The Feiring Line

Nikolaihof, part #2

Now that I go over my notes and dig deeper I realize there's something called Codex Wachau which is a testament to purity in wine. But even though the code says no to chemical and flavor changing additives, they ignore the issue of yeast. For some reason, and I just cannot understand this, yeast is not considered an additive. It's just as accepted as breathing the air. Needed. Get your eight glasses of water a day. Add. Dissolve. You know. Never the less there are a few who shun yeast, who believe it to be a rather harsh converter of flavor into something expected, into the boring. Nikolaihof. Nikolaihof's home is just outside of Krems, not far from a nursery (not for children) and once inside the great medieval gates (even though the roots of the place go back to the year 2000) the fragrance from their century- old elderberry tree, impossibly fragrant , for a second made me feel like some goddess of nature was opening up her arms and embracing me with scent and blossom. If only. The scene on 1st avenue seemed far far away under the linden tree. But as heady as it was, once again I searched for wifi, distracting and probably annoying to all those around me. I was given the password. Even here, in the bowels of early Biodynamism, wifi exists! Once again connected, snuggled into my safety blanket of access, I gave myself over to the wines. And these were my favorites '08 NIKOLAIHOF HEFEABZUG--very fresh. apple. complex finish. vibrant. straight to the gut with no interference. silver and floral '08 GV M WEINGEBIRGE, federspiel gorgeous acidity, lively dancing, depp, herbal and pepper. '07 IM M WEINGEBIRGE Smaragd delicate, long acid, quiet aromatics, silvery, touch of earth. electric.(see--here's that electric word again---separated by months, and only when writing this post did I go back to the February tasting and see that I was repeating myself. I haven't seen the vineyard, but now I'm dying to.) Riesling? Of course! 08 Federspiel? I could drink that beaut every nite with its limpid, barely there linden perfume. 2005 Steiner Hund Tannin, mineral, tobaco, internal, rofound, keeps on coming at you with flower and linden and it argues. This wine is arguing with me, god damn it, and I love it! Cedar, smoke, necatrine--juice dripping and stone licking. '94 Steiner Hund Spatlese (!) well, even though that vineyard is irrigated, which has my head scratching I cannot deny the wine, is a new found love. This is caramel and salty and jumpy as a firefly in a jar. I stole a bottle and kept it by my side during dinner. One day, my love, we will meet again. 2008 Neuberger: crushed aspirin and salted nuts, reminds me of some furmint. If you are in the Wachau, a visit here is demanded of you. You cannot pass go. You cannot. And what's more, if you don't book a table at their restaurant, you're out of your mind. http://www.nikolaihof.at/ Tel.: +43 (0) 27 32 - 82 901

Nikolaihof, part #2

Now that I go over my notes and dig deeper I realize there's something called Codex Wachau which is a testament to purity in wine. But even though the code says no to chemical and flavor changing additives, they ignore the issue of yeast. For some reason, and I just cannot understand this, yeast is not considered an additive. It's just as accepted as breathing the air. Needed. Get your eight glasses of water a day. Add. Dissolve. You know. Never the less there are a few who shun yeast, who believe it to be a rather harsh converter of flavor into something expected, into the boring. Nikolaihof. Nikolaihof's home is just outside of Krems, not far from a nursery (not for children) and once inside the great medieval gates (even though the roots of the place go back to the year 2000) the fragrance from their century- old elderberry tree, impossibly fragrant , for a second made me feel like some goddess of nature was opening up her arms and embracing me with scent and blossom. If only. The scene on 1st avenue seemed far far away under the linden tree. But as heady as it was, once again I searched for wifi, distracting and probably annoying to all those around me. I was given the password. Even here, in the bowels of early Biodynamism, wifi exists! Once again connected, snuggled into my safety blanket of access, I gave myself over to the wines. And these were my favorites '08 NIKOLAIHOF HEFEABZUG--very fresh. apple. complex finish. vibrant. straight to the gut with no interference. silver and floral '08 GV M WEINGEBIRGE, federspiel gorgeous acidity, lively dancing, depp, herbal and pepper. '07 IM M WEINGEBIRGE Smaragd delicate, long acid, quiet aromatics, silvery, touch of earth. electric.(see--here's that electric word again---separated by months, and only when writing this post did I go back to the February tasting and see that I was repeating myself. I haven't seen the vineyard, but now I'm dying to.) Riesling? Of course! 08 Federspiel? I could drink that beaut every nite with its limpid, barely there linden perfume. 2005 Steiner Hund Tannin, mineral, tobaco, internal, rofound, keeps on coming at you with flower and linden and it argues. This wine is arguing with me, god damn it, and I love it! Cedar, smoke, necatrine--juice dripping and stone licking. '94 Steiner Hund Spatlese (!) well, even though that vineyard is irrigated, which has my head scratching I cannot deny the wine, is a new found love. This is caramel and salty and jumpy as a firefly in a jar. I stole a bottle and kept it by my side during dinner. One day, my love, we will meet again. 2008 Neuberger: crushed aspirin and salted nuts, reminds me of some furmint. If you are in the Wachau, a visit here is demanded of you. You cannot pass go. You cannot. And what's more, if you don't book a table at their restaurant, you're out of your mind. http://www.nikolaihof.at/ Tel.: +43 (0) 27 32 - 82 901

Nikolaihof, Gruner and Austria; part #1

At one time Gruner Veltliner was poised as wine's next coming. The sexiest wine on the planet. I purposely forgot about the wine and the grape over the years. Too much disappointment. Same old story. The wine suffered from th New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc syndrome--no identity, all of that green bean shit. Where was real Gruner? Yeasted out of its life. Eric Asimov just spent some time discussing Gruner's disappointments in his column and blog. I'm certainly not alone.He cited the wines flab. I cite, too much control and a wine that started to reach for the chardonnay drinker. What's more, is I found myself thinking; hey winemakers, could you please stop using the same yeast for your whites? Riesling and Gruner were narrowing in on each other and getting boring. What a fall from grace. Then at this winter's Return to Terroir tasting I became reacquainted with the wines of Nikolaihof. My first note? **Removes all bad Gruner from memory. Then I got more specific. '08 NIKOLAIHOF HEFEABZUG--very fresh. apple. complex finish. vibrant. Straight to the gut with no interference. Silver and floral. '06 NIKOLAIHOF IM WEINGEBIRGE Smaragd trocken--electric. licorice. subtle pineapple. (In part 2 of this post we'll come back to this word, electric) '08 GV M WEINGEBIRGE, Federspiel Gorgeous acidity, lively dancing, deep, herbal and pepper. So, obviously I'm all over those wines. Not 'over' the wines, but 'all over' them. When I tasted the Steiner Hund vineyard riesling, I'm likewise smitten. Need to taste more, I thought. But will I get to? Then TT and the Austrian Wine Board came to the rescue. Traveling with Terry Thiese, the importer who virtually birthed the 'grower champagne' movement in this country AND made Gruner Veltliner sound sexy was bound to be a needed life balm, but to go to Nikolaihof? A domaine that was going to cleanse me of GV skepticism was an inescapable draw. To hell with journalists on a hand out. I said yes, please and thank you! I spent a few days in Vienna on my own---see Wiener wine postZalto glasswareGasthaus Jell in Krems

Alice on My Daily Wine

And...many thanks to blogger Amy Atwood, for taking the time to interview me for her website . MYDAILYWINE

Alice on My Daily Wine

And...many thanks to blogger Amy Atwood, for taking the time to interview me for her website . MYDAILYWINE

This Present Arrived Today

Thanks, Andre!

This Present Arrived Today

Thanks, Andre!

The Story of Coke and Taste

My cousin drinks ten cans of Diet Pepsi daily and hates food that is seasoned and can eat glop out of a can easier than fresh. It might not be PC to say it straight out-- but my dear cousin not only has a different palate than mine, she has no palate skills whatesover. She fears taste. It is not her vocabulary. Do I feel superior? To her? No. To her taste? Well, I hate the word superior, but do I respect her taste? No. Her choices? I allow for them, but respect them? No. Do I have to laud my taste over her? No. I have to warn her if I've used hot peppers in a dish or even balsamic vinegar? Yes. Or at least try. This all comes up because I've been thinking about the comments posted on my previous post on DBGB and natural wines and the way the words elite and elitist bubbled to the top. Elite, is originally from the Latin, eligere, "to elect". In sociology as in general usage, the elite is a relatively small dominant group within a large society, having a privileged status percieved as being envied by others of a lower line of order. (from wiki) The sneer down the nose attitude is unfortunate, though certainly a great jumping off point for satire. But when it comes to world peace amongst food eaters and wine drinkers, doesn't elitism get confused with discerning or particular? While reading a manuscript, I came across a piece that resonated. I was loving how bold it was. The author, an importer, basically said If you like Devil Dogs eat them. Don't apologize. Have all the fun the Dog delivers. Just don't expect him to believe it's as good as a home baked brownie from great chocolate and fresh ingredients. And don't go further to say that anyone who believes otherwise is a food snob. ++ Equality of palates. Hah. Some people have shit taste. Period. Some people have no sense of smell. Fact. Does that mean we should shoot them? No. Bully them? (hmm--okay, no) Educate them? Why bother. Warn them away from harmful tastes and lead them to something they'd rather have? (like the samples I give away?) Absolutely.

The Story of Coke and Taste

My cousin drinks ten cans of Diet Pepsi daily and hates food that is seasoned and can eat glop out of a can easier than fresh. It might not be PC to say it straight out-- but my dear cousin not only has a different palate than mine, she has no palate skills whatesover. She fears taste. It is not her vocabulary. Do I feel superior? To her? No. To her taste? Well, I hate the word superior, but do I respect her taste? No. Her choices? I allow for them, but respect them? No. Do I have to laud my taste over her? No. I have to warn her if I've used hot peppers in a dish or even balsamic vinegar? Yes. Or at least try. This all comes up because I've been thinking about the comments posted on my previous post on DBGB and natural wines and the way the words elite and elitist bubbled to the top. Elite, is originally from the Latin, eligere, "to elect". In sociology as in general usage, the elite is a relatively small dominant group within a large society, having a privileged status percieved as being envied by others of a lower line of order. (from wiki) The sneer down the nose attitude is unfortunate, though certainly a great jumping off point for satire. But when it comes to world peace amongst food eaters and wine drinkers, doesn't elitism get confused with discerning or particular? While reading a manuscript, I came across a piece that resonated. I was loving how bold it was. The author, an importer, basically said If you like Devil Dogs eat them. Don't apologize. Have all the fun the Dog delivers. Just don't expect him to believe it's as good as a home baked brownie from great chocolate and fresh ingredients. And don't go further to say that anyone who believes otherwise is a food snob. ++ Equality of palates. Hah. Some people have shit taste. Period. Some people have no sense of smell. Fact. Does that mean we should shoot them? No. Bully them? (hmm--okay, no) Educate them? Why bother. Warn them away from harmful tastes and lead them to something they'd rather have? (like the samples I give away?) Absolutely.

Natural Wines: Ain't for Everyone

DBGB, the new Daniel Boulud 'gastropub' just opened around the corner from me. I had no idea it was coming. While in construction, I was so confused by it's outside design, I thought we were getting a new supermarket. Stuck into the ground floor of an apartment complex, the design choice is industrial, but to me, faux. However, the wine list selected and tuned by Colin Alveras is real. Sweet Colin, most recently, was the chef/owner of the (RIP) The Tasting Room, championed many American wines, the reason I couldn't show up happily at his restaurants. Now, he's embraced French and natural--nothing but grapes kind of wine with minimal intervention. Except for a few exceptions (such as the remarkably priced 1.2 bottle of Krug, priced at a mere $60) his list is packed with selections from Louis/Dressner, Jenny & Francois and Savio Soares. The conventional drinker might be challenged, especially if they want Big and Napa. These are the wines that burn through the lists at 10 Bells, Marlowe & Sons, made the defunct 360 and Bette destinations but at DBGB? >> I was finishing up my own 2007 Luneau Papin ($7!) when I saw a bottle of Dard & Ribo Crozes Hermitage arrive bar-side. 2007. Showing beautifully. Just as I remembered. Listen to me: that wine is one of my come to Jesus wines. I knew it wasn't corked. After all D&R use syththetic stoppers. I asked the server if her guest hated it. She said yes. Took a sip. Shook her head and said. 'I've never worked in a restaurant where so many perfectly fine wines were returned.' Curious about what others are saying, I found myself on Yelp and extracted this: <<< We also ordered two glasses of rose pinot noir - to which our waitress was like, 'GOOD CHOICE!' Our wine arrived immediately - and guess what? Both glasses were sour, like vinegar. (Which had me a little nervous that I listened to her burger recommendation.) Glasses were removed and we ordered different wine for ourselves (waitress seemed to imply it was our taste and not a bad bottle...really? why don't you try it for yourself? and isn't there someone there who's supposed to try the wines before they serve them? " This is a problem that can be solved. If I were Colin? I would create a little box for Proceed With Caution. Just warn the people. Put a skull and cross bones on it. That's all, say, 'Hey, darlin, are you up to this task? Are you man/woman enough to scale a mountain, slide down the hill on your ass, and laugh about it? Are you macho enough to say you don't know, you care, you're confused, you're scared, you hate, you love, but you feel?' Then, we want you to try these wines. OK? Well, no, that would be pretty intimidating but a---'Hey dude, this can be a scary wine. I adore it but some of the flavors in the wine might not be what you're expecting. There is no fruit. This sucker is all animal.; Poor Colin. He's dealing with a lot of people who come out for a Gimme Cherry. Gimme Fruit. Keep The Earth And Those Minerals Out of My Glass Please. Many of the patrons are not appreciative of some cinnamon scented wacky wine that is somersaulting in their mouth and playing whoopee with their gums. And unless someone is there to help them out, encourage them to step out of their comfort zone, they will keep on returning bottles. And of course he also has people like me, who view DBGB's as a safe house. 299 Bowery St (between Houston St & 1st St) (212) 933-5303 www.danielnyc.com