Washington DC International Wine and Food Festival

I'll be heading out this weekend to the Washington DC International Wine and Food Festival to taste a bunch of wines and foods, and check out other vendors. My friends Jim Barker, President of the Washington Wine Academy, and Jay Youmans, Master of Wine and my instructor for my intermediate and advanced WSET courses, did a segment on DC's Fox 5 this morning about the festival, including a mini-lesson on Pinot Noir. Here is the link to their TV segment.

Check out the festival website for hours and ticket information.

Vin de Garage in Loudoun County

I headed out to Fabbioli Cellars in Leesburg this morning to do some research for an upcoming article. Owner Doug Fabbioli is knowledgeable without being at all pretentious, and a visit to his small winery is a refreshing change from other area wineries' focus on upscale tasting rooms and booking private parties.

I tasted through his offerings, and I was really impressed. Doug decided early on that he would tailor his vineyard and winery to only red wines, although he does offer two Chardonnays through a winery on which he's currently consulting.

The flagship wine, Tre Sorelle (named for his wife and her two sisters...) is a Bordeaux-blend with decent structure, and balanced fruit and oak. DC restaurants Mio and BlackSalt recently added it to their wine list. I tasted both the 2005 and 2006, and preferred the latter--I got a funky aroma on the 2005, which wasn't necessarily off-putting, but wasn't apparent on the more recent vintage.

I also really enjoyed the North Gate 2005 Merlot, made from grapes grown at Fabbioli and vinted by Mark and Vicki Fedor in Purcellville. It's done in an Old World style, with an elegant backbone and restrained fruit. A nice alternative to the barrage of jammy, lush Merlots that are out there.

The wine that surprised me the most was the Raspberry Merlot. Although I had been told it wasn't too, too sweet, I was sceptical. Turns out, it wasn't that sweet, and the tart raspberry flavor really came through to balance it out. I thought it would be nice topped with some Prosecco for a spring or summer cocktail.

The tasting room at Fabbioli is open Fridays and Saturdays. For more information, visit their website.

Oyamel's Tequila Festival

A few weeks ago, I dined at Jose Andres' Oyamel in DC while researching an article about rose-inspired drinks for Valentine's Day (Oyamel features a Prickly Pear Margarita with Rose Air Foam that is very unique, and very floral.) I was really impressed by their guacamole prepared tableside (with homemade chips that also tasted great by themselves), as well as all of the other dishes they brought out for me to sample--including several ceviches and salads that were simply fantastic.

I just received a press release about their upcoming tequila and mezcal festival, which will features flights of the celebrated liquors, dishes to pair with them, and specialty cocktails (some of which will be topped with the air/foam...) One of their most popular drinks is the margarita topped with "Salt Air", rather than rimmed in salt flakes. I tasted it, and it's an innovative take on the classic Margarita--and, you don't have to worry about those unsightly flakes of sea salt that inevitably get stuck on your upper lip...

Here is my info about the festival. You can also visit their website.

Washington, D.C., (February 20, 2008)— From March 18 to 30, José Andrés and the culinary team at Oyamel Cocina Mexicana led by Chef Joe Raffa are pleased to host a two-week celebration of Tequila & Mezcal and welcome special guests from premiere producers such as Siembra Azul, Del Maguey and Casa Noble. Oyamel’s celebration will feature a variety of tequila specials throughout the event in addition to tequila tastings at Oyamel’s Butterfly Bar and for the grand finale, a seven-course tequila-inspired dinner event.

During the festival, Oyamel celebrates the rich heritage of Mexico’s most famous spirits. Mezcal is the product of agave plants, a distilled alcoholic beverage unique to Mexico. Most mezcal is produced in the state of Oaxaca. Tequila is produced from one specific type of agave, the blue agave or agave tequilana, and production is centered in the town of Tequila in the state of Jalisco. All tequila is mezcal but not all mezcal is tequila.

During the Tequila & Mezcal Festival, Oyamel patrons will have the opportunity to sample some of the highest quality tequila and mezcal with special tastings and tequila flights priced from $20 to 30. These spirits will also be featured in the form of specialty cocktails and in special menu items. Tempting concoctions will include the popular Oyamel Margarita; a Chamoy Margarita, inspired by the famous Mexico City Chef Carmen “Titita” Ramirez of El Bajio and a Pineapple and Sage Margarita, all available for $9 to $12.

Featured specials prepared for the festival by Chef Raffa will include Ceviche de Salmon Curado en Mezcal, a ceviche of mezcal cured salmon; Sopa de Lima al Tequila, lime-tequila soup and Carne Asada de Buey con Salsa Borracha, grilled beef tenderloin with Borracha sauce and to satisfy the sweet tooth there is Café de Olla con espuma de chocolate blanco y tequila añejo, Café de Olla with White Chocolate Foam and Añejo Tequila and Margarita de fresa, a Strawberry Margarita. All dishes will be priced between $8 and $9.50.

Heart's Delight Wine Auction

I'm proud to be serving this year on the Auction Committee for the Heart's Delight Wine Tasting and Auction, and I want to introduce you to this amazing event and give you a chance to donate to a really worthwhile cause...

Over the past eight years, Heart's Delight has grown to become one of the nation’s premier food and wine events - it provides the ideal combination of great food and wine while raising the much-needed funding to support the mission of the American Heart Association. Since Heart’s Delight began in 1999, we have raised $6 million dollars for the fight against heart disease and stroke.

Planning for the 2008 event this May 8-10 in DC is under way, and I would like to invite you to join us by donating to the auction. With an auction goal of $500,000, we welcome donations of wine, gift certificates, dinners, etc… Donations can be sent to the American Heart Association, 4301 North Fairfax Drive, Suite 530, Arlington, VA 22203. To ensure listing in the auction program, donation forms must be turned in by March 5, 2008. For your convenience, donation forms are available online at www.heartsdelightwineauction.org/auction/donate.cfm.

Please do not hesitate to contact me at trywine@gmail.com with any questions. To learn more about Heart’s Delight, visit http://www.heartsdelightwineauction.org/.

Wine Bar Coming to Tysons Corner

A friend of mine just gave me a heads up about this place. It's a chain, and the Tysons Corner location is scheduled to open this spring.

They seem to follow the same "user-friendly" approach that WineStyles and Best Cellars use to classify wines. But instead of using adjectives like "fruity," "soft" or "earthy," they use what they call Grape Classifications--ten numbers that define a wine category's color, body, flavors, etc. To be honest, the classifications seem to be a bit confusing, and there are wines that can fall into several categories. But The Grape looks like it could be a decent addition to wine-bar-starved Tysons Corner.

For more information, check out their website.

Beauty That's More Than (Grape)skin Deep

When Kristin Moses was searching for a streamlined approach to her skincare, she didn't need to look any further than her own backyard. Her father and step-mother own Kluge Estate in Charlottesville, VA, and Kristin, whose traded her career in beauty PR for life among the vines, believed in the power of grapeseed oil. Kristin's company, Skincare from the Vineyard, creates the fabulous Bordeaux Balm. Made from grapeseed oil and other essential oils, this all-purpose balm can be used on chapped lips, rough hands and feet, cuticles--you name it.

After chatting with her the other day, Kristin sent me a sample of Bordeaux Balm, and it's really a great product. Moisturizing without being greasy, it gave relief to my dry hands and feet. Kristin also recommends using it as a grooming aid on eyebrows and eyelashes, or to add a bit of "spotlight" to your face. She is planning to add other related products to her line in the future.

Bordeaux Balm retails for $12, is sold in select stores, and can also be purchased online. For more information, visit Kristin's website.

Terra Antiga Vinho Verde

It's not really the season for it, but I love the light freshness and bit of spritz of a nice Vinho Verde. I typically pick up a few bottles of the $3.99 offering that Trader Joe's sells out by the case whenever I shop there, but a few weeks ago, I visited WineSmith in Ashburn to pick up a few new bottles of wine from Portugal. (This a great local wine shop, by the way. Owner Neil Smith is very knowledgeable and friendly, and they offer tastings on the weekend as well as during the week.)

Neil recommended a 2006 Terra Antiga Vinho Verde (for a whopping $6.99 a bottle...), and we gave it a try the other evening. It was a bit fuller-bodied than my usual TJ VV wine, but was still light, relatively speaking. It didn't have as much spritz, and was a bit softer, but it was still incredibly easy drinking, with citrus and green apple notes--totally drinkable by itself, as well as with light fish and seafood dishes, soft cheeses, or pasta with cream sauce. In short, a wonderful, crisp white house wine to stock up on for the spring months.

Leftover Bubbly Idea

By now, you have either finished or tossed any leftover sparkling wine from Valentine's Day (if you finished the whole bottle that evening--excellent!)

We enjoyed Virginia's Kluge Estates Blanc de Blancs on Heart's Day, and 2 flutes remained in the bottle. So we corked it with my "Champagne saver" stopper, which does wonders to keep the wine from going flat.

The next evening, rather than drink it by itself, we decided to make one of my favorite cocktails, a classy, refined elegant concoction that got its roots in New Orleans, and was named for a powerful French missile of the same name: the French 75.

I love this drink because it combines two of my favorite libations: sparkling wine and gin. Add a little lemon juice and superfine sugar, and it's sippable all by itself. It would also be a fantastic alternative to Muscadet or Sauvignon Blanc to drink with oysters or clams on the half shell, or with steamed lobster or crabs.

There is a French 75 recipe in my Commandeer's Palace cookbook, but I also found a bunch on the web which also sounded tasty. We used the following recipe that evening (and I honestly don't know from which site I pulled it.) The difference between this one and the one in my cookbook is that the latter has less lemon juice and sugar, so it's more potent. We used Hendrick's Gin, which gave it an exotic flavor due to the rose and cucumber notes in it. My husband and I both agreed, though, that next time we'd use a more traditional, "limey," juniper gin like Tanqueray or Seagram's.

Give it a try the next time you have some leftover bubbly. Enjoy!

French 75

1.5 oz. Gin
2 tsp. superfine sugar
1 1/2 oz. lemon juice
4 oz. Champagne or sparkling wine
Lemon or orange slice (optional)

Add ice to a cocktail shaker, and then add Gin, sugar and lemon juice. Shake until cold. Pour into Champagne flute, top with 4 oz. of chilled Champagne or sparkling wine. Garnish with a lemon or orange slice, if desired.

Suggestive wines for Valentine's Day

If you want to open a bottle of wine tonight that will give your sweetheart a not-so-subtle hint about how you want the evening to end, then check out my article about Suggestive Sips for Valentine's Day.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Enjoy the day with a glass of virtual bubbles...

Waiter, there are roses in my glass...

Planning on getting a bouquet of roses for your sweetheart this Valentine's Day? Consider sipping them instead. Then read on...

Thanks so much to Josh Chambers at Hank's Oyster Bar and Steve Fowler at Oyamel in DC for helping me with this article. I really enjoyed the drink samples!!

Mention in The Hill

Thanks so much to Andrea Alford, reporter at The Hill, who included my business in a recent article she did about unique ideas for bachelorette parties.

I do a lot of tastings for bachelorette parties and bridal showers (in fact, I'm doing one this weekend...), and they are always well-received. It's a fun, unique start to the evening, especially if the bride is a wine lover, or maybe is going to France, Italy or California on her honeymoon.

You can read the entire article here.

The Tap Project

I received this press release this morning. It's such a great cause that I just had to pass it on:

Washington, D.C. (February 8, 2008) - Many of DC’s finest restaurants - including Central, DC Coast, Westend Bistro, 1789 Restaurant, Bebo, Sonoma Restaurant & Wine Bar, Black Salt, Seasons, Hank’s Oyster Bar & Marcel’s - will participate in the U.S. Fund for UNICEF’s nationwide Tap Project during the week of March 16, culminating on World Water Day, March 22.

The Tap Project, a grassroots initiative to provide clean water to children around the world, invites individuals to donate $1 for the tap water they normally get for free at participating restaurants. Lack of clean water is the second largest killer of children under five. This year the Tap Project goes nationwide, including Washington, DC. “The Tap Project brings to Washington, DC an incredibly simple concept to encourage restaurant patrons to help bring clean and safe water to the children of the world,” says Chef Robert Wiedmaier of Marcel’s and Brasserie Beck. “As a Tap Project volunteer, I am glad that so many restaurants agree it is our duty to use tap water—our single most bountiful natural resource—to reduce child mortality. We are counting on more DC restaurants to register and get on board.”

Last year, over 300 restaurants and thousands of their patrons in New York raised more than $100,000 to provide four million children with safe and clean water. Participants included high-profile media executives, chefs, and a host of celebrities. The Tap Project is the first of its kind—a national grassroots effort offering individuals and restaurants across the nation a simple and effective way to make a difference in a child’s life. More than one billion people do not have access to clean water or adequate sanitation, and one in five of them are children. Eighty percent of all illness and infant mortality is due to waterborne disease.

UNICEF works in more than 90 countries around the world to improve access to safe water and sanitation facilities in schools and communities and to promote safe hygiene practices. Over the past 15 years, more than a billion people gained access to improved drinking water and sanitation facilities. UNICEF's goal is to reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe water and basic sanitation by 2015. This year, the Water & Sanitation Rotarian Action Group will join with thousands of volunteers across the U.S. to support the TAP Project and to raise awareness of this vital issue in their communities. A little goes a long way—for example, with $1 UNICEF can provide 40 liters of safe drinking water, which is enough to give one child safe drinking water for 40 days, or 40 children safe drinking water for one day.

To view the current list of registered DC area restaurants, visit www.tapproject.org/restaurants/info. Registration questions and volunteer opportunities for the TAP Project can be directed to co-City Coordinator, Polly Wiedmaier at TAP@marcelsdc.com.

Virginia Wine Showcase

Just a reminder about the Virginia Wine Showcase happening this weekend at the Dulles Expo Center. I'll be doing a Wine Appreciation Basics seminar on Sunday at 11:30 AM.

Visit their website for more information.

Hope to see you there!!!

Miss Manners Tackles Champagne

I read the following letter to Miss Manners this morning in The Washington Post, and her response. I've never written to Miss Manners before, but I had to put in my 2 cents worth, so I emailed her (see the letter I emailed her at the end).

Dear Miss Manners:
At a lovely restaurant near our home, my husband and I ordered a bottle of champagne to enjoy with our meal. When the champagne was brought to the table to be opened, my husband smiled at me in anticipation, as we always love to hear the sound of a cork popping from a bottle of champagne -- one of the most celebratory sounds one can imagine, at least in our minds.

After watching the waitress uncork the bottle soundlessly, we joked that it must've been a "dud" and we were disappointed that it didn't pop, and explained our feelings about the joyfulness associated with the sound.

She smiled and agreed with us, but then told us that management of the restaurant was very specific in their instruction to the servers that champagne corks must exit the bottle utterly soundlessly, seemingly with the implication that the noise may disturb others.
While I realize that there may be some small extra emission of effervescence if one allows the cork to pop, it seems stoical to me that one would have to do so for reasons of etiquette. Could you clarify?
***
First please allow Miss Manners to ease the cork out of her eye from your last celebration.
Your waitress's theory notwithstanding, it is not the noise that is disturbing to others in the vicinity so much as a fast blow from a flying cork. And then there is the overflowing bottle, a look best saved for christening ships.

Your waitress opened the champagne bottle correctly, even if she didn't understand why. Popping the cork, however exciting you may find it, is considered a sign of ineptitude. Miss Manners suggests that you celebrate at home in the future, rather than among innocent strangers.

***
Dear Miss Manners,

I read with interest the letter from a woman who was disappointed when she and her husband went out to dinner, and the waitress didn't "pop" the cork loudly on their champagne bottle...

You were correct in stating that a flying cork can be dangerous to anyone seated nearby. However, as a wine educator and consultant, I can tell you that any sommelier worth his or her salt wouldn't think of loudly disengaging a Champagne cork for another reason: people drink and enjoy Champagne and sparkling wine for the bubbles. As dramatic as it may be to hear that loud "pop", and see the champagne flow out of the bubble, much of the carbon dioxide--the power behind those gorgeous bubbles--escapes as well, making the sparkling wine, well, less sparkling. Much of what makes fine Champagne is the size of the bubbles and how many of them there are (lots and lots of really tiny bubbles is desirable...)

If the couple really cared for the taste of Champagne, and not just the spectacle of it, it doesn't behoove them to complain about a soundless uncorking. On the contrary, they should be happy that they had a server who knew the correct procedure to allow them to truly enjoy the bottle.

Cheers-- Kelly

Belle Glos Pinot Noir

I first tried this Pinot on a trip last fall to the Monterey Wine Region. I was really impressed with the depth and smoothness of the 2006 Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot--it was a really gorgeous bottle, and one of the most well-done I tasted in the region.

I received a few sample bottles of Belle Glos in the mail last week--all single-vineyard Pinots, one from Monterey, another from Santa Barbara, and a third from Sonoma county. We tried the Santa Barbara bottle first, and I wasn't as impressed as I had been with the Monterey. There was a very strong "barnyard" aroma, which only got stronger as the wine remained in our glasses. I know that Pinots, including some high-end Burgundies, can get this funky aroma, and often I find it attractive. But in this instance it was a bit too pungent for my taste.

The next night, we opened the Monterey County Santa Lucia Highlands bottle that I was so impressed with during my trip, and enjoyed it with some cedar planked salmon. The consensus at my dinner party was that it was a perfect match, with dark berries, spice and just a bit of earth.

One interesting aspect of Belle Glos wines is their packaging. The top of the bottle, including the cork, is encased in red wax. Very dramatic and pretty, but to be honest, it doesn't always come off so easily. Luckily, you can put the corkscrew right through the wax.

These bottles retail for between $50 and $60.

My favorite Superbowl ad last night

I love the ad last night for Bud Light where the couples are arriving for a wine and cheese tasting at a friend's house. One guy takes what appears to be a huge wheel of cheese into the kitchen, only to remove the top and reveal a six-pack of Bud Light. Another guy takes a bottle out of the middle of a fake French baguette, and a third opens a fake box of wine to reveal a TV where they can watch a football game. At the end, one of the guys leaves the party to go on a "cheese run."

I always like to think that all of the guests who attend my wine tastings are enjoying themselves. But now I can't help but wonder if any guests secretely contemplate heading into the kitchen for some beer and football...

Reminds me of my college days, when my then-boyfriend-now-husband's fraternity hosted a wine and cheese semi-formal, complete with candles and an acoustic guitar player (I guess you could look at it as either a classy or pretentious event...). Some of the fraternity brothers protested this event (those either without a date, or those who didn't want to get dressed up), and hosted their own event which they refered to as "Mad Dog and Cheese Whiz."

Classy!

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Wines for the Big Game

If you are serving any kind of junk food on Superbowl Sunday, you may find it helpful to go back and look at the article I wrote about snack food wine matches.

Here are some other ideas to try:

* I really like the interesting floral notes and refreshing crispness in Torrontes from Argentina with soy-ginger wings.

* Spanish Albarino is a nice alternative to Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc for white turkey chili.

* Mini-burgers/sliders and a fruity, spicy Spanish Priorat are a satisfying combo.

* An earthy, subtle Chardonnay from France's Macon or Cote Chalonnaise would be great with the earthiness in the avocado when you enjoy it with Guacamole and chips.

Not sure what we'll be eating yet...I plan on heading to Trader Joe's tomorrow to pick up some fun snacks and finger foods. And I actually might be (gasp!) washing it all down with some Heinekens.

Enjoy the game!!!