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Archive for July, 2008

Ole Spanish Imports

Published by Christophe on July 22, 2008 in Wine Industry News. 0 Comments

Ole Imports, an amazing, young Spanish importer of high caliber wines held their annual tasting in Chicago last week. Not only are the wines impressive, they cover a breadth of style, price point, regionality that is the press’ adoration. The winemakers that Patrick Mata and Alberto Orte have assembled share a vision and youthfulness in their approach. Make the best wines that come from myriad regions in Spain, make them authentic, delicious, priced appropriately for their quality level and put together that oh so nebulous marketing element, the package.

I was fortunate enough to meet with the winemakers and attend a seminar that Patrick hosted the day before the event was opened to the Chicago market. Patrick explains his vision in clear and succinct terms that I think other wineries, winemakers, suppliers and importers could do well to adhere to. At every turn it was repeated that the goal was to make superlative wines that were regionally correct, price to quality balanced (actually, over exceeding), marketed with vigor and verve.

Some of the highlights were the dynamic duo Tom and David from Exopto. Explosion of flavors at each price category and hilarity of conversation. If you take your wine too seriously it looses its pizzazz that only comes out with sharing and conversation. Working all day makes Jack a dull boy.

Oro de Castilla Verdejo was pure heaven. Aromatically precise and broad flavors that are as refreshing as crystal clean morning dew slowly warmed by the early sun . The whole wine makes you want to soak your head in its smells and textures. The gravel and sandy soils in this Continental climate are perfect for stainless steel verdejo. Pablo del Villar, the winemaker, has fashioned a unique system of batonage that adds enormous texture and lift to his wines. Pablo has fashioned a single thin blade that rotates at the bottom of his stainless steel tanks that stirs the lees gently back into the wine offering maximum texture in the final product.

Bodegas Vinos Pinol and proprietor JuanJo was one of the most personable and captivating winemakers that I encountered. His personality was only bolstered by the depth and seriousness of his wines: Ludovicus Red, Portal, Sacra Natura, L’avi Arrufi, Mather Teresina, Mistela Blanca and Mistela Tinta. The Terra Alta, just next to Priorat has higher elevation and coincidentally a warmer climate. And JuanJo makes two incredible dessert wines of white garnacha and red fortified, always served chilled and freakily fantastic. Wow!

Federal Wine Shop - Boston

Published by Christophe on July 8, 2008 in Bottle Shops. 0 Comments

The Federal Wine and Spirits bottle shop in Boston has to be one of the most interesting retailers that I’ve come across in years. Federal Wine and Spirits is located in historic downtown Boston, next to the Old State Building. The Old State Building is the oldest public building in Boston built in 1713. This fantastic red brick edifice was the seat of the first elected legislature in the New World! The likes of John Hancock, Thomas Craft, John Adams and others were at the epicenter of this political hub. And the Declaration of Independence was read from the balcony on July 18th, 1776…and is read from the same balcony each Fourth of July.

This is where you’ll find Federal Wine and Spirits, headed by a garrulous and enchanting man Leonard (Len) Rothenberg. As you enter the shop you might wonder what is really going on here. The space is small and tightly conformed to the corner shape of the building. A thoughtful collection of wines, spirits, ports and madeiras wrap around the walls in front of an old cash counter. But the real gem lies below. Walk down the slim and winding staircase and you’ll see what I mean. A bevy of boxes, old world and new world wines alike. This is where the weekly tastings are held and gems are revealed. The old adage, trust your retailer, could never be more a propos. The wine world has become slightly cynical and full of hype so today is truly the day when you should be able to rely on your expert bottle shop owner to decipher the morass of wine scores and press to bring you the best selection available in the market place today.

Check out their website and offerings. The writing is refreshingly clear, honest and dedicated to high quality regardless of price point.

http://www.federalwine.com/

KO Prime in Boston

Published by Christophe on July 7, 2008 in Restaurants. 0 Comments

It’s been 10 years since I’ve walked through the gardens in Boston. And I must admit that I forgot how beautiful the city is in the summertime. The verdant, ripe and rich landscape is adoringly accented by the twisting and curving streets of Boston and the aroma of fresh blossoms and honeysuckle seem to fill every park and garden. I was duly impressed with the change in the restaurants as well. It seems that Bean Town is growing up and has begun to offer extremely good food and wine at regular and more affordable prices. Every major city in America has their own version of Newbury Street where the typical suspects and styles of ABC town can be found mixed in amongst the interesting and boutique. Walk just a bit off towards downtown and you’ll find the latest incarnation of chef Kerrin Oringer, James Beard best NE award winner, KO Prime. As the name sounds this is a steak house. I am such a fan of the modern steak house, out with the old and in with the clean and new. It’s like spring cleaning across the steak halls of America wiping away the heavy wood paneled, dark and smoky restaurants, and in with the crisp, light and balanced steak houses of the 21st century. The menu is balanced between heavy and light, meat and sea. What a delight to have sashimi, so light and refreshing and then to finish with hangar steak and bone marrow.

Service is the least talked about aspect to dining, and in my opinion, one of the most important elements to creating an excellent dinner. When I go out to eat I am not only looking for excellent food, excitement in the ingredients, caringly prepared and executed but also attentive service. Americans have become all to immune to the young PDQ waiters who are simply there to get a pay check and who don’t really care about doing their job well. I still tip well even when service is bad (old habit of having spent time in the trenches and feeling obliged) much to my own chagrin. So I am asking where is the pride in simply doing a job well? If you don’t know your product or the basics of how and when to get food and beverages to a table then what good are you to the restaurant and the chef that has labored over her food.

This being said I am so happy to say that all of the restaurants I visited in Boston all had stupendous service. And KO Prime was dynamite from top to bottom. I had an especially interesting conversation about organic beverage options that they are trying to use as much as possible at the restaurant. Even down to organically sourced spirits. When you are in Boston stop in for dinner or at least a quiet drink at the bar.

Cubs and Wine

Published by Christophe on July 7, 2008 in Restaurants. 0 Comments

Very rarely in my life have I been at the right time and place for anything special involving celebrities, sightings and/or sport events. I’ve never had a good seat at a Big Ten football game, never caught a home run, or even a foul ball at an MLB game, and I’ve never sat next to a movie star in a restaurant. That is until the fourth Monday of June. I was fortunate enough to participate in a charity event that involved one of our wines, SNAFU, at a killer Chicago wine bar (JUICY WINE BAR), where the Cubs baseball team celebrated their sweep of the AL Central first place White Sox while supporting a fundraising event for Chicago students.

80’s music was floating through the air as the team arrived and were ready to get down with tasty BBQ from SMOKE and delicious wines. We even had some junmai ginjo sake for Fukudome. The sun was setting on the patio and everyone was in happy summertime moods that matched with the perfect weather.

Highlights from the night were speaking with pitchers Ryan Dempster, Kerry Wood and Scott Eyre who all have a great zest for the juice and know what they’re talking about. And watching the MLB pitchers learn how to saber a Champagne bottle (opening a bottle of Champagne by cracking the top of the neck off with a heavy knife or saber - please don’t try this at home). Or perhaps it was walking by a Lamborghini in the parking lot. Since all little boys dream of driving expensive race cars, then as adult hood settles into our aura we let that dream float away in the warm winds of summer that when you come face to face with one of the beauties of the 21st century automobile design your heart skips a beat. I don’t know about you but my lifestyle doesn’t afford me such luxuries, nor my friends, so I’m never this close to celebs and their cars. Simply put, how f…g cool!!!

Baseball and wine seem to have something in common. They are both so much better when you pay attention to the details, read the stats so to speak. Knowing where wine comes from is as much the enjoyment as the drinking. And watching professional baseball players do what they do so well is just as exciting as knowing what they’ve done in the past. The drama, the expectation, the highs and lows are in both wine and baseball. And this very well may be the year. So keep drinking for the love of the wine and lets get some more runs!