Archive for the ‘Wine STUFF’ Category

Chambers Street wines follow up

Sunday, August 3rd, 2008

Ahhh, what a day. Made my way to Yankee Stadium this afternoon during what is the final season at the original Yankee stadium for a game against the Anaheim Angels who have in recent years dominated the Yankees. The Angels won the first two games of the 4 game series and the Yankees won yesterday. So today the Yankees needed a win to salvage a split of the 4 game series. Things started off poorly as the Angels jumped out to a 5-0 lead. Seemed like the beginning of another long afternoon at the stadium. But a solo HR by the newest Yankee; “Pudge” Rodriguez followed by some timely hitting by another recent Yankee acquisition, Xavier Nady and the stadium was rocking as the Yankees managed 8 runs over three innings to take an 8-5 lead. Two outs into the top of the 8th inning and things seemed great as Yankee reliever Edwar Ramirez was cruising. But in the blink of an eye the Angels loaded the bases and New Angel Mark Texiera hit a grand slam – Angels lead 9-8. On this day however Xavier Nady was not done and a 3-run homer plus some other clutch hitting and the Yankees scored 6 in the bottom of the 8th to retake the lead, 14-9, that would prove to ultimately be the final score.

Yankee wine

Following a great baseball game I went to the gym for a quickie workout and then went shopping to pick up some stuff for dinner. Quinoa with mushrooms. A salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, avocado, mushrooms, hearts of palm & yellow corn. And for the main, a pistachio crusted tilapia. (more…)

Dumbing down wine – has it gone too far?

Tuesday, July 29th, 2008

Those of you who are long time readers know that I really can not stand the remaining pretension that exists in the wine industry. The truth is that aside from select snooty restaurants or the occasional stuck up sommelier it seems to me that A LOT of the pretension that ONCE existed within the wine world seems to have become “socially incorrect”. Even those who think they are brilliant wine connoisseurs seem to hide any possible holier-than-thou attitude.

“I’m not drinking any f*cking Merlot!” Giamati

But at what point is this ANTI-PRETENSION going TOO far?? (more…)

Wine & Temperature

Sunday, July 27th, 2008

I have written about these wine storage and serving issues before, but I figured I’d re-print this short article written by a favorite wine writer of mine – Laurie Daniel.

Wine temrature

IN YOUR CAR: Put it in a cooler or other insulated container. (more…)

Champagne Granita

Saturday, July 26th, 2008

Champagne is simply sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France. Sparkling wine is also made in regions all over the world. In Spain it is known as Cava while from Italy it is Prosecco. Here in the good old US of A, it is known simply as Sparkling wine or as my friends in Napa like to call it “bubbly”.

I don’t write a lot about sparkling wine and I must admit that I still have a lot to learn and much palate training to be done when it comes to sparkling wine. That said, I HAD to write about this frozen drink concoction. “Champagne Granita” (which can also be made from any sparkling wine) is made simply by freezing the bubbly together with some other sweet liquid (varies depending upon exact recipe – see below) and scraping up the frozen stuff (shaved ice) just like the ices they sell on the street (at least here in NYC). From there all you need to do is add your favorite garnish (berries, mint, cut fruit, etc.) & serve. Yummy…

Champagne Granita

The food network has a great recipe by Bobby Flay here, while other variations can be found on the Global gourmet site or Cocktail times.

What a delicious looking way to beat the summer heat!

Happy frozen bubbly tasting!

WTG

Bargain Wine Shopping

Sunday, July 20th, 2008

I just finished reading an interesting article in the San Fransisco Chronicle online “Pro’s Guide To Bargain Shopping“.  The author of the article Jon Bonne’ had 3 sommeliers buy a weeks worth of wine at an average of $10/bottle & report their finds back to him.  The results were mixed, but what I found most interesting about the article were some tips for finding these bargain (AKA CHEAP) wines.

Cheap Red Wine

First was the idea that one of the things that dictates price is its actual cost.  A novel concept huh?  (more…)

How to hold a wine glass

Saturday, July 19th, 2008

I’ve taken some slack from friends and contemporaries lately for being a “wine snob”. I really don’t think of myself as an “anything snob”, but…

Last night I attended a very nice Friday night dinner with guys I play basketball with. Two of the players hosted the meal. At the dinner as we were all enjoying some wine I was reminded of an episode with a friend and fellow baller. This friend was at a wine tasting thrown in the apartment of a 3rd friend (also a fellow baller) where I not too subtly pointed out a problem with his glass. It was FILTHY. Some of the snacks served at this party was nuts, cheese & crackers – salty, greasy foods. Drinking wine and eating said (finger) foods can lead to a nasty little problem if one doesn’t know how to properly hold their wine glass…

fingerprints wine glass

OK, call me a wine snob. I suppose that is a label I can live with. But the point is that holding a wine glass by the bowl presents some problems.

The first, known by many is the influence it has on the temperature of the wine. (more…)

Wine Cocktails or “Winetails”

Thursday, July 17th, 2008

Wine Cocktails have gotten a lot of press lately (OK, the press that I read).  And as yet another summer heat wave hits NYC this weekend, I am thinking less and less about my beloved reds (even though I do enjoy them at about 60-65 degrees) and more and more about COOL REFRESHING beverages.  I am not a mixologist (although maybe I should be), but good mixologists seem to be in high demand these days.  Especially those that can concoct a good wine cocktails.

mixologist

Jason Wilson wrote a great article for the Washington Post, “A Lighter Way To Mix It Up“, discussing the idea of wine cocktails and detailing a few such concoctions. (more…)

Drinking wine from…a PLASTIC wine “glass”…

Monday, July 14th, 2008

One of the places I went out to over the weekend was a rooftop bar.  It is outdoors, gets pretty hectic, and they DO have more than just red & white wine.  OK, it was only Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc for white OR Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir for Red, but hey, that is an improvement over much of the typical “sure we have wine, what would you like, red or white?”.

But what i thought was most weird about the night was WHAT they were serving the wine in.  No, it wasn’t bad stemware…it was PLASTIC stemware!

plastic cup

OK, I understand how an outdoor  rooftop might warrant plastic stemware, but when this “bar” was serving no-name wines at $11 per glass….I mean cup…a few people I was with wondered out loud.  We thought that one of the justifications for charging so much $$ for drinks was the breakage or pilferage.  These hard plastic cups can not break, and who is going to want to pilfer one?

Again, given the circumstances, not a BIG SIN, but a bit tacky, don’t you think…???

Happy NICE STEMWARE wine tasting!

WTG

bizarre/antiquated state laws overturned

Sunday, July 13th, 2008

I must admit that I was at a loss for things to write about today and turned to a trusty site, Wine & Spirits Daily, for some fodder.  Luckily, Megan wrote about some wine/spirits related state laws that have recently been repealed.  The days full report (where the following excerpt was taken) can be found here.

Beer Prayer

From Wine & Spirits Daily, July 10th:

Colorado became the 35th state this week to allow residents to buy alcohol on Sundays, reports the Associated Press. The new law replaces a 1933 statute requiring liquor stores to close on Sunday, and also allows Coloradans to buy normal-strength beer on Sundays. Before, residents could only purchase reduced-strength, 3.2 percent alcohol beer at grocery stores on Sundays.

In Idaho, residents can now purchase spirits on Election Day, with a new law that replaces a 1939 measure intended to prevent the trading of alcohol for votes. (more…)

How COOL is your beverage?

Thursday, July 10th, 2008

When looking to chill your favorite beverage, what temperature do you choose? How vague is it to say serve at “room temperature”? What is room temperature? 70 degrees (21 Celsius)? 75 degrees (24)?

Most people are familiar with the adage that one should drink red wine at room temperature. Given today’s central heating (and cooling as the case may be) this room temperature rule of thumb is simply not accurate.

I bring up temperature as I have been trying to give my reds some chilling time before serving lately and many people are surprised by this. I’m not as good about doing this in the winter time, but in the summer, drinking a HOT red wine is just NOT FUN (not that hot wine is fun in the winter, but…).

I have seen countless articles the past few weeks about beating the heat with cool beverages.

wine beach
(more…)