I have to wonder if the Michelin Guide is trying to stay relevant by offering some big shake-ups this year. Maybe I’m reading into things too much, but it seems like the 2010 San Francisco guide featured quite a bit of promotions and demotions, especially within Napa wine country. Of course, I’m not taking anything away from the two Napa Valley restaurants that certainly needed to receive their just desserts: Ubuntu and Etoile. Awarding these two restaurants a Michelin star should have been an easy decision, and I’m glad to see that both establishments have been properly recognized in [... 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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Clearly, I’ve been out of my jurisdiction by making uninformed predictions about Michael Broadbent’s libel lawsuit against Random House, which the legendary wine critic has recently won. I’ve just received a comment from Bartholomew Broadbent, the founder of Broadbent Selections and the son of the plaintiff, which outlines the press release regarding this recently settled legal case. In previous comments on this blog, the younger Broadbent was confident that his father would prevail in court, especially since British libel law is much different than American libel law. Well, it turns out he was exactly right, and British law favored [... read more ...] I attended the Rioja Wine Trade Tasting at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco last Tuesday, sampling about 60 wines from almost 20 different producers. With so many wines to taste, I didn’t linger on any particular wine for too long, allowing my general impressions to be my guide, rather than attempt to dissect each wine for its secondary characteristics. Even at a brisk pace, it took me about four hours to work my way around the room. I can say with confidence, however, that my favorite wine of the day was the 30th wine I tasted: the [... read more ...] Looks great, even though the bacon marmalade is totally hidden I tasted through about five dozen Riojas this afternoon at the Palace Hotel, and by the end of this four-hour drinking session, I needed lunch in the worst possible way. Of course, I knew this was going to happen, which is why I had already formulated a plan: blissfully full of moderate-to-good Tempranillo, I took a leisurely four-block stroll to RN74, the latest installment in chef Michael Mina’s restaurant empire. Although RN74 is officially billed as a wine bar (borrowing its name from Route Nationale 74, which runs [... read more ...] A visit from an old friend from my Auberge du Soleil days prompted an opportunity to open a few bottles of wine. I pulled of trio of reds from the 2004 vintage, which for me, should all be showing pretty well at this point. Here’s a quick run-down of the wines, before the bottles head to the recycling bin, and they are forgotten forever. 2004 Gary Farrell Zinfandel Dry Creek Valley Bradford Mountain Vineyards: A wine like this one solidifies my opinion that Sonoma’s Dry Creek appellation is the greatest region for high-quality Zin. At five years old, this [... read more ...] |
 
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© 2012 The Accidental Wino |
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