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Everything posted by Capaneus
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If you're using Port for cooking only, it will keep quite a long time, particularly if you refrigerate it. The same process used to fortify the wine gives it a good deal more stability than table wine has - it's the original purpose, after all - and the cold will slow the decay even further. You do lose volatile aromatics fairly rapidly, so a good vintage Port would taste much simpler the next morning, but it wouldn't go "bad" as such. A simpler Port, like a ruby or cheap tawny, that you might cook with, will change relatively little, and relatively slowly. I don't know to what extent the same is true for Marsala.
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I must, mustn't I? Have I mentioned both the Burgess and the Liparita were very good?
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2001, I believe. Though to be honest, at this price I will take *any*. Their distributor claims "quality at a good price", and boy, do they deliver.
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Back tonight for some wine research, reported elsewhere, and I have other glad tidings, o my folk! I *really* like this place. You might expect it to slack a bit, to let all the accolades lull it into a surfeited slumber. But these are doughtier souls! They strive, they reach, they struggle... And I eat. The menu was only somewhat changed from the one posted above, but I explored these changes for *your* benefit: the lamb is now a loin braised sous vide, a wonderful dish, with a side of couscous. The lamb itself was *great*, one of the lambiest lambs in lambdom (I assume the sous vide tratment somehow concentrated the flavors); if I may quibble, having loved this dish, the jus in the dish with the lamb might have held some further interest, a contrast either in flavor or in texture. Still, that's a small thing. For an appetizer, we had the trout salad with avocado, and the clam risotto. The trout salad was an amazing hit, silky avocado enrobing the lush salty fish, an amazing dish. The risotto was also very good, though again I might have wished for a contrasting flavor or texture. Still, I asked for this back and allowed my partner to finish the trout. Deeply satisfying, on some level. The other entree, roasted monkfish, was a success mainly because of the sides: the chickpeas and octopus ragout was outstanding. The fish... I'm not a fan of monkfish. It was good, certainly, but the octopus was what gave me the salty longing for distant shores and seas. And now, ladies and gentlemen, the deserts. We have, on occasion, stated they were possibly the weak link on the menu. Don't deny it, I know who you are! I am happy to report, though that those sad forlorn days are no more. We tried the two new items on the menu, tiramisu and bitter chocolate tart. They were more than just really really good, they brought into relief the relative timidity of earlier items: instead of the milk chocolate of the croquettes, the tart used bitter dark chocolate accented with roasted paprika, to produce a desert that was somehow *so* chocolatey, while being entirely different from my expectations, that we kept revisiting it and discussing it for a half-hour. Yeah, we liked it. The tiramisu was its coffee counterpart. Neither as sweet nor as rich as its iterations on other menus, it had an amazing depth and truth of flavor that really knocked on our heels. Jonathan, the manager, tells me their pastry chef is overly modest. Having tasted her evolution over the last few months, I can only rejoice that she is finally losing that diffidence. These were superb dishes. The only way I can explain the evolution I think I see here is in terms of a kind of integrity, a seamlessness of conception, that I did not find in previous Marigold deserts. The deftness of execution has been unassailable all along, but these raise the bar. As a last note, I discussed with Jonathan the possibility of an eGullet dinner on April 3rd. It will be entirely off the menu, a chance for the kitchen to reach a bit further, a little wilder, for an audience that appreciates their artistry. I will post more info in the ISO thread when I have it. Also, goldarn it and consarn it, how do I do cutesy things with the "edited by" lil' line like y'all? I want to be cool too
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Wine & Spirits Bargains at the PLCB (Part 1)
Capaneus replied to a topic in Pennsylvania: Cooking & Baking
Walk... towards... the light... The Burgess is *crazy* good. Dense, chewy mouthfeel, lots of fruit, enough tannin to give it structure, but mostly resolved and ready to drink... It honestly reminded me of what much Bordeaux lays claim to... at $75/btl and up. Buy it. *After* I get my second six-pack, that is. "Vultures. Vultures everywhere..." I also had the Liparita, with the same dinner at Marigold (about which more to follow). Which leaves me with the usual problem, because this is also a remarkably good Cab, though in an entirely different vein: where the Burgess was all elegance and silky subtlety, the Liparita was California exuberance at its best. Yes, I could taste the vanilla. Yes, it was a fruit bomb. So *what*? This wine was a blast, deep dark fruit all over the place, sour cherries and blackberries dominating, and enough structure to let it stand up to the food, and the Burgess. In fact, if I were doing a blind tasting, it would probably come out on top. Which, of course, is the problem with wine tastings. Anyway, at the respective price points ($13 for the Liparita, $20 for the Burgess), you cannot go wrong. I *love* Jonathan Newman. -
It is actually this Sunday, the 10th. You still have time to get tickets! ← Yeah, I did not a half-hour ago: go to victorybeer.com, there will be a link to the event on the lower left-hand corner. Then *charge*!
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Well, certainly not to *me*. I bought a bottle at Canal's on rt. 73 a little after Christmas. I haven't used Beverage Network, so I don't know what they mean by "not sold in NJ" - it's possible it's currently unavailable. But it certainly has been sold in NJ recently.
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Gotta still them wanderin' shoes, Percyn! We'll drink one to you.
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Do not fuss and/or fret, My Good Man: I will confess to frequently using Parker myself, though I tend to use him to alert me to particularly high-quality bargains at the bottom of the price charts - he's largely responsible for pointing me toward Spanish reds almost a decade ago, and I'll always be thankful. I find that for *those* wines his palate is very useful. We just don't track that well once we move up. I think he knows his limitations, given the brief he has chosen to unload onto Rovani (who is better than him on Burgs, though his palate seems to be getting Parkerized too, over time).
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Wine & Spirits Bargains at the PLCB (Part 1)
Capaneus replied to a topic in Pennsylvania: Cooking & Baking
There's one with my name on it. I'll be picking up soon - YAY! ← I was there to pick up mine today (actually *dropped it*- no damage), and Corey mentioned you were trying to horn in on that sweet Burgess action! Actually, it's moving slower than I thought it would. Still, I'm taking no chances: dinner tomorrow to determine if I buy another half-case, and test drive the Liparita to boot. TN to follow, if I recall anything afterwards. -
Wine & Spirits Bargains at the PLCB (Part 1)
Capaneus replied to a topic in Pennsylvania: Cooking & Baking
Thanks Evan. Got mine - or had it put aside, since their credit card machines weren't working. So eight cases minus one, minus two bottles that had been bought earlier. And counting. ← Please post your impressions. We are holding our breath! Evan ← Well, I just need the occasion, at this point. At least I'm fairly sure it's ready to drink. So in the meantime *please* breathe freely -
Wine & Spirits Bargains at the PLCB (Part 1)
Capaneus replied to a topic in Pennsylvania: Cooking & Baking
Thanks Evan. Got mine - or had it put aside, since their credit card machines weren't working. So eight cases minus one, minus two bottles that had been bought earlier. And counting. -
I only have experience studding horses, but in that process not using gloves can get quite messy. Really.
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I thought I spotted a pun there: "super-silly-ous" - get it? As to the rest... I'm somewhere in the middle on too many of them to be comfortable sharing. Just kidding. On 1)... *other people* have opinions!? That's... awkward. 2) I grab the glass by any protruding extrusion and rotate it so as to cause liquid to flow over the rim. Repeat. Rinse only if changing varietal. 3) 'Kay. Geek. Don't even understand the alternative. Though I love Tokay and Riesling TBAs much more than Sauternes. And Port... well, me likee. 4) Geek. Though I'd *love* to be able to afford being a Dork waaaay more often. 5) See 4) 6) *Why* do Geeks shake old bottles around again? Just puts off drinking for *minutes* sayz I! 7) Yeah. The swizzling thing is just annoying. 'Though I have pretty good sinus control. 8) First I choose a wine that seems interesting. Then I order food that *does* match, usually. Dunno what that makes me. 9) I *love* numerical ratings. I get just all excited when St. Estephes get *way* underrated, and all that St. Emilion candy gets great numbers. Every cent Parker drives a wine *up* is a cent that doesn't get spent driving up the price of the wines *I* like. 10) I'm with Jaybert. I've had some of my bottles go off from inadequate storage. It's very very sad.
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Thanks. That sheds a little light on things. I guess it must be a buffet, I can't imagine they'll be serving eleven courses. I think I will be there if I can scare up a dining partner. Good luck on your own quest.
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I saw this ad on NYTimes.com. http://www.kobrandevents.com/pinot_pork/tickets.html The $50 price tag sounds ridiculously low for a dinner at the Ritz-Carlton, even *without* the wine. Are there any Slow Food members around who know any more about it? I'd assume hors d'oeuvres, but that seems pretty quickish, as food goes...
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Count five glasses to a bottle. All the other questions require more information - how much drinking do you expect, for which ages and sex and general habits within your culture would be handy. What do you mean by "mid-price"? To me that would be $15 to $25/btl, but that varies a lot. There is a *lot* of pretty decent Cal PN floating around in the lower price ranges, but I have no idea what would be on your list... That's probably the starting point: can you post it, or at least the wines you'd consider, in terms of price, grape, etc.?
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The narrative I've read was of the "things just happened" school of Business Growth. She baked a few pastries she'd sell from what was essentially a cake shop, then her (Moroccan?) boyfriend... Why am I trying to remember? I *know* my brain doesn't work... Link to Rick Nichols' full-poop story below. http://www.dfw.com/mld/philly/entertainmen...ols/7929703.htm
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801 E. Passyunk, Herb, so yeah, that sounds about right.
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And another one lost to the Dark Side of the Force...
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Thanks to everyone for you thoughts. The wine is for a birthday so I can't wait around for an auction and I have to admit I never buy from auction because I think it is largely a dumping ground for poorly stored wines. This wine is going to cost between 500 and 1000 bucks so I want to really try hard to find one that has been cellared properly. I think I will start working the English dealers and see what I can come up with. Selling this kind of stuff makes me kind of nervous though, if the bottle is bad I'm going to look bad to one of my best customers. ← Well, a good wine merchant will be able to tell you what is (and isn't) known of the bottle's cellaring history. That will tell you something about your odds. Port is not nearly as fragile as non-fortified wines, so you've got that working for you in this case. As to the customer... as a customer myself, if I've been kept apprised of what you've been trying, and what's involved, and I understand the risks, it's a lot less likely I would blame you for the outcome. But obviously you are the only judge as to what's appropriate.
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I have to attend huge tastings that are put on by my suppliers. Last week there was one with 300 different wines. It is really hard to be objective when tasting wine this way. I did my best and managed to work my way through almost 200 of them. Yes I spit. I was even in fine condition for the drive home. One thing I do notice is that huge monster reds still taste great and stand out even on a burnt palate. ← Yeah, in fact it's my personal theory on *why* RP likes the wines he does: they're the wines that stand out under the ungodly conditions in which he works (at least he seems to me to go through great numbers of wines on relatively short tasting trips). At any rate, it works that way for me, which is why I've given up mass tastings as a way to judge wines to purchase. I just do them for fun, now.
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I agree with all of the above, but would add that Spanish roses are some of the best on the market just now, and a bit less than French. Bonny Doon's Vin Gris de Cigare isn't half-bad, and should be easier to find; take it as a fallback position. Otherwise... I like Ms. Tillie's suggestion of a Riesling, but in this case I might stay away from the Mosel and Alsatian offerings and go with a Rhine producer: the 2003s were particularly successful there, they are generally cheaper, and the rounder, fruitier, less subtle style might match the food better. At the other end of the spectrum, a not-too-expensive Zinfandel would also work, I think, for the same reasons: the sweetness and fruit would serve as a good bridge for them as well. ****** Oooops. Useless blathering. Just realised Easter has passed. Carry on.
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Any number of British auction Houses and wine merchants will have regular auctions. Other than that, I hope some of our transAtlantic cohorts will pipe up... Jancis Robinson seems to think highly of http://www.wine-searcher.com/ as a tool for the tracking down of wine. I have never searched out anything nearly that old, but you might try a couple of searches. Actually, I did just try it (just put in "1945" for Vintage and "Europe" for Merchant Location), and a number of Port results came up, from Borges through what appears to be a Taylor's, from Peter Wylie. I can't vouch for the reliability of any of the purveyours, though.