We all have our favorite restaurants around the state and even beyond the borders of this land of “purple mountain majesty.”  Good food should be accompanied by good wine and those eateries that understand this rudimentary principle should be recognized.  It’s one thing for this back-water wino to say nice things about a grubbery, but when a prestigious international magazine does…well that, to use the local vernacular, is “spay-chull.”

Therefore, wine lovers and foodies in our state should know that the annual Wine Spectator restaurant awards were just announced and the Mountain State has 13 establishments that received honors.  

According to the magazine, “Wine Spectator’s restaurant wine list awards program recognizes restaurants whose wine lists offer interesting selections, are appropriate to the cuisine and appeal to a wide range of wine lovers.  To qualify for an award, the list must present complete, accurate wine information. It must include vintages and appellations for all selections, including wines by the glass…”

The three categories of awards are:  “Awards of Excellence”; “Best of Awards of Excellence”; and the “Grand Award. “  Nearly 3000 restaurants across world have received the “Award of Excellence,” including eleven restaurants in WV.  Two WV restaurants, the Bavarian Inn and the Greenbrier’s Main Dining Room, received “Best of Awards of Excellence” and that’s quite an honor since only 800 restaurants achieved that distinction.   Only 72 restaurants around the world received the highest honor and none were in West By-god  -- yet.

The state restaurants receiving “Awards of Excellence are:  Bridge Road Bistro, Charleston; The Chop House, Charleston; Ember,  Snowshoe Mountain Resort ; The Glasshouse Grille, Morgantown; La Bonne Vie, Chester (at Mountaineer Racetrack); Provence Market Café, Bridgeport;  Sam Snead’s, While Sulpher  Springs (The Greenbrier); Sargasso, Morgantown;  Savannah's, Huntington; Soho’s, Charleston; and Spats, Parkersburg (in the Blennerhassett Hotel).

I think we should all support these restaurants and encourage others within our grazing range to strive for this honor.  I know there are many fine restaurants that are very close to achieving this award and many others that could add a few selections to their existing list and get within striking range.

Another Charleston restaurant that deserves credit for not only presenting delicious cuisine, but for taking their wine lists seriously is the South Hills Market and Café.  

The South Hills Market and Café, owned by Richard and Anne Arbaugh, features a superb and eclectic menu of continental, low-country and new American delicacies in a visually stunning presentation. The food tastes good too! Actually, Richard is quite an accomplished chef with tours of duty at The Homestead as well as the Bridge Road Bistro. 

The wine list is very well constructed with an array of international wines that are reasonably priced.  The restaurant has added a “happy hour” from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday along with a new appetizer menu. You’ll need to call for dinner reservations (305-345-2585).

Wine Recommendation: 

2007 Vu Ja De Syrah ($18);  A dyslectic take on dejavu, this wine with a WV connection and Napa Valley lineage, is a wonderful mouthful of blueberries, chocolate and coffee.  The guys that run this operation have planted grapes in Roane County and are using their Napa Valley connections to bring us wine until their vineyards are mature enough to produce WV fruit. In the meantime, ask for this wine or try their cabernet ($16).  It is also a nice wine at a reasonable price. 

      I’ll admit it, I am consumed each day by lengthy ruminations over what I’m going to eat and drink.  Conversations with my long-suffering spouse almost always involve planning the evening meal and sometimes precipitate disputes that are usually amicably, but sometimes loudly, settled. Then one or both of us will venture out to search for the freshest ingredients and the wine to accompany the agreed upon meal. These almost daily forays inevitably lead to the farmer’s stands at Capitol Market to peruse and then purchase the just picked veggies that are so appealingly displayed.      Like many of my contemporaries, I am trying to eat a healthier diet in the hope that doing so will undue decades of abuse ladled into my arterial system by the constant ingestion of the three most important central Appalachian food groups: lard, red meat and fried potatoes. Therefore, recently I went in search of poblano peppers that would be the centerpiece of a (almost) vegetarian meal.  Poblanos, when dried as they often are, become ancho peppers and are sometimes ground to make chili powder. Anchos can also be re-hydrated and used in sauces.  I found the  poblanos at the Purple Onion inside Capitol Market and, while they  do have a slight measure of heat, they are nowhere near the potency of a jalapeno.      So today, I’m  going to tell you about  a one-course meal that is guaranteed to spice up your day and in a very healthy way. And when you accompany this meal with one of the  juicy zinfandels  I’m going to suggest, you’ll have the perfect summer time repast. You’ll need one large poblano for each adult you’re serving.  For purposes of this recipe, we’ll use the stuffing for two peppers.      Stuffed Poblanos , Quinoa with (or without ) Chorizo.  Okay, here goes.

Shopping list: - Two large poblanos - One clove garlic diced - One quarter medium onion diced - One-quarter cup finely chopped cilantro - Four ounces Monterey jack cheese - One- quarter pound ground chorizo sausage(optional) - Two ounces of vegetable oil - One-half cup quinoa or brown rice - Salt and pepper to taste      For those of you unfamiliar with quinoa  (pronounced keen-wah), it is supposedly the perfect food. It fluffs up like rice and is gluten free with a protein content of 12%. It can also be used as a substitute for pasta and white rice and is very low in carbohydrates.  It tastes good too. If you can’t find it (The Purple Onion usually stocks it), use brown rice as a low-carb substitute or just use white rice if you wish. Preparation: 1. Place poblanos  directly  on the stove top  and char the skin, turning often until most of the surface of the pepper is charred. 2. Place the peppers in a paper or plastic bag for about 20 minutes, remove and peel the skin 3. With a small, sharp knife, cut a slit in top of the pepper large enough to spoon in the   stuffing. 4. Dice the garlic, chop the onion and cilantro and sauté in two ounces of vegetable oil until the veggies are translucent. 5. Sauté’ the chorizo and drain off the fat 6. Combine the quinoa, vegetables, chorizo and shredded cheese in a bowl and allow to cool. 7. When cool, add one egg to the mixture and stir, then stuff the peppers  and add more cheese to the top of each pepper. 8. Place on aluminum foil and on an oven pan and heat through for 30 minutes at 325  degrees (F).

Wine Recommendations:      Spicy, juicy red zinfandel is the perfect accompaniment to this meal.  Try the 2006 Wild Hog Zinfandel ($25) or the 2007 Castle Rock Mendocino Zinfandel ($14 ).  While both have the requisite blackberry juiciness and spice component in spades, the Wild Hog is a fuller-bodied version of Zin while the Castle Rock shows more acidity and is a little less in your face.

The annual “Wild, Wonderful Wine Weekend,” which has become an annual gourmet rite of fall, will be held from October 24-26 at Canaan Valley Resort. I have been privileged to lead the wine component of the weekend while working with the exceptional culinary team at the resort to put together a great food and wine event set in the majesty of one of our state’s most beautiful outdoor settings.

The event begins Friday, October 24th at 7 p.m. with a “taste-around reception” where more than 50 wines can be sampled with matching culinary treats from multiple food stations featuring a wonderful selection of delicious goodies upon which to graze.

[caption id="attachment_1132" align="alignleft" width="300"] Sip wine in these mountains!


On Saturday morning, I will conduct a tasting and lead a discussion of several wines from the world’s greatest wine regions. Immediately after the tasting, guests will be treated to a five-course, five-wine-paired luncheon with commentary by yours truly. After lunch, folks will be free to hike, bike, nap or- in my case - watch WVU whip up on and Oklahoma State.

Saturday evening’s activities begin at 7 p.m. with a six-course, six wine grand gourmet dinner. Here’s a preview of the grand dinner:

Chilled Banana Bisque -2013 Gunderloch Kabinett Sweet Potato Gnocchi -2013 Stags Leap Hands of Time Chardonnay Diver Scallops over an English Pea Puree -2013 Granbazan Etiqueta Verde Albarino Malback Marinated Lamb Chop - 2010 Mercer Estates Columbia Valley Merlot Lobster Stuffed Beef tenderloin- 2012 Evesham Wood Eola Cuvee Pinot Noir Smoked Dark Chocolate Ganache Campfire Tart- Banfi Rosa Regale Brachetto
Guests have the option of attending the entire weekend for a package price ($359 for a single attendee and $599 per couple) or choosing to participate in individual events ala carte (i.e., $50 per person for the Friday night reception, $54 for the Saturday lunch and $99 for the gourmet dinner.). For additional information or reservations call 800-622-4121 or visit online at www.canaanresort.com.

If you are interested, you will need to move pretty quickly.

I fell in love with chocolate decades ago and throughout the intervening years I have tried desperately to avoid becoming a full-fledged chocoholic.  My battle with this sweet addiction has caused me much angst, but over the past few years researchers have touted the healthful attributes of chocolate - or at least dark chocolate.

This research came as shocking, yet welcome, news and seemed a repudiation of what a whole generation of moms preached to us.  Remember  when your mom would scare you with horror stories about how too much chocolate would result in rotten teeth, pimples and obesity?

Your parents probably also warned you about drinking wine.  Just a few of decades ago, people who drank more than just an occasional glass were considered reprobates or wino's by the moral police of the time whose idea of moderate drinking with meals was the three martini lunch.

           

While moderate wine consumption is considered acceptable now, chocolate had still been considered a somewhat decadent extravagance by health-conscious individuals.

Then a study known as The French Paradox suggested that moderate consumption of wine, especially red, with meals is the reason that people living in France, who consume a high fat diet, have significantly fewer heart attacks than Americans. The difference, we were told, is that Americans (who ate as much fat as the French), did not regularly consume wine with their meals.

Well, you’re probably not going to believe this, but a few years ago scientists at the University of California at Davis, who are experts on wine antioxidant research, found dark that chocolate has similar heart-healthy qualities.

But here’s the bonus:  It now seems that chocolate and red wine, when paired together, provide synergistic and increased health benefits in the form of reducing LDL cholesterol (the bad stuff).

Holy Cow!  Is this great, or what?

In a letter to The Lancet  (medical publication), the researchers reported finding that compounds in cocoa had an effect similar to those in wine in preventing LDL oxidation in the blood stream.

One researcher said, “The pleasant pairing of red wine and dark chocolate could have synergistic advantages beyond their complementary tastes.”

Shazamm!  My prayers have been answered!   

Unfortunately, too much of a good thing is not good for you. The key word apparently is moderation in both wine and chocolate consumption.  And the California researchers also add an admonition that “we certainly aren’t suggesting that people start eating chocolate to prevent coronary heart disease.”

This research only confirmed what I have known for years about the wonderful taste harmony of dark chocolate and full-bodied and rich red wines - particularly cabernet sauvignon. 

I first discovered this heavenly pairing when, by accident, I took a sip of my dinner cabernet after having just taken a bite of a delicious chocolate truffle dessert.  From then on, I made it a point to save a little of my red wine for dessert. 

           

Here are two reasonably priced cabernet sauvignon blends that prove the researchers' point:  

2007 Hedges C.M.S. ($16) - This Washington State lovely elixir is a combination of cabernet, merlot and syrah (hence the  moniker C.M.S.) and is not only great with a grilled steak, it is also worth saving a few sips to enjoy with the above-mentioned dark chocolate.

2006 Altos de Luzon ($15) - From the Jumilla region of Spain, this blend of monastrell, cabernet sauvignon and tempranillo,  is a delicious concoction with dark cherry, blackberry and coffee tones.  The wine gets increasingly better in the glass and is the perfect match for chocolate once it's time for dessert.    

 I must admit, however, that never, in my wildest fantasies, did I suspect that chocolate and wine could actually be good for me.  That’s not the way things are supposed to be, are they? Shouldn’t I feel a little guilt about this?

           

Nah.

Benjamin Disraeli was famously quoted as proclaiming: "The magic of first love is our ignorance that it can never end."

With all due respect to the late and esteemed Mr. Disraeli, I must say that I disagree, particularly when it comes to wine. The first grape I ever had the pleasure of making into wine more than 30 years ago was zinfandel.  And even though the resulting  liquid  was so over-oaked that it resembled toasted wood more than  it did wine, I still love zinfandel (made by professionals)  to this day.

As I have noted in this space before, zinfandel is the Rodney Dangerfield of red wines. It certainly doesn’t get any respect and even though many enjoy it, very few people want to take it home to dinner.  Why?  Well, the truth is that zinfandel has an identity problem.  In fact, it has multiple identities.  Are you listening, Dr. Freud?

The grape is so versatile that winemakers make it in a variety of styles. From white to blush, from light    to  medium -bodied, from  full-bodied to purple monster, zinfandel can be a confusing wine to buy and, unless you are familiar with the style made by a particular winery, it is difficult to match it with food.

The other problem comes from some wine critics who have declared that, while zinfandel  has some utility and can be a pleasant quaff, it really cannot be taken seriously because it does not age gracefully.  Since it does not benefit from extended cellaring (they proclaim), it should be drunk within the first few years after bottling.

I won’t deny that zinfandel – and almost every red and white wine produced on this planet – is best consumed within a few years after being made. However, I can attest to the fact that zinfandel does indeed age well and can be gracefully transformed into a multi-layered, subtle and complex wine - descriptors which are customarily reserved to describe revered  old Bordeaux.

How can I make such a claim?  Read on.

To honor this much maligned varietal and to test just how well (or not) zinfandel can age, some zin- fanatics (and yours truly) put together a vertical, blind tasting of zinfandel produced from 1974 through 1982.

There were 11 wines in the tasting (ranging in age from 27 to 35) and all were placed in paper bags to hide their labels. The zinfandels were:  1974 through 1980 Sutter Home (Amador County);   1980 Grgich Hills (Alexander Valley); 1980 Burgess (Napa); and 1981 and 1982 Grgich Hills (Sonoma County).

While the cellar conditions where the wines were stored could not be described as perfect, they were reasonably good. My wines had been aged on their sides in a dark and vibration free area of the cellar that has consistent temperature and humidity.   My good friend and wine aficionado, Andy MacQueen, had contributed wines too and his cellar conditions were similar to mine.

 
The wines had been allowed to sit upright for a week prior to the tasting to make sure all the sediment would fall to the bottom.  Just before the tasting, I carefully decanted the wines one by one into a carafe and immediately poured them back into the bottles which had been quickly rinsed to dispose of the sediment.  I also inserted the corks back in the bottles to prevent any further oxidation.

So with an assembled group of anxious and anticipatory wine geeks all fired up and ready, we got down to some serious sipping and evaluating.  Of the 11 wines, four were deemed by the group to be “over the hill” and virtually undrinkable. Those were the 1980 Burgess and 1976, 1978 and 1980 Sutter Home.  The remaining seven wines were all very drinkable and a couple of them were amazingly complex.

Some of the notes from the tasters described these varied and diverse attributes:  ‘tack room and teaberry mint aromas; coffee, cola and spicy cherry flavors; licorice, mint and tea notes;  silky, rich, subtle; and  minty, sweet fruit, layered flavors.’

The consensus favorite was the amazing 1974 Sutter Home Amador County. I described it as “a wine with leather and teaberry mint aromas, silky tannins, rich, sweet cola flavors and remarkable length – a wine with another five or more years of life.”  The 1975, 1977 and 1979 Sutter Home along with the 1980 Grgich Hills were also delicious examples of how well zinfandel can age.

No,  I’m not suggesting that you wait 30 or more years to replicate my tasting to determine if zinfandel can age as well as Bordeaux.   You just need to go out and experience today’s zinfandel, a wine  that is chock full of spicy, minty, jammy, blackberry flavors . And you’ll be amazed at how well zin goes with just about any full-flavored dish.

However, I have to admit it does my hillbilly heart good to prove that the prevailing view among the wine cognoscenti (regarding zinfandel’s inability to age well) is just one more de-bunked myth!