For the last recommendation in this series, I have a recommendation for the food and cooking enthusiast on you holiday gift list.
Denver has increasingly gained national recognition for its exciting culinary community, something that has been growing over the last twenty years. While restaurants and bars have received most of the attention, there also has been dramatic improvement in the local agriculture and culinary education.
One of the leaders in that culinary education renaissance has been the Cook Street School of Culinary Arts. Founded in 1999 as a contemporary culinary center devoted to providing a professional and recreational experience, Cook Street has offered an accelerated professional training program, along with recreational classes to food and wine enthusiasts and amateur cooks alike to expand their abilities and creativity.
Just a few months ago, Cook Street moved from their LoDo location to a new home in the Golden Triangle neighborhood just south of downtown. The new space is located at 43 W. 9th Ave. Denver, Colorado 80204. “The new Broadway location provides easier parking and access for all of our customers, along with a larger space with a new layout and new kitchen equipment,” said Lindsey Reese, Cook Street owner and director.”
Also new are one-night cooking classes that weren’t available in the previous space, along with a larger meeting and private event space that can be fully catered or left private.
To order a gift card online, go to https://cookstreet.com/cook-street-gift-cards/. The gift cards are redeemable towards any of the cooking classes. The only caveat is if you are having a physical gift card mailed, you must place your order before December 20th to ensure the card arrives in time for the holiday.
A good alternative is to have a code emailed to your recipient. Call 303-308-9300 for instructions. If you live in Denver, you also can just go to the school at 43 W. 9th Ave.
BUT DON’T FEEL CONSTRAINED BY THE HOLIDAYS. THE GIFT OF A COOK STREET CLASS IS A FINE CHOICE FOR ANY OCCASION THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. AND, WHILE YOU ARE AT IT, SIGN YOURSELF UP, TOO!
SAUVIGNON BLANC PROVIDES REFRESHING DRINKING FOR WARMER WEATHER
With the blistering weather (even in September these days!), it’s natural for wine drinkers to think about cooling off with a refreshing white wine. While most U.S. consumers still turn first to Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc is an ideal alternative.
Sauvignon Blanc’s flavor profile comes in several styles, though it’s usually assertively aromatic, with refreshing acidity. Generally expect brisk green citrus (lime, gooseberry) but also other citrus, especially grapefruit and a distinctive (sometimes spicy) herbaceousness. Some also are evocative of fresh cut hay or oats. Wines made from riper fruit often display peach, melon or even tropical fruits. These qualities make it an exceptional accompaniment to food.
It has a noble heritage as a parent (with cabernet franc) of cabernet sauvignon. It is responsible for the Loire Valley wines of Sancerre and Pouilly Fume and, with semillon, the white Bordeaux of Graves and Sauternes. The grape also has found hospitable surroundings in New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, and Chile.
Here I focus on California, where the styles vary by producer more than terroir, though climate does have its influences. Most of the wines are fermented and aged in stainless steel to emphasize fresh, varietal characteristics, while some use varying amounts of mostly neutral oak to round out flavors and texture. Still others emulate the aggressiveness of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.
First, I found a number of good everyday values from the 2018 vintage at $20 and under. These tend to be lighter with the focus on varietal fruit. Think of them as everyday patio sippers. They are listed in order of preference but all are recommended:
Two Angels High Valley ($17) creamy, juicy, balanced
Dry Creek Vineyard Dry Creek Valley ($20) enticing, spicy, sumptuous
Pedroncelli East Side Vineyards ($15) lively, tonic, herbal
J. Lohr “Flume Crossing” ($14) tangy, crisp
Dry Creek Vineyard Sonoma County “Fumé” ($16) energetic, lemongrass
As consumer friendly as these wines are, I found more complexity and flavor interest as prices escalated beyond $20. Also, I was surprised when I reviewed my tasting notes that all but one of these is from Napa. They are listed in order of preference but all are recommended:
2018 Spotswoode ($42). Combining fruit from the Spotswoode’s organic estate vineyard and other top Napa and Sonoma vineyards, this balances vibrancy and textural richness, with structure and complexity. Should age well for a few years.
2017 Cuvaison Méthode Béton ($35). The “method” is aging 12 months in concrete eggs (bétons). The result is fascinatingly different: graceful, yet refreshing, full, and persistent.
2017 Sonoma County’s Chalk Hill Estate ($33). The geographic outlier in this group turns fruit from its high altitude vineyards into wine that deftly balances a fair amount of oak with intense fruit, drinking with juicy acidity and a lush texture.
2018 Ehlers Estate ($32). From Ehler’s certified organic vineyard in the warmer climate near St. Helena, this is a succulent and racy counterpoint, having seen no oak. Still full-bodied, it is nicely savory.
2018 Gamble Vineyard ($28). The Gamble Family has produced a rich wine from their estate vineyard near centrally located Yountville,showing an oaky roundness with licorice and spice.
2018 Ladera ($30). With fruit from the cooler Oak Knoll District of southern Napa Valley, this offers brisk but juicy fruit, a touch of mineral, and a textural accent of oak.
2018 Cuvaison ($25). Without seeing any oak, this nicely expresses its cool climate Carneros estate vineyard fruit. It is brisk and assertive, yet juicy and luscious, finishing lightly spicy.
2018 Duckhorn Napa Valley ($30). Blending cool and warm sites throughout the valley, this quite aromatic wine includes a touch of semillon. It is notable for a hint of licorice, while showing a nice oaky texture.
Colorado has worldwide reputation for fine festivals, especially those centered on wine and food. One of the newest and, in my view, most special is Slow Food Nations. Forbes just published Five Reasons to Visit Colorado this- Summer stating, “In July, Denver is hosting the Slow Food Nationsconference, one of the country’s best festivals for serious foodies.” The third annual conference and festival will be in Denver July 19-21.
There will be much food for thought and some pretty amazing culinary experiences.This year’s theme is Where Tradition Meets Innovation, with an amazing array of speakers and chefs introducing your mind to new ideas and your taste buds to amazing new flavors, while experiencing the future of food.
In preparation for the event, I suggest drinking some Slow Wine. My interest in the distinctive wines that achieve the Slow Wine designation was cultivated when the Slow Wine Guidetour came to Denver last March (as I have written previously). Here are recommendations of a few wineries from the guide that I have tasted recently.
Since 1994, Beckmen Vineyards (operated by Tom and Judy, with sons Steve and Jeff) has been crafting exceptional, mostly estate grown wines in Santa Barbara County. The family converted its Purisma Mountain Vineyard in Ballard Canyon near Los Olivos to biodynamic farming methods in 2006 (Demeter Certified). Planted to sauvignon blanc, grenache blanc, viognier, and chardonnay, as syrah, grenache, mourvedre, and counoise. I recently tasted the 2017 Cuvee Le Bec ($25), which is a delightful Rhone-style wine of surprising complexity. The 2018 Purisima Mountain Vineyard Grenache Rosé ($25) is flavorful and refreshing. Their varietally labeled Syrah and Grenache wines consistently deliver purity of fruit balanced with a captivating finesse.
Over forty years ago while spending time in Europe Josh Jensen developed an intense interest in Burgundy, even working at some of the most prestigious Burgundian wineries. So, he knew when he came back to California he wanted to make wines with a Burgundian sensibility, even while they would be distinctively Californian. He als o knew to look for cool climate vineyards with limestone soil and high-quality pinot noir clones. Jensen found the ideal, though unlikely location on Mt. Harlan, in the Gavilan Mountains of San Benito County east of Monterey Bay and planted it in 1975. One of the state’s pinot noir pioneers, Calera’s wines from this terroir show high-toned fruit with a lifted structure and fine tannins. Three I tasted recently – 2016 De Villiers Vineyard ($65), 2016 Reed Vineyard ($75), and 2016 Jensen Vineyard ($95) – are emblematic with bright red berries joining earthy, spicy accents in layers of complexity. Calera also produces excellent Viognier and Chardonnay.
Emeritus Vineyards is a Pinot Noir specialist established in 1999 when Brice Cutrer Jones (originator of the wildly popular Sonoma-Cutrer Chardonnay) purchased the former Hallberg Ranch in the Russian River Valley. They added Pinot Hill Vineyard in the Sonoma Coast appellation in 2008. Emeritus employs sustainable and organic farming practices in its vineyards – dry farming (no irrigation), no insecticides, cover crops, sheep for weed control and fertilization – allowing the vines to naturally come into balance without unnatural interference. The wines I tasted: 2016 Hallberg Ranch ($44, elegant and enticing), 2016 Hallberg Ranch “Wesley’s Reserve” ($75, rich and flavorful), 2015 Pinot Hill ($75, refined and bracing) testify to these practices.
Family-owned Long Meadow Ranch Wine Estates began in 1989 when Ted and Laddie Hall began work to restore a neglected farm using sustainable agriculture. It is now a full circle organic system committed (with the help of their son, Chris) to responsibly farmed vineyards and including olives, bees, organic gardens, grass-fed cattle and chickens, fruits, vegetables and horses. The operation is a welcome contrast to the monoculture that dominates in Napa Valley. The winery is solar powered and they operate a restaurant, Farmstead, in St. Helena. Wines are produced from three estate vineyards: Mayacamas Estate home ranch, Rutherford Estate in Napa, and Anderson Valley Estate in Mendocino. The wines reflect a commitment to balance and food friendly elegance. I recently enjoyed the 2017 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc ($22), 2015 Anderson Valley Chardonnay ($40), 2016 Anderson Valley Pinot Noir ($40), and 2015 Napa Valley Merlot ($35).
Long Meadow Ranch recently acquired the storied Stony Hill Vineyard (located in the Spring Mountain District) from the McCrea family – finally a winery sale that didn’t go to a large corporation or a private equity firm.
After years of working at numerous prestigious wineries – Château Pétrus in Pomerol, Australia, Simi (with the iconic Zelma Long), Matanzas Creek, Chalk Hill, Dominus and Rudd Estate – David Ramey (with his wife Carla) established Ramey Wine Cellars in 1996. Along the way, he has become recognized as one of California’s finest producers of Chardonnay. He sources fruit from prime vineyards, such as Dutton and Bacigalupi in Sonoma, and Hyde and Hudson in Carneros. He also has been an exemplar of classic Burgundian techniques, while applying modern methods where appropriate. Ramey is a strong proponent of wild yeast fermentation and careful oak barrel and malolactic fermentation. His wines balance vibrant fruit flavors with rich textures, succulent acidity and structured yet silky elegance. He also makes several Bordeaux-style wines, Pinot Noir, and Syrah. I was blown away by the 2015 Rochioli Vineyard Chardonnay ($65) 2016 Fort Ross-Seaview Chardonnay ($42)
Portugal, with a winemaking heritage of around three thousand years, today is best known for Port, a wine with over a three hundred year history. From the Douro Valley, Porto, as it is known in its home, is a sweet, high alcohol (fortified with brandy) red wine. The best are considered among the great wines in the world.
The growing conditions in northern Portugal’s Upper Douro Valley are extreme, with long hot summers, cold winters, low average rainfall and rugged, rocky soils. But with a little human help, this environment creates a uniquely powerful wine, even in styles that fashion a sense of elegance.
This time of year I just can’t resist it. The only challenge is there are a variety of styles from which to choose but they all provide a fine payoff. Bursting with intense dark fruits and natural sweetness, balanced with refreshing tannin, and finished with an alcoholic kick, Ports always warm my soul.
I especially enjoy sipping Tawny Port. These wines marry several vintages and spend extensive time in casks, periods ranging form ten to forty years (the year on label refers to the average age of blended wine). Extensive aging results in a gradual transformation through contact with air and wood, creating mellow wines known for complexity, purity of fruit and elegance. Tawnies mellow in the barrel and are released at their peak ready to drink. Expect a distinctive nuttiness, admirable balance, and a silky texture.
Dow’s Tawny’s glide along the palate.
Ten Year Old tawnies are a good introduction to the style. A Twenty Old Tawny should provide more complexity and intensity but still taste delightfully fresh. 30 and 40 Year Old tawnies reach ethereal states but typically surpass $100.
I recently sampled Dow’s 10 Year Old Tawny Porto ($37) and 20 Year-Old Tawny Porto ($65), each fine examples of their type. Dow’s Ports reflect the heritage of over two hundred years working in the Douro vineyards. These tawnies also display the quality of fruit from the highly regarded Quinta do Bomfim and Quinta da Senhora da Ribeira, Dow’s signature vineyards. And updated winemaking, including aging in small oak vats, as well as traditional 550 litre casks, has produced wines that are fuller bodied, yet retain Dow’s signature tendency toward a slightly less sweet finish.
The 10 Year Old is quite fine in its own right with nut, fig, and plum but is a little sharper and less complex, though still succulent. The elegant 20 Year Old has a complex, enticing nose of raisins, almond, honey, caramel and date with an impressive purity.
For many, Vintage Port sits at the pinnacle of the Port hierarchy. Distinguished by power and concentration, Vintage Port is made only in exceptional years (historically just three a decade) from a producer’s top vineyards and bottled after two years in barrel. These wines are highly praised for their intensity and ability to develop over many decades. I recently tasted three top producers from the 2016 vintage, each displaying the vintage’s characteristic expressiveness, structure, fine balance, and expected longevity (suggesting at least ten years before drinking and keeping up to at least thirty years.
Taylor Fladgate ($120). From one of the oldest Port houses and benchmark producers, this wine displays amazing opulence and yet grace from the integration of suffusive tannins with lively acidity and impressively pure mixed berry fruit. Exotic notes of herbs, cedar, cocoa, and anise add a dimension of complexity to this seductive and flamboyant wine.
Fonseca ($120). From another icon of the Port trade and a leader in sustainable farming, this wine is beautifully balanced, with brilliant dark berry fruit, firm but well integrated, though brawny tannins, and an exhilarating freshness, suggestions of fig, mint, and minerals. The powerful, yet polished structure ensures the luscious fruit will satisfy for years.
Croft ($100). From a firm that dates to 1588 yet is known as an innovator (creating the first ever rosé Port), this one is wonderfully aromatic with exuberant berry fruit, fig, herb and eucalyptus notes preview. It’s luscious and mouthfilling, yet with a fine sense of proportion. Slightly less sweet, it has good grip while suggesting approachability.
Even at these prices, given the amazing quality and longevity, I consider Vintage Port (and Tawny Port) to be good values. But, if these are way beyond your price preference, there are alternatives. A good place to start is with a Ruby Port, the youngest and most accessible style. Blended from several different vintages and aged three years in large vats to retain freshness. For about $15-$20, expect straightforward, intense, lively red fruits and good structure grapey fruit.
Even better, Late Bottled Vintage Port is one of the best Port values. Think of it as Vintage Port in style, but not in price. As the name implies, LBV Port is developed from a single vintage Ruby Port and may evolve four to six years in barrel before being bottled and released. Ready to drink upon release, it can give you a taste of Vintage Port character at a much more affordable price, as it is made from good wines of a single year that didn’t quite make the severe selection for Vintage Port.
I especially enjoyed the 2012 Dow’s Late Bottled Vintage Porto ($24). It shares the same vineyard provenance as Dow’s Vintage Port and the resulting wine offers heady aromas and flavors of sweet berries, cassis, and oak, and a touch of licorice in a full-bodied, lush wine balanced with modest tannins.
Although some experiment with drinking Port during a meal, I still find it is best enjoyed chilled at the end of the meal, either with dessert or as dessert. Keep in mind, these wines clock in at around 20% ABV. Dark chocolate or blue cheeses are ideal matches but dried fruits and nuts can work, too. However you enjoy it, try a Port and feel the winter cold melt away!
NOTE: Featured image courtesy of Wine Tourism in Portugal (www.winetourismportugal.com)
Wine is a living, breathing, evolving, and varied creation. The contemporary wine market mirrors the nature of its product. So, what was notable in wine this past year and what to expect in the coming year?
Wine, like any other commercial product, is subject to an interplay between the producer and the consumer. While producers generally want to produce something they can be proud of, they also want to be able to sell it. And consumers (again, generally) are concerned about the quality of what they drink.
Lately, the sales part of this interaction has taken the form of marketing folks scrambling to appeal to Millennials, while trying to hold on to Baby Boomers (strangely, they seldom talk about appealing to other generations). They worry Millennials are buying less wine than Baby Boomers, and less premium (meaning less expensive) wine. They also claim Millennials prefer sweeter drinks; hence, the regrettable prospect of more fruit flavored concoctions.
Market research suggests Millennials are as interested in a wine’s story as its taste. Some worry this will lead to producers emphasizing marketing over quality, like that’s never happened. Why can’t we have both?
Aerial view over Benches Vineyard, Horse Heaven Hills AVA, Washington
One particularly encouraging development is these market researchers claim Millennials are interested in diversity, in experiencing new wines. I find this encouraging because I have promoted such diversity ever since I started writing about wine. So, look for more grape varieties and different wine growing regions. Just a few examples: bonarda from Argentina, carmenere from Chile, crljenak kaštelanski (AKA zinfandel) from Croatia, cariñena from Spain, numerous indigenous varieties from Italy, and lesser-known regions of southwest France and Loire Valley. By the way, I am particularly interested in the improving quality of Cabernet Franc wines from Colorado. I think it could become a signature in Colorado wine.
Speaking of new wines, one of the most exciting recent developments is British bubbly. That’s right, fine wine from England. I had a chance recently to meet and taste with the CEO of Ridgeview, a premier producer in Sussex where the geology is similar to that of Champagne. This was reflected in the quality of the wines. I definitely will be on the lookout for more.
And as we have seen from the explosion in popularity of Italy’s Prosecco, the sparkling wine market continues to reflect amazing diversity. Champagne still is the benchmark and its sales continue to grow along with the whole sparkling wine category. Even with Prosecco’s popularity, another more affordable bubbly – Spain’s Cava – is still popular and has the competitive advantage of being produced in the traditional Champagne Method.
Expect continued growth in “natural wine”. In the wine geek world, this actually has generated volumes of controversy and debate. As a noncombatant, this largely confounds me. We all (I think) are familiar with terms like organic, sustainable, and biodynamic. These are all agricultural and consumptive practices I have supported long before I became interested in wine. And they have advanced over at least the last fifty years to the point where significant numbers of wineries all over the planet practice them. The bottom line is: as long as the quality of taste in the bottle remains high, consumers will benefit from these developments.
Rosé, as I have written recently, has finally reached star status with consumers. I now sense a similar phenomenon as that with Merlot in the 1990s: an afterthought wine gains wild popularity; producers rush in to meet demand; quality suffers; consumers become disillusioned and start to abandon the wine. So far, that last part hasn’t happened with Rosé. I hope producers realize the danger and maintain quality.There are fine Rosés available from just about every wine region. My advice: demand quality; it is out there at reasonable prices; and maybe this time producers will respond to the right market signals.
Finally, in the category of “is it a fad, a trend or a keeper”: Bourbon barrel-aged wines are becoming more common. I guess if beer can be aged in wine and whiskey barrels … I’m interested but not convinced. I look forward to sampling these wines and you should look for a column from me soon.
On the third and final day of Slow Food Nations, I attended a panel on “Food and Freedom” with Carlo Petrini, Corby Kummer and Barry Lynn of the New America Foundation Open Markets Program (see NOTE below). With Slow Food USA Executive Director Richard McCarthy and Alice Waters in attendance, Petrini and Lynn focused on the questions “how, in an age of globalization and transnational capital flows, people all over the world are taking ownership over their local food systems? How are we balancing food with freedom?”
Carlo Pertini opened the conversation stating that concentration of power, how it affects wealth, opportunity, and quality of life actually kills people, and it’s worse today and growing, with food choices in the hands of a few. He illustrated the point noting that companies realized they could affect the price of products by manipulating supply and availability. Treating food as a commodity, they withhold grain and stockpile it until the price rises, and actually the smaller the group doing the withholding, the larger their power. He pointed out this practice of investor speculation in food beginning in the 2007/2008 period was one of the causes of the Arab Spring, more so than political or philosophical causes – people were hungry and desparate.
But in a situation of concentration, keeping food prices low still favors this small group of large firms because it devalues food produced by small suppliers. When food stops being food and becomes a commodity, with speculation at each step on the way to market, we have lost track of where food comes from. Petrini said this is an international problem – production and distribution costs are no longer as important as the gross accumulation of the product. He gave examples of tomatoes and tuna (saying we will not have a sustainable supply of tuna in ten years).
Barry Lynn continued with a little history lesson about the original Tea Party. Despite the stories we have been told, it was not because of high taxes but a protest against an international monopoly called the East India Tea Company as a threat to the colonists’ liberty by interfering with the ability of farmers and consumers to interact freely. It was a foundational ethic in this country that fighting monopoly protects democracy from monopolists and allows communities to decide how to interact with each other, thus also protecting families by enabling them to have enough to live.
What happened to that ethic? According to Lynn, the Chicago School of “free market” capitalists and “command and control” socialists actually came together in the 1970’s to get rid of anti-monopoly law and reinterpreted it to apply to consumers instead of citizens. This change to the anti-monopoly law has led us to today – looming autocracy.
His example of a chicken farm: labor laws protect workers but not in farming because farming is supposed to be controlled by open and free markets. That used to work when there were many small buyers; now there usually is only one large buyerand the “tournament system” allows the buyer to pit the farmers against each other (instead of relying on collective action) by paying each different prices – none of this is audited or tracked; the company has all the information and power. For an entertaining but ultimately depressing explanation, he referred us to this John Oliver Last Week Tonight Episode.
Mr. Petrini added that the European Union built a barrier against GMOs, even creating a DO (denomination of origin) for food products (in an effort to guarantee authenticity) but has been getting pushback from the U.S. and others to allow GMOs in. He repeated the problem began when we became consumers rather than citizens. Then we became complicit.
So what can we do? he asked. How do we construct an opposition to this? “What we need is fellowship among Italian and American farmers.” I think Mr. Petrini would agree with me asserting that he also means farmers from all over the world should find ways to collaborate to decrease reliance on central governments and multinational corporations. He added that the vision is simultaneously local (focused on the farmers and the community) and international (to share knowledge and resources).
An illustration: Mr. Petrini said we (the developed countries) consume too much, especially meat, while others don’t have enough. We must favor both “contraction” (for those who have too much) and “convergence” (for those who have too little). [I thought: sharing resources-what a concept?] He pointed out the World Health Organization in October 2015 said too much meat increases the risk of cancer (especially processed meat).
Then, he asserted, “we all make policy by eating” and revisited this famous wisdom from Wendell Berry in the essay “The Pleasures of Eating” where he says “eating is an agricultural act.” And, Petrini continued, therefore “eating is a political act,” an insight also offered by Michael Pollan in this interview in The Atlantic. I believe he even made the statement, at least that’s what my notes show: “eat local, the rest is slavery.” He urged further study of this policy but emphasized beginning at the grassroots, pointing out we are political subjects and must take action to cultivate our own food system.
Barry Lynn jumped in pointing out what Louis Brandeis wrote in 1913 that this is especially important as we have seen throughout our history: “Far-seeing organized capital secures by this means [price cutting] the co-operation of the short-sighted unorganized consumer to his own undoing. Thoughtless or weak, he yields to the temptation of trifling immediate gain, and, selling his birthright for a mess of pottage, becomes himself an instrument of monopoly.”
He argued again this nation’s first revolution was against monopoly and a second revolution also was against monopoly control – the Progressive era, when farmers and others rose up, and in the election of 1912 when Woodrow Wilson (who wanted to break up the monopolies) defeated Howard Taft (who wanted to let monopolies have control), and Theodore Roosevelt (who believed monopolies were inevitable but government should oversee them).
And Lynn then said we are now called upon to create a third revolution against monopolies – and he said it is beginning to happen – in the way people responded in the last election to Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders (and Elizabeth Warren) because both political parties have been offenders. Responding to Brandeis’ critique, he said we are going to have to save ourselves by spending our money more self consciously and socially consciously.
Mr. Petrini praised efforts to reduce food waste and also reiterated his earlier statement that we must be willing to pay more for food (he said his food costs in 1975 were about 30% and today are about 12%, so he actually could afford to spend more on food). He said we will need to change our thinking about food calling it an anthropological challenge to move away from the fear of hunger, which leads to hoarding food and then throwing much of it away. He concluded praising “marginalized communities” that have been subjected to power but are beginning to respond by strengthening community and working together to help each other in open markets [without a corporate middle man]. Ultimately, “liberty will come from our individual behavior and our relations.” No corporation (even Wal-Mart, Amazon or Whole Foods) will solve the food desert problem – it will be communities acting with mutual aid. Of course, he acknowledged, this is hard work and it takes strength to be a co-producer. But this is the work that must be done.
And, as Richard McCarthy put it in this post-festival snapshot: “Change is not easy. It can be clumsy, but there is no alternative. We do not have all the answers or all of the people. Not yet.”
NOTE: Mr. Lynn and his team at Open Markets “were let go [by New America Foundation effective September 1] because the leaders of my think tank chose not to stand up to Google’s threats.” This is a charge Google and the New America Foundation disputes. For his part, Lynn and the Open Markets team have established a new organization, Citizens Against Monopoly to continue the fight.
Wine and food pairing is a regular topic among consumers and wine professionals alike. This stands to reason, as wine is best consumed with food.
Although some wine professionals get carried away with elaborate recommendations – and sometimes I drift in the opposite direction following the adage “drink what you like with what you like” – I have been doing this (drinking wine, eating food and writing about it) long enough to realize that most of the time at least some care in choosing food/wine combinations pays dividends.
In the warm weather of summertime, our focus tends to be on colder and lighter foods and wines, though there are some notable exceptions (barbecue and pizza to name two). One of the first foods that comes to my mind is seafood and fish. So, I was delighted recently when I had a chance to sample several pairings with Simon Vazquez General Manager of the Boulder seafood restaurant Wild Standard.
Wild Standard has become a sustainable seafood and farm-to-table dining destination and Simon was anxious to demonstrate “the variety of whites, rosés and even reds that can elevate and add more distinction to the selection of seafood [particularly chilled seafood] flavors on your plate.” I met with him one afternoon to sample several wine combinations he had arranged with the food prepared by Wild Standard’s expert kitchen.
We began with a Kumamoto oyster (from Washington) paired with a glass of Naveran Cava, a blend of macabeo, xarello, chardonnay and paralleda, this Spanish sparkler’s high-toned fruit and brisk acidity nicely cut through the creamy, mild flavor of the Kumamotos. Simon suggested a full flavored Rosé also would go well.
A Seaside Virginia oyster was briny and sweet, which proved a nice match for an off-dry Schmitt Sohne “Relax” Riesling. He added that Champagne also is excellent with these oysters (I added that Champagne is excellent with everything.)
On to a Tuna poke and a rare Vinho Verde Rose from Nordico. It’s delicate flavors and minerality nicely accented the flavorful tuna. This tuna also would be good with a chilled light red wine like a Beaujolais-Villages, a Grenache from southern France (same as Garnacha from Spain) or a Nero d’Avola from Sicily.
Next Simon pulled off a nifty comparison of ceviche and escabeche with blended wines from Colorado’s own Jack Rabbit Hill. The ceviche (basically citrus marinated fish) tasted especially clean with the “Wild White” but that Riesling or a Gruner Veltliner from Austria would be nice here, too. The escabeche (essentially pickled vegetables or fish) needed the assertive flavors of the “Wild Red.” But I sensed it also would be quite fine with a slightly sweet Riesling.
We finished with house cold-smoked wild Alaskan King Salmon and an A to Z Pinot Noir from Oregon. While the pairing is rather obvious, it’s also obviously delicious. A light smokiness and inviting cherry flavor in the wine played well with the salmon. Still, I’d like to try an Alsatian Gewurztraminer or a Sauvignon Blanc with it sometime.
Needless to say, this tasting was just an illustration of the infinite possibilities for fish/seafood and wine pairing. And you will delight in experimenting for yourself. If you can get to Boulder, Wild Standard boasts a raw bar with shrimp, lobster tails, snow crab legs and king crab legs, in addition to oysters and a variety of sampler platters, all sourced from purveyors who support sustainable practices.
And by the way, Chef Heap also operates SALT Bistronext door to Wild Standard on Pearl Street and Colterra in Niwot.
With the Delegate Summit completed on Friday, Saturday inaugurated the Slow Food Nations Festival. Larimer Street between 14th and 15th streets and 14th Street between Market and Lawrence were dotted with booths of the taste marketplace, a kids area with gardens & cooking, and international pavilions. And it all was free and open to the public, although, of course, there was plenty of small, artisan made products for sale.
The festival kicked off with a panel titled “Love the Earth, Defend the Future: Taking Action to Protect Our Food.” The panel included Carlo Petrini-founder and president of Slow Food International; Alice Waters-chef (and author) founder of Chez Panisse(what some have called (the original farm-to-table restaurant) and vice president of Slow Food International; Ron Finley-an advocate for urban transformation through urban gardening and fresh, healthy produce for kids; Michel Nischan-chef, author, and advocate, focused on sustainable food systems and social equity through food; and musician Jack Johnson who is a proponent for sustainable local food systems and plastic free initiatives.
Kim Severs, a journalist with The New York Times who moderated the panel, began by saying she likes that Slow Food has been political but not partisan and described it is “a delicious revolution.”
Some of the panel highlights I noted:
Alice Waters compared our current times to the Vietnam War era-It’s a lot worse than we know, so we have to do something dramatic together.
But isn’t food frivolous in these times? Quoting Ron Finley-not at all, we can’t survive without it. More people are killed in East LA by drive-ins than drive-bys.
It’s not a bad thing that the Administration is not doing much on food because that leaves it up to us. Farmers markets, food hubs, etc. are disruptive initiatives, with or without government involvement.
Still, we need to ask our politicians really tough questions about food and educate them
Ron Finley noted he is not working with the government because “they have enslaved us, it is a WMD.” He stressed the importance of starting early educating young people about real food.
Jack Johnson added you make them fall in love with good food “because you protect what you love.”
One of the panelists – I didn’t catch which – added this startling statistic: For the cost of one dialysis treatment, 250 people can eat three meals a day.
And Carlo Petrini spent a significant amount of time singing the praises of (writer and Kentucky farmer) Wendell Berry : It seems odd that you are looking for a political solution when you have the answer right here: Wendell Berry, he is insightful and knows the rot in the system. More:
Eating as an agricultural act is the most important thing. I don’t want to eat things I don’t know. Is it just a matter of how cheap it is?
Wendell also talks about how we need to pay more for our food. As long as we pay so little for our food, put such a low value on it, there won’t be change. There are negative externalities that destroy nature, community, the economy.
The revolution starts with each of us and the food we eat. Understand the difference between price and value.
Biodiversity, sustainability, soil fertility all are important.
If we want to bring about this change, politicians will follow us. We have to regenerate the economy buy paying value, paying more, then we can change politics. Be generous; we can’t change politics by being stingy.
The world came to Denver today, Friday July 14, 2017. Well, the world of Slow Food anyway. But it is an important world, one of small farmers, artisan food producers, chefs, conscientious consumers and food justice activists. For three days they come together to take stock of the progress of the about 30 year-old movement—and the challenges facing the growing international food movement. The event appropriately is called Slow Food Nations, reflecting the international nature of the movement.
The food festival, which will be held Saturday and Sunday, was preceded today with the Delegate Summit of leaders in the movement who gathered to meet, share stories, discuss a wide variety of food issues, and help shape the future of Slow Food. Richard McCarthy, Executive Director, Slow Food USA, kicked off Slow Food Nations with an address to an estimated 500 delegates. The slide below condenses the message while focusing the on the values being practiced.
Richard Salvador (Director, Food & Environment, Union of Concerned Scientists) followed bringing an international perspective. His talk emphasized the the rights of workers in food production and each persons role in creating a good food system for all. I was particularly struck by a slide he showed demonstrating the relative cost of a McDonalds hamburger in different locales around the world. It helps to put the importance of local food production into perspective.
A highlight of the day, of course, was the lunch under a big, open tent in Civic Center park. Alice Waters welcomed everyone by talking about connecting agriculture and food (farms and gardens) with education and learning (schools and curriculum). She said, “I don’t want to talk about it. I want you to taste it and smell it and connect with (others).” She also stressed the importance of food for learning, how many children don’t even have one meal a day with their family. Then she talked about haw it would be revolutionary to connect school with farming and how she has an idea of the school lunch as an academic subject. While students from the Each One, Teach One program of Denver Public Schools helped with the food preparation, I was struck by how participatory the service was as people at all the tables we asked to volunteer to help bring food to their table.
The afternoon included a variety of workshops and break out sessions. I was struck by the workshop on Breaking the Corporate Stranglehold, when attendees took a break to call their members of Congress to ask them to cosponsor the Opportunities for Fairness in Farming Act and the Voluntary Check off Act, which would reform the commodity checkogf programs. At a workshop on Aligning the Good Food and Food Justice Movements presenters stressed the relationships between producers an consumers and discussed the pros and cons of exploring different business models, such as Community Supported Agriculture and cooperatives.
Slow Food founder Carlo Petrini appropriately gave the closing keynote address to the delegate summit (translated by The Atlantic Senior Editor Corby Kummer). His address touched on the Slow Food values of self-sufficiency, small and local, organic production. Mr. Petrini also emphatically criticized so-called free trade treaties saying these international treaties made in the name of Free trade demolish small scale production. They reduce food to the level of commodity. “Free trade is the freedom for the foxes to eat chickens. And we know who the foxes are and who the chickens are.”
The speech continued touching on the surveillance state and privacy but how the new methods of communication can enable faster change. This technology is the means. the question is how do we use use it for our own community?
He added the international community hasn’t acted the way it should on Climate Change, even with the Paris agreement. And declared it’s the poor countries that suffer the most – many Slow Food members in Africa already have lost much of their crops, according to him.
Quantity vs. Quality? Mr. Petrini expressed concern about the increase in meat consumption notably in China. Noting the next Slow Food International Congress will be held in China he said there isn’t enough land, so they increasingly buy meat from the USA or Brazil without knowing the impact on the environment, their culture. “We want food with an identity.” He gave an example of the Slow Food vision noting prosciutto: it’s important to know what kind of pig, where it is from, how it was raised, etc. He acknowledged this means we need to make changes in our lifestyle: eat less meat but better meat, pay attention to where it is from, use fewer chemicals, and reduce waste.
“Participatory democracy begins with participatory food production.”
Mr. Petrini, approaching the close of his address, stressed the urgency of the food movement’s work. And pointed to the central role of the farmer: Now is the time to share – the common knowledge, folk knowledge of farmers is scientific knowledge. Farmers are themselves a university, an extended university. Farmers deserve respect, for their work, experience, knowledge, their scientific knowledge. Local farmers and food producers are scholars, scientists, a university of agricultural knowledge diffused. Traditional knowledge needs to work on an equally respected footing with academic knowledge
And Mr. Petrini noted the food movement can build bridges to other movements: We all depend on each other. We must be inclusive, with less structure, more ideas. When a movement becomes too structured, it starts to die. Focus on ideas, not structure. Let young people pursue their ideas. Focus on human relations instead of spreadsheets. Finally: a different kind of democracy will emerge. The new metaphor for our new dimension is the vegetable. Vegetables don’t have a brain but they work without a leader. The biggest leader is the group. So, the more people there are to think, the fewer errors they make. We need less bureaucracy, more empathy.
Readers of this blog know my focus here is on wine. Occasionally I write about travel and more recently about beer. I seldom write about spirits and have never written about water. I’m making an exception here for Blume Honey Water.
I recently attended a media preview event featuring the waters at Bittersweet restaurant in Denver’s West Washington Park neighborhood. The restaurant did a fine job showcasing the waters in several cocktails and pairing them with three courses including cured wild trout, lamb bratwurst and a honey almond cake. Bar manger Nicholas Wermling described the challenge he faced in using the flavored waters in creating the cocktails.
Eiher Nick is a great bartender or Blume Honey Water is an unexpectedly successful cocktail mixer. I suspect both are true. Just read these recipes:
Blume-Me-Away: Ketel One vodka, Blume Blueberry Honey Water, St. Germain, blueberry jam, mint syrup
Apart from its value as an ingredient in cocktails, the original purpose of Blume Honey Water is hydration. Co-founder Michele Meloy Burchfield, who previously spent nearly 15 years helping the Boston Beer Co. helping to build the Samuel Adams brand, pointed to a long history of honey water as a hydrating fuel, even back to the times of ancient Greece.
Co-founder Carla Frank expressed their excitement at bringing Blume Honey Water to Colorado. With previous experience in helping to launch Oprah Winfrey’s “O” magazine and time at Cooking Light and Glamour Italy, she said the waters currently are available in Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. They hope to make the waters available in grocery stores, specialty food shops, coffee shops, and health clubs across the Front Range. Los Angeles will be next.
Burchfield said she and Frank spent two years studying bees, honey and its benefits, and experimenting with different ingredients and recipes in their kitchens. They are committed to making sure the waters are made with 100% bee-friendly, pure honey accented with only real fruits, herbs and spices. Working with local beekeepers, they even use a proprietary honey blend to avoid single sourcing and work only with the most passionately humane honey producers.
Such a producer is Highland Honey in Longmont. Beekeeper Tim Brod also spoke to us and it was obvious to me he has a passion for his work and the bees. Authenticity is critical, he said, which is why the honey is 100% raw and unfiltered.
The three flavors of Blume Honey Water – Wild Blueberry, Ginger Zest, and Vanilla Citrus – are light, aromatic and flavorful. They are an ideal alternative to the trendy overly sweetened, artificial drinks that today crowd the hydration/energy drink market.
All three Blume Honey Water flavors are sold in individual 10 FL oz. bottles for a suggested retail price of $2.49 each.
Get more information at https://www.blumehoneywater.com and https://highlandbees.com.
