Virginia Wine Week

The Virginia Wine Marketing Office and the Virginia Tourism Corporation today announced Love By the Glass, the first-ever Virginia Wine Week. Wine lovers will celebrate Virginia Wine Week March 22-28, 2010 at more than 100 participating restaurants and wine shops across the state.

Virginia Wine Week promotes restaurants and wine shops who offer Virginia wine for sale by the glass. From March 22 to March 28, participating businesses will add at least two Virginia wines for sale by the glass to their menus and merchandise. Look for Virginia Wine Week posters, menus and decals or visit www.VirginiaWine.org to find participating businesses.

“Virginia Wine Week is an exciting new partnership to expand local wine offerings in our restaurants and shops,” said Annette Boyd, Director of the Virginia Wine Marketing Office. “As Virginia’s reputation for wine excellence continues to grow, so does demand for our product. Wine lovers now have a new reason to get out and enjoy the success of the Virginia wine industry.”

“Visitors to Virginia want to experience local history, culture and of course – local food and wine,” said Alisa Bailey, President and CEO of the Virginia Tourism Corporation. “It’s important for visitors to find local wine on menus in Virginia’s restaurants and Virginia Wine Week will help encourage that.”

Virginia is home to more than 155 wineries across the state in nine different wine producing regions. The state is getting national recognition for several varietals including Viognier, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot; and it is producing a growing variety of wines quickly gaining a loyal following including Bordeaux styles blends, sparkling wines and the native varietal Norton. Virginia was named one of the top five up-and-coming wine destinations by Travel + Leisure magazine in 2007.

Restaurants and wine shops interested in participating in Virginia Wine Week have until March 15 to register by calling the Virginia Wine Marketing Office at (804) 344-8200.

Visit www.VirginiaWine.org for more information about Virginia Wine Week, including a list of participating businesses. Or Wine-compass.com for a list of wineries in your area. For more information about visiting Virginia, go to www.Virginia.org or call 1-800-VISITVA to request a free, Virginia is for Lovers travel guide.

5th Annual Polished Palate International Rum Competition

From our friends at The Polished Palate:

As the rum controversy heats up between Puerto Rico & the USVI (Modern Distillery Age, March 9) rum is about to make more headlines. The 5^th Annual Polished Palate International Rum Competition takes place this week in Tampa’s Ybor City at the Hilton Garden Inn. Hosted by Jack Robertiello/Drinks Ink, judges Arturo Sighinolfi/SWS, Luis Ayala/Rum Shop, Stephen Beaumont/World of Beer, Ian Williams/Author & Rum Pundit, Harriet Lembeck/Wine & Spirits Educator, Ben Montgomery/St. Petersburg Times and Anthony Nasso/Republic National Distributing Company will be evaluating dozens of rums based-upon five criteria: appearance, aroma, taste, mouthfeel & finish. While all criteria are important in establishing a rum’s signature profile, aroma and flavor rank highest in scoring, and, of course, mean the most to rum lovers.

‘Nosing’ a spirit is a science—and there are specific techniques employed to ascertain scores. Lorena Vasquez, Master Distiller of the highly regarded Ron Zacapa rums, approaches the glass first within a breadth of the front rim, then moves her nose to the middle of the glass and finally against the far rim. Trying this for the first time is an eye-opener as each ‘nosing area’ offers subtleties one might anticipate during the tasting process (top note, mid-palate and finish). A simultaneous technique is to quickly inhale through both the nose and the mouth. The result leaves a foreshadow of the taste of what’s in the glass.

Spirits are always tasted ‘neat’, and, they’re tasted repeatedly throughout each session. For example, once air enters a glass, the essence of the rum begins to open up and, the longer it sits, other nuances will come to light. Some tasters put a dash of water (optional) which dampens the alcohol and brings up the flavor.

Results of the 2010 competition will be posted next week.

Wine Distilleries

Many wineries have expanded their product offerings by undertaking the arduous process of adding distilling capabilities to their existing wine operations. We've heard painful descriptions regarding this process; yet our benefit these wine makers turned distillers are crafting some interesting products. The most traditional product could be DiVine Vodka, produced by Michigan's Round Barn Winery. Apparently this is one of only four vodkas made from grapes in the world. The Italian proprietors of Demarest Hill Winery in Warwick New York also use grapes to produce grappa and brandy. Their neighbor, Warwick Valley Winery & Disillery, crafts several dessert style fruit cordials and liqueurs. Our friends at Forks of Cheat Winery also distill sweet brandy made from various fruit and they are just releasing their Peach Moonshine. I'm sure the UWV students in Morgantown will create some interesting concoctions with this. And finally, we received an email this past week that Maple River Winery has augmented their product list with Rhubarb Flavored Vodka. They may be the only distillery worldwide fusing vodka with rhubarbs and chokecherries. Interesting....

Wines of Turkey

On the heels of us sampling our first Turkish made wines, We read a press release this week announcing that the "Wines of Turkey Kicks off Promotional Campaign". And "a blind tasting of 49 wines from 16 wineries gave Kavaklidere, consulted to by Bordeaux-based Stephane Derenoncourt and the only Turkish winery exporting to the USA (House of Burgundy in NY and Four Potomac Wines in DC), overall honors". Kavaklidere was the winery which produced the wines we have access to purchase. The Wines of Turkey also provide an informative website that lists and describes the major grapes, regions, and wineries. Navigate over, its worth a read.

When is a Zin not a Zin?

David Gates, vice president of vineyard operations at Ridge Vineyards is our source for everything Zinfandel, Carignane, and Petite Sirah as well as the winery's esteemed Monte Bello. These are the grapes most often used in their Zinfandel blends made at the Lytton Springs facility. Mr. Gates is quoted in this nice article from the Los Angeles Times concerning Zinfandel. The article explains why Zinfandel based blends are excellent wines, but are not as profitable - they are difficult to sell. We sometimes forget the wineries are businesses - the profit motive is a fact of life.

Morgan Twain-Peterson, left, makes a Bedrock Heirloom Wine that's half Zin. His dad, Joel Peterson, makes a Ravenswood wine labeled Zinfandel. (Robert Durell / For The Times)

2010 South Beach Wine Food Festival Press Release

The ninth annual Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival, February 25–28, 2010, was once again a successful and unforgettable extravaganza. More than 50,000 guests attended the four-day event, and over $2 million was raised for the Florida International University (FIU) School of Hospitality and Tourism Management and the Southern Wine & Spirits Beverage Management Center.

“This year’s Festival was a success, with great events, great attendance and, most importantly, money raised for FIU,” said Festival Founder and Director Lee Brian Schrager, who also serves as Vice President of Corporate Communications & National Events at Southern Wine & Spirits of America, which hosts the Festival. “Our loyal fans, sponsors and extraordinary talent play a vital role in keeping this Festival vibrant, exciting and successful. It’s a testament to them that we are thriving during these times.”

Dozens of high-profile national media outlets covered the Festival, from Food Network, Travel Channel Europe, Esquire, People, Extra, TIME, Food Network Magazine and The New York Times to the Associated Press among others, with a cornucopia of legendary chefs and culinary personalities holding court throughout the event. Major new and returning sponsors for 2010 included Food Network, Food & Wine, The New York Times, Wine Spectator, Whole Foods Market, South Beach Diet, American Express and Allen Brothers.

The Festival and Southern Wine & Spirits of America hosted a Kitchen Aid dinner on Wednesday, February 24 at Miami’s iconic Haitian restaurant Tap Tap. Chefs Daniel Boulud, Jose Garces, Masaharu Morimoto, and Kris Wessel provided the menu to help raise significant funds for the Partners in Health Haiti earthquake relief fund.

The Amstel Light Burger Bash hosted by Rachael Ray crowned a new winner of the Amstel Light People’s Choice Award – Chef Michael Symon of Iron Chef America fame, who won for his delicious “Fat Doug” – cheeseburger with Swiss cheese, pastrami and coleslaw. Miami’s own Chef Michael Schwartz won the Allen Brothers Golden Grill Award. Other signature events included the Perrier-Jouët BubbleQ, hosted by Emeril Lagasse; Wine Spectator’s Best of the Best returned to the Fontainebleau with French Ambassador to the United States, the Honorable Pierre Vimont in attendance, as well as the best wines and Champagnes being poured plus a veritable who’s who of the country’s greatest chefs – Scott Conant, Masaharu Morimoto, Alfred Portale, Michael Psilakis and Laurent Tourondel, just to name a few. The Whole Foods Market Grand Tasting Village featuring the American Express Grand Tasting tents, continued to draw huge crowds for the ultimate tasting experience, and at the end of the weekend this event was able to donate over 2 TONS of food to Feeding South Florida.

South Beach Diet presents Fun and Fit as a Family featuring the Kellogg’s Kidz Kitchen, a two-day mini-fest at Jungle Island addressing the vital topic of childhood obesity prevention, nutrition education and fitness, returned and featured chefs and culinary personalities Paula Deen, Rachael Ray, Guy Fieri, and Rocco DiSpirito, among others. Advance proceeds from this event raised over $20,000 for the William J. Clinton Foundation for Haiti Earthquake Relief.

The all-star Tribute Dinner held at the Festival’s host hotel, Loews Miami Beach, sponsored by Bank of America, (a part of The New York Times Dinner Series) honored the legendary Daniel Boulud. Beautifully emceed by Top Chef host Gail Simmons, the dinner featured a sumptuous Louis Roederer Cristal Champagne reception and dinner, perfectly paired with Diageo Château & Estate Wines and created by an impressive group chefs including Paul Bartolotta, Michael Laiskonis, Nobu Matsuhisa, Eric Ripert, Claude Troisgros, Gordon Maybury of the Loews and chefs from Boulud’s own establishments, including Zach Bell, Jean François Bruel, and Olivier Muller.

Another memorable event: the new Wine + Dine + Design, a multi-course seated dinner, presented by Bertolli, Carapelli and Carbonell olive oils, took guests from one culinary hotspot to another in the Miami Design District with stops at Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink, SRA. Martinez, Fratelli Lyon and Pacific Time. The evening was topped off by an after-party, presented by Thrillist, at Ornare, featuring Champagne Lanson, cocktails by Diamond Vodka and Sweet Street Desserts.

The Wine Spectator Wine Seminar Series and Bank of America Lifestyle Wine and Spirits Seminars at this year’s Festival were as impressive as ever, with more than a dozen seminars held throughout the weekend at the W South Beach and Gansevoort South, featuring aficionados like Josh Wesson, Kevin Zraly, Gary Vaynerchuck, and Joe Bastianich.

Sunday’s events raised the bar, quite literally, with Paula Deen’s Kiss My Grits Sunday Jazz Brunch at the Loews, featuring Paula and friends Katie Lee, Chris Lilly, and Elizabeth Karmel, who rustled up vittles way beyond traditional fare. Joe’s Stone Crab was the setting for another over-the-top brunch that’s become a Festival favorite, Joe’s Big Chill. Guests enjoyed platters of iced stone crab claws served with Joe’s famed sauces and sides with cocktails provided by the House of Canella to wash it all down.

A closing night party in true South Beach style, hosted by Food Network’s lovable Guy Fieri, brought the house down, with hundreds partying on the private beach behind the Gansevoort South on South Beach, feasting on delicious Cuban comfort food and sipping Gnarly Head wine, ocean-side, under Miami’s magical moon.

Mark your calendars: Dates for the Festival’s 10^th Anniversary are set for Thursday, February 24 through Sunday, February 27, 2011. The 2011 Festival will certainly be unforgettable, as it will also celebrate the release of the official Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival cookbook (Clarkson Potter), due for publication in November 2010, written by Lee Schrager with Julie Mautner, featuring a foreword by Anthony Bourdain. Returning Festival favorites and new programming is in the works. Keep up to date all year long at www.sobewineandfoodfest.com or www.twitter.com/Lee_Schrager.

About the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival

All proceeds of the Festival benefit the students of the Florida International University School of Hospitality and Tourism Management who also assist Festival organizers with sponsorship fulfillment, restaurant and exhibitor recruitment, logistics, and inventory as well as working alongside some of the world’s greatest celebrity chefs and winemakers.

The Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival presented by Food &Wine is produced by Florida International University and Southern Wine & Spirits of Florida with the support of the Miami Beach Visitors & Convention Authority and the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs. For more information about the Festival, visit www.sobewineandfoodfest.com or call 877-762-3933. For more information about Florida International University visit www.fiu.edu, for the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management visit www.hospitality.fiu.edu and for more information about Southern Wine & Spirits visit www.southernwine.com.

2010 Virginia Governor’s Cup Results

Courtesy, of the Virginia Wine Lover E-Newsletter. King Family Vineyards was awarded the 2010 Virginia Governor's Cup for their 2007 Meritage. Over 200 entries from 61 wineries entered the competition, which took place at Lansdowne Resort on January 23. This year the Virginia wine industry changed the Governor's Cup competition from previous years. Only red wines were tasted (medals listed here). A total of 126 medals were awarded including 15 Gold, 53 Silver, and 58 Bronze medals. The biggest surprise was the rise in medals awarded to Petit Verdot wines, which is starting to surpass Cabernet Franc as the dominant red grape in the commonwealth. A welcome change.

Pictured above: Gov. McDonnell awarding Matthieu Finot of King Family Vineyards the 2010 VA Governor's Cup. Photo courtesy of Karen Kabatalo.

South Beach Wine & Food Festival - Wine

Yes, we haven't focused much on the wine that was served at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival - mainly because there are so many other choices. But wine is an integral part of the event, starting with The Celebrate France! Pavilion held in the Village. Attendees didn't have to wait for the Grand Tasting tent to open in order to sample nice wines. Inside the tent were wines from obscure regions such as Languedoc, sparkling wine, dry roses from Château d'Esclans, and even box wine. All the while displaying the diverse richness of the French wine culture. And in both tents, the Loire Valley Wine Bureau was pouring samples from this esteemed region. They were also instructing the audience about the sub-regions. Chinon produces Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc. Ask for a red Sancerre and expect a Pinot Noir; ask for a white Sancerre and expect a Sauvignon Blanc. The same for a Pouilly-Fumé; but a white Vouvray would land a Chenin Blanc. These wines were sometimes old world - earthy with minerals - and sometime new world - bright and fruity. Hopefully people left with more knowledge about the region.

Other countries were represented as well. There was plenty of Italian wines, some from Argentina, some from Spain, and even a collection from Greece. Try pronouncing some of their endogenous grapes: Xinomavro, Aidani, Tsaoussi. And yes, there were plenty of American producers - mainly representing California. However there were a few non-California wineries. Bedell Cellars was demonstrating that quality Bordeaux styled wines can be produced in Long Island and local Schnebly Winery was proving they could produce an avocado wine. Better to make the wine than allow the produce to rot in the field. Actually it wasn't too bad - its made try - but the avocado finish made me crave salt. Maybe pair with chips and salsa. Schnebly also had a selection of fruit wines that received a better reception and showed that you have to make do with what grows in your environment.

As for the California wineries, we spent the most time talking and tasting with the folks from Paul Dolan Vineyards, including Mr. Dolan himself. He is at the forefront of the bio-dynamic movement and can teach Oregon wineries about sustainability. In fact he jump ahead of the organic train long ago. We have discussed the wineries unique practices in the past, but most shouldn't be unique and should actually be a best practices for the industry. Use natural predators to evict insects and rodents; not pesticides. Use natural remedies such as chamomile and oak bark. Plant covering crops. I even like how they allow sheep and cattle to graze in or around the vineyard to reduce weeds and for fertilizer. But business success still depends on selling quality wine. Yes, the grapes are healthy - but is the wine? They were pouring their Dark Horse Vineyards, Mendocino grown bio-dynamic wine, Deep Red - a Côtes du Rhône styled wine made from Syrah, Petite Sirah, and Grenache. This is a great wine, fruity yet it retains some of the volcanic minerality. They were also pouring a pair of their organic wines - but I kept reaching for the Big Red. Nicely done.

There were several other American producers, many that we avoided at the Grand Tasting knowing we would revisit at the Best of the Best. As we posted previously, these are outstanding wines and we concentrated on the Pinot Noirs from Pali Wine Company, A. P. Vin, Hanzell Vineyards, and Roessler Cellars. All mouth watering, velvety, and silky smooth. Add in offerings from Burgundy and Sancerre and New Zealand and you can see why this wine varietal continues to soar.

Chile earthquake rattles wine industry as millions of bottles' worth is lost

There is an article in today's Washington Post concerning the losses endured by the Chilean wine industry. According the the story, "about 70 percent of Chilean production takes place in areas badly affected by the quake, including the Maule, Colchagua and Cachapoal valleys, all key areas for Chilean wine production". Officials are still trying to determine the extra dollar damage of loss, but that figure will probably be understated because:

"Many wineries that lost 80 percent of their production are publicly saying just 15 percent was lost," said one wine executive who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the fear that distributors would cut off wineries thought to be most heavily damaged by the quake. "This is an incredibly touchy subject."

Plus this is harvest time in Chile and many vineyards lost storage vessels. Those in hotter regions lost the ability ti irrigate vines. As the grapes turn to raisins expect more late harvest styled wines. Growing grapes and making wines have always been tedious, uncertain, and difficult. It is even more painful now for the Chileans.

South Beach Wine & Food Festival - The Spirits

Wine is not the only beverage served at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival. In fact we spend more time tasting the many spirits that are displayed - either neat or within one of the many cocktails created just for the event.

The Rum
Our favorite brands are always on display and that means Ron Zacapa, Vizcaya, Diplomatico, and Ron Barcelo. We have described these rums at previous tastings here and here, so we won't repeat ourselves here. There was one new brand via Diplomatico, the Diplomático Blanco Reserva - a nice white rum. It is a blend of light and heavy rums distilled in copper pot stills that have been aged up to 6 years. The product is then charcoal filtered creating a very smooth product; very little burn when drinking neat. At their table, Ron Zacapa was offering an awesome strawberry concoction that we may have indulged a little too much. Needless to say, these are the bomb; every liquor cabinet is incomplete without at least one of these.

The biggest surprise in rum was sampling our first Panamanian version, the Zafra Master Reserve 21 year old rum. It is imported by Dana Importers who also introduced the Zacapa rums into the U.S. market in 2001. What I particularly liked about this rum is how it transposed itself when adding a drop of water. It seemed nuttier with even a bit of chocolate. Apparently Master Distiller Pancho Fernandez knows his craft.

The two main rum sponsors for the event were Cruzan Rum and Malibu Rum. The later is distilled in Barbados and is best known for its Coconut Rum made with natural coconut extract.
During the grand tasting they were serving several drinks - the blend of coconut and pineapple being my favorite. Cruzan Rum is distilled in Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands and hosts the "dance" party. Wherever reggae music is involved, there's a dance party. Cruzan is one of our everyday rum brands - particularly for blending - although they have a nice selection of affordable dark rums: Cruzan Black Strap Rum (Navy Rum), Cruzan Single Barrel Rum, and the Cruzan Aged Dark Rum. All are nice for sipping and we suggest them all. And too bad they were not located inside the tent so that we could compare their Navy Rum with Pusser's.

Another of our everyday rums is Bermuda's Goslings Black Seal Rum. They were present serving the Bermudian Dark and Stormy. No ginger beer for me - no need to get gassy at this event. But love the rum.

The Vodka
There was a larger presence of Vodka producers at this year's festival - including three domestic producers. This was an interesting tasting experience because the vodkas differed with ingredients, (rye, wheat, even corn) and distilling method.

Tito's Handmade Vodka
Tito's Handmade Vodka is produced in Austin at Texas' first and oldest legal distillery. It's made in small batches in an old fashioned pot still by Tito Beveridge. It is micro-distilled in an old-fashioned pot still six times.

Sobieski Vodka
Sobieski Vodka is the #1 premium vodka in Poland and one of the world’s bestselling and fastest growing vodka brands. It is produced exclusively from the revered Dankowski rye at the Starogard Gdanski distillery dating back to 1846.

4 Orange Premium Vodka
The Sunshine State is now be home to the world's first vodka you can "squeeze" - 4 Orange Premium Vodka - a super-premium vodka distilled exclusively from pure Florida oranges. Crafted at Florida's first registered distillery, Florida Distillers Company, this revolutionary orange-based vodka embodies the essence of Florida. 4 Orange is distilled from 100% orange spirits derived from four unique Florida orange varieties - the Hamlin, Parson Brown, Temple and Valencia. One 750 ml bottle of 4 Orange contains approximately twenty Florida oranges.

Medea Vodka
From the 18th century comes a flawless vodka imported from Schiedam, Holland—the world’s first center of distillation excellence. For seven generations, our distillery has used the finest whole grain wheat to perfect the time-honored process of single batch distillation. Distilled slowly, in small batches using natural artesian water, the result is a subtle, flawless vodka. Multiple distillations depending on the distiller's opinion.

Diamond Standard Vodka
Every now and then, something comes along that raises our standard of excellence. The Diamond Standard Vodka is the world's premier luxury vodka. It is hand-made to a higher standard than any other vodka in the world. Crafted in small batches at Poland's historic Polmos Siedlce distillery. Distilled four times and filtered by thousands of De Beers® diamonds for exceptional purity. Each perfume-grade glass bottle is appointed with a round-cut 25 mm Swarovski crystal from the crystallized elements collection. Experience the new standard in vodka. Introducing, in limited quantities, The Diamond Standard Vodka.

Krome Vodka
Krome is the culmination of a quest to find the world's best vodka. After a yearlong search, it turned out that the best vodka was being hand crafted right here in the United States, in Bend, Oregon. Born of Cascade Mountain spring water and locally grown corn, Krome Vodka starts with superior ingredients. It is then filtered five times through charcoal and crushed volcanic rock. Corn provides the vodka with a heft that can't be found in a rye or wheat vodka and a sweetness that can't be found in potato vodka. The ultra-clean Cascade Mountain spring water and thorough filtration process gives Krome its incredible smoothness. This combination of first-rate ingredients and hand-craftsmanship make Krome Vodka a world-class spirit. In addition to being an award winning spirit, Krome Vodka is gluten-free.

OK, there's the marketing fluff. But these are good vodkas. The Four Oranges is the least refined, but its much better than a flavored vodka. You can really taste fresh oranges. The Krome Codka may have been the first we tasted made from corn and we were expecting a corn whiskey flavor - nope. The Medea Vodka stands out with their programmable label - yes you can spell your name and watch it loop around the bottle. Sobieski Vodka is still our favorite - but these are close, close behind.

Cachaça
Drinking so many vodkas came at the expense of the cachacas. We really didn't spend that much time focusing on this Brazilian treat. In general, cachaca is made from distilling the juice from the pure sugar can - no converting the cane to molasses like most rums. Our friends at Cachaça Moleca were present and as always were making several drinks. According to our female editors, their Caipirinha and strawberry concoctions are always worth the calories. Yea, their Caipirinhas are good, but I prefer their Gold neat. Sagatiba Cachaca is another brand we've tasted in the past and fortunately we had several at the Guy Fieri Closing Party. They were serving their Sagatiba Velha neat, with a strawberry and cayenne pepper\sugar mix. That is an interesting combination.

Tequila
The only tequila we tasted was Skinnygirl™ Margarita, a pre-assembled cocktail made from
100% Blue agave tequila , agave nectar lime juice and triple sec. Once again our female editors liked the caloric information - only only 100 calories per four-ounce serving.

DrinkLocalWine.com: DLW conference registration open

We are interrupting our coverage of the South Beach Wine & Food Festival to inform you of the DrinkLocalWine Conference scheduled for April 25th. Here is the press release:

Registration is open for the second annual 2010 DrinkLocalWine.com conference, set for Loudoun County, Va. on April 25. We've got panels! We've got seminars! We've got lunch! And we've got the second annual DLW Twitter Taste-off -- and we're working on a a big surprise for the Taste-off. Note to the slow of registration: We've doubled the the number of people we can register, but we sold out two weeks before last year's conference in Dallas.

Go to DrinkLocalWine.com and click the blue button to register. Price is $65, which includes three seminars, lunch, and the Twitter Taste-off. Taste-off participants must be 21 or older. Questions? Call (978) 276-9463 or send an email.

2010 South Beach Wine & Food Festival - FIU School of Hospitality

The beneficiary for the South Beach Wine & Food Festival is the Florida International University's School of Hospitality. Last year we discussed the history of the festival and how it has impacted the school. Click here for that description and a summary of the student's involvement in the festival. This year was no different - except they were offering more beer choices for the 53,000 attendees - nine total. Dr. Gump, Director Beverage Management, explained that the students either made the brew at home or used facilities at the university. Regardless, each student chose the style and ingredients - the barley or rye and the hops - and paid for it themselves. Jenifer Miller was the Beer & Wine Tasting, Grand Tasting, Coordinator and my favorite brew was her IPA a hoppy ale but cleansing. A nice west coast style. She also made a Belgium styled white ale which was made in the amber style. Not as nice as the IPA, but decent. I tried two other student's creations. David has created Rachel's Rye Ale which was really nice and the final I tried was Daniel's Pale Ale. All nicely done. The students were also pouring the remnants of their Merlot which was bottled in October 2008. This batch of wine has produced six different wine styles which showed the students how winemakers can prolong the life of a batch.

In addition to the wine, the students prepared food for the attendees to the Grand Village as well as participated in numerous events throughout the festival. In sum 850 majors participated. Some fortunate ones were paired with, in a mentorship style relationship, the following chefs: John Besh (Restaurant August, New Orleans), Scott Conant/Michael Priolo (Scarpetta/ Miami Beach), Todd English (Olives, NYC), Adam Perry Lang (Daisy May’s BBQ, NYC), Emeril Lagasse (Emeril’s/New Orleans), Masaharu Morimoto (Morimoto, NYC), Tom Neely (Neely’s Bar-B-Que, Memphis), Alfred Portale/John Suley (Gotham Steak, Miami Beach), Sue Zemanick (Gatreau’s, New Orleans), among others. That's some nice experience. Others worked less glamorous jobs, like clearing wine samples between seminars or handing out wine glasses at Best of the Best, or serving during the Burger Bash. Regardless, their effort benefited the School of Hospitality. According to this report, the school profited $2.2 million. That's a nice four day payday.

South Beach Wine Food Festival: Ace of Cakes

While attending the SIBE Soundcheck, sponsored by our friends at Seven Daughters, we were able to spend time talking to Geoff Manthorn and Chef Duff of the Food Network's Ace of Cakes. Besides being bakers, they are both aspiring musicians and frequent several of the north Baltimore music venues such as the Ottobar. Geoff prefers folk and bluegrass and you can check out his acoustic work via his myspace page. I asked about his favorite Baltimore brewpub and he quickly responded with Brewer's Art. His favorite beer: their Abbey-style Resurrection.

Chef Duff likes a more harder sound and is a member of Soihadto - a cross between Pink Floyd and Radiohead, without the vocals. Yes, just music; interesting.... They have a show scheduled for March 13th at McGrady's Irish Pub - Charlottesville, VA in which we will make an effort to attend. We also asked Chef Duff who he's currently listening to and he introduced us to A Night in the Box, a trioka from Minneapolis who play "Americana-infused soul and bluegrass". Right up our alley. In return we suggested he see The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band's show at The 8X10 on March 18th. We hope to see the entire crew there.

Wines of Spain Seminar - Doug Frost

I have been stalking Doug Frost for a number of years now for a number of different reasons. First, he is the most knowledgeable wine "geek" I know. "In 1991 he passed the rigorous Master Sommelier examination and two years later became America’s eighth Master of Wine. He was the second person in history to complete both exams and sixteen years later he is still one of only three people in the world to have achieved both these remarkable distinctions." He knows his stuff. Second, he cares about non-traditional wine grapes, whether grown in the United States or elsewhere. Ask him about Norton. Third, he's a champion of Riesling. Fourth, we share a common philosophy to find the most value wine in the most unique regions. Fifth, he overseas the Jefferson Cup. And finally, after spending an hour listening to him lecture, you want to spend more time conversing over a glass of beer.

For this year's South Beach Wine Festival he volunteered to lecture on Spanish wines and drew a large audience for a Sunday morning. Even colleague Dr. Barry Gump took leave from Florida International University's School of Hospitality booth to attend. Frost had selected ten wines for us to sample neatly placed at each setting. He immediately instructed us to start sipping and not to wait for him to describe the wines. He wanted us to gain our own impression before "tainting" it with his. We started with two Cava sparkling wines and found that the region is the world's largest producer of methodoise champagne wines. The first was light and acidic, the second fuller and dryer - and made from mostly Pinot Noir.

That the wine was made from a traditional Rhone grape was a surprise which led Frost into a soliloquy on what leads to a great wine. It starts with finding a grape that takes the longest time to reach maturity. For instance Chardonnay in the Central Valley of California reach maturity in July - and then lose flavor as the grapes sit on the vine for two more months until harvested. Yet Chardonnay grown in cooler Napa and Burgundy mature much closer to harvest. In the case of the Freixenet Elyssia Pinot Noir Cava, Pinot Noir grows quite well in Penedas.

The same holds for Albarino grown in Galacia - and the region is too cool to make wines with "pinch". Thus in Galacia, the grow Albarino - as well as some indigenous grapes we tasted a few weeks back at the Washington D.C. Wine Festival. Frost informed us of an interesting aspect of the Galacian culture - which is Scottish. Over 2,000 years ago the region's descendants immigrated to the area. Interesting. The Morgadio Albarino 2008, DO Rias Baixas wine was light, but with refreshing acidity - a perfect match for South Beach. Next was a completely different wine style, a full bodied Viognier that was smooth and silky - one of my favorites: Pago de Vallegarcia Viognier. This wine was just as good as one made in the Rhone or even Virginia.

Another factor lengthening the growing season is the presence of temperature variations during the course of a day. Spain is the third most mountainous country in Europe - following Switzerland and Albania. Grapes planted on the slides of slopes benefit from sunshine during the day and then a sharp plummet in temperatures in the evening. The Bierzo region benefits from this variation and we tasted a nice Pazo de Arribi Mencia. This wine had the most objections from the audience when Frost asked who didn't like it. He usually started with objections since its more likely if someone likes a wine, they are not sure why - its just pleasant to them. Whereas if some doesn't care for a wine - they know immediately. For many, this wine was too earthy, minty, and quite a tart change from the first group of wines.

Our first Rioja wine was the Bodegas Breton, Dominio de Conte Reserva 2004 - a fuller wine and even more acidic and tart than the previous. The cool Rioja nights produce more acidic wines. We moved on to a Tempranillo, the Bodegas y Vinedos Fernandez Rivera, Dehes La Granja 2003 from the Castilla y Leon region. Another favorite followed, the Pango de Vallegarcia Syrah from Castilla la Mancha. Like the Viognier, this wine is made for the international market and tastes more like a California wine than an old world wine. The Castilla la Mancha is a warmer region that produces riper grapes. The biggest wine was the final red, the Mrlanda Crianca 2004 from Prirat. This grenache wine is less acidic than the other reds and is currently a trendy wine region.

The final wine was a muscat dessert wine, the Bodegas Gutierrex de la Vega, Casta Diva Cosecha Miel 2008, DO Alicante. Get used to the long names for Spanish wines. This was a nicely done dessert wine, tart and cleansing - not sugary.

While the FIU student volunteers cleared the room for the next seminar, I re-sampled the wines again. For someone who thought they generally preferred old world styled earthy wines, it was surprising that once again I preferred the two wines developed for the international market - the Viognier and Syrah. But the other wines are worth purchasing as well and we will continue to investigate wines from Galicia, Bierzo, Rioja, and Priorat. Thanks Doug for another informative and entertaining lecture. Hope to see you back next year.

2010 South Beach Wine & Food Festival - Finale

Once again the South Beach Wine & Food Festival was a hit - from the Grand Village, to the tasting tent, wine seminars, Seven Daughters SOBE Soundcheck, and the Best of the Best. Although the final event, Guy Fieri's Luna En Fuego Party was sort of lame. Good DJ, cupcakes, and cachaca - but way too crowded. Particularly when something free was involved - plenty of pushing and shoving to receive a free Havaianas flip-flop. My favorite event was Doug Frost's Wines of Spain seminar. I'll post more about it later, but he is such an entertaining and knowledgeable speaker that the hour flew by before I could finish all the wines. Nice to find out we share a common interest in Galacia wines. The Best of the Best and private SOBE Soundcheck were also entertaining events - although this time for the later the crowds weren't the problem; the music was lame. No emotion. But we did get a chance to spend time with Geoff and Duff from Ace of Cakes - more from that conversation coming later as well. We want to thank the media coordinators for this event for their generosity and patience and to all the production personnel and volunteers who make this such as well run festival.

2010 South Beach Wine & Food Festival - Day 1

We had a very tiring first day of the 2010 South Beach Wine & Food Festival, perhaps from too many spirits during the Trade Tasting. Its difficult to say no to premium rum, vodka, and VEEV acai - not even mentioning the abundant still and sparkling wines. We saved those for Best of the Best and for Day 2. And speaking of the Best of the Best - the food and wine was unbelievable. I spent the evening tasting Burgundy and Russian River Valley Pinot Noir and Monica, she stuck to the sparkling wine. Even though the event was dominated by big name Napa wineries, there is defiantly an abundance of excellent Pinot Noir. Pali Wine Company, A. P. Vin, Hanzell Vineyards, and Roessler Cellars; top flight wineries making excellent wines. A couple other mentionable wines we tasted was Sicily Nero d'Avola from Planeta and Petite Syrah from Chiarello Family Vineyards.

Today we will be spending a lot of time with the students of the Florida International University's School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, and then, plan on discussing bio-dynamic wines with Paul Dolan. In the evening, we will be attending the Seven Daughters SOBE Soundcheck.

More Turkish Wines from Kavaklidere Winery

We returned to Cenan's Bakery in order to see what other offerings from Kavaklidere Winery the bakery offered and purchased a white and red - the Çankaya and Selection Öküzgözü-Boğazkere. The first is apparently the most popular white wine in Turkey and is made from the indigenous Narince, Emir, and Sultaniye grapes. This is a classic European wine - the fruitiness is not overwhelming and the wine has plenty of mineral content. This is simply and excellent choice for everyday white wine. Highly recommended.

The Selection Öküzgözü-Boğazkere is obviously a blend of these domestic grapes and is one of the premier offerings from the winery. The wine was first produced in 1987 to honor the 60th anniversary of the winery. The grapes are selected from the finest vineyards in Eastern Anatolia and after fermenting, aged 12 months in French Oak. The result is a full bodied wine - much fuller than the Yakut Kavaklidere Oküzgözü - but extremely smooth at the tail. There is really no need to age this wine to loosen the tannins. We served this wine to house guests who were not only surprised to try a Turkish wine, but also on the quality. These wines will not doubt become staples in our cellar.

Yakut Kavaklidere Oküzgözü

For the past nine years we have been entering our favorite bakery, Cenan's, and past right by their wine rack since our preferred wine shop is located in the same shopping center. However, last week while waiting for our our, I browsed through and found a few Turkish wines made by Kavaklıdere Winery. Now it shouldn't be a surprise that wine is made in Eastern Anatolia since grapes have been planted in that region from 4,000 B.C.. And even with the current political and religious culture in the Middle East, wine making is still relatively prevalent. Kavaklıdere Winery, was the first private sector wine producer in Turkey, having been established in 1929 in Ankara. Most of their wines are made from grapes indigenous to the regions - with a few "Western" varieties mixed in.

Turkish Yakut wine is a blend of Öküzgözü, Boğazkere, Carignan, and Alicante and the version I purchased is primarily Öküzgözü. According to their site, "The Oküzgözü grape is part of the native Turkish red grape prolific around the mountainous Elazig region in eastern Turkey. The area is perfect for growing this type of grape thanks to its proximity to the Euphrates River, which helps to moderate the usually severe climate typical of this area. Öküzgözü, which literally translates as ‘ox eye’ are perfectly round, dark red grapes, which produce excellent dry red wine with a propensity to age well up to 10 years."

The Yakut Kavaklidere Oküzgözü wine was a nice discovery. It is a very drinkable everyday table wine: medium bodied, with light tannins. It is produced to consume now - and thus we did. An added bonus is that it retails just over $10. We will be back to Cenan's Bakery to try their other Turkish brands.

2010 South Beach Wine Food Festival

Next week we will be leaving the snow behind and heading to the 2010 South Beach Wine & Food Festival. This is one of the premier wine festivals in the country and consists of multiple seminars, tastings, and parties held over four days starting February 25th with the Amstel Light Burger Bash presented by Allen Brothers hosted by Rachael Ray. The festival is not only a good excuse to head to South Beach to taste food and wine, but its also a major fundraiser for the Florida International University's School of Hospitality and Tourism Management and the Southern Wine & Spirits Beverage Management Center. Each year the students at FIU offer food samples as well as wine and beer that they had produced. We will see them at the Whole Foods Market Grand Tasting Village as well as dozens of wine and spirits at the American Express Grand Tasting. We are talking about premium rum and cachaca - hello Ron Zacapa. Over the course of the weekend we also hope to attend one or more of these awesome seminars and parties:

• Perrier-Jouët BubbleQ presented by Allen Brothers hosted by Emeril Lagasse and Friends
• Wines from Spain with Doug Frost M.S., M.W. - Far from Ordinary!
• The Pulse of the Wine World with Gary Vaynerchuk Bank of America Lifestyle Wine Seminars
• One-hour Italian Wine Expert hosted by Kevin Zraly Bank of America Lifestyle Wine Seminars
• South Beach Diet presents Fun & Fit as a Family featuring Kellogg's Kidz Kitchen.
• Fontainebleau Miami Beach presents Wine Spectator's Best of Best sponsored by Bank of America
• Guy’s Luna En Fuego Party co-presented by Gnarly Head Wines and Miami New Times

We are particularly looking forward to catching up with Doug Frost and his Wines of Spain seminar will be more than entertaining. We also hope to catch Guy Fieri again either at the Kellogg's Kidz Kitchen or at an after hours party. Then there's Kevin Zraly, Ludovic Dervin - Mumm Napa, Jim Clendenen - Au Bon Climat, and other wine personalities, who we hope to run into and ask a few questions. Finally, although we live 45 minutes from the Ace of Cakes bakery, this may be the closest we ever get to Chef Duff. We will see what Baltimore area breweries he frequents the most. Check back often over the weekend or on our twitter and facebook feeds for updates.

11th Annual International Wine & Food Festival

Saturday the 13th, we attended the 11th Annual International Wine & Food Festival held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center and quite frankly it was a it disappointed. The primary deficiency was that there was not nearly as many participants as previous years; there was so much open space where wine vendors should have been. I guess the economy has taken its toll.

The main attraction were wines from the Kingdom of Navarre and while decent, they weren't anything to knock your socks off. Their best quality was their affordability - most brands were under $15. In contrast there was one Spanish collection that peaked our interest - the wines from Galicia. Both the red and white wines from this region had character - probably because winegrowers there were still using mostly indigenous grapes in which history has suggested flourish in that geography. In particular the Coto de Gomariz have been in the forefront using these indigenous grapes, most which we had never heard of. Yes, of course, Albarino; but not, Treixadura, Loureira, Godello and Sousón, Ferrol, Mencía, Brancellao and Caiño Longo. We were most intriqued with Treixadura - both in blends and as a 100% varietal. For reds, the Cuvée Primo - a blend of Sousón and Caiño Longo - was very nice. Wines from Galicia will be on our horizon for quite sometime.

As in years past, the festival included wines from Maryland, Virginia, and New York through the Monticello Wine Trail, DC Wine Country, Maryland Wine, and Finger Lakes Wine Country.We didn't spend to much time sampling their products since we regularly have chances. However, what is notable is that this year saw a larger contingent of Maryland wineries and the promotion of several new wine trails: Chesapeake Wine Trail , Patuxent Wine Trail, and Piedmont Wine Trail. The proprietors of Thanksgiving Farm were on hand pouring their excellent Meritage as well as wines from Bordeleau Winery. Bordeaux wine styles were also available through Black Ankle Vineyards and a couple from Elk Run Vineyards. The former is one of our favorite Maryland wineries - they provide great wine and music.

There were a few California wineries in attendance, but the main focus was on international producers. the Côtes-du-Rhône graced us with their presence once again and we sampled several affordable Syrah, Grenache, Cinsault, and Mourvedre blends. Love these grapes. France was also represented by Alsace Wines; although known for their Reisling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, our favorites were their Pinot Blanc - the Dopff & Irion and Jean Baptiste Adam. In years past, there would be several eastern Europe wineries, but this year the sole brand was Alana-Tokaj from Hungary. They of course were pouring some Tokaji Aszú and similar late harvest wine made from Furmint, but I've always liked the dry Furmint by itself. They also were pouring a dry Hárslevelü which was nice. We tried several New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir which were quite nice. Tarras Vineyard poured two Pinot Noirs which were completely different even though the vineyard was the same. They showed the difference that just one year can have on the grape's character. Oyster Bay also poured an excellent Pinot Noir as well as Sauvignon Blanc and a Chardonnay. The Sauvignon Blanc was not your standard version - it had a mid palette not just the typical grapefruit acidic explosion at the first sip. Finally, we learned about the International Society of Africans in Wine which sells South African wine owned and operated by black South Africans. The organization will return to Washington D.C. on May 14th and 15th for their "Drink Well, Do Good" tour. Dates for other cities are available on their website. Looking forward to tasting wine made from the Bukettraube grape.

Usually this festival provides a few beers or spirits, but this year saw just one entry - Philadelphia Distilling. I'm glad they came - their appearance made our visit. Master Distiller Robert John Cassell crafts three spirits: Penn 1681 Rye Vodka, Bluecoat American Dry Gin, and Vieux Carre Absinthe. Now, we have never been fans of absinthe - although we love the paraphernalia associated with dispensing the beverage. However, their vodka and gin are outstanding. Funny how we can drink practically anything, but like absinthe, gin is usually not in that list. There are always a few that force us to adjust our preferences and the Bluecoat American Dry Gin is one of these. It's probably the citrus peels that are added to the juniper berries and the other organic botanicals. Or maybe that it is distilled five times in a custom-built, hand-hammered copper pot still. Whatever, this gin is excellent neat or with the grapefruit juice - as they were providing this day. Their vodka is even better. It may be the first we tasted using rye and distilled four times using a column still. But what makes it so smooth - absolutely zero burn must be the charcoal filtering. Penn 1681 Rye Vodka may have supplanted Maine's Cold River Vodka as our favorite American vodka.

Discovering the wines from Galicia and tasting the spirits from Philadelphia Distilling made it worth attending this event - even with the reduced number of wineries pouring. Let's hope next year is back to normal.