 at the Javits Center in New York City.

This is a great refresher for alumni and a great opportunity for friends to have a mini Wine School experience.

One Hour Wine Expert hosted by Kevin Zraly
Hours: 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Price: $85

For more information, visit http://www.nycwineandfoodfestival.com/2009/

Sante Restaurant Symposium - This year at the Sagamore, Bolton Landing, NY. I will be the keynote speaker on Tuesday, October 20. For more information visit their website at http://www.isantemagazine.com/symposium.html

WineFuture 2009 - November 10-12, I will be a featured speaker along with Robert Parker, Jancis Robinson, and Oz Clarke in Rioja, Spain. Visit www.winefuture.es for more information.

Holiday Ideas:

The 25th anniversary edition of the Windows on the World Complete Wine Course book will be available this fall. Over the past year I have visited 15 countries and over 100 wine regions to update the 25^th anniversary edition of the Windows on the World Complete Wine Course. Retail price is $27.95; alumni discount is $22.00.

NEW - The Wine Journal, Kevin's latest book, has a 64-page introductory section includes details on wine basics, tasting, and buying; Vintage Best Bets from the top wine regions in the world; and Frequently Asked Questions About Wine. The actual journal contains a fill-in area for jotting down tasting notes and for saving your favorite wine labels. Retails for $14.95; alumni discount is $12.00.

NEW - Kevin Zraly's line of wine charms ($18.95), wine stopper ($9.95), and corkscrew ($12.95) will be available.

In the Press:

Delish.com - look for Kevin's videos, quizzes, and food and wine combinations under Recipes & Menus then Essential Wine Guide for more information.

The Tennis Channel during the US Open will be featuring a segment with Andrea Robinson. Kevin is featured in her interview.

I look forward to seeing you!

Kevin

Kevin Zraly
Wine Services International
P.O. Box 847

New Paltz, New York 12561
(845) 255-1456
FAX: (845) 255-2041
kevin@kevinzraly.com

www.kevinzraly.com

Call Me Zelda

A long weekend in the Hamptons with Laura has become a summer ritual for me. I know, "the Hamptons" -- but really, it's pretty laid back. Mostly.
Some highlights from last weekend included seeing a rainbow and a deranged high tide at Atlantic Beach (side effects from Hurricane Bill) on Saturday; touring the house in Amagansett that Laura and Jonathan are buying (!); attending my first polo match, above, in Bridgehampton (no one watches the action -- they're all at the bar at the back of the big tent); and having dinner with our friend Noel in Hampton Bays.
For dinner, Laura and I brought over a saucy little rosé, the 2008 Domaine Houchart Côtes de Provence ($11). The aroma had notes of pear and cucumber, and I noticed a slight effervescence; and of course, I love the ease of the screw-top. Noel cooked everything at the grill and it was fantastic: clams with a shallot-lemon-garlic sauce, asparagus and halibut. Cherry pie from the farm stand topped off a very chill poolside evening.

Georgia (the Other One)

We had a potluck at the office this week, and one highlight was some wine from Georgia, brought as a gift recently by some editors from Tbilisi.
This was a Saperavi red dry wine produced and bottled in the Kakheti region of Georgia. (I found this adorable slide show about the area on YouTube. Apparently, Georgia has been making wine for centuries.) The Saperavi grape is used throughout the country, according to Wikipedia, and Saperavi means "paint" or "dye" owing to its dark color.
So the wine was nearly opaque, with an aroma of raisins, no vintage listed but obviously young. I found it well-balanced (12 percent alcohol), and pleasant but not a show-stopper. It was, however, not universally liked. Scott adulterated his with crushed fresh rasbperries and said, "The more you drink the better it gets."
I love reading labels, but I think something was lost in translation: It described the wine as having 'a sorted aroma and a pleasant acerbity.'
But this was my first experience with Georgian wine, and I definitely look forward to more.

New York-esota

Bobby and I had something like a Minneapolitan evening in New York (minus the traffic on 35W) on Monday, starting with dinner at the New French in the West Village. I was a huge fan of of the New French Cafe in the Warehouse District, which closed in 2001 (right after I moved to New York. Coincidence?).
The new New French, open since early 2008, is apparently named after the Minneapolis one, minus the "Cafe," but not run by the same people. The verdict on the wine we chose: one hit, one miss. The 2007 Pumphouse Red (North Fork), $9, was bracingly acidic, sort of like a Goth teenager. But the 2007 Nero D'Avola (Nausica), $10, can best be described as red velvet in a glass. I had the New French salad (romaine, radicchio, pear, gruyere, celery, carrots and beets in red wine/pear vinaigrette), served in a dish approaching mixing bowl-sized -- so huge I couldn't finish it. And the fries were excellent, crispy, grease-free and not overly salty. (FYI: This photo is from the Web site of the defunct New York Sun.)
Our entertainment for the evening was the Minneapolis hip-hop group Atmosphere at Webster Hall -- a sweaty, 16-plus, sold-out show. The music was great, and we were additionally entertained by the dozen or so ejections by a large guard of various teenagers for what I must assume was underage drinking (and one attempted cigarette smoking right in front of us). Come on, kids, if you're going to be bad, it's best to go stealth.

Out of the Cabinet

Well, it's not always wine, wine, wine around here. I was rearranging some kitchen cabinets yesterday and ran across a bottle of Mathilde Cassis Liqueur and spotted a recipe on the back of the bottle for the Purple Rain (hmm, I wonder: What Would Prince Drink?): 1 ounce cassis liqueur, 2 ounces rum, 2 ounces pineapple juice; mix and serve over ice.
I think the cassis must have been brought over by Scott, who's always making some foufy drink or another. (I have only had it in a kir.)
Anyway, I used some rum our friend Luke brought back from Haiti last year. It was a refreshing, slightly tropical cocktail, not as sweet as I was expecting.
Too bad that was the end of the rum.

Birthday Barbera, and Bubbly

Down on Eighth Street in the Village, Otto, one of our favorite Italian restaurants, was the destination for my birthday celebration last week. Bobby and I started with dishes of marinated figs and roasted peppers, then moved on to the addictive thin-crust pizza. I have daydreams about the pane frattau: tomato with pecorino and a fried egg on top. It sounds kind of gross, I know, but it is divine; a simple, savory pie that keeps me coming back (although I have tried making it at home. It turned out OK.). The well-edited wine list produced a 2006 Oddero Barbera d'Alba (Piedmont), a bright, slightly spicy quartino ($12). And while I was indulging, there was gelato: I had a trio of salty caramel, dark chocolate and peppermint chocolate chip. ... And I'm still enjoying it, just thinking about it.

The next night, Laura, Tammy, Scott and I were due for a pilgrimage to the last outpost of Miracle Grill in Brooklyn. We kicked off the evening at Laura's place with Nicolas Feuillate Rosé Champagne, a perky, deep-pink bubbly that went down easy. A quick cab ride to Brooklyn, to our destination in Park Slope ... but I was only about two tortilla chips in when, unfortunately, the evening had to be cut short since I seem to have had a case of food poisoning from my late lunch (I think it was the broccoli). Well! A quick return trip to Manhattan, and an early night to bed for me. I think we will pick up the celebration where we left off ... soon, I hope.

Red, White but No Blue

For the Fourth of July I suppose we should have had only American wines, but it just didn't turn out that way. I bought a 2005 Montecillo Crianza Rioja ($12.99); the winery was founded in Spain in 1874, 382 years after Columbus came to the New World, so there's your American connection. Anyway, I found the wine bright and uncomplicated -- I've had better riojas.
Next was the 2005 Catena Cabernet Sauvignon (Mendoza, Argentina), which had aromas of red berries, moss, maybe a little smoky quality. It was slightly tannic but the fruit hangs in nicely. A winner (and a gift from my newly engaged brother. Thanks, Tom!). (About $17.)
Last was a 2007 Mirassou Chardonnay (California), with a minerally scent and a note of cucumber; very fresh-tasting with a hint of pear. Not at all oaky, a flavor category I have grown to dislike. Might as well gnaw on toothpicks. ($10.99.)

A Cabernet Disappoints

Laura dropped by for dinner the other night; I was craving a brie-and-fig panini I had at this amazing Italian cafe/market in Philadelphia a few years ago, so I whipped them up on my cast-iron grill (no room for a panini press in my kitchen!).
We also had steamed fresh green beans with a splash of lemon, and for dessert, in honor of Wimbledon, I made fresh whipped cream to go with strawberries (which make themselves).
I had picked up a 2005 Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon (Colchagua, Chile) earlier that day, and while it wasn't terrible, I found a little too jammy and cloying for my taste.
It was $9.99 at the DeLauren wine shop on Eighth Avenue in Chelsea, and now I recall Kevin Zraly saying the best Chilean cabernets are really in the $15 to $25 range. I wish I listened...

Tiny Bubbles

Is there anything better than drinks at work on a Saturday afternoon?

We are an office that occasionally indulges (it all started with Derby Day mint juleps a few years back...), and it's a nice, um, team-building exercise.

Today it was a celebration of summer (as well as still being employed), and the indulgence was Collalbrigo Brut, a snappy prosecco from Conegliano, Italy (about $11, 11 percent alcohol). I got a pleasant yeasty aroma, and tasted notes of pear in this one. (Thanks, Jesse!) He even brought strawberries, the perfect pairing.

I just love the sound of a cork popping in the office.

From the Vineyard to My Lips

A tasty souvenir from Laura's recent trip to California was a bottle of the 2005 Consilience Falcone Vineyard Syrah (Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo County), $38.
Actually, a few bottles, since she liked the wine so much she signed up for regular shipments after her visit to the vineyard!
This was a very full-bodied wine (15.2 percent alcohol), with notes of black pepper and something approaching chalky/powdery (in a good way), and a thick texture in the glass.
It was just the companion for an evening of girl talk about engagements, babies, house-hunting and other assorted topics.
I think I may have to play Let's Make a Deal with her when her next batch arrives. Got to get another taste of this one.

Hanging in the 'Hood

Last night we got together with some Minnesota friends at one of our favorite wine bars in Hell's Kitchen (I will never call it "Clinton"): Riposo 46, on Ninth Avenue at 46th Street. It's a tiny scrap of real estate (three tables, maybe a dozen seats at the bar), but always top fun. Bobby and I both enjoyed the 2005 Marques de la Concordia Rioja Crianza, an engaging, snappy little red. It was $10 a glass, but a pretty healthy pour. I love that their bottles are reasonably priced for Midtown -- their featured wines are mostly $30-50.
The menu is simple but fulfilling: I had the goat cheese flatbread with rosemary and lemon zest (it was better a few other times I've had it, but I was so hungry I devoured it). Next time I'm not sure I will be able to resist their hypnotic cheese plate.

East Side Eats

For Jane's bon voyage dinner the night before she returned to Minneapolis last week, we ate at Felidia on East 58th, which has quickly become one of our favorite Italian restaurants. (We love that delightful bartender, Patrick Joy!) ... Trying to pace ourselves, Jane and I shared the lemon garlic shrimp appetizer, and at first bite, I wished I had ordered my own. I could eat a feedbag of that creamy deliciousness. I also had their signature pasta dish, the pecorino and pear ravioli, which never disappoints.
On the wine front, I ordered a 2006 Barbera d'Alba Brunate, which I found rich and earthy ($48).
My only lament is that we can't eat there more often ($!). Unless we took out a second mortgage.

Shock and Flaw

I had been wanting to see "Bottle Shock" since Kevin Zraly mentioned it in wine class a few months ago. The movie is the "based on the true story" of Chateau Montelena in Napa beating the French in a blind tasting for the best white in Paris back in 1976. Bill Pullman plays Jim Barrett, the winning vintner, and the rest of the cast is name-brand: Alan Rickman, Freddy Rodriguez, Eliza Dushku, Chris Pine (before his star turn in "Star Trek," of course). I wish I could say I liked it, but the script was just so clunky and predictable. Maybe they were dumbing down a wine movie for the masses, but I was expecting something a little more sophisticated. "Bottle Shock" was at Sundance in 2008, and then seemingly went straight to DVD. This movie wasn't about the grape; it was pure corn.

Neighborly in New York

As a New Yorker for the past eight years, I can ignore almost anything except a) people talking at the movies and b) the howling baby on the plane in the row behind me. Which is why it's so surprising to me that people are flocking to restaurants like Co. in Chelsea, which has communal dining tables, and talking to their neighbors. Usually we like to observe our fellow diners but never actually interact with them. But that's exactly what Bobby, Jane and I did a few nights ago: We spoke to our Italian/English-speaking neighbors to my right, and a cute young couple from the neighborhood on my left -- we even shared pizza with them! (That's Jane talking to them, above.)
The name is a little baffling; I keep referring to it as "Koh," but I have read that it's pronounced "Company." They have done a great job renovating a space that used to be a dumpy little corner bakery, into a refined room with lots of wood and soft lighting. The food, the wine and the service were spot-on. I started with a cup of the savory Tuscan bread soup, and Bobby, Jane and I shared the pizza bianca (flatbread with sea salt and olive oil, served with fresh ricotta), and I had the pizza margherita. Jane and I both sipped the Artazuri Rosado 2008 Bodega Artazu from Navarra, Spain ($9), a juicy, semi-dry rosé. Bobby had both the 2006 Falset (Monstant, Spain) for $9, a lighter red he described as "fine" ... and later a peppery Syrah 'Tous les Jours' 2006 (Andrew Murray Vineyards, Central Coast, California), also $9.
And I couldn't resist a scoop of praline gelato to top it off.

A Toast to Jane

Jane Armstrong lands in New York for her annual visit. Naturally, a cork must be popped; in this case a flute or two of Pommery n.v. before dinner in the neighborhood. This is one of my go-to types of bubbly, always crisp and refreshing. You can just never go wrong with the lighter-to-medium bodied Champagnes. (Well, actually, you can go wrong -- ask me the day after the Oscars every year. Oy.)

Think Pink

Last night was a fun evening of girl talk, sushi and rosé while helping Laura pack for her vacation to Cambodia. The wine was a 2007 L'Estandon Côtes de Provence, which was an appealing salmon pink in color and had notes of citrus. ($11.99). (L'Estandon's Web site says it's "Provence's oldest brand" so hopefully they know what they're doing.) Anyway, it went well with the sushi... and the gossip!

The rosé reminded me that I've been meaning to write about A Year in Provence, which I finished reading a few weeks ago. It was a pleasant enough diversion, but I failed to see why it was such a blockbuster. It seemed winkingly filled with stereotypes, drunken driving and tax evasion, and I had more than I could stomach concerning Peter Mayle's godforsaken home renovations. And enough about the weather! I guess it's an English thing. Loved the goat races, though.

Family Dinner

Last week I revisited 112, a restaurant in the warehouse district of Minneapolis. They've expanded since I last ate there; the new upstairs dining room is softly lighted and welcoming but a bit loud when the place is full. So what did we drink?
To start, Bud picked the 2007 Picpoul de Pinet, Domaine Reine Juliette (Languedoc, France), which was refreshing and slightly effervescent. ($20). Bud said he drank this on a summer trip to Provence, and I can see why. Next I selected the 2005 Vacqueyras, "La Graelière," Pierre Amadieu (Rhone, France), which was plush but a bit "closed-in" at first; it opened up enticingly as we got further into the bottle. ($42). To finish, Bud ordered the 2006 Minervois, Chateau d'Oupia (France), an extremely friendly blend -- I read later that it's 60 percent carignan, 30 percent syrah and 10 percent grenache -- and a great value at $24.
I had a delicious romaine/roquefort salad; the banana cream tart for dessert was a miss (not enough banana!). Next time I could stuff myself on the goodies they bring to the table automatically: addictive spicy nuts and green olives. And of course, something new from the well-organized and accessible wine list.

Snob Review

Somehow I came to own a copy of "The Wine Snob's Dictionary" (2008) by David Kamp and David Lynch. It's the kind of book you could read if you were waiting in a long check-out line. Some of the entries are kind of funny, though. A couple of examples:
Grip: Sensation ascribed to a wine with enough acidity and/or tannin that it seems to actually grab hold of the palate. Considered a good thing by Snobs. The '75 had powerhouse tannins and a marvelous grip at first, but it lost its resolve as it got more air.

Juice: Grating hipster term for wine, used especially in the San Francisco Bay Area, where younger, ostensibly hipper Snobs in the wine trade think that, by referring to wine as such, they are demystifying it for a grateful audience of Francophobes and reg'lar folk who will feel less intimidated if they think of wine as fermented grape juice. Except the very deployment of such insiderist terms serves only to intimidate civilians all over again.

... I love new words and slang as much as anyone, but I feel the need to keep this book around so I know which terms to avoid.

Recent Reds

A few bottles we had over the last couple of weeks ...

1. 2007 Alfasi Reserve Malbec-Syrah (Chile): Quite plummy; I really liked this 50/50 malbec-syrah blend; that malbec grape really lightened things up.
   
2. 2007 Lisabella Pinot Noir (Italy): Bright and young, adequate, and best of all, $5.99 at Manhattan Plaza Wine & Spirits.
3. 2005 Chateau Prignac (Mèdoc, Bordeaux): Earthy and warming, paired well with our vegetable risotto the other night.

So I continued to drink red despite the 90-degree heat wave over the weekend. I suppose you could call it denial, but I am just not ready to switch to rosé or white, or for that matter, turn on the air conditioning in April, for crying out loud.

Green Wine

It's a rainy day in New York -- we seem stuck in that season where decent weather is limited to one day at a time -- but nevertheless still Earth Day.
Of course we recycle our wine bottles, but I am always on the hunt for other ways to make wine a more earth-friendly pursuit. I have tried some of the "bag-in-box" wines, specifically the French Rabbit pinot noir, which I recall as pretty good but not spectacular. I am still working on my "good wine comes in a proper bottle" prejudice, I suppose.
One bottle caught my eye over the weekend, though: a 2006 Carmen Cabernet Sauvignon from the Maipo Valley in Chile, which came with tag around its neck declaring "Now our bottles are 15% lighter." This was a luscious cab with notes of plum and cherries, and it went down well with the goat cheese/roasted red pepper/roasted garlic quesadillas on the grill the other night. We love the screw-top bottle, too, and the price: it was around $10 at my wine shop on Ninth Avenue.
Does a 15-percent-lighter bottle make up for the fact that the wine comes all the way from Chile? I wonder about the tradeoff. I am always glad to support winemakers in Latin America, though, as well as other developing areas.

Wine Watcher

I just finished "Understanding Wine: The Travelling Gourmet," a set of four TV programs bundled into one documentary hosted by the wine expert Jancis Robinson (1 hour 40 minutes, on Netflix). She gives a lot of good basic information and travels to several beautiful regions: Penedès in Spain, Alsace, Tuscany and Australia, among others. Try to not to be distracted by her saucer-sized red eyeglasses -- all I could think of was Sally Jessy Raphael, right (this was the BBC circa 1998, but it looked like 10 years earlier); Jancis really is quite entertaining with her dry British wit.
One highlight was the "meet the winemaker" aspect: She interviews people with last names like Trimbach, Mondavi and Antinori, and I always enjoy putting a face with a name, and in these cases, a bottle.
Another memorable section was the tour of vineyards in England; they are mostly too wet to make great wine -- but that's changing. One vintner was looking on the bright side of global warming "in the next 20 years" or so, when he predicted that places like Bordeaux and California will simply be too hot for winemaking. Climate change is in the headlines all the time, in a kind of abstract way, but his viewpoint made it horrifyingly concrete to me. Of course, he was right on: If the planet is getting warmer, winemaking will inevitably wither in some traditional places and flourish in new ones.

I'm a Graduate!

The Windows on the World wine class has been a highlight of my eight-plus years in New York. Zraly, left, said he will close the school after the 10th anniversary of 9/11, so that means only five more semesters. I learned so much -- I'm so glad I had the chance to attend!

The Final Test and Champagnes and Port

Eight weeks of wine school, suddenly finished. The final class was a bit of a blur: a blind tasting exam, then six sparkling wines and three ports. I got only three out of four in the blind tasting, and I even studied! (These were all wines we sampled in class.) I guess I will just have to keep on learning.

Sparkling Wines

1. Cristalino Cava Brut (Spain): Few bubbles, low foam, aroma of pear; high acidity to start, an an easy, crisp, basic sparkler. Zraly is a big fan of this one ("one of the best bottle-fermented wines"), and its price: $10. Great for mimosas.
2. Roederer Estate Brut n.v. (Anderson Valley, California): Mineral/biscuit bouquet; notes of anise and green apple; a nice balance of fruit, acidity and carbon dioxide. $30.
3. Domaine Carneros Brut 2005 (Napa/Carneros, California): Very pale and bubbly, fresh scent; fuller body than the previous wine, lower acid, a yeasty finish.
4. Taittinger Brut La Francaise (France): Toasty aroma; mousse-y start, balanced, a slightly tart end. My favorite. $40.
5. Veuve Cliquot Brut n.v. (France): I felt I already knew this wine (thanks, Laura!) since I have had it so many times; it's a lower acidity, fuller-body style wine, with a mild, balanced finish. $40.
6. Blind, from France, Italy or the U.S.A.: It was a wine with very few bubbles and not much aroma; a hint of oak in the tasting. My classmates and I were puzzled; was it prosecco? Zraly tricked us with jug wine before, was he giving us Korbel or some other cheapie? I said maybe California, not French and definitely not real Champagne. Well, shut my mouth. It was a 1999 Dom Perignon. $165. (!) Zraly say he did this to show that more money does not give you better Champagne. Stick to the non-vintage types from good producers -- the ultraexpensive stuff usually just isn't worth it.

Port

1. Ruby: W.& J. Graham's: A light ruby, heady aroma; sweet and intense but balanced; the alcohol did not overwhelm. $15.
2. Tawny: Fonseca 10 Year Old: Orange cast; sticky, walnutty bouquet; more acidity than the ruby, lower sweetness. $28.
3. Vintage: Cockburn's 2000: Dark red, very leggy; notes of plum; smooth with some tannin. Delicious (I finished it). $75.
   

Divine Crackers

For class this week, we were encouraged to bring food -- strawberries, chocolate, cheese or other delights -- things to go with Champagne or port, our final subjects. Naturally I thought of these parmesan crackers, which I have made on many occasions after reading about them in The Times a few years back. They are my favorite snack with wine, and I always double this recipe (and force myself to give some away). God only knows why I wasn't born Italian.

PARMESAN CRACKERS

Adapted from Marily Mustilli

Time: 20 minutes plus 2 hours' chilling

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

1. In a food processor, combine ingredients, and pulse until dough comes together. Turn dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap, and form it into a log 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Chill until firm, at least 2 hours.

2. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease two baking sheets. Cut log into 1/4-inch-thick crackers, and place them an inch apart on sheets. Bake until firm, about 12 to 13 minutes. Remove baking sheets from oven, and raise temperature to 500 degrees. When temperature comes up to correct heat, return sheets to oven, and bake for 3 minutes more, or until crackers are deeply golden brown all over. Let cool on a wire rack.

Yield: 40 crackers.

The Red Wines of Spain and Italy

Ten reds from two countries, then another bonus tasting after class, this time from the Australian wine commission. I learned that some Italian reds (Barbaresco, Brunello) are expensive because they are produced in such small quantities. My impressions:

1. Marqués de Cáceres 2005 (Rioja-Crianza): A fresh, soft, light fruit aroma; high acid to begin, a jelly-like flavor, soft tannin but ultimately nothing special. Zraly calls this a "user-friendly" wine to have with fish. $13.
2. Conde de Valdemar 2003 (Rioja-Reserva): Spice/pepper/raisin bouquet giving off strong alcohol; a good acid/tannin balance, developing into a tightly woven, intense taste; at the end, oaky tannins and low fruit. "Needs more aging." $23.
3. CUNE Vina Real 1995 (Rioja-Gran Reserva): Scents of blackberry, plum, flint; a bright start, fresh-tasting, winding down to mild, soft fruit and a dewy finish. My favorite of the class. $$$ Collector's item. (Sigh.)
4. Chianti Classico Riserva 2003, Marchese Antinori (Tuscany): Fresh but "slightly closed" bouquet; high acid, a bit drying on the back of the throat, tangy. This wine is "crying out for food," Zraly says; so he passed out small servings of parmigiano-reggiano. When tasted after cheese, this wine is smoothed of its "rough edges." (He's a huge fan of the producer: "You can't get better than an Antinori in worldwide status" in the wine world, Zraly says.) $25.
5. Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2005 Avignonesi (Tuscany): Sweet swell, a "kiss of oak," flowery; acidic and a bit austere. Avignonesi is a "top producer" in Tuscany. $28, a good value.
   
6. Brunello di Montalcino 1997, Castello Banfi (Tuscany): Slightly sulfurous, "oxidized" aroma (not uncommon in wine with some age); sharp at the start but mellows to a soft end. (This producer owns the Riunite brand, which may have been my first experience with Italian wine.) Zraly says this is "at its peak"; this wine confused me. $100 and up/hard to find.
7. Barbera d'Asti 2006, Michele Chiarlo (Piedmont): Full bouquet, notes of red cherry; slightly spicy, peppery, intense, but slips down to a velvety finish. A Beaujolais-style wine, and my second favorite that night. $14, a great value.
8. Barbaresco 2001, Vietti (Piedmont): Woody, high alcohol aroma, a hint of roses; high tannin and acid to start, "too much of everything," then drops to an astringent end. Overpowering. Zraly says wine from the nebbiolo grape is an exception to the color rule for reds ("if you can see through it, it's ready to drink"); you can see through this one, but it needs more age. $125.
9. Barolo 2001, Prunotto (Piedmont): Very fruity, very alcoholic nose, a hint of a bakery aroma; sour and very drying, almost burning on the tip of my tongue toward the end. "Tasting a young Barolo is like having your palate mugged," Zraly says. Prunotto is owned by the Antinoris (see above). $$$ Collector's item.
10. Amarone Classico Superiore 2003 Allegrini (Veneto): Heavy, dried fruit, port-y aroma; very leggy; sweet, intense fruit, complex. This wine is made in a way similar to Sauternes, where the grapes are dried out first to intensify and sweeten the flavors. Needs a cheese course. $75.
    

Then, a nice, crisp Australian white: a 2007 Leasingham "Bin 7" Clare Valley Riesling ($16). Refreshing. Made me want a basket of fried oysters, somewhere under a beach umbrella.

Gone But Not Forgotten

Sunday was the seventh anniversary of the death of Jimmy Armstrong.
Last night, Bobby and I toasted his memory by opening a bottle of Cline Zinfandel from Sonoma ($13.99), which was the house red at Jimmy Armstrong's Sal**n. (This one was a 2007.) Anyone who's had this wine knows that, as a zin, it's a bold red, a little spicy, with an outsize personality. Maybe a wee bit of a show-off, but not insufferably so.
Kind of like Jimmy himself.

Golly Gee! It's the Gamay-est

In my pre-wine-dork days, "Beaujolais" meant one thing: Beaujolais Nouveau, that infant wine of November we often drink at Thanksgiving. I still buy a bottle every year, just for old times' sake, but it has been a treat to discover the other, more complex Beaujolais wines. Over the weekend, I had a 2006 Joseph Drouhin Beaujolais-Villages ($11.99) and enjoyed it immensely. The B-V was, of course, 100 percent gamay grapes, and it is a winsome, likable wine. It is so versatile: I had it with a hearty grilled cheese sandwich (cheddar on whole wheat, with Dijon mustard), and the next day with a broccoli pasta dish. It's delicious to drink on its own, too, fresh and uncomplicated.

Uncork (the Wine, and Yourself)

I loved this article from Slate on a certain nation's drinking habits.
A Spoonful of Vino: Why are Americans obsessed with wine being good for you?

The Red Wines of California

Eleven reds in less than two hours, then a Chilean tasting as a post-script. Zraly gets positively evangelical when speaking on the subject of California red, specifically the cabernets. It got me thinking, "What Would Jesus Drink?" But I don't think we're tasting any Israeli wine in this course.
Here goes:

1. Saintsbury Pinot Noir 2006 (Napa/Carneros): Color reminiscent of grape juice, with mossy, cherry, summery scents; sharply acidic, very fruity with ascending tannin, a quiet finale. $25.
2. Pinot Noir 2006, Domaine Drouhin (Williamette Valley, Oregon): Floral/oak/peppery aroma; fruit explosion at the start, a red cherry note -- "Ludens," even -- drying to the throat, pleasant fruit hangs on. $35-40.
3. Ravenswood Zinfandel 2006 (Sonoma County): A shade of cherry, with sweet/woody nose; tannin and black fruit, drying after half a minute, then rising acidity; "integrated" for KZ but a bit tannic for me. $18.
4. Ridge Geyserville Zinfandel 2001 (Sonoma County): Deep garnet with pepper, marmalade and black cherry notes; very smooth, "crushed berries," a creamy mouthfeel. Sexy. $$$ (auction only).
5. Blackstone Merlot 2006 (California): Floral, powdery aroma; bright beginning, low acidity, thin; a subtle end. $18. This was recently noted as a "best value" merlot by The Wall Street Journal wine writers, and it's the fourth most popular merlot sold at American restaurants (winenadspiritsmagazine.com poll).
6. Shafer Merlot 2006 (Napa Valley): Slightly viscous texture; ripe, dead-leaf scents; zingy fruit, notes of mocha, a well-balanced "Bordeaux-style" wine. My third favorite of this class, and the only one I might have a chance to taste again. $50/limited production.
7. Louis Martini Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 (Napa Valley): Mossy, earthy, "structured" bouquet, doesn't throw off a lot of fruit; slightly jammy, low acid, fairly integrated but didn't stick around. $22 -- a "great value."
8. Blind: Note of cut grass, sweetly acidic, almost candy-like but not cloying with a nice fruity end.
9. Blind: A stink-bomb: rubber, sulfur, dung. Later Zraly mentioned "barnyard" and a member of the class said "horse-sh*t." Gamey, tannic, low fruit. Blech.
10. Blind: Weirdly, notes of both cooked asparagus and cherry; high tannin to start, then acidic and dropped obviously (I actually felt it changing inside my mouth!) to weave itself into a pleasant balanced finish.
11. Spring Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon 1987 (Napa Valley): A vintage from the year I graduated from high school ... still very dark red and leggy in the glass; hints of honey, mint and tobacco; elegant, no element overwhelms, smooth and classy. A fluffy puppy. This and No. 4 were my favorites. $$$ (auction only).

So we played the same game as last week with the three blind tastings: Were they the same vintage from different vineyards, or different vintages from the same vineyard? I guessed right this time, mainly because No. 9 was so foul-smelling: same vintage, different producers.
The blinds were two from California and one from Bordeaux. No. 8 was Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 (Sonoma County), $60. No. 9 (shudder) was Chateau Talbot 2004 "Grand Cru Classsé" (St. Julien), $60. No. 10 was Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 (Napa Valley), $90-100. Zraly says it was a bit of a trick this time; that one is considered a "young" Bordeaux just doesn't stand up against a Cali red of that age.
After class the Chilean wine commission was hosting a tasting. It was crowded and I was a bit overwhelmed (see above!), but I did try the Casa Silva Microterroir Carmenere 2005 ($45), and found it rich, earthy and subtly spicy. And I got to chat with my neighbors from class that night, Kathy and Jeff, a cute young couple. Jeff said he was taking the course at the urging of his uncle, who took it 30 years ago. That must be one cool uncle.

It Took Me Five Years to Get the Joke

Inevitably at wine class, the movie "Sideways" has surfaced a few times. (We saw it at the closing night of the New York Film Festival in 2004; Avery Fisher Hall is not a great place to see a movie, but we had a swell night ... and the director and cast were there.) Miles (Paul Giamatti) is memorable for his anti-merlot rant, and also for the scene where he gulps his prize bottle, a 1961 Cheval Blanc, from a Styrofoam cup while murdering a burger.
Well -- I discovered that the Cheval Blanc is 33 percent merlot! I wonder if there is a wine dorks' equivalent of Trivial Pursuit, because that could make a great question.
Now I can't wait to see the Japanese remake of the movie.

Teutonic and Trendy

Tonight with dinner I opened a 2007 Graff Riesling Kabinettt ($11.99 at Ninth Avenue Wine & Liquor). It's part of my newfound appreciation for German wine, and hey, after all, I did spend the first 33 years of my life as a Biersdorfer, so maybe it's genetic.
For dinner I whipped up some cheddar cheese puffs (when food snobs make them with parmigiano or gruyère, they're called gougères) from a recipe in the Times' Dining section last week. Sinfully delicious. Then, black miso cod (so easy to make, and almost as good as Nobu's), plus sugar snap peas. And dessert: banana cream whoopie pie from FreshDirect. Wow, I think we stuffed three or four food trends into one meal. The Kabinett was crisp and minerally, and went with the cod like peanut butter goes with jelly. Even Bobby liked it, and he usually runs from white wine like it's hemlock.
I was happy to spend some time in the kitchen since we have been on the go lately. Now, I have homework: must read the chapter for tomorrow night's class.

Two of My Favorite Things

Jude provides me with regular updates from the LOL cats collection. Perhaps it's because her hands have become permanently deformed around her iPhone. Heh heh.
Anyway, this was the best one yet!