Hey Y'all (did I just type "Y'all"?) -
A quick hit to let you know that my first piece for WCDish.com is now available on the WC Dish website.
The article details a recent dining adventure I shared with WC Dish founder and Dishious vlog star Mary B. at the Philly-area Asian-fusion spot Teikoku, during which we sampled on-menu items paired with specific selections from Teikoku's new "elements"-inspired wine list.
Much goofiness ensued.
Though I regretfully report to you that, despite the clear and irresistible opportunity that the wine list presented us to make serious Earth Wind & Fire references, at no time during the dinner did I don a glitter cape and silver space-man jumpsuit.
Oh well...
I hope to make restaurant-hopping wine-list reviews with Mary for WC Dish a regular occurence. Enjoy...
Cheers!
(images: wcdish.com)
1WD @ WCD!
Earth, Wine And Fire... and Wine Lists
Shall we explore the world of restaurant wine lists, while interpolating the badassness of Earth Wind & Fire in the process?
What the hell, why not?
First, we can establish the baddassness of EWF right away - that's easy: They funked, singing harmonies in octaves that would require most people to otherwise suck helium to achieve, all the while dancing in reflective costumes with capes. If that's not badass, then I don't kow what badass is.
What brings EWF to mind (in other words, what the f--k does this have to do with wine)?
I recently did a restuarant wine pairing review of a new wine list concept at nearby Teikoku for West Chester PA foodie website WC Dish. According to the Teikoku website (bolded items highlighted by me):
I found the wine choices to be quite well done, and in some cases even inspired, with very good by-the-glass selections reflecting quite a bit of the diversity in today's wine market (Spanish Rose, Torrontes, Carmenere, etc.)."For millennia, many eastern cultures have embraced the notion that five fundamental elements govern all aspects of life and environment. Though these elements appear in many forms, the most common are Earth, Water, Fire, Wind & Sky. At Teikoku we believe that wine can be represented by these elements as well. Keep in mind that our wines are not arranged according to conventional methods. We have selected a more transcendent form of organization. Perhaps our philosophy will offer you a unique perspective on your dining experience."
But it's the Elemental wine concept that obviously stands out as unique. I've seen many, many styles of restaurant wine lists, from the stuffy and mundane "By Region" to wine flights inspired by a wine's palate weight, proces or even just fun, semi-random themes. But this is a different take entirely.Teikoku's list certainly brings the Earth Wind & Fire funkiness. The trouble is, I'm not sure it actually helps anyone navigate the wine list any better than a more traditional method.
Some of us might feel a need to be more "grounded" on a particular day and gravitate towards the Earth (get it?) theme wines... but I can imagine many others looking at the Earth heading and wondering if the wine is going to taste like a mouthful of dirt.
But... you've got to give props to Teikoku for what they're trying to do. Unless you think they're trending towards the gimmicky side.What do you think? Are they bringing the funk with this kind of wine list? Or are they just wearing the silver jumpsuits and capes?
Which got me thinking, Are other restaurants doing this? Will we see a more progressive trend towards different wine list presentations? And if we do, will these help the consumer? Or just confuse them even more?
Let me know YOUR thoughts!
Let's Groove, baby!
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Cheers!
(images: 1WineDude.com, associatedentertainment.com)
How to Tell When a Wine Guy Knows His Stuff (Teikoku CA Wine Tasting)
$35 Per person, reservations required. Space is limited, RSVP now For information and RSVP Contact Christine Olmsted, Teikoku Restaurant Events Coordinator @ 610-644-8270 or christineolmsted@live.com
This week, I had the pleasure of attending (yet another) amazing wine pairing dinner at the fabulous Teikoku restaurant in Newtown Sqaure, PA. I know that you're already sick of hearing about how much I love Teikoku, so I will mention only this:
If you ever find yourself there and you notice "Pan roasted tilefish with Chestnut risotto and tempura style matsutake mushrooms" on the menu, immediately close the menu and order this dish with a bottle of Chardonnay. Immediately. You will thank me later.
The wine pairing theme of the evening was A Tour of California, and we couldn't have had much of a better guide than wine educator Michael Walsh of Majestic Wine & Spirits. Michael had total recall of his CA geography; in fact, his level of knowledge was downright scary without being too pedantic or at all intimidating.
This got me thinking about the difference between a wine geek (who loves wine passionately and wants to share that passion with others) and a wine bore (who gets off on intimidating others with his/her wine smarties). For more detail on what makes a wine bore, check out Michael Broadbent's excellent treatise on the subject...
Anyway, what struck me was how Michael Walsh casually used his impressive wine smarties to enhance our table's enjoyment of the event, and not to try to overpower it. Case in point: during the event, I was chatting with fellow press guest Mary of WC Dish about a tasting of some excellent German QbA wines (more on those in a future post) that I'm currently working my way through. Michael noticed the confused look on the faces of my table mates, and chimed in (with perfect timing I might add) to clear up the confusion and quickly explain the QbA concept and pronunciation (Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiet or "quality wine from a specified region").
I was impressed - rather than recite the entire WSET Advanced Certificate study material on the subject, he offered the perfect amount of wine info., at the perfect time, without being stuffy or overbearing. It was a style that I consider the hallmark of what constitutes the best in a wine geek!
As for the wines - here are my reviews of Michael's picks:
06 Geyser Peak Sauvignon Blanc (Monterey): Cooler climate grapes for CA. Grapefruit & lemon grass, but the minerality still eludes hot CA.
05 Forestville Reserve Chardonnay (Russian River Valley): Butter & oak, but somehow acidity, creaminess, & caramel save it from oak disaster
06 Esser Vineyards Pinot Noir (South Central Cost, CA): So much cherry, you might mistake it for Gamay. Spice on the nose makes it a winner.
04 Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa): Cassis, currants, leather straps & - bam! - olives! A tiny bit overextracted, but who cares!
NV Merryvale Antigua (Medera, CA): Late harvest fortified Muscato. All toffee with an almost glycerin punch. Tasty, but clear your schedule.
And before I go, let me alert you to yet another fine food & wine pairing event happening at Teikoku on October 23, 2008!
Join Matthew Esser, wine educator and cellar consultant from Shiffrin Selections for an evening of Autumn wines along with Innovative food pairings from Chef Takao Iinuma to complement them
Cheers! (images: winecompliments.com)
Teikoku Wrap-Up
Teikoku Restaurant, sitting just outside Philadelphia, is fast becoming my favorite dining spot in the known Universe.
I'm not a food reviewer, so I'm not going to try to do justice to the stellar dishes they whipped up for their last food & wine tasting event.
I will, however, tell you about the wines that Heather Wright (wine educator and consultant from Cellar Door Imports) chose for the event, since they're all great budget-minded picks for your next Asian food dining sojourn:
08 Arabella Sauvignon Blanc (W. Cape, SA): Tropical fruit dominates even over the acidity. Bit too much bod for lil' ol' me but it's cheap!
07 Banyan Gewurztraminer (Monterey County, CA): Somehow it's 1D despite lychee, lime, rose petal, & melon. Still, hard to beat for the price
07 Banyan Viognier Madera (CA): Fat & oily, with a crazy banana nose that's all over the place. Not "pure" by any stretch - but damn fun!
07 Hyatt Chardonnay (Rattlesnake Hills, WA): Vanilla syrup & pears, good balance, but a tad astringent on the finish. Decent pick, nice $.
06 Hobo Zinfandel (Dry Creek Valley, CA): Ripe as hell but red berries, licorice, & pepper keep things interesting. Good pick for BBQ beef.
If you're in the Philly area and want to join in the next Teikoku wine event, details are below...
Teikoku Restaurant
5492 West Chester Pike
Newtown Square, PA 19073
Michael Walsh, Wine Educator,
will showcase five of California's most celebrated wine growing regions,
along with the innovative food pairings from Chef Takao Iinuma to complement them!
For reservations, contact Christine Olmsted @ 610-644-8270.
And finally, from the "Damn, wish I had a tech support staff!" Department: I'm way sorry for the lack of video feed from last night's live twitter tasting. It worked when we tested it several times earlier in the week, but at show time there was no sound. Since we were right in the thick of the event kick-off, I decided to abandon video rather than try to address it then and there (which would have been a big distraction during the tasting - not to mention during my dinner!). I'll make sure it's working before the next event!
Cheers!
August Wine Events
It's that time of month again here at 1WineDude.com.
That time when we hip you to some way cool events going on in the wine world (what were you thinking I was going to say?):
1) First up is a local Philly-area shin-dig. Teikoku Restaurant will be having their next wine & food pairing event on Thursday, August 14, 5:30-7:30 PM ET.
Iron Chef Takao Iinuma will be cooking up some delectable small bites to pair with "off the beaten path pours" of wine selected by Heather Wright of Cellar Door Imports. I know that chef. And I know that Importer. And both of them kick ass.
2) Next, after a fun and successful inaugural twitter tasting event, BinEndsWine.com will be back LIVE on August 21st for twitter tasting #2. This time around, they will be featuring Etienne Hugel, of Hugel & Fils.
For those of you who aren't yet familiar with Hugel, the name is practically synonymous with fine Alsace wine. BinEndsWine & Etienne will be joined live via twitter by yours truly, as well as a host of other fine wine bloggers, as we taste through a selection of Hugel's finest.
The last twitter live tasting event was a blast, so head on over to BinEndsWine.com, order yourself a tasting pack of Hugel wine, and join in the twitter fun on the 21st. The details of how to follow the live event can be found there as well (be sure to friend me up at 1WineDude before the 21st!).
Cheers!
Sake Tasting @ Azie: The Oh-So-Tasty Wrap-Up!
When it comes to me and Iron Chef Takao Iinuma, well, we've just got to stop meeting like this.
Because that guy is so skilled, he's going to ruin me for all other Japanese cuisine. With the exception of cuisine in Japan itself, presumably.
I'm not going to recap the food from my recent sake tasting at Iinuma's fabulous Azie restaurant in Media, PA. I'll let my good friends over at WCDish.com do that. You can read up on the details of the Azie tasting in my previous post shamlessly plugging the event.
But I will tell you about the sake I had the pleasure of tasting that evening. Because it's gone a long way into making me a convert in the temple of all things sake. And a yummy, tummy-warming temple it is...
What's great about events like the Azie tasting is the high probability of running into other 'foodies'. In this case, I had the pleasure of hanging with Christine Olmsted of Teikoku, Mary and Sugendran of WCDish.com, and Gino Razzi, the Penns Woods winemaker who is starting to skae things up in the world of east coast wines (see inset pic of Gino, me, and Mary). Of course, it also doesn't hurt that one of the best chefs in the eastern U.S. is whipping up the fare, either.
The sake samples on display at Azie were selected by Matt Palmer of Star Cellars. the man knows his sake, and since I am a complete sake novice, I took advantage of the opportunity to bend Matt's ear and ask him a seemingly endless serious of questions about each sake, and the process of making sake in general.
Sake is often referred to as "rice wine" since at its most fundamental it is an alcoholic beverage made from rice. However, the process used to make sake is actually somewhere between those used to make beer and those used to make wine. Specifically, sake is made with a special type of rice with a high starch content, with a mold called koji used to convert the starch into sugars that can then be fermented into alcohol. From there, many techniques are used to create sakes with different characteristics. Like wine and whiskey, sake from different areas of Japan are noted for their distinct styles. You can learn more by checking out Sake.com.
The samples that we tasted at Azie really show the depth, range and breadth possible with sake. We started with an accessible, fun & sweet sparkling (yes, as in 'with bubbles') sake, and ended with the complex, powerful, and deep "Mountain Flowers" - a drink that requires (and deserves) as much concentration as a decent Burgundy.
As for the specifics on the sake that we had for our pairings at Azie, I've reviewed them in 'mini' form on twitter, and included the wrap-up below:
If you're new to sake... let me tell you, you need to give this stuff a fair shot. Because it is definitely going to surprise you.
Consider this oenophile a convert.
Cheers!
(images: courtesy of Sugendran.net)
Wine on the Deck @ Teikoku - Aug 14
$35 per person all inclusive; Space is limited, reserve now.
I suppose that I'm running the serious risk of becoming a walking virtual billboard for Teikoku at this point, but I've got yet another wine tasting event of theirs to plug here on 1WineDude.com.
So sue me - if I'm going to plug something, it might as well be something good, right?
Anyway, Teikoku (located just outside of Philly) will be having another wine tasting on the deck on August 14 at 5:30 PM ET. Details are below.
I don't yet know what vino Heather is bringing, or what Iron Chef Iinuma is whipping up, but both of them are top-notch and in my book have built up a serious track record of quality, so I doubt very much that you'd be disappointed by this event...
Newtown Square
telephone 
Thursday August 14, 2008 - 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. An evening of wine on the deck with Heather Wright, wine educator and consultant from Cellar Door Imports. We will be featuring some new, off the beaten path pours along with small bites from Executive Chef Takao Iinuma to compliment them.
Cheers!
(images: courtesy of Sugendran.net)
Teikoku Tasting Wrap-Up & Azie / BinEndsWine.com Live Tasting Event!
I recently had the pleasure of attending a wine/plate pairing at the fabulous Teikoku restaurant in PA. The food, as always, was stellar (I suppose that's par for the course for anything prepared by Iron Chef Takao Iinuma).
The wines (selected and poured by wine educator, Matthew Esser from Shiffrin Selections and wine educator and consultant, Heather Wright from Cellar Door Imports, both personal friends) were fine examples of vino that matches up perfectly with summer fare. My 'mini-reviews' of the wines are below - I recommend any of these if you're looking for great summer wines that won't break the bank:
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Next up, I've got two more tasting events that I should probably be plugging so here goes...:
1) There's a Sake Tasting taking event tomorrow (July 15) on the deck at Azie's in Media, PA. I don't know much about sake so this is going to be one of my inaugural (a.k.a trial-by-fire) journeys into the heart of all things sake. 6:30-8:30PM, $30 per person. The menu:Gobuo Quick Fry & Bishonen "Beautiful Boy" Ginjo
Sushi "Big Eye" tuna, hamachi and bass & Ohyama "Big Mountain" Junmai
Bonus!
2) BinEndsWine.com will be holding their monthly "twitter taste live" on July 17 at 7PM ET. This month's installment will feature Spanish wines selected by European Cellars' Solomon. Eric will join Ryan & Gabriella Opaz of Catavino.net live via twitter.com to taste and discuss the wines. Also taking part via twitter.com will be yours truly. Here's the skinny on how to follow the action on twitter.com:- Get an account on twitter (as if a cool person like you didn't have one already!).
- Follow BinEndsWine's twitter feed.
- Follow my twitter feed.
- Login at 7PM ET on the 17th and enjoy the ride!
- Pazo de Monterrey Monterrei 2006
- Pazo de Senorans Albarino 2007
- Rafael Palacios Louro do Bolo Godello 2006
- Burgans Bierzo "Cuatros Pasos" 2005
- Bodegas Mustiguillo "Mestizajes" 2005
- Castano Yecla "Solanera" 2005
Hope to see you on twitter!
Cheers!
Wine Events: Wine on the Deck @ Teikoku Restaurant!
Another (sort of) rare event plug here on 1WineDude.com - I don't do these plugs too often, so when I do, it's because I think that the event is really going to be cool. And in this case, I think the cool potential is very high: I personally know the two people selecting and pouring wine at the event, and they definitely know their wine (not to mention that they're also really splendid people).
The fabulous Teikoku restaurant (where I recently covered an event featuring the wines of Penns Woods Winery) is hosting a wine tasting event this coming Thursday, July 3 2008.
I will be there - so if you're attending, drop me a line and stop by to say hello.
Thursday July 3, 2008 - 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Newtown Square
telephone
Join us for an evening of Wine On The Deck with former sommelier and wine educator, Matthew Esser from Shiffrin Selections and wine educator and consultant, Heather Wright from Cellar Door Imports.
We will be featuring some new, off the beaten path pours, along with small bites from Executive Chef Takao Iinuma to compliment them.
$30 per person all inclusive
Space is limited, reserve now
Cheers!A Pennsylvania (Wine) Revolution (Penns Woods Wine Tasting)
A shot has been fired in the world of Pennsylvania winemaking.
And it's a portent of a revolution in how wines are made in PA - and for that matter, how wines are made in all of the East Coast U.S. wine regions.
A bold statement? You bet. But I mean every word of it. And yes, I am totally sober as I write this (a condition I plan to remedy by sampling some heavy reds later this evening).
And if you taste some of the wines from Penns Woods, the brainchild of Italian winemaker and importer Gino Razzi, you might end up agreeing with me.
I had the pleasure of meeting Gino and sampling his wines during a recent first-rate tasting event at Teikoku Restaurant. Now, before you write me off as having gotten wined & dined so that I would waste several minutes of your life with a recap of a drunken Penns Woods love-fest, you need to know that I did not care for all of Gino's wines.
At worst, Gino's wines were over-manipulated, over extracted, Parker-point-chasing fruit bombs (2005 Merlot Reserve); or, just plain unnecessary (2006 White Cabernet, a rose that somehow kept astringency without offering much in the way of fruity goodness).
But at their best... Gino's wines are nothing short of the opening salvo in a PA wine revolution. A shot that is sure to have reverberations felt as far away as VA, Long Island, or wherever quality wines are trying to be made in the U.S. right coast.
Because at their best - most notably the 2007 Chardonnay - Gino's wines are that good. Not "good, for a Pennsylvania wine" good. They are "stand up to any U.S.-made wine" good...
While I'd been interested in trying Gino's wines ever since I read Craig LeBan's enthusiastic review of Penns Woods, I wasn't expecting any miracles. We're talking about PA, after all, whose future seemed to best lie in unique expressions of Cabernet Franc and the brambly Chambourcin. When I saw that the dinner at Teikoku was being prepared by Iron Chef Takao Iinuma (pictured, left), and was bookended by Wakatake Daiginjo Onikoroshi sake and gelato covered in 50+ year old Modena balsamic vinegar made from trebbiano grapes that goes for well over $40 / ounce, as far as I was concerned if the accompanying Penns Woods wines were any good, it would simply be a bonus.A shot has been fired in the world of Pennsylvania winemaking. And it's a portent of a revolution in how wines are made in PA - and for that matter, how wines are made in all of the East Coast U.S. wine regions.
I'd expected a quiet spot in the corner where I would be able to take a few tasting notes. Instead, I was given the honor of sharing the winemaker's table with Gino, wine guru John McNulty, consultant Heather Wright of Cellar Door Imports, West Chester foodie Mary of WC Dish fame, and talented WC Dish photographer Sugendran Ganess, among others. One of the best things about sharing a wine event with a crowd that irrepressible (outside of the fun factor), is that it saves me from having to be irrepressible myself, and afforded me a few moments to reflect on Gino's wines - which through the course of the dinner were wowing me nearly as much as the food.
As soon as I had a whiff of the 2006 Sauvignon Blanc, I was almost speechless. Sure, it has some of that PA 'grit'; but this wine delivered an improbable amount of citrus fruit. I scratched my head... did these grapes honestly ripen in southeastern PA?
When Gino decided to make wine in PA, he told us, he sent some of his grapes to trusted associates for examination. The news Gino received back was that he should go ahead and make wines with his PA grapes, because they had levels equal to the quality of the grapes that produce his high-scoring Italian-made montepulciano d'Abruzzo.
I was brought down by the Merlot. It tasted of raisins and the varietal character felt masked - overdone and over extracted, I thought. And then it hit me again - how the hell did he get so much fruit out of these wines? No one in PA has been able to do that since, well... ever.When Gino decided to make wine in PA, he told us, he sent some of his grapes to trusted associates for examination. The news Gino received back was that he should go ahead and make wines with his PA grapes, because they had levels equal to the quality of the grapes that produce his high-scoring Italian-made montepulciano d'Abruzzo.
The two wines that really drove things home for me were the Ameritage red blend and the Chardonnay. According to Gino, year on year he may not have any idea exactly what grapes will go into his Ameritage, but year on year "I promise you, that wine will be good." And he delivers. Was it a tad manipulated? Yes. But it was also very, very good, at par with (or better than) similarly-priced red blends I've had from CA, WA, and southern France. The hint of nebbiolo gave a small, delicate polish aroma to the wine that countered the intense fruit nicely. Nebbiolo? In Pennsylvania?? Is this guy nuts?!?
Gino was insistent that there was no secret to his approach: he wants to make world-class wines in PA, and he has invested the capital (physical and mental) to do so. He uses expensive, ultra-modern equipment to extract the maximum amount of fruit from his grapes. He hires consultants that charge more for a few vineyard visits than most PA winemakers clear in an entire year of doing business. And he uses new (= very expensive) French oak barrels to impart complexity to his wines.
The shining result of this work is the 2007 Penns Woods Chardonnay. John McNulty (pictured, far right, with Gino and the Dude) introduced this wine as "a home run." My tasting notes for the Chardonnay have two words that really stood out when I went back to them to pen this article:
"A revelation."
This wine had tropical fruit, just the right amount of oak and creaminess, and was big - and I mean BIG - on the palate. It finished long and strong with minerals, almost like wet rocks. Tropical fruit? In Pennsylvania?? This was one of the best Chardonnays I'd had in the last three years outside of France. I was stunned. Maybe it's not as steely as a great Chablis, or as complex as a Montrachet, but it aims to kick no less ass than the French big boys.
A Revelation - for me, anyway. Actually, it's more like a Revolution.
The word is out, and if you want to hear it, just pick up a bottle of the Penns Woods Chardonnay, pour a glass, and listen to what that fine wine is telling you.
PA can make world-class wines.
It's now a fact - and if Penns Woods repeats this over multiple vintages it will be indisputable - and not just a dream of a few passionate individuals. Gino has fired a well-aimed first shot. Will any PA wineries return the volley? Time (and a good heap of venture capital) may tell...
Cheers!
(images: members.aol.comliv18thc, sugendran.net)
Penns Wood Winery Event @ Teikoku Restaurant
I don't normally plug events here at 1WineDude.com, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to give some press to this shin-dig, because I am totally into what both this restaurant and this winemaker are doing.
NOTE: The following is a Philly-area event (much apologies to my Left Coast and International readers!).
Teikoku is serving up some of the most killer Asian fusion food in the greater Philadelphia area. And Penns Wood Winery is making some of the most daring wines in all of the East Coast (hello? Sauvignon Blanc, anyone?) - and they now own the old Smithbridge wine property (a stone's throw from Chaddsford), which is capable of producing some of the best grapes in the area.
If you're in the area and can make it, I highly suggest checking it out.
Penn’s Woods Winery dinner
with Chef Takao Iinuma, Winemaker Mr. Gino Razzi
and wine educator John McNulty...
Tuesday June 3, 2008, 6:30 p.m.
Amuse Bouche
Fresh, delicate, mélange of sushi
Pairings: Wakatake Daiginjo Onikoroshi sake and Yamada Pecorino 2006
First course
Alaskan wild king salmon and live scallop in onion soy dressing with a micro herb salad
Pairings: Penn’s Woods Sauvignon Blanc 2006 and Proprietors Reserve White 2006
Second course
Seared
Pairings: Penn’s Woods Ameritage Reserve 2005 and Penn’s Woods Merlot Reserve 2005
Third course
Poached daikon cup filled with uni (sea urchin), wild mushrooms and baby spinach, in a sauce americaine
Pairings: Penn’s Woods Chardonnay 2007 and Penn’s Woods White Cabernet 2006
Fourth course
Seared Foie gras over French black truffle white asparagus served with shallot demi glace and lotus chips
Pairing: Penn’s Woods White Merlot 2006
Fifth course
Tahitian vanilla bean gelato
Pairing:: Aged (50 year old) balsamic vinegar from
$95 per person (Does not include tax and gratuity)
Executive Chef Takao Iinuma - Takao is one of the world’s great Japanese chefs. An accomplished student at
Winemaker Gino Razzi- The Abruzzi-born Razzi, a well-known wine importer and a maker of highly rated wines in
Teikoku Restaurant
5492 West Chester Pike
Tel:
Fax:
Cheers!
