Try as I might, I can never comprehend more than just rudimentary mathematical calculations. I do know simple math and can recite my multiplication tables (but not beyond nine times nine) so I am able to function fairly well in this increasingly complex world.

Most of us want simple answers to the subjects or hobbies that pique our interest. Take wine for example. I am often asked to disclose the most important factor in producing good wine.

Well, among the plethora of qualitative components that must be present to produce a good bottle of wine, it is difficult to single out just one as the most important. So I’ll focus on two basic conditions that must exist for good wine to be made.

In my opinion, the two most important influences are the geographic location of the vineyard and the weather. Assuming these two variables are in place, then other influences such as soil composition, topography, orientation of the vineyard to the sun and a whole host of additional esoteric factors come into play.

You don’t have to be a horticulturist to know it’s impossible to cultivate a vineyard at the North Pole, in Death Valley or at the top of Mount Everest. We all know that grapes require a moderate climate in order to grow and ripen to full maturity before being turned into wine.

What, then, is more critical to the production of good wine? The vineyard location or the weather? The obvious answer is both, but reality is a bit fuzzier. For example, take the world famous appellations of Bordeaux and Burgundy in France.

The best wines from these two regions are among the most expensive on earth, some of which cost thousands dollars for a single bottle. The French proclaim loudly that wines produced in these places are superior because of the soil in the respective geographic locations.

What they don’t tell you is that less than five out of every 10 vintages is average to awful in quality. Why? Simply put: Mother Nature. Weather in both Bordeaux and (particularly) Burgundy can be less than ideal for grape growing.

A perfect year can quickly morph into disaster when a sudden hailstorm in the summer or torrential rains during harvest wreaks havoc on the vineyards. Just this past vintage, hailstorms in July and August decimated many vineyards in Burgundy.

[caption id="attachment_829" align="alignleft" width="300"] Sunny days don't always insure good wine


Conversely, those in California, South America (Chile and Argentina) and Southeast Australia tout the consistently good weather as the reason for the outstanding wines they produce. Weather is usually not an issue in these regions. Yet, too much of a good thing (e.g. long, hot growing seasons) can result in a vintage of out of balance, insipid and with overly alcoholic wines.

So how do winemakers in the most prestigious appellations around the wine world deal with an imperfect geographic location or intemperate weather conditions? A lot of different ways actually.

For years, wine makers in California struggled to make decent pinot noir and consistently failed. It was widely held that the state was just too warm to successfully produce this fickle grape, which requires a long, cool growing season.

Then wineries began planting the grape in cooler locations and using rootstock from Burgundy. Consequently, by adapting their vineyard practices to what the grape required, California has been making excellent pinot noir for the last thirty years.

In Bordeaux and Burgundy, growers and wine makers now use advanced weather forecasting to protect their vines and to know exactly when to harvest. In addition, they employ new world techniques in the winery to improve the quality of their wines. And Voila (that means “hot damn” in these parts), they are able to mitigate some of the most vexing problems.

So, the take away is to do a little homework before you go on a wine-buying spree. Check out vintage reports and tasting notes for the wines you are interested in, particularly those like Burgundy, that require a serious investment. You can also surf the Internet to get the latest information.

Wine Recommendations:

2012 Kiona Cabernet Sauvignon ($27) – From Washington State, this is a perfectly balanced cabernet with medium tannins that should keep getting better for years to come. Delicious now with flavors of cassis and blackberries, I suggest decanting the wine for two hours and pairing it to a grilled strip steak that has been rubbed with kosher salt and ground black pepper.

2013 Charles and Charles Rose ($14) – Also from Washington State, this salmon-colored Rhone-like rose blend is dry, delicate and infused with strawberry and cherry flavors. This Columbia Valley beauty is just the right bottle to sip on the porch or at a picnic with a slice of honey glazed ham.

It’s pretty obvious that most of us plagiarize each other’s recipes. Unless you have discovered a new fruit, vegetable or species of animal, everything ever prepared to be consumed has been documented and then revised by someone else.

So this is my rationalization for borrowing - and personalizing – a recipe from my favorite local fish monger. Joe’s Fish Market in Charleston (304-342-7827) is a great place to buy fresh seafood. Two brothers – Joe and Robin Harmon – have perfected a “hot smoked” salmon recipe that I have taken the liberty of altering somewhat, and which I’ll share with you (see recipe below).

Robin is the smoke master for this delicious treatment of salmon, and each week he labors on his smoker out behind the market to produce this culinary masterpiece. The easy way out is to get to the market early in the week (or call and place an order) and purchase a slab of Joe’s hot smoked salmon. It is simply delicious!

But if you have a couple of spare hours, particularly on the weekend when the alternative is yard work or worse (honey-do’s), then you just might try your hand at hot smoking a side of salmon. Oh, by the way, you will love the wines I am recommending to accompany the dish.

First though, it’s important to understand the difference between hot and cold smoked salmon. Traditional cold- smoked salmon is produced by hanging sides of the fish in a smoke house where a wood fire is constantly tended to insure that the temperature is between 80 and 90 degrees (F). This process can take a few hours, overnight or a couple of days to complete.

If you want to cold smoke your salmon at home, there are actually electric smokers you can purchase for a few hundred bucks. Bradley Smokers are often recommended for home use, but I prefer to hot smoke my fish using my trusty old Weber grill.

At Joes, the hot smoked salmon produced in house is brined in water, salt, brown sugar and garlic for a few hours and then smoked for up to an hour over apple wood. They also use farm-raised salmon and recommend using it rather than wild salmon that tends to dry out if you are not careful.


The main difference between Joe’s version and mine is the brine where I believe in giving the salmon a little sip of wine and maybe a beer or two. It’s also a good idea to have a taste or two while you’re creating this culinary masterpiece. After all, dehydration is a terrible thing.

If you live around these parts, go on down to Joe’s and try his hot smoked salmon, and then go back and buy a side of salmon and smoke it yourself. I don’t claim to say my recipe is better, but it’s pretty good. I hope you give it a try.

 
Tipsy Hot Smoked Salmon
Ingredients
One salmon filet with skin on (usually 1.5 to 2 lbs)
Two bottles of pilsner (any American beer will do)
One-half bottle of dry white wine
Two quarts of cold water
One half cup of Kosher salt
Four garlic cloves minced
One half cup, plus teaspoon of light brown sugar
Two teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil
One teaspoon each of cumin, black pepper and chili powder
Three cups of apple wood chips

How To
Make a brine (in large pot) of the salt, sugar, water, wine, beer and garlic
Mix and pour brine into a gallon baggie
Place salmon filet in brine making sure the liquid covers the fish
Put baggie into the pot and place in refrigerator for two to three hours
Soak wood chips in warm water for same amount of time
Remove salmon from brine and pat dry
Rub olive oil all over fish and place on aluminum foil in a cookie pan
Sprinkle cumin, black pepper, brown sugar and chili powder evenly on filet
Make a small charcoal fire (about three handfuls of coals)
Move coals to one side of grill, drain wood chips and place in and on charcoal fire
Place pan with salmon on the opposite side of grill and put lid on
Smoke slowly by adjusting grill vents to control temperature (no more than 300F)
Check salmon after 30 minutes and then again after 45 minutes
Salmon is done when firm, but not hard to the touch

Wine Recommendations: This tipsy hot smoked salmon needs medium to full-bodied white or red wines. I prefer pinot noir from cooler growing areas in California or ones produced in Oregon. I also suggest Rhone-style whites and medium-flavored chardonnay for the salmon. Here are ones you might try.

Pinot noir: 2010 Domaine Serene Yamhill Cuvee ($45); 2011 Melville Santa Rita Hills ($30); 2012 Acacia Carneros ($20); 2012 MacMurray Ranch Russian River ($25).

Whites: 2011 Paul Mas Marsanne ($12); 2012 Anselmi San Vincenzo ($14- blend of garganega and chardonnay); 2011 Mer Soleil Santa Lucia Highlands Chardonnay ($27); 2012 d’Arenberg The Hermit Crab Viognier/Marsanne ($15).

I have always appreciated the exquisite synergy between food and a companion beverage. Now that beverage is wine, but in my formative years, I discovered others that not only whet my whistle but were also improved when I sipped them with food.

The first epiphany occurred when I poured a small bag of salted peanuts into a bottle of RC Cola and took a drink of the mixture. Holy Molley! Both the peanuts and the cola were vastly improved by the marriage of these humble products. Later, when I was old enough to place a quarter on the bar at Joe’s Sportsman Inn and request a “cold one,” I discovered that even alcoholic beverages were improved when consumed with food and vice-versa.

At Joe’s, it was a hot dog made with mouth-searing chili sauce created by the proprietor to keep patrons from ordering food. Joe, who preferred to sip Calvert Reserve blended whiskey without interruption, could never understand why his thermo-nuclear hot dogs were so popular. Anyway, that’s when I realized that food was a lot better when accompanied by a complementary beverage other than water or even RC Cola.

Since then, I’ve had the occasion to dine at some pretty special restaurants in the US and around the world. As a matter of fact, we have quite a few good ones right here in the Mountain State that also understand the importance of cultivating a good and fairly priced wine list. Others have noticed too, including the Wine Spectator Magazine that has recognized eight Mountain State establishments with “Awards of Excellence” and another for “Best of Awards of Excellence” for their wine lists.

[caption id="attachment_1081" align="alignleft" width="300"] Food and Wine = Synergy


The state restaurants receiving Awards of Excellence are: Bridge Road Bistro, The Chop House and Laury’s in Charleston; Provence Market Café in Bridgeport; Final Cut Steak House in Charles Town; Sargasso in Morgantown; Savannah’s in Huntington; and Spats in Parkersburg (within the Blennerhassett Hotel). Another state restaurant, The Bavarian Inn in Shepherdstown, received “Best of Awards of Excellence” and that’s quite an honor since fewer than 1,000 dining establishments achieved that distinction.

One restaurant that is conspicuous by its absence from the Wine Spectator list is the Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs. I spoke to an official at the Greenbrier who noted that the restaurant lists are currently being reviewed and updated. Once this process is completed, the resort will be presenting them for review. Expect them to be among the Wine Spectator awardees in the future.

Not every good restaurant in the state has sought national recognition  and there are several establishments that deserve mention here for their exceptional food and their thoughtful wine lists. Here a few of my favorites.

The South Hills Market and Café in Charleston, owned by Richard and Anne Arbaugh, features a superb and ever-changing menu of continental, low-country and new American delicacies with a visually appealing presentation. The wine list is well conceived, priced fairly and complements the cuisine.

Another Capitol city establishment — Paterno’s At The Park — has become the city’s best Italian restaurant with a very good and reasonably priced wine list. And Rocco’s in Ceredo features artful and inventive southern Italian delicacies. Rocco knows his wine and the list marries seamlessly with his creative cuisine.

The charm and atmosphere of Café Cimino in Sutton is only exceeded by the Italian and Mediterranean dishes inspired by Chef Tim Urbanic. I once participated in a 10-course Italian meal with accompanying wines, including consecutive older vintages of Barolo. Café Cimino is also a B&B and should be on your must go-to list.

In the northern part of the state, the Wonder Bar, between Bridgeport and Clarksburg, has always been known for its excellent steaks. With new ownership, the steaks are still superb, but the wine list has been completely improved and updated.

Three other restaurants in Charleston deserve mention here. Noah’s Eclectic Bistro is a small, 11-table establishment that, as its name implies, showcases a very wide-ranging menu and a wine list exceptional for its variety and value. And the good folks at the Bluegrass Kitchen continue to improve their small, value -oriented and well thought out list to accompany the excellent menu offerings. And finally, some of the best thin crust pizza in the state, along with an extensive wine-by-the-glass list, can be enjoyed at Soho's  at the Capitol Market.

After a winter when I wondered whether the weather would ever warm up, summer has come and now I feel obligated to complain about the temperature- not outside- but rather the temperature at which my favorite beverage is being served to me in restaurants.

It is extremely important any time of the year to serve wine at the proper temperature, but in summer it is especially critical so that both whites and reds are not only cool to the taste, but also provide a pleasing counterpoint to the warmth of the accompanying food.

Here is a universal and unfortunate truth: White wine is served too cold and red wine too warm.

In my estimation, the problem is twofold: for whites it is the ubiquitous convenience of refrigeration; and for reds it is our confusion over the term “room temperature.”

Let’s start with white wine and the almost fervent belief by some that if we have the capability to make something cold, then we should therefore serve our liquids – including white wine – at Arctic temperatures. Drinking wines that are served at just above freezing will give you a headache and, worse, you won’t even be able to taste them.


I’m sure that many flawed wines benefit from this chilling effect, but the delicate flavors and nuances of taste in say, a riesling, gavi or sauvignon blanc, will be absolutely neutered by excessive chilling. The good news here is that if you wait 10 or 15 minutes, the wine will warm to a reasonable temperature.

So what is the proper temperature to serve white wine? Whites served at between 48 and 53 degrees Fahrenheit are about ideal. However, since most of us don’t carry thermometers with us, the easiest way to judge the proper temperature is to drink them when they are cool, refreshing and you can actually taste the flavor nuances of the wine.

There is one exception to this rule and that is Champagne or sparkling wine. These “fizzers” actually benefit from colder temperatures (around 45 degrees F), where the chilling effect blunts some of the carbonation yet still allows you to enjoy the complex flavors of these wines.

Red wine is a bit more complicated. In fact, you can trash the old axiom that proclaims red wine should be served at “room temperature.” Why? Well, that room temperature rule was adopted in the middle ages when the average castle, lean-to or hut’s temperature was about 55 degrees F. – in the summer.

Unfortunately, some individuals and restaurants assume room temperature means somewhere between 70 and 80 degrees. When you are at home, this problem is easily resolved by simply refrigerating the wine for 15 to 30 minutes, which should bring the temperature down to around 60 degrees.

But what if you are in a restaurant and you’re served red wine that is too warm? While there are a few establishments - Noah's Eclectic Bistro in Charleston comes to mind -  that actually keep their reds at the proper temperature both summer and winter, the overwhelming majority do not. In this case, you should simply ask for an ice bucket to chill the wine for a few minutes.

However, don’t be surprised if you’re lectured by some clueless waiter on the “proper” serving temperature of red wine. Don’t laugh, there are restaurants with award-winning wine lists where hundred dollar bottles of red wine are served lukewarm.

So, while dinning at your favorite restaurant this summer, insist on reds and whites served at a temperature that is both refreshing and also complimentary to the food you are eating. And don’t be embarrassed to ask for an ice bucket to chill your red if it is served to you at “room temperature.”

Here are two wines I think you will enjoy this summer:

2012 Buty Semillon/Sauvignon Blanc/Muscadelle ($33) This complex white blend is from Washington State. It’s a medium-bodied wine with aromas of ripe pear and slate, and a rich, creamy mouth fill with anise and citrus flavor nuances. Try this wine with ripe tomatoes drizzled with the best Tuscan extra virgin olive oil you can find and topped with fresh mozzarella and basil.

2011 Louis Martini Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($25) – Ripe blackberry and cola flavors highlight this balanced and very approachable cabernet. Decant and chill this tasty wine in the refrigerator for 15 minutes before serving it with a grilled rib eye rubbed with garlic, coarsely ground black pepper and kosher salt.

I am always fascinated by how we make choices regarding the wines we choose to purchase and drink. Whether for every day consumption or for special occasions, we can all agree that quality wines that offer great value are worth seeking out.

So how do we determine what is not only an acceptable wine, but one that is also exceptional?

Of course, the easy answer is that wine, like art, food or any other aesthetic thing, is evaluated subjectively so that judgments on quality must be evaluated in a quantitative context before they can be accepted.

In other words, if I claim that “Uncle Rupert’s Rustic Rose” is a superior wine and 500 others (or at least a reputable wine critic) rate it as something akin to witch hazel, then the majority or the critic’s views would logically prevail.

Many of us depend on rating systems such as the 100- point scale used by The Wine Spectator or by wine critics such as Robert Parker or Steven Tanzer to guide us through the purple maze, while others will purchase wine from exceptional vintages or from acclaimed regions like Bordeaux or Burgundy.

Still others focus their choice on wineries that consistently produce excellent wine. And unfortunately, a large number of folks with too much money to spend think there is a direct correlation between quality and very expensive wine.

In my opinion, the best way to judge a wine’s quality is to taste them blind. Be assured this has nothing to do with using blindfolds or drinking to excess. A blind tasting involves obscuring the wine label by having another person place the bottle in a bag before you taste. This will eliminate any possible price or winery bias so that you can truly judge the product on its quality.

Blind tastings are something I do regularly so I can objectively evaluate the aroma, taste and visual qualitative elements that are the basis for whether I recommend a wine or not.

While all these evaluation methods have merit (except for basing your selection solely on price), there is one consideration we often overlook that can sometimes cloud our judgment. I’ll call it context.

Here is an example of what I mean.

On a beautiful early fall evening, my wife and I were dining al fresco at a small restaurant overlooking Lake Garda in northern Italy. The food was simple, but delicious. And the wine? It was made by the family that owned the restaurant and I swear – at that time and place – it was among the best wines I had ever tasted.

That entire multi-course meal with wine did not exceed $45, but this was one of the best wine and food experiences of my life. Why, you ask? Well, simply put, it was the context under which I had the experience, and I believe it is one of the most important, and underrated, elements of food and wine appreciation.

You cannot underestimate how the setting or context of your wine tasting affects your perception of its quality. Why? Well sometimes it has to do with whom I am forced to consume the stuff, the location of the tasting or even my mood.

Business dinners, where tensions are high and where the food and wine are secondary to accomplishing some corporate objective, are, for me, among the most difficult times to enjoy and objectively evaluate wine. At such dinners, I am tempted to order a wine that I actually dislike so that it will pair well with the sometimes distasteful subjects under discussion – but, of course, I don’t.

So the next time you ‘re using your critical wine appreciation skills to determine the quality of a specific bottle, think about the external influences that just might cloud your judgment.

Try these two –context-neutral- but excellent wines for your sipping pleasure.

2013 Raptor Ridge Pinot Gris ($20) – From Oregon’s Willamette Valley, this round and refreshing pinot gris is full of citrus and melon flavors and finishes with nice acidity. Sip it on the porch before dinner or pair it with grilled chicken thighs with a lemon, rosemary and honey glaze.

2013 Sierra Cruz Carmenere ($9) – This medium -bodied cabernet franc from Chile is a black cherry, fruit forward wine that finishes fairly dry. Chill it for 20 minutes and then drink it with grilled flank steak that has been rubbed with coarsely ground black pepper and marinated in soy, olive oil, and garlic with a dash or two of red wine vinegar.