WINE WITH DINNER – The Missing Ingredient

So here we are right in the middle of the coldest part of the winter and what would be more natural than an article about some great wines to go with hefty winter soups and stews? ………But, when I got to thinking about it, I wondered how many of you know what goes into the making a really great soup or stew? Of course, the answer to that question is a great stock. Basic Soup Cooking Rule No. 1 - It is really hard to make a bad soup (or stew) out of a great soup stock.

So, I’m one step away from where I started. Hmmm, but how many of you know what the missing ingredient is in most stocks? It’s not anything that you cut up and drop into the pot. It’s not even the water that you use (although fresh well water is better than chlorinated water). In fact you don’t even start with water! You start with a base vegetable stock.

So, now I’m two steps away from where I started. Well, it’s too late now. Let’s talk about base vegetable stock and how easy it is to make. All you need is a little freezer space, a large plastic Ziploc bag and a little discipline. It’s really quite simple. Just don’t throw away your eggshells, vegetable trimming and peelings, onion skins, carrot and celery scrapings, etc. and tired veggies that you sometimes find in the bottom of the vegetable bin. They all go into the zip lock bag instead. The only veggies or veggie parts that don’t go into the bag are anything from the cabbage family. You’ll be surprised at how fast the bag will fill up.

When the bag is full, pour it into the top of a double boiler, cover well with water, add a little salt, a quarter cup of white vinegar and slowly bring it to a boil. Then let it simmer for an hour or so and turn off the heat. When the liquid cools down, remove the upper part of the double boiler and throw out the contents. Now pour what’s left in the bottom of the double boiler throw a fine strainer and into large freezer containers. Cool them in the refrigerator over night and the next morning put them (labeled) into your freezer.

Now you’ve got hearty vegetable stock ready to go whenever you want to make a hefty soup or stew. I never use water when I cook; I even make rice using base vegetable stock! But, alas, I’m out of space and still two steps away from where I started. Oh well, maybe next time I’ll get into making great soups and stews. Jay Roelof – www.suburbanwines.com

Suburban’s Staff Unwinds

The holidays are busy times for wine retail, so our staff tradition is to wait until early January before collectively kicking back with some food, wine and celebration, Suburban style. This year, Lance set us up at Peter Pratt’s for the festivities. A private room awaited us, as usual, and an empty table provided us with the space for the numerous bottles we brought. As the corks flew, that table quickly became a sampling space, wherein each of us tried to taste as many of the 2-dozen wines as possible before settling on our favorites to drag with us to the dinner table. Hors d’oeuvres came, and opinions filled the room about whose contributions faired the best. It was difficult to really choose a winner, since most of the wines were “heavyweights”. But in the end, we broke it down this way:

The purists or “traditionalists” among us agreed that George W’s contribution of an organically-farmed 2001 Lirac by Domaine de la Mordoree was the king, with its high tones, striking minerality and beautiful delineation of classic Rhone flavors, while the new-world hounds preferred Jason F’s 2002 Sherwin Family Napa Cabernet, an assertive wine with an aromatic attack of blackcurrants, charcoal, pen ink, and toasty American oak, finishing with outrageous chewy tannins. Both of these made fine complements for the ensuing carnivorous feast which included sirloin steaks, pork shanks, braised duck breasts and waygu beef burgers.

Other wine highlights included Kevin’s controversial yet delightfully-mature ’86 Chateauneuf-du-Pape from a negociant none of us had heard of before, a peppery and Cornas-like ’98 Brokenwood Shiraz Graveyard Vineyard, the white pepper and eucalyptus-laden ’96 Jim Barry Shiraz Armagh, an elegant, floral and pretty 2000 single-vineyard old vines Carignane from Porter Creek of Russian River Valley, a slightly past-peak but intriguing and licorice-laced ’89 Chateau Montelena Cabernet in magnum, a buttery, textured and extremely rare ’06 Gratis Chardonnay from Sea Smoke, the wine that started it all off…..a rich and precise ’98 Champagne Egerie de Pannier, and the wine that ended it all…..the dazzling, absolutely stunning 2000 Tokaji Ezencia by Dereszla, which is a dessert wine made from free-run juice that blew our minds with its dead-ringer apricot and green tea aromatics, and never-ending finish.

Kudos to Pratt’s for the amazing meal and the vino-friendly atmosphere. And thanks to Lance for the generosity. Here’s to a prosperous 2009! -Michael Koehler- www.suburbanines.com

EDUCATION IN A CASE

In many ways, the magic of wine is part and parcel of the process of discovery and assessment. When you’re starting out with wine, you are discovering that you like to drink wine. Along the way you discover new varietals, regions and blends that you enjoy or loathe. Eventually, you will have tasted enough wine that new wines are assessed against your previous favorites in various peer groups. New favorites appear, your standards shift, your wine instincts are sharpened.

As someone in the trade, I have always considered that to be an essential skill. I know when I taste it, for example, if that Haut-Medoc is in the top 10% of all the Haut-Medocs I have tried and committed to the storeroom of my mind. If it is not a real standout, it will not really register and be largely forgotten.

If you really want to delve into wine, I genuinely feel that you can give yourself an education from every case of wine you buy – and here’s a great for instance – here’s one man’s ultimate Sauvignon Blanc sampler of the moment. At the end of this case of wine is an education. You should have some strong opinions.

2006 Delille Cellars Chaleur Estate Blanc (includes 21% Semillon) $42.99 Washington State
2006 Six Sigma Sauvignon Blanc Lake County Rooster Vyd $21.99 California
2007 Cliff Lede Sauvignon Blanc Napa $26.99 California
2007 Mulderbosch Sauvignon Blanc, Stellenbosch $21.99 South Africa
2007 Vina Leyda Sauvignon Blanc Classic , Leyda Valley $11.99 Chile
2006 Abbazia di Novacella Sauvignon, Alto Adige $17.99 Italy
2007 Eradus Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough $18.99 New Zealand
2006 Chateau Doisy Daene Bordeaux Blanc $22.99 Bordeaux
2007 Chateau Laures Entre-deux-Mers (includes Semillon) $12.99 Bordeaux
2007 Domaine Mardon Quincy $17.99 Loire Valley
2006 Langoux Pouilly Fume $19.99 Loire Valley
2006 Leon Vatan Sancerre Les Moulins Artes $24.99 Loire Valley

-George Feaver - www.suburbanwines.com