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The "good for you" snacks he manufactures are maybe not so healthful. Parents have sued. Products have been recalled. Yet the shaman of snacks survives.
If you're not a subscriber to The Wine Front you don't get to see the reviews that are added to the site on most days. In the past seven days the following wines have been reviewed in the Subscriber Only section of this website.
All Saints Estate Chardonnay Viognier 2006 All Saints Estate Family Cellar Marsanne 2006 All Saints Estate Sangiovese Cabernet 2006 All Saints Estate Shiraz 2006 All Saints Estate Durif 2006 All Saints Estate Family Cellar Durif 2006 Aradon Rioja 2006 Casa Santos Lima Quinta Das Setencostas 2005 d'Arenberg Galvo Garage Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot Petit Verdot 2006 Dog Point Vineyard Marlborough Chardonnay 2006 Dog Point Vineyard Marlborough pinot Noir 2006 Dog Point Vineyard Marlborough Section 94 2006 Grapes of RossBarossaValley Black Rose Shiraz 2006 Grapes of Ross Barossa Valley Old Bush Vine Grenache 2006 Henry Pelle Menetou Salon 2006 Les Nuages Organic Touraine Sauvignon Blanc 2006 LethbridgeGeelong Shiraz 2005 Longview Adelaide Hills Devils Elbow Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 Maison Champy Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2005 MountHorrocksClareValley Shiraz 2005 Piana del Sole Salento Negroamaro 2004 Postcode 2320 Reserve Shiraz 2004 Postcode 2587 Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 Punt Road Yarra Valley Shiraz 2005 Punt Road Yarra Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 Rymill Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 Scorpiiion Barossa Valley Grenache Shiraz Mataro 2006 Scorpiiion Barossa Valley Shiraz 2006 Scorpiiion Barossa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 The Berrio Sauvignon Blanc 2006 Torbreck Barossa The Struie Shiraz 2006 Torbreck Run Rig Shiraz 1995 Torbreck Run Rig Shiraz 1996 Torbreck Run Rig Shiraz 1997 Torbreck Run Rig Shiraz 1999 Torbreck Run Rig Shiraz 1998 Torbreck Run Rig Shiraz 2001 Torbreck Run Rig Shiraz 2002 Torbreck Run Rig Shiraz 2003 Torbreck Run Rig Shiraz 2004 Torbreck Run Rig Shiraz 2005 Tramin Alto Adige Pinot Grigio 2006 Villa terlina Gradale Barbera d’Asti 2004 ($35) VoyagerEstateMargaretRiver Cabernet Merlot 2004
I helped out at a trade event in London devoted to Sauternes and Barsac the other week. Entitled ?Sweeties with Savouries? it set out to show how both Sauternes and Barsac can be drunk not only with the usual foie gras and desserts but also with all the courses of a complete meal. With courses ranging from roquefort crčme brulee with figs (see picture) through roast Moroccan quail with sweet potato mash to blue cheese cheesecake, the food was absolutely wonderful. Attendees were then asked to vote for which wine made the best match with which course. There was quite a lot of agreement about which of the 16 wines went with which of the 5 courses but there were also many individual opinions. As with wine tasting there is no definitive answer in the area of food and wine matching.
Tasting through the 16 wines was an education in itself. Considering they were all the recently bottled 2005 vintage, there was a range of aromas from honey, peach, minerals and smoke to flavours on the palate of marmalade, peach, citrus and honey. There were also subtle but significant differences in the weight and texture on the palate. The differences can be understood when looking at the percentages of grapes with everything from 90% semillon and 10% sauvignon of the premier cru classe Chateau Clos Haut-Peyraguey through to the 70% semillon, 25% sauvignon and 5% muscadelle of Chateau d’Armajan des Ormes. The aging process whilst broadly similar in length of between 18 and 24 months, varies according to the percentage of new barrels used.
The key to good Sauternes and Barsac, apart from the terrroir, is the botrytis that is required to shrivel up the grapes and concentrate the sugar in the grapes. From talking to several of the producers the 2007 vintage was going to be a worry as the summer was cool. However the autumn was as hoped with cool misty mornings followed by sunny afternoons, the perfect environment for the ?mushroom? spores of botrytis cinerea to develop.
There is a much history associated with the ownership of the chateau in Sauternes with many of them having been in the same family for generations. Check out the web site of Chateau Dudon if you want some history of a typical family owned Sauternes producing chateau.
Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia. Chardonnay. 13%. Screwcap. Approx $A28
Dripping with acidity and brimming with flavour, this is an excellent chardonnay. Smokey, promising and scented with grilled pineapple, nuts and a hint of something wild. It evokes nectarine and almond meal but the main sensation is a shocking juiciness and a terrific focus and purity.
Half bottles of wine are great, at least in principal. They are a perfect way to prevent having to deal with left over wine. I am delighted to find them in restaurants, as it gives me a chance to sample more than one wine through a meal.
All life it seems is a compromise. With half bottles you get great benefits, but there is the inevitable downside. A half bottle of wine is more prone to environmental circumstance. In other words, it goes bad more easily.
I have been in a position of late to try many half bottles in a row (I am temporarily single). These have been bottles of my favorite wines, and I was delighted to find them in 375s. The delight turned to disappointment, repeatedly, as one after the other was in some way less than I expected.
The smaller size means that any heat or vibration damage has a greater impact. It is the inverse of why Magnums are the perfect sized bottles for aging wine. Small bottles also tend to not fit well in wine racks, unless you plan for them in advance.
I am not saying that all half bottles are likely to be bad, far from it. My spate of bad luck can be attributed to the fact that I bought all of the wines from the same place. Whatever ruined the first bottle, probably was responsible for the downfall of the others as well.
I have had better luck in the past, and I am far from swearing off half bottles. I just thought it was important to point out that a bad half bottle or two is no reason to swear off the size in general.
Ask for half bottles in restaurants, let them know you are interested. This will help propagate them in the industry, so if your favorite restaurant doesn't have any half bottles now, perhaps they will in the future.
Wine by the glass in a restaurant is a great concept, but too often poorly implemented. If the bottle has been open too long the wine will be much worse than the little variation a half bottle may be prone to.
Speaking of restaurants, I love starting with a half bottle of Champagne. Then a half bottle of white wine followed by a half bottle of red, and perhaps even a half bottle of dessert wine to finish it off. This is ideal for two, but even for the solo diner 2 or more half bottles can still be ideal. Remember, no one said you have to finish all of the wine! By the way, I send my left over wine to the Chef - the kitchen rarely gets a tip.
Celebrated ZinFest artist Vince McIndoe will once again be on site to sign commemorative posters and Commemorative ZinFest Wine.
Who is the beautiful red-haired woman in the seductive blue dress? Who is the artist that painted the striking 2008 commemorative ZinFest Poster? The artist is Canadian Vince McIndoe, and the woman is a French-Canadian whose father is rumored to be the mayor of Bordeaux.
To celebrate this year?s ZinFest, the event committee decided to commission a commemorative poster capturing the spirit of Lodi?s premier wine event. With the assistance of local design firm Six West Design, the committee reviewed the works of dozens of artists, but were particularly taken by the bold colorful artwork of Vince McIndoe.
Here’s my news cycle from the last two days: Indiana University basketball continues to be in the news based on an NCAA investigation into alleged recruiting violations. The New England Patriots continue to be in the news based on an investigation of potential cheating. Senator Arlen Specter is on the case. Brunello wine imports may be blocked by the ATTB.
With all of these people spending time investigating things, who is actually doing any work?
Wasn’t my crisis in conscious against elected officials supposed to have occurred when I was in college, not half a life later?
And, for the love of pete, where were the gov’t officials a year ago when toys with lead and toxic pet food was coming from China?
Messing with wine ... sheesh. This is a pimple on the ass of life. As my 99 year old grandmother says as she looks off into the distance ponderously, “I worry ...”
Visit BusinessWeek.com for an interesting article on wine web sites, including Bottletalk. There is also a slideshow walking you through seven different wine web sites, explaining how they work and who is behind them.
This time of year the wine lover is inundated with T-day wine recommendations..."German Riesling is perfect with turkey"...."A Beaujolais is a sure bet on Thanksgiving"...."Burgundy, both red and white are ideal on your Thanksgiving".....etc. etc.
I for one am tired of staid poultry & stuffing wine pairing suggestions.
How about something different to eat and drink on Friday - the day after turkey day? May I suggest a Vermentino, not from the sardinian coast, but from Lodi, California. Who knew the California version of this hefty-spicy-herby-citrusy grape could be so true to its Italian roots? After racking up mo' mo' credit card debt on Friday, take the edge of with a plate of turkey enchiladas paired to Uvaggio Vermentino 2006 ($10). It will be the best wine-food match you will sample all week.
The strength of Italian wine lies in the large number of its producers rather than in the big? numbers of just a few large multinational companies. It is these producers ? most of whom are very small in size ? who represent the force and vitality of the nation?s varied but extremely high-quality viticultural terroirs. The major changes that have taken place in international wine production and trading ? for example, the acquisition of brands by large financial/commercial corporations and the setting-up of huge vineyards run according to "industrial" principles in Asia, Latin America and Australia ? will not ultimately destroy Italy?s special viti-vinicultural heritage.
This is the ? highly optimistic - opinion of Angelo Gaja, one of the main producers responsible for saving and re-launching Italian wine in the 1980s.
"The Italian wine system consists of 33,000 businessmen and women running wineries that vary in size from large to tiny".
Is this extremely high number of producers an important resource or is it a stone round? the nation?s neck??
"This fragmentation - Gaja underlines ? is the result of a historical and socio-economic process that is part and parcel not only of Italy but of Europe as a whole: it?s part of our D.N.A., it makes us what we are. Fragmentation, though, has not prevented Italy from becoming the world?s leading wine-exporting nation, leaving France a very distant second: the result isn?t really that bad at all".
"It is amongst the 4 thousand or so small and tiny companies that export regularly that one finds a great many of the wineries which, thanks to the ratings their wines have received from international guides and wine-writers, have had a positive influence on the image and prestige of Italian wine, leading to beneficial effects for the sector as a whole".
So what does the future hold for small wineries?
"The Italian wine system is extremely well-integrated?. A capacity for working side by side links together companies of different sizes and with different production philosophies and marketing strategies. The smaller producers will help safeguard individual terroirs. They will welcome wine tourists. They will sell wines in bulk to the bottling firms, whilst maintaining the goal of higher quality. They will succeed in grasping consumers? imaginations by explaining their wines and their history. They will learn English. They will think of the whole of Europe as their own country and as the market to conquer, and the number of them who have learned how to sell their wines outside of Europe will also continue to grow? The real great wealth of Italian wine lies in its entrepreneurs, whether large, medium-sized, small or tiny. Together with their wineries, they constitute the motor for building demand for Italian wines. The terroir? and indigenous varieties count for less: these are factors that the producer has the opportunity to underline to a greater or lesser degree. It is logical to imagine, however, that there will be a process of aggregation involving both large and small producers, but if ? taking an educated guess ? there are still 28-30,000 wine producers in fifteen years? time , Italy will continue to be the country with the most sizeable treasure house of people who really know the business of wine. And that is my main reason for looking towards the future of Italian wine with great optimism".
A sell-out crowd of Hip Tasters gathered last Friday eve @ Sugar Cafe downtown to partake of The Salty & Sweet Tasting, this year's first official HIP TASTES event! Enjoy these snaps of the crowd, including this first of me (right) with my sis Claire,the original Hip Taster. Cheers ;)
Sun Feb 27th, 2005, Los Angeles Homemade Pasta Class Sun – 2/27/05 3:00pm-6:00pm With guidance from Chef Eric, you will learn how to make perfect pastas every time.
Today, we're tasting another good wine to serve for all of those summer patio parties-the Little Black Dress Pinot Grigio. Little Black Dress Wines were introduced by Brown-Forman in 2006, the 80th anniversary of the Coco Chanel's little black dress. The collection includes a Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, and Merlot. Although marketed toward women, these wines are versatile and enjoyable for any wine lover.
The Pinot Grigio is a straw-colored wine, made of 84 percent Pinot Grigio grapes, 10 percent Chardonnay, and just a hint of Muscat and Vigonier. The wine is light and crisp with hints of green apples, pears, and peaches. The Muscat lends a spicy touch and the Viognier a fruity floral note.
Little Black Dress wines are available throughout the United States and Canada. The Pinot Grigio retails for $9.99.
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Nearly every day in San Francisco there is a farmers? market to check out, offering not only plenty to taste and buy, but sights, sounds and people-watching.
It’s been awhile since we really blogged. You know the original blog post, a wrap up of the blogger’s life and ideas that pop in their heads. Usually we write in a more educational manner trying our best to educate. Today is different. This weekend we had a perfect storm of visitors. Our old roommates from the good old days when we lived in Madrid were in town for the long weekend, which inevitably meant lots of fun foods and some unexpected card games of Liar. A wonderful weekend, as well as an opportunity throw down on a few meals since I had such an attentive audience. First night, it was port brined pork loin (that’s a mouthfull), followed by Country chicken paired with roasted purple potatoes and green beans with walnuts and cured ham the following night. Both meals deserved pictures and descriptions, but alas, the food disappeared before I had a chance. For those of you with a grill and some gumption, however, here’s how to cook the the Pork(everyone’s favorite)!
Combine in a large pot, or bucket, the following: 1 x3lb-5lb piece of whole pork loin, 1 bottle cheap Port wine(ruby), a few cloves, a few sticks of cinnamon, 2 bay leafs, a cup and a half of rock salt, a cup of sugar and half a nutmeg nut chopped coarsely. Cover the meat with cold water and let sit for approximately 8 hours.
When the meat has finished brining, get a very hot two stage fire going in your grill. Remove the pork from the brine and dry throughly. Quickly blacken the pork on the hot side of the grill, turning it so that the entire piece is all nice and charred. Then move the pork to the other side of the grill and place a lid on the grill. It should take about 30 minutes to cook, though it depends on your grill. Just keep an eye on it! When it’s done, let it rest for at least 10 minutes before cutting into thick chops. Enjoy!
Let me know if you try it out!
Saturday, we woke late, and Gabriella and I headed to a meeting with a small port producer who is looking to explore the world of Web2.0. Had a nice lunch filled with great conversation and plates of grilled sardines and shrimp along the sea. After several hours of excited banter back and forth, we’re already excited to visit their property in the middle of the Douro valley!
Saying our goodbyes, we then wandered our way along the coast filled with pale German and British bathers in the for the weekend, and into the center of the city to meet up with both our friends and my sister and brother-in-law visiting who were visiting from out of town. Our goal was to meander through the streets and enjoy a range of Tapas, which we succeeded in tackling rather quickly. The first place we stopped at had some of the finest “Bombas” drenched in a slightly spicy white sauce. Bombas are slightly spicy potato filled croquettes with bits of meat inside a crispy, fried bread shell. YuM!
Our second stop was a disappointment, though the food was quite good. We ended up in a place where the owner became too big of an influence on the ambiance, hovering around us, making awkward jokes just to fit in. That’s always tough, especially when you’d rather focus on your company than the waiter. How do you tell him to bugger off and just feed us some good food? The restaurant, Mam i Teca, wasn’t all bad, as the food was pretty good, but it may not be worth your while. Too small, uncomfortable seats and pushy service doesn’t really make up for a decent meal.
We did have fun though, and I had some nice pics result from the evening. Oh, and one new piece of information on my quest for Iberian Beer! I have a place to review. La Cerveceria located in the Gothic quarter is a serious beer joint that goes out of their way to bring good beer to Spain. I will be doing a full review shortly, but I just wanted to let everyone who was feeling badly for me know that I now have a Titan IPA, a Snakedog IPA, and a new Beligum that beer claiming to the be the Hoppiest beer of the them all! We’ll see!
Is this an overview report on the export situation of the Argentine vitiviniculture within the First Semester of 2006. This report tracks and reflects the performance of the main variables of Argentine vitiviniculture in foreign markets.
This works is elaborated per Caucacia Wine Thinking a company focused and devoted exclusively to provide information services to the wine industry, mainly in what respects to foreign markets.
At present, the leading wineries in Argentina, as well as the main industry-related organizations (Bodegas de Argentina AC, Wines of Argentina) make use this services.
Although the Philipponnat family history in the Champagne region dates back to 1522, the recent history began when Auguste and Pierre Philipponnat settled in the Mareuil-sur-A˙ region of Champagne in 1910. When Pierre acquired the steep Clos des Goisses vineyard on the southern flank of the Gruguet hill in 1935, he broke with the tradition of blending Champagne vineyards, creating a single-vineyard wine from a rather remarkable site that overlooks the Marne River. Charles Philipponnat, grandson of Auguste, is now President of the Maison and has overseen the creation of new wine making facilities and barrel storage.
Join us as Charles takes us on a walk (make that climb) of the five and a half hectare Clos des Goisses - which stood witness to the WWI battles of nearly 100 years ago. We also visit the cellars and barrel room, and disgorge some Champagne.
Set your sights on wine, and you?ll set your eyes on some of the most incredible scenery in BC?s three main wine regions. Here are ten of the best scene-stealing sights and activities that insiders guarantee will tempt your palate...
"Like the always-chic little black dress, chocolate never goes out of style. Whether prepared in a winter-perfect souffle format, drizzled over ice cream during the summer months or tucked into a decadent truffle that's perfect any season, chocolate gets it right every time. Read on for tips on pairing wine with this timeless treat, as well as insights on some of the best spots to try your hand at wine and chocolate pairing in person...
A magnificent Malbec! It picked up a trophy at the inaugural Wines of Argentina Awards held in Mendoza in 2007, having wowed the international panel of judges - included among them wine expert Jancis Robinson, who gave it an impressive 17 out of 20. This mulberry and spice-flavoured red wine was made by Herve Fabre, who was originally involved in the Bordeaux wine trade, before he and his wife fell in love with Argentina and moved there to establish a boutique winery. Herve's experience in producing top quality wines shines through in this tremendously rich, silky-smooth wine. Ripe blackberry and bramble aromas merge seamlessly with spicy oak and vanilla flavours. Full bodied, yet seriously smooth and warming. This 89 Parker point wine is sure to survive for many years to come. Definitely a wine to enjoy with fine food ... try it with rare roast beef or a juicy steak.
Tecnorati
Attendees were then asked to vote for which wine made the best match with which course. There was quite a lot of agreement about which of the 16 wines went with which of the 5 courses but there were also many individual opinions. As with wine tasting there is no definitive answer in the area of food and wine matching.
The aging process whilst broadly similar in length of between 18 and 24 months, varies according to the percentage of new barrels used.
"Like the always-chic little black dress, chocolate never goes out of style. Whether prepared in a winter-perfect souffle format, drizzled over ice cream during the summer months or tucked into a decadent truffle that's perfect any season, chocolate gets it right every time. Read on for tips on pairing wine with this timeless treat, as well as insights on some of the best spots to try your hand at wine and chocolate pairing in person...