Vino Veritas Add on, and "to market, to market"

Well, an alert reader reminded me of an important factor in wine appreciation, which I should have mentioned in the previous post about wine (which you should probably read first if you haven't)..  I neglected to point out that just because Mr. Parker bestows 100 points on a wine; it only means that HE considers it perfect.  It does not (necessarily) mean that YOU would consider it a perfect wine.  It does imply the fact that this wine should be a “perfect” example of what (in this case)  properly made Cabernet Sauvignon can be.  The balance and weight are right, the color is right, the tannins are correct, the nose brings you the aromas that are associated with the varietal, there are no “off” factors present, and the wine maker aged it correctly.  But, maybe you don’t prefer a Cabernet, you like a lighter variety such as a maybe a Pinot Noir.  Or even a Chardonnay.  To be sure there are 100 point examples of these wines, but you don’t HAVE to like them.  The pleasure of wine appreciation is finding what you like regardless of whatever somebody else thinks.  Perhaps over the years as your tastes and knowledge evolve,  and you increase your familiarity with wine and grape varieties, you might eventually think a 100 point is worth it.   Make no mistake; I would LOVE to have a chance to taste one of his 100 point, three hundred buck Cabs, just to see what it is like.  But, I personally would probably would prefer a 91 point Burgundy rather than a big boy cab.  Don’t think I’ll have to worry about it, however.

Back in the formative days of the Bottom Feeder, I would normally put out (say) a Thanksgiving column, relating a compendium of “pairings” of wine with various preparations of the miserable fowl, mostly gained by reading through many food magazines.  But after that, regardless of what the pundits say, I would always point out that you should drink what you personally enjoy (even if it is (gasp) White Zin), giving rise to yet another Feeder acronym:  DWTHYL, (Drink Whatever The Hell You Like).  It always comes down to your enjoyment, so find something you enjoy and drink it.  Maybe expand your horizons here and there, and using Parker’s Points, or listening to the likes of Jancis Robinson can be a good guide to point you toward something worth trying, without wandering into the Barefoot kind of stuff.  Okay, i'm trying to remember DWTHYL...but there are limits..

Market Day

Yesterday, MFO and I stopped in at our local Giant to pick up a few items.  I love to go to food markets, even our local ones, it’s a smorgasbord of food.  It’s fun to see what is “new” or featured.  One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that there is less “ingredients” and more (almost) ready to eat stuff.  Not just the Marie Callendar or Swanson (dating myself) meals in a box, but more individual food items.  Nuggets, patties, pastas in a bag, steaming this and that, things like that which require minimal prep (if at all).  Also, paradoxically, there are more exotic things showing up on the shelves, which without the "foodie" explosion wouldn't have been there ten years ago..   Like this selection of Vinegar's

And of course there are “in a box” soups, and here’s one that combines two of the flavors I rather dislike (gaack!)

Think they’re trading on trendy stuff?

And lastly in the meat section I came up with this beauty

I thought that a “rotisserie’ was a hunk of equipment, not a flavor (small brown panel).   What's up with that?  And only goodness (and apparently only Shady Brook Farms) know what goes into those “Turkey Breast Tenderloins”.  I suspect one doesn’t want to know.

Anyhow it’s fun browsing the aisles looking for interesting things.   And just as an aside, a reminder that here in Lexington Park our Shopper’s Food Warehouse has a wonderful section of “international” foods, representing many cultures.  A lot of the stuff I don’t even know what is.  Cento seems to be heavily invested in those products.

Happy hunting, and whatever you select and however you prepare it (even “ding”!) you must always be

DFD

In Vino, Veritas

Not necessarily sure how that applies but sounds classy

One of the (too) many things I subscribe to (you don’t want to know), is Robert Parker’s “Wine Advocate”, the publication by the man who is pretty much acknowledged as the most respected wine “critic” in the world.   I suspect that a low “score” from him has ruined some wineries, if not vintages.  I rather favor his opinions and ratings over another source, the Wine Spectator.  I (perhaps foolishly) pretty much think Mr. Parker is more objective than the other publication who never met a wine they didn’t like.  Anyway, the man who has print copies in his basement  of Gourmet Magazine back to the middle nineties, also has the “Advocate” back many storage tubs as well..  I suspect MFO would be glad to see them freed up, as one might ask how much value a review of a (now) thirty year old bottle of wine has.  Although, there are some Bordeaux’s that have and can live that long.  Not every wine (hello most of California) is made to be consumed (read sold) within two years of vintage.

So anyway, my Issue 222 (closing date 12/30/15) arrived the other day, containing 124 pages of wine reviews of Northern California (part 2); 2014 Burgundy, and 2013 and 2014 Northern Rhône wines.  A lot of wine store shelf space is devoted to the former category so I decided to look at that report a little closer.  Back in my days of beginning to appreciate and learn about wine, maybe the late sixties sometime, I was at least familiar with most of the wineries in Napa and Sonoma, as well as other regions like the Central Coast, Monterey and so forth.  Names like Mondavi, Stags Leap, Krug, Phelps were easily grasped.   Well, in Issue 222 of TWA, there are over 250 wineries listed.  Two Hundred and Fifty!  How in the world can: a) you know about them, and b) how do they stay in business?   There are still some well known labels like Clos du Val, Duckhorn, Grgich Hills, Merryvale, and so on, but have you ever heard of Arcudi, Del Dotto, Legacy Oaks?  I could go on and on.  Many of these esoteric ones have only one vintage in the review.   Legacy gets 81 points for their Cabernet Sauvignon, price unknown.  He uses the word “competent” in the review.  Don’t think that can be very good, goes with the 81 points I assume.

The ratings of course vary widely with 100 very rare.  Plumpjack’s 2013 (cabernet) Reserve Estate rates a perfect score. The description of this wine reads: “…..”This is perfection, and an absolutely amazing effort.  The wine is dense purple with sweet tannin, oodles of blueberry and blackberry fruit caressed by toasty new oak and a full-bodied multi-dimensional mouthfeel, akin to a skyscraper in the mouth, but without any heaviness.  The finish goes on for 45+ seconds,  and the wine is super pure and majestic.  Truly a tour de force in Cabernet Sauvignon.  Kudos to Plumpjack.  Drink 2018 – 2040”.   Wow, you say, I’d like a glass of that!  Well, the estimated price is $245 the bottle.   And usually these super high end wines are very limited production and most likely sucked up by collectors with deep pockets before schlubs like us have a chance.  Still would be nice to taste however.  I think most likely he barrel tasted these things, but not sure.  And at $245, it is NOT the most expensive of Plumpjack’s offernings.  That would go to 2014 edition of the Reserve Estate at $300 the bottle (92 – 94 points).

Speaking of price, the most expensive bottle I found was the Ovid 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Loc. Cit. (that’s the name of the property) which tips the cash register at $350 for a bottle.  There were only three barrels made.  (<100 85="" 86="" a="" alifornia="" blanc="" blend="" cases="" coast="" end="" familiar="" font="" for="" from="" hess="" house="" many="" more="" nbsp="" north="" of="" on="" other="" our="" places="" points.="" points="" range="" red="" respectable="" sauvignon="" scale="" select="" selections="" six="" the="" them="" to="" treo="" use="" winemakers="" wines="" with="">

In the piece on the Northern Rhône’s, there is a 100 point 2014 Ermitage L’Ermite (a white, 100% Marsanne) for a mere $696, produced by that giant Michel Chapoutier.   He also says that one we should not miss and is still affordable “by mere mortals”  is the 2014 Hermitage Chante-Alouette (also 100% Marsanne) at $105.  Maybe a special occasion, if you can find it.

Price is not always synonymous with quality of course; sometimes it is driven by availability and other factors.

Anyway, it is all interesting reading.   Robert says that “2013 for many wineries in Napa and Sonoma has produced the finest wines I have tasted in 37 years”.  If you have a choice at your local wine dealer, you might steer in that direction.  Maybe get that Ovid selection..

There is a lot to learn about and try out there.  Have fun, and

DFD (and the wine)

PS the Tide Rolled...

PSS the "Fried Oyster" Saga will begin soon.  have to make sure the household insurance is up to date...

a short this and that.

Well, here we are a week into the new year.  And for once, I don’t have any travel stuff to throw at you.  Nothing on the books for a while.

Sooooooo,   maybe I can rant a small bit.  I think I have done this before, but I got tweaked again this week.  Our local county commissioners are considering installing red light and speed cameras.   And once again people come out of the woodwork piously claiming that it all  just a ploy to “get revenue”, red light cameras cause more accidents than they prevent, on and on.  Never seems to occur to them that if nobody speeds (over something like limit plus twelve) or runs red lights (with an x second delay built in) there would be no revenue accruing from said camera.  Paranoid old me, I take all this righteous talk as a thinly veiled “I can speed if I want to!  It’s my right to be able to break laws on a whim;  they have no right to hold me accountable”.  Just obey the damn law.

Secondly, and this isn’t really a rant, but kind of an interesting situation.  It came from one of my “insider” restaurateur magazines that talks about how to increase sales, deal with millennials , and so forth.  It related an experience of a person who joined into an office happy hour kind of thing, and when asked what he would like to drink, said “oh, a glass of red wine”.  Okay fine.  Well when it came time to pay the tab, he found he had two glasses of wine at $15 each.   His gripe was that he should have been told the price upon ordering.  One naturally assumes that if one just says a glass of red wine, a house wine will be served.  Didn’t go into that.  Question is: is it the responsibility of the restaurant to inform a customer of the price?  I would think so, especially when it is pretty high.  I find it a bit difficult when faced with something like this to ask the price.  Seems petty. 

I hate to promise something before the fact, but did I mention that I finally purchased a deep fat fryer?   Was kind of a Merry Christmas to me from me.  I haven’t used it yet.  Wanted to get over the holidays before trying it.  I have been kind of gathering Oyster recipes and will try one out soon.   Most people just dredge in flour and have at it, although I did get what Courtney’s does.  Will wait for a little essay when I break out the device.  I have a line on some duck fat, which is very trendy these days.   So will maybe get that before lighting the burner’s so to speak.

Which brings us to football.  There’s lots.

Enough for now

DFD

We just missed Noah...

Well, I hope everyone had a nice New Year’s celebration, whether by yourselves and quiet (like the Flutters) or as part of a party with friends.   At any rate, we’re off and running in 2016.  Unlike my Michigan State Spartans who couldn’t find any offense to speak of against “the Tide”.   Ugly, ugly, ugly.  Should be at least an interesting game next Monday, Clemson surprised me (and everybody else) by whupping up on the Sooner’s (Can’t win the big one).  So besides the so-called National Championship game, college football is a wrap.  On to the “pros”.

Well I kind of need to get us home from Missouri (which we are).  We left FOJTY’s digs on Monday the 28^th, per plan.  If you have been paying attention to the news or weather, you know there has been “historical” flooding on the Mississippi and its tributaries.  We drove in the rain that caused those floods, and mostly this is what we saw on those rare occasions,  when the rain didn't obscure any view

I don’t ever recall driving in such torrential downpours for so long.  It was well into Kentucky before we finally outdistanced the storm.

530 miles and seven (grueling) hours later, we finally arrived at our Charleston overnight stop

We generally favor Marriott properties (points, you know), and it’s funny about their pricing.  You would expect as you go “up the chain” from Springhill Suites to Fairfields, to Courtyards and finally the full Monty Marriotts that the price would follow.  It ain’t necessarily so..  this big boy Marriott in the heart of downtown Charleston was only a hundred bucks (plus taxes after taxes which are common to all).  So if you’re traveling you might take a moment to check the rates.  

Anyway, pooped from the road, we once again fashioned a nice little charcouterie plate from stuff we brought along (with our usual road kit of appropriate utensils (cutting boards, sharp knives, real glassware),

And finally turned in to the dulcet tones of some football game long forgotten.

The next day proved to be much nicer driving conditions, except in West (BG) Virginia where a lovely cloud formation

Turned out to be emanating from the paper mill, with all its attendant odors

Time and miles passed, eventually we crossed lovely Allen’s Fresh

190

And greeted by the familiar welcome home sign

So concluded our 19^th journey to Missouri for Christmas, accumulating 2200 MOMSTER miles, seeing good friends and family, consuming four (well, three and a half, Charlie Gitto’s) very nice restaurant meals, along with great homemade food from both FOJ’s, nice drink, and we got to meet our newest Granddog, Smoke (on the left) Stanley’s “brother” who despite my best efforts, refused to sit still for a family portrait

As everybody knows, being with family (including the rambunctious for legged ones) is so rewarding.  So we’re looking forward to our 20^th trip next year.  Thanks to our family for hosting MFO and I, along with MFO’s Sister.  a wonderful time (except for the crappy weather).

Number four - quickly

By the way, the fourth meal was at The Libertine in Clayton.  For you St. Louisans, it is the current occupant of the space that once housed Chez Lyon.  Food was really good, preceded by a lovely Charcuterie and Cheese board for sharing, and I had a great “Crispy Pork Belly Carbonara”.  A very creative dish.  Kind of a bistro place, quite loud (as judged by the aging Feeder) but a lovely time, where we were all

DFD

Calendar change

I’ve already missed a new year’s resolution… I should have (and intended to) hit you with this either New Year’s Eve or yesterday, the first day of the new year.  So, there goes that first resolution.  Maybe a good thing, kind of like the old "first scratch on the new car".

At any rate, I hope you had a good end to 2015 and start of 2016.  Funny how everybody chooses a change in calendar as an excuse (?) to resolve to do good things for the coming year.  Lose weight, get in shape, be kinder, help with dishes, that kind of thing.  I'll really do it this year, see....  I don’t know why you couldn’t resolve to do that any time, say April 23^rd or something.  I guess get it over with so when you don’t, it’s behind you..

And at this time of year you see all those (detestable) year end lists of “B(word) of 2015” (movies, tunes, stories), and letters from people you only hear from at this time of year telling you how their children won Pulitzer prizes, and accomplishments a plenty.  So joining the fray, here’s the Feeder’s year end letter:

2015 in review

We enjoyed traveling to Amsterdam, Ireland, Missouri, and receiving visits from both the FOJ’s.  the fact that I am able to produce this testifies that I am in as good health as a man of my years might expect.   Happy to be here.

Boom.   Thank you.

Our new years (well before midnight!!)

And in the spirit of new year, here are some resolutions for you to consider:

·       When the server says “How are you guys doing?” and there are ladies present,  remind him (or worse, her).

·       Please put the “Y” word in the same bin with LOL, TBT, and other silly and juvenile customs.

·       Support independent restaurants, they are struggling

o   Corollary: it is their job to make us want to do that

·       Honor the food and respect the effort it took to get it to your table by being DFD

·       Try new tastes, you don’t have to like them, but try them

.

·       Don’t put Old Bay on any/everything (you know who you are! ;-)), and think it’s great.  There are other flavors in the world.

And lastly and more seriously, it is a good time to remember those with whom you have celebrated in the past, and take care to be with friends and family and build those memories for them when you’re not here. Bon Appetit

And thank you all for reading the Feeder, it keeps me going. 

of course we HAVE to close with

DFD