Monthly Archive for November, 2008

Thanksgiving Zinfandel? Give me a break!!

November 24, 2008 filed in Wine.
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DSCN0416Monday, Nov 24, 2008
Much has been written about which wine to pair with Thanksgiving dinner.  Frankly, too much has been written.  Why won't wine writers let this topic alone?  Because 40% of the wine sold this year will be purchased between now and the first of the year, that's why.

That's a lot of wine.  And any wine writer worth a bottle of Two Buck Chuck feels compelled to be there to help when help is needed most. 

I subscribe to a number of automated news feeds on wine.  I've done so for years, and have enjoyed watching the level of writing, and analysis, improve.  With some notable exceptions.  Such as the food and wine writers at an unnamed newspaper who convened a panel to compare various wines with a Thanksgiving meal, and then decided that ZINFANDEL was the wine of choice.

Give me a break!  I realize the traditional meal offers a panoply of flavors, many of which are rather mild (to be kind), and that big, alcoholic fruit bombs at least bring some flavor to the party.  And that's what most of today's Zinfandel has become – a caricature of it's former self.  A Hirschfeld drawing on the wall at Sardis.  Big.  Exaggerated.  Without subtlety of any sort.

I just don't see where such wines fit in a day known for celebration of food, friends and family.  Who wants to be tanked after the first glass or two of wine, long before the meal has even started? 

For more sound advice, I encourage you to click on one of the best articles I've seen in the last few weeks of perusing wine articles.  It appeared in last Friday's San Francisco Chronicle – the "Can't Fail Guide to Thanksgiving Wines" 

Frankly, I couldn't agree more.  Virtually everything author Jon Bonne says rings true for me!  And the fact that my site offers a whole array of his most recommended wine pinot noir (view our pinot portfolio here) is not coincidental – pinot is simply one of the most food-friendly wines you can find today, and a beautiful compliment to the Thanksgiving meal.  A dry Sparkling wine gives pinot a run for its money, but I like the fruitiness a Pinot brings to the table.  

And though I'd love to supply the wines for table on Thursday, the vagaries of shipping tell us we'd both be wise to send you off to the wine shop before the day is out.  Copy the article from the Chron, and see what your local merchant can provide.

Toon_turkey_look_md_clr Now that you're well set for a fine food and wine experience on Thursday, take a wee break and test your hand at Thanksgiving trivia on this fun site from the folks at Aristotle Turkey. 

Happy Thanksgiving! 
Dave the Wine Merchant
Dave@SidewaysWineClub.com or
Dave@TastesOfTheValleys.com

Today’s Quote:
"What we're really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets.  I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving?" 

~ The Immortal Erma Bombeck (1927 – 1966), from "No One Diets on Thanksgiving," 26 November 1981

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Holiday Recipe Flash – Steamed Persimmon Pudding

November 17, 2008 filed in Food and Drink.
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A Chambers Family Recipe – Steamed Persimmon Pudding
How many times must one make a recipe before it becomes their own?  Once?  Ten times?  Fifty?  Whatever the answer, I think I'm agey enough and have made this wonderful steamed pudding often enough to call it a family recipe, even if I did get it from the wonderful Marion Cunningham at her cooking class in 1997.

Although I currently carry no wines that will nicely compliment your Thanksgiving dessert (which call for a nice ice wine, Vin de Glacier, or late harvest dessert wine!) I can't resist sharing this recipe with you.  Call it repayment for having read this far.  If you can overcome the hurdles necessary to get this pulled together, you'll find that it is a family favorite at your house too.

This recipe is In the great tradition of England's "Figgy Puddings", though that requires some explanation.  The English term "pudding" is synonymous with our term "dessert".  And Figgy Pudding implies a dessert made from figs that has been steamed – originally while wrapped in several layers of cloth.  Figgy Pudding was a rather downscale holiday dessert.

Steamed Pudding Mold, $15 at Des Idees This dessert is anything but downscale.  It still relies on several hours of cooking in boiling water, but inside a metal mold – either the fancy version shown at left, or an ad-hoc version consisting simply of an old coffee can or two.  Enough ado.  Here's the recipe.

 

Ingredients

1 cup pureed persimmon (~ 2 large persimmons, skins removed)

2 tsp. Baking soda

8 Tbs (1 stick) butter at room temperature

1.5 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 Tbs lemon juice

2 Tbs rum

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp. Cinnamon (I like to double this amount!)

½ tsp. Salt

1 cup broken walnuts or pecans

1 cup raisins (I like to mix regular and golden)

Fill a kettle large enough to hold a 2 Qt pudding mold with enough water to come halfway up the sides.  (2 coffee containers covered tightly with foil will do – fill only ¾ full as the pudding expands.)  Let the water come to a boil over medium heat while you mix the pudding batter.

Grease the mold well.  Every nook and cranny.  Butter is best. 

 

In a glass mixing bowl, combine the persimmon puree and baking soda.  Set aside while mixing the other ingredients (the persimmon mixture will stiffen).

Cream the butter and sugar.  Add the eggs, lemon juice, and rum and beat well.  Add the flour, cinnamon, and salt, and stir to blend.  Add the persimmon mixture and beat until well mixed.  Stir in raisins and nuts.

Spoon the batter into the mold, cover tightly, and steam for approximately two hours.  I've had my best luck finishing the pudding in a 350 oven for about 20 minutes before letting rest for 10-15  minutes and then unmolding.  Re-heat just before serving, and top with unsweetened whipped cream, or a crème Anglais.  For added celebration, warm 2 Tbsp of rum in a sauce pan for ten seconds, light and immediately pour flaming rum over top of unsliced pudding.  Take to table in a darkened room and allow to expire (flame lasts for 20-40 seconds, so work quickly!)

Amusing Musings on iGoogle or MyYahoo!

I find it less intrusive and time consuming to receive news via my Google or Yahoo desktop than email.  Here's how to receive my latest "Amusing Musings" whenever they come out:

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How To Add (Time required?  ~1 minute):

  1. Highlight and copy this URL http://www.sidewayswineclub.typepad.com/blog
  2. Open a new browser window and go to (or create) your MyYahoo! or iGoogle page
  3. On MyYahoo! - Click on the green plus sign for "Add Content"  (sample image at right is not live, by the way!) Add_rss_feed_button_2Look for the "Add RSS Feed" image towards the bottom of the resulting frame (see sample at right).  Paste the URL from above into the line and click the orange "I'm Done" button
  4. On iGoogle- Click the "Add Stuff" button on the far right, then click the "Add feed or gadget" on the left frame.  Copy the URL into the text box and click "Add".  That's it!

You'll find my latest posting appears within your desktop on a weekly(ish) basis!

Dtwm_color_web_optimized Cheers!
Dave the Wine Merchant
Dave@SidewaysWineClub.com or
Dave@TastesOfTheValleys.com

Today’s Quote:
"What we're really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets.  I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving?" 

~ The Immortal Erma Bombeck (1927 – 1966), from "No One Diets on Thanksgiving," 26 November 1981

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Wines for your Turkey (and yams and dressing and cranberries and…)

November 13, 2008 filed in Wine.
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Info on Radog Gewurztraminer Thursday, November 13th, 2008
Although I always think of Gewurztraminer as the wine to compliment baked ham, tasting panels continuously indicate it is a stellar choice for the varied flavors on the Thanksgiving table as well.  And you can't do better than this affordable beauty – with it's lower alcohol and budget-loving price tag ($19) you'll want to get more than one bottle of the Radog 2007 Gewurztraminer.

Another great wine that always shows well in Thanksgiving tasting panels is a domestic Riesling.  Some of the most expensive white wines in the world are made from this versatile grape, and I suggest either of these two as excellent pals for your turkey, tofurkey or other Thanksgiving dish.

  • Tudor, 2007 Riesling, $14- Closer to the classic Rhine model than the '05 vintage I also carried. A nose full of classic Riesling aromas – floral, stone fruits, lychee, and hints of bitter almond – but the natural acidity was so high that Winemaker Dan Tudor used this wine's natural of fruity goodness to provide balance and complement the natural bitter almond that is a Riesling hallmark (and part of its allure!)

  • More info on Roessler's 2005 Riesling from Wiley Vineyard Roessler, 2004 Riesling, Wiley Vineyard, $18 - For fans of aged Riesling, this wine is beginning to provide the coveted petrol aromas that mark these wines as they develop bottle bouquet.  Capable of aging for years, this wine is very nice right now, and is one I re-tasted recently at on of my wine classes.  The Wiley Vineyard is found in California's Anderson Valley, and is a rising star for cool-weather varietals like this one.

Red Wine Options
Of course, not everybody loves white wine with Thanksgiving, and for those people I have but one word – Pinot.  We have SO MANY great pinots to offer that it seems unfair to highlight one or two, so I'm providing this link to our full pinot portfolio, which ranges in price from under $15 to over $60 – a wine to fit every budget!

Roast turkey is a most versatile dish that goes well with a wide variety of wines, so why am I so enthused about pinots for Thanksgiving?  Because most homes don't serve naked turkey on a plate!  Once you factor in the variety of dishes people enjoy on Thanksgiving, you need a wine that easily crosses a lot of flavor boundaries.  To beat the geographic analogy to death, one might say it's a wine that brings its passport and visa to every table, ready at a moment's notice to be paired with a wide variety of flavors.

And that's exactly what you need when your plate holds sweet/tart cranberries, sweet yams, salty gravy, dressing (often featuring mushrooms, herbal notes, and sometimes apples and nuts) something green (with perhaps a bit of herbal bitterness?) and the most versatile of all – the roast turkey.

Amusing Musings on iGoogle or MyYahoo!

I find it less intrusive and time consuming to receive news via my Google or Yahoo desktop than email.  Here's how to receive my latest "Amusing Musings" whenever they come out:

My_yahoo_add_content_2

How To Add (Time required?  ~1 minute):

  1. Highlight and copy this URL http://www.sidewayswineclub.typepad.com/blog
  2. Open a new browser window and go to (or create) your MyYahoo! or iGoogle page
  3. On MyYahoo! - Click on the green plus sign for "Add Content"  (sample image at right is not live, by the way!) Add_rss_feed_button_2Look for the "Add RSS Feed" image towards the bottom of the resulting frame (see sample at right).  Paste the URL from above into the line and click the orange "I'm Done" button
  4. On iGoogle- Click the "Add Stuff" button on the far right, then click the "Add feed or gadget" on the left frame.  Copy the URL into the text box and click "Add".  That's it!

You'll find my latest posting appears within your desktop on a weekly(ish) basis!

Dtwm_color_web_optimized Cheers!
Dave the Wine Merchant
Dave@SidewaysWineClub.com or
Dave@TastesOfTheValleys.com

Today’s Quote:
"Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare and are consumed in twelve minutes.  Half-times take twelve minutes.  This is not coincidence." 

~ Erma Bombeck (1927 – 1996)

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An Open Letter To President Elect Obama

November 11, 2008 filed in Current Affairs, Food and Drink and Wine.
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OBAMA-large Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Dear President Elect,

Congratulations on your hard-won victory.  Now the work begins, and in the weeks ahead you will be making some much-publicized appointments. 

I know how things work in D.C. – I make big donations to your campaign and you appoint me some cushy position in the new Administration.  And I've done my part, donating more than double the amount of your average donor.  And now it's payback time – I'm here with my hand out, humbly requesting that you honor your part of the deal.

An Ambassadorship to one of the world's wine growing countries would be nice.  France or Italy would be our preference, though I imagine we could settle nicely in Spain or Germany or Austria as well. 

Of course, you may already have candidates in mind for these posts, and I'm not sure how much political currency is in my account after a $200 donation and a few phone calls.  So if I'm over-reaching, allow me to suggest a more humble position – that of White House Sommelier.

All kidding aside, I hope you agree that your new wine steward should build the white house cellar to showcase the diverse wines of our great nation.  There are many exciting developments in the 6,000+ wineries found in our various American Viticultural Areas - from those on the West Coast to those on Long Island and everywhere in between (including over 70 wineries in your own Great State of Illinois.)   The vast majority of these producers are small family-run affairs, with all the vagaries of agricultural uncertainty adding to the usual stresses and strains of the small business experience.  Want to meet an American business hero?  Look no further than the small winery owner.

The White House cellar should reflect the best efforts of these most venerable entrepreneurs.  I urge you to select your Sommelier not only for his or her wine knowledge, but for his or her zealous enthusiasm and promotion of these American businesses at every state dinner.

Dtwm_color web optimized Cheers!

Dave the Wine Merchant

P.S. Should you have difficulty in making your selection, I've taken the liberty of polling a few opinions – see what the blogosphere has to say… (can't see the survey?  Link to it here.)

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