Virtual
Gourmet
❖❖❖
A TUSCAN ROMANCE, Part One
Part One by Misha Mariani NEW YORK CORNER Patsy's by John Mariani NOTES FROM THE WINE CELLAR A NEW PATH FOR SOME SOUTH AFRICAN WINERIES by Geoff Kalish, M.D.
❖❖❖ A TUSCAN ROMANCE Part One by Misha Mariani
San
Gimignano, Tuscany If
there is a finer place to fall in love than
Tuscany, it has so far escaped me. After visits to
three exquisite Tuscan hotels and one very special
moment in my life, there will never be another
week quite like the one I spent there this summer.
From the
very moment that we began to climb the windy road
to get to Villa San Michele, it was as if we were
ascending to some celestial place, tucked into the
hillside town of Fiesole, overlooking all of
Florence.
Located in
the town of Tavarnelle Val di Pesa in the heart of
the Chianti wine region, Castello del Nero sits in
the ideal spot from which to explore Tuscany, only
25 minutes from the historic cities of Florence and
Siena. Guests often adventure out for the morning
and return back ‘home’ to the wonderful setting of
the hotel, its restaurant and its signature
destination spa, to enjoy a relaxing afternoon.
My
sentiments have always been, if you’re going to do
something, do it right, and Hotel Lungarno
definitely follows the same motto. Hotel Lungarno is
a glorious 73-room (including 14 luxury suites)
hotel of historical significance protected by the
Italian Historical Committee. The property sits
right on the edge of the Arno River, no more than
200 feet from the Ponte Vecchio. Hotel Lungarno also
boasts a precious art collection, with works dating
back to the 900's while including 20th century
pieces by Picasso and Cocteau.
Part Two of this article will appear soon. ❖❖❖ NEW YORK CORNER by John Mariani
Patsy's
236
West 56th Street (off Eighth Avenue)
In the movie "Ocean's 13,"
casino owner Willy Bank (Al Pacino) boasts that "I
shook Sinatra's hand." If you go to Patsy's,
you'll meet owners Joe and Sal Scognamillo and Frank
DiCola, all of whom have not only shaken Sinatra's
hand, but hugged the guy and cooked for him countless
times. In fact, when Sinatra was across town one
night dining at the French restaurant La Côte
Basque, he called Joe and put him on the phone with
the chef, saying, "Tell this guy how to make a veal
cutlet the way I like it!" Patsy's is
open for lunch and dinner daily. Dinner
appetizers run $10-$19, pastas (full portions)
$21-$28, and main courses $28-$42.
By
Geoff Kalish, M.D. A NEW
PATH FOR SOME SOUTH
AFRICAN WINERIES
In terms of drawing an
international audience, it seems that the South
African wine industry got off on
the wrong track. For a number of years it has promoted
as its flagships
wines two generally flawed varietals that poorly match
with food-- the pinotage, usually a rather earthy,
dark
red product, often showing a whiff of unpleasant
acetone, and a generally unbalanced, flabby,
pale white chenin blanc. So, with very little
well-organized group marketing or educational effort
in the US, it’s not
surprising that many shops provide so little shelf
space for South African wines.
A a growing group of vintners are, however,
following a new path, with emphasis on chardonnay,
syrah, pinot noir and Bordeaux-like blends. Based on
extensive
tastings during a 3-week visit to the country, I found
that many bottles now
produced in South Africa are well-priced gems.
Discussed below are seven
noteworthy producers who are following, or at least
veering, towards this new path. Their
wines can be found in the US, although some local
hunting and special
ordering may be necessary for particular bottles.
Prices listed are typical
US retail cost.
HERMANUS Founded in
1975 by the
father of present-day owner, this winery is located in
the Hemel-en Arde
(Heaven and Earth) Valley on the southern coast of the
Western Cape. Here,
cool breezes from the Atlantic
Ocean allow for ideal ripening conditions for the
chardonnay and pinot noir
grapes grown on the 128-acre clay-rich soil estate.
Also, with production
limited to 15,000 cases annually (half chardonnay and
half pinot noir), great
attention can be paid to harvesting and vinification,
with innovative
techniques put into practice, such
as maintaining delicacy and freshness in the
relatively low alcohol chardonnays
(around 12 percent) by aging a portion of the
fermented juice in specially made, large
clay amphorae rather than in oak barrels. Based on a
tasting of pinot noirs from 2009
through 2012 and chardonnays 2010 through 2012, I
found the the results are well worth the
effort, with first class Burgundian-like wines. For
example the 2009 Pinot Noir
was reminiscent of a Clos du Tart, with a bouquet and
taste of cherries and
spice; the
2011 Pinot Noir
($30) was similar in style to a Volnay, with a
memorable taste of raspberries
and herbs. And the chardonnays, particularly the 2011
($21), could easily be
mistaken for Puligny-Montrachets, with a dry, crisp
taste and smooth, elegant
minerality in the finish – great to mate with the
likes of lobster, shrimp and
scallops.
STELLENBOSCH While
much of the South African cabernet sauvignons I’ve
tasted show a distinctively annoying metallic
aftertaste, not so with wines
made from this varietal produced at Jordan (left). For
example, the 2009 Cobler’s Hill, 58% cabernet
sauvignon, 42% merlot ($40), has a dry, well-balanced
flavor of cassis
and cherries with chocolate in the finish, and the 100
percent cabernet 2010
Jardin Range ($18) has a deep ruby color, with
a bouquet and taste of ripe blackberries
and a hint of vanilla. NB:
So as not to confuse the consumer between the Jordan
winery in California and
that in South Africa (and by mutual agreement by the
producers), the Jordan
South Africa wines are sold under the Jardin label in
the US.
While a number of South
African producers only make wine from estate-grown
varietals, this vintner’s
philosophy is to make a wide range of
sensibly-priced, fruit-driven wines by
primarily using purchased grapes, And
based on the spectrum of top-notch wines tasted here,
this approach is working
quite well. An excellent 2012 Sincerely Sauvignon
Blanc (a bargain at $12) had
a classic bouquet of newly mown hay and a taste of
citrus, gooseberries and herbs
with a touch of sweetness in the finish – a perfect
wine to go with boiled or
broiled shrimp or raw oysters and mussels. A 2011 Neil
Ellis Chardonnay showed
a bouquet of apples and pineapple and a rich, lemony
flavor with hints of
butterscotch ($18), ideal to mate with grilled
swordfish or tuna. The easy
drinking 2010 Grenache ($28) had a complex bouquet and
taste of ripe cherries,
raspberries and chocolate, and the 2010 Syrah ($13)
showed a bouquet and taste
of blackberries and ripe plums with a long slightly
tannic finish – an
excellent wine to accompany beef, lamb and mild
cheeses.
While this property produces
some excellent wine, much of what seems to be
available in the US is the lower
end “Petit” brand (chenin blanc, pinotage and merlot),
which, even at $11 a
bottle, leaves a lot to be desired in bouquet and
taste. And
while the Ken Forrester Old Vine
Reserve Chenin Blanc ($13), aged in oak barrels
for nine months, is a
bit more aesthetically pleasing, with a bouquet
and taste or ripe peaches and
melons, I found the finish somewhat bitter. However,
if you can find them, go
for one of the two excellent blends of grenache and
syrah--the 2007 Renegade
($18) that shows a bouquet and taste of ripe plums and
herbs or the 2009 Gypsy
($55) that has a complex bouquet and taste of ripe
fruit and spice with hints
of anise in the finish, ideal to match with lamb and
beef. Little
known in the US, this
winery (its name meaning “rest and peace”), annually
produces 10,000 to 15,000
cases of top-notch wine from estate-grown grapes. The
2009 Estate ($36), a
blend of 60% rich, ripe cabernet sauvignon, toned down
by 20% syrah and 10%
merlot shows a cassis nose, very fruity flavors of
blackberries and cherries
and a long lasting finish. It pairs particularly
well with lamb and game. And
based on tasting the 1996 Estate, expect this wine to
become richer and
smoother with a few years of bottle age. Also needing
a few years of bottle age
is the 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon ($25), with a bouquet
and taste of cedar,
chocolate and ripe blackberries and
a bit of tannin in the finish.
Not for the faint-of-wallet, the 1694
Classification ($110) is blend of syrah (57%) and
cabernet sauvignon (43%) grown in deep red,
granite-laden soil
and aged in French and American oak barrels for 18
months. The result is an
elegant wine with a memorable bouquet of raspberries,
crushed violets and anise
and multiple layers of fruit and spice flavor and a
long smooth finish that
would harmonize well with fare ranging from pasta to poached salmon to blue-veined
cheeses.
FRANSCHHOEK
Try to get over pronouncing
the name (boo-ken-hotes-kloof)
and the rather
contrived meaning
of its name (the
cliff where the Cape beech trees once grew), because they make a number of
sensibly-priced,
spectacular wines here. For example,
there’s the 2011 Chocolate Block ($30), mainly a blend
of syrah, grenache and cabernet sauvignon with smaller
amounts of cinsault and
viognier, that has a bouquet of ripe
raspberries, with a long lasting taste of plums,
blackberries and earthy spice
that enhances the flavor of fare ranging from
hamburgers and pizza to steak and
lamb. Another winner is the 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon
($50), reminiscent of
top-rated boutique California cabs, like those from
the Grace Family and
Screaming Eagle – with a bouquet and mouth-filling
taste of black currants and
undertones of butterscotch and exotic spice that go
perfectly with rich
beef dishes, like braised short
ribs. Even the whites, like the
light, fruity Wolftrap, a blend of viognier, chenin blanc and grenache blanc
($10) and the elegant,
refreshing 2011 Semillon ($30) are heads and heels
above the seemingly endless
array of homogenous, characterless semillons,
especially those from South
Africa, on
many shop shelves. CONSTANTIA Winemaking
started in the 17th century in
the Constantia region as part of the commercial effort
to re-supply the ships
stopping at the Cape of Good Hope on their
journey between Europe and the Far
East. And Klein Constantia (meaning “small
Constantia”) was part of the
original wine estate developed in the area. While this
locale has become
somewhat overshadowed by Stellenbosch and Franschhoek,
some excellent wine is
made here especially the legendary sweet, honeyed Vin
di Constantia.. A
favorite of Napoleon, known to have had this wine sent
to him while he was in
exile in St. Helena and who is said to have requested
a glass on his deathbed,
Constantia is still produced from vine-dried Muscat de
Frontignan grapes (right).
The
2007 version ($40) has a deep amber color, with a
bouquet and sweet memorable
taste of honeyed oranges and apricots with a touch of
acidity in its finish that makes it a fine match-up
with goat's cheeses or desserts like chocolate
mousse and
apple pie.
❖❖❖ AND FOR
GOD'S SAKE DON'T EVEN THINK OF
ASKING THE NEXT
TABLE OVER TO PASS THE SALT!
Two design/branding agencies in
Amsterdam
have opened a pop-up restaurant called Eenmaal
intended to "break the taboo that surrounds
eating alone in public" by only having tables for
one person. "Where you might usually go out to eat
with company, at Eenmaal you are your own
company," said creator Marina van Goo. "It is the
perfect place to dine in pleasant solitude; an
exciting experiment for those who never go out for
dinner alone." The menu is a four-course prix fixe
vegetarian prix fixe
menu.
THE ONE FOR RHODE ISLAND IS ONE SQUARE INCH
Alisa Toninato
is trying to raise $45,000 to produce a line ❖❖❖ Any of John Mariani's
books below may be ordered from amazon.com.
❖❖❖
FEATURED
LINKS: I am happy to report
that the Virtual
Gourmet is linked to four excellent
travel sites: Everett Potter's Travel Report: I consider this the best and
savviest blog of its kind on the web. Potter is a
columnist for USA
Weekend, Diversion, Laptop and Luxury Spa Finder,
a contributing editor for Ski and a frequent contributor
to National
Geographic Traveler, ForbesTraveler.com
and Elle Decor.
"I’ve designed this site is for people who take
their travel seriously," says Potter. "For
travelers who want to learn about special places
but don’t necessarily want to pay through the nose for
the privilege of staying there. Because at the end
of the day, it’s not so much about five-star
places as five-star experiences." THIS WEEK: SPA WATCH-AMSTERDAM
Eating Las Vegas is the new on-line site for Virtual Gourmet contributor John A. Curtas., who since 1995 has been commenting on the Las Vegas food scene and reviewing restaurants for Nevada Public Radio. He is also the restaurant critic for KLAS TV, Channel 8 in Las Vegas, and his past reviews can be accessed at KNPR.org. Click on the logo below to go directly to his site.
Tennis Resorts Online: A Critical Guide to the World's Best Tennis Resorts and Tennis Camps, published by ROGER COX, who has spent more than two decades writing about tennis travel, including a 17-year stretch for Tennis magazine. He has also written for Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel, New York Magazine, Travel & Leisure, Esquire, Money, USTA Magazine, Men's Journal, and The Robb Report. He has authored two books-The World's Best Tennis Vacations (Stephen Greene Press/Viking Penguin, 1990) and The Best Places to Stay in the Rockies (Houghton Mifflin, 1992 & 1994), and the Melbourne (Australia) chapter to the Wall Street Journal Business Guide to Cities of the Pacific Rim (Fodor's Travel Guides, 1991).
MARIANI'S VIRTUAL GOURMET
NEWSLETTER is published weekly. Editor/Publisher: John
Mariani.
Contributing Writers: Christopher Mariani, Robert Mariani,
John A. Curtas, Edward Brivio, Mort Hochstein,
Suzanne Wright, and Brian Freedman. Contributing
Photographers: Galina Stepanoff-Dargery,
Bobby Pirillo. Technical Advisor: Gerry McLoughlin.
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