When my herb garden begins to yield bunches of fragrant and delicious sweet basil, I know it's time to prepare one of my favorite summertime meals. With this lovely herb as the centerpiece, I created a wonderful -yet simple- meal that you may want to try sometime soon. Not surprisingly, I also have a few wine suggestions for these basil-infused dishes. So here goes. Many folks use basil as a seasoning for salads and one of my favorites is an old family recipe. Today, I'll provide you with this salad recipe and also with one of my favorite summertime culinary masterpieces: pesto pasta.

First the salad.

1. Start with six or so sweet and ripe tomatoes which should be cut into one-inch wedges.

2. Prepare the basil: I had picked a small basket full of basil leaves, being careful to snip the larger of them with my fingers at the base of the plant in order to insure continued growth. (You can buy basil at most grocery stores, but it's a lot cheaper to grow your own.)

3. Next, finely mince one garlic clove, chop one medium-sized sweet onion into one-inch pieces and add this to the tomatoes. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste) to the tomatoes and onions and then pour about three ounces of extra virgin olive oil to the dish. Now take a hand-full of sweet basil and chop it into small pieces and add this to the mixture. If you have fresh oregano, put the leaves from one sprig into the salad.

4. If you like a touch of heat, slice a hot banana pepper in half and cut it into small pieces, adding this to the tomato salad. This is optional, but I love the piquancy of the pepper and the flavor it gives to the salad. (Incidentally, I do not recommend using vinegar since the tomatoes usually provide sufficient acidic balance to the salad.)

5. At this point, allow the salad to sit at room temperature for at least one-hour, stirring it occasionally. Then taste it and make final adjustments (salt, garlic, etc.). It is now ready.

Now for the pesto:

1. Take two handfuls of basil, wash and pat dry with a paper towel. In a food processor, put the basil, five or six medium garlic cloves, six to eight ounces of extra virgin olive oil, salt, freshly ground black pepper and one-cup of freshly grated mild parmesan cheese ( I prefer to use Parmigiano Reggiano, but it's expensive). Blend until the consistency is very smooth and taste to adjust for salt and garlic (is there ever enough garlic?).

2. Next, put a handful pine nuts in a small sauté pan and stir till slightly brown over medium heat and add to the mixture.

3. Now add one pound of cappellini or angel hair pasta to boiling, salted water and cook till the pasta is slightly firm (usually about three to five minutes). Put the pasta in a colander, drain it and then add it to a bowl. Pour the pesto mixture over the pasta and blend the ingredients. Dinner is ready!

Serve the tomato salad in bowls (because it will have made a large amount of juice). At the same time, serve the pesto pasta on plates and add a little more freshly grated cheese. You will need at least one loaf of crusty bread (Ciabatta or other crusty bread from the Charleston Bread Company would be excellent), especially to dip into the tomato/basil salad.

WINE SUGGESTION: This meal demands sauvignon blanc where the herbal components in the wine will marry nicely with the pesto and tomato salad. Try sauvignon blanc from producers such as Dry Creek, Nobilo, Kenwood or Kim Crawford (all under $17 a bottle).

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

When summer temperatures soar, many discerning beverage consumers choose cooling liquids to soothe their heat-induced misery and slake their mighty thirsts. Personally, after hydrating with water, I prefer sipping (surprise) wine. However, my vinous choices are decidedly lighter whites and reds which I cool to a pleasing temperature before drinking.

So today’s sermon, boys and girls, deals with the absolute necessity of serving both red and white wine at the proper temperature. This is so they will be not only pleasantly cool to the taste, but also to insure that the wine will provide a pleasing counterpoint to the heat of the food with which it is paired.

Here is a universal and unfortunate truth: White wine is served too cold and red wine too warm. In my estimation, the culprits are refrigeration and the propensity on the part of wine drinkers and restaurants to be confused by the definition of “room temperature,” particularly as it relates to serving red wine.

Let’s start with white wine and the almost fervent belief that if we have the capability to make something cold, then we should therefore serve our liquids – including white wine - at Arctic temperatures. I’ve had whites served to me at temperatures so frigid they’ve needed a de-icing truck to render them drinkable. The good news here is that if you wait 10 or 15 minutes, the wine will warm to the proper temperature.

Drinking wines that are served at just above freezing will not only give you a headache, you will be unable to taste them. I’m sure that many flawed wines benefit from this chilling effect, but the delicate flavors and nuances of taste in a say, Riesling, Gavi or Chardonnay, will be absolutely neutered by excessive chilling.

So what is the proper temperature to serve white wine? Well, for me I think whites served at between 48 and 53 degrees Fahrenheit are about ideal. However, since most of us don’t carry wine thermometers around with us, the easiest way to judge proper temperature is by taste. In other words, you should be able to taste the wine at a pleasingly cool temperature.

There is one exception, though, to this rule and that is Champagne or sparkling wine. These “fizzers” actually benefit from very cold temperatures (around 40 degrees F), where the chilling effect blunts some of the carbonation and allows you to taste the complex flavors of these wines made in the traditional Champagne method. So with over-chilled whites you can simply wait until they warm up.

But what about red wine that is served too warm? Well, if you are at home, simply put the red wine in the refrigerator until the bottle is cool to the touch (for me that’s between 55 and 60 degrees F). The tricky problem concerns dealing with this issue at restaurants. There is nothing more unpleasant than sipping a red wine served at “room temperature” with that expensive slab of beef you’ve just ordered at Chez Redmeat.

The problem is then compounded when, Remy, your ostentatious waiter, expresses abject horror when you insist on an ice bucket to chill the wine so that it is pleasantly cooler than the menu item you’ve selected. (Remy doesn’t seem to understand that, when the “ room temperature “ axiom was first stated centuries ago, the average castle or hut’s temperature was about 55 degrees F.)

Don’t laugh -- this happens to me multiple times each summer at supposedly upscale restaurants. These are places that have award-winning wine lists, yet they serve red wine at temperatures that are, at best, tepid. Simply put, there should be a contrast in temperature between the food we eat and the wine we consume. It ain’t rocket science, yet it might as well be – given the ubiquitous nature of this problem.

Each year, Wine Spectator Magazine singles out restaurants which it rates as having the best wine lists around the country and world. The 2007 Wine Spectator "Best Restaurants For Wine" this year includes 10 West Virginia eateries.

Eight of the state establishments received an "Award of Excellence" and two others -- The Bavarian Inn in Shepherdstown and the Greenbrier Main Dining Room -- received the even more prestigious "Best of Award of Excellence" rating. Only 76 restaurants, of the more than 4000 rated by the magazine worldwide, achieved the highest ranking "Grand Award" designation.

Obviously, each of the award-winning restaurants must also produce exceptional cuisine to go along with their well-conceived wine lists. The recognition is a tribute to the culinary skills of the winners in the Mountain State, and we lovers of the vine should do our best to patronize these restaurants. We should also encourage our other favorite restaurants to upgrade their lists and to submit them to the magazine in the future for consideration.

The Bavarian Inn (304-876-2251) has always placed an emphasis on fine wine to go along with their excellent German-inspired menu, but they have taken the list to a new level under innkeeper and wine director, Christian Asam. Christian follows in the footsteps of his mother and father who have been leaders in the hospitality industry in our state for decades. When I served a sentence as State Commerce Commissioner in the early '90s, I had the pleasure of meeting the Asam's on several occasions, and have always been impressed with their dedication to providing guests with superb accommodations as well as great food and wine.

What more can anyone say about the crowning jewel of the state's tourism industry - The Greenbrier - except they have been consistently focused on improving, not only the food and wine at this world-class resort but also the accommodations. The resort recently embarked on a major renovation and facilities upgrade program which included additional dining facilities. I'm looking forward to sampling the fare and liquid nirvana at their new restaurant - Hemisphere (800-453-4858) - where diners will have the opportunity to choose from three tasting menus of either five or seven courses.

So kudos to both the Bavarian Inn and the Greenbrier for receiving the penultimate award from the Wine Spectator!

It is also no small achievement for the other state restaurants whose wine lists and excellent menus have garnered notice from the editors and critics at the magazine. The "Award of Excellence" winners are: The Chop House (344-3954) and Soho's (720-7646) in Charleston; Lui Lui (295-8028) and Spats (800-262-2536) in Parkersburg; The Glasshouse Grille(296-8460) in Morgantown; Provence Market Café (848-0911) in Bridgeport; Savannah's (529-0919) in Huntington; and the La Bonne Vie (387-8250) at Mountaineer Race Track in Chester.

While these awards probably won't change the barefoot and toothless image some snobby outsiders have of us (particularly those flatlanders who think a West Virginia seven-course gourmet meal consists of a six-pack and a chili dog), I think it's evident we have some pretty good places to sip and sup!

 

On the first day of Christmas, WineBoy gave to me: one Umberto Lupini ... Actually in the latest episode of the five-minute webcast, The Marcrazi Lupini opens the show and introduces host John Brown, who regales us with several non-wine suggestions for holiday gift giving.

Our spirited host also recommends a wine to please even the most bah-humbugger among us. Get some good information and have a little fun — tune in to episode 19.

So here I am sitting in this neat coffee bar in McMinneville, Oregon - the heart of the Willamette Valley - sipping coffee instead of pinot noir, and trying to clear my head enough to post this little ditty.  And, although I've certainly slurped my share of pinot noir, I have never ventured to this neck of the wine woods where they produce some of the best pinot on the planet. 

I arrived in town last night from Portland via the Oregon coast  (a round about,  but visually satisfying way, to get here) and enjoyed a superb  meal at the Joel Palmer House - one of Oregon's most famous restaurants  where the emphasis is on wild mushrooms and - what else - Pinot Noir.

Owner/chef Jack Czarnecki actually wanders the hills of Oregon searching out and picking wild mushrooms, and then creates spectacular menu items using these little fungi as the centerpiece. He and his wife Heidi bought the historic Joel Palmer House in 1996 and began to create one of the most unique restaurants in the US. According to local lore, Joel Palmer was a pioneer who settled in the area in the mid-1800’s after supposedly ascending Mount Hood in the winter wearing moccasins (and I assume other clothing). He later built the house in which the restaurant is now housed.
The goal of Jack and Heidi was to match their passion for mushrooms with their love of wine – particularly pinot noir -to which the earthy nuances of the wine marry incredibly well with the woodsy flavors of all manner of mushrooms. They have succeeded and here is a case in point: my appetizer course consisted of wild morels in a rich brown sauce with flecks of chili pepper flakes accompanied by a clump of crispy Phyllo dough strings (my apologies to the chef - my clumsy description of this course does not do it justice).
The wine – suggested by a very knowledgeable (and unpretentious) sommelier – was a delicious accompaniment. With earthy, dark cherry fruit flavors and perfectly balanced, the 2004 Methven Vineyard Reserve Pinot Noir is a special bottle of wine. While this wine is unavailable in West Virginia, you may call the winery (503-580-1320) and order it, but keep in mind that it is very limited. Also, while the wine is drinking well now, it should continue to improve for another decade.
Suffice it to say that the remainder of the meal was terrific and I am looking forward to sharing with you in coming posts what promises to be an interesting and tasteful weekend here in Oregon.