Craig Camp

Count me in. The pain we have to endure.

Vineyard managers getting some credit

Just to clarify your word "corkyness". To me a corked wine is one that has the taint of TCA, the smell and taste of dirty wet cardboard, you can't miss it, the wine is undrinkable and does not get better if you let it stand or decant it. My experience of these is definitely rare, less than 1%. Then there is the general off taste, which is sometimes called bottle reek but decanting or exposure to air in the glass and leaving for 5 or 10 minutes will dispel that. It may be "corky", but it isn't "corked", and yes this may take the percentage up to around 5%. That is exactly my meaning and definition. I am not talking about things that blow off with air. You are a lot luckier than I am.

Just curious - 1. When you drink wine from your lovers mouth which direction do you swirl their head? 2. Is this method somewhat less effective with sparkling wines? 3. Isn't this a dangerous procedure while drinking really great wine? Is it not difficult to get your share once it has entered the others mouth? 4. How do sommeliers usually react to this technique? Does your partner get irritated by the sommelier constantly refilling their mouth when it gets a little low on wine? 5. How long do your relationships usually last? Also I am willing to accept the Reidels of all of you willing to make this change in tasting procedure.

In my experience the proportion is a little higher than 5% and it much higher if you include bottles that are just 'not right'. While there are certainly problems with other faults, the advancements in technology have made these increasingly rare. In particular the wines of large firms almost never have technical faults - other than being boring to drink. Corkyness in wines is the number one problem that I encounter by a long shot. The distant second would be brett (which is a whole different debate!). I firmly believe there should not be a wine under $10.00 using natural corks.

The Montrachet example is of course extreme. It would be a sin to destroy centuries of tradition and such a distinct personality for simple commercialism. On the other hand inexpensive wines like Macon Village could benefit from such a strategy and indeed some already use it. For me I would rather drink a good Macon Village than a similarly priced California Chardonnay any day. Perhaps if others knew what Macon was they could compete more effectively against California, Australia and South America. The important thing to remember is that while Macon Village is just a chardonnay, as are wines from many places in the world, Le Montrachet is not just a chardonnay - it is a chardonnay of a unique place and cannot be duplicated, so it has a right and privilege to its own name. You can take cuttings from the chardonnay vines in Le Montrachet but you cannot transfer the unique characteristics of the vineyard and micro-climate, even though you use the same vines genetically, you can never make Le Montrachet anywhere else. In this sense it is much more important to call it Le Montrachet than chardonnay. Calling this wine chardonnay does not describe it.

Is that what happened to Harp? When did they do that? I used to love it but find in boring now.

This is like looking at the Mona Lisa in the dark to see what it smells like.

I hate smoke. However at the moment it might seem the New York City Police Department might have something more important to pay attention to - did they actually show up?

Like everything else on the planet.

This post is very informative about Olive Oil Olive oil is like wine in the sense that the variety of olive used, the technology used in production and the place where it is grown determine the style and flavors of the final product. Here is a good overview of olive oil and here

I think I have to agree that I have been most impressed by Babbo. To cook Italian food in the United States is like translating something directly from Italian to English - often it comes out funny if you don't change it a bit. Batalli for all of his celebrity status really does draw inspiration from Italian regional cooking, but then successfully translates it using American products to replace those Italian products like vegetables and meat that are not available here.

Hey - how did that get there?

I have eaten meals at wonderful restaurants when I have had a terrible cold more than once. Nose and taste gone - yet from the look of the food you can often still get the sensation of a fine dining experience. Perhaps this is just a function of being able to recall memories of other meals. Honest I did not steal the egg holder.

Right on! Power to the people! Fight for the freedom to have a sense of humor.

Only for those diners whose integrity is worth less than the cost/effort of locating a similar eggholder themselves and purchasing it (or of asking the restaurant where the egg-holder can be procured). humour /"hju:m/ (US humor) noun 1 quality of being amusing. 2 expression of humour in literature etc. 3 (in full sense of humour) ability to perceive or express humour. 4 state of mind; mood. 5 each of 4 fluids formerly held to determine physical and mental qualities. verb gratify or indulge (person, taste, etc.). humourless adjective. ·noun 1absurdity, comedy, drollness, facetiousness, incongruity, jocularity, waggishness, wittiness. 2badinage, banter, comedy, irony, jesting, jokes, joking, merriment, quips, raillery, repartee, satire, wit, witticism. 3fun, sense of fun. 4disposition, frame of mind, mood, spirits, state of mind, temper. Copyright Oxford University Press, 2002

A good example would be "a ceramic egg holder depciting spring colors and a little yellow chick." It may change a person's experience of a dish, but it doesn't change the taste of the food. No, but it makes a great souvenir.

So much for the 56 Euro lunch.

Absolutely. I'm one of those people. Experience teaches me that crappy presentation is a likely indicator that you're dealing with a crappy kitchen. And my enjoyment of a meal is about a lot more than just the taste of the food. But as a baseline, I don't see a meaningful way around the form-versus-substance distinction. I think when the consumer is uneducated about food they can be intimated into thinking it is good. If you are not familiar with high cuisine and everyone at the table is oohhing and aahhing at the presentation you are likely to convince yourself that the food is good. Why else would a restaurant go through the effort of 'unveiling' all the dishes on a table at once? My mother lives in a small mid-western town where presentation means that the steak hangs over the side of plate. When I take her to a top restaurant in Chicago or Italy she is so blown away by how the food looks I don't know if she actually can taste it.

You can't believe everything you read. How was the Verdad and did it say Albarino on the label or use a proprietary name?

What?!?!?!?! I don't understand how presentation can affect the taste of food at all. The experience, the enjoyment, the perception, etc., sure -- there have been plenty of experiments where people were given blue food or whatever and didn't enjoy it, and I can see how someone would enjoy beautiful food more than ugly food. But actually taste better? No. All other things being equal, it tastes the same. I think presentation can affect the way people are either predisposed to either like or dislike the dish. If you make a beautiful presentation to an uneducated consumer they are predisposed (or intimidated) into liking the food - as long as it is not terrible. For average quality food presentation can make it seem more grand to many consumers.

56 Euros is a good deal - both for lunch and dinner. Think what this meal would cost in the United States.

( BW)(CA-HAVENS-WINE-CELLARS) Havens Wine Cellars Releases 2002 Albarino Business Editors/Wine Writers NAPA VALLEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 1, 2003--Havens Wine Cellars, carrying on the tradition of wines integral to a gracious table, today announced the release of its 2002 Albarino. The beloved white wine of Galicia, Albarino refreshes with floral aromatics and exotic fruits, in contrast to so many white wines in California. Havens Wine Cellars in 2001 registered Albarino as an official grape variety here, and it was the first winery to offer Albarino commercially in the United States. "Allowed to ripen just a few days longer in last fall's unusual heat, the 2002 vintage is slightly smoothed at the edges of the grape's intense natural acidity," said wine grower Michael Havens. "We were looking for a slightly more gentle mouth-feel out of the bottle, just barely distinguishable from previous vintages to retain the celebration of the fruit and the bright acid 'nerve,' for which our Albarino is so loved," he said. Havens Albarino is fruit focused, never masked by wood or non-fruit elements It engages the palate with intense aromatics of citrus fruit blossoms and ripe melon, followed by layers of elegant stone fruit flavors. It finishes with crisp notes of lime that linger light and tangy. "As our only white wine, Albarino has become an endearing hallmark of our wine producing seasons," said wine grower Michael Havens. "It is the first fruit to come into our winery for crush, and the first to be released the next spring." Production is 540 cases; suggested retail is $24 per bottle. Havens' Albarino Story For Havens Wine Cellars, known for its classically styled reds, Albarino is another story of Europe, love, and wine growers' license. Proprietors Michael and Kathryn Havens found this white at all the best seafood restaurants while traveling through Northern Spain in 1996. In 1997, Havens arranged to plant some Albarino budwood from a famous estate in Galicia in a windy, cool area of Napa Carneros. Today, three acres of Stewart Ranch is now dedicated to this aromatic white. Each vine produces several very small clusters, which feature the smallest berries, toughest skins, and darkest seeds of any white wine variety we know. Albarino and Food Havens Wine Cellars' goal is to make wines that work with food, achieving balance in the wine to give drinking pleasure at the table. In Albarino, there are two interpretations of fruit to complement different food experiences: the refreshing floral aromas and exotic fruit refine raw oysters, sushi and enliven other seafoods. Those qualities also make this wine a quintessential match for tapas, especially when they feature a degree of saltiness or piquant spice. Just as exciting, the stone fruit on the back palate pairs it perfectly with cheeses and fruits, such as mangoes, figs, strawberries and pears. About Havens Wine Cellars Havens Wine Cellars, located in Napa Valley, California, produces fine Merlot, Syrah, a Cabernet Franc/Merlot blend called Bourriquot, and Albarino, selected by top restaurants, wine shops, and specialized retailers around the world. Distinguished by wines with the complexity and refined elegance of their classic European counterparts, Havens Wine Cellars is renowned for its visionary selection of fruit from the cool Carneros region of California and the artisinal direction of an owner-wine grower. Carrying on the tradition of wines integral to a gracious table, Havens offer its wines at the most reasonable prices in their categories. For information, call 707-261-2000, or visit their website at www.havenswine.com. Technical Data Vineyard: Stewart Ranch, Napa Valley, Carneros 100% Albarino Harvest: September 04, 2002 Whole cluster pressing produced 160 gallons per ton Sugar: 22% produced 12.5% alcohol Fermentation: Selected yeast inoculum - QA23 (from Portugal) Fermented 21 days, average temperature 58 degrees Aging: 5 months on the lees, in 1000-gallon upright tank Bottled: Sterile Filtered and bottled, 27 February, 2003.

En primeur: late sales campaign likely

Bordeaux's Right Bank Pioneer, Jean-Pierre Moueix, Dies