To some of you, I'm sure BYOB still means bring your own beer. While that is still an appropriate meaning if you are going to, say, a superbowl party, I've got another one for you. Bring your own Bottle. Sometimes a restaurant will open before they get their liquor license, and they will allow you to bring in your own bottle of wine (or beer). They will somehow designate that they are BYOB (usually on the menu and on their website, if they have one). It is also acceptable and appropriate to bring you own bottle of wine to almost any restaurant as long as you follow a few simple guidelines.
Do's
1. Call the restaurant first, or look on their website, to confirm that they allow you to bring wine. Also confirm how much they charge you to have them open it and make sure it is an amount that you are willing to pay (corkage*).
2. Once you are seated at your table, let the waiter or waitress know that you have a bottle you would like him to open, and when to open it.
3. Tell the waiter that he is welcome to save some for himself to try as well (a nice gesture that may help with the corkage fee.)
4. Bring a wine that is special to you in some way, even if the reason it's special is just because you already know that you like it a lot.
Dont's
1. Don't bring a wine that is on their list.
2. Don't bring a wine that is seriously cheapo, that's an insult to the chef and the sommelier (wine person).
3. You might not want to bring your own if you are meeting up at a bar for a drink first. I once tried to stop in to Harry Denton's for a drink before dinner, toting along the bottle that I was going to bring to a restaurant down the street, and they refused to let me in with it. I guess they were worried that I would crack the bottle open with my hands and drink straight from it, instead of waiting behind the flurry of barely of age kids for my drink. Just a warning.
You can do a little research in your area to find out if there are restaurants that waive corkage at certain times of the month or for wines purchased from a nearby wine shop.
In SF:
Mondays, no corkage at Zuppa
Tuesdays, no corkage at Zazie
Wednesdays, no corkage at Alamo Square
Fish and Farm only charges $5 for a California wine and waives the fee if you buy a second bottle.
PlumpJack doesn't charge corkage if you buy the wine from their wine shop.
*Corkage typically varies from $10-$45. I've never seen anything more than $45, which was at the four star French Laundry in Napa. The amount is meant to cover glassware, service, and unfortunately compensation for what they are not making off of selling you one of their own wines. It is highly correlated to the priciness of the restaurant. Restaurants will sometimes wave the fee if you buy a second bottle of of their list, or if you tell a really good story about why you are opening the bottle (ie your late grandfather worked for the winery as a kid, you won it from your father in a bet, its your birthday and its your favorite wine). BYOB restaurants that don't serve any alcohol of their own usually don't charge anything for corkage, but they will probably just give you a corkscrew and water glasses and let you pour yourselves. At least then you won't have to wait for the waiter to come around and fill you up!
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
11-28 It Must be Drinkable
The first rule of cooking with wine is that you can't cook with wine you can't drink. If it tastes terrible in the bottle, it will taste even more terrible once you've have heated it, reduced it, and poured it on your food. Its unfortunate, I know, but the best use for bad wine is staining your sink pink as you pour it down the drain (if the wine was red that is).
That said, here's a few recipes for either your leftover, drinkable wine or a good reason to open a bottle even though you probably won't finish it (you had to...the recipe called for it!):
Sweet Meat or poultry glaze:
Once you have finished pan-frying meat on the stove, there should be a little bit of oil and some little bits from the meat left in the pan. Over medium high heat add about 1/4 cup of wine (red for red meat and white for poultry) and scrape up any bits that charred to the pan. Next add 1/4 - 1/2c of diced fruit (something chunky) and 1 tablespoon of jam or preserves (something sweet). Reduce 5-7 minutes are until it looks thick enough to hold up as a sauce on your dish. Add salt or pepper to taste. This is also a great use for that strange jam you thought sounded so interesting at the farmer's market.
Yummy Combinations
For pork:
White wine, diced persimmon, and yuzu preserves (this is a japanese citrus fruit)
White wine, mango, and jalapeno preserves (also good on chicken)
For beef or lamb:
Red wine, chopped figs, and fig preserves (if you just have fresh figs try combining with a little honey or brown sugar to sweeten)
Red wine, cherries, and molasses (also good on pork)
Its also nice to sprinkle a little of a chopped herb on top once you have added the sauce to the meat. This could be cilantro, chives, basil, etc. Get creative. Its hard to go wrong as long as all of your ingredients are tasty on their own and you can imagine them all tasting good toghether. If something does go wrong, make sure you have a frozen pizza handy. I always do!
That said, here's a few recipes for either your leftover, drinkable wine or a good reason to open a bottle even though you probably won't finish it (you had to...the recipe called for it!):
Sweet Meat or poultry glaze:
Once you have finished pan-frying meat on the stove, there should be a little bit of oil and some little bits from the meat left in the pan. Over medium high heat add about 1/4 cup of wine (red for red meat and white for poultry) and scrape up any bits that charred to the pan. Next add 1/4 - 1/2c of diced fruit (something chunky) and 1 tablespoon of jam or preserves (something sweet). Reduce 5-7 minutes are until it looks thick enough to hold up as a sauce on your dish. Add salt or pepper to taste. This is also a great use for that strange jam you thought sounded so interesting at the farmer's market.
Yummy Combinations
For pork:
White wine, diced persimmon, and yuzu preserves (this is a japanese citrus fruit)
White wine, mango, and jalapeno preserves (also good on chicken)
For beef or lamb:
Red wine, chopped figs, and fig preserves (if you just have fresh figs try combining with a little honey or brown sugar to sweeten)
Red wine, cherries, and molasses (also good on pork)
Its also nice to sprinkle a little of a chopped herb on top once you have added the sauce to the meat. This could be cilantro, chives, basil, etc. Get creative. Its hard to go wrong as long as all of your ingredients are tasty on their own and you can imagine them all tasting good toghether. If something does go wrong, make sure you have a frozen pizza handy. I always do!
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
11-27 Peeling a Grape
Have you ever peeled a grape? Probably not. For some reason I used to peel them when I was a kid. Wierd, I know. If you had, you would know that almost all grapes are white (or green) on the inside, not red. So where does wine get its color? It all comes from the skin. The amount of time the skin is left with the juice will determine how much color the juice absorbs from the it. This makes red grapes very versatile; winemakers are able to make clear, pink and red wines from just about any red grape. Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier are both red grapes used in making Blanc de Noir sparkling wines by removing the skins immediately after the juice is pressed. Rose's are pink wines that are made from any of a number of red grapes, such as, syrah, sangiovese, zinfandel, and pinot noir. Rose's are typically made by the saignee method which means that the juice from the wine is kept with the skin until right before fermentation, and then some of the juice is removed to make the remaining juice more concentrated. The juice that was removed becomes the Rose. As far as red wines from red grapes go, I think you all have examples of that covered.
There are a few grapes that have red flesh on the inside, none of which are commonly used by themselves (as varietal wines) in winemaking. Alicante Bouschet is probably the most well-known red fleshed grape (not among anyone I know, but among oenologists). It was very popular during prohibition because its dark color and robust nature allowed bootleggers to stretch the juice a lot further by adding water and sugar. It is now illegal to add sugar to wine in California, limiting its popularity here. Without sugar, the wines that are made from Alicante by itself are usually harsh and bland in flavor, but in blending with other grapes it can add structure. It is still used for blending in southern France and the central valley of California. Spain is one of the only countries still making it into wine on its own.
In any event, there's nothing special about red wines made from red fleshed grapes. White fleshed ones are tastier!
There are a few grapes that have red flesh on the inside, none of which are commonly used by themselves (as varietal wines) in winemaking. Alicante Bouschet is probably the most well-known red fleshed grape (not among anyone I know, but among oenologists). It was very popular during prohibition because its dark color and robust nature allowed bootleggers to stretch the juice a lot further by adding water and sugar. It is now illegal to add sugar to wine in California, limiting its popularity here. Without sugar, the wines that are made from Alicante by itself are usually harsh and bland in flavor, but in blending with other grapes it can add structure. It is still used for blending in southern France and the central valley of California. Spain is one of the only countries still making it into wine on its own.
In any event, there's nothing special about red wines made from red fleshed grapes. White fleshed ones are tastier!
Monday, November 26, 2007
11-26 Send it Back
When I go out to dinner these days, its very rare that the whole table doesn't turn to me to do the tasting (and they've probably deferred to me for choosing the wine anyway). Most people have no idea what to do or what to look for when the waiter pours that first taste into the glass. Some people don't have any idea why the waiter poured half a sip into one person's glass. Here's the what, why, and how.
The waiter usually defers to the person that ordered the bottle to taste it. He should do this whether or not the person that ordered is a man or woman (no bitterness intended). The reason for the taste is to determine whether the wine has any flaws, not to determine whether you find it to your liking. The waiter will pour about 1/2 oz. of wine in the taster's glass. If you are the chosen one, you should first pick up your glass and smell it. It should not smell like, wet dog, wet newspaper, vinegar, nail polish or rotten eggs, and if it does, you should send the wine back. If you ordered a Pinot Noir or Gigondas, it may smell like a barnyard. Unfortunately mild barnyard smells are characteristic of those wines and you are supposed to keep it (major ones are license to send it back).
If you have chosen to send the wine back, let the waiter know that you think the wine is flawed, and that you would like another bottle. He should not argue with you, but should recommend whether or not you should try another bottle of the same wine or not. It is usually best to pick something entirely new, especially if you are not sure of the nature of the flaw. You can attempt to impress your friends while sending the wine back by using this cheat sheet to deduce which flaw is the cause of your wine's bad smell.
wet dog, wet cardboard= the wine has been affected by TCA. Also known as "corked".
vinegar= the wine is too old ("turned" or "past its prime")
nail polish= the volatile acidity (VA) of the wine is too high
rotten eggs = there is hydrogen sulfide in the wine
barnyard= brettanomyces or "brett" has effected the wine.
If the wine smells pleasant, then you should swirl the wine in your glass (the small pour should keep you from spilling), smell again, then taste. You don't need to do the fancy sip that wine snobs do, but it does help you taste all the nuances in the wine. To do the fancy sip, put a little of the wine in your mouth, open up, and breathe in a little air. This will enable the wine to spread over all of the sensory parts of your tongue, which you may not care about, and may result in you tasting things like nutmeg, pepper, or cassis. If it tastes good, you are good to go. Smelling the wine should have uncovered any bad news anyway.
One thing you never need to do is smell the cork. This will tell you nothing, except what cork smells like, and you probably have known that since grade school.
Good Luck!
The waiter usually defers to the person that ordered the bottle to taste it. He should do this whether or not the person that ordered is a man or woman (no bitterness intended). The reason for the taste is to determine whether the wine has any flaws, not to determine whether you find it to your liking. The waiter will pour about 1/2 oz. of wine in the taster's glass. If you are the chosen one, you should first pick up your glass and smell it. It should not smell like, wet dog, wet newspaper, vinegar, nail polish or rotten eggs, and if it does, you should send the wine back. If you ordered a Pinot Noir or Gigondas, it may smell like a barnyard. Unfortunately mild barnyard smells are characteristic of those wines and you are supposed to keep it (major ones are license to send it back).
If you have chosen to send the wine back, let the waiter know that you think the wine is flawed, and that you would like another bottle. He should not argue with you, but should recommend whether or not you should try another bottle of the same wine or not. It is usually best to pick something entirely new, especially if you are not sure of the nature of the flaw. You can attempt to impress your friends while sending the wine back by using this cheat sheet to deduce which flaw is the cause of your wine's bad smell.
wet dog, wet cardboard= the wine has been affected by TCA. Also known as "corked".
vinegar= the wine is too old ("turned" or "past its prime")
nail polish= the volatile acidity (VA) of the wine is too high
rotten eggs = there is hydrogen sulfide in the wine
barnyard= brettanomyces or "brett" has effected the wine.
If the wine smells pleasant, then you should swirl the wine in your glass (the small pour should keep you from spilling), smell again, then taste. You don't need to do the fancy sip that wine snobs do, but it does help you taste all the nuances in the wine. To do the fancy sip, put a little of the wine in your mouth, open up, and breathe in a little air. This will enable the wine to spread over all of the sensory parts of your tongue, which you may not care about, and may result in you tasting things like nutmeg, pepper, or cassis. If it tastes good, you are good to go. Smelling the wine should have uncovered any bad news anyway.
One thing you never need to do is smell the cork. This will tell you nothing, except what cork smells like, and you probably have known that since grade school.
Good Luck!
Sunday, November 25, 2007
11-25 Cheaper than Gas
As gas prices continue to rise, and the season of credit card debt is upon us, I thought it would be helpful to start a list of inexpensive wine that I taste and find enjoyable. This will be a running list, so please check back anytime you are looking for something yummy and inexpensive to bring to a party or just enjoy at home with dinner. If you have a particular inexpensive wine that you like, please post a comment. I'd love to try it!
One falsehood about wine is that is if its expensive, its better. Plenty of people that I talk to about wine think that just because what they like isn't what is demanding high prices, that they like wine that is not good. This is a terrible thing to believe. First of all, if you like an inexpensive wine, then good for you. You won't have to spend this weeks gas money to impress yourself or your friends. Good wine is what you like, not what some critic has determined is good. Wine critics are just there to tell you what wines they like. If you like to refer to wine critics for recommendations, and find that you agree with some of a particular critic's tastes then you should try others that she recommends, otherwise find someone else to follow. Remember to always listen to your own tastebuds.
Here's the list*
2006 Kenwood Sonoma Sauvignon Blanc (Bevmo $8.79)- This is a bright and zippy wine with lots of citrus flavors (mostly grapefruit which is typical of Sauv Blanc). It is good with just about any fish, chicken or pasta dish.
Non-vintage (NV) Piper Sonoma Blanc de Noir Sparkling wine (Bevmo $9.99)- Blanc de Noir means that one or both of the red grapes Pinot Noir or Pinot Meunier (which is not a very common grape, but is used in champagne and sparkling wine) is used in addition to Chardonnay (Blanc de Blanc would mean that only Chardonnay was used). The addition of red grapes give this wine a fuller body and hints of black cherry and spice, but add very little color (the skin is not used in the process). This wine is great on its own or with just about any non-red meat dish. Its even great with dessert.
* Keep in wine that wines will vary with vintage year. Also, inexpensive wine sometimes has more bottle variation than expensive wine. The famous "Two Buck Chuck" is a wine that has particularly high bottle variation because they don't follow the normal cycle of bottling once per year. Instead they bottle based on demand (at least this is what I've been told), so some bottles of that wine have been stored longer before they were bottled than other bottles. This will mean that not all of the bottles will taste as similar as they would if the wine was all bottled at the same time.
One falsehood about wine is that is if its expensive, its better. Plenty of people that I talk to about wine think that just because what they like isn't what is demanding high prices, that they like wine that is not good. This is a terrible thing to believe. First of all, if you like an inexpensive wine, then good for you. You won't have to spend this weeks gas money to impress yourself or your friends. Good wine is what you like, not what some critic has determined is good. Wine critics are just there to tell you what wines they like. If you like to refer to wine critics for recommendations, and find that you agree with some of a particular critic's tastes then you should try others that she recommends, otherwise find someone else to follow. Remember to always listen to your own tastebuds.
Here's the list*
2006 Kenwood Sonoma Sauvignon Blanc (Bevmo $8.79)- This is a bright and zippy wine with lots of citrus flavors (mostly grapefruit which is typical of Sauv Blanc). It is good with just about any fish, chicken or pasta dish.
Non-vintage (NV) Piper Sonoma Blanc de Noir Sparkling wine (Bevmo $9.99)- Blanc de Noir means that one or both of the red grapes Pinot Noir or Pinot Meunier (which is not a very common grape, but is used in champagne and sparkling wine) is used in addition to Chardonnay (Blanc de Blanc would mean that only Chardonnay was used). The addition of red grapes give this wine a fuller body and hints of black cherry and spice, but add very little color (the skin is not used in the process). This wine is great on its own or with just about any non-red meat dish. Its even great with dessert.
* Keep in wine that wines will vary with vintage year. Also, inexpensive wine sometimes has more bottle variation than expensive wine. The famous "Two Buck Chuck" is a wine that has particularly high bottle variation because they don't follow the normal cycle of bottling once per year. Instead they bottle based on demand (at least this is what I've been told), so some bottles of that wine have been stored longer before they were bottled than other bottles. This will mean that not all of the bottles will taste as similar as they would if the wine was all bottled at the same time.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
11-20 Beaujolais Nouveau
Tonight I stopped by my local wine shop to pick up a bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau. If you've been following this blog from the beginning, you'll know that my interludes with Nouveau have not been pleasant, for any given vintage (I'm not a big fan), but nonetheless, because its Nouveau's time of year, I feel compelled to give you my opinion of this year's attempt.
As I mentioned before, Beaujolais Nouveau is released on the 3rd Thursday of November and is the first wine released every year. Its purpose is mainly to make the winery money and make it fast. Its inexpensive to produce and is released at a time when most wineries aren't able (or willing) to sell wines made from the current harvest yet. It goes through a less-desirable (cheaper) method of fermentation where the grapes are fermented (the process of converting sugar to alcohol) as whole berries (called carbonic maceration), as opposed to the traditional method of crushing the grapes and pressing the juice from the skin, and then fermenting the juice. It isn't stored in barrels, and is instead fermented in stainless steel tanks which are also much cheaper (barrels sell for $300-$700 a piece). The resulting wine is considered to be fruity, with very little structure (tannins), and is ready to drink immediately.
I had a little discussion with the shop owner when I purchased my bottle (the 2007 Beaujolais Nouveau from Dominique Piron) this evening, and he had a similar opinion of Beaujolais Nouveau. He recommended that I chill it to make it taste a little better, and then jokingly added that I could also toss in some cut fruit (sangria anyone?). I tought of my suggestion yesterday to chill wine you didn't like to make it taste a little better, and I had to chuckle a little about our common ideas. I took his advice (and mine) and chilled the wine for 30 minutes. The first sip went down okay. It was fruity (very tart raspberries), and simple (very little body), but it wasn't terrible. My husband got home shortly after my initial tasting and I had him sit down for a taste. I gave him a notepad and asked him to write down what he thought. After explaining that he was not even up to par as an average wine taster, he gave in to my pleading. "Harsh" and "Pedestrian" were the words that summed up his opinion. I would say those are some pretty impressive descriptions of a very unimpressive wine and I'd have to completely agree with him. After tasting the wine again when it had warmed up a few minutes, I didn't want another taste, ever. Maybe tomorrow I'll add some cut fruit.
At $13.99 a bottle you can definitely find a better wine (probably for even less). You'll have to go for last year's vintage (2006) but who cares? Probably only the region of Beaujolais.
As I mentioned before, Beaujolais Nouveau is released on the 3rd Thursday of November and is the first wine released every year. Its purpose is mainly to make the winery money and make it fast. Its inexpensive to produce and is released at a time when most wineries aren't able (or willing) to sell wines made from the current harvest yet. It goes through a less-desirable (cheaper) method of fermentation where the grapes are fermented (the process of converting sugar to alcohol) as whole berries (called carbonic maceration), as opposed to the traditional method of crushing the grapes and pressing the juice from the skin, and then fermenting the juice. It isn't stored in barrels, and is instead fermented in stainless steel tanks which are also much cheaper (barrels sell for $300-$700 a piece). The resulting wine is considered to be fruity, with very little structure (tannins), and is ready to drink immediately.
I had a little discussion with the shop owner when I purchased my bottle (the 2007 Beaujolais Nouveau from Dominique Piron) this evening, and he had a similar opinion of Beaujolais Nouveau. He recommended that I chill it to make it taste a little better, and then jokingly added that I could also toss in some cut fruit (sangria anyone?). I tought of my suggestion yesterday to chill wine you didn't like to make it taste a little better, and I had to chuckle a little about our common ideas. I took his advice (and mine) and chilled the wine for 30 minutes. The first sip went down okay. It was fruity (very tart raspberries), and simple (very little body), but it wasn't terrible. My husband got home shortly after my initial tasting and I had him sit down for a taste. I gave him a notepad and asked him to write down what he thought. After explaining that he was not even up to par as an average wine taster, he gave in to my pleading. "Harsh" and "Pedestrian" were the words that summed up his opinion. I would say those are some pretty impressive descriptions of a very unimpressive wine and I'd have to completely agree with him. After tasting the wine again when it had warmed up a few minutes, I didn't want another taste, ever. Maybe tomorrow I'll add some cut fruit.
At $13.99 a bottle you can definitely find a better wine (probably for even less). You'll have to go for last year's vintage (2006) but who cares? Probably only the region of Beaujolais.
Monday, November 19, 2007
11-19 Hold it Like a Man
My husband titled this article for me when I told him my topic for today. It seemed fitting, since what I'm about to share with you convinced him to hold his glass properly, as any man should.
Wine etiquette says that one is supposed to hold the glass by the stem, not by the bowl (the part that holds the wine). Most casual drinkers would rather not worry so much about etiquette, and I understand the holding your glass by the stem often encourages the pinkie to raise kind of like you are drinking tea with the queen, but please take just a minute to digest the following reasons to pay attention to etiquette.
1. When you hold your glass by the bowl, you increase the temperature of the wine. This is a more appropriate reason not to hold your white wine glass by the bowl, as most everyone likes their white wine cold, but it also plays a part in red wine. Raising the temperature of your wine heightens all of its aromas and tastes. If you are drinking inexpensive wine, you will most likely have increased unpleasant aromas and tastes, which never benefits your tasting experience. On that note, and off topic, you can always chill a wine you're not ecstatic about a little bit more to see if you like it better.
2. Holding your glass by the bowl leaves ugly finger prints all over it. Remember that glass is (usually) clear, and when you are walking around at a cocktail party you are probably touching many different foods, people and surfaces that will leave significant filth on your hands. All of this grime will transfer right onto your glass and leave unpleasant smudges for your fellow partygoers to gawk at. If you are out on the prowl and a little nervous around the person that your are speaking with, this will only worsen those finger prints for sure.
3. And finally, the way I was able to convince my husband to hold his glass by the stem was by toasting with him. He was holding his glass by the bowl on one of our early dates, and I told him to stop and listen a minute while we toasted. For this experiment, and only for this experiment, I also held my glass by the bowl. When our glasses hit one another it gave a dull thump, not a noise to be combined with the phrases "Cheers", "Salud", or "Prost". Then I had him repeat the toast with me, this time holding both glasses by the stem. A beautiful chime rang from our glasses and continued to resonate a few moments. Next time you toast, do you want a dull thump, or a beautiful chime to go along with your "Kampai"? (That's cheers in Japanese.) I suggest you hold it like a man, or (wo)man.
Wine etiquette says that one is supposed to hold the glass by the stem, not by the bowl (the part that holds the wine). Most casual drinkers would rather not worry so much about etiquette, and I understand the holding your glass by the stem often encourages the pinkie to raise kind of like you are drinking tea with the queen, but please take just a minute to digest the following reasons to pay attention to etiquette.
1. When you hold your glass by the bowl, you increase the temperature of the wine. This is a more appropriate reason not to hold your white wine glass by the bowl, as most everyone likes their white wine cold, but it also plays a part in red wine. Raising the temperature of your wine heightens all of its aromas and tastes. If you are drinking inexpensive wine, you will most likely have increased unpleasant aromas and tastes, which never benefits your tasting experience. On that note, and off topic, you can always chill a wine you're not ecstatic about a little bit more to see if you like it better.
2. Holding your glass by the bowl leaves ugly finger prints all over it. Remember that glass is (usually) clear, and when you are walking around at a cocktail party you are probably touching many different foods, people and surfaces that will leave significant filth on your hands. All of this grime will transfer right onto your glass and leave unpleasant smudges for your fellow partygoers to gawk at. If you are out on the prowl and a little nervous around the person that your are speaking with, this will only worsen those finger prints for sure.
3. And finally, the way I was able to convince my husband to hold his glass by the stem was by toasting with him. He was holding his glass by the bowl on one of our early dates, and I told him to stop and listen a minute while we toasted. For this experiment, and only for this experiment, I also held my glass by the bowl. When our glasses hit one another it gave a dull thump, not a noise to be combined with the phrases "Cheers", "Salud", or "Prost". Then I had him repeat the toast with me, this time holding both glasses by the stem. A beautiful chime rang from our glasses and continued to resonate a few moments. Next time you toast, do you want a dull thump, or a beautiful chime to go along with your "Kampai"? (That's cheers in Japanese.) I suggest you hold it like a man, or (wo)man.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
11-18 Pres a Vi
My husband and I had a fun dinner at Pres a Vi on Friday night. The name Pres a Vi loosely translates to "Captivated by Wine" in Catalan. We were captivated by both the wine and the atmosphere.
The restaurant is located in the Presidio and was a little difficult to find. However, I did got to their website today and they have great instructions on finding it there. They also have underground parking ($5 after 6pm), which is pretty unheard of in our 7X7 mile city.
It was a foggy and wet night in San Francisco, but the dining room was warm and inviting, with muted gold lighting, red toned upholstery and cherry wood tables and chairs. The dining room is quite large, but is nicely segmented to give a feeling somewhere between romantic and lively. Its perfect for a date night, or a small group of friends.
We started things off with a glass of the sparkling wine, the Ferrari Brut "Perle" NV (the NV means non-vintage, which means the wine came from multiple years of harvesting grapes instead of just one). The bubbles were small and crisp and the nose was lightly toasty, like fresh made bread. That describes pretty much all of my favorite sparkling wines (which I'm careful not to call champagne here, because it is from Italy and not from Champagne). This wine also had tart apple flavors, which is also pretty typical of sparkling wines. I'm hoping, in my tasting notes, to give you some basic wine characteristics without overwhelming you with wine speak. One thing I always tell people about wine descriptions is to try to imagine describing the flavor of anything, say a glass of apple juice, without using apple, and you will reach for similarly strange adjectives as wine that smells like bread and tastes like apples.
The chef describes the menu as "global fusion", and the dishes have influences of mostly Asian and European cuisines. This seems to result in a light, but satisfying and flavorful culinary experience. We started with a salad of watercress, frisee and yellow endive topped with Cabrales (a blue cheese), roasted marcona almonds (oily and salted delicacies from spain) and gala apples (which of course went nicely with my appley bubbles). We also had the sashimi grade tuna marinated in soy, lemon oil and a japanese citrus fruit called yuzu. Both were delicious. The bitter endive was perfectly balanced by the sweet apples and the salty almonds. I always believe in balancing out my menu selections so the crisp salad and the rich, flavorful tuna were a great combo.
We both ordered seafood entrees. My husband had the Tai Snapper, which came whole and was deboned at the table. There were a few too many remaining bones after the waiter had done his handywork, so I painfully watched my husband chew his food gingerly and every once in a while remove a small bone from between his lips, but he still seemed to enjoy the flavor. I enjoyed the bites I had as well (no bones for me). I ordered the Alaskan Black Bass, which came in a dashi (the base of miso soup) broth with edamame and seaweed salad floating around it. I love black bass; it has a texture kind of like lobster, but still looks like a regular filet of white fish. The chef did a great job preserving the succulent texture of the flesh and giving a nice crisp broil to the skin on top.
Halfway through dinner I ordered a glass of Gruner Vetliner (the 2006 Franz Leth "Steinagrund"). It came out as a half glass, which they offer at half the price of a full glass. This was fine with me, as my husband was still working his way through his sparkling wine and I didn't want to out-drink him by too much. If you don't know this wine, you've got a lot of company, but you should definitely get to know it. Its quite possibly my favorite white wine (right now) and is regarded as one of the most food friendly whites. The majority of it is produced in Austria, as a light, refreshing wine that still captivates all of your taste buds (the wine word for this is "good mouth feel"). It should be drunk young, which means within a year or so after it is released. The 2006 would be the most current vintage (year). The flavors are usually citrus and stone fruits (wine speak for peaches and other fruits with a pit). I've never had one that wasn't delicious.
We'd finished both our entrees (I'd at least come very close to finishing), but had no room for dessert. Neither one of us has a nagging sweet tooth, but if my husband is up for it, I can usually have one bite (or three if its really good). This time both of us were completely satisfied.
I definitely recommend giving Pres a Vi a try, but make reservations and don't forget to look at their on-line directions. The wine list is very unique, so don't be afraid to order something you've never heard of. Try a Gruner (also called Gruve, pronounced Gru-vee); I'm sure you will love it.
The restaurant is located in the Presidio and was a little difficult to find. However, I did got to their website today and they have great instructions on finding it there. They also have underground parking ($5 after 6pm), which is pretty unheard of in our 7X7 mile city.
It was a foggy and wet night in San Francisco, but the dining room was warm and inviting, with muted gold lighting, red toned upholstery and cherry wood tables and chairs. The dining room is quite large, but is nicely segmented to give a feeling somewhere between romantic and lively. Its perfect for a date night, or a small group of friends.
We started things off with a glass of the sparkling wine, the Ferrari Brut "Perle" NV (the NV means non-vintage, which means the wine came from multiple years of harvesting grapes instead of just one). The bubbles were small and crisp and the nose was lightly toasty, like fresh made bread. That describes pretty much all of my favorite sparkling wines (which I'm careful not to call champagne here, because it is from Italy and not from Champagne). This wine also had tart apple flavors, which is also pretty typical of sparkling wines. I'm hoping, in my tasting notes, to give you some basic wine characteristics without overwhelming you with wine speak. One thing I always tell people about wine descriptions is to try to imagine describing the flavor of anything, say a glass of apple juice, without using apple, and you will reach for similarly strange adjectives as wine that smells like bread and tastes like apples.
The chef describes the menu as "global fusion", and the dishes have influences of mostly Asian and European cuisines. This seems to result in a light, but satisfying and flavorful culinary experience. We started with a salad of watercress, frisee and yellow endive topped with Cabrales (a blue cheese), roasted marcona almonds (oily and salted delicacies from spain) and gala apples (which of course went nicely with my appley bubbles). We also had the sashimi grade tuna marinated in soy, lemon oil and a japanese citrus fruit called yuzu. Both were delicious. The bitter endive was perfectly balanced by the sweet apples and the salty almonds. I always believe in balancing out my menu selections so the crisp salad and the rich, flavorful tuna were a great combo.
We both ordered seafood entrees. My husband had the Tai Snapper, which came whole and was deboned at the table. There were a few too many remaining bones after the waiter had done his handywork, so I painfully watched my husband chew his food gingerly and every once in a while remove a small bone from between his lips, but he still seemed to enjoy the flavor. I enjoyed the bites I had as well (no bones for me). I ordered the Alaskan Black Bass, which came in a dashi (the base of miso soup) broth with edamame and seaweed salad floating around it. I love black bass; it has a texture kind of like lobster, but still looks like a regular filet of white fish. The chef did a great job preserving the succulent texture of the flesh and giving a nice crisp broil to the skin on top.
Halfway through dinner I ordered a glass of Gruner Vetliner (the 2006 Franz Leth "Steinagrund"). It came out as a half glass, which they offer at half the price of a full glass. This was fine with me, as my husband was still working his way through his sparkling wine and I didn't want to out-drink him by too much. If you don't know this wine, you've got a lot of company, but you should definitely get to know it. Its quite possibly my favorite white wine (right now) and is regarded as one of the most food friendly whites. The majority of it is produced in Austria, as a light, refreshing wine that still captivates all of your taste buds (the wine word for this is "good mouth feel"). It should be drunk young, which means within a year or so after it is released. The 2006 would be the most current vintage (year). The flavors are usually citrus and stone fruits (wine speak for peaches and other fruits with a pit). I've never had one that wasn't delicious.
We'd finished both our entrees (I'd at least come very close to finishing), but had no room for dessert. Neither one of us has a nagging sweet tooth, but if my husband is up for it, I can usually have one bite (or three if its really good). This time both of us were completely satisfied.
I definitely recommend giving Pres a Vi a try, but make reservations and don't forget to look at their on-line directions. The wine list is very unique, so don't be afraid to order something you've never heard of. Try a Gruner (also called Gruve, pronounced Gru-vee); I'm sure you will love it.
11-17 Air Your Wine
Happy Saturday. My husband and I had a delicious dinner last night at Pres a Vi in San Francisco, so I'm excited to do my first review review on our experience there, but it will have to wait until tomorrow. I have a little unfinished business from yesterday.
Yesterday I talked a lot about what air, and specifically how oxygen can deteriorate your wine. It is important to note that they can also be useful to each other. The most obvious way they complement each other is evident in wines that are considered to get better with age (time in the bottle). In general European wines fall into the ageworthy category and they are difficult to drink within a few years after they are bottled. In general, this is because they are high in tannin. Wine folks would call them "closed" or "tight". This describes the way they will make your mouth feel very dry and puckery. Overtime these tannins fade as oxygen slowly find a way to pass through a natural cork. This aging process can take 10 or more years. I know that sounds like an incredibly long time to wait for the bottle you just picked up. Not to worry, to help with our cultural impatience, American winemakers tend to make wines with less (softened) tannin. American wines are generally considered "ready to drink".
All that said, some of those ready to drink wines still don't taste great right when you open them. If the wine tastes to strong ("big") or if the wine smells a little stinky, a little air might help. You can always try leaving the wine uncorked and try it in a few hours, or cork it and try it the next evening. This is always an experiment, sometimes it can help, and sometimes it can't. Some wines are just not good. Sangria anyone?
As a final note, I want to make sure to clarify that air only passes through a natural cork, so aging does not occur in wine-in-a-box or wine with a screwtop, so don't bother trying to keep that box of Franzia to see if it gets any better! Interestingly, I had the opportunity to taste a wine closed with a screwtop that was 2 years old next to two other versions of the wine; the same wine closed with a cork and the same winery's current release. The aged screwtop wine tasted very much like the current release and quite a bit less fruity than the wine that had aged with the cork. Sorry if that was a little hard to follow, but its a little physical proof of all that I've been talking about. Someday soon I'll do another little experiment where I open up a boxed wine and see how long it continues to taste the same. It should last quite awhile because boxed wine is actually stored in a vaccuum-sealed bag inside the box which keeps air from contacting the wine even after its opened, since the bag shrinks as the wine is poured. One boxed wine's website claims that it will last for four weeks. We shall see! By the way, I'm only willing to do this experiment now that there are "premium" boxed wines out there. Its still quite a bargain, but supposedly tastes much better than the old boxed stuff. Premium boxed wine typically sells for around $20 for a 3L box. That's 4 bottles of wine for twenty bucks!
Cheers!
Yesterday I talked a lot about what air, and specifically how oxygen can deteriorate your wine. It is important to note that they can also be useful to each other. The most obvious way they complement each other is evident in wines that are considered to get better with age (time in the bottle). In general European wines fall into the ageworthy category and they are difficult to drink within a few years after they are bottled. In general, this is because they are high in tannin. Wine folks would call them "closed" or "tight". This describes the way they will make your mouth feel very dry and puckery. Overtime these tannins fade as oxygen slowly find a way to pass through a natural cork. This aging process can take 10 or more years. I know that sounds like an incredibly long time to wait for the bottle you just picked up. Not to worry, to help with our cultural impatience, American winemakers tend to make wines with less (softened) tannin. American wines are generally considered "ready to drink".
All that said, some of those ready to drink wines still don't taste great right when you open them. If the wine tastes to strong ("big") or if the wine smells a little stinky, a little air might help. You can always try leaving the wine uncorked and try it in a few hours, or cork it and try it the next evening. This is always an experiment, sometimes it can help, and sometimes it can't. Some wines are just not good. Sangria anyone?
As a final note, I want to make sure to clarify that air only passes through a natural cork, so aging does not occur in wine-in-a-box or wine with a screwtop, so don't bother trying to keep that box of Franzia to see if it gets any better! Interestingly, I had the opportunity to taste a wine closed with a screwtop that was 2 years old next to two other versions of the wine; the same wine closed with a cork and the same winery's current release. The aged screwtop wine tasted very much like the current release and quite a bit less fruity than the wine that had aged with the cork. Sorry if that was a little hard to follow, but its a little physical proof of all that I've been talking about. Someday soon I'll do another little experiment where I open up a boxed wine and see how long it continues to taste the same. It should last quite awhile because boxed wine is actually stored in a vaccuum-sealed bag inside the box which keeps air from contacting the wine even after its opened, since the bag shrinks as the wine is poured. One boxed wine's website claims that it will last for four weeks. We shall see! By the way, I'm only willing to do this experiment now that there are "premium" boxed wines out there. Its still quite a bargain, but supposedly tastes much better than the old boxed stuff. Premium boxed wine typically sells for around $20 for a 3L box. That's 4 bottles of wine for twenty bucks!
Cheers!
Friday, November 16, 2007
11-16-07 Saving Wine
Whether you are saving the rest of that last bottle that you really shouldn't have bothered to open anyway or you have just gotten smarter in your old age and realized another glass or two is not worth having a foggy head tomorrow morning, these tips will help you hold on to that yummy bottle just a few days longer.
There is a number of gadgets on the market that will help you add life to your wine, but if you are like me, the last thing you need is another thing to crowd your small apartment. Most of these gadgets either add gas (Private Preserve) or remove air (VacuVin) from the wine bottle to reduce the wine's contact with oxygen, which causes oxidation. If you want to use one of these, I recommend Private Preserve, but you'll still have to make sure you have it on hand. My favorite way to put off the effects of oxidation is to put wine in the refrigerator. No gadgets needed, just put the cork back in and pop it in the coldest part of the fridge (generally the back of the fridge on the bottom shelf). The cold causes the oxygen molecules to expand and slows the oxidation process. How do you know if its still good the next day? Taste it. If its still tastes good, then drink it! Oxidation makes it taste flat and boring, a little like watered down vinegar. Sometimes it will still taste good, but smell a little funny. The first thing you will notice in the smell ("nose") is that it's no longer fruity. It will smells a little more like wet cardboard. As long as you like the way it tastes, and don't have really nice, big glassware, or a very good nose, you might as well still drink it. Wine is much different from milk, the smell won't hurt you!
You can enhance the success of the refrigerator method by transfering the wine into a smaller container. Next time you empty a half bottle of wine (375ml) or glass jar, hold onto it. You can move the wine from your big bottle into the smaller bottle and this will also slow down the oxidation. If you are using an old jar, definitely make sure it wasn't a pickle jar, and whatever you use, make sure there is no obvious leftover smells. The wine will suck those right up, and make the wine taste really yucky!
Wine and oxygen can also be useful to each other. More on that tomorrow!
Also, for anyone who is aware that yesterday was the release of Beaujolais Nouveau, I'm sorry that I didn't give that any mention. I'll make sure that I pick up a bottle in the next week and provide comments, but I warn you ahead of time, I'm generally not a huge fan of the actual wine (just the celebration!) For those who don't know what I'm talking about, Beaujolais Nouveau is the first wine released every year. It is always released on the 3rd Thursday in November. I'll let you know how it tastes!
There is a number of gadgets on the market that will help you add life to your wine, but if you are like me, the last thing you need is another thing to crowd your small apartment. Most of these gadgets either add gas (Private Preserve) or remove air (VacuVin) from the wine bottle to reduce the wine's contact with oxygen, which causes oxidation. If you want to use one of these, I recommend Private Preserve, but you'll still have to make sure you have it on hand. My favorite way to put off the effects of oxidation is to put wine in the refrigerator. No gadgets needed, just put the cork back in and pop it in the coldest part of the fridge (generally the back of the fridge on the bottom shelf). The cold causes the oxygen molecules to expand and slows the oxidation process. How do you know if its still good the next day? Taste it. If its still tastes good, then drink it! Oxidation makes it taste flat and boring, a little like watered down vinegar. Sometimes it will still taste good, but smell a little funny. The first thing you will notice in the smell ("nose") is that it's no longer fruity. It will smells a little more like wet cardboard. As long as you like the way it tastes, and don't have really nice, big glassware, or a very good nose, you might as well still drink it. Wine is much different from milk, the smell won't hurt you!
You can enhance the success of the refrigerator method by transfering the wine into a smaller container. Next time you empty a half bottle of wine (375ml) or glass jar, hold onto it. You can move the wine from your big bottle into the smaller bottle and this will also slow down the oxidation. If you are using an old jar, definitely make sure it wasn't a pickle jar, and whatever you use, make sure there is no obvious leftover smells. The wine will suck those right up, and make the wine taste really yucky!
Wine and oxygen can also be useful to each other. More on that tomorrow!
Also, for anyone who is aware that yesterday was the release of Beaujolais Nouveau, I'm sorry that I didn't give that any mention. I'll make sure that I pick up a bottle in the next week and provide comments, but I warn you ahead of time, I'm generally not a huge fan of the actual wine (just the celebration!) For those who don't know what I'm talking about, Beaujolais Nouveau is the first wine released every year. It is always released on the 3rd Thursday in November. I'll let you know how it tastes!
Thursday, November 15, 2007
11-15-07 The tale of a wine and food lover
Hello fellow food and wine lovers! I'm a passionate foodie and wino with an education in both, who can't wait to share everything I know with you. I'll try not to ever use snooty words like oenophile and gastronome if you promise to visit this blog frequently to learn, laugh and love everything about food and wine.
Surprisingly I'm a Math/Econ major who has primarily worked in banking, but I've always found a way to dabble in the food and wine industry. As I child, I grew up in my mother's kitchen, and was honored at some pre-teen age, to give up observing and gain the job of grating cheese. With a firm belief that cheese makes every dish (in fact everything!) better, my love cooking was born. At some point in my teens, I learned that by helping cook, I could avoid doing dishes. As the oldest of four sisters, there was plenty of opportunity for selecting your task. Setting the table and cleaning the dishes were both things I could get out of by cooking. No two days made better use of that insight, than Thanksgiving and Christmas. On these two days cooking usually ends in the morning, while both setting up and cleaning seem to last all night. By the time that pie was being cut, I could retire with my dad and uncles with a great big glass of red wine. My dad thought it was fun to pour me multiple wines to see if I could pick the most expensive of the bunch. I began to learn to differentiate quality (through the eyes of price) and became obsessed with learning more.
As a senior in college at UC Santa Barbara, when I finally turned 21, I took wine-tasting. I think I actually got a half credit for taking that class. It was predominantly wine drinking, but the instructor did make us listen to a 1/2 hour of lecture before we started to taste. I’m sure not one of those beach-going students would ever have absorbed what he had to say if he'd allowed us to start tasting right away. In those brief lectures, I learned that there was much more to wine than Cabernet and Chardonnay and I fell in love with Syrah and Sauvignon Blanc. My favorite at the time was a Sauvignon Blanc by Sanford in a beautiful flowery bottle with a pink foil cap (it is, by the way, appropriate to pick wine based on the label, no matter how much you know).
Following college, I moved out to DC and worked for the Federal Reserve. My government job did not afford me a high salary, but did leave me time to enroll in the evening culinary program at the L’Academie of Cuisine. At the culinary school I learned to make soufflés, flip omelets, and cut apart an entire side of lamb, but most importantly, I got insight from the chefs on where to eat, and what to drink. I started volunteering with a class taught by “The Food Guy” and “The Wine Guy”, I had my first taste of foie gras (which I didn't like at the time) and through the unfortunate loss of a bet, missed my first chance to taste the highly touted Sauterne, Chateau Y’quiem. I did, however, have my first opportunity to taste an Amarone by Masi (a famously delicious and overly bold, pricey Italian wine). A new favorite and a fascination with Italy was beckoning me.
I traveled to Italy with my parents where wine still grew on vines (not on trees) but it was everywhere. People drank a glass with lunch and a few with dinner, and it didn’t cost a fortune. At St. Mark’s Square (Piazza San Marcos) I found a little cellar, just below the street level where you could fill up any container you had with the wine they had to sell. I filled up my water bottle for $3/ liter. Once back home, I tried to find something at Trader Joe’s that was remotely close to as inexpensive and still as delicious. I failed miserably, but I did learn that you can find pretty good wine at pretty good prices. At the time Zinfandel was one of those wines. 7 Deadly Zins was a clear favorite.
After two years in DC, I moved out to California to start a new job at Wells Fargo. The job was in San Francisco, a city with more restaurants than parking spots and the freshest ingredients in the country. With its proximity to Wine Country (which at the time was pretty much Napa and Sonoma and has now expanded much farther in every direction), the job (location) was the perfect opportunity. Unfortunately, the job itself was pretty boring, but one night , at a tasting for Beaulieu Vineyard I mentioned to the staff that I had a hankering to work in a tasting room and was pouring behind the BV counter the following Saturday. I learned most of what I know from the staff there. They were knowledgeable about everything from grape growing to winemaking, to winetasing, and their knowledge spanned the globe. I gave tours about the winemaking process and educated beer drinkers and wine lovers alike on what and how to taste. I loved teaching people about something that made them so happy to learn.
Two and a half years of Saturdays in the tasting room went by before I grew weary of working six days a week. I also had so much wine in my little apartment, as a result of my incredible discount, that it was time to take a moment to drink it. I was really sad to leave, but I was excited about what the next adventure might be. About a year later, I enrolled in the Certified Wine Professional Program at the Culinary Institute of America. I had enough vacation saved up to take half of the month-long intensive program, with one day leftover to also take the exam a week later. I rented a small cottage on the south end of Napa and immersed myself in wine. They say that's the best way to learn, right? We spent mornings tasting wine (spitting it into spittoons) and afternoons studying regions, production methods, and the business of wine. We went on several field trips vineyards, wineries, and wine shops to learn hands on about everything we were reading. It was incredible. The evenings consisted of some studying wine at local restaurants, dining with other students, where we could taste wines from regions all over the world, and practice our wine pairing techniques. Other nights involved absorption of books and articles that were recommended by our team of wine educators (my favorite wine book for its readability and thoroughness is "The Wine Bible" by Karen McNeil, who happened to be my favorite teacher). Test day came. I passed with flying colors, and now I have a degree in wine My greatest desire is that you will enjoy learning from me as I continue to learn and enjoy wine, food, and life!
Enough about me. I'll finish this post later. Tomorrow I'll give you some tips for ways to save a wine once you've opened it. Not that there is usually any left, but just in case you want to open one more at the end of the night that you really shouldn't, and you just can't finish!
Surprisingly I'm a Math/Econ major who has primarily worked in banking, but I've always found a way to dabble in the food and wine industry. As I child, I grew up in my mother's kitchen, and was honored at some pre-teen age, to give up observing and gain the job of grating cheese. With a firm belief that cheese makes every dish (in fact everything!) better, my love cooking was born. At some point in my teens, I learned that by helping cook, I could avoid doing dishes. As the oldest of four sisters, there was plenty of opportunity for selecting your task. Setting the table and cleaning the dishes were both things I could get out of by cooking. No two days made better use of that insight, than Thanksgiving and Christmas. On these two days cooking usually ends in the morning, while both setting up and cleaning seem to last all night. By the time that pie was being cut, I could retire with my dad and uncles with a great big glass of red wine. My dad thought it was fun to pour me multiple wines to see if I could pick the most expensive of the bunch. I began to learn to differentiate quality (through the eyes of price) and became obsessed with learning more.
As a senior in college at UC Santa Barbara, when I finally turned 21, I took wine-tasting. I think I actually got a half credit for taking that class. It was predominantly wine drinking, but the instructor did make us listen to a 1/2 hour of lecture before we started to taste. I’m sure not one of those beach-going students would ever have absorbed what he had to say if he'd allowed us to start tasting right away. In those brief lectures, I learned that there was much more to wine than Cabernet and Chardonnay and I fell in love with Syrah and Sauvignon Blanc. My favorite at the time was a Sauvignon Blanc by Sanford in a beautiful flowery bottle with a pink foil cap (it is, by the way, appropriate to pick wine based on the label, no matter how much you know).
Following college, I moved out to DC and worked for the Federal Reserve. My government job did not afford me a high salary, but did leave me time to enroll in the evening culinary program at the L’Academie of Cuisine. At the culinary school I learned to make soufflés, flip omelets, and cut apart an entire side of lamb, but most importantly, I got insight from the chefs on where to eat, and what to drink. I started volunteering with a class taught by “The Food Guy” and “The Wine Guy”, I had my first taste of foie gras (which I didn't like at the time) and through the unfortunate loss of a bet, missed my first chance to taste the highly touted Sauterne, Chateau Y’quiem. I did, however, have my first opportunity to taste an Amarone by Masi (a famously delicious and overly bold, pricey Italian wine). A new favorite and a fascination with Italy was beckoning me.
I traveled to Italy with my parents where wine still grew on vines (not on trees) but it was everywhere. People drank a glass with lunch and a few with dinner, and it didn’t cost a fortune. At St. Mark’s Square (Piazza San Marcos) I found a little cellar, just below the street level where you could fill up any container you had with the wine they had to sell. I filled up my water bottle for $3/ liter. Once back home, I tried to find something at Trader Joe’s that was remotely close to as inexpensive and still as delicious. I failed miserably, but I did learn that you can find pretty good wine at pretty good prices. At the time Zinfandel was one of those wines. 7 Deadly Zins was a clear favorite.
After two years in DC, I moved out to California to start a new job at Wells Fargo. The job was in San Francisco, a city with more restaurants than parking spots and the freshest ingredients in the country. With its proximity to Wine Country (which at the time was pretty much Napa and Sonoma and has now expanded much farther in every direction), the job (location) was the perfect opportunity. Unfortunately, the job itself was pretty boring, but one night , at a tasting for Beaulieu Vineyard I mentioned to the staff that I had a hankering to work in a tasting room and was pouring behind the BV counter the following Saturday. I learned most of what I know from the staff there. They were knowledgeable about everything from grape growing to winemaking, to winetasing, and their knowledge spanned the globe. I gave tours about the winemaking process and educated beer drinkers and wine lovers alike on what and how to taste. I loved teaching people about something that made them so happy to learn.
Two and a half years of Saturdays in the tasting room went by before I grew weary of working six days a week. I also had so much wine in my little apartment, as a result of my incredible discount, that it was time to take a moment to drink it. I was really sad to leave, but I was excited about what the next adventure might be. About a year later, I enrolled in the Certified Wine Professional Program at the Culinary Institute of America. I had enough vacation saved up to take half of the month-long intensive program, with one day leftover to also take the exam a week later. I rented a small cottage on the south end of Napa and immersed myself in wine. They say that's the best way to learn, right? We spent mornings tasting wine (spitting it into spittoons) and afternoons studying regions, production methods, and the business of wine. We went on several field trips vineyards, wineries, and wine shops to learn hands on about everything we were reading. It was incredible. The evenings consisted of some studying wine at local restaurants, dining with other students, where we could taste wines from regions all over the world, and practice our wine pairing techniques. Other nights involved absorption of books and articles that were recommended by our team of wine educators (my favorite wine book for its readability and thoroughness is "The Wine Bible" by Karen McNeil, who happened to be my favorite teacher). Test day came. I passed with flying colors, and now I have a degree in wine My greatest desire is that you will enjoy learning from me as I continue to learn and enjoy wine, food, and life!
Enough about me. I'll finish this post later. Tomorrow I'll give you some tips for ways to save a wine once you've opened it. Not that there is usually any left, but just in case you want to open one more at the end of the night that you really shouldn't, and you just can't finish!
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