JohnL

Nathan I would agree that interest in formal haute places may be declining but is it really declining that much in your opinion? Or is this a case of alternatives on the rise with a seemingly rapid increase in interest in food and dining out? What I consider more formal haute restaurants seem to be holding their own. Per Se, Some of The BLT Empire, some of the Batali Bastianich empire, Wallse, JGV empire, Tribeca Grill, Chanterelle and on and on......

Ok it is a "new paradigm" so what? If one wants to apply a loose set of criteria then fine. I think that the whole "paradigm" issue is not quite as revelatory or certainly serendipitous as some seem to think. That's my opinion. I actually think "haute cheap" does a better job. Maybe "cheap chic" maybe "hip haute"---it's all rock and roll to me! Chris is on to something--what is a "paradigm" here in NYC maybe quite different in other places. I thought that Al Forno (at least an aspect of it) sort of fell into this area. Maybe it once did and no longer... I am not sure, I haven't been to Providence for some time. It is also worth considering that this is more about a certain market demographic than a restaurant trend--really, if the market isn't there the trend won't happen. By the way the use of "paradigm" was part of the trend where a hip phrase or word is applied as a catch all. I think it is overused. The marketing gurus and media who jumped on this word have mostly moved on. (I am guilty of using it as well--I am going to try to avoid it in the future--it just ain't hip anymore) Could be we are witnessing a paradigm shift though. (sorry couldn't resist!)

I agree with your thoughts Doc. This is not a "paradigm" it is rather a new approach to an emerging market segment. Dining habits and tastes are evolving. There are a lot of younger people with some disposable income. Their tastes are fairly sophisticated and they are relatively adventurous. Years ago this crowd spent most of their leisure time in upper East Side bars drinking. Food was a quick burger or a meal at a hip pub or the Greek Diner. Gradually, some restaurant/bar/hip scene places emerged: Bar Louie, Blue Parrot, Cafe Seyokan, Lola, Arizona 206, China Grill, Santa Fe, America, etc etc etc. The food was often better and more adventurous, certainly more diverse and interesting. There was also a sense of hipness in the decor at many of these places. The sophistication level was raised a notch or three. I am not sure that the dining/drinking hipster scene today is not much more than the natural evolution of the food scene that this crowd gravitates to.

I don't doubt this is a problem. My belief is that if Napa wants to sell/promote itself as a major tourist attraction then it is courting the dollars generated from a large audience for whom wine is not a primary interest. It has to accept the consequences--that's all. When wineries feature museum quality guided tours and huge gift shops selling everything from pottery to T-shirts to glassware and other decorative items for the home then no doubt that for many visitors, the wine is secondary. I would ask why a major large winery with distribution all over the country needs a tasting room at all? (answer--it's all about branding and brand loyalty)

Alan Richman does Naples I don't know if this has been linked or mentioned in this thread or others but here's a little gasoline for the fire!

Interesting. Sounds like the plot of "Chinatown"--didn't Jake Gittes uncover all this info? I think the real factor is climate and less soil and irrigation. My guess is california has the kind of climate in the central valley to grow a wide variety of quality produce all year round. There's a reason wheat and corn and sou beans are the main crops in the midwest beyond the livestock feed and ethanol etc. The stuff probably grows better in those climes than other items and the flat land is plentiful so they can be grown in such huge quantities. Same reason citrus and sugar cane are grown in hotter climes found in the Gulf states and Texas. Man can deal with dry soils and poor soils but we haven't found a way to manipulate weather. (we're workin on it though).

Craig. Interested in those bachelor parties to increase business? I got the answer: "TOPLESS POURERS" You'll have to increase the size of your parking area to accommodate all the limmos! You can probably increase that five dollar for five pours to twenty dollars and allow tips to be placed in the pourers G-strings! In fact, I bet you will make more money at this than you do making and selling wine! just a thought! maybe Oregon just needs a "wine train"--folks seem to love these!

As I noted before the problem is basically very simple. The vast majority of wine buyers (and most retailers) need one key piece of information about a wine: What does it taste like?--the flavor profile. Unfortunately, the solution is not so simple! The current pradikat system is confusing. The level of sugar is a precise measurement but as I noted: one man's auslese is another man's spatlese when it comes to how the wine tastes and varies within the system from vintage to vintage and wine maker to wine maker. The notion of terroir is even more confusing. if wine geeks and professionals are confused about this (and make no mistake they are) how can the average customer out there possibly wrestle with it? Neither the level of ripeness/sweetness or the location of the vineyard is really all that reliable as an indicator of quality. At the top levels the producer the terroir and the residual sweetness are important--they have their place and the so called experts can continue to wrangle over the definitions and the reality endlessly. Just as it is today, the people who are interested will continue to find the good stuff. The issue here is why riesling has not "taken" off with a broader range or consumers. Especially drier styles which have greater potential than the sweeter styles. For starters, importers need to start bringing over the drier styles in greater numbers. My understanding is the Germans themselves consume the drier styles and the sweeter stuff comes here (and elsewhere). Slap on a nice readable label that indicates the varietal and that the wine is DRY (dry as agreed upon with a measurable standard--dry has to mean dry!). Many Kabinetts are really off dry in taste and most spatlesen are perceived by most tasters as sweet! Label em thusly! Germany and Austria and Alsace need a mass market wine(s)--a well made riesling that tastes dry to most people that is made in enough quantity to be available around this country at a relatively low price. Once a large number of casual and novice drinkers are comfortable with a basic well made riesling that is dry many will be more willing to try other styles and higher quality examples. By the way--the Europeans can continue to use all the pradikat info and vineyard designations and whatever on the labels. I would add that the Alsations are also debating an emphasis on vineyard designation (they seem to think downplaying the varietal is in order) and a hierarchy based on these designations. The folly of this is obvious if one looks at Burgundy. Most savvy buyers pretty much relegate the cru status to secondary or tertiary (or no) importance in buying these wines. Even more interestingly is that even the French are slowly coming around--varietal information is starting to appear on labels (at least for basic table wines). Guess what? People are buying these wines--who knew you could get a nice light pinot noir for so little money and from France yet!!!!

I doubt people are visiting tasting rooms to get "drunk." (aside from a few boors) There are easier and cheaper ways to do this. I do think people visit Napa (and other wine making areas) to see the sights, eat, drink and have fun. The vast majority of people visiting tasting rooms are tourists and not serious "taste and spit" connoisseurs on a quest to find that perfect chardonnay or Rhone varietal wine they will buy cases of. At least this is my best guess. As long as these places go all out to attract tourists and let's be honest--we are talkin wine trains, restaurants, gift shops and wine museums--all fueled by the business of producing alcoholic beverages....... In the end it's about people having fun and if they get a bit tipsy in the process well so be it!

Nice wine choice for that pork!!! I would love to join you!!!! I think rather than dying, both local farming and wine making are "evolving." All over the world. I always note that here in the US we are a large country geographically with a diverse and large (300 million) population. There is a real place for large agribusiness (they have been evolving and improving) and for local farms (also evolving). We often forget that the wine the French are agonizing about is not wine we ever really see here. Their reality is that their per capita consumption of wine is declining. There is also more competition from wines made in other EU countries as well as imports from the New World. Life is changing! Not long ago there was no wine from South America or Australia to speak of. Look at how Spain and Italy have responded to changing times-- some wonderful interesting wines are "pouring" into this (and other) country. Somehow I think we will all end up in better shape than before. I do know that I can buy organic fine quality greens from California all year round as well as local stuff in season and I have more choices in things like pork than I did only a few years ago! Just picking out a chicken is suddenly a matter of choosing among several organic, free range and mass produced birds. Even a pessimist while unable to say life is good has to admit at least it is better!

I don't disagree. However, what is equally interesting re: the disappearing way of life angle is the fact that "alonside" those same newspaper/media pieces about how small farms are disappearing are pieces celebrating farmer's markets and small artisinal producers who are growing and thriving everyday. Seems for all the gnashing of teeth about the deathof the family farm there are more kinds of locally produced cheeses and baby lettuces and...than ever before! One can't have it both ways. I suspect that one's view of the scene --wine or farming depends upon the ox being gored. The fact is --and the EU has acknowledged this--far too much insipid wine is being produced in Europe fostered by growers and wine makers (yes a lot of co-ops) that can not compete on the domestic market (wine consumption in France for eg is declining substantially) let alone on a world stage that has seen an explosion of wine making around the world. It is also a fact that small(er) artisinal producers focusing on quality are growing in numbers and thriving (from the garagists in Bordeaux to small producers in the Languedoc and Spain and Italy etc) all over the world (France included). If lackadaisical grape growing (over cropping for eg) and ,equally lackadaisical wine making by large co-ops churning out insipid mediocre (at best) wine for a shrinking or non existent market leading to dramatic oversupply supported by government subsidies (really, tax monies collected from people who are refusing to buy and drink these wines--talk about irony!) is a "way of life" then one wonders if maybe things need to change for the better! As a reminder of how this issue is being used-- there are still a small group of folks living in Russia and Eastern Europe who long for the "good" old days and a long lost "way of life." "Tradition" dies hard--especially when it is government funded! The other way to look at this is rather than "tradition" dying how about life is evolving!? By the way--I am seeing more really good wines from the Languedoc on retail shelves than ever before! Most of them from--small producers (some large as well). Something doesn't compute!

Makes sense Mimi. I think the issue is how a critic explains and justifies the final star rating within the text of his or her review. I believe it should be clear after reading the review how and why a critic arrived at one or two or however many stars. There is, of course, room for argument and debate with/over a reviewer's conclusions and impressions. It is IMOP incumbent upon a reviewer to offer the reader a clear concise evaluation of a restaurant based upon criteria and context--a critic's standards and experiences. The entertainment factor is a distant second to just good writing--beyond a review being accessible for the reader.

agreed! St Urbanshoff are producing some superb rieslings at very low prices these days as well. I often suggest Muscadet to customers looking for dry refreshing and crisp whites. One problem is a perception that decent French wine for everyday drinking is expensive. This is less true today. The riesling situation is mess. There are a boatload of terrific wines for drinking right now at very low prices (also the low alcohol should be a plus for these wines). The labels are either too confused/confusing or so overly simple (some Austrian examples) as to leave consumers scratching their heads.

At last! Some valuable information on this subject. As I see it there were two key problems at play here. Both unfortunate results of a poorly written and poorly researched piece in the Times. First, the article was written by a chef not a food writer. He brought his own beliefs and prejudices to the subject --he was not presenting an informative and informed look at the issue of truffle oil. He was making a case that had more to do with his feelings about food and authenticity etc. The piece therefore was more editorial in nature. Second, the Chef author can be excused more for his obvious lack of understanding and his intent to make a case. (though one would expect a chef would have a better grasp of the truffle oil subject). The Times can not be excused for presenting this piece as though it was a informative and authoritative consumer friendly piece of journalism. The piece sort of falls into a kind of informative/opinion gray area. The tease: "is it or isn't it" that ends the piece is confusing and mis leading. It is inexcusable that an editor at the paper did not fix this. This piece is an obvious instance (all too common at the Times these days) of the blurring of journalism and reporting and opinion.

yes these are two good examples of really good wines that offer a lot of pleasure for reasonable prices. I think Muscadet needs a bit of repositioning to consumers. It is not just a simple wine for shellfish. It also happens to be a wonderful aperitif wine. It compares very favorably with a lot of crisp white wines and should be selling much better here than it is. Chenin blanc is also an interesting case. The main problem as I see it, is in less than good vintages many of the Loire wines are too overly acidic and austere. (I am talking mostly about the wines made for early drinking). Also prices are pretty high for most of these wines. I would argue that neither chenin blanc or certainly Muscadet ever reach the heights/levels of complexity and sheer drinking pleasure that riesling is capable of. I love chenin blanc --but again the best wines need time as they do not offer a lot up front when they are young. I also believe that chenin blancs are greatest when vinified sweet and then often rival some of the finest German and Alsation riesling efforts.

I agree with brad (even his rather selfish desire to see many rieslings continue to "fly under the radar.") Whenever I hear people musing about the American palate for sweetness how we are all raised on Coke etc, I think of the aversion to riesling. Conventional wisdom dies hard! Riesling itself presents a problem. Even when it is vinified dry, its very nature often leaves an impression as "sweet." Even more problematic is the European systems for labeling these wines. Consumers, for the most part, want one major piece of information when buying wine (cost aside): what does the wine in this bottle taste like? Once their expectations for the wine are established then it is a question of how well the drinking experience lives up to those expectations. If the wine is sweet then how sweet is it? Even trained wine professionals can often have difficulty figuring this out. Especially given the problem that one year a producers auslese will be sweeter than last years spatlese or this years kabinett is sweeter than last years auslese! In Alsace it has reached the point where many producers don't even follow the labeling laws some establishing their own rules. Zind Humbrecht has even established their own sweetness indicator (numbers from one to five). Even worse, many producers are pushing to de emphasize the varietal on the label in favor of the vineyard location/designation. I believe that if riesling is to ever really "catch on" here and elsewhere in the world it will be our own producers and the Australians driving things. Right now a Clare valley riesling or an "Eroica" from Washington State are far easier for consumers to understand in terms of what is in the bottle. They deliver on "dryness" and if a lot of people try and like these wines they may seek out the German and Austrian and Alsation examples. However, if the europeans ever get their act together in terms of labeling information--well--that's a different story! Right now I enjoy the fact that as far as quality is concerned one can find some amazing wines at very reasonable prices in wines from Germany, Austria and Alsace. What other varietal offers this level of quality at such "fair" prices?

As always this is about money not wine. "supporting the French wine industry" really means supporting with guaranteed money and price supports, a lot of people who really don't care much about producing fine wine. The truth is, many of the complaining farmers and wine makers are in deep trouble because they don't produce good quality wine that competes on an open market. The real problem for them is, no one (even the French) want to drink their wines.

This article really supplies all the answers. The author, a trained sommelier, commends the selections for the wine and food pairings. "as outstanding examples of fine American wine making." Thus--is there really any need for a White House sommelier? Sounds to me (and the author) as though the President and Mrs Bush, the executive chef Ms Comerford and the White House staff are doing a pretty good job. If the President and Mrs Bush "really work to showcase fine American wines" as noted, belies the notion that "...very little if any, attention is paid toward wine or liquor." In the end the proof is in the pudding so to speak. If a sommelier is writing to commend food and wine pairings then enough said!

anyone frequenting (let alone posting on) more than one wine web site has way too much time on their hands! lol ---(something tells me we won't be seeing quite as much of Giovanni around harvest time!) this pre phyloxera thing is like debating the existence of God. or pondering: If a grape bunch falls off the vine in the vineyard and there is no one around...... there's a lot of really good wine around today --old vines! young vines! I have been too busy drinking the younger stuff while I am waiting for my 1900 Margaux to come around! Those British wine writers keep tellin me it's not quite ready to drink! (I wanna catch at its peak after all)

What key pieces of information should a restaurant review convey? Food Decor/atmosphere Service Cost A good reviewer will provide this information within the text of the review with support from his or her observations. Also some context for the restaurant regarding the establishments pretensions. What is the place trying to be and what, in the critic's opinion. has it achieved (what is it in reality). The star (or whatever) is a shorthand compilation/summation of all these factors. It is difficult enough for a skilled reviewer to do this consistently. Guess why the Zagat system is so successful?--the ratings are clearly laid out for each area of concern. Bruni needs to support his conclusion in the text of the review and often (too often) he does not or is confusing. At the very least, one should look at the rating (stars) and after reading the review "get it." (one can always argue the perspective or the evidence provided) but it should be clear--this is a two (or one or..star) restaurant and here's why I believe that. pretty simple y'ad think

Armagnac.

Sad! I bought via phone from NYC several times. I always looked forward to the catalog. The people I dealt with were always very nice and very professional and knowledgeable.

"Good Burgundy"????? Alcohol is frequently "adjusted" even in the finest wines. The method is chaptalization. Basically, this involves sugar added to the must. There are a lot of other "techniques" wine makers use. The fact is wine does not make itself. It is not and has never been a pure natural product. Truth in labeling is important but there is a point where putting the entire production process and the complete chemical analysis on every product is absurd. Most industries and governments have basic standards. These are pretty much ok with me. In addition to this, there are intermediaries like chefs and importers and sommeliers and critics and writers and consumer digest and consumer reports and...... (if Thomas Keller's judgment and my own palate are not enough to determine what is good and what I like then its all hopeless --isn't it?) The end result is what counts. What is the taste? People are not stupid. Especially us uninformed Americans who somehow only like "big" flavors whatever they are. And just who are these Americans who are unworthy of true truffle appreciation?!--sheeesh! I never thought I would encounter "truffle snobbery"--wine snobbery is bad enough for goodness sake! Wild means wild. farmed means farmed. for trout and salmon as well as truffles. Should all those "plantation" farmed truffles be labeled as such? Should every truffle be labeled with the source and the method and assigned a serial number? I trust Thomas Keller and Jean Georges and the folks at D'Artagnon. Most of all I trust my own sense of taste. If I like it-- it is good.

Colameco's food show on PBS. The program usually opens with Mike Colameco visiting a couple of restaurants and talking with the chef tasting several dishes. Then "inspired" by the chefs he has visited with, Colameco prepares a meal in his kitchen. Colameco is very engaging and knowledgeable (he has been a professional chef) and is focusing on restaurants where the chef or owner is in the kitchen. Last program focused on Little Owl and Peasant (he has done Jean Georges and Per Se) also Sea Grill and Oceana as well as many others. A nice aspect to this program is the second part where Colameco prepares a meal. As opposed to Bittman who cooks a dish as more of a challenge, Colameco prepares a meal to show how eating at a restaurant can inspire one to cook something simpler and in the same vein at home.

I like the analogy with wine. Overall I pretty much agree with you. Our artisanal cheese production may be where our wine industry was in the seventies. The key is, I think things are moving forward--maybe a bit slowly for us but nevertheless... Remember it is really only fairly recently that we are seeing more and more cheese mongers who buy, sell and handle cheeses with any expertise. An interesting contrast is the direction our cheese industry is going with what is happening in Europe. I read that it was Neal's yard who literally saved the British artisianal cheese business--specifically the Stilton producers from extinction. Also as the EU takes charge the size of the cheese business in Europe becomes a huge monolithic entity rather than a conglomeration of many small local/regional businesses. I am sure they are not approaching production of Epoisses in a can but...... As one who also enjoys a cheese steak sammy once in a while--"wit whiz" I suppose I could appreciate the concept!