1
May
2008
The other day, I was walking past the bar in our lower level, the one that the previous owners were so kind to put in before they moved. There’s a case of wine sitting on it, unopened, with the Elyse label prominently displayed. Elyse is a “Mom & Pop” winery located down a dusty road in Napa.
My first thought is, am I ever going to deal with it, or am I going to let it sit there until the next time we have company walking through the door. At which point I’ll make a hurried attempt to get it out of sight. My next thought was; So much wine, so little time.
There are literally thousands of wineries producing, well, thousands and thousands of wines. Some are well known (Lafite) that will never pass my lips. Some are too well known and, unfortunately, will. But the vast majority I will never hear of and much to my chagrin, I’ll be missing out on them. You see, I’ve had the pleasure of stumbling across small wineries like Elyse and have been blown away.
Elyse is the quintessential winemaking winery. It is small, very small, so it sources most of its grapes from vineyards in and around Napa. What its winemaker does with them is magic. The word luscious comes to mind every time I open a bottle.
Lucky me. I happen to have local distributors that bring Elyse into my market. There in lies the rub. If they didn’t, I’d never have gotten to experience it. But what about all the others? So much wine, so little time.
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21
March
2008
I remember friends giving me a shocked look when I returned a $90 bottle of Gevrey Chambertin back to the Sommelier, and asked for another one. To the surprise of my guest, he smelled the bottle and without saying another word said “I will open another bottle right away Sir”. The first bottle was corked, and the wine was undrinkable.
Being a restaurant owner myself, I know the rules of engagement in this matter. The restaurant is not losing money because the wine supplier will exchange or reimburse the product right away.It is ultimately the wine producer who loses money in this deal.
So, if you think the wine you are being served has a wierd color, smell or is corked, don’t be shy and speak up. The waiter should replace your glass and open a new bottle. But please, remember as well to not take advantage of the situation. Ask your waiter for advice in your choice of wine. Some of them might not be ready for your tastebuds but are actually excellent wine. At this point I lose money and at this point I am not happy.
Cheers, please enjoy wine!
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3
March
2008
This restaurant in Arles came recommended by Joe Donovan. It was fabulous. Each of the 13 courses were very small “amuse bouches”. Most of the unusual ingredients came from Jean-Luc’s garden. The presentations were beautiful and each were described to us in every detail. The degustation of wines were equally wonderful. There were several white wines from the Laguedoc-Roussillon region that were great. If you’re anywhere near Arles, France don’t miss it. Reservations are required and must be made via their website: http://www.rabanel.com/ Our meal was made complete by the visit of Jean-Luc to our table. He’s asked that I send him our blog.
Bernie Duhaime
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21
February
2008
Well we decided to take a day trip to the Viaduct. It didn’t look that far away so we took the scenic route (N106 from Alès toward the Lot). Almost three hours later we arrived at the viaduct. It was gorgeous. It is actually taller than the Eiffle Tower. Currently the world’s longest and tallest bridge is worth seeing. My advice don’t take the scenic route, take the highways even though they are “payante” meaning they are toll roads. Having arrived so late in the day, we ate at a rest area so no real delicacy to tell you about this time.
Bernie Duhaime
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15
February
2008
In the Jan 25th WSJ, Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher published 10 tips for a successful OTBN. Well actually 12, but the last two aren’t really tips. I urge you to take a look for the full write up, but here is the short list:
- CHOOSE THE SETTING - alone or with family/friends. At home or in a cozy restaurant. Alone, it can be intimate. With family/friends you might end up enjoying several “special” wines (wink, wink)
- SELECT THE BOTTLE -Take a look around. Look for memories. You might decide to go out and find a wine you’ve always wanted to try, ie. make a memory.
- STAND IT UP - For an older wine, stand it up several days ahead to allow any sediment to settle at the bottom.
- BEWARE OF THE TEMPERATURE - Since its a special bottle, don’t drop the ball on temperature. Both Reds and Whites are best at cellar temperatures (around 55 degrees). Don’t over chill the white. Put that Red in the refrigerator for an hour or so if its been at room temperature.
- PRACTICE OPENING THE BOTTLE - The cork on an older bottle may break easily. The best method is the 2 prong cork puller. If you don’t use one, get one and practice. It’s an easily learned skill. In conjunction with the cork tip comes another. Have a carafe and a coffee filter handy in case of a crumbly cork.
- DON’T NECESSARILY DECANT - Some older wines will quickly dispel. Try it immediately. If it needs to open up, you’ll have plenty of time.
- HAVE A BACKUP WINE READY- Sad but true.
- SHARE - If the wine has memories, share them.
- SERVE DINNER - This tip has more to do with timing than food pairing. If the wine is somewhat funky at opening, taste it at intervals during the dinner. You might be amazed.
- ENJOY THE WINE - For the memories, past and future. “Ah, remember that Vega Sicilia we had on OTBN in 2005″
Now I realize that I’ll be out of town on the 23rd (the official OTBN), so I’ll have to set my own date sometime in early March. Ah, the best laid plans……
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15
February
2008
The is an interesting website called Paris Daily Photo: http://www.parisdailyphoto.com/. I always take pleasure looking at these surprising and yet familiar pictures. It can make me home sick in no time!
Valentines Day on Canal St Martin
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11
February
2008
Ok, here’s a new one for me. Late last week we visited a really small village in the Gard, named Verfeuil. This town was so small that it only had one restaurant “Augerge des Concluses”. Their specialty was Brandade de Morue which is mixture of salt cod, milk, olive oil and who knows what else. It was actually very good and I chose one of the brandades in a turine with eggplant and a tomato coulis. Several of our friends wouldn’t even try it. The good news is they had wonderful wines including ones from a local vintner called “Natura”. I sure wish I could bring some back. Oh well, I guess I’ll just toast to you! “Santé”
Bernie Duhaime
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6
February
2008
We arrived in Southern France last Friday and we’ve been visiting some interesting cities. On Sunday we spent some time in Nimes which has a huge Roman arena. It is supposedly the best preserved of all the Roman arenas. They still have bull fights there now. After our touring the city we went into one of those open air bistros and I ordered the special of the day: Taureau. It actually was very good and tasted alot like steak (maybe close to Omaha steaks) but it was “Bull”. There was a local merlot that they recommended and that went down very well too. Our next trip will be to Arles where they are known for “donkey”. I may have to pass on that.
Bernie Duhaime
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20
January
2008
With all the makings of a Hallmark holiday, Open that Bottle Night “OTBN” is fast becoming one of my favorites. The 1998 brainchild of the Wall Street Journal’s wine editors, Dorothy Gaither and John Brecher, OTBN is based their premise that; “All of us, no matter how big or small our wine collections, have that single bottle of wine that is so special that we simply can’t bear to open it. Maybe it’s from Grandpa’s cellar or a trip to Italy or a wedding. We’re always going to open it on a special occasion, but no occasion is ever special enough. So it sits. And sits.” I think we can all see the brilliance of Dorothy and John’s baby.
OTBN is “officially” the last Saturday in February, but I’ll take some wriggle room and work it in when I can. I’ll open that bottle and give it a whirl.
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9
January
2008
As Ben Franklin said: In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria.
In a number of carefully controlled trials, scientists have demonstrated that if we drink 1 liter of water each day, at the end of the year we would have absorbed more than 1 kilo of Escherichia coli, (E. coli) - bacteria found in feces. In other words, we are consuming 1 kilo of poop.
However, we do NOT run that risk when drinking wine & beer (or tequila, rum, whiskey or other liquor) because alcohol has to go through a purification process of boiling, filtering and/or fermenting.
Remember: Water = Poop, Wine = Health
Therefore, it’s better to drink wine and talk stupid, than to drink water and be full of shit.
There is no need to thank me for this valuable information: I’m doing it as a public service.
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