Opus One at The Greenbrier
Wine lovers will get a unique and tasteful opportunity to whet their respective wine whistles Easter weekend when the Greenbrier Resort showcases the renowned Opus One Winery. While the grapes for the wine are grown in Napa, the finished product is a collaboration intended to stylistically feature the influence of both Napa and Bordeaux.

For those of you who may not be aware, Opus One was the brainchild of Robert Mondavi and Baron Philippe de Rothschild - two of the most legendary vintners of the 20th century. Rothschild was the owner of Chateau Mouton Rothschild, which is one of only five First Growth wineries in Bordeaux. Robert Mondavi was the respected founder of the winery in Napa which bears his name. While both men have since passed on, Opus One continues to produce highly sought after cabernet-based wines.




Michael Silacci, winemaker at Opus One, will lead Greenbrier guests through two days (April 6 and 7) of tasting both current releases as well as older vintages of the wine. In addition, Greenbrier Executive Chef Rich Rosendale will prepare a multi-course meal on Saturday evening to match the wines.

Incidentally, Rosendale was recently the winner and recipient of the prestigious Bocuse d'Or award after a cooking competition in January at the Culinary Institute of America.

The weekend package, which includes two night’s lodging, a vertical wine tasting on Friday evening, dinner at Howard’s Creek Lodge on Saturday evening and a $100 resort credit, is $1410 for two or $1075 for single occupancy. There are also a limited number of ala carte tickets for both the Friday tasting ($85 per person) and the Saturday dinner ($250 per person).
This is a great opportunity to experience one of the world’s most storied wines. Call 888-781-0528 for reservations.
Opus One, Chili and Me
Opus One’s first vintage was 1979 and I can truly say that it had a profound effect on yours truly. I was on my first visit to Napa in the fall of 1981 that was the culmination of a rather interesting week for me and the coterie of friends who were in my party.

And believe me – party was the operative term.

Earlier that year I became the inaugural winner of the WV Chili Cook-off at Snowshoe Resort which continues to host the event annually. The International Chili Society sanctions the cook-off and my win entitled me to compete in the World Chili Championship held that year in Los Angeles at Hollywood Race Track.

While I did in fact cook chili that day, I can assure you of three things: I did not win, I did not drink wine and I don’t remember much else.

My attending sous-chefs included my long-suffering wife and two other couples who came along to participate in a skit that we were to perform in an attempt to win the “Best Skit” award at the event.

Our skit was entitled: “Hillbilly Chili – The Real McCoy,” and was a take-off on an old TV series “The Real McCoy’s.” For those of you unfamiliar with the show, it featured a family of goobers from Smokey Corners, WV who moved to California to set up dirt farming.

To put it mildly, the skit would not have been approved by the West Virginia Commerce Department as a way of changing widely held stereotypes of our beloved state.

I reprised the role of Grandpa McCoy (played in the series by a limping, whiny-voiced Walter Brennan) and my cohorts took on the personas of Luke, Little Luke, Pepino, Hassie and Kate respectively.

We had rehearsed the skit many times and felt confident that we would wow the judges with our acting skills and creative prowess. Alas, someone (me) forgot their lines and began to adlib. This completely screwed up the skit and left our audience of several hundred onlookers unamused and embarrassed for us.




With the failed World Chili Cook-off in the rear view mirror, we drove our van all the way up to the Napa Valley where we visited several winery tasting rooms and where we had a fateful visit at Robert Mondavi Winery.

One of my friends was a state senator at the time and through his influence we were actually met at the winery by Robert Mondavi himself who led us through a tasting of his impressive wines. At one point, we were ushered into a subterranean cavern where Mr. Mondavi pulled the bung out of an impressive looking barrel and extracted a deeply purple wine.

This was – in fact – the 1979 Opus One which was still being aged in barrels. We were privileged to be given a taste of this wonderful wine by the legendary winemaker.

While I had begun to make the transition away from beer and John Barleycorn to wine, tasting this glorious elixir was an absolute epiphany. It was a seminal moment and launched my life-long interest in the wonderful world of wine.

And I have chili to thank for it!

We’ve had an earlier spring than normal which has prompted me to lighten up on the body of the wines I’m drinking now. For the time being – at least – I am switching to lighter textured wines that fit more with the increased activity level the nice weather has precipitated for even a lummox like me.

 While I am not one to forgo use of my charcoal grill even when snowflakes are falling, I find it much more comfortable to stoke up the old Weber Performer when Mother Nature smiles on us. Lately, I have been grilling a wide variety of animal parts and also as many veggies as possible, including that lovely little lily of the mountains – ramps.

 Yes, I said ramps.

 Most folks smother the flavor of these wild leeks by covering them up in dishes like pinto beans or fried potatoes, but not this mountaineer. No siree, Jim Bob. I simply toss them in a little olive oil, sprinkle them with salt and pepper and throw them on the grill being careful not to set them ablaze.

 Then, I use them to spark up whatever grilled meat or vegetable comprises the main entrée for the meal. It may surprise the uninitiated, but cooked ramps, like their leek and onion cousins, shed a lot of their eye-watering pungency.

 



I am not suggesting that ramps become sweet when cooked or grilled, but they sure are tender and marry really well with roasted meat. Cooking them will also eliminate the rather odoriferous effects of consuming the little buggers raw.

 If you ever do eat them in their natural state, make sure the people who live within a mile of you have fair warning. This is to prevent them from: a) losing consciousness; b) murdering you; or c) calling in an airstrike on your home. The first time I consumed ramps, I was still living with my parents. Home from college for the weekend, I ate a mess of ramps raw and washed them down with several cold ones.

 For once in my post adolescent years, my mother allowed me to sleep in (she actually locked me in my room) while she proceeded to fumigate the premises. She was not amused and when I emerged stealthily from my bedroom window, she was waiting with hose in hand. After de-lousing me, she sent me packing, back to torture my classmates at WVU.

 So what wine goes with cooked or grilled ramps? That largely depends on what main course with which you accompany them. Actually, sauvignon blanc is an excellent pairing for ramps, especially if you are mixing them with veggies like asparagus, green beans or broccoli and pasta.

 Regardless, here are a few lighter styled wines for you to sip with your springtime meals. Enjoy!

 2010 Remy Pannier Vouvray ($15) – This lovely chenin blanc from the Loire region of France can be enjoyed as an aperitif or with brunch foods such as omelets, roasted vegetables or creamy salads. It has just a touch of sweetness and is very well-balanced with flavors of tropical fruits.

 2010 Buil & Gine’ Joan Gine Blanco ($26) – This rustic white wine from Spain’s Priorat region is round and ripe with just a touch of (good) funkiness. How’s that for a descriptor? Anyway, this blend of mostly grenache blanc is a complex wine with orange rind and lemon peel flavors, and great minerality to balance the finish. Excellent accompaniment to roast cod or Chilean Sea Bass in a lemon butter sauce – with a few sautéed ramps on the side.

 2011 Domaine Sorin Cotes de Provence Rose ($15) – What a delicious strawberry and cherry flavored wine from the southern Rhone. Excellent fruit, slightly orange color and ripe – yet dry – flavors, this wine will make a great porch sipper or a nice match with grilled sausages.

 2010 Santa Rita 120 Carmenere (($12) – This semi-obscure red from Chile is a smooth, medium-bodied alternative to cabernet sauvignon or merlot. Blackberry flavors and mocha tones give this wine just enough body to marry well with roasted pork tenderloin.

I’m making my annual transition from the heavier wines of winter to the more approachable and somewhat lighter wines of spring and summer. Most of us are more active now so the foods and wines we choose should match this lifestyle. Here are some wines you might want to try that fit this bill.

2009 Anselmi San Vincenzo ($15) Robert Anselmi wanted to produce a wine in the Soave district of northern Italy, but he wanted to blend some chardonnay into the approved whites from the region. His delicate San Vincenzo has ripe peach and citrus flavors, excellent balancing acidity and depth provided by a substantial dollop of the chardonnay. Pan sauté a filet of grouper or other white fish in a little butter, lemon and tarragon and pair it with the San Vincenzo.

2011 Badenhorst Chenin Blanc Secatuers ($16) – South Africa produces some of the world’s greatest chenin blanc and the Secateurs is a delicious, medium-bodied wine that is just a tad sweet. Similar to a Vouvray from the Loire Valley, this chenin blanc is round and rich with nuances of apricot and lemon, and can be used as an apertif or as an accompaniment to Asian stir-fry.

2009 Chateau De Saint Cosme Les Deux Albions ($20) – At first glance, this Rhone red blend of mainly grenache and syrah looks like it would be better suited to winter foods, but it is silky with flavors of ripe blackberries with just a touch of mocha. The wine is also well balanced and would be an excellent match to grilled short ribs basted with a KC Barbecue type sauce.

2010 Duckhorn Decoy Pinot Noir ($21) – This Mendocino County pinot noir is chock full of black cherry flavors with just a hint of cinnamon on the finish. Some earthiness in the aroma and good balancing acidity make this a wine to pack in your picnic basket. Pair it with smoked sausages or hamburgers on the grill.

***

Since this is the season when we are inclined to participate in physical activities, do you suppose it is okay to sip wine while engaging in a sport? How about the wines mentioned above? I think they would be perfect matches to some sports.

Now, I would agree that using wine to hydrate between plays in football or between innings in baseball would not be advisable nor would sipping the fruit of the vine while competing in a NASCAR event. However, I think that moderate wine consumption would enhance the experience of certain more – shall we say –sedentary sports.

For example, many people drink a beer or sip a glass of wine while playing golf. Personally, I find that wine provides the only pleasure I derive from a sport that is otherwise dreadfully frustrating.

But there are other sporting activities. How about Bocce, Croquet, Shuffleboard or even Horseshoes (you might wish to avoid this one if you have more than a glass or two)?




I recall as a kid growing up one particular sport where the sole purpose of the game was to earn the right to sip some wine or drink a beer. This was an Italian numbers game called Mora which some older Italian men pronounced as “Mooda.”

Mora is played with as few as two or as many as five persons per side lined up across from each other. The first player engages their opponent and if that player wins, he or she moves on to the next person in line. Players throw out a single hand, showing zero to five fingers, and calling out loudly their guess at what the sum of all fingers shown will be.

The first team to vanquish all their opponents wins the game. And here is the catch: only the winning team is permitted to sip their preferred beverage during the next game while the losers must abstain. As you might guess, I’ve changed the rules so that there are no losers.

Even if you choose not to sip a little Vito’s Thunder Mountain Chablis while competing in outdoor sporting activities, you might still want to give the wines previously mentioned a try.

The ubiquitous chicken. It’s probably the most overused and abused protein in the civilized world and yet – when prepared with a little imagination – that little feathered critter can be transformed into a culinary lip smacker.

Chicken is the Rodney Dangerfield of meats: it gets no respect. Yet it is one of the world’s most versatile foods, and can be cooked in a mind-boggling number of ways.
And with a little creativity, the bird can be married to a wide variety of both white and red wines.

However, cooking the meat of the chicken in a minimalist manner with token spices (say salt and pepper) can result in a dish that is best paired with tepid water. Regularly consuming chicken prepared this way may cause you to start watching C-Span’s coverage of Congressional proceedings for hours each day.

Do not fear loyal Wineaux’s! As you know from regularly reading my wine stained words, I have an affinity for outdoor cooking and an addiction to smokey and spicy foods. The recipe I am going to impart to you today will have you clucking for joy.

We’ll start with a whole fryer which is a relatively small and young chicken. I recommend you ask the butcher to remove the backbone of the fryer so it will be able to better absorb the brine, accommodate the special rub and cook quickly. Here goes.

The Smokey Clucker
The Brine

1 three to four pound chicken (fryer) with the backbone removed
1 plastic gallon bag
1 quart of water
8 ounces of dry white wine such as sauvignon blanc
6 cloves of garlic chopped finely
1 third cup of Kosher salt
3 tablespoons of dark brown sugar

The Rub

1 tablespoon of smoked paprika
1 teaspoon of ground cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons of chopped garlic
1 teaspoon of Kosher salt
1 teaspoon of chili powder
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
2 ounces of canola oil
1 tablespoon of dark brown sugar

Put everything but the chicken in the plastic bag and stir to mix the contents
Place the chicken into the bag, seal and put in refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours
Remove the chicken from the plastic bag, pat dry and lay it on a cutting board
Add the contents of the rub in a bowl and mix together making a paste
Rub the paste all over chicken and placing some under breast and leg quarter skin
Make a charcoal fire and spread coals to either side of grill for indirect cooking
Or, heat one side of a gas grill so chicken can be cooked indirect
Place the chicken so it lays spread (eagle?) on the grill but not over the coals
Cover the grill and cook 45 to 50 minutes
Allow the chicken to rest for 15 minutes, cut in pieces and serve

And while the usual accompaniment to chicken is white wine, the recipe above requires a red. Here are two choices for your consideration that will leave you smiling.

2007 Terra d’oro Amador County Zinfandel ($18) I admit my fondness for Amador County zinfandel and this one has what I love most about wines grown in that hot and dry area two hours east of Napa. Rustic and earthy, the aroma is a combination of teaberry mint and chocolate while the blackberry and cola flavors make this a great match to spicy, smoky foods.

2010 Concannon Selected Vineyards Petite Sirah ($12) – This blend of Central Coast vineyards’ petite sirah is full-bodied with a flavor profile of plums and black cherries. Nicely balanced and rich, this has an excellent value to quality quotient and is a tasty pairing with the chicken dish.

You would not be reading this if you didn’t have an appreciation of the artistry and acumen required to produce exceptional and delicious cuisine to match the sea of wine available to us.

From time to time in my travels around our glorious state, I am reminded of the dedication and diligence of those who enrich our experiences with their culinary skills oftentimes toiling in obscurity in out of the way locations.

West Virginia is a state full of out-of-the-way places and getting from point A to point B can sometimes involve a non-linear route that results in pleasant diversions and discoveries. That’s how, on a trip back to Washington, DC more than two decades ago, I discovered Canaan Valley and subsequently some very cool restaurants, cafes and holes in the wall.

Many of these establishments happen to be in the Potomac Highland towns of Davis and Thomas just north of Canaan Valley. A recent trip to that stunningly beautiful part of our state renewed my faith in the creativity of mountaineer entrepreneurs.

Muttley’s Downtown in Davis has been around for many years, featuring excellent steak and other grilled meats and providing guests with a very well thought out and value-oriented wine list.

Owners Becky Bunner an Randy Colombo have now joined with Meyer House B&B proprietor Cindy Robeson to add a wine specialty shop - Shades of Grape. The shop is adjacent to the restaurant and patrons can choose from a small, but very selective list of wines and edibles from around the world.




From time to time, wines featured in Shades of Grape will be available on the restaurant’s wine list at the same price as in the shop, and that is an excellent bargain. The restaurant is full of offbeat artwork, life-like mannequins and assorted esoterica that will have you smiling and /or scratching your head.

The wine shop and restaurant are open Tuesday through Saturday. You’ll need to call for dinner reservations (304-259-4848) but a trip to Muttley’s Downtown should definitely be a part of your itinerary.

In the mood for some very unique burritos? Then you’ll need to cross the street from Muttley’s and visit Hellbender Burritos. These are not your mother’s burritos, but owners Rob and Melissa Borowitz guarantee that they are definitely good for you and very large too. In addition, Hellbender’s also has a very excellent selection of craft beers on tap and by the bottle.

Cross the street again and you’ll find Sirianni’s Café – one of the state’s best pizza restaurants. Owners Walt Ranalli and Sandra Goss have catered to the pizza and pasta addictions of visitors for decades and a trip to the mountains would not be complete without a stop at Sirianni’s.

Sirianni’s, which also has a restaurant in Canaan Valley right off of Rte. 32, features a modest (but good) wine list and a bevy of craft beers that will help you wash down the spicy vittles. Like Muttley’s, Siranni’s wall art and pictures will keep you amused while you’re waiting on the excellent pizza. You can call for takeout at 304- 259-5454.

Two miles north of Davis is the town of Thomas where art galleries such as Mountainmade and the White Room share Front Street with The Purple Fiddle (a music club and sandwich emporium), antique shops and The Flying Pig restaurant.

The latest addition to Front Street is Tip Top Coffee. Tip Top is a coffee shop on steroids with ambitions to be much more. Owner Cade Archuleta has sandwiches, pastries and cookies, and recently added a small, but excellent, selection of wines by the glass. The shop will begin offering a full menu and a bar service soon. The coffee is excellent and the staff is always smiling.

For those of you who wish to go over to the dark (or pilsner) side, both Davis and Thomas boast craft breweries where you can sip that lesser beverage on the premises. The Blackwater Brewing Company in Davis and Mountain State Brewing in Thomas provide visitors with some very good craft beer.

So take a trip off the beaten track and visit the Potomac Highlands where mountain biking, fishing, skiing, kayaking, hiking, hunting and rafting will leave you ravenous, and where you’ll find some pretty accomplished folks that know how to feed the beast.