arielle

I really like the writing of Jancis Robinson. I agree that the World Atlas she wrote with Hugh Johnson is amazing, but I think two other books of hers are even better to start with: Wine Tasting Workbook; and Wine Course (a new edition was just released).

Count me in! I'm a bottom-feeder, a scum-sucker, and I cannot stand Ms Ray! Whenever I have the misfortune to see her on the Food Network I feel like I want to be ill. People who are as chirpy as that should be put in a cage and called Polly! (Sorry Rachel, I'm sure you're really nice in person, but your TV personality is so f'ing wholesome......'all-American' as we say....bleuch!)

IDA - Perhaps you could cut a champagne cork down to size? It may not be as pretty as a cut or blown glass stopper, but it would at least be functional until you found a more aesthetic replacement!

Sunday: Swedish meatballs with house-made cucumber pickle and mashed potato; entrecote de boeuf with cassoulet; cocktail onions(!?)

The first place I ever worked was a nightclub, and on busy nights, the owner would sometimes come into the bar to 'help' us (usually by taking orders, but then neither making them nor telling us what they were! ) anyway, one night when we were getting absolutely slammed, one of the bar backs shattered a glass right over the ice well. Whilst we organised replacement ice, I sprayed grenadine (red means DANGER!!!!, right?) over the ice so no-one would use it. I returned a minute later to see her scooping ice from there into a glass to give to a customer! I asked her what the hell she was doing, didn't she see the grenadine? Didn't she know that it meant DO NOT USE ME? Her response: Oh, I thought it was just some blood!

Oh my God! I cannot believe that you have all had such terrible experiences! You do realise that the legal concept of 'duty of care' was established in the UK in the 20s (30s?) by a case [Donoghue and Stevenson] in which a woman found a snail in the bottom of a bottle of ginger ale! She sued, and won. I can't believe the blase attitude of the people who are selling bottles with glass in them, wafers with lizards etc. As we say, 'shit happens', and I understand that, but people should stand behind their product, and know that the most important thing is to make the consumer happy. It's pretty traumatic to eat a burger, and then find half a cockroach in there! Bleuck!!!!!! The worst thing that has happened to me was receiving a drink in a nightclub that had a piece of glass in it. I only discovered it once it was in my mouth and halfway down my throat. I guess something was smashed close to the ice bin. As I could not show the manager the glass itself, I was obliged to wipe my lips onto a napkin to show the blood that was welling in my mouth. They were very apologetic about it, and immediately replaced the ice wells...etc, and really took care of me both that night and each time I returned (free drinks, anyone?)

would you believe oops, i did it again!!!!!!?, except this time it was 4am, and I was distracted by the husband, with whom I was making 'dinner' after a post-work drinking session with our friends!!!!! OUCH!

I do solemnly declare that I will never again use the 8-inch Global when I'm distracted (usually talking to my husband!) or when I'm wasted. I forget to hold whatever it is I'm chopping properly, and have now taken out my index and middle fingers of the left hand SOOOOO many times that I have next to no fingerprint left!!!!! That's why I love the kitchen!!! My husband knows about the splattering oil thing: he had to bandage his hand for two weeks thanks to duck fat that flew (pun intended) out of a pan and onto his hand. I have never seen blisters like he had!

Katie - I'm sure you would agree that if there is nothing wrong with the wine, that you wouldn't argue with the customer, just replace the bottle and then sell the refused bottle by the glass, or alternatively use it for staff education.....I'm definitely in favour of the latter, that's how I learned so much at such a young age: generous management that took staff knowledge very seriously. How else is a student who is only working to pay their school fees supposed to be a good and informed server? I certainly couldn't afford much of what I've had the chance to drink over the years. Bux - you are absolutely right. Actually, someone pointed out (sorry, forgot who) that many customers kick up a huge fuss if they think some waiter (because they don't know what a sommelier is! ) is stealing a sip of their wine. Only really high end restaurants with sophisticated diners (or well-versed in restaurant culture, if you like) can afford to engage in this practice. It is also true that usually only diners who are confident and knowledgable choose to speak with the sommelier, or any staff, about the wine list. It's such a shame that in many establishments the waiters don't really know very much, and neither does the management, because it 'spoils' it for the restaurants where good advice may be had. The public doesn't trust us enough. edited for clarity

When I was at university, I used to frequent a very cool cocktail bar that had at least 100 infused vodkas. They used Absolut, and would put almost anything in there: lemongrass, vanilla, citrus, coffee beans, jelly beans (which sounds good but tasted vile IMHO), peppers, black pepper, caraway seeds........list goes on. I went on an infusion rampage a few years ago, and found that fruit could be infused pretty well, but it was necessary to strain the vodka through muslin to remove pulp and make it look better. I also kept the infused vodka in the freezer (better anyway, but just in case someone wanted to leave it out....the alcohol would probably ensure that it would keep.....but who knows?). One of my better infusions was papaya and lime!!!!! Soooo yummy!

Glad that others like the stuff too! Lemoncello was one of the first things that I made when I learned to cook! - my Mum had an amazing Italian recipe book that covered many regions, local ingredients and specialties, and explained the significance of holiday meals etc. There was a recipe for lemoncello, so I made some and macerated the peel for 2 months!!!! By the time it was ready, I had progressed to baking, so I made some almond biscotti to go with it!!!!!

Cannot remember specifically the first meal that I made for my now husband, but knowing my staple then (and now, for most dinners at home!), it was doubtless a big salad! (with a whole lot of wine to wash it down! ) Actually, I think that breakfast may have been the first meal ( ), I think that my homemade museli was what he really loved about me - we still have it practically every morning (it's been more than two years now!) Um, but I remember the first dinner we had as husband and wife - a joint venture, it was: Tuna tartare, followed by lobster ravioli in a corn and red pepper cream. There was lots of wine and quiet jazz, and probably one of the most romantic meals we have ever experienced.

Gruner Veltliner works very well with sushi and sashimi, especially ones which are a little on the minerally side of the taste spectrum. I totally agree with the riesling and gewurztraminer recommendations, they are both ideal. But Caroline is right to say the the gewurz. needs to be low on residual sugar, otherwise the aromatics on the nose and palate can simply overwhelm the more subtle sushi flavours. I have also enjoyed searingly acidic chablis with sushi - it acts almost in the same way as the pickled ginger: a palate-cleanser between each morsel! Champagne also works, especially brut or a blanc-de-blancs. Some of the more rounded, mouth-filling ones somehow seem to lose all direction when paired with the clean lines of sushi and sashimi. But then I am generally biased towards more pinot-oriented champagne like Bollinger, I love the backbone of them, and there is something very seductive about the berry characteristics...... Although I must say that the citrus characteristics of a blanc-de-blancs can also be the perfect counterpoint...... Oh man! I am soooo hungry now (and I just finished brekkie!)

Last night: Chicken and coconut curry, with butternut squash, sweet potato and chick peas. I love roti and west-indian curries, served with lots of hot sauce, but I also like an east-indian curry. Though I don't serve with with the traditional rice, rather on a bed of steamed baby bok choy, with a side of cilantro raita. Inspired by the purchase of an enormous bunch of beautiful cilantro!!! I think that's sort of like purchasing some beautiful lingerie and then having to find the perfect outfit to accompany it! I used the cilantro root in making the chicken stock that I used as well - infusion of flavours at all levels gives the dish much greater depth than can otherwise be achieved. Also: purchased a tree-like basil plant, so made a traditional pesto I lurve pesto! (it's going onto everything, even breakfast toast!)

No, that's what I mean.....who said it originally? I heard it from Bernadette O'Shea - considered the foremost expert on Champagne in Australia (before you laugh, she's been awarded an honorary knighthood by the French Government for her services to this great French wine*), and who I used to work for in her tastings - she held Champagne education classes, and she made the 'sigh of a contented woman' comment, but did say that it was someone else who said it first..... AHA!!!! I know who said it: Len Evans (Aussie wine guru) - but then he probably stole it from someone else *Yes, CtznCane, Champagne is, and will always be, a French wine from the region of Champagne. The French themselves respect this appelation, hence the existence of Cremant de Bourgogne etc.

Okay, I've heard of people 'sabering' Champagne bottles.........but I must ask 'why?', that is: here you finally have a bottle of wine that requires no corkscrew, rather, a certain amount of talent to open correctly - to produce the 'sigh of a contented woman' (cannot remember WHO said that, but it's a good one, no?) sound - in gently releasing the cork from the bottle. I thought that this was what Champane service (and consumption) was all about.....? So why do this? I would guess that it would also lead to a loss of quite a bit of the champagne...sort of like shaking the bottle before opening...? Katie, do you know?

This isn't quite going to help you, but it's a funny wine with no corkscrew story. A couple of years ago, my friend and I were accidentally locked in the office/wine cellar at my restaurant. We waited, sure that someone would notice that we had not returned, and after about half an hour, I gave up and offered her a drink. Then we realised that surrounded by hundreds of bottles, we had nothing to open them. In utter despair, we prepared ourselves to a night of dehydration and sobriety, until I remembered that there was a hammer in there....somewhere. We found it, and instead of breaking open a bottle of wine, I used it to open us a few beers, which was sorely needed since we weren't discovered for another hour and a half!!!!!! (what were they all thinking?)

I'm sad to hear that Tim Pak Poy has sold Claude's. I remember my parents eating there for a wedding anniversary of theirs when I was much too young (I don't believe that he was the chef then, but I understand that the restaurant is beautiful, and the food exceptional, and that he has only made it better since). But I wish good luck to the new owner, I'm sure that she will continue to make this one of the premier restaurants in Sydney.

BODUM is a really reliable brand - their coffee presses are pretty resilient, and their filters work well. For me, the most important thing for a french press is how you treat it: you gind the beans as they should be (more coarse than an espresso grind) and that you allow it to steep for a few minutes (more than tea, about 5 minutes for a 6-cup capacity brewer). Finally, as we all know: USE THE BEST COFFEE YOU CAN FIND, the difference between beans and roasts is phenomenal, so try, and try again and again until you have found the right bean and grind to suit you.

I live in Toronto, and was doing a quick, rough exchange in my head! But you really sell it for $80! O! Catch me, for I think I shall faint! To be honest with you, though, I think that if I did get my paws on a bottle, I'd probably be too greedy to share it (anyway, he's a sommelier, and has a far greater opportunity to try these things than I do

I've enjoyed many an exceptional wine in my time, as I have had the good fortune to work with some dedicated professionals at outstanding restaurants, who have at various times taken me under their wings and tutored me on my knowledge of the grape. However, the greatest wine I ever tasted was the first glass that I literally shared with the man who was to become my husband: the 1996 Cos d'Estournel. I shall never forget the intensity of emotion that thrilled through my body at that moment - I've just never been certain if it was the wine........ Another great experience was a vertical and horizontal tasting of a flight of Brokenwood 'Graveyard': 1986, 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000. The horizontal tasting was to put this NSW shiraz (that retailed for circa $80 AUD!!!!), the 2000 vintage of which was being released, up against some of the most highly-regarded Australian shiraz and one exceptional syrah, to wit: the '86 Penfolds' 'Grange' (until the advent of the 1998 vintage, the 1986 was considered to be the best they had produced!); the '86 Henschke 'Hill of Grace', probably considered the 2nd best Aust. shiraz produced; Hardy's 'Eileen Hardy' '91; Wynns' 'Michael' '94, d'Arenberg 'Dead Arm' '98 (one of the best years ever for Australian wine, across the board); Jaboulet's "La Chapelle" '98; and for the 2000 vintage: Hanging Rock "Heathcote" and Seville Estate 'Old Vine'. There were two others ('91 and '94) but I did not have the opportunity to taste these. What was so exceptional about this tasting was that there were so many excellent wines, all unique, expressing their terroir, style and nuance in sometimes very subtle ways, sometimes in vastly different ways*; yet there was nonetheless an enormous price differential between the various bottles, and it therefore afforded me the opportunity to consider the true 'value' of a wine. [*The contrast between the Dead Arm (a McLaren Vale shiraz), which was bold and intense, full-bodied and overwhelmed the senses, and the La Chapelle, which was nearling delicacy in contrast, and was subtle and refined and food-friendly in a way that most New-World winemakers have only begun to realise is desirable.] The point is, each of these wines was an excellent example of their style of winemaking. The '86 Grange cannot be found for less that $400USD nowdays, though, and it's the same as the Gaja: how very much better is it than a bottle of something that Parker or anyone else may rate very highly, just not a 100-pointer? I would be very happy to fork out $120 USD to purchase a bottle of Cos d'Estournel and relive that magic moment: I could do that three, count it 3!!!!, times for the cost of an extra point or three......

It's a shame that Belvedere's popularity has waned ............(where are you from?) because whilst it may not be a top-selling spirit, it IS a vodka of exceptional quality. I must admit to a personal preference for Chopin (the clean lines of a velvety, subtly sweet and oh-so-smooth potato based liquor are hard to beat!) I've personally been avoiding Hpnotiq like the plaque: if the base cognac and vodka were any good, they wouldn't need to disguise them with fruit juice, would they?