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A Naples (Florida) Winelist Challenge
Brooklynguy's Wine and Food Blog 9 Mar 2010 | 7:28 pmA longtime reader contacted me the other day to say that he would be traveling in Florida, and would be having dinner with his wife at a restaurant in Naples. He wanted to know what I would drink if I were spending about $100. He said that he would prefer to drink either white or red Burgundy, but he would be open to other suggestions.Some one at Bleu Provence clearly loves wine - the list is extensive and detailed and contains more than a few wine-geek gems mixed in with the blue chips. Because I am an astonishingly competent procrastinator, I looked through the list carefully and came up with what I think are a few great ways to spend $100 on wine at Bleu Provence.We played this game together in July, by the way, and it was good fun. I'll tell you what I came up with, of course, in the comments, but I'd love to hear you first - what would you buy with $100 at Bleu Provence?After that I'll even tell you what the guy wound up drinking...
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Lazy yet poignant one word tasting notes
Rockss and Fruit 9 Mar 2010 | 5:12 pmI really have grown to hate tasting notes and that is why I have not posted many recently. Here are some with my new medium of choice. The one worder.2008 Schafer-Frohlich Felseneck Grosses Gewachs - Harmonic. 2001 JJ. Prum Graacher Himmelreich Spatlese - Secondary.NV Causse Marines Preambulles - Savory.2000 Cote de Baleau - Library.2002 Donnhoff Schlossbockelheimer Felsenberg Spatlese - Advanced.
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Barbera 2010: On Wood
saignée 9 Mar 2010 | 3:06 pm
Read more...Sitting down and tasting 68 Barberas yesterday made something quite clear to me. Wood can ruin wine. Wood can ruin Barbera. When we talk about flaws in wine we generally talk about flaws that are not intended by the winemaker. Brett. Volatile acidity. TCA. those kinds of flaws. But there i was tasting and the thing that made me recoil more than anything else was the liberal use of the barrique. Barbera after barbera were poured into the dump bucket after the only thing i wrote down was some: Woody. Woodesque. Woooooooooody. Woodsist. In an attempt to beef up these wines the winemakers have taken the very essential parts of barbera and obliterated them. Some blind tasted reminscent of new world cabernet. That clarion acidity that makes these wines so perfect, so wonderful with food had been smoothed over, a superhighway when a country would suffice. There were exceptions, of course, but the rule was barriqued, concentrated wine. Thor Iverson mentioned that the war between the traditionalists and the modernists seems to be mostly over. It seems he may be right. Up next: In which i meet a producer who knows how to treat a wine, On blind tastings, a serious assesment (or as serious as you can imagine from me), What the Belgians have to say, and my new hero. Disclosure: all wine, food, lodging, and all transportation paid for by various interested parties. See http://barbera2010.com/ for details on the people and entities involved. My tasting notes have not been influenced in any way, nor has my work on this blog and/or site, but the content of any work appearing only on that blog may (or may not) have been edited for content. I stole this disclosure from Thor Iverson who seems not to care.
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Can Your Spiritual Advisor Communicate with the Other Side?
Captain Tumor Man 9 Mar 2010 | 2:37 pm
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Mine can't. With or without Novocaine.
Sheila can channel some woman she sees in the rear view mirror of her car (see below),
but that's all.
I've been anxious to speak with my father and former New York City Mayor Abe Beame the past few days. Does anyone have a psychic who can help me out?
posted by: Joe Dressner at 3/9/10 5:37 pm -
Ode to Burgundy
The Pour 9 Mar 2010 | 1:03 pmAs some of you may have guessed from my column this week in the newspaper, I love Burgundy. I love to drink it, think about it, talk about it and write about it.
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One Word Tasting Notes
Cherries and Clay 9 Mar 2010 | 8:13 am
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Saignee’s recent post on one word tasting notes came just at the right time, as it was inspiring and due to opening this place within a few days, my blogging time allowance is at an all-time low.
Here’s what I tried yesterday:
1. Zippy 2. Floral 3. Boring
1. Off 2. Cabernet-ish 3. Sings! 4. Textbook
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Writing with Wine - Scruton and Terroir
John's blog 9 Mar 2010 | 5:16 amLast week a parcel was on the front porch and I forgot that I ordered I Drink, Therefore I Am, by Roger Scruton. By the title alone, you would think it is a self-help book for alcoholics or some sort of tell-all by a lead singer from an '80s hair band. I save those books for the beach, but I Drink is a philosopher's take on the meaning of wine as not only an "accompaniment to food," but also as an "accompaniment to thought." A few critics have written the book off as an overly-romanticized take on wine...read more
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Clos-Roche-Blanche Cellar Tasting
Wine Tasting, Vineyards, in France 9 Mar 2010 | 3:38 amCellar entrance at Clos Roche BlanceMareuil, Touraine (Loire) The rain outside left these droplets on my lens, making this picture of the underground gallery look even better with this beautiful spider-web effect. When I set a foot in the entrance...
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A face for radio (my Radio Marconi interview today at 11:50 Italian time)
Do Bianchi 9 Mar 2010 | 12:45 am
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Above: A face only a mother (and Tracie P could love). Photo by Alfonso.
Yesterday, my friend Samanta Cornaviera, radio personality for Radio Marconi in Milan, interviewed me, asking me questions about Barbera and Barbera Meeting 2010. You can here the interview here at 11:50 a.m. Italian time.
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Art Ensemble 40, Ars Nova 10
McDuff's Food & Wine Trail 8 Mar 2010 | 7:00 am
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Saturday night's performance by the Art Ensemble of Chicago, the fourth and final show in the Ars Nova Workshop's Anti-Jazz Series, proved to be fittingly climactic. Once through the first couple of minutes of tuning in and finding their rhythm, the band was on — and in a seriously powerful groove — for the duration of their gig, putting on what was for me by far the most completely enjoyable show of the series. Even though my photo (above) sucks from a technical perspective, I kind of like the way it captures the energy of the show — very circular and vibrational, with a hum that you could feel all the way through your body if you just closed your eyes and let it take you.The show was a fitting finale to the series from a benchmark perspective, as well. As the Art Ensemble, founded in 1969, has just entered its fifth decade of active musical artistry, Philadelphia's Ars Nova Workshop is poised to celebrate its own ten-year anniversary. Ars Nova's official 10th anniversary show is coming up in just a little over a week. Whether or not you make it to that performance is a moot point. Ars Nova promotes an amazing array of shows, with a nearly non-stop schedule. I won't go so far as to say there's something there for everyone; however, if you live in the Philadelphia area (or plan to visit) and are into creative music and cutting-edge jazz, you need to keep a regular watch on the Ars Nova event schedule.As for last Saturday's show, I wasn't quite sure what to expect but was obviously pleased. It had been the better part of 30 years since I'd last seen the Art Ensemble — an early '80s show at the Wax Museum in Washington, DC,[…] -
Still bubbling up
Sharon's Wine Blog 28 Feb 2010 | 8:46 am
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Unable to contain myself, I have returned to my frequent thematic stomping ground of farmer fizz.Just up, a guest post scribed by me for my friend Scott Reiner's blog, The Wine Explorer.In the meantime, I shall sedately relax from the pleasant aftereffects of a few bottles of Lassaigne (07 Papilles Insolites, 06 Le Cotet) and Selosse (Rosé) shared last night with a pair of similarly champagne-hoovering friends. -
Why there are so few great, inexpensive wines from California.
Slate Magazine - Drink 19 Feb 2010 | 11:56 am
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Bemoaning the dearth of good, inexpensive wines from California is like carping about the trivialization of politics or all the junk on television: It is such a self-evident point that it hardly bears repeating. But I'll go ahead and repeat it anyway, because this lacuna in California wine culture bothers me not only as an oenophile but as an American. In Europe, some of the most celebrated vintners put out modestly priced wines alongside their loftier offerings. Jean-Louis Chave's Hermitage (red or white—take your pick) sells for hundreds of dollars a bottle, but he also makes a delicious Côtes-du-Rhône that retails for about $18. Erni Loosen has an excellent $10 riesling. Aubert de Villaine, Christian Moueix, Dominique Lafon, and Alvaro Palacios all produce wines that are within reach of the budget-conscious. Nor is this trend confined to the Old World; David Powell, one of Australia's finest, puts out a quartet of sub-$20 wines. But among California's superstar vintners, there is almost no one making wine for the masses.[more ...]