Posts made by Erika Strum:

Thank you to everyone who entered our Montana Master Grillers Contest! We received some great responses from all across the country from readers like you. Our grand prize was for one lucky reader to win a three-night stay for two at Montana’s The Resort at Paws Up this Memorial Day weekend and attend, quite possibly, the best wine and barbeque event of the year – Montana Master Grillers. Co-sponsored by Wine Enthusiast and Double Ranch, this event will feature lunches and dinners prepared by some of the world’s top chefs in this premier culinary-filled weekend.

Without further ado, we’re happy to announce Clive Berkman as our lucky winner! Clive is a Chef with his own blog, Cooking With Clive For his wine and BBQ pairing, he told us “My favorite style of wine to pair with BBQ is a dry sparkling rosé. Although Grenache, Zinfandel and Syrah work well I find the sweetness and body of some BBQs tend to take away from a great match. With the sparkling it stands up to the body and the crispness and bubbles perfect the palate for another bite.”  Congratulations to Clive, and we hope you have an amazing weekend in Montana this May!

As a Thank You to everyone who entered, here are some of our favorite answers as we asked you all, “What is your favorite wine & BBQ pairing?” Please be warned: you may find yourself salivating from some of the mouthwatering pairings below!
“My recipe for grilled pork tenderloin stuffed with Point Reyes blue cheese drizzled with a blackberry-syrah sauce served next to the campfire outside of my RV.”
-    Nancy

“Ground Lamb soaked with my favorite red wine (Stonestreet Monument Ridge) lightly seasoned, plus sautéed onions, topped with blue cheese on a toasted ciabatta roll served with the same wine.”
-    Jaime
“Grilled lemon citrus chicken and a crisp sauvignon blanc - a perfect combination in the summertime!”
-    Crista

“Lamb chops seasoned with salt, pepper, rosemary and olive oil, then served with key lime jelly for dipping, along with sides of home fried purple potatoes and mashed spaghetti squash. The wine pairing would be a 2005 Morey-Saint Denis.“
-    James

“The BBQ:  thick cut (2″) antelope backstraps (grass and grain fed critters, not sagebrush eaters) marinated in Veri Veri Teriyaki , grilled hot and fast to a warm, red, juicy interior. Seasoned with fresh ground pepper and salt to taste.”
-    John

“2010 Venge Scout’s Honor Proprietary Red with Grilled Top Sirloin of Lamb with a raspberry cherry chutney.”
-    Dinah

“Copper River Salmon drizzled in real Maple Syrup, on Cedar Plank, with a 2009 Cinder Winery Tempranillo.”
-    Julie

By far the most popular pairing we received, was pork and Zinfandel. We’re sensing a trend!

Feel free to share your favorite pairings below, if you haven’t already. Cheers!

Recently I tried something delightfully unique:  Moët & Chandon’s new “Ice Imperial” Champagne.  Ice Imperial is a traditional Champagne (a blend of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay) with a bit of extra dosage. The extra sweetness lends itself well to being supremely chilled. As such, it is meant to be served over ice. It comes in a “party pack” with a set of plastic glasses. I have tasted it twice now and frankly, it’s delicious. Let’s pause here for a moment. One of the finest Champagne houses in the world is now telling us to serve their Champagne on the rocks, with plastic glasses. In recent years this practice would be taboo and scoffed at by many wine drinkers.

It got me thinking. If Moët can give us permission to enjoy Champagne on ice in a plastic glass, perhaps we should all lighten up on other wine etiquette. Sometimes I wish we didn’t tiptoe so gingerly through wine’s various rules. Basic tenets such as proper swirling, holding a wine glass at its base and drinking at a certain temperature exist for a reason. But sometimes we simply want to relax!

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If I had the power to change the wine world I would send one type of wine drinker to therapy. It’s a personality type we have all come to know and loathe. Let’s call them “The Misinformed Know-it-All”. Let me tell you a story:

“Côtes du Rhône Is a Grape”
A friend of mine was recently in a wine shop in Brooklyn, perusing some Côtes du Rhône. He asked the clerk about the varietals in a particular bottle and the clerk replied “That’s the grape, Côtes du Rhône. It’s a French grape.” My friend tried to politely inform the clerk that Côtes du Rhône is a region in France, but the clerk adamantly insisted that Côtes du Rhône is in fact, a grape. Rather than humbly admitting fault, he clung to his misinformation with both hands.

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A pizza revolution has taken over New York and is quickly moving to the West coast and surely, everywhere in between. As the second-best-known pizza town (the boot across the pond being the first), New York has its share of historic pie stations, but there are new kids in town throwing the establishment off kilter.

With impeccably thin crusts, blistery surfaces and carefully-sourced toppings, artisanal pizza demands wine beyond basic, fruity reds. Pair this perfect pizza with a wine you want to shine, rather than a simple quaffer. Extra thought can take your bite from “Just OK” to the next level, like the pairing nirvana I recently experienced at artisanal pizza pioneer: Franny’s in Brooklyn.

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I had a terrible wine the other night. Without naming names, let’s say it was a Viognier with 15% alcohol, from a region with little Viognier experience. Oh, and it had 5 years of bottle age. This wine was truly hard to swallow. In one moment it was hot, another sweet and then flabby. The melon flavors in this poor Viognier tried desperately to peek through the faults, but there was no hope.

Still, I had to finish my glass. And my friend agreed that it was bad, but he poured himself another glass, desperately trying to convince himself otherwise. He’d made the commitment and purchased it, after all. Even at just $9 a bottle, he felt compelled to consume.

I know the feeling. The logical part of my brain says: just because I’ve paid for something bad, doesn’t mean I endure further punishment by drinking it. But the thought of pouring wine down the drain pains me. With Passover this week, I’m inclined to think it’s my own Jewish guilt! I’m reminded of Sue’s post last week, about the sweat that goes into starting a winery. Pouring out a wine is a real insult to the producer, who’s invested tremendous time in crafting it, bad as it may be.

I’m curious what other people’s habits are. Do you treat your palate to just the finer things? Or have you been guilty of drinking plonk out of guilt?

At what point do you give up on a wine?

Many beloved cocktails have earned their place in our hearts with thanks due to the incredible, edible egg. Classic drinks like the Ramos Gin Fizz get their special frothy texture and creamy meringue flavor from egg whites. So I was floored when I read in the New York Times, that the New York City Department of Health had been cracking down on the use of egg whites in drinks at popular cocktail establishments. While raw egg whites may make some precious sippers squeamish, the drinks simply wouldn’t be the same without them.

The issue occurred at Pegu Club, which serves a drink called the “Earl Grey MarTEAni” made with earl grey-infused gin, lemon juice, simple syrup and raw egg white. The ingredients are clearly listed on the menu, with a warning. Nevertheless, the Department of Health issued Pegu a violation requiring a court appearance, because the bartender failed to explicitly inform the customer about the raw egg whites. Pegu immediately stopped serving a drink they’d served for years, though nobody had ever gotten sick. Other bartenders chimed in with the same reports of serving egg-white- laden drinks for years, with nary a sick patron.

I’d prefer to have laws of full disclosure than to have these beloved concoctions banned entirely. But are they necessary?  How would you feel if you consumed raw egg without your knowledge? The stats say that only 1 in every 20,000 eggs is contaminated with salmonella and some argue that the alcohol in the drink knocks it out before it could cause harm. And it’s not just drinks that use raw egg whites, plenty of sauces do too. What’s next, a hollandaise hysteria?

The issue at Pegu Club made me think about some of the proposed new laws regarding wine labels.  New labeling laws may require wineries to disclose the products used in fining be they egg whites, bentonite, animal gelatin or anything else. This is already the case in Australia, where all allergens are listed on the label.

On the one hand, transparency is a good thing. People with dietary restrictions appreciate having the knowledge to make an informed buying decision. On the other hand, I sympathize with the winemaker who resists sharing too much. Wine is confusing enough to consumers, do we want to scare them away? Plus, changing the labels is expensive.

I’m not sure what the answer is, but I imagine the issue is here to stay. Where do you side? The more info, the better? Or is ignorance bliss?

Each year around the Jewish holiday of Passover, we see pieces on kosher wine.  “Kosher Wine–it’s not just Manischewitz anymore!” The headline usually reads. Last year I wrote a similar post (Ahem, Kosher Wines Demand Your Attention!) We’ve given many 90+ scores to kosher wines, increasingly so in the past few years. It’s true that kosher wine quality is improving by leaps and bounds.
I attended the Kosher Restaurant & Wine Experience last week, which blew me away. No less than 1,000 people attended, compared to a few hundred last year, signifying the growth of the market.  My mission, besides sampling enough food to feed Israel (15 kosher restaurants brought entrée-sized portions to the event), was to do a little hunting for you. New kosher wine producers are springing up constantly while well-established wineries are experimenting with new grapes. I sought to dig through the familiar, and shine some light on the unknown.  Rather than California Cabernet, you’ll find Carignan from Israel. These are exciting kosher wines, your Bubbie’s never had.

The problem is, these can be  hard to find. Most wine shops carry a maximum of five kosher wines, often from the big producers. So I’ve provided links to find them online.

Whether kosher wine is relevant to you or not, these are worth seeking out:

Carmel 2006 Old Vines Carignan “Appellation Series”, Upper Galilee, Israel $28- Israel is becoming known for producing great Bordeaux varietals, but Carmel Winery is breaking the mold here with this cherry-laden Carignan from 40-year-old vines.  Keep an eye out for more Carignan from Israel. Though Spain is more often associated with Carignan, it may emerge as Israel’s signature grape. Find it

Covenant 2008 Chardonnay “Lavan” Russian River, Sonoma, $37-  Many of the kosher Chardonnays at the show  were clunky on the oak but this new bottling from Jeff Morgan and Leslie Rudd is elegant and refined. It is creamy and lush, completely unfined/unfiltered. Lavan is a pedigreed vineyard in RRV. Find It.

Yatir 2005 Forest Bordeaux Blend $99- This Cabernet-based blend is ripe and decadent in dark fruits. From a unique microclimate: a forest on the edge of a desert.   Find It.

Domaine du Castel 2007 Blanc du Castel, $41- One of my favorite kosher wines is the Bordeeux blend, Domaine du Castel Grand Vin, and their 100% Chardonnay shows their dedication to quality, across the board. Find It

Chateau La Fleur Jonquet 2005- This was my favorite Bordeaux of the tasting. It has nice structure and supple black fruits. A kosher ’05 Bordeaux might come at a hefty price point though. Find It

If you dine out with any regularity, it’s likely you have an opinion on how restaurant service should be. Whether you feel service is of prime importance or not, we all have our gripes. Recently, I had a particularly poor experience at a 2-Michelin-Star restaurant in NY. Since posting my recap this morning, I’ve been amazed at the number of people corralling to support me. And it makes sense! When you pay top dollar for a meal, people should treat you nicely. Oddly enough, I think too many people take service etiquette for granted. Not wanting to be curmudgeonly they keep opinions to themselves, making these rules unspoken.

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As a wine lover, there are certain region/varietal combinations that I hang my hat on. Dry Creek Valley is good for Zinfandel, Russian River Valley is good for Pinot, Malbec in Argentina, Chardonnay in Burgundy, the list goes on. It serves as a blueprint for making wine selections. But sometimes I can get so bogged down by these preconceptions that I fail to see the larger picture. It has led me to be unfairly judgmental at times, something that I’m not proud of. These are the moments when wine lovers can get that bed reputation. It’s the moment when wine “lover” turns to wine “snob” because these concepts turn from points of guidance to points of judgment. So I love when some of my deep-rooted dogmas are challenged.

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One year it’s pork belly, the next it’s kobe beef, the following it’s heirloom tomatoes. There will always be trends that emerge on restaurant menus. Now that we’re sliding into 2010, I declare 2009, the year of raw fish.

I know what you’re thinking. Sushi has been around for a long time! What’s new about that? Get with it! But this trend goes far beyond sushi. There is a version of raw fish enveloped into most cuisines, be it a classic French tuna tartare with waffled chips or a Peruvian scallop ceviche with lime and green pepper. Once palaces of pizza and pasta, “crudo” bars are even sliding into Italian restaurants (think Italian, thin-sliced sushi with olive oil, salt and acid). These dishes may not be new, but people are embracing them like never before.

Italian newcomer Marea opened in May in New York, dedicating an entire section of the menu to crudi like fluke with lemon thyme and olive oil or bigeye tuna with oyster crema and crispy artichokes.

Another Italian favorite in NY, known for their sublime spaghetti with tomato and basil, Scarpetta announced that they’ve added a late-night crudo menu with offerings like raw yellowtail with oil and flaked sea salt.

There is even a restaurant called  “Crudo” which opened last month and I can think of others that serve ceviche exclusively.

It seems one cannot open a restaurant these days without serving a dish from the raw fish category. But I’m not complaining.

It takes special fortitude to create these unadulterated cross-sections of flavor with little help from the oven, and these dishes are a paradise for the grazer. One minute you’re getting heat from jalapeno, the next some umami in a slice of truffle, then a crunch of marcona almond followed by some silky fish cloaked in oil. I feel refreshed and buoyant from raw fish preparations, rather than weighed down. I’m a crudo convert.

There seems to be no limit to the craving for raw fish of every flavor. I wonder if we are begging for more food in the raw? Maybe we are somehow setting the stage for the raw food movement with our carpaccios, crudos and tartares.

I’ve had one completely raw food dining experience at a vegan restaurant called Pure Food and Wine. Their theory is that raw food preserves its natural enzymes which catalyze digestion. So eating raw food is healthier. All of the food is prepared in dehydrators, if cooked at all.  The meal was a pretty amazing journey, through  dishes like marinated shiitake and avocado sushi rolls served with freshly sliced, pungent ginger and tamales filled with a white corn mash studded with marinated mushrooms with a raw cacao and tomatillo-cilantro salsa.  There was no actual cheese or meat on the menu and nothing was heated above 118°F. As the restaurant’s name would suggest, it was a lot of pure flavors, and I felt great afterward, even without hot food. As sushi paved the way for crudo, perhaps crudo will pave the way for raw food.

Have you noticed the raw fish trend emerging in your neighborhood?
Could 2010 be the year of  raw cuisine? I can almost hear your laughter from my desk! But with sushi bars as common in grocery stores as hamburger meat, anything is possible…