2013 New York Wine & Food Festival: An Afternoon with Barbara Lynch and Anthony Giglio

When we were invited as press to attend a lunchtime wine pairing seminar at the 2013 New York Wine & Food Festival, we were thrilled to see Anthony Giglio on the ticket. We remembered the 2011 NYWFF seminar led by Giglio which kept us talking for days. See, Giglio takes pride is making wine accessible to everyone. We were new in this business back then, but we remembered thinking, "hey, he's doing what we're trying to do" -- and we felt like kindred spirits for it. He's also pretty funny.

This year, Giglio teamed up with James Beard Award-Winner Barbara Lynch, who owns several Boston restaurants that are collectively known as Gruppo. She and Giglio worked together to come up with a menu of scrumptious tastes to pair with 4 Southern Italian wines.

For anyone who attends a Giglio wine-tasting seminar, you are guaranteed to walk away with ready-to-use tools for your next wine selection. His "3-sip rule" is not necessarily revolutionary but, for us, it's a new way of thinking about wine. In the same way we encourage people to "just try it" when it comes to food, Giglio is right to point out that it often takes a few sips before you can completely appreciate a wine. If, after the 3rd sip, you're still not convinced, so be it. But at least you tried.

Learning about how to assess the color of a wine.

The menu was delectable. A focaccia with tomatoes, eggplant, and potatoes that was paired with a white "Fiano" wine from the Avellino wine region. There was a brightness to the wine but a hint of bitter, as well. Then, a Burrata with white truffle paired with a red "Primitivo" from Layer Cake. This was followed by a special treat of Fois Gras that was a "bonus" taste before we moved onto a white orcchiette pasta with fava beans and black olives paired with a red "Negroamaro" wine and a gnocchi with escarole and anchovy filling paired with a white "Greco di Tufa" grape from Campania.

All the wines were "interesting" in that they had complexities that I didn't expect and were offerings we probably wouldn't normally sample. Giglio selected wines at very reasonable price points--the most expensive, the Negroamaro, retails at $32--and wines that would be easy to find. He explained that even if you couldn't find any of these specific wines in a wine shop, they are common enough grapes that any decent wine shop could help find a similar substitute if asked. The only criticism I have for his wine choices is his inclusion of the Layer Cake Primitivo. Yes, the grapes were sourced from Puglia, but for some reason, I consider it a stretch to call this a wine "from Southern Italy."

The NYWFF wine pairing seminars are a great way to sample fine wine and cuisine while adding to your wine appreciation toolbox. My takeaway? I had no idea Primitivo has similarities to Zinfandel. That gives me one more nugget of information to help me decipher the next wine menu I come across.

2012 NYC Wine & Food Festival: Duckhorn Merlot

As the last of our three tasting events at the New York Wine and Food festival, we were invited to a vertical tasting of Merlot from Duckhorn Vineyard in Napa Valley. Duckhorn was the first winemaker in Napa valley to focus on Merlot, while most everyone else was looking at Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. For the past 40 years, they have sourced grapes from the northern reaches of the Napa appellation, where the climate and soils are more conducive to Merlot.

In 1978, Dan and Margaret Duckhorn released their first Merlot, based on the Bordeaux style--more subtle flavors, with a balance of fruit and earth. Since then, they have been one of the premiere producers of Merlot in California. As demand for Californian wines grew, the demand for Merlot outstripped the supply...until the movie Sideways came along, and ruined everything. These days, the public's demand for Merlot has stabilized to be the second highest consumed varietal, after Cabernet Sauvignon, and Duckhorn continues to release a wide range of wines under a wide range of brand names (all focused on the duck theme), from simple table wines to complex and subtle single-vineyard wines.

We had a chance to try wines from one of their premier vineyards, the Three Palms vineyard, and from six vintages ranging from 2009 to 2000. Each was amazing in its own way, and we learned a few important things.

• These wines are made to be aged; they are held for 3 years before they are released, and will generally reach their peak in 3-5 years.
• Merlot has some big flavors, and pairs well with red meats; something simple with an older bottle, but big, strong flavors with a wine at its peak.
• They recommend we taste our wines from oldest to youngest, as the flavors get more subtle as the wine gets older and the young ones can kind of overwhelm the palette in comparison.

This was a great tasting for us, an opportunity to get a better understanding of what the best of Merlot can really taste like.

 

2012 NYC Wine & Food Festival: Gerard Bertrand Legend Vintages

The first thing that hit us when we walked into the tasting room was the smell. It was as if someone had filled the room with caramel and nuts, and the smell was so thick it felt almost solid. We darted into our seats, surrounded by glasses that looked like arcs of amber, anxiously awaiting the chance to try something truly special.

Gerard Bertrand is a cheerleader for Southern France. Despite the fact that the region, sharing the border with Spain, is the largest wine producer in France, it sees far less press and prestige than some of the country's other regions. The award winning winemaker is doing his part to showcase the unique potential of Southern France, so when a local winemaker stumbled across a lost cache of Port style wines, he jumped at the chance to distribute them as yet another way to show exactly what the region is capable of.

The region produces a rich dessert wine in the style of Port, crafted from the three styles of the Grenache grape: Noir (black), Blanc (white), and Gris (grey) Granache. The grapes are blended to achieve a desired flavor profile, and during the fermentation process alcohol is added to stop the fermentation process before the yeast consumes all the sugars, leaving a sweet, highly alcoholic wine that can stand decades of aging. Left to age in barrels and then forgotten, these wines have been aging for decades in wood, only transferred to bottles 18 months ago. To say that they were rich in flavor doesn't begin to do them justice.

Our host eschewed the usual tasting banter, the comparing of smells and flavors, to instead let us sip each wine while he regaled us with pop trivia tidbits from each vintage. As we delved into the a world of powerful smells and flavors, we were reminded of the world that each vintage grew in. The 1969 grapes were harvested the year of Woodstock and the first man on the moon. The 1945 vintage captured the end of World War II. The wine from 1929 survived through the Great Depression. Each liquid jewel captured a moment of time, from moments in history that most of us have only ever read about. It was such a treat to sample these wines, an experience that would be almost impossible to replicate anywhere. And it didn't hurt that they were amazing wines as well.

QUICK REVIEW: American Wine and Cheese Pairings

The delicious pairings we tried as part of the

2011 NYC Wine & Food Festival:

CA, Arroyo Seco, 'Grita Vineyard', Bernardus "Griva" Sauvignon Blanc 2009
+ // Crisp // Green Apple, Grass // Citrus, Green Apple, Herbs // Medium
Vermont Butter & Cheese Cremery "Bonne Bouche", VT
++ // Earthy // Stinky, Grassy, Salt // Medium-Full

CA, Napa Valley, Mumm Napa Brut DVX 2001
+ // Smooth // Toast, Grass // Apple, Oak // Light
Nettle Meadow "Kunik", NY
+ // Creamy // Grassy, Milk Cream // Light
Wine imparts a minerality, while the bubbles cut through the richness.

WA, Pacific Rim Chenin Blanc 2008
+ // Sweet (with a crisp finish) // Lemon, Petrol // Meyer Lemon, Vanilla // Medium
Bellweather Farms “San Andreas”, CA
+ // Nutty // Nutty // Medium
A very good pairing, the wine brought out some very herbaceous flavors with the cheese.

CA, Amador County, Terra D’Oro Barbera 2007
+ // Spicy // Blackberry Jam, Pine // Oak, Clove, Blackberries // Medium
Beehive Cheese Company “Barely Buzzed”, CA
++ // Nutty // Nutty, with Coffee, Mushrooms, and Lavender from the rind
This was an excellent cheese, and the coffee-rubbed rind added some amazing flavors, with brought out the fruitiness of the wine.

CA, Sonoma, Rutz Cellars, Pinot Noir “Dutton Ranch” 2005
+ // Smooth // Jam, Cherry // Black Cherry, Chocolate // Medium
Tumalo Farms “Classico”, OR
+ // Sweet // Caramel // Medium
Spicy notes of the wine pop with the cheese.
Sweet notes are enhanced with the Chenin Blanc.

CA, Amador County, Montevina Terra D’Oro Zinfandel Port, NV
++ // Sweet // Caramel, Pine, Currant // Grape, Pine, Caramel // Heavy
Sartori Cheese Company “Bella Vitano Gold”, WI
++ // Sweet // Limestone, Grass // Heavy
This was a very sweet combination, good choice for dessert!

CA, Woodbridge Moscato, NV
++ // Smooth // Floral, Apricot // Apricot // Medium
Beecher’s Handmade Cheese “Grayson”
++ // Rich // Stinky // Heavy
The sweet flavors of the wine juxtaposed agaisnt the strong flavors of the cheese created an almost herbal combination, tempering both the wine and the cheese.

CA, Chateau St. Michelle, Late Harvest Riesling “Ethos” 2008
+ // Funky, Smooth // Honey, Stone // Honey, Grape, Mold // Medium
Pt. Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company “Unnamed Blue”, CA
+ // Funky // Mold, Mineral // Heavy
The sweet flavors of the wine come through.
A spicy note comes through when paired with the Zinfandel Port.