Secrets President Tues Cantine Due Palme told Viva Italy Channel (SKY830) by the protagonists, Assunta De Cillis and CEO and winemaker Angelo Maci prestigious Winery of Cellino San Marco. The comment of the People.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyEgueZaLjw&hl=en
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Unexpectedly, I had the weekend ahead of me where I could do anything. I said a quick prayer that I could still get a reservation at the last minute. After receiving an affirmative answer from Big Sur’s Ventana Inn I ran to my closet to quickly pack. Having consulted with an expert the previous year, I knew how to confidently pack in 10 minutes knowing I would have everything I would need to look my best and feel great all weekend.
From San Francisco, I drove south along Route 1. Knowing I couldn’t pass the Nepenthe Restaurant without a visit, I planned to enjoy a leisurely late lunch absorbing the splendor of the Big Sur coast spread out in front of me.
Nepenthe made the phoenix bird its emblem when it opened in 1947. The architect, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright, designed a building of redwood and glass that seems to grow out of the hill. At one time it was the get away home of Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth. The restaurant and shop have now been operated by the same family for 3 generations.
I was fortunate to obtain a seat on the back patio which offers the most spectacular of all the views from Nepenthe. I had put in my order for the perfect day and the Universe was certainly cooperating. A pristine clear day, bright sunshine, a very gentle breeze playing with a few white puffy clouds, and the ocean crashing below was my idea of Heaven!
Known for their perfectly cooked Ambrosia burgers and French fries, I decided to indulge, including the blueberry pie with ice cream. Absolutely decadent!
Not much further south was my destination, the Ventana Inn and Spa. Nestled in the Santa Lucia mountains along California’s dramatic Big Sur coast line, the Inn is surrounded by 243 acres and rests 1,200 feet above the Pacific Ocean, serene, secluded and beautiful.
The inn is rustic yet luxurious and sophisticated. My room had a wood burning fireplace as well as a private deck with magnificent views of the rugged coastal surroundings amidst the redwood, oak and bay laurel trees. Perfect for indulging in a relaxing weekend.
After that deliciously filling lunch, exploring a few of those 243 acres and facilities of the inn gave me a chance to walk off some of that food.
The Ventana Inn offers spa services daily, either in your room or at their Allegria Spa. All treatments are designed to relax and nurture the body and spirit through Nature’s healing gifts. I arranged to have a massage in my room after a couple hours of exploring and before getting ready for dinner.
This is also the home of The Restaurant at Ventana, formerly the Cielo, which has received the Wine Spectacular Award of Excellence since 1992. The legendary terrace of the restaurant reveals the drama of the 50 mile views of the coastline right before your eyes. A perfect place to enjoy a good California shiraz while watching the sun sink into the sea and try to catch that split second flash of aquamarine as the sun “sinks below the water.”
As the rosy sky turned to dusk I decided to see if the Cielo lived up to my expectations and ordered dinner by candlelight on the terrace. The wild salmon was perfectly broiled with a lemon dill sauce. Fresh asparagus, summer squash and new baby potatoes arranged like an artist’s palette in front of me definitely stirred my gastric juices. Every mouthful was savored and enjoyed. I decided to skip dessert after my blueberry pie and ice cream earlier in the day, but the menu certainly was tempting. Settling back, watching the moon rise and the stars emerge, I enjoyed a cappuccino as any lingering concerns vanished into the ethers.
The Japanese hot baths were calling to me, so after a quick trip back to my room, I soon found my way to the baths where I further relaxed under the stars before retiring blissfully to sleep.
Awakening early and well refreshed, I was up in time to take in the yoga class that the Inn offers. After a healthy breakfast I joined the guided hike offered by the Inn. A light lunch preceded retiring to the pool, book in hand. After swimming a number of laps, collapsing on a chaise, I reveled in the pleasure of my skin being gently kissed by the sun. A complete spa treatment was scheduled for me before dinner, including another deep massage and full facial. Another splendid night of dining on the Restaurant terrace was followed by turning in early with my book and soon thereafter by floating off into dreamland.
The next day I got up again in time for the yoga class followed by a few pre-breakfast laps in the pool. I spent my last meal at Ventana absorbing and memorizing the incredible view from the terrace before having to head back north.
Perfect clothes, perfect weather, perfect surroundings, perfect weekend!
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ASI General Assembly & 1st Contest of the Best Sommelier of Asia-Oceania 2009 Osaka-Japan Shiraz Welcome Dinner Wine Comment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgKGwtRX1lY&hl=en
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Most Vital Aspects To Guarantee Your Wine Stays Fresh
Wine storage is essential to the success of any collection. If you enjoy collecting find wines then you will want to look into the best of all wine storage options. There are many different ways to store your wine but no matter which wine storage solution you choose you will need to keep the conditions constant. The temperature of any wine storage space needs to be at a constant 50-60 degrees. There should also be plenty of ventilation of the area and this wine storage should be far away from the main area of the house. You do not want to have your wine collection suffering due to too much vibration and you need to keep any source of light to a minimum. No sunlight should be acceptable into the wine luggage compartment area.
If you diagram to store 5000 bottles of wine or more you might consider either renting space or building a wine room. You can build a wine room yourself or hire someone to do it. A wine room does not need to be elaborate it just needs to accommodate your collection and have a cooling unit or large wine cellars installed into the room. If you use a cooling unit you may set up racks throughout the room to provide enough storage space. Here are some concluding tips for wine storage to remember. Always store your bottles of wine lying on their side and this applies to the bottle being on a wine rack or in a wine cellars or similar type of storage etc. Storing wine up right may cause any sediment to form and harden at the bottom of the bottle. This holds true especially in expensive bottles of red wine. Keep your collection in not only a cool place but dark and avoid the sunlight at all cost for it may age your wine or disrupt the balance of the wine making it taste different. If at all possible avoid storage your wine near or around strong vibrations because this to may disrupt the balance of the wine and change or distort its tang.
The basics of wine storage temperature are fairly simple. First, the wine should be kept cool. Like most beverages and foods, heat is the natural enemy of wine. A cool temperature is most select, but the temperature should not lowered too much as this too will harm the wine. In the unlikely event that the wine freezes, it will probably only be suitable for vinegar!
The basics of wine storage are really straightforward with whites, reds, and blushes. However, the serving preparation for each of these wine types is different and something worth discussing. After removing the bottle from storage, getting your wine to the correct temperature is central. With red wines, such as a merlot or Shiraz, approximately 65 degrees Fahrenheit is what is recommended. This is basically room temperature. Secret tip: in a room of about 70 degrees Fahrenheit the wine, due to being a liquid will naturally be cooler. It is highly advised to not chill red wines. This is a more common error than you think; the cold can be very unhelpful on the wine and its zest.
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For those of you who have had the good fortune to get on the mailing lists of the “cult” wineries from California years ago you may be shaking your head in agreement as you read this note about wine prices. Those readers who have just started collecting top California wines may not have the same perspective due to current market prices in recent years.
This time of year some of the best boutique wineries are sending out to their mailing list customers wine allocations notices and pricing for the upcoming vintage. The list of top California wineries has been growing due to improved financial backing, better winemaking technology and sustainable agriculture practices; all of this is fueled by a very hot wine market. From my personal tastings, California’s top “red” winemakers and ones you should get on their waiting list include: Harlan, Abreu, Colgin Cellars, Bryant Family, Dalla Valle, Shafer Hillside, Screaming Eagle, Sine Qua Non, Hundred Acre and Pride Mountain.
Consumers who have been on these winery mailing lists from the beginning have seen a steady rise in wine prices. For some wineries the price increases are staggering. The 2004 Screaming Eagle came out at $500 per bottle. Their first release in 1992 was selling for $50 per bottle. The 2004 Harlan came out at $350 per bottle. Their first release in 1990 came out at $75 per bottle.
The free market system tells us that “goods” sell at prices that the current market will bear. Today many cult wineries are having no problem selling their wines because of the small quantities they produce. But at what point do long time patrons of these wineries have to stop buying because they are either priced out of the market or find more compelling wines at lower prices?
Top California wines are approaching the bottle prices of the First Growth Bordeaux wines. I think this will be a critical intersection to watch since the French have established 100+ years of bottle aging data whereas the California newcomers have at best at 10-15 year track record.
I wonder if we are approaching some critical mass where the wine buying public starts to seriously look and purchase wines from other upcoming areas that reflect pricing of California wines from 10-15 years ago.
It is clear to me that one of the reasons Americans have fell in love with Australian wines in the past 5 years is that the quality to price ratio is often 1/3 that of similar California wines. Will the same hold true for wine from Chile, Argentina and Spain? Only time will tell.
One of the wine world’s best stories in 2006 is the 95 points Robert Parker awarded to a $19.95 wine from Australia. The Mollydooker “Boxer” Shiraz has one of the highest price to points ratio in the history of Mr. Parker’s notes. The wine made by veteran winemakers Sarah and Sparky Marquis defies gravity with a screw cap enclosure and a rip-off wine label “tab” that allows wine lovers to keep the name of the wine close to their hearts. So much for the snooty tissue paper wrapped bottles from the Napa Valley!
I would say that since this wine sold out in a matter of days post his review, American’s appetites for $150+ California Cabernet’s may be waning. In closing, one of the best wines produced in California is the Phelps Insignia which sells for around $130 per bottle. This is widely available at wine retailers and every vintage is a great value. Some of the best vintages can compare to the top cult wines at 1/3 the price. I’m still amazed why this wine does not sell off the retail shelves in the first few weeks of sale! I commend the Joseph Phelps winery for keeping this great wine priced for all to enjoy. I wish more wines of this caliber and aging potential were priced this reasonably! I just recently tasted the 1994 Insignia and it was superb!!!! This wine has a well establish aging profile so give it a try.
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Many people are intimidated by the idea of cooking with wine. It sounds a little too fancy or even gourmet (that’s Greek for complicated). Maybe they are feeding a family and don’t like the idea of serving the little ones something with wine in it. However, often it is just a case of people not knowing how to cook with wine. It really is very simple and can be incorporated into anyone’s recipes.
Some of the advantages of cooking with wine include:
very little makes a huge difference to the flavor and aroma of your dishes
it instantly produces a richer, more complex taste to recipes
you can easily experiment with it for different results
if you choose to replace it in a recipe, it can be easily done with chicken, beef or vegetable broth
The first step for beginners wishing to cook with wine is to try adding it to spaghetti sauces. Red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Bordeaux and Merlot are wonderful in spaghetti sauces that are vegetarian or beef based. If the sauce is being served over chicken or is made with ground poultry, white wine works better. Even as little as 1/3 of a cup of wine adds a rich flavor to the entire batch of sauce that will cause people to come back for it time and again. Another great and easy way to incorporate wine into your cooking is to create a sauce from the little bits of food left in the frying pan after frying meats. You simply pour in wine and gently scrape the pan as it cooks on the stove. This is actually a real cooking technique called deglazing. It makes a fantastic rich sauce to pour over vegetables or meat. An added bonus is your pan will also be easier to clean afterwards.
If you are cooking in the slow cooker or baking in the oven, you always need to add liquid. Wine is the perfect cooking liquid. It adds flavor and richness. White wine adds an irresistible intensity to fish baked in it. Red wine is wonderful to add to the slow cooker with a roast or in beef stew.
As you get bolder with your use of wine in cooking, explore some different recipes using it. They are very easy to find. Just a simple online search will provide you with numerous recipes. There are soups, desserts, main dishes, pastas, appetizers and more that feature any of a variety of wines in their ingredient list. So remember to keep at least one red and one white wine on hand to give a little extra flavor to the dishes you prepare. Even inexpensive wines will add a little extra je-ne-sais-quoi in your food. (That’s French for yummy) An important point to remember for anyone who brings it up, is that the alcohol in the wine burns off in the cooking process, leaving you with flavor and no intoxicating effects. It also doesn’t add any extra fat to the meals you are preparing. You will astound your friends with how sophisticated your cooking has become because of the great results wine produces in even every day dishes.
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This week we check a contender for Australia’s best riesling that won’t break the bank. We also check out a big Coonawarra red blend that is back in great form after a few disappointing vintages and a very young grenache/shiraz that is extremely drinkable right now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyUWnI4Rtxw&hl=en
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The savings are great but what about taste? Steve’s investigates the box wine revolution in this (FIRST EVER) video episode. Italian Merlot Casarsa is reviewed along with King Fish Shiraz and a passing mention of Franzia Boxed Merlot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBkTz54cih4&hl=en
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Wine that is produced using grapes that have being harvested late in the season produce sweet, clear wines with a manageable level of acidity. The practice of late harvesting is particularly prevelant in areas such as Germany, Austria and Hungary; where the cold temperatures experienced by these northerly geographic regions is seen as a positive rather than a negative. Some German wine made from late harvests is said to be amongst the best in the world.
The reason the late harvest is so effective is due to the increased likelihood of finding grapes which are infected with Botrytis cinerea, which is commonly known in the wine making industry as ‘noble rot’. Noble rot is essentially a fungus, and when it grows upon grapes, the grapes shrivel and harden This causes the grapes to lose nearly all of their water content, which causes the sugar in the grape to become the most concentrated element of the grape itself. This process is known as desiccation, and any grapes that are effected by noble rot are extremely sweet due to the high presence of sugar without the neutralising element of water.
Thus, German wine made from the late harvest is characteristically very sweet, and is typically used as a dessert wine. Noble rot is formed when humidity in the climate causes the fungus to grow and attack the grapes, and the longer it is left to grow, the sweeter the eventual production wine will be.
Noble rot attacks grapes most frequently in September and October, much later than traditional the traditional harvest time of August to early September. However, there is an element of risk involved in leaving grapes to attract noble rot; the longer a vine is subjected to the rapidly cooler Autumn weather, the higher the chance it has of falling foul of natural elements such as storms. This is one of the reasons why late harvest wine is more expensive, the other contributing factor being the sweetness and quality of wine it produces.
Harvesting grapes with noble rot is not easy. The fungus does not grow uniformally on each grape at each time, and a complete vine is never ready at the same time. Instead, workers must look at each individual grape every day to see if the rot has reached the level ideal for cultivation. When each grape does reach the prime point of infection, it is harvested individually. Grapes that are chosen in this way are given a special distinction in the grades of German wine; Beernauslese or Trockenbeernauslese. These are among the most expensive wines produced in Europe.
German wine makers, however, sometimes take the production of late harvest wines to extremeties, in the production of Eiswein. Translated literally as ‘ice wine‘, eiswein is produced from grapes that have naturally frozen on the vine and are typically harvested in January or February. The wine is so specialised and of such high quality that unnatural freezing – such as that done in a freezer – is a crime in Germany. Eiswein is made from grapes not effected by noble rot; the sweetness of the wine is achieved by the freezing process, which itself removes all water from the grapes.
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Award winning wine critic and publisher of The Wine Front, Campbell Mattinson discusses the release of the new Penfolds super premium red wines – released 1 May 2008. PART 2 …. PENFOLDS GRANGE 2003.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMLWwL1hmMQ&hl=en
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