At a Fall Opici tasting, I
tasted their Chianti Fiasco or “Straw” Bottle wine. Sadly it did NOT bring
back happy early adult memories. Not only was it made in a
modern international style, i.e. insufficient acidity to even counteract
pizza, but was also lacking in quality. I keep asking Chianti
producers to give we Baby Boomers a reasonably tasty quality
authentic Chianti in a memorable fiasco that we can enjoy and light
memories ( candles) in. To date they refuse so as not to rekindle
their past association with cheap wines. Che tristezza- I am positive
there isa substantial andprofitable US market for a well-made Chianti packaged in a traditional straw covered
flask.
1. WINE NEWS & TRENDS
2. WINE & FINANCE
3. WINE 101
4. WINE CALENDAR
5. WINE TASTINGS & EVENTS
6. MINI WINE QUIZ
7. LETTERS
5. The Chocolate Show
Before attending, I was familiar with some of the classic matches: 100% dark
chocolate is ideal with port and milk chocolate goes with Pinot Noir.
However, as fond as I am of Pinot Noir, I was pleased to learn that a MUCH
better choice is Cote de Rhone! Try it!
Also (and obvious in retrospect) as with food, you should try to match the
flavoring, e.g. Chocolate with lemongrass matches with a White such as
Riesling.
I plan to attend next year also for informative seminars ranging from Exotic
Chocolate and Wine Pairing to Chocolate Breakfast Breads: Revisted to On the
Chocolate Trail: a delicious adventure connecting Jews, Religions,
History, Travel, rituals and Recipes to the Magic of Cacao.
Health Alert? Dark vs. Milk chocolate:
All chocolate starts out dark, milk chocolate is simply dairy added to
chocolate. However many believe that dairy negates most health
benefits, adds unhealthy fats and has more sugar than dark.
Finally I leave you with the unofficial motto of the Chocolate Show: Life
is too short to eat bad chocolate! (sound familiar?) J
Terroir There were many “interesting” wines at this tasting.
Four wineries were memorable:
Yves Gangloff Northern Rhone Wines
Caves Jean Bourdy Cotes du Jura 2003 Chateau Chalon
$65 bottle excellent yellow wine
Frank Cornelissen Mt Etna and
Frank Givaudin Burgundy 2010 Irancy A wonderful inexpensive pinot noir
[Due to Sandy, the following reports are shorter than they deserve.]
Greenwich Food and Wine festival was a delightful event on a beautiful sunny
day. As expected there was more wine to taste that one could
reasonable drink. But the positive surprise (and obvious in retrospect) was
the extremely high quality of the local restaurant food choices. This
short train ride to a day away “in the country” is highly recommended.
Around the World in 80 Sips has improved by providing fewer but better every
day wines plus a quality VIP section. A fine date for young wine
lovers.
New York City Wine & Food Festival deservedly remains on the must attend
list.
Spain’s Great Match WINE FOOD DESIGN was like last year: first class on wine
but sadly lacking in the food category. If you are a wine lover
go; if you are a foodie you will be disappointed.
6. I This wine matches well with Steak: a) Cabernet
Sauvignon b) Malbec c) Tempranillo
d) All of these
II. True/False "You invariably meet intelligent, cultured, interesting
people at wine events.”
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Cheers
Henry Weingarten
WEINGARTEN http://www.afund.com/wine
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