FYI
Chardonnay, Back From the Brink
By Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg
Wednesday, September 3, 2008; F05
As summer cools into autumn, it's time to open progressively bigger wines to better match the heartier dishes likely to be gracing your table. Among whites, that means chardonnay.
Did we just hear a yawn? Chardonnay's popularity in the late 1980s was followed by a backlash against increasingly over-amped levels of alcohol (which can be mistaken for sweetness) and oak (which is about as appealing as chewing on toothpicks). However, if you've been in the ABC (Anything But Chardonnay) camp over the past decade, you might not have noticed that many winemakers have responded by moderating those levels, achieving more delicious and food-friendly results.
Chardonnay is not only America's most-planted varietal but also the world's second-most-planted (behind Spanish Airen, used in brandy), reflecting the ease with which it is grown around the globe. We think of it as the Tom Hanks of wine grapes: incredibly popular, and versatile enough to play a wide range of roles (from dry to sweet and from still to sparkling) under a range of aliases (such as Chablis, Meursault, Montrachet, Pouilly-Fuisse and white Burgundy) with varying accents (including French, Californian, Italian, Australian and South African). It usually takes the spotlight, yet it's neutral enough to play alongside chenin blanc, Semillon and even sauvignon blanc.
The chardonnay grape also takes direction well. If it's dressed up with a judicious amount of oak from its time fermenting and/or aging in barrels, you might find buttery, toasty and/or vanilla notes. If it's not, you'll appreciate its lean minerality. And when the grape is botrytised, it's a sweet revelation.
Unoaked
If you prefer unoaked chardonnay, look to regions where that style dominates. Burgundy's northernmost region of Chablis produces steely, dry and elegant white wines from mostly clay and limestone soil that also contains minuscule fossilized oysters, which contribute Chablis's notable minerality.
All three of the following wines are aged in stainless steel.
The crisp acidity of the 2006 Joseph Drouhin Chablis ($20) makes it a perfect match for oysters on the half shell. It cuts through richness even better than the slightly mellower, yet still lovely 2005 vintage. Both also pair with lighter fish and shellfish, and even a Caesar salad. While a $300 Raveneau Chablis offers an eye-popping example of Chablis's ultimate potential (albeit through the use of oak), even Karen's pick this week -- the 2005 and 2006 Domaine Laroche Saint Martin Chablis ($30) -- illustrates richness, elegance and complexity. Though it's also an ideal match for oysters, it turned our dinner of sauteed end-of-season soft-shell crabs into a memorable feast.
Lightly Oaked
In the early 1980s at Jeremiah Tower's Santa Fe Bar and Grill in Berkeley, Andrew was excited to try his first sip of chardonnay from the relatively undiscovered Central Coast pioneer Edna Valley Vineyard. He found it an epiphany of balance and finesse, with its hint of smoke from the barrel. Recently Andrew took a trip back to the future by tasting the 2006 Edna Valley Vineyard Paragon Chardonnay ($16; $10 at Calvert Woodley), which still holds its own as one of the best-value chardonnays around, and named it his pick this week.
Other lightly oaked chardonnays worth exploring are the 2006 Kali Hart Vineyard Chardonnay ($14) from California and two from Washington State: the 2006 Columbia Crest Grand Estates Chardonnay ($13; $8 at Calvert Woodley), which is another steal for the price, and the 2006 Chateau Ste. Michelle Indian Wells Chardonnay ($18), which is fermented in American oak barrels, delivering bright apple and pear fruit flavors upfront with a light vanilla and butterscotch finish.
Moderately Oaked to Oaky
Note, if you haven't already, the rule-of-thumb correlation between oakiness and price: The less expensive the wine, the less likely it is to have spent time in expensive oak barrels. The following oaked wines should continue to age well for the next few years, or even longer.
They pair best with creamy dishes, pastas, scallops, shellfish and chicken.
The 2006 Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay ($36) from New Zealand's Auckland region is 100 percent barrel-fermented, then barrel-aged for 11 months, but you'll still sense some of the same high-acid tropical fruit flavors you'd expect to find in a local sauvignon blanc. Satin-textured and full-bodied with notes of apples and peaches, the 2006 Robert Mondavi Chardonnay Reserve ($40) from Napa Valley's Carneros region is largely (90 percent) barrel-fermented before spending about 10 months aged sur lie in oak.
The lusciously creamy 2006 Iron Horse Corral Vineyard Chardonnay ($45) is fermented in small, new French oak barrels. Our favorite producer of domestic sparkling wines made in the traditional method, Iron Horse also produces the impressive Iron Horse Blanc de Blancs Sparkling Wine ($38) from 100 percent chardonnay, and the two illustrate the different heights to which a single vintner can elevate the grape.
Sweet
Before you typecast chardonnay as pairing only with savory food, recall the sweet 2007 Wöer Late Harvest Chardonnay ($37/375 ml), redolent with honeyed apricots, which we've praised in this column previously.
Indeed, given the right director (winemaker), chardonnay can be successfully cast into a wider range of roles than virtually any other varietal.
Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, authors of "What to Drink With What You Eat" and the forthcoming "The Flavor Bible," can be reached through their Web site, http://www.becomingachef.com, or at food(a)washpost.com.
Pairing Foods with Chardonnay
Wednesday, September 3, 2008; F05
For good results, stick with these food flavors:
· Butter and butter sauces, especially with oaked wines
· Cheese
· Chicken, especially with cream sauces
· Cream and cream sauces
· Fish, especially with butter or cream sauces
· Pork
· Scallops, especially sauteed
· Shellfish, especially with butter or cream sauces
· Veal
Avoid these:
· Chilies and chili-based salsas
· Cilantro
· Dill
· Oily fish
· Red meat
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* Dr. James Ellingson, jellings(a)me.umn.edu *
* University of Minnesota, mobile : 651/645-0753 *
* Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *
Not aware of anything going on this week,
although given our general libertarian/anarchist
tendencies, we should have come up w/ something....
hmmm Wines you love but know others hate (part of
why we love them)?
Overly conservative or liberal interpretations of a style?
Election year wines? 2004, 2000, 1996, 1992, etc..
Wines from different regions or grapes w/ taste McSame?
Un-warranted selections?
Red wines made in a blue style or from a blue state?
Slow Food At Full Speed: They Ate It Up
Thousands Get a Taste Of Group's Political Agenda
By Jane Black
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 3, 2008; F01
SAN FRANCISCO -- When most people think about Slow Food, they probably imagine wealthy epicureans sipping organic wine and nibbling on farmstead cheeses. That the organization decided to have its first U.S. national conference here only furthered the stereotype: Slow Food is for Prius-driving, Whole Foods-shopping, latte-loving liberals with plenty of time and cash on hand.
Slow Food Nation, as the conference was dubbed, aimed to create a very different impression. At formal lectures, impromptu outdoor speeches and even in the tasting pavilions, where those very wines and cheeses were being served, the talk was mainly about how to transform the food system -- and Slow Food's reputation. Chefs, authors, activists and CEOs focused not on gastronomic indulgence but on new political relevance at a time when food is poised to take center stage.
"I don't care if the tomato was heirloom or organic if it was harvested by slave labor. A commitment to social justice needs to be at the core of this movement," Eric Schlosser, author of "Fast Food Nation," said at one panel.
"We need to get small farmers into the distribution system," Rick Schnieders, chief executive of food distributor Sysco, told an audience of activists at another.
"This is our time," Larry Yee, founder of the Association of Family Farms, announced at the unveiling of the group's food bill declaration, which aims to set the agenda for future farm legislation.
The four-day event, which ran through Monday, took place on a sparkling San Francisco weekend. The lectures, tastings, rock concert and film series attracted 50,000 people, organizers estimated. This despite the fact that Slow Food had to compete for attention with the two national political conventions -- and, equally important here in the Bay Area, the annual Burning Man festival.
Events were centered at City Hall Plaza, where, in front of the gold beaux-arts dome, Slow Food organizers had planted a victory garden of corn, squash, peas and herbs. Its goal: to show how food grows. The produce was harvested Monday and donated to a food bank. Slow Food hopes to plant a similar garden on the White House lawn, if whoever wins in November is amenable.
On one edge of the plaza were vendors charged with selling dishes made from fresh, sustainable foods at reasonable prices. Mexican huaraches, griddled corn tortillas with beans and salsa, cost $7; grass-fed beef hot dogs were $6; a scoop of ice cream was $3. Across the way was a farmers market, a mini version of the more famous one a mile away at San Francisco's Ferry Building.
On sale were local heirloom melons, tomatoes, peaches, raw milk, jams, cheeses and ice cream. Plenty of money changed hands; within a few hours of opening on Friday, California ice cream producer Bi-Rite Creamery had sold out of its strawberry, roasted peach and mint confetti flavors. But several vendors said their main goal wasn't to make money but to spread the word about good food.
"This is an unusual farmers market because we're not here to sell; we're here to educate," said Mark McAfee, the owner of Organic Pastures, a farm that produces raw milk in Fresno. "I'm here to be a broken record about the benefits of Slow Food."
Political messages were also being sent from the Slow Food soapbox, a small outdoor stage where, in front of an audience seated on hay bales, farmers, activists and performance artists made their pitch.
Among the presenters: a troupe of Hmong children who performed a traditional harvest dance; Anthony Khalil of the Bay Area's Literacy for Environmental Justice, who talked about strategies for providing poor communities access to fresh food; and David Mas Masumoto, a California peach farmer and writer with a cult following. Masumoto read several of his poems about the trials of working the land: "I remember the smell of my father's sweat," he read as a Japanese taiko drummer dressed in traditional costume provided a beat. "I remember $2-a-box peaches in 1961 and $2-a-box peaches in 2007."
The message appeared to be getting through. At a stand where volunteers were explaining how to compost at home, Lisa Martin, a 30-something Oakland resident, said she was looking to volunteer at a food justice organization or, at some point, make a career change. The conference, she said, "has brought together knowledgeable people on a wide range of issues that will get people to do something different in their lives."
Across the street, ticketed lectures and special sessions for food activists took even more serious tones. The panelists included representatives from the culinary, corporate and academic sets: chef and Slow Food Nation founder Alice Waters, essayist Wendell Berry, physicist and environmental activist Vandana Shiva and Bon Appetit Management chief executive Fedele Bauccio.
For two days, speakers debated such topics as how to address the world food crisis and how to bring fair wages to farm workers. Part of the answer, panelists agreed, was to clearly link food to the pressing issues already on the political agenda: rising oil prices, global warming and the skyrocketing cost of health care. The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization, for example, reports that livestock production generates nearly one-fifth of the world's greenhouse gases. And without cheap oil to produce fertilizers and transport food long distances, food prices will continue to rise.
"Politicians don't get it yet. But if they try to look at energy, health or security, they will stumble on food. It's all connected," Michael Pollan, author of "The Omnivore's Dilemma," told a packed house at the Herbst Theatre.
No matter the topic, the subtext of every session was a defense of Slow Food itself. The organization's emphasis on the pleasure of food, something that raises no alarm bells in Italy, where the organization was founded, but has long made Slow Food vulnerable here in the United States, where the idea of savoring that perfect summer tomato smacks of elitism. To that end, panelists tried to redefine good food as something that is not only tasty but also sustains the environment and the farmers who produce it.
"For food to be good, it must be good, clean and fair," said Carlo Petrini, who founded Slow Food International in 1986 in response to the opening of a McDonald's near the Spanish Steps in Rome. "If any one of these conditions is missing, it isn't good food."
"Good, clean and fair" was the mantra of the event. The slogan was on every sign at the market, and it was especially prominently displayed across town at San Francisco's Fort Mason. Inside a 50,000-square-foot space, Slow Food had set up 15 "taste pavilions" to show off the best regional and national artisan producers.
For $65 (a price some bloggers complained was itself elitist), attendees sampled "flights" of wine, cheese, honey, olive oil, ice cream, chocolate and charcuterie at stylish booths designed using sustainable, recyclable materials such as milk crates and Mason jars (see "Top Tastes at the Pavilions"). There were also chef demonstrations in the so-called Green Kitchen, a pet project of Waters, who says part of making good food accessible involves teaching Americans how to cook. Among the presenters were Chicago's Rick Bayless, New York's David Chang and Washington cookbook author Joan Nathan.
At the Saturday afternoon tasting, the lines were long, especially for ice cream, cheese and charcuterie. (At one point, producers started bringing out trays of samples to keep the crowds happy.)
But like the lecturegoers across town, most attendees seemed to find the atmosphere energizing. "It gives you a sense of the universe of what's out there," said Andy Beahrs, a 35-year-old from Berkeley who attended only the tasting. "If you talk to producers, they want to talk to you to share their enthusiasm."
That was what organizers hoped to achieve. "What we're trying to do is create a place where people can come together and celebrate a values-driven food system," said Anya Fernald, the event's executive director. "We have to take it one step at a time."
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* Dr. James Ellingson, jellings(a)me.umn.edu *
* University of Minnesota, mobile : 651/645-0753 *
* Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *
Hey Folks,
Please click on this link - http://france44.com/shop/rnc-wines.asp - I
thought you might get a kick of the RNC wine available at France 44. Anyone
game for some merlot sipping and political talk without Keith Obermann?
Cheers,
Alicia Anderson
Rioja lovers may be interested in the International Wine Review of August 2008. Besides tasting notes, It includes an interesting overview of the area, including history, producers, styles (traditional and modern) and associated vinification techniques. On page 3 it describes government controls, including the prohibition of additional vine plantings by the European Union, resulting in the sale of planting rights - the purpose of which is to increase prices. Kind of like OPEC.
Click this link:
http://www.vibrantrioja.com/pdfs/2008press/iWineAug08Rioja_FINAL.pdf
Regards,
Ted
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