June 27, 2009 · 5:45 pm

Caipi-what?

Caiprissimo in question photographed by Wendell T. Webber

Caiprissimo in question photographed by Wendell T. Webber

In this week’s Dining & Wine section of the NYT, they published a recipe for Blueberry Maple Caiprissimo, which calls for Cognac, maple syrup, rosemary, blueberries and lemon juice. I thought caiprissimo may have been an alternate spelling of caipiríssima, so I did a little research. 

You might remember my posting on cachaça, where I gave a recipe for a caipirinha. Well, if you substitute white rum for the cachaça, it’s called a caipiríssima. If you opt for vodka, it’s caipiroska or caipivodka and with sake, it becomes caipisake.

I couldn’t find a definition or any other cocktail using the spelling caiprissimo, other than where the Times had adapted it from: Food & Wine Cocktails 2009.  Is it the Cognac?  Is it because it’s blended? 

Any way you spell it, these drinks should be on your list of summer refreshment.

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June 26, 2009 · 10:21 am

Finger Lakes Distilling

FLD logoThere was some great press in my hometown paper yesterday about what some of my friends are up to – and yes, it involves booze. 

Brian and Thomas hope to open their doors in just a few more weeks to share their gin, vodka, whisky, cordials and brandy with you.  I’ve had it all and I can tell you that you’re in for a treat – they’re using all natural (and local!) ingredients and doing it the old-school way.  I’m headed up there this weekend to help out with their tasting notes and to whip up a few cocktails.  You can expect a full thirsty report as their big day approaches. 

In the meantime, check out their blog by clicking here or using the link in my blogroll below.

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Filed under Spirits

June 25, 2009 · 11:00 am

Little fox

trousseau 3Le ginglet or little fox is the name Philippe Bornard has given his 100% Trousseau from Arbois Pupillin.  That’s quite a moutfull – I’ll break it down for you. 

Arbois (ahr-bwah) is the most important appellation in the Jura region in eastern France.  It also happens to be the name of the region’s main town.  Arbois Pupillin is a commune within the Arbois, with rights to its own appellation.  The Jura is located between Burgundy and Switzerland and its isolation has helped its producers maintain many of their winemaking traditions; some unique varietals and some uncommon wine styles (we’ll touch on those later). 

Five varietals are important in this region: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Poulsard (often called Ploussard), Trousseau and Savagnin.  Trousseau and Poulsard are the region’s indigenous black grapes (Savagnin is white).  Trousseau is more robust and deeply-colored than Poulsard and gives wines that are earthy and mineral-driven, with lots of berry notes.  You can see from the picture that the wine is a beautiful magenta color and not very opaque – Poulsard is even lighter, often appearing more like a rosé than a red.  Trousseau’s not a very tannic (think mouth-drying) wine and it’s also tasty with a light chill on it, making it an outstanding summer red.  Trousseau can also refer to a wedding dress, a dowry or the Bastardo grape fround in Portugal.

Philippe Bornard is a biodynamic winemaker who started making his own wines in 2005 (instead of selling his grapes to cooperatives).  In addition to an eye-catching label, this wine also has a bright orange wax top – Philippe hand-dips each bottle.  Wines from the Jura aren’t plentiful in the U.S. marketplace, but you can always enjoy come enjoy one with us.

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June 24, 2009 · 11:00 am

Vintage cocktail books

I recently got a very cool present – The Wine-Drinker’s Manual 1830 Reprint: In Vino Veritas.
 
VintageCocktailBooks.com, in collaboration with Amazon offers several selections, with very fun titles like Cooling Cups and Dainty Drinks 1869 Reprint and The Flowing Bowl – What And When To Drink 1891 Reprint: Full Instructions How To Prepare, Mix And Serve Beverages.  All of the books have been digitized from old originals – in my copy you can see traces of Dewey Decimal numbers hand-written on the inside cover as well as a stamp that says, “Harvard College Library.  From the Heirs of George C. Dempsey”.

I want to share a quote with you from the first chapter, “On Wine-drinking”:

“The antiquity and propriety of drinking wine is not, however, matter of question.  The Archbishop of Seville, Antonio de Solis, who lived to be 110 years old, drank Wine; and even that wonderful preacher of propriety, Cornaro, did the same.  All we differ about is quantity; and this is a point on which we do not pretend to reconcile our readers, for that would be too quackical a pretension for any Wine-drinker to aspire to.  Sir William Temple, as good and grave a man as any of the ‘illustrious’ of our country, was pleased to lay down a rule, and limit propriety to three glasses.  ‘I drink one glass, ‘ says he ‘for health, a second for refreshment, a third for a friend; but he offers a fourth is an ‘enemy’.”

Sir William Temple

25 April 1628 – 27 January 1699

Yes, this book was printed in London.

Sir William Temple was an author, statesman and diplomat who served as the provost of Trinity College in Dublin and acted as a consultant to Charles II.

Doesn’t he look like a thirsty spirit?  Maybe he poured his fourth glass out for his homies.

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June 23, 2009 · 12:40 pm

Hands-free device

wine-necklace

Wine is near to my heart, but not so much so that I would wear this wine glass holder necklace.  Its producers claim it gives you the freedom to snack and socialize while keeping your hands free, but maybe they should have included a straw.  You’d still have to use a hand to get the glass to your mouth, right?  Then what becomes of your plate of snacks or your hand gestures? 

Some have pointed out that it would prevent you from losing your wine at a crowded party.  Folks I know seem to have no trouble keeping an eye on their glass of wine without having it attached to them. 

It’s definitely a conversation starter, but maybe one where you have to explain why you’re a dork.

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Filed under Gadgets, Wine

June 22, 2009 · 11:34 am

We all scream…

…for ice cream pops.

Gearing up for summer (should it ever decide to arrive), I purchased Tovolo Shooting Star Pop Molds.  They also make them in a bomb pop shape – those red, white and blue beauties were always my favorite from the Mr. Frosty truck  – it was a tough call.   We made our  inaugural pops with wild strawberries and drinkable yogurt from Milk Thistle Farm.   Milk Thistle’s a family-owned farm in the Hudson Valley and in addition to making some very tasty milk, they claim to know all of their cows by name.  This last tidbit was especially welcome news after having seen the movie, Food, Inc. a few days ago.   

strawberry close up

Wild berries are in at the market

We added some sugar and some water, thinking they might freeze better and tossed everything in the blender.  I’d probably omit the water next time around, to get more of the tangy, yogurt notes. 

 

 

This was not a very scientific recipe, but the quantities were something like this:
*8 oz. yogurt
*8 oz. water
*8 oz. strawberries
*4 tablespoons sugar

We filled the molds, leaving about 1/2 inch at the top, to let them expand and we left them for about 8 hours.  The Tovolo company says to wait at least 4, so kudos to us.  

finished popsi cle
the finished pop, turned to hide a bite mark

Yesterday, we made an agua fresca mix of pineapple, mango and strawberry and some of that mix has made it into the molds of the recently-eaten strawberry pops.  Their status remains to-be-eaten – I’ll keep you posted. 

In true thirsty fashion, I also have some ideas for adding some spirits to the mix.  Frozen juleps, daiquiris, fruit caipirinhas – on a stick, with a drip tray!  Sure would beat a brown bag on a stroll through the city.

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June 21, 2009 · 5:09 pm

What has this wine been reduced to?

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Better for breakfast than happy hour

Today I’m going to share 4 faults in wine that fall under the “reductive” category.  In essence, this is the opposite effect of oxidation and can produce stale smelling wine.  If extreme, reduction can cause some pretty foul odors – just-boiled eggs, anybody?

1. Sulphur (SO2).  The smell of gassy hot springs is not exactly what you want in your glass of wine.  Excess sulphur’s not always easy to detect (and it often blows off with a little time), but in some cases it can lead to heachaches or migraines.  Maximum doses are set by law in each wine-producing country.  Sulphur gets a bad rap, but keep in mind that it does some important winemaking related things: it inhibits the development of wild yeasts and undesirable micro-organisms, it helps the winemaker control fermentation, it cleanses the wine (and the vessels that hold the wine) and it assists aging wine by helping to prevent refermentation in the bottle and by helping to prevent discoloration through oxidation, especially in white wines.  Continue reading →

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Filed under Lessons, Wine

June 20, 2009 · 12:54 pm

Chill out

Vacu Vin Chiller‘Tis the season for a glass of a crisp white or a refreshing rosé and if you’re impatient like me, you want it now and you want it cold.  I picked up the Vacu Vin Rapid Ice Chiller about a year ago and I haven’t used an ice bucket since.  This little baby fits in the door of your freezer and will chill your bottle in about 5 minutes.  There’s no mess, minimal waiting time, it maintains the cold well and it enjoys walks on the beach (or in the park or over to your couch).  It’s also cheap – the link above is from Amazon, where you can get 2 for $8.99.  I’m jealous because I only have one.  They also offer a Champagne chiller, but I’ve used this one on all of my bottles of bubbly and it does just fine.

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Filed under How to, Wine

June 19, 2009 · 11:32 am

You got boxed

Black Box Wines is sponsoring a video contest.  For you SNL fans, the first step is not to cut a hole in the box.  They want you to serve their product to your family or friends and then capture their reaction when they learn it’s from a box (assuming they found the wine to be delicious). 

I’d like to enter this contest, but my friends and family would not be surprised to get a decent wine from a box; in fact, many of them have had boxed wines at my dinner parties before.  I’m all for packaging wine in a box; it tends to be inexpensive, it’s harder for me to break, it’s more transport-friendly, the wine keeps for much longer, it’s more environmentally friendly (less energy required to produce and transport compared to glass bottles) and thankfully, more producers are starting to get on the bandwagon.  I lovingly referred to boxed wines in college as “wine bladders” – have you ever removed the box to see what’s underneath? Continue reading →

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Filed under Events, Wine

June 18, 2009 · 1:57 pm

Bringing home the stinkin’

Oh, if only any of these vials smelled as good as bacon. 

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What could make this show up in your glass?

You may have seen my post about Le Nez du Vin, the wine-smelling practice kit.  Well, I liked the master aroma kit so much that I recently purchased the faults (les défauts) kit.  And boy, does it stink – onions, rotten apples, moldy earth, oh my.  It’s great to be able to recognize the delicious aromas in wine, but it’s also important to recognize faults – no sense in wasting your time on a bad bottle, right?

The faults in the kit are broken into different categories and today I’m going to share with you the ones that are related to harvest and those that come about through exposure to oxygen. Continue reading →

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