We’re Back, and the Pigs are Safe
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I never thought the day would come, but here it is, in all its perplexing, fat-streaked glory: I’m taking a break from ham. It even feels weird to type that. I’m. Taking. A. Break. From. Ham. Nope–no easier. Maybe it’s the residual cottony lard still coursing through my newly thick fingers. Or the remaining salty stench pouring from my every pore. Or the fact that, whenever I hear a word whose sound is vaguely reminiscent of “Iberico,” I weep like a diehard Jagger fan at a one-night-only Stones show.
My new Angie is a pig, and I’m not ashamed to say it.
I just returned from a weeklong trip with Keith and a number of other Wine Schoolers to Priorat, about two hours from Barcelona. More details will certainly seep out during classes and in blog posts over the coming weeks–stories of flash-fried sardines, heaping plates of wood-grilled meats (including the best damn rabbit kidney I’ve ever snapped between my molars), barrel tastings of wines that will likely never see this side of the Pond–but for now, it’ll have to suffice to say just this: We back. And for the time being, the pigs of Pennsylvania are safe from my hammed-out maw.
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Smackdowns, Boots and Hexagons, and the Future of the Human Race
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Tomorrow evening, Frank Cipparone, the Wine School’s resident Italian-wine expert, and I will do battle in a Smackdown for the ages. Planetary polarity may shift. Weather patterns could run amok. Children and grown men may very well weep. Indeed, the amount of energy generated by the CERN’s Large Hadron Collider will, in all likelihood, pale next to the element-shifting vino-passions unleashed on May 12th.
Or, you know, it could just be a tie.
Either way, things should get interesting: The rules this time are a bit different than they have been in the past. The menu includes two vaguely Italian courses and two kinda-French ones. And for the pairings, Frank is only allowed to use Italian wines, whereas I’ll be limited to those of l’hexagone. Strategy, as well as a real sense of creativity, will be crucial. For there is much more at stake here than the thrill of victory.
This time, nothing less than pride itself is on the line. And, perhaps, the future off the human race. (Vive la France!)
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Albarino Season!
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With the warm weather upon us and the season of root veggies and all things braised blissfully put away for another year, this time has come to break out those bottles of peachy-keen Spanish goodness. Now, don’t get me wrong here: Francophile that I am, I’d be more than thrilled to celebrate the season with a bottle or eight of Condrieu. There is, after all, just something about Rhone viognier’s addictive, eye-rolling-to-the-back-of-the-skull perfume that gets my day going better than any shot of espresso ever could. But sometimes, all you really need are simpler (and blissfully cheaper) pleasures. Which is exactly where albarino comes in.
For less than $15, you can find yourself sipping nothing less than a glass of springtime sunshine. It’s got great acid, a stone-fruit perfume that’s just this side of addictive, and the ability to pair as well as anything else with crab meat. And if peaches and crab meat don’t make you excited about the cruelest month’s merciful departure, then I’d consider moving to colder climes. And getting used to the idea of root vegetables year-round.
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One of Life’s Great Pleasures
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The Wine School is pouring a garnacha these days that is flat-out charming me: The Las Rocas de San Alejandro 2005 from Catalyud, Spain. Not only is it fabulously fresh with notes of ripe cherries–a classic quaffing wine–but it also finds a sense of varietally-accurate depth with waves of dried Mediterranean herbs. What really strikes me, though, is what an excellent pairing partner it makes for pizza. Sprinkle a bit of oregano on your pie and you’ll be taken aback; order it with some sort of herb sausage and your life may never be the same. And if there’s anything better than a wine that’s equally delicious on its own as it is paired with pizza, then I haven’t found it yet.
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Me, me, me, me, me
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That’s what Christmas means to me.
As does bacon. And cookies. Bacon.
Bacon.
But in the spirit of the holidays, I have decided to let this season be a little bit about you too. Thus, I am giving each and every one of you a very very special gift: Lard Cookies (aka Swedish Ginger Cookies). Well, a recipe for lard cookies. You can cook them yourselves.
The magic of these cookies lies in the fact that one uses cooled bacon grease in place of butter. Those smokey, porkie flavors - along with the savory-sweet spiciness of ginger, cloves, cinnamon, and molasses - is a combination that is loved by vegans (I forget to tell them and by then they’re three to four cookies in) and meat-eaters alike. This little gem of a cookie will not fail you this holiday season. So roll up your sleeves, toss aside that butter, and get to frying! With two pounds of bacon left over to snack on, well, you can just thank me later. Read more
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Grower Champagne
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Late last week, I was fortunate enough to attend a grower-champagne dinner at Rae (which, incidentally, was just named one of the 25 best new restaurants in America by Esquire Magazine). This is a category of bubbly that’s unfamiliar to many people, though, in all honesty, it shouldn’t be: The amount of pleasure to be derived from these wines is nothing short of astounding.
Chef Daniel Stern and Sommelier Ryan Davis (two of the best in the business) put together a dinner of such astounding complexity, such paradigm-shifting creativity, that I honestly don’t think anyone there will be able to look at Champagne the same way again. All these wines were produced by the same people who grew the grapes, which meant that there was a far deeper sense of both terroir and idiosyncrasy than, for example, even the most expensive Grande Marque bottlings.
And the food that Chef Stern prepared put to rest once and for all the ridiculous claim that so many people make: That good bubbly is best enjoyed on its own, preferably at some celebratory occasion. Indeed, the opposite is true, and dishes like smoked sweetbreads and tuna complimented–and were in turn complimented by–the flutes of Champagne that accompanied them. My only regret is that I cannot drink these wines everyday. C’est la vie, I suppose. At least I have something to compare everything else to.
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A Good Wine Makes for a Better Read
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Fall is finally here - that time of year to get cozy on the sofa under a nice burning lamp, a lovely bottle of wine, and a terrific read. For those of you following Frank Cipparone’s Italian Picks, a great novel to dive into while drinking the Ornello Molon Raboso 2003; the Cristina Ascheri Langhe Arneis, 2006; or the Casa Librandi Ciro “Duca di San Felice” Riserva 2003; is Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley.
Highsmith’s protagonist is the very sordid yet very likeable Tom Ripley, and as Highsmith takes her reader on a journey through his twisted mind, she also takes them through the heart and twisted countryside of Italy. Read more
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Italian Pick of The Week, 10/22/07
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Casa Librandi Ciro, “Duca di San Felice” Riserva, 2003, DOC, Calabria
The Ciro DOC is home to Gaglioppo, a vigorous grape known as “The Black Prince”. Genetically related to Sicilian Frappato, it was used in ancient times to make crimissa. Today it shows up in all eleven of Calabria’s red wine DOCs.
Gaglioppo does well in the calcerous soils and maritime Ionian climate of Ciro Marina, where the Librandi winery has been producing for over a century. The most recognized name in the region, they support the propagation of terroir specific native varietals, some of which are only grown in Calabria.
Their Ciro Riserva is 100% Gaglioppo, aged three years in tank and another six months in bottle. Its ruby-brickish orange color resembles Nebbiolo, but the nose is all Mezzogiorno - jammy fruits, smoke, sharp spices such as fennel and cumin, and a leathery undertone. The palate opens slowly to pepper and a gamey quality that evolves into a subtle finish of mildly sweet fig and pomegranate supported by dark berries. Rustic, yes, but with a finesse that elevates it several steps above a farmhouse wine.
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A Year in Wine
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“If I got anything out of this relationship, it is cheek meat.”
We will be having rainbow snapper for dinner. Kay had bought them at a fish monger on Saturday on a whim. They were pin-striped in a shimmer of chilly gold and pale and their eyes sparkling wildly, as if caught half-way through a high-speed chase. Having spent the weekend in a paper bag shoved into the back of our refrigerator, they were still remarkably fresh.
I knew exactly what I wanted to do with such pretty fish. I wanted to see them in a golden pool of saffron-scented broth with their narrow tails jutting above the side of the bowl. That would be the proper end to the day.
It had been a tough day at work for both of us, and we both needed a quick reminder at how lucky we are. I can rarely complain about work, since doing so raises many more eyebrows than hands to heart. I run a wine school, after all. How hard can that be? I have to agree, if begrudgingly, that I ought not complain too much, lest I have to find a real job in the future. Read more
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L’Oca’s Anchovies
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This past week, we held the second Sommelier Smackdown to be catered by L’Oca, the delicious Italian restaurant across the street from the school. Also for the second time, they provided us with house-cured white anchovies that reminded most of the people in attendance how delicious these little fishies can be. Far from those vaguely frightening, pallid gray fillets that you can buy at the supermarket, these tender anchovies sang with a finely calibrated zip of citrus, which both set the fish’s natural flavor in sharp relief and cut through the oil that had been used in the curing. The result was not only a dish that seemed tailor made for crisp white wines, but one that reminded us all, yet again, of how unjustly maligned anchovies are. And how wonderful they can be when done right.
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