wine in the news
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Classic Food and Wine Pairings: Sauvignon Blanc + Goat Cheese
For years, I have been aware of several classic food and wine parings and have used them to my advantage on many occasions ("we have to open this syrah — we're eating lamb!"). I have also had some terrific experiences with amazing food and wine pairings in the past. This is something that restaurants can do very well, but at home, most great pairings were almost accidental — the result of a very successful guess or stroke of luck as opposed to premeditation and comprehensive knowledge. So I set out to my favorite wine shop to talk shop (well, wine) with the experts.
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New Food and Wine Pairings: Vegetarian Fare
Early in my journey of discovering wine, I single-handedly (and perhaps somewhat arrogantly) concluded that it was impossible for a vegetarian to fully appreciate wine as a meat-eater could. I felt that there was no way for someone who abstained from animal fat to enjoy the rich and powerful red wines I had come to love and establish in my mind, naïvely, as the point of reference for wine in general. But that was then; my perspective is more nuanced now, as a result of having learned a great deal through tasting and formal study. And although I still don't believe a vegetarian can fully appreciate the synergy of a full-bodied red wine well-matched with food, I do acknowledge the plethora of wines that actually beautifully complement vegetable or grain dishes. But there's a catch to pairing vegetarian food.
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Classic Food and Wine Pairings: Pinot Noir + Duck Breast
I love duck. It has long been one of my very favorite things. I love duck breast cooked just under medium with a nice crisp layer on that wonderful fat. I love duck confit, duck stock, Chinese duck and scallion pancakes, and duck skin cracklins — it's all fantastic! And while I'm professing love for things, how about pinot noir: I love the sweet and musty Carneros pinots, I love the amazing pinots coming from Oregon (I went to Willamette a few years back), and I have had my share of amazing earthy burgundy as well. Though I don't consider myself a wine expert, I know enough to know how little I know, and this makes me eager to learn and appreciate. So when I embarked on this exploration of classic food and wine pairings, I jumped on the duck and Pinot Noir idea and never looked back.
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Recent Reviews+Interviews
Spotlight on Blue Moon Wines
Once in a blue moon. That's about how frequently we find deep-value driven wines in the marketplace that are actually worth more than the bottles in which the come. At the $7 or $8 per bottle price point, it's frankly next to impossible to get anything decent, especially among California wines. In fact, I generally recommend against spending anything below $10; my belief is that it's better to spend a couple of extra dollars in order to really get your money's worth. But there are exceptions. One of these is Blue Moon Wines, a California producer with New York Italian roots that produces a few lines of value-driven wines, which can be found in some west coast markets for about $7 retail. I met with the company's president, Anthony Scotto III, to talk about his mission for providing budget-conscious customers with solid California wines as well as his views on the value market as a whole.
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Napa Winery Elaborates Two Styles of Cabernet from its Steep Hillside Vineyards — An Interview with the Talent Behind Spring Mountain Vineyard —
Grace and Complexity. Power and Intensity. These are the discrete expressions of Cabernet Sauvignon that we tend to associate respectively with the Old and New World. Yet one Napa Valley winery, in tapping the fullest potential of its mountainside grapevines, seems to have succeeded in articulating both. In doing so, Spring Mountain Vineyard, located on the eastern slope of the elevation bearing its name, has managed to carve a distinct niche for itself among the region's numerous other quality-driven producers. Having been struck by the craftsmanship of its recent vintages, I resolved to peel back the label of this premium brand in an effort to get to the root of its winegrowing strategy. And so, in the context of a visit to the charmingly bucolic estate high above the town of St. Helena, I met with winemaker Jac Cole, vineyard manager Ron Rosenbrand, and publicist Valli Ferrell, who collectively showcased all that lends panache to the wines of Spring Mountain Vineyard.
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A Dream Solidifies into the Wine Caves of VinRoc, atop Napa's Atlas Peak
Between the rocky soil of its hillside vineyard and the granite encountered during the excavation of its wine cave, VinRoc has had a solid theme of rock running through its story. I had initially met its proprietors, Kiky and Michael Parmenter, during the annual Family Winemakers tasting event, whereupon I sampled wines from their small but super-premium portfolio. Months later, I sat down with Michael to learn more about the handcrafting of VinRoc's robust and elegant Cabernet Sauvignon as well as the building of its rather unique wine facility. What I gathered turned out to be an inspiring story about the seemingly effortless evolution of a mountaintop brand and its ambitious drive towards quality.
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wine in the news
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