Thanksgiving at my Granparents’ house is always the meal of the year. Robert and Dolores peck both come from households that are deeply rooted in ethnic culinary traditions that have been passed down through the years. I think all of us grand kids have a certain affinity for Wiener schnitzel, spatzle, paprikash, nut horns and all the other Central and Eastern European delicacies that we have experienced through the years.

With this in mind, you would probably expect the dessert that I selected to feature to be a Bohemian or Bavarian specialty. Instead, I have selected the dessert that has been perfect for the entirety of my life and one that is quintessential Americana, Grandma’s Cheesecake. There is nothing elaborate, no insane preparation, just some Philadelphia and a whole lot of love!

Grandma’s Cheesecake

(Serves 8-12)

Ingredients for Crust:

1 sleeve/package Graham crackers (9 crackers)

1 stick of butter (1/4 lb.)

Ingredients for Cheesecake:

3 8 oz. pkgs Philadelphia Cream Cheese (Do not use fat free)

5 Eggs

1 cup Sugar

1 1/2 tbsp. Vanilla

Ingredients for Topping:

1 Pt. Sour Cream (Do not use fat free)

6 tbsp. Sugar

1 tbsp. Vanilla

Step 1 

Use a 9 X 13″ pan (glass or metal)

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees

In a large mixing bowl add 3 room temperature pkgs. of cream cheese. Using a mixer at low speed, add one egg at a time until all 5 eggs are mixed with the cream cheese. Slowly, add 1 cup of sugar to the mixture. Add 1 1/2 tbsp. Vanilla. When mixture is complete, pour it into the pan with the graham cracker crust. Bake for 1 hour or until you can put a toothpick into the center and it comes out clean.

Step 3

Remove from oven and let it cool for 10 minutes.

In a separate bowl, mix 1 pint of sour cream, 6 tbsp. of sugar and 1 tbsp. Vanilla. Spread this mixture over the cheesecake and return to oven for 10 more minutes.

Perfect Pairing

2005 Royal Tokaji Aszu 5 Puttanyos Red Label, Tokaji, Hungary – $37

This is a terrific pairing, because the cheesecake provides somewhat of a blank canvas to work with. The spice, apricot and honey in this wine will provide a wonderful compliment. You can also use other sweeter dessert wines (i.e. – Late Harvest Riesling, Muscatel or Vin Santo), but for my money, good Tokaji or Sauternes are the ultimate, and this is one of the best.

Thank you Grandma for sharing your wonderful recipe!

kc

Höstens avspark med teknikavdelningen på jobbet förlades till en helg på Bomans Hotell i Trosa. Rummen i den nya södra flygeln kan varmt rekommenderas.

• Tartar på oxfilé
  • Mesclunsallad
  • Kaprisvinagrette
  • Picklade kantareller
  • Pepparrotscoulis
  • 2007 Engel Fernan, Tokay Pinot Gris, Alsace, Frankrike
• Smörstekt rödtunga
  • Pumpapuré
  • Citrus beurre blanc
  • Scharlottenlök- och chilicrudite
  • 2006 Esser, Charodnnay, Kalifornien, USA
• Päronsorbet
  • Kardemummakräm
  • Calvadostryffel
  • Nougatine
  • 2006 Royal Tokaji, ATS Cuvée Late Harvest, Tokaji, Ungern
• Berta Roccanivo, Grappa

Genomgående bra. Chardonnayen och pumapurén passade väldigt bra ihop. Grappan var väldigt god men mer som rom än som grappa.

• Perelada, Cava, Brut, Spanien
• Grillad kalvhare
  • Mandelpotatispuré
  • Portvinskokt rödlök
  • Rödvinssky
  • Tryffelhollandaise
  • 2004 La Spinetta, IL Nero di Casanova, IGT, Toscana, Italien
• Ostar från Jürss
  • Sörmlands Ädel
  • Linnéa
  • Änglunda
  • Graham’s, Six Grapes, Reserve, Oporto, Portugal
• Chokladfondant
  • Havtornssorbet
  • 2006 Casa De La Ermita, Dulce Monsastrell, Jumilla, Spanien
• Grönstedts Extra, Konjak

So, I have never been a big ‘Wino” (fan of wines), and only occasionally drink a glass with a meal. While in Europe however, wine is like water and I found myself drinking 2-3 glasses a day.

Still, I don’t seem to have a great taste for reds or whites.

While in Austria, I tried a Hungarian while called Tokay – which is this really incredible dessert wine.

Super smooth, sweet also most like drinking a light honey, really the best. You can get it in degrees of sweetness called puttonyos, I like 3 the best but I tried 5 and it was also really good.

I have been looking for it in the USA, and recently found a bottle in a Trader Joes.

Then I did a Google search and found this seller:

http://www.klwines.com/content.asp?searchphrase=tokaji&s_kwcid=tokaji|850192212&gclid=CKmIyoPbqJ0CFRESawodmkR8ig

It looks something like this – from the frogs mouth it is really good.

Tokaji wines

Please note: I did NOT receive Tokaji wines as a gift, and I have NOT been paid to write about Tokaji wines or klwines.com.

This post is here because I tried Tokaji and it knocked my socks off!!

Ingredients

1 – Store bought pizza dough

6 oz – German Baker’s Chocolate 45-50% cocoa (finely chopped)

4 oz – Semi-Sweet Baker’s Chocolate 50-65% cocoa (finely chopped)

2 tbs – Sugar

3 tbs – Brown Sugar

2 tbs – Butter

1 cup – Coconut

1 cup – Fresh Raspberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roll the pizza dough to desired shape and size on a floured cooking sheet. Put dough in the oven for 4 minutes.

While the dough is in oven, melt the butter and then combine with sugar and brown sugar. Remove pizza dough from oven and brush the entire surface with the butter and sugar mixture. Once all of the mixture is applied, cover the pizza with the German and semi-sweet chocolate. Before returning to the oven, sprinkle the 1 cup of coconut evenly across the top of the pizza. Return to the oven for 6 more minutes.

Remove the pizza and then, using a butter knife, spread the melted chocolate evenly across the surface of the pizza, leaving the outer crust exposed.

Apply the fresh raspberries and enjoy!

5 minutes later enjoy your sugar rush and subsequent sugar coma!

Sabadão fizemos uma expedição em Santo Amaro, mais exatamente à Rua da Paz, onde fica um pedacinho da Hungria em São Paulo.

Descobrimos o Empório Hungaro! Lugar perfeito para encontrar compotas deliciosas, temperos como o Dill e a Paprica, o Tarhona ( macarrão húngaro), sucos importados, molhos para o preparo de Gulash, vinhos e o famoso e delicioso Tokaji, tradicional região de Tokaj-Hegyalja. Buscando um pouquinho de informação, descobri que o Tokaji é feito graças a um fungo, o Botrytis Cinerea, que ajuda na produção do vinho doce ao fazer pequenas perfurações na casca das uvas. Assim, a uva fica desidratada e aumenta a concentração de açúcar. A partir dessas uvas botritizadas (Aszú) recolhe-se o mosto em pequenos barris de 25 Kg, denominados puttony. Desta forma, 1 barril equivale a 1 puttony. E na produção desses vinhos, adiciona-se de 1 a 6 puttonyos em 136 L de vinho.  O Tokaji Aszú Esszcencia é indicado como o o tipo mais especial e complexo de todos.

Perfeito para acompanhar um queijo ou uma sobremesa.

Noble Rot Such a great name for a fungus, huh? Noble is defined as being ‘impressive in appearance,’ which would explain this perfectly. It’s impressively disgusting to look at in fact. So disgusting that grapes that are affected by noble rot in regions that are not familiar with it will discard it. Imagine if the folks in Tokaji did that, oh, my heart! I think a single tear just ran down my face. Ok ok, enough drama, let me explain what all this is about.

Noble Rot is caused by a fungus named Botrytis cinerea, often abbreviated as botrytis. Of all the different fungal diseases out there, this one has the greatest potential effect on wine quality, whether good or bad. When it’s bad, viticulturists can literally watch their crop rot right in front of them. If the botrytis affects unripe, damaged berries, it will turn to Grey Rot, the evil form of this. Grey rot will form in wet and humid climates, especially when there’s rainfall right around harvest time. Grey Rot also affects red skinned grapes – it will affect the pigment, turning the wine a grey-ish (off-black if you will) tint with foul odors of rot coming through. Really appealing, I know.

However, when the conditions are right, and the right grapes are affected, Noble Rot will prevail. What are the conditions you ask? Ah, great question. First of all, any light-skinned grape can work, but traditionally Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Furmint are used and are particularly sensitive to botrytis. Second, the grapes also have to be ripe and undamaged. The last is that the weather conditions must be just right. This is super important and also super difficult to control, seeing as weather is a tricky little bitch. A temperate climate with humidity in the early morning mists, followed by warm, sunny afternoons that dry the grapes out is almost always necessary. This will allow the development of the fungus in the morning, but restrain it from spreading everywhere. Now comes another tricky part. The botrytis fungus does not spread evenly – usually. It can spread from grape to grape in different parts of the vineyard at different times, which is why harvesting will take several passages, or attempts at picking single grapes. The infected bunches, or parts of them, are picked just at the right infection levels while the grapes affected with grey rot are discarded. As you can see, it’s pretty labor intensive and is one of the factors of the scarcity and high price of these wines.

So now that we have harvested these gross, almost brown raisin-y looking grapes, you may be wondering how in the world these come to make such wonderfully golden hued, silky textured, delicious wines. It’s pretty interesting because it’s not that this fungus just dessicated and dehydrates the grapes of water, but leaves all the sugars intact and extra concentrated, it actually changes the chemical composition of the grape. We could go on and list everything it does, but it gets a little dry…notice the pun, so I’ll just leave it at it changes/forms various chemical compounds resulting in botrytized grape juice that is very different then regular grape juice. Fermentation of this grape juice can also be different because it can last way longer. In fact, it can last years! Of course, this can lead to a second fermentation, so care must be taken that this does not happen. Once safely in the bottle, assuming that everything has gone correctly, these wines can be aged for an extremely long time – we’re talking decades here, not just a few years. So cool.

Now that we have procurred a rare and precious bottle of the wine, perfectly aged and ready to go, what can you expect from the glass? Well, pure delight, of course! Actually, often botrytisied wines can be described as having a honeyed, nutty character to them, but botrytis is very distinct and once you smell it, you’ll understand. The regions most famous for these wines include Sauternes, France; Tokaji , Hungary; and Germany (usually labelled Beerenauslese or Trockenbeerenauslese). Feel free to stop by and check out the selection we have – anywhere from some nice Tokaji, to a German Chardonnay Trockenbeerenauslaese to Barsac, Sauternes. Be sure to keep your eyes open for all those people that are experimenting with botrytizied grapes too! In fact, we have a great example of a California wine made with partially botrysied grapes – the 2005 Austin Hope Roussanne. Stone fruit and honey flavors cover your tongue with golden flavors, and as you swallow, zippy minerality gives this off-dry wine a nicely balanced structure and leaves you yearning for the next sip. Yummm.

Cheers, KC

I korthet:

Åter en resdag med magbesvär, transfer, snabblunch, ungerskt vägvansinne, krockhint, magbesvär, flygplatsdöden, tokaji, magbesvär, turbulens, kondens, saab, hemma, hem, sova, sova, säng.

It was a trek, but I’m glad I braved the traffic and made the long drive out to Denise at Rail Mall last night for a tasting of Disznoko Tokaj.

I first learnt about this Hungarian wine in Philip Pullman’s excellent Dark Materials, and ever since, have my eyes peeled out for any opportunity to taste the much raved about nectar.

It was a really good tasting. We got to try:
1. Disznoko 2007 Dry Tokaji Aszu – nice and dry, easy to drink on its own
2. Disznoko 2007 Late Harvest Tokaji Aszu
3. Disznoko 2000 Puttonyos 5 Tokaji Aszu
4. Disznoko 1999 Puttonyos 6 Tokaji Aszu – compared to #3, the color of this was a dark burnt orange, beautiful
5. Disznoko 1999 Puttonyos 6 Tokaji Aszu Kapi – similar to #4, but a little more maderized, with a stronger oak smell
6. Disznoko 1999 Aszu Essencia – couldn’t really taste the alcohol (but that’s because the grapes when pressed were almost 100% sugar, it was to ferment the alcohol); almost like drinking pure apricot honey, delicious! (Retailing at $388 a bottle, I’m glad I got to try it at the store; wouldn’t have been able to afford it otherwise!)

Aszú Essencia, produced only in exceptional years, is the richest of wines originally created by the genius of the Magyars. Fewer than 6000 bottles are produced. The handmade bottle is a replica of the earliest Tokaji bottle, dating back to the 18th Century.

NYTimes:

Wine Talk
By Frank J. Prial
Published: Wednesday, July 24, 1996

THREE centuries ago, there were two famous wines in Europe; both were sweet, and neither was from France. One was Constantia from the Cape of Good Hope; the other was Tokay, made then as it is now here in northeast Hungary.

Like Sauternes in Bordeaux and the rich late-harvest wines of Alsace and Germany, Tokay is a sweet white wine made from grapes left on the vines long after the regular picking time. In dry periods, the grapes shrivel up as the sun’s heat absorbs the water in them and concentrates their flavors. When fog shrouds the Tokay vineyards, as it often does in autumn, the grapes are attacked by botrytis cinerea. This is a mold that weakens the skins and allows the water to escape at the same time imparting an extraordinary honied flavor to the concentrated juice.

Few Westerners know the wine at all. But in Eastern Europe it has always been revered. It was credited with medicinal powers, and alchemists supposedly tried to extract gold from it. Following the breakup of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918 and later the Soviet takeover of Hungary in 1948, Tokay all but disappeared from Western markets.

Once the Tokay vineyards and wineries were in the hands of peasant farmers and the great Hungarian families. During the Communist years, Tokay was run by a government-controlled group called a kombinat. With the end of collectivism, the parcels of Tokay began to return to private hands.

One German group is said to have offered to buy out the entire Tokay appellation of some 14,000 acres. It would have been like one company buying all of Burgundy. The directors of the kombinat opted for competition. Currently, private interests own about 1,000 acres. The rest remains in the kombinat.

Earlier this month, a major new winery was dedicated here by AXA Millesimes, a wine-oriented subsidiary of AXA, a French-based insurance conglomerate that controls among other things 60 percent of the Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States. AXA Millesimes’ holdings include seven chateaus in Bordeaux; an estate in Nuits-Saint-Georges, in Burgundy, and a port estate, Quinta do Noval, in Portugal.

Jean-Michel Cazes, who owns two Bordeaux chateaus, Lynch-Bages and Les Ormes-de-Pez, manages AXA’s wine interests.

The Domaine de Disznoko, AXA Millesimes’ property here, covers about 325 acres on the southern slopes of the Tokay hills. The estate was classified a “first growth” in 1743. Its name means “rock pig” and derives from a large boulder in the vineyards that is said to resemble a wild boar. AXA Millesimes bought the property in 1992 and made its first wines that year. The first of them to bear the Disznoko name were released in 1995.

The Disznoko winery houses the newest wine-making techniques in a structure that echoes centuries-old Tokay architectural themes. The winery’s three entrances have been designed to resemble the traditional stone entrances to the caves where Tokay wines are aged. The winery was dedicated on July 12.

Among other investors here are a British group that includes the writer Hugh Johnson, and an American group that includes George Lang, the New York restaurateur who also runs Gundel, a famous Budapest restaurant.

The most important grape variety in Tokay is furmint. But all late-harvested grapes here, whatever their variety, are called aszu. They are fermented separately, added to a dry, neutral white wine of the same vintage year, then fermented again. The result is a rich, full-bodied wine heavy with residual sugar, the natural grape sugar left in the wine when fermentation stops.

The amount of sugar in a batch of Tokay is determined by the amount of aszu added to the base wine, and is expressed in puttonyos. A five-puttonyo wine is considerably sweeter than a three-puttonyo wine.

In the old days, the locals arrived at the number of puttonyos by the number of 55-pound baskets of aszu they dumped into each 36-gallon cask of base wine. One basket, one puttonyo. Now it’s done with computers.

Traditionalists in this tradition-bound land have nothing against computers, but some are concerned about the wines the computer-toting newcomers are making. And traditionalists in the kombinat still have clout. The kombinat rules on all wines for export, and when the newcomers arrived, there were more than a few rejections.

Many old-timers prefer wines aged 10 or 20 years in barrels. The newcomers say overaging makes the wines harsh and oxydized and insist they can achieve the power and elegance of great Tokay with shorter aging periods.

An uneasy truce exists. The new wines have been approved, but hostilities could erupt at any time. Paul Kovi, late of the Four Seasons Restaurant in New York and now a part-time Budapest resident, is trying to mediate, but his sympathies are transparent. “Tradition,” he snorted. “That comes from the Communist years when they didn’t have the skills or the money to modernize. Before that the wines weren’t oxidized. Some traditionalists may never have had a great Tokay.”

Disznoko, which also makes a dry furmint table wine, produced wines of four, five and six puttonyos in 1992. The 1993 vintage, said to be one of the best of the century, is still aging in 13th-century caves.

TASTINGS Talley Vineyards Estate Chardonnay 1994, Arroyo Grande Valley. About $18.

Few of California’s finest wines would be as good as they are without the Pacific Ocean, with its morning fogs and cool evening breezes. The Arroyo Grande Valley in San Luis Obispo, on the south-central coast, runs east and west and opens onto the Pacific, the ideal setup for growing good grapes. Grapes benefit from a long growing season, and the Talley people say that with an average daily high temperature of 74 degrees, their growing season stretches from mid-February to mid-September. In 1994, it went on even longer, with picking ending in mid-October. Talley Vineyards Estate Chardonnay 1994 was fermented in French oak, aged for 10 months on its lees and bottled last August. It rained during the harvest time, but it had no apparent effect here.

As there are only a few more weeks until I go home to America, I’ve been slowly compiling my little stacks of things to take home.  Unfortunately, there’s nothing more Hungarian than the wine, and basically it’s what everyone wants.  We recently went to the wine shop and were determined to not buy more than six, as we’re only taking two bags to America.  Of course we bought ten, so we’ll see if I survive the stress of packing.

Luckily, according to the US Customs website, there is no limit on how much alcohol you bring through the border, only you have to pay a tax for anything over 1 Liter.  But I don’t think it’s that much.

We are bringing, of course, the classic Tokaji desert wine, said by many experts to be the finest desert wine in the world.  And we have a few other bottles from the Tokaji region, though they are not the sweet, desert wine.

I’m probably the most excited to take home the Eger Bikvér wine, which is commonly known as “bull’s blood.”  The reason for the name?  In 1552 Turkish soldiers (approximately 150,000 of them) tried to siege the Eger castle (defended by a mere 2,000 Hungarian troops).  During the siege,  the Hungarians drank a lot of the red, Eger wine thinking that it would give them strength for the battle.  From the distance below, the Turks thought that the Hungarians were drinking goblets of bull’s blood (especially since it was spilling all down their beards and armor) and were so demoralized that they abandoned their siege, which resulted in stopping, for a brief time at least, the Ottoman Empire’s advancement into Western Europe. 

Of course most of the wines making the trip are just simple wins that everyday people enjoy.  This rizling, for instance, from the Lake Balaton region, which is light and fruity and perfect for summer.  Most of all I’m just looking forward to sharing some of the great Hungarian wine culture with the people I know, especially my family members who, despite some of them being Hungarian, never realized what a great tradition of viticulturists they come from.

Tokaji (toh-kye): a Hungarian sweet white wine produced in the Tokaj, a region in the north east of the country. Wines produced in 2 villages in Slovakia are also allowed to use the name Tokaj, since, pre-World War I, they belonged to Hungary. Tokaji is usually made with Furmint and Hárslevelű grapes and sometimes is blended with Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains (called Sárgamuskotály in Hungary) for added perfume. Officially, 3 other varietals are allowed in the production of sweet Tokaji: Zéta (previously called Oremus), Kövérszőlő and Kabar.

The grapes are picked very late, usually when they have been affected by Botrytis. The grapes are called Aszú. This term simply means that the grapes are dried or raisined when harvested. Aszú can sort of be likened to the ‘Auslese’ in German.

White under £10 at  Averys 0845 863 0995; Alexander Wines 0141 882 0039; Ellis of Richmond 020 8744 5550; Oxford Wine Co 01865 301144 £8.99-£9.99 

Jonathan Ray, the Telegraph, 10 Jun 2009

Pick of the Week “excellent and quirky alternative to chardonnay or sauvignon”

Read Review http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/wine/5494982/Wines-of-the-Week.html

BUY NOW http://www.averys.com/article~id~AV0954306F~otbprefix~SEARCH_FOUND_TOKAJI~brand~AVERYS~mscssid~97F34E302CB04808900BB9520A924806.aspx

Wine not found, contact http://www.alexander-wines.co.uk/ or http://www.ellisofrichmond.co.uk/ or http://www.oxfordwine.co.uk/

Tokay

I really like that lettering – nicely calligraphic, really daring (for me anyway) pen style on such a compressed O. Excellent.

And what a great modern label. It’s a huge bummer that it’s de-evolved into this boring “classy” look. I like the confidence of this thing much better.

View Larger Map

Jana and I walked this today. RIDICULOUS! It was a great morning of sightseeing throughout the Pest side of town. Once we got to Margaret Island we then took the above ground tram to Moscow Square where we got lunch, Langos (funnel cake with sour cream and cheese) it was fantastic.

Then around 4pm we met up with our new friend, Rita, who I met on the airplane. She’s a computer programmer for Lufthansa and she showed us around Buda hill with Buda castle, fisherman’s bastion, and st. Matthias cathedral. THEN she brought us to get pancakes and we ended up getting the Hungarian version of french onion soup and crepes. IT WAS PHENOMENAL. I love Rita.

Now we bought some Tokaji (Hungarian sweet wine) and are gonna relax and call it a night!

LUSH Interview
10 Questions with…

RACHEL DRIVER
General Manager LUSH Wine and Spirits

BIO:

Leading lady of LUSH Wine and Spirits, Rachel is thoroughly dedicated to being the ultimate wine geek. An integral component of the company since the inception, Rachel has made LUSH the fun, nerdy, enterprising place it is today. With a special place in her heart for dusty Italian reds, lush and stony Savennieres, and funky American microbrews, Rachel keeps the shelves of LUSH stocked with the best and brightest. Also a cultural anthropologist by training, a Ultimate Frisbee fanatic athlete, and eco-warrior, she is on a mission to research and taste all things fermented and share the love and knowledge with fellow wine lovers. As the GM of LUSH, Rachel is incessantly drinking wine, talking about drinking, encouraging others to drink, teaching about drinking, writing about drinking and eating adventures, drinking, tasting, researching, and talking about drinking. Beer and mixology are captivating subjects that Rachel likes to experiment with, but her true love is super weird, eclectic, traditional and yet innovative wines. Stop in to say ‘hi’ to her at LUSH on Roscoe, keep a look out for her spunky pup, Tucker, and anticipate a late summer debut at the newest, up and coming LUSH on Chicago Avenue.

This is gonna be long discussion, so sit down, grab a glass, and get comfy.

INTERVIEW:

Thanks for agreeing to be a part of the Lush Wine & Spirits blog. Please answer the following questions in whatever way you see fit. We want your voice, personality, and opinions to come through!

1) What is the best thing you’ve drank in the last week? What about in the last year?

Honestly, I did not drink enough this week. I plan to amend that tonight. In the meantime, I shared a bottle of 2006 COPAIN ‘James Berry Vineyard’ Roussanne with the ladies of Lush yesterday. Although it is fairly young, this wine has a lovely creamy, deeply perfumed, stone fruit thing going on, with a little bit of honeycomb and ginger…no, cinnamon! The racy acidity kept it from being too weighted, and the finish was super looonnngggg. Wild, intelligent winemakers in Paso Robles, like Wells Guthrie and Justin Smith, make such easy to drink, textured, interesting wines.

I should have tackled this interview before January, but now that I only have 2 months of 2009 drinking under my belt thus far, I’ll have to work with a more limited pool of wine. Hmm, I will go with a straight up tie. The 2001 Castellari Bergaglio ‘Pilin’ Gavi di Gavi…a crazy white wine with a bit of age and a portion of grapes blended in that were dried on straw mats for 40 days, as well as at least 2 years in oak and another 2 in bottle prior to release. The wine is deeply golden and smells of funky earth, white plum blossoms, almond, quince, with additional aromas of honeyed pear and lavender. On the palate, this wine is full, deep, complex, with apricot, lemon zest and quince, almond and honey, but also highly acidic and well balanced. Pilin is splendid, elegant, and amazing with food. I loved just smelling it and then taking little sips over and over again. Sensually textured and silky, delightfully complex, and utterly weird. Love it.

I also am madly in love with the 2006 Tenuta di Trinoro Franchetti Petite Verdot/Cesanese from the banks of Mount Etna. By no means should we have opened the bottle this soon, but, damn. Thank you so very much, Steven Alexander at Spiaggia, for lending a few bottles this way! Mr. Franchetti is a very imaginative and a brilliant winemaker, but he has only crafted 260 cases of this wine, and only a fraction of that made it to the United States! Franchetti was the first to bring the Bordeaux varietal Petite Verdot and the Latium varietal Cesanese d’Affile to the Guardiola vineyard of Mt. Etna, and has combined these two grapes for this eponymous wine. He only uses French oak and indigenous yeasts. Jancis Robinson tasted the 2006 Franchetti at the Contrade dell’Etna wine fair and described it as ‘extremely ripe and peppery and savoury and exciting.’ I found it to be incredibly intellectual…I had to let it just sit there in the large Burgundy goblet glass and stare at me for a while…kinda surly, this one. It smelled of dark earth and freshly cracked pepper. I didn’t dare taste if for a while, I just left it there all dark and brooding. Once I did muster the courage to approach the wine, it was remarkable lithe, smelling of red dust and smoky cinders, black raspberry and a touch of spicy oak. The wine tasted like purple velvet. Really. But, in wine terms, that means flavors of blackberry and wild mountain blueberries, chewy old leather, spice and dusty dirty earth. The most exciting component of this wine is the intriguing way it changes and shifts and is totally different each and every sip. Wow.

2) What do you think is the most underrated/overrated grape varietal or region?

Overrated: Don’t hate on me, please…but Pinot Noir. The best can be ethereal and amazing and wonderful. But the drama, the price hikes, and the mentality that everyone should make PN is ridiculous. Cabernet Sauvignon is a close second.

Underrated: Chenin Blanc. I consistently run into the bias against Chenin as heavy and sweet and uninteresting. But, this grape can be quite lovely and enchanting…dry, spiced, zippy. Full of perfumed intensity and poise, the Chenin of the Loire is a purest expression of the grape at its best…Joly, Baumard, and Huet craft the finest. Remarkably versatile, these wines actually lift up food partners and bring out deliciousness is every sip and bite!

3) Who are your favorite food and wine writers?

Locally, I love me some David Tamarkin of TimeOut…dude is hilarious, and Chuck Sudo from the Chicagoist is a rockin’ good time, as well. Jancis Robinson, of course. I am digging on Matt Kramer, our current ‘Lush Reads’ book club author. And, I am just setting in to reading more of Jay McInerney. Damn good writers. Lettie Teague is one tough broad, just the way I like ‘em. Hugh Johnson was rough to get into, but for an Englishman, he cracks my shit up. I like to read. Online, I am lurking on all sorts of food and beverage blogs, but in particular, I am always entertained by Mr. El Jefe of El Bloggo Torcido.

4) What are your three favorite food cities?

*Chicago. I really only started eating as an adult here.

*Siena, Italy.

*Barcelona, Spain.

5) Top three restaurants you revisit all the time in Chicago?

*Hot Doug’s. Granted, I’ve only been once but it rocked my world and I must go back…right now.

*Terragusto

*West Town Tavern

(Avec would be my fourth, and then Home Bistro…)

6) What is your most memorable dining or drinking experience?

Most unrepeatable drinking and dining experience is most definitely the comprehensive Sine Qua Non event on the Lush Halsted patio. The 2001 Straw Man was mind-blowing.

But, my most memorable eating and drinking happen at home in the kitchen, generally, and with my family and good friends. I like to play in the kitchen with baking and with ambitious cooking projects…and that lends to drinking lots of wine and experimenting with pairings, as well. Good times.

7) Between wine, beer, and spirits – when do you reach for each? If you HAD to do without one, which would it be?

My job is to drink whichever one I am handed. But, I am more suited to wine…I can drink more of it and in more variety at one time. I like small glasses of everything. You will often catch me working on 3 or more glasses at a time, taking small smells and sips. When my palate is exhausted, especially on Mondays after our tasting with industry folks, I generally grab a beer. I love maltiness…but I also like nuanced, complex, and edgy brews. In particular, the DogFish Head high abvs are easy to drink on a night when I just want one beer. I also very much appreciate Belgian beers…they do it right. As for spirits, I have discovered a love for rye whiskey. Pappy Van Winkle 13 year Rye Whiskey. And, with Ms. Jane as my tutor, I am delving into the more intricate, chemical aspects of mixology. We have outfitted our home with all sorts of cocktail ingredients and like to play. If I couldn’t drink one, I suppose that I would ditch spirits…and distill my wine.

What is the best thing about your job?

What, you don’t know by now?! Each day, my schedule is wildly different…this keeps me entertained and challenged. I am required, yes required, to taste up to 200 NEW wines, beers, and spirits each week. So, I get to keep on the up and up and on the edge of what is happening in wine and the ‘industry’ in Chicago. And, wine is such an intriguing subject…it is always changing and evolving. New technology, innovative tradition, better knowledge of farming, genetics, and chemical reactions, new and exciting producers…all sorts of crazy, eclectic, and fun people. But, I have to holler at the Einhorns for providing me with the opportunity to play and lead Lush to greater depths of deliciousness, and also shout out to my amazing staff of very talented little winos…they encourage me to come to work each day!

9) If you had to describe yourself as a certain wine, what would it be? (i.e. Australian Shiraz – spicy, bold, and seductive. German Riesling – sometimes sweet (but hard to predict if it will be), elegant, and requiring of patience.)

I suppose that Savennieres would be my personal choice…smells lovely, tastes of spice and honeyed pear, and ginger dusted almonds…a bit sassy and a touch sweet, but snappy and fresh on the finish. And, oh boy, do I age gracefully. Wink wink.

10)You’re on death row (sorry). What’s your final meal?

Well, this is an unfortunate situation. However, I would like to start with a rustic Italian bread and a fresh, green and spicy olive oil with sea salt and freshly cracked pink peppercorns. In my glass, Bergaglio ‘Pilin’ Gavi di Gavi 2001.

Next I would like a bowl of freshly steamed mussels with white wine, garlic, and butter. Champagne, please. In particular, Clos de Goisses 1991. In magnum, if possible. I am thirsty.

I would then like a trio of dishes from Schwa…the quail egg ravioli, the lamb brain, and oxtail fresh cut pasta. Certainly more components than that, and outrageously, sublimely delicious. I choose a bottle of the Didier Dagueneau ‘Silex’ 2005, or earlier. And, a glass of Dirler Pinot Noir Cepage Blanc. Yes, white Pinot Noir.

Braised escarole greens, brown butter and garlic, with cherry tomatoes and olive oil, and crispy pancetta. Melusine ‘Lyra’ Gruner Veltliner 2006.

Rack of lamb grilled with rosemary. Sean Thackery ‘Aquila’ Sangiovese 2002.

A grand assortment of cheeses and salty, fresh, green olives. Fichet Grand Cru Mersault 2005.

Denner Syrah 2004, alone. Silky and nummy.

Crème Brulee with Sauternes, Tokaji, and old Port.

I think that is enough…

For Your Consideration: Give That Wine An Oscar!

I recently saw Dean Spanley at the cinema and for the second year running found myself watching a movie that used that sweetest of Hungarian tipples, Tokaji, as a plot construct.

In this latest example, Fisk Junior (Jeremy Northam) shares a bottle of Tokaji with the Dean (Sam Neill) and discovers that his drinking companion starts to regress into a past life existence as a dog.

Intrigued, Northam arranges a succession of dinners with Neill, each time plying him with more Tokaji and each time eliciting more back-story about Neill’s adventures as a four legged hound. 

Yes, that’s right folks, Tokaji is the drink of choice for mediums everywhere. Dean Spanley is a wonderful oddity of a shaggy dog story, but it’s not the first film to feature Tokaji….

Last year’s  adaptation of Philip Pullman’s Golden Compass also featured Katherine the Great’s elixir. This time out, Tokaji features as the sweetie of choice for Daniel Craig’s Lord Asriel. But wait! Who’s that adding poisoned powder to the Puttonyos? Oh no! The glass is poured. The arm is raised. The clasped goblet drives towards the eagerly  awaiting mouth! Lyra – warn him! Don’t let him drink it!!!!. An awful movie, salvaged only by a sterling performance from the Hungarian.

I’ve blogged before about my favourite “wines featured in movies” but I wonder, dear reader, which wine would feature in the movie of your life?
 

How does the world do it?  The gods and the cherubs and saints and dead Israelite forefathers have conspired to make my Dublin trip bizarre and incredibly amazing.  I have spent the entire day with a brand new friend S, a gorgeous ridiculously intelligent woman, a mutual friend of my friend who turned 30, for whom I came to Dublin in the first place.  And we have been swilling world-class wines!  All day!  And to top it off, I have had my first glass of Cristal!  Amazing.  And Tokaji, and 10-year old and 20-year old Portos, and climax-inducing Muscatos, and Reislings to change your world, and more and more and more (including a local cheese spread, the best ham I’ve ever tasted, and a smoked fish selection — tuna, mackerel, wild salmon, and kippers — that I thought were the absolute best).

How did this happen?  S’s parents own an off-license (Irish for liquor store) and pub in a nice Dublin suburb, and she’s in business with them.  This wine tasting?  A wine distributor she works with sometimes had this amazing array set up at the Four Seasons.  And they welcomed me with open arms.  And we met more and more people, one of whom was a weird-ish Maltese guy who’s been living in Dublin for 15 years, being a chef and restaurant manager, who latched on to us.  We ended up closing the tasting with some Proseco, then moved on to the hotel’s bar, drinking a Rioja and a Reisling (spent 80 Euro, goodness), some horrifically overpriced bland fish pub food, and then moved on (well, we crashed…) the post wine tasting dinner event.  See, S had never heard of these happening, but when we got there, we just snuck happily in and had a huge free meal — black pudding and rocket salad atop some stewed apples (I think), veal and mashed potatoes, lemon tarte and brownies, cheese platter (!!!), and coffee and tea.  With, of course, a huge amount of great great great wine.  Our bizarre (socially awkward) Maltese friend with us the entire time, and joined by my birthday girl friend after she got out of work, it was just one of those evenings that dragged on and on, but didn’t drag.  It unraveled and unwrapped itself like a gift.  The Maltese man ended up inviting me to Italy to plant grapes at a new vineyard that he was going to be investing in as soon as he’d raised 75,000 Euro, insisted I take his number, and did all but beg me to get together later in the week to, “have the finest glass of wine you’ll ever have in your life.”  AND the gorgeous manager of this upscale wine bar cum gourmet Irish restaurant who I’d been eying and who may have been eying me at the wine tasting earlier in the day asked for me number!  Yay!

I’m more than a bit frazzled, giddy, and delighted to have made new friends, spent time with old friends, and I’m currently being horribly anti-social by typing away at this blog while my two girlfriends are chatting around me at 12:30 am.  Life is lovely.

And for your viewing pleasure, a film you MUST all see.  My friend’s original show.  That’s right.  She wrote and directed this funny gem, and she’s touring to Abu Dhabi tomorrow.

Part 1  Go To Wikipedia For Natural Born Citizen of the United States.

Part 2  look at The Bottom And external Links You will see these names

John Yinger, Daniel J. Tokaji, Jill A. Pryor, and Sarah P. Herlihy

Jill A. Pryor

The Natural-Born Citizen Clause and Presidential Eligibility: An Approach for Resolving Two Hundred Years of Uncertainty

IV. CONCLUSION
If the eligibility of a presidential candidate born outside the territorial United States were challenged under the natural-born citizen clause today,
the outcome, based on traditional methods of approaching the clause, would be unpredictable and unsatisfactory. This Note’s approach removes the confusion caused by Supreme Court dicta asserting that there are only two classes of citizens, native-born and naturalized. As historical and textual
analysis has shown, a citizen may be both “naturalized” and “natural born.” Under the naturalized born approach, any person with a right to American citizenship under the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States at the time of his or her birth is a natural-born citizen for purposes of presidential eligibility.
93.

John Yinger

The Founding Fathers did not rule out foreigners as such. Building on the Morris exception of August 13, they made anyone who was a citizen “at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution” eligible to be President. This phrase applied to thousands of foreign-born citizens, including seven signers of the Constitution (James Wilson, Robert Morris and Thomas Fitzsimons of Pennsylvania, Alexander Hamilton of New York, William Paterson of New Jersey, James McHenry of Maryland, and Pierce Butler of South Carolina)

John McHenry Yinger

SARAH P. HERLIHY

AMENDING THE NATURAL BORN CITIZEN REQUIREMENT: GLOBALIZATION AS THE IMPETUS AND THE OBSTACLE
SARAH P. HERLIHY∗
INTRODUCTION
The natural born citizen requirement in Article II of the United States Constitution has been called the “stupidest provision” in the Constitution,1 “undecidedly un American,”2 “blatantly discriminatory,”3 and the “Constitution’s worst provision.”4 Since Arnold Schwarzenegger’s victory in the California gubernatorial recall election of 2003, commentators and policy-makers have once again started to discuss whether Article II of the United States Constitution should be amended to render naturalized citizens eligible for the presidency.5 Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 of the Constitution defines the eligibility requirements for an individual to become president. Article II provides:

The natural born citizen clause of the United States Constitution should be repealed for numerous reasons. Limiting presidential eligibility to natural born citizens discriminates against naturalized citizens, is out-dated and undemocratic, and incorrectly assumes that birthplace is a proxy for loyalty. The increased globalization of the world continues to make each of these reasons more persuasive. As the world becomes smaller and cultures become more similar through globalization, the natural born citi-zen clause has increasingly become out of place in the American legal sys-tem

“While digging my way through the Internet last night, I came across the following paper, written by SARAH P. HERLIHY. It’s title: AMENDING THE NATURAL BORN CITIZEN REQUIREMENT: GLOBALIZATION AS THE IMPETUS AND THE OBSTACLE caught my eye, and had to read it…

So, I kept digging, and found that SARAH P. HERLIHY is employed by Kirkland & Ellis LLP

“Noting that this law firm is based in Chicago, the light bulb was shining a little brighter . Upon looking at the firm, and the partners, I found that Bruce I. Ettelson, P.C., is Member of finance committees of U.S. Senators Barack Obama and Richard Durbin.

Daniel Tokaji

There is still a potential objection to Supreme Court review of a statecourt decision excluding or disqualifying a presidential candidate. A court may find that such a case presents a nonjusticiable political question because it is entrusted to another branch of the federal government. To evaluate this question, it is necessary to consider the other plausible option for adjudicating a presidential candidate’s qualifications: Congress making this determination during the process of counting Electoral College votes.

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and on a dare, put it on Authonomy.com.  I am amazed that it even got noticed, it’s only 32000 words so far….but I am getting a number of very, very good crits.

This morning, I opened my mail…and there was a comment by obviously a Hungarian man, and it’s good to have another Magyar  reading this book.  It’s heavily into Hungarian  Dom culture,  or that what I know of it,  but it’s more relying on the vineyard culture.

Funny!  Just when you think you are writing about something obscure….vineyards,  up pops another writer ALSO knowledgeable (far more so than I) about Hungarian wine culture. He complained that I called Tokaji, Tokay.  Sorry, Sandrine….my Hungarian is slipping…

Sandrine very elegantly wrote about the bloodshed, history and purpose of calling this lovely wine (and it IS a nectar) Tokaji, so I humbly apologize to him for this slight to our shared Hungarian culture.

So, in honor of Sandrine, I am posting a Hungarian poem….with apologies to George S. for using the first line:  “Quiet birds.  I haven’t made you into a metaphor yet”.  This line is from his poem, but I haven’t read it.  Just loved the line, and wrote him about using it.  He was friendly until I told him….

Something about being Hungarian and thievery…..

Lady Nyo

QUIET BIRDS!
Jane Kohut-Bartels
June, 2008

I turned 30 in January, and a group of my friends were generous enough to buy me a gift certificate at Canlis, a Seattle restaurant institution that has been around since 1950. With the inevitability of those friends reading this review, perhaps I should sugarcoat and tell you that our experience was universally positive. But it was not, and I will not, with the hopes that an honest accounting of our time at Canlis in no way diminishes the generosity of the gift.

THE BAD NEWS

Seating: the restaurant is set up in a square, with two-tops lining the outside of the square and larger parties dining in the middle. Instead of seating parties of two facing each other, Canlis seats them next to each other, facing out onto the square. This is awkward on at least three levels:

1. We consistently found ourselves staring at, and being stared at by, our counterparts on the opposite side of the square. And let me say for the record that I do not support make-out sessions at restaurants. I implore my readers to use their mouths for talking and eating and save the tongue-wrestling for home (or at least for the lovely Canlis bathrooms).

2. We both got neck cramps trying to have a conversation during dinner. Especially while eating, it was impossible to carry on a conversation without a) turning our neck hoot-owl style; or b) shouting and thereby informing the inner-square diners of our opinions on the undercooked brussels sprouts.

3. The servers literally trapped us (and other prisoners in the outer square) in our seats by pressing the table in against us. Over the course of a 2+ hour dinner, the occasional restroom trip is going to crop up. Essentially, to make this happen, I needed to catch the eye of a passing server, give a little “I need to pee” shoulder shrug, and wait to have the table pulled out. It reminded me of third grade, when I needed to ask Mrs. Isherwood for permission. Odd.

Service: our service was spotty at best. We were seated at 8 PM and didn’t have a drink on our table until 8:37. We were helped by a veritable fleet of servers but didn’t feel especially connected to any of them, and their attentiveness crossed the border into futziness. I don’t need my wine glass filled every time I take a sip. Also, the couple next to us were nearly combusted when a server knocked a tall, slender candle onto their laps. Yikes.

Main courses: Kelli’s New York steak and my lamb chops were just okay. The doneness was perfect but the seasoning was uneven, and the sides left a lot to be desired. Maybe we should have ordered seafood.

Wine list: I pored over Canlis’ 90-page wine list online for hours this week and had decided on a half-bottle of Champagne and a full bottle of 2005 Cayuse Camaspelo. When we got to the restaurant, the current wine list was missing both bottles. If Canlis is going to include their list online, it absolutely has to be up-to-date.

THE GOOD NEWS

The drinks: When it became clear that we might grow old and die before seeing a sommelier, we decided to order cocktails. Fortunately, they were delicious. My martini was perfect, and Kelli’s combination of Dry Fly gin (kudos for supporting Washington’s only gin-maker!), syrup of violets, Champagne, and lemon juice was floral and delicious.

And while the Camaspelo was gone, we were fortunate to find a bevy of Cayuse Syrahs on their updated wine list, and all for surprisingly reasonable costs. The sommelier, when he did arrive, was friendly, and he helped us pick out the 2004 Cayuse Syrah Cailloux Vineyard. And let me just say that I was predisposed to like this wine since I have been wanting to taste a wine from Cayuse for some time now. With that caveat stated, this wine absolutely melted my face off with its awesomeness. I am pleased to say that this is the first wine to receive Rating: 5. On the nose, initially this was an earthy, mineral-driven, jar of black olives; by far the briniest nose I have ever had the pleasure of smelling. Over time, the black olive shifted to a greener smell (cabbage maybe) and then turned bloody. By the last sniff, this smelled like the best roast-beef sandwich in the world. The palate was fully gorgeous, with minerals and spice and everything nice. Lots of red fruit and acid, and just a hint of smooth, well-integrated tannins. We paid $170 for this, not so bad considering that the average price on Winebid.com has been $110.

With our crème brulee dessert, we shared a glass of 2003 Royal Tokaji Wine Co. Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos. This was amazing juice, with a nose like a candy shop (one that specializes in orange and mango candy) and a palate that was sweet on the attack and beautifully tart and dry in the middle and on the finish. The acidity was utter perfection. Rating: 4.

The apps: escargot under puff pastry was garlicky, buttery, snaily goodness, and red-chili glazed short ribs were lick-the-plate delicious (no, I didn’t lick the plate; not with my across-the-square neighbors staring at me).

The location/décor: the room was grand and gorgeous, with a stone fireplace that I would like in my home. The view was outstanding. This felt like a special-occasion restaurant.

Thanks again to all my friends who went in on the gift certificate. As my words above hopefully convey, it was a fascinating culinary roller coaster, with all the crests and valleys inherent in a good ride.

What better time to start writing about wine then when you’ve just finished tasting roughly 18 wines a day over 6 glorious days?

Having recently completed Level 3 of the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) with James Cluer at Fine Vintage, I have to give my props to some of the wine in this ‘Random Top 20(ish) Wines’ we were fortunate enough to taste while “studying”… listed in no particular order, according to my personal preference, with price point estimates (BC, Canada) and a few scribbles between the drooling, Ooo-ing and Ahhh-ing. Most of these, let it be known, I simply could not merely ‘taste’; a few slipped right down. A lot of these are wines you may want to break the bank on when the occasion presents itself, like, for instance, a quiet Tuesday evening at home. Why not?

WHITES:

1. Domaine Weinbach, Riesling Schlossberg, Alsace Grand Cru 2005 $70 – crisp and beautiful – spend the dough on this one, it will not disappoint.
2. Vinvent Girardin, Puligny Montrachet 1er Cru Les Referts Burgundy 2006 $99 – oh-so-much-goodness. Melts in your mouth. Drink now.
3. Charles Heidsieck Cuvée 1995 $200 – Heavenly way to start the morning.
4. Zilliken Riesling Auslese Mosel (‘Auslese’ = German Late Harvest = sweet = FAB) 1995 $58
5. Muenchberg Grand Cru Alsace Riesling 2004 $104
6. Nicolas Joly Savennières Les Clos Sacrés (Les Vieux Clos) 2006 $47 – Bio-Dynamic
7. Château de Fesles Bonnezeaux 2003 $65 for the HALF L.
8. Château Dereszla Tokaji 2003 $30
9. Domaine Zind-Humbrecht Gewürztraminer Alsace 2004 $58
10. Kinheimer Rosenberg Riesling Kabinett 1999 $26 – What value!
(Bonus Number 11: blanc de blancs Champagne 1999 $85)

REDS:

1. Alentejo Incognito 2003 $67
2.Torres Salmos Priorat 2005 $35
3. Pio Cesare Barbaresco 2004 $114
4. Smith Woodhouse Tawny Port 1986 $65
5. Louis Jadot Gevrey-Chambertin 2002 $110
6. Château Beauséjour 1er Cru Saint Emilion 1998 $70
7. Château Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2001 $125 (All 13 grapes!)
8. Guigal Saint Joseph 2004 $110 (If I had to pick just one, god forbid, I can still taste this one…)
9. Felton Road Pinot Noir $110
10. Luce, IGT Super Tuscan, Montalcino 2005 $100

I’d be happy to expand on the what’s?/huh’s?/who’s-a? on any of the above if you’s like to know more. And if you are thinking of taking a wine course or two, and happen to live in Western Canada or Northwest US, you have to seek out James’ classes – you will not be disappointed.