Mostly an update. Warren and Ruth will fill the empty spots. Last I heard, Lori was still off line, so you may want/need to call her... Looks to be wet and windy on Thursday through Friday. Recall that tommorrow is "Amature Night 2". Lots of folks out having green and black beer cuz they's just so Irish.... Cheers, Jim ----- Forwarded message from "Jim L. Ellingson" <jellings(a)me.umn.edu> ----- Date: Mon, 14 Mar 2005 17:00:18 -0600 From: "Jim L. Ellingson" <jellings(a)me.umn.edu> To: wine(a)thebarn.com Subject: Pentastico at Muffeletta User-Agent: Mutt/1.5.4i OK, Pentastico isn't a word, but Pentastyle is. Limit 10 people and 5 courses. General idea is to pair up w/ someone and tackle a course. Warren and Ruth have offered to fill in the gaps. See the more detailed menu below, as well as Warren's work number. Menu has a Roman Flare.... Course / Wine style Who's bringing it... 1. Appetizer Sparkling/Italian white Russ and Betsy 2. Pasta Course Reds from Italy (chianti?) Wrn/Ruth/Lori 3. Primi/Monkfish Bolder Whites and/or Fish friendly Bill and Red as befits the course. Bob 4 Secondi/Lamb Reds Pinot and/or S. Italy Nicolai and 1 of above 5 Cheese/Dolce Dessert wines, port, ??? Jim/Louise Who's a comin' Warren and Ruth Jim/Louise Russ Bob Betsy Lori Nicolai Bill Cheers, Jim ----- Forwarded message from Warren Gregory <wbgregory(a)qwest.net> ----- Date: Sun, 13 Mar 2005 12:55:42 -0600 From: Warren Gregory <wbgregory(a)qwest.net> To: jellings(a)me.umn.edu User-Agent: Microsoft-Outlook-Express-Macintosh-Edition/5.02.2022 Subject: menu hints for Thursday Jim, Here is what I have for our menu on Thursday. Starters / Zucchini blossoms stuffed with crab mouse some other small bites perhaps to include pheasant, marinated olives, baby artichoke with butter and mint. Pasta / Truck Driver's Pasta tomato based with caper, olives. sweet pepper. A hint of pepper heat but not a spicy dish is this traditional "Roman" pasta. Fish / Monkfish with garbanzo beans Expect JD to do something unexpected when you see "garbanzo" beans. He said "mild" but Monk fish can be fairly full bodied of itself. Braised Lamb / Roman style We are focusing on Roman cuisine this month so I think there will be something southern Italian about this dish. Assorted cheeses / Dolce along with a selection of cheeses perhaps an apple or pear based sweet. I'm thinking ten people, five courses, each person is assigned a course, two people on each. Prepare to have a white and red wine poured side by side, perhaps more than once. Ruth and I will take what ever others leave us as far as assignments go. E-mail me if you need an idea on something or call me at Muffuletta, Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday day. 651-644-9116. Warren G ----- End forwarded message ----- washingtonpost.com High Marks for the Lower End By Ben Giliberti Wednesday, March 16, 2005; Page F05 Are you spending more on wine, but enjoying it less? Lots of us feel that way. It's because the prices of the best French, Italian and Napa Valley wines have increased beyond reason for the average wine drinker. About 20 years ago, for example, I could satisfy my obsession for Chateau Leoville-Las Cases, one of my favorite Bordeaux, for less than $15 a bottle. Today, a good vintage of the same wine is more than $90. Even though part of this increase is simply inflation, I can't help but feel I'm being gouged. But that's only the story from one segment of the market, the high end where wines like Leo-Las Cases reside. What about the other end, the wines that most people drink? When I first became interested in learning about wine, in the late 1970s, $3 to $4 was my normal price range. Today, because of inflation, the equivalent prices would be about $9 to $11. Comparing this low-price category then and now, I can say with total assurance that we have it better today. Not just a little better; light-years better. I recall all too vividly that many of the $3 wines I bought were seriously marred by volatile acidity (they were vinegary) or by oxidation. Today, by contrast, seriously flawed wines are rare, even in the lowest price range. But the biggest difference is the abundance of fruit. Back then it was a scarce commodity. Today you don't have to spend even $9 or $11 to get a wine with plenty of ripe fruit and a hint of complexity. It's available for as little as $5 -- if you shop carefully. What better proof than the wines below, which are among the best I have tasted in the budget category recently. Prices are approximate. Yellow Tail 2004 Shiraz-Cabernet Sauvignon ($7; Australia): Just a few years after its entry to the U.S. market, Australia's Yellow Tail is now the top-selling imported wine. The latest addition to its lineup, this explosively fruity blend of 60 percent shiraz and 40 percent cabernet sauvignon, suggests why. It's a knockout best buy. The grapes come from the New South Wales region of Australia, a moderately warm region that produces plump, fruity wines. They are expertly vinified by Casella Wines, a quality-conscious, family-owned winery with state-of-the-art facilities. The firm cabernet sauvignon grape is used to provide a proper backbone, while the shiraz billows out with oodles of fresh red berry and cassis fruit. The result is an exuberant but balanced wine that will appeal to casual and serious wine drinkers alike. It could go well with classic bistro food, such as steak and french fries, sausages or chicken in wine (Washington Wholesale, 202-832-5600). Walnut Crest 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon "Rapel Valley" ($5 for 750 ml; $8 for magnum): You won't find an inexpensive claret from Bordeaux this good, because the prices in France have gone up so much. Unfortunately, you won't find many from Chile either, because vintners there don't seem to make many of them. But as this wine shows, Chile has great potential for cabernet sauvignon and merlot, particularly in this price range, which Bordeaux and California have totally abandoned. This deeply colored cabernet has a fine nose of cassis, berry and mint, and on the palate, surprisingly complex flavors of black/red berry fruit seasoned with toasted oak from barrel aging. This will go well with all classic Bordeaux/cabernet matches, such as lamb, beef, stews and roasted poultry. At $8 or less for a magnum, it's almost too good to be true (NDC, 202-388-8207). Alice White 2004 Chardonnay ($6 to $7; Australia); Alice White 2004 Merlot ($6-$7; Australia): Although Alice White is heavily marketed as a "fun brand" -- industry parlance for fruity wines targeted at younger, casual wine drinkers -- the wines offer more than a cute kangaroo on the label. In fact, all the Alice White wines I have tried offer excellent value. In 2003, the shiraz was the clear winner, but with the newly released 2004 vintage, the chardonnay and merlot take the lead. The chardonnay offers bright cinnamon and citrus notes on the nose and a clean, mid-weight palate of classic fresh apple chardonnay. The merlot emphasizes lightness and freshness, offering zingy red-berry fruit and a hint of Chianti-like briskness on the finish. The chardonnay is a perfect aperitif, while the merlot is suited for serving with pasta in tomato sauce and with roast chicken or turkey (NDC, 202-388-8207). Santadi Grotta Rossa 2002 Carignano Del Sulcis ($11; Italy): This spicy, rather subtle wine from the island of Sardinia is charming. Fashioned by cult winemaker Giacomo Tachis (of Sassicaia), it has notes of earth, pepper and herbs, with excellent persistence in the mouth. It's an ideal match for poultry, white and light meats, and salmon (Bacchus, 410-633-0400). Chateau Haut La Pereyre 2001 ($12; France): This wine nails what a petit chateau Bordeaux should be, but all too rarely is today -- an affordable wine that, while neither as deep nor as concentrated as a Grand Cru, still captures the refinement that makes Bordeaux so special. Pretty aromatics of violets and cassis lead to a light- to medium-bodied palate of ripe red berry fruit with light tannins. Thankfully, the unripe, vegetal notes that are absolutely killing the demand for petits chateaux are totally absent here (Vintage '59/Country Vintner, 800-365-9463). -- ------------------------------ * * 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 *