Rebel Rose

I think we need to elaborate a little here about the delights of Basque food. And Basque drink. I remember little, unfortunately.

California is a big state, with a variety of culinary and cultural backgrounds. Has anyone here eaten at the Basque restaurants in Bakersfield, where food is served family-style on plank tables? What's your favorite spot for shark tacos, deep-pit goat, barbecued tritip, and homemade tortillas with pit-roasted pork and mui caliente guacamole? I hereby nominate the Pozo Saloon for their pitchers of beer with two inches of green olives at the bottom.

I didn't eat there, but walked in yesterday while shlepping around downtown San Francisco, and walked out again. The place reeked of orchids and seafood. Both of which I enjoy, but not in excess! The smell was overpowering.

Nice lineup! Amanda Hesser and Karen MacNeil back to back, Jeff Morgan, Lettie Teague, Madeleine Kamman . . . What would your ideal wine guest be?

That's true in many cases, unfortunately. However, it's not always true. We send only our best wines of each vintage. Turley sends only excellent wines. It pays to take a little time to research the club program . . . and that's excellent advice!

I'm on the waiting list for Leonetti, and have been for two years. But I can get all the Turley I want! We designed our wine club around just two shipments of 3 bottles a year, because we know people like to get wine from different sources without necessarily committing to cases of the stuff! So ours is more of a "sampler pack" program, but we also offer other levels so that people can sign up for 6 or 12 bottles per shipment. And we have a few people who have standing orders for a full case of each wine. The Turley program is highly individualized. They send out a letter in advance offering you a selection based on what you've purchased before. Then, you get to decide whether to accept that offer, or change the wines to something else. They don't accept credit cards , so you send your check and after it clears, your wine is sent. Talk about labor-intensive! But they have a lot of club loyalty due to the quality of the wines and the very personalized approach.

What are your favorite winery websites? Here's one of mine. Not terribly informative, but I love the flash version. And the lack of pretension. Do you like Flash? Can't stand it? Wine data, recipes, ease of navigation? What works for you and what just doesn't? Personally, I hate Flash because I have land lines and no satservice because we don't have a clear line of sight. I also don't like having to visit a separate page to get basic information on each wine offered, for the same reasons. And I'd like to see more action photos. If I see one more photo of a winemaker holding a glass of wine in front of a barrel, I'm going to gag (on some really good wine, though).

Faith, are you involved in the slow food movement at all? Do you think it's had an impact on buying habits in Italy?

That is an awesome achievement! Hearty congratulations! I applied for MasterChef USA in 2002-03, but never heard back from them, and they never updated their website. I called the Seattle office a couple of times and was told they were "redesigning" the show. I thought it was a great concept, though.

Cooking Contest Central can be quite addictive. I won a George Forman indoor grill, but I don't remember for what. And a thermometer kit.

So that's why Pinot Noirs have that elegant 'barnyard' aroma . . . But seriously, that is an interesting interview, geo t. Thanks for sharing with us!

That's very romantic. Whether true or not, it would add to my enjoyment of a Manzanilla. Not around here. We love a good argument.

I love good sauvignon blanc. Wish I'd been there to share. Coulda brought Fritos.

You've come to the right place. Now we need a name for our international intel.

Wow. Thanks for the detailed notes. And congratulations on a wonderful birthday! This is such a virtual experience, I'm sure I gained a few calories while reading it.

Tipping hat to Ms Melkor and jackal10. Did you notice this? Let's see, that would be . . . wait . . . running out of fingers . . . Old vines plus replants, probably.

There was a Jerry La Croix that recorded blues and rock back in the fifties and sixties under several labels. The wine may be a local production from a friend's backyard vineyard. ::shrug?:: The import thing throws me, though. Is there a back label? Can you post a photo? Edited to say that I am not that old that I would remember!

This sounds like so much fun. I have to try it out next time I'm in the city.

If a person wanted to experiment with her own low-carb cookie or snack, what would a basic recipe involve, as far as just fiber x fat x eggs-or-other-leavening ratios? Without worrying about the preservation--because in this household, nothing edible lasts more than a few days. I think most home cooks looking for a good low-carb snack/cookie would agree that preservation in a houshold is not a priority issue.

I agree that inexpensive German or Austrian wines would be good for cooking, and britcook is dead on about avoiding oaky wines. You want a wine with a very fruity character, so that once the alcohol burns off there is still a pleasant flavor. I think finding a wine with a lower alcohol content would also leave more flavor in the dish.

Mm, thanks for the food ideas. I will try it with a dark, savory poultry. Can you tell us more about the terroir discussions?

Greetings, Mt Baker Bandit, and congratulations on your first post! Better be careful with your spelling--these guys are a tough crowd!

Rogelio, thank you for the detailed notes! This is quite extensive (and enjoyable). I have not thought about serving an excellent sherry with a main course in a long time, but this post is making me yearn for some. What is your favorite main course with one of these sherrys? Also, I was intrigued by your comment that the Amontillado Pastrana VOS Hidalgo was salty. I have yet to try a wine in which salt was not a fault. Can you describe that taste, and how it affects the wine, a little more?

Sorry, I wasn't clear. So this is just a little off-topic aside, because I don't want anyone to think I'm a disaster hound. I was carrying and answering the phones because we were desperate to get ahold of Jake and get our pump back to rescue the wine still sloshing around in broken and overturned barrels. And no, people, straws were definitely not going to work! Once reports started getting out that we were asnwering the phone, they were on me like piranhas! All I wanted was our pump back! Ah well, everyone was nice, and Lynn at WS asked if there was anything we might need from Napa vintners. "No, unless they've got a PUMP handy!" Edited to say, thank you for your input. I think it will be really helpful to our restauranteurs and staff who might find themselves frequently approached by writers.

That's often true, but it never hurts to ask politely. I have frequently been given the chance to review my comments before an article goes to press. I think for some writers or editors it depends on whether the person being quoted may be difficult to work with (some people are just never happy) or the article might be even slightly controversial or critical. And of course, many people want to rewrite an author's piece into commercialism fluff. If a source is friendly, though, and offering 'expert' knowledge that will help the writer, I've never really had a writer strenuously object to letting me review their notes for accuracy. If it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen! The whole thing with the EQ reporting happened because writers were rushing to get the first internet reports up, which I totally understand, and I think I was the only winery answering the phone right after it happened. Not because I had tiiiiime on my hands, mind you, but because we had 3" of wine on the floor and we'd loaned our pump out. So I'm cleaning up glass with a a pocket apron strapped around my waist, carrying the home phone, biz phone, cell phone, and digital camera, trying to get ahold of Jake, the borrower. I was a waddling communication center. Riiiing! "Hello?" "Hello, this is the Bakersfield Californian . . ." Riiiing! "Hello, this is the Los Angeles Times . . . " Riiiing! "Hello, this is Lynn Alley at the Wine Spectator . . ." Help! Any OTHER time I would have been delighted to hear from them, but on this particular day I was just a little distracted. "Wine? Oh yeah, it's all over the floor. Wait! No, I didn't mean ALL of it!" At any rate, my point here would be to encourage food and beverage professionals here to be more aware of how the publishing field works, to be conscious of what they're saying, and considerate of the writer's purpose and editorial pressures. I would also encourage them to ask if they can review any direct quotes (you shouldn't expect to see the whole article), and not be upset if the publication or writer refuses. Does that sound reasonable?