by Jennifer Rosen
Hey, You! Look in the door of your fridge, or on that cracked tray you call your bar. See that bottle of vermouth? Remember when you opened it? I didn’t think so. Well, it’s time to throw it out. It is not kryptonite, you know, only fortified wine with herbs added. They did this originally to make awful wine palatable. Then, for a while, they decided it was medicinal (The flu, sure, that's what I'm taking it for...) Then the martini was born and for the next eighty-seven years people bought vermouth, opened it and ignored it. But vermouth is not just for leaving out of martinis. Dubonnet straight up may leave me cold, but at a co-op in Spain, I tasted vermouth that blew my socks off. It was a thick, concentrated red wine; tannic, a little sweet and perfumed...
by Jennifer Rosen
Katherine Hepburn was a family friend when I was growing up and now that I’m too big to get in trouble I can say it: I never got her appeal. She’d gab on endlessly about the trials of being a famous actress and I’d think, “Famous, yes. Actress…I don’t know.” Certainly a riveting performer, yet she never stepped out of herself and into another personality, which is what I think of as acting. There are grapes like that. Whether fresh and young or old and delicate, they shout out their unmistakable personality. Riesling and Muscat come to mind. Then there are actors. Craftsmen who bury their egos and disappear into a role for the greater good of the story. You leave the movie thinking, “No way that was her! She’s twenty pounds lighter and has a Ger...
by Jennifer Rosen
With all the issues surrounding wine—from prices to grapes to food pairing—there's one question people ask me more than all the others combined. Practically daily someone will say, “Remember that grape stomping episode from ‘I Love Lucy?’” No, I don’t remember it. I never saw it. I can’t sit through five minutes of that show. Let me be frank: I hate Lucy. Oh, yes, she was a brilliant comedienne as well as business woman. Yet I find the sitcom irritating and screechy. Besides, my two marriages supplied all the raucous bickering I wanted without the annoying laugh track. Yet the world loves Lucy. Especially the time she and Fatso put on their kerchiefs and stomped grapes, an event hilarious enough to have inspired commemorative items ranging from lithographs...
by Jennifer Rosen
Remember Rhine wine, Mountain Chablis and Hearty Burgundy? When all fizz was Champagne, and Sherry and Madeira could be found in the cooking aisle? That was then. A recent World Trade Organization agreement cracked down our use of those names, along with Burgundy, Chianti, Claret, Haut-Sauterne, Hock, Marsala, Malaga, Moselle, Port, Retsina, Sauternes, and Tokay. We conceded, in return for the privilege of selling our wine freely in Europe, an idea vigorously protested by EU farmers’ organizations. "It cannot be that American artificial wine ends up on the German market," howled Farm Minister Horst Seehofer, "German quality will be drowned by cheap laboratory wines!" But in the end, keeping their traditional names was more important than banning our pha...
by Jennifer Rosen
Most avalanches happen on slopes ranging from twenty-five to forty-five degrees. Cars can’t climb a grade steeper than thirty. Thirty-five degrees is a double black diamond, forty is the low end of extreme mountaineering and a fall off a sixty-degree slope, I’m told, means sure and sudden death. Yet here on Germany’s Mosel River, vineyards cant up to a vertiginous sixty-seven degrees. My heart plays the congas as I clamber up through sliding slabs of slate, grasping at trellis stakes too fragile to hold me. No wonder local vineyard workers wear harnesses and climbing gear. I’m on a hunt; for that crucial element in great German wine: terroir. No one quite agrees on the definition, but think of it this way: some people speak in the bland cadence of the evening news, whi...
by Kim Tyndall
Pairing food and wine: it may be easier than you think! Pairing food and wine is as normal as putting salt and pepper together or having a soprano and alto sing in harmony. In order to make the duet harmonious, however, aren’t some ground rules needed? According to Greg Maurer, Executive Vice President & General Manager for Heidelberg Distributing Company, and Richard Blondin, Executive Chef at The Refectory restaurant, maybe and maybe not. Both will be on hand at the Columbus Food & Wine Affair, set for 7 to 10 p.m., Friday, September 29 at the Franklin Park Conservatory. Maurer says if you have a much-loved recipe and you serve it with your favorite glass of cabernet, enjoy! While there are some good matches of food and wine, ultimately, the best match is whatever your palate fi...
by Kim Tyndall
Whether you consider yourself a novel wine taster or knowledgeable enthusiast with a discerning palette, you are sure to find more than a little something to enjoy—and learn—at this year’s Columbus Food & Wine Affair, set for 7 to 10 p.m., Friday, September 29 at the Franklin Park Conservatory, Columbus, Ohio. Now in its fourth year, the event is drawing praise as a Mecca for culinary industry professionals as well for wine lovers. The event showcases some of the world’s most recognized vintners. But are you wondering if you can hold your own at such a function? Never fear. Matt Citriglia is here. Citriglia has 22 years of experience in the wine industry including retail ownership and restaurant and wholesale management. Currently, he is General Sales Manager for a local wine wh...
by Kim Tyndall
WINE COMPETITION IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST; MEDALISTS TO BE ANNOUNCED AT COLUMBUS FOOD & WINE AFFAIR It may surprise you to learn that one of the largest wine competitions is the country isn’t held in San Francisco or New York City. It takes place right here in Columbus, Ohio. On August 26, 40 judges gathered at the Columbus Fish Market in Grandview to weigh in on the look, taste, and texture of 400 wines at the Columbus Food and Wine Affair Annual Wine Competition. Medalists in the competition will be announced at this year’s Columbus Food & Wine Affair (CFWA) set for 7 to 10 p.m., Friday, Sept. 29 at the Franklin Park Conservatory. Rob Somers, Ohio Manager, Foster’s Wine Estates, is co-chair of the competition committee along with Ryan Valentine, Director of Beverage for Cameron Mit...
by Dan Foster
The Wine and Food Society of Clark County conducted the wine judging of featured Northwest Wines at the Camas Wine, Arts and Music Festival on August 19, 2006. Several Society members, along with other knowledgeable wine enthusiasts acted as judges. This event was held at the Port of Camas-Washougal Marina Park on Saturday, August 19th. There were over 40 wines submitted. Selecting the best was conducted by 8 judges. The winner's are listed below. WINEMAKER'S CHOICE 1st Place Columbia Valley 2004 Sangiovese 2nd Place Townshend - Yakima Valley 2004 Riesling 3rd Place Marshal's 2002 Cabernet Franc SYRAH 1st Place Wind River 2004 Syrah 2nd Place Sleeping Dog 2003 Syrah 3rd Place Marshal's 2002 Syrah MERLOT 1st Place Sleeping Dog 2003 Merlot 2nd Place Windy Point 2003...
by Remie Law
14th CONCORSO ENOLOGICO INTERNAZIONALE 40th VINITALY, Verona-Italy 28 March – 02 April 2006 a report of the proceedings by a member of the JURY from Singapore (with photos see http://www.happyvines.com/VinItaly06) SAME STROKES : DIFFERENT FOLKS This Competition brings together a whole host of personalities, nationalities and types into ONE hotel and ONE venue. It offers great opportunity to interact or not. To establish new friendships and deepen or strengthen old ones or not. It is an amalgamation of cultures but only one culture is foremost - the culture of WINE that binds all participants. We talk about everything under the sun but ultimately the subject of WINE tend to crop up. "Oh, I just tasted this wonderful PX ........ 1941, no less!!!" "Ugh! So much wood and no fruit in som...
