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A Good Appetite

  • A Good Appetite

    Excerpted from JUST ENOUGH LIEBLING by A. J. LIEBLING

    The primary requisite for writing well about food is a good appetite. Without this, it is impossible to accumulate, within the allotted span, enough experience of eating to have anything worth setting down. Each day brings only two opportunities for field work, and they are not to be wasted minimizing the intake of cholesterol. They are indispensable, like a prizefighter's hours on the road. (I have read that the late French professional gourmand Maurice Curnonsky ate but one meal a day-dinner. But that was late in his life, and I have always suspected his attainments anyway; so many mediocre witticisms are attributed to him that he could not have had much time for eating.) A good appetite gives an eater room to turn around in. For example, a nonprofessional eater I know went to the Restaurant Pierre, in the Place Gaillon, a couple of years ago, his mind set on a sensibly light meal: a dozen, or possibly eighteen, oysters, and a thick chunk of steak topped with beef marrow, which M. Pierre calls a Délice de la Villette-the equivalent of a "Stockyards" Delight." But as he arrived, he heard M. Pierre say to his headwaiter, "Here comes Monsieur L. Those two portions of cassoulet that are left-put them aside for him." A cassoulet is a substantial dish, of a complexity precluding its discussion here. (Mr. Root devotes three pages to the great controversy over what it should contain.) M. Pierre is the most amiable of restaurateurs, who prides himself on knowing in advance what his friends will like. A client of limited appetite would be obliged either to forgo his steak or to hurt M. Pierre's feelings. Monsieur L., however, was in no difficulty. He ate the two cassoulets, as was his normal practice; if he had consumed only one, his host would have feared that it wasn't up to standard. He then enjoyed his steak. The oysters offered no problem, since they present no bulk.

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2005 - A good year to visit European Wines
Characterized by extremes of flood and fire, 2005 may well be the best vintage for European wines.  

Portfire With the exception of Italy - which suffered indirectly from the above mentioned floods, 2005 vintage wines throughout Europe - from France to Portugal - are the best in memory.

As a result, even though the dollar is weak against the Euro, now is an excellent time to buy European wines.

The primary wine producing countries of Europe produce more than five times as much wine as the United States. Because of the history and economics of European wine production, there are even more winemakers, wineries and vineyards - so keeping track of them all, to say nothing of reading the labels on the bottles and figuring out what to buy is difficult if not impossible for most Americans.

Adding insult to injury, because European wines are categorized by region rather than grape variety, the bottle and the wine store doesn't even tell you what kind of wine it is.  Bordeaux can be primarily cabernet sauvignon or merlot ( with a little cab franc, petit verdot and malbec thrown in ). Rhone wines are predominantly syrah but may also include any of 22 varietals the French government recognizes. Both Barolo and Barbaresco are made from nebiolo and Rioja is usually tempranillo. But who knows?

Here at Food,Wine, Life's Pleasures we may be only a little more informed, but not much.

But we know this. Because the 2005 vintage (except in Italy) was so good, you just about can't miss.  So go out and buy some.  We have tasted a bunch for under $20 and they almost without exception have been exceptional values, rich in fruit and character.  Try em , you'll like em.

Special Wines - for Special Times and for the Basement

We just bought two bottles of a wine that are a  steal. And as of 2:00 PM Sunday, there are at least 4 bottles left at Vinopolis - 1025 SW Washington (503.223.6002) - and they are worth the trip. We will not be able to determine until later in the week if and where there are others to be had.

Rudsen Stockade Shiraz 2005

Stockadeshriaz_2 The 2005 Stockade is a 1,000-case cuvee of 100% Shiraz that spent time in neutral French oak. It exhibits a deep ruby/purple hue, an opulent, fruit-forward personality, plenty of blackberry and smoky notes, a ripe, heady mouthfeel, and a nicely defined finish.
- Robert Parker, Wine Advocate

    

 

Rudsen Stockade Shiraz, 2005, Australia, Barossa Valley - 100% shiraz, deep red color, bright, currant and cherry overtones
Alcohol: 14.5%  Bouquet: Ripe, dark fruit   
Price: $17.50  Quality/Price Ratio: Very High

Spending Up

Two weeks when we recommended wines for Thanksgiving dinner, we broke our rules about recommending wines that cost more than $20-$25 a bottle. Above that price, the wine had better be good, and most generally are - so the business of recommendations, in our judgment, is best kept in the affordable range.

Thanksgiving in particular is a special case because wine and turkey are an uncertain pairing. But any holiday or celebration is an excuse to spend a little bit more. So go ahead, every now and then, splurge.

Another, maybe better, reason to spend up for a bottle of wine is to put it in the basement for a while and forget about it. Many wines improve significantly with bottle age - a lot of bottle age. 10 years is only the beginning for some varieties - cabernet sauvignon, nebbiolo, tempranillo, syrah - from places like the Napa Valley, Walla Walla, the Piedmont region of Italy (Barolo, Barbaresco),Bordeaux and the Rhone Valley in France, and the Rioja region of Spain.  Even our beloved pinot noir fares better over time.(Though we think French Burgundy may age better than Oregon pinot, but we're not sure.)

Buy and Hold: 
Think about it as an investment. Every so often, put a bottle or two away, forget about it for as long as you can, and watch what happens. The caveat here is that you have to buy a blue chip - a wine known for its ability to age gracefully, and blue chips don't come cheap.  You will probably have to spend upwards of $40 per bottle (or more).  But when you got to reap your investment it will have more than doubled in value. You will then have a real excuse for celebration - whenever you need it.

The other caveat concerns the basement.  Wine is ideally stored at 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Small fluctuations ( + or - 5 degrees ) will not make much difference.  But years at room temperature will not serve the wine well. Also the wine must be stored on its side. 

Because of our oh so temperate weather, Oregon basements, except for a few days here and there in August, are ideally suited to store wine.  You do not need a special wine cellar.  A closet or storage rack -  one that is generally dark - will do just fine.  We have been storing wine in a basement closet for years and are very pleased with the results.

Wines you can get your hands on -
Following Up on Spending Up

Evesham Wood Tempranillo 2006
Felsina Chianti Classico Riserva Rancia 2004
Cantina del Pino Barbaresco 2004

Eveshamwoodflower_2 Four weeks ago - just before Thanksgiving we warmly endorsed a 2006 Tempranillo by Evesham Wood - whose 2006 Pinot Noirs we have just as warmly endorsed. Unfortunately we were not able at the time to find a second bottle to confirm our first impression. We hereby correct that oversight. If you look you can probably find the 2006 Evesham Wood Tempranillio and at around $13.50 per bottle you definitely should.
 

Two weeks ago we suggested there were at least two excuses to splurge on wine: special occasions ( holidiays, birthdays, Fridays ) and the convenience your basement presents for the 'buy and hold' strategy.  We were remiss however in not making any specific recommendations - an omission we intend to rectify here and now

The 2004 vintage in Tuscany where chianti is made from sangiovese grapes was an excellent vintage - one that rivals many in recent memory (2001,1999,1997). The great thing about chianti is that it is available at all price points - both buy and hold ( $30 and up )and buy and drink ( $20 ). There are still a number of buy and drink now 2004 chiantis in stores - one we recommend highly is the Volpaia Chianti Classico -  fresh, cherry fruit, integrated and balanced, at around $21 per bottle, the Volpaia is excellently priced. Castello di Volpaia was the 2007 Wine and Spirits Magazine Winery of the Year.

 

As for spending up ...

Rancia Felsina Chianti Classico Riserva Rancia 2004
Single vineyard 100% sangiovese, ruby red with dried cherries and aroma of plum and currants "“Impressive dark ruby color. Expressive aromas of black currant, plum, mint and cigar box, all lifted by a mineral element. Dense and rich, combining pinot noir-like texture and refinement with syrah-like flavors of rare meat and raspberry liqueur. This boasts a wonderfully tactile feel and a remarkably long, palate-staining finish. A great Chianti with loads of personality. 95 points” - Stephen Tanzer, International Wine Cellar

Alcohol: 13.5%  Bouquet: Black currant, cherries, plum    
Price: $42  Quality/Price Ratio: Very High

Felsina is one of the most reliable producers of chianti.  In addition to Rancia, Felsina produces three other chiantis: Chianti Classico, Riserva Berardenga, both more moderately priced and their top of the line - Fontalloro.  All are 100% sangiovese. All reflect traditional chianti characteristics - restrained fruit in a structured setting.  All benefit with some bottle age.

2004 was also a good year in Piedmont - Italy's other famed wine producing region.  With the exception of 2002 and 2003,  Piedmont has benefited from a string of strong vintages going back to 1996.  As a result, while prices continue to rise and  have not benefited from the  weak dollar, there are many  Barbarescos and Barolos (  Piedmont's  most famed  appelations ) to choose from - all made from 100%  nebbiolo grapes

Cantina del Pino Barbaresco 2004
Balanced, approachable with hints of the restrained austerity characteristic of great Barbaresco, perfumed fruit, dark cherry colors and overtones.""It reveals fresh aromatics with just the lightest touch of oak followed by sweet, perfumed fruit that blossoms on the palate. Made in an accessible, approachable style, it offers notable purity of expression and terrific overall harmony. Vacca will release his single-vineyard 2004 Barbaresco Ovello in 2008, but the normal bottling certainly bodes well for that wine. Readers who are new to Barbaresco and want to experience the essence of what these wines are all about without spending a fortune should start here." - Robert Parker, Wine Advocate

Alcohol: 13.5%  Bouquet: Black cherry   
Price: $35.50  Quality/Price Ratio: Very High

Delpino Cantina del Pino is another tremendously reliable producer.  Winemaker Renato Vacca is increasingly recognized in the  wine press.  The Cantina del Pino Barbaresco 2004 just received ( for the second year in a row ) Gambero Rosso's highest rating of "Tre Bicchieri."

All  Reality is Virtual

Emilepeynaud
Blind tasting of great wines is often dis-
appointing.
    - Emile Peynaud,
      The Taste of Wine


Emile Peynaud ( Slate - The Tastemaker )

...our brains begin to reflect what we eat.
             - Jonah Lehrer,
               Proust Was a Neuroscientist

No sooner had the warm liquid mixed with the crumbs touched my palate than a shudder ran through me and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary thing that was happening to me.  An exquisite pleasure had invaded my senses... I drank a second mouthful,in which I find nothing more than in the first, then a third, which gives me rather less than the second. It is time to stop; the potion is losing its magic. It is plain that the truth I am seeking lies not in the cup but in myself.
             - Marcel Proust,
               A la Recherche du Temps Perdu


We have two confessions to make.

  • We don't believe in blind tastings.
  • While we follow our recommendations, we're not sure you should.

None of the many wines we have tasted in our pursuit of Food, Wine, Life's Pleasures; none of the twenty or so we have mentioned by name and none of the relative few we have  recommended have been tasted blind. 

We don't believe in blind tastings. The paper bags covering the bottles, the guessing and the hoopla do offer a certain quiz show amusement which we have on occasion indulged in with entertaining results. But in general tasting blind is like dating blind. There's too much surprise and too few results.

Our second confession is really the same as the first.  Taste is as individual as politics is local. Context matters. Everything about the experience matters. The shape of the glass matters. The color, the company, the first taste and the last, the expectation and the  memory, of course, the aroma - all matter and contribute to the experience of wine.

So while we have trouble thinking too kindly about the gipper, when it comes to re- commendations, we follow his -  trust but verify.

All of the above may just be so much prequel to what follows - a recommendation that isn't. 

We just drank a 2006 Tempranillo by Evesham Wood ( whose 2006 Pinot Noir we have recommended ). We liked it a lot, enough, in fact, to recommend it, if we could get our hands on another bottle, in order to verify our first impression, but unfortunately, we can't.

EveshamwoodflowerSo you might be wondering, where's the beef?

Well, getting back to the gipper and all those quotes that led up to here and which we haven't the time now to really get in to, we'd like to say simply that we don't trust our taste as much as we trust theirs.

Evesham Wood holds their fall open house on the week end before Thanksgiving -   3795 Wallace Road NW , Salem, Oregon 97304, 503 371-8478 .  If you can, go forth and verify.

If you can't, go forth and trust - them, if not us.

Tasting Notes
November,October, 2007

Since in our post on 2006 Oregon Pinot Noir we felt compelled to look for Pinots at $20/bottle (or so), we feel it incumbent upon us to point out that when it comes to value, Oregon Pinot Noir, while very high on our list and reliably food friendly and delicious, does not have a lock on value.  And so to that end ...

We have begun asking our favorite merchants for their value recommendations:

Pastaworks -

Pucho Bierzo, 2005, Spain:  Made from the Mencia grape in the Bierzo region of Spain, intense, great with food, hints of plum, cherries.
Alcohol: 12.5%  Bouquet: Cherry    
Price: $13.50  Quality/Price Ratio: Very High

Vietti Barbera d'Asti Tre Vigne, 2005, Italy: Made from Barbera grapes in the Piedmont region of Italy, red-purple color, dark cherry and fruit flavors, medium body, full palate, balanced.
Alcohol: 13%  Bouquet: Black Cherry    
Price: $17    Quality/Price Ratio: Very High

Portland Wine Merchant -

Three Saints Syrah, 2003, Santa Ynez, California: 100% Syrah grown in Santa Barbara County, lush, forward, dark blackberry fruit, dark ruby color
Alcohol: 14.8%  Bouquet: Dark Cherry  
Price: $14.95  Quality/Price Ratio: Very High

Resalte Ribera del Duero, 2001, Spain: Made from 100% Tempranillo, deep red color, bright, currant and cherry.          
Alcohol: 13.5%  Bouquet: Ripe fruit   
Price: $19.95  Quality/Price Ratio: High

Affordable Oregon Pinot

We have tasted as many 2006 Oregon Pinot Noirs as we could find. This is our advice: Get'em while you can!  This is our report:

Eveshamwood( Russ Raney at Evesham Wood, photo by Bertrand Celce ) 

With a few exceptions, all of the Pinot we drank, and we drank a lot, was good, fun and easy to drink. As Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher ( wine reviewers at the Wall St. Journal ) put it in A Wine Lover's Everyday Dozen, "We'd probably spend about $20 or so on a California or Oregon Pinot Noir...because these days, there are few wines as reliably food-friendly and delicious.

To our taste these are the four stand outs.  Each of them improves with a little time -in the glass and the bottle.  Each of them compares favorably with wines which consistently impress us, but cost significantly more.

In order from balanced to bold:

2006 - Evesham Wood - Willamette Valley 

2006 - Harmonia - Quercus Wines 

2006 - Lange Winery - Willamette Valley 

2006 Westrey – Willamette Valley 

For more information. see Pinot Noir Tasting Notes

Oregon Pinot Noir

As the 2007 harvest goes to press and ultimately to barrels and bottles and the 2006 vintage increasingly finds its way into stores, it’s time to review what is available at what price and quality.

Market Summary:  2006 releases are coming into the market and will continue to be released over the next year.  There are many 2005 wines at all price and quality levels in the market.  Most of the reasonably priced 2004 pinot, especially because of low crop and harvest levels, is getting hard to find. Some reserve bottlings from 2004  and earlier vintages are still available and a few are just being released.

2006 - Evesham Wood - Willamette Valley:,very bright, elegant, balanced, cherry flavors and bouquet, good acidity, long finish and full flavors across the palate, "Evesham Wood is surely one of Oregon's greatest pinot noir producers" (Matt Kramer).
Alcohol: 13%  Bouquet: Bright, cherry    
Price: $17.99  Quality/Price Ratio: Very High

2006 - Harmonia - Quercus Wines: delicate, balanced fruit, light, floral bouquet of rasberries, good acidity, genuine finish, full flavors across the palate, more Burgundian than Californian. *
Alcohol: 14.5%  Bouquet: Fresh, Floral   
Price: $18.99  Quality/Price Ratio: High

2006 - Lange Winery - Willamette Valley: ripe, fresh fruit, some concentration, fruit-forward but still elegant, rasberry and cherry bouquet, hints of minerality and earthiness in the finish
Alcohol: 13.5%  Bouquet: Rasberry, Cherry   
Price: $21.99  Quality/Price Ratio: High

2006 Westrey – Willamette Valley: medium bodied, fairly lush, concentrated, fruit forward, hint of tannins, ruby red, almost purple color, soft, easy to drink.
Alcohol: 13.5%  Bouquet: Fresh   
Price: $19.99  Quality/Price Ratio: High

 

Additional Oregon pinot tasting notes will be posted as often as possible.  Please send or post any tasting notes or information about any recent ( 04',05',06' ) Oregon pinot noir and that information will be added to these tasting notes.

____________________

* Harmonia Pinot Noir is made by Michael Beckley, an independent Oregon winemaker who has been associated with Domaine Drouhin and Erath Vineyards. Intriguingly he describes the 2005 Harmonia as "almost closer to a Burgundy—with delicate flavors from the fruit that came in after the rains.” It is refreshing to hear a winemaker speak so honestly about what is inevitable in Oregon - fall rain - and that, heaven forbid, good wine can result from it. 

19wine6001_2
This is an online invitation to an online tasting. Please join in tasting these wines or any other that are $10/bottle or less.
( For a Print Version of this list:
Download Happiness_for_10_list.pdf )

We hope to post all pertinent results soon.

The Happiness for $10/Bottle tasting was inspired by a NYTimes article of the same name. After searching dutifully at 6 six different locations we were able to find but three of the recommended wines, though we were able to find close cousins for two of them.  With the help of the wine stewards and shop owners, we added a few additional wines to come up with the following list ( the first three are from the Times' list ):

  1. Georges Duboeuf  France   Beaujolais-Villages 2006 
    ( Fred Meyer, Safeway )

  2. Ravenswood California Vintner’s Blend  Merlot 2004 
    ( Fred Meyer, Safeway )

  3. Domaine de l’Ameillaud France Vin de Pays de Vaucluse 2005 
    ( Fred Meyer )

  4. Domaine Brusset  France Les Boudalles  Cotes du Ventoux 2006 
    ( New Seasons )

  5. Quinta De Bons-Ventos Portugal  Casa Santos Lima  2005 
    ( Pastaworks )

  6. Comparron Toro  Spain  Crianza 1999   ( Portland Wine Merchants )

  7. La Chaussynette France  Vin de Table 2006  ( Pastaworks )

  8. Librandi Italy  Ciro  Rosso Classico  2004  ( New Seasons )

  9. Domaine de l’Ameillaud France  Cotes du Rhone 2005 ( New Seasons )

  10. Louis Jadot  France  Beaujolais-Villages 2006  ( Fred Meyer, Safeway

    11. Without giving too much away - we have tasted all of these wines and all of them were better than expected. Many were a deep purple, very extracted color and only a few had a pronounced 'nose.'  On the evening in which six of us sampled six of the bottles, we came close to finishing all of them and as the evening wore on, and the conversation became more animated the wines seemed to improve.  ( Must be that the wines had a chance to breath, or ... ? )