Brad Ballinger

I simply can't recommend buying any Calphalon product. At one time, I had many of them (wedding registry). Nearly all de-anodized or warped (or both). Bad investment IMO.

Barcelona: El Meson (near the Catedral). It is featured in a scene in the movie Barcelona. The old guy making the cafe con leche was the same one I met there 11 years ago. I've never gotten over how good it was.

Similar comments to those above. I've experienced a degustation with wine pairings where the option was presented to have a full glass or half glass of each wine. Personally, I found a half glass to be just fine. If you are concerned about volume, you may be able to ask for smaller pours and be charged less.

Here is a link to the January, 2006, Calendar. The events listed thus far are: January 9 - Italian Wine Dinner at Incanto, San Francisco (eGullet members only) January 12 - Wines from the Rhone Valley, Bacchus Night at Bayard, New York City January 13-22 - 11th Annual Niagara Icewine Festival, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario (and the surrounding area)

This is the thread.

Maybe it was so named because crab was the ingredient that distinguished it from other salads/dishes???

The La Grande Dame line cracked me up. That's probably the only VC wine I'd want to taste(unless they were also pouring the demi-sec. A taste of Krug is indeed an epiphany. And good for the guy pouring the Dom.

I'm posting this in advance of holiday bubbly shopping. There is some debate about the origin of sparkling wine. Much romantic lore attributes the “invention” of sparkling wine to Pierre (Dom) Perignon, a Benedictine monk who was the vineyard manager at the Abbey of Hautville near Reims, France. That Dom Perignon “discovered” sparkling wine (later to be called Champagne) is probably a more accurate statement. His discovery occurred when he opened a bottle that had been “re-bottled.” There was still some unspent yeast and residual sugar in the liquid in that bottle. Since yeast + sugar = alcohol + carbon dioxide, when the bottle was opened, its contents were fizzy, or carbonated. He tasted the sparkling beverage and supposedly remarked, “I’m drinking stars.” Other sources attribute the origin of sparkling wine to elsewhere in France, most notably Limoux where some feel Blanquette de Limoux (a sparkling wine made from the mauzac grape – also called clairette, also called blanquette) is the oldest existing sparkling wine. Others place the origin in England. And others yet credit Russia. But it is not known, even in those other locations, if the bubbles were intentional or accidental. Regardless of the dubious origin of sparkling wine, Dom Perignon is generally credited with advancing and perfecting its production in Champagne. He developed techniques for improving secondary fermentation in the bottle and improving the bottle strength to withstand the pressure. This latter improvement was a necessity because bottles kept bursting in the cellars of Champagne. Sparkling wine production took off in the region of Champagne, and the wine took on the name of the growing area. In France, only sparkling wine produced from grapes grown in Champagne and made in the methode champenoise tradition can be legally called Champagne. In fact, the only other country in the world whose wineries use the word “Champagne” on some of their sparkling wine labels (much to the consternation of the Champenoise) is the United States, although the practice is decreasing. But sparkling wine production is by no means limited to Champagne. Sparkling wine is produced in every country around the world that produces still wines. You will find sparkling wine produced in the United States, Germany, Italy, Spain, Russia, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, even Moldova (and likely several other countries I’ve neglected to mention). Even in France, sparkling wine production is not limited to Champagne. What makes bubbly so, well, bubbly? Recalling that sugar + yeast = alcohol + carbon dioxide, bubbles (or gas) are a natural by-product of fermentation. True Champagne, and wines produced elsewhere using the same method (called methode champenoise), become bubbly from a secondary fermentation that takes place in the bottle. After the first fermentation, the wine is bottled. In the bottle, a blend of sugar and still wine (or sometimes brandy) and yeast is added. The bottle is then capped, sealing in the carbon dioxide. During this time, the bottles are gradually turned and gradually angled neck-side-down (called riddling), so all the spent yeast sediment can be collected in the neck. The bottle neck is then chilled so that the sediment is trapped in a small ice cube. The bottle cap is removed, and the ice cube is forced out by the pressure in the bottle (this is called disgorgement). A small amount of the still wine of the same type that originally went into the bottle is added to “top off” the bottle. Usually, a small amount of sugar is added to the still wine. The amount of sugar added at this stage will determine the final sweetness of the wine. There are three other methods used to make bubbles. Some sparkling wine is made by trapping the gas in the fermenting tank and then bottling the wine. This method is called the charmat process, named after Eugene Charmat who invented the process. Still wine production allows the gas to escape. There is also a process called the “rural method,” during which the fermenting wine is chilled before fermentation is complete (the chilling temporarily halts the fermentation). The chilled wine is then bottled and gradually warmed so the fermentation can resume. The resulting carbon dioxide stays inside the closed bottle. Finally, some sparkling wine gets its bubbles by having the bottled still wine injected with carbon dioxide – much like soda pop gets its carbonation. But the wines that have the ultra-fine bubbles are made in the methode champenoise tradition. What are the various sweetness levels of sparkling wine? Most sparkling wines, regardless of where they are produced, use the same French terms that are used in Champagne. From driest to sweetest, they are Extra Brut (or Ultra Brut or Brut Zero), Brut, Extra Dry, Demi-Sec, and Doux. Again, the percent of sugar added to the wine used to top off the bottle determines which sweetness label applies. This mixture of sugar and wine is technically called the shipping dosage. When people use the word dosage as it applies to methode champenoise wines, they mean this mixture, even if they don’t add the word shipping. Where things can become confusing, however, is that the yeast, wine, and sugar mixture added to create the secondary fermentation in the bottle is also termed a dosage, a bottling dosage. What’s the big deal about Champagne versus other wines made the same way elsewhere? The short answer is the climate and the soil (part of what the French call terroir). It doesn’t get very hot in Champagne, and the grapes don’t ripen as much as they do in other growing areas. The base wines, as a result, are incredibly acidic-tasting. The bubbles soften that a bit, and the addition of sugar in the shipping dosage helps to combat the acidity. Also, the soil in Champagne is very chalky, and that imparts certain flavors in the grapes that would not happen in different soil. Both conditions are hard, if not impossible, to replicate elsewhere in the world. Grapes can be planted in cooler climates, and grapes can be harvested in warmer climates before they are fully ripe (which isn’t quite the same), and there may be similar soil elsewhere. But the combination of what is present in Champagne doesn’t exist elsewhere. So if wines aren’t called Champagne elsewhere, what terms do they use? In France, the words mousseux, cremant, and petillant are used. And I’ve listed them from highest pressure/more bubbles to least pressure/less bubbles. Some French wines will also use the word “sparkling” on the label. In Italy, the terms (from most to least pressure) are spumante and frizzante (commonly used with sparkling wine made from prosecco grapes). But some Italian sparkling wine doesn’t use either of these terms, and may rely on the term “metodo classico.” In Germany, the word “sekt” is on the label for the highest quality sparkling wine. Some German wines of lesser quality will be labeled “schaumwein,” but you’ll rarely see them outside of Germany. Generically, German sparkling wine may carry the term spritzig. In the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, labels may use the word “sparkling,” or you may have to rely on looking for the term methode champenoise or champagne method. And, of course, you can always look for a heavy bottle with the cork being held in place by a wire cage wrapped in foil. In the second paragraph, I mentioned a wine called Blanquette de Limoux. For lack of a better description, this is a legal term that can only be used for sparkling wine from Limoux made from blanquette grapes. Blanquette has nothing to do with fizz, and the labels usually don’t have a term for the fizz or froth. People just know that the wine is bubbly. What grapes are used in sparkling wine production? That depends on where the wine is made and the words it is legally allowed to use on the label. Sparkling wine can be made from any grape. You may not want to drink all of them, but there’s nothing about the grape itself that keeps someone from making a sparkling wine. In Champagne, the three main grapes used are chardonnay, pinot noir, and pinot meunier. I use the words “main grapes” because wine in the region has been made with other grapes that have since almost been entirely uprooted. A small producer, L. Aubry, however, makes a wine called Champagne La Nombre d'Or Campanae Veteres that uses some of these ancient varieties. Sparkling wine is also made from riesling, pinot blanc, clairette, pinot gris, prosecco, chenin blanc, sauvignon blanc, brachetto, moscato, and shiraz, among others. If pinot noir is used in Champagne, how come the wine isn’t red? Wine gets its color depending on the amount of time the juice is in contact with the grape skins. When the grapes are pressed, the light juice runs free from the skins, and the skins are not added to the fermentation tank. Then what about sparkling rosé? Sparkling rosé most often gets its color from the addition of still wine made from pinot noir (and/or pinot meunier, also a dark grape) to the white wine. Some sparkling rosé, however, is make from keeping the juice in contact with the skins for a short amount of time. These wines are sometimes labeled “Rosé Naturale.” Sparkling Shiraz is the same color as still shiraz wine. What follows is a list of terms that primarily apply to Champagne, but some also apply to all sparkling wines. Assemblage. The blend of grape varieties and vintages of which the bottled wine is a result. Some producers include this information somewhere on the label. Many don’t. Bead. Refers to the bubbles. Bead can mean an individual bubble or the bubbles in general. “This wine has a very fine bead.” Cage. The wire contraption that helps keep the cork in the bottle. Cooperative Manipulant. A term used in Champagne to refer to wines produced by a grower cooperative. The label will contain the letters “CM” followed by a licensed number. Nicolas Feuillatte is an example of a CM Champagne. Coteaux Champenois. The legal term used for still wines made from grapes grown in Champagne. In vintages where the grapes become ripe enough, some still wines are made. Crackling. A term not used much anymore to also mean sparkling, but with less pressure and fewer bubbles. One story about Neil Diamond’s “Crackling Rosie” mentions a bottle of crackling rosé as the inspiration. But another story mentions a telephone conversation with a bad connection, and Diamond supposedly said, “You’re crackling, Rosie.” So who knows for sure. Mousse. Beer has a head. Sparkling wine has a mousse. The mousse refers not only to the froth that results from pouring the wine, but also to the presence of the bubbles or effervescence in the mouth. Negoiciant Manipulant. A term used in Champagne to refer to wines produced by a negociant who contracts with a large number of growers to obtain their grapes. The label will contain the letters “NM” followed by a licensed number. Production is very large. Most of the Champagne exported is NM Champagne – Veuve Clicquot, Bollinger, Krug, Mumm, Pol Roger, Pommery, Krug, Piper Heidsieck, Perrier Jouet, Moet Chandon, etc, etc, etc. Non-Vintage (v. Vintage). If the wine label does not have a year anywhere on it, and neither does the cork, the wine is called a non-vintage wine. Most non-vintage wines are comprised of a blend of wines from multiple vintages. Krug even uses the term “multi-vintage” instead of “non-vintage.” But some wines don’t carry a vintage date on the label even though the wine in the bottle may be made from grapes all harvested in the same year. One reason that producers opt not to put a vintage date on the label is that they feel the style of the producer should take precedence over vintage date when buying the wine. The blending of base wines from different vintages, vineyards, fermentation tanks, etc, is an art in Champagne, and great pains are taken to have a non-vintage bottled wine be consistent from production run to production run. The theory is that it shouldn’t matter how many different times you buy it, Bollinger will be Bollinger will be Bollinger. Recently Disgorged (RD). Also called Late Disgorged (LD). A term used for older, usually vintage-dated, wines that indicates the sediment has only recently been disgorged from the wine. The wine in the bottle has been in contact with the sediment in the bottle for a longer time, imparting a quality some appreciate. Also, the wine has been in the producer’s climate controlled caves the entire time. Recoltant Manipulant. A term used in Champagne to refer to wines produced by the grower of the grapes. Also called grower Champagnes or grower-producer Champagnes. The label will contain the letters “RM” followed by a licensed number. Because RM Champagne producers only source their grapes from their own vineyards, and don’t own a lot of acreage, their production runs tend to be smaller, and some of them achieve a cult-like status. They also will face a greater struggle in keeping their non-vintage wines consistent to each other from release to release. Many seek out these wines for their unique character. And many of them are Blanc de Blancs wines because the RM “movement” started in the Cote de Blancs, where a lot of chardonnay is grown, and where arguably Champagne’s greatest vineyard, Le Mesnil, is located. Split. A 187-ml bottle, meant to be a serving for one. Convenient, yes. But the wine is not fermented in that bottle. It is poured into it from another bottle. Matters to some. May not matter to you. Tete de Cuvee. Refers to a producers “top wine.” Sometimes also called “prestige cuvee.” Usually, but not always, it’s a vintage-dated wine. Veuve Clicquot has “La Grande Dame.” Pol Roger had “Cuvee Winston Churchill.” Pommery has “Cuvee Louise.” Billecart-Salmon has “Cuvee Elisabeth Salmon.” Perrier-Jouet has “Belle Epoque.” Laurent-Perrier had “Grand Siecle Cuvee Alexandra.” Nicolas Feuillatte has “Palmes d’Or.” Taittinger has “Comtes de Champagne.” Loius Roederer has “Cristal.” And, of course, Moet Chandon has “Dom Perignon.” And there are many, many others. Tin. The metallic “cap” on top of the cork. I have a friend who likes to collect tins and make refrigerator magnets out of them. I'm sure there's plenty I've left out, but I wanted to keep this at a "101" level.

Not exactly. By that, I mean I've never purchased two bottles of identically labeled wine only to find that the two wines were different. But years ago, I purchased a case of a Spanish white wine (bottled in clear glass) from a local retailer. I opened the case at home and discovered that five of the bottles contained considerably darker-colored wine than the other seven. I pulled a cork from one. Oxidized. The retailer gladly exchanged the five bottles.

Yesterday afternoon, a college friend rang me up. He and his partner are hosting their annual New Year's Eve dinner at a restaurant with a desset reception and midnight celebration following at their home. They want to tweak the sophistication component a bit this year and not just have bottles of Korbel and Freixenet. They've tried a number of wallet-friendly sparkling wines, but nothing had done much for them. Would I be willing to come over for a bottle of wine and help them plan wine for the dinner and the after-dinner festivities? Of course, anything for a college buddy. NV Charles Baur Cremant d'Alsace Brut. So I brought a bottle of this over. 40% auxerrois, 40% pinot blanc, 20% chardonnay. "Omigod, this is the best Champagne I've ever had!" After a brief "No, it's not, because it isn't Champagne" education, we talked about why he liked it. He had two reasons: 1) it wasn't sweet and 2) it wasn't bitter. The wine had a very nice balance. The flavor profile was heavily fruit-driven -- lemons, some grapefruit, a bit of pear -- without being too tart, allowing the delicate mousse to provide a creamy mouthfeel. There was a bit of steely minerality and some almond paste notes to add complexity. My friend's partner commented "This is amazing; I'm tasting three different things at once." The wine finishes with a nice lemon zest flavor. This is a wine that would be great as an aperitif or as a toasting wine. It would pair well with lighter fare, but it is so delicious on its own. "So where can we buy this?" Unfortunately, I had to tell them they would have to purchase it from an out of state retailer, which kind of made me bringing it a tease. But they also have a friend flying in from Paris soon, and they are going to see if she can bring some with her.

Jim, Have you had Correggia's Roero Arneis? Matteo Correggia died fairly recently, and I'm hoping that his heirs carry on his quality. The Arneis has been a favorite of mine, though not the easiest wine to find.

Last night, my wife and I attended a large wine tasting. It was for a charity ww both believe in, and the tickets were a gift to us. It was in a large area, with tables of wine along the perimeter, each staffed by a different distributor. Minneapolis/St. Paul has 32 wholesaler/distributors (some also import), and 24 of them were represented. In the center of the room were the silent auction items -- some wine-related, some not. Walking in, we were each given a glass and a number of pages stapled together that listed the distributors and the wines they were pouring. I quickly learned why it had been years since I've attended one of these things. 1. I hate trying to get a taste of wine from one of the tables. There is always a crowd at a table, and you have to wait for an opening. And it's no guarantee that someone won't cut in front of you. And I always get stuck behind the person who won't stop talking to the pourer. And there's usually someone next to me with too much perfume or cologne. 2. The wines never do much for me. Lots of chardonnay, lots of merlot, lots of pinot noir. I could count on one hand the number of French, Spanish, and German wines combined (at 24 tables!). Italy had decent representation (and surprisingly most was from outside of Tuscany). 3. Some of the reps who are pouring are tough to take. Generally, I'll find myself treated with indifference where the rep talks to his buddy while pouring me a taste or the rep assumes I know nothing about the wine and prceeds to tell me every detail (and the Parker rating, of course). I've rarely experienced the rep who will ask a good question, such as "Have you had the wine before?" or "What have you tasted tonight that you've liked?" Instead, it's either "talk at" or indifference. Two quick stories. At one table, I aske for a pour of a primitivo. The rep emptied a bottle (mostly sediment) into my glass while chatting up his buddy. He continued to talk to his buddy while fumbling to open another bottle, and didn't even see that I had to rinse and wipe out my glass. No apology. Nothing. At another table, I aske for a pour of a carmenere. It was badly sulfuric on the nose, and I dumped without tasting. The rep appeared insulted, and asked "You didn't even taste it?" I tried to explain the sulfur problem, and I might has well have been speaking a different language. It wasn't an entire lost couple of hours, though. I was the high bidder on a silent auction item -- a basket containing six sparklers: A Charles Ellner NV Rose, a Charles Ellner NV Carte d'Or, a Charles Ellner 1995, a Cremant de Limoux, a Cava, and a Prosecco Spumante. There were also six flutes and a gift certificate to a local bakery that makes wonderful desserts. I paid roughly half of the total value.

Actually, last night I had what fits the chic trend and probably the purchasing trend. Shakers makes a rye vodka. For me, it's more of a cold weather vodka than some others. A bit of a bite on the finish.

This is still how a great amount of wine gets sold. A lot of effort goes into the bottle and label design as well as the name. Not just for standing out for the first-time wine buyer, but also for being easy to recognize for the return customer. And if said customer picks up the bottle to take a look at it, BINGO! There's a much greater chance that someone will buy a wine after picking up the bottle. I'm pretty sure I've provided this example before somewhere in this forum: Let's take a wine for which quality and price are not an issue -- Sutter Home White Zinfandel. When this wine was first put on the market, it was in a green bottle with a beige paper label. After Sutter Home switched to clear glass with a clear pressurized label, sales increased by 45% in less than one year. Sales of Fat Bastard wines are steadily increasing from year to year. It's a non-offesive (and nondescript) vin de pays, but people like the name. As long as the wine is palatable (not great, but merely drinkable), there will be repeat purchases. Sometime after the 1995 vintage, Donnhoff changed it's label from script-like lettering (written at an angle) to a cleaner block lettering look, centered on the label. Quality has always been high at Donnhoff, but the newer label is easier to pick out in the German aisle. Kurt Darting has now followed suit with "Darting" in large block letters centered on the label instead of "Kurt Darting" tucked away in the corner. I have no research to support the following, but I would wager that Pierre Sparr's "ONE" wine has outperformed anything else from Sparr, in terms of sales, since being released. It has a label that is more eye-catching that other Sparr wines. And it's little mystery that Zind-Humbrecht has now come out with "Zind" in the same fashion.

I don't know if this is mentioned up thread or not, but there was an article in my local paper yesterday that put some of the blame of overwieght children on the relaxed rules inside our schools. The article mentioned that students are allowed to have snacks and soda pop in classroom and in the hallways, and that some teachers use candy and other treats as incentives. Full story here.

I haven't read the Food and Wine piece so it may mention that Christopher Elbow won first place at the Next Generation Chocolatiers Competition in New York. Article here. It's not from the KC Star because I would've had to register just to read one article. The article mentions a fleur de sel confection, and so does Judy. I've had a fleur de sel truffle from a St. Paul chocolatier, Chocolat Celeste, and it was wonderful. I like how the salt cuts through some of the sweetness.

For those who may not know, the Charmat method ("metodo charmat" may show up on some bottles) is a bulk process method in which the carbon dioxide is kept in the wine in the tank throughout fermentation. Wines labeled Champagne in France must get their bubbles through a secondary fermentation in the individual bottle. Not so with wines produced using the Charmat method. The wine is already bubbly when bottled. It is less expensive than bottle fermentation. And Prosecco Frizzante and Prosecco Spumante wines are certainly easier on the wallet than most Champagne.

I'm fairly certain Valpiedra uses all French oak (now and perhaps in 1997), which is a departure from most Rioja producers who use American oak. It's new French oak, and aging in barrel is usually less than 1.5 years. This has been a producer I've liked, but I haven't had the wine in some time.

Prosecco wines come in generally six different types: Still dry, still sweet, frizzante dry, frizzante sweet, spumante dry, and spumante sweet (frizzante typically means less pressure/fizz than spumante). So you likely had drier versions of the wines when you were in Italy (I'm guessing in the Veneto, where wines from the prosecco grape are made, and where the wines are usually paired with fish or shellfish). Look for wines that carry the DOC designation: Prosecco di Conegliano-Valdobbiadene. They will generally be of the highest quality.

Salty and oily/fatty/creamy foods tend to go well with Champagne. Hence, typical pairings of smoked fish, caviar, etc. So the potato chips pairing isn't that surprising (and you'll find it recommended as a pairing in plenty of wine literature). Next time you pull the cork from a bottle, substitute the aged gouda with a double or triple creme, like Explorateur. The Marquid de la Tour is a nice, easy bubbly to serve as an aperitif. Of the wines you served, it probably had the "fruitiest" profile. It's half chenin blanc with the rest of it being part sauvignon blanc and part chardonnay.

Here are some other "basics" about food and wine pairing. I cannot take credit for these since I first learned about them from Tim Hanni. If your food is in balance, and the wine is balanced, you should have a pretty good food and wine pairing. Sweet and savory foods make wine taste more bitter (or stronger, or drier). Take a sip of a cabernet sauvignon. Then pop a red grape in your mouth. Then take another sip. Your perception of the wine will change based on the food you just had in your mouth. Salty and acidic foods make wine more sweet (or milder, or softer, or smoother). With that glass of cabernet still poured, go through a tequile shot ritual minus the tequila (taste some salt and lime) then take another sip of the wine. It will be hard to believe it's the same wine you had after eating the grape. Generally, if a food and wine pairing is a bit off, you can correct it by adding something to the food you are eating (salt, lemon, honey, fruit).

Your hotel, unfortunately, isn't conveniently close to places that would likely appeal to you. In cold temperatures, it's even less close. Although I like Bruce's recommendation of Vincent, that will be a 12 block walk for you. I also like the 112 Eatery recommendation, but that's going to be about 8 blocks. So, since you're taking a short cab ride anyway (or maybe the Marriott will drive you), I recommend Fugaise at 308 E. Hennepin Avenue on the other side of the river. This is a restaurant where the chef, Don Saunders, is fanatic about making everything just so. It might make the dishes appear a bit fussy, but there's a load of passion behind that. And in that neighborhood, I don't think you'll feel conspicuous dining alone.

Many good "sipping" ports can be had for less than $30. Some of the proprietary ruby ports are made just for this purpose: Fonseca Bin 27, Graham's Six Grapes, Warre's Warrior. There are some tawny wines from Australia that are also good for this, such as the Hardy's Whisker's Blake mentioned above. Also Yalumba's Galway Pipe, and Chambers. The good thing with any of these is that you can re-cork it and it will keep for a bit.

My "two cent" contribution: 1st - Pink bubbles. I recently had a bottle of Louis Bouillot "Perle d'Aurore" Cremant de Bourgogne Brut Rose that would go well with what you have here. And it's only about $10. 2nd - Aromatic red. A Barbera should go well. 3rd - A prayer. Marsala dishes and shrimp are tough wine foods. But I'd go with something from Tuscany or Umbria, like a Chianti Classico or Sagrantino di Montefalco. Dessert - Moscato d'Asti. It's light, fruity, a bit sweet, and low alcohol.

Keep those friends!