About this Blog

The blog focuses on the essence of wine and food, not how many points or stars it receives. The opinions are mine and should be taken only as that, an opinion not gospel.

Like many collectors, initially I was very much influenced by wine ratings. I purchased wines based on points, even if I had never tasted the wine. And it was much worse than that. I would drink a wine with a high rating, not like it, yet since it was highly rated I’d rationalize that I did not yet appreciate the wine, or that my palate was not sophisticated enough to understand the wine. How’s that for lunacy? As a result my cellar grew in all directions while my palate narrowed. By the time I realized the style of wine that I enjoyed, my cellar abounded with wines whose styles I did not enjoy. All of these wines were very highly rated, just not my cup of tea, or glass of wine to be more accurate. Fortunately I was able to sell many of these wines to those who either enjoyed them or wanted highly rated wines. Don’t misunderstand, I am not against wines with high ratings, in fact I own many. It is just that I now purchase wines based on the producer, the style and my palate, not the rating. Nor do I shun reading reviews. I very much respect Antonio Galloni, Alan Meadows, Eric Asimov and John Gilman and read their reviews routinely. I pay attention to what they write, not the points they award.

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Simply Delicious!!!

While Carol and I enjoy going out to good restaurants, we also enjoy the opportunity to have a simple meal at home.  Carol is a great cook and everything she makes is wonderful. Her secret is to use quality ingredients and prepare them simply and with passion.  (A philosophy that is applicable in all that we do in life!).  One of her signature dishes is her Chicken Soup.  A staple in Italian and Jewish households, it is sure to make my last meal requests list.  We like it served piping hot over a generous scoop of Acini di Pepe pasta.


We like to follow a hearty bowl of the soup with either a BLT, Potato & Egg Sandwich, or an Eggplant Parm Sandwich.  Since it is the summer and our garden is producing lots of lovely white eggplants, Carol used them to make the parm.  After breading them she pops them into the oven as opposed to the frying pan, a healthier and less caloric procedure.  She finishes them with a homemade tomato sauce and a moderate sprinkling of small cuts of fresh mozzarella.  The key is that the mozzarella does not blanket the eggplant and thus compliments it, rather than dominating it.  The result is a tender, balanced and uncommonly good Eggplant Parmigiano.


Ah, what to drink with such a simple meal.  Easy, a great wine that embodies the same elements of quality ingredients and passion in its production and can work with both the soup and the eggplant.  Such a wine is 2000 Raveneau Chablis Grand Cru Blanchot.  In my opinion there is no better maker of Chablis than Raveneau.  His wines demonstrate what the Chardonnay grape is capable of producing when in the hands of a true craftsman.  The wines are fermented in stainless steel and see no new oak.  The result is a lush, round and delicious wine like this one was tonight.  It soared from the glass with each sip.  This is truly a wine with soul.  This vintage will be hard to find but 2009 is on the market and a bit pricey at $200+ for the Blanchot. However his regular Chablis is much less expensive and absolutely as delicious and available. Wine-Searcher.



Like I said, simple food cooked with quality ingredients & passion and a great bottle of wine yields a SIMPLY DELICIOUS MEAL.

I am a lucky guy!!!

Saluté

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