John Brown has been a wine and food columnist in West Virginia since the 1980’s. His regular columns appear in the Charleston (WV) Gazette-Mail under the title Vines & Vittles.
In episode 6 of "WineBoy," host John Brown heads ups to Robert Wong's Bridge Road Bistro for a tasty pairing of wine and food. Executive chef Paco Aceves shares with Brown a chicken penne pasta dish from the Bistro's recently revised menu. Brown pairs it with a French red wine from a new wine list by general manager Amy Sue Gates. You'll be hungry before it's all over. And wait for those credits to roll...
You know what makes WineBoy mad, really mad? Watch the webcast of WineBoy 9 by clicking here as host John Brown discusses the proper serving temperature of wine while lamenting how few restaurants - even the fancy-shmancy ones- pay attention to this very important aspect of wine appreciation. He'll also tell you about a very tasty Australian red with an Italian pedigree. Oh, and you'll love his interview with Pierre N'Cest Pas, a Frenchman with some strong opinions about American wine.
Ask an Italian what wine they consider to be best, and they will invariably point to a winery down the street or to a vineyard on the hillside adjacent to their village. This is a country around which wine and food are the central components of everyday life, and citizens are justifiably proud of what is grown in the fertile soil of this ancient land.
As a wine-stained graduate of Whatsamatta U, I am understandably partial to the vino made in Italy. As a matter of fact, what I love most about Italian wine is its tremendous diversity. Within the geographic confines of its 20 states, Italy produces a virtual sea of wine from a dizzying array of grapes. The most famous wine states are Tuscany in north-central Italy and Piedmont in the northwest. In Tuscany, the great wines of Brunello di Montalcino and Ornellaia share the stage with the ubiquitous Chianti, and whites such as Vernaccia Di San Gimignano. In Piedmont, the prestigious vines of Barolo and Barbaresco (made from the Nebbiolo grape) reign supreme, and are joined by Barbera and Merlot along with crisp whites such as Arneis and Cortese Di Gavi. Both of these regions are in the northern part of the country where the wine produced is considered to be the best.
But what about the wines of the south and, more specifically, of Sicily? In the recent past, the cognoscenti would regularly heap praise on the wines of northern Italy, while those south of Rome were, at best, marginalized, and those of Sicily were dismissed as barely drinkable. Unfortunately, when most of us ruminate on Sicily, we conjure up images of the Mafia or Don Vito Corleone – a literary invention of the late American novelist Mario Puzo in his book "The Godfather." To butcher a line from that storied work: Sicily made me an offer I couldn't refuse - great food and wine!
Ask any wine-knowledgeable person about Sicily and most will mention Corvo, the decent, but pedestrian, label that includes both white and red wines blended from obscure Sicilian grapes. But that was then and this is now! On a trip to Sicily last summer, I experienced the incredible cuisine and surprisingly superb wines of that land just off the southern Italian mainland. The food, of course, is influenced by the sea which surrounds the island, and by the cornucopia of herbs, vegetables and fruits – some of which (like rosemary) grow wild in the fields and on hillsides. We spent our entire five days in and around Taormina, a resort area in southern Sicily in the shadow of towering Mount Etna, an 11,000-foot active volcano. The delicious and fresh pastas were dressed with an assortment of seafood such as mussels, razor clams, swordfish, shrimp and calamari, and flavored with lemon, rosemary, garlic and other locally-grown herbs and vegetables.
To wash down all this wonderful food, my wife and I, joined by four hedonistic friends, consumed just about every type of wine produced in Sicily. The most famous indigenous red made there is called Nero d’Avola, a fragrant, cherry and dark fruit-flavored wine produced in various styles from light to very concentrated.
But what really surprised and pleased my palate was a 1999 Planeta Syrah (not yet available here). This Sicilian wine had wonderful richness and concentration with black pepper spice and lively acidity that married unbelievably well with the grilled and rosemary-scented rack of lamb we consumed at Casa Gruno, a gourmet restaurant in the heart of Taormina.
There are a few Sicilian wines available locally that give you a hint of the quality enhancements being made in Sicily. You might try the 2005 Pinocchio ($12 -- see the telltale 'nose' of this brand on label at right) which is a Nero d’Avola red that is made in a bright, fruit-forward style, or the more complex 2005 Planeta La Segreta ($18 ) that blends Nero d’Avola with Merlot and Syrah to produce a deeper, fuller-bodied wine. Another favorite of mine is the cleverly-named Fourplay ($14) which is a blend of four grapes including the above-mentioned Nero d’Avola.
Sicily also produces delicious Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon which are sometimes blended with Nero d’Avola . These wines are most likely available only in “big city” wine shops. Native white grape varieties such as Inzolia and Carricante are regularly blended with Chardonnay and sometimes Viognier to produce wonderful accompaniments to the fresh seafood dishes. Crisp, with melon and citrus flavors, these wines are not only delicious they are refreshing.
While there is presently limited availability for the wines of Sicily in our Mountain State, you can check for them online. Look for quality wine producers such as Spadafora, Tasca D’Almerita, Cottanera, Planetta and Villagrande.
Over the years, I’ve discovered that one of the very best excuses for getting out of “real” work (such as shoveling snow, moving furniture or cleaning the basement) is to cook dinner for the family. My wife, who must have been a hostage negotiator in a former life, made it clear to me that the only way this would be an acceptable trade-off was if I agreed to clean the kitchen up after working my culinary magic. So, after formally signing an agreement witnessed by my children, our local clergyman and the family cat, I am now permitted kitchen privileges once a weekend. You’re going to need a fairly full-bodied red wine to accompany this dish. Here are some that I would consider: 2004 Infinitus Tempranillo (inky-purple and rich from the Jumilla region of Spain - $14); 2004 Marietta Old Vines Zinfandel (the big brother to Marietta Old Vines Red - $17); 2002 Allegrini Palazzo Della Torre Valpolicella (not your usual lighter-styled Valpolicella – this one is full and rich - $20); and 2002 d’Arenberg Laughing Magpie (this Australian Shiraz-Viognier blend is a spicy mouth-full - $22).
Enjoy!
In this Wild and Wonderful wine backwater, I am hailed by many of my friends (?) as THE West Virginia wino. So it always comes as a shock when folks consider me an expert. This aversion to any type of recognition is probably the result of my Catholic school education, where guilt was the only attribute held in higher esteem than humility.
Anyway, several years ago I was introduced, by the overly exuberant host at a wine dinner, as a connoisseur and a gourmet. After smiling uncomfortably and bumbling through the event, I quickly excused myself and rushed to the nearest dictionary to find out just how those terms are defined by Mr. Webster. Webster's New World Dictionary defines connoisseur as "one who has expert knowledge and keen discrimination, especially in the fine arts." A gourmet is described as "one who likes and is an excellent judge of fine foods and drinks." In looking up 'gourmet,' I spotted the word 'gourmand' right above it in the dictionary and quickly decided that term more accurately describes my approach to eating and drinking.
A gourmand is defined as...
"one who enjoys good food and wine, often to excess." I suppose a gourmet might take a bite food or a sip of wine and then render a critical opinion. A gourmand, on the other hand, would salivate at the very sight of food and drink, and would wolf down great quantities of the fare, declaring his or her satisfaction with the experience by issuing a resounding belch. A gourmet is discriminating and exhibits exemplary self-control while a gourmand will eat and drink everything in sight and ask for more.
Even though I may be rationalizing, I'm still not comfortable with accepting that label to describe my approach to wine and food. If I am neither a gourmet nor gourmand, then the 'connoisseur' moniker misses the mark completely. Having keen discrimination in the fine arts is not one of my strong suits. The only artist I know does sidewalk murals in wine and chalk under the South Side Bridge. Stained glass - isn’t that what happens to your fine crystal if you let wine stand in it overnight? Just a few years ago, someone spending as much time as I do tasting and then writing about wine and food would have been labeled a hedonist or even a dipsomaniac. So, I guess I should be pleased someone described me in more flattering terms. But I'm not! The late Justin Wilson, noted Creole and Cajun cook, had some of the best advice on matching food and wine, and on the snobbery sometimes associated with the endeavor. As you may know, Wilson had a long-standing cooking show on PBS, and he used a thick Cajun accent to spice up his recipes and his stories. After sitting down to sample the lamb dish he had just prepared, Wilson grabbed a big jug, poured himself a glass of white wine and proclaimed: "You all probably wonderin' why I'm drinkin' white wine wit’ ‘dis here lamb. You ‘tink ‘dis lamb care what color ‘da wine is? If it don't matter to ‘da lamb, I s'pose it's up to me to drink what I want." Well then, I s'pose it's up to me to decide too. I’m not comfortable with gourmet, connoisseur or gourmand so I guess I’ll need to find a new term to describe my affliction. How about gourmanseur? Frankly, you can all me whatever you want. Just don't call me late for good food and wine!
Wine Recommendation: 2005 L’Ecole 41 Columbia Valley Semillon ( $18 ) This delicious, food-friendly Washington-state wine is comprised of 86% Semillon and 14% Sauvignon Blanc. On the nose, the wine has a slate-mineral quality with just a hint of vanilla. In the mouth, the flavors of melon, apricot and citrus are overlain with a creamy texture. I matched this wine with sea scallops wrapped in lean bacon and sautéed in a little butter and about two ounces of the above-mentioned wine. Terrific!