Welcome Pat Kaufhold of New Jersey and Judi Travis of New Jersey to the Whine.
COOKING WITH WINE: Although any good chef uses a lot of wine in cooking, not all that comes out of the bottle goes into the recipe.
While the alcohol in the wine helps to bring out the flavours of the ingredients, the more important reason to cook with wine is because of the complex flavours added by the wine itself.
The question here is what wine should one use when cooking? The standard answer is “never cook with a wine that you wouldn’t drink by itself”. That is sometimes interpreted to mean that you should use the exact wine in the food as you will be serving with the food. That I think is silly. I am not going to do anything but pour my last bottle of Don Melchor into a glass and enjoy. And if I owned a bottle of Chateau Petrus I definitely wouldn’t use it in cooking.
Certainly a wine that is unpleasant to drink should not go into your favorite recipe for lamb shank, braised beef, or coq-au-vin. And definitely don’t use a leftover wine that has sat for several days and is well on its way to vinegar.
On the other hand, an everyday drinking wine should be adequate. My suggestion is that you decide what wine you will be serving with the end product, then add a cheaper version in the recipe. For example, if I am going to serve a Gran Reserva Rioja with the meat course, then a cheaper Rioja will do just fine in the cooking. A cheap Argentinian Cabernet in the lamb shank sauce will complement the best Napa Cabernet that you have saved to serve your favorite guests.
My rule of thumb is to never spend more than $ 15 on a cooking wine, and never drink any wine that costs less than that.
ANNUAL WARNING: Each year I warn my readers not to even think about buying any Beaujolais Nouveau, which is released with great hype at the end of November. For new readers of the Whine I suggest you scroll back to Whine # 13 (November 2009) to get the full trashing of Beaujolais Nouveau. For the rest of you here is the only Beaujolais Nouveau joke that I know.
John: “Did you know that 60% of Beaujolais Nouveau is sold to the Japanese?”
Bill: “What happens to the other 40%?”
John: “It isn’t sold.”
WINES OF CROATIA: I recently had a chance to sample wines along the Dalmatian Coast. However, since these wines are not available in Canada I shall not attempt an inventory. On the other hand, there is one wine that needs special mention. Plavic Mali from Croatia is a wonderful wine that can rival the best of either Old or New World wines.
I had my first glass of Plavic Mali when visiting Zagreb in May. Last week Betty and I stopped at a Wine Bar in Dubrovnik and tried two Plavic Malis; one from Postup, the other from Dingac. Both were excellent.
Plavic Mali is a blend of two indigenous grapes (Crljenak and Dobricia). Crljenak is the same grape as Zinfandel and no doubt the source of the wines that are so loved in California. For years it was thought that Primitivo from Italy was the source of Zinfandel, but genetic testing has come down on the side of Croatia.
Now if only NSLC or LCBO would bring in some of this great wine.
THE GLASS IS NEVER HALF EMPTY: When Betty and I decided to take an off-season cruise in the Adriatic we specifically chose a ship that offered free wine with lunch and dinner. We were not disappointed as many of the wines were from Australia and very good, although we were occasionally served an acidic Chianti.
When free wine was advertised we didn’t realize just how free. The game seemed to be that the hovering waiter topped up one’s glass as soon as the second sip was taken. There must have been a rule that no glass was ever allowed to be empty. Most nights I enjoyed the challenge of trying to empty my glass while the waiter was busy with someone else. I rarely succeeded.
The real contest took place on our last night. As we had unused credits in our shipboard account I decided to have a $27. glass of Caymus Cabernet at a pay-bar as a pre-dinner drink. Shortly after this magnificent nectar arrived we were called to dinner. I carried my glass (or had it carried) to the table.
No sooner were we seated than the waiter tried to top up my Caymus with a very ordinary Sangiovese. If I were looking to the right he would sneak up on my left. My whole attention was directed towards protecting my remaining sips of the rich Cab. At one point I ordered a glass of Chardonnay as a distraction but the waiter was undeterred. Finally I realized defeat and simply quaffed the Caymus.
OPIMIAN SPECIAL OFFERING # 50: I don’t have any real bargains to suggest this time, but here are some suggestions for you to consider.
6411 Armagnac: I have several bottles of this distilled brandy on hand and I tend to serve a small glass to delighted guests at the end of an evening of wine and food. Armagnac is very similar to Cognac (I think even better) but is less expensive.
6345 Chablis Vielles Vignes: Not cheap but as good as white wine gets (better than almost any Californian Chardonnay).
6337 Hopler St. Laurent: I am gambling a bit on this recommendation as I have never had this St. Laurent (similar to Pinot Noir). However, I have never been disappointed in a Hopler offering and am guessing this will be a pleasant surprise.
