Let the Season Begin

Are you a snowbird or a snowflake?

Now that the holidays are upon us, it's the official start of the snowbird season.  That is, the vast migration of northeasterners down to God's Waiting Room -- Florida -- to escape the sad winter weather.

If you're a snowbird, you fly down and spend the whole winter there without another thought of coming home until the Central Park trees start budding again.  If you're a snowflake, you fly back and forth all winter.  I fall into the latter category.

People in Florida, it seems, do not eat home.  It's like cooking will give you the pox or something.  So when in Rome, do what the Romans do and eat out. 

One of our favorite restaurants in South Florida is Kathy’s Gazebo – or just Gazebo as the locals know it.  Situated on Federal Highway and Spanish River Road, it is a fine dining refuge in a day and age where restaurants make it on the number of decibels and how  night clubby it can be.  Not at Gazebo.  In some respects, it’s a restaurant of another time and place, where there are still white tablecloths, the waiters still don tuxedos and where soufflés are still served.  Be still my heart.

Giuseppe tells me that this restaurant is very similar to a place called Lorraine Murphy’s on the North Shore of Long Island, New York.  While Lorraine Murphy’s is before my time, I find Gazebo charming and not staid in the least.

Even the diners dress up here.  It changes the mood when we’re in our Sunday best.  Not the stuffy uncomfortable going to church kind but rather in a relaxed and happy wedding way.  Typically in Florida, most diners don the hip casual look a la Jersey Shore.  At Gazebo, I always feel like the diners are out on a date – some men wear (gasp!) ties with jackets, women wear dresses that don’t expose the full cleavage(!). The only thing exposed is the kitchen.  And Giuseppe and I love sitting in the bar area where the kitchen is and we watch the chefs prepare the night’s dinner.  It makes our mouths water and gives us ideas as to what will sate our appetites for the night. 

I like to start out with a Kir Royale, cassis liqueur with Piper Heiseck champagne, the house bubbly.  The cassis gives champagne a little red color to it and sweetness.  Already I’m in a festive mood!  The prickle on my tongue from the bubbles just makes my mouth water.  The wine list is mainly French, American and Italian.  What’s on the menu is decidedly classic French – escargots, foie gras, bouillabaisse, Dover Sole a la Meuniere prepared tableside.  Seems like nowadays, all the restaurants in South Florida are either Italian or so fusioned that I’m not sure what cuisine it is.  Giuseppe’s and my favorite dish is the bouillabaisse, a classic southern-French seafood stew.  Who makes that anymore?  The dish is finished off with a splash of Pernod giving it a hint of anise on the finish.  Yummmmmmmmmmmm. 

Since Giuseppe is a pinot noir kind of guy, we can indulge in classic French red Burgundies, which is a pinot noir region of the best kind.  So lucky for me.  Our recent visit had us tasting a bottle of red Burgundy from Chanson  Pere et Fils Beaune Greves Premier Cru 2005.  It lasted so long in my mouth and tasted of cherries, red plums, mushrooms (think earthy) minerals and herbs.  It was smooth and velvety.  It was special.  Like my date night with my man.

If you're not in the mood to wear your tightest jeans, stratospheric heels, and give the tatas a night off, head to Gazebo. 


Grand Marnier souffle



If they offer the Grand Marnier souffle with creme anglaise for dessert, order it!  You won't be disappointed.

Links:

http://www.kathysgazebo.com/

http://www.vins-chanson.com/

Wines for the holidays

I recently met the export manager of the Martin Codax label from Galicia, Spain.  Martin Codax is a cooperative wine (like the Santa Margherita label of the Alto Adige in Italy) comprised of 550 families.   The export manager’s name is Mariola Varona and she is passionate about this part northwest Spain and the wines produced by Martin Codax.  We met at Avra, a Greek restaurant in midtown Manhattan.

You can feel Mariola’s love for the products as export manager.  I could sense the enthusiasm of the label’s winemaker as well when she told me that the winemaker, Luciano, also consults for other wineries in the area (to the tune of over 120 wineries).  I did not know that Martin Codax was a 13^th century Galician musician and composer, born in Vigo, a seaside Spanish town that is home to the winery.

The albariňo, an indigenous grape from Spain, is a high acid grape.  I found it very refreshing and pleasant with flavors of white flowers, green apples, lemons and vivacious acidity.  It married so well with my Greek salad appetizer and grilled octopus.  It oozed deliciousness.  I find that sometimes when I drink albariňos, maybe it’s chilled in the fridge for too long and it tastes like a whole lot of nothing.  But this wine was different.  It had lots of flavor and complexity to it.  I could see myself drinking it with seafood – any seafood(!) and it being a go-to white wine staple.

I also tasted a 2007 tempranillo made in the modern style called Ergo produced under the same label.  Tempranillo is Spain’s answer to Cabernet Sauvignon.  It had aromatic red fruit aromas and tasted vibrant and fresh, yet elegant.  There was a nice acidity to it and felt full in the mouth (meaning it coated my mouth from the front of the tongue to the back).  Usually I like to drink white wines with my seafood, but this tempranillo was so bright that it married well with my grilled octopus.  I bet you that it will even complement my turkey that I’m going to have this later week.  At $12.00 a bottle retail, it's a steal.

That leads me to my next point -- holiday meals can be stressful.  Can’t be all that bad with a little wine to relax the mood.  And if that bird is dry – like the one I usually eat on Thanksgiving – lube it with the red liquid stuff, like Ergo.  Or eat more sides! 

Wishing you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving.  Giuseppe and I will raise a glass and count our many blessings. 

Links:

www.martincodax.com

www.avrany.com

Santa Barbara and Pinot Noirs

Dear friends and family,

Giuseppe and I spent a few wonderful days in Santa Barbara. We stayed at the legendary Biltmore Hotel, now known as the Four Seasons Biltmore Hotel.  It is situated on Butterfly Beach in Montecito (the hoity toity town where Kim and Kris Kardashian had their 'showmance' wedding).  The hotel was once favored by old Hollywood and bigwigs since it opened in 1927.  And bigwigs we felt at this beautiful place.

During our visit, we saw Billy Baldwin at the Bella Vista Restaurant and some other celebrity sightings -- was it Jane Lynch from Glee one night?  Or was the sighting at the Stonehouse at San Ysidro Ranch?  Another amazingly beautiful place where John and Jacqueline Kennedy honeymooned.  It's one of those places from another time in the most beautiful and romantic way. 

Santa Barbara is pinot noir country and it was right up Giuseppe's alley.  He LOVES pinot noir so I had to give in on this one.  We drove to Lompoc in the heart of the winemaking region and visited two wineries, Foley Vineyards and Melville Vineyards. 


Melville Winery



Melville came in highly recommended by my friend, Sam, at Acker, Merrall & Condit.  He was definitely right.  Melville produces pinot noirs, chardonnay, syrah and viognier wines.  They have a 20,000 bottle production (meaning not huge) and all the wines are very well priced in the $26-$36 range.



The 2009 Estate Chardonnay had lots of minerality, a nice creaminess and some yeast on the palate.  It lasted a long time on my palate.  The 2010 Clone 76 Inox Chardonnay was an all stainless steel fermentation -- meaning more lemons and green apples on the palate.  Inox is the name of a particular yeast strain.  There are a gzillion different types of clones that are created to bring out certain qualities that are prized by growers.  Think roses: I love roses, but have you ever noticed that some don't smell anymore?  Some never open?  Some last a full week?  Even roses have different clones and grapes are no different.  Lest I digress......

The pinot noirs did not disappoint.  Our favorite was the 2010 Verna's Estate Pinot Noir.  It was elegant, pleasant, smooth and non-offensive in every way.  The acidity was not piercing like a lot of young pinots with fruit flavors of rasberries, rhubarb and dried herbs.  Giuseppe said this wine was what you want a pinot noir to taste like.  At $26 a bottle, the price was right for a California pinot noir of such high quality.  The 2009 Estate Pinot Noir was very good as well, though it had more alcohol on the nose and palate.  Perhaps with a little time, it would be amazing. 

I wanted to visit Foley Wines because Wine Spectator Magazine just did a piece on California pinot noirs and Foley was mentioned there.  Foley produces several pinot noirs.  Owner, Bill Foley, created the Brand Series, a series of mostly pinot noirs to honor Foley's rancher and cattlemen roots and his Texas heritage.

Their wines were delicious, full and stylish.  Our two favorites were the 2009 Pinot Noir Barrel Select (pictured left) and the 2009 Pinot Noir, T Anchor Ranch ($55).  The Barrel Select ($60) was a big California pinot noir, but I think with some time, the alcohol and tannins would soften and be more European in style (think softer).  The T Anchor pinot had lots of cloves, rasberries, cola and supple tannins.  It was more approachable in the near term.  Overall, Foley had something for all palates and it's definitely worth a visit.

We loved Santa Barbara and can't wait to go back.  Hope all is well at home and will write more soon.

Love, Jennifer

Links:

http://www.melvillewinery.com/
http://www.foleywines.com/
http://www.fourseasons.com/santabarbara/
http://sanysidroranch.com/san_dining.cfm
http://www.winespectator.com/
http://www.ackerwines.com/

Queens Uncorked

Last night I had the most fun time pouring Bouké wines at Queens Uncorked, a food and wine tasting event of local Queens restaurants and Long Island wines.  Bouké (pronounced 'bouquet') is a wine brand from the North Fork of Long Island, New York.  It was created by my friend and wine school colleague, Lisa Donneson.  Lisa feels her wines should be drunk every day and have gorgeous labeling.  Thus far, her wines have won numerous wine awards and has a cult-like following.  Last night's event took place at The Foundry, a 19th century old building that used to house the Albra Metal Foundry in Long Island City.  Today, The Foundry is an event space. 

The Bouké wines served last night:

• Bouké white -- a blend of chardonnay, gewurztraminer, pinot gris and sauvignon blanc. A very aromatic and food friendly wine.
• Bouké rose -- a delicious blend of cabernet sauvignon and merlot.  The color is fabulous but the taste is even more fabulous.  Dry.  It's one of my favorites.
• Bouké red -- a blend of merlot, cabernet sauvignon, syrah, cabernet franc and petit verdot.
• Bouquet rose -- an off-dry rose of cabernet savignon, merlot and gewurztraminer. 
• Bouquet dessert white -- a luscious blend of chardonnay and gewurztraminer. It's not coyingly sweet and surprisingly crisp and light as far as dessert wines go.
• Bouquet dessert red -- a sweet blend of syrah and pinot noir.  A little more weight than the dessert white (naturally!) and a nice alternative to a port.

The editors of Edibles Magazine, the sponsors for this event, paired up each winery with a restaurant. Bouké was paired up with Sweet Silk, a boutique online confectionary.  We had tasters pair up Bouquet dessert white with walnut apple spice candies.  It tasted sweet, but not too sweet.  The walnut apple spice enhanced the perfume and rose petals in the dessert white.  It was a marriage made in heaven.  My other favorite pairing was the Bouquet dessert red with Sweet Silk's fig with roasted cashew candy.  The fig (which brought me back to my Fig Newton days) brought out the black cherry and cola flavors of the dessert wine!  Delicious!

Jennifer

Links:
http://www.boukewines.com/
http://www.savorsweetsilk.com/

http://www.ediblecommunities.com/queens/
http://www.thefoundry.info/