Craig Camp

The word's finally out on 'obscure' Albarino

Two Buck Chuck 2

The French (naturally) have developed a new way of eliminating cork taint

They want to produce a new designation within the Chianti Classico consortium. The DOCG would remain the same. I think it is not well thought out at this stage.

Suvir - you are a very eloquent gentleman. Thank you for the wonderful overview. I live most of my time in Italy, about 1 hour out of Milano very near Lago Maggiore. There is not an Indian restaurant in sight. However the rest of the time I am based In Chicago where there are many Indian restaurants and a significant Indian community and neighborhood. I have eaten at Gaylord India, Viceroy of India, Klay Oven and 4 or 5 neighborhood store fronts. Kay Oven has been my favorite. I have heard that Tiffen is good but have not been there yet. I should pole the mid-west board for best spots.

It is a first I have heard of it being done intentionally. I don't think you can count the wine they found in the Titanic.

Robert's proposal is sound thinking. I would love to see the results of all this acquired information and experience.

Why don't you guys collaborate on something you can share with the rest of us? But before we become boring techno geeks. Perhaps there is some information in these databases to support your arguments.

If you want extensive cross referencing between various databases and if you wish to include a lot of notes. It depends how searchable you want it to be. I use Access for my wine and restaurant notes and then keep a copy of the notes themselves in InfoSelect.

Are you guys talking about a real database - like Access, or just a spreadsheet - like Excel?

You have to grate it yourself. As soon as is is grated moisture and most of all flavor start to go. What do you think they do when the cheese starts to get too old? Is is just like buying salmon patties at the deli. Also, you better check if it is indeed Italian PR they are grating - don't bet on it. On a Chicago note the Binnys PR is not bad - the Treasure Island stuff is not - just not.

This is what makes food so interesting.

Steve if you think this is inappropriate you should practice it in your own posts. You have made comments about my vision and reading skills more than once - and dozens of times to others. If you wish to set rules please follow them. That being said this is not the place for personal insults by anyone, but a forum for debate. OK - ready, set, GO

Certainly my love of Italian food is well known. I also am passionate about the cuisines of France and Spain. It was easy for me to reach out and discover these cuisines because my European heritage and my business led me in that direction. Also as wine was not only my vocation but my avocation I was led towards the cuisines of wine producing nations. Because food has become a passion in my life this has of course extended my interest to other cuisines. India strikes me as one of the most fascinating of all. However I have never had the pleasure to visit India and taste the real thing so all of my reference points are from Indian restaurants in the United States. While I have thoroughly enjoyed many of these restaurants I always have a vague sense of insecurity about what I am eating. Italians hate to eat in Italian restaurants in the United States because they find the food a disappointing shadow of real Italian cooking. I would imagine the same situation exists for Indian restaurants. Where is a good starting off point to experience the cuisine of India if you have not traveled there? What are the 'tourist' dishes to avoid and what are standards that you must try? I assume Indian cuisine is just as regionally diverse as Italy - are there representations of this regional diversity here? Where does a rookie start?

Show me anyone who creates a totally new flavor. Are you referring to someone discovering a new foodstuff? Perhaps some genetically engineered new product? I'm waiting.

I find this hard to believe. In the posts above you defend Michelin like you wrote the guide. You also use constant references throughout your posts to Michelin stars. Judging Italian cuisine when you hate pasta is like judging French cuisine if you hate sauces. The fact remains that your biggest gripe about Italian food is that it is in Italy. A place you consider disorganized and dirty.

Steve, for the first time in months you are 100% right: I'm going to frame this! Nice new picture Peter.

Maybe I'm breaking tradition, but I'd nevertheless like to serve the cotechino with a few other courses, even if they're simple and light. Wilfred offered the following: Any more ideas? I would agree with Wilfrid's suggestion. If you want to add another first course why not asparagus as it is in season. This is a good first course: peel some asparagus and par-boil briefly remove from water, drain and cut into 1 inch sections In a medium hot saute pan (non-stick is a good idea) add some EV olive oil then pancetta and add 2 smashed (but whole) cloves of garlic - saute until the pancetta just starts to crisp. Then discard the garlic and put the pancetta on paper towels to absorb the fat. There should be a couple of tbls. of fat left in the pan - if there is more discard it. Add the asparagus to the still hot saute pan and saute for about a minute. Lower the heat to medium and add the pancetta and mix. Carefully break one egg for each person into the pan - don't break the yolks. Sprinkle generously with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano and pepper. Cover and steam until the eggs are just done.

The Parmigiano Reggiano always tastes much more buttery and cheese-like in Italy than it does in the United States. There are several theories on this including the rumor that the Italians keep the best for themselves and export the rest. If you look at the wheels when they are cut in the USA, the hard darker cheese next to the rind is much thicker than it is in Italy. In addition, the color of the cheese in Italy is lighter and the texture is more moist. I believe this is a function the shipping and warehouse storage time (and potentially conditions) before the product reaches the American consumer. I think it also takes a store here longer to sell a entire wheel of cheese once it has been cut and it begins to dry out. Even when shrink wrapped right away the color changes quickly to a darker yellow instead of the light cream color it has when fresh. This applies to all the age levels and also to Grano Padano. The best luck I have had is with A.G. Ferrari and I think this is because they sell of lot of it fast.

This is essentially how my wife's grandmother makes it. Milk products are somewhat different in Italy so that could be the problem. Latte and panna fresca spoils very quickly and may need to be handled differently than American milk and cream which are more pasteurized. I made it once with her - which means she let me watch and hand her things. It was delicious but not the best - but don't tell anyone that! I have never made it in the USA. The best panna cotta I ever had was at a restaurant in Piemonte - they used a mixed berry topping. Many people use vanilla. In fact, you see many flavorings used based on the family's traditions.

Fine wine to be sunk in Pacific

BURGUNDY PRICES FALL AT NUITS By Conal Gregory MW Burgundy prices tumbled at the well-attended Hospices de Nuits auction on Sunday 23 March. Nuits is France’s second most famous wine sale, after Beaune, held each November. Traditionally, the Nuits auction has allowed the trade to assess the most recent Burgundy vintage after its first winter of development. All proceeds go to charity. The red Burgundies made e439,800 for the 141 pièces, a fall of 11.94%, reflecting both a disappointing year and anti-French sentiment over Iraq. The average price was e3,119 per pièce. Only three white pièces were offered, realising e9,000, a dramatic 31.82% fall. The auction’s buyers came from Belgium, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK and United States. The Nuits auction also included an ‘exceptional’ parcel (Gevrey-Chambertin, Les Champs-Chenys, Cuvée Irene-Noblet), which sold for e30,000 per pièce. Eaux-de-vie to a value of e4,112 were also sold. From Harpers

'SUPER CHIANTI CLASSICO' PROJECT

I agree as well. In fact people who love food and cook with that love for their ingredients, hardly need to be trained to understand balance, for most, it comes as naturally as it is for a child to learn how to walk. This balance and harmony exist in kitchens around the world. And Italy has a long tradition of balance and harmony, it can be found in its textiles, its art and music, why would it then be foreign in its kitchens? Bravo. Eloquently and beautifully stated. Balance and harmony are not the property of any one culture. Just because you don't understand it does not mean that it does not exist.

The top modern Italian chefs (just like modern Italian wine makers) are not only seriously trained, but are well schooled in what is happening around the world. Sometimes they are not even Italian. They certainly know what is happening in their neighbor, France. After all they can drive there. I agree that it is about balance and harmony and argue strongly that these things exist in kitchens all around Italy.