The Food Maven Diary
[Archives]

[Previous Entry] [Diary Home] [Next Entry]

01/28/2000 Archived Entry: "A Wine Buy, and other Vinous News"

If I came across Evolution No.9 in a wine merchant’s bin without knowing anything about it I would pass it by as far too cute a name and much too hokey a label to be a wine of any worth. But Carol Berman, our Food Talk sommelier, selected it as this week’s wine buy, and I had a chance to taste it – nay, drink it – before I ever saw it in a store.

Carol has a personal predilection for whites like this – off dry but crisp, tropically fruity, flowery bouquet, “wines that explode with flavor in your mouth,” as she likes to say, but always balanced with good acidity and a touch of mineral flatness. You might even say the final taste, or “finish” as they put it in wine circles, has a trace of bitterness, though I know that conjures something negative to most minds and I mean it only positively. Indeed, it gives the wine sophistication. Carol has great taste and she’s opening up my wine world while she’s open up yours, too.

Evolution No. 9 is a blend of nine California varietals, none of which are identified on the label. Blends such as this are, however, becoming fashionable in West Coast wine regions, as winemakers are striving to find ways to create likeable wines that don’t break the bank. This one, produced by Sokol Blosser of Oregon, which is famous for its Pinot Noir, exceeds the $10 limit Carol tries to adhere to, but she (and I) think it is worth the extra money -- $13.99. Like all of Carol’s selections, it drinks like a more expensive bottle.

I think it’s a wonderful wine to drink without food (I’m sipping some as I write this), but most wine is meant to be consumed with a meal and this one should go very well with Chinese and other Asian cooking, with ham and smoked fish, and with egg dishes such as omelets, eggs Benedict, souffles … I’m thinking it’s a great brunch wine, entrée salad wine, even sandwich wine.

By the way, Carol is conducting a tasting class based on Food Talk’s Wednesday Wine Buys. It’s at Classic Thyme cooking school in Westfield, New Jersey, on (what else?) Wednesday, February 23, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. The cost is $40 a person.

On Monday, February 7, also from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., she’s themed her class for Valentine’s Day: Hearts and Rosés—amorous red and pink wines. The cost is $55 (these are not bargain bottles, as are her Food Talk selections).

Now, if you want to meet two of my friends at once, two real maestros of gastronomy, consider attending the class Carol is conducting with Dainel Rosati, the Italian cooking teacher: Their class is called Introduction to Pairing Italian Foods & Wine. It’s also at Classic Thyme, Tuesday, March 21, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Call Classic Thyme at 908-232-5445 to reserve for any of the above, or for the Up Close And Personal parties I’m hosting in the James Ward Mansion, this spectacular space above the store at 161 East Broad St.

The first party is Friday, February 18 from 7 to 10 p.m. The second is on Thursday, April 13, same time. David Martone, director of the cooking school, will be preparing food from “What To Cook When You Think There’s Nothing In The House To Eat,” which was just re-published after being out of print for several years. I’ll be there to schmooze individually with all who attend, to speak to you as a group, and to sign books. Looking forward. The cost is $75 and includes a copy of the book.

P.S. For a good run-down on affordable Rhone wines, check out this connection: http://www.tablewine.com/feature.htm, then look at the whole Table Wine site. It’ll soon be on my new links page.