As a veteran on Memorial Day, I’ll say a prayer for my fallen brothers and sisters in arms and then succumb to the more pedestrian way of recognizing the upcoming holiday as the unofficial start of summertime. And since I am avowed and unrepentant hedonist, just about any reason to celebrate sets off a series of dizzying ideas about food and wine combinations. So, with Memorial Day weekend coming up, I have been conjuring how I’ll create menus with appropriate pairing wines to enjoy with family and friends. Since I’m going to concentrate on menus that feature picnic foods, I plan to grill pork and accompany it with that very versatile red – pinot noir.

There is no better red to match with picnic fare, especially, barbecue than pinot noir. Barbecue can mean different things to different people. For some, it’s a verb as in: “I’m going to barbecue some hamburgers.” For others, barbecue is a noun and refers to a type of cooked pork or beef rib meat that is immersed in various sauces, chopped and served on a bun. Since I love to grill out, barbecue means a style of cooking to me. You’ll find just about every kind of food on my grill, including (but not limited to) pork, chicken, beef, lamb, fish, vegetables and sometimes even fruit.  
In my estimation, barbecuing also requires a grill that uses “real” charcoal. But newer gas grills usually have a smoke box that allows folks using them to approximate the flavor of charcoal. Regardless of what type of grill you use, there is no question that adding wood flavors to your picnic food is delicious and adds a wonderful nuance to them.

Barbecue pork roast dry rubbed and ready to be slathered with JB’s Tangy Sauce

I’ve often thought that there is something almost ritualistic about grilling animal flesh or things that grow. A return to simpler times? I’m not sure I want to know why this practice is so appealing to me – but it is. So, in the interest of making barbecue believers of you, I’m going to share a simple recipe for my barbecue sauce that works well with most pork, chicken or meat dishes, particularly bone in center cut pork roasts and barbecued pork ribs.
Whether you use pork roasts, baby backs or large slab ribs, this recipe begins with a dry rub. One of my favorite dry rubs consists of one tablespoon each of cumin, chili powder, kosher salt, coarsely ground black pepper, brown sugar and cayenne pepper (optional for those faint of heart). Stir this mixture and then rub it onto both sides of the meat. If time permits, let the pork sit in the refrigerator overnight or for a few hours allowing the meat to absorb the flavors.

At this point, I often grab a handful of hickory or apple wood chips (available at some grocery stores and most home improvement centers like Lowe’s and Home Depot) and immerse them in warm water and allowing them to soak for at least half an hour. This is optional, but I think really gives the meat a great smoky flavor.

If you’re using charcoal, fire up the grill and when the coals turn white/gray, move them to each corner of the grill, leaving space in the middle for the meat to cook indirectly. Then add the wood chips to the charcoal. If you’re using a gas grill, heat it up and then add the wood chips to the smoke box and place the meat indirectly on the grill away from the direct heat source. On either grill, adjust the air vents to cook the pork at temperatures ranging from 275F to 300F for about three hours. Check the air vents regularly to adjust the heat if necessary and turn the meat once during grilling.

Once off the grill, I cut the pork into bite-size pieces. You may wish to serve as is, but I prefer to slather the meat in my tangy sauce (recipe below) and put the pieces back on the grill directly over the heat source for about five minutes and turning them once, before serving.

JB’s Tangy Barbecue Sauce
– one cup of ketchup
– one half-cup of white vinegar
– one 12-ounce beer
– two ounces of orange juice
– one tablespoon each of molasses and brown sugar
– one-half teaspoon of cayenne (optional)
– Bring the mixture to a boil and then allow it to slowly thicken for about half an hour.

Chehalem Pinot Noir -a perfect pairing with pork barbecue

Here are some of my favorite pinot noirs to pair with this barbecue pork roast or rib recipe:
Chehalem Willamette Valley(Oregon)Pinot Noir; La Crema Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir; Gary Farrell Russian River Valley; Pinot Noir; Siduri Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir; Brewer-Clifton Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir; Frank Family Vineyards Carneros Pinot Noir; Goldeneye Anderson Valley (Mendocino County) Pinot Noir; Bouchaine Napa Valley Pinot Noir; Domaine Serene Evanstad Vineyard Pinot Noir.
Enjoy!

My father was born and raised in Richwood, that mountain village on the shores of the oft-flooded Cherry River, where aside from boasting of having the world’s largest clothespin factory in the early 20th century, now is more commonly known for the town that legitimized and made famous Allium tricoccums or ramps.

Of course, we all now know about the cult-like popularity of that odiferous lily that emerges from the ground in the springtime mountainous areas of our state, but ramps’ culinary discovery was not fully appreciated until the late 20th century. I actually experienced the powerful effects of ramps a couple decades earlier.

I was a newly minted private first class serving in the US Army then and home on leave, spending a few days with my family before heading off to Southeast Asia to defeat communism. Late one evening, after arriving home from a few hours sipping cold ones at the Sportsman’s Inn, my next-door neighbor wished to send me off to my patriotic duty by lugging over a six pack (or so) of beer and a mess of ramps which I had never had the( pleasure ?) of tasting. He suggested the best way to enjoy the little buggers was to sprinkle them with salt and eat them raw – which we did until the wee hours. When I awoke the next morning, my mother had opened up every window and door in the house and was outside with an industrial size container of Lysol spraying the stuff the into the house. The moral of the story: don’t ever drink beer and eat raw ramps without warning your family and neighbors

That was my first, but not my last experience with ramps, and I suppose many folks either love ‘em or hate ‘em. Like calf brains, snails or okra, ramps are an acquired taste though now most cooks attempt to cover up their pungency by added them to fried potato or pinto bean dishes. Believe me, there are better and more enjoyable ways of adding ramps to your daily meals.

Excellent choice with grilledc ramps and meat dishes

Here are a couple recipes for your consideration. The first is to simply and quickly grill or sauté them (no more than three minutes) in a tablespoon of olive oil, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and then pair them to grilled meats or veggies. The second method of using them is in a pasta dish I call Ramps Italiano. By the way, if you’re looking for ramps, I’ve recently purchased them at the Purple Onion store at Capitol Market in Charleston. Do a Google search and I’m sure you’ll find them somewhere near you. And of course, I’m going to provide you with a couple of wine pairing suggestions below with which to accompany the dishes.

A Spring Harvest of Ramps

Ramps Italiano
Shopping list:
One small bunch of ramps cleaned
Two slices of thick sliced bacon
Three tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
One-pound of fettucine
One teaspoon of red pepper flakes (optional)
One cup of grated pecorino-romano cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Creating the Dish:
Dice two pieces of bacon, sauté until crisp then put bacon onto paper towels
Reserve one tablespoon of bacon fat and add olive oil to sauté pan
Chop ramps into 1/2-inch pieces, reserving half the green parts for garnish
Sauté the ramps in the oil and bacon fat until tender
Cook the pasta (al dente) in a large pot and reserve one cup of the cooking liquid
Transfer the cooked pasta to the sauté pan and add the reserved cooking liquid
Mix the pasta into the sauce, add cheese, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste
Serve with the green ramp leaves as a garnish

Wine Recommendations:
2021 La Massa ($30) – From Tuscany, this medium bodied red is a delicious, layered wine with black cherry flavors and hints of chocolate and spice. A combination of sangiovese and merlot, the La Massa is not only  tasty, it’s a bargain for the quality in the bottle, and it pairs seamlessly with the grilled meat and ramp dish.

2023 Bisci Verdicchio di Matellica ($33) – This lovely, crisp white from the mountainous region of the Marches in central Italy has a dept of citrus fruit flavors and an unexpected richness for this varietal that is an excellent match to the savory Ramps Italiano dish.

John Brown is also a novelist. His latest book – Augie’s Wine –is now available to order online or at his website wordsbyjohnbrown.com. His first two books– Augie’s War and Augie’s World – are also available online and at bookstores around the state. You can find out more about his novels, and review all his archived Vines & Vittles columns at wordsbyjohnbrown.com

 

 

I’m Back! That self-serving declaration has a double meaning for me since I’ve been absent from these Style pages for a couple of months due to that same word – Back- as in that fragile rear side of the human body. And while I was recuperating from surgery, I had a lot of free time to cogitate on that liquid we all love to consume- even though I was not allowed to let that elixir I pass into my body.

I was all set to regale you with my wine appreciation version of New year’s resolutions when I had to back off. Anyway, today, I’ll reveal my vinous promises and then tell you about a few of my favorite steakhouses around the state –that have particularly deep and excellent wine lists that pair exceptionally well with your favorite cut of beef. So, let’s start with my 2026 wine resolutions.

– Try unfamiliar appellations and wines like: pinot noir from Central Otago on the South Island of New Zealand (great with grilled salmon); or the other white wine from Burgundy – Aligoté (especially good with scallops); or Aglianico, the spicy red from the Campania region of southern Italy that is a lovely match with rack of lamb.

– Explore the wines of our sister state. The wine regions around Charlottesville and up the spine of the Blue Ridge mountains in Virginia have emerged as the best appellations on the east coast. I especially enjoy the cabernet franc, viognier and chardonnay produced there. Local Virginia oysters, cheeses, country ham and smoked tomato grits pair nicely with Old Dominion wines.

One of my wine resolutions for the New Year is to seek out the Other great white from Burgundy- Aligote’

– Drink more sweet wines as aperitifs and with dessert. Some folks have the misconception that sweet wines are for beginning wine drinkers or the unsophisticated. I think that is a largely an American myth since a lot of us associate sweet wines with the unpleasant experiences we might have had in our youth with sugary, high alcohol products. You might try Sauternes or Barzac from France, late harvest riesling from Germany or California or Vin Santo and Moscato di Asti from Italy.

Now on to some of my favorite steakhouses. If you’ve read this column for any length of time, you know that I never mention a special wine without suggesting an appropriate food with which to pair it. For steak or meat lovers that is especially important and we are fortunate to have several eateries around West-By-Golly that are exceptional. Perhaps the most accomplished of these is the Wonder Bar Steaklhouse in Clarksburg. This Wine Spectator award winning restaurant features not only wonderful steak entrees, but also an extensive and well-priced wine list. One of the most notable wines on their list is Sassicaia- that Super Tuscan blend of predominately cabernet sauvignon. You’ll find this wine and many other superb selections at the WonderBar and also an exceptionally delicious assortment of Italian entrees.

If you’re a food and wine lover living in the Kanawha Valley, you simply must visit Laury’s. While the restaurant is known for truly exceptional continental cuisine, the wine list there may be the most extensive- outside of the Greenbrier’s Main Dining Room- and certainly the most reasonably priced one in the state.

If you happen to reside in the eastern panhandle of our state, You must visit and have a meal at The Final Cut Steakhouse. While the name says it all, this is another perennially Wine Spectator awarded restaurant. The restaurant is located at the Charles Town Race Track and Casino and you can bet on its tasty steaks and great selection of wines from around the world.

Wine and food lovers won’t go wrong with a visit to Huntington’s 21 at the Frederick either. The wine list is extensive and fairly price and the steak is the headliner here. There are also a number of other excellent steakhouses featuring good wine lists, but the ones mentioned above truly stand out.
Bon Appetit!

John Brown is also a novelist. His latest book – Augie’s Wine –is now available to order online or at his website wordsbyjohnbrown.com. His first two books– Augie’s War and Augie’s World – are also available online and at bookstores around the state. You can find out more about his novels, and review all his archived Vines & Vittles columns at wordsbyjohnbrown.com

As I sit here composing this column and look out my office window at the first snowflakes of the year gently falling, it truly is beginning to look a lot like Christmas – and Hannukah. I can also tell because many of my friends are calling asking me to suggest a wine for the special people in their lives. And for this wine lover, it’s not often I am forgiven for casting prudence to the wind and plunking down some serious green for a bottle of red or white.

I‘ve already been perusing the shelves of my favorite wine shops in search of that special bottle. The good news is that there is an abundance of wine from all over the world available in any number of price ranges to meet just about any budget. And when you gift wine, particularly to someone close to you, there is a good likelihood you’ll be invited to sip along with the giftee once that special bottle is uncorked. Whenever I give the gift of wine, especially during the holiday season, I always ruminate over what type of holiday entrée it will pair best with that will present the best opportunity for gastronomic synergy. In my particular household, I’m thinking about Christmas Eve and Christmas Day meals and the wines that will make the feasts memorable.

A few of my favorite things

In our house, my wife and I divide up responsibility for the two meals. I take Christmas Eve and she is chef de cuisine for Christmas Day. As one who was raised in a Catholic Italian family, I will spend all day Christmas Eve preparing and cooking seafood dishes in a meal that will resemble ‘The feast of the seven fishes’. After five or six hours of frying, boiling, steaming, smoking and poaching sea creatures, I will be worn out, cranky, smelly and in serious need of a shower and a sip or two of wine. My choice to soothe my weary body and reinvigorate my spirit is Champagne or sparkling wine which is also an excellent way to kick off the activities as well as pairing seamlessly with all manner of seafood.

On Christmas day, my wife will prepare a more traditional American holiday meal featuring a standing rib roast. After working her culinary magic, she will emerge from the kitchen smiling broadly, full of Christmas cheer, and smelling of lavender. Of course, this meal demands a big red wine such as cabernet sauvignon or even a Christmas Claret (Bordeaux). So today, I’m going to share a list of wines I would love to find under my Christmas tree and which I think your friends will enjoy too. Many of these bottles just happen to include wines that would go particularly well with our holiday meals.  

Cabernet Sauvignon, Bordeaux Red or Bordeaux -style blends : Chateau Lynch Bages; Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon; Alexander Valley Vineyards Cyrus Red; Joseph Phelps Insignia; Dominus; Harlan Estate Red; Chateau La Dominique; Groth Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve; Chateau Gruaud Larose; Merryvale Profile; Chateau Cos d’Estournel; Ridge Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon; Chateau Pontet Canet; Leoville Las Cases; Heitz Martha’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon; and Ornellaia (super Tuscan blend).

Champagne and Sparkling wines:
Taittinger Comptes De Champagne Rose; Nicholas Feuillatte “Blue Label” Brut; Mumm Napa Cuvee (sparkling); Paul Bara Brut; Veuve Cliquot Brut; Roderer Estate (sparkling); Krug Grande Cuvee Brut; Perrier Jouet Grand Brut; Iron Horse Russian Cuvee (sparkling).

Happy Holidays!

John Brown is also a novelist. His latest book – Augie’s Wine –is now available to order online or at his website wordsbyjohnbrown.com. His first two books– Augie’s War and Augie’s World – are also available online and at bookstores around the state. You can find out more about his novels, and review all his archived Vines & Vittles columns at wordsbyjohnbrown.com

One of the faithful Thanksgiving traditions in our Italian American family involved spirited discussions around the holiday table. The decibel level of these emotionally charged altercations could sometimes exceed the sound of cicadas at war. During these holiday debates, no subject was too grand, obscure or off limits. We would debate everything from presidential politics to sports to whether the moustache on our elderly neighbor, Mrs. Costanza, was intentional or not.

Through the years, my brother and I have kept up the family tradition by arguing over which wines are best to pair with Thanksgiving dinner. After exhaustive and sometimes heated discussions, we have come to an uneasy truce and have concluded that almost any wine can marry nicely with at least one menu component of the Thanksgiving Day meal.

For years, I have written about the culinary versatility of turkey to be successfully paired with white, red, or rose’ as well as both lighter-styled and full-bodied wines. The reason is turkey is blessed with meat that has different flavors, colors and textures. Add to this the way the turkey is prepared – from traditional oven-baking to deep frying, to charcoal grilling or to smoking -and you have a plethora of wine choices from which to select. And since most of us will prepare a stuffing or dressing to the meal, you add a whole other flavor dimension that opens up even more vinous possibilities.

For example, one year I stuffed a charcoal grilled turkey with cornbread, ancho chili peppers and chorizo sausage. What wine, you might ask, did I serve with this non-traditional turkey and stuffing? Well, I started with Veuve Clicquot Champagne as an aperitif with the customary Thanksgiving hors d’oeuvres, proceeded to open a bottle of Trimbach Alsatian Pinot Gris for those who preferred white wine with the turkey, and I uncorked a bottle of Chateau de Beaucastel for those who preferred red. For dessert, I chose a bottle of Joseph Phelps Late Harvest Riesling to accompany pumpkin pie with whipped cream. And guess what, everything worked out well. Then, full of tryptophan, I plopped down on the couch and snoozed while some NFL team beat up on the Detroit Lions.

So here are some wines for you to consider as you plan your Thanksgiving dinner.

My grilled turkey stuffed with ancho chilies, cornbread and chorizo

Sparkling Wine: Bottega Gold Prosecco; Cantina Zaccagnini Brut Blancs de Blancs; Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Noirs; Iron Horse Russian Cuvee; Segura Vidas Cava Brut; Veuve Clicquot Champagne; and Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Champagne.

White Wine: St. Supery Sauvignon Blanc; Mer Soleil Reserve Chardonnay; Argiolas Meri Vermentino; Trimbach Riesling; Pierre Sparr Gewurztraminer, Rombauer Chardonnay; Carol Shelton Wild Thing Viognier; Verdicchio di Matelica; and Beaumont Chenin Blanc.

Chateauneuf Du Pape – an excellent choice for Thanksgiving

Red Wine: Camino de Navaherreros Red; Chateau La Fleur Saint Bonnet Rouge; Easton Amador County Zinfandel; Greenwing Cabernet Sauvignon; Banfi Brunello Di Montalcino; Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape; Chateau de Pitray Rouge; Domaine Serene Yamhill Cuvee Oregon Pinot Noir; and Georges Duboeuf Morgon Beaujolais.

Dessert Wine: Michele Chiarlo Moscato; Chateau Ste. Jean Late Harvest Riesling; Veuve de Vernay Ice Rose; J Vidal-fleury Muscat de Beaumes de Venise; and Rosa Regale Brachetto.

Happy Thanksgiving!

John Brown is also a novelist. His latest book – Augie’s Wine –is now available to order online or at his website wordsbyjohnbrown.com. His first two books– Augie’s War and Augie’s World – are also available online and at bookstores around the state. You can find out more about his novels, and review all his archived Vines & Vittles columns at wordsbyjohnbrown.com