|
MARIANI’S
Virtual
Gourmet
July
3,
2011
NEWSLETTER
Adrina Partridge in
Carl's Jr Hamburger Ad
HAPPY
FOURTH
OF
JULY!
THIS WEEK
Maui
Makes
Its
Comeback
by Carey Sweet
New
York
Corner:
Boulud
Sud
by John Mariani
Man
About
Town:
Hashknife
by Christopher Mariani
Wine:
Who
Needs
a
Million
Dollar
Estate When You Can Make
Good Wine in a Colorado Quonset
Hut?
by John Mariani
❖❖❖
MARIANI'S QUICK BYTES
If you would like to be featured in our Quick Bytes Section please
visit our media page at www.JohnMarianiMedia.com
*Paid Advertisements*
New York
Celeb Chef at French Revolution Festival in Riviera Maya, July 11 - 23
From July 11-23, a festival
honoring the anniversary of the French Revolution will be held at AAA
Five Diamond Grand Velas Riviera Maya. The resort's gourmet restaurant
Piaf will be showcasing the talents of New York City's
Madison
Bistro owner and Maitre Cuisinier de France, Chef Claude Godard.
Alongside Piaf's Executive Chef Michele Mustiere, Chef Godard will
prepare a 5-course tasting menu featuring Sautéed Foie Gras w/
Artichoke Mousseline and white truffle; Hazelnut-butter Roasted Sea
Bass, and a decadent chocolate dessert served with poached raspberries.
Available to resort guests at no charge, $1200 pesos (approx. $100USD)
for non-hotel guests. 1-888-323-2776; velasresorts.com.
|
Bond 45
NYC's Times
Square
fine-dining favorite Bond 45 (154 West 45th Street, 212-869-4545, www.bond45.com) is
offering an unbeatable $15 Lunch Special at the bar from 11:30am to 4pm
Monday to Friday. From pleasing pasta dishes to succulent seafood and
steak items, you can enjoy a different and delicious dish each day from
Culinary Director Brando De Oliveira. On Mondays indulge in classic
Spaghetti & Meatballs; on Tuesdays savor Penne with Sausage
Amatriciana; on Wednesdays, a tasty Tagliatelle with Filet Mignon
Braciola; on Thursdays, Gramigna with Pulled Pork Ragu; and on Fridays,
a flavorful Orecchiette with Red Wine Braised Calamari. |
Le Caprice
On weekdays from 12pm to 3pm at the modern Le Caprice (795 Fifth Avenue,
212-940-8195,www.lecapriceny.com),
you
can
enjoy
Executive
Chef
Ed Carew's "lunch at the bar" menu with
flavorful offerings like a Scotch Egg with celery salt ($8), Scottish
Smoked Salmon with lemon and capers ($14), and an exquisite Welsh
Rarebit ($10). And with Central Park right across the way, Le Caprice
is an ideal spot for a midday meal. |
Columbus Tavern
Columbus Tavern's (269 Columbus Avenue, NY 212-873-9400,
www.columbustavern.com) old-world feel and delectable lunch menu
can be enjoyed at their 100 year-old mahogany bar. Executive Chef Phil
Conlon offers playful dishes like BLT Dumplings with spicy mustard and
salted radishes ($7.50), Triple Mac & Cheese with spiral pasta and
roasted tomatoes ($11), and ChefPhilly's Cheese Steak ($13). While
there, you can also enjoy unique cocktails inspired by Upper West Side
buildings like The Ansonia and The Dakota ($12 each).
|
Long Island Wine Auction
The second-annual HARVEST: Wine Auction and Celebration of Long Island’s East End (www.harvesteastend.com)
has
been
slated
for this September, starting Labor Day weekend and
culminating the weekend of September 16 and 17, 2011, following the
full harvest moon. This wine-centric event features several events
including: educational Wine Salon programs, exclusive 10-Mile Dinners
at private locations, the Fall for Long Island Festival Tasting with
food and wine of the East End, and a Harvest Moon Gala with dinner
prepared by one of Long Island’s most notable chefs, Tom Schaudel of A
Mano, Coolfish, A Lure and Jewel, and the only live auction of Long
Island wine. Tickets go on sale July 1st at www.harvesteastend.com/tickets.
|
Bluestem Brassaire
SAN FRANCISCO –
Amuse Management Group (AMG) partners Adam and Stacy Jed are pleased to
announce that their first San Francisco restaurant venture, Bluestem
Brasserie, is set to open on Thursday, June 23 at number one Yerba
Buena Lane at Market Street, the intersection of downtown San
Francisco’s cultural, shopping and business corridors. A San
Francisco brasserie and gathering place, Bluestem Brasserie will serve
the city’s hub, offering a lively, all-day dining experience and
rooftop bar. AMG has also announced that acclaimed Bay Area chef
James Ormsby will serve as Bluestem Brasserie’s consulting pastry chef. |
Place your Quick Byte here
|
MAUI
MAKES
ITS
COMEBACK
by Carey Sweet
Wailea Beach
As the
Hawaiian green
sea turtle glided to the surface of the clear blue waters off the edge
of
Wailea Beach, I gunned
my Shop-Vac a bit, hoping to draw a bit closer
without
startling him.
OK, I wasn’t really
riding a commercial vacuum cleaner. But the snorkel scooter I had
rented from Maui Undersea
Adventures (below) sure
looked like one. The
bright yellow
canister was
heavy and had a propeller jet at its end; the idea was to hang on to
the
handles, appreciate its buoyancy, and zip along at up to three miles
per hour
as I snorkeled the reef in ease, farther from the shore than I might
have
unaided. The turtle breezed
lazily by, popping its head up for a gulp of air through the crest of a
wave so
close that I could almost have touched him. And yes, I knew it was a
him; my
scooter pro had pointed out the difference in male and female turtle
tails
before we left the shop, which sits, entirely conveniently, right
behind the
poolside restaurant at the resort where I was staying, The Four Seasons
Maui at
Wailea.
Earlier in the day, I
had paddled an outrigger canoe through the same waters, skimming at a
brisk
clip with a guide who explained the history of the craft that was used
by the
first Hawaiians venturing to the islands from Tahiti. The nearly
hour-long
excursion is complimentary to hotel guests, and at the end, to soothe
my sore
shoulders, a massage would be waiting if I chose, at the resort’s
thatched-top
hale huts nestled amid the naupaka hedges on the edge of the seaside
bluff.
As interesting as the
adventures were, the most surprising part was that I had needed to
reserve my
space – for both snorkeling and canoeing – several days in advance. In
fact,
for the outrigger, there had been a lengthy waiting list, and I had
gotten in
only when management decided to add an extra session. It was because,
as this
same management later told me, during my stay in early May, just past
Maui’s
high season of mid-December through mid-April, The Four Seasons (below) was at
better
than 80 percent occupancy. Well, welcome back, Maui.
Only two years
earlier, in 2009, hotels across the island had averaged 59.9 percent
through
the year, as the bomb economy collapsed the travel market. Yet not only
are
hotels
Maui-wide now pushing average daily room rates of a healthy $379, but
The Four
Seasons has introduced a decidedly un-recessionary promotion for 2011: Unforgettable Events,
a
calendar
of
over-the-top
themed
gatherings
aimed
directly
at
the
luxury
crowd, with pricey, fantasy-inspired adventures
like a
yoga retreat with celebrity coach Kathryn Budig, insider access to Maui
Film
Festival, and tennis, bicycling and surfing camps with some of the
world's top
professionals. To kick the series
off, winemaker Michael Silacci of Opus One had flown in for a
$350-per-person
dinner, showcasing the legendary bottlings of the Napa, California
winery in a
four-course meal prepared by Four Seasons’ executive chef Roger
Stettler.
It was why I had come back to the island, a
favorite haunt of mine forever, but one that other travels had taken me
away
from these last five years. This menu, paired with progressive Opus One
vintages, had been intriguing enough to get me to book a
flight.
Since my last trip to
Wailea, virtually nothing has changed – the intimate resort community
on the
southwestern edge of Maui still boasts the same spectacular
velvety-sand
beaches, the brilliant sun that warms the ocean to bikini-dipping
comfort, and
the quiet, silky mood that moneyed people relaxing together imparts.
Four Seasons itself
remains the epitome of elegance, displayed from the grand open-air
lobby to
the lavish gardens, to the ocean front suites, each outfitted with two
spa-style
marble bathrooms complete with spa products, a wet bar and dining room,
and a
lanai that spreads the length of two regular size hotel rooms. A stay
is not cheap.
The lowest-end access for a mountain side room starts at $465 a night;
the
ocean view prime suite I commandeered cost $1,495 (below), and it’s possible to
lavish
in a three bedroom presidential suite for a cool $14,750. Rooms on the
Club
Floor include opulent breakfasts, hors d’ouevres and wines, for a
surcharge of
$225 per day.
Yet one of the payoffs
is that, within the 380-room oasis spread over two wings on 15 acres, I
found
there’s really
nothing
that
could
be
desired.
Typically,
I’m
an
avid
explorer,
and
restless. But by the time I departed the resort three days later, I
had
left the property only once, for a visit to The Shops at Wailea, and
even that
didn’t feel like a true departure, since the boutique mall is a
picturesque
15-minute walk up a winding oceanfront path. I wouldn’t have needed to
make the
effort, either; in December, the resort opened more upscale boutiques
of its own, and had I shunned walking, a complimentary private town car
stood
at the
ready to whisk me to nearly anywhere within reason on the island.
One extraordinary new
change is the Serenity terrace (below)
built
for
$9
million
two
years
ago;
guests
pay
up
to
$395 a day for the luxury of lounging in one of the
six
private cabanas next to the infinity pool and hot tub. It’s adults
only, and
oh-so peaceful; I dozed off frequently, sun-baked and waking long
enough to
sip the champagne stocked in my private mini bar, or to watch a movie
on my 42-inch HD TV between refreshing dips in the water.
Another
noticeable
update
to
Four
Seasons
is
in
dining.
Local
food
has
come
front-and-center, with
Stettler and his new executive sous-chef Sam Faggetti showcasing Maui
products
at the resort’s flagship steak- and seafood house Duo, plus the
beachfront
Ferraro's Bar e Ristorante.
If promoting outrigger
canoe rides offers an unparalleled sense of place, so does the
resort's commitment to working with some 70 local farmers who
contribute
everything
from island-fresh tomatoes (below)
to
baby
fennel,
to
Haiku
tomatoes
and
Hamakua
mushrooms,
to
a
delectable goat cheese from Surfing Goat Dairy on the
slopes of
Haleakala Crater in lower Kula. The chefs bring in briny-crunchy opihi,
a
unique-to-Hawaii shellfish similar to baby abalone, plus Kona lobster
from the
island to the south, and of course many tropical fruits. For diners at
Duo,
three presentations of Haiku tomatoes arrive dressed in honey-saffron,
parsley-tomato aïoli and brined Maui onions, while the Surfing
Goat's cheese
fritter is a dense ball moistened with roasted eggplant caviar and
tomato onion
jam, and togarashi seared ahi contrasts meaty spice with
feather-light
Hamakua
mushroom tempura in a delicate miso-beurre blanc. Enjoyed on the tiered
patio
with cool ocean breezes wafting through, it’s not hard to imagine that
miso is
kissed with sea salt.
In an artful balance
of celebrating its Hawaiian-ness without tackiness (there is a hula
show, but it
is a single performer in the posh lobby lounge), even the breakfast
buffet
features local specialties like island apple bananas in a creamy sauce,
alongside daily specials such as milk-rice brûlée, like a
fluffy
tapioca
custard smothered in berry compote. At Ferraro’s (below), which
doubles as a casual lunch spot for guests in swimsuits and
flip-flops,
but also as an elegant al fresco bistro serving authentic Italian cucina rustica cuisine, local Kula corn
becomes the base for a chilled soup dotted with lemongrass panna cotta
and a
dollop of Dungeness crab salad, while flaky, tender and mild flavored
Hawaiian monchong fish is
brightened by tomato foam, black olive tapenade, and
toasted
fregola pasta that melds like moist couscous. A table at the edge of
the
cliff-side eatery is a coveted perch; during the day, the sun sparkles
like
diamonds on the water, and at night, the stars glitter in brilliant
pinpricks. The only thing the
highly polished Four Seasons staff can’t control, it seems, is the
weather. In
a typical Hawaiian twist of spring, the day of the Opus One gala dawned
clear
but cloudy, and by late afternoon, light showers had made the resort’s
oceanfront lawn slippery. The party was moved inside, to a reception in
an
enclosed courtyard and supper in a ballroom.
No one was
complaining, though. One of the appeals of the resort’s new
Unforgettable Events
is the private mood, and this gathering was limited to 20 attendees. So
as we
mingled over hors d'oeuvres passed with Champagne, I visited with other
guests
who had not been to Maui in several years, but had not needed much
excuse
beyond this dinner to return. We nibbled ahi “pearls”
dotted in American caviar, wasabi crème brûlée
decorated in tobiko caviar
and
more. After sitting down at the long, communal table, we ate pan-seared
sweetbreads paired with a lean, elegant 1981 Opus, enjoying how the
organ meat’s
preparation in aged port wine-mole syrup
over
organic
apple
hash
accented
in
vanilla-honey
infused
parsnip
ice
cream
made for a surprisingly rich
complement. For a next course, a
2005 Opus offered concentrated aromas of blueberry, rose petals, white
truffle,
licorice and nutmeg, bringing a complex accent to an earthy
entrée of braised
oxtail dolloped with sunchoke mousse, a rich slab of crack-skinned
Kurobuta
pork belly drizzled in acai berry reduction, and pommes
Anna.
Dessert would be an
array of confections paired with 2007 Opus, selected, the winemaker
explained,
for its showcase aromas of cassis, nutmeg, raspberries, cola, fresh
oats, dark
chocolate and forest floor. The sweets were uncommon flavors, too, like
sweet
potato and cinnamon skewers finished in brown sugar candy; an ingenious
layering of roasted fennel, chocolate pate and carbonated orange mousse
that
danced on the tongue; and chocolate buttermilk cake brightened in
candied beets
and raspberry fluid gel.
Because of the rains,
we may have missed the sunset and surf through our meal. Yet nothing
could
dampen the thrill of being back in Maui, in all its glory.
❖❖❖
NEW YORK CORNER
BOULUDSUD
20
West
64th Street (between Broadway
& Central Park West)
212-595-1313
www.danielnyc.com
Capitalizing
on one’s strengths is as crucial to success in the restaurant business
as it is
in the auto industry. Just as GM
and Ford will never make a good facsimile of a Porsche or Rolls Royce,
chefs
who stray into genres and styles they know little about almost always
come up
short. Thus, Daniel Boulud, who is
resolutely French, born in Lyon in the farming village of St. Pierre de
Chandieu, has always concentrated his efforts on refining what he knows
how to
do better than almost anyone else in NYC, and that is to offer French
food of a
kind you will indeed find in Lyon, or Paris, or Marseilles, or
Strasbourg, along with a few Mediterranean flavors mixed in.
His
first
NYC
effort,
and
still
his
grandest,
was his namesake Restaurant Daniel
on
East 65th Street, stringently
devoted to haute cuisine. Next was Café Boulud,
also on the Upper East Side, more casual but still serving very
sophisticated
cuisine with some global interactions; then came DB Bistro Moderne, which in its swank décor and $55 foie
gas-and-truffles burger was nothing like any other Theater District
bistro; two
years ago he went further into casual chic with Bar Boulud, across from
Lincoln
Center, then way downtown to open the huge charcuterie-based DBGB. Along the way he had projects in other cities
as far flung as Singapore and London, always toeing
the French line.
Now
comes
Boulud Sud, whose name refers to the cuisine of the South of
France and
the Mediterranean, and it’s set next to his equally new
take-out Épicerie offering wondrous
breads and pastries, and adjacent to Bar Boulud. If,
then,
you
wonder
how
this
new
venture may be yet different from all
else
Boulud is doing, just open the menu and you’ll see:
It’s broken into sections entitled “De
La Mer,” “Du Jardin” and “De La Ferme,” with many small
plates items and an emphasis on grilled fish and lamb.
The
new
restaurant is easily one of the most beautiful of any year, with 120 seats and an
open kitchen with counter seating. The lighting
is perfect—soft and flattering, and the echoes of the barrel vaulted
ceilings
at Bar Boulud give an added comfort factor to the color ones of
sunflower yellow, ocher, slate gray, pear wood paneling and terrazzo
floors, with bright works of art by Vik Muniz. As at all Boulud's
restaurants, the welcome is très
gentil.
Executive chef Aaron Chambers, a Brit, has a
résumé that includes Le Manoir aux
Quat’ Saisons in Milton, GB, the Dubai Burl Al
Arab Hotel, and various U.S. restaurants before joining Boulud as
sous-chef at Café Boulud. Pastry chef Ghaya F. Oliveira, born in
Tunisia, was at Café Boulud as of 2001, then at Bar Boulud, and
in her work she expresses what is the Boulud philosophy:
“Working for Daniel means always reaching for the best. It’s knowing
how to be classic and modern at the same time.” Sommelier Michael Madrigale oversees
250
labels,
starting
at
$25,
though there is precious little on the
list at that lowest price; there is a good number under $50 though.
Boulud
Sud
is
best
appreciated
at
a
table for four or more; there are simply
too many dishes that sound irresistible, beginning with the "De La Mer"
items like octopus braised in white wine till tender then seared à la plancha and served with
Marcona almond puree,
arugula and orange salad with lemon-oregano
vinaigrette, and toasted Marcona almonds. Daurade (sea bream) is
also cooked on the griddle, tangy with a rich Romesco sauce. Cured
Spanish anchovies (way too salty) come with shaved fennel and socca chickpea flour bread, a
specialty of Nice. Plump grilled shrimp come with a garlic-and-basil pistou. The "Du Jardin" dishes include a
chickpea herb falafel with humus and lavash
bread, and crispy Roman-style artichokes with a lovely aïoli.
"De La
Ferme" (from the farm) comes
duck
leg kataifi with date
chutney, rabbit porchetta with
asparagus
and
basil,
and
larger
dishes
like a wonderful plate of orecchiette
pasta with baby goat
ragôut and wild garlic. Quail is cuddled in pancetta and accompanied by
bitter-salty Tuscan kale and a lush rosemary-onion soubise, while harissa-spiced
grilled lamb loin is sided with with Algerian eggplant. One of the
specialties is a Moroccan chicken tagine,
with turnips, spinach, and preserved lemon that could have used a
little more zest and would be more fun if served in the actual ceramic
tagine.
Oliveira's desserts are magical--rich but not heavy,
beautifully conceived but not overly wrought, like the mint-chocolate pavé with pine nuts,
jasmine flower, and biscuit and her Eve's Delight, an apple
baked in puff pastry and served with red currant marmalade and Calvados
crème anglaise.
Daniel Boulud's newest venture is very clearly an
expression of what he loves about modern cuisine, of which he has been
a pioneer for more than twenty years. At Boulud Sud he fits another
piece of the puzzle into his grand design and in so doing reveals ideas
no one else has yet accomplished with such aplomb while giving the
Upper West Side a lot more to brag about.
Boulud
Sud
is
open
nightly
for
dinner
(lunch begins in September). Dinner à
la
carte
with
main courses from $26 and three
course
pre-theater menu served 5- 6:30 pm
MAN ABOUT TOWN
by
Christopher Mariani
HASHKNIFE
HWY 281 N. &HWT 254
Peadenville, TX
940-325-5150
When
I
think
of
Texas
I
think of a giant rack of
smoky ribs glistening with a glaze of sweet and tangy barbeque sauce,
meat so
tender and moist it shreds effortlessly off the bone. Each bite packed
with gusts
of smoke, fat, salt and hints of heat that linger on the tongue even
after a
gulp of cold Lone Star beer.
On
a
recent
trip
back
to
Texas
I
touched down and jumped in the car with my
good
friend Brian before heading west towards Graham County (a good hour and
half
drive from DFW). On the way we stopped by Hashknife on the Chisholm for
some
terrific 'que. Hashknife sits alone on the corner of a four-way stop
sign, not a
soul in sight for miles in any direction. The restaurant pops out
of nowhere and Owner, Jim McLennan, Jr. opened the place five years ago
to
feed local construction workers in the surrounding area; oddly, I saw
nothing
constructed. McLennan’s reputation quickly grew and has attracted the
likes of
loyal bbq fans from all over Texas.
I
could
be
wrong
but the building appears to have once been an old gas station.
The
outside very simple, with a maroon awning and a giant sign with big,
bold, white
lettering that reads “BARBEQUE.” Inside is a cozy little wood-trimmed
dining
room connects to an open kitchen that releases whiffs of burning
charcoal, slow-cooked
meats and best of all, ribs! The chairs are comfortable and the tables
large,
exactly what is required when sitting down for some hearty Texas fare.
Chef
started
us
out
with
some
smoked
chicken
salad sandwiched between his house-made
bread, cut thick, and sautéed in what I assume was an entire
stick of butter.
The plate of sandwiches was quickly left with a few remaining
toothpicks
originally used to keep the sandwiches standing up right. Next came the
beef. Savory hunks of brisket
had beautiful layers of fat in each bite and was sided by McLennan’s
housemade
sauce, a wonderful combination of vinegar, salt and sweet bbq that
complemented
the brawny slap of meat. Rib bones piled high as we devoured the entire
rack,
possibly the best ribs I have ever tasted. Sides included an order of
hickory-smoked
beans, slaw and the sweetest corn on the cob imaginable. This was the
type of
lunch that required a washing of the hands, lips, cheeks and maybe a
spot of
two left behind on your shirt.
When
the meal ended, or so we thought, Jim’s lovely wife approached the
table with a
big smile and slapped down a few slices of her very own banana cake
topped with
“Texas” sweet icing and filled with a banana-custard that made you wish
she was
your aunt so you could get it all the time. There was no mistaking the
McLennan
duo were put on this earth to do one thing, feed fellow Texans great
bbq.
Neither Jim nor his wife would be happier doing anything else. They
show all
guests traditional southern hospitality and know how to keep you coming
back for
more.
If
you drive by late on a Thursday night you may even see Jim and a few
buddies
kicking back with a few Shiner Bocks while singing some tunes. Reminded
me how
the simple things in life are the most pleasurable. When we left,
they gave us nice
parting gifts, complimentary, burnt orange Hashknife T-shirts. I’ve
worn it
once back here in New York and folks here aren’t too familiar with the
hue.
To
contact
Christopher
Mariani send an email to christopher@johnmariani.com
NOTES
FROM
THE
WINE
CELLAR
Who
Needs
a
$50 Million Dollar California Estate When You
Can
Make Good Wine in a Colorado Quonset Hut?
by John
Mariani
It
would
be
facile
enough
to
say
that
wealthy
Coloradans
have only recently
followed Californian entrepreneurs into the wine business, but in fact,
Colorado was producing nearly 2000 gallons of wine annually as far back
as
1899. By 1968—around the same time Robert Mondavi revolutionized the
California
wine industry—the first modern Colorado winery, Ivancie, opened in
a garage in Denver, with later plantings in Grand
Valley. Now there are more
than 100 wineries in the state, and visitors can easily drive
designated Colorado
Wine
Trails to Loveland, Boulder, Evergreen, Arvada in search of them.
Or
you
can
stay
in
downtown
Denver
and
visit
The
Infinite Monkey Theorem (TIMT)
winery, which, since 2008, has operated out of a Quonset hut in a back
alley of
the city’s Santa Fe Arts District. The winery gets its name from the
idea of
probability that a monkey
striking typewriter
keys at random for an infinite amount of time will eventually type out
the
complete works of Shakespeare. “We like the simple irony of comparing
such an
endeavor to the incredibly controlled process of premier winemaking,”
says TIMT’s
winemaker and partner Ben Parsons, adding that, “we are the
Shakespeare, not
the monkey.”
The
winery
produced
4,500
cases
last
year,
with
95
percent
of the grapes grown
around Colorado’s Western Slope, the rest sourced from California.
Parsons and
his partners have made TIMT very much a community project within the
arts
district, donating $25,000 to the University of Colorado Cancer
Prevention
Center (Parsons’ father died of colon cancer in 2007). “We have local
restaurant sommeliers digging dirt and bottling the wines,” he says,
and TIMT
presently offers three- and five-gallon kegs to more than 400 local
customers, bars
and
restaurants
through
TIMT’s
wine
club.
The winery plans to open its own restaurant this
year, though right
now the neighborhood gets dicey with druggies at night. “Good idea to
lock your
car,” says Parsons. From the
outside, the cement block building of the winery (below) looks nothing like the
baronial wine estates in Napa and Sonoma Valleys; inside a room is full
of
cardboard boxes, open bottles of wine, and a tasting table. A young black dog runs around at his
leisure. The tanks and barrels are in the Quonset hut, and the only
real décor
is the graffiti on walls and the delivery truck with a painting of a
chimpanzee
on the side.
Parsons
(right) is a Brit, from Kent,
who’d worked as a merchant for Layton’s Wines in London,
then moved to New Zealand to work in the vineyards, eventually
graduating top
of his class in oenology at Adelaide University. A job ad for a
winemaking
position, with no interview required, brought him to Canyon Wind
Cellars in
Palisade, Colorado, and by 2004 he’d turned Sutcliffe Vineyards
(founded by
another Brit, John Sutcliffe) from 400 to 4,000 cases a year.
Wanting
his
own
winery,
he
figured
he
could
source
the
best grapes from the Western
Slope, which he compares to France’s Rhone Valley, with a 200-day
growing
season and less than seven inches of rainfall.
While
everything
about
TIMT
seems
unorthodox,
Parsons
bases
everything
he
does on
traditional winemaking, and though I expected that expertise to show in
his
wines, I really was quite amazed at the results. Tasting
bottled,
finished
wines
at
the
winery,
I
was
immediately
impressed by a mouth filling, pleasantly fruity 2010
sauvignon
blanc.
Parsons’
rosé
of
cabernet
franc
was
a
beautiful,
true
rose
color, very fruity and
well
suited to summer foods. A 100 percent petit verdot 2009 was still
tannic but
solidly knit, a big chewy wine, best with roasted meats. A 2009 petite
syrah
was very true to its varietal character, with a fine, expressive
bouquet, and a
sensible 14.2 percent alcohol—one of the best petite sirahs I’ve tasted
anywhere.
Not
everything
was
so
wonderful:
an
unfiltered
2009
malbec,
with
10 percent petit
verdot, smelled reedy and was a little sweet in the finish. And a red
blend of
petit verdot, malbec, petite sirah, and syrah, called 100th
Monkey,
was too massive, almost cloying on the palate.
I
tasted a number of other Colorado wines while out there and when I got
home,
and found that some producers still cling to a sweet, outdated style;
others
are experimenting with way too many varietals—many from out-of-state
fruit--while others produce small quantities specific to the terroir.
I very much enjoyed the Rhone-style syrahs of Whitewater Hill, Boulder
Creek, and Sutcliffe,
but was surprised at the particular flavor of Sutcliffe’s
2008 Down Canyon Blend Red Wine, from around McElmo Canyon. A mix of
cabernet
and syrah, the former giving excellent structure, the latter a sweet
grape
softness, it tasted like what I would think a wine from Colorado would
taste
like—a bit unpolished and a little wild, but for a red wine to go with
a lot of
grilled foods, this is a winner.
As for purchasing Colorado wines out of state,
here’s the official
word from Coloradowine.com.
NOTE TO ORDERING ON-LINE:
As
of 1 July 2006, it is no
longer necessary to have visited a Colorado winery prior to ordering
wine to be
shipped to you. However, as each state's shipping laws are different,
whether a
winery can ship directly to you will depend on whether your state will
allow it
and whether the winery has purchased a shipping license for your state.
Many of
those licenses are prohibitively expensive for small wineries with very
limited
production. So please check with each winery about shipping to your
location
prior to ordering
John
Mariani's wine column appears in Bloomberg Muse News,
from
which
this
story
was
adapted.
Bloomberg
News
covers
Culture
from
art,
books,
and
theater
to
wine,
travel,
and
food
on
a
daily
basis.
❖❖❖
TWO MORE
REASONS WE'VE CUT BACK ON CHINESE FOOD
Chinese
artist
Ju
Duoqi
uses
cabbages
in
the
Beijing
vegetable
market
into
works of art
depicting women, using
toothpicks and knives to cut the cabbage leaves into body parts, then
photographs the result. Her cabbage series has been exhibited in
Beijing,
London, Paris, Los Angeles and Miami, with limited edition prints
selling for $2,900-$4,300.
. . . And in
Nanjing, 180 of Chinese farmer Liu Mingsuo's watermelons exploded after an
effort to chemically boost the fruit by applying forchlorfenuron, a growth
accelerator.
❖❖❖
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❖❖❖
FEATURED
LINKS: I am happy to report that the Virtual Gourmet is linked to
four excellent travel sites:
Everett
Potter's
Travel
Report:
I
consider this the best
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Letter from Paris.
Eating
Las
Vegas is the new on-line site for Virtual Gourmet
contributor John
A. Curtas., who since 1995 has been commenting on the Las Vegas food
scene and reviewing restaurants for Nevada Public Radio. He is
also
the restaurant critic for KLAS TV, Channel 8 in Las Vegas, and his past
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Tennis Resorts Online:
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ALL YOU NEED BEFORE YOU GO
nickonwine:
An engaging, interactive wine
column by Nick Passmore, Artisanal Editor, Four Seasons Magazine; Wine
Columnist, BusinessWeek.com; nick@nickonwine.com; www.nickonwine.com.
MARIANI'S VIRTUAL GOURMET NEWSLETTER is published weekly. Editor/Publisher: John Mariani.
Contributing Writers: Christopher
Mariani, Robert Mariani,
John A. Curtas, Edward Brivio, Mort
Hochstein, and
Brian Freedman. Contributing
Photographers: Galina Stepanoff-Dargery, Bobby Pirillo. Technical
Advisor:
Gerry McLoughlin.
© copyright John Mariani 2011
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