napaman.com

I’m In a New York State of Mind

Just back from a week in New York and my head is dancing with images of some of the most intense, and pleasurable, foods I have tasted in two years.

Rather than get into hyper-specific detail and a micro-review of whole meals, I will offer a review from 15,000 feet up – highlights. Think of them as potential leads, if New York is on your radar screen. 

Espresso at Ninth Street Coffee, in Chelsea Market

While the entire Chelsea Market is worth a two-hour visit, the must-try is the profoundly rich, exceptionally complex, espresso and cappuccino served at the Ninth Street espresso bar. Their Alphabet City espresso blend is custom-roasted by Chicago-based Intelligentsia, whose coffee I also adore.

Even though Carol, my wife, is an espresso Zen master, roasting her own espresso beans at home daily, she insisted we purchase a 1-pound bag of Alphabet City beans to see if we could replicate the flavor of their espresso at home. The good news: We can. We did. We do.

Ninth Street Espresso in the Chelsea Market, 75 9^th Av., between 9^th and 10^th Streets. 212-228-2930.

  

The Beast Master Pizza at Roberta’s in Brooklyn

Our son, Jason, who lives in New York and who is a culture vulture, cocktail connoisseur and accredited foodie, compiled a list of must-try restaurants before we got to New York. One of the top spots on his list was this quirky, hipster-style boite in Brooklyn. In a crazy neighborhood, hidden behind an unmarked door, Roberta’s serves up some mighty fine fare, including some of New York’s best pizzas. 

We asked our server what she thought was the best of the best, and she suggested that we order a former house specialty, which at present is not on the printed menu. We acceded and ordered the Beast Master, a rich, satisfying, delicious pie combining mozzarella and Gorgonzola cheeses with a tangy tomato sauce. Great crust. Great pie. One of the best I have had in two years anywhere, our trips to Italy included.

Roberta’s, 261 Moore St., Bushwick, Brooklyn. 718-417-1118.

 

The $29 prixe-fixe lunch at Del Posto

Want to live like a king for a day? Dine at this regal 1-star Michelin restaurant, owned by Mario Batali. The setting is stunning; calm, royal, hushed. The food is of the caliber of that coming out of a 3-star Michelin kitchen. The service is refined, thoughtful, precise; so polished, in fact, that you’d swear you are in Europe.

With add-on prices for specific appetizers, unctuous sea meats and extravagant wines ordered from a magnificent list of Italian wines, our $29 per head luncheon with tax and tip wound up costing more than $100 per head. Never mind, it was so good that we made an effort to return two days later to repeat the indulgence.

If I were scoring the meal out of 100, I would have ascribed 105 points.

But when we returned the next day to rebook a second lunch, we were snubbed by two men at the maitre d’ station who were cold and disdainful. You might expect their demeanor at a mortuary, but not at a restaurant where one comes to celebrate life, not bury it. Their posturing was such a turn-off, in fact, that we canceled our return visit.

Top marks to Mary Grace who oversaw our thrilling dining experience and to Josh Eisenhauer, a tremendous sommelier, who hand-picked several brilliant wines to pair with our fare.

 

The desserts? I can’t recall having better confections in Italy. Superb.

 

 

Without question, our best meal of the week, by a city mile.

Del Posto, 85 10^th Ave., New York. 212-497-8090. 

 

Eataly

Chef Mario Batali and his wine sidekick Joe Bastianich teamed up with Oscar Farinetti, the creator of Eataly, a Turin-based, Italian food hall, to open New York’s Eataly last year. 

There are stories on the street that in its first year of operation, the New York food hall will gross nearly $90 million. That’s a success even if industry guessers are off by $10 or $20 million.

Eataly is New York’s new, must-visit food emporium, replacing Dean & DeLuca, Balducci’s, and Macy’s basement as the city’s “in” food destination. 

There’s something like 35,000 square-feet of food hall here, encompassing multiple eating areas (each featuring different fare – beef, fish, pasta, salads, wine, etc.) with multiple espresso bars, a gelato grazing station, shelves of Italian packaged goods, kitchen equipment, wine and beer.

I ate twice at the Le Verdure station, which features delicious salads. On my first visit, the grilled salad of bitter greens (Scarola alla griglia), tossed with pine nuts and sweet currants, was finished with a generous snowfall of Parmigiano Reggiano and a splash of a tremendous aged Balsamic vinegar (so good, that we bought a bottle to take home). We returned later in the week attempting to repeat the pleasure, but alas, a different cook, with a heavier hand, turned out a salad that was oily, dull, not delicate, and only memorable in that we would not order it again.

Eataly, 200 Fifth Ave., New York. 646-398-5100.

 

Parm

Katelyn, our counter server.

Our son Jason and several NY chefs insisted we visit this new lunch diner, a sister eatery to Torrisi next door, operated by two talented chefs, Rich Torrisi and Mario Carbone, who have worked with Mario Batali and Wylie Dufresne.

Baked ziti at Parm.

Only hours before our visit, the New York Times published a food story raving about the meatball sandwich here. Our counter server, Katie, kept her cool, despite the crush of patrons clamoring to get in to the small diner to order the sandwich. Call it meatball madness; at one point, the kitchen actually called a 30-minute time-out to catch up with a backlog of orders. 

Parm’s version of mile-high pie, a three-tiered, Neapolitan ice cream confection.

We opted to order the Parm chicken Parmigiana, served on a soft roll; delicioso. We also loved the ultra-moist, sliced turkey breast sandwich. 

Parm, 248 Mulberry Street, at Prince Street. 212-993-7189. 

 

The Breslin, in the Hotel Ace

Guests literally pigging out – on suckling pig.

Everyone raves about the lamb burger at The Breslin, which has two entrances, one on 29^th Street and one off the lobby of the Ace Hotel.

At 5 pm, the hotel lobby becomes a riot of young people, swarming to hook up with members of the same, or opposite, sex, and who are drinking some of the most exotic cocktails I’ve ever seen, or tasted. The din at 5 pm is so loud, it’s easier on the ears to go outside for a conversation; Broadway is like a hushed library compared to the decibel level in the hotel lobby.

But about the lamb burger: Juicy, moist, served with the best French fries I had all week in New York. And if one can make such a declarative statement – this is quite simply the best lamb burger I have ever had. Served on a soft, tasty bun, oozing taste.

Many wonderful and unusual cocktails served here, too. Don’t miss ’em.

The Breslin, 16 W. 29^th St., New York, 212-679-1939.

 

Il Buco

Il Buco, the original location.

So successful was the first Il Buco, that there are now two locations.  We visited both but ate at the recently opened one, where there is also a take-out, deli counter offering a selection of fine Italian meats and cheeses. Before dinner here, I noshed on the tastiest taralli (circular, pretzel-like breadsticks) I have ever had, and sampled delicious culatello, a refined version of prosciutto, reputedly made from heavier pigs.

Melissa, the bartender at Il Bucio II, works fast, making some of the tastiest cocktails I had in New York.

Dinner was sensational, a stampede of dishes brought to our table, one after another. The next day, we reviewed our printed receipt and observed that we had been brought small plates that we hadn’t ordered or paid for, and had been charged for dishes we ordered and never received. But the food and service, cocktails and wine, were so good that we didn’t feel gypped in the least. In fact, we can’t wait to return to sit at a community table again and try the many other dishes, which we didn’t have room to contemplate.

Il Buco II , 53 Great Jones, New York. 212-837-2622.

And finally, some additional food-related, and non-food-related, photos from our week in New York:

Best Wines of the Year

Ready, gang?

Here’s my annual summary of the year’s best wine experiences. Not just wines, but best wine experiences. 

Often we open great wines, which score high marks for what’s in the bottle; but a great wine experience has as much to do with the person with whom you are enjoying the wine, or the setting, as the wine itself. 

My Best Wine Experiences, in chronological order for the year:

The first wine experience of the year to grab me by the lapels occurred upon opening a 1970 Unfiltered Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet. The wine was made in Bob Mondavi’s forth year of production and it was the first year in which estate grapes were crushed.

My old friend Harry Grant, from Los Angeles, brought the wine to Napa Valley to celebrate our 41^st anniversary – of having met at the Thorn Tree restaurant in Nairobi, Kenya. The year we met was 1970 – the same vintage as this Mondavi Cab. Harry and I bonded as youthful travelers in search of the inconsequential, and we spent a year on extended safari, traveling all through southern Africa.

From left to right; Harry Grant, from LA, who gave me the ’70 Mondavi Cab, and Rob Fanucci, my winery partner at Charter Oak, with whom we drank the wine. Not seen: Ken Miller, another friend, also present at the dinner.

I took the Mondavi Cab to dinner for a winemaker’s night out; we invited Rob Fanucci, my partner and winemaker at Charter Oak winery and another good friend, Ken Miller. We dined at Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen, in St. Helena, enjoying some of the best burgers of the year, which perfectly complemented the rich and elegant ‘70 Mondavi Cab.

The wine was pleasing and sweet upon pouring, not what I expected from a 41-year-old wine. As the wine rested in the glass, it gained body, weight and a silken texture; 20 minutes later, the wine was better than it had been upon pouring. 

Initial flavors: cedar, tea, soy and ripe, older red fruit. Everything became more accentuated as the wine sat in the glass. A remarkable dowager wine, still strutting its stuff. 93 points.

Best Wine Night of the Year 

This has never happened to me in 35+ years of drinking and rating wines; the serendipity of opening four bottles of wine – two whites and two reds – and finding each of them a perfect 100-point wine experience. That’s a 400-point night!

The setting: Rutherford friends Liz and Dave Berry came for dinner on a beautiful August night; Among the gems we pulled from our respective cellars were two sublime white Burgundies and two exquisite, perfect and perfectly aged Chateauneufs-du-Pape.

What we drank.

2005 Patrick Javillier Corton-Charlemagne, Grand Cru.

2006 Marius Delarche Corton-Charlemagne Reserve

White Burgundies don’t get better than this. The peculiar thing is that I have opened many bottles of these two wines and due to bottle variation, have never had what I would call an “Aha!” moment. How strange then (and how wonderful!), to open BOTH these wines and find them exhibiting 100-point perfection. Extremely elegant, beautifully textured, sublimely pleasing.

1998 Domaine de la Mordoree Chateauneuf-du-Pape

Wowie. Over time, I have opened bottles of this wine, to which I ascribed 98 and even 99 points, but not ever 100. This particular bottle, however, commands a perfect score. Close your eyes and it could be a sublime Vosne Romanee; it has balance, finesse, elegance, hints of garrigue, and a plush, lingering finish.

2000 Domaine de la Vieille Julienne

My last bottle of this exceptional wine. A perfect bottle, showing saddle sweat, leather, earth, and a myriad of ripe fruit flavors. The wine ends with a long, delicious finish. If I thought eternity were this sweet and alluring, I might consider signing up for the package.

Even after several hours in a decanter, this wine had tons of life left in it – behaving like a well-trained ultra-marathoner who dances into the 50-mile marker, with tons of reserve to get to the finish line at mile marker 130.

Let’s Not Forget the Italians!

It was a great year for whites. We found this extremely delicious, extremely rare white from Jermann while traveling in Capri in September. Very little of this wine is exported to the US, but I recently found it on the menu in our ‘hood – and even by the glass! – at Alex’s Italian Restaurant, in Rutherford, here in Napa Valley.

I knew Silvio Jermann when I lived in Toronto, Canada. In the late 70s, he said he was moving to Fruili, Italy, to start producing wines. We patted him on the back and wished him well.

Don’t think we needed to wish Silvio luck; the guy’s super-talented and makes some of the very best whites in all of Italy. Today, his family farms close to 250 acres of grapes.

There isn’t anything Jermann makes that I wouldn’t score in the mid-90s, including his sensational Ribolla Gialla, which he labels “Vinnae.”

This wine is filled with fresh, tropical flavors, hints of mango skin and sports lush tropical scents. Fully dry and fully delicious, too. A 93-pointer for sure. Hints of Riesling and Tocai Friulano in the blend add to the richness and character.

I loved this wine so much that before leaving Capri, where we discovered it, I hunted down the last three retail bottles on the island and schlepped them home.

May your New Year be filled with fun, good health, and many wonderful wine experiences.

It Started in Napa Valley… and Yes, She’s Bananas for Bananas!

The world’s most popular fruit – the banana – has a new, tasty fan club.

Courtney Dougherty

Food entrepreneur Courtney Dougherty is launching a line of fully baked, ready-to-eat-out-of-the-jar, banana desserts that will have you smiling at their intense banana-based flavors.

Rather appropriately, the dessert line is called Bananappeal. Everything Courtney makes is all-natural, preservative-free and as she uses no hydrogenated oils, all her desserts are trans fat-free.

Courtney has produced four varieties of Cheesecake in a Jar:

Bananas Foster

Banana Gingersnap

Banana Tiramisu

Banana Strawberry

The Tiramisu and Strawberry cheesecakes are gluten-free.

She has also produced four varieties of Frosted Cake in a Jar:

Banana Chocolate Fudge

Banana Peanut Butter

Banana Salted Caramel

Banana Toasted Coconut

The Banana Peanut Butter Frosted Cake

If you can stop at one jar in a sitting, you either have Absolute Will Power, or you may be comatose; in which case, see a doctor. 

Courtney’s Bananappeal desserts are so good that Williams-Sonoma may put her mixed four-packs in its late winter/early spring catalogue.

MMMMM, love it!

The frosted cakes are available in both an 8-oz. (1-2 servings) and a 4-oz. (single serving) size, while the cheesecakes are available only in a 4-oz. size. 

At present, you can order these sensational, fully baked, ready-to-eat desserts from Courtney’s website, www.bananapppeal.com. 

Pricing:

The 4-pack, 4-oz. frosted cakes are $29.95

The 4-pack, 8-oz. frosted cakes are $39.95

The 4-pack, 4-oz. cheesecakes are $29.95

The 4-pack, 4-oz. gluten-free cheesecakes are $34.95

Full disclosure

I was introduced to 27-year-old-Courtney 16 months ago by Napa Valley wine friends who asked if I could help her refine a culinary concept. 

(I have been a product development consultant to the food industry for 35 years and have brought to market many of the products in your kitchen cupboard – mostly the healthier ones.)

I offered to coach Courtney at no charge, thinking this was an ideal way to give something back to the food industry, which has been good to me. 

I was particularly eager to help Courtney for four reasons:

1. Bananas are on my own list of food-favorites. 

2.  I was captivated by Courtney’s bright, spirited entrepreneurial approach to business. 

3. I enjoy mentoring bright, young people.

4. I respected Courtney’s credentials and experience. She graduated twice – once from Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration, and then she graduated from the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, in Napa Valley, with a baking and pastry certificate.

Courtney has great experience, having worked with the best and at the best; she has been executive assistant to Tyler Florence, famed chef and Food Network personality; she was a respected concierge at Napa Valley’s Auberge du Soleil; she helped launch three restaurants in the Bay-area and has been a pastry chef at two top-tier American restaurants, Tru, in Chicago, and Eleven Madison Park, in New York. (I know, I know… after all this experience you’d expect Courtney to be 75!)

After a lot of backing and forthing across the country, Courtney longed to return to the Bay-area to explore her banana passion.

Bananas, grown in more than 107 countries, are universally available, but until Courtney came along, no one thought of producing a line of banana-based desserts. And even more specifically, no one thought of baking them INSIDE a glass jar – so that for convenience, and sheer pleasure, the consumer can spoon Courtney’s fully baked confection out of the reusable, or recyclable, jar.

What’s more, we discovered as we worked together that the glass jars are a superb barrier against spoilage.

Even though there are no preservatives in Bananappeal desserts, and everything is all-natural, the shelf-life of these desserts, kept refrigerated, can be measured in weeks, not days.

(For the record: I have NO commercial interest, or investment, in Courtney’s business; I only guided and coached her, at no charge, to help her get her product line ready to launch.)

About the Fantastic Packaging

Courtney’s original desserts, I felt, required original packaging. So I suggested that Courtney contact Jenn White Topliff, my daughter, to see if she could develop something special for “Court,” as she is known. 

Jenn is a Bay-area graphic designer with many years of professional experience, having designed compelling packages for many big-name clients. (Check out her work at www.13creative.com) 

Jenn and I have often worked together as a dad ‘n daughter team, Jenn producing imaginative packages for clients for whom I have fixed, developed, or improved products. 

I figured Jenn and Courtney, who are look-alikes, would develop a great friendship as well as great packaging. Dad was right on both counts.

I am proud of Jenn’s highly original packaging, which plays on a 50’s theme – a time when mom made these kind of desserts for her family.

Courtney and Jenn ham it up – but there is NO ham in Courtney’s frosted cakes!

Good going Courtney and Jenn! I didn’t think that this story should go un-applauded on the napaman site just because I had a minor hand in directing Courtney or teaming her up with Jenn. 

Update: To commence commercial production, Courtney has just left the Bay-area, relocating in Denver, CO, where she will produce all her banana-based, jarred desserts.

Good luck, Court – to keep up with demand…  and to get through the cold Colorado winter! The Bay-area’s loss is definitely Denver’s gain.

Napaman is NOT a shill for Shawn Askinosie! I can’t help it if he just happens to make the world’s best chocolate.

My hero, Shawn Askinosie. He used to be a feared, and fearless, criminal defense lawyer; now is he a fearless chocolate maker, feared by century-old chocolate manufacturers whose quality he has eclipsed.

Long-time readers of napaman.com are probably aware of my vocal, even exuberant, support of Shawn Askinosie, who makes single-origin chocolate bars, or tablets, in his Willy Wonka-like factory in Springfield, MO.

Shawn buys cacao beans directly from farmers who nurture their plants in the Philippines, Tanzania, Mexico, Ecuador and Honduras; this ensures quality but, more importantly to Shawn, this ensures that ALL the money he pays for these organic beans goes to the farmers. Nothing is siphoned off by middlemen, or negociants.

I met Shawn four years ago and immediately fell in love with his chocolate, his work ethic and his story and proclaimed his chocolate “the best tasting in America. Maybe the world.”

Fresh back from Europe a few weeks ago, where I tasted many great chocolates, I haven’t changed my tune. Askinosie is still at the top of the heap.

For one thing, Askinosie is the only chocolate-maker I know who does NOT add vanilla, or vanillin, to flavor his chocolate; he may also be the only producer who does NOT add lecithin, an industry-used emulsifier, which other chocolate-makers add to give their chocolate a satiny, smooth texture.

Shawn doesn’t need to rely on chemistry to achieve greatness. His careful sourcing and his tedious attention to detail at the manufacturing level means he doesn’t have to add lecithin.

For this holiday season, Shawn has gone into cahoots with two of his favorite food suppliers to create two new dark chocolate tablets. He calls these CollarBARation Bars, because he has made them in a collaborative fashion. What works for him, also works for his pals.

CollaBARation Bar #1: Dark Milk Chocolate + Black Licorice

This is the most original chocolate bar I have eaten in a decade. AND I LOVE IT.

Shawn partnered with his Scandinavian distributor Martin Jörgensen. (Yes, Askinosie chocolates are a HUGE hit in Scandinavia! I guess they must find something to temper the taste of reindeer pate.)

As Martin owns a licorice factory called Lakritsfabriken, in Ramlösa, Sweden, Shawn has added Martin’s premium organic licorice (it’s gluten-free!) to his own ethereal dark milk chocolate, made with cacao beans from Davao, Philippines.

I am swooning from the taste of this new creation; the sensual melt of chocolate reveals tiny nibs of delicious, salty licorice, which slowly dissolve on the tongue.

A tweak of fleur de sel sea salt in the bar increases the length of the finish.

There are also tiny anise seeds in the bar, a sort of flavor booster to augment the licorice-ness.

This is one of those food experiences where the sum of the ingredients is 1 + 1 + 1 = 5. So maybe it turns out that Shawn’s not so hot at math, but he sure is one helluva chocolate-maker.

The bar is now available on the Askinosie website (www.askinosie.com) and, if you are reading this column in Sweden, you will find it at the Lakritsfabriken licorice factory in Ramlösa.

The 3-oz (85 g) bar is $10.

But wait, there’s more!

CollaBARation™ #2: Dark Chocolate + Coffee

If you are a coffee geek and have been to Los Angeles or Chicago, you doubtless know about one of America’s greatest coffees – Intelligentsia.

As Shawn has such a high regard for the purity and flavor of this coffee firm’s roasts, he has teamed up to make a CollaBARation Bar that is a mixture of dark chocolate from single-origin, organic, Davao, Philippines cacao and organic, single-origin coffee from La Perla de Oaxaca, Mexico.

Talk about intensity of flavor! Here is chocolate from the dark side, so dark, in fact, that it makes Darth Vader look like an albino. Here we have dark chocolate infused with darkly roasted, Mexican coffee.

This somewhat gritty bar has the texture of canvas. It is so intense and dark that if it were a weather system, you’d be preparing for a black funneled tornado.

The press release says to look for “creamy caramel and a crisp citrus acidity.” I don’t share this sentiment and didn’t detect any of these flavors. But I’d still  encourage you to get this bar if you need a caffeine, or theobromine, hit and if you love dark chocolate and dark coffee.

Available at www.askinosie.com and Intelligentsia stores in LA and Chicago.

The 3-oz (85 g) bar is $10.

Holy smokes! This restaurant reviewer makes Michael Bauer look like he’s anorexic!

An old friend from my Toronto days, Josh Josephson, breezed through Napa Valley a few weeks ago.

Josh Josephson

I was out of town, so I asked Josh, who fancies himself a fulltime restaurant critic, when he isn’t researching neurosurgical drug matters, to send me a list of where he ate, what he ate, and what he liked while in Napa Valley.

The guy ate at all the places listed below in TWO days, took all these photos, and posted all these comments on his own site, http://cookbookstoreblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/napa-restaurants-french-laundry-tra.html

I append Josh’s review in full. It is unedited and does not necessarily carry my full endorsement or agreement. But this guy pretty much knows what he’s talking about; for one thing, Josh has a serious passion for food, cooking and cuisine, In fact, he opened, with Alison Fryer and Barbara Caffery, Canada’s first cookbook store. Called "The Cookbook Store," in Toronto, it's still running strong 30 years later.

As well as being an optometrist actively involved with research. Josh is chairman of the Standards Council of Canada, Ophthalmic Committees (spectacle lens, contact lens, contact lens care, product standards, etc.). He is Canada's sole voting representative at all ISO meetings.

Most recently, working with a research neurosurgeon, Josh founded a pharmaceutical company that has developed a stroke drug, which prevents complications from a stroke; at present, it is in FDA clinical trials.

All the while, Josh still owns and operates Josephson Opticians, Canada's first high fashion optical chain, established in 1935, by his dad, David, who outfitted me with my earliest glasses.

Anyway, have a look at where Josh ate in Napa Valley, and what he had to say about each course. It’s like a condensed visual Zagat trip through the entire valley.

One more thing: those aren't misspellings below. Those are quaint Canadian spellings: "flavour, colour, etc." Hey, Blame it on Canada!

 

The French Laundry, Yountville, California 

The French Laundry is on any serious eater's hit list and probably the number one on anyone's list of important restaurants to eat at in North America. Finally, I made the list of reservations! There are only 2 menu's, one having everything including meat and fowl, the other, "a tasting of vegetables."

A friend and I, both certifiably NOT vegetarians, and unbeknownst to each other, and, for the first time at any restaurant in our experience, we chose the vegetarian option.

My friend is a highly experienced mangeur of both great rustic and refined cuisine, a Frenchman who lives in London, has a second home in Cap Ferat and a third on the Isle of Wight. Both of us were taken aback when we learned about our choices and realized that we chose this menu for the same reason. The courses and course descriptions were more interesting to us than the meat/fowl menu. We were not disappointed.

Perfectly rendered cheddar cheese filled gougeres.

Cornet filled with salmon tartar, red onion, creme fraiche. 

Medjule date puree, chopped roasted cashew and cilantro in advance of the carrot soup to be poured.

The carrot puree soup with a touch of peanut butter in the puree. The sublime sweetness of the carrot puree went so well with the sweet date flavour. I do not eat mellons. The carrot soup was the chef's menu substitution.

My friend's choice of compressed summer melons with crystallized ginger, lemon verbena and garden mint. 

Salted and sweet butter for the bread. The butters were redolent of field flavours.

Jardiniere de legumes d'ete with Australian black truffle coulis. A marvellous, memory provoking range of bright flavours and textures.

The presentation of the gazpacho ingredients before an emulsion of tomato essence is poured: toybox tomatoes, cucumber, garlic, cilantro and Manni extra virgin olive oil sorbet.

The gazpacho complete. Certainly one of the best gazpachos that I have enjoyed, with a bright tomato flavour complemented by the Manni oil sorbet.

My friend's choice of chawanmushi, dungeness crab, current tomatoes, bonito, tosaka seaweed and strips of nori.

Salad of black mission figs with petite onions, Piedmont hazelnuts, arugula, and smoked soubise. The figs added a heavenly dimension to this dish and worked well with smokey flavour of the soubise.

Degustation de pommes de terres, fingerling potatoes, red radish, petite lettuces and Australian black truffle. This was a sensational dish of earthy, complementary flavours.

Cranberry bean agnolotti with brentwood corn, filet beans and bean blossoms awaiting the bouillon.

The mangalitsa ham bouillon is added. Fabulous contrasting flavours from the bouillon and the perfectly cooked, delicate pasta of the cranberry bean filled agnolotti.

 

My friend ordered the hand cut farfalle with hen-of-the-woods mushrooms, eggplant, Spanish capers, meyer lemon, pine nuts and parmesan "nuage". He felt that the pasta was not cooked adequately, left the pasta over and ate the rest.

"Burrata" consisting of "pain de campagne" croutons, baby squash, Greek basil and charred padron pepper vinaigrette. Again, wonderful layers of flavours that worked so well together with the nicely contrastng textures.

Persian lime sorbet with mascarpone "panna cotta", graham cracker and toasted marshmallows. After this great dessert  I was so satisfied and yet there was more!

Dark chocolate "marquise", malt "anglaise", raison puree, cocoa "financiere" and muscovado sugar ice cream.

 My friend's selection.

 

Fabulous mignardises with various fillings.

"Coffee and donuts!" A coffee, chocolate pudding like consistency on the bottom layer with a thick rich milk foam on the top, accompanied by chocolate coated macadamias and the best "timbits" (for you Tim Horton people) you have ever tasted, sugar dusted crispy skinned dough balls with a soft interior...addictive!

Tra Vigne, St Helena, California

Tra Vigne is a an always jammed, people friendly place with a rather somber inside room and an arbored, leisure encouraging outdoor eating area. A good friend, former Toronto epicure, food writer Jim White, now a Napa resident, praised the bistecca fiorentina at Tra Vigne. I was glad he told me as the waiter did not announce this steak as a special and it was not on the menu. Further, when I did ask, I was advised there were only 4 of these 2.5 pound behemoths and he better get right back into the kitchen to make certain that he could reserve one. Our steak was confirmed and we ordered it rare.

We began with wood oven roasted, baked fig pizza, with Sister Mercy's black mission figs, gorgonzola, arugula and aged balsamic. Great, complementary topping flavours and a nicely thin, tasty, crispy crust.

Another crisp and well flavoured hit, the rosemary pizzetta with roasted head of garlic, cambozola cheese and Dickson Ranch "Regina" olive oil. The pizzas at Tra Vigne were the very best that I tasted in the Napa region.

The best wood oven roasted padron peppers I experienced in Napa and almost every resto offered some version of these peppers! Perfectly cooked, tossed with Napa's taggiasca olive oil, pleasantly crispy skinned and not over oily. The gold standard for me.  

A perfectly rendered rigatoni alla carbonara made with guanciale bacon, onions, organic eggs, cracked pepper and parmesan. This was a very rich tasting dish for which the critical elements were the richness of the egg and the properly reduced sauce.

Our wine of the night. Pardon the side view as I tried to rotate the image: A fabulous Whitehall Lane Reserve vintage 2003.

The rare steak, served with crispy skinned, roasted potatoes and  perfectly sauteed spinach with olive oil and chopped garlic. This steak was as good as the best bistecca fiorentina I have ever enjoyed in Florence. Great flavour, texture and juiciness. A "beef boys" ranking of 8/8 1/2/ 8 1/2 (all out of 10).

Bistro Jeanty, Yountville, California

This casual bistro owned by chef Philippe Jeanty is where one can experience classic examples of well prepared, rustic, French influenced cuisine with a contemporary twist. The cuisine also well represents local produce and a good selection of regional wines.

Warm lamb's tongue, with potato, frisee endive, small capers, copped chives, chopped tomato and chopped parsley, all tossed with a tart, creamy mustard vinaigrette dressing. A superb dish.

Our wine, a very good example of regionally made pinot noir, Red Dog Vineyard's Ancien vintage 2007.

Blood sausage, caramelize apple on mashed potatoes. I love blood sausage and with the caramelized apples and mash, this well executed dish, with it's sweet earthy flavours, smooth but coarse texture, really hit the spot.

Leek and melted goat cheese tart. A melt in the mouth, intensely leek flavoured, thin crispy crusted delight. A perfect tart.

Bone marrow, sauce bordelais. Remarkable quality marrow, not too fatty/oily, perfectly cooked to be somewhat firm in texture. Wonderful flavour. 

Pied de cochon, lightly breaded, deep fried, crispy skinned, perfectly spiced and accompanied by a whole grain mustard sauce and tasty, crispy frites.

Lemon meringue tart with a shortbread crust, accompanied by a lemon orange sauce !! Just look at this mile high piece of indulgent pleasure! It tasted as good as it looked.

Armagnac soaked prunes over rich vanilla ice cream. These liquor soaked prunes were as good as I have enjoyed anywhere.

Oenotri, Napa, California

Oenotri has an ambitious menu and that attracted me to try the restaurant. The menu is rustic but sophisticated. 

To begin, the wood oven pizza disappointed. This pizza was topped with peppers, pancetta, red onion, aglio rosso and wild arugula. The toppings were very good, tasty and the dough had a nice flavour. However, the dough was too soggy in from the outer crust. The texture was almost bready and had an unpleasant stretchy/doughy texture.

Brentwood sweet corn, grape tomatoes and Blue Lake beans. This was a bland dish with no distinguishing element. The corn was sweet but not sweet enough.

These padrano peppers were strangely textured, rather oily and almost slimy. The aioli was spicy and had a nice creamy texture.

This was a good salad with Marin Roots mustard greens. roasted eggplant, Jimmy Nardello peppers, a slow cooked Tully Dolci egg and pecorino sardo. A very tasty salad with intriguing flavours. The wonderful tasting egg was perfectly cooked but did not seem a great complement for this dish.

Bucatini alla carbonara with pancetta, Tulli Dolci egg, coarsely ground black pepper and pecorino romano. The pasta was perfectly cooked and the black pepper a very good accent for the rich addition of the Tulli Dolci egg. However, the sauce was slightly too salty.

Wild nettle fidei pasta with wood oven roasted san marzano tomatoes, eggplant, Jimmy Nardello peppers and pesto Genovese. Again, the pasta was perfectly cooked and most of the flavours of this dish were good, especially the strong eggplant flavour. However, the dish may be too complicated with too many things happening. The pesto flavour component was a bit too salty and perhaps a bit overwhelming.

Perfectly cooked donuts had very good flavour and good texture with a crispy skin. The mascarpone sauce was a good tasty complement.

Lunch at Rutherford Grill

Lunch at the Rutherford Grill is said to be the time that many vintners and area farmers attend.    

It was certainly a convenient place to eat in the area that we were tasting wines.

We began with a wonderful coarsely ground, flavourful house made Italian sausage (no photo). This was probably one of the 2 best things I ever ate at the Grill in the 2 meals that I had there. It was juicy and had a mild fennel flavour. It was very juicy without being fatty.

Colcannon mash with a nice mild bight had good flavour and a texture that was pleasantly coarse rather than boringly creamy. That was the accompaniment of the tasty, oak wood roasted, rotisserie chicken. The problem was that is was a bit dry. Only the thigh section had any reasonable moistness (I am reaching here).

The burger arrived perfectly medium rare, as ordered. It was juicy, but too much of that juiciness was the fatty component. The fries were crispy and ok.

Dinner at Rutherford Grill

I ordered roast beef with high expectations. The owner of the Grill is reputed to be the owner of Huston's Steak House and apparently this resto is his "baby". He should know beef. The menu read well: slow roasted, roast beef.  I  asked if i could get my beef medium rare to rare, on the rare side. I was advised that my request should be no problem. It arrived as you see below: medium. It was tough and the texture a bit dry too. It was too well done for me to enjoy, so I asked to have it returned to the kitchen and I reordered the beef. The waiter was very gracious about my request.

In the meantime, I enjoyed the artichoke grilled over a wood fire. The artichokes had been basted with garlic butter loaded with finely chopped garlic and served with an extraneous sauce resembling remoulade, which after tasting, I ignored. This dish was one of my 2 favourite dishes in the 2 meals at the Grill.

While I was waiting for my beef, I had oak grilled pork ribs which were sided with the house made BBQ sauce. The ribs were a bit too "fall off the bone" done, but they were tasty from the wood smoke. They arrived with very good crispy french fries and a very good, creamy dressed slaw made with chopped parsley and chopped cabbage 

My Second serving of roast beef arrived. Remarkably, not to my liking, again: medium to medium rare, on the medium side. The beef was on the tough side and a bit dry tasting too! Clearly my server is no judge of what degrees of doneness should look like....and he should be as he is the quality controller of what is put in front of guests. The beef in this restaurant was a sincere disappointment. On the beef tasting scale we have established among our serious amateurs and professionals (the "beef boys") I would give it a rating of 53/4 /4 /4 (taste, texture and juiciness, on a scale out of 10). The horseradish sauce was not particularly enjoyable and the "au jus" a watery stock that a good piece of beef would make completely redundant. The potatoes were as I described before, for me, the only edible food on the plate!

Mustard's Grill

We began with a very tasty tomale made with sweet creamy corn, wild mushrooms, and accompanied by pumpkin seeds and a terrific tomatillo, avocado salsa.

Lightly breaded, crispy, very tasty onion rings were accompanied by a nice house made ketchup. They are great when they are fresh and hot.

The dungeness crab cakes were good but the salad dressing for the greens was really very enjoyable, a raspberry, canola oil, vinegar molasses vinaigrette. I have never had canola oil taste so good.

This was my half of the fabulous Don Watson lamb burger which arrived perfectly cooked as ordered, medium rare to rare, and what a great burger, my favourite item ordered. The burger was very juicy and had a light smokey flavour. The bun was also perfect, a crispy skin with a soft interior that did not fall apart as one ate the burger. Arugula and sliced onion were added to the burger. The fries were crispy and tasty but were over salted and frankly inedible. 

I had high expectations of the wood smoke oven cooked Sonoma duck. Unfortunately, the smoke flavour was overly strong. I suspect that apple wood or pecan wood was not used but would have been preferable. The meat was a bit too dry. The duck was accompanied by local beans, grilled sweet potatoes and mustard fruits.

Dessert was a terrific, intensely flavoured plum orange sorbet and pleasingly not too sweet. There was a very nice lingering after taste, an experience often lost in the quality of most restaurant sorbets.

Hurley's

We began with lightly breaded crisy mix of calimari, rock shrimp, red onion and cauliflower florets accompanied by a caper remoulade.

The best dish of the night was the lovely, crusted, savory onion tart, which contained caramelized onion with rosemary, applewood smoked bacon and goat cheese. Frisee lettuce and sliced cherry tomato were on the side.

The main was a tamarind and chipotle glazed portion of buffalo short ribs accompanied by a ginger and scallion risotto, and baby bok choy.

Bardessano Hotel Restaurant: Brunch

The Baldessano is a very attractive, modern and cleanly designed hotel that is so respectful of a natural habitat. I ate outside on a lovely, clear skied, sunny morning.

This was one of my very favourite meals in Napa. Pork cheek confit hash, wilted spinach, roasted root vegetables, yellow and green zucchini, crispy "Little Farm" potatoes all topped with a sunny side up egg and served with a house made, somewhat bland fresh tomato tasting ketchup (which I only tasted). What a great dish, alone, worth the drive to Yountville all the way from the Silverado Country Club! Wonderfully integrated flavours, each component perfectly cooked and all bound with a rich, highly reduced sauce that really helped to make this dish. Two varieties of toast accompanied this dish, rosemary flavoured sourdough toast and a whole wheat toast. Mclelland's lovely butter was served on the side along with very good house made preserves of blackberry jam with such bright flavours that made one want to eat more.

Oxbow Market: C Casa and Pico Pico Bar

My friend Jim White, now a native of Napa, highly recommended a sojourn to this market full of different food a craft purveyors. At certain times of the week there is also a farmer's market that I did not make.

C Casa

C Casa specializes in creatively made tacos with very wholesome, tasty ingredients. I just had to order 3. I began with a rotisserie duck taco with baby spinach, orange wedges, goat cheese, cilantro and serrano salsa. This delicious taco went down quickly! Then, a pork carnita taco with cabbage slaw, mildly seared pineapple, avocado and serrano salsa. I loved the fabulous flavours and textures. This taco did not last long either! Finally, a spiced lamb taco, with goat cheese, avocado crema, mint, jalapenos, garlic aioli and micro greens.This last taco was my favourite!

Pica Pica Bar

Still hungry, I wandered down to Pica Pica Bar. Their display looked very appetizing. I enjoyed a "maizewich" of grilled sweet corn bread "pernil", a wonderfully spiced, slow roasted shoulder of pulled pork, with sliced tomato, sliced avocado and a garlic aioli.

The patacones also looked so enticing, fried, crispy crusted plaintain tarts one filled with chopped avocado and chicken breast salad, another with spiced beans, chopped raw onion, chopped cilantro and chopped tomato and the third with shredded pork, avocado and chopped tomato. Despite the fact that by this time I was stuffed, I enjoyed finishing them all!

Thomas Wolfe was right: You Can’t Go Home Again

In the 1980s, as restaurant critic for the third largest newspaper in North America, I visited France with my wife, Carol.

Me, documenting dishes and wines at dinner

Upon arriving in Lyons, we had lunch at an intimate restaurant called Chez Lea, where the chicken, napped with a raspberry beurre blanc, was possibly the best chicken dish we'd ever had; it was so ethereal, in fact, that we made reservations upon finishing lunch, at 3 pm, to return again at 8 pm, the very same evening, to order the very same menu again.

We returned five hours later, sat down to eat the identical three-course meal but not one of the dishes was as good as it had been at lunch. 

Throughout our parallel careers in food (Carol is an extremely meticulous food editor) we have, on occasion, tried to repeat certain restaurant dining experiences, but alas, the second time is just never as good as the first time. We must be slow learners as we keep trying.

Last week we were in Rome, trying to repeat certain food experiences, which we’d had last fall in top-tier restaurants, and not one of them pulled its weight in consistency.

The worst experience was at Dal Bolognese, a Bologna-style restaurant where we dined twice last year. In fact, dinners here had been so memorable that they became the inspiration for a Bolognese birthday dinner, which Carol asked Nash Cognetti, exec chef at Tra Vigne, in St. Helena, to recreate in January.

Some of Fall’s best ingredients in the Italian kitchen

These too.

We returned to Dal Bolognese last week for dinner, hoping to re-experience our memorable meal moments. Our expectations were way out of line. 

The tortellini in brodo, Carol's favorite dish in the world, was insipid. "Uninspired" is a nice way of saying "it had no taste. 

The broth, which should have kvelled of rich, slow-cooked, country chicken, was totally under-salted, and lacked any chicken-flavor.

In fact, the broth had the taste and texture of -- how do you say this in Italian? -- acqua. The hand-made tortellini were dense, leathery, undercooked, and had as much flavor as the wool tassels on a Scottish bagpiper's sporran. 

For the next course, we split an order of tagliatelle with a Bolognese sauce. The house signature dish. The version last week was less than stellar and nothing as we remembered it. The pasta was undercooked, even for home-made pasta; it tasted of raw, uncooked flour. The meat sauce was over-salted, even before one added grated Parmesan cheese.

But the worst was yet to come.

Salsa verde and Cremona-style mustard.

We ordered the 30 Euro ($40) plate of bollito misto, a normally delicious melange of boiled meats and fowl, served with what should have been an outstanding salsa verde and a racy Cremona mustard (candied fruits in a zippy, sweet syrup, tweaked with a hot mustard finish).

Just before our bollito misto was served, the lights in the restaurant went out. And stayed out for the duration of our dinner.

One eerily glowing emergency light glowed across the entire dining room, casting a ghostly white shadow across tables, but little of this light reached ours.  

I would not have been surprised if Patrick Swayze, from the movie Ghost, and from his own deathly afterlife, brought us the bill. The place had that kind of ghoulish pall.

The restaurant’s bollito misto when the lights are on.

In the dark shadows, it was impossible to discern what we were eating. Certainly not from sight. But alas, also not from taste; all the boiled meats -- tongue, beef, chicken -- tasted the same and pretty much had the same texture. 

The meal ending took another twist; as the kitchen was dark, the chef couldn't prepare anything else, so we couldn't order dessert.

Here’s one other thing they couldn’t prepare: the bill. They couldn't get the VISA machine to work, as all equipment and phone lines, were dead. 

I suggested that they write down my credit card number and put the charge through the next day. They said they couldn't do this. 

Instead, the host suggested we return the next day to pay, incurring another $30 round-trip taxi charge – on us. 

What should have been a Happy Face meal, turned out to be a scary face meal.

At this point, the waiter came over to our table and said in a friendly, and understanding way, "Don't worry. You don't have to pay. Ees not your problemo."  My kind of waiter.

It turns out that Thomas Wolfe was right, particularly in the vernacular of restaurants; you really can't go home again. I think we’ve finally learned.

Brassica opens – Cindy Pawlcyn’s newest restaurant

 

Two things can be said about Cindy Pawlcyn: 

1. She sure as hell knows how to cook
2. She sure as hell knows how to throw a party

Nearly 800 guests took up Cindy’s invitation and attended the pre-opening bash of her newest restaurant, Brassica, in St. Helena, last night. 

Napaman was present but the crowd was so dense that it was impossible to raise a camera to get any meaningful shots. Hence the skimpy visual coverage. 

The name Brassica, of course, is ironic as it is Latin for the family of plants known as mustards. And it is Cindy, who for 28 years, has been the gale force behind Mustards Grill, which has been one of the valley’s best restaurants for this entire stretch of time. And still is.

Brassica is located in the space, which we all knew and loved as Go Fish, also a Cindy operation. But the sushi bar and seafood-driven menu ran their course; it’s thought that visitors to our valley want heartier fare to go with their killer Cabs. But we sure had some tasty dishes at Go Fish. May she R.I.P. 

Brassica’s menu leans on the zestier fare of the GMR – Greater Mediterranean Region; on the menu, I note the use of za’atar to flavor eggplant fries, and the introduction of lamb kebabs, Greek cheeses, and middle eastern tabouli.

Appetizers were offered last night but servers couldn’t keep up with the size of the crowd. A proper commentary on the food will follow in the weeks ahead in this space. Keep a-lookin’. 

Brassica 12

On the wine side, Brassica introduces a new concept called Brassica 12. The restaurant will highlight a dozen different, small-production Napa Valley winemakers who don’t have tasting rooms. Their hard-to-find wines will be showcased by the glass and bottle, and the selection will rotate.

Guests will be able buy individual bottles for home consumption, or buy a Brassica 12 12-pack (that’s NOT a typo! That’s a Brassica 12 12-pack!) for take-out.

Brassica, 641 Main St., St. Helena. 707-963-0700. Reservations suggested.

 

It must be August – I just attended Spottswoode’s Annual Garden Party

There are many wonderful annual major wine events in Napa Valley, to which I look forward, including February’s Barrel Auction and June’s Wine Auction.

But sweet, smaller, perfectly orchestrated wine events are no less compelling.

In particular, I look forward to Spottswoode’s late summer garden party, held each August on the front lawn of the family’s estate. 

I’m actually embarrassed to say how many times I’ve attended and written about this event, but if you search the napaman.com archives, you’ll find numerous references and alluring photos.

Orlando Torres serves gazpacho shots, offered to guests at the lawn party. This year, Knickerbockers’ Catering, from St. Helena, provided tasty salads, cheeses, and breads to soak up the many poured wines.

My two favorite wines of the afternoon were the 1998 Spottswoode Cabernet, poured from 6-liter bottles, and the unctuous, memorable 2003 Spottswoode Cabernet. 

Two of the cheeses served to winery guests

Commenting to one of the winery’s team about the 13.5 percent alcohol in the 1998 Cabernet, I mentioned how wonderful it was to drink a wine with such low alcohol. I added that I miss those days of lower levels of alcohol. 

By contrast, today’s Napa Valley fruit-bomb Cabs often have more than 15.5 percent alcohol, which diminishes their food friendliness, as well as how much of them you can drink at one sitting. 

One of the winery’s staff told me that there is a move afoot in the valley, and certainly at Spottswoode, to make wines with lesser amounts of alcohol.

“We are making an effort to get the alcohol down,“ I was told. “The fact that (wine critic) Robert Parker has handed over the reins from personally rating California Cabs to his associate Antonio Galloni, means that wines will now be praised for their balance, not their bombastic imbalance.”

In short, Parker loves large, fruit-forward, higher alcohol, scratch-out-your-eyes wines from the new world. Galloni, by contrast, who rates the wines of Italy, Chablis, Champagne and Burgundy is thought to have a palate that enjoys – and scores more highly – wines of balance, and lower alcohol.

We’ll have to see. But a universal truth is that winemakers everywhere will bend their winemaking ways to achieve high Parker scores, so if the new kid on the block likes them more sotto voce, that’s likely the way producers will try to make them. Nothing sells a wine like a good Parker rating.

If you want to be invited to Spottswoode’s next late summer garden party, you’ve got to become a good, and regular, customer, as I have been for the past nearly 20 years.

Poured today:

The 1998 Spottswoode Cab is at the top of its game. It will not get any better, so if you have some in your cellar, drink up. This is a truly tremendous wine from a cantankerous vintage. 94 points.

The 2003 Spottswoode Cab is, in a word, gawjus. What a stunning beverage, filled with ripe fruit and mature grape flavors. The wine exhibits a glorious middle palate of many flavors and an equally engrossing texture. 96 points.

One More Awesome Source for Killer Single-Malt Whisky

 

I just discovered one more incredible source in the UK for rare, hard-to-find, single-malt whisky.

You may have seen my two earlier columns on single-malt Scotch, based on two weeks of (highly dedicated) research in Scotland.

Missed them? Go to

http://www.napaman.com/napamancom/2011/07/for-10-days-napaman-became-hamish-the-scotsman-in-search-of-the-worlds-greatest-single-malt-whiskies.html

and also see

http://www.napaman.com/napamancom/2011/07/scotch-whisky-is-the-new-black-.html

Anyway, the pretty, crystal bottle pictured above was secured by my newest whisky friends, in Yorkshire, UK. Their business is called The Whisky Vault.

This is a family venture, run by dad Philip Hawley and his two sons, Richard and Thomas.

Philip, who works in construction by day, decided in May 2008, to turn his passion for single-malt whisky into a business.

Contact The Whisky Vault, tell them what you want, and there’s a great chance that they’ll find it. One of their clients called looking for the rarest Ardbeg whisky ever made, The Lord of the Isles, a 25-year-old whisky, which I had the rare pleasure to taste in Scotland at the distillery in Islay.

In short: it was one of the three best whiskies I’ve ever tasted; sublime, sensual, arousing, ethereal.

Think of The Whisky Vault as the Google of Whisky World – just query them, looking for something rare and obtuse… and they’ll have the answer and get what you’re looking for!

That pretty glass bottle above, by the way – it’s the most expensive whisky sold by The Whisky Vault to date – a 57-year-old Macallan single-malt, in a Lalique crystal decanter. Philip found it for a client who paid $17,600 for the bottle. That’s $676 an ounce. But don’t count ounce prices if you intend to contact The Whisky Vault.

(For the record: The 57-year-old Macallan was assembled from two casks, the first a 1950 American oak sherry butt, the second from Spanish oak sherry butts originally filled in 1949, 1951 and 1952. Only 400 decanter-bottles were produced.)

“We have a large network of customers in Taiwan, Singapore and Japan as well as in Europe and we have never lost a shipment to the US,” notes Philip in an email exchange, commenting on his reliability.

Philip says that he has many rare, Pre-War whiskies, too, including a blended whisky from 22nd December 1885, supplied to "The refreshment department" of the Houses of Parliament. (See image directly above.)

Looking for a rare single-malt Scotch? The Whisky Vault is the first place to start your treasure hunt.

Their web site: http://www.thewhiskyvault.com

Happy treasure hunting.

 

“Scotch whisky is the new Black!”

 

The nose is “floral, marshmallow, freshly washed damp linen,” and there are hints of kiwi fruit, sweet persimmon and talcum powder.”

 Sounds more like a collection of highly scented items in my grocery cart than an expensive single malt Scotch whisky, but that’s exactly what’s being described.

If you thought wine writers and winemakers were verbal deconstructionists with wine… you should see what whiskyheads write about beverages in their field.

The description above is about Balblair 2000, a newly released Highland Scotch whisky, which the editors of Whisky Magazine liked (was it the “talcum powder” finish?).

Like wine writers, columnists and editorial staff at Whisky Mag ascribe points to every whisky, Bourbon, or Finnish, Irish, even Canadian, distilled spirit they review.

I found Whisky Magazine on my travels in bonny Scotland this month and really enjoyed the stories and editorial content. The magazine takes one’s appreciation of alcoholic spirits to a whole new level. Napa Valley Cabernets are so…. so… 2010 by tasting note comparison! Scotch whisky is the new Black!  

You can subscribe to the journal at www.whiskymag.com as I have. A one-year subscription costs $44.95 and includes eight issues.

I also wanted to comment on three great sources for rare Scotch whiskies, which I discovered in my travels this month in Scotland and Ireland (where I spent 24 thoroughly rapturous hours on my way back to bonny Napa Valley). 

All three stores secure really rare single malt whiskies from time to time and claim to ship thousands of bottles annually to America without any being lost, or broken.

Three great sources for rare whiskies:

 

 Dufftown Whisky Shop

1 Fife St., Dufftown, Keith, Scotland.

www.thewsd.co.uk

Speak to Michael Lord who can tell you about every one of the 600 different whiskies in his store.

 

 

 Royal Mile Whisky

379 High Street, Royal Mile, Edinburgh. 

www.royalmilewhiskies.com

Contact Tom, or Sean, or Chris, the store manager. All of them are knowledgeable whiskyheads and each one has a strong opinion about any particular whisky about which you may inquire.

 

Interior of the Celtic Whiskey Shop.

Note: In Scotland, they spell whisky “whisky,” without the E. In Ireland, they spell it “whiskey,” with the E. In both nations, they pronounce it “whess-key.”

Celtic Whiskey Shop

27-28 Dawson St., Dublin 2, Ireland

www.celticwhiskeyshop.com

Speak to Michael, Al, or store owner-director Ally; they are extremely friendly (isn’t everyone in Scotland and Ireland?) and rare whiskeys often come into their possession, but don’t stay for very long.

I asked them for a short overview: “We stock more Scottish malts and blends than anyone else in Ireland. We also act as importer and agent for numerous Scottish whiskies, which has made us one of the main spirits wholesalers in Ireland.

We are agents for Cooley Irish whiskeys, but stock pretty much every brand of Irish whiskey. As such, we have more than 100 different Irish whiskeys on our shelves.”

The only other thing you need to know to be a knowledgeable “whess-key” drinker is how to say “cheers!” when you clink glasses. It’s “Slainte!” which is pronounced “slant-CHA!” 

There! You’ve just finished Scotch Whisky 101 and are considered a fully trained, soon-to-be-loyal, "whess-key" drinker.

For 10 days, napaman became… Hamish the Scotsman, in search of the world’s greatest single-malt whiskies!

I just returned from ten days in Scotland, tracking down the world’s greatest single-malt Scotches. Locally, they refer to them as “whisky,” pronounced “wess-key.”

We called our family’s “wess-key” treasure hunt “The 2011 Single-Malt Scotch Safari."

As there are 400 producers of “wess-key” in Scotland, no matter how hard we tried, we were unable to visit all of them in our ten-day safari.

But we didn’t do poorly.

On our 1,000-mile safari we visited four of the country’s five major whisky-producing regions: Islay, the Lowlands, the Highlands and Speyside.

 

Are you starting to see a similarity among these producers of peat-smoked whisky on the island of Islay?

Initially, we visited distilleries on Islay, a small island reached by ferry, off the west coast of the country. The nation’s most peaty, smokiest, single-malts are produced here.

The stills at Laphroaig, on the island of Islay (pronounced “EYE-lah”)

Then we headed north to the Lowlands, to the Highlands and onward to Speyside, where some of the nation’s best-selling single-malt brands are produced.

After 900 years, or so, the Scots have pretty much figured out how to turn barley, water and yeast into the magic elixir we call Scotch.

They start with barley, which they wet to encourage germination. This sprouting process is critical as it converts the grain’s starch into sugar.

Many producers, especially the eight on Islay, dry their malted barley over smoky fires fueled with dark chocolate-colored clods of dried, boggy earth, known as peat. This stains the beverage with a smoky richness.

Tossing peat onto the fire at Lahproaig, the only distillery we visited where we saw the actual peat-drying process in action. We even got to throw bricks of peat onto the fire.

The dried, malted barley is then washed three times with fresh water (the water in Scotland is some of the tastiest I ever drank) in vessels called “mash tuns.” The soluble sugar in the barley dissolves and the sweetened water, called wort, is collected; yeast and heat are introduced, initiating a bubbly fermentation. If carefully managed, this produces a muddy liquid that is really an 8 percent (alcohol by volume) beer without the presence of hops.

Distill this fermented mixture twice and you produce a clear, colorless liquid called “new-make spirit.” Transfer the spirit to a used American (bourbon) or Spanish (sherry) oak barrel, age it for at least three years and voila! - you have young whisky.

For spirit newbies, single-malt Scotch is a whisky:

1. That is distilled in Scotland in a copper pot still at a single distillery
2. Is made from only one grain – barley – which is malted (germinated)
3. Is matured in oak casks in Scotland for not fewer than 3 years

Best Overall Distillery Tour

At Laphroaig. The tour here is equivalent to the one given at Robert Mondavi Winery in Napa Valley, which remains the best, basic, essential winery visit for first-timers to wine country.

Laphroaig offers a sensational visiting experience; it was the only distillery where we saw an active malting floor and the actual peat-drying process.

Visitors are encouraged to sign up and join 380,000 individuals from 150 countries, who call themselves “Friends of Laphroaig.” This has been a very successful marketing campaign; Friends are given a lifetime lease of one square-foot of land at Laphroaig and in exchange, for letting Laphroaig use your land, they pay you an annual rent  -- a free, wee “twee” dram of Laphroaig. To collect your rent, however, you must visit the distillery. Details at www.laphroaig.com.

Most Generous Single Malt Tour

Oban. One of spirit giant Diageo’s smallest distilleries, this sweet discovery in the heart of downtown Oban (pronounced “OH-bin) is a must on any tour. While the tour is concise, our guide Patrick gave a thoroughly enjoyable tour. It was here that we tasted two of our top whiskies.

Best Single Malts Tasted on our Single-Malt Scotch Safari

+ 25-year-old Ardbeg Lord of the Isles. A symphony of flavors in a wee glass; Christmas cake, sherry, molasses, treacle and salt taffy come to mind, in both scents and taste. An extremely elegant, alluring, rich malt whisky with a long and stunning finish. If one ascribed points to malted whiskies the way we do to wine, this would be a 100-pointer.

+ 30-year-old Brora and 32- year-old Oban, distilled in 1969, bottled in 2002, tasted together at Oban. We were extremely lucky and got to taste both these sensational “wess-keys” with Oban general manager Mike Tough.

I had never tasted either of these aged whiskies. Tasting them side by side was an exceptional treat. We’re talking two perfect, 100-point whiskies, each a gorgeous expression of the masterful art of whisky making.

Whisky blender Bob Dalgarno, at Macallan, generously offered to share a whisky from my birth year, when he learned that we are food and wine writers; he pulled a sample from a cask of whisky that has been aging – and continues to age – since 1946.

+ 1946 Macallan, cask sample, the oldest Scotch whisky I have ever tasted – 65 years old! 42% alcohol at cask strength today, and still ageing in American oak, once used for sherry and then filled, once only, with Macallan whisky before the 1946 spirit started ageing in the barrel.

Bob drew a cask sample for us to taste, but showed us a sample that had been bottled some time ago.

If you have to ask the price of a bottle, you likely shouldn’t consider buying it. A second mortgage may be required on your home. The last bottle of 1926 Macallan, a 20-year senior to the ’46, last sold at the distillery for $32,000.

How happy was I to meet Bob!

Older is Not Always Better

At some point in time, matured cheese, matured Champagne, even matured whisky can be less thrilling than a younger expression of the same food or spirit.

Although we were thrilled to taste older, fully matured, whiskies on our safari, I realized, during our visit to Macallan, just how great – and special -- one of their younger whiskies is.

My family in the tasting room at Macallan

At Macallan, they lead visitors through an extremely generous whisky nosing and tasting; guests are permitted to taste five different whiskies, aged from 10- to 30-years of age.

And as good as they all were, my favorite is, was, and continues to be the benchmark 12-year-old Macallan. One expert taster has called the Macallan the “Rolls-Royce of 12-year-old Scotch.” After a week in Scotland, I’d have to agree. 

Best Single dish of the trip

Scrambled eggs and Inverawe Smoked Salmon at Pierhouse House, Port Appin.

In all my life, I have never had tastier, richer, more memorable scrambled eggs than the ones served at a wee Loch-side hotel called Pierhouse.

The locally caught salmon is smoked nearby and the scrambled eggs are farm fresh and fabulous, enhanced with a pinch of maldon (English) salt.

We haven’t stopped talking about this breakfast dish. Sometimes big, 3-star, over-hyped restaurants just can’t live up to such honest, simple fare.

Pierhouse Hotel and Seafood Restaurant, Port Appin, Argyll, Scotland. www.pierhousehotel.co.uk

Best Single Meal of the Trip

Lunch at 1-Star (Michelin) Martin Wishart, in Edinburgh. We breezed through a four-hour tasting menu of stupendous breadth and balance; if a picture is worth a thousand words, here are 5,000 words worth (no, not THAT Wordsworth!), of what we sampled at lunch. But there were many more taste treats, which are NOT visually represented here.

Best Whisky Store in Scotland

The Whisky Shop, Dufftown

That’s owner Mike Lord selling some impressive single malt whisky.

Okay, you ask, how do I know that it’s the best in all of Scotland? From what others tell me and from my own experience.

I walked in, asked owner Michael Lord for several rare, aged Scotches, which were on my Must Get list and he happily engaged me in conversation, while pulling the whiskies from his shelves.

Michael has more than 600 different whiskies on hand – even more than my favorite Scotch source in California, KL Wines.

Best Way to Visit Scotland

If you plan to visit many distilleries, you don’t need the aggravation of trying to remain sober or of trying to learn how to stay out of trouble while driving on “the other side of the road,” as they do in Britain and Scotland.

We contacted Classic Scotland, asking the ever-jovial and helpful proprietor, Stephen Wood, to line up hotel accommodations for our family, a van and a driver for a week.

Creating an entire itinerary, including requests to book several 1-star Michelin restaurants, wasn’t much more difficult than making a dinner reservation at a favorite restaurant in Napa Valley.

To contact Classic Scotland, go to www.classicscotland.com, or connect with Stephen via email at info@classic-scotland.com. Or call him on his free-from-the-US hotline, 866-464-7389

Our driver and guide, Jean Blair, her talents are “extraordinaire.”

Our assigned driver turned out to be a wonderfully friendly, thoroughly knowledgeable guide.

As Jean Blair does not book hotels, so you still need to contact Classic Scotland for this component of your trip; but Jean does lead independent walking tours throughout Scotland and can be contacted – and contracted – directly via her own website, www.travelthroughscotland.com.

Not long ago, Jean gave travel-guide writer Rick Steves a personal walking tour in Edinburgh for which he gave her a glowing report in his most recent updated Edinburgh commentary. Way to go, Jeannie!

Finally, this classic Scottish discovery:

You know you are in Scotland when you find these in a neighborhood grocery…

 

Best New Dish of the Year… and it’s in Berkeley

Every once in a while, napaman leaves the Napa Valley homestead and wanders afield to find great food and wine elsewhere.

As former food editor and restaurant critic of the Toronto Star, the third largest newspaper in North America, I was trained to keep looking for The Next Best New Dish, and The Next Best New Super Chef.

Rarely was I able to return to a wonderful, familiar restaurant because so many new ones were crying out to be reviewed. 

Today, the luxury of not having a fixed newspaper deadline means that I can return to a restaurant as many times as I wish to indulge my senses. And I just returned to an earlier favorite, Café Rouge, in Berkeley. And the good news is that it is better than ever.

This shot, taken with my iPhone, does NOT do justice to this meatball stew

At the core of my pleasure this week is this dish:

Bill Niman Ranch beef meatballs, served in a stew of white corn and wilted collard greens, richly flavored with a complex salsa verde.

There is no question that this is my favorite new dish of the year.

  

If this were a wine I just discovered, I would go out and buy a case. Or two. I could never have too much.

The meatballs are juicy, tender, golf-ball-shaped and sized, yet cut-able with a fork; the pale white corn has been freshly shucked off ears; the collard greens thread through the soupy strew like seaweed, adding texture, flavor and color.

I spoke with the chef and, yes, I know intellectually that he has not added Zatarain’s spice mixture used in Louisiana for crab and shrimp boils, but the meatball stew TASTES like this might be a secret ingredient.

The stew is spicy, warm-to-hot in intensity, has great middle-palate draw, and a surly smokiness, which lingers, giving one’s palate a rare glimpse of what Nirvana might taste like.

IN SHORT: I LOVE THIS DISH.

Upon leaving Café Rouge, I was told that this dish is on the menu for two weeks as a seasonal special.

I implore the chef and his team to keep this dish on the menu for the entire corn- and collard-growing season. I simply cannot wait until next year to revisit this stew. PLEASE HIT THE COMMENT BUTTON, CHEF, AND TELL NAPAMAN.COM READERS THAT YOU’LL KEEP THIS EXCEPTIONAL DISH ON THE MENU FOR A FEW MORE WEEKS AT THE VERY LEAST!

If this were a wine I were rating, I would give it 100 points. You can’t have a more flavorful, more perfect, more mouth-filling, pleasurable experience. Not in public anyway.

 Café Rouge. 1782 Fourth St., Berkeley. 510-525-1440.

PS: Thanks to waiter Sean Arnold for answering to many of napaman’s seemingly pesky questions!

I Was On the Trail Last Week for Really Good Wine in….. Israel!

And I found it.

There are only a handful of wine-producing countries, which I’ve wanted to visit but missed the chance, and near the top of the list is/was Israel.

Friends have been telling me for years that they’ve had really good Cabernets from the Holy Land and now that I’ve just been, I can say, “Holy Smokes, they were right!”

It turns out that, according to guidelines, the practice of making Kosher wines isn’t all that different from practices, employed to make top-tier wines in Napa Valley.

Here’s what you need to do to make Kosher wine:

You can’t pick grapes from the vine until the fourth harvest.

Here in Napa Valley, most winemakers start to pick in the third year after planting, what we call “third leaf.”

No other fruits or vegetables may be grown between the rows of vines.

We pretty much observe the same practices here.

The Israelis insist that every seventh year, the vineyard must lie fallow.

This must mean leaving the fruit wither on the vine, because, for sure, they’re not tearing out their vines every seven years and replanting.

This appears to be one of the differences in the practice of making Kosher wine versus Napa Valley wine. Due to sheer economic realities, no one here can afford to leave his, or her, vineyard untouched every seventh year.

Another element, which we do not follow; to make Kosher wine, only a religiously observant Jew may come into contact with the grapes arriving at the winery.

There aren’t enough Jewish winemakers in Napa Valley to spread around the 500 wineries here, so methinks this valley’s not going to be turned into an all-Kosher wine zone.

Another area where there is often overlap: to make Kosher wine, all the materials used in the production – including yeasts and fining and filtering agents – must be certified Kosher. Often, these materials happen to be Kosher here just by happenstance. 

My wine travels in Israel

I tasted some sensational wines in Israel, traveling through the Upper Galilee and Golan Heights wine-producing regions.

Tishbi 

Golan Tishbi, winemaker at Tishbi Winery

If you want to meet one of the most dynamic, happy-go-lucky, entrepreneurs in Israel, head to Tishbi Winery in Benyamina, in the hills overlooking the coastal Plain of Sharon, south of Haifa. 

Yes, you may meet his mom and pop, but for sure, you want to meet their wiry, fiery, son, Golan, a fifth-generation Tishbi who has become the family winemaker. And a damned good one, at that.

The Tishbi family has been making wine since 1882, originally planting vines on the slopes of Mount Carmel, following in the footsteps of Bordeaux' Baron de Rothschild, who had a lot to do with the establishment of vineyards and a wine industry in the region.

Tishbi’s tasting room

Ever the promoter, Golan contracted with the fine Swiss chocolate producer, Valrhona, to become its exclusive distributor in Israel.

At the winery, to promote chocolate AND wine sales, Golan has invented a tasty, informative pairing – of six different Valrhona chocolates with six different Tishbi wines. The fact that these wines are Kosher is completely irrelevant to the experience.

The tasting chart, which visitors can use as they pair Tishbi wines and Valrhona chocolates.

When you’re finished the tasting, you can head over to Tishbi’s on-site bakery to buy some hot, homemade breads, or you can sit in the winery’s pizzeria area, where a fully trained chef turns out delicious pizzas in a gas-fired hearth. 

Or refill an empty jug you might have brought along with a pleasant, $5-a-liter, red Tishbi blend.

Adir

Walking into the tasting room at Adir, I felt as though I had magically been transported to a chic tasting room in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley, or perhaps to that of one of Ontario’s newer wineries, Tawse.

The room is strikingly white, designer friendly, and the wines are delicious.

This Upper Galilee winery produces Cabernet, Cab Franc, Merlot, Chardonnay and a lush Syrah (which they insist on calling Shiraz for the marketing value).

I thought the best wine of my tasting here was the 2007 Plato (top-tier) Cabernet Sauvignon, produced from 22-year-old vines. The wine contains eight percent Syrah and was aged two years in 100 percent new French oak.

Dalton

At Dalton winery, I tasted the single best Israeli wine I’ve ever had, a stunning 2008 Dalton Reserve Cabernet, which was impeccably balanced, full of ripe, red and dark fruits, and in a word (noted in the my tasting notes), “delicious!”

I scored this beauty 93 points. 

In fact, I was so struck by this wine that upon returning home, I found a wine merchant in New York State who sells it for $31 a bottle and ordered some. You’d be smart to do likewise. The wine is $36 at the winery, so anything less from an American wine merchant is a bonus.

Naama Sorkin, winemaker at Dalton Winery 

The wines at Dalton are made by a talented female, Naama Sorkin, who learned her craft in Australia. She has been making the wines at Dalton since 2002.

Dalton produces about 75,000 cases of wine a year, 30 percent of which are white.

Summary

Here’s my thinking on Israel’s Kosher wine conundrum.

For starters, you’d never know these wines were “Kosherized” when you taste them. They smell, look, and taste like first-class wines coming out of other wine regions of the world.

In my opinion, Israel has suffered the same fate as Italy’s wine industry; that nation first exported pathetic, poorly made wines in straw-covered bottles (called fiasci). American consumers were initially taught to think of these wines as “Chianti.”

It took Italy 40 years to overcome this stigma; based on our earliest experiences,  we thought all Italian wines were this bad.

The same fate has happened to Israel’s wines. Our earliest experiences were wines that had been pasteurized (oy vey! Can you imagine heating wine to the point of boiling? THIS is going to win the mind, heart and pocketbook of consumers??).

Others grew up thinking that all Israeli Kosher wines must taste foxy and sweet like Manischewitz, made from Concord grapes.

It’s no wonder that we came away thinking Kosher wines are a bust.

I don’t know when Israeli winemakers started cleaning up their act, to follow universally accepted winemaking practices, but certainly, over the last ten years, they’ve matured these practices and are now making truly fine wines competitive with what’s being produced in other wine regions of the world. But,  by and large, the American consumer doesn’t yet know this.

American consumers have to catch up; our appreciation of Israeli wines is pretty much how we thought of Italian wines in the early 80s, before we collectively became aware that Italy’s wine industry had caught up to the rest of the world.

Today, we see single-vineyard Italian Cabs or Sangiovese blends, called Super Tuscans, priced at $300 and we don’t blink. We’ve come to recognize that the Italians KNOW how to make great wine and we accept this concept.

We’re about 20 years behind in our appreciation of what Israel is turning out. If you see a “Kosher” wine from Israel – don’t fight the trend; as a Jewish mother might say, “Try it…. You’ll like it!”

Spoiler Alert: Don’t Read This If You Are A Vegetarian!

Twenty-eight carnivores gathered at Tra Vigne’s Cantinetta, in St. Helena, last night to explore numerous ways to over-eat, consume gross quantities of red meat, raw and cooked, and to share a possibly not-healthy-to-humans, and most certainly a not-healthy-to-cows, experience.

Tra Vigne Executive Chef Nash Cognetti, who created the superb dinner.

The group assembled at 4 pm for the first-ever gathering of the Red Meat Club, an anti-establishment, red-meat-devouring, assembly of like-minded individuals.

We didn’t get up from our chairs until 9 pm; for five continuous hours, we were served different parts of the same 26-month-old steer, which, trust me, would have been happier to be “present in the moment” than be honored as the dinner centerpiece.

The event was hosted by Tra Vigne executive chef Nash Cognetti, and Michael Panza, from Biagio Artisan Meats.

Cost of attending the event was $100 per person, tax, and tip included. Guests could eat their weight in perfectly prepared viandes, all of them emanating from the same steer. 

House-made grissini, one of the few things served at dinner that did not come from the evening’s host cow.

Dinner was a delicious, six-course, sit-down affair. The single cow, which provided the dinner for 28 guests, was a pasture-raised steer from Lucky Dog Ranch, in Dixon, CA, about 40 miles east of Napa Valley. Terri Gililland, owner of the ranch, was present for the dinner.

Chef Nash received the entire left side of a steer for our dinner.

“According to scientists at the University of Nebraska, a cow’s left side is the tastier side,” said Andrew Tescher, whose job title is ‘steak wrangler’ at Lucky Dog Ranch. (He’s in charge of sales, as well as butchering.)

“Cows tend to rotate in circles, almost always turning right, which stretches their left flank,” added Tescher, explaining why meat cut from the left side of a cow’s carcass may produce tastier, juicier meat. It gets worked more.

Courses served to the hungry diners, each of whom were asked to bring at least one bottle of wine to complement the boeuf, included:

Head cheese.

As tasty as this course was, a joke naturally surfaced; a guest held out the large platter of sliced meat, offering it to me, asking, “Would you like some head….?”

The next course: Steak tartare, brilliantly prepared with tasty capers.

One guest commented that as delicious as the steak tartare was, “if you put it into a 450 F degree oven for an hour, it would make a killer meat loaf!”

The next course: A rich, flavorful Marrow Bone, cut lengthwise, for easier scooping.

Sorry no photos of the next course: Beef Soup, another one of the evening’s tastier courses, deliciously chunked with threads of brisket.

Next up: A mixed grill of heart, live and kidney

The culinary climax: Bistecca alla Fiorentina, the culmination of our five-hour meal; thick, perfectly grilled, juicy pink slices of porterhouse and bone-in, rib-eye steak.

Our fearless leader, Nash, standing atop the bar, addresses the single community table, explaining the menu.

One guest, to my left, daunted by the many unusual cuts of beef served (liver, kidney, brain…) suggested that the event be renamed for the squeamish, from “Red Meat Club” to something more appropriate:

“I think it should be called ‘The ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Dinner!”

The Napa Valley Magnificent Seven Rode into Town….

The Magnificent Seven …. high-profile chefs Tyler Florence, Masaharu Morimoto, Cindy Pawlcyn, Michael Chiarello, Thomas Keller, Jeffrey Jake and Ken Frank

Well, to be completely accurate, the Magnificent Seven were already in town and it was us, a group of food- and wine-writers, who rode into Napa town yesterday to see them.

Let me explain.

The Napa Valley Destination Council and a group of dynamic chefs decided that what our valley needs is one more festival/event/fund-raiser to keep Napa Valley on the lips of America’s wine-drinking, food-loving public. Especially in an off-month, when visitor traffic starts to fade.

The original idea, which initially rattled around the brain of Bottega chef/owner Michael Chiarello, got some heft and support from the Culinary Institute of America; then a group of civic-minded chefs came forward  as did venue support from Silverado Resort & Spa. 

And that’s how the new festival was born, to be called:

Flavor! Napa Valley.

The four-day culinary circus comes to Napa Valley Nov. 17 to 20. There will be nine signature events hosted at Silverado Resort & Spa and at the CIA, in St. Helena.

Jeffrey Jake,Executive Chef at the Silverado Resort & Spa, will be anchor host chef for many of the planned event activities.

At press time, these are the participating, high-profile, chefs:

Michael Chiarello, Scott Conant, Tyler Florence, Ken Frank, Jeffrey Jake, Thomas Keller, Christopher Kostow, Masaharu Morimoto, and Cindy Pawlcyn.

Participating chef Masaharu Morimoto, from his eponymous restaurant in Napa town, Morimoto’s.

Napa Valley’s vintner community will also be represented, as you would imagine, showcasing their wines and two of the industry’s leading sommeliers will be on hand to lead seminars and discussion – Karen MacNeil and Andrea Robinson.

Proceeds will benefit the CIA’s Greystone Campus scholarship programs to support the development of tomorrow’s culinary and wine education leaders.

Promoters are hopeful that this will become an annual November, post-harvest event.

Either intentionally, or because planning is still “somewhat fluid,” as one insider told napaman, additional event details were not forthcoming at the impressive, and tasty, press luncheon, served to food- and wine-writers, at the Silverado Resort yesterday.

The Best Wine Tasting of 2011 – And It’s Only February!

A smattering of the 22 Chateauneufs-du-Pape we tasted

I can’t imagine a lustier, more anticipated, more engaging wine tasting this year than the one held in St. Helena last night, celebrating my favorite wine, Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

The event, held at 750 Wines and hosted by BP Wine, two top-notch St. Helena wine retailers, brought together Chateauneuf-du-Pape aficionados to taste wines and to meet Harry Karis, author of the most important, most researched, most detailed book ever written on the wine and the region. 

Author Harry Karis with his book

Harry’s 500-page tome, The Chateauneuf-du-Pape Wine Book, is the definitive work on the subject. Did I say definitive? I meant all-encompassing, all-knowing, all-seeing down to the molecular level, everything there is to know about Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

In addition to desiderata, the book includes profiles on all the major wine producers, a run down on ALL the properties in the appellation, a chapter on ALL the area soil compositions in the region, in fact, ALL of EVERYTHING about “CDP,” as I call the wine and the region.

“It took nearly five years to research and write the book,” says Harry, whose son Phil took all the photos and art-directed the book.

Harry, who when asked his age says “I am vintage 1956,” is a serial careerist, tackling one after another. Initially a musician (lead guitarist in a Dutch band), he became a chef and opened his own restaurant. Bored with this achievement, Harry went back to school and became a doctor, specializing in occupational health. This guy has had almost as many careers as we had bottles of Chateauneuf-du-Pape last night.

Along the way, Harry was bitten by the Chateauneuf-du-Pape bug.

“I had my first Chateauneuf in 1978, but it  took many years  to fully realize what a  sensational blend it is,” says Harry. “After I learned that many of the great Burgundy reds contained as much as 50 percent Chateauneuf-du-Pape (added for color and flavorful top notes), I gained a new respect for this wine.”

Harry opens wines at the tasting hosted by BP Wine and 750 Wine, in St. Helena

I asked Harry what was the oldest Chateauneuf-du-Pape he’s ever had:

“The 1890 Chateau La Nerthe. It was still singing! I could taste fresh red fruit, raspberries and strawberries, and there was a silken licorice finish.”

Try as hard as you will to extract a point score for any of the 6,000 wines Harry tasted while researching his book, he just won’t fall into that trap. “Wine is meant to be enjoyed not rated,” he says.

To thrill assembled tasters, Harry brought some exceptional, well aged CDPs. But before we began tasting, I asked if he was as enthusiastic about the 2007 vintage as wine critic Robert Parker, who called it “the single greatest vintage in modern CDP history.”

Harry says that he probably would prefer a 2006 CDP more than any 2007 – certainly for a good decade before the 2007s soften and integrate. “It is a bombastic vintage!”

Before the tasting, Harry and I got to discuss the world of CDP… 

 
… and generally goof around

Backgrounder

Before commenting on the wines served, for those unfamiliar with Chateauneuf-du-Pape, here’s the skinny on this exceptional wine:

+ In 1936, Chateauneuf-du-Pape became the first wine region in France to receive appellation controllee status.

+ How Chateauneuf-du-Pape got it’s name: More than 700 years ago, a series of Popes, seeking to withdraw from Rome’s military influence, moved their worship zone to an area around Avignon; in 1333, Pope John XII built a secondary residence nearby, calling it “Chateauneuf-du-Pape,” which simply means “new castle of the Pope.” The hamlet, in which the structure was situated, picked up the name.

+ While Picpoul, Terret and Clairette sound like three Shakespearean crones you’d expect to find stirring cauldrons in King Lear, they are, in fact, three of the 22 permitted varieties of grape, which can be used to make Chateauneuf-du-Pape. You likely know some of the more common grape varieties permitted – Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre.

+ Chateauneuf-du-Pape producers may blend any combination of the 22 permitted varieties; some producers, like Chateau Rayas, make wine from only one variety -- 100 percent Grenache. Others, like Beaucastel, Clos des Papes, and Clos-du-Mont-Olivet, make a practice of blending ALL of the main varieties.

+ Here’s a chart of the grapes permitted in CDP:

Harry’s Sez:

If he could only take the CDPs of a few producers to a desert island, what would they be?

“I love the wines which Julien Barot is making for Domaine La Barroche. I would also take Charvin wines, made by the talented Laurent Charvin, and some Chateau Rayas to prove how long great wines can age. And I’d also grab some Domaine de Pegau, because these are always great wines.”

I asked Harry what was the single best CDP he’s ever had.

“While I have had many superb wines, there has only been one wine, which came close to an Aha! Moment: The 1998 Henri Bonneau, Reserve des Celestins. I was drinking it with a friend; we opened the bottle and poured a glass for each of us. We took a sip and didn’t utter a single word to each other for five minutes. We sat there in angelic silence. We were stunned at how good a wine can be.”

 I asked Harry for his top three tips to best enjoy CDP.

 + “Only decant Chateauneuf-du-Pape if there is more than 10 percent Mourvedre in the blend. This grape tends to be funky and needs aeration. Otherwise, pour straight from the bottle.”

+ “Generally, in most vintages, the best age to drink a CDP is from ten years onward.”

+ “If your CDP has been at room temperature, place it in the fridge for 30 minutes before serving, to mimic cellar temperature. You’ll find the wine is fresher, brighter, more lively.”

The cursed “CDP August Effect ”

I asked Harry if I was the only person he’s ever met who believes there is a phenomenon, almost a curse, which I call “The CDP August Effect.” It has been my experience that every summer, when August comes around, the most balanced, elegant Chateauneufs-du-Pape in my cellar become awkward, gawky, imbalanced, some of them downright nasty wines.

Harry looked at me as though I were speaking a secret language. (It’s time, Harry, to pull out our Captain Midnight Secret Decoder Rings….)

I was startled by his reply:  “I have that identical experience!” Harry says that for him, the nasties start in July.

“I make a point of not opening Chateauneuf-du-Pape from the middle of July to the middle of September,” Harry said.

Harry’s experience is based on a sampling even larger than mine. At its peak, Harry’s cellar held 4,800 bottles of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, and it didn’t matter which house, or which vintage, he pulled from; during summer months, they all took an evolutionary step backward, regardless of how well they were stored.

The Tasting

Hosts for the CDP-tasting; held at 750 Wines (David Stevens, proprietor, far left), BP Wine host, Stefan Blicker, and right of him Harry Karis. At the far right is BP Wine co-owner Cory Wagner.

Host Stefan Blicker reviews two-dozen Chateauneufs-du-Pape served to guests.

Rather than give exhaustive tasting notes on two-dozen wines poured, let me concentrate on the top wines.

1949 Chateau Patriarche, Pere et Fils.

This wine, from a Beaune negociant, was the oldest CDP of the evening, and the oldest CDP I personally have ever tasted. Despite being 62-years-old (!), it still has fruit, life and personality. Call it CDP-lite; though partially oxidized, there are still hints of dried fruits, like prunes, raisins and fig, and a noticeable Virginia tobacco finish. Actually, a very “pretty” wine, considering the age.

1959 Roger Sabon.

OMG – this CDP! Don’t let the pale strawberry color fool you; this is CDP on steroids. Sweet, almost meaty, in the middle palate this wine displays a cacophony of fruit flavors and there is a l-o-n-g finish of mint and spearmint, which persists for a good 20 seconds.

1961 Chateau Cabrieres.

I know this sounds nuts: Although half-a-century old, this wine still tastes young, vibrant, and is thoroughly alluring. It grabbed my attention on each swallow, begging me to come back for another sip. Fruit and forest flavors mingle. There is a heap o’ cherry on the finish, both sweet and sour varieties, and I ended my tasting notes with this litany: “Stunning complexity, arresting flavors, exceptional wine.” Kinda says it all.

1978 Chateau Cabrieres.

They must have been doing something extra correct at Cabrieres to snag two of the top spots in this tasting; I used many of the same words to describe the ’78 as I did the ’61. As well, I noted this wine was sweet, lush, and hedonistic. Oh, and  truly sensational. Lots of berries, both black and red, tons of fresh fruit flavors, not dried or candied. What a package

The Book

Anyone who would like to learn more about Chateauneuf-du-Pape wines, or who plans to visit the region in southern France, needs this book. Period. It is the definitive tome on the subject (though I think I made this clear many paragraphs ago).

The book is $50 on amazon, and $79 just about everywhere else.

You can also buy the book on Harry’s Dutch website, www.kavino.nl

One other new toy: Harry has put his ENTIRE 500-page book, as well as a new summary guide, on a compact flash drive (pictured above), which you can transfer to your iPhone or iPad, so that you always have everything you need to know about Chateauneuf-du-Pape in your pocket or backpack.

The flash drive, available on Harry’s website, is $24.95.

The Best Macaroons I Ever Tasted!

Listen up: You come to Napa Valley for the best food and wine in Northern California. That's understood. 

But you have to go to San Mateo, a suburban community south of San Francisco, if you want to taste the best macaroons in the world.

My daughter, Jenn Topliff, who lives there, perfected the macaroon recipe after several weeks of tests. I don't know what got into Jenn's head, but one day she woke up and said: "I want to develop the best recipe for macaroons in the world." She succeeded beyond anyone's wildest imagination.  

Had she had a scientific goal, instead of culinary pursuit, Jenn, with her drive and attention to detail, probably could have eradicated malaria in the same two weeks. But the world will just have to be satisfied with her recent culinary achievement.

Jenn and daughter Grace work together, testing different macaroon recipes.

Well, they were supposed to test... but Grace got sidetracked, and started eating the raw ingredients.

Stir, stir, stir....

Jenn's macaroons are chewy clouds of modestly sweet coconut, underscored with a base of rich, dark Guittard chocolate. The counterpoints of sweetness, coconut-ness and dark chocolate rebound off one another throughout the tasting experience. With most macaroons, after a single bite, you've had enough; Jenn's recipe leaves you hankering for another bite, even a whole other macaroon, after you've just had one.

But enough high-glycemic hyperbole. The recipe, which is easy to make, follows. Jenn tested many different types, shapes and threads of coconut; she tested many different dark chocolates. I was fortunate to taste many of her product trials and echo her belief that the combination of ingredients in this final recipe produces the tastiest macaroon you’ll ever make at home.

 

Jenn Topliff’s Best-Ever Macaroons

(aka “Smashed Haystack Macaroons)

2 large eggs

1/2 cup granulated white sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 cups flaked, or shredded, sweetened coconut (I prefer flaked, and buy the packaged, private label brand at Safeway. It is usually on sale and inexpensive.)

1 cup unsweetened coconut (I buy this in bulk, at Whole Foods)

1 bag Guittard, or Ghiradelli, semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350º F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large metal bowl whisk the eggs (using a whisk or fork) until well beaten. Stir in the sugar, salt and vanilla, and mix well. Finally, stir in the coconut (both sweetened & unsweetened) and mix the ingredients together until all the coconut is completely moistened.

3. Using a small ice-cream scoop (or tablespoon measure), scoop densely packed mounds of the macaroon batter onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Leave at least 2 inches between each macaroon mound. If using an ice-cream scoop to form your macaroons, use the back of the scoop to smash down the top of the mounds a little bit, before baking. In my testing, this seems to help make them cook a little more evenly, and minimizes the chance of over-browning coconut on the top.

4. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until the coconut is lightly toasted (be careful: these macaroons go from “toasted” to “burned” quickly!)

5. Remove from oven and let cool at least 20 to 30 minutes.

For surreal pleasure, dip the bottoms of the macaroons in melted chocolate: Melt chocolate chips slowly over medium heat while your macaroons are cooling. A double boiler works best, but I use a stainless steel mixing bowl placed over a small saucepan filled with about 2 to 3 inches of water.

Bring water in saucepan to a boil and cover with mixing bowl (or double boiler). Reduce heat to medium-low. Pour chocolate chips into mixing bowl and stir constantly, using a wooden spoon or silicone, heat-proof spatula. When chocolate is completely melted and silky smooth, it is ready to use.

Lay a sheet of parchment paper down on a work surface (any table, countertop or cutting board will do). Working quickly (so the macaroons don't fall apart in your hand), dip the bottom of each macaroon in the melted chocolate, then place firmly down onto the clean parchment paper. Let chocolate harden, before transferring cookies.

Jenn adds: “I have not done tests on refrigerating the macaroons versus keeping them out to cool and harden. The batches in our home never last long enough to conduct such a test!”

 

Napaman’s Best Wines of the Year -- And the top wine was white!

2005 Domaine Marius DeLarche Corton-Charlemagne, Reserve

When the white wine at dinner blows all the heavy-hitter reds out of the water, you know you’ve had a special wine. Which was certainly the case for this wine, making it qualify for Best Wine – Red or White – of the Year.

In fact, at one dinner, it actually outscored all of the best reds, which I tasted this year, making it the first time ever that my highest scoring Best Wine of the Year is a white.

I brought a bottle of the 2005 Marius DeLarche Corton-Charlemagne Reserve to dinner at Bardessono, in Yountville, thinking the white Burgundy might make a pleasant dinner opener. Little did I suspect it would be the wine of the dinner… of the night.. and of the year!

The perfectly aged, 5-year-old wine had rich butter notes and a surreal finish of fruit, lingering in the mouth for a good 30 seconds.

Exhibiting sensational richness of fruit and a dreamlike weight in the mouth, this wine rated 98 points. Picky-picky, probably should have been 99 or 100.

Our dinner hosts, Rob and Lexi Adler, brought a sumptuous 1998 Valpolicella to dinner and I brought several additional wines, including a 1999 Barolo and a 2000 Les Cailloux Chateauneuf-du-Pape, but these killer reds just didn’t have the magic of the DeLarche.

I was so enthralled with this Corton-Charlemagne, in fact, that over the next two months, I pulled additional bottles from my cellar. One bottle was a close, 97 point, experience, while the other was a distant 93-pointer. Never forget: bottle variation is alive and well in even the most expensive, most pedigreed, wines in the world.

2003 Pine Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon

The year was barely a week old when we opened what was one of the top wines of the year to come!

Carol and her twin sister, Shelly, celebrated a significant birthday at one of our favorite Napa Valley restaurants, Tra Vigne. For the occasion, I brought along a magnum of 2003 Pine Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District.

The wine blew away everything else on the table, and there were a considerable number of bottles on the table. The Pine Ridge was harmonious, balanced, filled with ripe red and black fruits, and loads of personality.

If this wine were a car, it would be an impressive, 500 horsepower, BMW M6, capable of blowing away the competition with elegance and speed, given the firepower under the hood. This was the single best bottle of Pine Ridge, (a perennial favorite in our cellar), which we’ve ever had. 97 points.

2000 Bryant Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

Hot on the heels of the Pine Ridge experience, Farmstead Restaurant opened in St. Helena and we had another top wine of the year, though in our least favorite restaurant of the year. (Maybe we should start an annual roundup of least favorite restaurants, too?)

Friends brought a bottle of 2000 Bryant Family Vineyard to dinner, while we brought a 1995 Leoville las Cases. Parker scored them equally 95 points upon release.

I thought our Las Cases, a St. Julien Bordeaux with great pedigree, showed insufficient complexity and had muted, muddled, top and bottom notes. A rather punk bottle, barely worth 91 points.

But the Bryant Family Cab – ahhh, symphonic bliss in a bottle. Syrupy thick, texturally rich (very silken), and alive with juicy flavors. Loads of ripe black fruits, a hint of chocolate, too. Couldn’t get enough of this one, and scored it 97 points.

The 2000 Bryant, like all vintages, was produced from 100% Cabernet, and was the handiwork of winemaker Helen Turley (from the first vintage in 1992 through 2002).

The premium today on this 10-year-old wine is somewhat staggering. Wine merchants across the country are charging as much as $700 a bottle, considerably more than what this wine cost on release, when 800 cases reached the market. I guess wine lovers have discovered how good this wine is – and apologies from napaman for putting additional pressure on pricing with this encomium.

1999 Domaine du Pegau Chateauneuf-du-Pape

Our good table mates, Barry Stern and Lea Kendall, joined us at Cantinetta Piero last April, bringing with them a bottle of 1999 Domaine du Pegau.

Barry and Lea had brought the 1998 vintage of this wine to a dinner last year, earning them – and the wine – top spot in our Best Wines of 2009. I scored the 1998 vintage a perfect 100 points. It was Napaman’s Wine of Last Year.

The 1999 vintage isn’t far behind in finesse or finish. It’s an arousing wine, filled with herbs, leather, ripe red berries, and a Virginia tobacco denouement. In a word: Delicious.

Imagine having two wines, this 1999 Pegau and the 2000 Vieille Julienne (description follows) at the same table with some mighty impressive food. Life doesn’t get much better. 97 points for the Pegau.

2000 Domaine de la Vieille Julienne Chateauneuf-du-Pape

As mentioned, we dined with Barry Stern and Lea Kendall at one of our favorite new restaurants, Cantinetta Piero, in Yountville, where they serve very well prepared Italian fare. Of particular note is their selection of mixed, house-cured salume, which makes an ideal table starter.

On leaving home, I had grabbed the 2000 Vieille Julienne Chateauneuf-du-Pape, curious to see how the wine was evolving. I’d had one bottle earlier out of a six-pack I own and recall that it was a stunner; perfectly focused, elegantly dressed, ready for prime-time, a knock-out of a wine.

The bead, texture, and finish on the bottle opened with Barry and Lea were all in perfect harmony. 97 points.

For the record: Five months later, in September, we had a third bottle from my half-case and it was equally as impressive; uber-complex, almost syrupy thick, a great rush of flavors followed by a lengthy middle palate revealing dark fruits, bramble, and garrigue. 97 points again.

2000 Vieux Telegraph Chateauneuf-du-Pape

This was the single best bottle of this vintage, which I’ve had from two cases purchased upon release from Kermit Lynch, in Berkeley.

We enjoyed this wine at the home of Tom and Linda Scheibal. Tom had gone into the wet forests south of Calistoga in the morning to forage for mushrooms. He found a gold mine of fresh chanterelles and picked and stuffed 15 pounds into a pillowcase. Linda, who is an extremely talented cook, made fresh egg pasta, and tossed the barely-sautéed chanterelles into her lighter-than-air, golden tagliatelli.

In general, I have been disappointed with many of my 2000 vintage Chateauneufs-du-Pape. The vintage was initially described as stellar, but I have found many 2000s, including earlier opened bottles of Vieux Telegraph, to border on austere and angular, certainly from what critics hailed as a “great vintage.”

But this 2000, from one of my favorite workhorse houses, was simply sensational. It displayed fresh ripe red fruit, had vibrant top notes and a chorus of flavors at the finish, all singing in harmony. An ideal complement to Linda’s dinner. 96 points.

Mission Impossible: Tasting All This Great Food in One Visit!

 

Having recently returned from Rome, where I enjoyed a personal walking tour with a knowledgeable guide, I was ecstatic to take a similar – even tastier! – guided tour of San Francisco’s Mission district last week.

Background: I received a Taste the Mission tour gift certificate from a talented pastry chef, whom I have been mentoring and about whom you will learn more shortly, when her delicious baked goods are ready to be rolled out in America’s gourmet food stores.

The gift certificate entitled me and three others to join the amazing, knowledgeable and oh-so-pregnant Lisa Rogovin, on one of her 3-hour, Saturday-only, walking tours of San Francisco ‘s colorful, Hispanic-centric center, with no fewer than six gourmet food pit-stops.

This is Lisa:

She is as knowledgeable about food and the Mission as she is sweet and charming. Lisa could lead me on a three-hour tour of a fish-packing plant, or an abattoir, and I would be happy, because I would be in her company.

The fact that the Mission is so colorful, so filled with start-up and traditional food firms, is the Big Bonus on her Mission walkabout. (Pay attention: you are going to want to sign up for this tour! Details at the end of this story.)

In an email, Lisa instructed my family to meet the walking group “in front of Mission Minis.”

From the sound of it, I thought we must be meeting in front of the Mission’s Mini car dealership. It turns out that this is the home of the Mission’s exceptionally good, mini-cupcake maker. So much for napaman’s qualifications to stay atop regional food trends!

A young employee, Diego, works the retail counter at Mission Minis on Saturdays

The specialty flavors here are indigenous to the area; I really liked the mini-cupcake flavored with horchata, the modestly sweet rice drink loved by Latinos in the ‘hood. Bakers tweak  the sweetness with nutmeg and cinnamon.

Other original cupcake flavors include Aztec Chocolate, and Pumpkin Spice.

Mission Minis is at 3168 22^nd Street. Tel: 415-817-1540. Find them online at www.missionminis.com.

Then we walked on to Mission Pie, an exceptional corner store in the ‘hood, serving brilliant baked goods.

Lisa asked Karen Heisler, bakery co-founder, to speak to our group to explain the Mission Statement of Mission Pie. Looks like you can’t be in the Mission making Mission Pie without a Mission Statement.

Karen Heisler, co-owner and co-baker of Mission Pie

Karen said that the bakery only uses organic, heirloom wheat and hormone-free butter to make their tasty sweet goods (with emphasis on “tasty”).

Karen talked about the importance of relationships in the workplace and said that Mission Pie makes a lot of room for interns in the business “because whom you work with… and the business practices that you follow… are as important as what you produce… and how good you make things taste.”

One of the best things I tasted on the Mission Taste Tour – the fresh walnut pie at Mission Pie. $19 for a whole pie. A trip to the Mission is not complete without tasting this pie!

Mission Pie is located at 2901 Mission St. Tel 415-282-4PIE. Read more about the bakery’s environmental, social and economic initiatives at www.missionpie.com.

If we were down a quart of carbohydrates at the start of this tour, our tank was about half-full by this point on the tour.

Next stop: a restaurant and another bakery, housed in the same space.

Sign out front; the location is shared by two food businesses – Local Mission Eatery, serving tremendous sandwiches and hot fare, and Knead, a hands-on, artisanal patisserie.

Only open about six months, Local Mission Eatery is the brainchild of Yaron Milgrom, a New York transplant who did his university dissertation in New York on Jewish mysticism, then decided that what he really wanted was to move west and open a restaurant!

Regulars love the soups at Local Mission Eatery

The pastries at Knead are the handiwork of Shauna des Voignes, whose name you may recall from her stint at Ubuntu, in Napa Valley.

Mission Local Eatery and Knead Patisserie share space at 3111 24th Street. Tel 415-655-3422. Check hours and days of operation at www.localmissioneatery.com.

Now we’re walking onward, heading for a seriously good, seriously local, taqueria.

Most pork tacos are called “carnitas,” as the pork for this style taco is fried. By contrast, the pork at Taquerias El Farolito is marinated – which makes a big difference in taste. This marinated pork treat is called “Taco Al Pastor” (the Pastor). From my vantage point, there’s another distinction from carnitas, too:  this is one of the best, greaseless tacos I’ve ever had. Worth a detour to The Mission.

Lisa Rogovin at “the Little Lighthouse Taqueria”

Then Lisa marshaled the troops and we were re off to another bakery.

Jaime Maldonado, whose family owns La Victoria Bakery, is in the foreground, cutting up different house-made pastries. That’s Lisa in the background.

La Victoria Bakery is the oldest Latino-owned business in the Mission. Jaime Maldonado’s dad started the bakery in 1951.

Of all the things, which our group was offered to taste Saturday morning, I thought the Walnut Pie at Mission Pies and La Victoria’s macaroon, were the tastiest items. In a word: outstanding.

If I were ascribing points, as one does to judge wines, the La Victoria Bakery macaroon is a 100-point food item!

The colorful kitchen at La Victoria

One of the signature items at La Victoria – empanadas

La Victoria Bakery is at 2937 24th Street. Tel 415-642-7120.

Then we’re onto something cold, original and delicious: Humphry Solocombe Ice Cream.

Apparently, everyone on the planet who knows anything about cult ice cream knows about this brand. The Mission location, site of production, is ground zero for Humphry Slocombe.

Flavors are as originally named as they are flavorful: I tried and loved

“Elvis, The Fat Years,” which has a banana-peanut butter base, and which is textured with Bacon Peanut Brittle.

I also loved “Secret Breakfast.” Flavored with bourbon, textured with ground crunchy cornflakes, this variety offers ice cream fanatics a natural way to start the day!

Other flavors tasted on our visit:

White Miso Pear

Blue Bottle Vietnamese Coffee

Chocolate Suicide

Humphry Slocombe is served in some Bay-area restaurants and there is talk of a second location opening soon somewhere in the city.

The ice creams are made with Straus Family organic milk. Ingredients, which can be sourced organically, are. They rotate through a long list of ice cream flavors here, serving a dozen at any one time. The store is open noon to 9 pm daily. Cash only.

Humphry Slocombe is located at 2790 Harrison Street. Tel 415)-550-6971. Visit their website for a list of all the freaky flavors; http://www.humphryslocombe.com/%7C_Flavors_%7C.html

No, we didn’t taste Jimmy The Corn Man’s Corn Whatever…. But I liked the sign and the eponymous reference to me (Jimmy!)

A joy of being on a photographic safari in the Mission with Lisa is the opportunity to see colorful signs and paintings, which pop out to speak to you. Like this and the next sign.

At least 10 minutes have gone by and we have not ingested any new tasty foods or colorful carbs; our combined group blood sugar count is starting to plummet. The group appears to be going into a crash landing of insulin resistance – quick, Lisa! Get us some immediate carbo-shock therapy … take us to nearby Dynamo Donuts!

Opened in 2008, Dynamo Donut and Coffee rotates daily through 30 different flavored donuts, which are fried in organic palm oil.

The only donut which never comes off the rotational menu is: Maple Apple Bacon, which has a cult following. The largest selling variety, it was featured in a recent episode of “The Best Thing I Ever Ate” on the Food Network

Dynamo Donut and Coffee is located at 2760 24th St. Tel 415-920-1978. Check out the full list of varieties at www.dynamodonut.com.

Patricia Rose, muralist and Mission mural historian

In addition to introducing the tour group to sensational food, Lisa introduced us to some fantastic eye-candy – the street art of the Mission.

Patricia Rose walked the group down Balmy Lane, detailing the art and history of some 40 different murals.

Rather than speed through them here, I will offer a visual inventory of what we saw in this space next week – it’s something visually delicious to anticipate.

The Information you’ve been waiting for:

If you’d like to take Lisa Rogovin’s Taste The Mission tour or give a friend a gift certificate, contact Lisa by email or phone.

The cost of Lisa’s Saturday-only Mission Food Tour is $75 per person, and the tour runs rain or shine, 11 am to 2 pm. Call Lisa at 415-806-5970 to book space. Or email her -- lisa@inthekitchenwithlisa.com. Or visit her website, www.inthekitchenwithlisa.com, to learn about other area food tours, which Lisa offers.

In Italy, It’s True What They Say….

.... All Roads Lead to… Rigatoni.

I just returned from two golden weeks in Rome where I had some of the best pasta dishes I have ever eaten, drank gloriously of the 2007 Tuscan Chiantis, gawked at life-like sculpture, and rubbed shoulders with 2,000-year-old cultural artifacts.

How good was the trip?

Well, for a brief spell last week, napaman thought of uprooting his life, selling the farmhouse and moving to Italy… to become… romaman! The city does that to you.

I suppose Paris does this to visitors, too, as does London. But these cities don’t have pasta like Rome, which is the clincher for me.

The secrets of a sensational trip to Rome:

1. Stay in Rome the entire time.

Forget the guidebook nonsense about including side trips (Amalfi Coast, Cinque Terre, etc.) when you go to Rome.

There is enough art, enough culture, a sufficiency of Roman ruins and enough great restaurants to spend two weeks in Rome and never get bored or find yourself retracing your steps.

2. Stay in one hotel the entire time.

Want to have a GREAT holiday? Stay in ONE place the whole time.

Don’t move around, and only unpack once.

We found a sensational site, www.tablethotels.com, created by designers and architects, which has a Relais et Chateaux sensibility. Tablet.com will help you find accommodation in cities around the world, but in Rome, it was like having a personal assistant.

Tip: Join Tablet Plus, which for $200 a year secures a membership with all kinds of bonuses, inducing free hotel upgrades, and free WIFI.

In Italy, where they charge for WIFI by law (talk about a powerful telecommunication lobby!), our Tablet Plus upgrade, saved us way more than $200 in WIFI charges alone, as well as scoring us an upgrade to a suite at no extra charge.

We stayed at Hotel Fortyseven, (via Luigi Petroselli 47) which also gets a positive thumbs-up recommendation from napaman. The hotel is central to everything; within walking distance of every major site except perhaps Villa Borghese and the Borghese Gardens; the rooms are clean, modern, and the concierge team is first-rate, able to book restaurants, get taxis, and resolve small matters in a moment. 

3. Do not rent a car.

The great thing about Rome is that you can walk just about everywhere.

Spanish Steps? Fountain of Trevi? Roman Forum? The Colosseum? The Vatican? Sistine Chapel? They’re all within walking distance of a central hotel like Hotel Fortyseven.

Most days, we walked seven to eight miles, walking off the previous evening’s carbo-load of sensational pasta.

It is easy to eat pasta two times a day in Rome. What is so fun about the pasta here is that Rome has several of its own shapes of pasta, most with which I was not familiar.

Salvatore Tiscione, chef at da Felice restaurant

This would include a somewhat wavy, long, extruded noodle called tonnarelli, which is tossed with butter, pecorino cheese and freshly ground black pepper to make the simple, yet delicious, dish called tonnarelli cacio e pepe.

Lazio, the province in which Rome is located, and of which it is the capital city, is sheep-heavy, so locals consume much more pecorino here than they do Parmigiano-Reggiano, the cow’s milk cheese of Emilia-Romana. 

The single best version of tonnarelli cacio e pepe, which I had in Rome was at a restaurant called (depending on your guidebook) Felice, or Da Felice, or even De Felice. But it’s located at via Mastro Giorgio 29, if this’ll help you find it.

Other food must-tries in Rome

Rome is ground zero for artichokes (when in season) and there is a constantly waged battle over which is better – carciofi alla romana (braised with garlic, mint and parsley, then drizzled with olive oil), or carciofi alla giudia, or Jewish-style artichokes, which are essentially deep-fried. 

Dal Bolognese

We have a love for Bolognese cooking; Emilia-Romana, the provincial home of Bologna, Parma, Modena, and Ferrara probably produces the best food in Italy. So when we learned that there is a restaurant serving Bolognese cuisine in Rome, we made a beeline for it.

The food is so good, so authentic, and so memorable at Dal Bolognese (Piazza del Popolo 1) that we actually ate here twice, ordering the IDENTICAL dishes a second time:

+ Brodo with tortellini

+ Taglionlini with Bolognese sauce (absolutely authentic sauce, tasting as though there might be ground pork, maybe some mortadella and/or liver in the effort)

+ Bolito misto - a plate of boiled, mixed meats, served with a stunning salsa verde and a version of mostarda di Cremona, a spicy-sweet compote of glazed whole candied fruits.

Or, to put these dishes in picture-speak:

Perilli

For sheer “do as they do in Rome” pleasure, include a visit to Perilli (via Marmorata 39), a family restaurant, which has been serving casareccia fare to locals since 1911.

The windows are frosted to keep prying eyes out; anyone passing would otherwise gawk at the food or the guests (Federico Fellini was a regular).

There is a series of appetizer plates to choose from; the pasta carbonara is exquisite, and the Romans at your next table are as likely to have the latest iPhone as you!

One of the great dishes of Rome is puntarella, a chicory salad splashed with an anchovy/balsamico dressing that brings the greens to life. The version at Perilli is memorable.

Sor Margherita

The receptionist at Sor Margherita, tells patrons that there is anything from a 20-minute to a 2-hour wait.

In the old Jewish quarter, visit Sora Margherita (Piazza delle Cinque Scole 30), a neighborhood restaurant since 1927. It is quirky for two reasons: there is no sign out front to announce its presence, and secondly, you can only dine here if you are a member of the Sora Margherita Associazone Culturale. (It costs nothing to join and everyone who signs dines!). The food is cheap, cheerful and the room is a hoot:

Roscioli

Roscioli (Via dei Guibbonari 21) is a great restaurant, a great wine store, a great retail food outlet. No visit to Rome is complete without at least one dinner here. Maybe two.

They make their own bread (possibly the best in Italy), their wine list is stocked from a nearby underground cellar (which napaman had the privilege to tour) and the menu selections so compelling, you just want to tell your waiter, “One of everything!”

Choose from three different aged Spanish cured hams (jamon)… choose from six different aged prosciutto… choose from salamis, culatello, and fiocco and other cured meats, which are made from free-range, heirloom pigs. Oh, the list goes on, and we’re still only on the appetizers.

Aficionados will tell you that Roscioli’s carbonara is the best in Rome. I cannot deny that it may be. But it may also qualify for World’s Best.

Organic egg yolks are tossed with aged guanciale, aged, farm-specific pecorino, and pepper from Sarawak.

Enoteca Corsi

Near the Pantheon there is a hole-in-the-wall restaurant, Enoteca Corsi (via del Gesu 87), where locals eat lunch. Period.

It is chaotic, quirky, wonderful and not open for dinner.

 

De rigueur: Go to the retail wine store next door (part of the same family operation), select a 13-18 Euro bottle of killer wine (I love their Chianti selection), and ask them to transport it to your table. The add-on cost to enjoy the wine for lunch is 2 Euros over the shelf price. You can drink like a king here on a court jester’s income.

The fare is fun; this is not yuppified, or cerebralized cuisine. It is just well made, fairly priced food. And sometimes, a meal is just that.

 

Sites

Okay, ‘Nuff about the food. There are sights to see in Rome and rather than go head-to-head with Rick Steves, rating top attractions, or telling you the hours of operation, or giving you the address, let me offer this shorthand version:

As a picture is worth a thousand words, here’s 33,000 words’ worth of my favorite things in Rome:

 

Colosseum

 

Vatican. St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel

Pantheon

Roman Forum

Villa Borghese

 Head here for the Bernini sculptures, including Apollo and Daphne.

They don't permit photos, so the ones here are "borrowed."

For all my life, I never understood sculpture, always preferring paintings to sculpture. But my visit to VIlla Borghese was a true game-changer, opening my eyes to what sculptors can achieve.

I am talking about Bernini (1598 - 1680). There are a number of his works on permanent display here. I stood transfixed before his "Apollo & Daphne," which depicts the chaste nymph being changed into a laurel tree as she tries to flee from the God Apollo. It is totally open-jaw, drooling, stare-time when you are in the presence of this sculpture. You can't believe anyone could ever chisel this setting out of a block of cold marble. It is so life like, so real.

The thing about Bernini is this: he freezes people in their tracks the way modern movie makers freeze a subject, then do a 360-tour of the frozen image (as in the Matrix). But Bernini did it 400 years ago and in marble, not with CGI (Computer Generated Imagery). Bernini makes the marble skin of a subject dimple the way real skin reacts to pressure; he gets the eyes, he gets the energy, he imbues the marble with virtual life-force.

I stood before Apollo & Daphne, and before Bernini's marble statue of David, who is set to fling his sling at Goliath, with my mouth agape. It was like hearing - and understanding - opera for the first time; I got the  same spine-tingling chill one gets when hearing Pavarotti perform Nessun Dorma from Turandot, or Ch' ella me creda from Girl of the Golden West - unforgettable.

 

Piazza Navona

 

 

 

Spanish Steps

And a few incidental shots, which I happened to snap and like:

 

 

 

 

 

And finally, a note about Federico Polidori

While walking the back alleys near the Pantheon, I came upon Federico Polidori's small leather shop. I subsequently found out that Forbes described Federico as "Rome's premier leather artisan for 30 years."

I asked  Federico, who is used to making one-of-a-kind leather bags, holsters for guns, quirky personalized briefcases, to make me a leather and canvass tote bag for use back home.

He has designed one-of leather goods for muckraker and author Carl Bernstein, and half-an-hour after I picked up my leather and canvass tote, Julia Roberts dashed into Federico's place to order a bag. It's that kind of place.

Here Federico and Roberta, his wife, display the bag which Federico made for me over the course of a week.

To contact Federico, email to: federicopolidori_holstermaker@yahoo.it

His artisanal leather shop is at Via Pie di Marmo 7-8, Rome. Tel: 06-67-97-191.

 

Visiting Chappellet -- Producer of Napa Valley’s Greatest-Ever Cabernet

 

View of Lake Hennessey, looking down off Pritchard Hill, site of the Chappellet Winery.

Three years ago, I had the chance to enjoy a bottle of what may be the single greatest Cabernet ever produced in this country, the 1969 Chappellet Cabernet.

At the time, I thought of rating it 103 points out of 100 – to be cheeky and to set the record straight that there are benchmarks… and then there are benchmarks.

The ’69 Chappellet was made by then winemaker Philip Togni, under the Medici-like wallet and watchfulness of Donn and Mollie Chappellet, owners of a 640-acre property, which crowns Pritchard Hill. One-hundred of these acres are planted with exceptional vines. 

You can read my earlier story about my 1969 Cabernet experience at http://www.napaman.com/napamancom/2007/05/1969_chappellet.html

The Chappellets have been crafting fine wines, largely Cabernet, from their crest on Pritchard Hill since 1967. Following Bob Mondavi in 1966, the Chappellets were second in the valley, since Prohibition, to get a permit to construct a new winery.

Unlike Bob, though, Donn Chappellet believed the best wines would be made from hillside vineyards. So he bought a hillside to prove himself right.

Cab at 1600-feet elevation. Chappellet’s vines run up to 1,800-feet.

I have long admired the wines from this property (Pritchard Hill is like a gold mine – it’s the mountain home of many fine “first growth” Napa Valley Cabernet producers) and I have never tasted a Chappellet wine I didn’t like. Or met one of the family members I didn’t like, either.

Mollie and Donn have six children. Sons Cyril and Jon-Mark and daughter Carissa are the hands-on winery managers today, having taken over many day-to-day duties from Donn, who is moving on in years.

Despite the generational transition, the winemaking here hasn’t skipped a beat. It’s been in the trusted hands of Phillip Corallo-Titus, who has been winemaker since 1990.

Candice Pannetier, director of guest relations, leads a winery tour, which begins in the cellar….

… and continues in the vineyard.

 

Some winery tours end with a tasting session in the cellar-temp barrel ageing room… and guests are given fleece-lined parkas to keep warm.

I joined a small group this week and walked the property and tasted current releases. Of the various wines tasted, these were the two knockouts, standouts, worth sharing:

Tasting notes

2008 Chappellet “Signature” Cabernet

Called the “signature” Cab, as it bears the signature of padrone Donn Chappellet.

The 2008 vintage, 77 percent Cab with a smattering of Malbec, Petit Verdot and Merlot, is, in a word: sensational. So focused, so balanced, so gotta-have-some-in-my-cellar impressive.

What’s remarkable about this wine is that it’s about a third of the price of the winery’s top cuvee, but it doesn’t drink like a third of the pleasure. There is a LOT of wine in this wine, which is seamlessly woven. An easy 93-pointer.

2007 Chappellet Pritchard Hill Cabernet

 How clever of Donn to trademark the brand “Pritchard Hill” in 1967, his second year of operation, forever precluding other mountaintop winemakers from using the geographic designation to describe their wines.

Someday, Pritchard Hill may become a sub-appellation of Napa Valley, but for the moment, it’s a trademarked descriptor, which you will only find on Chappellet bottles.

The 2007 Chappellet Pritchard Hill Cabernet is a stunning wine. It has the grace and sophistication of a European wine, yet the power and fresh fruitedness of a new world wonder; I love how Phillip Corallo-Titus has married these attributes.

At $135, versus $48 for the “Signature” Cab, is this wine three times as good? No, but only because the Signature wine is SO good. But for serious wine drinkers, this is a stunning wine, a more structured wine, which they are going to want to age in their cellar. Bravo Phillip, Bravo Chappellet team, 96 points.

Pssst.... Want to visit the winery? If you don't get altitude sickness… and like twisty mountain roads, then have I got a destination for you….!

Call to reserve space for the daily, 7-days-a-week, tasting at 3 pm. It’s $25 per person. Call 800-494-6379.

Or reserve space for the 90-minute tour and tasting, often led by the delightful director of guest relations, Candice Pannetier. The Double T, as I like to call it – Tour & Tasting – is $35 per person.

Monday to Friday, tour and tasting, by reservation only, at 10:30 and 1 pm.

Saturday and Sunday, tour and tasting, by reservation only, at 11 and 1 pm.

Book via email at toursandtastings@chappellet.com, or call 800-494-6379. Tours are limited to 10 guests.

Napaman goes to new heights to get the story! (1,600 feet elevation, to be exact - to Mount Veeder Winery)

True story: In my days in the food industry, I often visited supermarket buyers across America to encourage them to list food products, which I had developed. After work, my sure-fire way to close the deal was to take the buyers to dinner and if Magnificat, the glorious, rich, and balanced wine from Franciscan, were on the wine list, I’d order two bottles.

Without fail, the buyers were fawning over this wine by their second sip; bonhomie and all the great gabbing about wine and life, which followed, softened my sales pitch and inevitably, by the end of the evening, I closed the deal. Every time, Magnificat, one bottle or two, was my magic elixir. My food products always got listed in the stores… and I had the chance to enjoy one of Napa Valley’s most consistent, pleasurable wines.

So in one respect, when I was asked this week to join Franciscan for a day in the vineyards, and also to visit its sibling property, Mount Veeder Winery (both owned today by Constellation Brands), I couldn’t say no. I saw this as an opportunity to publicly thank the producers of Magnificat for all those highly productive dinners. And for another reason, it would give me a chance to check out the vineyards on Mount Veeder as we approach harvest.

Mount Veeder

It’s funny, when you wanted to get high in the 60s, you smoked pot. Today, in Napa Valley, when you want to get high, you just head up to the summit of Mount Veeder.

 

Most vineyards here are planted between 1,000 and 1,600 feet elevation.

Mount Veeder is the name of Constellation Brand’s winery here, as well as the name of the sub-appellation itself (one of 15 sub-appellations in Napa Valley). Winemakers have been growing richly intense, mountainside fruit here since the decade Abe Lincoln was president!

Due to its elevation, Mount Veeder wines have the longest growing season and lowest yields of any Napa Valley sub-appellation, according to Matt Ashby, vineyard manager at Mount Veeder Winery. Virtually all vineyard work is done by hand, owing to the rugged mountain terrain and extremely steep slopes.

Above the fog line and planted on shallow topsoil, vines here produce very tiny berries, intense with flavor. Mount Veeder is the only hillside appellation in Napa Valley, which adjoins the cooler climate Carneros, which benefits from the cooling influence of San Pablo Bay.

Matt Ashby, vineyard manager, Mount Veeder Winery

Matt and his winery colleagues invited a small coterie of wine writers (napaman included), to the top of Mount Veeder to explain how the 2010 vintage is progressing. Or is not progressing, as the case may more properly be expressed.

Readers may have heard that we had a cool summer in Napa Valley and that the harvest is “late” this year.

Late? According to vineyard manager Matt, “we may harvest later than ever before. Historically, the latest we ever harvested was November 5, but we might even be later this year!

Matt confirmed that there was a hot spell in August, which was tough on grapes, causing them to raisin, and start to shrivel. As well, there were too many ensuing cool days, which prevented the grapes from properly maturing.

“We lost 80% of our Petit Verdot,” says Matt.

Mount Veeder Winery maintains three ranches atop Mount Veeder, which account for 44 acres of vines.

To give us a sense of the decade’s wines, Matt arranged a tasting high atop the Mount Veeder crest.

Of four vintages poured, my favorite was the youthful, luscious, 2004 Mount Veeder Cabernet Reserve, a perfectly balanced wine containing Cabernet, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot. I scored it 91 points.

In total, Mount Veeder produces 30,000 cases of wine annually.

After a visit to Franciscan’s Oakville vineyards, the group assembled for a casual luncheon at Franciscan, one of the prettiest wine properties in Rutherford.

The most pleasant food pairing of the meal: pan-roasted, day boat scallops served with the 2007 Franciscan Cuvee Sauvage, a wild yeast-fermented Chardonnay, which they have been making on site since 1987.

What a gorgeous wine, with authoritative weight in the mouth, fabulous length and beguiling charm. This barrel-fermented, lees-stirred, Chardonnay was aged in new French oak and put through malolactic fermentation, according to Janet Myers, director of winemaking at Franciscan since 2005.

I found the Cuvee Sauvage, whose fruit is entirely from the Carneros, to have a Burgundian finish. Scoring 91 points, the wine reminded me how versatile a great Chardonnay can be at mealtime; I thought it had sufficient weight to even be paired with a pan-roasted tri-tip, which followed.

Janet Myers, director of winemaking at Franciscan and Mount Veeder Winery

Should you wish to visit Franciscan, here’s what you need to know:

Open daily 10 to 5pm. No appointment necessary to taste in the Visitor Center. Seminars are daily by appointment; call 707-967-3830 to plan a visit, or email info@franciscan.com. Located on Highway 29 at the corner of Galleron Rd.

The Best Way to End a Large Dinner – Espresso Corretto

Rich desserts, cheese platters and decaffeinated coffee at the end of a big dinner are so… 2009.

Of all the ways to end a grande bouffe, the item, which I have long been compelled to order, is a “fortified espresso.” The beverage is called “caffe corretto” in Italy, where the concoction originated.

“Caffe corretto,” also called “espresso corretto,” simply means a “corrected” coffee. It’s a thimbleshot of espresso to which one adds a tablespoon, or more, of grappa, a digestive, or a flavored liqueur. It makes the coffee experience slightly sweeter and the “digestif” helps process all that food you’ve wolfed down.

Bitters such as Fernet-Branca, Branca-Menta, or Cynar, lesser known Italian digestive drinks, or popular liqueurs, can help settle your stomach after a big meal; the alcohol is a nice end-cap to dinner, and helps the flavor of the espresso linger. That’s a win-win-win in my gastronomic world.

Nash Cognetti, executive chef at Tra Vigne, in St. Helena, Napa Valley, agrees that it’s time to shine a spotlight on “corretto.” He’s recently put “espresso corretto” on his dessert menu: a shot of Illy café with a 1.5-ounce serving of your choice of rocket fuel – grappa, Fernet-Branca, Branca-Menta, or Sambuca.

Caffe corretto is thought to have originated in Naples, according to a food blogger named Barbara, who lives in that city and who writes colorfully about her Neapolitan life at http://theespressobreak.blogspot.com/2010/01/caffe-corretto.html

“The tradition of correcting coffee with alcohol very likely started in the 1800's during a time when coffee became an ubiquitous beverage in Naples thanks to the caffettiere ambulante or wandering coffee peddlers. These men yelled out to customers in the early morning hours:  "Vulite na tazzuella di caffe?"  They wore aprons and set up tables along the street replete with small burners, cups, saucers, sugar, and a bottle of rum.” Barbara continues:

“Today, at ten in the morning, I see quite a few men drinking caffe corretto before heading off to work. The portions are so small that the caffe has a bite, but not much more.”

Italians mostly infuse their ”caffe corretto” with grappa, Sambuca, or digestive liqueurs like Fernet-Branca.

Americans sometimes turn to whiskey, brandy, Baileys Irish Cream, Kalhua, or Scotch for blending purposes.

But the idea is to add just enough liqueur to the hot, concentrated, just-made espresso to fortify it, and give it a spine of flavor. You should still taste coffee in an espresso corretto; if you don’t, you have added too much liqueur.

Puzzled at how I might illustrate this short piece on espresso corretto, I had my “Eureka!” moment walking down a street in Seattle, WA, last month. In the window of a fabulous vintage poster shop was a dramatic, original poster for a carbonated Italian digestive called Chinotto.

I asked Michael Maslan, owner of Vintage Posters, if I might take photos of the vintage posters relating to my theme. He was plenty friendly, like everyone I met in Seattle, and pulled out several posters.

If anyone is looking for original posters on travel themes, Michael is a source. Contact him at oldphoto4u@aol.com. His store is at 109 University St., Seattle, WA, 98101. Phone 206-587-0187. Don’t be surprised if the store is closed when you drop by; better to make an appointment by phone. As the sign says in the window: Hours by Chance or Appointment.

If anyone is looking for an espresso corretto, head to your nearest Italian sports bar, Ital-taverna, or the next time you are in St. Helena, mosey up to the bar at Tra Vigne and ask Eileen to make you one.

Sonoma’s Newest Winery Makes an Offer You Can’t Refuse!

You expected something less from Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather of film?

Coppola, who has spent 35 years proving he can also make award-winning wines (Niebaum-Coppola, now renamed Rubicon Estate, in Rutherford, Napa Valley), has just thrown down the wine gauntlet again.

Francis’ latest vision is of a slightly more rustic, slightly more fun, more casual, wine experience, which he has erected like a movie set in Sonoma County. In effect, he’s made the wine-thirsty public an offer it can’t refuse.

In 2006, Francis bought Souverain Winery from the Fosters group. He spent four years and millions of dollars to create what will become Sonoma’s definitive destination winery.

If you want live like Francis, here’s how you make such a dream come true:

In a rather large blender, combine the amusement parks of three continents –Coney Island from New York (where Francis spent summer days as a boy), Luna Park from Australia, and Tivoli Gardens from Copenhagen, Denmark; Pulse on High for 30 seconds. Pour mixture into a mould and let harden. What you get is Francis Coppola Winery in Geyserville, Sonoma County.

Here’s how the Director tells it himself:

“I’ve often felt that modern life tends to separate all the ages too much. In the old days, the children lived with the parents and the grandparents, and the family unit each gave one another something very valuable. So when we began to develop the idea for this winery, we thought it should be like a resort, basically a wine wonderland, a park of pleasure where people of all ages can enjoy the best things in life – food, wine, music, dancing, games, swimming and performances of all types. A place to celebrate the love of life."

The 1948 Tucker, from Francis’ movie, Tucker. It’s still space-agey modern, even though it’s 62-years-old – that’s how ahead of its time it was!

Sonoma County’s newest winery is a keen blast for the senses. All of them. Wines to sniff, movie props to see (including the 1948 Tucker from the same-named film and the desk from The Godfather, both moved here from Rubicon Estate), and the deafening sound of the Coppola bottling line, where guests can see Francis’ favorite wines being bottled and labeled.

On one of the public tours, guests visit the bottling line

Much of the credit for the grounds, and the movie set-like design of the winery, goes to Dean Tavoularis, who in real life is… a set designer. He met Francis during the production of The Godfather and went on to design sets for more than a dozen other Coppola films.

A guest sits beneath a mural painted for the movie Tucker

Dean, who oversaw the design of the courtyard and fountain at Rubicon, has just done the same for the pool and grounds at Coppola and – are we surprised? – has given design direction for many of the extremely original, extremely colorful, and extremely memorable labels gracing many of the Coppola wines, examples of which include:

The winery is so new that not all the finishing touches are in place; they are building a swimming pool on the grounds where children can splash while their parents sip wines; there will be bocce courts, out-of-door chess and backgammon tables, cabanas, even a spa on site. In short, everything for families except sleepover accommodations, which are plentiful in nearby communities.

The pool, still under construction.

There’s even a fantastic restaurant on the property, called Rustic, Francis’ Favorites, where guests can experience Francis’ favorite homemade dishes. Prices are reasonable, the fare is good, and service is excellent. When did you ever hear anyone say that about a restaurant, which has been open less than three weeks?

There are more wine styles offered at the tasting bar than there are styles paraded down a runway fashion show in Milan. Coppola produces more than 40 different wines here under no fewer than nine different brands, or labels. The selection is mind-boggling. You need a knowledgeable guide as we had, Neal Coats, to detail the many differences of the wines poured.

Wine guide Neal Coats

The fruit for all the wines produced here is purchased off site. The corporate distinction is this: Rubicon Estate in Napa Valley ONLY produces wine made from estate-owned vineyards; Coppola in Geyserville ONLY produces wines whose grapes are out-sourced.

All the Coppola Sonoma-made wines I tasted are well made and represent great value. And just about every one of the 40 wines made here is available for tasting at one of the tasting bars in the main hall.

More amusing wine labels:

Each wine is named after a Coppola experience – such as “The Director’s Cut.”

Others are part of a sweet family story. “A Votre Sante,” for example, is a brand, which Francis created in memory of his grandmother, Maria Zasa.

She was an Italian, born in Tunisia at the time it was a French protectorate. As such, she spoke four languages – English, Italian, Arabic and French.

Francis recalls that with each sip of wine she always offered a toast in French: "À votre Santé!" (To your health!). To honor this family tradition, Coppola has developed a pair of wines, one a Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, the other a Chardonnay, crafted in the French style with Dijon clones and Burgundian winemaking techniques.

I found these wines to be graceful, light, pastel-like pleasures on the palate, lower in alcohol than similar wines to which we have become accustomed.

My favorite wine of the afternoon tasting happens to be the most complex, best-made wine at the property, the 2006 Archimedes. This Bordeaux-style blend is 76 percent Cabernet Sauvignon from Alexander Valley and 24 percent Cabernet Franc from Knights Valley. The wine, aged 24 months in French oak, is supple, richly textured, and has a sensual mouthfeel.

I scored one bottle 93 points, another bottle 94 points and bought some to take home, which tells you how much I really liked it.

How’d the wine get its name?

Francis the storyteller goes into high gear…

Archimedes was the Greek mathematician who, 2,000 years ago, established laws of physics, which are still viable today.

Francis’ grandfather Agostino so admired the intellect of Archimedes that he named his first son Archimedes. To honor his Uncle Archimedes, Francis created what I maintain will become the winery’s flagship wine.

Here’s what it looks like when a bottle of the inky purple majesty is decanted at tableside in the winery restaurant:

Nora Caffrey decants a bottle of Archimedes

Oh, and of course, you can buy that fancy-dancy decanter at the winery gift shop after you fall in love with it.

Corey Beck, Director of Winemaking

Winemaking responsibilities fall on the shoulders of a remarkably talented, extremely friendly young man, Corey Beck, who previously made wine at Chateau Montelena, in Napa Valley, and who has been working with Francis since 1998.

Francis’ vision at Coppola Winery was to create a total package for visitors – wine AND food.

So after an hour sipping wines, guests may get hunger pangs; head to Rustic, Francis’ Favorites, the triple-worded, on-site dining room. Sit inside, near the wood-fired parilla, or grill, which Francis brought back from Argentina, or outside, on a sunlight patio, overlooking rolling hills of vines.

Stoking the parilla with three kinds of hardwood

Our waiter confides that they experimented with all sorts of woods to fire the parilla, settling on a combination of mesquite, almond and olive for their high heat performance and flavoring characteristics.

Typical treats coming out of the kitchen:

A hearty appetizer platter for eight

Chicken Mattone, a variation of “brick chicken.” As Francis thinks the best version he ever tasted was at a restaurant on the outskirts of Rome, that chef’s recipe is what is followed here. Almost every waiter I asked “what is your favorite item on the menu?” answered “Chicken Mattone.”

Francis worked as a busboy at a Polynesian restaurant when he was at UCLA film school. He recalls that they served some habit-forming ribs, the secret of which was the balance of the sweet and savory elements of the sauce. He’s attempted to recapture his memory – and the dish – here.

The Rustic menu is large, the wine list favors Sonoma County wines in addition to offering all the Coppola wines. There is an ample beer selection and even the gins, vodkas and tequilas are highbrow and well thought out.

And leave it to Francis and his spirit-picking staff to offer the single best, single-malt Scotch made – the Ardbeg Uigedail.

When everything on the menu, when everything on the wine list, when everything at the winery is drilled down to this level of attention and perfection – you HAVE to have a great time here. Nothing is left to chance; Francis appears to personally be in control and HE will make sure that you are 100% happy when you leave his enchanted theme park for adults.

Or else…. Or else…  if you leave displeased, I suspect that Francis fears he might wake up one morning with a severed horse’s head in his bed….

Not just the restaurant is Rustic here; so are the vineyard views

Coppola tasting room open daily 11am to 6pm.

RUSTIC, Francis's Favorites (restaurant) open daily 11am to 9pm.

Francis Coppola Winery, 300 Via Archimedes, Geyserville, CA. 95441

Tel: 707-857-1400.

Or visit http://www.franciscoppolawinery.com

Thank God Helen Keplinger decided not to go to medical school!

Otherwise Napa Valley would have been deprived of one of its greatest young, dynamic (and did I say attractive?) new winemakers.

Keplinger – with a hard ‘G’, not like the soft ‘G’ in Berringer – and her husband of three years, DJ Warner, just treated me to a tasting of their first three vintages of Grenache and Syrah blended wines.

The Good News:

Keplinger wines are sublime, majestic, ambrosial, unforgettable.

The Bad News:

I don’t have enough exclamations in my computer to express how I really feel about them.

The tasting was arranged at 750 Wines, in St. Helena, one of the only Napa Valley wine merchants who regularly reaches out to napaman when they’ve discovered a new winemaker whom they think napaman.com readers would, in turn, like to discover.

Helen Keplinger pours while husband DJ Warner reflects on the wine he’s going to have to sell. Fortunately for him, selling Helen’s wines shouldn’t take a lot of work – production is limited and they will sell themselves by word of mouth.

Talk about discovery. At the tasting, not only did I score every one of Helen’s glorious wines 95 points or higher, I even placed a standing order to purchase a pair of every wine that she produces going forward; they’re just too good, too glorious, and too fairly priced to let an opportunity like this pass me by.

Helen has been making wine for 10 years. She has a wine degree from UC Davis, has assisted Heidi Barrett at Paradigm, has worked at Fiddlehead and Kenzo Estate and worked a vintage in the Priorat, Spain, which changed her life.

Returning to America, after working in Spain and traveling in France’s Rhone Valley, where some of the most wonderful Grenache-based and Syrah-based wines in the world are made, Helen started to look for terrain, soil, altitude, and weather conditions that would enable her to make outstanding Grenache and Syrah wines here.

 

 With a short pit stop to marry DJ, who had a career in technology and organic gourmet foods, Helen got back on the fast track to find “the perfect soil for Grenache and Syrah in California.” She found several sites, she says, which appeared promising.

The first success came from a block Helen found in Knights Valley, which Helen says has volcanic soils, an ideal balance of slate and clay, 1,000-foot elevation, ideal southwestern exposure and good protection from direct sunlight.

She is so into this subject, by the way, that slowing her down, or changing the subject, is out of the question. Even if you put your hand up in the air, like a grade school student asking a question, you are not going to get Helen’s attention; her eyes are focused far off in the distance, picturing the very vines of which she speaks.

I scored this first effort, the 2006 Keplinger Red Slope (80% Grenache, 20% Syrah), 95 points. The fruit is from 14-year-old vines in Knights Valley. The wine is lovely, lively, supple, has rich ripe fruit flavors and there is no hint that this is actually a 15.5% alcohol wine.

I don’t think I’ve ever put the words together “pretty wine” to describe a 15.5% wine, but this beaut merits the pairing. Upon release, this was a $40 wine, as is each premiere vintage for Keplinger labels. At the second vintage, the different wines each jump to $50, where they perch.

The 2006 Keplinger Kingpin Rows is a 100 percent Syrah offering from a 5-acre parcel in Knights Valley. There is a huge scent of Syrah here; new leather, saddle leather, a hint of soy sauce and then the thing rolls over your tongue like an elixir of velvet. Easily a 97-point wine.

Then we taste the 2007 Keplinger Red Slope and like the previous vintage, this wine has a kingly robe, exhibits perfect balance, is filled with juicy top notes and a proper tannic structure for ageing.

The 2007 Keplinger Kingpin Rows, again 100 percent Syrah, is ethereal, a majestic new world wine made in the tradition of old world Syrah. Easily 95 points.

 

Speaking of new world wines, the group around the tasting table got into a discussion, noting that there are really only a few American producers of Grenache whom we admire, among them Alban Vineyards and Sine Qua Non.

Syrah has had better success – and a better reception - in California; one of my favorites is Lagier-Meredith Syrah, made here in Napa Valley, which I have bought and cellared for years. (Just now am drinking their 2001 and 2002 Syrahs and am loving them.)

The fact that there are so few local producers who have made beautiful, balanced Grenache wines incited Helen to take action: “I decided to make Grenache-based wines here as good as the ones made in France,” she vowed.

DJ  Warner runs the business side of Keplinger, looking after sales and marketing.

In 2007, trying to expand her horizon, as well as her portfolio, Helen made two additional reds:

The grapes for 2007 Keplinger Caldera grew on vines planted in Aiken soil at 2450 feet elevation in – are you ready for this? – El Dorado, California.

Not familiar with what Aiken soil (very fine particle’d, volcanic soil) can do for a wine? Then your homework is to get some ethereal Grace Family Cabernet or Rudd Winery Cabernet and taste; now THAT is what Aiken soil can produce.

The overwhelming flavor release from the 2007 Caldera (66% Mourvedre, 26% Grenache, 8% Counoise) is that of a slice of warm toast, heavily smeared with very fresh raspberry jam. There is a l-o-n-g raspberry finish that goes on for a minute, making me think that this is like drinking Framboise liqueur sans any hint of sweetness. Easily 97 points. Maybe more.

The 2007 Keplinger Sumo will wrestle your taste buds to the ground. The fruit, from Amador, grows at 1700 feet elevation on extremely old volcanic soil. This wine is big, brawny, yet like all Helen’s wines, remarkably balanced. Who ever heard of Petite Sirah with finesse? A hint of tobacco lingers 30 seconds on the finish. 96 points.

From Helen’s quiver, she pulls a few more vinous-tipped arrows, her 2008 offerings, and fires away, the wines piercing my defense with a purity of flavor and a sensuality of texture. How do you make such ethereal UNfined wines? They have the texture of brilliant young DRC Burgundies, but taste new worldly as they are filled with ripe, juicy fruit.

2008 Keplinger Lithic is named after a geological term, which refers to the size of soil grains, the ones in which these vines are planted. There are hints of gunmetal, lavender and iodine, and lots of blue fruit in this Amador wine. 97 points.

2008 Keplinger Caldera. There is a hint of just-poured asphalt, a whiff of tar, then a fabulous crescendo of ripe fruit notes. Oooh, 96 delicious points.

Helen’s 2008 Keplinger Sumo, a brilliant blend of Petite Sirah, Syrah and a touch of Viognier could be called a “Ka-Doing!” wine, the cartoonish sound made when someone slaps his forehead, suggesting a total, overwhelming, knockout of pleasure over this wine.

This is 5-star-salute material, a rocket sled of flavors and power and yet this wine has – who’d a thunk it? -- poise. This could easily be called a 100-point wine, because you can’t put more wine into a wine and make it taste any better than what Helen has achieved.

Whatever you do, Helen, don’t give up your day job and don’t give a second thought about going to medical school; if you did, you’d sadden a lot of wine lovers who anticipate the many years of pleasure, which lie ahead, imagining the thrills of tasting successive future vintages of your stunning wines.

Keplinger current release wines are available at 750 Wines, on Adams St., in St. Helena. Tel. 707-963-0750.The premiere vintage of each new Keplinger label is $40/bottle and in subsequent years, the wines are $50/bottle. “That’s the marketing plan for now,” anyway, says DJ.

Spottswoode’s End-of-Summer Party already? I thought it was still July!

You can’t tell it’s late summer in Napa Valley by the maturity of the grapes or tomatoes – everything is about three weeks late this year.

So it was good that the Milliken family sent me an invitation to attend their Spottswoode Late Summer Garden Party. This favorite-of-mine, end-of-summer party is just about the only way anyone would know we’ve reached the end of August; by appearance, much of the valley’s hanging fruit thinks it’s still mid-July.

Beth Novak Milliken and John, her husband. Beth is winery president.

The annual Spottswoode affair, held on the front lawn of the family’s stately, 128-year-old, Victorian home is always a sophisticated, casual event.

It fact, the party has always reminded me of the fine parties I once attended at Wimbledon, during the tennis finals. The difference being that the wine and food at Spottswoode has Wimbledon parties beat by a score of something on the magnitude of 1 million - Love.

This year, the headline wine of the party was the stunning 2007 Spottswoode Cabernet, described by wine writer Robert Parker as potentially being “the finest Cabernet Sauvignon I have ever tasted from Spottswoode.”

Parker ascribed 99 points to the wine. Why in the world he couldn’t nudge the score to 100 is beyond me. Because that is what this silky, complex, balanced, beverage deserves. Nothing less.

The 2007 Spottswoode Cabernet shoots out of the gate with hints of bright birch beer (from the young oak tannins), then turns into a sensual stream of ripe berries and sunburned, dark fruits on the palate. “Luscious” only begins to describe this wine, and I wrote this word twice in the column of my tasting notes.

Another favorite wine of the event was the 2008 Spottswoode Cabernet, unveiled publicly here for the first time. “The wine was only bottled two weeks ago,” says Jennifer Williams, the winery’s talented winemaker. “It will be released next February or March.”

Jennifer Williams, Spottswoode winemaker

This wine has a higher percentage of Cabernet Franc than any previous vintage, which I can recall – 7.5 percent. This makes the wine a bit livelier and a bit more peppery than any Spottswoode Cab, which I have tasted at this bottle age. But it’s delicious, nonetheless. Easily a 94 or 95-pointer, and maybe more; it’s hard to tell with a wine that has just been bottled.

The bread, cheese, nut and fruit table

This year, the only rival to the exceptional line-up of eye-popping wines was the exceptional line-up of eye-popping food, specifically selected to complement the wines.

And who’s surprised at how good the catered fare is once we learn that it was prepared and served by panevino, the St. Helena food firm meticulously managed by the husband/wife team David Katz and Mimi Martin Katz.

Mimi Martin Katz and David Katz, catering chefs at the Spottswoode affair. Their food selections complemented the wines in flavor, balance, and finesse.

When David is not catering one of 200 local parties he plans each year, he is an instructor at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), for whom he created the curriculum, and where he teaches, America’s foremost wine-&-food paring educational class.

David says that the only cheese, which pairs brilliantly with a young California Cabernet is the bandage-wrapped, Fiscalini Farms Cheddar from Modesto. So I bellied up to the bread and cheese table to try the pairing.

It was one of those “Eureka!” moments when you will forever associate a place with an event. I will now never forget that I was at the Spottswoode  garden party when I discovered my new favorite cheese. The bandage-wrapped Fiscalini Cheddar is nothing short of a showstopper. And David is right – it pairs with every single Spottswoode Cab with which I tried it.

For today’s event, Mimi prepared plates of perfectly cooked, toothsome, carnaroli risotto flavored with house-cured pancetta, heirloom tomatoes, and five-year-aged Parmigiano-Reggiano. I haven’t had a risotto this good since I was in Piedmont last fall.

The oldest wine of six served on the front lawn tasting was the 2000 Spottswoode Cabernet, last rolled out for one of these garden parties in August, 2007. At that time, I noted:

“The 2000 Spottswoode Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, made and poured by Rosemary Cakebread; this vintage Cab was for me, far and away, the single best wine of the party. Even better than the 1997, also made by Rosemary. Lots of up-front fruit, a gorgeous harmony of fruit and wood. The wine has a poetic mouthfeel, bordering on seductive. Oh how I loved this wine! 94 points.”

At this year’s party, the 2000 Cab was poured from a double magnum and while one would suspect the wine would taste relatively young from such a large format bottle, it actually tasted fully mature, already at its peak.

“It’s totally at its peak,” says Beth Novak Milliken, winery president. “I think it will hold its edge for three or four years, but it is time to drink up this vintage.’

My comments about the wine today: “Gorgeous, mature, like a perfectly aged first growth Bordeaux with a light veil of sexy fruit, which the Bordelais only wish they could impart to their wines.” I scored it 95 points, which is consistent with my notes of three summers ago.

As I was trying out a new full-frame Canon 5D Mark II camera for the first time, here are some shots of guests and servers at the event:

Panevino server Wendy Felix serves guests delicious lamb sliders. Major yum.

Only "Spott On!" members are invited to the Annual Spottswoode Garden Party. To become a member, you must purchase at least six bottles of Spottswoode Cabernet Sauvignon in the previous year.
 For details, or to join, phone 707-963-0134,
or email 
estate@spottswoode.com.

 

Postcard from Jerez, Spain

Downtown Jerez, southern Spain

The international writing assignment breezed into my inbox: “Give us an original story about a white wine, which goes with seafood.”

I gave myself an even greater challenge: Find a white wine other than Champagne (way too predictable), which complements most seafood dishes.

Taking the Indiana Jones approach, I grabbed my brimmed, soft fedora and a corkscrew (who needs a bullwhip these days?) and hit the road to find such a wine. 

 

Now that I am in the southern crescent of Spain, called Andalusia, where there are, in fact, bullrings, and bullfights, perhaps I should have brought along my bullwhip after all.

After an exhaustive parade through numerous bodegas (wineries) here, I have good news: I have found a single white wine, which complements just about every seafood dish imaginable.

In a word: Sherry.

I am referring particularly to the palest, most delicate, most ubiquitous, and least expensive type of Sherry – Fino. Proof that you don’t have to spend top dollar to experience Liquid Poetry.

 

Though not sparkling, Sherry is like Champagne in one respect: it is an ideal white wine to marry to all sorts of shellfish and seafood dishes. It’s great with oysters on the half-shell, great with grilled sea bass, great with a peppery seafood stew.

Unlike Champagne, Sherry is slightly fortified. Even so, it still qualifies as “wine.”

Sherry is always served well chilled, and by “well,” I mean extremely well, much colder than you would serve Champagne or other white wine. That’s the way the folks who make it in Spain serve it in Spain. They should know.

Jerez (pronounced “Heh-reth” by the lisp-endeared Spanish), is the Sherry capital of the world. I have just spent five days here, interviewing Sherry producers.

 

The Sherry industry association, which sets standards with respect to grapes, harvesting, production, bottling, branding, and what constitutes DOC (Denominations of Origin) Sherry, is the oldest wine trade group in all of Spain. The Consejo Regulador was established in 1933.

César Saldaña, director general of the Consejo Regulador

César Saldaña, director general, of the regional Consejo, invited us to his association’s headquarters in Jerez to explain the complicated way Sherry is made – using the solera system.

Phoenicians brought grapes to this region more than 3,100 years ago and even during the 500-year Muslim conquest of the area (700 to 1400 AD), wine, Sherry by name, was continually produced here. In fact, “Jerez” is a transliteration of what the ancient Moors (Muslims) called the city – Sherish.

When the Moors ruled Spain, they built architectural wonders, like the Alhambra, in Granada, pictured here

Sherry has changed styles over the centuries, as you might expect. The beverage we know as “Sherry” started being fortified in the mid-1700s, as exports ramped up; traders sought wines for long sailing expeditions. They discovered that fortifying a wine with additional grape spirits kept the wine from spoiling.

Today, only three grapes are permitted to make Sherry: Palomino, Moscatel, or Pedro Ximenes, which sounds more like the name of a Spanish TV comedian than a grape. All three are white grapes.

 

The chalky soil in this region is rich in limestone and calcium carbonate, which helps preserve what little moisture there is; vines of the three DOC permitted grape varieties, are forced to send roots deep into this cruel soil to reach the moisture. Scorching summer days produce grapes filled with high sugar content.

It takes clever winemakers to tame the fruit, grooming it into something palatable and delicious.

The grapes are pressed, fermented and the best lots are aged in American oak barrels where fermentation produces a particular “flora,” or micro-culture of yeasts, which transforms the liquid into a beverage with delicate, attractive, and nutty nuances.

A component of winemaking that is unique to this region is the maturation process. Every Sherry must spend a minimum of three years ageing in the solera system.

What the solera system looks like

“The solera system” is not to be confused with “the solar system,” though it is possible to make comparisons; both are wonders of nature… and you can’t explain either on a single typed page.

In Jerez, soleras are everywhere. This one is at Gonzalez Byass. The crest on each barrel head represents one of the countries in which GB Sherries are sold.

Here’s the Solera System for Dummies version: Sherry producers age their wine in a series of tiered barrels, mounted three, four or five rows high. The upper tiers are called criaderas (nurseries) because they hold the youngest wine.

Each harvest, when new wine is made, it replaces the wine in the top-tier barrels. But first, the wine previously held for a year in this top row of barrels is transferred to the row of barrels just below… whose wine has been transferred to the wine in the barrels immediately below… and so on, down to the ground level.

In this fashion, the wine on the bottom row, which has been housed the longest in this tiered apartment house of barrels, is now ready for blending, fortifying and bottling. Solera, by the way, comes from the Spanish word for floor, or suelo.

Solera at Lustau

It takes at least three years to make a Fino Sherry, as the wine drops down in successive years, from barrel row to barrel row, eventually hitting the ground tier.

In effect, a three-year-aged Sherry has a little bit of wine from each of three successive vintages. This helps winemakers produce Sherries of consistent color, taste and texture.

Please don’t start singing Man of La Mancha

The aged wine from the ground level of barrels is blended and fortified with distilled spirits. (You can technically call these spirits “Brandy,” as many textbooks do, but the term, to me anyway, suggests a spirit from France; the fact is that the distilled alcohol used to fortify Sherry mostly comes from grapes grown near La Mancha.)

Enough technical detail! This is not meant to be a primer on Sherry but is meant to introduce you to the wonderment of this beverage and the pleasures it can bring to the table.

I have visited numerous bodegas in Jerez and haven’t found a single Sherry I didn’t like. But irony of ironies, my favorite Sherry, Tio Pepe, is produced by the oldest and largest bodega here, Gonzalez Byass.

 

Gonzalez Byass offers the closest thing to a Robert Mondavi Winery experience. Like Mondavi, GB was an original, game-changing winery in its homeland, though Gonzalez Byass had nearly a century’s head start on Bob Mondavi.

 

As at Mondavi, Gonzalez Byass offers the region’s premier educational tour. To see grapes growing in Jerez and learn how Sherry is made, book the Premier Tour.

You even take a short ride around the property at Gonzalez Byass, while your guide explains how Sherry is made.

My impressions of GB Sherries were heightened by two events: an intimate, first-class Sherry tasting led by the industry’s most respected senior taster/blender, Antonio Flores Pedregosa.

Antonio Flores Pedregosa, the Sherry industry’s most revered taster/blender

This is what we tasted, to learn about the different types of Sherry

This was followed by a catered dinner in the Gonzalez Byass cellar, stacked high with many solera rows of ageing Sherry.

Table set in the cellar of ageing Sherries, at Gonzalez Byass

It also helped to sit at the multi-course, catered dinner with a director of the family-owned winery, getting his insider’s industry stories. Let’s be honest: Journalism may pay poorly, but it sure has its perks.

Barrels in the cellar of Gonzalez Byass, signed by celebrities, politicians and artists who have visited, including Winston Churchill, Steven Spielberg, Jean Cocteau, Orson Welles, and Picasso.

My take-away from Jerez is that Sherry, whether it’s the Tio Pepe, Fernando & Castilla, or Lustau brand, is a beverage of unique complexity and flavor.

 

Types of Sherries

Fino Sherry is the type I recommend to accompany seafood dishes. The pale gold wine has a taste of blanched almonds, fresh yeasty dough and the scent of pleasant herbs. Fino Sherry is an ideal complement to seafood, olives, or cured Iberian ham (or prosciutto – let’s not get too precious with the pairings!).

Manzanilla Sherry has a more prominent floral characteristic with hints of chamomile but it, too, would nicely complement many seafood dishes.

Amontillado Sherry is the result of blending two different types of Sherry (one produced “biologically,” one produced “oxidatively” – let’s not go into these distinctions here). Amontillado tends toward amber in color, and exhibits aromas of hazelnuts and tobacco. It is a great stand-alone aperitif and complements cheeses wonderfully. But I’m not thinking it goes so well with seafood.

Olorosso Sherry ranges from rich amber to deep mahogany in color. It is a warm, rounded, walnutty scented Sherry with sweet-ish top notes and flavors of toast, wood, and tobacco. Great with cured, or grilled, meats, but not a friend of seameats.

Pedro Ximenes is like treacle. Made from the “PX” grape, as locals call it, this Sherry sets the bar for sweet wine. Raisins, figs and dates jump to mind; the most recognizable scents are of honey, grape syrup and candied fruit. If 100 were the most sugary sweetness one could cram into a beverage, PX would rate 110 on the scale.

 

What is confusing to American consumers is that ALL these different styles of beverage are called Sherry. In the US, when we call a wine Cabernet Sauvignon, we kind of know what we’re getting into. Yes there may be bell pepper notes, or hints of blueberry, or the wine may be tannic, or oaky, but there is a bulls-eye, or target, of flavors, which define “Cabernet.”

 

Sherry, by contrast, is all over the place in colors, levels of sweetness, complexity of flavor and even in the process to make it  - “would monsieur like a ‘biologically’ produced Sherry or one ‘oxidatively’ developed…?”

In a world of short attention spans, having to go to school to learn about the confusing, complex and arcane methods of production to enjoy and understand the beverage is not going to win Sherry producers many Facebook fans.

 

The take-away from this story is: Fino Sherry is a wonderful beverage to complement most seafood recipes.

As noted, my favorite Fino is Tio Pepe (which means “Uncle Jack” – named after a helpful uncle of the original owner of Gonzalez Byass). It is delicate, nuanced and complements many Mediterranean-style dishes, not just seafood. It is available in most US markets and, best of all, is not expensive. Which makes it one of those win-win-win beverages, proving that you don’t need to spend a lot of money to drink good wine.

A potential encore benefit: Sherry may be good for your health, though no one makes such a claim on a bottle. Alexander Fleming, discoverer of penicillin, scrawled this on the end of a barrel of Sherry, ageing in the cellar of one Jerez bodega:

“If penicillin cures the sick, then Sherry resuscitates the dead.”

 Amen.

 

Another thing to like about Sherry; an opened bottle will keep for a month, or longer, if recorked and stored in the fridge.

If we have company to our home and serve prosciutto with chunks of Parmigiano-Reggiano as an appetizer, I often pull a previously opened bottle of Tio Pepe from the fridge. Each time, the Sherry remains bright, friendly and complementary to these foods. Thanks, Uncle Jack!

Askinosie Hey, Hey, Hazelnut Spread -- Best New Chocolate Product of the Year

 

Having spent the largest part of my professional food career removing lousy ingredients from thousands of packaged foods (hydrogenated oil, preservatives, chemicals, etc.), I must applaud Shawn Askinosie for doing the same thing so tastefully. And so taste-ily. And always with chocolate.

Shawn, as regular readers of this site will recall, is the Springfield, MO, chocolate maker who makes the best chocolate in America. If you’ve forgotten, check out:

http://napaman.typepad.com/napamancom/2008/02/enlightened-abo.html

Now Shawn has outdone himself, having invented a tasty, cleaner alternative to Nutella, the chocolate-hazelnut spread, which so many of us ate as kids.

 

Shawn’s latest invention is Askinosie Hey, Hey Hazelnut, a chocolate-hazelnut spread that is, at once:

+ The first commercial chocolate-hazelnut spread made in America

+ By default, the BEST tasting chocolate-hazelnut spread made in America, or anywhere else, for that matter

+ The ONLY commercial chocolate-hazelnut spread made without hydrogenated oils, without modified palm oil, without milk, without vanilla or vanillin.

  

The ingredients of Askinosie Hey, Hey, Hazelnut are, quite simply:

Hazelnuts (including their byproducts of hazelnut oil and hazelnut butter), cocoa powder, organic sugar and roasted cocoa nibs. That’s it.

For years, I have worshipped at the shrine of Holmquist, a Washington state hazelnut producer, which I have long thought supplies the tastiest hazelnuts in America. Shawn came to the same conclusion on his own and exclusively uses Holmquists’ fresh-crop hazelnuts to make his spread.

FYI: Shawn only uses the DuChilly variety hazelnuts, which he grinds into a paste and to which he adds chocolate powder and roasted chocolate nibs, which come from his single-origin cacao grower in Davao Philippines. The ingredients are slowly ground and mixed together for days, producing an ultra-rich, ultra-delicious paste.

 

On top of everything else that is wonderful about this spread, it is the ONLY chocolate-hazelnut spread in the world that is made from single-origin chocolate.

In short: This hazelnut spread virtually has a pedigree. So take that in the nuts, Nutella!

On top of all the built-in improvements over the world’s leading commercial hazelnut spread, Nutella, Askinosie’s version tastes better, fresher, more exciting, more homemade. It would have to – it’s hand-crafted in small batches. It’s the same reason why small-batch, kettle potato chips, or small-batch, hand-made pasta, tastes better than respective products made in large commercial factories. It’s difficult to scale great taste.

My tasting notes for Askinosie Hey, Hey Hazelnut Spread:

A remarkably lubricious, totally addictive, can’t-stop-spooning spread that makes you want to find a nearby church where you can genuflect – to pay homage to some kind of Greater Being for having given Shawn Askinosie the smarts to ever invent such a delicious product.

This is hazelnut spread on steroids, the Ultimate Spreading Experience, to corrupt a phrase popularized by BMW.

There is an addictive interplay here of toasted chocolate and roasted hazelnut, whose flavors vie for your attention; be careful – it is easy to wipe out an entire 6.5-ounce jar in one sitting!

If I scored hazelnut spreads as wines are popularly scored on a 100-point scale, this is a 100-point spread. Everything else pales in comparison; this is the new benchmark by which all other hazelnut spreads will be judged.

Askinosie Hey, Hey, Hazelnut Spread is great on toast, or smear on bananas, or use as a filling for pastries or cakes.  A 6.5-oz jar costs $13, available on line from the Askinosie web site.

Shawn Askinosie, the man behind the brand

I called to congratulate Shawn on his latest achievement but learned that he is in Tanzania with a group of 13 high school students. “They are meeting local farmers who will supply cocoa from our next new single-origin region,” a company spokesperson told me.

One more thing: Shawn and the students will spend their free time this week drilling a water well for the village – to supply clean water for 2,000 people.

If you wish to support this endeavor, you may make a tax-deductible contribution to the water project at

https://ssl.4agoodcause.com/cfozarks/donation1.aspx?id=1

Enter “Cocoa Honors“ in the “Fund” line.

To learn more about Shawn’s African project, go to www.chocolateuniversity.org

To order Askinosie Hey, Hey Hazelnut Spread, go to www.askinosie.com

How to Spend a Perfect Afternoon in the Carneros – at Bouchaine

Good friends, the Dunns, Harrises and Witts, asked us to join them in a new experience – checking out Napa Valley wineries to which we’ve never been.

“We always get asked by visitors to our winery, where else should we go?” explain Mike and Treva Harris, the ebullient proprietors of Harris Family Vineyards, “so we decided to assemble a small group of family winemakers to inspect what’s out there that we’ve never seen and might recommend.”

You’d think that in a small valley like Napa Valley, we’d know all the players, but, in fact, there are 500 wineries in our small valley.

So we sneaked off our porch and joined the group, visiting Bouchaine, in the Carneros, last week.

What a lovely spot!

Bouchaine is the oldest, continuously operated winery in the Carneros, according to tasting room host Lisa Brown, who poured five different wines for us.

Host Lisa Brown pours wine for guests on the winery patio, which overlooks the rolling vineyards.

“The winery was built in the late 1920s, “ she said, and has only ever had three owners – first Johnny Garetto, an Italian immigrant, then Beringer, and now, it is owned by Gerret and Tatiana Copeland.”

The winemaker is Michael Richmond, who has crafted some delicious wines.

We sat on the slat-covered patio at the back of the tasting room, overlooking the sculpted vineyards, which roll off into the distance. The standard tasting room fee is $15 per person inside, and $30 per person on the deck, where you get much more personalized service and a chance to have some nibbles with your wines, as well.

Our three favorite wines of the tasting were:

 2008 Bouchaine Estate Chardonnay

A gorgeous, beautifully balanced, Chardonnay, which is 90 percent oak-fermented, and topped with 10 percent of the house’s stainless steel–fermented Chardonnay. As only 50 percent of this blend has been put through malolactic fermentation, the beverage has a refreshing acidity. Really liked this wine. Even bought some to bring home; you can’t get a stronger commendation than that.

92 points.

2008 Bouchaine Estate Pinot Meunier Pinot Noir

Pinot Meunier is one of the three grapes used to make Champagne (along with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay). It is rarely used by itself to make a varietal wine, which makes this Bouchaine offering unusual. But which also makes it tasty.

Cool nights and a rolling fog, which envelopes the Carneros on many summer nights, help the Pinot Meunier mature gracefully. The result is a delicate, floral, rose petal-scented, wine with a beautiful robe. The alcohol is under control and this is one of those times when it is absolutely right to call this “a pretty wine.” I bought this one to take home, too. 91 points.

2006 Bouchaine Estate Pinot Noir

Here’s the real deal, a strikingly delicious Pinot Noir with luscious berry fruit in the middle palate and a hint of cocoa on the finish. None of that sometimes hot Russian River alcohol, or over-extraction; this Pinot has roots in Napa Valley but has a DNA that hints of France, which you can taste. Had to buy some of this, too. 92 points.

The Bouchaine setting is beautiful, the wines are delicious (we now have a winery in the Carneros where we are comfortable sending guests) and summer is here – so what are YOU waiting for?

Bouchaine is at 1075 Buchli Station Road, Napa, 94559.

Tel: 800-654-WINE or 707-252-9065 to make an appointment for a tasting group if you are six or more in your party. Go to www.bouchaine.com for more details.

What we Drank at Dinner Last Night....

.... major yum all of it.

But the hands-down favorite of the dinner group was the 1991 Philip Togni Cabernet from Spring Mountain.

Philip has told me in the past that his 1991 oeuvre may be the single best wine he's ever made, even better than his legendary 1969 Chapellet!! (You can read about THAT experience at the following URL)

http://www.napaman.com/napamancom/2007/05/1969_chappellet.html

94574 – New Sauvignon Blanc named after Winecountry Zipcode…

… and like the post office, this wine delivers!

This posting has two conflicts of interest. I am hopeful that, as such, they cancel each other out, resulting in a balanced story.

For starters, the winemakers, Dave Berry and Henry Schlangen, are personal friends. They did not threaten me with bodily harm more than twice to say nice things about them.

Secondly, when Dave and Henry asked me what to name their new wine, I chaired three professional branding sessions and ultimately suggested the name, which they chose for their wine: 94574, the Zip Code for St. Helena, where the wine is produced.

For the record, they did not pay cash for my services and I am fearful that they forgot our handshake deal: I am due 50% of all future revenues.

  

By day, Dave Berry runs a steel business, and Henry Schlangen sells real estate, two professions, which don’t require a whole lot of passion to keep them afloat.

So the passion-seekers turned to a common pursuit, wine, and, two years ago, decided to produce Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, two of their favorite beverages..

“Why dip your toe in the water when you can plunge in head first, not knowing – or caring – whether there are rocks or sharks in the water?” Dave asks rhetorically.

Henry Schlangen and Dave Berry, partners in 94574. When they’re not working on their wine project, Henry’s in real estate, David’s in the steel business.

So the pair bought into a 50-acre parcel along with a small group of investors; Dave and Henry get five tons of fresh, ripe, startling delicious Sauvignon Blanc from the San Mateo Ranch on Mee Lane, in Rutherford.

2009, their first vintage, was released Saturday at 750 Wines, on Adams St., in St. Helena. The stainless-steel fermented wine was barrel aged for a brief spell in neutral French oak and did not go through secondary (malolactic) fermentation.

Liz and Dave Berry are half the partner team of 94574. Genevieve, who is Henry’s wife, and Liz, above, are responsible for 94574 marketing and sales.

Here are my original tasting notes from my first bottle exposure to 94574:

Ahh, this is a striking, strident, Sauvignon Blanc with tons of character and joie.

The wine reminds me of a streaker running naked across a co-ed quad at a major northeastern university in the middle of winter; (A) because it can, and (B) because you can’t catch it.

Put another way: the taste and swallow, while ephemeral, linger in the mind for a long, long time, bringing smiles and a sense of prurient pleasure.

This wine has loads of personality. Look for a striking initial attack, then some fabulous, rich mid-palate fireworks, followed by a forceful, and delicious finish, which draws you back for more. 

Why don’t they make 32-ounce bottles of 94574? I must have had a short fill, because I found that I wanted more after my bottle was drained. 

My final tasting note may sound odd, but I detect honeysuckle, jonquils and even a hint of cumin on the end. And if YOU can’t taste it, don’t knock it – it's there!

392 cases produced. The wine retails for $18.

Genevieve and Henry Schlangen are the other half of the 94574 partner team. Genevieve works with Liz to promote sales.

Dave, Henry, Liz and Genevieve are keeping a low sales profile their first year in business. In addition to placing their wine at 750 Wines, 94574 is only on the shelf at Sunshine Foods Market in St. Helena.

As for restaurants, 94574 is being poured by the glass at Auberge du Soleil, which is one helluva coup for a frisky, first-year-out-of-the-gate wine. Good going, team!

Wanna know more about 94574? Be patient! As the 94574 web site isn’t ready for prime time, make note of it now for future reference: http://94574wine.com.

Swanson… this Renaissance Winery is making Renaissance Merlot

What do you do when you’ve been making great Napa Valley wine for 25 years but want to turn up the heat? You hire new talent and make even better wine!

At least that’s what Clarke Swanson Jr. has done at his eponymous winery in beautiful downtown Rutherford, population 450.

Clarke Swanson Jr. If the name rings a bell, it should, His granddaddy started Swanson TV Dinners and his father and uncle sold it nearly 50 years ago to Campbell’s.

As a neighbor of Swanson Vineyards, I have been to the property numerous times, but welcomed an invitation this week to spend a morning with winemaker Chris Phelps and owner Clarke Swanson Jr., along with a small coterie of local wine writers.

There wasn’t a real agenda to the get-together, other than to present us current wines and give us a sneak preview of the Swanson Sip Shoppe, a slightly less formal, retail room that is opening this summer next to the famed Swanson Salon, where by-appointment guests may enjoy Swanson wines paired with different foods.

For the record, the food pairings here are as friendly as the staff; no one goes home without a smile, and oh yes, purple teeth.

Winemaker Chris Phelps speaks with a small group of wine writers, assembled in the elegant Swanson Salon.

Winemaker Chris Phelps, who has been at Swanson seven years, is largely responsible for shaking up the winemaking practice. But then, you’d expect this from a wineman trained at U.C. Davis, as well as the University of Bordeaux and who then worked at Chateau Petrus, Dominus (Petrus’ Yountville property), then at Caymus, in Napa Valley.

Winemaker Chris Phelps 

Napaman Tip One

Chris is making a fabulous Pinot Grigio that is one of the most refreshing Napa Valley white wines that I have tasted in a long time. The fruit is a blend of Oakville, Oak Knoll, Carneros and even some Santa Barbara fruit, seamlessly blended in stainless steel. Read my lips: NO WOOD. The resulting wine is d-e-l-i- c-i-o-u-s, suggestive of spring flowers It would go extremely well with seameats, and has a lovely creamy finish. 91 points.

 

Napaman Tip Two

Are you looking for a way to recall which were the good recent vintages in Napa Valley? Let’s eavesdrop on Chris Phelps:

“’05, ’07 and ’09 were like Bordeaux vintages; we had longer, cooler growing seasons. The fruit had longer ‘hang time’ and the phenolics were allowed to fully develop. These are superior vintages across Napa Valley, if one can generalize.”

Salonnier, Shawn Quick LaRue, takes us on a sneak preview of the soon-to-open Swanson Sip Shoppe, a new ‘wing” on the winery.

Napaman Tip Three

The Merlot at Swanson is better than it has ever been. Merlot has been, since 1987, the bread and butter grape at Swanson. In fact, Swanson is the largest producer of Merlot in the Oakville Appellation and Chris suspects that Swanson may actually produce more estate Merlot than any other winery in Napa Valley.

I tasted the ’05, ’06. ’07 and ’08 (from barrel) Swanson Merlots and they just keep getting better.

As the 2005 Swanson Merlot contains 14 percent Syrah, the wine has a slightly herbaceous, purple-y nose, though it does exhibit lovely balance and textural elegance. 91 points.

The 2006 Swanson Merlot has more floral and cherry notes, and appears to be a softer wine. Possibly due to the absence of Syrah? Another solid 91 pointer.

The 2007 and 2008 Swanson Merlots are each a dinner winner, though exhibiting younger flavors and texture than any of the siblings above. But these wines will come around nicely in a few years. 91 points for each vintage.

Each of the Swanson Merlots retails for $36.

 

Napaman Tip Four

But it’s what Chris Phelps has done to the flagship wine, Alexis (named after Clarke’s daughter) that is the most pronounced wine revival, or reversal, here.

Alexis, first made in 1994, used to be a blend of Cabernet and Syrah. But Chris, who had some ‘splainin’ to do when he proposed removing the Syrah, has succeeded in producing some gorgeous wines.

2005 Swanson Alexis, which is 90 percent Cabernet, 10 percent Merlot, has scents and aromas far deeper than the color of this wine would suggest. Warm fruit aromas, gobs of spice, ripe fruit and lush richness. What a twist on “Napa Valley Cab”  – since it doesn’t taste as though it’s passed through the kidneys of a beaver. The wood is in HARMONY with the fruit. What a novel idea in a Napa Valley Cab. 93 points.

2006 Swanson Alexis. This wine’s composition is different; 81 percent Cab, 19 percent and the mixture shift is evident in the wine as it is softer, juicier, fleshier than the ’05. But still ‘loverly.’ 92 points.

2007 Swanson Alexis. Ahhh, this is the daddy! Wine of the month for napaman, a solid achievement, made with 90 percent Cab, and 10 percent Merlot. A stunningly good wine, delicious on the attack, right through to the swallow. There is a crème de cassis element in the middle palate. A fabulous, food friendly wine. 94 points.

Each of the Alexis wines retails for $75.

 

What has Chris done to cause these improvements?

“We are picking the fruit more ripe than we have in the past, but we are extremely aware of not letting the alcohol levels get out of check. Highly alcoholic wines are not refreshing.”

“For another thing, we’ve changed the level of toast on our barrels. We’ve cut way back, from heavy toast and toasted heads (the ends of the wooden barrels) to a medium toast.”

“We’ve also moved to screwcaps for our Pinot Grigio. No more corked wines.” (As far as napaman is concerned, Chris could move everything he makes, even age-worthy reds, to screwcap.)

It’s also evident that Swanson is engaging in some “alternate therapy” winemaking. Napaman spotted recent crop Merlot aging in small standard-sized, 225 liter barrels made of stainless steel, something I’ve not ever seen in a winery in this region.

Chris hinted that he’s conducting some ‘trials,” with them, but the nature of his short reply (so uncharacteristic of him!) leads me to believe that Swanson is experimenting. Which is a good thing, always the sign of a smart producer who refuses to accept commonplace methodology in an effort to improve the quality of core products.

To learn more about Swanson wines, go to www.swansonvineyards.com or call to make an appointment to visit the winery, 707-944-0905. To make an appointment to visit The Salon or The Sip Shoppe, call 967-3500.

Her Wines are Like… Elvis on Black Velvet!

Celia Welch

I have previously used up all the exclamations in my computer to describe the wines made by Celia Welch. They leave one speechless, as they do exclamation-less.

There is something otherworldly about Celia’s wines, which are unlike any other in Napa Valley. The thing her wines have is TEXTURE. More than aromatics, more than attack, middle palate, or lingering finish, the thing that sets her wines apart from every other wine is quite simply T-E-X-T-U-R-E.

Celia’s wines are supple, elegant, hauntingly fresh, silken, velveteen, velours-like, satiny, sensual, and regal, reminding one of the color, and feel, of the robes of nobility.

In short, they have the swagger, the iconoclasm and textural impact of one of those images of Elvis on Black Velvet, which you used to be able to buy at a five-and-dime. Though today, her wines will take many fives and dimes to purchase.

 

I was fortunate to have a one-on-one tasting session with Celia last week as she prepared to release her 2007 Corra, a sensual admixture of Cabernets from Pritchard Hill (50%), Rutherford and Oakville (25% each). Like every wine, which Celia makes, this one has the texture of velvet, scents of vanilla, chocolate and ripe red and black fruits. There is nothing out of balance on the nose, nor on the palate. This is pure liquid poetry. In short, Celia’s wines are the potable transmission fluid of life.

As her wines have a bit of the textural juiciness, which Michel Rolland achieves in wines, which he claims to “micro-oxygenate,” I asked Celia if she follows his practice.

“No, I don’t micro-oxygenate my wines. Not for Corra, not for any of the wineries to whom I consult (of which there are six – but more about this in a moment).”

“The secret to make wines, which are not tannin-invasive, is simply to have patience. We are trained as winemakers to jump into the wine-making process at the drop of a hat; I prefer to stand on the sidelines and wait for the ideal moment to act.”

In this respect, she sounds a bit like famed French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, who spoke of “the decisive moment,” identifying the exact moment when to trip his camera shutter. Celia speaks, instead, of the decisive moment when to pick grapes.

“It’s what you don’t do that is important! In the fall, I taste grapes on the vine every day, sometimes two or three times a day, to determine their EXACT moment of ripeness. Then, when making the wine, I liberally pump over and rack often to further help soften the wine.”

The 2007 Corra, which retails for $125 and of which there are 350 cases, is a stellar wine. Like most of Celia’s efforts, this one is sure to get a high-90 score, likely in the 94-97 range.

 

Corra is Celia’s own label, named in honor of the Celtic deity representing prophecy and harvest. According to Celia, the deity came to earth in the guise of a crane – hence the image on the label.

“Being Irish, I turned to this name and image for inspiration,” says the winemaker.

You will find striking textural similarities in the wines, which Celia makes for six wineries in Napa Valley. I was fortunate last year to taste 2006 Cabernets from all these wineries together and concluded that if any of them were dropped into a blind tasting of Napa Valley Cabs, they would easily be spotted out as being Celia’s – her textural handiwork is evident in each of them.

The texture in Celia’s wines is like a large tattoo on the cheek of a pretty woman – you can’t miss it, even if you aren’t looking for it.

Celia’s client list (alphabetically):

D.R. Stephens

Fleming

Hollywood & Vine

Keever

Lindstrom

Scarecrow

Where’d Celia get her interest in wine, anyway?

“I grew up in Medford, OR. My father was a hands-on, home-winemaker. As a very young child, I was exposed to the intricacies of making wine,” she says.

Three generations of Irish in America: Marie Masyczek (Celia’s daughter), Celia Welch, and Jack Welch (Celia’s dad)

At a public tasting session last weekend, I was fortunate to meet Celia’s dad, Jack Welch, visiting from Bend, OR. I pushed for additional details on his home-winemaking practices.

“I had a neighbor in Medford who convinced me that paying $3 for a bottle of commercial wine was too much, so we agreed, in 1961, to start making our own! We planted ten different varieties on our property and they all did well, except for Chardonnay. We made wine for 15 years. I suppose this influenced Celia,” says her 90-year-old dad, Jack.

Weekend event

 

This past weekend, to honor the release of Celia’s 2007 Corra, 750 Wines, in St. Helena, hosted a small reception for what can only be called ‘Corraficionados.’

In addition to offering guests a taste of her 2007 Corra, Celia poured her equally stunning 2004 Corra, her first vintage.

Interested in trying 2007 Corra yourself? A few cases remain at 750 Wines. Speak with David, or Monica, at 707-963-0750.

For one brief night …. Napaman became… Italoman!

If you have been reading napaman for several years, you likely have a sense of the passions, which fuel stories posted on this site.

Therefore, it is time for a quiz to see if you have been paying attention:

To which of these countries would napaman move if Napa Valley became too crowded, or turned into a paved parking lot?

a) Kazakhstan

b) Ethiopia

c) Italy

If you answered (a), then I suggest you unsubscribe from napaman.com… and subscribe, instead, to postings at www.kazakhstanguy.com.

Correct Answer:  One of the countries to which I fantasize about moving for the food, the wine and lifestyle is … TA DA!... Italy.

It is a favorite destination and in recent years, I make two pilgrimages a year, in spring and fall, to check out different regions.

Last night, however, three of Italy’s best wine-producing regions came to us, courtesy of one of my favorite wine store/restaurants in the Bay-area, PRIMA, in Walnut Creek.

 

Proprietors John Rittmaster and Peter Chastain, who is the chef, host regular grape gropes, inviting winemakers from various wine regions to come and pour; elaborate dinners are created to complement their wines.

Last night, PRIMA threw what may be the year’s best tasting wine dinner/event – and it’s only February!

To honor Italian wines, which scored “tre bicchieri,” or “three glasses,” the top rank for wines featured in the Italian wine revue, Gambero Rosso, PRIMA invited one winemaker from each of Piedmont, Tuscany, and Campania, who had scored “three glasses” with at least one of their wines.

Invited were:

Mariacristina Oddero

Mariacristina Oddero, the talented winemaker/owner of Fratelli Oddero, in La Morra, Piedmont

(As Mariacristina postponed her visit to Napa Valley and the north Bay until May (can’t wait to see you then, Mariacristina!), she sent her envoy to last night’s dinner, Enrico Nicoletta, Italian Wine Director of Wine Warehouse.)

Caterina Mazzocolin

Caterina Mazzocolin, winemaker of her family’s winery, Fattoria Felsina, in Castelnuovo, Berardenga, Tuscany

Sabino Loffredo

Sabino Loffredo, winemaker of Pietracupa, situated in Avellino, Campania

The event at PRIMA was split into halves, each equally rewarding. First there was a tasting/reception, followed by a sumptuous, four-course dinner.

Each winemaker hosted a “station” in the small wine shop, pouring his, or her, wines, conversing with guests.

The grapes are this big! Winemaker Caterina Mazzocolin from Felsina describes how big the Sanigovese grapes are, which she picks. Hmmmm, must be the Sangiovese Grosso clone….

No question about it, this was THE wine of the night. At both the reception and again, at dinner. At the winery, I scored this wine 95 points, last night, I scored a recently traveled bottle 93 points, but in the context of all the superb wines poured last night, THIS was el-numero uno. You want it? PRIMA has some to sell.

What was wine importer Enrico Nicoletta looking for in John Rittmaster’s beard? His car keys? Crumbs from lunch?

The name of the wine is not easy to read on this label, but the wine is very easy to love. Greco is the name of a grape planted in southern Italy, around a small town called Tufo, in Campania. The grapes are thought to have originated in Greek times, according to winemaker Sabino Loffredo, who crafts this delicious white wine to have wonderful length and richness. I was impressed by the sensual, honeyed taste AND the honeyed texture of the wine. Greco is $24 a bottle and PRIMA is the only place I am aware, which has it.

I summarized my visit to Mariacristina’s winery in La Morra, Piedmont, last fall is this fashion: “Cristina produces liquid poetry. Her stunning, ambrosial Barolos are filled with truffle scents and ripe red fruit.” This wasn’t the case last night, I thought, for the several Barolos poured; they were tight and appeared fatigued from travel.

And then there was dinner….

Some 28 guests, including the visiting winemakers, sat down to a four-course dinner, prepared by chef Peter Chastain.

First up… a delicious carpaccio of halibut, served with shaved fennel. The dish showed great execution and the quality of the olive oil was outstanding, I don’t often sop up olive oil on my plate, but this oil compelled me to do so – highly complex, and lovely aromatics.

Served with the 2008 Pietracupa Greco di Tufo – a perfect pairing.

Chef / partner-owner Peter Chastain checked with guests every course to see how they were enjoying themselves. “VERY MUCH” was the phrase I heard over and over, throughout the evening.

Low lighting in the restaurant prohibited getting Food & Wine quality photos, but this was a delicious primo piatto, a cannelloni stuffed with wild mushrooms and fresh ricotta, baked in a pomarola (or marinara-type) tomato sauce.

Served with two wines:

2006 Fattoria Felsina Chianti Classico Riserva Cru Rancia (my favorite wine of the night by a long margin).

2006 Fattoria Felsina Fontalloro.

For the secondo piatto , guests were served a moist, delicious, perfectly prepared mixed roast, or porchetta, combining tender white rabbit, pork and fennel, served on a bed of Dinosaur Kale.

Served with two wines:

2004 Fratelli Oddero Barolo Bussia Soprana Mondoca

1996 Fratelli Oddero Barolo Vigna Rionda

For dessert, guests were served a nut cake, studded with pine nuts, scented with rosemary, sweetened with honey. It was a sensational complement to the chosen dessert wine, the 2000 Fattoria Felsina Vin Santo. A perfect ending to a perfect dinner.

To learn more about the many dinners, events, and cooking classes sponsored by PRIMA, on the restaurant side, go to http://www.primaristorante.com.

To learn more about the selections at PRIMA, the wine shop, go to http://www.primawine.com/vini/index.php

PRIMA restaurant and wine shop are at 1522 North Main Street, Walnut Creek, CA, 94596.

Unlike Olympic Athletes, Napa Valley Winemakers Don’t Wait 4 Years to Show Off Their Talents!

(This is Part 2 of a 3-part, on-going story about this weekend’s Premiere Napa Valley event. Check here Sunday for a recap of the weekend’s highlight, the Barrel Auction.)

 Oh the frenzy… of tasting 36 Cabernets and 36 Chardonnays before a late breakfast this morning…

While the world parses amateur sports achievements into four-year chunks, timed with the Olympics, Napa Valley winemakers seem to be on a roll, turning out Gold medal-worthy wines year after year.

In wine-speak, every Napa Valley vintage is an Olympian achievement!

And 500 American and international wholesalers, retailers and restaurant wine-buyers are here this weekend to prove the point. They are attending Premiere Napa Valley, an annual trade event hosted by Napa Valley Vintners.

Just this morning, for example, the Rudd Center at the Culinary Institute of America, St. Helena campus, hosted a Multi-Vintage Perspective tasting, to help these professional wine-buyers sort out the merits of three recent vintages.

 

A dozen Napa Valley Cabernets, and as many Chardonnays, were poured blind for the assembled trade guests. The Cabs were from the 2005, 2006 and 2007 vintages, while the Chardonnays were from the 2006, 2007 and 2008 vintages.

Swirl… sip… spit… 36 times for Cabernet… then repeat 36 times for Chardonnay…

In previous years, as many as three vintages of 20 different Cabernets were offered blind, but I always found this to be a bit corrosive on the palate; after 15 or 20 Cabs, it becomes progressively more difficult to identify nuances between wines, which are tasted blind and without food – not how they will be enjoyed by consumers. So I was pleased to see that Napa Valley Vintners had reduced the size of the Cabernet tasting this year – to 12 wineries, each of which offered their wines from three vintages, 2005, 2006, and 2007.

My personal favorites from the blind tasting

My two favorite Cabernets tasted blind were made by Etude and Pride Mountain.

I LOVED all three of the Etude offerings but scored the 2007 Etude highest.

This wine won’t be released until winter of 2011 – so put it on your future shopping list. It exhibits oozy fruit, surreal sweetness, a gorgeous middle palate and the finish goes on for a good 30 seconds.

If I wrote “wow” as many times on this page as I did in the column of my tasting notes for Pride Mountain’s three wines, you would think my adjectival arsenal was deficient.

I LOVED all three vintages of Pride Mountain’s wines, but scored top marks for the 2005 effort, which was silken, sensual, rich, regal, and royal. It was one of those wines which I did not want to sip and spit; I wanted to “rent” it for a while, so I returned to this wine for a final swill on my way out of the tasting.

My only issue with today’s session was the accepted practice of mixing bottles for the blind tasting. Each vintage of a particular wine was presented in a carafe; when the wine in the carafe was getting low, servers topped up each respective carafe with wine from the same vintage wine but from different bottles.

Everyone in the wine business knows that there are no great wines… there are just great bottles of wine. By mixing bottles – even of the same vintage -- in a common decanter, tasters are presented with a sort-of Lowest Common Denominator of the wine… the mélange can’t be better than the poorest bottle poured into the carafe.

Point in fact: when I went back to revisit the Pride Mountain 2005, I was obviously tasting from a different mixture of bottles; the overall pleasure was not as great as the experience I had had an hour earlier.

 Alder Yarrow, founder of vinography.com

Joining Premiere attendees at the tasting this morning were some of the wine writers who are holed up for several days at Meadowood for an annual Wine Writer’s Symposium.

One of the guest panelists who sauntered over for this morning’s tasting was Alder Yarrow, the ever-pleasant founder of vinography.com. I asked one of Alder’s peers how the writers’ session was going and he reported:

“All the senior writers keep emphasizing to the young bloggers how difficult it is to make a living writing about wine, especially in the blogosphere. I think all the young, idealistic wine bloggers leave each session more despondent than when they came in.”

Permit me to sum up: If there is one thing more difficult than making money from selling wine these days, it’s making money from writing about wine.

(Just ask napaman; this site is a not-for-profit exercise in unbridled passion; I write about things, which excite me, and that’s my entire business plan in a seven-word sentence.)

And then it was Noon…

Ma(i)sonry, called “a living gallery,” by owner Michael Polenske

Out-of-town guests and wine writers were offered a choice of more than 40 lunches, tastings, and appellation events this weekend as part of Premiere festivities.

 For lunch today, I opted to visit Ma(i)sonry, a luxury art, design and wine center in Yountville, owned by Michael Polenske. It also happens to be home to Michael’s Blackbird wines, as well as a collective for a dozen other wines, which are poured on site.

 

Located in an historic 1904 stone building, Ma(i)sonry is a highly stylized, very personal reflection of Michael Polenske’s tastes. Michael developed his tastes by hanging out with the best of the best; prior to becoming CEO of Chase Manhattan Bank & Trust Co., N.A., Michael was an investment manager for high-net-worth individuals in Silicon Valley. Call this a significant kick-start in learning what constitutes collectable art.

Michael named his Yountville venture Ma(i)sonry, chosing to design it with those pesky, pain-in-the-ass, parentheses around the letter “i.”

Michael Polenske, founder of Ma(i)sonry and (a bust of) Einstein. It’s harder to say which of these guys is smarter – Polenske’s pretty bright…  and  he, at least, had the smarts to move to Napa Valley, one-up-man-ship over Einstein, if you ask me.

“’Ma(i)sonry’ is a made-up word, “says the art center’s general manager, Michael Earls. “’Maison’ in French means ‘house,” and ‘masonry’ relates to a “stone building, both of which this place is.”

A casual, intimate luncheon for 19, served in the loft at Ma(i)sonry. Blackbird winemaker  Aaron Pott stands at center, describing the wines he has chosen to serve with the different courses.

Guests at Ma(i)sonry were treated to a three-course meal, ably prepared by chef Taylor Mason. I’m surprised they didn’t make him put an “i” inside parentheses in his family name to get the job.

Is it just me, or does Aaron Pott, Blackbird winemaker, look like Quentin Tarantino in this shot?

The wines served were all made by Blackbird winemaker Aaron Pott. I was knocked out by the clarity, focus, sensuality, silkiness and lingering flavors of each of the wines presented.

 While ALL the red wines served at lunch were serious, 92-95 scoring wines, my favorite red of the meal was Blackbird Illustration, which is 70% Merlot (Polenske’s favorite grape), 20% Cab Franc, and 5% each of Cab Sauvignon and Malbec. French winemakers in Bordeaux should be so happy to have a wine as good, made with these right-bank fruits! FYI: Aaron was winemaker for a period at the excellent house Troplong-Mondot. When this guy cuts himself, he bleeds wine…

In many respects the luncheon took me back to an era – the early 1980’s – when Napa Valley wineries regularly hosted guests with this kind of food and culture, set in exquisite surroundings.

Congratulations – and thanks -- to both Michaels (Polenske & Earls), and to Taylor and Aaron for staging such a casual, but classy, luncheon.

The luncheon’s first course, a bouquet of tiny potato gnocchi, each lighter than a butterfly, tossed with Thumbelina carrots and green cauliflower florets.

What a tremendous dish; a platform of Yukon Gold potato puree, Maitake mushrooms and veal jus, topped with a single ravioli filled with a forcemeat of short rib snippets and Swiss chard, the entire creation crowned with a medallion of pinkly roasted ribeye. Polenske should make ceramic versions of this artwork and sell them as desk paperweights – they’re as eye-appealing as they were tasty.

Guests were also served a one-of-a-kind 2008 Merlot/Cab blend, which will be poured tomorrow and offered as a 5-case lot at the Premiere Barrel Auction. It, too, was a stunning revelation of violets, blackberry, and suede-textured plum.

In addition to tasting, or being able to purchase Blackbird and Ma(i)sonry brand wines at Ma(i)sonry, visitors can taste, or purchase, wines from these other area wineries:

Brown Estate – Chiles Valley, Napa Valley

Husic Vineyards – Perched above Stags Leap, Napa Valley

Juslyn Vineyards – Spring Mountain, Napa Valley

Lail Vineyards – Napa Valley

L’Angevin Wines – Sonoma County

Pedras Wine Company – Stags Leap District, Napa Valley

Peirson Meyer- Sonoma Coast and Napa Valley

Renteria Wines – Napa Valley, Russian River, Sonoma Coast

Rivera Vineyards- Atlas Peak

Skipstone- Alexander Valley

Tamber Bey- Napa Valley

Tor Kenward Family Wines – Napa and Sonoma County

Uvaggio – California

When you visit Napa Valley and seek relief from the nearly 500 wineries which mostly only serve wine, consider a pit stop at Ma(i)sonry – where you can stroll outdoors while you sip any of 14 different brands of wine, and take in some wonderfully inventive art.

6711 Washington St., Yountville, CA, 94559. Tel: 707-944-0889. For more details, go to www.maisonry.com

Save the date! 3 of Italy’s top winemakers coming to the Bay-area…

Here’s a chance to meet, and have dinner with, three award-winning Italian winemakers, each a recipient of “tre bicchieri,” (three glasses), Gambero Rosso’s designation for Top Wine.

The event is billed as “A Tre Bicchieri Journey Through Italy,” and is being hosted February 25, at one of my favorite Bay-area wine stores and restaurants, PRIMA, in Walnut Creek.

(Am thinking that perhaps they should rename the place and call it DUO since it’s both a well-stocked wine store and a fabulous restaurant!)

The winemakers who will be present, pouring their wines:

Cristina Oddero pulls corks from her wines

Cristina Oddero, whom I visited just two months ago at her winery, Fratelli Oddero, in La Morra, in the Langhe region of Piemonte.

I summarized my visit by noting “Cristina produces liquid poetry.” Let’s hope she brings some of her stunning 2001 Mondoca Bussia Soprano, an ambrosial Barolo filled with truffle scents and ripe red fruit.

Felsina winery, in Tuscany

Caterina Mazzocolin, who makes the stunning wines at Fattoria Felsina, in Castelnuovo Berardenga, Tuscany.

Felsina Panorama

I visited her family’s winery a few years ago, and spent a morning with Caterina’s dad, Giuseppe. I was overwhelmed by the quality of reds coming off their property.In fact, if volume is any significance, the largest single selection of Chiantis in my cellar comes from the Felsina property. Their 04, 06 and 07 Sangiovese-based wines are thrilling.

Caterina will pour Felsina’s full line-up at the PRIMA tasting, including Cru Rancia, as well as Wine Spectator’s Number 13 wine of the year, Fontalloro. 

Winemaker Sabino Loffredo

Sabino Loffredo, from Campania, who makes the much ballyhoo’d Pietracupa, in Avellino, is the only winemaker at the PRIMA event whose property I have not visited.

I asked John Rittmaster, owner of PRIMA, to share a few thoughts about Sabrino’s wines, and what guests might expect at the event:

“Southern Italy is less traveled than Piemonte and Tuscany; and while many associate the Amalfi Coast and Napoli with Campania, to me it is the meandering hills around the towns of Avellino and Taurasi.  It is here where some of Italy’s purest, most lovely, whites are made in the shadow of grumpy old Mount Vesuvius and some of the oldest vineyards in the world produce dark, pungent Aglianico wines capable of aging effortlessly for decades. 

Sabino Loffredo’s Pietraculpa wines are some of the best made in all of Campania. The whites are intense, minerally and broadly flavored while Sabino’s Taurasi is a showstopper. His wines will add a distinctly southern accent to this evening’s journey around Italy.”

Highlights of the event

There are really two parts to the Tre Bicchieri  evening.

From 5:30 to 7 pm, you may hob-nob with the winemakers, taste their wines, and nibble on antipasti. The fee is $20 per person.

As well, or instead of attending the in-store tasting, at 7 pm, you may sit down to a fabulous full-course dinner, at which wines from all three producers will be poured copiously. The cost for dinner is $85 per diner, plus tax and gratuity.

Reservations are suggested for the tasting, but required for the dinner.

Sign up by emailing info@primawine.com, or call 925-935-7780 and speak with John.

PRIMA is at 1522 North Main Street, Walnut Creek, CAPS. I was so thrilled with the fall-color shots I took in Piemonte, near Cristina Oddero’s estate, two months ago, that I want to share them with readers.

One More Thing: The Langhe in fall may be the most beautiful wine region I have ever seen. If Wine Heaven looks like this, I won’t put up a struggle to go.

 

You’ll never read about Napa Valley in this magazine – yet it’s a must-get!

Business colleagues, with whom I recently worked, evolved the four-letter name of a new travel magazine -- AFAR. As much as I like the all-caps title, I also like the magazine, which is two-issues-old.

The magazine is such a bold experiment in publishing that maybe they should have chosen a five-letter word for the masthead instead: BALLS! Because that’s what it must have taken magazine founder and CEO Greg Sullivan to start a magazine venture at a time when many popular magazines are folding in the economic swamp – Gourmet, Metropolitan Home, Modern Bride among them last year, and Mcgraw-Hill just sold its money-draining BusinessWeek to Bloomberg.

What makes Sullivan’s move to start a new travel magazine even more preposterous are these two realities:

1. The editorial offices are in San Francisco, not media-saturated New York.

2. The editorially elegant magazine, filled with snazzy photos and alluring layouts, only features destinations OUTSIDE the U.S.

So you will never see a story written by napaman about Napa Valley in AFAR, or a story written by others about Mt Rushmore, Disneyland, or the Badlands of North Dakota, either.

But since other magazines look after these themes, Sullivan’s efforts may attract a xeno-keen audience. (If someone ‘xenophobic’ fears strangers, then someone who is ‘xeno-keen’ would have a love for -- and attraction to -- that which is foreign and exotic, to my way of thinking, and my way of wordsmithing.)

AFAR is what you would get if you threw copies of National Geographic, Food & Wine, and Travel & Leisure into a food processor and pulsed on high for 15 seconds.

The stories are largely functional, certainly make you want to go to the destinations featured and they tell you how to get there.

You have to applaud AFAR’s editorial idealism: No one on the team—no writer, editorial member or photographer – accepts free trips, free lodging or free meals.

On top of which, to offset the carbon emissions generated by flights taken to the places written about, or photo’d, in the magazine, AFAR donates to the Gold Standard Portfolio of Sustainable Travel International. For example, to generate all the stories for Issue Two, AFAR offset 21.62 metric tons of carbon emissions. Them’s a lot of emissions, but how else are you going to get to Russia, Sweden, Burma, Ireland, Netherlands, Ecuador, India, the Seychelles and Spain?

At this point, AFAR is published bi-monthly (6 x/yr). A subscription is $19.95 for one year, $34.95 for two years and $49.95 for three years. If interested, call 888-403-9001.

Napaman’s Best Wines of the Year!

And nearly half of them were not from Napa Valley.

Here are my favorite wines of the year.

If there is any thing to be learned from the list, it is that they are listed in an order which relates to how these wines surprised me and from which I had no expectation. And then BWAM!... poured from the bottle, these wines overwhelmed me for their sensuality, elegance, balance, harmony and overall achievement.

1998 Domaine de Pegau

Good friends from Calistoga, Barry and Lea, brought this perfect, perfectly aged, 11-year-old Chateauneuf du Pape to our home to complement Carol’s roast chicken dinner in the spring.

It was early in the year -- only March -- and it was a crazy thing to say in print, but I eagerly identified this as a probable candidate for Wine of the Year.

And as good as all the other wines on this page were, none brought the surprise, elegance, balance, maturity and pleasure to the dining table as this wine did.

A complete, compelling beverage, filled with fruit, earth, complexity and elegance.

A truly remarkable wine. And opened exactly at its peak – not one day too young, not one day too old. The vinous definition of Perfection. 100 points.

1990 Chateau Grand-Puy-Lacoste

This Bordeaux Pauillac, was served at a kick-ass dinner prepared by my sister-and brother-in-law, Shelly and Mike, in Toronto.

The wine was filled with focused raspberry and mature fruit flavors, which leapt from the glass in a way that I can't ever recall experiencing a Bordeaux wine. It was almost as if some other younger, fresher wine was in this bottle, and yet the provenance of the wine was documented and its origin secure.

There were hints of graphite, minerals and earth beneath the fresh fruit top notes; a very elegant, complex wine in near-perfect pitch and harmony. 98 points.

 2006 Ascheri Barolo, Vigna dei Pola

This was the top-scoring wine of a two-week trip through Piemonte, Italy, in November.

Produced by Matteo Ascheri under the expert winemaking care of Giuliano Bedino, this wine lifted me out of my chair and took me to a place no other Barolo did on my wine tour.

Call this “Beyond Barolo” and you will understand what this wine is about; other-worldly.

The 2006 vintage, which I tasted, is not yet released (which is why a different vintage label is shown above), and probably will only make its way to the US market by this time next year; but put this wine on your calendar for release a year from now and circle in red:

“Get this wine when upon release in the fall of 2010!”

Matteo says that the 2006 vintage for Barolo (made from the Nebbiolo grape) is the best vintage in the region in the last 20 years. It sure-as-hell shows in this wine, a near-perfect example of great fruit turned into great wine.

The wine exhibits fresh ripe fruit flavors, pronounced muscle, chewy meat, flowery scents, and rich fat, all wrapped in an elegant package, handsomely balanced. 98 points.

Collection of nine wines made by Celia Welch

One of my favorite winemakers in Napa Valley, Celia Welch (formerly Masyczek), poured nine of her handcrafted wines at an Acme Fine Wines (St. Helena) event in the spring.

Pictured above are some of the vineyard owners for whom Celia makes these tremendous wines, all which were available to taste at the Acme Event:

Hollywood & Vine, Scarecrow, Lindstrom, Keever, D.R. Stephens, Husic, Cornerstone, Fleming and (Celia’s own label) Corra.

Too much fun, too many wines, every one of them in the 95-98-point range.

(I guess I was being conservative; Parker just scored the 2007 Scarecrow a perfect 100 points.)

 

 

2005 La Vallentina Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

$55 on the menu of L’Altro Buco, a Vancouver, BC, restaurant, which I immensely enjoyed in the company of locals, Scott and Dina Naimer.

Sipping this wine reminded me of a bouquet of freshly cut jonquils at Easter time. Huh, a red wine? How odd. I have never before made this floral connection with any wine, white or red, but immediately upon swirling, and sniffing, the aromas – and implied aromas – were present.

So were other top notes – of fresh, fully ripe red fruits, lots of middle palate texture and a delicious bright finish. What a fabulous and inexpensive wine, largely based on Sangiovese 93 points.

The Best Holiday Gift You Can Give! A Year’s Supply of Askinosie, America’s Best Chocolate!

Napaman was one of the earliest press aficionados of Shawn Askinosie’s silky-textured, hand-crafted, seriously decadent chocolates.

Shawn Askinosie, lawyer-turned-chocolate-maker

Now Shawn, a lawyer-turned-chocolate maker, has outdone himself with a new product option: A Year’s Supply of Chocolate, shipped monthly to anyone in the country.

Shawn introduced the C (for chocolate) Ration box about a year ago; it’s a handmade wooden box containing everything a serious chocoholic needs for the short haul: A month’s ration of mini-Askinosie bars (21 grams’ worth per day) individually wrapped for daily use. The Emergency Kit also contains four extra daily rations, I suppose for those occasional months with 34 days, or for those days which progress so slowly they seem like months.

In total, the Askinosie C-Ration box contains 96 individual mini-chocolate bars. Some are my personal all-time favorite bars, made with Del Tambo Ecuadorian chocolate, while others are made with Askinosie’s stunning dark Mexican Soconusco chocolate. Either way, you can’t lose.

After-Eight Dinner Mints are so… 2008!

We had a C-Ration box a while back, which lasted briefly in our home; I offered it at the end of Carol’s extravagant home-cooked dinners to guests, asking them to help themselves to an after-dinner chocolate.

A year ago, there was no where locally I could send guests to buy their own Askinosie bars, when they fell victim to Shawn’s sensual chocolates, becoming dependent on them.

My how times change! Today, any of our dinner guests who get hooked on chocolates in the C-Ration box, which I pass around after dinner, can find these superior chocolates – in larger format tablets, or bars - in many Bay-area Whole Foods locations as well as at our supremely well stocked, and well managed, neighborhood grocery in St. Helena, Sunshines.

What you find when you open the wooden box – a stamped message from the chocolate-maker.

What makes Askinosie chocolates so special is that, as far as I am aware, these are the ONLY chocolates made in the United States, which contain NO lecithin (usually added as an emulsifier) and NO vanilla. What you taste is unadulterated, single-origin, fair-trade, handcrafted, silken-textured, sensual chocolate. Do I make my point?

Break off a piece and let it melt on your tongue; resist the urge to chew. The melting fondant is primal chocolate, essential chocolate, the Mother of All Chocolates.

If you know how, or where, to get a richer, darker, deeper, more penetrating hit of chocolate, please share with napaman; as it stands, I think of Askinosie Chocolate as a Basic Food Group; like vegetables or fruits, one should have several pieces of Shawn’s chocolate everyday to constitute a healthy, balanced diet.

To help you live up to this chocolate regime, Shawn has several commercial options: You an order a single month’s C-Ration box online for $68.50 or you can step up to the plate and be a real mensch and give someone – or yourself - a full year’s supply of C-Rations. For $921.50, Shawn will send out one of these wooden boxes with 96 mini-bars every month, 12 times in a row, with delivery included.

Interested? Go to https://www.askinosie.com/p-47-c-ration-month-supply-of-chocolate.aspx to place your holiday gift orders – while Shawn still has time to fill them and deliver the first of 12 monthly boxes to your gift recipient.

“You Deserve a Break Today!” – Piemontese-style

 

Priocca D’Alba, Piemonte

It was as close to a grande bouffe as I have had in years; a 4-hour dinner composed of a series of small plates, and then some BIG plates – 12 of them presented serially, to be exact – and many bottles of regional wine.

The setting: Ristorante il Centro in the tiny hamlet of Priocca D’Alba, run by Enrico Cordero and his family. A restaurant from yesteryear, where they replace your silverware between courses and bring different sized glasses for every wine throughout the course of the dinner.

To give you an idea of what they eat, and how they eat, in Piedmont these days, here is a brief commentary on the highlights of our meal:

It’s not much to look at, but when you pull apart this chunk of braised veal cheek, it reveals a series of brisket-like meat threads, which melt in the mouth; perfectly sweetened with seasonal fresh figs and acidified with what tastes like balsamic vinegar.

A serving of braised veal cheek, which was better than any barbecued pork, or barbecued brisket, that I have had this year; the four-hour, slow-cooked, cheek of veal, sweetened with seasonal figs, and served atop a bed of pureed white sweet potato, easily pulls apart with a fork, separating into delicious, delicate threads.

You want original, tasty, local? THIS is the dish. Owner Enrico Cordero said: “This dish is so complicated that we can only put it on the menu for a month each year – it’s too much work!”

 

Porcini soup, garnished with a tablespoon of fried chicken liver snippets; this velour-textured, slurp du jour was the color of chestnuts, and as silky and satin-y as high-gloss house paint. The soup was scented with uber-fresh porcini, which diners can smell as the dish leaves the kitchen, long before the server ever gets it to the table.

If I were as rich as this soup, I could justify eating at il Centro seven nights a week. In fact, if I were as rich as this soup, I could afford the gall bladder surgery required from eating it seven nights a week.

Il Centro owner Enrico Cordero shaves white truffles atop anything you wish to have blanketed by them – tagliatelle, fried eggs, or porcini soup.

Tajarin is the Piemontese word for thin strands of tagliatelle. A mound of these homemade noodles is served, barely buttered, and then, at tableside, covered with a cascade of freshly shaved, heavenly scented, white truffles. Oh boy.

Other highlights of the meal in pictures:

 A delicate puff pastry shell filled with a forcemeat of leeks, some more leeks and probably even some more leeks, served with a green shmear of pureed —what else? -- leeks. Major yum.

Tiny, tender, melt-in-your-mouth raviolis filled with a forcemeat of the finely chopped caps of fresh porcini, potato, and fresh burrata, crowned with a slice of crisply fried, local speck.

A simmering, saucy stew of rabbit-y parts, including delicate, delicious homemade rabbit meatballs – first time I’ve even heard of such a presentation.

A delicious grape gelato, made from one specific local grape.

A tongue-clacking combination – rich chocolate crème atop a thin, crackly giandujia (crushed hazelnut) wafer.

Napaman's recommendation:

Should you find yourself in Piemonte anytime soon, make plans to eat at Ristorante il Centro, Via Umberto I, No. 5., Prioccca D’Alba. Tel: 0173-616112.

Napaman’s Top Wines - from a Two-Week Trip through Piedmont

For winemakers, of whom I am one, and wine-lovers, finding a new wine to grace the dinner table is a never-ending treasure hunt.

My recent two-week travels through the Nebbiolo- and Barbera-producing countryside of Piemonte (Piedmont to those who don’t have Italian spell-check on their computer) produced many new discoveries, which I want to share. I will look for these wines in the US now that I am home, and I would encourage you to do so, too.

For the record, the trip also introduced me to some mighty fine winemakers, whose company I much enjoyed.

CANTINE ASCHERI GIACOMO

I stayed at a really neat, 4-star, lodging in Bra, a medium-sized town of 28,000, in Piemonte.

Albergo Cantine Ascheri is the brainchild of wine producer Matteo Ascheri, whose sense of detail is as evident in the rooms he builds as it is in the wines he crafts. There are 27 rooms in the inn, which Matteo built and opened in 2005.

Guests are accorded most of the pleasures of a four-star hotel; everything works, the bed is comfortable (I didn’t try out the other 26 beds so can’t pluralize by saying “the beds are comfortable”) and you can get smart examples of traditional, local dishes in the hotel’s courtyard Osteria Murivecchi.

The on-site Ascheri Osteria Murrivechi, in Bra, Italy.

As for Ascheri’s wines, they are delicious, and expertly crafted.

I was really impressed with the modern cellar and tasting room at Ascheri; winemaker Giuliano Bedino prepares a tasting session for Carol, my imbibing companion, and me.

2006 Ascheri Barolo, Vigna dei Pola

The top-scoring wine of my entire trip to Piemonte, by quite a margin. Produced by Matteo Ascheri under the expert winemaking care of Giuliano Bedino, this wine lifted me out of my chair and took me to a place no other Barolo did in my wine tour.

Call this “Beyond Barolo” and you will understand what this wine is about; other-worldly.

This 2006 wine is not yet released (which is why a different vintage label is shown above), and probably will only make its way to the US market by this time next year; but it is something to put on your calendar and circle: “Get this wine when it is released in the fall of 2010!”

Matteo says that the 2006 vintage for Barolo (which is made from the Nebbiolo grape) is the best vintage in the region in the last 20 years. It shows in this wine, a near-perfect example of great fruit turned into great wine. This wine has fresh ripe fruit flavors, pronounced muscle, chewy meat, flowery scents, rich fat and all of this is wrapped in an elegant package, handsomely balanced. 98 points.

2006 Ascheri Barolo, Sorano

Like the two other 2006 Ascheri Barolos reviewed here, this particular wine has not yet been released. It, too, will only hit the US market in the fall of 2010, or even later. But what a wine to wait for!

Winemaker Giuliano Bedino says this is his favorite of the three Barolos he fashioned in 2006. This wine has extreme structure, more tar, and more balsamico essence than either of the other two Barolos (Vigna dei Pola, above, or Coste Bricco, below). 93 points.

2006 Ascheri Barolo, Coste Bricco

Ascheri only produced 325 cases of this stupendous wine and it won’t be released until the fall of 2010, so make a point of telling your favorite wine shop to put you down for a case upon release (which is why a different vintage label appears above).

This is a blend of Nebbiolo fruit from two blocks on a Langhe hillside – the Bricco portion, or top-most crown of the hill, and the Coste portion, or middle strata of fruit on the hillside.

Winemaker Giuliano Bedino says this wine needs 15 to 25 years to mature; today it appears to be a Barolo on steroids with lots of everything to reach its predicted old-age in tact; it has loads of fruit, loads of spice, and loads of stuffing. 92 points.

2004 Ascheri Montalupa Langhe

Italian DOC laws prohibit the winery from putting the word “Syrah” on the label of this purple potion, but that’s exactly what is in the bottle – 100 percent Syrah from the Langhe wine region. And oh, what a fabulous Syrah this is!

The aroma of pure Syrah jumps out of the glass, shouting “I AM SYRAH!” and it never lets you forget this fact. While still too young to exhibit tar, or leather, or any of the elements of a classic older Syrah, this is a tremendous effort, certainly the best Italian Syrah that I have ever tasted. 92 points.

PAOLO CONTERNO

Daniele Pallaro, responsible for commercial contacts, and his uncle, Giorgio Conterno, winemaker at Paolo Conterno, who looks a lot like songwriter Paul Simon.

There are six Conterno families making wine in Barolo country; at one time several may have been related, but this is not the case any longer today.

I enjoyed s morning with Giorgio Conterno, sixth generation winemaker, and his nephew, Daniele Pallaro, who graciously opened the best of the best of their wines for me.

1999 Paolo Conterno Barolo Ginestra

Most Barolos, made from the Nebbiolo grape, are meant to age for a long period, easily 10 years. In some exceptional vintages like 2006, wine lovers may have to wait 15 or 20 years before popping the cork to experience the full complexity and “reveal” of Piemonte’s top wine.

To show how a ten-year-old Barolo from an exceptional vintage can age, Giorgio Conterno, winery owner, and his nephew, Daniele Palaro, opened a 1999 Barolo for me.

All the classic Barolo aromas leapt from the glass – tar, mushrooms, ripe red fruit, even a hint of chestnut. Many of these same notes were found all the way through the sip and eventual swallow (this stuff was too good to spit out). The overall impression of this wine: one of silken sensuality. 94 points.

2005 Paolo Conterno Barolo Ginestra

Giorgio Conterno says that he makes Barolos to strut their stuff at age 10, but that certain vintages, like 2005, just happen to drink beautifully at a much earlier age.

I couldn’t agree more, especially with this wine. It already has a gorgeous aroma; you can virtually “taste the vintage,” as Giorgio puts it.

My notebook highlights this wine’s elegance, dark ripe fruit and twice I used and underlined the word “stunning” to describe the wine’s middle palate and finish. 93 points.

Enough, already with the wine labels! This was going to be a shot of the 2008 Paolo Conterno Barbera D’Alba, Ginestra but I’m already bored with the wine labels, and I figure so must you be So instead, here’s a sweet shot of Giorgio’s old dog.

 2008 Paolo Conterno Barbera D’Alba, Ginestra

Very spicy, very racy, very tasty. (Sounds like Twitter tasting notes!) Gobs of dark ripe fruit, spicy cherry and appealing length. 92 points.

ODDERO

There are no XY chromosomes at Oddero Winery. Owner/winemaker Cristina Oddero (right above) and her niece, Isabella Boffa (left above), who cares for commercial aspects of the business, are turning out spectacular wines in La Morra.

 I’d summarize their efforts by saying that they’re producing 10,000 cases of liquid poetry, based on the wines I tasted.

2001 Oddero Barolo, Mondoca Bussia Soprana

An ambrosial wine. Truffles leapt from the glass before I even had it to my nose; scents of rich white, just shaved truffles, mixed with great ripe red fruit. There is lovely extraction here and the finish is redolent of fresh porcini. 94 points.

2005 Oddero Barolo, Rocche di Castiglione

Cristina only made 200 cases of this unfined, unfiltered, thrilling Barolo, which had me note “wow!!” with two exclamation marks in the margin of my notebook.

I loved the truffle scents, and full onslaught of fresh ripe red fruit. Plenty of tobacco and geranium scents, too, and the texture was silken and elegant. 93 points.

2005 Oddero Barolo, Bussia Soprana, Vigna Mondoca

The fruit for this Barolo comes from vines in nearby Monforte D’Alba. The wine has a new-world style, yet exhibits many old-world charms, including hints of tobacco, and a mint-y, almost eucalyptus-type top note. 92 points.

  

SOBRERO FRANSESCO & FIGLI

Settimo (named because he was the 7^th child in his family) and his son, Flavio, two generations of Sobreros. They make old-style, seriously rich, gorgeously balanced, traditional Barolos.

Young 27-year-old Flavio Sobrero has taken over the reigns at this three-generation winery from his dad, Settimo, and is doing a masterful job at building on his family’s former successes.

Sobrero’s next-generation leader, Flavio Sobrero.

Some of Flavio’s winemaking processes are, to say the least, unique, but they result in wines of rich depth and alluring texture.

Sobrero is often considered one of the last hold-outs of “traditional-style” Barolo winemakers, which just may be why I love what Flavio is producing. Some things you just can’t improve on, and the way they used to make Barolo – and which Flavio continues – is one of them.

2005 Sobrero Barolo, Ciabot Tanasio

A “ciabot” is a farmer’s tool shed. Young Flavio Sobrero’s ciabot must be where he keeps his winemaking secrets, because this wine has plenty of them.

The wine is a blend of fruit from three different vineyards in Castiglione Falletto; but how does Sobrero load the blend with such complexity, such charm, such spice, and such pleasure?

There are no hints of the typical scents, or flavors, you expect in a Barolo – no mushrooms, no truffles, no tar – and yet this is not a New World Wine by any stretch of the imagination. 94 points.

2007 Sobrero Barbera D’Alba, Villero

A delicious, rich, fruity, elegant example of Barbera – and when was the last time you saw anyone describe a Barbera “elegant?”

I loved the silky texture of this wine and its delicious finish, as much as I did its flavors. 92 points.

ENOUGH WITH ALL THE NUMBERS AND SCORES!

WE INTERUPT THIS LONG POSTING TO BRING YOU A MOMENT OF VISUAL BLISS.

THIS IS WHAT THE LANGHE DISTRICT LOOKS LIKE IN A RIOT OF FALL COLORS.

PIEDMONT HAS TO BE THE MOST BEAUTIFIUL WINE REGION I HAVE EVER VISITED – AS THESE SHOTS ATTEST.

 

WE NOW RETURN TO THE SERIOUS BUSINESS OF MACRO-REVIEWING THE TOP WINES OF MY TWO-WEEK TRIP THROUGH PIEMONTE.

MALVIRA

One of the breathtaking vineyards that surrounds Malvira and its accommodation facility for guests, Villa Tiboldi.

Napa Valley has done such a great job of marketing itself and its wines that the public generally assumes that the wines of other California regions, like even next-door Sonoma, must be inferior.

This is what happens when you cross the Tanaro River in Piedmont, and head north of the fabled Langhe region; you enter the” Sonoma of Piedmont.” Wine drinkers just assume that the wines will be inferior. But they’d be wrong, certainly based on my experience.

A

 2008 Malvira Trinita Arneis

The only white wine to make my Top Wines Wine List, and what a doozy this wine is!

I enjoyed this stunning white wine at a four-hour luncheon at Villa Tiboldi, an agriturismo inn/dining room on the Roero side (left bank) of the Tanaro River.

Usually, Arneis is filled with licorice and/or fennel top notes, but this beaut is vinified to guard all the inherent tropical fruit notes. Bright lemon jumps from the rim to the nose – lemon juice, lemon peel, lemon rind, lemon everything except lemonade.

Hard to imagine that this wine has seen any oak, but it has had a judicious tweak of 10 percent new oak which helps set up the stepped profile and lengthy finish. 93 points.

2006 Malvira Langhe Nebbiolo

Aged 18 months in French oak, this very well structured wine has a stupendous bead, a honed focus; there’s a striking attack, a good middle palate of pleasure and a definite, lingering finish. I liked the whole package. 92 points. 

2005 Malvira Renesio Nebbiolo

Wow, these folks from Malvira are making some fabulous wines.

This 100 percent Nebbiolo spent two years on wood and two years in bottle before being released. My summary note says it all: “A fabulous wine!” 92 points.

GIANFRANCO ALESSANDRIA

Bruna (mom) and Vittoria (daughter) Alessandria.

I found the wines of Gianfranco Alessandria as warm and inviting as his family. Gianfranco’s wife, Bruna, and their daughter, Vittoria, graciously walked me through a tasting of their contemporary portfolio. Like the wines, the family exudes charm, finesse, and a particular joie. 

Gianfranco was in New York the day I visited the family winery in Monforte D’Alba, but Bruna and Vittoria made me feel at home, pouring generously from their selection of wines.

2006 Gianfranco Alessandria Barbera D’Alba, Vittoria

Named after the precocious 19-year-old daughter who helps her parents run the winery, this wine has the kind of deep purple color that belongs in a rich, warm, wool sweater in a Milan fashion window.

This Barolo is aged for 18 months in French oak, of which 45 percent is new. The wine is round in the mouth, supple, complex and the finish is long and filled with plum and dark cherry flavors. 93 points.

2005 Gianfranco Alessandria Barolo San Giovanni

An extremely elegant, focused Barolo, filled with dark cherries all along the swallow (hard to spit this one…), suggesting that it will age seamlessly, not to mention sensually. 92 points.

 

BARTOLO MASCARELLO

A contemporary shot of Maria Teresa Mascarello at her very traditional winery in town of Barolo.

The last time I was in this cantina, in Barolo, Piedmont, il padrone, Bartolo Mascarello, was alive and well and making guests feel right at home.

In fact, on a visit in 1982, Bartolo descended into his cellar, producing a 30-year-old, perfectly aged, 1952 Barolo, which he opened. It turned out to be one of the top five wines I have ever tasted in a 40-year career of tasting, and writing about, wines.

So it was a bit like a pilgrimage to return to the scene of that experience. Bartolo died in 2005 and his daughter, Maria Teresa, has assumed winemaking responsibilities.

2005 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo

The 2005 Mascarello Barolo has earned high praise in recently published wine journals, including the influential, L’espresso Italian wine guide.

But I thought the bottle Maria Teresa opened for me was slightly compressed and way too polished, not like the Barolos of yesteryear. The tannins were soft, and the wine very cherry. This wine appears awfully approachable, something I doubt Bartolo would have designed for his wine. 92 points.

  

That’s all folks!

 

 

The Roero – is this Piedmont’s Sonoma?

Piemonte, Italy

When you cross the Tanaro River, north of vineyards in Barolo and Alba, you leave the prized production zone known as the Langhe and enter a wine region called Roero. It’s a bit like leaving Napa Valley proper and heading to Sonoma county.

And just as Napa Valley has done such a great job at marketing its wines to the world, so locals in the Langhe want you to think of Roero wines as coming from “the other side of the tracks.”

Land is cheaper in the Roero, and wines produced in the yellowish, sandy, limestone and marl soils here sell for less than similar wines produced in the Langhe (Alba, Asti, Barolo, Castiglione Falletto, etc.).

But on my recent visit to Piemonte, knowledgeable local winemakers told me that professional tasters and sommeliers often cannot distinguish between Roero and Langhe wines when tasted blind.

Sort of like what happens when you sit down and blind taste a group of wines from Sonoma and Napa Valley. Often you can’t tell which comes from which appellation.

As it turns out, one of my favorite wine discoveries in Piemonte was a Roero wine – and even more shocking, it was white.

The wine was the 2008 Malvira Arneis Trinita, which I scored 93 points. This lovely, lemony, fruited wine comes from Malvira, a strikingly modern winery owned by Roberto and Massimo Damonte, two brothers whose families own the vineyard where the Arneis grape was first planted in – are you ready for this? – 1478.

If you are not so hot at math, that’s 531 years ago. In wine-speak, that’s an awfully long time ago to have planted grapes.

Roberto Damonte, co-owner of Malvira, standing in the Renesio vineyard, planted with Arneis 531 years ago!

Arneis, pronounced ar-nays, usually has wonderful hints of licorice or fennel and is, like Argentina’s Torrontes, an inexpensive white wine, to which I often turn for summer drinking pleasure.

Arneis fruit, left on the vine into late, late fall, to make a late-harvest Arneis.

But the Arneis wines from Malvira are unlike anything I have ever experienced from this grape. It’s almost like Malvira should have it’s own DOCG, or Denominazione di origine controllata e garantita for the grape as it sets a different standard for how Arneis is meant to taste.

The winery makes three different Arneis wines. The 2008 Malvira Arneis Renesium has the most typical Arneis flavors, with herbal, licorice and earthy notes appearing at the finish.

Half the 2008 Malvira Arneis Saglietto is aged in large, older French foudres for 10 months, which adds finesse and complexity to this wine; I loved the apricot-y top notes and tropical finish.

The St. Trinita church is the end-point of a one-day-a-year pilgrimage by local Catholics. The church is only open that one day a year, which certainly keeps down the heating bill!

And then there is that 2008 Malvira Arneis Trinita, named for the small church on the winery estate to which pilgrims venture one day a year (the only day of the year that the church is even open).

Lemon, lemon zest and lemon juice are the first hints that this is not your daddy’s Arneis. The wine unfolds with rich, tropical notes. I rated this fabulous wine 93 points, the highest rating accorded any white wine during my trip to Italy.

I spent half a Sunday at Malvira, most of the time in the winery’s sensational dining room, called Villa Tiboldi, which mostly caters to guests in the winery’s small, adjacent agriturismo inn. Anyone visiting Piemonte wine country would be smart to make a reservation and put this dining destination on his, or her, calendar.

The setting, high in the Roero hills, is breathtaking, but no less so is the food. I was served a succession of dishes for four hours, and think I used up all the exclamations in my laptop to describe the wines and courses.

The Villa Tiboldi wine list boasts 600 wines, 98 percent of them from Piemonte, all of them reasonably priced.

Highlights of a 4-hour meal at Villa Tiboldi:

 + A soft-boiled egg with a runny, school-bus-yellow yolk, is crowned by the knowledgeable sommelier, Silvia Aiassa, with a cap of freshly shaved white truffles.

+ A very tasty leek tart, made with leeks from Cevere, in the region, set in a delicious, house-made, pastry shell.

+ 2006 Malvira Langhe Nebbiolo. Having spent 18 months in French oak, this wine sports great structure, youthful tannins and promises great complexity. Really liked the focus and bead on this beautiful wine. Dried rose and tobacco on the nose. 92 points.

I had intended to illustrate the dessert described below with a close-up shot, but we inhaled the dessert so quickly that I couldn’t get the photo; it’s easier to catch the photo-finish of a horse race than it is to capture the speed at which the dessert, billed as “Coffee Three Ways” was devoured! So you’ll just have to content yourself with this shot of a corner of the Villa Tiboldi wine cellar.

+ “Coffee Three Ways.” That’s how the dessert is billed on the menu and as original and cheeky is the description, that’s how good, original and tasty is the dessert. Here’s affogato, granite and a semifreddo, all made with a high-quality coffee. Loved this dish.

Villa Tiboldi’s restaurant is closed Mondays and Tuesday for lunch. As there are only 12 tables, and they are meant to first serve inn guests, reservations are required. Case Sparse Canova, 144, 12043 Canale, Italy. Tel: + 39.0173.978145, or fax + 39.0173.959154, or write 
malvira@malvira.com.

Greetings from the White Truffle Capital of the World!

Alba, Italy

Gastronomes and chefs have flocked to this remote corner of northwest Italy for 79 consecutive Octobers, in search of fall’s premiere food, the highly prized white truffle. Hallelujah and pass the truffle slicer!

Alba is the home of the world’s only International White Truffle Fair, attracting anyone who cares about the world’s most-prized fungus.

Called “the grey diamond,” because of it’s rarity, astronomical price, and difficulty to find, the tuber magnatum pico is one of ten different varieties of truffle found in Italy – but the white truffle is the one considered “king” by connoisseurs.

Truffles grow at the base of certain trees, chief among them oak, black and white poplar, willow, hop hornbeam, linden and hazelnut.

Hunters train dogs to sniff out white truffles (the dogs can be any breed – not any one has a particularly better sniffer for truffles, which grow underground on the roots of host trees at a depth of between one- and 24-inches below the top soil).

This young woman and her family actually were out in the wee hours of this very day, digging up a dozen truffles, of which this was the largest.

Trifulau, or truffle-hunters, as they are known, take their tabui, or truffle-trained dogs, and head to the forests in the early morning when the air is brisk and there are few other scents to compete for the dog’s nose.

Why anyone would pay $2,000 wholesale to a trifulau for a nodule of brownish-grey fungus that is 82 percent water and 15 percent mineral salts, is not immediately evident if you go by sight alone. These things don’t sparkle like diamonds, and you sure as hell can’t hoard them like gold. But buyers are lined two-deep at the truffle fair, engaging hunters to negotiate a good price for their gems.

What drives diners crazy about the greyish, brownish, tuberous nodule, which we inappropriately call a “white truffle,” is that it is like catnip for humans; there is something wonderful, exotic, original and peculiar about the scent that drives people – well, nuts.

I have read dozens of stories and articles, even a book, about white truffles and they all tell you where truffles grow, how they grow, how they’re dug up and how they’re to be used (raw, never cooked), but I have yet to see a full paragraph anywhere explain, in detail, what truffles smell like.

Why hasn’t a Robert Parker of white truffles come along to wow us with colorful descriptors in the fashion of how wine writers describe wines they experience? You know, they may describe a wine as having “a nose of strawberries, or blackberries,” or of finding a wine with “a forward expression of ripe red fruit,” or they may detect “notes of leather, tar, and pitch.”

With this in mind, I will make an attempt to describe the scent of a white truffle:

A fresh white truffle, not more than several days old, has an intense perfume of garlic, fresh hay, and mushroom, mixed with a delicate amount of the scent of slightly soiled undergarments. There are nuances of sweat in the middle whiff, and end scents resemble those of the underside of a man’s scrotum after a long bike ride. In a really fresh white truffle, there may even be a hint of musk, of tar or of exotic wood.

There! Now do you understand what makes a grown man weep when he comes within the proximity of a fresh white truffle?

More to the point, do you now understand why someone would happily fork over $250 an ounce (at retail, or in a restaurant) for this experience? (It’s cheaper to go to the gym, steal someone’s jockstrap after their workout and sniff it on the bus ride home... but somehow, that’s just not part of the Slow Food culture… )

The International White Truffle Fair has been held in late October every year since 1929 in the town square of Alba. What is so spectacular about the event is that, even before entering the fair’s covered tent, you can smell white truffles a block away.

Entering the structure is like swinging open the doors beside the perfume department at Neiman-Marcus – your nose is thwacked by a succession of heavy scents.

In addition to white truffles, vendors at the fair hawk fresh, canned, preserved and dried porcini, fresh hazelnuts and everything you can do with them, fresh regional cheeses and hundreds of local wines, meant to wash down aromatic white truffles.

The scent of the aromatic truffles on display (this must be the largest collection of white truffles under one roof anywhere on earth), waft through the tented hall, scenting your clothes.

In the car, on my way out of Alba, I found I had a desire to lick my hat, and tear off a piece of my puffy down vest to eat it. (If you forgot the part about “white truffles make you nuts,” go back to paragraph eight and start reading over….)

Napaman Finds the World’s Greatest Food Hall!

Imagine a supermarket where there are no freezer cases; where you find eight in-store restaurants serving expertly prepared entrees, one even serves thinly shaved, fresh truffles; where everything and everyone is environmentally conscious; where they make cakes on premise that rival the best of Vienna, where they make chocolates on premise that rival the best of Switzerland, where they display fresh fruits and vegetables as though they were jewels in the window at Tiffany.

I was in such a food hall today. It is called Eataly, a 27,000-square-foot complex on the outskirts of Turin, Italy, housing many different food areas, or halls.

Eataly offers fresh produce, groceries, house wares, a pizzeria, a smart European café, a bar area for beer, and seven restaurants, including one serving fresh shaved white truffles on your choice of seven different entrees (risotto, fried eggs, etc.).

Doesn’t sound like your neighborhood Safeway does it?

And yet, despite the premium-quality of goods, the careful selection and helpful, courteous, conscientious staff, nothing here is priced beyond what working class and middle-income earners can afford.

Eataly is the brainchild of an Italian entrepreneur who sold his chain of 100+ electronic stores and decided to do something good, and socially conscious, with part of the proceeds. The aim of Eataly is to dispel the notion that high quality farm products are the birthright of a privileged few.

Eataly attempts to popularize the availability of clean, tasty, additive-free foods, leaning largely on the motifs of “local” and “seasonal.” The concept of “organic,” is not part of the mantra.

Today there are Eataly food halls in Turin, Bologna, and Milan, Italy; there are two in Tokyo and one will open in New York City in late spring of 2010. Lucky are those who live in one of these neighborhoods.

Recipe for Eataly:

Eataly, as a concept, is what you might get if, in a Cuisinart food processor bowl, you added together a Whole Foods store, one of Movenpick’s Marche concept stores, three or four pavilions from Disney World’s EPCOT Center, spiced the mixture with a dash of Conran and a sprinkle of IKEA, then pulse the mixture on high for 30 seconds. 

I peppered my five-hour visit to the food market today with many edible pauses; I stopped in the market café and fought my way to the packed bar, to order an espresso. It was the single best espresso that I have had on my travels in Italy this trip.

The truffle chef picks through the day’s treasures, which will be sliced and served with seven, or eight, different featured entrees, including a risotto made with fresh chicken stock.

I stopped for lunch at the seasonal in-store restaurant serving fresh, shaved white truffles. I ordered two perfectly cooked farm-fresh eggs sunny-side-up and reveled in the taste (there is something about white truffles that is like catnip to humans; the scent wafts up your nose and makes you giddy).

For this luxury lunch, I paid $30, a pittance when you consider that a pound of fresh white truffles commands $2,700 a pound in the marketplace.

I chose a glass of local Barbera, a tasty red wine, to complement my truffled eggs and it was superb, yet only cost 3 Euros ($4.50). None of that $15-a-glass nonsense here. And the price quoted on a menu at a restaurant in Italy is the final price you pay; there is no tax added to your booze, or your restaurant bill and guests are not expected to leave a tip.

As the M.O. of Eataly is pure – to increase the awareness and availability of high-quality produce and products and to feature those which are minimally (if at all) processed – the acclaimed, non-profit, Slow Food Movement has signed on to consult to Eataly, offering educational classes on site and helping to identify regional producers of “clean” products, which may be offered for sale at Eataly.

The big themes here are local, seasonal, high-quality, environmentally conscious products, preferably brought to market with sustainable growing practices.

One of the original, big ideas at Eataly is to create a direct contact between the producer and the consumer, cutting out as many intermediary stages and handlers as possible, which helps to keep prices down and quality up.

They appear to be having quite a success on both fronts at the Turin location. They are making the best breads on site that I have found in Italy over my last three years’ of visits to this country. The rustic loaves rival the sorts of breads to which we have become accustomed in the Bay-area, rustic loaves from the ovens of Acme Bakery, Bouchon Bakery or Model Bakery.

The pastries here are tasty, tender, and the cakes are decorated as though by master patissiers.

The hand-made chocolates look as though they came out of le magasin of a fine Swiss, or Belgian, chocolatier.

The home-made ice cream, made with milk that is free of antibiotics, and all that jazz, is sensually rich and creamy.

Weird items, too. I liked the pinched, unusual shape of these small bottles of carbonated water.

Eataly was built on the site of the former Carpano Vermouth factory. A. B. Carpano invented Vermouth in Turin in 1786 and built a huge factory on the outskirts of the town in which to manufacture it.

A display in the upstairs Carpano Museum – the history of vermouth, how it’s made, and what are the secret ingredients.

To honor the former tenant, the Carpano Vermouth Museum has been created on the upper floor of Eataly, easily worth a 20-minute visit. If you’re really cleaver and take notes, you just might crack the firm’s secret formula for making vermouth and start your own vermouth venture.

Who pulls days-old containers of milk from a supermarket shelf any longer? In Italy, at Eataly, you fill your own bottles from a bulk vessel of just-delivered-to-the-store fresh whole milk.

Eataly boasts 10,000 different foods and beverages; you can buy or bring empty glass bottles and fill them with wine kept in large vessels; you can buy or bring empty bottles and fill them with fresh whole milk, straight from the farm.

The Beer Bar -- multiple types of beer available on tap and a huge selection of bottled beer to take home.

Tired of shopping? Settle into a chair in the small library corner of the store where there are numerous cookbooks and food-related books to keep you busy.

As well, there are six Apple desktop computers here on which you can surf the Internet for free for an hour. Quite possibly this is the only such place in all of Turin. (I certainly have been unable to find any free public WIFI hotspots in the city, making Turin the only city as poorly WIFI’d that I have been in this year as Vancouver, BC. Even Dublin, Ireland, I found to be better equipped for public WIFI than Turin or Vancouver, and that’s saying something!)

But WIFI, SHMIFI – the goal is to visit Eataly and learn how the other half lives, not computes. And you sure don’t need a fancy computer to tally up what they’ve got and what we’re missing in North America. But that disparity only lasts until spring next year, when Eataly opens in New York.

Eataly is on the southern outskirts of Turin, called Lingotto. Via Nizza, 230 / 14.  Visit the web site at www.eataly.it.

You can reach Eataly on the Turin city bus #1 from the main train station (Porto Nuovo).

Eataly Torino is open daily 10 am to 10.30 pm. The seven on-site restaurants, pizzeria and bars are open from noon to 3 pm daily and again from 7 pm to 10:15pm.

Oakville Grocery - One of Napaman’s Top 100 Napa Valley Attractions

How do they get so much stuff – and so many people – into such a small space?

Since the early 1880’s, Oakville Grocery has been a pitstop for weary travelers and hungry neighbors. The store, on the corner of Oakville Crossroad and Highway 29, is a “grocery” the way an Apple retail location is a hardware store. Which is to say hardly at all.

When I lived in Canada in the mid 1980s, I made a point of visiting Oakville Grocery to get new product ideas for a line of food products I was developing. In those heady, early-foodie-days, Oakville Grocery was light-years ahead of other retailers in America, offering gourmet products – sauces, syrups, pretzels, pickles, olives, cooking ingredients – which you couldn’t find elsewhere.

In the late 1990s, during the dot-com boom, and before the bust, some 3,000 people would cram into Oakville Grocery on a summer Saturday. Into an 800-square-foot space! You had to go outside to get enough space to lift your elbows to be able to put your hand in your pocket to pay for the exotic sandwiches, or olives, or wine, you wanted to buy.

Times have changed; the throngs are thinner and the present owner, Leslie Rudd (of Rudd Vineyards) is trying to reshape the mix of products at this venerable food shop. His issue: How does he make it different from the other food emporium he owns just up the road, Dean & DeLuca?

For as long as I can remember, locals have been stopping and shopping at Oakville Grocery. Naturally, we cherish the quieter, off-hours, when the store is relatively calm. My fondest memories include the numerous times that I’d be in the store getting a coffee and one of the incredible chocolate-cherry cookies, and Bob Mondavi would come sailing up to the store in his car, leave the motor running and his door aflappin’, he’d amble in, and order “my regular!”

There are bigger food stores in Napa Valley (Whole Foods), there are cheekier food stores in Napa Valley (Trader Joe’s), there are superior food stores in Napa Valley (Sunshines Food Market), there are sexier food stores in Napa Valley (Dean & DeLuca), but there is only one classic, vintage, must-experience food store for visitors in Napa Valley  -- and you’re looking at it above (illustration by Lisa Livoni) – Oakville Grocery.

Oakville Grocery, 7856 St. Helena Highway,
Oakville, CA 94562
. Tel: 707)-944-8802.

The espresso bar opens at 7 am daily. The store is open 8 - 6 pm daily.

Local Color, a regular feature of napaman.com, is illustrated by Lisa Livoni, one of Napa Valley’s most talented watercolorists.

For reprint permission, or to obtain copies of this, or any other Local Color image, please contact napaman@me.com.

In many respects, this series could be called Napaman’s Top 100 Napa Valley Attractions. These are the places I send family and friends, and which I personally endorse as being the Best of the Best of Napa Valley.

Bounty Hunter – One of Napaman’s Top 100 Napa Valley Attractions

There is something larger than life about Mark Pope, a.k.a. The Bounty Hunter.

The guy exudes self-confidence, knowledge, and has a palpable passion for life, especially for wine, kayaking, and the Old West.

In many ways, his wine catalogue business and his wine bar, in Napa town, are simply extensions of himself – for others to enjoy.

About Mark’s “Bounty Hunter Smokin’ BBQ and Wine Bar:” I name it every time friends, or friends-of-friends, email, seeking guidance for my list of “the Best Places to Eat in Napa Valley.”

It’s one of those special places – a small room packing a large wallop of good cheer, good food and a good time.

To say the Old West enthralls Mark is an understatement. He once ran a dude ranch in New Mexico; he collects Remingtons – the art kind and the rifle kind – and has a home on the Missouri River in Montana, which, he’s proud to remind you, Lewis and Clark once paddled by.

Mark has turned a fascination with frontier lore into a thriving business; at his wine bar, you can sit on a real western saddle that has been fashioned into a barstool. The place is old-west dark wood, filled with saloon curios and stuffed animals. Oh yeah, and don’t forget that it’s also spilling over with great food and great wine, too. 

Choose from 400 wines displayed on the wall, many offered by the glass with a clever marketing pitch; if you like the wine you've ordered and decide to buy a fresh bottle to take home, the price of your by-the-glass wine will be discounted.

In addition to selling cult wines, the Bounty Hunter has developed nine of his own brands, each offering a wine with better value than the nationally branded equivalent. The names of these wines are so evocative of the Old West, and the labels so expertly designed, that you will want to order them as objects d’art. Broken Spur, Tin Star, Pursuit, and Justice are but four of the nine in-house cowboy wines.

Among menu selections, beer-can chicken is the hands-down MUST-TRY, called “the best chicken in the Bay-area,” by San Francisco Chronicle restaurant critic Michael Bauer.

This is a moist, deliciously spiced, whole chicken that is roasted “standing up,” (on a metal wire stand) with an opened Tecate beer can inserted into the cavity. As the chicken roasts, the beer naturally steams the insides of the chicken, adding a moistness to the meat that you have never experienced in a restaurant chicken.

Let me sing the praises, too, of the pulled pork, the shredded, barbecued brisket and the St. Louis-style barbecued pork ribs, served with a trio of house-made barbecue sauces and a terrific house-made coleslaw.

Over the course of the next year, the wine bar will morph into a space three times the existing size as Mark has acquired the building next door; look for some striking architectural changes to the wine bar, inside and out. In the meantime, it’s business as usual… “for the roundup of usual suspects.” Of which you should be one.

Bounty Hunter Smokin’ BBQ and Wine Bar, 975 1^st St., Napa. CA 94559. Tel: 707-226-3976 or check out www.bountyhunterwinebar.com. Open seven days a week, Sunday through Thursday 11 am to 10 pm, Friday and Saturday 11 am to midnight. No reservations.

Local Color, a regular feature of napaman.com, is illustrated by Lisa Livoni, one of Napa Valley’s most talented watercolorists.

For reprint permission, or to obtain copies of this, or any other Local Color image, please contact napaman@me.com.

In many respects, this series could be called Napaman’s Top 100 Napa Valley Attractions. These are the places I send family and friends, and which I personally endorse as being the Best of the Best of Napa Valley.

The Stars Align – A Magical Moment in Napa Valley

They say that when the stars are properly aligned, one can experience a sense of magic.

This seems to be true in wine circles, too. Last week, two super stars were brought together on Pritchard Hill; the event was magical and the wines poured memorable.

Cinzia Merli and Tim Mondavi

The superstar winemakers were Tim Mondavi, the driving force behind Continuum, a new winery project atop Pritchard Hill, in the eastern hills of Napa Valley, and Cinzia Merli, proprietor of Le Macchiole, in the Bolgheri wine region of Tuscany.

Le Macchiole, which means, “the place where it was at the beginning,” is considered one of the top wine estates in the world.

Tim Mondavi (center) and Marcia Mondavi (right) welcomed Cinzia Merli (left) to Napa Valley.

Cinzia was in Napa Valley – her first visit here – to promote her wines and to get a personal tour of Tim’s new project. Napaman was the only journalist present.

With a small group of wine industry colleagues, we walked Tim’s highest vineyard, at 1600-feet elevation, and afterward, dusted rocky red volcanic soil off our shoes. We talked about the many things, which Tim and Cinzia have in common:

+ Their passion for Cabernet Franc

+ Their common Italian heritage

+ Their drive for wine perfection – they like their wines soft, silky, balanced and elegant.

There’s not a lot to see just yet on the crest of Pritchard Hill, where Tim Mondavi (with map) and Marcia Mondavi (listening to Tim explain the contours of the property to assembled guests) are plotting World Domination through Wine, relying on Cab Franc as their secret weapon.

Tim, his five children, and his sister Marcia, are all part of the Continuum story. They chose the name for their new winery project because it perfectly describes the family’s progression in Napa Valley – from wine-makers (grandfather), to wine-makers (father) to wine-makers (Tim) to wine-makers (his children have various roles at Continuum). You get the family picture?

Tim’s first wine under the Continuum label was a 2005 release, made mostly with fruit from the To Kalon Vineyard from the Robert Mondavi winery, where Tim was head wine-maker for several decades.

A block of Continuum’s Cab Franc vines, at about 1500-feet elevation.

But now that Tim and his family have acquired two parcels on Pritchard Hill, bringing their holding to 64 plantable acres, they will rely more heavily on their own vines going forward to produce generously ripe fruit.

“The blend for Continuum will always be Cabernet Sauvignon (50 to 60 percent), Cabernet Franc (15 to 20 percent) and the balance Petite Verdot. We do not use any Merlot or Malbec in our blend,” notes Tim.

Tim Mondavi to Cinzia Merli: “Hmmmmm… let’s see… where on the property do you think we should put the Starbucks drive-thru….?”

By contrast, the Macchiole cuvee called Paleo is always 100 percent Cabernet Franc. As a consequence, the essence of this grape is more pronounced in Cinzia’s wine than in Tim’s. But both wine-makers profess an undying love for Cab Franc, largely for its ability to make a structured, age-worthy wine resplendent with plush, silken tannins.

Tim’s love-affair with Cab Franc began in the late 1990s while he was making the wines at Tenuta Dell’Ornellaia, a Tuscan winery, in which his father, Robert, had bought an interest from Lodovico Antinori.

After s brief period, the Mondavi family bought all outstanding shares in the Tuscan winery, requiring Tim to head to Italy many more times. During this period, he says, he realized just how good a blending grape Cab Franc can be.

Tim Mondavi, explaining the soil composition at Continuum  -- two-feet of red volcanic topsoil over a large rock base.

“The wineries in Bolgheri (the Tuscan region where Ornellaia and Macchiole are located) are famous on the world stage for their Cabernet Sauvignon, “ says Tim. “But having produced many vintages there, I began to realize that what they grow that is REALLY special is…Cabernet Franc.”

Tim continues: “I intend to inch up the percentage of Cab Franc in Continuum in years to come. Like Bolgheri, Napa Valley is known for its Cabernet Sauvignon, but I believe the soils and elevation of our vines at Continuum will permit us to make a profound wine relying on a core of Cab Franc.”

“Profound” is a good word choice. Many of Tim’s Pritchard Hill neighbors make profound wines, so one suspects, he may, too. His neighbors include Chappellet, Ovid, David Arthur, Colgin and Bryant Family. Not a dud among them.

At a luncheon on the patio at Martini House, in St. Helena, guests were served two vintages of Le Macchiole Paleo, including the stunning 2005 vintage, which is 100-percent Cab Franc.

Following a morning tour of the Continuum vineyards on Pritchard Hill, we returned to St. Helena where we had lunch on the patio at Martini House. Cinzia’s 2000 and 2005 Le Macchiole Paleo wines, and her dreamy 2005 Messorio (100% Merlot) were served. For taste comparison with the Paleo wines, we were served the 2006 Continuum.

All of these wines compelled me to write colorful tasting notes, in which the words “silk,” “silken,” and “silky” cropped up more times than I have used in a year of wine reviewing.

For readers wishing to try these wines, they can be found at a retail shops across America. Continuum generally retails for $140/bottle and Le Macchiole Paleo for $125.

Not cheap, but production is limited and demand is – like the elevation of Continuum’s vineyards – high.

Taylor's Refresher - One of Napaman’s Top 100 Napa Valley Attractions

Think inside the bun!

 That’s what Taylor’s Refresher, in St. Helena, makes you do – think about what you are going to put in that airy, egg-y bun.

Is it going to be a juicy grilled hamburger, the one that wine–writer Robert Parker called one of the best in America, or is it going to be that memorable ahi tuna sandwich, napped with the house’s famous secret sauce.

“House” is a bit of a misnomer because “house” suggests you are “inside” a building. At Taylor’s original location, in St. Helena, you can only eat outside, because that’s where all the picnic tables are, though a few are covered.

We send all our visiting friends and relatives to Taylor’s for at least one lunch and I admonish them NOT to return to our home if they fail to order one of Taylor’s outstanding milkshakes, large enough, by the way, for two to share.

My favorite milkshake has always been “espresso bean,” but many friends return to our home, raving about the chocolate, chocolate mint, or vanilla versions. I guess, at heart, everyone’s a milkshake maven.

Taylor’s Refresher has been dishing out grilled burgers since it opened in 1949, but it only went from a modest local hangout to a seriously popular tourist attraction and mini-chain after the Gott family bought the business about ten years ago.

There are now satellite stalls in Napa town and in the Ferry Building, in San Francisco. But be forewarned: the line-ups at these locations aren’t any shorter – so don’t think of them as shortcuts to hamburger heaven.

Taylor’s Refresher, 933 Main St. St. Helena, CA, 94574. Open seven days a week.  Tel: 707-963-3486 or check out www.taylorsrefresher.com for information on the Napa town and San Francisco locations.

Local Color, a regular feature of napaman.com, is illustrated by Lisa Livoni, one of Napa Valley’s most talented watercolorists.

For reprint permission, or to obtain copies of this, or any other Local Color image, please contact napaman@me.com.

Go Fish - One of Napaman’s Top 100 Napa Valley Attractions

If I were reviewing Go Fish on my Twitter account and wanted to rave about this St. Helena restaurant, here’s what I’d say in fewer than 120 characters: “Go Fish - Every Dish, Major Delish!”

Leave it to Cindy Pawlcyn, who already operated two of the most successful (and tastiest) restaurants in Napa Valley (Mustards Grill and Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen) to open a third, specializing in fish.

And not just “fish,” but two kinds of sea meats – raw, as in sushi and sashimi, and cooked, as in stews, or grilled.

Dining at Go Fish is like going to two different restaurants under the same roof. Sit at Ken Tominaga’s long sushi bar and eat uber-fresh, delicious seameats, or sit in the colorful salon and order from a menu filled with sea specialties.

Naysayers opined that a seafood restaurant could never make it big in Napa Valley “because it’s red-wine country.” Looks like they were wrong. Mostly because Cindy got it right.

Cindy has ample help around the stoves at Go Fish to insure consistency. We have dined here since opening week several years ago and the food and service are better than ever.

And the desserts are memorable meal closers. Napaman.com previously rated the Roasted Banana-Rum Ice Cream Sandwich as one of the Top Three Desserts in Napa Valley. Every time I make a reservation at Go Fish, the first thing that pops into my mind is “I’m having that roasted banana ice-cream sandwich for dessert!” I cannot disassociate a visit here from this joy-making, tasty dessert.

As comfortable as the interior is, don’t miss the fabulous patio, which is open in warmer months (which in Napa Valley, means  most months).

I often tell first-timers to Napa Valley to put Go Fish on their “eatinerary.” I hear back from many that they have had such a great experience that they are putting Go Fish on their “Must Do” list for their next visit, too. Which tell you everything you need to know about the nature of this (sea) beast.

Go Fish, 641 Main St., St. Helena, CA 94574. Tel: 707-963-0700.

Check hours, directions and menus at www.gofishrestaurant.net.

Local Color, a regular feature of napaman.com, is illustrated by Lisa Livoni, one of Napa Valley’s most talented watercolorists.

For reprint permission, or to obtain copies of this, or any other Local Color image, please contact napaman@me.com.

In many respects, this series could be called Napaman’s Top 100 Napa Valley Attractions. These are the places I send family and friends, and which I personally endorse as being the Best of the Best of Napa Valley.

 

Ad Hoc – One of Napaman’s Top 100 Napa Valley Attractions

Ad Hoc, in Yountville, initially opened as a temporary concept, a place-holder restaurant, if you permit. Owner Thomas Keller (of French Laundry fame) intended to turn it into a first-class Burger Joint, and so he chose a name to indicate the slap-dash effort to get the doors open.

But something funny – and wonderful – happened in the interim. Ad Hoc became one of the most original, most delicious, most highly traffic’d dining rooms in Napa Valley. It’s become one of my favorite dining spots in the whole valley.

Upon entry – and upon leaving – you must rub the metal pig sculpture on the hostess’ desk for good luck. (Reader alert - Spoiler! The closer you rub the rear of the pig, the more luck you will have!)

The four-course, prix-fixe menu changes daily at Ad Hoc ($49/person) so there is no point in listing specific dishes to look for. (Though there is a degree of menu rotation; locals drool for every other Monday night’s stunning fried chicken.) There are substitutions for allergies but that’s about it. Four courses are served, no questions asked.

Many of the dishes are so good that they are worth a detour from San Jose. We have had organic salads studded with nuts, or fruit, or cheeses of incomparable complexion. They are so good, in fact, that, on occasion, we ask for seconds of salad!

The prime course is protein-based and we have yet to go home hungry, or disappointed. If you want to see what's on tonight's menu, for example, go to http://adhocrestaurant.com/menu.php and sign up to receive a daily emailed menu... it's one of the things I most love finding every day in my inbox; I ruminate over the meal I am missing (if it's one of the nights I am passing up this special restaurant.)

The protein course is followed by an unusual, artisanal cheese course, often served with an artisanal honey or compote. 

Then you are into the home stretch, a homemade dessert with seasonal overtones.

This is a bistro tres casuel where you serve yourself from family-style platters brought to the table and where you pour your own wine. Don’t expect waitstaff to top-up emptied glasses; you serve yourself. This is a tasty, and successful, version of home-style cooking - and serving - brought to the restaurant scene.

We love the originality, the food, the service, the ambiance, and the experience. Just remember to pat the pig sculpture on the rump on your way out if you want good luck – which is what you'll need to get a reservation the next time you want to dine here.

Ad Hoc, 6476 Washington St., Yountville, CA. 94599. Tel 707-944-2487.

Local Color, a regular feature of napaman.com, is illustrated by Lisa Livoni, one of Napa Valley’s most talented watercolorists.

For reprint permission, or to obtain copies of this, or any other Local Color image, please contact napaman@me.com.

In many respects, this series could be called Napaman’s Top 100 Napa Valley Attractions. These are the places I send family and friends, and which I personally endorse as being the Best of the Best of Napa Valley.