Brad Ballinger

Full article here.

Full article here.

In other news, Lincoln has been shot. Are any of us truly surprised that marketers will do what they can to make a buck?

My guess is this topic has been covered before. But my usual responses are either "Did the chef not season the dish appropriately?" or "Why don't you come back after I've had a chance to taste it, and I'll let you know." Granted, it's usually not the server's fault -- he or she is simply being required to do it by the manager.

No German closures in the Twin Cities to speak of. Is Essen House still in business in Madison? Does Jumer's still exist in Illinois?

You think you have problems? I have a tube of triplo.

Adding a couple of other thoughts. . . I never coat meat with flour before browning. I'd rather have browned meat than browned flour. Also, one way I like to thicken the sauce after the braising is complete is to puree some of the braising vegetables. Beats adding corn starch, roux, or anything similar, and yields more volume that reducing, if one needs more sauce.

You mean a city-sponsored, city-promoted thing, right? The Twin Cities have no such thing. Every February, we have the Twin Cities Food and Wine Experience -- lots of pipe and ribbon in the Convention Center with workshops and classes. There are dining events at some of the local establishments. I think there was something a little while ago that was sort of sponsored and promoted by certain restaurants to dine out to benefit some cause. I forget the cause, and I foget if it was a one-time thing or something that will be done annually.

The way I remember hearing and reading about it was that not all barrels were affected. But perhaps my memory is faulty.

Jim, I didn't mean to imply that the Montille should've been more approachable. This was a wine opened at Christmas with friends just to peek in on it and see how it was doing.

Max, $30 difference based on a different fuder? Seems more like a goldcap v. nongoldcap difference to me, given that we're talking auslese. But I'll demur to what you wrote. . .

And you're not even the wine consumer mentioned in the article. I think this article is about Joe and Jane Averwagewinebuyer who've probably never heard of cellartracker or this forum.

Full article here.

1996 Pierre Peters “Cuvee Speciale” Brut Blanc de Blancs, Mesnil-sur-Oger Grand Cru. This wine is made from vines that are about 50 years old. I’ve had this wine several times over the past few years, and it is finally mellowing out, but only a bit. Quite a bit yeasty, which I’m discovering is par for the course for this producer, but the breadiness is taking on more of a toasted quality with some age. A fairly strong lemon/mineral profile, but showing some depth and nuttiness that were less prominent in earlier drinking. The wine is adding nuance and complexity. 1998 Domaine de Montille “Les Taillepieds” Volnay Premier Cru. From a vintage that has a reputation of being early drinking, this wine could still benefit from another two to three years in the bottle. Strong mineral profile. High level of acidity. But has a core black cherry and spice component that rounds it out nicely. 2000 Donnafugata “Ben Rye” Passito di Pantelleria. I’ve also had this wine on several occasions. It’s starting to lose the flowery, honey-like appeal it had upon release that made one want to gulp rather than sip. But it’s showing some more tropical and nutty components. 2002 Domaine du Closel “La Jalousie” Savennieres. This wine used to be labeled “Cuvee Classique.” I don’t know what “jealousy” (as translated) has to do with the renaming of the wine. This wine is a sec, and it was very dry. It had a strong stony mineral backbone, accompanied by citrus, beeswax, and a bit of floral and spice. Mineral-driven finish that went on for a long time. It’s also a wine that will develop over at least ten years. 2004 Gilles-Robin “La Papillon” Crozes-Hermitage. I’ve been a fan of this producer’s wines in the past. This was my first experience with the Papillon, a younger-vines syrah that for me on this particular evening was soft soft soft, almost devoid of acid. It had a bit of spice, but just didn’t hold much interest for me. It certainly would not stand up to fare one might think needs a syrah wine. 1999 Domaine Remizieres “Cuvee Christophe” Crozes-Hermitage. Christophe is the name of the son of Philippe Desmeures, who runs Domaine Remizieres. This is a wonderful Crozes. Meaty, peppery, black fruits, olives, licorice. There is some oak to round everything out, but it remains a supporting player. Good lift on the palate, and a fruity/mineral finish.

Full article here. The bill would not allow direct shipping from in-state wineries as well.

I'm sure Bill is aware of this, but some others might not be. In the late 80s, Ducru had a problem with some bad barrels. And if one purchased a bottle from the 88, 89, or 90 vintage, it was a roll of the dice whether you had pure or adulterated juice inside.

There is more on this angle in this link, which is referenced in this thread in the Food Media and News Forum.

I would imagine there are an infinite number of possibilities under this topic. Again, most wine goes with most food -- as long as the food is in balance and the wine is in balance.

There's a thread here with a post from Bruce Schneier about dinner at La Belle Vie's old Stillwater location. I was with Bruce that night. Recently, I had a chance to experience the relocated La Belle Vie -- sorta. My wife and I had been trying to arrange dinner plans with another couple for a while. Since both women have their birthdays in December, we usually try and go out to dinner as a joint celebration. Well, it got pushed into January this time. We received a phone call early Saturday afternoon -- "Hey, are you guys up for La Belle Vie tonight?" "We're not going to get in tonight." "Well, lemme call, and I'll call you back." The phone rang about an hour later -- "Okay, they'll let us have the tasting menu in the bar, but we have to be there by 5:30." "Oh, I suppose." I was not really into it. My thought is if I'm going to La Belle Vie to drop money on the tasting menu I want the ambience of the best dining room in the Twin Cities (at least it was the best room when 510 occupied the space). I don't want to sit in the bar. My wife and I tried scheming how we were going to get out of this, but we came up empty. My wife and I arrived at 5:30. Parking is usually hard to get in the area, and La Belle Vie offers valet parking for $6. But we found street parking one block away. Although my friend had talked to the person she had to talk to to be allowed to have the tasting menu in the bar, no one seemed to know that's what we were doing. But that's only a minor point. I know the sommelier at La Belle Vie, and he was very accommodating. He pointed us to a couple of different locations in the bar where we could make the tasting menu work, but there's really only one viable option -- pushing two tables in front of the couch closest to the foyer together. It was purely a seating choice based on functionality and not ambience. Two tasting menus are offered -- five courses for $65 or eight courses for $80. The eight course contains the five course menu and adds another savory course, a palate cleanser and a second dessert course. Wine flight pairings are available for $45 per person for the five and $55 per person for the eight. We all selected the five and decided to order wines from the bottle list. I was able to select a white, a red, and dessert wines by the glass that kept the cost below $45 per person. First, there was a "gift from the kitchen," which was a little savory cheese puff of some sort. I'm sorry I don't recall the details. Then we were served an amuse of scallop topped with osetra caviar in a tiny soup of celery root puree. That course was very good. But I was puzzled by it nonetheless since the menu listed the first course in the five as a scallop and frog legs thing. Two scallop dishes served one after the other? Yep. The scallops and frog legs had a grapefruit sauce and salsify and probably some other stuff. The second white wine course was skate with lobster pieces in a lobster reduction and other accents. I'm blanking on the first red wine course, but I want to say it was pheasant or duck with mushrooms. The second one was wild boar, which was a bit tough to cut. And I entirely forget what dessert was, but I know chocolate was part of it. We all enjoyed our food, but weren't really blown away. Even though we were seated in the bar, we got dining room production when our courses were delievered to the table. Four servers approached, each carrying a dish, and they were "unveiled" at the same time. La Belle Vie gets points for that because it was a very busy Saturday night, and they could've easily cut back on theatrics for those seated in the bar. The wine list is well created to match the Mediterranean cuisine. One bottle I ordered was from a newer vintage and a different bottling, but was replaced by something else without incident. I did poke my nose into the dining room. Ahhhh, another time perhaps.

I buy wine based on two influences -- my own palate and the palates of trusted friends who know what I like. Other than that, I really don't give a you-know-what. I would like to think most people end up at the same place if they drink enough wine and live long enough.

Poorly researched. Poorly written. Myth debunking doesn't mean disregarding it altogether. The writer's discourse about Dubious Claim No. 2, for example, address shallow perceptions of wannabe aficianados, but does nothing to educate the reader about why bottles are labeled thusly. And his knowledge of what "grand cru" actually means is sorely lacking. It's more entertainment than education. And very sloppy.

Cremant de Sonoma?

How much longer do you plan to live?

I think I need to clarify something on my post. What I mean by "there is something to be said for doing so" was merely a lead into the the rest of what I had written -- about being in the business where tasting is part of the job -- and not that there is something to be said for drinking in the morning as a rule. But I can only comment for me.

I totally forgot about Valtellina -- which one can get for pennies on the dollar compared to Barolo. Valtellina is in Lombardy (not Piedmont). There the grape is called chiavennasca instead of nebbiolo. A producer to look for is Rainoldi. I was able to purchase a 1998 Rainoldi Prugnolo Valtellina Superiore for $18 a couple of years ago. What you'll also find in Valtellina is Sfursat, which is made in the same style as Amarone but using chiavennasca grapes instead of corvina grapes.