VALPOLICELLA; FROM HATE TO LOVE
More than a decade ago I found myself in a then swank new restaurant in San Francisco for a business dinner. The occasion was a convention, and I was to meet a VIP CEO of a surgical implant company, who was hosting me, a valued client, at Farallon, still a trendy upscale seafood place near Union Square. It turned out that the Minnesota based CEO was a wine enthusiast, a typical Napa/Sonoma guy. His various lieutenants who accompanied us to the dinner informed him of my interest in wine and he handed me the wine list. After a diplomatic choice[...]
THE FRUITS OF APPELATION PROLIFERATION PART II: HOW DO WE BEST BENEFIT FROM IT
Last week I commented on the news that an appellation in Sonoma that makes no geographic sense is being targeted for revision, albeit with much resistance, for such designations, from the standpoint of wineries, amount to a revision of their trademark status. Some benefit from revisions, others don't. Hence the controversy. While wineries line up to arrange appellation borders to best suit their business needs, what are we, wine consumers are to make of the entire concept of appellations? Is there any use in this for us? How can we keep up with nearly 200 appellation designations in California alone,[...]
THE FRUITS OF APPELLATION PROLIFERATION; PART I
The San Francisco Chronicle just published a long article about efforts to break up the Sonoma Coast Appellation into regions that make more sense. The area designated as "Sonoma Coast" can be seen on the larger California map to the right. If you look within the various appellations of Sonoma itself (map on left), you'll notice that "Sonoma Coast" is by far the largest. Furthermore, even though it has the name "Coast" on its label, more of it is inland than coastal. Apparently some vintners want to create a new designation, "West Sonoma Coast" to break-off the truly coastal regions[...]
COQ AU VIN; WHAT WINE BEST SUITS IT?
Marital disputes are fortunately rare in my household. A recent one arose over an unusual subject: coq au vin.My wife Julie loves this dish and orders it whenever it's listed in a menu. Recently she decided to make it at home. This is a French Burgundian recipe of chicken, slow cooked with a bunch of vegetables in a broth. Like countless other recipes from Europe from ciappino to paella to goulash, this probably started as peasant food which has now been elevated to the staus of high cuisine. In this case however, the recipe calls for a whole bottle of[...]
A COURAGEOUS WINE LIST
We recently had lunch in a popular spot at Sonoma Square called "The Girl and The Fig". It is a homey looking place set within three rooms of a converted house. One has a magnificently ornate bar with dining tables; the other two must have been the living and dining rooms. All are tightly packed with tables, making for a cozy, noisy environment. The art on the walls resembled the style you see in the attached picture of the restaurant's emblem. The menu was French bistro fare translated to California cuisine, with fresh, carefully selected ingredients and some offbeat offerings[...]
REFLECTIONS ON BORDEAUX ACROSS DECADES
For most Bordeaux drinkers sampling old ones, really old, is a rare and sporadic experience. Some who are old enough to have aged them in their own cellars can do this with ease. The few wealthy enough not to mind 3 or 4, even 5 digit prices in restaurants for such wines can imbibe in this setting. For the rest of us it has to be a shared experience. Our annual Bordeaux highlight is a party thrown by our friend Jim Stephen in his house at Pleasanton. Jim buys a lot of old Bordeaux on mix & match auctions from[...]