World's longest parsnip spotted at National Giant Vegetables Championships

Posted on August 31, 2012 by bilrob

World’s longest parsnip spotted at National Giant Vegetables Championships

Mr Glazebrook, has also been the double Guinness World Record holder for the heaviest parsnip, at 13lb, and the longest beetroot at 21ft.

He said: “The previous record was something like 17ft 5in, and this one is 5.607 metres, which is 18ft 5in.

“The details will have to go off to Guinness World Records but it’s going to be a world record.

“I am chuffed. It is very tricky to grow long parsnips.

“I grow them in pipes attached to the gable end of a barn so they grow downwards and what happens is the parsnip grows long and thin.

“The pipe comes apart in half lengthways and it’s a very delicate operation to get it out of the soil without breaking it.

“I managed it with this one.”

The National Gardening Show boasts huge vegetables – from pumpkins to cucumbers – so large they have to be hauled off special trucks with a forklift.

Dozens of competitors have entered 204 vegetables into this year’s UK National Giant Vegetables Championships.

Some of the produce is so long it needs two people to measure it.

A spokeswoman for the Royal Bath West Showground, where the competition is taking place, said the giant vegetables were a star attraction.

She said: “We have a large selection of giant vegetables where exhibitors come from all over the country with the largest, heaviest and longest produce.

“They range from the heaviest potatoes to the longest runner beans. It is a hugely popular part of the show.

“The vegetables are judged and weighed as they arrive at the show. The parsnip will be the only world record this year.”

Mr Glazebrook added: “I do shows every weekend and as shows go, this is the biggest one for giant veg – everyone is here and it is extraordinary.”

* The super-sized parsnip could make a staggering 88 batons to go with a Sunday roast – with each measuring a generous 2.5in.

If cut into normal parsnip length – six inches – it could also be used to make 25 bowls of Jamie Oliver’s spicy parsnip soup.

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Wine Words Worth Toasting

Posted on August 31, 2012 by bilrob

Wine Words Worth Toasting

By LETTIE TEAGUE

Do good salesmen make good writers? Or do the two talents exist at separate poles? After reading more than 20 websites of wine merchants from all over Greater New York, I found a few salesmen who in addition to knowing how to choose a fine bottle of wine can craft a good sentence or two.

Their prose promises a bit more than “Good Deals! Best Buys!” and “Multiple Case Discounts!” These merchants tell stories of wine producers and wine regions, weather conditions and even an occasional political lesson. They’re selling wine, to be sure, but they want to educate their customers too.

Chambers Street Wine Merchants, Manhattan

The website of this 11-year-old TriBeCa wine shop is dense with words—and the typeface is quite small (all the better to squeeze in more words). The writing is serious, even a touch scholarly, which isn’t surprising considering there’s more than one former academic on staff (see under: staff bios). According to proprietor David Lillie, the store’s resident expert on the Loire, the Rhone and Beaujolais, the members of his staff all take turns penning articles on the wines and regions within their realms of expertise. “We have a number of good writers on staff with their own voices,” Mr. Lillie wrote in an email.

Enlarge Image

The Chambers Street Wine Merchants website.

Chambers Street focuses on organic, biodynamic and natural wines, and if casual browsers haven’t heard of many of the selections, they can be excused—or, better yet, educated. Take, for example, a recent article on the “Revolution in Baden.” (Yes, there are “featured articles” on the Chambers Street website.) Many wine drinkers probably don’t even know where Baden is or why a revolution would need to take place. The article is actually a profile of two ambitious young winemakers, Enderle and Moll, who are making interesting-sounding Pinot Noirs (aka Spatburgunder) in a natural style. And at $38.99 a bottle, their Pinot might be something that bargain Burgundy drinkers will want to try.

Big Nose Full Body, Brooklyn

For wine drinkers who may want to brush up on their knowledge of world history, the website of Big Nose Full Body (yes, that’s the name of the store) offers a snapshot of past and current economic conditions in Spain, the featured wine country this month. I learned a few things that I didn’t know I’d forgotten about the country (i.e., the last year that Generalissimo Franco was in power was 1975) along with a few interesting wine facts (i.e., Muscat can be described as a “bulbous” grape).

[image]

The website of Big Nose Full Body.

Dry Muscat is one of the featured wines tied to the site’s small Spain dissertation—and as its author, Thomas Methans, pointed out, it’s a grape that’s hard to get right, at least as a dry wine. (It can be difficult to keep the sugars in check.) There are featured wines for sale, of course, including a dry Muscat (2009 Botani Moscato Secco) as well as a few interesting-sounding Spanish whites, such as Txakoli, the trendy white Basque wine, and a cheap white Rioja (2011 El Coto at $10) that I’d be willing to try—though as Mr. Methans correctly observed, it’s a wine category that most people don’t care much about.

A side note about the Big Nose site: Mr. Methans, who has a master’s in library science, is a part-time employee of Big Nose Full Body and also writes a newsletter for SIP Fine Wine, another Brooklyn store.

Nicholas Roberts Fine Wine, Darien, Conn.

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The Nicholas Roberts Fine Wine website.

Managing director Peter Trolio is one of several Trolios running this suburban Connecticut store (whose tagline, “Enriching Lives through Food and Wine,” promises a lot more than just a good deal). He is also the Trolio who is the writer and who keeps a blog. In his latest blog posting, Mr. Trolio lamented the weather conditions in Burgundy and Champagne (many bad days, as is often the case in these northerly French wine regions). He also exclaimed enthusiastically over some wines from Canada—some challenging Pinot Noir and some pretty good Chardonnay. (Both are sold at the store.)

“It’s easy to sell wines from California and Burgundy, but not so easy to sell wine from Canada,” said Mr. Trolio during a phone call. But he nevertheless says he’s confident that Canadian wines may be ready to “explode.”

When I observed to Mr. Trolio that his postings were a bit old (both notes were written last month), he explained that his life had been particularly busy of late. “My wife and I had our third child a few weeks ago,” he said. “I’ve been pulling triple duty: taking care of my wife, our children and the store. Sometimes life gets in the way of trying to be a writer.”

Write to Lettie Teague at lettie.teague@wsj.com

A version of this article appeared August 31, 2012, on page A18 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Wine Words Worth Toasting.

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Caramelize Onions in 15 Minutes Flat

Posted on August 31, 2012 by bilrob

Caramelize Onions in 15 Minutes Flat

Caramelizing onions is a process that can take well over an hour, even though many recipes conveniently omit that fact from their prep time estimates. Thankfully, the folks over at Serious Eats came up with a method that gets the job done in a fraction of the time, and all you need is a little tap water.

If you’ve ever caramelized onions, you know it can take well over an hour of watching and stirring as the onions cook down. This method however, gives you the same results, and all you have to do is pay close attention and keep some water handy:

As you can see, the key is good stirring and temperature regulation. I use a heavy Le Creuset enameled cast iron pot, which is great at transferring heat slowly and evenly, preventing the hot and cool spots that are the bane to good caramelization (a tri-ply stainless steel saucepan would also work well). Every time the fond (that’s the browned bits of sugars and proteins that stick to the bottom of the pot) threatens to burn, I add a few tablespoons of water and use a wooden spoon to scrape the bits up. The browned sugars and proteins end up dissolving in the water then spread themselves evenly around the onions.

Kenji does note that the catch here is that the resulting onions aren’t quite as cooked down and tasty as they would be if you spent an hour poring over them, but he says they’re 90% of the way there, and still better than cheats like adding sugar or baking soda to speed up the process, and saves a lot of time in the kitchen.

How to Caramelize Onions in 15 Minutes | Serious Eats

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Defending pasta as a healthful food

Posted on August 31, 2012 by bilrob

pasta

Coming soon … pasta with added fibre. Photo: Supplied

Pasta – one of the new super foods

Spaghetti could be one of the new super foods of the future with Australian and Italian researchers joining forces to develop a healthier type of wheat.

University of Adelaide researchers will be part of an international team investigating ways to increase the amount of healthy soluble fibre in durum wheat, which is commonly used to make pasta.

The researchers from the university’s ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Cell Walls, in collaboration with the University of Bari, will explore how the growth of durum wheat affects levels of starch and dietary fibre.

Meanwhile, a second stage with the University of Molise will research the role of two major dietary fibre components – arabinoxylans and beta-glucans – in the quality of pasta and bread dough.

University of Adelaide Associate Professor Rachel Burton said the goal was to develop a wheat to potentially use in breeding programs that could improve the health benefits of pasta.

“In simple terms, ‘super spaghetti’ means that it contains a range of potential health benefits for the consumer, such as reducing the risk of heart disease or colorectal cancer,” Burton said.

“Our research is aimed at achieving that, but we’re also looking to improve the quality of pasta as well as its health properties,” she said.

The research would also investigate the importance of vitamin E, an antioxidant, in wheat, Burton said.

The OregonianPasta keeps its healthful profile when you keep the portions reasonable and dress it lightly instead of drowning it. Using your noodle: Today we have two different takes on carbs. Over at LiveScience, Christopher Wanjek, who writes the site’s Bad Medicine column, puts up a spirited defense of pasta, which he says has been unfairly maligned as contributing to the obesity epidemic. He says pasta has been around a lot longer than the epidemic, and that Italians have one of the lowest obesity rates in Europe, if not the world.

“How did pasta get such a bad rap? The primary reason is a simple misconception — that pasta is akin to bread made from wheat. In fact, pasta is made from durum, a wholly different species from bread wheat in that it contains a third fewer chromosomes. Durum is an older species and a hybrid of wild grasses; modern bread wheat is more domesticated,” says Wanjek.

What makes pasta healthful is that it has a low glycemic index (GI); foods with
a higher index (which goes to 100) “tend to spike the blood with sugar,” which is linked with diabetes and obesity.

Pasta’s glycemic index is around 25
to 45, depending on the type, says Wanjek. “That’s in the range of many fruits and (non-potato) vegetables.

“Compare this with two staples of the American diet: white bread, with a GI of about 75; and potatoes, with a GI of about 80. (Mashed potatoes come in at 90.) Did you have corn flakes from breakfast? They have a GI of 80, as do many breakfast cereals.”

He adds that another reason for pasta’s poor reputation is that people too often load it up with cream sauces, cheese, oil and other fattening toppings.

Skillet baking: At the U.K.’s Guardian, one of my favorite food writers, Nigel Slater, is talking about flatbreads. Although he says he’s long been disappointed with recipes for pita that are baked in the oven, his discovery of the skillet method was a revelation. He adds that while most flatbreads are stuffed after baking, he prefers to stuff them beforehand “so the filling is hot and melting, and becomes part of the bread.” He includes three recipes, one for the bread itself, and two stuffings, one for figs and gorgonzola, and another for eggplant and thyme.

I wrote about different kinds of flatbread in Foodday in 2009, including a recipe for naan that’s stuffed with cilantro and mint and baked on the grill. But you could bake them in a skillet, as Slater does.

Katherine Miller:
kmiller@oregonian.com

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Raw Food Diet Praised for its Disease-Curing Benefits

Posted on August 31, 2012 by bilrob

Raw Food Diet Praised for its Disease-Curing Benefits

There are many famous and ordinary promoters of the raw food diet, an eating plan that encourages eating uncooked, unprocessed foods including fruits, vegetables, and some grains, nuts, and seeds. Raw food dieters say that cooking food destroys a lot of its nutritional content, and instead use juicers, dehydrators, and minimal heating of foods.

One recent inspiring story about the benefits of a raw food diet comes from a story in the August 27 issue of the Winnipeg Free Press. Truck driver Dave Conrardy went from 430 to 200 pounds after switching to raw foods, losing 100 pounds in just three months. His kidney condition and type 2 diabetes disappeared, and he stopped needing 18 of the 19 prescriptions he had been taking. Conrardy calls the raw food diet “the most healing diet on the planet” and now no longer drives trucks but gives motivational talks about his new lifestyle.

Many raw food dieters are also vegan or vegetarian, but some may eat animal products. The diet originated with the Swiss doctor Maximilian Bircher-Benner, who after eating raw apples was cured of jaundice. He began experimenting with the benefits of a raw food diet and eventually opened a sanitarium where his beliefs were practiced. Continue reading →

Pizza goes grilling

Posted on August 31, 2012 by bilrob

Pizza goes grilling

If you think you need to invest thousands of dollars in an open-hearth oven just to enjoy the experience of making pizza in your backyard, it’s time to fire up the grill.

That’s right, a backyard grill — gas or charcoal — can produce a perfectly charred crust and bubbling toppings, and chances are you already own one.

Basic Pizza Dough (handmade)
1 cup lukewarm water, plus extra as needed
1 package active dry yeast
cup olive oil, plus extra for oiling the bowl
1 tsp. sugar or honey

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus extra as needed
tsp. kosher salt
Place the water, oil, and sugar in a large bowl. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add to the water mixture, cup at a time, until well incorporated. If the dough is stiff, add more water. If it is very sticky, add extra flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough is soft and slightly sticky. Continue to mix until it feels elastic.

Turn the dough out onto a well-floured work surface. Knead for about 1 minute, until just smooth and easy to work with, adding extra flour to the surface as necessary to prevent the dough from sticking. Do not overwork the dough or it will be tough.

Place the dough in a clean, oiled bowl. Turn it several times to coat all over with the oil, then drizzle the top of the dough with a little more oil. Cover tightly in plastic wrap, place in a warm spot, and let rise until it more than doubles in volume, about 1 hour.

Punch the dough down and knead on a lightly floured surface for 1 to 2 minutes, until smooth. Divide into two equal-size balls and proceed with your pizza making. (The dough may be made ahead, frozen for up to a month, and thawed at room temperature before using.)

Makes enough dough for 2 crusts.

— “Pizza on the Grill:
100 Feisty Fire-Roasted Recipes for Pizza More,” Elizabeth Karmel and Bob Blumer

No-Knead Pizza Dough
3 cups of bread or all-purpose flour
tsp. active dry yeast
2 tsp. salt
1 cups water
Use a wooden spoon or your hands to mix all ingredients together in a bowl until all of the flour is incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for 18 to 24 hours.
Punch dough down, divide into balls and shape into crusts.
Makes 4 pizza crusts, about 8 to 10 inches each.

— Adapted from “My Pizza: The Easy No-Knead Way to Make Spectacular Pizza at Home” by Jim Lahey with Rick Flaste

Classic Pizza Dough
2/3 cup lukewarm water (between 105 and 115 degrees)
1 cup bread flour

1 cup all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting
1 tsp. active dry yeast
tsp. sugar
tsp. salt
Vegetable oil or
non-stick spray

A mixing bowl or the bowl to a stand mixer can often be quite cool – and thus a detriment to the yeast. If yours feels cool to the touch, fill it first with some warm tap water, drain it, and dry it thoroughly. Then stir the water, yeast, sugar and salt together in the bowl just until everything is dissolved. Set aside at room temperature for 5 minutes to make sure the mixture bubbles and foams. If it doesn’t, either the yeast has expired or the water was not the right temperature. Throw the mixture out and start again.

If working by hand: Stir in both flours with a wooden spoon to make a soft dough. Sprinkle a clean, dry work surface with a light coating of all-purpose flour; turn the dough out onto it, and knead for 8 minutes by pulling the mass with one hand while twisting it with the other, all the while digging the heel of your twisting hand into the dough. After every two or three push/twist/dig actions, rearrange the dough by folding it onto itself. If the dough is sticking to your hands, add a little more all-purpose flour, no more than 1 tablespoon or so; then continue kneading until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.

If working with a stand mixer: Add both flours, attach the dough hook, and beat at medium speed until a soft dough forms. Continue beating, adding more all-purpose flour in 1-tablespoon increments if the dough gets sticky, until the mixture is soft and elastic, about 6 minutes.

Wipe a clean, large bowl with a bit of cooking oil on a
paper towel, or spray it with nonstick spray. Place the dough in the prepared bowl, turning the dough so all sides are coated with oil, and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hours. Shape the dough and bake.
Makes 1 pound of dough.

— Adapted from “Pizza: Grill It, Bake It, Love It!” by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough

No, you won’t have dough dripping through the grates and turning into burnt toast. But you will end up with a great crust with a flavorful hint of smokiness, all without turning on the oven and heating up your kitchen in the summer.

To get started, make or buy some pizza dough.

Roll out dough on a surface liberally dusted with cornmeal and flour to prevent it from sticking. You can use your hands to stretch the dough or a rolling pin. You want to achieve roughly a 12-inch circle of dough. Remember this is artisan pizza, so it doesn’t need to be perfectly round. You can shape it to best fit your grilling space.

Brush the crust with olive oil on both sides.

Make sure the grill grates are clean and well-oiled. Heat a gas grill on high for 15 minutes. For a charcoal fire, make sure the lighted briquettes have turned white-hot in color.

When trying out different methods, one that proved most helpful was “The 1-2-3 Technique for Grilled Pizza” from the book “Pizza on the Grill: 100 Feisty Fire-Roasted Recipes for Pizza More” by Elizabeth Karmel and Bob Blumer (Taunton Press, 2008).

Their technique requires a grill that has both direct heat (over the flames) and indirect heat (off the flames). On a gas grill, that means turning off one burner or one side of the grill. If using a charcoal grill, it is important to align the briquettes on one side of the grill, so that there is a side free for indirect-heat grilling.

Then, Karmel and Blumer’s process is as simple as one-two-three:

Step One: After preheating, set the temperature to medium and use your hands or a peel to set the dough directly on the grates over direct heat. (If using a charcoal grill, place the dough on the indirect heat side to avoid scorching it.) Close the lid and grill for about three minutes, until the bottom is golden brown. Resist the urge to peek inside the grill at this point. However, if you do, you may notice the crust puffing up high. This is fine; it will deflate as it bakes and when removed from the heat.

Step Two: Use a pizza peel and tongs to remove the crust. Flip it over so the uncooked side is facing down on the peel, again well-dusted with some cornmeal. Place sauce and toppings of your choice on the grilled side.

Step Three: Place the pizza back on the grill, over indirect heat. Close the lid and let it bake for 7 to 10 minutes until the bottom is golden brown, and the cheese melted and bubbly.

Our experiments showed that the crust was easiest to shape and work with when the dough was a bit colder to start. Working outside in midday sunshine and heat, the dough became more difficult to handle as it got warmer and softer.

It’s also a good idea to have all of the toppings prepped and ready to top the hot crust when it comes off the grill, so that it can get back on the grill quickly without sticking to the peel.

Kathy Lehr, a nationally recognized bread baking instructor, said most folks are surprised by just how easy it is to make pizza on the grill.

“It’s not hard at all, it’s really not,” she said.

She said the direct-indirect heat method is fine for baking thin-crust pizzas, but for thicker crusts, she recommends using a pizza stone on top of the grill grates.

Pizza stones can withstand the high heat of the grill. For a gas grill, put the stone on the grill grate when you turn the grill on and preheat it at medium-high temperature for half an hour before making the pizza, Lehr said. For grilling the pizza, increase the heat to high.

If using a charcoal grill, wait until the briquettes are white hot, then spread them out into a single layer, and place the stone on the grates to preheat over the white coals for half an hour.

After the stone is preheated, she said the method is the same — cooking one side of the crust and then flipping it over, topping the cooked side and baking the other side.

On a stone with the grill lid closed, on a gas grill set to high, the pizza should cook in about 3 to 5 minutes per side. The stone remains over direct heat for grilling and it is important to check that it isn’t burning.

Lehr prefers a very wet dough for making a thick-crust pizza on a stone on the grill. It isn’t possible to put such a wet dough directly on grill grates, which is why a stone is a must for this type of long-rising dough. It will produce a crust with an exceptional chew, she said.

With either traditional dough baked on grill grates or a very wet dough baked on a stone, there is some practice involved. If you decide to experiment, here are some other books that may help in addition to Lahey and Karmel and Blumer: “Pizza: Grill It, Bake It, Love It!” by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough (William Morrow, 2009) and “Pizza and Other Savory Pies” by Brigit Binns (Simon Schuster, 2008).

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Chocolates and red wine may not be so good for you as scientists say | chocolate

Posted on August 31, 2012 by bilrob

Chocolates and red wine may not be so good for you as scientists say

Scientists claim there is no proof that chocolate and red wine cut heart disease – despite millions hoping they do.

The mechanisms by which they could make a difference have still to be explained, according to heart specialists.

The evidence that dark chocolate protects the heart remains elusive, even though a recent study showed a 37 per cent cut in risk for those eating a square a day.

Steffen Desch from the University of Leipzig Heart Centre in Germany said there is no proof that chocolate and red wine cut heart disease

This was only a ‘sign’, however, and not proof because the study was flawed, said Steffen Desch from the University of Leipzig Heart Centre in Germany.

He said a more conclusive trial could be difficult because the real thing would have to be tested against a ‘dummy’ substance that looked and tasted like chocolate.

Some small studies have claimed that chocolate lowers blood pressure and reduces inflammation in the body. But Dr Desch is unconvinced.

‘Despite the studies I couldn’t yet recommend dark chocolate as a prevention or treatment in cardiovascular disease,’ he said.

‘There’s no strong evidence of a benefit and no clear explanation of an effective mechanism.’ The calories contained in chocolate are likely to offset any protection to the heart, he added.

His reservations came as Dutch researchers dampened down speculation about the benefits of red wine on the heart.

Any benefit from moderate consumption of red wine is likely to be small and outweighed by the adverse effects of drinking too much, scientists say

Even though it is also supposed to help heart health, there is no single ingredient which appears to work, they said.

They have tested resveratrol, which is found in the skin of red grapes and is believed to have a range of life-enhancing properties.

Eric Sijbrands, of Erasmus University Medical Centre in Rotterdam, led a series of studies which failed to replicate the findings of heart benefits from taking resveratrol.

Using it in capsules for four weeks did not lower blood pressure in patients with hypertension, he said. ‘Certainly I would never actively prescribe red wine for a heart condition and, even if I was asked about it, I would be cautious,’ he added.

If red wine does work, the explanation is likely to be ‘complex’, he said. Any benefit from moderate consumption is likely to be small and outweighed by the adverse effects of drinking too much.

The scientists were speaking at the European Congress of Cardiology in Munich yesterday.

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NW Wine: Viognier hard to pronounce, easy to drink

Posted on August 31, 2012 by bilrob

NW Wine: Viognier hard to pronounce, easy to drink

KENNEWICK, Wash. (AP) — Viognier would seem to be destined to have a difficult time.

It’s hard to pronounce, is made in small quantities, is best known in a fairly obscure region, is difficult to grow and is not easy to pair with food.

That sounds like a joke without a punchline.

Yet there is much to love about Viognier, and it’s becoming easier to find it in the Northwest.

First the pronunciation: vee-own-YAY. Practice it a few times, and it will become second nature.

Viognier is a white wine grape best known in the Condrieu region of France’s Rhône Valley. As recently as the mid-1960s, the grape was nearly lost to history, as fewer than 10 acres were left. But its fortunes have changed dramatically since then, as Condrieu now has more than 700 acres, and it is planted around the globe, including the West Coast, Australia, Argentina and Chile.

In the Rhône Valley appellation of Côte-Rôtie, a bit of Viognier is traditionally co-fermented with Syrah, a style that has been picked up in the New World.

Growing Viognier is a challenge because it is susceptible to disease, it grows uneven clusters, and unless it’s picked at perfect ripeness, the wine will taste either boring or flabby.

But when a winemaker gets it right, Viognier is so delicious. In the Northwest, Viognier will exude aromas and flavors of tropical fruits and Creamsicles.

Like its sibling Syrah, Viognier tends to be a low-acid wine, which makes it harder to pair with food. We like it with mild Thai curries, chowders, shellfish and pasta primavera.

In Washington, we are seeing more and more Viogniers. Last year, winemakers crushed 1,100 tons of Viognier, making it bigger than Chenin Blanc and Semillon. We also find Viognier in Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia.

Here are a few Viogniers we’ve tasted recently. Ask for them at your favorite local wine merchant or order directly from the wineries.

—Abacela 2011 Estate Viognier, Umpqua Valley, $22: Subdued aromas of Golden Delicious apple, orange and fresh pineapple are followed by candy corn and butterscotch. The entry to the palate is filled with yellow grapefruit and popcorn, backed by lovely minerality and Rangpur lime bitterness to cleanse the palate. Enjoy this with scallops served alongside an orange sauce.

—Chateau Ste. Michelle 2010 Limited Release Viognier, Columbia Valley, $15: This opens with aromas of pear, linen, apple blossom and a combination of steeliness and jasmine reminiscent of some Rieslings. On the palate, it’s fruit-forward and refreshing with grapefruit and fresh-squeezed lemon juice.

—Cinder Wines 2011 Dry Viognier, Snake River Valley, $18: This brings an inviting and tropical nose with lychee and orange Creamsicle aromas, and there’s even more to bear on the palate. Passion fruit, pineapple flavors are joined by more acidity than one would expect, backed by notes of elderflowers, peaches and dried apricot.

—Farm Boy Wines 2010 Upland Vineyard Viognier, Snipes Mountain, $14: This is one of the best Viogniers we’ve tasted this year. It opens with that creamsicle aroma we adore, along with notes of mangoes, cream soda, lime and pineapples. On the palate, it shows off flavors of cling peaches, honeydew melon, lime, honey and mangoes. It’s a great wine to open on the deck with blue cheese melted over fresh figs.

—Jones of Washington 2011 Estate Vineyards Viognier, Wahluke Slope, $15: This opens with aromas of white peaches, lemons, limes and yellow roses, followed by big, rich flavors of Mandarin oranges, jasmine flowers, mint, sweet apples and sherbet.

—Palouse Winery 2010 Golden Pearl Viognier, Washington, $22: Barrel fermentation in neutral French oak helps explain the aromas of coconut milk, dusty President Lincoln rose and moist apricots. On the palate, it’s drinks as it it was done in a fruit-forward style and fermented in stainless steel because of the orchard fruit flavors and lemony acidity.

_______________

Andy Perdue and Eric Degerman are the editors of Wine Press Northwest. For more information, go to www.winepressnw.com.

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A pinot noir from a winery that predates Sideways

Posted on August 31, 2012 by bilrob

A pinot noir from a winery that predates Sideways

Pinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French words for “pine” and “black” alluding to the grape variety’s tightly clustered dark purple pine-cone shaped bunches of fruit.

Pinot noir grapes are grown around the world, mostly in the cooler regions, but the grape is chiefly associated with the Burgundy region of France. It is widely considered to produce some of the finest wines in the world, but is a difficult variety to cultivate and transform into wine.

California pinot noirs range from excessively oaky and alcoholic to vapid, but recently I tasted the well-made 2010 Byron Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir.

It might come as a surprise to some, but there was California pinot noir before the 2004 movie “Sideways”. It was made mostly by winemakers who loved working with this fickle grape, and the wine styles were medium-bodied, translucent cherry-colored, with appealing red fruit and herbal or floral aromas, and plum and cherry flavors. On the East Coast, a good percentage of the consumers were Burgundy drinkers who enjoyed the riper fruit flavor and the reasonable prices of California pinot noirs.

Then came the surprise hit “Sideways,” and a cascade of novice wine consumers traded their “I’ll have a glass of merlot” refrain for “I’ll have a glass of pinot noir.” And quicker than you can say, “kaching!,” a slew of winemakers and wineries began pumping out mediocre to awful pinot noirs to cash-in on the new wine craze.

To be labeled California pinot noir, wine laws only require 75 percent of the grapes be pinot noir and from California. Since there wasn’t enough pinot noir planted to meet the demand that the movie created, some wineries blended syrah with pinot noir while others used pinot noir grown in the wrong areas. Some even imported pinot noir juice from other regions of the world.

In 1984, Ken Brown, then 34, founded Byron in Santa Barbara County. The region was just beginning to develop wineries, and SanfordBenedict, Au Bon Climat, Steele, Zaca Mesa, Ojai and Qupe were run by young winemakers whose experiments with grapes varietals, viticulture and winemaking would make this a prime source for first-rate wines.

For tourists, Santa Barbara is a sun-drenched beach area, but winemakers focused on the inland hills and its cool climate where pinot noir and chardonnay blossomed.

Byron developed a reputation for savory pinot noir, and I recall drinking many vintages in the 1990s after Brown sold the winery to Robert Mondavi in 1990, whose national distribution system and sales force broaden Bryon’s exposure. Byron changed ownership again in 2005, and in 2006 it was purchased by the current owner, Jackson Family Wines, the wine conglomerate founded by the late Jess Jackson.

The 2010 Byron Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir is 100 percent pinot noir. Winemaker Jonathan Nagy used only French oak barrels for aging, wisely limiting the time in the barrel to eight months and the new oak to six percent. This restrained winemaking delivers pleasant black cherry and lilac aromas and red plum flavor with integrated tannins. And the modest 13.5 percent alcohol never disturbs the wine’s balance nor leaves a tell-tale hot finish on the palate.

Byron was making authentic pinot noirs long before “Sideway” came on the scene. It hasn’t changed its standards, which is comforting in this age of cashing-in on the latest trend.

The 2010 Byron Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir is distributed by Fedway Associates in Kearny. It retails for approximately $19.

A Glass of Wine appears every week. John Foy may be reached at johnfoy@thewineodyssey.com

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Creamy Zucchini, Leek and Parmesan Soup

Posted on August 31, 2012 by bilrob

Creamy Zucchini, Leek and Parmesan Soup

Home canning is hot lately, with cooks from Boise to Brooklyn putting up pickles, making their own tomato sauce and jarring chutneys and jams. It doesn’t have the same hipster cred, but another time-honored way to preserve food deserves some attention, too: freezing.

Our freezers have become the domain of ice cream, pizza, microwaveable dinners, a bag or two of peas and corn, and maybe a bottle of vodka, forgotten in the back. Many of us don’t purposefully prepare food to be frozen for later, because with our chaotic lives, we tend not to think that far ahead.

Ghillie James hopes to change all that. The author of “The Foolproof Freezer Cookbook” wants home freezers to keep pace with the increasingly varied and sophisticated frozen selection at the supermarket, where it seems you can buy everything from Thai soups to French pastries. She touts freezing as a cost-saving method and a way to enjoy local, seasonal produce after the season’s done. Freezing is also a boon for entertaining; hors d’oeuvres, main dishes and desserts can all be made in advance and frozen, significantly cutting down on last-minute scrambling.

The book is a freezing primer, with pages on proper methods for storing and thawing, what to do with a bounty of fruits and vegetables and even a list of “top leftovers to freeze.” Who knew you can freeze egg whites and yolks, milk and even wine — one of the many foods James recommends freezing in ice cube trays so you can plop a cube into a sauce. She suggests the ice-cube-tray method for pesto and also for meat juices left in the bottom of the pan after roasting — nuggets of flavor for future recipes.

Parents of young children will find inspiration in the last chapter, which offers homemade alternatives to purchased baby and toddler foods. I’m well past that stage with a son off to college this week; and when he comes home for his first break, he’d be thrilled to find James’ hearty chicken, ham and tarragon pie, aromatic lamb curry, or beef and spinach lasagna, waiting in the freezer. But I’ll be sure to have his favorite ice cream and pizza, too.

CREAMY ZUCCHINI, LEEK AND PARMESAN SOUP

From “The Foolproof Freezer Cookbook”: The great thing about this soup, is that as long as you also include some regular-size zucchini, you can get rid of the large ones you are bound to grow at least one of each season! Remove the tough, seedy centers and peel of any larger zucchini before weighing.

4 tablespoons butter
2 medium leeks, white and 2 inches of green, sliced
3 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
2¼ pounds zucchini, thickly sliced
1 large garlic clove, chopped
1 sprig fresh rosemary
3½ cups chicken stock (preferably low-sodium)
¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1¼ cups whole milk
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Chopped parsley for serving

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and sauté the leeks and celery for 5 minutes.

Add the zucchini and continue to cook for 10 minutes. Add the garlic and rosemary, let cook for another 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour in the stock, cover with a lid and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.

Reduce the heat to low; remove the rosemary stem and stir in the cheeses until melted. Stir in the milk. Purée the soup using a stick blender or food processor. Taste for seasoning; add salt if necessary and black pepper to taste.

Serve garnished with the chopped parsley.

To freeze: Pour into a container, cool, cover and label. Before serving, allow to stand overnight in the fridge. Heat over low heat until hot.

Serves: 6

Nutrition information per serving: 213 calories (63 percent from fat), 15 grams fat (9 grams saturated, 4 grams monounsaturated), 41 milligrams cholesterol, 11 grams protein, 10 grams carbohydrates, 1 grams fiber, 331 milligrams sodium.

Email: sherrill@northjersey.com Blog: northjersey.com/|SecondHelpings Twitter: susanlsherrill

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