Chateau D’Alzon 1949 Saint Emilion
Filed Under The Wine World
The story behind this bottle is intriguing. Discovered in a basement in Philadelphia recently, it was part of a cache of French wines that had been cellared and apparently forgotten about 60 years ago. A great friend of the School, Miguel L, acquired the collection and brought this bottle to class last week.
Tasting Notes:
The wine was remarkably vibrant, despite a minor cork issue. Copper-hued, the palate was still alive with very little oxidization showing.The nose was rich with burnt cedar, cured sausage and naphthalene. Dusty fruit was followed by cream and caramel on the midpalate. In the finish, faded fruits turned into toast and orange rind.
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The Transparent Company
Filed Under The Wine World
Here is the TRUTH about the Wine School of Philadelphia: we are a school and we teach folks about wine. This apparently obvious concept was tested recently by a student of ours.
The fellow in question attended a cooking class at the school. He was shocked SHOCKED to discover that he was attending a class and NOT a four-course dinner with linen and a sommelier in a tuxedo. Strange, but true.
A series of emails went back and forth between him and myself. Rather than do the usual customer service thing, I opted for something a bit radical: I posted the email exchange on our blog and asked for suggestions. Boy, did I get them! Read more
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We need your advice!
Filed Under Wine Tastings
Brian and I taught a cooking class here at the Wine School a few months back. We tend to get a lot of praise for these classes, which involve cooking demonstrations by myself and wine pairings by Brian.
Recently, however, a party of five attended and they were, let’s say, less than thrilled. They had expected a full dinner with wine pairings, not a class. And as you’ll see from the emails that I’ve included below, their expectations were, shall we say, a touch less than reasonable.
Read all the juicy details (and add your comments!) after the jump:
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The Ultimate Pinot Noir Class
Filed Under Wine Tastings
A few exotics from the cellar.
1, Oberbergen 2005 Pinot Noir, Baden
2. Vylyan 2004 Pinot Noir, Villanyi
Santa Lucia Highlands
1. Pessagno 2006 Pinot Noir, Lucia Highlands Vineyard
2. Testarossa 2005 Pinot Noir, Garys’ Vineyard
Willamette Valley
1. Beaux Freres 2003 “Belles Soeurs” Pinot Noir
2. Patricia Green 2007 Estate Pinot Noir
Cru Burgundy
1. Domaine Robert Arnoux 2003 Vosne Romanee, 1er Cru Aux Reignots
2. Chateau Corton Grancey 2002 Corton, Grand Cru
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Wine 101: Intro to Wine
Filed Under Wine Tastings
First Flight
1. Domane Wachau 2006 Riesling (Austria)
2. Glazebrook 2007 Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand)
Second Flight
1. Domaine Jean Touzot 2006 Chardonnay (France)
Third Flight
1. Four Graces 2007 Pinot Noir (Oregon)
2. Falesco 2006 Sangiovese (Italy)
Fourth Flight
1. Panarroz 2006 Grenache (Spain)
2. Rolf Binder 2006 Shiraz (Australia)
Fifth Flight
1. Barnard Griffin 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon (Washington)
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Artisanal Cheese & Wine Class
Filed Under Wine Tastings
1. Cheese: Ewephoria
Wine: Mercer 2007 Riesling, Yakima Valley (WA)
2. Cheese: Saint-André
Wine: Verget 2006 Saint Veran, France
3. Cheese: Humbolt Fog
Wine: Glazebrook 2007 Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough (NZ)
4. Cheese: Abbaye de Belloc
Wine: Yonna 2004 Campo De Borja, Spain
5. Cheese: Valdeon
Wine: Vezer 2006 “La Salette”, Suisun Valley (CA)
Wine: Chateau de Bois-Brincon 2004 Coteaux du Layon Faye D’Anjou
A Career in Wine
Filed Under The Wine World
If you jumped back in time to 1998, you’d find me pounding back espressos in my glass-enclosed office at a National Public Radio station. If it was 6am in the morning, I’d already be shoulder-deep in the morning’s newspapers while the AP wire streamed across on a monitor. On the wall across from my desk, a bank of televisions would be tuned to all the major news shows; to my left a circle of desks would be filling up with my young and sleepy-eyed staff. In less than seven minutes, we would be live and on the air.
If you were to suddenly pop in and say “Hi”, I’d have growled and given you a “what the &%*$ are you doing here?” look. If that didn’t deter you, and you managed to tell me that in just about three years that I would be starting the Wine School of Philadelphia, I would have laughed…. and then have you escorted out of the building.
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Are the French becoming Drunks?
Filed Under The Wine World
According to a recent AP story, there is a rapid increase of binge drinking amoung France’s youth. Since 2004, the rate of hospitalization of minors due to alcohol poisoning has shot up by over fifty percent.
To combat the problem, the French are using a less-than-novel approach: they are instituting a nationwide legal drinking age. According to the Associate Press:
French lawmakers passed an amendment Monday to ban the sale of alcohol to minors, part of an effort to tackle the rise of binge drinking in a country known for a relaxed attitude toward a little libation.
The National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, moved to ban the sale of alcohol to teens under age 18 and subject violators to fines of up to euro7,500 ($9,400).
France has always been a great example of a nation that could embrace the joys of alchohol without negative cultural effects. It was often pointed out that the cultural acceptance of wine was one of the major reasons that there was so little alchohol abuse in France, especially among youths. What has changed?
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He said Beer, He Said Wine
Filed Under The Wine World
It was the ultimate Wine versus Beer smackdown. I was pitted against Dean Browne, the master brewer/head instructor for the Philly Beer School.
Dean & Keith preparing for the blood bath to come.
The battle begins. The horror of it all.
And here I am, executing the Death Blow of Assorted Tapas.
It was extremely close, but we won by a single point!
Victory is MINE!
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The Beer Page
Filed Under Beer
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