The term “noble rot” has long been a secret handshake among wine connoisseurs, an English translation of the French pourriture noble, or what biologists would officially call “botrytis” (and even more officially, Botrytis cinerea). At its essence, “noble rot” is a benevolent fungus, critical to the production of many of the world’s top late-harvest wines. Botrytis appears in the fall — with the onset of humidity in the vineyard — helping to concentrate the sugar levels in the grapes as it facilitates dehydration. For this reason, the words “noble rot” are often synonymous with the Bordeaux region [... read more ...]
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The Culinary Timeline is a side-project that I've been working on since October. I'm hoping to have most of it complete by the end of January, with any luck. Until then, updates around here will be weekly, rather than twice weekly. Do stay tuned. • • •
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In many ways, I consider Calistoga to be a destination unto itself, a town somehow removed from the rest of the Napa Valley, not only geographically, but in its attitude as well. With the exception of Castello di Amorosa, the gauche opulence that pervades many parts of the Napa Valley seems to be mostly absent in Calistoga, which remains both rural and rugged. Most of my previous entries regarding Calistoga wineries have echoed this sentiment, along with my reminder this (pending) appellation can offer some really terrific wine values. Certainly, one of the greatest wine [... read more ...] As a former Napa Valley cook, I had been anticipating the opening of Michael Chiarello’s Bottega for quite some time, and for many different reasons. Of course, the primary reason was Chiarello’s outstanding track record; great new restaurants are always welcome, anywhere. When Chiarello was the executive chef over at Tra Vigne in the 1990s, long before he began to appear on the Food Network, the restaurant ranked as one of the Napa Valley’s top destinations, remaining wildly popular among tourists and locals alike. These days, Tra Vigne continues to trade on its former reputation, even years [... read more ...] Although I had suffered through several lean years while I lived in Southern California, my lowest point was definitely the summer I spent working in the fabled San Fernando Valley. It’s amazing how many people in Los Angeles can fall into this same trap, taking any job necessary, just to get by. I still think of all the aspiring actors, headed to so many fruitless auditions, hoping for one slim shot at success. If you live in Los Angeles, these lovely people are usually your bartenders and servers. Luckily for me, I was never an aspiring actor, [... read more ...] Somehow, I stumbled upon the “Will Paint for Food” project that has been happening since 2006 in Providence, RI. The artist providing the work behind this fund-raiser is Shawn Kenney, who creates some captivating food-related paintings. Most of these paintings are very small, usually just 4×6 inches, and are composed of acrylic on panel. Kenney paints one of these small pieces each day, as a warm-up to more serious work. I find that rate of output amazing, especially since many of these paintings really do capture the essence of their subjects with just a few [... read more ...] A road trip to Mendocino this week provided an easy to excuse to visit Toulouse Vineyards, which has quickly become my favorite winery in the area. Luckily for me, I happened to catch Toulouse at a great time — just a few days before a new vintage was slated to be released (although these wines were still available for tasting and purchase). I had last visited Toulouse in late March, and I found their wines to be the model of consistency. For me, Toulouse captured the very soul of winemaking: small, artisanal, exquisite. Even their rosé was [... read more ...] They say that the famous sauce at Bud’s Broiler is some simple ratio of cane syrup and Heinz chili sauce. From what I remember, it sounded plausible, but who knows, really? The original Bud’s Broiler — and the only location that I have ever visited — opened in 1952 on City Park Avenue. I used to stop here after my day shifts at K-Paul’s. Coincidentally, this photo was taken right about that time, in 2004. Stare at this picture and imagine the potent smell of a charcoal grill in the air. Ah, that’s more like [... read more ...] I continue to get a fair amount of traffic from folks looking for “Cliff Lede pronunciation” — at least a couple hundred visitors per week. If that’s what happened to point you to this entry, I will again confirm that “Lede” is pronounced LAY-dee, like lady. I actually heard a woman pronounce it LEE-dee the other day, but I didn’t bother to correct her. Nobody likes a know-it-all, and what does it really matter anyway? But while we’re on the subject, I did stop in at Cliff Lede to taste their current releases earlier [... read more ...] I had visited so many tasting rooms this summer that it was often difficult for me to keep this blog totally up to date. Keep in mind, what you read on these pages only represents a fraction of the entire story. Living in the Napa Valley, I’ve always had so much material to draw upon that I decided to focus mainly on the positive, since it’s much more constructive to recommend something that’s good than to speak out against something that’s not so good. Surprisingly, I had failed to mention Paradigm Winery after I had [... read more ...] Although the term “molecular gastronomy” has been around for about two decades now, I have to wonder if such a movement can ever fully merge with the mainstream. Realistically, it will probably remain on the culinary fringe, although some of the more basic techniques may become commonplace over time. Foams, for example, seem to have already worn out their welcome in the realm of fine dining (I had certainly dealt with my share of them when I was cooking). Still, it is interesting to note the various ways that molecular gastronomy has continued to appear on my [... read more ...] |
 
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© 2012 The Accidental Wino |
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