mostly wine stuff

[Uncle-A]

If it's Brittany, it's shellfish and cheese...

#toobusyhavingsquitstoworryaboutheadache
#stayingveganwasneversorewarding

Some Italian people refuse to mix sea food with cheese. I have not had a problem with it but some do. I have had a problem with blue cheese and wine or balsamic vinegar and wine. Maybe it is just too much stuff that is fermented all at the same time?

 

[cantunamunch]

Some Italian people refuse to mix sea food with cheese. I have not had a problem with it but some do. I have had a problem with blue cheese and wine or balsamic vinegar and wine. Maybe it is just too much stuff that is fermented all at the same time?

That totally reads on histamine overload.

 

[dan ross]

Have you ruled out what you might eat with the wine in Europe vs The USA?

Well, when I worked in Rome for a few months we always had a glass of red table wine for lunch- that was the custom, and despite my initial trepidation regarding drinking on a weekday at work, it was never an issue as it was unnoticeable. If I did that here ( and I wouldn’t)
It would be a problem most likely. As for the difference s between U.S./ Europe in regards to food pairings, physical activity, I’d say it’s similar but perhaps more walking in Europe.
I tend to think it’s histamines as mentioned by @skibob to be the culprit. My wife used to be an avid wine enthusiast but as she got older, she started to get bad headaches after even one glass. It isn’t uncommon for people to acquire and shed allergies as we move through life so perhaps that explains some of it.

 

[skibob]

Well, when I worked in Rome for a few months we always had a glass of red table wine for lunch- that was the custom, and despite my initial trepidation regarding drinking on a weekday at work, it was never an issue as it was unnoticeable. If I did that here ( and I wouldn’t)
It would be a problem most likely. As for the difference s between U.S./ Europe in regards to food pairings, physical activity, I’d say it’s similar but perhaps more walking in Europe.
I tend to think it’s histamines as mentioned by @skibob to be the culprit. My wife used to be an avid wine enthusiast but as she got older, she started to get bad headaches after even one glass. It isn’t uncommon for people to acquire and shed allergies as we move through life so perhaps that explains some of it.

She can try taking Pepcid AC or a capsule of activated charcoal or a small raw carrot salad with her wine. The pepcid obviously is an antihistamine. The other two are essentially the same: something adsorb and bind the histamines and move it on through the exit door w/o the liver noticing.

 

[newfydog]

We've had the TdF presentation already. @newfydog usually does a food thing. Who's doing the wines?

Actually, it started with the wine for me. I assembled a case of wine to drink as the tour travelled around France. Then I added the cheeses, and finally I had an entire stage by stage menu, with a good sized email list. I guess if I'd wanted to work, I could have sold the wine and menus.

After 10 years, I had the entire country pretty well covered, and an index to the past work lets me dig up the right stuff for any given day. Google will do the same but the writing and commentary is not nearly as good .

 

[cantunamunch]

What's the story on the rumor of Vinho Verde type grapes and styles in Brittany then? Also, is Gros plant even worth drinking?

 

[dan ross]

Lmk mom mmoo no mom ok jkk ok opiuu in I’ll pop on pop

She can try taking Pepcid AC or a capsule of activated charcoal or a small raw carrot salad with her wine. The pepcid obviously is an antihistamine. The other two are essentially the same: something adsorb and bind the histamines and move it on through the exit door w/o the liver noticing.

Thanks ! If that works you’ll be a hero around here.
I have a 2000 Gaja Spress that I bought when my son was born in 2000. He turns 21 in August and the plan was to open this as a family and share it. This vintage is right on the bubble now -it’s as good as it’s ever going to be so I was looking forward to enjoying with my “ adult “ son but mostly for me...

 

[newfydog]

Here's a start....towns, food, wine, cheese......note the Brittany in French is Bretagne, but I only spell it correctly on occasion.

 

[Uncle-A]

Lmk mom mmoo no mom ok jkk ok opiuu in I’ll pop on pop

Thanks ! If that works you’ll be a hero around here.
I have a 2000 Gaja Spress that I bought when my son was born in 2000. He turns 21 in August and the plan was to open this as a family and share it. This vintage is right on the bubble now -it’s as good as it’s ever going to be so I was looking forward to enjoying with my “ adult “ son but mostly for me...

That is so cool. Nice plan.

 

[Uncle-A]

Actually, it started with the wine for me. I assembled a case of wine to drink as the tour travelled around France. Then I added the cheeses, and finally I had an entire stage by stage menu, with a good sized email list. I guess if I'd wanted to work, I could have sold the wine and menus.

After 10 years, I had the entire country pretty well covered, and an index to the past work lets me dig up the right stuff for any given day. Google will do the same but the writing and commentary is not nearly as good .

View attachment 136536

How much of it is in data format, it would make a great read.

 

[dan ross]

That is so cool. Nice plan.

Thanks. I’m also looking forward to is the bottle I bought when my daughter was born in 2002- a Shrvington Shiraz from Australia. It’s supposed to be amazing....two more years to go. I benefited from good wine advice I knew the Gajas and love those big Tuscans but the Shiraz was bought on the advice of the merchant who was adamant that I wouldn’t regret it and it would hold up.

 

[newfydog]

How much of it is in data format, it would make a great read.

It is in many files. I clicked on a random one and found the write-up for the 2003 prologue to be quite appropriate to post here. They are in Brittany, land of the crepe, and there is a reference to Herman Maier and the Hannenkahm.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The prologue is a short and seemingly ceremonial stage, but it is actually pretty
important. No one has won a Tour in the prologue, but lots of riders have
screwed up big time, such a Pedro Delgado who got lost warming up and
showed up two minutes late to defend his title, and Chris Boardman who crashed
and broke his leg. These short timetrials show a lot about a rider’s form, and
both Lance Armstrong and Miguel Indurain went on to win the Tour after winning
the prologue. A rather bizarre aside is that Austrian skier Herman Maier will be
the forerunner of this year’s prologue. He will probably fare better than the
cyclists would skiing the Hannenkahm.

Chris’s daughter JJ and her buddies are into crêpes these days. There are a lot of
crêperies in the San Francisco Bay area where we have moved, and JJ even has one of
those electric crêpe makers that you dip into the batter and cook them upside down.
Mostly the teenagers eat them with Nutella (that chocolate and hazelnut paste) and fruits.
Maybe we’ll be able to get her to cook for this stage. How about if we do both savory
and dessert? A little flambé?


Basic Crêpe Batter
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
½ cup milk
½ cup water
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
Blend ingredients. The batter should have the consistency of heavy cream.
Then let it stand for an hour or two before using.
If using a gizmo like JJ’s, pour the batter into a shallow dish. When the
crêpe maker is hot, dip it into the batter to quickly coat the surface. Cook
the crêpe on one side only—they will be thin enough that browning on
both sides is not necessary.
Without the gizmo, brown on both sides in an omelet pan.
We can serve the dinner crêpes with whatever is around—chicken, fish, vegetables, or
cheese. For dessert, we can go with the Nutella and fruit, or we could make classic
Crêpes Suzette.

A winemaker we met recently said “Pinot Noir is French for goes with
everything.” Since there is no local wine and we don’t know what is going into
the dinner crepes we’ll grab a Burgundy, or maybe an Oregon Pinot.

Crêpes Suzette
For orange butter:
Zests of 2 oranges
½ cup sugar
8 ounces butter
½ cup strained orange juice
3 tablespoons orange liqueur (either a clear one like Cointreau or a
brandy-based one like Grand Marnier)
Purée the orange zest with the sugar in a food processor. Add the butter
and process until fluffy. Dribble in the orange juice and liqueur.
At the table:
18 crêpes
sugar
Cognac and more orange liqueur
orange butter
Heat the orange butter until it bubbles and thickens into syrup. One by
one, bathe the crêpes in the syrup. Fold in quarters and lay each crêpe
around the edge of the pan. When all are coated, sprinkle them with
sugar, and pour about
⅓ cup Cognac into a ladle and then onto the
crêpes. Ladle on
⅓ cup orange liqueur. Let bubble, then ignite.

 

[Uncle-A]

It is in many files. I clicked on a random one and found the write-up for the 2003 prologue to be quite appropriate to post here. They are in Brittany, land of the crepe, and there is a reference to Herman Maier and the Hannenkahm.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The prologue is a short and seemingly ceremonial stage, but it is actually pretty
important. No one has won a Tour in the prologue, but lots of riders have
screwed up big time, such a Pedro Delgado who got lost warming up and
showed up two minutes late to defend his title, and Chris Boardman who crashed
and broke his leg. These short timetrials show a lot about a rider’s form, and
both Lance Armstrong and Miguel Indurain went on to win the Tour after winning
the prologue. A rather bizarre aside is that Austrian skier Herman Maier will be
the forerunner of this year’s prologue. He will probably fare better than the
cyclists would skiing the Hannenkahm.

Chris’s daughter JJ and her buddies are into crêpes these days. There are a lot of
crêperies in the San Francisco Bay area where we have moved, and JJ even has one of
those electric crêpe makers that you dip into the batter and cook them upside down.
Mostly the teenagers eat them with Nutella (that chocolate and hazelnut paste) and fruits.
Maybe we’ll be able to get her to cook for this stage. How about if we do both savory
and dessert? A little flambé?


Basic Crêpe Batter
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
½ cup milk
½ cup water
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
Blend ingredients. The batter should have the consistency of heavy cream.
Then let it stand for an hour or two before using.
If using a gizmo like JJ’s, pour the batter into a shallow dish. When the
crêpe maker is hot, dip it into the batter to quickly coat the surface. Cook
the crêpe on one side only—they will be thin enough that browning on
both sides is not necessary.
Without the gizmo, brown on both sides in an omelet pan.
We can serve the dinner crêpes with whatever is around—chicken, fish, vegetables, or
cheese. For dessert, we can go with the Nutella and fruit, or we could make classic
Crêpes Suzette.

A winemaker we met recently said “Pinot Noir is French for goes with
everything.” Since there is no local wine and we don’t know what is going into
the dinner crepes we’ll grab a Burgundy, or maybe an Oregon Pinot.

Crêpes Suzette
For orange butter:
Zests of 2 oranges
½ cup sugar
8 ounces butter
½ cup strained orange juice
3 tablespoons orange liqueur (either a clear one like Cointreau or a
brandy-based one like Grand Marnier)
Purée the orange zest with the sugar in a food processor. Add the butter
and process until fluffy. Dribble in the orange juice and liqueur.
At the table:
18 crêpes
sugar
Cognac and more orange liqueur
orange butter
Heat the orange butter until it bubbles and thickens into syrup. One by
one, bathe the crêpes in the syrup. Fold in quarters and lay each crêpe
around the edge of the pan. When all are coated, sprinkle them with
sugar, and pour about
⅓ cup Cognac into a ladle and then onto the
crêpes. Ladle on
⅓ cup orange liqueur. Let bubble, then ignite.

Those sound so good my mouth is watering. Thanks for sharing.

 

[doc]

What was I thinking when I opened this baby? It's like blueberry ink poured over yesterday's rained-on campfire ashes. (The mineral part, not the smoky part.) In any case, totally scrumptious. Saving the other bottle, @mdf !
View attachment 136507

Bought two bottles of this yesterday based on your recommendation, which was only slightly less cryptic than the reviews of this wine on CellarTracker.

 

[Tony S]

Bought two bottles of this yesterday based on your recommendation, which was only slightly less cryptic than the reviews of this wine on CellarTracker.

Cool! Let us know when you pop it!

 

[Tony S]

Cool! Let us know when you pop it!

PS: If I did my job right, you will say "Oh yeah. I get it now." to yourself when you taste it.

 

[jmeb]

Doing the hard work of tasting quality boxed wine for ya'll.

Picked both of these up for ~$30 a pop, so keeping it under $8 per bottle. Both punch way above their weight and are a far cry from the bombastic, flabby, recipe-driven stuff you get in most popular boxes.

If I was picking one, I'd go with "BYOB" by Folk Machine. Made in Cali by a quality winemaker you can tell the fruit here was quality. Just delicious, enough structure and interest. With or without food.

If I were only drinking with food though, the Bodegas Venta la Vega Almansa -- a grenache heavy blend -- might be my choice. More structure, higher acid, very well put together as you'd expect from an operation overseen by Raul Perez.

Excited to see more and more quality juice in boxes.

 

[pete]

I noted joining the WSJ wine club, I joined one of their other clubs to pick up a 1961 Fernández de Manzanos Rioja as part of a joining special. They noted it was vetted so I figured, why not.

Should be interesting as I don't think I've had a wine older than I am ...

for what it's worth ...

Manzanos 1961

Quick! Grab a slice of vinous history with this oak-matured Rioja, handcrafted back in 1961

www.laithwaites.co.uk

spouse and I are still pretty excited about trying it .. but when?

 

[pete]

I noted prior how my dogs are my cork connusaurs, my WSJ shipment had a flyer with an image of corks.

Our eldest pooch was trying to pick up a few corks! poor thing got frustrated

 

[Tony S]

spouse and I are still pretty excited about trying it .. but when?

Even though 1961 was top vintage in places - notably Bordeaux - this wine is likely to be pretty attenuated, at best, in terms of fruit. After all, it's 60 years old. Consider serving it with a gently flavored dish. Roast chicken is probably safe. Certainly nothing spicy. I am not knowledgeable about Spanish cuisine but maybe someone here is. I can certainly imagine a simple post-entrée mild cheese and jamón course with this. And have a backup bottle of something on hand just in case.