On the Contrary

Saturday it is off the Grand Tasting wine and food tasting event at Pier 54 on the Hudson River.  But before I go into that, last night we went to a lovely restaurant in Soho (I love this part of New York) called Commerce.  We went with my daughter Serena and three of her friends and just had a delightful time.  After struggling through a couple of mediocre California Wines, I finally ordered a bottle  of Donnahuna Aglianico. a very nice Italian wine.  I think I have figured out many New York restaurants.  They don’t really get California wines, but they know Italian so that is what you want to order.  There are, of course, some good California wines on the menu, but they are in the $100 range as opposed to some really good Italian wines in the $40-$60 range.  In the Italians, look for the super Tuscans.  They are the bigger Italians with some body and finish.  That is not to say there are not cheaper and comparable California wines, they are just not on the menu’s out here in the east.

Pier 54 Tasting

Okay on to the Grand Tasting.  Well the evening at the Chelsea Market (see New York Part I) had been somewhat disappointing so the bar was set low but it was not necessary.  The Grand Tasting was a true treat and very, very, very will organized.  When we arrived and we were in the early tasting from 11 a.m. till 2 p.m., it was about 11:30 so there was no line.  The had set up processing in a lovely park where they gave you a bag of goodies including a fairly good cookbook, a neck strap for your wine glass and a good wine tasting glass.  They had thought of everything.  They had lots of volunteers who were extremely nice and helpful.  Then you walked over to pier 54 on the water for the tasting.  It was amazing!!!

I was afraid there would not be good wineries there or knowledgeable pourers but I was wrong.  Most of the wineries were represented by their employees who were very knowledgeable about their wine making techniques and vineyards.  There were great wines from all over the world and some real surprises.  I have to tell you I like big wines and their were some big wines there.  When I knew I was in Nirvana is when I came across Yangarra wines pouring their Shiraz and Grenache.  I have always admired (Australia) their wines and it was fun to be able to taste their new offerings. Lorraine Broco of the Sopranos fame was pouring her wines and they were quite nice.  Here is the great equalizer in life, love for good food and wine.

The Evian Girls and a Very Happy Taster

I will list some of the wines I found exceptional but I must also mention the food.  It was also over the top.  There were so many chefs presenting wonderful little tastes of their food that you could have gotten lost in just the food.  It was truly fun to grab Raymond Generations Cabernet Sauvignon (excellent and big) with Washguyu (beef) braised beef with black olive risotto.  What a symphony for your palate.   I simply cannot remember all the wonderful things I tasted.  There is a listing of some of the food purveyors and chefs that were represented at the FoodNetwork.com.  The staff, the attendees, and the purveyors were extremely gregarious and fun and it was just a wonderful experience.  Here are some of the wines I loved:

Raymond Generations Cabernet Sauvignon
Cossentino, The Poet 2005 (57% Cab, 24% Cab Franc, 15% Merlot, 7% Petite Verdot,  2% Malbec
Lodola Nuova Modus, Super Tuscan (Mostly Sangiovese)
Byron Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir
Chalk Hill Cabernet Sauvignon 2003

Raymond Wines

Antinori Marchese Ansinori
Arnalido-Capriai
Zaca Mesa Z3 (Rhone blend) and a lovely Viognier
Chateau Beaucastel Chateau de Pape
Yangarra Grenache and Shiraz

I am sure I missed some.  For food here is a layman’s guess at what some of the tasty food was and this is about one-tenth of what was there:
Butternut squash soup with foam and truffle oil
Pumpkin Almond Biscotti ravioli
Wild Mushroom dumpling
Duck confit with wild mushrooms
Barbequed brisket from Hill Country Barbeque
Steak with lumped crab meat
Korean barbequed short ribs
Ahi tuna
Steak Carpaccio
Beet and goat cheese with hazel nut vinaigrette
Gelato
Salumeria Rosi
Tons of chocolate which I skipped

Candace Running out of Hands

Then there was a ton of hard alcohol to drink including sake, bourbon, tequila, and rum.  Candace had a Makers Mark bourbon drink that was so fresh and good that it was a wonderful finish to a wonderful day.  I forgot to mention both Samuel Adams and Corona Beer that was there, and who can forget the Corona girl’s dresses.  But my favorite were the Evian Water girls who we so nice and posed for a picture with an old man.  It was just a terrific day.  Carpe Diem.

Eygyption Ruins with the City in the Background

First event was Thursday night at the Chelsea Market with Bobby Flay.  This event used the Chelsea Market for food and wine tasting.  When Candace and I arrived at 8 p.m. the line for entering wound down the block.  But we were here so we dutifully got in line and commensurated with our fellow line members.  The line was slowly moving and we soon figured out this line was to turn in your tickets for a wristband, and then there was a line to get in.  But soon it got moving and when we entered the Chelsea Market, it was wall-to-wall people.  Maybe they heard there was free food and with the Market tanking, they were gorging for the long fast.  We decided to go to the very end and work our way back, only tasting things that looked really good.  That, sadly, wasn’t very much.  Most of it was what I call bail of hay food.  Lots of it, but nothing for your taste buds to do.  There were a couple of exceptions.  One was shrimp with galic grits and the other lamb parpaccio.

Now Bobby Flay was cooking hamburgers and that was obviously the place to be as his groupies were about 20 deep chanting Bobby, Bobby, and singing him happy birthday.  I don’t know about you, but I have never had a hamburger that was worth all that.  Okay so much for food, and I am sure there were some other fine tasting experiences, but standing in line, pushing your way to the front, ruins the enjoyment of it.

Okay what about the wines?  Well except for the wine being served in the Chelsea Wine Vault, they were fair to poor.  Candace asked several of the servers where the wine was from and they would say California.  Apparently appellation is not part of their vocabulary.  Generally the nose told me everything I needed to know and I could just toss it.  Interesting though, this crowd was obviously more sophisticated than I was because they were slugging this stuff down like there was no tomorrow.  However Samuel Adams was there and holding up the fort.  I never saw anyone really tasting wine, either experiencing its nose, evaluating its color and clarity, or swishing it around their mouth for mouth feel and tannins.  It went straight down the throat with very little time for savoring, which for the most part was a good idea.

Okay, there were a couple of good wines and as I said they were being served in the Chelsea Wine Vault by knowledgeable purveyors of their wines.  If you are a real wine drinker, you needed to go nowhere else and I commend the Wine Vault for providing a real tasting experience.  A couple I did enjoy were:
J. Vidal Fleury Cotes du Ventoux 2005 (Southern Rhone)
J. Vidal Fleury Cotes du Totie 2001 (Northern Rhone)
Artesa Pinot Noir 2006
Poggio al Ginepri 2006
Dinastia Vivanco Rioja Reserva 2001

I am sure there were others, but those are the ones I remember.  After about an hour we had all we could take of the crowds,so we  meet my daughter Serena, and headed for a nice little cozy Italian restaurant in Soho called I Sodi.

Inside the Metropolitan Museum New York

Our waitress was, I would say, in her late 20 to early 30’s but she had a palate.  I have very little knowledge of Italian wines so we told her what we were looking for and she brought each of us a delightful wine suited to our individual tastes and a wonderful antipasti plate of salami and cheeses.  Then back to the Mercer Hotel for a nightcap in the lobby before ending a very nice day.  The perfect end to a busy day.

Friday we went over to Broadway to Dean and Delucca for a nice coffee and muffin for breakfast and then it was off to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  What an experience.

The Metropolitan Museum in NYC on a Beautiful Friday

This place is right up there with the Louvre. I saw so many Van Gogh’s that I have never seen below, even in books.  It was truly a wonderful experience.  Probably what really caught my attention is that we walked into a large circular room that had a panorama of Versailles painted in a 360° panorama.  What amazed me the most as I stood there taking it in, was that back in June I had stood in that identical place at the real Versailles.  It made me smile and tingle all over.  Then we took a long walk through Central Park, caught a cab down to Greenwich Village and strolled through the area of beautiful brownstones and then ended up in South Soho at the Barolo, a wonderful Italian restaurant that has an outside garden.  We split a Caesar salad and crab ravioli with tomato cream sauce.  I had a nice Moretti beer and Candace had a nice rose.  It was delicious.  Tonight it is off to some restaurant with my daughter Serena and I will give you the review tomorrow.  Also on tap is the food and wine tasting so I will give you a full review.

I have been fully supporting the economy and as near as I can tell so are a ton of people here in New York City as the streets are packed with shoppers, strollers, and tourists in this absolutely beautiful weather.  You would never know there are mushroom clouds just a few blocks away in Wall Street.  Are we fiddling instead of hunkering down?  Maybe but life is short.  Carpe Diem

Vine: Okay, the market is tanking, people are panicing, and I am in New York City at the Food Network Wine and Food Festival.  Somebody has to stimulate this economy.  Things in the vineyard are kind of in a holding pattern.  The only think left is the Mourvedre and it is sitting at about 26 degrees brix.  Josh and Carrie Bendick,  who are the wine makers at one of my favorite wineries making consistently wonderful wines, Holly’s Hill, were up here tasting this week, but I think they are still looking for a little more maturity in the tannins and they ought to know.  Since I am not at home, I have no idea what is happening, but I would assume the earliest we would do the final pick is late next week.  I’ll know more next week.

Wine: We had a wonderful salmon and grilled shrimp dinner last Saturday,  The most suprising thing was Ron Mansfield brought A Donkey and Goat Tamarindo which was a Roussanne that was dry and crisp and was just delightful with the salmon and the augula and summer snow peach salad (toasted pecans, no cheese).  I would spend more time on this dinner, but I want to give you updates from the Wine Festival so for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, I will try to post on what I tasted and what is wonderful. Ignore doom and gloom and enjoy the moment while we have it.   Carpe Diem.