Do Bianchi on Big Beef and Big Critics

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This is a must read. Blogger Jeremy Parzen ruminates on the career of Wine Spectator critic James Suckling, while teaching us how to cook bistecca alla fiorentina.

There’s no two ways about it: during James Suckling’s tenure at the Wine Spectator, the scores he gave to modern-style Brunello — with Casanova di Neri as its poster child — helped to eclipse the sale of traditional-style wines,

link: The James Suckling era ends (and what we ate and drank for my birthday) « Do Bianchi

 

 


Porcini Pleasures


That's $24 well spent you're looking at and my prize from this week's farmers market. Porcini mushrooms are the perennial World Cup Champs of the mushroom world for me. Their combination of firm texture with rich flavor is incomparable. As always when faced with produce of such fresh provenance, simple was the method of choice. Sliced (as you see) then sauteed in a lot of butter and a little garlic for a few minutes, I then added a few eggs for a slow scramble á la Mark Bittman. Preceded by a insalata caprese with a baguette from Bouchon to wipe clean each plate, I think it's hard to imagine a more pleasurable meal.

After an aperitif of the truly delicious Schramsberg Blanc de blancs, I opened a bottle of our new Oregon wine, the 2008 Cornerstone Cellars Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, and I can't say how thrilled I am by this first effort with our consulting winemaker there, Tony Rynders. Already heady with aromatics, but exhibiting not a bit of the fruit-bomb characteristics I can't stand, I think this is a really complex pinot with just the right earth, dare I say, touch of porcini, that marries so perfectly with the spicy, blackberry fruit of this vintage.

We only made fifty cases in this first vintage, but in 2009 made four hundred. I'm thinking of a September release - If I can bear to part with it.

Posted via email from The Wine Camp Blog

Summer Arrives

The first real selection of heirloom tomatoes showed up at the Napa Farmer’s Market this morning. For me that means my mozzarella fresca budget is about to go through the roof. More-or-less daily now through the end of the tomato season an Insalata Caprese will be the first course at dinner in our house. To me it is a perfect dish.

 

There is nothing simpler or more delicious to make. All it requires is:

 

  • perfect tomatoes
  • fresh, creamy mozzarella
  • fresh basil
  • fresh, vibrant extra virgin olive oil (hopefully as fresh as the tomatoes, basil and mozzarella)
  • salt and pepper

 

…and basta. 

 

Learn to leave such a dish alone. Restaurants can’t seem to keep their hands off such perfection and add, add, add: ending up only subtracting and distracting. This is a lesson we winemakers should also learn. Sometimes leaving something alone requires more courage and attention to detail than doing more and more.

 

The problem with simplicity is there is nothing to hide behind.

 

 

Posted via email from The Wine Camp Blog

American Wine: The Locavore's Hypocrisy

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Link: American Wine and Locavore Movement, by Todd Kliman, author The Wild Vine – The Daily Beast

In an excellent article author Todd Kliman blasts American restaurants for their public devotion to buying local food, while snob-ily ignoring local wines. He correctly points out the superficial commitment to buying local by restaurants in Missouri, New York and Virginia, all states with vibrant wine industries and many dedicated and serious winemakers. When questioned by Kliman, sommeliers (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) noted under their breaths that the wines were not just up to their standards. That perhaps is flipped around as maybe it is the sommeliers, not the wines, that are not up to snuff as it is the job of the sommelier at a locavore restaurant to discover and offer the finest local wines to their customers.

While other American wine regions may be limited in the selections they offer to restaurants, the same cannot be said for West Coast restaurants. Certainly any sommelier worthy of the title could craft an outstanding wine list from the wines of California, Oregon and Washington. Anyone claiming they can’t is just not doing their homework.

Perhaps no more hypocritical example can be found than the famed Alice Waters of Chez Panisse fame. Chef Waters can be found on national television constantly singing the praises of Slow Food, but one look at her wine list in Berkeley tells another story. I agree with Chef Waters that the vast majority of California wines do not match well with her food, but there are more than enough that do to provide her with an outstanding wine list. Toss in the wines of Oregon and Washington and she has no excuse.

Let’s give Chef Waters a break as Chez Panisse is a stones throw from Kermit Lynch’s wonderful store and Kermit’s exceptional wines can make anyone forget their locavore passions when it comes to wine. Certainly I cannot resist Kermit’s imported temptations myself. However, I am not on television saying the only way to eat and drink is by supporting local farmers. Winegrowers, it should be remembered, are farmers too.

Hard core locavore chefs in Seattle, Portland and San Francisco rant on about their local sources for eggs, cheese and meat, while their wine by the glass selections are more likely to be produced from vineyards 4,000 miles away. Hopefully someday locavore will be a term that is more than a marketing fad.

In Europe, chefs are locavores naturally, in America it is still a foreign concept. Oddly enough Europeans practice it, but don’t talk about it much. In America, we talk about it a lot, but don’t practice it well.


Consumer Report?

I received this PR release today:

“In the July issue of Consumer Reports, CR testers found four Chardonnays they rated “very good,” all for less than $10. One of them was even from 7-Eleven!”

Two things struck me. First was what must these people have done wrong to be forced to do a tasting of under $10 Chardonnay. Second was the image of the Consumer Reports team applying the same methodology they use to rate cars and stereos to wine tasting. This could explain the results.

In other wine judging silliness, the much hyped “NextGen” wine competition made Steve Heimoff’s day by making themselves meaningless by selecting Barefoot Moscato as their best of show. This either means that no winery submitted any serious wine (a possibility) or that the judges only proved how pointless these judgings are - regardless of the age of the judges. This “competition” was particularly embarrassing as it begged for samples with daily email barrages right up until week of the judging itself. Good luck getting samples next year guys. You must be happy to know that, like the results of the Consumer Reports tasting, your name will be on shelf-talkers in 7-Elevens, Walgreens and gas stations throughout the United States.

If you wonder what such judgings are about you only have to look at the Next Gen tasting website:

  • “FREE Gold Medal Wines iPhone App Listing!
  • Gold+, Gold, and Silver Medal winners in the NextGen Wine Competition will receive a FREE basic listing on our exclusive Gold Medal Wines iPhone app, available on iPhone and iTouch.  (We are also writing the app for Blackberry and Droid).  NO OTHER WINE COMPETITION OFFERS THIS MARKETING ADVANTAGE!”

They are selling themselves to make a profit, judging the wines is only an brief inconvenience they have to deal with for a few days and hey, the judges are free. They get the wineries to buy in with their judging fees in the hopes of getting any kind of recognition. The wineries that enter carry as much shame as the people putting on the competition.

According to their website they had openings for 2500 wines. Let’s say all of them took advantage of the early entry “special” as listed below on their website. That’s $162,500. 

 

  • “Online Special Through April 15th $65 early entry special (paper entries add $10)
  • 4/15/2010-5/31/2010 $75 (paper entries add $10)
  • NextGen Wine Competition is proud to accept Visa and Mastercard for mail-in or fax-in entries. For online entries, PayPal accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover.”

 

At least someone is making a few bucks out of these judgings. Too bad it’s not the people that actually make the wine.

 

Humbled

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$25, That’s right only $25 for a beautiful pinot noir. Nothing yet exists in new world pinot noir like the 2007 Côte de Nuits-Villages from Domaine Gachot-Monot. Pure and electric this is a wine that lifts both your intellect and the meal. Certainly this would be $50 if it where from Oregon or California. We have a lot to learn and need to be a little more humble as winemakers here on the west coast. What struck me was the almost compelling urge I had to have a third glass.

It’s a bit depressing to me that I’ve not figured out to make a wine like this in America yet, but I refuse to quit trying. In the meantime, drink this beauty over the next three to four years.

Not surprisingly, imported by Kermit Lynch.


No 2006 Produttori

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Thor, a wine writer and blogger whom I greatly admire and an all-around mensch, wrote the other day to winemaker Aldo Vacca (left) inquiring about his decision not to bottle his 2006 crus. Thor was kind enough to share Aldo’s response and Aldo was kind enough to allow me to post it here.

Technical reason: 2006 is a very good vintage, but warm and ripe, lacking a little bit of the finesse and complexity to make a truly great S[ingle]V[ineyard wine] and yet preserve excellent quality in the regular bottling. We think 2005, lighter in body, has more fruit and balance, at least in Barbaresco and at least for Produttori.

Marketing: with the current economy we thought it more appropriate to produce a larger quantity of solid, extremely good 2006 Barbaresco avoiding a flooding of the market with too many SV wines, since 2007, 2008, 2009 will all be produced. Had 2007 or 2008 been bad vintages, we would have released 2006 SV, but since we have so many great ones, we felt we could skip one and stay on the safe side of the fence.

—Aldo Vacca


via Do Bianchi

It is perhaps difficult to understand what unusual act is being reported here by Thor Iverson (oenoLogic) and Jeremy Parzen (Do Bianchi). Here is a producer declining to make his most sought after and highest priced wines simply because being good is not enough. Also they are not doing this in some dismal vintage full of rain and rot, but from a vintage whose only fault was too much sun. This is the very type of vintage lauded as perfect by The Wine Spectator in 2000 and nearly so in 2003. Standards like this are almost unknown in wine anymore. When was the last time there was no Chateau Lafite, Screaming Eagle and so on? I think Aldo Vacca is doing much more than just staying on the “safe side of the fence” with this decision. Standards like this are why the wines of the Produttori del Barbaresco are true cult wines in a world of pretenders.


The Pleasures of Youth

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The 2008 Vietti Tre Vigne is here! The Vietti Dolcetto Tre Vigne Dolcetto d’Alba is always on my every day favorite list. Explosively fruity, brisk, zesty and bright. It’s all about immediate pleasure - no waiting required. That’s why I’m always excited when the new vintage arrives as it’s never more fun to drink as when it’s a charming adolescent and, anyway, it’s a boring adult so waiting is not recommended. Maturity is for nebbiolo not dolcetto. In fact I’m already anxiously waiting for the 2009.

It’s always frustrating that we can’t seem to make wines like this in California. That’s something I have to work on.


Number 1! Number 1! Number1!

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Latour is top wine of Bordeaux 2009, says survey May 6, 2010 By Richard Woodard Chateau Latour has beaten Margaux and Lafite to be the wine of the 2009 Bordeaux vintage, according to a survey of the international wine trade.

link: Latour is top wine of Bordeaux 2009, says survey - decanter.com - the route to all good wine

Absurd isn’t it? The whole concept of something like wine, based on taste and individual experience, having a number one. It is a concept that is perhaps worse than absurd. You can have a “best” sports team as they are able to win a clear victory over their competition. The team with the most points wins. Yet, perhaps even in such seemingly clear head-to-head competition often the best team doesn’t win. Serendipity can trump skill.

The pitiful absurdity of such a statement from a publication of the stature of Decanter is particularly embarrassing as they know better. It is always important for us to remember that wine publications like Decanter are not in the wine business, they just live off of it. They don’t make or sell wine: they sell magazines. All of their editorial choices are focused first on selling magazine subscriptions and once in a while a some real wine journalism fills in around the edges.

Naming a number one may be a good business decision, but it is not honest.

 


Campton Place Restaurant

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Chef Srijith’s cuisine concept masterfully blends California Cuisine with Mediterranean inspirations and gentle spice route overtones. In keeping with the culinary superlatives, our cellar is also highly acclaimed as a destination among winemakers and wine connoisseurs. With over fifteen hundred carefully selected labels from across the globe our Master Sommelier, Richard Dean, can select wines that will seamlessly harmonize with the distinct flavors articulated in the menu.

link: Campton Place - San Francisco - Luxury Hotel, Restaurant and Bar

Some meals move you and the last several meals I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying at Campton Place were not only moving, but breathtaking. More often than not it seems the restaurants that really deliver are somewhat off the radar. Campton Place may have faded in the past years from prior glories, but this restaurant is back delivering perfect service and elegant, creative cuisine. Don’t miss this wonderful pleasure on your next visit to San Francisco.


Italian - vera Cucina

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Simple is beautiful when to comes to food and wine. Simple does not imply a lack of character when it comes to cooking or winemaking, but to a willingness to let the flavors of wonderful ingredients show through. Here are some excellent cookbooks built on that concept.


I have been using Bistro Cooking, Patricia Wells’ book of simple French recipes, for several decades now.

So what stopped me from buying her book of Italian trattoria cooking?

Two words: Marcella Hazan.

I am addicted to Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. It’s clear. It produces restaurant-quality meals that take only modest effort. And “fancy” is the last thing it is.

I thought I just didn’t need another Italian cookbook.

But now, fourteen years after it was first published, Trattoria: Simple and Robust Fare Inspired by the Small Family Restaurants of Italy — a bargain at $13.59 — is finally in the house. And, more to the point, in the kitchen. And I am chastened.

You want simple? This is it. Easy? Forget about it. Organized? Buying the book could be the last time you’ll ever need to think about an Italian menu.

Why? Because the fact is, you really don’t want rich and fancy. You want a meal fit for a trattoria — an uncomplicated, modestly decorated, family-run establishment featuring traditional regional fare. You drink the house wine. You tend to order whatever special is being pushed. And you are likely to leave satisfied though not sated.

Wells begins with a large selection of antipasti, moves on to grilled vegetables and hearty soups. Then she reaches pasta. There are 17 pasta recipes — and that’s just the dried pasta. (I’m under the impression that Italians have no affection for fresh pasta; in any event, there are 15 recipes for fresh.).

There are lovely recipes for entrees. But I’m feeling in the mood for a bargain dinner that rips the torpor from my taste buds. That means spices — garlic and red-pepper flakes. And what Wells calls “a young Italian red table wine.”

PENNE ALL’ARRABBIATA

Serves 6

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 plump fresh garlic cloves, skinned and minced
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
sea salt
28-ounce can peeled Italian plum tomatoes or a 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes in puree
1 pound tubular pasta
1 cup flat leaf parsley, snipped with scissors

In a large skillet, combine oil, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes and a pinch of salt. Stir to coat with oil. Cook over moderate heat. Remove from heat when garlic turns gold, but not brown.

If you’re using whole canned tomatoes, chop them before adding to skillet. If using pureed tomatoes, just pour into skillet. Stir, then simmer until sauce begins to thicken, about 15 minutes. Adjust seasoning.

In a large pot, boil 6 quarts of water. Add three tablespoons of salt and the pasta, cook until tender but firm. Drain.

Add the drained pasta to the skillet. Toss, cover, cook over low heat for 1-2 minutes to allow the pasta to absorb the sauce. Add the snipped parsley, serve in soup bowls.

“Traditionally, cheese is not served with this dish,” Wells notes. Gotcha.

Start the water and the sauce at the same time, dinner is on the table in 30 minutes, Wells advises. A very well-spent 30 minutes, say I.

Cross-posted from HeadButler.com

via Food on HuffingtonPost.com


Snooth Visits Wine Camp

Carly Wray of Snooth recently did an interview with me and 

 

Welcome to The Grapevine! In this new weekly feature, we’ll be asking our favorite experts the questions that really matter: how they fell in love with wine, what wine trend they’d love to see end, and what they’ll be drinking on their deathbed.

10 Questions For: Craig Camp

You’ll find no 100-point scale at Craig Camp’s award-winning Wine Camp Blog, just thoughtful commentary on underrated finds, overrated bottles, and tons of gorgeous vineyard photography. A wine pro for nearly three decades, Camp now works as general manager of Cornerstone Cellars in Napa.

1.) Which wine first won your heart?

In 1973, I had just finished a semester on a university exchange program in Salzburg, Austria and then spent some time bumming around Europe. My first stop in France was Strasbourg and, thinking it a very French thing to do, I ordered a pitcher of Edelzwicker at a weinstube. That was it for me. I drank (that was before I found out you were supposed to call it tasting) every wine I could afford and when I got home I bought the Signet Book of Wine by Alexis Bespaloff. Then I started tasting everything I could find. I remember doing blind tastings between jugs of Almaden Claret and Burgundy. That’s funny, because they were probably the same wine.

My first wine “investment” was a case of 1971 Chateau Carbonnieux, Graves Rouge in 1975. I think it cost about $10 a bottle, which seemed very expensive to me at the time. I’ve always kept an emotional attachment to that Chateau and still buy the wines.

2.) If you could have an endless supply of just one bottle, what would it be?

That sounds more like a nightmare than a dream to me. It’s the diversity of wine and food combinations I find exciting. To go along with the premise I’ll pick 2004 Poderi Colla Barolo Bussia Dardi le Rose. It’s an incredible wine that will outlive me, always be delicious and with every year of aging will become a new wine as it evolves.

3.) What would you pour for someone who swears they don’t like wine?

Iron Horse Wedding Cuveé, Sonoma-Green Valley Sparkling Wine

4.) If you could settle in any major wine region, which would it be (and why)?

I’m living in the Napa Valley now and before that in the Willamette Valley and the Piedmont region of Italy. I love them all, but I’d have to pick Barolo/Barbaresco for the incredible combination of wine, food, natural beauty, and lifestyle. After all, if you live in Barolo you can drive to Burgundy, Rhone, Tuscany or Trentino/Alto Adige in one day and Champagne, Chablis, Alsace, Rioja or the Rheingau in two. Not a bad place to be.

5.) What wine trend do you think (or hope) is almost over?

Points and high-alcohol, over-oaked wines that don’t match well with food.

6.) What trends do you see on the horizon?

New media and Social Media is changing the way everything is sold. The potential for empowering small producers at the cost of mass produced industrial wines is very exciting. Hopefully it will start to break down the three tier system supported only by the new-prohibitionists and giant wholesalers.

7.) What are the biggest values on the market today?

For some reason that’s hard to explain they’re all from Europe. That’s pretty embarrassing for Americans as they have to put that wine in boats and ship it over here - not a cheap thing to do. My daily wines tend to be Beaujolais, Cotes du Rhone, Loire whites and reds, Cava, German whites; Soave, Barbera and Dolcetto from Italy.

8.) What’s the biggest myth about wine you’d like to dispel?

That the greatest wines are the most expensive. It’s the big lie of the wine world.

9.) What’s the best food and wine pairing you’ve ever had?

Tie:

1. Foie Gras Ravioli with 1989 Huet Vouvray Moelleux at Alain Ducasse in Paris.

2. That generic Edelzwicker with choucroute in 1973 it was a revelation that I was not expecting and it blew me away. The memory still does.

10.) You’re on your deathbed, and you can get one final glass: What’ll it be?

A great old Armagnac. It’s my favorite ending to a great meal and I can’t think of a better finish.

Posted via email from Wine Camp Blog/Posterous Edition

The Circle Remains Unbroken

Yesterday the vineyards were cold and empty. Having been just pruned they were only skeletons of what they were at harvest. Then today it happened. The green starts to explode from vines that looked more dead than alive and another vintage is upon us.  There is nothing that fills my soul with optimism has much as when the buds break in the vineyard each spring.  I can't help but think of the potential we have each year to craft wines better than we ever have before. My optimism will soon be challenged when I'm awakened by the howl of the wind machines raging through the Napa Valley as the still cold spring nights threaten frost. However, the weather report shows no danger, this week anyway, so today I'll just enjoy the beginning of another vintage, each of which is a unique experience.

Posted via email from Wine Camp Blog/Posterous Edition