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Founded in 1996 ARCHIVE "FRUIT" By Roy Lichtenstein (1972)
"F
❖❖❖ IN THIS ISSUE FOR AMERICANS, IRELAND IS A FINE CHOICE FOR A FIRST TRIP ABROAD By John Mariani NEW YORK CORNER L'ABEILLE By John Mariani ANOTHER VERMEER CHAPTER 16 By John Mariani NOTES FROM THE WINE CELLAR THE WINES OF RIBERA DEL DUERO By Patricia Savoie ❖❖❖ On this week's episode of my WVOX
Radio Show "Almost Golden," on Wed. April
27, I will be interviewing Susan
Goldman Rubin, author of a biography of Paul Robeson.
Go to: WVOX.com.
The episode will also be archived at: almostgolden.
❖❖❖ FOR AMERICANS, IRELAND IS A FINE CHOICE FOR A FIRST TRIP ABROAD By John Mariani Dunluce Castle As the world re-opens to much-missed
tourism and Americans in particular are champing
at the bit to travel abroad on trips delayed for
more than two years, I myself had been turning
over in my mind where I first wanted to go.
Should I return to familiar favorites like
France and Italy, or head for new, more exotic
adventures? I put aside any notions of going to
Eastern Europe for the obvious reason that
Comrade Putin may well wish to extend his
current botched mission in Ukraine
to other former Soviet countries. I was also
somewhat loathe to get on an eight- to ten-hour
flight anywhere, not least because of Covid
restrictions and agonizing security measures. There are small villages of thatched roof houses evocative of The Quiet Man movie, and the barren landscapes range from rugged sea coasts with natural rock arrangements that seem created for a purpose, perhaps by Celtic giants or mermaids. And there are unexpected formations as mystical and monolithic as any in Monument Valley or Australia’s Uluru, like Ben Bulben (below), where, wrote Yeats, “the Witch of Atlas knew.”
Belfast
in Northern Ireland has, of course, gained great
attention from Kevin Branagh’s award-winning film
of the same name, and it is a city with a history
quite distinct from those of the Republic to the
south. ❖❖❖ NEW YORK CORNER
L'ABEILLE 412 Greenwich
Street By John Mariani Interior and food photos by Nicole Franzen Photo of chef by Melanie Dunea It may not be true in most U.S.
major cities these days, but New York has
never ceased to enjoy the flow of elegant,
serious new restaurants despite the
limitations of the pandemic. Just in the
past year the city has seen the opening of
Daniel Boulud’s Le Pavillon, the soaring
Cucina 8 ½ and Brazilian-Italian import
Fasano, the New York branch of Tokyo’s
Serashina Horii, as well as other recent
eclectic newcomers like Frevo and Wicked
Jane, all now joined by the enchanting new
L’Abeille. L’Abeille is
open for dinner Tues.-Sat. ❖❖❖ ANOTHER VERMEER CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The group parted and promised to keep
each other in their respective loops. Katie
and David left the campus, went across Fordham
Road and had dinner at a favorite Italian
restaurant on Arthur Avenue.
Sitting
side by side on a banquette at Mario’s, over linguine with clams
and a thick veal chop, with a Barbera d’Alba red
wine, they hashed over all they had taken in that
afternoon. David
hadn’t had time at the conference room to show Katie
the list of potential buyers, so he took it out of
the folder and placed it in front of them. Seven
names, in random order, with an eighth scratched
out—the late Ryoei Saito—with a note
“Deceased March 1997.”
The other names, with notations, read:
• Igor Stepanossky, Russian oil magnate, probably connected to Russian Mafia • Nicholas Danielides, Greek shipping magnate • Hai Shui, Taiwanese petro-chemical magnate • Jan Dorenbosch, Dutch pharmaceutical magnate • Harry Balaton, Las Vegas casino owner • João Correia, Brazilian, controls 90% of lumber operations in the Amazon rain forests • Leonard Louden, head of the Lavande cosmetics fortune. “So our boy Balaton made the list, but not Steve Wynn,” noted Katie. “From what we gathered from Wynn I don’t think he’s yet in this league,” David said. “And Balaton said he was making no commitment yet. Did you research any of these other guys?” “A couple. Dorenbosch and Danielides. They both have extraordinary collections of Old Masters. I’ll have to research the others, particularly the Chinese tycoon, Mr. Shui. It’s interesting he’s in Taiwan, not mainland China or Hong Kong, where a lot of the Chinese art market is centered. Do you think there’s a connection between him and the writing on the painting?” “I really don’t have a clue,” said David. “It sounds far-fetched.” “You never ran across Shui’s name when you were investigating the Chinese mobs in New York?” “Not that I recall. I didn’t really work that territory. My focus was the Italian mobs, and there was next-to-no contact between the Italians and the Chinese, especially after the Chinese bought up most of the real estate in Little Italy.” “Yeah, I know,” said Katie. “Half the signs down there now are in Chinese. Okay, so we’ll scratch that connection off.” “You really are drawn to conspiracy theories, aren’t you? You want there to be a sinister plot afoot in this story.” Katie laughed and said, “Don’t you? It’s a better story when there are nefarious deeds being committed. And a lot of the guys on this list don’t sound like they have many scruples.” “Probably not, and to tell you the truth, unless that becomes apparent pretty soon, I’m not sure how much more I can help on this . . . I almost said, case. Without this whole thing being a swindle or somebody getting whacked, I’m in way over my head discussing Dutch trading posts and Latin letters, which is the stuff you love to investigate.” “Yeah, I do,” she said, sipping the wine, “all of which is to me like a puzzle, even a mystery. But, listen, look how we started out with the Capone story. He’d stolen the gold from the Feds fifty years ago. It was a whaddaya call it—a cold case?—and the problems we had with those criminals later on was like a byproduct.” “I just don’t feel I can take McClure’s money if I’m not really helping you, Katie.” She leaned back and smiled. “First of all, crime or not, you’ve been invaluable so far. And who was it in that conference room who asked the question about the J and the G and the I? That flicked a switch for everyone at that table. It led to alternative readings and paths to follow.” “Well, O.K., if you don’t think I’m ripping off the magazine.” “David, you are my researcher and you’re a damn good one. I need you to get to the people I don’t even know exist, like the people at the F.B.I. and Interpol.” It was just what David wanted to hear, because it meant he would be with Katie as long as this story played out. "Water
Lilies" by Claude Monet
It was now mid-October and there was no further word about the Vermeer in the media for the next week, so Katie had plenty of time to research the seven billionaires who might bid on it when it came up for auction. Again and again she turned over the thought that there was not a single museum in the world that could afford to buy the painting but that there were scores of private individuals who had the resources to do so. Not even the Getty could match the financial resources of the billionaire collectors like entertainment mogul David Geffen of whom one despairing museum curator said, “Ninety-eight percent of Geffen’s collection should be in a museum. Museums salivate over that collection.” Even narrowed down to a list of seven potential bidders, the idea seemed the height of folly and sheer ego rather than mere greed. But then she knew that in the art world, it is very rare that a work like this would ever lose value, so that these same billionaires could sell it for millions more whenever they chose to. She’d learned through interviews with gallery owners and the art media that there are always iconic paintings—Gauguin’s Tahiti, Monet’s water lilies, Warhol’s Marilyn Monroes—that are passionately pursued by those with the money and patience to wait until they come to market. Just weeks before, the chairman of New York’s Museum of Modern Art paid $50 million for the Still Life, Flowered Curtain, and Fruit (left) by Cézanne in a private deal through a Paris dealer representing an unidentified seller. A Miami collector told Katie over the phone, “We all have our wish lists, but we don’t go around talking about them. It gets in the way of our getting the work. We hope that when our friends die, their children won’t like their art. Those are our silent wishes.” She also learned that a 1654 Rembrandt portrait of a man named Jan Six (right) was considered the most wanted Old Master in private hands—the Six family itself in Amsterdam, which had had it for 300 years—valued at $150 million. Artists and artistic periods might rise or fall in favor, and styles go out of fashion, but with the Impressionists, as one gallery owner told Katie, “Whenever someone goes out on a limb and pays an unprecedented price for an outstanding work, the market always seems to catch up and exceed it.” © John Mariani, 2016 ❖❖❖ NOTES FROM THE WINE CELLAR
THE WINES OF RIBERA DEL DUERO By Patricia Savoie
While I knew
something of Spain’s Ribera wine region, being there
and visiting a dozen wineries—most of which I had
not heard of—was like discovering a new wine area. I
recently spent a week as a guest of the Spanish wine
association of the Ribera del Duero region.
Ribera del Duero wines are almost exclusively
red, though some wineries are now producing creditable
whites from the Verdejo and Albillo grapes. Any
Verdejo wines produced by individual wineries are not
classified as a Ribera del Duero DO, where the only
authorized white grape is Albillo Mayor.
As mentioned, the red is mainly Tempranillo, which is
locally called Tinto Fino. Interestingly, more
wineries are now dropping the Tinto Fino name in favor
of Tempranillo (right), which is more
recognized in export markets.
Bodegas
Comenge A family-owned winery that
prides itself on innovation, their vineyards are
certified organic by EU. Their white Verdejo ($20)is
floral with tropical fruit and good acidity. Very
interesting is the 100% Albillo white, for which some
of the grapes are frozen before pressing. The Carmen
rosé combines the Albillo with Tempranillo. The El
Origin is still made with purchased grapes; it’s juicy
with good acidity. The Don Miguel ($60) was a favorite
of our group of journalists. A touch of Cabernet
Sauvignon in the blend made for a deep, plum and
chocolate nose, strong minerality and velvety tannins.
Both the Familia Comenge and the Jacobus are aged (24
months and 42 months) in new French oak. Both are
lovely wines. Bodega S.
Arroyo Located in the
heart of the Ribera del Duero region, they produce
about 500,000 bottles a year, mainly red wines. On
their 22 acres of vineyards, of which half are in
head-trained vines, they combine state-of-the-art
technology with a traditional winemaking approach. The
Tinto Arroyo Roble ($15) has a raspberry nose and is a
good introduction to the winery. Their Crianza ($26)
has nice depth, while the Reserva ($35) has dark
cherry and coffee notes. Their Gran Reserva ($150)is a
knock-out, with black and red berries and a hint of
smoke and spices. Ferratus Maria
Luisa Cuevas, supported by her father and brother in
this family wine business, conceived, constructed and
personally manages all aspects of production. The
winery is 100% energy self-sufficient (solar
panels) and renewable. In the past twenty years
it has become a benchmark for wines in the DO Ribera
del Duero. Many of their 86 acres are planted in
vines over 60 years old and
at altitudes above 2,800 feet. The
Ferratus AO ($20) is fruity, while the Origen ($30) is
dense but soft. The Sensaciones ($37) is made from
grapes from a single vineyard and shows dark berries
and caramel notes. Top-of-the-line Fusiona ($34) gets
20 months in oak barrels; it’s an intense wine with
balsamic and tobacco notes. Protos
The first (1927) and one
of the largest wineries in the region, this sleek,
modern winery sits over miles of caves dating back
to the 1500s. Their wines are well known in the US.
The white Verdejo ($13) has a tropical fruit aroma
with crisp acidity. The rosé, Aire de Protos ($14),
is a light copper color with strawberry and floral
aromas. Their Tinto Fino ($16) is their leading wine
popular in the US. Both the Crianza ($25) and
the Reserva ($35) come from older vines and show
soft tannins and spice.
Bodega Vina Sastre Its 56 acres of head-trained vines
averaging over 60 years in age produce a range of
wines from the crisp white Flavus, made from the
local grape variety Cayetana Blanca, to the
delicious Crianza ($35) from 70-plus-year vines, and
the excellent Pago de Santa Cruz Gran Reserva ($77).
They also make a red blend, Pesus, which retails for
around $700 a bottle here. Bodega Valduero Founded in 1984 by the Garcia-Viadero
sisters, it cultivates the largest number of
head-trained vines, most at high altitudes. The
white, fruity Valduero Blanco is made from old
Albillo Mayor vines which they rescued. The reds are
consistently lush, soft and drinkable. They include
the Una Cepa ($47), the Alta En 2 Maderas ($29),
which is aged three years in two different types of
oak, and the 6 Años ($89), a Gran Reserva level wine
which is aged six years. Bodega Severino Sanz Founded by three brothers, the winery
owns 60 acres of vines, much of it Tempranillo that
are over 100-years old. The Muron rosé from
Tempranillo has lots of fruit and nice balance. The
red Muron Crianza is laden with red and black fruit.
The Una Cepa, aged a year in oak, shows the same
fruits with coffee notes. The Herencia de
Llanomingomez aged a year in oak, shows the same
fruits with coffee notes. Pago de Carraovejas Founded by an award-winning sommelier
in the 1970s, its 554 acres are at 2,900 feet
altitude. . The subtle, entrancing Capitel Verdejo
comes from vines that average 100 years (but
up to 250) of age. The Ossian ($45) and Quintaluna
($30)Verdejos are less complex, but fine for daily
drinking. The red Milsetentayseis 1076 ($85), a
blend of grapes grown at 1076 meters (3,500 feet),
is balanced and fresh with lots of fruit and floral
notes. Bodega Fuentespina With 1,240 acres of vines, this is one
of the larger wineries. Average vine age is 35
years, but many are over 100 years. The white
Verdejo Circe is from these oldest vines and has
great pedigree. The 3 Meses ($12) is an easy wine
which spends three months in oak. The F de
Fuentespina ($44) is made from grapes from the
oldest vines and aged in three different types of
French oak. The top-of-the-line Reserva ($30) has
spice and chocolate in the nose.
❖❖❖
❖❖❖ Any of John Mariani's books below may be ordered from amazon.com. The Hound in Heaven (21st Century Lion Books) is a novella, and for anyone who loves dogs, Christmas, romance, inspiration, even the supernatural, I hope you'll find this to be a treasured favorite. The story concerns how, after a New England teacher, his wife and their two daughters adopt a stray puppy found in their barn in northern Maine, their lives seem full of promise. But when tragedy strikes, their wonderful dog Lazarus and the spirit of Christmas are the only things that may bring his master back from the edge of despair. WATCH THE VIDEO! “What a huge surprise turn this story took! I was completely stunned! I truly enjoyed this book and its message.” – Actress Ali MacGraw “He had me at Page One. The amount of heart, human insight, soul searching, and deft literary strength that John Mariani pours into this airtight novella is vertigo-inducing. Perhaps ‘wow’ would be the best comment.” – James Dalessandro, author of Bohemian Heart and 1906. “John Mariani’s Hound in Heaven starts with a well-painted portrayal of an American family, along with the requisite dog. A surprise event flips the action of the novel and captures us for a voyage leading to a hopeful and heart-warming message. A page turning, one sitting read, it’s the perfect antidote for the winter and promotion of holiday celebration.” – Ann Pearlman, author of The Christmas Cookie Club and A Gift for my Sister. “John Mariani’s concise, achingly beautiful novella pulls a literary rabbit out of a hat – a mash-up of the cosmic and the intimate, the tragic and the heart-warming – a Christmas tale for all ages, and all faiths. Read it to your children, read it to yourself… but read it. Early and often. Highly recommended.” – Jay Bonansinga, New York Times bestselling author of Pinkerton’s War, The Sinking of The Eastland, and The Walking Dead: The Road To Woodbury. “Amazing things happen when you open your heart to an animal. The Hound in Heaven delivers a powerful story of healing that is forged in the spiritual relationship between a man and his best friend. The book brings a message of hope that can enrich our images of family, love, and loss.” – Dr. Barbara Royal, author of The Royal Treatment. ❖❖❖
❖❖❖
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