The Corkdork - Wine and Food Musing

Julia and Me

I grew up in a household where every response to "Where's this recipe from?" was either simply Volume One or Volume Two. Mastering the Art of French Cooking, by Julia Child,  was the single driving force that elevated my family's eating habits, now going on influencing a third generation. My father took it upon himself to cook through hundreds of dishes in MTAFC  to teach himself to cook, and as life started to revolve around the kitchen more and more, I sat and watched at first, then joined in. Now my kids have grown up with classic dishes, like Carbonnades de Boeuf a la Flamande, that I gave up needing the recipe for 20 years ago.

Julia Child's posthumously published memoir, My Life in France, is a beautiful testament to her unfaltering joie de vivre and no matter how much of the book actually was penned by Julia herself, her voice and personality sparkle throughout.   There are times you can hear her cackle-y voice propelling syllables at you, half-winded, half-laughing.

I know it sounds strange, but many times as I read this book, I was struck with the chills as she described the first time she discovered a dish that has become part of my cooking DNA.

Thon à la Provençal is one such dish. When I was 8 years old or so, fish came in sticks. But the first time my father made this dish it filled the house with such amazing smells, I begged for a taste and I think it was tasting that exotic herbaceous tomato sauce the first time that woke me up to how wonderful food could be. He made it with swordfish, as fresh tuna was very hard to come by in the seventies, and for years, I would eat something kid friendly early in the evening with my brother, then again with my parents at eight o'clock or so to get more of that dish whenever he made it.

Hearing Julia describe her balcony view in Marseilles overlooking the harbor and her first encounter with a beautiful slab of tuna, just pulled in, her poaching it in tomatoes and herbs...I was transported back to our little dining room in Mt. Lakes, New Jersey and that first bite. 

After reading My Life in France, I couldn't help but pull out my copy of Volume One, which is completely falling apart (I got it for my birthday nearly 30 years ago) to refresh my memory on her writing style. Typical is her detailed article describing three ways to de-scum veal when you are making blanquette de veau, written in a matter of fact style at once funny, inviting and demystifying. I urge you to read this book and reflect upon the impact Julia Child (1912-2004) had on cooking in America, and at your house.

It's now available in paperback.

Tasting and Touring the San Francisco Wine Center

This evening I got a sneak preview of the newly opened San Francisco Wine Center, SOMA's unique combination of wine storage, tasting center, wine distribution center, and clubhouse. Owners Brian McGonigle and Paolo Mancini are industry insiders that are trying to create something different in San Francisco: a gathering place for the serious wine collector and the newbie. With two areas that will be used for formal tastings and informal open-a-bottle-with-friends gatherings, they hope it will allow lots of local wine geeks to mingle. Tastings will be largely like the one I was treated to today: wines that Indie Wines, the distribution wing, carry, hopefully along with the winemakers themselves. This will give an opportunity to learn first hand from the winemakers from as far away (like the upcoming event with Eben Sadie from South Africa) and get first crack at their wares. The storage area is like the one you are keeping those LPs that you can't seem to throw away (guilty as charged!) --only much colder! Check out their website for all the pricing details. Like any storage facility they have lots of different options and incentives.

As for Indie Wines, they are bringing in some good stuff to the picture as well. I had a chance to taste a few wines with them this evening. Here are my favorites.

2006 Greenwood Ridge Sauvignon Blanc, Mendocino County
This has so much Semillon in it that you might think it's not SB at all. It has the floral character of a cold-weather Viognier with  lime-tinged roundness in the mouth. This is not the wine to grab when you want a grassy Cloudy Bay knockoff, it's just a different, but very delicious beast altogether.

2005 J. K. Carriere Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon
Lots of bright cherry fruit and forest floor on the nose, bright on the nose, but brooding on the tongue. Delicious but I'm looking forward to this with a couple more years on the bottle.

2003 Temple Bruer Shiraz/Malbec blend, Langhorn Creek, Australia
Something completely different than your garden variety Aussie glug. The heavy dose of Malbec makes this a pretty wild-smelling wine. Plenty of wood going on as well. The vineyards have long been organic and sustainable and the result is clean and complex with good grip.

2006 Schild Estate Barossa Shiraz
Very spicy and young, bright and ready to be put down for a few years of rest. Very new world with deft dose of oak. Nice and well priced.

2004 Columella, Sadie Family, Swartland, South Africa
The best of the flight, especially after an hour of so in the decanter. It is a Syrah dominated blend but the rest of the components are a mystery that maybe Eben can reveal himself when he visits. Huge mouthfeel and filled with ripe New World fruit, the blend of 25 parcels of grapes is extremely artful. My comment at the event was that I would like to see this wine in a few years when the makeup fades a bit. Recommended.

2001 Tom Eddy Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
This is a blend of several Napa parcels and the result is very pleasurable indeed. There is a touch of bramble, tobacco and cocoa on the nose with a very big, classy mouthfeel. Slick and drinkable now. Recommended

The Pleasure of Inexpensive Chardonnay: Paraiso Chardonnay 2003, Santa Lucia Highlands

Just a quick post about a wine I found at BevMo a few weeks ago and couldn't resist. I really don't buy that much wine that I haven't tasted before, but they had a crazy sale: buy one bottle and get another for a nickel. What made me grab it was its Central Coast Santa Lucia Highlands provenance. I'm getting more convinced that the climes of the Central Coast are under appreciated, especially with Pinot, Syrah, and Chardonnay. In the case of Chardonnay, the cool weather leads to lovely tropical notes.

Paraiso's owners, The Smith family, who has been growing and making wine for more than 30 years, were leaders in the creation of the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA in 1991. They now have over 150,000 vines on 3,000 acres of SLH property. This lends itself to high yields and relatively low prices.

Normally, the Chardonnay runs around $17 a bottle, so at 2 bottles for $15 at BevMo, it was a steal. Too bad it seems it's all gone. Look for the current release of 2005.

Tasting notes:

2003 Paraiso Chardonnay, Santa Lucia Highlands

Upon first opening this, especially when it is cold, the oak on the nose is pretty strong, but after some time in the glass and it warms up a bit, the oak turns out to balance out the lemon, pineapple, and tropical aromas nicely. The acidity is also well balanced and made a good foil for one of our family staples, chicken schnitzel over salad with mustard vinegarette. This is good solid Chardonnay for every day drinking.

Searching for Sonoma Syrah: Leo Steen 2005

It's not often that I get turned on to a wine that has a little mystery behind it. I was in my old neighborhood in San Francisco the other day and popped in to say hello to Gary over at the San Francisco Wine Trading Company. I had him pick out a couple of bottles for me and I asked him for a nice big syrah I could have for dinner that night. He walked over to the Cal Syrah section and as soon as he spied this one, he said I had to try it. First the notes, then the rest of the story.

2005 Leo Steen Sonoma Mountain Syrah

First of all, let me say I loved this wine. It also would pop out at any tasting, as it has a more distinct aroma of cloves than any wine I've ever experienced. Meaty and viscous, this Syrah has a lift of blackberry bramble-y brightness around a firm spicy core. It has an excellent balance between the ripe juicy fruit from the 900 ft. elevation at Scala Estate, oak, and acid. The wine is unfined and unfiltered with minimal intervention and it shows. Drinking very well now, I am curious to see what this will do in another 5 years. $27.00

After I looked at the winery website, which consists of a single paragraph and a PDF order form, my interest was piqued. Either he is so busy that he can't get a proper site up with some background on the grapes and winemaker himself, or he has some non-compete clause preventing him from doing too much of his own publicity. I dare say that he will have no trouble selling out of this wine, as I understand he made only 46 cases (2 barrels). So after more searching, there is no Leo Steen, but instead this wine is made by Leo Hansen, winemaker at Stuhlmuller Vineyards. Hansen, who grew up in Denmark in a food-trade family, became a certified European sommelier and was sent to the U.S .on a buying trip for Kong Hans Restaurant in Copenhagen. (Check out the prices! $90 entrees!) In 2000, he decided to move to Sonoma and landed work at Clos du Bois, then later, Chateau Souvrain. After working with Stuhlmuller fruit at Clos du Bois and Souvrain, he moved on to working in the cellars at Stuhlmuller and in 2004 became winemaker.

We should all keep our eyes out for this very talented winemaker. I'm going to seek out some of his other efforts as soon as I finish this post!

Wine Blogging Wednesday #44: French Cabernet Franc

Once again, it's Wine Blogging Wednesday and this month's host needs little introduction for anyone that has followed the wine blog and vlog scene of the last couple of years, Gary Vayerchuk. His reviews are sometimes sweet, sometimes salty, usually peppery, and always entertaining. The theme for the month? Cab Franc from France, which to me says Loire Valley, specifically Chinon.

I'm hoping that I picked one that is a little less well known, at least for those of us who shop at Kermit Lynch, who always has a good supply of the Charles Jouget Chinons.  Instead of a Jouget, I picked a wine from another maverick winemaker, Bernard Baudry. Those of you in the trade that live in Chicago or New York can meet him on April 14 (Chicago) and April 15 (NYC). Check here for details.

Chinon Les Grézeaux 2004, Bernard Baudry

This is made from the oldest planted parcel of his three wines, with 50 year old vines on average. It spends 1 year in oak that is is 3-5 years old for a dose of that old wood funk. Tasting notes:

This wine exhibits the classic character of Loire Cab Franc - warts and all. By this I mean that many Loire reds suffer from a wild weediness that when consumed on its own distracts from the flavor of the fruit. What every bistro owner in Paris knows though, is that when consumed with food, especially something like classic Steak Frites with lots of pepper, the general herbaceousness can compliment fat and spice.

The first thing that hits your nose is smoke, sweet old oak, wet stones, and maybe a little wet sock. With an hour or so in the glass, these give way to more pepper, mushroom and forest floor.

On the tongue, it's got plenty of acid and a very Old World kind of dried fruit flavor. It tastes more mature than its 4 years and has little in the way of the fresh fruit of say, a Spring Mountain AVA Cab Franc from Napa or even a Cab Franc from Bordeaux. It's really its own beast, so open it expecting something light in body, lifted with herbs, and plenty of tannins.