The motto at the bottom of The Wine Channel business card reads “From Wine What Sudden Friendship Springs.” Back in July I read an article about some folks having an outdoor dinner at a Capitol Hill home in Washington DC. As the dinner was winding down a would-be robber happened upon the scene, pulled out a gun and threatened to start shooting if the dinner guests didn’t hand over their money. One of the hosts asked him if he would like a glass of wine and he accepted. Sipping a Chateau Malescot-St. Exupery, he said, “Damn, that’s a good wine.” He then had some cheese to go along with another glass of wine and said that he had made a mistake and asked for a group hug instead. The dinner guests complied and the would be robber then peacefully left with a full wine glass in hand. I just found this story astounding because it just exemplifies the virtues of wine. Wine brings people together. Now I know that this story could have had an unhappy ending but the fact of the matter is the host opened up the party to one more guest and in the end, all he wanted was friendship. The total loss was a crystal glass and a story worth telling over and over again. How well do you know your neighbors? When was the last time you had a bunch of friends over and sat around enjoying a good bottle of wine? Why not invite some friends over and have them invite someone you don’t know to come with them? After all, “From Wine What Sudden Friendship Springs.” The least you can do is make another friend and in return bring some joy into the life of someone else. Salute!
I was going to write about the virtues of owning a wine refrigerator, especially if you don’t have a wine cellar to store your wine. But as I was looking in mine, I started to take an inventory as to what I was storing. I like all wines but I am partial to Reds and by the looks of things I’ve gone a little overboard in my storage particulars. Now I have some Silver Oak, Cakebread, Le Millepertuis Crozes Hermitage and Owen Roe but my white wines were limited to Josef Ehmoser Bruner Veltliner Hohenberg and Epiphany. I checked my dining room wine rack and found bottles of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc and in my kitchen refrigerator I found a bottle of Riesling and Rose. The majority of wine in my wine refrigerator is Cabernet Sauvignon followed by Syrah, Zinfandel and Pinot Noir and Bordeaux with a Cuvee sneaking in there. I drank the Grenache last night. By the looks of things, I have a good array of wines to choose from for whatever the occasion or food pairing however, the white wine in the kitchen refrigerator is being stored too cold. Now I realize that the wine on my dining room rack and in my kitchen refrigerator is being consumed faster than the wine in my wine refrigerator but I’m going to go out and get a few bottles of exceptional Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and White Burgundy to top off my whites. And I think I’ll pick up a few bottles of Malbec and Carmenere since winter is coming and I’ll be cooking more stews and chili. Oh and I can’t forget to get a couple of bottles of Beaujolais; a great wine to have just about any time.
How about your wine collection? Is it time to do an inventory and add more whites or reds? Be adventurous and try some new wines that you haven’t tasted before. You may be very surprised to find that you found a new favorite. I was sitting in a restaurant with a friend of mine and I ordered a bottle of Grenache. He preferred Chianti to almost anything else but after a couple sips of the Grenache he looked at me and said, “I can’t believe it, I’m a Grenache man.” Now he’s stepping out and expanding his palate by trying every wine that he hasn’t tasted yet. Everybody has a certain varital, a certain winery or winemaker that becomes their favorite. Join in on the exploration and enjoy the adventure of tasting different types of wine. And if you absolutely don’t like it, use it to cook with by adding it to your drippings for exciting gravy or add it to a sauce for a unique and new flavor. Have a blast and keep on discovering - it will keep you young.
I decided I wanted a pizza but I wanted something that I never had made before. When I was living in Turkey, I really developed a palate for Mediterranean meals. I loved breakfast with smoked salmon, pealed tomatoes, feta cheese, capers, kalamata olives and onions on flat bread. So I thought what the heck, let’s try making a Mediterranean pizza. I started by rolling out whole wheat dough. Instead of using tomato sauce, I covered the dough with a herbed feta cheese. Then I layered smoked salmon over the cheese and sprinkled chopped kalamata olives can capers over the salmon. I added chopped sundried tomatoes and finely chopped red onion and then a layer of plain feta cheese on top of it all. I baked it on a baking stone for 15 minutes at 450 degrees and when it was finished I added fresh squeezed lemon over the whole pizza. The pizza was fabulous! Be sure not to add too many capers because there is plenty of salt in the olives and feta cheese. Next was a good wine to pair with it. Normally I would have gone with a Sauvignon Blanc or a Pinot Noir, but since I used smoked salmon, I wanted something a little bigger. I pulled out the Red Bicyclette Syrah and to my surprise; it made the whole pizza POP. The power of the Syrah with its deep berry fruit flavors, spicy aromas and mature tannins cut the pungent and saltiness of the cheese and really brought out the smoke flavor of the salmon. What a great discovery. But isn’t that what wine and food are all about? The discovery is exciting and fun and when it Pops, you know you’ve happened upon something magical. Enjoy a bottle of Red Bicyclette tonight and create your own wonderful food pairing. When the magic in the bottle marries the magic in the food, your tongue will sing and dance the whole night long.
