Carolyn Tillie

Of course, one can never forget Coffee Milk!

Two shots of perfectly pulled espresso. One very large scoop of Ben & Jerry's Coffee Heathbar Cruch ice cream (alternately, just plain Starbucks Coffee Ice Cream works well). Pour hot coffee over ice cream. Voila - perfect crema is made. Consume.

Red - tend to consume often with the cuisine I prepare.

Link broken - <sob>

Therein, I think, lies the definitive answer!

Interesting topic. I'm a huge fan of Bollywood films (Shawn HATES it when I play the soundtracks). I'm also a huge fan of food movies. Honestly, I think Bend It Like Beckham is about it. Most Bollywood films spend considerably more time on locale, costumes, and songs - often to the exclusion of plot...

You are correct that they are all over the map - Steven Tanzer does not capitalize a varietal, but Spectator does as, for example, here is an article printed today about California Syrahs. Read article here. The opening paragraph capitalizes the varietal: I open the May issue of Food and Wine that arrived yesterday afternoon and see that they capitalize their varietals. In my personal writings, I tend towards capitalization of the wine varietal. I believes it adds for clarity.

I've been dying to try a Norton for years... Only grown in Virginia (?), I believe?

Brad, where do you live? I'll send you a bottle of the new release next month if you PM me your address...

Our exceptionally early, warm Spring is levelling off -- we are having cool mornings that giveway to lovely, moderate afternoons. It will be slow going for a while. Our vine: My poor attempt at a different angle, to show last week's sprouts (sorry it was blurry - I'll do better next week): And this is Fernando Velasco. We are planting new vines and he is preparing the ground with the amazing giant drill. (I am frequently admiring the incredibly hard work that goes into all this)

Stated up front - Gundlach Bundschu's Gewurtraminer is a standard favorite in these parts. 14 years in a row, a gold medal winner, it is made in the Alsatian-style with low residual sugar (.4%) so it is not overly sweet (like many that I think people hate, as MarkS so indicated). GB is the oldest family-owned winery in North America. Their first product back then was a Riesling (but those vines were torn out three years ago). Their Gewurtz is a remembrance back to their Bavarian roots and this year will be the last year they will release a Kleinberger. <snif, wipe tear> I drink a lot of this wine in the summer, with Thai food and other spicy offerings. But I've never bothered to pair this wine with cheese...

That's terribly sweet about your wife and all that. I've always appreciated your input and feel glad to be part of your small eGullet wine community... And, like you, I totally agree with the "too much oak" crap being produced. I hope you will consider visiting Napa in the not-too-distant future! Like you, I have an amateur collection of about 300 wines, but mostly stuff I'm given or trade for being in the industry. Still trying to build up a "serious" collection. Cheers!

splitting hairs... there ain't no difference - trust me.

I have a boxed set of all of Renwood's vineyards Zinfandels for 1999. That, and about eight different GunBun zins from five different years (back to a 1997 Lodi zin that was surreal). Friday night's event is potluck but I am making a Venison paté. I'm sure there will be cheeses and who-knows-what-else. Saturday's sparking will be Domaine Chandon and it will be served as part of brunch after we descend from a wine-country balloon ride (where we will be reading our occult poetry aloft). I'm sure there will be oodles of more drinking after that - I've got about 20 people in and around my house for the <ahem> "celebration."

Consider serving Rumaki - grilled chicken livers with a waterchestnut, wrapped in bacon. Oh, so 50s! And little meatballs on plastic swords. ChexMix also came into vogue then as well as Lipton Onion Soup mix made into dip. Casseroles were HUGE. Beverage wise? Well first, you have to haunt your local thrift stores for a punch bowl. Alcoholic punch with fruit juice. And Martinis or a whole bar for mixing one's own drink.

As the infamous Mudpuppie would say, "Fuck 'em!" Actually, I think most of these people are philistines and are coming for the poetry and the cult thing. The wine is freebie perk for the evening so I don't give a rat's ass if they like it or not. BTW, it is a three-day event. Friday night we are serving Zinfandel (I've got 12 of them slated for that night). Saturday's event will be wholly and entirely California Sparkling wine so someone is bound to be happy at some point throughout the event...

Very, very intriguing suggestions! I guess the reason I was considering a blue was only because during recent tasting of mostly sweeter Rieslings (reviewed in this thread), Dee Vine wines put out some blue that worked much better than whatever else they had that was mild. As far as what I have available... well - I live in Napa - heck, I can go to Dean & Deluca or Sonoma Market, both of which have AMAZING selections of cheeses. I know about those Goudas with Cumin and think that might be a good choice (there is actually a company in Temecula, in Southern California, where I used to buy a great Cumin Gouda and Fennel Cumin!) You are all probably right about adding some dried fruit with it as well - heck, even on my budget, a Trader Joe's trip won't put me out too much. Probably a selection of various kinds of cheeses will be in order and yes, I will report back... Thanks!

<giggling in appreciation at the re-reading of this thread....> Another soul saved by Coffee Milk....

You have done well, my child. <Lifting sword to annoint thee> Even moreso with the inclusion of the phone number on the bottle... Some investigative research has enlightened She Who Is Your Queen and that sacred knowledge will now be dispensed amongst my most worthy and humble subjects. Coffee Time (according to They Who Manufacture) is a bit stronger and contains "a bit more coffee extract" therein. Autocrat is "a bit sweeter." Methinks a side-by-side analysis might prove only marginal differences, but joyous is the rapture and herald the triumphant trumpets throughout the land. When next we meet, and my large amethyst ring you do lay your lips upon, I will bestow upon you the secret password and handshake...

I'm hosting a poetry reading this Thursday evening. I'm a tight budget so all I've offered to serve is wine and cheese (maybe some crackers). The poetry (for reasons I shan't explain because it is a CULT thing), suggests Gewurztraminer - which is great because I have lots of it. But I'm at a loss as to what the best cheese might be to serve along with it. It is Gundlach Bundschu's Gewurtz so it is Alsatian-style, with less than .4% residual sugar and not sickly sweet. I'm leaning towards a blue of some sort... Open to suggestions! edited to fix the spelling of the wine - which I know how to do, except when I type too fast...

I'm here! I'm here! Sorry -- yes, I do disappear on weekends, only because my home computer is run on a silly 48k modem which takes bloody forever so I did miss all the excitement. So much so that I had to be PM'd to get back to this tread. Multiple Mea Culpas, dear subjects. As your self-proclaimed Dairy Queen, by George, I think you've got it! Amazing stuff, ain't it? Not a thick, viscous syrup, no - but in the milk, a sweet, cool sensation flows down thine throat, thrillingly, no? I'm so glad to have you, Dame Balmagowry, amongst the brethren who has now been initiated into wondrous raptures of Coffee Milk. Count yourself among the truly blessed and enlightened. You are now, indeed, worthy. Amen.

It is a total crapshoot. I lived in SoCal (where Trader Joe's began) up until a year-and-a-half ago and the wine available from Trader Joe's that were not even five miles apart varied greatly. Now I am here in NoCal (Napa). When I first moved here, I was devastated by the wine selection at the Fairfield TJs. Now I live in Napa and there is a fabulous selection that includes French, German, and a smattering of other countries. And these two stores were less than 10 miles apart! Can you ask your friend what distributor they deal with? That is the bottom line - we can recommend until we are blue in the face, but if the wines we recommend are not offered by Said Distributor, it won't do you a damn bit of good. Darn shame about the industry - each distributor carries "their book" of wines and even if a store or restaurant WANTS something else, many times it is too difficult because of distribution laws and contracts. I guess your best bet is simply to taste what you can, take good notes, and buy what YOU like. Sure, "such-and-such" a wine might get great ratings, but if it does not please your palate, who cares? Report back now, you hear? We'd love to hear what sort of things you end up getting!

Just my humble opinion: Pinot Noir - the be-all, end-all Food Wine. The addage that Pinot Noir goes with everything never seems wrong. If I am invited to someone's house for dinner and I don't know what is being served, I bring a Pinot. When in doubt on a cuisine, I try Pinot. Never misses!

I planted three weeks ago (about four weeks too late for the weather WE have been having, but better late than never!) Italian Parsley Tarragon Chive Thyme (three different kinds) Rosemary Oregano Marjoram Sage (two different kinds) Basil I still plan on getting some Dill, Fennel, various forms of Mint, and whatever else looks fabulous at my favorite herb farm, Morningside, in Vacaville...

You'll want to read this thread: Pronouncing Foie Gras, Why I laugh every night at work