New Mexico Red Chili Sauce
Posted: 09/11/2009 Filed under: Recipes, Vegan | Tags: Chimayo, Josie's, New Mexico, Recipe, Red Chili, Riesling, Santa Fe, Sauce 3 Comments »Chili is synonymous with Santa Fe. Beginning in late August, the city fills with the wondrous smell of roasting green chili. While Parisians might find croissants on every street corner, and Seattleites don’t have to walk ten steps without being tempted by the smell of freshly ground coffee, it is only in New Mexico that you’ll find chili roasting in just about every grocery store parking lot. All of the restaurants take it upon themselves to serve their house version of red or green chili sauce, but if you’re like me (indecisive and wanting to try everything) all you have to do is ask for “Christmas” and a simmering plate of red and green enchiladas will be only five minutes away. In Santa Fe, chili inspires everything – from the green chili infused vodka at Coyote Café to the red chili brittle at Señor Murphy’s Candy Maker. Read the rest of this entry »
Pairing Wine with Golf
Posted: 09/05/2009 Filed under: Wine | Tags: Golf, New Zealand, Sauvignon Blanc, Wine 3 Comments »
How a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand goes perfect with an afternoon of putting.
A couple of days ago, I found myself in the middle of a conversation that I admit to knowing nothing about – golf. Normally I would have done the smart thing and ignored any discussions that included balls and clubs, but I have to admit that as soon as I heard the word “wine” my curiosity got the best of me and, a few days later, I found myself in the middle of a tee-box with a number 8 club (I still have no idea what that means), taking a swing at a ball that, as I quickly found out, had a mind of its own.
What does golf have to do with wine?
Well, since I work at a restaurant where all of my colleagues are wine enthusiasts, it was impossible not to bring wine into the conversation (or onto the golf course). What started out as simply making plans for a relaxing day of golf quickly turned into a debate on whether or not it was proper sports etiquette to bring a bottle of wine onto the course. Since I had never played golf before, I was surprised to hear that one would want to mix wine with sport and a hot sunny day. To me this sounded like a horrible hangover in the making, but, as I listened to my colleagues, it all started to make since. After all, golf is a social sport, and what could be more refreshing than a nice glass of Sauvignon Blanc?
I did a little research and found out that pairing golf with wine is actually quite popular. I first called a few of my friends who play golf. Some of them admitted to never having played golf sober. Most of them pack beer into their bags, but a few do bring cocktails and wine. I still didn’t have a response, however, to whether or not this was socially acceptable.
According to various “etiquette schools,” it is acceptable to drink while golfing if the host is drinking and he/she offers you a drink. You should limit yourself to two drinks, and, if you’re going to have a drink after the game, you should only have one while on the course. This seems all fine a proper, but I highly doubt that anyone actually practices it (just think of the last time you saw all the men stand up as a lady left the table). Golfing is about enjoying time with your friends, and, if a bottle (or two…or four) happens to find its way into the golfing bag, it would be a shame not to drink it.
So what type of wine pairs well with golf?
There are a couple of basic rules when pairing food and wine. First, you can pair by means of similarity. For example, a popular pairing is Chianti with tomato sauce since they are both acidic. Or you might want to pair opposites such as spicy Thai food with a sweet Riesling. In the case of golf, I prefer to go with the first rule. I chose a Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand because of its freshly mowed grass aroma. New Zealand, and especially the wine region of Marlborough, gained recognition for its Sauvignon Blanc, which has become the most widely planted variety. The resulting wine is pungent and aromatic with notes of gooseberry, tropical fruit, fresh grass, and green herb. I recommend Cloudy Bay 2008 Sauvignon Blanc. www.cloudybay.co.nz. A perfect match for a day of putting.
French “Wines” Don’t Get Fat
Posted: 09/01/2009 Filed under: Wine Leave a comment »
We’ve all seen the literature written about how the French stay remarkably thin despite their decadent multi-course lifestyle. Some call it the French Paradox, which has sent millions of people in search of the miracle liquids of Pinot Noir and Merlot (a topic for another post), others might call it genetics. But, whatever the case may be, the French remain lean and sophisticated, just like their wines…which got me to thinking.
To the Europeans, Americans are known for being boisterous, proud, enthusiastic people that are… you guessed it, FAT! While obesity might be a problem that America is fighting on a daily basis, it isn’t such a bad thing when it comes to our most prized wines.
So what does it mean to be a “Fat” wine?
You will often find the term in association with New World (especially Californian) Chardonnays. It simply means that the wine is more fruity than it is acidic. The generous fruit concentration of warmer climates can create great fat wines that are round, well structured, and buttery. But be careful because, just like women, voluptuous wines are wonderful, but you wouldn’t want anything too flabby or missing that nice acidic bite.
On the contrary, French Chardonnays are often referred to as being lean, which describes the high acidity and low fruit concentration. You will often see this in reference to Burgundian whites that have nice acidity and minerality.
I recently put this French/American stereotype to the test and tasted a Rutherford Ranch 2006 Chardonnay (Napa Valley) next to a Domaine Moillard 2005 Pouilly-Fuissé (Burgundy). The result was exactly what I expected. The Rutherford was a mouthful of peaches and nectarines, with layers of vanilla and oak, and, of course, butter. The Domaine Moillard was elegant with a bright acidity and notes of pear, pineapple, and minerality.
While it is often the case that American wines are “fat,” with their French counterpart being “lean,” it is important to remember that this isn’t always true. Just as there are some overweight French people (just think of Asterix’s sidekick Obelix), there are some fat French wines that come mostly from the Rhône region where the climate is hotter and produces a higher sugar concentration in the grapes.
And, just for clarification, lean wines have just as many calories as fat ones, so drink up!
