TagCloud:
Wine Ebooks:
| | The Complete Grape Growers Guide. |  | | A Complete Guide For Growing Grapes. Converts Very Well At A Reasonable Price! Growing Grapes And Making Wine Is A Very Popular Topic Right Now.
| | | |
| | Fool-Proof Wine Values. | | | Learn How To Easily Find Wines Of $50 Quality For $10 Or Less. Impress Friends With Your Expanded Wine Knowledge. Eliminate Your Dependence On Wine Salespeople. And Take The Hassle Out Of Buying Wine.
| | | |
| | Making Wine From Home. | | | A Fun And Very Informative Book On Home Wine Making. The De Facto Standard For All Home Wine Enthusiasts With Recipes, Advice And Tricks.
| | | |
Blogs & Sites:
 Tecnorati
|
|
| [09/19/2006, 03:15] | Big Daddy Merlot 2002 | | | Part of becoming a connoisseur of cheap wines is knowing where to look for them. I’ll share with you one of my little secret places I attempt to seek out cheap wine: the “Reduced for Quick Sale” shelf at your local supermarket. At Meijer, my local super-mega-ultra-store, this shelf is usually located in the bottle return area. Not a very pleasant place to be searching for wines, but just think of it as a treasure hunt! You may find a bounty of cheap wines that you never knew existed. While picking over the wines yesterday, a cartoon label caught my eye: Big Daddy Vineyards Merlot. I picked up the March 2002 vintage for about 6 dollars. Why was this reduced for quick sale? Was it worth enduring the stench of the bottle return area to bring home this wine? Yes, yes it was. It’s almost sad that this wine traveled all the way from Argentina to end up in my bottle return area.  Big Daddy knows how to make a good cheap wine. Believe it or not, the first attribute of this wine I picked up on was the light hint of bacon. Mmm bacon. Who doesn’t love bacon? Big Daddy loves it, that’s for sure. Look at that belly! On top of the bacon was a strong berry with a leathery taste. If you’re looking for a full bodied cheap red wine with a lot of character, give the Big Daddy Merlot a try. Rating: 8/10 - High score for originality
Price: 6.00
Place of purchase: Meijer
Vineyard Info:
Big Daddy Vineyards
Mendoza, Argentina
www.bigdaddyvineyards.com | | | |
| [08/09/2006, 02:03] | Leelanau Cellars Autumn Harvest | | | 
Another summer is quickly coming to an end, and I hope everyone got a chance to visit their favorite local vineyard for a tour or a wine tasting. The highlight of my summer is always being able to visit the northern Michigan wineries. This summer, I got a chance to go up to the Leelanau Peninsula several times, and each time was memorable. Leelanau Cellars is, by far, my favorite place to visit up north, especially because of the tasting experience. You don’t feel limited of how many wines you can taste, and the staff working the tasting room are VERY knowledgeable and friendly. I left with about 16 bottles of wine the last time I visited! If you are looking for some odd fruit wines, this is the place to go. The wine:
I shared a bottle with my new roommates in Grand Rapids. All three of us loved it. Matt: “Delicious with chips and dip”
Casey: “It would be a good winter wine. Surprisingly smooth!” I enjoyed this 5 dollar bottle of wine with a thin-crust pizza and it was great. The wine was rich, and had a lot of flavor. I could taste the typical hints of cherry that most Michigan wines boast. Summary: Great job, Leelanau Cellars! I look forward to coming back next year!
Rating: 9/10 - Excellent!
Price: 5 bucks
Winery Information: Leelanau Cellars
Leelanau Wine Cellars
12683 E. Tatch Rd
(County Rd. 626)
Omena, MI 49674
(231) 386-5201 | | | |
| [11/10/2007, 21:59] | Skovin Syrah Cabernet 2005 | |  Quite an unusual combination for the Balkans, since Syrah is fairly rare in the region. Skovin is probably trying to follow the world commercial trends with this Syrah Cabernet Sauvignon combination, and it’s not doing a bad job. Syrah brings in the spiciness and the earthy taste, which brings memories of those strong South African tastes of Syrah wines. Cabernet softeness it a bit, so overall it’s a nice wine, but distinctively dryer than the famous Australian Syraz-Cabernet’s.
Rating: 6/10
Price: 400 RSD (5 euro)
Retailer: Super Vero Technorati Tags: Macedonian Wine, Skovin, Shiraz, Syrah, Syrah Cabernet | | WorldWine Tags: Macedonian Wine, Skovin, Shiraz, Syrah, Syrah Cabernet, | | | |
| [05/15/2008, 18:59] | Postcard: Beijing street food | |  For those phobic of these eight legged creatures, New Zealand is the place to be.
It's thought that Scorpions evolved in one place (in the Northern Hemisphere) and then spread throughout the world (like Humans out of Africa), though they were too slow to reach Aotearoa.
Image credit: Thanks again to by dear sister for the photo. | | | |
| [04/30/2008, 03:00] | European wine reform approved | | | The European Commission will adopt the legislation in order to bring the reform into force by August 1 2008. | | | |
| [05/19/2008, 00:53] | In Search of Authentic | |  In the last few weeks I have been mulling over the idea of what it means to be authentic. It seems that, along with terroir and technology, authenticity has a place on the bus. With regards to things Italian, and in my case, being a child of immigrants from Italy in search of the modern American experience, this is a multi-layered area.
Friends like Carlo on the east coast and Roberto on the west coast could probably attest to their version of this experience. When I talk to Italians who have newly come to America, they have a different idea of what it is to be Italian and also what it means to become American. As well, when I talk to 3rd generation Italian-Americans, they have some very different ideas about their roots and their current place in the sun.
One size doesn?t fit all.
When you add the focus of my interest, wine and food, there can be a multitude of expressions. I?ve said that about three times now, so everyone who has gotten this far probably gets it now. But, what if we were all right? And all wrong?
 How do we perceive our place in our culture? In my case, it?s like this. I was born in California and spent half my life there. So I am definitely a Californian, in fact there are few native Californians around anymore. I've lived in New York and go back there often. Half a lifetime ago I moved to Texas, and I consider myself also a Texan. And yes both set of grandparents came from Italy and both of my parents are of Italian origin, so I am also an Italian. Not like Italians in Italy. But Italian, according to the way I see it.
Where does my authenticity come from? It comes from anywhere and everywhere, and most likely from the stronger parts of my personality. There is this triumvirate of the Italian-Californian-Texan which directs the movie of Alfonso. These three versions of me running around in my head also have on the bus the ancient Roman, The New Yorker, the Native American, the Egyptian, the Arab, the priest, the gunslinger and the Boy Scout.
We all have some things directing our inner movie. What are yours?
Food: Let?s take this slow. My mom, when I was growing up, made all kinds of food. We had lentils, we had meatballs. We had fish, we had lasagna. We had eggplant Parmigiano, we had burgers. If my dad was in the mood, we?d have tripe in tomato sauce. Or she?d bread up some meat cutlets and fry or bake them off. On Friday?s she?d bake these flat loaves, slice them open, put fresh ricotta and olive oil, salt and pepper, and nobody in our neighborhood ate better that night. We had broccoli, we had the most amazing manicotti that my mom would make. She was good with pasta. And her cannoli were to die for. She still makes a fruit cake (at 93) that she sends to me. I drizzle it with brandy and it can last for years.
 260-268 Elizabeth St, NY
My sister Tina has a canister of noodles our grandmother made before she died in 1976. She calls them Nonna?s noodles and they are in her kitchen, her good luck totem that protects the ancient recipes she has learned. She picked up all the great recipes from the grandmothers, the aunts, the mothers and mother-in-law and she rocks the kitchen. Is it Italian? She makes dolmas to die for. Now my mom does too. No, it isn?t indigenous, but it is delicious. They?re not overdone with technique, just what was handed down. Maybe a short cut here or there. But this has become part of the experience of being an immigrant in an America where everyone wins.
 Wine: The old guys used to slip me a glass of wine, not mixed with water. When I hear that or read it in someone?s memoirs, I want to raise my hand and ask a question. I do not remember it ever happening to me. My grandfather never did it when he gave me a little sip of brandy before I went to sleep. At the table, there was wine. And later on in the 1970?s, somehow, carbonated beverages showed up in the kitchen. But they went with sandwiches, with lunch, as a snack, and rarely. Not for dinner. Coke with my grandma?s roasted lamb? Never. 7-Up with my mom?s spaghetti and meat ball? 7-Up was for when you were sick. It went with her healing chicken soup with acine di pepe. Wine just didn?t taste good when one was puny.
 My dad started buying jugs of California wine and putting them in decanters. He was a trickster, liked to impress his business partners. I still remember those wines, mountain red. They remind me of Montepulciano or Cotes du Rhone. White wine? I drink it now and love it. Back then, it wasn?t around. Too bad, my mom?s manicotti would have been pretty good with a Soave or a Gravina. But it was not to be.
Did the wines taste spoofed up? Not at the time. And I think, even though they were probably made in a 1960-ish semi-industrial manner, the wines weren?t doctored with wood dust or deep purple. For sure, they weren't "thermostyled". I can still remember how those wines taste and they tasted, to me, more like country wines from Central and Southern Italy. Big surprise, most of the wines were made by children of Italian immigrants, or the immigrants themselves.
 I remember asking my mom?s mom once, how she compensated for the loss of her motherland. She left Italy when she was 30, so she had time to get into being an Italian, even if she was dirt poor (They ate well even then). She had been transplanted and re-grafted onto a new country. That was it in her eyes. She never looked back. She became a Native American.
 Now, when I hear the chatter and debate of indigenous vs. international, of natural vs. technology driven, of fruity and alcoholic vs. acidic and restrained, I step off the trolley for a minute. And I take a deep breath. And then get back into the battle zone. My shield has a coat of arms on it that explains to friends and foe alike, what I believe in. And this isn?t the first time I?ve said it on this blog.
Authentic? I want the best you can give me. I want truth and I want beauty. I want meaning and it needs to be deep. And if, for some reason you cannot bring that to my table, flirt with me, compliment me, do your magic. Do your best. Just make sure it is delicious.
Images courtesy of the great photographers from the past | | | |
| [11/25/2006, 07:54] | What is Corked Wine? | | Keeping a wine bottle sealed is probably the most important factor when it comes to maintaining a good wine.
A cork is essential, as it keeps oxygen out of the wine bottle. If a bottle of wine is not airtight then it may become oxidized and undrinkable
Traditionally, the only corks worth considering were those actually made of cork. Recently, however, many wine experts have recognized that cork may actually cause more problems than it solves.
Cork, due to its malleable nature may have imperfections; these can result in the seal of the bottle not being as airtight as it could be and the wine being spoilt. In an attempt to avoid this problem, modern cork manufacturers may treat the cork with a chemical called TVA. Unfortunately, this chemical can cause the wine to taste and smell a little damp and musty.
Having said this, cork is able to expand to fully fill the neck of the bottle, which therefore, still makes it the preferred option for special wines that need to be stored, over a long period of time.
Plastic corks are becoming increasing popular, of late. One of the main problems associated with traditional corks is that the wine becomes 'corked'. Plastic corks prevent this occurring. Great! I hear you say. However, there can be minor irritations with plastic corks. A plastic cork can sometimes be difficult to extract from the bottle and virtually impossible to fit back into a half drunk bottle.
Another recent development is the widespread use of screw-top bottles. Until recently, this type of seal was used for only the cheapest of wines. Wine producers across the globe are now recognizing the benefits that screw tops provide. This type of seal ensures that wine is kept fresh; there is no chance of the wine becoming 'corked' and the bottle can be easily resealed. In reality, the only reason that screw tops are not more popular is because of the ingrained snobbery associated with this method of sealing a bottle.
No matter which type of cork you choose, it is important that you are able to recognize whether the wine has been properly sealed or not. A useful test is to see whether the top of the cork is level with the top of the bottle; if it isn't, then that particular bottle of wine is probably best avoided.
If a traditional cork breaks when you are removing it - don't panic! Use a corkscrew to attempt to 'dig out' the remaining cork. If this fails, simply push the remains of the cork down into the bottle. Contrary to popular belief, this will not destroy the wine's flavor. You may have to fish out a few bits of cork, but the taste of the wine should remain unaffected. However, you'd be wise to finish the whole bottle, under these circumstances!
When choosing your wine, base your decision on the wine itself and not the type of cork. Resist the temptation to be a cork snob; a screw top bottle may just give you a pleasant surprise
About the author:
Ever since Neil Best first pondered the question, Who made the first wine anyway? he's been recording his findings at Good Glug. Find about your favorite wine regions, wine recipes, and speciality wines along with how it's made and how best to store it for maximum enjoyment
| | | |
| [01/01/1970, 02:00] | Threesomes | | | In the world of numerals, one is the loneliest number. And things that come in twos are hopelessly conjugal: but groupings of three, as counterintuitive as it may seem, have a perfect symmetry. Like a triangle, they are seductively in balance. The three?s meanings are more than threefold. For starters there?s three strikes?the objective if you are a pitcher, something to avoid at all costs if you are an unrepentant felon living in the state of California. Then there are the endless triumvirates, like the Three Musketeers, the Three Stooges, the Three Blind Mice and the Three Little Pigs. Good luck and bad luck both travel in threes, the Holy Trinity makes the digit sacrosanct, and if you were granted three wishes, chances are you would use one to manifest a ménage à trios (streaming video may be sent to http://www.winexmagazine.com). In the culinary world, three is also a magical number. Here?s where the harmonic convergence of flavors, textures and aromas can feed off one and other. Three wisely chosen ingredients can create taste sensations that truly are greater than the sum of their parts, yet less involved, less expensive and less time-consuming than infinitely more complicated dishes. And the best news is that with fewer ingredients and fewer steps, you?ll have more time for your love triangle. Now if that genie would just respond to your text messages. Here is a succulent, sensuous, trilogy of foolproof three-ingredient recipes. Cocktail Dates
(yields 12 bites) In their unadorned state, Medjool dates are nicknamed ?nature?s candy?. Stuff these babies with the nuttiness of Parmigiano-Reggiano, wrap them in the smoky saltiness of bacon, and bake them, and they will turn into molten balls of decadence that will explode in your mouth and blow your mind. 12 large dried Medjool dates
6 slices bacon, cut in half
4 oz. chunk Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit Slice date from top to bottom as deep as the pit. Pry open date and remove pit. Reserve dates. Using your sharpest knife, cut Parmigiano-Reggiano into pieces that are just slightly larger than the pit you have just removed. Place cheese where the pit was and pinch the date around the cheese to seal. Wrap each Parmigiano-stuffed date with a slice of bacon. Set dates on a baking sheet, seam-side down, and skewer with a toothpick to hold bacon in place. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until bacon is crispy. Caution: Let cool for a few minutes before serving. Maple Salmon Suckers
(yields 12 suckers) This savory sucker comes with the Surreal Gourmet?s money back guarantee. If you are not completely satisfied, we?ll refund the purchase price and transfer an undisclosed sum from the estranged wife of a deported Nigerian business tycoon directly into your bank account. Simply forward us your banking details. 1 1/2 lbs. salmon fillet, preferably wild (select thickest fillet available)
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 T coarsely grated black pepper (I consider pepper a condiment rather than an ingredient. If you disagree, feel free to contact my attorney) Slice salmon into 1/4-inch-thick strips. Place salmon slices in a resealable plastic bag along with syrup and soy. Force out the air and seal. Marinate in the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours, but ideally for 24 hours. At the same time, soak 12 bamboo skewers in water (resealable plastic bags work well for this task too). Preheat grill or broiler to high heat. Remove salmon from marinade and skewer from the wide end. Place pepper on a small plate and dip one edge of the salmon in it. Grill salmon on a well-oiled BBQ grate over direct heat, or directly under a broiler for 1 minute per side, or until just cooked throughout, yet still moist. Serve immediately, or suffer the consequence of the fish drying out. Bee Stings
(yields 12 bites) The pigs, cows, and bees have done all the heavy lifting, making this the least amount of effort you will ever have to expend for the greatest amount of accolades. 1/4 cup best-available honey
1/2 T white truffle oil
6 oz. block Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese In a small bowl, combine honey, truffle oil, and pepper. Reserve. Just before serving, use a paring knife to chisel cheese into irregular 1/2-inch nuggets. Drizzle truffled honey over each nugget. For added savoryness, finish with freshly ground black pepper (To get the most Parmigiano-Reggiano for your buck, look for rindless center cuts. For the freshest Parmigiano-Reggiano, purchase from stores that move a lot of it.) |
| | | |
| [05/19/2008, 16:49] | Despite rising costs, still the land of plenty | |  Food has been in the news quite a bit recently. Rising prices of corn and rice have sparked unrest in countries in which they are staple foods, and residents of the United States are having to deal with shortages of certain commodities, such as rye. The reduced salmon population in California, Oregon and Washington is expected to push the prices of wild Alaskan salmon to as much as $40 per pound (we'll find out just exactly how much when Copper River salmon gets to our area later this week or next). And the political support for ethanol subsidies is slipping as corn prices rise.
News stories about dollar-stretching and belt-tightening abound, so it was a bit of an eye opener to read a story in The New York Times that says Americans throw away 27 percent of their available food, or about a pound a day per person. This isn't a purely American phenomenon: Brits throw away a third of their food, and Swedes up to a quarter.
And while 30 million tons of food is deposited annually into U.S. landfills, Second Harvest reports that contributions to food banks has declined by nine percent. It's a complex problem (complicated, as many things are, by the specter of liability lawsuits); follow the link and read the whole thing.
In the meantime, remember what your mother said: Eat everything on your plate; and waste not, want not. | | | |
| [05/08/2008, 04:12] | An Italian's Love For New York | |  ?Oshpett, oshpett,? the beer vendor barked on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Yankee Stadium. He was clearing the way for fans to get to their seats when I heard the remnants of a southern Italian dialect, several generations removed. For the folks he was selling beer to, he?d often end his transaction with a parting ?Chin-tann.?
Layered under decades of time and waves of subsequent immigrations, the Italian voice is stretched but not silenced. One needs only to scratch the surface only slightly to see the Italian presence in New York.
?Dig down into New York and you?ll reach Rome,? I once heard on a cold winter night several decades ago. I?m not sure how that applies in today?s world, but looking around the city today, it seems Italians are exploring the new New York, and loving every minute of it.
 Once a section at the ballpark would be filled with suited up gentlemen, hats and all, with their mandatory cigar, looking after the legacy of Lazzeri, Rizutto and DiMaggio. These days the field has altered and they sit in their seats along fellow fans from Japan, from all over the world, and follow the careers of Giambi, Jeter and Matsui. E la nave va.
 Hungry? Get yourself a Nathan?s, a kosher dog or a hot Italian sausage. You can even find a cannolo in the stadium if you dig deep enough.
Traveling in the subways and walking along the streets upside one can hear the ring of Italian being spoken. From the southern dialects now woven into a new patois? to the fresh staccato sounds of tourists from Friuli or the Veneto. The city is crawling with all kinds of Italians looking for a slice of New York to love.
| | | |
| [05/23/2007, 12:32] | International Wine Challenge Medals announced | | Yesterday saw the announcement of the medal winners for the International Wine Challenge. This year 9,358 wines were judged from 35 different countries, by 400 judges. The judges came from 19 different countries and included 33 Masters of Wine. 260 Gold medals were awarded, 1,129 wines won Silver medals and 1,839 wines won Bronze medals. The top 3 medal winning nations remain the same as last year ? France, Australia and Italy. France scooped the most medals with a total tally of 635. English wines continue to show improved form with 21 medals in 2007 up from 16 last year. Of the UK Supermarkets Tesco stocks most medal winning wines whilst Sainsbury?s can claim the most Golds. Waitrose own-label wines won 3 Silver and 5 Bronze medals. Here at Bottletalk HQ we’ll be sure to be trying a few of these award winners and letting you know what we think on the site. | | | |
| [11/07/2007, 21:41] | Tikve? Winery - Macedonia | | Based in Kavadarci, Macedonia, Tikve? is the largest winery not only in Macedonia but also in the whole of south-eastern Europe. The Tikve? region is a part of Macedonia abounding in natural beauty, with a distinctive habitat and climate, important cultural and historical sites, and a very long tradition of grape growing and wine making. 
The Tikve? region occupies the central part of the Republic of Macedonia; it is situated about a hundred kilometres south of Skopje, around the middle section of the River Vardar. The sub-Mediterranean climate is prevalent here, characterized by long, hot summers and mild and rainy winters. Spring is shorter and fresher here, and autumn is longer and warmer. The ratio between produced red and white wines is 50:50. The most widely grown grape varieties are Smederevka (white) and Krato?ija (red). The range of produced wines depends on the vintage, but the list of wines they produce as quality wines (a step above table wines) could be wrapped up as: Reds: Krato?ija, T?ga za Jug, Teran, Alexandria, Merlot, Burgundec, Kavadarka, Cabernet Sauvignon, Vranec and Rose Whites: Belan, Riesling, Traminec, Smederevka, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Temjanika and Alexandria.  For the ?Special Selection? wines Tikve? has chosen the highest quality grapes and turned them into their best wines. In the red wine range these are Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot and Vranec, while in the white wine range these are Chardonnay, Riesling, Temjanika and Traminec. The Special Selection wines come with a distinctive label.
Technorati Tags: Macedonia Wines, Macedonia, Tikves | | WorldWine Tags: Macedonia Wines, Macedonia, Tikves, | | | |
| [08/23/2006, 18:21] | From the bowels of the cellar | |  When you start building a cellar and amass any quantity of wine, you're bound to forget some of the bottles you've stashed away. Rediscovering them is like meeting up with an old friend.
So much to talk about, so many memories to rehash.
Last night, when the Chef brought up the Trapiche 2000 Malbec Oak Cask, it was a surprise. I'd forgotten about this bottle, which my friend Rachel gave to me years ago. Why I'd never thought to drink it, I don't know. The wine's not expensive - maybe $7-$10 - but I'm glad I held on to it. The aroma was powerful, with touches of violets, baked goods, cigar and cherries. The flavor itself was ripe with purple, stain-year-teeth fruit and spice. It started out weak in the middle of my mouth, but opened up beautifully and finished long. I'd put this wine up against any mid-priced, big California wine, and at the end of the day I'd have a few more dollars in my pocket.
It's been the case for me that these forgotten bottles tend to resurface at just the right time, for just the right meal, just the right occasion. This one - surprising, but still very promising - came as I'm preparing to make some job changes.
Some people have horoscopes, others magic eight balls. Me, I turn to my cellar. I'm taking this bottle as a good sign.
Categories: wine, Malbec | | WorldWine Tags: wine, Malbec, | | | |
| [05/19/2008, 02:33] | Lebanese wine | | Went to dinner with my bf at a Greek & Lebanese place last week, and tried Ksara Blanc de l'Observatoire.
Very nice...not too dry but crisp, well rounded...though the recommendation was to have it with chicken, so I kinda wish I would have ordered a chicken dish rather than the gyro salad...the description mentioned a lot of fruitiness, and I wasn't really picking up the fruit tones.
What's the best wine you've had from a "non-typical" region? (ie, not from France, Aussie, Spain, Germany, US) | | | |
| [05/04/2008, 03:09] | Working - I Think So | | With the help of Bron Marshall and J I seem to be back on track. I'm now under www.winosandfoodies.com . Which means you will need to alter your subscription in your readers as originally my URL was set to winosandfoodies.TYPEPAD.com and that is where you would have subsscribed to.
Thanks Bron.
Posting soon. | | | |
| [05/02/2008, 10:11] | Homemade Pizza | | Years ago I used to make a lot of homemade bread. During high school and for a few years afterwards, I made all kinds of loaves: traditional baguettes, artisan European breads, sourdough, crazy experimental loaves, gargantuan Russian bread cooked in a full 5 qt. Dutch oven, and whatever else struck my fancy. It wasn't uncommon for me to keep half a dozen different flours on hand at any given time. At some point I moved on to other things, and great local bakeries have filled the need for the odder kinds of bread.
A brief mention of Mario Batali's Otto mentioned a pizza technique I'd been wanting to try. His restaurant starts pizza on a griddle and finishes it in the oven. I've read of similar ideas using a cast-iron skillet, and that's what I tried.
 Making the dough was easy even though it had been forever. Recipe? We don't need no stinkin' recipe! Flour, water, salt, yeast, a dash of sugar. Allowed to rise twice, etc. While the dough was doing its thing I took some Muir Glen canned tomatoes, spiced them up a bit and reduced it all down for the sauce. The cooking method requires a bit more detail. (I've got an electric oven, so with gas this will be a bit different.)
I moved a rack of the oven to the top position and turned the broiler on, leaving the door shut. The big cast iron skillet was allowed to heat on medium high until all the metal was hot. I formed the crust into a rough disc as thin as possible (about 1/8" thick on my example but with more refined dough you can go even thinner--just cook it less). Lay out your mise en place, making sure to have everything ready. Put the pets in another room, turn off the smoke alarm, and prepare to sweat.
I spooned a bit of the homemade sauce on the dough, just enough to get the flavor and some nice chunks of tomato. Too much will make it soggy. I topped it with cut fresh mozzarella balls and a little Sriracha sauce. Dash of sea salt and pepper. I scattered a little cornmeal in the cast iron skillet and immediately slid the pizza into the skillet. Just a couple of minutes until the bottom is crispy and is flecked with a few black marks. Before the bottom burns, slide it out of the skillet (don't burn yourself) onto a plate or pizza peel. Then slide it directly onto the rack of the oven directly under the broiler. Cook until desired level of bubbling/browning/etc. For me it only took another couple of minutes.
While prep and everything took a while, the actual cooking time on the pictured pizza was less than five minutes. Five hot and busy minutes, but quick nonetheless. I threw some fresh basil and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano on top and enjoyed it mere seconds after this photo was taken. Great pizza. Light and crispy, full-flavored, and the crust had those little charred spots that do wonders for the taste.
I will warn you that the potential for screwing this up is great. Don't take your eyes off the pie at any stage of the process and be prepared for some smoke. But if you're willing to bear the heat as temperatures rise here in the South, then go for it. | | | |
| [01/07/2008, 05:38] | I can't believe it's not Stelvin! | | There are those who cling to the 'romance' and 'tradition' of popping the cork prior to imbibing. Then there are those who think such 'romance' and 'tradition' are ridiculous if these totems potentially mean stinking, spoiled wine. Both camps have valid points. I'm a sentimental, shmoopy sucker for the romance involved in popping the cork. But then, If I've dropped 40 or 50 clams, and my just-popped bottle of wine smells like a box-full of soggy, old Boys Life magazines, I set up camp amongst the pro screw-cap crowd.  Must the wine lover chose between faulty corks and sterile Stelvins when it comes to bottle closure? Would that there were a closure, which could preserve in an aesthetically appealing manner. Thank the cosmos for Vino-Lock. This glass stopper is much prettier than a Stelvin and, of course, more reliable than cork oak bark cylinders.
Just a few weeks ago I took home the first glass-stopped wine to appear in the wine shop. I loved it. And the wine wasn't too bad either. Cusumano IGT Sicily Merlot 2006 ($12) - A simple, exuberant Merlot made more appealing by its aesthetically cool glass stopper. This inky-purple wine offers scents of cherry jelly and baked strawberry. Its flavors a simply tangy fruit. Cusumano Merlot is nothing if not pleasant and eager to accompany pizza. Technorati Tags: italy, merlot, wine 
| | WorldWine Tags: italy, merlot, wine, | | | |
| [05/04/2008, 14:34] | Wine Bahs | |  New York
?The last time I saw a selection of wines this idiosyncratic was on a closeout list from a distributor,? somebody was heard to say, when talking about one of the many wine bars that have sprung up across the country.
Whether it is to find an outlet for those seldom seen wines, that do often languish in the corners of many a wholesaler?s warehouse, or if it is the result of a methodical search for a pure expression of wine, today?s wine lover need only to stumble into a wine bar. Or enoteca, as we say, on the wine trail.
Minutes before I was to do just that, I was in a clothing store that caters to young urbanites. On display were as many different T-shirt selections as I would soon be faced with when looking at the wine list. One shirt caught my attention. It read, ?Who the f*** is Mick Jagger??
An hour later, over a glass of Gruner, Mick would pass by our window, sans entourage.
30 minutes earlier I slipped into the wine bar, before my friends. Ordering up a glass of an Italian white, an Asprinio, it recalled a wine I had made a hundred years ago in California. Tangy fruit up front, a hint of volatility, not quite ready for oil and salad, but veering off in that direction. That?s OK with me in small doses. Italian whites, especially made in a rustic style, can be charming when that element is doled out judiciously. Civet in a perfume can be attractive, ask anyone who loves Chanel No.5.
Speaking of the rear end of a tomcat, I am sitting here struggling with terroir. My friend and I had an appointment with the owner of a wine bar, who walked in, and by, chatted up his staff, looked not in any direction at his clientele (one of which, wasn?t he supposed to rendevous with?), and headed back out the door.
Maybe it?s all those years I worked at being invisible when I photographed on the streets. Perhaps he is forgetful, though we met and spent time together, recently. I?m quite sure the success of his career has nothing to gain from knowing me.
All these thoughts, not just to excoriate the young lion for his comportment. More to my quest is this elusive search for recognizability in that thing we call terroir.
 I use a different word which comforts me and because I understand it better than terroir. Territoriality. Probably a made up word, but one which offers focus to a blurry scatter of opinions about the spirit of a place, which means something to us for a reason. Maybe it is because grapes grow there and unforgettable wine results. Or hands making memorable music. Perhaps it is because a certain potato flourishes there, exclusively, and from those potatoes a gnocchi (that I?ll never ever forget) of which I had three bowls, at lunch, in the Marche. Back there, in the dungeon of my memories.
As the forgetful proprietor hurried off to his more important task, my friend arrived with a colleague. We sat down to drink that bottle of Gruner, Mick hurrying off in the same direction as Mr. Oblivious. Everyone to their own T-shirt. Wine boss, rock hoss, jazz joss. Not yet, Thelonious, that?s coming, uptime, uptown. Later.
While the revolutionary T-shirts are brought to the table with a sampler of appetizers, we ordered another bottle, this time a red. I proceeded to blunder, thinking the name was printed on the list with a redundancy. My younger, more mentally agile colleague gracefully corrected me. Just so everyone knows, Italian wines, even to those who make a life study of them, have many, many names. This one, known as Lacrima di Morro d?Alba, just to make things interesting, is also not from Alba. Or anywhere near Piedmont. Look it up. Oh, and the winemakers sometimes use the Tuscan governo process, but it?s not from Tuscany. Got it?
About this time one of the observant ones at our table casually mentioned that Tom Waits just shuffled by, in the direction of William Burroughs old place. One of them is late. This is one helluva people-watching wine bar.
|
|
Oh I like this. I thought the inaugural vintage was pretty good but this one really hits the bullseye. It is matured for 8 months in one, two and three year old French oak. This is a very fine example of new school Australian chardonnay. 
