Weekly Re’Wine’der – June 3 2010
Greetings!
June already! Where did it go? Schools are about to let the rug rats out, colleges already have, summer camps are full and towns up and down the coast will start to deplete. Weekend parties will last longer, weeknight dinners will require less urgency, and stress will be reduced. Of course if you lived in South America or along the Southern Mediterranean coast the residents there have long known the merits of long weekends, long dinners, long parties, less stress. Possibly because they don’t have winters that pound them into submission, possibly because all the good bosses live over there or possibly because they just do things on ‘lake time’ – a euphemism we sort of latched onto when we would summer at Possum Kingdom Lake in Texas with our dear friends T&DK. There breakfast typically moved slowly from 11.00am; a short boat skirmish followed by a loll in bathtub hot lake water; lunch as it cooled down, about 4:00pm followed by Teddy’s bedy time (a snooze of whatever length of time you could muster) and then the fun really began. Prepping for dinner could take all night and very often dinner itself was a secondary script with the opening act taking place well past midnight. Did we care? Hell no. It certainly didn’t affect my son – just edging toward teendom – he loved sleeping in and eating late. Everyone was so relaxed. So it is during summers now. We head out to the North Shore and rest up with M&VA, discuss the world from the view point of an empty wine bottle; then review the world from a full one. We spend hours prepping food and hours eating it, and we do it all whilst savoring a bottle or two of wine. Hedonists in the kitchen? Not really, just lazy Americans who want to be like those residents living along the Mediterranean coast.
Try it this summer. Take out your diaries and see how many Saturdays and Sundays you really could ‘take off’. Then figure out who you really like and then before even figuring out the small details, invite them over for a sprawling lunch that turns into dinner – we already have a term for breakfast/lunch – let’s start having more Lunners. 10 hour affairs where everyone plays in the kitchen, plays on the deck, around the grill, and plays at the table. When you see how easy it is to roll a late lunch into a late dinner you can then really relax with friends – my best friend at that point would be a lovely, juicy Barbera. The wine, not the lady.
In the past I have harked on about the seasonality of wine, and the summer is such a critical season when it comes to buying wine. You have to figure that more salads will be eaten, more fish consumed, more barbeque foods – less spaghetti in meat sauce, no stews (unless they are the wonderful Moroccan tagines), no 60lb standing rib eyes! Food will be fresher and lighter. Go with the same concept with the wine. And above all, dare to be different. It’s way to facile to simply buy that Santa Margarita junk that poses as pinot grigio and rips you off for $25+. Why not try a light and refreshing Frascati from Casale Marchese – hugely different with a blend of malvasia del Lazio, trebbiano toscano, malvasia di candia, bombino and bellone. You have to admit, with grapes like that in the bottle wouldn’t you be just a little bit tempted? Go up to the bar and ask for a glass of bombino! Don’t do it at JFK, chances are you’ll be arrested. If that’s too radical for you try the Ciro Bianco; just one grape – 100% Greco. Lovely straw color oozing with fresh pineapple and green apple skin – that’s a descriptor for great balance – fruit and acid, the perfect pill! Still need something different to wash away that fake pinot grigio taste? Try a bottle of Vercesi del Castellazzo’s Gugiarolo Pinot Nero Bianco. Yes – this is the wine for men who only drink red wine, even in summer. It’s Pinot Noir but it’s white. The grapes are pressed really softly and only for a really short time – rather like the first pressing of virgin olive oil. What comes out is a luscious white wine, perfectly balanced and in harmony and a wine that can pair up with loads of food stuffs. Still in need of gentle persuasion? Try the Solaluce montferrato Biano. It’s a wine made in the shadow of the Alps and a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay – perfect for those who can’t make up their minds. Moving along to the red aisle, we tried a little red wine two days ago from Villa Fiorita in the Piedmont area. It was their basic Barbera but OMG it was delicious. I immediately bought some cases for the house – this was a red wine that just begged to be drunk outside – refreshing, juicy, fruity but with none of that slushy candy flavor so reminiscent of so many of the wines we taste every day. This one literally throws itself at your lips – its kinda fun to watch! Maybe you need something a little tamer? Take a home a few bottles of Carlo Hauner Salina Rosso – a blend of Nerello Mascalese and Nero D’Avola. I love cheese and I don’t really care whether the cheese comes first, in the middle or last, and this is a wine that will really bring out the contrasts of a cheese platter. Its dry but with a fragrance of blackberry, licorice and vanilla and that makes it also very smooth. Still unsure? Try Roberto Mazzi Sanperetto. A Valpolicella Classico Superiore made up of Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara – slightly more full body but with lovely flavors of cherries, violets and black pepper – a perfect partner with a barbecued slab of meat.
You will notice that all these suggestions come from Italy – it’s part of the ‘seasonality’ thing that I mentioned earlier – look to countries that have our kind of summer heat but add to it by spending time in the kitchen and around the table. Think ‘Lake Time’ and take a chance!
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