VINO-CLUES! 1/30/12 “Eat Buffalo Wings & Alcohol and Live Longer!”
Okay, well…maybe, sorta. Clogged arteries and bad livers aside, there truly are life-prolonging properties in certain foods & drinks you love to indulge in while watching the Superbowl!
Some people enjoy the pain! It is common for many people to experience pleasurable and even euphoriant effects from eating or drinking capsaicin, and beverage companies are even marketing "Elixirs" with Capsaicin to promote an endorphin rush.
Actually, Capsaicin is also known for:
1. an effective topical ointment to relieve pain from arthritis, sprains, and neuralgia.
2. reducing itching and inflammation from psoriasis
3. increasing body "heat" and the metabolic breakdown of carbohydrates
Yes, that's right, Capsaicin is being studied as a weight-loss tool!!
Now, as you eat your "healthy" wings, you should also sip on a beautiful wine wine has tannin, an acid that has been found in numerous studies to help reduce cholesterol, and overall is an anti-oxident, or anti-carcinogen!!
Really at this point, all that's left to know is "WHAT WINE WILL TASTE GREAT WITH MY BUFFALO WINGS???"
Here is the answer: to "stand up to" and not get overpowered by the hot sauce, you need to drink wines that either have a high fruit sugar content, a high phenol level (i.e. has a high level of perfumey & floral acids), or has a high level of carbonation (to cleanse the heat off the palate.)
Fruity & phenolic (floral) white wines:
Torrontes, Gewurztraminer, Viognier, Sweet Rieslings
Fruity & phenolic (floral) red wines:
Gamay grape from
Fruity and/or effervescent wines:
Rosé
Now that you're ready to eat & drink responsibly for Superbowl Sunday, it's time to locate these perfect wine partners. Call us at 212-860-6600 and reserve a spot for Tuesday's "Wines of
Here's to your health!
VINO-CLUE! January, 2012: “Winter Wednesdays” Delivery Discount!
Got COLD? If you feel like staying inside and cozying up with Netflix and a great bottle of vino, order wines online at www.vino-versity.com and have your wines delivered! Take advantage of "WINTER WEDNESDAYS!"
Every mid-week this winter, enter Coupon Code "winter10" at checkout and you will receive 10% off your wines and/or liquors!
The coupon will be activated every Tuesday, and will expire every Wednesday at midnight.
THERE IS NO MINIMUM FOR DELIVERY! You can have even one bottle delivered to you!
However, if you order any 12 bottles (mix your wine brands, or mix liquor and wine together in one order) you get an additional 10% off automatically!!
TOTAL DISCOUNT: 20%!!!!
(See Terms & Conditions for delivery fees: "Local" Upper East Side Delivery: Free! / $6 throughout Manhattan / $15 for outer boroughs)
VINO-CLUES! 1/16/12 “Greece is the word!”
Does anybody drink Greek wine??? Hard to believe that the country of the world that practically invented wine culture and has been producing amphoras of the stuff for thousands of years is on the bottom of the list for popular wine regions. And that's a shame, because they could really use the commerce! No seriously, it's a shame because they have gorgeous wine creations that deserve to be discovered and savored.
Here is a breakdown of major Greek grapes…and their pronunciations!!!!
WHITES:
Roditis ("rho-DYE-tuss"): a grape that can have a playful contrast between it's zippy, snappy acidity and a softer fruitier grape that it is often blended with.
Moscophilero("mo-sko-FEE-lehr-oh"): super perfumey, and somewhat "spiced" white grape that is ofyen compared to
Assyrtiko(ah-SEAR-tih-koh"): A top quality wine grape, its massive minerality and super snappy crisp acidity makes it a great blending partner for Malagousia, Savatiano, and international varieties such as Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon.
Savatiano("suh-vat-tee-AH-no"):
REDS:
Xinomavro ("zee-no-MAH-vro"): Its name means “acid black”. The most planted red variety in
Aghiorghitiko ("Ah-your-YITT-i-ko"): Also known as St. George, is the 2nd most planted red variety, and produces easy, fruity, deep, aromatic wines that can sometimes reveal hints of coffee, cocoa, or molasses flavors intertwined with herbs, dark flowers, olive, & tobacco. In Metsovo, it’s blended with Cabernet Sauvignon to produce the popular table wine called Katoi
Mavrodaphne ("MAH-vro-doff-nee"): The name means, “Black laurel”. It is an aromatic, powerful variety used to produce the port-like dessert wine Mavrodaphne of Patras.
Mandelaria ("man-duh-LAHR-ee-ah"): Also known as Amorghiano on Rhodes, this is
Ultimately, even if you can't remember this list, or you still have your doubts as to the approachability and drinkability of their wines, just remember that this country has the best "mixing pot" for making amazing, interesting, unique, and adventurous wines. There are over 300 ancient indigenous grape varieties. Wow! The whole country is mountainous, providing vineyard sites that are high elevation (which equals perky, vibrant acid development), and practically every vineyard is surrounded by or near water (maritime influences on softer sugar & acid development.) It's really hot, especially in the southern islands (sugar development is wicked crazy….dessert wines taste like liquid Baklava!), and often the grapes of centuries' old genetics blend especially well with newly imported and grown French grape varieties (such as Cabernet, Merlot, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc.) Soils range from limestone, to volcanic ash, to sand, and the difficult fertility provides low yield, concentrated grapes.
Wines here ARE different…and that's a good thing. Some of them are produced on such a tiny level, and in such traditional manners (but thankfully with modern hygiene), that one could compare these little gems to the CUPCAKES of today's bakeries, where these individual cakes made in the most glorious flavor combinations are showing up at weddings, dinner tables, and coffee bars instead of huge 20" cakes. Greek wines are the Buttercup Bakery, Sweet Melissa, Magnolia, Crumbs, or Two Little Red Hens of the wine world! Little packages of distinct flavor!
Curious to try one now???? Well, come to Vino-Versity on Wednesday (any time from 12 noon to 8pm) for our $10 "Grape's Anatomy" tasting, where this week's theme is "Fragrant, Exotic Whites". We will be pouring, among others, a Greek blend of Roditis & Viognier. Reserve on this website ("social wine events") or just walk in and mosey on up to our tasting table. Only one more thing to say….OH-MY-GODS!
VINO-CLUES! 1/9/12 “Ze South of Frahnce…some insight to go with your loaf of crusty bread”
Next week, on Tuesday January 17th, we will have our first 2012 "Destination" wine tasting focusing on the south of
SOUTHEAST:
Tavel: bone dry rosés that are super-high in fruit color and initial refreshing fruitiness
based on ripe Grenache & Cinsault grapes.
Bandol: the most serious sub-region of
Chateuneuf du Pape: perhaps one of the most famous regions, named as "The Pope's New Castle" based on the re-location of the Papal court to Avignon in the 14th century , this region has very sophisticated (both in style and in price tag) reds that are, by permission, allowed to be made with up to 13 different grapes (Grenache being dominant.) Whites are lesser well known, but incredible, with blends based on the nutty & perfumey Roussanne grape.
Hermitage,
Cotes du Rhone, Gigondas, Vacqueyras: Generally, the best appellation for good values of "big blends", mostly made of the soft & velvety Grenache, and several other grapes. Great style of earth, savage berries, and every herb you can imagine. The indication of higher quality comes from the word "Villages" on the label, or the specific name of an actual village, such as Gigondas and Vacqueyras.
SOUTH CENTRAL:
St. Chinian: Produces full, soft blended wines with an influence of clay & limestone
Minervois: Produces very supple, charismatic reds and nutty, exotic whites
Corbieres: Produces very dense, chewy, sturdy, plush, herbal reds (Carignan blends)
SOUTHWEST (SUDOUEST)
Madiran,
NOTEWORTHY DESSERT WINE REGIONS:
Collioure: a seaside sub-region of Banyuls, it produces both dry and sweeter reds typically from Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvedre grapes.
Banyuls : a sub-region of
Beames de Venise : famous for its sweet, pale, gold, delicate Vins Doux Naturels dessert wine made from the
Jurancon : famous region for both dry and sweet white wines ; the dry wines, primarily made with Gros Manseng grapes, can be exotic typically featuring flavors of pink grapefruit, passionfruit, and almonds. Sweet whites, made from Petit Manseng, also have a tropical profile.
VINO-CLUES! 1/2/12 “A (Chinese) New Year for Wine and Asian Cuisine!”
Did you know that January 23rd is Chinese New Year?? It has inspired this post…a look at what wines go well with ALL the popular Asian cuisines, from Chinese food to Sushi to Teriyaki Stir-Fry!
With the new year, we start at the beginning! Let's look at the fundamental concept of food & wine pairing again (see "Vino-Clue from 10/31/11" for the full explanation!): always match your wine to the most dominant flavor of the dish. A simple example of this would be Cod covered in a tomato-caper ratatouille. You might fall into the old trap that "red wine does not go with fish" but a savvy person would realize that the ratatouille is going to dominate your palate much more than the mild white fish, and therefore, THAT is what we pair the wine with. Next, we look for a wine of equal strength with either SIMILAR (i.e. high acid, "tart" wine like Sangiovese or Cabernet Franc to match with the high acid of the tomatoes) or OPPOSITE (i.e. a sweeter wine like Spatlese Riesling or fruity red Zinfandel to compliment the salty briny capers) characteristics.
So when we look at Asian cuisines, we may be inclined to identify the following dominant flavors, depending on your dish:
- Chinese Cuisine/Dim Sum: soy sauce, salt, garlic, hot peppers, sweet fruit glaze, fish broth, mushroom, fried batter
- Sushi: salty seaweed, starchy rice, spicy wasabi, mild fish, avocado
- Stir-fry/Japanese: salt, sweet, fried batter (when Tempura)
And this would lead us right to some phenomenal wine choices…some following the SIMILAR, and some following the OPPOSITE pairing principles:
- Chinese Cuisine:
- Sweet, dry, or off-dry Riesling: high acid & sometimes high sugar
- Gewurztraminer: high sugar, acid, & "ginger-mango" spice
- Chenin Blanc: puckery acid, great "green" kiwi-starfruit sugar
- Gamay (i.e. from the Beaujolais region): super light tannins (avoid high-tannin reds with this cuisine!)
- Pinot Noir: low tannins, can have nice ripe red fruits
- Fruity Rosé
- Brut Champagne or sparkling wine: great acid!
- Sushi:
- Brut Champagne or sparkling wine: great acid!
- Muscadet (i.e. Melon grape), Picpoul, Txakoli: all whites with salty sea-mist "salinity"
- Torrontes, Viognier, or New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc: great tropical fruit quality and high aromatics, with excellent puckery acidity
- Chenin Blanc: puckery acid, great "green" kiwi-starfruit sugar, and rich melon fruitiness especially when from the Vouvray region of France
- Stir-fry/Japanese:
- Dry Riesling or very dry Sauvignon Blanc, such as from the Sancerre region of France: great acidity
- Shiraz or California/Oregon Syrah and Zinfandel: high amount of fruit & spice
- Brut Sparkling wine or Champagne: super puckery acidity
- Stainless steel fermented Chardonnay, especially from the Chablis region of France: austere!
- Pinot Noir: low tannins, can have nice ripe red fruits
And there you go….Happy New Year, Happy Chinese New Year, and Happy Eating & Drinking! Now…the question is, has anyone ever tried Blowfish, and if so, what wine goes with it???? Blow-jolais???
