[wine] Last Chance Fr. Imrs Schl Raffel

Greetings, Contact Steph TODAY if you would like to support Zoltan's French Immersion School. Looks like the group is taking a week off, other than the Callera event at Interlachen. I'm including some info on two of our favorite things, mushrooms and the wines that go with them, from the Post. Cheers, Jim ----- Forwarded message from "Jim L. Ellingson" <jellings(a)me.umn.edu> ----- Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2007 15:55:29 -0500 From: "Jim L. Ellingson" <jellings(a)me.umn.edu> To: wine(a)thebarn.com Cc: lohs0009(a)umn.edu Subject: [wine] Instant Cellar fund raiser Greetings, Here's a chance to have an instant wine cellar while supporting a great cause. The French Imersion School is raising money for native language tutors. Tickets are $10. Let Steph know no later than Wednesday night. She's at 651-645-2659 ----- Forwarded message from lohs0009(a)umn.edu ----- From: lohs0009(a)umn.edu To: "Jim L. Ellingson" <jellings(a)me.umn.edu> Subject: I hear you like wine? Date: 21 Apr 2007 19:04:15 -0500 Hey Jim, Wolfgang mentioned the Wall of Wine raffle to you and you might be interested. In case you didn't get the details, each ticket costs $10 and has three chances to win: 1st prize = 75 bottles of wine 2nd prize = 50 bottles of wine 3rd prize = 25 bottles of wine Most of the wine is from a selection put together by Solo Vino and paid for by parents from Zoli's school (French immersion). The fundraiser is to raise money to pay for the French interns that work in the classrooms. Families host them, but the recruitment and their salaries cost money that isn't covered by the St Paul public schools. If you're interested, just let me know! I have to send the money and unused tickets back on Thursday (26th) but if you want one (or more), I can cover the cost until the next time we see you. Cheers, Steph p.s. Feel free to spread the word if you know anyone who is interested. Obviously, we think it's a good cause even we don't win! Great! I'll put a ticket aside for you. Thanks for passing the message along, and you can certainly include my phone number 651-645-2659. I noticed, though, that I have the date wrong: I have to return unused tickets by THURSDAY APRIL 26, and since this will be done via Zoli's school backpack, I need people to contact me by Wednesday night. ----- End forwarded message ----- -- ------------------------------ * * Dr. James Lee Ellingson, Adjunct Professor jellings(a)me.umn.edu * * University of Minnesota, tel: 651/645-0753 fax 651 XXX XXXX * * Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 * ----- End forwarded message ----- Making the Match With Mushrooms By Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg Wednesday, April 25, 2007; F05 In the old days, pairing wine and food was made easier by rules such as "white wine with fish" and "red wine with meat." But every rule has its exception. After chefs started serving fish in red wine sauces, wrapping them in prosciutto or dusting them with powdered porcini -- all of which call for an accompanying red wine -- things got a bit more complicated. However, red meat has stood firm: It almost always calls for red wine. We've come to think of mushrooms as the red meat of the vegetable kingdom (even though we know they're technically fungi) because -- almost invariably -- the sometimes-earthy, sometimes-meaty flavor of mushrooms says "red wine" to us. In fact, it's hard for us to think of mushrooms without immediately having pinot noir come to mind. The two are a match made in heaven. This time of year, as the markets fill with spring vegetables and seafood calling for lighter-bodied whites, mushrooms offer red-wine lovers the chance to pull a favorite out of their wine rack -- pinot noir or otherwise -- for an exceptional pairing. Of course, mushrooms don't have a singular flavor profile, as they range from the mildest of button mushrooms to porcini that pack a punch. Each suggests a different wine pairing, from lighter-bodied and more delicate for the former to fuller-bodied and more powerful for the latter. Patrick O'Connell, chef-proprietor of the Inn at Little Washington in Washington, Va., works magic with mushrooms, turning portobellos into a vegetarian-fantasy equivalent of filet mignon. The greatest dinner of our lives took place two years ago in his dining room in Washington, Va., where -- through equally magical wine pairings -- we learned that O'Connell's then-sommelier Scott Calvert had a way with mushrooms, too. Calvert, now a fine-wine consultant to restaurants and private collectors ( http://www.tastevinwines.com) was happy to share some of his mushroom pairing secrets with us. "Earthy mushrooms pair best with earthy wines," Calvert advises, in explaining why he pairs black trumpets, chanterelles and shiitakes with earthy reds such as Burgundy, nebbiolo and pinot noir. We've found earthy mushrooms a great match with one of the best-value earthy reds around: Kenwood Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. Likewise, meaty mushrooms -- such as cremini, morels, porcini and portobellos -- pair best with meaty wines, among which Calvert counts pinot noir (which "can go either way" as earthy or meaty), sangiovese and syrah/shiraz. We recently sampled a meaty Kenwood Jack London Cabernet Sauvignon that shined with a portobello-topped steak. If you want bubbles with your mushrooms, turn to blanc de noirs champagne, a white wine made from a red grape, pinot noir. Mumm Napa Blanc de Noirs is a sparkler offering impressive flavor for the price, about $18. As you can imagine, the mushrooms themselves are only the starting point: What you do to and with them matters, too. With more ambitious dishes, such as O'Connell's signature Portobello Mushrooms Pretending to Be a Filet Mignon, other dominant elements of the dish come into play. Calvert recalls, "I found it was best with a sangiovese that was brightly acidic to match the tomato, with a bit of a gamey scent to play with the meatiness of the portobello, plus nice, sweet fruit to bring out the sweetness of the caramelized shallot. "As a pairing, I found that Fossi Chianti Classico -- which had perfect acidity and sweet fruit plus an amazing, almost roasted-meat quality on the nose -- truly transported this dish to filet mignon status." With simpler fare, such as a mushroom pizza, we tend to think regionally -- the first rule of food and wine pairing. While such food goes well with wines as varied as red Burgundy and Chateauneuf-du-Pape, we like to opt for an Italian red, such as a sangiovese. We're happy to accompany our pizza any day of the week with a simple, fruity wine such as Da Vinci Chianti, or even a Chianti Classico from a top producer such as Antinori, Dievole, Felsina or Ruffino. Now for those exceptions: We'll admit that we once loved a steak tartare served to us with a golden glass of off-dry Riesling, deliciously breaking the old "red wine with meat" rule. And even Calvert likes a pinot gris (which he says can have "a smoky, bacon quality") with meatier mushrooms. When we encounter milder mushrooms in butter or cream sauces, a full-bodied white can be the way to go. For special occasions, a 100 percent chardonnay-based champagne or sparkling wine such as a 2003 Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs works beautifully. But keep an eye out for the new release of the delicious, gently oaked -- and gently priced -- 2005 Chateau Ste. Michelle Columbia Valley Chardonnay, an exceptional value that can cut beautifully through mushroom cream sauces bathing any chicken, pork or pasta dish. Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page, award-winning authors of "What to Drink With What You Eat" and several other books, can be reached through their Web site,http://www.becomingachef.com, or atfood(a)washpost.com. -- ------------------------------ * * Dr. James Lee Ellingson, Adjunct Professor jellings(a)me.umn.edu * * University of Minnesota, tel: 651/645-0753 fax 651 XXX XXXX * * Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *