RAM SCROTUMS AND PRETZELS IN FRANCONIA; THE STICH WINERY (WEINGUT STICH)
Vacations are not only about R&R. They are also learning experiences. In my recent trip through rivers of Southern Germany I came to know a wine region new to me. Franconia is an ancient land with its own culture and dialect still in existence, despite having been geographically blended within Germany. It is mostly located within the state of Bavaria. Its largest cities are Nuremberg and Wurzberg. There, along the banks of the Main River, a tributary of the Rhine, lies a small wine appellation with the same name, that Germans refer to as Franken. In the small town of[...]
IN THE HEART OF GERMAN WINE COUNTRY; DOCTOR’S VINEYARD AND AN UNUSUAL TASTING (DR THANISCH WINES)
I face a tasting of one hundred and forty wines at 10 a.m. on a Saturday morning. We are in Bernkastel, Germany, on the Mosel River to which our ship glided over crystal calm waters reflecting steep hillside vineyards and colorful buildings of the still sleepy town. We are at the heart of German wine country, the region known as Mosel-Saar. Riesling is king here.We have traveled up the Rhine, a much wider, busier river lined with storybook castles, and turned into the Mosel, its tributary, at Koblenz, sailing though small, scenic German towns spread along the river. The surrounding[...]
A GOOD NOVEL, A BAD INFLUENCE
Can a good novel be a bad influence? I often emulate whatever I am reading (I am always reading something, fiction or non-fiction), sometimes incorporating their features into my own writing.For instance, several years ago Joseph Kanon's Istanbul Passage came along at a time when I was learning how to write proper dialogue. It was full of marvelous, skillfully constructed dialogue. Soon after finishing it I embarked upon my first successful, primarily dialogue driven story, Testicle Talk.More recently, last December I began Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall, currently a PBS Masterpiece Theater serial, a novel of historical fiction dealing with England[...]
AN UNEXPECTED LEFTOVER (CHATEAU LYNCH BAGES)
How does one keep wine leftovers? It is an age old question to which the wine industry has recently provided elaborate solutions, vacuum sealers, inert gasses, elaborate serving machines in wine bars. While this is not a problem for me - leftovers in my house are rare - on the few occasions when this happens, I prefer the simplest solution of all. Recently this was tested on a thirty-three year old wine. Once a bottle of wine is opened and the liquid is exposed to oxygen, a process of maturation sets into motion that ends in spoilage. Limiting the air[...]
A UNIQUE DINNER WITH OLD BORDEAUX
We opened the outdoor evening by the poolside with a 1999 Billecart-Salmon Brut, one of four champagnes our guest Alan Cooper brought. It was dark hued, bubbles scant, but still crisp and fruity, a bit nutty, well balanced. By the time all ten of us congregated around the table with an ice tub for the champagne, our server began offering an appetizer of prosciutto with goat cheese and fig jam on mini toasted baguettes, each topped with a mint leaf that added a special tang to their flavor explosion. There also was seared foie gras with cherry compote on [...]
OPEN THAT BOTTLE (VEUVE CLIQUOT, GRANDE DAME)
The Wall Street Journal used to have an annual Open That Bottle event. Invented by their then wine columnists Dorothy J Gaiter and John Brecher, a husband and wife couple, the event encouraged wine drinkers to uncork a special bottle that they were holding out on. Readers who participated submitted stories about their experience to the paper, many with interesting, poignant, informative back-stories, and some were published. The columnists retired in late 2009 and so did the event.I never partook in Open That Bottle, even though I had many special bottles that awaited an occasion. Maybe I didn't because I[...]