My Half Full Glass - January 17th, 2013

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Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve Bourbon

This was one of the bottles of whiskey I picked up for my whiskey bar during the first of our two holiday open houses late last year. I like the everyday Knob Creek as a solid sipper so when I saw this bottle of Single Barrel Reserve I figured I should give it a spin.

The initial aromas give up dried fruits, caramel, vanilla and hints of charcoal or smoke. In the mouth it is sweeter than I would have expected and an element of black pepper spice is pretty accessible. The wood notes are also pretty forward, especially after a few swirls. 

At 120 proof this Bourbon doesn't mess around, the heat comes in strong and lingers, but not to a fault. This whiskey is a bit stronger than I really like and for that reason I don't think I would buy it as a sipper again. That said, when making a Sazerac or Old Fashioned cocktails the flavors of this Bourbon continue to shine and the heat is moderated to a level much more aligned with my palate.  Of the four or five of us that nearly killed the bottle, as you can see in the picture, nobody had anything bad to say, although the heat and strength of it was noted by all.

Castello D'Albola Le Ellere Chianti Classico

To some people Chianti can often be pedestrian and boring. I've had my share of flamboyantly boring examples of it over the last few years, and because of that I don't often purchase a bottle unless I have a solid personal recommendation. Boring was not the case this time, and I'm happy to say I'm actually in a position to make a recommendation worth following the next time Chianti would be a good fit for a wine purchase. I received this bottle of Castello D'Albola Le Ellere Chianti Classico as a sample from the wine lovers at Zonin

Other than the fact that the cork disintegrated while trying to open it I can't say anything bad about this wine.

The nose was vibrant, pushing forth cherry, currant and tart red fruits. The wine smells clean and friendly. In the mouth the flavors of cherry and currant were predominant  for me. Wood notes were subtle and a hint of vanilla was found after a bit of concentration. The finish is long and for an otherwise dry wine the dryness doesn't accelerate through the finish, mellowing a bit as it goes. 

I enjoyed this wine before dinner and then experienced a good match for it with Margherita pizza. I could see the pairing potential of this wine to extend to other Italian classics and hope to try it again with a cheese & charcuterie plate where I also think it will work well. I would definitely buy this wine. The average retail price seems to be somewhere between $20 and $25.

Cheers!

Jason

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Do We Need an Excuse To Drink Red Wine?

The easy answer is no. As long as it is good, of course.
Last weekend I tried a couple of reds I hadn’t had before that were worthy of reviews. The Chianti was specifically selected to test the go-to pizza pairing for many sommeliers. We also paired the pizza up with our 2008 Montelpulciano. That particular wine ended up being very understated and simple, but not totally off the mark for the table versions of it that are commonly found in abundance in the central and southern Italy.

Antinori Peppoli Chianti Classico 2007

I haven’t had many Chianti’s that wowed me. Most people I know would believe that to be a fool’s quest. I don’t buy it. I am sure that there are finer versions of Chianti to be had, and that they are produced with the kind of care that so many other revered styles are. The Antinori Peppoli was definitely one of the best ones I have had, but I still feel there is room to grow from here. I found the aroma to be pretty even between red fruits and oak/earth. The flavors of ripe red raspberries, vanilla and bitter dark chocolate were carried along a moderate to long finish. The tannins were pronounced but soft in nature, not creating a significant teeth cleansing sensation. The wine paired well with both a supreme pizza that contained several meats and vegetables, and a mushroom and onion version. The mushrooms were specifically accentuated up against the earthy, oak flavors in the wine. I’d drink this wine again, but I do consider it as a place to continue to search from.

Ancient Fire 2008 Montelpulciano

I have struggled to find a consistency in the fruit flavors in this wine. The nose is very light and while the color is good, taken together it is a pretty unremarkable wine. My lack of knowledge (of the grape and the typically outcome) at the time I made it prevented me from taking the choice to blend a little bit of Sangiovese and Merlot into it to add complexity. It is drinkable, but not exciting. It did do an admirable job with the pizza however. It handled both pizzas well, but didn’t work any magic on either; something appropriate when the folks eating and drinking weren’t really interested in being mindful of the pairings. I won’t ever make this exact wine to be sure, and when I want to make something Italian again, experimentation with Sangiovese and a Super-Tuscan style is most likely.

Chamard Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

In 2010 Margot and some of her girlfriends visited Chamard Vineyards in Clinton, CT for a tasting of their wines. Having experienced CT wines previously Margot was prepared for their generous acidity and their distinctions from wines made elsewhere from the same grapes. Of all of the wines tasted Margot decided the Cabernet was the best. Her friend Julie agreed and I got the prize of a whole bottle to enjoy. I picked up aromas of raspberries and leafy greens in the nose. The flavors of plum and blackberry came with the expected dose of acidity and subtle wood influence. This was a very pleasing wine and raised my curiosity to try their other wines despite Margot insisting this was the very best one they tried.

Cheers!

Jason

A Virtual Visit to Tuscany

( Colline del Chianti  )

I’ve started hitting the geography books, wine geography that is, in preparation for the introductory sommelier exam sometime in 2011. The first exam isn’t about tasting or serving wine, it is about how it’s made, but primarily WHERE it’s made. But I digress.

I started with Italy because I know the least about it's wine and winemaking. As I was reviewing central Italy, Tuscany stood out. While I have had Tuscan wines before I never took the time to evaluate them. I recall enjoying them, but that just isn’t good enough!

Grape growing and winemaking in Italy and the region of Tuscany go back so far it isn’t really worth putting a date on it. One date you might see be highlighted is 1716, which was when the Chianti wine-area was first defined. Tuscany at large has a long storied cultural history and has been the home to notable historical figures such as da Vinci, Michelangelo, Dante and Galileo to name a few. The regional capital of Florence evokes visions of sculptures, paintings, architectural masterpieces, music and theater. Tuscany is known for its wines with Chianti, Brunello and Montelpulciano being several of the most widely known.

( This is what we were trying to recreate at home! )

With my newly acquired (from the reading) knowledge about the Italian DOC system and the region/sub-regions Tuscany encompasses I thought I might acquire a few under-$20 bottles to sip and review. It also made sense to pair these wines with some Italian meats, cheeses and olives for a broader sensory experience. (Note: we had this tasting on October 6th 2010, the night I started feeling off which ultimately led to my near death and a four day stay in the hospital. I assure you it was not the wine or the food. That event is also why it took me so long to post this, the memory is bittersweet because I knew I didn’t feel well but didn’t think a doctor’s visit was required. Wrong!)

I picked up mixed marinated olives, potato bread, a piece of Il Saggio (aged goat’s milk cheese), a block of Fontina cheese, Prosciutto, Coppa (spicy) and Sopressata at Salumeria Italiana on Richmond St. in Boston’s North End. The shop owners were extremely helpful answering all my questions and they even thought my project was and exciting way to experience the wine and food of different places around the world. My visit ended after tastes of aged balsamic vinegars (one was 25 years old!) and some house olive oils, both of which you can buy directly from them. I added some homemade basil pesto to the mix. It is just so good!

( Get ready to eat! )

I selected the following wines which represent two very different styles of Tuscan wine you can easily find,

• Castello di Bossi Chianti Classico 2006 (90 pts, $19, available from Wine.com)
• Villa Antinori Toscana Red 2004 (90 pts, $20, available at NH Liquor stores & Wine.com)

The Castello di Bossi had a nice ruby color and we did note a slight brown shift. At a little under 4 years old my guess would be that it wasn’t well warehoused. The tannins were moderate and we found flavors of dark cherries and a bit of smoke. The aroma of dark fruits was quite obvious when we first approached it. The finish was smooth and had a good length.

The Villa Antinori had a deep red color with a huge aroma of berries. The oak influence was apparent in both the aroma and flavor. We picked up flavors of chocolate and what I said was leather but could have been another combination of earthy flavors. The tannins were potent but not overpowering, and the finish was silky and smooth. The finish lingered and was immensely enjoyable. We have had this wine before and picked it specifically to give it a proper review. I would buy this again and recommend it as a good, accessible Tuscan IGT wine. IGT is a newer designation for wines from Italy that was specifically created so that the Super Tuscans, blends of Sangiovese and typical Bordeaux grapes, would have a category for quality control and marketing.

Because I wasn’t feeling so great my notes on the wine and food pairings are very light and don’t make good sense.. My vague recollection is that both wines paired well but not necessarily with the same foods. The cheese pairings were excellent and of course the meats when paired with the wines offered all sorts of nuances.

Cheers!

Jason

Picture citations

(1) http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chianti-colline2-2.jpg

(2) http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Salumi_e_vino_lucchese.JPG

(3,4,5) Our own

Frank Cooked It Up And We Paired It Up!

( Kath and I enjoying the party. )

Kathy Nelson, the owner of Salon Outlooks in Manchester, definitely knows how to plan a fun event. Combine the talents of two of her clients and the energy of quite a few others and what do you get? A great Italian cooking demonstration and a few good food and wine pairings.

On Friday November 12th Frank Carpentino walked us through a selection of Italian dishes using his philosophy of “no recipes”. Margot and I were given a rough idea of the ingredients that would be in the dishes and were challenged to recommend wines to pair with them. Our challenge included making recommendations that would be available from the local liquor store as well as several from our own collection.

We kept with the Italian theme and recommended the following wines available locally:

• Folonari Soave 2008 - very light body, subtle fruitiness, very dry & crisp
• Ruffino Chianti Classico Aziano 2007 - ripe fruit, earth, very complex for a lighter red
• Martini & Rossi Asti NV - sweet sparkler with great fruit flavors

We added the following wines from the Ancient Fire collection:

• 2009 Pinot Grigio - medium bodied, dry, grilled pear/melon flavors
• 2008 Amarone - full bodied, red fruit and oak, unique aromas
• 2009 Riesling Ice Wine (we don’t have any homemade Italian dessert wine)

Frank has an impressive list of food accomplishments and he easily kept the attention of the audience as he prepared his meals.

( A solid base for a great dish! )

Some of his credits are:

• The development and instruction of a Basic Cooking Program as part of the Derry Adult Education Program.
• The development & instruction of a basic cooking program for school age children
• Prior Head Cook for a Middle School with a population of over 1,000
• Cook for Passaconaway Country Club & Hidden Creek Country Club

Frank started with a salad dressed with an oil and vinegar based dressing. I had hoped the Soave might work here but alas it was too light. The Pinot Grigio worked better, but the dressing did have some character and a good wine pairing would be tough.

Moving from salad to the main course Frank prepared pasta and fresh vegetables, which consisted of onions, peppers, mushrooms and broccoli in a light sauce of tomatoes, butter and white wine. Several of us found the Pinot Grigio worked better than the Chianti making my initial recommendation the winner. The score is all tied up!

The next dish was Frank’s North End Pasta, a tomato based sauce with sausage, onions, peppers and garlic over fettuccini. For this dish either of the red wines would work and which one exactly would be the best would depend on individual taste. The Amarone was the winner creating a nice bump for us coming from the homemade collection.

A shrimp scampi pasta dish came out next. My initial pairing advice was toward the white wines and the Soave primarily. It worked and people agreed. Score one more!

The last dish was chicken, vegetables in a rose (white and red wine) sauce. I didn’t actually eat this one because I was too busy serving wine. I think both of the whites and the Chianti were pairings people enjoyed, but I wouldn’t declare a win here since I didn’t work hard enough on it.

At this point everyone was feeling pretty full, but there was one last dish. Dessert. Cannoli to boot. Frank enlisted help from the audience to get these made and I prepared the ice wine and Asti for accompaniment. Both wines paired well with the lightly sweet dessert, but I think folks enjoyed the wines more on their own. Points for everyone.

This was a hugely rewarding experience for Margot and I. We got another chance to try our hand at food and wine pairing and in the process we created a bunch of smiles. Frank was commanding in the kitchen, with his passion and energy showing through.

Renee thanked us profusely for introducing her to Amarone, a style of wine she had yet to have enjoyed. We received other feedback which was truly humbling. We make wine at home for fun and always enjoy the fact that it brings others happiness when we share it.

Food and beverage pairing is a combination of art and science. I am always willing to to be wrong as long as I learn something in the process. Tonight I did OK, and learned that salad dressing can be a formidable adversary and that the the sauce of an Italian dish really makes the difference, almost without regard to whatever else is in the dish.

(The Outlooks crew with food and wine smiles! )

Cheers!

--Jason

Food Photography & Pairing with Coq au Vin

The number one item in today's Foodbuzz Top 9 is a stunning photo taken at just the right moment of Coq au Vin cooking with a flambé clearly underway. The photo was posted by Laura Laurentiu at the My Home Kitchenette blog. Awesome!

Check it out at http://www.foodbuzz.com/top9?number=1#s

I have been amazed at some of the photos I have seen in the last few weeks and definitely am challenging myself to get better with my own camera while I am in the kitchen. On to the food and wine.

In May 1995 Julia Child appeared on Good Morning America and cooked Coq au Vin. The background and of course the recipe for the dish can be found at http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/recipe?id=7113750. Similar to Beef Bourgogne (see my post on it at http://bit.ly/aAYHE3) the dish is meat, in this case chicken, onions and mushrooms braised in red wine. The key is the ragout of salt pork that sets up flavors for the finished product.

The recipe provides three possible wines for the braising, Zinfandel, Macon or Chianti. Macon caught my eye based on a recent tasting of a white from the same area. Macon is an area within the Burgundy region in France. Historically it had been known for its red wine, but is known much for the white wines made from Chardonnay produced there today. Red wine is still produced from the Pinot Noir and Gamay grapes and is typically dry, light, fruity and is considered an everyday drinking wine. Hailing from Burgundy and being an everyday style of wine I can understand the recommendation to use it in the dish. I did a couple of quick searches and couldn't turn up any that I could buy and I suspect since it is not a wine superstar it might not make it to the states.

Using this wine as a guide however, you could substitute a young Pinot Noir from Burgundy or even a Beaujolais (Nouveau from the current year if it is around November, or Beaujolais-Villages at other times) which might offer some of the same light, fruity and subtle flavors intended here.

For pairing I would suggest staying in the same realm of how the dish is made. Chianti, also recommended for cooking, has in my experience been a light and fruity wine that would do well here. The last Chianti I recall having (I believe something unremarkable was more recent) was from DaVinci and I do remember it being light in both nose and flavors, but smooth and an easy drinker. The Vinthropolgie blog has a nice write-up on Chianti at http://vinthropologie.blogspot.com/2010/05/italy-in-glass.html.

Cheers!

--Jason