Richard Kilgore

Thanks for your comments, Alison. I am puzzled, however, that you ignore the obvious connection between the James Winkler who was at Tony's and the James Winkler at Premier. As far as I can tell this is the same James Winkler that Mark Stuerz describes in his first Dallas Observer article on Tony's last November, Sour Grapes. Follow the link above to Sour Grapes for more on why this is not true and what is. And another James Winkler quotable quote:

Thanks for your report Alison. Just to clarify, I don't think anyone here (or in Mark Stuerz's Dallas Observer article), said that Premier was "affiliated" with Tony's. The questions about Premier continue because James at Premier is the James who was the lead salesperson at Tony's, so people naturally wonder if he's taking some or all of his old sales and pricing techniques with him. You may want to re-read the first Obsever article from last November. All wine shops have to keep much of their inventory in a back storage area (hopefully air conditioned). But they have bottles in racks on display, and my observation was that they had a fairly limited selection. They may have had many cases in storage, of course, of what appeared to be a limited selection. Although you paid less for Peach Champaigne than you did at Tony's, I believe that you paid at least 25% more at Premier than the going rate most other places. While I expect that the physical setting at Premier would be an attractive place to take business clients and friends for a class, I don't think I would be doing them any great favors if they are buying wine at significantly higher prices (25% for Peach Champaigne and over 200% for the Piper-Heidsieck Champagne-Brut) than other places.

Nothing to report. The place was nearly empty, and I was not there for long. The only person working there was occupied with a couple of people tasting wine, but I have no idea what was said. Perhaps someone else will report their experiences.

Right. This works well and saves some hand washings.

I visited Premier recently. Attractive space with some of the furniture on loan from a furniture store. Surprisingly small inventory, or so it seemed from what I could see. They had Piper-Heidsieck Champagne (Brut) at the highest price I have seen...$59+! It runs $27 at Costco and in the mid $30s at some wine shops. There may be some good deals in there, but this was not one of them.

I may be missing some critical element here, but why not use a pair of tongs to turn the chicken (or whatever) and the magnum which will pour out a great quantity of pepper rapidly.

And more on the unbreakable wine glass front. Wine Enthusiast offers the Fusion line, using magnesium instead of lead.

Correction - in this area the classico range runs $10 US, the Top Ten about $14.50 US and the Diva range in between those at about $13 US. The dealer said the company sees the Diva as likely to be their best seller, but the stems I saw in that range are tall, top-heavy empty, and with huge capacities...up to 29 ounces!

Moderator's Note: I have received an email from someone reporting their experiences at both Tony's and Premier. While I am not going to pass on information I have received in an email, this individual has been invited to join the Society and take part in the discusion. Has anyone had an opportunity to visit Premier, take a class or just take a look at what they have available, the facility and their pricing for classes and wine? Is their marketing and pricing similar to or different than Tony's?

I have seen..and whacked the new Schott Zwiesel glasses, using titanium and zirconium instead of lead. Whacked it on the bowl and whacked it on the rim. Wow! At least two ranges as far as I can tell -- the classico at about $7.50 per stem and the Top Ten at about $15 per stem. Schott Zwiesel Is anyone using these?

I was not clear, or perhaps I am not understanding your question, so please bear with me. Colors of labels do not necessarily mean anything. As far as I know a producer can make labels any color they choose. One producers red may not be the same thing as another producers red. You have to read the label or the description in order to find out how old it is. But my understanding is that there is no true balsamic younger than 12 years, although many things are labeled balsamic with no age designation, or an 8 or 10 year designation. (See alberto's post upthread.) For older than 12 year balsamic you are looking at spending $90 - 150 US or more. Hope that helps.

Welcome to the eGullet Society, Alexis. The topic of Native American foodways potentially includes a rather large geographical area: at least Canada to Mexico and Pacific coast to Atlantic coast, though you could extend that to Central and South America. Were you asking specifically about tribes in the "Heartland" states or is your interest broader?

I don't think there is any Italian regulatory authority meaning to the colors of the labels, but rather it is a producer's way of indicating bottles of different ages (or if not true balsamic, of different whatever), but I could be wrong. The important thing is to read the words on the labels or product description very carefully. Consider Alberto's (Albiston) post a few posts upthread, as well as the link to The Rare Wine Company in docsconz post. In the $60 - 70 US range you are looking at 12 year old balsamic.

Moderator's Note: Since there are local Dallas, Texas area issues, as well as general issues of wine retail marketing ethics and consumer vulnerability and gullibility involved in Mark Stuerz's Dallas Observer articles, there are now two threads in the Texas forum for the local issue discussions: Can DiBias turn around Tony's Wine Warehouse? Tony's Old Tactics Move to Plano? Please carry on here with the marketing ethics, vulnerability and gullibility discussion.

Mark Stuerz in the Dallas Observer reports that some of the controversal tactics used at Tony's Wine Warehouse when it was owned by Michel Monzain are surfacing at Premier Wines of Plano, lead by some of Monzain's former staff. See the related discussion in the Wine forum and the discussion on the new Tony's here in the Texas forum. We'll see....

I think you will find that most brands, including Reidel, offer both lead crystal and non-lead crystal (glass). Here's a link to the Riedel pages on the Wine Enthusiast site. If you look through, you'll see that the Vinum and Sommelier series are leaded, and that the stemless "O" glasses and the Wine series are non-leaded glass. I believe the Riedel Overture series is also non-leaded, but it isn't displayed in those pages. According to the article above, there is no reason not to use lead crystal wine glasses. If you want to use a fine crystal decanter to decant, you can...just don't store the wine in it. You can always double decant back into the wine bottle. But most wine does not need to be decanted, and can be degraded by doing so. If it is important to you for whatever reason to store the leftover wine in a decanter, then non-lead glass appears to be the way to go.

This appears to be working okay, except that one bag leaked. It appears it was only the maple syrup version. So what's the impact of losing that fluid? Should I add some cure and a little water and/or maple syrup now, or just leave it alone?

I don't particularly care for them for some of the reasons cited above, but a guy at a local shop persuaded me when he mentioned that he got some to take to outdoor musical concerts in the park. And they were on sale for $6.50 each. That said, my understanding is that they are not the Vinum without a stem, but rather the less expensive Overture (non-leaded) without a stem. Am I mistaken?

I picked up an 8 lb belly last night and divided it up into three pieces, plus some pieces for salt pork. The three main pieces I did the basic three ways mentioned in the book: plain, maple syrup and savory. Since these were then smaller 1.5 to 3.0 lb pieces, I put each one in a one gallon bag rathe than a 2 gallon and I used 45 gm basic cure rather than 50. I'm making this up these adjustments as I go, so I would appreciate it if anyone sees any problem with the bag size or the amount of cure.

June 21 -- Craft Dallas. Kevin Maxey, executive chef; Shannon Swindle, pastry chef. 130 seats in 4,000 square feet in the W Dallas Victory. Architects: Bentl & Bentl, who designed the original Craft in New York City. Click here for the discussion.

I stopped in Mandola's last Monday for the first time. It's an attractive, pleasant place with a congenial staff. The wall with framed photos of tens of historic Italian markets in the US sets the stage as you walk in the door to the cafe area. I too was a little disappointed in the meats. Domestic mortadella rather than the imported Italian I get in Dallas at the Sigel's Deli, for example. But there are some real bargains in the condiments section. Though the staff does not always know what is what. I asked if a bottle of balsamico with a huge 12 emblazoned on the box could possibly really be 12 year old at that price. The guy said yes indeed. I did some research this week and it is not, indeed, but I don't think he was trying to deceive. I absolutely think that he was mislead by the labeling as much as I was. On the other hand, the stuff is still useful (vanilla ice cream with sliced strawberries and drizzled with this 12 whatever, not bad), and it is a lot less than it costs on Amazon. A lot less. For a late lunch I had bruschetta topped with arugala, goat cheese, salami and perhaps a few other items, drizzled with olive oil. Very tasty. My luncheon companion had a cold cooked vegetable salad. I tried it and it was very good too. I would gladly order either one again. I'll stop in again next time I'm in Austin.

Openings Trece, June 19 Chef-owner Amador Mora, previously at The Mansion on Turtle Creek. Contemporary Mexican, plus a tequila lounge. (Former Sipango location) Shinsei, late June Executive chef Casey Thompson, formerly at The Mansion at Turtle Creek and executive sushi chef Shuji Sugawara, formerly at Teppo Yakitori and Sushi Bar, as well as Tei Tei Robata Bar. Owners Lynae Fearing and Tracy Rathbun. Closings Il Molino New York (Dallas). High price points required in liscensing agreement did it in. George...to be replaced with Urban Bistro Mediterranean Cuisine by Avner Samuel. Source: Dotty Griffith, Dallas Morning News

I had this happen, too, though after several months. Just take it back to the retailer you bought it from and get something else.

I found several of these interesting French made Ralph Lauren Pilsner glasses-- thin crystal and solid footed, at a chain discount store for $4 each.

I found a few additional answers on Amazon, which has a wide range of Manicardi balsamic vinegars. Manicardi 12 Year Old Traditional Balsamic for $89.99 and Manicardi #12 Balsamic (which the text implies is at least six years old) for $21.99. The latter is the one I got, but paid only $11.95. I am sure the market manager I bought it from actually thought it was some grade of 12 year old. Balsamic territory is buyer beware territory. I am sure I will find it useful anyway.