Culinary Fool

Chestnut Soup

09-Jan-2007

One of my favorite wintertime dishes is Chestnut Soup. Warm and hearty it has a rich flavor yet is a very healthy dish. And it is super easy to put together, yet is fancy-schmancy enough to serve to guests.

The original recipe this is based on used vacuum-packed chestnuts but one day while strolling through DeLaurenti I came across canned chestnut puree and I’ve been using it ever since.

Chestnut (and the puree) is an ingredient that plays a much larger role in countries other than the US. Italians use chestnut in both sweet and savory dishes and it is also often found in French cooking. So if you are looking for the puree – or even the vacuum packed chestnuts – look for a market that carries international foodstuffs and you’ll be more likely to find it.

In the Seattle area I generally pick the puree up at DeLaurenti, as mentioned. An even better source is Big John’s PFI. DeLaurenti carries a couple of Italian brands and Big John carries a French brand. With today’s gas prices it probably doesn’t make sense to go out of your way to go to Big John’s just for puree but it’s about $2 less per can there. No matter where you get it make sure you check the ingredient list carefully. The only things that should be listed are chestnut and water. No sugar or any sort of sweetener should be on the list and there shouldn’t be any salt. Because chestnuts are often used in desserts there is a sweetened version available but it’s not what you want.

Sometimes the puree can be a little stiff which makes it harder to incorporate into the stock. Don’t worry about that though. This soup is blended near the end and any stubborn little lumps or chunks will be taken care of.

The original recipe calls for chicken stock but really any sort of stock will do. And, in fact, this can be a really nice dish to serve vegetarian friends. Just use vegetable or mushroom stock instead of chicken and you have something suitable for their requirements. Because the soup is so hearty if you add a salad and good loaf of crusty bread you will have a complete meal!

Chestnut Soup

2 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 celery stalks, chopped into small pieces

1 carrot, chopped into small pieces

1 onion, chopped into small pieces

1 tbsp fresh thyme

45 oz of chicken stock (3 cans)

1 15oz can of chestnut puree or of vacuum packed chestnuts

1/4 to 1/2 cup heavy cream

Sauté the celery, carrot and onion in the butter and oil until really tender but not yet turning golden.

Add the thyme, chicken stock and chestnut puree or chestnuts.  Let the soup simmer until the puree has completely softened or the whole chestnuts are tender, 30 – 45 minutes. If using puree stir every now and then to make sure it gets broken into small pieces if not completely incorporated.

Carefully put the soup into a blender in batches, making sure never to fill the blender more than half full. Place a towel over the blender lid and hold it snugly when starting the blender. Puree each batch until all vegetables and the chestnut are smooth. There will be a little texture to the soup but it shouldn’t be lumpy.

Transfer the soup back to the pan and bring it back to a nice warm serving temperature.

Ladle the soup into bowls. Drizzle a little heavy cream over the top.

Fresh Grapefruit Juice

08-Jan-2007

I was shopping at my local Central Market over the weekend and came across the most wonderful display of Texas Pink Grapefruit. The fruits were huge – like a small child’s head! And they were heavy which meant lots of good juice. I picked just one that day – just to make sure that they were as good as they seemed to be before I invested in a big bag of them.

When I sliced it open the sweet, tangy smell of luscious grapefruit escaped from the cut and the surfaces glistened with their precious juices. Each half was so large that it nearly overwhelmed my juicer! But I wiggled and shifted and maneuvered them around until they had released every last drop of juice into the waiting glass.

Each half fruit produced over 6 ounces of the slightly-but-not-too-tart, flavorful, dark pink juice. It was a little taste of sunshine on a very grey day! I’m heading back to the store to load up now!

MashedPotatoes.Org

08-Jan-2007

In the Oliver’s Twist post I briefly mentioned Gasworks Gallery and MashedPotatoes.org. This organization has been in the news quite a lot recently but it certainly is worth mentioning again. Especially since I am a big NW Harvest supporter and am fairly up to date on happenings in Seattle (at least I like to think so!) and I only became aware of this great organization late last year.

I read about the group in late October. And it seemed once I’d heard about them I kept seeing them everywhere – especially in the news in early December when they donated 90,000 pounds of potatoes to NW Harvest at King 5’s Home Team Harvest Food Drive. My November and December schedule was very hectic so I was only able to finally attend my first event last Friday.

The premise of the group is to support and supplement NW Harvest by raising money for and collecting bags of potatoes. They do this a number of ways but the most common and easiest way for you to get involved is through the monthly Fremont First Friday Art Walk gallery opening at Gasworks Gallery. During the monthly events, Gasworks Gallery hosts a party and they request you bring a non-perishable food donation or donate $5 at the door. This is strictly voluntary but I highly encourage you to do so!

Then you can stroll the gallery viewing various artists’ works, talk with the artists and sip a glass of wine while doing so. Gasworks also provides a few nibbles to go along with the wine. The point here, though, is not what you get for your $5 but what you are giving. $5 buys a lot of potatoes in bulk and those potatoes can feed a lot of people. NW Harvest is known for getting more from their donated dollars than seems humanly possible. To learn more about these events and to sign up for the newsletter visit MashedPotatoes.org

Gasworks is now adding another event to their repertoire, Paint Dancing! For this event you donate $10, they supply painting materials (and music!) and you have a Paint Dancing event. They had the first one on New Year’s Eve and it must have been a success as there is another scheduled for January 19th. I’d love to check it out but as I’m hosting a work group at NW Harvest the next day – and then having the crew over to my house for late lunch/early dinner – I’m probably going to have to pass on this one and try to make the next. Although maybe I’ll manage to sneak in for a bit just to see what’s going on.

So there are now two ways for you to easily get involved and help support NW Harvest and have a great time doing so. Check it out – this is a fun way to dispel those Seattle winter blahs that set in just about now. Hope to see you at one of these events soon!

Gasworks Gallery

3815 4th Ave NE

Seattle, WA 98105

First Look: Oliver’s Twist

07-Jan-2007

This was sort of a perfect weekend and it started with a questionable Friday night. Questionable because we had another huge windstorm come wailing in on Friday evening. R and I had plan (well I made the plan and she was gamely following whatever I suggested) that involved three places and a drive in between place two and three. And this was not a fit night to be out and about – especially if you were hoping to keep your hair looking anything like it had when you left the house! Then it turned out that we added another short drive and a fourth stop – we must be gluttons for punishment!

But we persevered and I think we are both glad we did. The first stop was at Queen City. It was really just a place for us to convene since we come from opposite directions and, depending on traffic and parking, it’s pretty hard to get to a certain place at an exact time.

I arrived a bit before R, spent some time commiserating over the weather with a gent sitting next to me while I was sipping a glass of wine. R arrived shortly after and I laid out the evening’s plan. First a stop at the McLeod Residence, a new place in town that’s part gallery, part membership club, part cocktail lounge. It was their very first grand opening night during the First Friday Art Walk in Belltown. An interesting place, packed to the gills, we’ll be back to check it out again.

Next stop involved a drive to Fremont, or actually to north Lake Union to the Gas Works Gallery. This was a multi-purpose visit. First, this space, home to several artists, takes part in Fremont’s First Friday Art Walk but, more importantly they are the home to MashedPotatoes.org, an organization who’s sole purpose is to raise funds/food for Northwest Harvest. Now, you all know how I love to support NW Harvest so I’m saving the detail on that for a post I’ll write after this one.

Following our stop at Gas Works Gallery we weren’t quite ready to go home so we decided to head to a new place that R had recently read about, Oliver’s Twist at 69th and Greenwood. The primary draw for us was the supposed focus on quality cocktails and we wanted to put them to our own test.

The place is rather non-descript from the street – or maybe that was just because the driving rain and wind made it hard to see much of anything. Upon entering however, you immediately feel welcomed. We made our way to the bar and joined a couple other folks sitting there. It turned out the woman on R’s left was someone she knew from a previous life. The man on my right was very nice and he and I chatted while R and her friend caught up on all of life’s little details.

Both R and I ordered a Vesper – always a good choice to test how seriously the place takes it mixology. However, there were several other favorites on the menu. Of course the Vesper is seeing a resurgence in popularity since it’s 007’s cocktail of choice in Casino Royale but we’ve been fans for quite some time – not since the first Casino Royale – we’re not that old! It was a perfectly mixed cocktail with a beautiful orange twist. We were very happy! And also a little hungry.

We perused the menu and decided to order a couple nibbles. The first was blue cheese-bacon stuffed dates with Marcona almonds. What a great combination of flavors and textures! The other plate we ordered was something we already knew a bit about, oregano salumi salami, Sicilian orange jam and grissini. We love our Salumi salami and the oregano is one of my favorites. That hit of herb in the middle of the meat is just such a pleasant surprise. Well, add a bit of the Sicilian orange jam they served with it and wow! Savory, sweet heaven all in one bite! Theoretically we could have wrapped the salami around the grissini or something like that. But we didn’t bother.

We also managed to steal a couple bites of the truffle popcorn they serve. The bartender had given it to my new gentleman friend as he seemed to be a semi-regular. He shared the popcorn with us and it was amazing.

We called it quits after our Vesper. But I will definitely be back to this place, especially since it’s sort of in my neighborhood – close enough anyway.

Saturday was, of course, the amazing and bizarre Seahawk win over the Cowboys – what an exciting and nail-biting game! And then tonight M and I finished the weekend with a bite at Palace Kitchen followed by Pearl Django at Jazz Alley. In between I accomplished several things around the house and spent some time out and about just getting some fresh air. Overall, a very good weekend – hope yours was, too!

Oliver’s Twist

6822 Greenwood Ave N

Seattle

206.706.6673

Holiday Party 2006

07-Jan-2007

I had my annual holiday party a bit later than normal this year but I think I really like the timing and this may be my new schedule. I generally try to do the party during the week right before folks leave for Christmas travel – normally on a Wednesday or Thursday night, which has seemed to work pretty well. If you’ve read this blog for anytime at all you know this has been an event that has been going of for years in one way or another.

This year though I was just feeling like the days were running into each other and since I was in Oregon for my family’s celebration the weekend of the 16th and 17th rushing back home to throw a party together didn’t feel like a hugely festive thing to do. So instead I had the party the Friday between Christmas and New Year’s and I loved it! About thirty five people showed up – that’s a pretty good number for my house, although if more people had shown up we would gladly have welcomed them in.

One of the things I love about my house is that although it’s small it has some great features, like two fireplaces! So with fires burning in both, tons of candles throughout the house and luminaria lining the front walk I think it set a welcoming and warm scene – an important thing when planning a winter party!

And I was very good this year in that I was actually ready and waiting for people to arrive! There were a few things that needed to be popped in the oven at the last minute – stuffed mushrooms, gougere, warmed Brie and crostini – but those are all low-fuss items that allowed me to really participate in the party from start to finish.

My menu was a mixture of old and new – I was actually expecting to hear some complaints from folks about some things that were "missing" from the menu but I think a couple of the new things were so well accepted that no one noticed that some of the normal favorites were missing. For a legible version of the menu, just click on it.

The big hit this year was the Gorgonzola Crostini (recipe at the end of the post). I adapted them from a Giada DeLaurentiis recipe and they were yummy! The tangy, almost spicy, blue cheese was complemented perfectly with toasted walnuts and then there was a bit of a surprise when you hit the sweetness of the honey – sweet, salty and tangy. Perfect! Unfortunately it’s one of the only things I didn’t manage to get a photo of but they pretty much look like any other crostini!

The Crab Lemongrass Tartlets were a bit of a disappointment. R made these for our Asian Fusion dinner club meeting and we loved them! I decided to make them in a miniature size and they were okay but it was almost as if the crust overpowered the taste of the tartlet in this smaller size. I might have to work on that one as I still like the idea.

The Turkey Tea Sandwiches, which I’ve made for a number of years now, were exceptionally good this year. The big change was that I was able to slice the bread thinner than previous years, I think. And, for the fun of it, I used dried cranberries in place of raisins in the bread. They were good.

I don’t really think there were any duds – other than the little problem with the tartlets. After everyone had gathered their belongings and gone home I gathered a couple of the remaining items, a glass of champagne and sat down in front of the fire to reflect on the night, all my wonderful friends and the coming new year. It was a good night!

See more photos here.

Crostini with Gorgonzola, Honey and Walnuts

Olive oil

One long baguette sliced into 1/3" slices (cut on diagonal) – about 30 slices

8 oz creamy Gorgonzola, coarsely crumbled and at room temperature

2/3 – 1 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

Approximately 3 Tbsp honey

Brush the baguette slices with oil and broil on one side until golden. (Can be made ahead and stored in airtight container.)

Mix Gorgonzola with walnuts in a small bowl, smooshing the cheese until the nuts are incorporated. Spread the mixture on the baguette slices. Put in pre-heated 375°F oven and bake for about 8 minutes or until cheese melts.

When there is just a minute or so left, put the honey in a microwave safe container and microwave on high for 10 to 20 seconds – just long enough to make it easy to drizzle.

Arrange the crostini on a platter, then drizzle with honey.

Wine Blogging Wednesday #29 and “Leftovers”

07-Jan-2007

Happy New Year Everyone!

Okay I’m trying to get back into the swing of things here – I can’t believe how long it’s been since I posted anything! So I’m just going to jump right in – over the next few weeks I’ll be trying to catch up with things that I have been wanting to tell you about – some as far back as late September for heaven’s sakes! But that means there may not be much rhyme or reason to the order while I try to keep on on new things at the same time. Sorry… ;-(

First, it’s nearly time for Wine Blogging Wednesday #29 and the theme was announced a couple weeks ago. Jack from Fork and Bottle is hosting and the theme is Biodynamic Wine. I don’t know about you but this is something that I stumble across now and then but generally don’t actively look for so I have a ton to learn for this one. And luckily for me, Jack has all kinds of links and information on his site – be sure you check it out. Then find your wine, drink it, record your notes and post your summary on January 17th. Jack has instructions on how he’d like to be notified on the announcement page. Salut!

Next we have a new event for the new year. David over at Cooking Chat is starting a new event for the new year. It’s called Leftover Tuesdays and is pretty much what you’d think it is. Tuesday January 23rd is the day to post your entry but for all of the info make sure you read David’s post.

Hope to see you all at one or both events!

Food Blog Awards

04-Jan-2007

The finalists for the Food Blog Awards have been announced and now it’s up to you to vote for your favorites! Get all the details and links to all the categories in the announcement.

WBW#28: Sparklers! Summary Part 2

14-Dec-2006

We are continuing with our summary of Wine Blogging Wednesday 28 – Sparklers. I just realized that I didn’t review the "rules" in part 1 but it’s pretty simple – any sparkler not from the Champagne region is fair game.

In case you missed Part 1, it lists all of the multi-bottle entries submitted for this round. In this post we are going to delve in to the single bottle entries and they will actually be sort of organized – at least I think they will be.

We’ll see what actually happens as I go through it. :-)

As with the last post to save time I am going to abbreviate the categories to Special (might be a bit more expensive but good for a special occasion); Party (won’t embarrass you to serve it, but the price point makes it good for a crowd); and Dud (self-explanatory).

Here we go!

France

I’m starting with France just because I think it’s nice to realize that there are French sparkling wines that are not from Champagne – not that I have anything against Champagne – not at all!

Mairead from Fill Up on Bread (something that I can so easily do…) grabbed a couple friends and they went out to do their sparkling wine sampling. They started with something expensive and local but were very disappointed and moved on to their second choice Pol Clement Brut Blanc de Blancs. This one suited them much better! They rate it as "Party for Sure and Definitely Special!"

Our next French offering is from Dr. Debs at Good Wine Under $20 (don’t you love that premise?). She chose NV Blason de Bourgogne Cremant de Bourgogne Cuvee Brut from Auxerrois, Burgundy. She rated this as a great Party wine but more than that said it is "the best under $10 sparkler I’ve had"! That sounds pretty good.

One of our WBW newbies, Kim also stayed with a French wine, choosing Domaine Allimant-Laugner Crémant D’Alsace Brut Rose to write about on the WineLog Blog. It’s pink and it’s a Cremant – something I’ve been wanting to learn more about! She rates it a Party Sparkler and thinks it’s perfect for a wedding…maybe even hers!

Our next entry is also from a WBW first-timer, Megan, and she also chose a French wine to talk about on her blog, Wannabe Wino. She sampled Carod Freres Clairette De Die and while doing research came across a recommendation that it was good for "daytime meetings"! I think she’d like to participate in those meetings and based on her review they might just turn into Parties!

That’s it for France – let’s pop on over to Austria.

Austria

I don’t know if our bloggers just made great selections or if Austria is doing something special but both of our Austrian wines rated as Special!

Thomas, a German blogger with a German language blog, Winzerblog, wrote his review in English to take part in this worldwide event. And I’m glad he did as he tells us about an interesting sparkler, Triebaumer Muscato from the Burgenland, Neusiedler See region. Not only did Thomas enjoy this tasting but the wine brought back memories of younger years – that’s always fun! He places this wine in the Special category.

The Corkdork (with a blog of the same name) also chose an Austrian contender, Schloss Golbersburg Brut Reserve, NV from Kamptal, Austria. His wine was quite different from Thomas’ but it also rates as a Special.

Let’s move on to Italy.

Italy

We have three wines from Italy to learn about.

Anna from Morsels and Musings chose a wine I know nothing about, Pisani Fragolino Rosso Vivo from the Veneto. Not that I think I know everything! In fact just the opposite and why I love these events! She has a bit of history with Fragolino so is in a good position to rate this wine but doesn’t as it falls between the cracks. Not quite good enough to be rated Special but too expensive to fall into the Party category, it sits somewhere in the limbo in between.

False Epiphany’s Dantae, also chose an Italian sparkler. He ended up with a San Fermo Bellenda Prosecco after originally trying to locate a different Prosecco he’d enjoyed in the Virgin Islands. (Although he’s spelling it differently it seems like it might be the same wine our super-achiever Bill reviewed in Part 1…) But back to this wine. It’s from the Conegliano-Valdobbiadene region and Dantae rates it as a Party wine.

Our final Italian offering comes to us from Neil, of the Brooklynguy’s Wine and Food Blog. He blames his choice of this wine on a strange mood he was in but he seems to have had fun with his experiment. While he might not buy the 2005 Bruno Verdi Sangue di Giuda from Lombardy again, it’s not a dud, just not a wine he prefers so he puts it in the Party category.

Moving on to Spain…

Spain

I was a little surprised to see that we have only one Spanish post in the single bottle reviews. We had a couple in the Part 1 posts but still not as many as I would have thought overall. Interesting.

Tim, another podcaster can be found at Wine Cast. This WBW theme challenged him to get outside his normal sparkling zone and he chose a Cava for his tasting. His choice of Cava Avinyo, Brut Reserva, Penedes, Spain NV turned out to be a very nice surprise for him. He calls it a "fairly complex sparkler at a bargain price; highly recommended". At just $14 he places it in the Party category.

We have one last stop in Europe and it’s an interesting one…

Romania

I love this! I’ve never seen anyone write about a wine from Romania, sparkling or otherwise!

Andreea and her blog, Glorious Wines come to us from Belgium. (She mentions there is a Dutch version of Wine Blogging Wednesday!) She hosts themed wine tastings and not long ago had one based on Romania. During that tasting they discovered a very pleasant Romanian sparkler, Prahova Valley Spumant. It’s got a few things going for it yet is cheap enough to make the Party category.

Now we are going to head south, way south.

Australia

I think Australia was our top contender, although the US may have had just a couple more entries. It’s close either way.

Y from Lemonpi is enjoying summer in Australia and has found just the right sparkler to sip this summer. Two Hands Brilliant Disguise Moscato 2006 from Barossa Valley is a recent discovery and one Y is anxious to share with others. It has a low-alcohol content and is perfect for the Party category.

A fellow Aussie, Ed who’s blog is Tomato also chose a local sparkler but he rates his wine in the Special category. Foxeys Hangout blanc de Noirs 2003 sounds great but what is even more fun is that if you visit the winery location you can actually custom blend your own sparkling wine! Now that is Special!

Fe of fefifofum, resides in Perth and also has an Australian pick rated as Special. Fe had a bottle of St Hallett’s The Black NV in the cellar that they had been keeping for just the right occasion and I guess this was it! This wine is from Barossa and often sells out soon after release, according to Fe – so get it when you can.

Our next Australian wine is from Tasmania. Haalo who writes at Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once selected Dominique Portet Tasmanian Cuvée 2002. Not only is this our only Tasmanian entry it also has another very distinguishing characteristic. That’s not what puts it in the Special category but that is where Haalo places this wine.

Garry, a sommelier from the UK, with a blog titled Tales of a Sommelier chose our last Australian entry for this month. His choice Charles Melton Sparkling Red (Shiraz) NV Disgorged 2005 from the Barossa Valley, an old favorite of his. Actually, I guess I should say an old favourite of his. ;-) Garry knows a lot about this producer and shares that information with you. Although this is a great wine, it’s also a pricey wine and therefore belongs in the Special category.

And now we move on to the US.

United States

I was very sad that other than Bill’s (the super achiever) mention of Argyle Brut there weren’t any Oregon or Washington wines reviewed. I guess, however, that was actually my job and I blew it. Oh bother. What was very cool though is that we did have a couple of more unusual entries.

Now, I’m not sure why but our illustrious WBW founder Lenn of LennDevours, wrote up a post but failed to let me know. You can run but you can’t hide, Lenn! As you can guess he chose to sample a wine from Long Island, Martha Clara Vineyards 2001 Brut Rose. His description of this wine being the "lightest coppery-pink" makes me want to try that wine. He didn’t specify but with the price of the wine, I’m placing it in the Special category.

Our other interesting entry comes from David, another WBW first-timer, who writes Cooking Chat. David is from Massachusetts and so it’s not surprising that so is his wine, Westport Rivers 2002 Brut Cuvee RJR. David reminisces about his first sparkling wines and then asks some interesting questions before describing his wine which, when all is said and done is a "Special Party" sparkler.

Now, as you might guess, the balance of our sparklers are from California.

Catherine from, Purple Liquid, submits a review of 2002 J Vintage Brut from the Russian River Valley, she provides an interesting summary of this wine’s lineage and puts it solidly in the Special category.

Jens from Cincinnati Wine Cellars reviews a different wine from the same producer, J Vineyards Brut Rose. Jens almost ended up in the "Paragraph of Shame" when he first tried to submit a Champagne with a bunch of flimsy excuses as to why he couldn’t complete the assignment properly! But he did manage to drink another bottle of wine to meet the qualifications prior to the deadline. Although he then asked for extra credit! I told him the extra credit he got was that he was able to enjoy two great sparkling wines! He also places this wine in the Special category.

Another wine placed in the Special category is 2003 Mumm Pinot Meunier from Napa. This wine was reviewed by Farley of Wine Outlook. Now, not only did she review this wine and place it in the Special category, she actually wrote a Sonnet that Sparkles! That is how much she loves sparkling wines!

S. Anderson Blanc de Noir 1998 from Napa was the wine of choice for John from Brim to the Dregs. John seems to have a great outlook on life and how to celebrate it (beliefs I share, by the way). He puts this wine in the Special category but allows a little leeway for those who might think it is also a Party wine.

Dave from Avenue Wine (thanks for the fancy logo, Dave!) also has a California wine he places in either the Special or Party category. Although Dave had great aspirations to rival our super achiever, I think life and the holidays took their toll! But still he reviewed Chandon Sparkling Wine Brut Classic and not only do you get a review but lots of background info, too.

Update December 18, Dave actually did make it through several sparkling wines and got his post up just after I’d finished the summaries and headed out of town. And in fact, he should have been in post 1 and ties for our super acheiver award. Here is his updated list:

1. Chandon Sparkling Wine Brut Classic – California = PARTY!
2. NV Chandon Sparkling Wine Blanc de Noirs – Carneros = PARTY!
3. 2002 Schramsberg Sparkling Wine Blanc de Blancs – California = PARTY!
4. NV Monticello Vineyards Sparkling Wine Montreaux Brut – Napa Valley = DUDs
5. NV Chandon Sparkling Wine Riche California = PARTY!
6. NV Chandon Sparkling Wine Reserve Brut – Carneros = PARTY!

One link takes you to all the details.

Roederer Estate Brut (NV) from Sonoma/Anderson Valley brings back plenty of memories for Anita from Married…with Dinner. She places it in the Party category and for good reason – this was the wine selected for her wedding and her anniversary is very soon!

And finishing up with one more Party sparkler we have Wine Box Guy from Box Wines and his pick, Ballatore Gran Spumante. Wine Box Guy laments that he couldn’t find a boxed wine for this event but understands there are times when a box won’t do the trick. While this wine did not get big raves, he feels it’s an appropriate choice for a party.

And that ends our WBW #28 Sparkling Wine Round Up! I think this is a very interesting selection of wines and it was amazing to me that we only had a couple duplicates! If I counted correctly (and there’s a good chance I did not…) we had about 47 reviews (33 reviewers) and to have so few repeats is really amazing.

I thank you all for humoring me and for playing along at this busy time of year. Hopefully as you read through all of the individual posts you will learn a few new things – both about the wines and your fellow participants – and be motivated to go out and try a few more new sparklers that are not Champagne…

WBW#28: Sparklers! Summary Part 1

14-Dec-2006

You guys just blow me away! What a wonderful array of sparklers sipped and documented and stories told! I’m not going to lie to you; I haven’t read every post from start to finish. Not yet, but I will. The only reason I haven’t is that I

really want to get this summary up early enough that it might be useful to those looking for sparkler recommendations for this holiday season. But I will go back and read them all – I’ve seen enough to be tantalized on so many accounts. I’m going to love this and so will you!

Before I get into all the details I just want to thank you all for your participation. We have several first timers (Welcome!), many of you who really spent time searching for something new and interesting (that just warms my heart!) and many of you did your tastings with friends over dinners or parties – how great is that?!? I recognized several of you from this week’s Mixology Monday (haven’t we all been drinking a lot this week!) which was fun.

I’m going to try to do this writeup in some sort of order although there may be a couple places where it gets messy where folks reviewed more than one bottle. I’m also working on a little side project that may not be ready when I release this but I hope to have it done shortly after – check back later on Friday or early on Monday.

I am also going to break this into two posts. The first post will cover all the multiple bottle entries. The second will cover the single bottle entries and it will be organized by (wine) region and within the region by category (party, special, dud). Speaking of categories – remember that one man’s party wine may be another person’s special wine or even someone else’s dud. That’s what makes the world of wine fun – there is something for every person’s taste.

One last note and then let’s get to the good stuff! To save time I am going to abbreviate the categories to Special (might be a bit more expensive but good for a special occasion); Party (won’t embarrass you to serve it, but the price point makes it good for a crowd); and Dud (self-explanatory). Okay, let’s get to it!

Grand Tippler Award and Runner Up

We have to give special recognition to two members of the community who drank their hearts out, just so you wouldn’t have to! Okay, maybe they just really enjoyed the tasting, but still!

Our all time super achiever is Bill Wilson from Wine for Newbies. Bill sampled and reported on SIX sparklers from all over the world and documents them all in his post and podcast. Let’s start with the sparklers that he rated Special:

Argyle Brut 2000 from Oregon; and then Domaine Chandon Brut California Classic and Banfi Rosa Regale Brachetto d’Acqui DOCG were rated as both Special, due to taste, and Party since the price point is right. Those falling solidly in the Party category were Santa Margherita Prosecco di Valdobbiadene DOC Brut NV (Italy) and Jacob’s Creek Chardonnay Pinot Noir Brut Cuvee NV from Australia. And there was one Dud: Rumball Sparkling Shiraz from Australia. I was glad to see the rating on the Rosa Regale as I have a bottle just begging me to try it. I’d do it tonight but then I’d never finish this summary!

Coming in at a very close second place for wino of the week, is Derek from the Gastronomic Fight Club. Derek samples four wines: three are from California and the Korbel line of wines and the fourth is from New Zealand. The three Korbels, N.V. Korbel Chardonnay "Champagne", Korbel Natural Méthode Champenoise, and N.V. Korbel Brut Rosé, are all rated as Party wines while the New Zealand offering, N.V. Le Brun No 1 Family Estate Chardonnay No. 1 Cuvée ranks as a Dud. I’m glad to see that a Rosé made it into that lineup, too.

Double Dipping

Then we had several people who tried two wines. Edward of Wino Sapien ended up with two Duds, unfortunately, but don’t you think it was great of him to sacrifice himself to save others? He tried Mini Pash and Killawarra Strawberry Dusk both something he calls alcopop – I like that term even if I wouldn’t like what falls into that category. They are both from Australia. I’m not sure why he didn’t mention the Cava he also writes about? It’s Freixenet Rosado Brut Cava from Spain and from his description it looks like it may have fallen into the Party category.

With a blog name like Catavino (and living in Spain) you might be able to guess where Ryan and Gabriella’s choices were produced. In their post and podcast they review Paul Cheneau Brut ‘Blanc de Blancs’ and Avant by the Giro Ribot Winery, two Spanish cavas. They rated them as a Party wine and Special bottle, respectively. You can hear them work on their pronunciation as they sip and report throughout the podcast!

Our next double dipper is Marcus from Doktor Weingolb who chose to go with known entities for a special dinner party. He seems particularly enamored with Ms but you can read his post to find out about that! In the meantime the sparklers he tried were: Cuvée J.M. Monmousseau Touraine Mousseux 2002 and Mumm Napa Cuvée Brut (NV). He rated the first as a Party wine crossing over into Special and the second as a Special.

Amanda from PostDoc in Paris (now there’s a nice gig!) stayed with French sparklers but stayed out of Champagne, as she should! :-) She chose Blanquette de Limoux and Cremant de Limoux based on the recommendation of a friend on wines from that region. They were both new to her and both from Languedoc-Roussillon. The first rates as a Party wine and the second as a Dud. According to her post she actually bought two other bottles to try but is holding those for another day!

Rinku chose two Australian entries, Pink and Paringa – Sparkling Shiraz. On Cooking in Westchester, Rinku first tries Pink but is disappointed and rates this bottle a Dud. Disappointing. The following weekend brought another opportunity for discovery and this time the Paringa did not disappoint. It earns a place in the Party category.

I chose to limit my post to just two wines since I didn’t want to look like too big a lush at my own event! Of course that was before I knew about Bill’s six samples and Derek’s four! If only I’d known…. I chose something new and something known. The new wine was Rumball Sparkling Shiraz from Australia, the very same wine that Bill placed in the Dud category and I heartily agree. It’s a darn shame, too, as it’s a beautiful pour! My second wine is a Prosecco (Italy) that I have come to love, Rive Della Chiesa Prosecco. This is a great Party wine and extremely versatile. I especially love it at brunch.

All right. That is the end of the multiple bottle posts. ~~I’m going to get to work on~~ The single bottle post ~~and it shouldn’t be too much longer before it’s~~ is ready for your perusal.