Your Wine Store, Your Wine Cellar

One of my great pleasures is discovering overlooked wines. Perhaps that speaks volumes about how boring my life is, but that's a subject for another day.

I was browsing the shelves at my go-to wine store the other day and noticed some wines that had been marked down. Among the close-outs was Falset-Marca "Etim" Montsant 2002. Montsant is around the corner from Priorat in Spain, and is a great source for bargain big reds. 

I vaguely remembered tasting that wine at some point in the past, but not being wowed by it. Since it was marked down from $12 to $8, I figured it was worth another look.

Damn right it was.

It's funny how sitting around  a warehouse in less than perfect conditions can do wonders for a wine. This blend of carignan, garnacha, tempranillo and syrah is drinking like a $20-$30 bottle of Priorat. It's big and rich, but not overdone with notes of blackberry, cherry, anise, leather and mint.

I happened to run across this older blog post about it. It confirmed what I already suspected; the first time I tasted it, it needed some more age. Luckily, no one bought it up in the meantime.

Their loss is my gain. 

My Wine Dog

She began her life with a questionable future.

The only intention of the idiot who bred her litter was making money selling “police dogs.” However, when the puppies have a dubious lineage (sorry, girl) – and the breeder is widely regarded as a fool – selling the puppies is a tad difficult.

So, she was shuffled off to a foster home, where her world was a 10 x 10 kennel in a trailer park. The foster mom did the best she could, but she had her hands full with over a dozen dogs. By the time I became aware of her plight, she was six months old.

The day I went to pick her up, I loaded her into the cab of my pick-up truck and she immediately wedged herself under the bench seat. After dragging her out for a visit to the vet, she re-entrenched herself under the seat for the ride home.

Her panic at being exposed to a new world quickly disappeared, however, when I took her out to the backyard to meet my two (male) German shepherds. She was instantly the belle of the ball.

The first time I tried to walk her around the block, she slunk close to ground and hugged my leg – terrified of cars, new sounds and just about everything else. Over the days and months to come, her confidence grew and grew. I was training dogs at the time and our kennel and training facility became her playground.

When I adopted her, she came with a name – Peanut. I was determined to change it, but nothing seemed to fit. She was just Peanut. Not the most regal name for a Belgian Malinois, but it stuck.

Peanut grew into an amazing dog (technically she’s a bitch, but it hurts her feelings when I call her that). In her prime, she learned everything from agility to tracking to protection to Frisbee catching. Her primary talent, however, was soaking up as much attention as one cared to lavish on her.

That scared little puppy of long ago was the inspiration for this post, which was selected to appear in "Wine Dogs USA 2" (Giant Dog, $39). The Wine Dogs series is the creation of Craig McGill and Susan Elliot. I owe both of them a long-overdue thank you for including my essay in this beautiful book of photographs and essays by other wine/dog people.

Best of all, I can now say that my writing has appeared in the same pages as Robert Parker, who penned the foreword. I’ll have to bust that out at a wine tasting one day.

These days Peanut is the grande dame of our animal kingdom. She spends her days taking leisurely walks, enjoying long naps and basking in the sun. Her most strenuous duty is schooling our young Malinois, Hogan. God knows, he’s in constant need of it.

My only regret is there isn’t a photo of Peanut to accompany her essay. Here’s one I took while she was on a well-deserved vacation at Edisto Beach, South Carolina.


I'm not sure which of us has been the luckier one.

A Moment in the Kitchen

I’ve spent the last several days fighting off some sort of illness. Yesterday was (hopefully) my breakthrough day, when I finally felt well enough to get back into familiar routines.

While puttering around the kitchen mixing up a batch of marinara sauce, I realized that I was really happy for the first time since I’d gotten sick. Since my marinara sauce requires a healthy dose of red wine, I was forced to sample a bit – just to make sure it was okay to cook with.

The moment really caught me off guard. After a few days of having no desire for a glass of wine and being more than happy to eat canned soup, it was so wonderful to be back in the kitchen and sipping a glass of simple Italian red.

For some reason it made me think of the people who mistake the love of wine for an affectation or a badge of snobbery – as well as the people who truly do use their wine knowledge as such. Both types of people are way off base.

Wine should be about enjoying food, friends, family, good times and good health. It’s just that simple.

Salud.

Hits and Misses

A friend at work was asking me about buying wine the other day. He’s just getting into wines and feels a little overwhelmed looking at all the different types of wine and different wineries.

I was telling him that the turning point for me in wine buying was when I stopped worrying about it. Basically, I decided to buy wines that looked interesting and give them a try. The more wines I tried, the more I came to realize that I liked more than I disliked.

Wineries don’t want to put out bad wine – most of them anyway. And, a wine you don’t like is a learning experience. Just like a dish you don’t care for is part of your cooking education.

I was reminded of this last night when my Valentine’s Day dinner fell short. The lamb steaks weren’t very good. I just can’t seem to get lamb to come out right. I’m really kicking myself because I ignored my own rule for holiday cooking – cook something you do well.

Luckily, the wine was a real hit. It was something that I knew nothing about when I bought it, other than it was a Napa merlot from a winery that I was vaguely familiar with and it was a good deal.

That wine was Havens Merlot Napa Valley 2004. A local wine shop had it reduced to $15, plus I got a 15 percent case discount. Napa merlot for $12.15? I’ll give that a try. I’ve found some really great deals in merlots lately. A quick peek around the Web shows the Havens for anywhere from $19 to $28.

It was supple, elegant, dark, sultry and a little spicy. How’s that for V-Day wine? I may not be much of a cook, but at least I still have a keen eye for wine.

Happy Valentine's Day

Here's hoping everyone is spending the day with a loved one. Or, if not, you're spending the day being kind to you. Holidays, meaningful or not, are a great excuse to be good to yourself.

Last night was not the time to be dining out, so we took a cue from Dr. Debs of Good Wine Under $20 and had a Friday Night IN. She recommends a wonderful pasta dish in the post.

Unless you're concerned about your LDL (like I should be), I suggest you give it a try. Hoo-wee...it's good.

Sparkling wine is definitely the right match. We paired it with Saint Hilaire Brut Blanquette de Limoux 2005, one of the greatest values going in non-Champagne French sparklers. It's crisp and tasty, with apple, lemon and pear flavors, plus a nice yeasty touch.

Cheers to everyone.

For the Love

I can count the things I’m good at on one hand – even with one or two fingers removed.

I’m a decent writer. I can teach a dog a thing or two. And, as they say down here in the South, I’m a fair-to-middlin’ cook. That’s where I start running out of talents.

My skills in the kitchen came from various sources: my mom, quite a few years spent working in restaurants and lots of trial and error (emphasis on error). I used to think I was quite the culinary man, but a recent stint in a real kitchen proved me otherwise. Even looking around the blogosphere has made me realize I’m a pretty average cook.

However, I love to cook and I’m getting better all the time. I’m also fortunate enough to share my life with someone who likes my cooking and doesn’t mind eating my more errant attempts.

As Valentine’s Day weekend approaches, I know lots of you are planning meals for your loved ones. I started the celebrating last night a little early with a dinner of crab cakes with lemon wasabi sauce and red cabbage slaw. My slaw philosophy is at the end of this post.

I opened another bottle of Torbreck Woodcutter’s Semillon to go along with our meal. It’s my new favorite white wine.

I’ll spare you my rant about the ridiculous consumerism that surrounds V-Day (here’s my rant from a while back). I’m guessing that if you’re reading this, you probably won’t be waiting two hours for a table or sitting down for a 10:30 reservation on Saturday night. I know one of my local eateries will be thrilled to have the business in a week or two.

Cooking for your sweetie is a much more romantic gesture anyway. Even if you’re a total novice, you can still follow a recipe and put together something simple. I’d rather have noodles with butter than fight the crowds on Valentine’s Day.

What will I be cooking Saturday night? I’m not sure.

I usually go for something pretty easy, so there’s not excessive clean-up. It’s also not the day to try something new and adventurous – I don’t want to be cranky if it doesn’t turn out right.

Whatever it is, it will be made with lots of love and care. Watching E enjoy my cooking makes me incredibly happy. It’s such a simple – yet rewarding – act of giving.

Beating the Heat

I’ve been experimenting with wine pairings for hot, spicy food. It’s one of the items on my 2009 checklist.

The first challenge was white bean chicken chili, a spicy broth-based stew with lots of cumin and cayenne pepper. The wine pairing was purely accidental. I happened to have an open bottle of Jean-Claude Bougrier Muscadet de Sèvre-et-Maine Sur Lie Le Landreau 2006 ($7.99 at Total Wine & More).

This worked out better than I could have imagined. The wine was cold, crisp and zingy with acidity. It stood up perfectly to the chili, which is augmented (a little too) generously with Monterey Jack cheese and sour cream. It’s simple and inexpensive, so I didn’t worry about losing nuances amongst the spices.

Next up was black bean chicken chili. This is a tomato-based chili with lots of chili powder and heat – a little more daunting to match with wine. I picked two wines – Casa Lapostolle Merlot Rapel Valley, Chile 2006 and Stoneleigh Riesling Marlborough 2007. They finished neck-and-neck.

I was a little stunned by the performance of the merlot. Reds gets lost in spicy foods sometimes, but the fruit stood up to the spice and the noticeable tannins seemed to help too. The rielsing worked as expected; it was cold, off-dry and had plenty of fruit to balance the heat and spice.

Last night it was pork Vindaloo, a super spicy stew from the state of Goa in India. Depending on who you ask, this dish is made in a number of different ways. My iteration was hot – damn hot. It was the kind of hot that makes you want more even as your eyeballs are bursting into flames.

In keeping with my rather random wine selections, I choose a bottle of Chameleon Cellars Carignane 2005. It didn’t stand a chance.

The heat and spice beat the wine into submission. I gave up after a couple sips and enjoyed the rest of my glass after dinner.

Today, I had another bowl of the Vindaloo for lunch. This time I went for a sure-fire match – beer. Magic Hat’s HI.P.A., a seasonal offering from the Vermont Brewery, was the perfect match – hoppy, crisp and just fruity enough to punch through the heat.

So, what do you drink with your favorite hot/spicy dish?

Enjoy Yourself

One of the reasons I write this blog is to provide some representation for Southern wine lovers. There aren’t many Southern wine bloggers, and wine appreciation probably isn’t the first thing people associate with Southerners.

I’ve met some great wine people during my years in North Carolina and South Carolina, and not surprisingly they’ve been more than generous in sharing their stash.

That’s just one of the things that have captivated me about living here — the generosity of spirit and deed. People go out of their way to do kind things for you. I’m not saying that doesn’t happen everywhere, but it happens all the time here.

Along with that generous spirit is a keen appreciation of enjoying life. If you hang out with generous people who like to have fun, a good time is sure to follow.

Living in the South has certainly taught me to loosen up and enjoy life. My recreation mentors have been many, and the lessons are now fond memories.

A couple readers commented on this post, which included my recipe for a Carolina Liquor Drink (CLD). It’s simple: vodka, cranberry juice, lime and ice, but that’s not all it is. In some ways it represents certain things I love about the South: generosity, indulgence and unrestrained celebration.

I’m happy to share this simple concoction. Make sure you use good ingredients. And use lots of vodka – that’s the point of a cocktail, right?

To be honest, you can change the ingredients to suit your taste. What’s important is the big plastic cup, a heavy pour of liquor and having a giant cocktail when you probably shouldn’t be.

I recommend serving them at about 10 in the morning with the best of friends, while sitting around a smoking grill.

Have fun. You only get to go once.

A Big Day

I didn’t intend to get caught up in the inauguration hoopla, but I did. There have been so many down moments for our nation lately; it’s nice to savor a good moment.

I sheepishly admit to being politically apathetic. It’s not that I don’t care about the issues involved, because I do. It’s the nature of politics and (some) politicians that I detest. However, since no one has come up with a better system, it’s a necessary evil.

While our government has a tendency to muck things up and give us a bad name, we (the ordinary people who finance the muck-ups) are a pretty good bunch. I see the good and the bad of this country, but I still think there’s no better place to be.

So, today I raise my glass to my country and our new president – may both prosper in the years ahead.

I just happened to have the perfect bottle to toast with – Gruet Methode Champenoise Brut NV. Drinking an American wine seems essential, and I like that this one comes from an unlikely location – New Mexico. It’s also a bargain at $13 (more or less depending on where you find it), which is nice during lean times.

American sparkling wine made by a French family in New Mexico…yeah, it’s just right.

Sunday Cooking

It’s a typical winter day in South Carolina – mildly chilly and rainy. Just the kind of day that lends itself to nesting.

I’ve been parked in the kitchen, doing some foundation cooking to help keep us fed. The colder weather makes me want comfort food, so I’m straying from my efforts to lower my cholesterol.

E requested some pimento cheese, and I’ve found the best recipe in the Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook. It's an excellent reference guide to Southern cooking.

For lunch, we heated up some leftover barbecue (the noun, as opposed to the verb). Here's one of my 'cue recipes. Barbecue sandwiches require coleslaw, so I knocked out a batch of that as well.

We use a fair amount of pulled chicken, so I spiced a couple of bone-in breasts and popped them in the oven early today, along with the red bell pepper I needed for the pimento cheese. The hot oven warms up a chilly house nicely.

I’m really trying to diversify my wine selections, so I opened Chono Riesling Reserva Bio Bio Valley 2006 with lunch. Riesling from Chile? Oh, yes.

It makes a perfect match to ‘cue and slaw (which addresses another thing on the ’09 list). The Chono is dry and juicy, with melon, peach and petrol wrapped up in tight little mouthful of wine.

Tonight, E takes over the kitchen to make potato soup, in an effort to further increase said cholesterol.

No worries, though. I’ll be drinking some red wine to counterbalance things.


Pimento Cheese from Lee Bros. Southern Cooking

1 red bell pepper
8 ounces finely grated very sharp cheddar cheese
2 ounces cream cheese, softened in small pieces
3 tablespoons Duke’s or high-quality mayonnaise
1 teaspoon or more red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste

Roast red pepper and reserve any juices. Chop roasted pepper, and mix with juices and other ingredients. Enjoy.

Feel free to experiment with cheeses. I’ve had all sorts of variations; it’s all good.


The Tao of Coleslaw

Coleslaw isn’t about a recipe; it’s about harmony.

Vegetation
The heart of coleslaw is chopped cabbage. I like the purple, but use what works for you. Chop it rough or fine. Use a food processor, grater or big knife.

To add variety, I might use any or all of the following: red bell pepper, onion, carrot, and apple. Improvise as desired.

Zing
The zing is what brings it to life. Start with a healthy splash of your favorite vinegar and some citrus. Today I used Vinagre de Jerez and the juice of half a lime. Any vinegar works fine and ditto with lemon or orange juice, etc. I added a splash of soy sauce for some additional complexity. A dash of hot sauce is always an option.

Creaminess
This is the soul of your slaw. You can make it richer or thinner, depending on how you like it. I use Duke’s mayonnaise and good prepared mustard. Yogurt and sour cream also work.

Spices
Add spices last. Celery seed is a must. I’ve used all sorts of things, so feel free to experiment. Add salt and pepper to taste. I like to add a bit of dill relish as well.

Toss the veggies. Make your sauce by combining zing, creaminess and spices until it tastes the way you want it. Mix well. Enjoy it quickly.

Looking Back...and Forward

Today I received an e-mail telling me that Kevin Zraly is following me on Twitter. I don’t know Kevin, but I certainly know who he is.

Back in 1995, I took a job as the manager of a wine shop that was in the process of opening. The owner was in the jewelry business and decided to open a wine shop just for the heck of it.

Now, I’m not saying this guy didn’t know a whole lot about wine, but he was constantly asking me, “Merlot is basically a blend, right?”

He tapped me as his go-to guy for wine knowledge, even though I knew practically nothing. One of my greatest talents is creating the impression (illusion?) of knowing something useful.

I did, however, have a copy of Windows on the World Complete Wine Course, which had been a gift from one of my brothers. That book, along with Wine for Dummies, served as my guide to the very confusing world of wine for many years.

I’m sorry to say I lost that book along life’s path; I’m usually pretty obsessive about holding on to books. As someone who came of age pre-Internet, I’m accustomed to looking for information in books. Sometimes I actually forget that I can look something up online…sometimes I’d just rather not.

I was reminded of all this by seeing Kevin’s name pop up in my inbox. My mind wandered back to my experiences in the wine business. I’ve worked for two wine stores and have come close to taking several jobs in the distributing business.

So, why am I working in a fabric box doing corporate marketing, instead of selling wine?

The answer is complicated. Most importantly, I’m actually not much of a salesperson. I can do pretty well in retail sales, but I’d never cut it in outside sales.

I love wine, and I like to talk about wine, but that seems to be increasingly irrelevant in the distribution business. When I talk to my friends in the business, they seem unsure about what their future holds. Like so many businesses, selling wine frequently has little to do with the actual juice.

So, where does that leave someone like me, who would like to work in a business they’re passionate about, but isn’t sure where in that business they would fit?

I still harbor fantasies about opening a little wine shop somewhere, but in a world of Costco, Trader Joe’s and Total Wine & More that seems unlikely at best. And, short of a Powerball jackpot, I could never come up with the necessary capital.

I’ve considered moving somewhere wine is produced. The West Coast is out due to family and budget considerations, but there are more and more wineries opening in North Carolina and Virginia. I don’t know anything about making wine, but maybe there’s a living to be made helping those wineries market themselves.

(Yes, I still dream of being a winemaker, but that also falls in the not-unless-I-win-the-Powerball category.)

Writing about wine is, of course, something I consider, but writing about anything is a dicey way to pay the bills. Blogging is a way of dipping my toe in those waters. So far, the water is ice cold.

We’ll see what the future holds for me. In any case, thanks Kevin — for following me, for the knowledge you shared, for a trip down memory lane and for making me consider the future.

Wine Blogging Wednesday #53

It’s been a long time since I joined in Wine Blogging Wednesday. Leave it to Jeff Stai (aka El Jefe) from Twisted Oak Winery to come up with a theme that could draw me back in.

It’s Wine for Breakfast! Granted, when we drink wine for breakfast it’s usually bubbly, which was verboten (I always follow the rules). The other times we find ourselves craving something high-octane in the morning, we typically favor a Carolina Liquor Drink (CLD).

However, I had no problem picking a wine for this subject. One of my favorite dining experiences has been brunch at Motor Supply Company Bistro. Although we haven’t done it lately, I’m forever grateful to them for adding Torbreck Woodcutter's Semillon to their wine list.

It’s the perfect breakfast wine.

I enjoy traditional breakfast food as much as the next person, but I also love something a little more substantial.

So, to celebrate our breakfast wine, I made my crab cakes, and in place of hash browns, I made very simple roasted potatoes. To dress things up a bit, I added a roasted red pepper sauce, which was excellent with both the cakes and the taters.

The Torbreck Semillon is just the right thing with this meal. It’s busting with aromas of pineapple, lemon and melon. The flavors are more of the same with a hint of coriander and a nice touch of minerals, framed by bracing acidity.

In other words, it’s freakin’ good…breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Thanks to Jeff for being our host, and thanks to the founding father of WBW, Lenn.

Thanks also to Kat and Eli (from Green's Beverages), who procured this bottle just in time, and to Danielle, who works for Grassroots Wine Wholesalers - the fine folks who bring Torbreck into South Carolina.

Wine Blogging Wednesday #53 - Torbreck Woodcutter’s Semillon Barossa Valley 2007

Roasted red pepper sauce ala John:

1 roasted red pepper

1 clove of garlic
About ¼ cup plain yogurt
2-ish tablespoons olive oil
Healthy splash of sherry vinegar
Pinch of cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

Blend. Heat gently. Consume.

Carolina Liquor Drink*:

Start with a Solo cup (16 oz.) filled with ice cubes. Add vodka to your heart’s content (about 1/3 cup). Top with good cranberry juice and a big, ole lime wedge.

*I don’t advise having more than one, although you may want to. If you’re so inclined, hide the car keys and enjoy your day! What you remember anyway….

A Wine (and Love) Story

Back in the days when I was selling wine, a friend of a friend came to see me about a wine tasting party for her boyfriend.

We decided to compare varietals from different parts of the world as a theme. For syrah, I picked out an Australian shiraz and a French syrah to match up. The Aussie was Piping Shrike Shiraz 2001 and the Frenchie was Mas de Aveylans Syrah VDP du Gard 2002.

Both good wines to be sure. The Aveylans, however, blew the Shrike away in terms of complexity – in my humble opinion. That particular vintage really sticks out in my mind…it was inky dark and layered with black fruit, tar, herbs and a hundred other aromas and flavors. Every sniff and sip was a new discovery.

But, to each their own, right?

The next time I saw her, she thanked me for my help and raved about the Aveylans. Her guests had preferred the Shrike, but she went for the more complex wine.

Fast-forward several months, and the boyfriend was gone. We ran into each other at our mutual friend’s house, and we found that we had lots in common, besides wine.

Fast-forward again several years, and that girl is now my wife. We were married over the summer (during my blogging hiatus), in the house that we now share. Our mutual friend performed the very private ceremony. (Thanks, P. We owe you so much.)

For those of you who have been following me, the girl of which I speak is, of course, the amazing E.

A picture is truly worth a thousand words.

(photo by Graeme Fouste)

Am I a Twit?

Don’t answer that.

However, you can now follow me on Twitter. Why would you? Good question.

I’ll try to keep my updates related to wine, at least as much as BTTD is about wine. I drink a ridiculous amount of good wines (apologies to my liver) and many of them never get blogged about. So, I’ll keep you abreast of what I’m up to on a daily basis, not just wine but good beers, great food and my increasingly diverse coffee selections.

One of the reasons I follow other bloggers is to look for suggestions on new wines, etc. If you’re one of the fine folks in my blog list, you can bet I rely on you for suggestions.

I have to laugh about the Twitter thing, because I’m not exactly on the cutting edge of things.

I came late to blogging. I don’t have a Facebook page. I never did MySpace. I don’t have a Blackberry or an iPhone. Hell, I don’t even text.

For the last three years, I haven’t had a television. Best decision I ever made.

So, why Twitter? Well, it’s partly to remind me to pay more attention to BTTD. It’s also another way to keep tabs on what other bloggers are up to.

We’ll see. Look to the left for the link and follow me. It just might give you the wine suggestion you desperately need.

The Much-Maligned Merlot

I delight in drinking what's not popular. I got the biggest kick out of running into a co-worker at a wine tasting who was scouting pinot noirs (at the height of the Sideways craze). She recoiled when I mentioned a great merlot I had just tasted.

I've done this rant before, but it's worth repeating.

The anti-merlot backlash has faded, but I think it still doesn't get its due. Sure, there are a lot of less than inspiring merlots out there, but the same can be said for any popular varietal. Syrah is probably on its way to over-saturation...if it isn't already there.

So, I look for merlot when I'm shopping, hoping to discover what others have overlooked. I've had an older vintage of Hope Estate Merlot that impressed me, so when I saw a bottle of the 2005 vintage, I grabbed it

What a great choice. This is serious merlot. It has wonderful depth with flavors of plum, cherry, chocolate and a nice bit of herb. Even though it's a warm-climate merlot, it's got amazing structure and a firm backbone of acidity. Well done.

I have to admit I've been off Aussie wines lately. There are so many over-done, fruit bombs crowding the market lately. This is not one.

Hope Estate produces some excellent wines in a more balanced style. Their verdelho is not to be missed.

2009 Checklist

As many of you are doing (or deliberately not doing, as the case may be), I'm thinking of what I hope to accomplish in 2009. 

So, here are my wine goals for '09:

Share the Bounty

I often wonder if some of our neighbors look at our recycling bin with envy. (I've actually done this myself with other people's bins.) We drink a ridiculous amount of good wine, and we should enjoy more of it with friends. Wine is such a social beverage. I'm not saying I'm going to start a wine group, but I need to cultivate some more people to share my wine stash with.

Break from the Pack

I enjoy being different. I like not drinking what everyone else is drinking. I never jumped on the pinot noir bandwagon, and I never dissed merlot. I'll admit that I drink my share of Parker-esque wines, but I'm always looking to go in new directions. I need to find a path less-traveled in the new year.

Find my Voice

2008 was a bleak year for Brim. I need to get back to writing and decide what this blog is all about -- 11 posts in a year is not acceptable.

Beat the Heat

The $75,000 question at my house is: what wine goes with Vindaloo? or garam masala? or my never-the-same-twice chili? I love spicy food, and finding the right wines to match up is quite a challenge. It's time for some research.

They may not be lofty goals, but they're mine. Thanks go to Dr. Debs and Sonadora for inspiring me to write them down. Feel free to add your own in the comments.

Notes on a Wine Shop

I stopped into a little wine shop today. Much like my father is unable to pass up a used bookstore, I am unable to pass by a wine shop without stopping to browse.

I’ve written previously about a somewhat recent trend in wine shops: smaller selection, wines arranged by style and a hand-sell approach to staffing. This place was called “Corked.”

That’s right – Corked.

Okay, so they chose the commonly used term for a bad bottle of wine as the name for a wine shop. Strike one.

It’s the same basic layout I’ve seen elsewhere, with wines lined up on opposite walls and not much of a selection. They had maybe 60 or so wines to choose from.

It’s not unusual to have a selection like that at our house. Strike two.

It was a good-looking store, and the prices certainly reflected the décor. Most of the wines were easily $3-$5 more than I would pay elsewhere, more in some cases. But, it’s catering to upscale clients. Fine.

I didn’t want to leave without buying something – the place was empty less than 10 days before Christmas. Not good. They happened to have one of my very favorite, inexpensive white Burgundies, Caves de Lugny Mâcon-Lugny “Les Charmes.” It wasn’t a terrible deal, so I grabbed a bottle.

The guy running the place looked at my selection and said, “Ah, you got the may-kin.”

You know, like the city in Georgia. Strike three.

All I could think was for the money they spent on that place I could have opened a great, cool wine shop with a larger, diverse, quirky selection. And my French pronunciations would be much better.

And if I can top you at that, you’re in bad shape.

Food Wimps

Kristian Niemi is a restaurateur and the proprietor of Gervais & Vine, a wine and tapas bar in Columbia, S.C. He's also a veritable reference guide to food, wine and common sense. Gervine, as it's fondly referred to, will always hold a special place in my culinary pantheon.

The following is an excerpt from one of Kristian's weekly Gervine e-mail updates. I hope this will be the first of many contributions from him.


A curious thing happened the other day. It’s happened before, but since this time triggered a childhood memory, I figured I’d get my thoughts on it out in the open.

When I was kid (I guess I kind of still am a kid…at heart, at least), my cousin Bill and I would raid our grandma’s fridge in a quest to put together the most bizarre combinations of food, then the other would have to eat it…and you couldn’t chicken out. Spaghetti noodles and blueberries? Not bad. Roast beef with strawberry jam? Also, not bad. Lemon meringue pie with chicken gravy? Not good. Not good at all.

However, no matter how bad it was, we tried it. It didn’t kill us and most of the time it taught us that sometimes the least likely combinations actually work quite well together. It also taught us that if something truly tastes bad, you can just spit it out.

What nudged this long-dormant memory to life? Well, I’m not going to name names, since I don’t know it anyway, but let’s just say we had a modern day John Wayne in here the other day and for all his roughness and toughness, the guy was a bit of a wussy when it came to food. His lady friend had ordered what I considered one of the best items on the menu and he simply refused to try it.

No matter HOW good she claimed it was AND that she knew he liked both of the ingredients, he simply wouldn’t even put any in his mouth. The logic of “you like this ingredient” and “you like that ingredient” didn’t even work. This was a guy who looked like he would rush into a burning building, reach into a badger hole or wrestle a bear---afraid of nothing…except food.

The food in question, by the way, was the utterly delicious Duck and Cherry Meatballs that Chef Jason made for the Rosso event the other night at Coplon’s. Ground duck meat, sage, garlic and seasonings studded with sun-dried cherries in a meatball? To me, that’s food nirvana. Like a Reese’s…two great tastes that go great together!

Why do I bring it up? I’m not really sure I have a deep, poignant answer to that question except that like the old adage goes, “life is short.” Experience everything you can at least once. If you don’t like it…fine…spit it out…in a napkin, please. But if you don’t try it, you may be missing out on something that could make your life so much richer, even if it’s something as small and inconsequential as a duck meatball.

Heck, a lot of my happily married friends will admit that they never thought they’d end up with their significant others, but since they took a chance and simply “tried them out” (not in the dirty way…gutter minds), their lives are much better. On the other hand, a lot of my friends have “spit out” their former spouses, so my analogy is pretty darn appropriate, eh?

Palate Fatigue

When it comes to red wine, my palate has been feeling a little weary. I drink a pretty wide variety of wine in general, and I enjoy them all for what they are. However, the red wines I've had lately seem to be merging towards one ideal: fat, plush, fruity...Parker wines.

I went to Total Wine and More the other day shopping for sparkling wines. While I was there, I went in search of something a little different – a red to snap me out of my routine. E was baking a goat cheese and prosciutto strata for dinner, and I wanted a red that wouldn’t overpower it.

I found it in Jean-Claude Bougrier Chinon Domaine De La Semellerie 2006.

This Chinon (cabernet franc is the grape) is bright and focused with lean cherry, herb and anise flavors with just a bit of earthy-ness. It was also well-balanced and very subdued, in the most pleasant of ways.

It was just what I needed. Enotheque has a very nice write up of the 2005 vintage, which is very enlightening.

Speaking of keeping one’s palate amused, I do tend to seek out bolder flavors in my food and drinks. I’ve satisfying my thirst for beer lately with Shiner Bohemian Black Lager, originally a limited release from the Texas brewery. It’s as dark as advertised with flavors of coffee and cocoa without getting overbearing and a nice nip of hops. I’m no beer connoisseur, but it’s pretty good in my book.

Our beers stores in South Carolina are loaded with new selections, as the local law keeping out craft brews has been changed. Old Brown Dog Ale from Smuttynose Brewing Company (New Hampshire) is another excellent brew I’ve been enjoying. I love brown ale and it’s nice to find something other then my usual English selections.

The Chinon was a great match for the strata, but I thought the other wine we sampled with our meal stole the show, Louis Bouillot Crémant de Bourgogne Brut Rosé. The Bouillot absolutely sang with the strata and our apple-bleu cheese salads. It's light and elegant, with notes of cherry, strawberry and fresh bread. It reminded me to serve more sparkling wines with our meals.

It’s good to mix it up.

The Abandoned Blog

What happened?

There’s nothing so frustrating as a deserted blog. I watched it happen to some of my favorite blogs, and it always made me wonder what was going on with the writer and if they would be back. Now it’s my blog that’s abandoned.

The truth is that, besides being overwhelmed with other responsibilities, I suffered a crisis of confidence about writing Brim. The truth is that there are much more knowledgeable, interesting and prolific wine bloggers out there.

What makes Brim worth reading?

I really didn’t know what I was getting into when I started blogging. Like most of my endeavors, I made it up as I went along. I developed some wonderful and loyal readers (who I greatly appreciate), but my overall traffic was always pretty low.

After being silent for so long, I've been struggling with how to start over. I guess the only thing to do is just start writing again.