The Israeli restaurant, Zahav, was not the only culinary adventure we had while in Philadelphia.  The first day we arrived, we walked to Rittenhouse Park and had the pleasure of dining at Parc – Restaurant, Bistro & Café on the square.  As I am sure you can surmise it was a nice French restaurant adjacent to the park.  The weather was absolutely glorious so we dined on their outdoor patio.

We began our lunch with a bottle of 2007 Trimbach Pinot Gris Reserve.  It was medium bodied with a little residual sugar that was nicely balanced by a firm acidity.  The wine showed some tropical fruit and spice and paired well with our Petit Plateau, a combination of fruits de mer consisting of oysters, clams, boiled shrimp, and tuna tartare.  Next, we splurged on a bottle of 2006 E. Guigal Condrieu.   It was lightly golden with a floral nose and highlighted with mineral and fruit.  It was a very well balanced wine and was spectacular with our spring pea soup, morels and béarnaise as well as mussels and pommes frites.  A basket of freshly baked bread was an additional pleasure and is sold daily to the public.

We wrapped up our meal with an apple tarte tatin and a late harvest 2004 Kanu Chenin Blanc from Stellenbosch in South Africa.  The 2004 Kanu was Wine Magazine’s Chenin Blanc challenge and this bottle certainly tasted like a winner – caramel, lime and orange in a glass.  This wine had a wonderful texture and finish that went on and on.  Of course, we finished off the meal with a cappuccino followed by a long stroll throughout the city to walk off some of those calories.  All and all it was a very pleasant culinary experience.  Stay tuned for additional posts on wining and dining in Philly.

Salud!

We had an interesting and unusual wining and dining experience last night.  We were visiting our wonderful friend and webmaster, Michael Waring, and had reservations at Zahav, a really hot Israeli restaurant on Society Hill in the Old Center City of Philadelphia.  A super friendly chap was the sommelier and recommended an old world style French Chardonnay aptly named Clos de Gat.  Gat is ancient Hebrew for winepress.  The vintage was 2006 and came from the Judean Hills outside of Jerusalem.  The wine had a nice nose of delicious mineral and honeysuckle.  It went really well with the hummus and flatbread as well as the Salatima, an array of salads and pickled vegetables.  For the rest of the meal, we shared another bottle of Israeli wine called Petit Castel.  It was a 2007 vintage and similar to French Bordeaux in style and complexity.  The wine showed currant and cherry with smooth tannins.  It was a nice accompaniment to the family style meal served consisting of kibbe naya (lamb tartare), grilled duck hearts with a carrot-turnip salad and onion puree, lamb kofte, duck kebob, beef cheeks and fried cauliflower.  It was truly an unforgettable experience and one we would highly recommend.  If you make your way to Philadelphia, try out the food at Zahav in addition to the ubiquitous Philly Cheesesteak.

 Salud!

After gardening all morning, we decided to kick back at The Grove and have a flight and some appetizers for lunch.  It was spectacular!  Here’s a recap of our lovely lunch.

 2009 Etz Gruner Veltliner

Kamptal, Austria

This wine was cool and clean with a spicy finish – just enough.  It went well with the oyster appetizer and aioli sauce.

 2010 Araldica Gavi “La Luciana”

Piedmont, Italy

This was a light to medium bodied white wine that exuded green apples and grapefruit with a nice refreshingly dry finish.  A bowl of mussels cooked in a spicy coconut broth was a nice accompaniment to the wine.

 2010 Vietti Roero Arneis

Piedmont, Italy

This lovely Arneis had a nice balance of apple, pear and fennel with a slightly honeyed finish.  The Arneis went beautifully with a sesame tuna tartar and the warm overcast winter day.

 All in all it was a fabulous afternoon at one of our favorite spots in town!

Happy New Year,

Kathy

A couple of months ago, I came home to a nice surprise from UPS.  It was a package from the famous Biltmore Estate Winery in Asheville, North Carolina.  They had shipped WineEnabler a bottle of their bubbly and a bottle of their white table wine.  Recently, we decided to indulge in the bottle of the Biltmore Estate Methode Champenoise.  (As you may know, only wines produced in a certain region in France may be called Champagne, so wines of this type produced in America are always called “sparkling wines” rather than “champagne.”  This particular bottle of Blanc de Blancs was s Brut sparkling wine which tends to be on the drier side rather than the sweet wide.  It had overtones of apple and pear with a hint of a lemon finish.  One of our tasters compared it to a Sweetart.  Be that as it may, we all loved the inviting bottle of sparking wine and can’t wait to actually make a trip to the Biltmore Estate Winery so we can taste some more of their delicious varietals.

Happy New Year!

Recently, a friend of ours brought a nice little bottle of white wine over to the house and, lo and behold, it was from Texas.  Lucky for us, the winery was only 27 miles from our house, so we hopped in the truck and headed out there last Sunday.

The Duchman Family Winery was founded by Drs. Lisa and Stan Duchman in 2004.  Their love for Italian wine has influenced the style of the wine that they produce as well as the architecture of the tasting room.  They have a beautiful Tuscan style tasting room that is spacious and unpretentious.  When we got there, the winery was offering 5 wines to taste for $5.00 from their 2009 crop.  However, we opted for a sixth wine because we wanted to try their Montepulciano that was not on the featured tasting.

The first was a Bianco made from Vermentino grapes and retails for $9.00.  This was a light white wine that would be a good appertif.  The second wine was a Dolcetto and sells for $15.   The third was a subtle Montepulciano that would be great with chicken or veal.  The fourth wine was a Sangiovese that would go nicely with a good old-fashioned pizza.  The fifth wine was a robust Zinfindel and would pair well with a hearty lamb shank.  The last one we tried was a dessert wine and was actually one of my favorites.   It was a Moscato that had a hint of orange zest and was lovely with a local Brie and jalapeño jelly.  All of the wines were solid, showed good varietal character and were very reasonably priced.  So if you happen to be out near Driftwood, stop in and give the Duchman Family wines a try, I think you will be surprised.

Salud & Bon Appetit!

Kathy

Another summer favorite has resurfaced this year and we couldn’t be more delighted.  I am talking about a beautiful Muscadet from the Loire Valley produced by Domaine de la Quilla.  The winemakers, Laurence and Gerard Vinet, “mature their wine on the lees and bottle it in the spring following the harvest.”  The time spent on the lees give the wine a little extra richness and body that we just love. The grape varietal, Melon de Bourgogne or Melon for short, is one you might not have tried, but it is high time you did. The ’09 Quilla is light and refreshing with flavors of melon and peach.  It is absolutely wonderful with seafood however; the 12% alcohol lends itself to having a glass all by itself.  At a case price of $8.95 per bottle you can certainly afford to enjoy this wine all summer.  So much for the technicalities, just open a bottle and enjoy!

Salud & Bon Appetit!

Neil

Gruner Veltliner is often an overlooked wine, but is one of our favorites during the summer months.  The one that we have tried this evening is a 2009 Singing Gruner Veltliner produced by a father-daughter team namely, Laurenz Maria Moser V. and Sophie Marie.  The grape is indigenous to Austria and the winemaker describes the bottle as having “the floral perfume of a German Riesling, the refreshing zip of a Loire Sauvignon Blanc and the lusciousness of a Northern Italian Pinot Grigio.”  I couldn’t agree more as it is a perfect wine to have on a hot summer day in Texas.  I just wish we were in the Austrian Alps right now!  Closest I am going to get to the Austrian Alps is attend the wedding of one of most oldest and dearest friends in New Braunfels tomorrow and there are no mountains in New Braunfels.   We are counting on another bottle of  Singing GV to take some of the heat away.

Salud & Bon Appetit!

K

“Let Elios White transport you to the sunny Mediterranean – a light, crisp and refreshing blend with complex citrus and floral aromas…..”  I have to say that I agree wholeheartedly with the producer’s description of this wine and the best thing about it is it goes with just about everything.  I have had it with appetizers as well as mains and it pairs nicely with both.

This is a blend or meritage as some folks say and the following grapes are part of this bottle of wine:  50% Moschofilero, 30% Chardonnay, 10% Roditis and 10% Savatiano.  These grapes, some of which I have not had before, give it a nice balance.  It is simply a beautiful white wine for summertime.  An added plus is the 12% alcohol that is pretty light for our hot Texas summer.  You can pick up a bottle for a little under $10 at your local Whole Foods (if you are lucky enough to have one in your city).  I hope you can find this summer beauty!

Salud & Bon Appetit!

K

I love June because it reminds me of my youth when I got to go fishing, ride my horse and cook s’mores on a campfire at my parent’s ranch.  Now it brings a different sense to me – it reminds me of bar-b-ques with friends and having that first pink wine of the year.  You know those wonderful pink wines from France that come to America.  (Thank, God!)  Tonight we are drinking a 2009 Tavel produced by Chateau de Trinquevedel imported by Kermit Lynch (who we all know is a master at picking great wines to import).

The Tavel was paired with rabbit and vegetable kabobs on top of quinoa laced with carrots, squash and leeks.  Our appetizer of rabbit liver served on a piece of toast with caramelized onions, heirloom tomatoes and jalapeno strawberry jam also goes nicely.  This is something of an adult pink.  The lovely strawberry nose medium weight in the mouth hides the 13.5% alcohol.  This one pairs well with salmon, chicken, rabbit or pork off the grill. The Tavel costs a little more than our typical summer rosé wine, around $17.50, but there is something about this wine that keeps us coming back summer after summer and bottle after bottle.

Salud & Bon Appetit!

K

I’m back!  I know what you are thinking – it’s about time.  That was quite a hiatus – a whole year.  You got to be kidding!  Oh well, people get busy and then decide it’s time to get back to the basics – like writing about wine and food.   So here, I am!

After a fun filled week of drinking some pretty good wine and spending it with our great friend and co-website founder, Dr. Michael Waring, I decided it was time to get back in the saddle again and write some posts.  So, I am ending this week of debauchery with a lovely white Chardonnay from Burgundy — a 2008 Saint-Veran Cuvee Prestige produced by Roger Lassarat.  It’s a bit tart with a crisp mineral finish and a hint of apples.  It has a beautiful gold color and is rated 89 by Wine Enthusiast.  A bottle runs about $22-$25 depending on your purveyor.  I would recommend it with a shellfish dish or a goat cheese and tomato tart for a perfect accompaniment to a light summer meal.

Salud & Bon Appetit!

K