Wine

A review of the Louis de Sacy Brut Rose Champagne and the Talisker 25 year old Single Malt Scotch Whisky bottled in 2005. By Joshua E. London and Lou Marmon Washington Jewish Week  May 15, 2013 We recently had some reasons to rejoice and, as our readers would expect, there were a few bottles opened with family and friends. With a wide range of excellent wines available at all price levels, choosing the best celebratory wines was a bit of a challenge. We started by considering a few wines stashed away for “special occasions” including a couple of vintages of the Covenant Cabernet Sauvignon, several wines from Domaine du Castel, Capcanes and Adir as well as some kosher Bordeaux wines. We then looked at some of our favorites from the past year from Golan Heights, Hagafen, Recanati and Dalton. After much contemplation, we ended up opening a bottle of sparkling wine. Sure, it is a bit of a cliche. And we have long bemoaned the tendency to save sparklers for merely special occasions. Their variable flavor profiles range from sweet to bone dry, from light to full-bodied and from fruit forward to more restrained – all of which make sparklers some of the world’s most food-friendly wines. Since we enjoy sparkling wines throughout the year (try a “blanc de blanc” with an omelet), it seemed okay to pop open an exceptional one to celebrate our blessings. The Louis de Sacy Brut Rose Champagne is produced by a family that has farmed grapes since the 1600s. The winery is named after a distant renowned relative whose bewigged portrait serves as its logo. This non-vintage, gracious and elegant wine opens with strawberry, cherry and floral aromas. The complex frame of spice, green apple and raspberry is accented with minerals, hazelnuts, citrus and blackberries and leads into a bright, long and satisfying finish. Spirits-wise, we had the same dilemma: what to crack open for that special occasion? The immediate answer is, really, anything that underscores that notion of “special” or “distinguished” will service nicely for the moment. So, really, anything that is not your usual libation. If you rarely drink a l’chaim, then having one marks the occasion as special. (Though if you rarely drink a l’chaim, you are probably NOT still reading this.) As we’ve said a great many times before, greater expense does not necessarily translate into better distilled spirits. The higher price-tag does, however, constitute a distinguishing or even elevating characteristic to the spirit, if for no other reason than that the price tag means neither you nor your guests are likely to drink such a whisky all the time. Expense, thus, can instantly convey special status to your beverage simply because the cost takes it out of the sphere of normal or usual. Sometimes the price tag is all about marketing (such as with the more expensive Macallan single malt Scotch whiskies-these are uniformly good whiskies, sometimes even great whiskies, but they are marketed as “luxury” whiskies and priced accordingly). Sometimes the price tag is high to cover the high costs bringing the beverage to market, such as the production or importation of rare spirits or spirits from far away places. If you shop wisely, the high price tag will acquire you something truly special in every sense. Single cask single malt whiskies, for example, are usually the best way to spend a few extra bucks when it comes to whisky. As we’ve noted before, absolutely fantastic single cask, single malts, with minimal marketing nonsense, can be had from the membership-based Scotch Malt Whisky Society (smwsa.com) and from the membership-based Jewish Whisky Company’s Single Cask Nation (singlecasknation.com). In this particular instance, one of us had an addition to the family. As Judaism is simultaneously a family-centered as well as belief-centered religion, a simcha for one Jew is a celebratio

The next gen of frozen cocktails moves well beyond the margarita machine. It’s time to treat yourself to this delicious deep-freeze trend.

Eat light and stay cool this summer with this chilled English pea-and-fava-bean soup with Dungeness crab salad.

craig.camp posted a photo:

We’re almost there… just another seven weeks or so to go until Baby P 2013 comes into this world. She’s been so active in Tracie P’s belly that sometimes we feel like she’s already here! I’m certainly not the one who does the heavy lifting at our house these days: Tracie P is such a great mother and a mother-to-be (again), diligently regulating her diet so that she can maximize nutrition in these last months when it becomes challenging for expecting mothers to consume all the calories she needs. In seven weeks or so, the world is going to change for little Georgia P, now seventeen months old. She really doesn’t know what’s about to happen but she loves to kiss and blow raspberries on her mommy’s pancione. After my trip to NYC a few weeks ago, I’m officially grounded for the duration and it’s been wonderful to take over more of the shopping and cooking duties (and it’s SO great not to have to travel). We’re so excited for Georgia P to have a little sister but we’ve also been enjoying these last months as a family of three, with our lives centered on a precious, beautiful, sweet little girl, who’s always ready to share a kiss, a hug, and a smile. They are my tender grapes. And as tough as it can be to get up at 3 a.m. to change a diaper or soothe a teething toddler, my life has never been so rich… I love them so much… Thanks to everyone for the notes of support and the thoughts and wishes! They mean so much to us. Thanks for sharing our joy…

A curious blend of 65% Shiraz, 20% Nebbiolo and 15% Primitivo, and to quote the great Reeves & Mortimer – “I don’t know how it works, but it does!”.

A more authentic version requires planning, time, haricot beans and the correct cuts and off cuts of meat. Being time poor and geographically if not climatically removed the Languedoc - compromises and modifications (chicken, chorizo, tinned Borlotti) were required.This version, much closer than my last attempt is from the latest edition of Mentelle notes (page 6). Another copy of the recipe can be found here.For my own reference:In a large pan add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and brown 3 chicken Marylands. When done set aside and now fry 250g of uncured Chorizo and 150g of pancetta lardons. When coloured and cooked, remove the pork elements and add the vegetables - 1 roughly diced onion and leek, 2 diced carrots, 3 cloves of garlic. Fry the veg slowly and when the onions are clear add the liquids - 500mls of chicken stock and 250mls of red wine. Turn up the heat and reduce by half. Add a tin of diced tomatoes and return the meats to the pan. Arrange and submerge your herbs - 4 sprigs of lemon thyme, 4 leaves of sage and 2 of Bay. Cover with a lid and place in a 160 degree oven for 60 minutes. Then add a tin of drained borlotti beans, stir through, rest (I left mine for a few hours and reheated) and serve.A temporary shortage of Languedoc reds found me looking for local alternatives. I tried two Australian reds, both Shiraz.West Cape Howe Shiraz 2007 (Great Southern. 14%. Screwcap) Dark, rich and slightly Porty. Sweet and lush, it's hard to argue with something so sun drenched, languid and enveloping. A tide of milk chocolate and raisins, it's soft and meltingly good. There are very few bones and no sharp edges. Harkham Old Vines Shiraz 2011 (Hunter, NSW. 14%. Diam) I thought I would enjoy this more. . . It's a caricature and overplayed and awkward. As much as I love stems and whole bunches, this just seems wrong. It starts well enough - stems, a hint of rubber, mulberries and spice. In the mouth the seams come apart and the elements feel disconnected. It's brisk and cola like to begin, very sweet and silken in the middle and then char and smoke to conclude. I find it more contrived and irritating with each sip. Neither wine made a particularly good match for the food. The second had too much affectation and I found both too sweet for the meal which needed something stern and hard.http://feeds.feedburner.com/WinoSapien Click here for the original context

Some background detail can be found in the review of the vinho verde wine here, but in synopsis it’s a young Australian wine maker who is doing stuff with grapes in Portugal, where he has worked for a bit. This is a blend of 40% tinta roriz, 30% touriga nacional, 20% touriga franca and 10% [...]

Winemaker Jordy Kay used to work at Mornington Peninsula’s Montalto winery from which he launched into some globetrotting winemaking around Australian and Europe. He says, ‘[I] wanted to do something in Austria where I did a couple of vintages in the Wachau but didn’t like the idea of being so far from the surf, so that’s [...]

I have an immense fondness for the Outer Coastal Plain, especially it being in New Jersey. But more than that, we very seriously considered southern New Jersey as our home for several years, and the biggest inspiration was Turdo Vineyards and Cape May Vineyards. Today, it is a wine trail with solid growth and great wines! We wish everyone don there a fantastic success and we hope to visit soon! And thanks to Debbie for allowing a repost! - C. DeVitoMonday, May 20, 2013Memorial Day on the Outer Coastal Plain AVADebbie Gioquindo/Hudson Valley Wine GoddessCan you believe it, we are coming up to Memorial Day weekend, the beginning of the summer. Time goes by to fast these days! What will you be doing this weekend? I've been very fortunate to be able to go to Cape May for many years and now have my own home to go to there. I've written before about the wineries of that region and have watched the region grow, but I plan to explore them in more detail now that I will be visiting the region more than once or twice a year, but making the region my second home. The wineries of Cape May are part of the Outer Coastal Plain AVA. Yes there is actually a designated AVA. The Outer Coastal Plain AVA wine appellation covers the counties of Cumberland, Cape May, Atlantic, Ocean, and portions of Salem, Gloucester, Camden, Burlington and Monmouth. They have well drained sandy or sandy loam soils with moderate fertility and a long growing season. There are 27 wineries and growing in this region. I will admit first things first when I head down to the region - it's the beach for me. I am a sun worshiper at it's best baking on the beach. But there is always time on my way home to stop at a winery and I plan on taking part in some winery events along the way. I will visit the new wineries and the established ones and am looking forward to seeing how they have grown. Also on the agenda is New Jersey Craft Beer. Yes there is a craft beer movement in New Jersey and the first brewery on my list to visit is the Cape May Brewery. I even purchased a NJ Craft Beer membership. Any suggestions on must try NJ Craft beer? Let the summer begin!Turdo VineyardsTurdo VineyardsNatali VineyardsJessie Creek WineryRead more at:http://hvwinegoddess.blogspot.com/2013/05/memorial-day-on-outer-coastal-plain-ava.html