Wine Beneath The Palms

Can you narrow down your peak wine experience?

      Question of the week:  I was going to ask you to relate the No. 1 wine experience of your life. Then I realized that if you asked me that, I couldn’t narrow it to fewer than 50. How do you compare a delicate old Burgundy to a muscular Super Tuscan? A sunset  picnic on a hillside in Sonoma to sipping and spitting on the floor in a frigid, dripping cave in Beaujolais?

     So let’s do this: Please tell me ONE of your top wine experiences.

     One of mine was in 1979. I was driving around Spain visiting wineries with my best wine-drinking buddy, Fred Barger. When we arrived at Bodegas Torres, outside Barcelona, we were thrilled to be greeted by Miguel Torres, Sr., himself –- the dean of Spanish wine. We walked into the vineyards to a rustic shack for a wine tasting. We spoke of wine and women and, I suppose, philosophy. We sipped, and leaned back in our wooden chairs to spit out the open door.

     As we drove away after effusive thanks, we looked at each other and simultaneously, if ironically, recited a beer slogan: “It don’t get no better than this.”

     Wine friends, tell me ONE of your peak wine experiences.

Most underappreciated grapes? Readers reply.

    I asked my valued blogsters to give me their lists of the most underappreciated wines in the market.

     Florent Blanchet replied: “Two wines always underappreciated, on wine lists & on wine shelves: Chinon, Loire Valley, France and Cahors, Southwest France. While the first one offers truly unique, benchmark expression for cabernet franc, the second one is almost unknown (true, the production is small & the needs to export, promote & market this appelation are close to none).

     "While the consumption of Argentinean malbecs (pictured here in a KRT photo by Diego Guidice) explodes in the states, few seem to recognize the origin of this grape (Bordeaux) and the only French appellation made with at least 70% of malbec, Cahors.

     “A good Cahors can offer a complexity of aromas, ranging from lead pencil to licorice to black currant, rarely found in any Argentinean wines. I hope some of you will disagree so we can argue a little.”

     Gee, Florent. The only disagreement I can voice is that those French malbecs can be hard as nails sometimes. And so dark that, if you spill them on a table cloth, you’ll never get them out.

     Wine fans: Feeling disagreeable? Got some other choices? Let us know. Click on the “comments” icon below.

 

How to make friends with the sommelier

     A faithful reader has an idea for taming the wild sommelier. She writes:

Dear Fred,

     “One of my fellow gourmands and I have had recent experiences with sommeliers that were memorably good. In one, the sommelier at The Palm in Coral Gables came over to talk to us, as we'd brought a bottle of Turley to dinner there. She came over to chat about it and was incredibly cordial.

     "The entire restaurant seemed to treat us with a lot of respect and affection that night b/c of that one bottle of wine that set us apart. (We're not regulars and are not well known, so it wasn't personal.)”

Hilda Mitrani

Dear Hilda,

     Good idea. It’s true that bringing a really top bottle of wine to a restaurant can buy you some respect.  Turley Wine Cellars of California is noted for turning out cult wines –- particularly their zinfandels. And a lot of them are in the $25 to $35 range.
     But readers who want to try this should call ahead to be sure the restaurant allows patrons to bring their own wine by paying a corkage fee.

Fred Tasker

Paula & Neil's excellent New Zealand adventure

     I’ve been asking loyal blog readers to keep journals of their wine travels and report here when they return. So the rest of us can live vicariously through their eyes.

     Here’s a missive from Paula and Neil Linden, triggered when I wrote about New Zealand wines in my Thursday column (which is still posted at MiamiHerald.com/wine).

Dear Fred,
    We were in NZ last year at the end of April for 3 weeks and spent several days in the Marlborough region  (we stayed at Old St. Mary's Convent--now a B&B--in the honeymoon suite--formerly the nunnery--you figure that out!). 

     For my 60th birthday (says Neil), we had dinner in the only 5 star restaurant in NZ, at the Hans Herzog Vineyard.  We visited several of the vineyards you featured.  We were somewhat surprised you did not mention Cloudy Bay for their Sauvignon Blanc (admittedly we are somewhat partial as our daughter-in-law works for LVMH, which owns the brand).  We had a private tour of their vineyard which was delightful.  They are actively marketing a Pinot Noir as well.

     You list Mt. Difficulty pinot noir---this is a great wine and it lives up to its name because we can't find it anywhere!  Do you have a source?  Also, it was quite pricey there, over $100 in restaurants.  Wine shops in NZ complained they couldn't get enough product.

     Finally, we spent an incredible day on Waiheke Island, off Auckland, and had lunch at the Mudbrick Vineyard, pictured above.  Their 2006 Reserve Chardonnay was delicious.

     Thanks for bringing back very fond memories of three of the best weeks we've spent!

Paula & Neil

Dear Paula and Neil,

     Sounds like a great time. I haven’t been to New Zealand yet, but it’s on my list. And I’m definitely a fan of Cloudy Bay’s wines.

     A number of readers have said they can’t find Mt. Difficulty wines. I’m checking with the distributor, and I will let everybody know the answer. Or, if anybody knows, message me.

  Cheers, Fred

Las Olas Wine and Food Festival draws 2,000

 

   

      Nearly 2,000 hedonists walked up and down Las Olas Boulevard on Thursday evening sampling wines and spirits and tasting appetizers supplied by local restaurants at the Las Olas Wine and Food Festival. The annual event benefits the American Lung Asslciation of Florida – South Area.

      “I like this festival because it isn’t so crowded,” said Saul Larson, of Hollywood

.

     Here’s who’s in the photos, in order from the top:

     1. Wine rep pours a kir royale, Korbel sparkling wine and Raspberry Chambord liqueur, for Linda Ritchie of Lauderdale by the Sea.

     2. Jamie Kahns, left, and Carol Palacios, members of St. Petersburg American Lung Association, sip vodka and Sprite. “We’re here to learn about this festival to maybe start one in St. Petersburg or Sarasota,” Kahns said.

     3. Kennon Hetlage of Fort Lauderdale samples sushi, scallops wrapped in bacon.

     4. From left, Erika Pager, Laura Mogilewski and Cynthia Kounaris of Fort Lauderdale load up on ribs, cole slaw.