notes from a wineaholic/the applewood winery

i've always enjoyed the annual fall visit to the apple orchards with friends and family. this year more so because applewood orchard is also a winery, and amidst the mayhem in the orchard and the face paining and puppet show for the kids, there was the brief, yet very luscious tasting of fermented and distilled beverages produced there. for a mere five dollars a person can taste five of their 18 blends. i tried their seyval chardonnay reserve (dry, crisp blend aged in american oak), the vidal (semi-dry with fruit and floral notes), the merlot (dry, with distinct peppery finish), the cabernet franc (dry, with berry notes and spicy finish) and the oak barrel reserve (dry, with an earthy, smoky finish). they were all quite yummy and i brought home a bottle of the seyval and the merlot to age a bit. that day we also visited the heaven hill farm where we went on a hayride, picked pumpkins, watched pig races and played tag in the corn maze (which was sooooo much fun, and a little scary!) so often this annual outing is just about the kids; but this year i think the adults found some fun and more age appropriate entertainment too.

notes from a wineaholic/moscatel

i figure the best way to come back is with something to drink, and what better way than with some moscatel. while at dinner with john and shivann at one of the best italian restaurants in manhattan, luna piena, the owner, luigi, sent some moscatel to the table and i knew there was a reason why i loved that place so much. a delicate wine with the subtle taste of peaches and apricots, this sparkling more prestigious cousin of the asti is not considered spumante (sparkling) at all, just a bit frizzante (fizzy). delicate, lightly sweet and gorgeously fruity, the moscato is particularly low in alcohol and therefore fairly fragile. generally made in tiny batches and limited quantities it is highly desirable and should be drunk fresh and soon after release. the rest of the dinner was no slouch. grilled shrimp with warm white bean salad, asparagus wrapped in mozzarella and prosciutto, spinach greens with strawberries and toasted almonds. my entree of homemade squid ink fettuccine with clams, mussels, calamari and shrimp in a light red sauce brought to mind the rice with squid in its black ink my grandmother makes. the rice turns out a beautiful black color. make sure you visit luna piena and tell luigi i sent you. have a glass of the moscatel, and enjoy one of the great wonders of wine.

notes from a wineaholic/eggnog

the wineaholic is particularly rummy during the holidays for reasons obvious to most; and yes there is a holiday drink with which to pahty, pahty. my aunt's eggnog recipe is the real deal, baby. a no holds barred, send you over the christmas tree, sugar high infused with rum to knock you right out of your holiday stockings. did i say rum "infused"? well, i don't know if that's really the right term considering that its a potent potable one third of which is rum. i'm off tonite to the first of the holiday family get-togethers, and i wouldn't be properly armed (i mean festive, yeah, that's it, festive) if i wasn't packing a bottle of "the nog". we're talking loaded for bear baby, as my sister in in-law kim will tell you while she chugs it (i mean sips it, yeah that's it, sips it) on the day after christmas morning all by herself in her kitchen. this year there is not only christmas eve at my family's, and christmas day at kim and jimmy's, there will also be a post-christmas family melt-down (i mean gathering, yeah that's it, gathering) at karen and wayne's. it's all good, really. and it is after all another occasion for food and drink.
here's the recipe:
one can of sweetened condensed milk,
one can of evaporated milk,
one raw egg (that's right raw, be a man!)
one sweetened condensed milk can full of rum (because it is the bigger can of the two cans)
one cup of sugar

combine the first four ingredients in a blender and mix. put the sugar in a non-stick pan on high heat and caramelize. the heat should be on high in the beginning but be careful once it starts to caramelize that you don't burn the sugar. it will smoke some so turn off the alarms. with the blender running add the caramelized sugar in to the other ingredients and blend. enjoy!!

notes from a wineaholic/ein bier bitte!

a long, long time ago, when i was just a young wino and only drinking vodka neat, i fell in love with beer. it happens, as it most often does i suppose with beers, on a steamy-hot summer day when someone hands you an icy-cold one and you're hooked for life. there's been alot of beers under the bridge since then, but a delicious bavarian wheat beer i had recently sent my heart aflutter all over again; and i was transported back to that day at lake sebago just off seven lakes drive in bear mountain new york when i had that palate expanding experience. back then it was a canadian brew that took my cherry; but the Weihenstephan, more specifically their Kristall Weissbier, that recently ravaged me was a master. people don't always remember all their "firsts", call me a romantic, what can i say? the bavarian state brewery weihenstephan was, over a thousand years ago they say, the monastery brewery of the benedictine monks. if there's one thing monks know how to produce is food and liquor. and some pretty fantanstic manuscripts. because i live in what is still considered to be a german enclave on the upper east side of manhattan, this, and many other really great beers, are not hard to find. not to mention the german food, and one place on second avenue where you can still see men in liederhosen. i just happen to mention that in case it's your thing (see you there!) prost!

notes from a wineaholic/absinthe

also know as "the green fairy" absinthe is the bohemian bad-boy of liquors. made popular during the late 19th early 20th century by nontraditional, marginalized artists, writers, musicians and actors of the unorthodox and anti-establishment set, it was portrayed as dangerously addictive due to the fact that it contained a psychoactive chemical called thujone. By 1915 absinthe had been banned in the United States and in most European countries except the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire; but was revived in the 1990s. when i was in Portugal about 7 years ago i brought back a bottle in my luggage because it was practically impossible to get here in the U.S. that was a great trip, Portugal. two weeks of an amazing amount of partying. the first week we would go out at 11pm and not leave the dance clubs 'til about 9 in the morning. head to the beach to sleep it off, recuperate and start all over again. the second week i punked out and slept on a float in the pool most of the time. i stayed with my friend Marita at her mom's house and it was just a great time. Mari's grandmother, grandfather and aunt came to visit while we were there and her grandmother made the most amazing paella ever. Mari's mom got a little twisted 'cause she thought we were a little out of control and she tried to punish us one day by forcing us to go shopping really early one morning at the Portuguese version of Costco. well, we were still giddy with liquor and what have you, probably had just gotten in when she dragged our asses out of the house, and we made complete idiots out of ourselves in the store by making fun of things and laughing like freaks, practically rolling on the floors while Mari's mom looked on and couldn't wait to get us out of there. she probably regretted that decision for sure. that was a great trip.
this song by Madison Avenue was the soundtrack for those two weeks:
"DON'T CALL ME BABY"

notes from a wineaholic/grappa

has anyone noticed that as i get closer to the end of this semester, there are more postings by the wineaholic? coincidence? i think not. no alcohol is safe in my apartment at this point, and i can hear clinking of bottles from the liquor cabinet as they all shiver inside in anticipation of who's going to be the next "dead soldier". that's a curious phrase which apparently has a vague, although very old origin. the most common explanation i have heard comes from World War One and is a bit of black humor. the reference to an empty bottle of liquor as a dead soldier being to the fact that the "spirits" have left the bottle. anyway, today we are talking about grappa. it is historically a specialty of northern italy, and it is the clear brandy that results when the pomace of grapes is fermented and distilled. the pomace is actually the pulpy mash of stems, seeds, and skins left over from winemaking, (another reason i love the italians-nothing goes to waste) and depending on the quality of the raw materials and the method of distillation, the final product can taste like a bomb just went off in your mouth or it can be smooth and winey. nevertheless, it will always be powerful. it is one of those liquors which inspires stories, much like tequila. personally i love grappa. especially because when a bottle of grappa comes out you know your hosts don't want you to leave anytime soon, if at all. my last day of classes this semester is in 6 days (yes i am counting it down), and the celebration on that nite, and the ensuing days (yes i like to celebrate hard), may involve some grappa, and some public nudity, and maybe sparklers. definitely grappa inspired. don't try to stop me, just offer me another drink. cheers.

notes from a wineaholic/brunello di montalcino

Brunello, "the little brown one", from montalcino, is a tuscan dialect name for sangiovese grown in montalcino, south of both Chianti and Siena. In this dryer, hotter, and more Mediterrean climate of southern Tuscany, the limestone and sand soil produce a "muscular" grape capable of making a rich, dark, concentrated red. "Tongue-curling tannins" and "firm acidity" allow these wines to age and this past weekend at John's dad's 80th birthday dinner i was lucky enough to have one from 1999, the Casanova di Neri/Cerretalto and one from 1997, the Poggio Antico, thanks to the generosity of my my brother-in-law Wayne. according to the website, winemerchant.com, which i have linked over there on the side, "As an elite wine, Brunello deserves special attention while aging and when poured. Like all great aged wines, it is often a bit hard and unsociable in its youth. However, Brunello becomes refined and harmonious with time, taking on a velvety texture."
"robust", "muscular", "tongue-curling", "hard", the hell with drinking it, i read these descriptions from that site and i wanted to fuck this wine. personally, the 1997 was better, wwwaaaaayyyy better actually, it is amazing what those two little years can do. it is also amazing that they can tell that only about 18,000 bottles of this wine were produced and they were made from the grapes on the southern slope of such and such a vineyard and were picked on such and such a date. i'm impressed by these things, too bad i can't afford to drink these wines on a regular basis. i thought it was funny that John kept going into Wayne's wine fridge and pulling out one bottle after the other. what did we know?, we're neophyte oenophiles.
well if you get the chance i would definitely go for the Poggio Antico '97. maybe on account at a business dinner or something.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR. C!!! %^*


SIRLOINS FRESH OFF THE BBQ


THE HUNGRY CROWD AT THE CHEESE PLATTER


THE '99 Casanova di Neri


THE '97 Poggio Antico...totally fuckable!

notes from a wineaholic/midnight margaritas

about 10 years ago or so, in a fit of adulation after reading "practical magic" by Alice Hoffman, i adopted the practice of having margaritas at midnight. this was back when i was doing alot of drinking (wink-wink), and it didn't happen every midnight. just the ones i was awake for and in the company of those willing to imbibe. did i forget to mention that i'm a night owl and most of my friends don't need to have their arms twisted to force a cocktail down their throats, thus all the drinking. i remember my brother Mike, who had been living in florida, had come back to new york and had no place to stay and so was living with me. my apartment looked like a tent city but we were having a good time. midnight margaritas and scrabble. sometimes it was just the margaritas. i like to use a frozen mix (yes i prefer my margaritas frozen) made by Bacardi. you fill the blender with lots of ice, add the full container of the margarita mix, half (more or less, wink-wink) of the container filled with tequila, and a few splashes of cointreau, or the orange flavored liquor of your choice. give the blender a good whir, garnish with a lime and there you are, delish. today being cinco de mayo i was reminded of all those midnight margaritas and the fun i've had sharing my tradition with my friends. it isn't midnight yet, but i figured if i waited 'til midnight then it wouldn't be cinco the mayo anymore and besides i'm not so strict with my rules for drinking. are there rules for drinking? there should definitely be some for tequila. i have alot of respect for the nectar of the agave. my worst hangover story involves tequila shots with beer chasers. i think most people have a "tequila story" too. well, anyway. happy cinco de mayo everyone.


AGAVE


TEQUILA


VIVA MEXICO!

notes from a wineaholic/cava

ok, so much for the piss and vinegar (don't you love that expression?) now the good stuff. Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia, the Penedes is the most important wine making region there, and the area where Cava, the spanish sparkling wine, is principally made. to be called Cava, a Spanish sparkling wine must be made in the champenoise method, which is that the secondary fermentation which creates the bubbles takes place in the individual bottle. and like champagne, Cavas can range from brut to sweet. Cava, however, is not sparkling wine trying to be champagne (and who likes pretentious wine anyway, except maybe the french) there are numerous things they do not have in common, including the fact that all the grape varieties used in Cava are white, unlike most champagne, which is a marriage of red and white grapes. the length of aging, the number of still wines used in the making of each, and finally, the fact that climatically, the Penedes and Champagne have almost nothing in common. also, while the drinking of champagne is thought to be a luxury, accompanied by the comparable indulgence of caviar, Cava is comfort wine. not being such a "separatist" drink it even seems more politically correct (for those of you that care). much like its italian cousin, prosecco, it is the perfect way to start a summer evening, accompanied by a humble appetizer like pan con tomate, which is a Catalonian specialty of thick slices of warm grilled country bread, rubbed on both sides with the cut side of a juicy ripe tomato and then drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. so enjoy your Cavas; little fuss, it wont break the bank and you don't have to wait for some fish to ovulate to have a nosh with your wine.
CAVA BY THE GLASS

MAKING CAVA

THE PENEDES REGION

notes from a wineaholic/albarino

i'm a big fan of wine. my family being mostly from spain (ole') and somewhat from france (choke) i don't suppose i'd be otherwise. while i was born in cuba, (second generation) my grandparents and prior come from the iberian peninsula, more specifically from the north and northwestern parts of spain, where the gallegos produce spain's best white wines. typically i prefer reds and only was introduced to this type of wine by a client. i have since sampled several bottles to find that my ancestral roots do run deep. according to the Wine Bible by Karen MacNeil, the whites that come from the Rias Baixas stirred a veritable revolution in the 1990s due to the introduction of modern wine making techniques. she describes the flavors as "ranging from zingy citrus-peach to almond-honeysuckle...supple and lightly creamy...and light as gossamer on the palate" don't she talk pretty? it usually has a beautiful golden color when it's poured out, and many people speak of a hint of kiwi in the flavor due to the fact that kiwis are a major agricultural crop in this area, and years ago many kiwi orchards were pulled out in order to plant more albarino. i'm not a wine snob by any means and i have a very open palate, so i like to try different wines and, of course, some things i like and some things not so much. i try to be "appreciative" of the wine for what it offers and where it came from and i love reading her book for the descriptions of the regions which produce the grapes, the countries and their cultures and food pairing suggestions. this area of spain, unlike all others, is known exclusively for white wines and the major grape produced is the albarino, the name which appears on every bottle regardless of the vintner who produced it. to further accentuate the importance of this grape, by comparison most other spanish wines are referred to by their geographic region. i put a fun link on the side there called the "budometer" where you can take a brief questionnaire and see what they have to say about your palate and wine choices. i found it interesting and somewhat accurate. in any case, enjoy your wine. salud, amor y dinero!

my two favorite drunks



THE RIAS BAIXAS