Brad Ballinger

The wines of Friuli-Venezia Giulia are something of a well kept secret (unless you happen to live there). The highest quality wine (at least according to Italian wine quality laws) is Ramandolo, which is the only DOCG wine from the region. It's a sweet white wine than can pack a tannic punch in certain vintages. But the more "well-known" wines from the region are from Collio, along the Slovenian border north of Gorizia, or Colli Orientali del Friuli, running parellel to Collio, closer to Udine. These wines are usually labeled by grape variety (which happens in some regions of Italy, but not all). This is where you'll find some of the best pinot grigio and tocai friulano among the whites, though you will also find chardonnay, riesling, pinot bianco, sauvignon blanc (just labeled sauvignon), and malvasia. However, one white grape variety that I recommend seeking out is ribolla gialla, which can make juicy, yet crisp, wines with a strong citrus profile. Although the whites may enjoy more popularity outside of the region, there are many reds worth seeking out. Although cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, and pinot nero are grown, some of the grapes more unique to the region include refosco, schioppettino and pignolo. These grapes make deeply colored, very intense wines. My absolute favorite wine that I've had from this region is a Picolit from Dorigo. Picolit is a white grape made into sweet wines. I've had several, and Dorigo's have been consistently the best for my palate. A close second is Moschioni. For more information on the wines of Friuli-Venezia Giulia -- click here.

I was in a shop today where I know the owner quite well. A customer and his adult son were in the shop browsing. The father asked the owner for his opinion on a certain wine. The owner replied, "Well, that's a wine where there's going to be a lot more oak than fruit. It's very oaky." The customer responded, "Perfect! That's exactly what I want." When the customer left, I asked the owner, "So is that the first time a customer has ever been that enthusiastic over a wine with more oak than fruit?" The owner answered, "Yeah, I think it is." But we both agreed that it was good that the customer got what he wanted.

March Calendar Events: February 27 - March 5 - Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival, Vancouver March 6, 13, 20, 27 - Wine Appreciation for Beginners, Plainfield, New Jersey March 6 - Wines From the Veneto Dinner at La Terrazza, Vancouver March 6 - Paso Robles Grand Tasting, Dallas March 8 - Paso robles Grand Tasting, Austin, Texas March 8 - Drouhin Wine Dinner at Gabriel's, Chicago March 17-19 - Paso Robles Zinfandel Festival, Paso Robles (Mid-State Fairgrounds) March 22-23 - Victoria Festival of Wine, Victoria, British Columbia As always, please send me a PM if you know of anything that should be added to the calendar.

My sentiments exactly. It also doesn't bother me to tell the waiter/waitress who ordered what, as long as they bring out the stuff we ordered. Some people are really hard to please. ← Yep. As a tipping customer, I want to order once and for the server to get it right without having to ask again -- including when the dishes are brought to the table. I also don't care if the specials are read from a card. When they've been "recited from memory" I've found what arrived on my plate not to be entirely what was recited. But this brings up one huge problem I had with a local restaurant, and I don't mind saying the name. Pane Vino Dolce had a practice (maybe they still do, but I'm never going back to confirm) of not printing a wine list. When I asked about wine, the server replied, "Oh, we talk to you about the wine." Apparently each server has the list memorized. Okaaaaayyyyy. So they describe a couple of bottles. I have to ask if they have any of this or any of that. I have to ask the price (which now I don't trust). Then I see a table with a bottle not mentioned -- "I didn't know you had that wine." "You didn't ask." "You don't get a tip."

Dona Rosa in Montepertusso (above Positano) is quite good. Also, the restaurant in the Hotel Palumbo in Ravello is good. The latter also has their own winery (Cantine Episcopio), which produces wonderfully mineral-driven wines that have plenty of acidity (less so the 2003 vintage) to make them good food partners.

I'm with Jim. There's nothing to lose by pulling the corks. I don't know my sixties vintages very well for those wines, except that 1964 was a good year in Champagne. I've had German wines from 1971 (a fantastic vintage by all accounts) and the wines have been stunning and nowhere close to dead on arrival. Let us know so we can all learn.

I see your location is Washington, D.C. So I'd run to MacArthur Beverages (Addy Bassin's) or Calvert Woodley. And I'll keep you under $30. Both stores should have the 2002 Baumard Clos du Papillon Savennieres. It's a stunning wine. It will last ten years at least, but it is so hard to lay off it right now. Buy one for your dinner. Buy a second one to open 5-7 years from now. It will need to open up a bit, so just leave the bottle uncorked after you've poured out what you need for cooking.

A couple of questions -- How much are you willing to spend, and how else is the chicken being prepared. Absent that information, my recommendation is to go with a white from the Rhone, such as a Cotes-du-Rhone Blanc, or one of the table wines from the region. A Macon (France) wine would also work. So would a Rueda (Spain). None of these break the bank. They also aren't heavily oaked, which is a good think if the wine will be used for cooking.

Recently, I braised a pork shoulder. The price per pound was pretty low, and it was even on sale to the point where a 3.5 roast came to a little over $5.00. But shoulder is something that needs to be slow cooked in liquid with a bunch of other stuff. So after I add up shallots, carrots, celery, garlic, beef stock, port, red wine, fresh herbs, etc., I can't help but wonder if my cost came to the same as if I had started with a less humble cut of meat to which I could've added less and still enjoyed it as much. This question surfaces after the pork shoulder, but fueling it are oxtails before that, short ribs before that, veal shanks before that, you get the idea. What thoughts do you have on this? Go with a more expensive cut of meat, do less to it; or go with a cheap cost of meat and do more to it? Note: I'm not looking for other braise ideas. Yes, I know some other braises would be cheaper, but that's not the point of this post. My question is more of a general one about the overall cost being more of a wash than one might think.

I don't know what it tastes like, sorry. But apparently it also smells like Mou Tai. Seriously, it's a term for the gunk under ones toenails. Thats Fromunda Cheese. ← Growing up, "fromunda" usually meant from under somewhere else. I'll leave it at that.

Wow. That is truly surprising. And a shame. Perhaps some bugs were still being worked out, but I dunno. That's one knock I have on the Twin Cities fine dining scene -- professional service is harder to come by than great food.

Words and terms I know I've used in tasting notes for wine: sweat socks, gym socks, locker room, toe jam, feet. And not all of the wines they were associated with were necessarily bad.

← Too easy.

Once in a while we do a two-house progressive dinner with our next-door neighbors. Tonight, it was appetizers there, dinner here, dessert there. 2004 Inama Soave Classico. With beet and chevre napoleons. I've always liked this wine vintage in and vintage out. And I've really liked the price. And it's the only Inama wine that isn't oaked. I'd usually reach for a Sancerre, but the wife in the other couple doesn't like Sancerre. She liked this. Flowers, minerals and a bit of waxy texture. Stone fruits, decent acidity. Rain water finish. Nice pairing. 1999 Bodegas Mauro "Mauro," Vina de la Terra, Castilla y Leon. Served with braised pork shoulder. Bodegas Mauro is a small winery in central Spain in the village of Tudela de Duero. Mauro is their primary wine. Smaller amounts of a Vendemmia Seleccionada (think of it as a reserve wine) is also made. And in exceptional vintages, they make a wine called Terreus. Their vineyards produce tempranillo, syrah, and garnacha from 20-year old vines. Like many Spanish producers, Bodegas Mauro uses American oak, but they also use some French oak. The wines are a bit on the modern side, but not to the point where they lack character. The 1999 "Mauro" is 90% tempranillo with the rest of the grapes a combination of syrah and garnacha. It was aged in oak for 13 motnhs. The wine has a lovely perfumed nose of violets, ripe cherries, a bit of vanilla, and a touch of molasses. In the mouth, the fruit takes center stage. There is a bright red fruit flavor profile mellowed by oak. The tannins are soft, providing just enough structure. It's a wine that can be enjoyed young, but at a little over six years old is still holding its own. 2000 Philipp Kuhn Laumersheimer Mandelberg Huxelrebe Beerenauslese, Pfalz. Served with Earl Grey pots de creme (more on that later). This was from a 375 ml bottle I hand-carried back from Germany. I'm not sure it's exported outside the country, but Kuhn has been enjoying a growing following in the region and makes some good spatburgunder. The wine still shows a fair amount of youth, but opening it was not an act of infanticide. Honeyed tropical notes. A bit floral. Bright acid. Not quite as complex as I'd like, but paired well with the dessert. This Earl Grey pots de creme was unbelievable. And it came from an old Martha Stewart recipe. Our neighbors made it, but I've now got a copy of the recipe and will definitely be making it again and again.

Well, you can't see the issues without subscribing. On the web site, you can read a sentence or two about a handful of articles in each issue, but that's it. From what I can tell, it's another lifestyle magazine in the vein of Town and Country, Traveler, Gourmet, and Wine Spectator (yes, those last two are more lifestyle magazines than anything else). If the message is women enjoy wine as a part of events instead of on its own, then they're achieving their goal. I guess the proof will be in the amount of subscriptions. Any information on that? Again, I've gone on record a number of times before as saying that wine is already marketed to women more than men.

Which Michel Cluizel bar is your favourite? Mine is the Hacienda 'Los Anconès'. ← For purely eating out of hand, it's hard to beat the Concepcion 1er Cru Plantation (Valenzuela) bar. It's incredibly balanced.

My two faves have been mentioned once apiece upthread. I use them for cooking, but I also have now restricted myself to them and them only for nibbling. The chocolate confections from each are also out of this world, but I'm all for the bars. I can almost guarantee once you try them, it will be hard to settle. And I used to go ga-ga over Valrhona and Scharffen Berger. Domori and Michel Cluizel.

I'm surprised parmesean reggiano has yet to be mentioned. That's definitely one for me. Others. . . Coffee. I purchase beans roasted the same day by a local roaster. Salmon. It will limit me to the number of times I can enjoy it since the season is only two weeks long, but once I had Yukon River King Salmon, I can't do any other. Copper River? Puh-leeze. Tart (pie) cherries. They have to be fresh. They are at the farmers' market for only two or three weeks. I buy several quarts, spend an afternoon pitting, and then freeze them for use throughout the year. Tomatoes. Also, limited to how often I can enjoy them. What is sold in grocery stores is inedible. Chocolate. For baking, I've now been spoiled by Domori and Michel Cluizel.

For some reason, Alain Robert's wine's often are omitted from the lists folks provide to the question "Who are some good RM producers I should look for?" I'm equally guilty, and I don't know the reason for the oversight. They are soooo in the RM mode -- Blanc de Blancs, and minerally as all get out. The mineral, however, is as you describe -- more earthy than flinty/steely. It's a different beast. Regarding the 90s Sauternes, my initial thought is too young on both for them to show much layering, complexity, and dimension. I still have mine hidden.

I generally like off-dry whites for stronger cheeses - Vouvray, Alsatian pinot gris VT/SGN, etc. I just don't find the reds that compelling with strong cheeses. ← Agree with Dave. And I'll go a bit further. Generally, I prefer sweet white wines at any level of sweetness with strongly flavored cheeses. Although, I do enjoy Amarone with gorgonzola.

For a discussion on the reaction to the study (prior to the Slate article), click here.

I have two good general suggestions for you. 1. Depending on where your dad lives, some retailers that have good wine selections have such clubs where a couple wines are either delivered, picked up, or on sale for club members. If there is one near where your dad lives, I'd look into that. 2. Many wineries have clubs where they send out a certain number of bottles periodically. If your dad has a favorite domestic winery, this may be an option. Of course, it has to be legal for wine to be shipped to your dad.

Wine on the Web has vintage charts for white and red wines from Ontario and British Columbia. They don't go back many years, and they don't have a lot of detail, but it's something. Also, A Pocket Guide to Ontario Wines, Wineries, Vineyards, and Vines (ISBN 0-7710-3055-X) contains vintage charts going back to 1988. Finally, there might be some help through Opimian, The Wine Society of Canada.

One thing I've never quite figured out is why college towns (I think Columbia qualifies) don't have better fine dining options. I think the professors would support it. I know college students have limited income, so an owner would have to find a way to generate volume without compromising quality. I also think there may be a market to partner with the educational institution in some fashion -- teaching business dining etiquette or something like that.

The only time I've had Radegast was in Prague in 1992. That was at a time when one could get a 16-ounce bottle for 25 cents American. I believe Radegast enjoys a larger market share in the Czech Republic than does Urquell. I remember liking it quite a bit, and ordering it more than Urquell. I've not come across it since.