America’s growing fascination with wine has fueled an increasing interest in all sorts of topics that might’ve seemed superfluous only 10 years ago. Just consult a set of wine notes from the average Napa Valley winery, and you’ll discover data relating to everything from barrels to brix, to pH levels, to harvest dates, to clonal selections. In any area of interest, the true enthusiast will always embrace the minute details, whether that topic is wine, baseball statistics, or Star Trek episodes. But I will say one thing about some of these oenological facts and figures: if you’ve [... 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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Here are a couple more scans from the book “Janet Fish: Paintings” by Vincent Katz. As you can see, Windex bottles were a whole lot sexier in 1972 than they are now (I do realize that, technically, Windex is not food). Jars of mustard pickles, on the other hand, haven’t seemed to change a bit. As always, I have tried to include scans of paintings that are not widely available on the web. Please click here for my link to other Janet Fish paintings. Or, click this link for even more great work by Janet [... read more ...] I ran into some folks today who mentioned that their reservations at Mustards Grill were canceled due to a fire. I’m not sure of all the details yet, but I’ve heard that the restaurant will be closed the next week for remodels and repairs. The Napa Valley Register reports that the fire, which was contained to the kitchen, caused an estimated $100,000 in damages. The blaze was reported at 4am this morning. Please click here for a link to the Register’s story.
Sharing is caring… If times are as difficult as people say, then Turnbull Wine Cellars should be on everyone’s short list of wineries to visit this year. Not only does the winery offer a terrific 2005 Napa Cabernet at just $45 per bottle, but its 2006 Old Bull Red, priced at just $20 per bottle, will prove to be an unbeatable “barbecue” wine this summer. I buy a fair amount of both of these wines annually, since I can always count on Turnbull Cellars for a price-to-value ratio that is almost unmatched anywhere here in the Napa Valley.
I’ve really been debating the whole point of finding the best pulled pork sandwich in the Napa Valley. On one hand, wine country is hardly synonymous with barbecue, so it always seemed a bit like trying to find the best burrito in Vietnam. And even if I did happen to discover something noteworthy, wouldn’t some puckish Southerner chime in and discredit my opinion, since I live here in Northern California? But on the other hand, pulled pork is delicious. And the preparation itself guarantees a certain element of success: in order to successfully “pull” the [... read more ...] Pepperoni Pizza @ Gioia Pizzeria, Berkeley. The crushed red pepper and dried Italian herbs are after-market add-ons. Being from California, I’m not obligated to swear my allegiance to any one particular style of pizza. It’s a bit of a relief, really. The Chicagoans and the New Yorkers can wage their apples-versus-oranges debate for as long as they wish — that tired routine will never be resolved. In the meantime, I’m happy to mind my own business, so long as I continue to have access to the pizza itself. Pizza is important, and it’s imperative to know which [... read more ...] The way I see it, Bouchon and Bistro Jeanty are two restaurants trying to fill the exact same niche. Among all of the fine-dining establishments here in the Napa Valley, these two restaurants have the most in common: both places feature a classic line-up of French comfort foods, they each have a Michelin star to their credit, and they are both located on the exact same block in Yountville. All things considered, I tend to visit Bistro Jeanty much more often than Bouchon, mostly because I feel that Bistro Jeanty is a little more friendly [... read more ...] I’ve often acknowledged that my blog entries on Thirsty Reader comprise only what I find time to mention, and that they account for only a small portion of my excursions into wine country. I happen to enjoy wine tasting, so I’ll visit dozens of wineries within a month, just for my own education. But even if I had the time and the energy to deliver notes for all of the wines I taste, there would still be hundreds of wines left uncovered. Even the Wine Spectator, which rates tons of new wines in each issue, tells only [... read more ...] With friends coming into town this week, it’s safe to say that I’ll be knee-deep in the Napa Valley food-and-wine experience for the next couple of days. I’ve got a calendar full of tasting appointments on the horizon, including visits to Paradigm, Nickel & Nickel, Cardinale, and Revana. When I woke up this morning, I decided that I might as well go “all in” for the week, so I made an impromptu visit to Rochioli Vineyards in Sonoma this afternoon. Perched atop 162 acres of prime Russian River Valley real estate, the Rochioli tasting room [... read more ...] |
 
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© 2012 The Accidental Wino |
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