Beer pairs better with food than wine…

April 25th, 2010

…or so says Brooklyn Brewery Brewmaster Garrett Oliver.  As Wine Tasting Guy I naturally have to disagree, but I can’t completely diagree…

I have been hearing commercials on the radio with Bewmaster Oliver making his beer pairing proclamation.  It seems the brewmaster is a bit of a beer & food aficionado, and hearing his position regarding beer & food pairing (over and over again), I really got to thinking.

I’m excited about the approaching warmer weather for so many reasons.  While most of them are obvious, one reason I’m excited is that I will be drinking more chilled beverages outdoors.

Sure some of the chilled beverages I’ll be drinking will be beer, but a lot of it will also be wine.  And the exciting part is that I’ll be drinking a lot more white wine in the coming months.

So what does my white wine drinking have to do with beer being a better pairing for food than wine?  Well, though my favorite overall wines are red, I do believe that white wines … pair better with food than red wines.

There I said it.  I can’t take it back.

And beer is more similar in style/freshness to white wine than it is to red wine.

Spicy food, tart foods, creamy foods, fruits, veggies, etc – all better with white wine (or beer) than red wine.

Sure there are some fresh, acidic, low tannin red wines that can pair with the aforementioned foods.

There are also weighty white wines – wines that have been barrel aged or have undergone malolactic fermentation.

But as a whole, light, fresh, crisp, acidic white wines pair better with foods than red wines do.  As do, beers…

Happy food & wine (or beer) pairing!

WTG

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CRUSHPAD is tasting wine online…for charity

April 19th, 2010

I received an email over the weekend.  It seems to have come from an employee of Crushpad, an urban winery based in San Fransisco that I have been casually following over the years.  The sender told me about an upcoming live online (on twitter) wine tasting event.  A portion of the proceeds from this online event will go to a charity supporting children’s literacy (http://www.fledglingwine.com/), so I was happy to help promote the endeavor.

To hear (via video) or see more about this tasting event, you can go here.

Several aspects of this story really peak my interest.  I like the idea of tasting wine & supporting a good cause.  I think tasting wine online with others is kind of cool.  And I really like that the four samples will allow people to compare (and contrast) wines that are made from the same fruit but have been made differently.

The way I understand it, participants will receive four mini-samples (50 ml.) in total – consisting of 2 different wines.  Each of the two wines however had some that has been moved into oak barrels for aging, while some remains in their original “home” – stainless steel tanks.

This is a great way for people to learn about the effects oak barrels have on wine before it is bottled and made into its finished product.

But there is something else here that fascinates me; the little 50ml. (about 1.75 ounces)

I’ve spent several years running around “tasting” (sampling) wine professionals on wines I was selling.  I’ve also watched critics open bottles of wine that barely have a dent put in them before they are unceremoniously poured down an unappreciative drain.  And finally, the expense of mailing journalists wine samples can be so cost prohibitive that some wineries skip the effort & stories often go untold.

The aforementioned uses for these mini-samplers just scratch the surface of their potential uses.  I’m curious how these test-tube like vessels are filled.  Is it done manually or do they have a special bottling line?  Either way this can only be a further positive development for the wine industry & something to keep an eye on.

So go out there, get your very reasonably priced ($14) 4-pack of samples & participate in this educational online wine tasting event!

Happy educational & charitable wine tasting!

WTG

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I’m ba’ack…with Burgundy +

April 11th, 2010

The Passover season now behind me, I’ve run out of excuses for my prolonged absence from the blogging sphere.

In recent weeks I’ve attended two meetings of my Burgundy wine club, and though in the midst of the Passover selling season, I broke away for an hour to visit a favorite portfolio tasting – the annual Polaner tasting on March 16th.

The Polaner tasting is one I’ve written about several times before.  The folks at Polaner have amassed a very impressive portfolio of producers, and the annual tasting is an amazing showcase for those in the industry to speak with the producers and taste the new releases.

An hour is not nearly enough time to make anything more than a cursory dent in the wines offered.  In between talking kosher-wine with several industry contacts, I managed to try at least 1 wine from 14 different producers.  Being partial to the crispness of Burgundian whites I stopped by the tables of Chablis producer Domaine Gilbert Picq whose wines were fresh, bright, clean, crisp & really quite delicious – incredibly versatile wines that are perfect for the approaching warm weather.  I tried some other Burgundian Chardonnay’s and once again re-discovered why so much of the world is trying (and IMO failing) to mimic the Chardonnay of Burgundy.  These wines on the most basic level manage to integrate fruit, wood & acid better than the Chard’s from the rest of the world that are either over-oaky, over creamy (malolactic) or flabby and seriously lacking natural acidity.  But I digress…

I tried some Loire wines & some Champagne and then ventured over to the Italian wines where I had a couple more whites before moving on to the few reds I tried.  Di Barro made a “Mayolet” (not a varietal I was previously familiar with) that was nice, light & fruity.  And I tried a Carricante Bianco from Calabretta that was subtle, spicy & interesting.

Francesco Rinaldi & Figli had 2 Barolo’s whose tannins, fruit, cola flavor & bright acidity I thoroughly enjoyed.  But a producer whose wines have stood out in the past were once again being poured by the proprietor & winemaker – Luca Roagna of Roagna Winery.  I’ve been WOWed by the wines of Roagna at previous Polaner tastings and I was not disappointed on this occasion.  The white – the 2005 Langhe Bianco Solea made from 95% chardonnay & 5% nebbiolo was incredibly unique, showing bubblegum, nutmeg & floral characteristics.   The 2000 Barbaresco Paje had black cherry, tar & earthy traits, showed a bit of (pleasant) oxidation, had huge gripping tannins and a LONG finish.  The 2005 Barolo Vigna Rionda also showed red & black fruit, tar & earth, but this wine was fresh with a wild (and again PLEASANT) manure aroma.  LOVED IT!  Finally, Luca as is his custom, rinsed my glass with the next wine to be tasted and poured a Barolo Chinato (dessert wine) that had amazing dark spice characteristics ranging from nutmeg & cinnamon to basil & rosemary with appealing floral & perfume aromas.  Nice!

As indicated above, I recently participated in two Burgundy club tastings.  The first a few weeks ago and the second this past week.  A few weeks ago we did Corton…

and this past week we did Volnay…

Without getting into too many details, I continue to find most of these wines to be rather remarkable.  Lively & complex is how I would put it most succinctly.  But overall, these wines are funky, long lived, and loaded with character.

My favorite of the Corton is tough to call as these Grand Cru Burgundy’s were all uniquely special.  But if pushed into a corner I’d say the ’95 Corton Renardes (Gaunoux) Grand Cru was my favorite as this brick orange wine started with aromas of wet leaves & earthiness.  It evolved to show mocha, red berries & some cola.  On the palate it had great acidity, nice fruit & a minerally earthiness that was fresh & lively.  The only disappointment was its finish which was long but maybe not as long as some others.

The Volnay tasting was a real treat – six 1er Cru wines, all but one from the 90′s.  But here my favorite was indisputable – the Comte Armand Volnay Fremiet 1er Cru 1999.  This deep clear ruby wine had cherry pie, earth, pine needle & mushrooms aromas.  On the palate it showed cherry cola & tart berries.  It was soft, plush, lite, fresh & lively with silky tannins and a finish that seemed to go on & on & on & on….  WOW!  But there is more.  After we tasted through the 6 wines once we re-visited.  I thought all the wines showed better the second time around (maybe ’cause I was a bit buzzed at this point) and the ’99 Comte Armand opened up to show violets, roses & an overall perfume nose that was not there the first taste.  A premier Cru Burgundy that can be had for about $75 and was IMO the star of the night.

I welcome you all back following my prolonged absence.  Going forward I will probably continue to WRITE less, but I do intend to introduce a new dynamic to the blog…more details to follow…

Happy wine tasting!

WTG

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Best Bet Passover Wines – Vol 2.1

March 7th, 2010

Ahhh…Israeli wines.  A combination of two things I most cherish (along with my wife & family of course) in this world; Israel & wine.

Working in the wine industry has afforded me many opportunities to taste wines.  In recent years however it has also prevented me from participating in wine events (such as the Gotham Kosher wine Extravaganza) in the role of wine writer as I had in previous years.  As such there may be wines I will write about strictly on how I remember them (probably previous vintages) or based recommendation from respected friends.  And further, there may be wines that I omit, as negative feelings following a break up (professional) prevents me from speaking nicely about an Ex.

Many of my favorite Israeli wines Read the rest of this entry »

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Best Bet Passover Wines – Vol 2.0

March 4th, 2010

I’ve been writing this blog for about 2 1/2 years now.  And the most popular post I’ve written was the Best Bet Kosher Israeli wines for Passover post in March of 2008.  since that post I’ve gained 2 years of wine wisdom and there are many new kosher wines on the market.  So with Passover a short 25 days away, I thought what better time to update this most popular of posts.

Though the Zionist in me is partial to Israeli wines, the reality is that there are some sub-par Israeli wines and some excellent wines being produced in other regions of the world.  So we’ll expand this version to include the best kosher wines from throughout the world.

Lets start in Argentina, where Baron Benjamin Rothschild is producing Malbec under the Flechas de Los Andes label.  There is a non-kosher version of this wine that is very popular and can be found in stores all over.  The kosher version ($25-30) was made in much smaller quantities and is Read the rest of this entry »

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Viruses & phoney wine

February 24th, 2010

OK, I have slacked of late.  Based on my blog stats it seems I slacked SO much that I have even lost some readers.  I hope you will forgive me and come back for my uber compelling wine prose.  I’m full of excuses.  It is my busy season (50% of kosher wine is sold in the 4-8 weeks leading up to Passover).  I’ve been traveling all over the place – I’m actually writing this from Logan International Airport in Boston (my flight is delayed or I would not have even had a chance to write it).  And about 20 minutes into a post this past Sunday night, my computer was taken over by a nasty virus that my fabulous IT guy has not been able to fix (yet – I hope).

But you don’t want excuses.  You want action.  The latest wine related story of interest relates to FAKE PINOT NOIR.  Huh?  What is fake Pinot Noir?  When I was working in Napa winemakers told me about “hiding” merlot in their Cabernet, but here it seems bulk wine producers were actually trying to pass off a merlot (blended it seems with Syrah) AS ACTUAL Pinot Noir.

The wine in question is E&J Gallo’s “Red Bicyclette”.

http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2010/2/17/1266439393061/Pinot-noir-004.jpg

Apparently Gallo paid these 8 growers & bulk wine producers from the Southern France Languedoc region in excess of 7 million Euro for said fake wine.  On the bulk level that amounts to…well, a lot of cheap wine.  Oh, and this scam had apparently been going on for over 2 years.  So if you had this wine – you might have been PINOT-ed!

Whether it is fake expensive Bordeaux, fake Brunello or fake Georges Duboeuf wine, it seems pulling the wool over unsuspecting wine drinkers is easy enough.  Apparently testing wine to determine exactly what it is can be difficult, costly & inaccurate.

This makes me think more and more that if you tell consumers that a wine is highly rated or very expensive that they will (as has been scientifically proven) believe that it is a good wine.  I’m not saying you can give a regular wine drinker crappy wine and expect him to believe it is a first growth Bordeaux.  But I do believe that it is further proof that the line between a very good and what some call “great” wines is a very thin line indeed.

Happy who knows what the heck you are drinking wine tasting!

WTG

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Good news beer lovers…beer is good for you!

February 11th, 2010

A quick news story to report.  University of California Davis has released the results of a story that says beer is good for your bones!

http://www.dietsinreview.com/diet_column/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/beer.jpg

An analysis of 100 commercial varieties found that beer is a good source of dietary silicon, which is important for bone health and could help prevent diseases like osteoporosis.

“Beers containing high levels of malted barley and hops are richest in silicon,” said Charles Bamforth, the lead researcher.
“Choose the beer you enjoy. Drink it in moderation. It is contributing silicon (and more) to your good health,” Bamforth added.

Happy healthy Beer chugging!

WTG

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Kosher Food & Wine has arrived

February 5th, 2010

My posts have been increasingly inconsistent of late as my new job has me working night and day representing amazing wines and helping to plan fabulous events.

This past week saw it all come together with the culmination of the 4th annual “Kosher Restaurant & Wine Experience” on Feb 1 in NYC & the 3rd annual “International Food & Wine Festival” on Feb 3rd in Oxnard, CA.

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I helped out with a bit of the planning for the NYC event and have been ecstatic to hear all the positive feedback (with a dash of criticism thrown in of course).

And while I had little (OK, nothing) to do with the planning of the West Coast event, I was privileged to represent Israeli standout wineries Carmel & Yatir – whose wines also received rave reviews from the attendees.

Though high priced items such as the Yatir “Forest” attracted lots of attention, having spent MANY hours (on my feet) pouring the Carmel/Yatir wines I found that people were pleasantly surprised by the resurgence of Carmel and the new “Private Collection” (new label & no longer mevushal/flash pasteurized) & “Appellation” series wines.  Though the Appellation Carignan & Petite Sirah (both old vines incidentally) have been cult favorites for years among Israeli wine lovers, other Appellation wines such as the 2007 Cab Franc (in NY) or the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz (in CA) were also very positively received.

Though my wife makes fun of my food critiquing, I am far from a food critic (can you say Food Tasting Guy?).  Yet I managed to sneak away from my post at the CA show a few times and marveled at the culinary genius of Tierra Sur Chef Todd Aaron’s creative and delectable cuisine.  It was so good I reserved a precious spot to go back for dinner prior to my return flight to NY early next week.  Now if I can only figure out a way to get the company to cover the tab…

Happy mind blowing-ly good KOSHER food & wine tasting!

WTG

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Bad wine – what to say (or not say)?

January 31st, 2010

We live at a time when there is lots of good wine on the market.  Modern technology and competition have respectively both enabled and forced wineries to make wines of high quality.  Even the cheap (budget) wines out there are drinkable.  But what about those are just plain bad?  As a wine writer and aspiring wine V-logger how do I handle the issue of reviewing a bad wine?  How do the PAID wine critics face themselves after announcing to their readers that someone’s hard work is crap?

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For the most part, I have tried to follow the old adage; “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”.  If I thought a wine was bad, I would simply say NOTHING.  Don’t write about it.  And even if I thought a wine was mediocre, I might write the positives about the wine, and skip the mediocre parts.  But does this hurt my credibility?  Can I be taken seriously if I only have nice things to say?  What of the controversial wine panning?  Dare I potentially burn bridges out there?  Will I piss people off if I say that I think their wine sucks?

An argument can be made for both sides.  But I think the reality is that I can not play both sides of the fence.  And things have gotten even murkier…I am now working within the industry for an importer/manufacturer/producer of wine.  Even if I managed to somehow remain unbiased, I think my employer would be pretty pissed if I had anything bad to say about their wines.  And they would have every right to feel the way they did.

Moving forward, as I figure out how to VLOG (uploading & editing video can’t be THAT hard, can it?), I will start regularly popping corks (twisting caps) on bottles that have been sent to me over the past few months.  Though I am sure these people aren’t gonna thank me if I have less than complimentary things to say, it will be hard to hide my expression on video.  So I guess that will keep things REAL.

And as to the wines I work with, well, I’ll try to include a disclosure of sorts as the industry is attempting to move to greater transparency & I believe I must play by the rules if I want to maintain professional credibility.

On an only somewhat related note, I would be remiss if I did not mention a big event taking place tomorrow night.  I have helped out a bit in the planning of this event.  It is the big KOSHER RESTAURANT & WINE EXPERIENCE.  This is the 4th year this annual event is taking place.  This year there will be about 20 food purveyors to go along with the 40+ wineries.  The response has been tremendous.  Looks like another sellout.  Shoot me a message and introduce yourself if you will be there.  We’ll have a drink…on me;)

Happy Wine Critic free wine tasting!

WTG

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Confessions of a wine blogger

January 19th, 2010

I’m preparing to fly to KC to lead a wine tasting in a few days.  But not before I head to Boston to do a wine training.  I was recently asked my opinion about a wine by the CEO of a multi-million dollar wine importer.  And today I was asked to be a contributing writer to a well regarded wine website.  SO WHO THE HECK AM I???… Read the rest of this entry »

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