New Idea

I've been thinking about the lack of posts here and decided to try something a little different. Maybe it will get me here more often. What I'm thinking is to do more tasting notes and less verbiage...at least for a little while. It will also be a good way for me to catelogue the wines I taste and keep track of what I like and more importantly, what I don't. I'll keep you posted...

It's Been Awhile....

OK, so it's been awhile since the last post...several months to be slightly more precise. So here goes. Last night I went to a friend's house. Whenever we go there, one thing can be assured, the wine will be great. I fried a turkey (which if you've never tried, you have to...no other way to eat the bird, except maybe smoking it) and he supplied the grape.

When I fry a turkey, I always brine it. Brining adds great flavor and moisture to the turkey. For a 15 lbs. bird, I use 2 gallons of water, 2 cups diamond crystal kosher salt (different kosher salts weigh different amounts, so if you use morton's, for example, you need to adjust the amount of salt downward), and 1 cup of sugar. For this particular turkey/brine, I also added about 1/2 cup of Frank's Hot Sauce (much better than Tabasco). The length of time you brine depends on the weight of the thing being brined (actually, thanks to my son Jake, I now know that it isn't really the weight, but the mass). For a 15 lbs turkey, you brine for the maximum amount of time, 8 hours.

After you finish brining, dry well coat the skin well with salt, pepper or your favorite rub and fry in 35 lbs of peanut oil (3 minutes per pound plus 5 minutes). Pull it out, let it rest and eat....

The Wine:

2004 d'Arenberg The Dead Arm - McLaren Vale Shiraz. (RP95) Like most Australian Shiraz, the "Dead Arm," is not shy on color. It's inky purple, almost blackish, with a great nose. When you stick your nose into the glass and breath in, it's almost like inhaling wine perfume. Blackberry, black cherry and vanilla with pepper, spice and a little bit of petroleum (believe it or not). The wine itself does not disappoint. You almost have to close your eyes when you taste it. The wine has great mouth feel with solid velvety tannins and all the flavor I smelled plus chocolate (and more that I couldn't place) and a great finish. This is a great wine, expensive and worth the $55-65/bottle price.

I Made the Big Time!!!

My friends know that even though I pretend not to be, I am something of a narcissist. With that in mind, I think that everyone should go to the New York Times (on line) and check out the article that mentions lil ole me.

click here: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/08/business/smallbusiness/09webshift-1-backf-biz-34-43.html?ex=1341806400&en=559a8dcbda52d07c&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Wine Library TV

Unfortunately, Time Magazine beat me to the punch and revealed my newest dark secret.... I, like many others, can now come out of the closet and admit to family, co-workers and friends my addiction. No longer do I need to hid or skulk in the shadows as I hunt for a fix. I can now admit, "MY NAME IS MIKE BRENNAN AND I AM A WINE LIBRARY TV ADDICT".

For anyone, like me, who has an interest in learning about wine and doesn't buy into wine snobbery, please check this out. Every day, more or less, there is a new wine tasting to which we are now all invited. The site is run by Gary Vaynerchuk, who runs his family's business, Wine Library in NJ. (http://www.winelibrary.com/). His irrational and logic-defying love of the NY Jets, hasn't seemed to affect his palate and wine knowledge. I've found that I've agreed with the reviews where I had actually tasted the wines. The Wine Library's prices and selection are both reasonable and impressive. Unfortunately, until the Massachusetts legislature pulls their collective heads out of their asses, you can't buy their wine on-line and ship to MA.

In the past, I have fallen into the "more expensive means better" pitfall. I know this isn't true and my daily fix of Wine Library TV gives me something to think about and makes me think a little more about QPR. Whether your looking for old world wines or new world fruit bombs, WLTV has something for everyone. After a long hiatus, I even started drinking white wine again after 2 recent episodes (one about Reislings, which, if you haven't tried, you really need to).

Bottom line, this site is one of the greatest gems of the wine world. Find it. Subscribe to it. Watch it. Join the revolution. "Because YOU with little bit of me, we're changing the wine world aren't we........"

Beehive Restaurant and Bedell Cellars 2005 Taste Red

We went to a new and allegedly hip new restaurant last night in Boston's South End called the Beehive. It's located on Tremont Street at the BCA. Only opened two weeks, the service was good, the seating cramped, the food OK and wine list limited.

Our reservations were at 7 pm and we were seated promptly (so far so good). The waiter was friendly, attentive and knowledgeable (also good). The cocktails were also good. The waiter suggested a surprisingly good wine from, of all places, Long Island, NY.

"2005 Taste Red" is made by Bedell Cellars, which I believe is on the North fork of Long Island, this is a small production wine that tasted very much like a left bank Bordeaux. The wine is 55% Merlot 25% Cabernet Sauvignon 10% Cabernet Franc, and (here is the difference) 10% Syra. It's aged for 15 months in new French Oak barrels. Again, for what I was expecting, it was very good. It smelled of barnyard and ripe fruit and had a very forward blackberry fruit and currant taste and firm tannins. For a younger wine, it was well balanced and well structured. The upside, I thought it was worth $50 at a restaurant, but looked on-line and found it for as low as $24.00, but retails for $30ish. For $30, I can buy 2-3 bottles of either fabulous Spanish reds, Southern Hemisphere reds or even French reds (e.g., Chateau d'Oupia ).

All in all, Beehive didn't remotely deliver on the hype and towards the end, things went from pretty good to really pretty bad. The place showcases bands and because it was a Saturday night things were busy. A little after 9:00, the waiter (on instructions, I'm sure) came over to let us know that there was another party waiting for our table. We weren't offered dessert, coffee or after dinner drinks. It was basically, "thanks for coming. See ya". To quote my friend Sarah, who we went with, the place was "big on attitude and not much on gratitude."

This place hasn't been opened long enough to cop an attitude like that. If you're looking for a hip/scene kind of place, I'm sure you can find better, hipper and tastier places with a more extensive wine list.

Bordeaux Bargains: 2003 Chateau Greysac

By guest contributor Adam L. Sisitsky

Forgive me lest I sound the snob but I really enjoy a good Bordeaux. Whether it's a Quatrieme Cru from Saint-Julien or a Bordeaux Superieur from the Medoc, there really is something to be said for the notion of terroir and the chance to enjoy the depth and complexity of a wine beyond just "the fruit." Don't get me wrong: if you can't appreciate the flavor and aroma of an explosive, jammy Australian Shiraz (see Mike's prior post on the recent Mollydooker wines which are just tremendous) then there must be something wrong with you. But (forgive the analogy) as much as I like the action and entertainment of a flashy Tom Cruise movie, or the zippy, make-you-cringe humor of the next Will Ferrell film, there is something special about the cinematic experience of a Roberto Begnini picture (or whatever the latest sub-titled art-house film that gives you something to think about). Thus the beauty of Bordeaux. The good ones give you something to think about. Of course, there is always the issue of cost. And as much as I don't think Napoleon III was giving much thought to "marketing" when he tasked the various French wine regions with coming up with classifications for their wines back in 1855, that certainly has been one of the profitable after-effects realized by the old Châteaux Bordelais. When you start ranking things that people buy - whatever those things may be - the higher ranked ones generally end up costing more. Whether it is justified or not.

That's why as much as I enjoy a good Bordeaux, I especially enjoy a good value Bordeaux. Let's face it, unless you run with the Hedge Fund Crowd that my buddy Mike usually hangs with (simple country lawyer, my ass!) most of the truly special Bordeaux wines are out-of-reach cost-wise, or at the very least reserved for that rare special occasion when one can somehow rationalize dropping a few-hundred dollars on a 750ml glass bottle filled with a blend of fermented grape juice.

The 2003 Chateau Greysac is precisely the type of good value Bordeaux that I love to find. I'll admit to being a Parker fan (even more so since he signed Bordeaux aficionado Neal Martin to his team this year), and although I try to follow his tasting notes more than the actual scores, I think it is significant that Parker gave this vintage an 88 -- the highest score he's ever given a Greysac.

Located in the Medoc region of Bordeaux, Chateau Greysac lies to the north of Saint Estephe, near the towns of By and Begadan. Its vineyards are comprised of about 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot. The average age of the vines is 30 years. Classified as a "Cru Bourgeois" since 1978, Greysac produces approximately 45,000 cases per year. With a new ownership group that came in 1973, the Chateau has since made great strides in updating and renovating its facilities and has brought in a series of renowned wine-making consultants to assist with improvements.

While I agree with Parker's assessment that the 2003 is a tasty "medium-bodied" wine (albeit a deep, ruby-hued one), I find it to be more on the "fuller" side of "medium." The cherry/berry flavors jump out for sure, but there is definitely enough tannin, smoke and texture to let you know where this wine comes from. There is Bordeaux terroir to this wine for sure (along with a nice textured finish). And at about $14 ($13.95 at www.capitalwine.net) it is priced at a point that I can open a bottle on a week-night and not feel guilty about it. Well, regardless of guilt, at least I can truthfully tell my wife how much I paid for it without provoking one of "those looks." In sum, if you're looking for a Bordeaux that won't make you recoil when the credit-card statement arrives, but that still captures the taste, flavor and feel of what one comes to expect from this special part of France, give this wine a try.

28 Degrees

28 Degrees is located in Boston's trendy South End. They offer valet parking ($16) and a pretty good menu and wine list. The restaurant is a great people watching space with comfortable booths that surround a pretty "cool" bar area where the hip young beatiful people hang out (I am neither young, hip, nor beautiful, so I don't know what I was doing at the bar, but I was there). Although the restaurant offers a great drink menu (the frozen peach bellini martini was really good), the menu is fairly deceptive. It looks like a regular menu, but is really intended to be eaten by groups, family style. The waiter described that the restaurant is self-described as a tapas style restaurant and suggested that we order accordingly. That information in hand, the menu made more sense.

Being a tapas restaurant, we ordered Rioja and the sommelier did what many restaurants now do (which I find really annoying), they brought out a different year (More in a later post). The rioja we ordered was a 2000 Riserva, but were given a 2001. Now, frankly, I don't know if we were being given the deal of the century or getting screwed, but I want to read a wine list, make a choice and get what I ordered or be informed that they don't have year "x" but can still offer the wine in year "y". Instead, as so many other restaurants now do, they try to pawn off the bottle like its the same thing and look at us crazily if we mention the fact that the listed wine if for a different year. That said the wine and food was reasonably priced and pretty good.

Bordeaux - A Beginners Guide to French Wine

The Red wines from Bordeaux are primarily blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. White wines from the region are usually blends of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. To really understand Bordeaux, it’s is important to understand a little about the history of France. If you don’t want to learn that much about France, it’s enough to know that French wine, unlike the wines of other places are named for the places they are grown/made. Bordeaux is always and only from Bordeaux. Médoc wines only come from the Médoc area of Bordeaux. Champagne is only from Champagne and similar wines are not Champagne, but are sparkling wines.

Bordeaux is divided by the Gironde River and understanding this is the key to understanding Bordeaux. It tells you where the grapes are from, which usually will tell you the dominant grape and, therefore, style of wine (remember the wine guy at the store describing a particular wine as either left bank or right bank as you nodded your head cluelessly? I do.)

The Left Bank (Médoc/Haut-Médoc)

This area of Bordeaux is located on the northern tip of Bordeaux on the left bank (west) of the Gironde River. South of the Médoc is Haut-Médoc, which includes the villages of St-Estèphe, Moulis, Listrac, Pauillac, St-Julien and Margaux.

Here, as they say, Cabernet is King. During great years, wines produced here can be aged for years or even decades. When wine drinkers think of Cabernet, they think of Bordeaux and that means left-bank. There wines are always blends, but the dominant grape is cabernet sauvignon (which I just learned was produced by a making a hybrid of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc, go figure). Most of the left bank cabs I have tasted have been on the more austere side, but, when done right these wines are powerhouses with intense flavors or very reserved with a great amount of elegance.

The Right Bank (Pomerol & St. Emilion)

To the east of the Gironde estuary (Right Bank) are the Chateaux of Pomerol and St-Emilion. In addition to these more well-known appellations, the right bank includes Lalande-de-Pomerol, Lussac-St-Emilion, Montagne-St-Emilion, Puisseguin-St-Emilion and St-Georges-St-Emilion. The dominant grape here is Merlot which thrives in clay rich soil and produces a softer, rounder, more fruit-forward wine and tends to be a little more drinkable for regular old wine lovers than the sometimes more powerful wines of the left-bank.

Lesser Appellations

The less prominent appellations of Bordeaux are certainly worth knowing about. This is where you can get great French wine for a fraction of the price of the wines listed above. In previous postings, I have mentioned Chateau D’Oupia and other inexpensive (NOT cheap) French wines. Many came/come from the areas listed here: Just west of Pomerol are Fronsac and Canon-Fronsac. Further north are the Premières Côtes de Blaye and the Côtes de Bourg, producing mostly red wines. To the east of St-Emilion are the Côtes de Castillon and the Côtes de Francs.

On the east bank of the Garonne, the Premières Côtes de Bordeaux is better known for sweet wines, but it also produces dry wines, both red, white, and rosé.

Sauternes

While on vacation last summer, I read a fantastic book about French wine and history of French wine industry. The title of the book, Noble Rot, refers to a fungus (Botrytis cinerea) which infects the grapes and increases their sugar content and allowing sweet wines like Sauternes and Tokays to be made. These wines are often very expensive because of they are supposed to be very labor intensive to make. Some of the better producers also hold back stock making the wines more expensive due to a lack of supply.

Having said that, these delicious dessert wines with tastes of honey suckle, ripe apple and pear are found on the west bank of the Garonne, south of Graves. Within Sauternes is the commune of Barsac, which also contains a number of top properties. Interestingly, wines from Barsac may be made from grapes form either the Barsac or Sauternes appellations.

Bordeaux Wine Classifications

In 1855, in preparation for Napolean III’s University of Paris Expo, the Gironde Chamber of Commerce requested that wine producing estates of Bordeaux be classified or ranked to accompany its display of fine wines for the visitors from around the world. The Bordeaux Wine Brokers Union devised the rankings that are still in use today. Essentially what they did was to rank the Chateaux of Bordeaux from best to worst. In doing so, they came up with a five-class ranking system of the red wines from the Medoc region, with the exception of Chateau Haut-Brion (which is from Graves), because it was widely recognized as an exeptional wine. Included in these rankings were the white bordeaux of Sauternes and Barsac. They were placed into a two-class ranking (except for Chateau d’Yquem, which was classified as Premier Cru Supérieur. It is the only wine, red or white to receive that classification, which means “First Great Growth”).

While these rankings often do not mean that a top ranked chateaux wine will be better than a lesser chateaux, it does add to the cache of the wine and, usually, the price and availability of the wine at market.

*The following is a list of the original 1855 Classification of Medoc wines:

First Growths (Premiers Crus) Commune

Château Lafite-Rothschild (Pauillac)
Château Margaux (Margaux)
Château Latour (Pauillac)
Château Haut-Brion Pessac (Graves)
Château Mouton-Rothschild (Pauillac)

Second Growths (Deuxièmes Crus) Commune
Château Rausan-Ségla (Margaux)
Château Rauzan-Gassies (Margaux)
Château Léoville-Las Cases (Saint-Julien)
Château Léoville-Poyferré (Saint-Julien)
Château Léoville-Barton (Saint-Julien)
Château Durfort-Vivens (Margaux)
Château Gruaud-Larose (Saint-Julien)
Château Lascombes (Margaux)
Château Brane-Cantenac Cantenac (Margaux)
Château Pichon-Longueville-Baron (Pauillac)
Château Pichon-Longueville, Comtesse de Lalande (Pauillac)
Château Ducru-Beaucaillou (Saint-Julien)
Château Cos d'Estournel (Saint-Estèphe)
Château Montrose (Saint-Estèphe)

Third Growths (Troisièmes Crus) Commune
Château Kirwan Cantenac (Margaux)
Château d'Issan Cantenac (Margaux)
Château Lagrange (Saint-Julien)
Château Langoa-Barton (Saint-Julien)
Château Giscours Labarde (Margaux)
Château Malescot Saint-Exupéry (Margaux)
Château Boyd-Cantenac Cantenac (Margaux)
Château Cantenac-Brown Cantenac (Margaux)
Château Palmer Cantenac (Margaux)
Château La Lagune Ludon (Haut-Médoc)
Château Desmirail (Margaux)
Château Calon-Ségur (Saint-Estèphe)
Château Ferrière (Margaux)
Château Marquis d'Alesme-Becker (Margaux)

Fourth Growths (Quatrièmes Crus) Commune
Château Saint-Pierre (Saint-Julien)
Château Talbot (Saint-Julien)
Château Branaire-Ducru (Saint-Julien)
Château Duhart-Milon-Rothschild (Pauillac)
Château Pouget Cantenac (Margaux)
Château La Tour-Carnet Saint-Laurent (Haut Médoc)
Château Lafon-Rochet (Saint-Estèphe)
Château Beychevelle (Saint-Julien)
Château Prieuré-Lichine Cantenac (Margaux)
Château Marquis-de-Terme (Margaux)

Fifth Growths (Cinquièmes Crus) Commune
Château Pontet-Canet (Pauillac)
Château Batailley (Pauillac)
Château Haut-Batailley (Pauillac)
Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste (Pauillac)
Château Grand-Puy-Ducasse (Pauillac)
Château Lynch-Bages (Pauillac)
Château Lynch-Moussas (Pauillac)
Château Dauzac Labarde (Margaux)
Château Mouton-Baronne-Philippe (Pauillac)
Château du Tertre Arsac (Margaux)
Château Haut-Bages-Libéral (Pauillac)
Château Pédesclaux (Pauillac)
Château Belgrave Saint-Laurent (Haut-Médoc)
Château de Camensac Saint-Laurent (Haut-Médoc)
Château Cos-Labory (Saint-Estèphe)
Château Clerc-Milon (Pauillac)
Château Croizet-Bages (Pauillac)
Château Cantemerle Macau (Haut-Médoc)

The 1855 Official Classification of SAUTERNES – BARSAC

First Great Growth (Premier Cru Supérieur) Commune
Château d'Yquem (Sauternes)

First Growths (Premiers Crus) Commune
Château La Tour-Blanche (Bommes)
Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey (Bommes)
Château Clos Haut-Peyraguey (Bommes)
Château de Rayne-Vigneau (Bommes)
Château Suduiraut (Preignac)
Château Coutet (Barsac)
Château Climens (Barsac)
Château Guiraud (Sauternes)
Château Rieussec (Fargues)
Château Rabaud-Promis (Bommes)
Château Sigalas-Rabaud (Bommes)

Second Growths (Deuxièmes Crus) Commune

Château de Myrat (Barsac)
Château Doisy-Daëne (Barsac)
Château Doisy-Dubroca (Barsac)
Château Doisy-Védrines (Barsac)
Château d'Arche (Sauternes)
Château Filhot (Sauternes)
Château Broustet (Barsac)
Château Nairac (Barsac)
Château Caillou (Barsac)
Château Suau (Barsac)
Château de Malle (Preignac)
Château Romer-du-Hayot (Fargues)
Château Lamothe-Despujols (Sauternes)
Château Lamothe-Guignard (Sauternes)

* Remember, just because a wine is listed a 5th Growth or a Bordeaux Superior, doesn't mean that it's not an amazing wine. Like all things created by French bureaucracy, take the classifications with a grain of salt.

Wine Lover's Glossary of Terms - UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Once I started getting into wine, I realized that if I wanted to move beyond the jug o' Gallo (joke) or buying only what someone else told me to get. To do this, I needed to understand more about the language behind the wine. What I began to realize was that, as I have already implied, oenophiles have their own language and when you know the buzz words, I think it helps to de-mystifies wine-speak and wine in general.

Please feel free to add your own terms/definitions to this effort. If you have any questions, here's where to ask.

This is a work in progress, so please be patient and thanks in advance for the help.

I hate when my real job interferes with my fun job - More to Follow....

Bistro Night - 1993 Cheval Blanc & 1998 Guiraud

On Friday 13th, we had some friends over so I could try out some "Bistro" recipes. The menu included French Onion Soup, NY Strip Streaks in a Chantrelle Brandy Cream Sauce, Potatoes Au Gratin, Haricot Vert & Creme Brulee (can't you just hear and feel the cholesterol attaching to your veins & arteries?). Being my own worst critic, (I am know tranforming my persona into the Whine Defender) I thought the food was good, but certainly not as good as I wanted. The soup needed more cheese and less time under the broiler, the steaks were cooked perfectly (thanks to Mark), but were not sufficiently seasoned; the cream sauce, again, was good but not great. The potatoes and the creme brulee came out as planned and I thought were good, but the potatoes didn't set up quite as much as I wanted.

With that bit of whinning out of the way, we did have some really good wine. I had scored some 1998 Pontet-Canet (against the advise and to the confusion of my friend Adam), my last bottle of 1997 Mouton Rothschild and some 1998 Guiraud Sauternes. Mark, one of the guests, brought 2 bottles of 1993 Cheval Blanc.

As we opened the Cheval Blanc, which was not easy due to some dry cork issues, Mark made me promise that I would be honest when I wrote about the wines and not to worry about trashing a guest's wine if that's what I wanted to do. So here goes: I've never Cheval Blanc before and after watching Sideways, always wanted to... I thought that the wine was very good. I think it was on the decline (past its prime), but had really good body and depth (as compared to the Pontet-Canet which did not) and delicious flavor or soft velvety black cherries and vanilla. This is a St. Emilion wine so is Merlot based, and in classic merlot fashion, was more of a fruit-bomb than left-bank wines tend to be. To sum up, while this wine was really, really good, it definitely was not a great Cheval Blanc.

The Mouton was also really good and this bottle was the best of ones I bought. I've found that the '97 Moutons to be a little thin and without a tremendous amount of character. I like the wine and really enjoy the taste, texture and flavors, but it's not worth the $100/bottle price point. Frankly, I liked the initial taste of the Pontet-Canet, but that wine has, as many previous reviews have noted, no mid-palate. There is a good nose and flavor and an OK finish, just in the middle, when you swallow, there's an emptiness to the flavor of the wine.

We finished up with the Guiraud Sauternes, which I thought was very good. It is a reasonably priced Sauterne and is definitely drinking now. Like all good sauternes, there is that great honey taste with really nice fruit nectar flavor that really tends to linger. I really like this wine with the creme brulee because it pairs nicely (no pun, given the pear flavor in the wine) with the silkiness of the custard and the grand marnier in the recipe I used.

Bottom line, good food, great wine, great company, great time!

Las Rocas and Las Rocas Vinas Viejas (Old Vines)

I was turned on to this little gem a few years ago by a friend (Tim at Post Road Wine in Wayland, MA). The 2 best things about this wine are the 1) the taste and 2) the price. The Las Rocas sells for about $10.00 and the Old Vines (made from 100 year old vines found at the vineyards highest altitudes) for between $15-18.00 per bottle. The wine is 100% grenache and is great for beef, lamb, pizza or any kind of BBQ. Whether your drinking the highly regarded and reviewed 2001 or the 2004, you'll love the beautiful dark ruby color and spicy, bold berry taste. This wine tastes great and smells great too. When you inhale, you can distinctly smell fruit, vanilla and pepper. When I first bought this wine a few years ago (it was the better 2001 vintage), Tim kept telling me to "buy it/try it" and that "I wouldn't believe how good this wine was." I recently turned another friend onto this wine and she buys it for every party and gathering.

You can serve this wine anywhere and almost anytime. It tastes like a wine that costs more like $40/btl than the $10 I spent....and as good as the Las Rocas is, the Vinas Viejas is even better. Trust me, you won't believe how good Las Rocas is.

2001 Antinori Tignonello & 2001 Fanti Brunello

Last night we were at a great party. I brought along an 2001 Antinori Tignonello and my friend Jeff brought a 2001 Fanti Brunello. Fortunately for us, 2001 was a great year in Italy and both wines were phenomenal! The Tig is the Italian version of a fabulously big Left Bank Bourdeaux. It's a Cabernet based wine and is silky and very full bodied with soft smooth tannins, rich berry taste with tobacco and leather. Because this wine also has hints of herbs, it will pair well with basil, thyme, rosemary or parsley rich dishes.

I'm not sure whether I liked the Tig or the Fanti better. The experts suggest that the Fanti really won't be really ready for another 3 or so years and will continue to age beautifully long after that. Having said that, and keeping in mind that this was a relatively young brunello, this wine was amazing. It is a massive effort that will only get better with age. Rated #23 on this year's Wine Spectator Top Wines List, it is a chewy, rich, huge wine with lots of berry and cherry fruit taste.

Bottom line, once you start to drink these wines, you just don't want to stop.

Marco Restaurant - North End

It's pretty boring to write or talk about a place that it just - from beginning to end, from the front end to the kitchen - fantastic. There are only so many ways to say that this dish or that thing is "perfect", "fabulous", "great"...well, you get the point. That's my problem with this post and the only problem with Marco Restaurant, where we went with friends last Saturday night. It was absolutely amazing. Located in a small second floor space on Hanover Street in the North End, you feel like you're eating in someone's home and, I think, that is exactly what owner Marc Orfaly (owner/chef of Pigalle as well) and Chef de Cuisine Matt Abdoo are striving for. The menu is great, the wine list is limited, but good, the Chef is outstanding, as were the knowledgeable servers. The pastas, cured meats and cannoli are all made in-house, and all are delicious. Adding to the experience, are the cooking classes offered on the first Monday of every month. I went to one last Monday and had a great time learning how to make both sweet and savory ravioli from Chef Abdoo.

On Saturday, as we looked at the menu, we couldn't decide what to get because there were too many things we liked. The waitress suggested we just have the Chef cook for us and that's what we did (many good restaurants will do this, you just need to ask). Each course was delicious. We started with a caesar salad, fried calamari, pizza and stuffed clams (are you full just from reading this?). The Caesar salad had a great traditional dressing, large shavings of parmigiano reggiano cheese, and was served in a rustic wooden bowl that my wife wanted to take home. The calamari were perfectly fried in a light batter and served along with red and green hot Italian cherry peppers (in my opinion, the best way to have fried calamari). Shortly thereafter, the pizza arrived made with gorgonzola, figs, prosciutto and greens. In general, I'm not a fan of bleu cheeses; but this was done perfectly. They way the pizza was made fused all the flavors and the figs and prosciutto mellowed and complimented the gorgonzola beautifully. Finally were 4 Clams Origanato (baked with bread crumbs, lemon and parmigiano). These were also delicious.

The pasta course was next and by the end I thought I might explode. All 3 dishes (orecchietti with sausage and brocioli rabe, gnocchi in a cream/cheese sauce and mushroom risotto with truffle oil) arrived at the same time, all also delicious. The risotto was cooked al dente and there was just the right amount of truffle oil, which if not used correctly, would've overpowered the dish.

The main course was a baked sole and a mixed grill of sausage and flank steak. This may come as a surprise to those who know my carnivorous leanings, but, as good as the sausage and steak were, the fish, which was baked and topped with a wonderful gremolata, was just amazing.

Complimenting this grastronomic pigfest was a 2003 Cantina Terlano Lagrein Porphyr Riserva, which was suggested by one of our servers. The wine went very well with everything (even, more or less the sole). It had a really lush berry fruit smell and taste, was well balanced with low acidity, soft tannins and a great finish. This was a very tasty wine that went well with the bold flavors we were overeating.

We finished off the meal with cappuccino and mini canolis, which are made, shell and filing, at the restaurant (one of only a few North End restaurant that make their own canoli shells).

Needless to say, at the end of the night I rolled down the stairs, waddled to the car, which was, thankfully, parked about 1/2 mile away. Although clearly suffering from a food coma, the walk made me feel almost human as I dozed off on the ride home.

This restaurant is my new favorite. The food, setting, chef and staff are as unpretentious as they are outstanding. This place is just a pleasure to go to and you'll leave well fed, well taken care of and with a big smile on your face. Go! Please, just don't take my reservation.

Arson Fire at Wine Warehouse

VALLEJO Wine warehouse fire was arson, police say Court records show business was mired in partnership feud
- Jim Doyle, Chronicle Staff Writer

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Investigators looking into the Mare Island warehouse fire that destroyed up to $100 million of vintage wine said Tuesday that last week's blaze was deliberately set. Police and arson investigators said during a news conference in Vallejo that they have interviewed about two dozen people in their preliminary investigation of the fire, and they expect to question many others associated with the Wines Central storage facility. No suspects have been named, and police would not say how the fire was started, nor would they speculate on a motive.

"Right now there are several persons, or people, of interest," said Lt. Lori A. Lee of the Vallejo Police Department. "It could be dozens, anyone from employees to those who are tenants or have ownership interests, or vintners who are storing their wine there." Lee said police and fire officials have been deluged with tips, rumors, and innuendo about who had a motive to start the fire. "It's still premature to say that anyone has been cleared," Lee said. "It's an open investigation. We have investigators filtering out in a number of directions." Investigators said last week that they wanted to talk to anyone who was in the warehouse on Oct. 12, the day of the fire. The relatively short list included the warehouse's general manager, two unnamed forklift operators and any visitors to the site.

One of those visitors was Mark Anderson, the owner of Sausalito Cellars, a wine-storage firm. Anderson faces embezzlement charges in Marin County for allegedly stealing wine from private collections. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges. Police on Tuesday refused to say whether Anderson is a suspect in the arson. Anderson could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Senior special agent Nina Delgadillo of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said a team of forensic chemists and cause-and-origin specialists have found "sufficient (physical) evidence to tell us that this was an intentionally set fire. ... We are vigorously pursuing the person or persons who caused this." Investigators would not discuss the arsonist's skill, or whether the fire was started with the aid of an electronic timer, an accelerant or match. Public comments about the evidence, they said, could taint interviews with suspects.

Bill Tweedy, an investigator and spokesman for the Vallejo Fire Department, said the fire caused an estimated $10 million in structural damage to the warehouse, causing the building's concrete roof to sag. He said the building, which had 3-foot-thick concrete walls, was equipped with a fire-detection system, but was not required by law to have sprinklers.
He said firefighters were on the scene three minutes after being alerted to the blaze by two 911 phone calls and a private alarm firm. However, the firefighters needed to cut through the warehouse's steel rollup doors before beginning to fight the blaze. Inside, timbers were falling to the floor in the 35-foot tall building. Eighty-two vintners stored wine at the warehouse, along with large volumes of pasta and sugar.

As investigators announced their preliminary findings, new information surfaced about the economic turmoil of Wines Central, which rented the warehouse. Court records indicate that the wine storage firm was embroiled in an internal partnership dispute. Its partners had invested and loaned more than $2.5 million to the business, which continued to sustain large operating losses. Wines Central's four original partners have been vying for 3 1/2 years over control of the potentially lucrative business. Two partners claim they were swindled by the other two partners, who in turn say that they were misled and defrauded of their financial stake. The wine storage business was formed in 2000 by partners Jacobo "Jack" Krystal of San Rafael; Sonoma County developer Russell Lugli; and Paul Hutchinson and Jack Lair, both of Napa County. The four had a falling out in 2001. The firm was dissolved in October 2001, then started up again a month later with only Krystal and Lugli as partners.

In an April 2004 affidavit, Krystal wrote that Wines Central had negotiated an agreement with liquor distributor Pacific American Services, which would invest in Wines Central and manage its warehouse -- in return for a 49 percent share of profits. But he complained that the deal was stalled by the partnership dispute. "No investor wants to invest cash into a business with pending litigation," he wrote. He also wrote that, unless Wines Central is able to soon go ahead with the management deal, the company "will be in grave danger of having to shut down its business and close its doors."

In August, Marin County Judge Lynn Dupree denied Krystal's request that the firm be authorized to enter into a new management and investment deal, saying that it would be premature to allow the deal to go forward while the court is engaged in an accounting of all four partners' financial interests. Asked this week about the ownership dispute, Krystal said: "We don't discuss our internal business."

Answer to a very important question...

A friend recently sent me this question.

"Important topic for discussion:

What is one supposed to do with the bottles of crappy wine that "well intentioned" guests bring when visiting, holiday gifts etc.

I hate to watch it pile up. Hate to drink it; hate to re-gift it lest folks think I like crappy wine ....Can't donate it, right? "

I think the answer to this very important question is the following: When someone brings crappy wine for dinner, serve the wine along with whatever you would like to drink (this gets rid of the crap as soon as possible). More importantly, give your guests and your spouse the crap and sneak the good stuff when no one is looking.

If you got it as a gift, re-gift it when apporpriate, along with a good bottle of wine so that two things are accomplished, 1) you've gotten rid of the crap and 2) you have plausible deniability over "your poor choice" of wine (you can even blame the salesperson at the wine store and say that you were looking for a pairing with X (whatever was being served) and he/she began raving about how good this wine was and that it was a "must try", so you gave it a shot).*

Finally, and unfortunately, I don't think you can donate it. Sorry. Remember, it's always very important to deal with DCB (deadly crap build-up).

*By the way, you should also try to, again, sneak the good stuff when no one is looking and the host has opened it.

FINALLY, THE PERFECT SYNERGY BETWEEN WINE & CRIME

Atherton Journal
In an Enclave of Serious Wine Lovers, a Mesmerizing Theft
February 1, 2007
ATHERTON, Calif. — It was perhaps the most Californian of crimes. Behind the electronic gates and freshly clipped hedges of an exclusive cul-de-sac, the thieves worked in the dead of night, ignoring watches, laptops and other ho-hum booty to cart away the ultimate prize: 450 bottles of wine, including a rare $11,000 1959 magnum from the Château Pétrus in Bordeaux, France.



A 1959 Château Pétrus similar to those above, was stolen from an Atherton, Calif., house this month.


Thus began what the police in this Silicon Valley town, one of the country’s most affluent ZIP codes, refer to as “the big wine caper” — a $100,000 theft, still under investigation, whose audacity has inspired Agatha Christie-like fascination among sophisticated oenophiles in the Bay Area.

“It’s a worrying thing,” said Ken Chalmers, the assistant manager at Beltramo’s, a local wine purveyor who sells hard-to-come-by vintages to customers with pebbled driveways and lavender-lined walks. “If you drink a bottle of a ’61 Bordeaux every five years and somebody swipes it, you’re not going to be happy. You can’t replace it. Wine is a very personal thing.”
Like a sauvignon blanc with an ash-covered chèvre, theft and wine make a heady pairing, especially in Atherton, the sought-after nesting place of venture capitalists and magnates like Charles Schwab, of the wealth management company, and Tom Proulx, the founder of the software company Intuit. Wine cellars are a fixture of daily life here, a common amenity along with home theaters, fitness centers and his-and-her offices.

At some point between Dec. 28 and Jan. 4, while the homeowner was on vacation, the police said, the thief or thieves made their way to the basement, where the collection, much of it distinguished Bordeaux, was stored at an optimal 55 degrees. The police have not identified the victim. There was no sign of forced entry, indicating the possibility of an inside job, said Detective Sgt. Joseph C. Wade, who is in charge of the investigation. The house is gated, and a code and a key would have been needed to enter it, he said.
The perpetrator had a discerning palate, leaving behind lesser vintages. The collection included a magnum of 1959 Château Beychevelle and a magnum of 2002 Jones Family cabernet, a Napa Valley cult wine.

The mystery of the theft on Fair Oaks Lane has captivated a region obsessed with the vine, a place where The San Francisco Chronicle’s weekly Wine section is required reading.
“The properties in Atherton are so large that it’s possible to imagine no one would notice,” said Stephen J. Bachmann, the chief executive of Vinfolio Inc., an online store and consultant service for private wine collectors, who also writes a blog. “It’s an interesting question of whether they had advanced knowledge of what was in the cellar. A lot of people don’t think of wine as an asset that needs to be protected. But they should.”

In many ways, Bordeaux has assumed the status of liquid gold. “Like chocolate was to the Aztecs, wine has become the ultimate currency,” said Daphne Derven, an independent scholar on food and wine based in Eugene, Ore. “It appears that the thieves, whoever they were, had more faith in the stability and accruing value of the ultimate bottle of wine than the American dollar.”

The crime is perhaps understandable given record increases in wine prices at auction, said Thomas Matthews, the editor of Wine Spectator, which recently reported on counterfeiting, in which labels are falsified. In 2005, major auction houses in the United States and abroad sold $166 million worth of wine, Mr. Matthews said. Last year, sales rose to $240 million, with numerous world records, like the 50 cases of 1982 Mouton-Rothschild that sold for $1.05 million at Sotheby’s.
Although theft of private wine collections is uncommon, Mr. Matthews said theft at wine warehouses in the United States and Europe was on the rise. With yet-to-be released vintages, like a 2005 Château Latour, fetching $800 a bottle, “that puts a lot of upward pressure on older wines,” he said. “In wine, the supply is finite. Rising prices are the result.”
The crime’s swirling reach has extended even to New York, with the list of stolen wines making the rounds of retailers and distributors.

“It’s going to be difficult to track,” said John Kapon, the auction director at Acker Merrall & Condit in New York. “The sad truth is, it should be relatively easy for whoever stole it to sell this wine without anyone being able to figure it out.” Unlike missing art and antiquities, hot wine has no official registry. “Something like an Amber alert would be very useful,” said George Derbalian, the president of Atherton Wine Imports, an importer of Burgundy and Bordeaux. Theresa Lawless, a manager for the Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company, in Novato, Calif., one of several major American insurers of private wine collections, said loss of wine was typically a result of fire or power failures, not theft. “But this will definitely make people think twice,” Ms. Lawless said.

Wine cellar designers are increasingly installing fingerprint and voice recognition systems and crisscrossing laser beams that trigger alarms (à la the movie “Entrapment” with Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones), said Tod Ban, a wine cellar designer in Atlanta who recently completed such a cellar for a private collector with 27,000 bottles. Evan L. Goldenberg, an architect and owner of Design Build Consultants in Greenwich, Conn., said radio-frequency labels that allow the tracking of individual bottles were on the horizon. In Atherton, where cameras are embedded in oaks, the theft has caused deep unease.“You’ve got to be careful,” said a resident, speaking through her intercom. “There’s been a lot of trouble around here

Mollydooker Redux

When I started this whole adventure, my first post was about Mollydooker's The Boxer; and although I haven't completely changed my mind, I have modified my view of this particular wine and the others produced by these winemakers. My friend Adam and I were talking about this and, without any collusion, we both reached the same conclusion (I feel like Jesse Jackson here). Now, before I get too far down this road, let me say that I still like these wines very much. I just wonder whether Robert Parker's ravings about them accounts for some of my blind faith and the dog in heat way I went looking for them. When I found them and tasted them, I really liked these wines. When I went back to them...not as much. That's where I am right now.

The Boxer (RP95) was a lot of fun to drink and when I first drank it, as I said, I loved it as well as its more highly rated and acclaimed sister, The Carnival of Love (RP99). They are round, full-flavored fruit bombs. But I have continued to drink both and maybe the best way to describe their shortcomings is with one word, "too". There's just too much flavor, almost like lobster soaked in melted butter. A little butter can really help the taste, too much turns you off. That's the feeling I had when I went back to these wines, particularly when compared side-by-side with Penfold's RWT and Shirvington Shiraz, which I did the other day. Neither of the 'dooker's offerings were quite as good (my favorite of the 4 was the Shirvington).

Maybe there is something to what the critics say about this type of winemaking, that there is a certain sameness (homogeneity??) to tastes and flavors of these wines which, in hindsight, is a little disappointing. This is not a criticism of this style of winemaking, which clearly turns out a great product. They just seem like they were put together in a way that is lacking something, a soul, a depth, terroir (?), something.

Truth: Most franco-oeniphiles, particularly self-described ones, would rather drink wine that tastes like dirt and cat piss and call it "terroir". There’s a book called Noble Rot all about the French wine thing and how many of the “traditional” French wine people hate Parker for, among other things, making wine accessible to the masses and forcing winemakers to make wines that appeal to the unsophisticated Americal pallet. Homogenization aside, they hate anything that modernizes or improved the making of wine. I can taste a left bank wine from a great chateau and know what I am supposed to like about it, but sometimes these wines just taste like dirt and smell like cat piss.

New world wines can be phenomenal. Better than French and, with the exception of California Cabs, remarkably affordable for those of who don't want to/can't spend $40.00 and up for a bottle of wine (or whose spouse won't let us...). Look around at lesser known French, South American and other Southern hemisphere vineyards and you'll find great wines at almost every price point.

Bottom line, the Mollydookers are very good and certainly worth the current price (about $30/btl), but probably not worth all the rest of hype or the 95+ scores. I'll keep drinking and enjoying the 'dooker, but it makes me think that maybe there is something to this whole "terroir" thing after all.

2001 Ch. Leoville-Poyferre

I was at a celebration for my friends' new baby, who for a boy, was very cute. I know about these things. I have 2 boys and, generally, newborn boys look like 90 year old men waiting to play shuffle board on a cruiseliner or Southern Florida. After listening to the parents speak about their child and how/why they were naming their child (one just as amazing and well spoken as the other), I spyed an open bottle of 2001 Leoville-Poyferre. It was sitting toward the rear of a built-in piece that holds wine glasses and other bar items. It was breathing and getting ready...for me. Obviously, I waited for my friend to go first and offer me some, but I had already scoped out the situation.

I've had other vintages and am waiting on some 2003s and 2005s (futures) to mature, but I've always like this wine. Once I got my glass (and the type of glass does make a difference in tasting wine), I stuck my head in and inhaled. The smell was big and ripe and amazing. Unfortunately the FIRST taste wasn't quite as good as the smell. The 2001 is still a bit tight and needs a few more years before it is really ready. That being said, I don't want you to get the wrong idea, this is/was a fantastic wine. The smell merely gives you a foreshadowing of better things to come.

Ch. Leoville-Poyferre is one of the second growths of St. Julien (Left Bank, i.e., Cabernet based wine). For many years it was a noted underperformer, partlicularly given where the wines are made and some of the wines that are made on essentially the same ground (at other chateaux). This all changed about 25 years ago. The current owners have improved and updated their wine making process and sought out and followed the advice of well-known French winemaker Michelle Rolland.

The 2001 Poyferre is still a pretty young claret. However, it's still a pretty full-bodied wine, with something for everyone. It has great terroir for French wine traditionalists and a nice round fruit flavor for the rest of us uncivilized folk. Still a young wine, there's a fair amount of tannins (like I said, the wine is still pretty tight) that will likely continue to ripen and mellow over the next few years Still, this wine has a fabulous silkiness on the pallet.

Wines from this area of the Medoc are known for their balance, frangrance and deep color. The 2001 Leoville-Poyferre does not disappoint and should age well for years to come.

Wellesley's Newest Foody Find

We went to Alta Strada last night. It is located in the space recently vacated by Fig's and despite a somewhat limited menu, I think we traded up getting Michael Schlow's newest restaurant. It is vastly different than his other, and more high-end, eateries (Radius, Great Bay & Via Matta). As I understand it, this is also Schlow's first restaurant without partner Chris Myers and he has clearly succeeded with good, heartly, inexpensive, Italian food...just what the local area was missing. It offers a full bar, counter seating, very pleasant service and beautiful, rustic surroundings.

The menu offers a variety of classic Tuscan foods and an well-rounded good wine list at very reasonable prices. Whether you want thin crust pizza, gnocchi with spicy sausage and peas or a perfectly roasted chicken with meyer lemon, you won't be disappointed. The only drawback: limited selections for children or "selective eaters."

We started with a roasted eggplant salad with goat cheese and some antipasti (3, a bowl of califlower, a bowl of roasted eggplant and red pepper tapinade and marinated mushrooms) which were light, well seasoned and delicious with the freshly baked bread (which looked like it would be great for making pannini). The bottle of wine, a good 2002 Barberi d'Asti (Nebbiolo grape) came pre-decanted in a carafe (this can also be ordered by the glass). While I prefer the more traditional wine opening (at the table, cork, blah, blah), I can't complain about the wine which was light, flavorful and very easy to drink. It had fairly high acidity and low tannins, which is why it paired well with both the chicken, tomato sauce or meat (sausage).

We had the gnocchi and roasted chicken. The gnocchi was tossed with really good sausage and served in a light tomato cream sauce. A few of the gnocchi could have been cooked more, but other than this complaint, the dish was excellent. The chicken was perfectly cooked and seasoned with lots of lemon flavor and what I find missing from most good roast chicken, really crispy skin and moist juicy meat. As someone who likes to cook, I always find that as simple a dish as roast chicken is, it is extremely hard to master. Schlow has. My kids loved the pizza which was thin crusted and rustic with excellent cheese flavor. My more culinarily adventurous younger son thought the spaghetti with little clams in a light tomato sauce was fantastic.

The kids had had it so dessert was on the quick side. We had pistacchio ice cream and it was so good, it had to be homemade. We didn't have coffee or other drinks, but it looked good at the neighboring tables.

The Good: We had reservations and were seated promply. The service was attentive without being hovering and the server was knew the menu and the wine list. They keep a number of tables open (no reservations needed) and plan to open a "Take-out Market" downstairs. The wine list, as I said was well-rounded and reasonably priced.

The Bad: The biggest problems with Alta Strada are the limited selections on the menu, a lack of choices for children and somewhat limited seating. Once it becomes more well known, it will be as packed as Blue Ginger. As a matter of fact, 1 week after it's opening, that may have already happened. We arrived at 6:00 pm for our reservation and were seated immediately, but the bar and waiting area was already jammed with people who were told the wait would be over an hour. With Schlow turning out his usual excellent food, this place won't remain a secret for long

Bottom Line: Despite Figs' more varied and extensive menu, I think Alta Strada is just what Wellesley needed and my diet did not.

Patriots Butt Kickin Texas Chili

I've made this chili a number of times and everytime it's a winner. Be careful, though, it's very spicy (which I like) and labor intensive. You may want to lessen the amount of chiles and chipotles depending on your/your family's taste, but, as much as you may want to, do not substitute oil for the bacon fat. The layer of flavor that this provides to this chili is unbelievable. You just won't get the same result from canola or vegetable oil. (You can get about 1/4 cup of bacon grease by cooking about 1/2 lbs. of bacon (obviously, the best part of preparing this dish is eating the bacon while you cook, unless the kids beat you to it).


Texas Style Chili
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2003




Ingredients

1/4 cup rendered bacon grease or vegetable oil
3 pound tri-tip or boneless sirloin or chuck roast, cubed
1 large white onion, chopped
3 large jalapeno or serrano peppers, stemmed, seeded and chopped
5 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
5 New Mexican green or red chiles (Annahiems), roasted, stemmed, seeded and chopped
6 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons Mexican oregano
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 (12-ounce) bottle Lone Star or Shiner Bock beer (actually any amber beer will do)
2 ounces tequila
3 chipotle chiles in adobo, chopped
4 to 5 cups beef stock
1/4 cup to 6 tablespooons masa harina
Chopped fresh cilantro leaves, garnish
Finely chopped white onions, garnish
Sour cream, garnish
Fresh hot cornbread, accompaniment
*NOTE: When working with chile peppers, always wear rubber gloves and be careful not to touch your eyes or skin. Wash all utensils and cutting surfaces well with hot, soapy water before proceeding.

Preparation

• In a large heavy pot (such as a cast iron Dutch oven), heat the fat or oil over high heat. Add the meat and sear, stirring, until no longer pink.
• Lower the heat to medium-high. Add the onions, jalapenos, garlic, chiles, and chili powder, and cook, stirring constantly, until the onions are wilted and start to color, 4 to 5 minutes.
• Add the cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper, and cook until fragrant, about 20 seconds.
• Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
• Add the beer and tequila and cook, stirring, to deglaze the pan.
• Add the chipotles and adobo sauce and 4 cups of the stock, stir well, and bring to a boil.
• Reduce the heat and simmer partially covered, stirring occasionally, until the meat is very tender, 2 to 3 hours, adding the remaining cup of stock as needed if the chili becomes too dry or thick.
• When the meat is tender and the chili is ready, add the masa harina 1 teaspoon at a time to thicken to desired consistency, stirring well and cooking after the addition of each before adding more.
• Remove from the heat and correct the seasoning, to taste. Skim any fat from the surface.
  Ladle into bowls and garnish each with cilantro, chopped onions, and a dollop of sour cream. Serve with hot cornbread and plenty of beer.
  

Blue Ginger Butter Fish in Sake-Miso Glaze

By directive of the VC guy, here is a great, easy dish (to help you lose the post-holiday weight). This is favorite at Blue Ginger Restaurant and is absolutely delicious. I think it's better grilled than broiled, but either way, it's delicious. This recipe serves four.


Ingredients

1 cup light miso
1/2 cup mirin
1/2 cup sake
1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
1/2 canola oil
1/4 cup sugar
12-16 oz black cod (about 3-4 oz per person) (butterfish is very difficult to get and black cod, I have been told, is basically the same thing....Sea Bass also works well)

Preparation

Combine miso, mirin, sake, ginger, oil and sugar
Stir until mixture is blended smooth and well mixed
Add fish and coat. Cover with seran wrap or in zip-loc bag and marinate overnight refrigerated.

Bring to room temperature and grill or broil fish turning once about 10-12 minutes

Plate the fish with a seaweed salad and finish with some reduced sweet soy sauce, wasabi aoli, and pickled ginger.

Strangely Silent

I've been strangely silent over the past week or so while trying to figure out how to publish a web site. I own the domain name www.thewinedefender.com and have been playing around with web development software and learning what html and an ftp is. That being said, I have been neglecting my wine drinking, which is a crime. So, after getting complaints from the 2 other people who see this blog, I decided to stop shirking my responsibilities and get back to work.

Coming soon: Reviews of Re-Entry Cabernet (California), Damilano Barolo, and recipes for duck confit and as promised a long time ago, How to Fry a Turkey.

Christmas Chowder

One of the difficulties in cooking with chiles is uniformity of heat. Go to any supermarket and buy any number of fresh chiles, whether serranos, habaneros, jalapenos, or, even as here, poblanos and you'll find one that tastes like a green pepper and another, sitting next to it in the bin, will make you scream. The recipe that gave me a little trouble is the one shown further down on this blog. When a recipe calls for a number of chiles, it's sometimes difficult to figure out how much to use, i.e., should I follow the recipe or freelance based on experience and gut feelings on how the quantity or quality of the chiles being used will impact the outcome of the dish. Thus was my dilemma while cooking for Chistmas Eve dinner.

Poblano chiles are not particularly hot as chiles go, but they can add more heat to a dish than you want if you're not careful -- as they did for my chowder. I should've known from the smell of the peppers -- I could smell the oils thru the flesh -- that I used too much. That being said, the Chowder was delicious, just too much punch from the peppers. That's the problem, particular with a soup or other dish where you rely on layering flavors to achieve what you want. It's not always as simple as merely adding the peppers a bit at a time until you hit the right level on the heat-o-meter. Having said that, in the future, I'd rather go too light than too heavy.

As a result, I've amended the recipe downward on the amount of chiles, especially if you double the recipe as I did. That change has already been made on the blog.

The great part about cooking like this is it gives you ideas to create any variety of other dishes and the skills to adapt other dishes so that you can create things based upon taste and not anchoring yourself to a recipe.