The 2007 Philadelphia Wine Festival Wrap-Up

Belated congratulations to the PLCB and Philadelphia Magazine for successfully hosting the 2007 Philadelphia Wine Festival. This year’s festival had around 40 fewer vendors and was a little more expensive than last year. However, the festival’s central location at the Mariott Hotel in Center City, the food provided by DiBruno’s (including the quince paste covered cheese and the bruschetta with freshly-cut prosciutto) and the never-ending courtesy cups of spring water provided by Panna were all improvements that helped to make this year’s festival better than the last.

Here are some of the notable wines at the festival, with a few thoughts and surprises along the way.

The First Growth Bordeaux

This year there were three Bordeaux at the festival, all of which were First Growths: Chateau Haut Brion 2001, Chateau Margaux 2001 and Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2003. First Growths are considered to be among the best wines in the world. If you’re a wine enthusiast, it’s important to taste First Growths because they are the wines that Cabernet Sauvignon producers all around the world look to as their benchmark. Though young, these three wines drank like heaven and were not to be missed.



--Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2003 (PLCB No. 20296, $312.39): Aggressive, enamel-stripping tannins, but powerful, rich blackberry and cherry flavors lie underneath waiting to emerge; too young to be approachable now, but a treat to preview nonetheless.

--Chateau Margaux 2001 (PLCB No. 19342, $169.29): Flowery nose; softer and inviting; complex and nuanced structure of cassis, plum and dark berries systematically unfolding through a long finish.

--Chateau Haut Brion 2001 (PLCB No. 20098, $170.19): Grand and opulent; signature dark berries, cherries and spice; calculated and balanced structure with an endless finish.



The First Growths, though, highlight an important issue about the festival’s pricing structure. Like past years, this year’s festival employed a two-tiered pricing system: the VIP Tasting, which cost $225 and began at 6:00 p.m.; and the Grand Tasting, which cost $125 and began at 7:30 p.m. In addition to getting an hour and a half head start, the VIPs also got to experience special Showcase wines at most of the tables, including all of the First Growth Bordeaux. The Grand Tasters, however, did not.

The two-tiered system is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it opens the event up to more people than festivals with one-tiered pricing systems such as this year’s Wine Spectator’s festival, which charged a flat $200 for everyone. On the other hand, one of the main reasons to go a wine festival (if not the main reason) is to taste the cream of the crop, wines you normally wouldn’t buy. That means the First Growths. To be fair, there were plenty of exciting wines at Philly’s festival for the Grand Tasters to enjoy. But it’s unfortunate that these three important wines were not poured for the Grand Tasters.

The Italian Wines

Italian wine lovers flocked to the Gaja table, which featured two wines: the Gaja Barbaresco 2001; and a Super Tuscan, the Ca’ Marcanda Magari 2004. The full-bodied Barbaresco had wonderfully soft tannins with notes of lilacs, strawberry and blackberry, while the Super Tuscan presented rich black currants, spice and a silky, round finish.



Directly adjacent to the Gaja table was Pio Cesare, which featured a Barolo D.O.C.G. 2001 (PLCB No. 4958, $49.99); and a Barbaresco D.O.C.G. 2000 (PLCB No. 23912, price not available), among others. The Barolo, while still a little closed off, was rich, silky and lingered for minutes. The Barbaresco had smooth tannins and revealed dried plum, earth and spice.

The Pennsylvania Wines

The Philly Wine Festival is always a great opportunity to check in with two local wineries, Blue Mountain and Chaddsford. Each winery produces a Meritage (sounds like heritage), an American version of a Bordeaux, both of which I’ve always found to be somewhat challenging. However, Blue Mountain and Chaddsford presented wines at this year’s festival that were exciting and surprising.



The wine Blue Mountain presented that piqued my interest was its 2005 Merlot. What’s exciting about this wine is that it is varietally correct. Don’t dismiss all Merlot because of one line of dialogue in Sideways, folks. If Merlot is not overly corrupted by the winemaker, it can taste and smell similar to Cabernet Sauvignon, which includes having Cab’s signature fingerprint of green peppers on the nose and palate. And Blue Mountain’s 2005 Merlot has that classic green pepper aroma and taste. It’s refreshing to see that Blue Mountain has the courage and skill to allow Merlot to be itself. Blue Mountain’s 2005 Merlot has not yet been formally released, but if you’re interested, you may still be able to snare a bottle of it at the Blue Mountain store in Reading Terminal Market. It has an $18 dollar price point.

The two Chaddsford wines that were the most interesting were the 2004 Due Rossi and the 2005 Pinot Noir. The Due Rossi is a 50/50 blend of Sangiovese and Barbera. This wine showed surprising structure and complexity with layers of wet earth, red berries, tobacco and coffee. The Due Rossi’s price point is in the $25 range. Chaddsford takes a subdued Old World approach in crafting its 2005 Pinot Noir. The nose did not have the intense fragrance of unswept barn and dried rose petals that is characteristic of Old World style Pinot Noirs, but the wine did have a welcomingly delicate and subtle palate.

The California Wines

PLCB Chairman Patrick J. Stapleton III may not have been a wine enthusiast prior to becoming Chairman earlier this year, but he apparently knows his stuff now. Shortly after arriving at the festival, Chairman Stapleton made his way to the Silver Oak table, where he enjoyed the Silver Oak Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2002 (PLCB No. 011663, $99.99).



The nose on this wine was intense and evoked a very specific smell I experienced every August in my youth when my family and I would go camping in Bedford County—dense bramble and meadow after an early evening rain. But the palate—while full of the Silver Oak's familiar rich oak and dense, dark fruit—lacked some of the nuances of the 2001.



It’s hard to find a California Cab as plush and as fat as a Cakebread. Its 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon (PLCB No. 11705, $55.99) is no exception. A blend of 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Franc, this soft and chewy wine was bursting with rich dark fruit, spice and caramely oak. It’s not the shyest of pours, to be sure, but that’s part of the fun.

There was another enjoyable Cab at the festival that had an impressive flavor profile for its price point. But because I have other plans for this wine, I’ll save the discussion for another day, closer to the end of the month.

Again, cheers to the PLCB and Philadelphia Magazine for hosting a successful event. For more pics, go to the 2007 Philly Wine Festival set on my Flickr page.

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The Truth About Foie Gras

My most recent WineCHOW column over at ClassicWines.com is called “The Truth About Foie Gras,” and it highlights the scientific studies by Dr. Daniel Guémené and others that debunk many of the claims activists use to argue for a ban on the sale and/or production of foie gras.

I expect some fallout over the column, especially from my vegan and vegetarian friends. But one of the themes of the article that even those who enjoy a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle should be able to appreciate is this: Personal beliefs are one thing, but when it comes to legislating those choices on others, the science should support the claims being made.

The part of the article that may be harder for some to swallow, though, is that many of the claims used to justify foie gras bans simply are not all they're quacked up to be.

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Philly Restaurants Are Going to the Dogs

I’ve been looking for an excuse to post a picture of our dog on this blog for quite some time (his name is Max and he’s a Norwegian Elkhound, in case you were wondering). And thanks to Joe Sixpack and his Daily News article about bars that allow dogs in their outside seating areas, I finally have that excuse. (h/t to FooBooz and MenuPages Blog)

Joe Sixpack found eight Philly-area restaurants with outdoor seating that allow you to enjoy a brew with Man’s best friend:

• Le Bus, 4266 Main St., Manayunk.
• London Grill, 2301 Fairmount Ave., Fairmount.
• White Dog Cafe, 3420 Sansom St., University City.
• Bliss, 224 S. Broad St., Center City.
• Caribou Cafe, 1126 Walnut St., Washington Square West.
• Newportville Inn, 4120 Lower Road, Newportville, Bucks County.
• Triumph Brewing, 400 Union Square, New Hope, Bucks County.
• Four Dogs Tavern, 1300 Strasburg Road, West Chester, Chester County.

A newly-opened restaurant in Rittenhouse Square, Tavern 17, takes it one step further. In addition to offering dog-friendly outdoor dining, Tavern 17 has unveiled a special menu of Canine Delights for your pooch.

Sadly, because our dog is a teetotaler and can be a handful when there’s food around, it’s unlikely that I’ll allow him to join us at any of these places.



However, if you know of any restaurants that allow cats, please let me know—my cat is a well-behaved lush with an affinity for Chardonnay. (Don’t worry folks. I’m just kidding; the little snob refuses to drink anything but CATeauneuf-du-Pape.)

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Plate Profile – The 707 Burger at Restaurant 707

It takes a lot for a burger to impress me. I’ve eaten more than my fair share of them over the years, and many of Philly’s celebrated burgers haven’t really lived up to the hype. But the 707 Burger at 707 Restaurant & Bar ($10) is one of the more distinctive burgers to come around in quite some time.



A lot of places build burgers from the top down, trying to dazzle you with toppings and treating the burger itself merely as any other ingredient. 707, on the other hand, starts from the inside out, working a little onion powder, some finely-chopped shallots and a hint of hot sauce into its hulking 10 oz patty. When cooked, these delicate flavors combine to create a stylishly upscale version of the burger your mom used to make.

707 also knows how to cook it. Ordering a burger less than well-done can be risky, but most folks roll the dice in order to get a juicy patty. So when my well-done 707 Burger arrived teeming with juicy goodness, I was pleasantly surprised. And if you opt for a side salad instead of the fries, you may not feel too guilty once you realize you just ate the entire thing.

707 Restaurant & Bar
707 Chestnut Street
(215) 922-7770

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Plate Profile - A New Feature

I’m adding a new feature here on PhilaFoodie called the “Plate Profile.”

In these posts I will highlight one dish from a Philadelphia restaurant. Full reviews will continue to be the stock and trade of this site. But, hopefully, with the addition of these shorter posts I’ll have greater flexibility to write more quickly about a dish that impresses me without having to visit the restaurant multiple times and craft a full, formal review.

The first Plate Profile will be posted momentarily. Any feedback you have would be greatly appreciated. Enjoy.

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Bathrooms, Basque and Bistros

If I told you that my posting has been sparse lately because I’ve been hanging out in women’s restrooms across Center City, would that sound weird? Well, weird or not, it’s partially true.

I wrote a Top 5 for the City Paper, which appears in this week’s issue—Top 5 Brilliant Bathrooms. There will be disagreement over the selections, no doubt. But each entry is principled. Plus, I put a lot of work into the project, and I somehow managed to do so without getting arrested.

I also worked with City Paper to come up with a semi-regular feature called Pocket Sommelier. The one thing you give up at a BYOB is the wine service. So we thought it would be cool to take some of the guesswork out of your BYOB experience by pairing a wine with a dish or two from an area BYOB. The first installment of Pocket Sommelier features two dishes from Bisto 7 and the Franciscan Chardonnay Napa Valley 2005 (PLCB No. 16506, $11.99), which is a Chairman’s Selection. For example, this Chardonnay works well with that gnocchi dish because the Royal Trumpet mushrooms are rich and delicate. Earthier mushrooms, though, may not work as well.

I also signed on to do the Wine Chow column over at ClassicWines.com. In this week’s column I talk about how the small plates phenomenon has changed how we drink wine. To illustrate this point, I discuss Tinto’s Basque cuisine and its regionally-focused wine list.

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Osteria

There’s something special about the food you enjoy in Italy, something different. It’s not that the restaurants are using an array of secret ingredients or employing arcane or complicated cooking techniques. It’s very much the opposite, in fact—generally the dishes have few ingredients and the preparation usually is quite simple. Yet, the meals in Italy consistently stand out among the best. It’s almost as though the ingredients themselves instinctively know what to do, or they’re charmed by the chef into combining with each other in ways that exceed the dish’s potential. As a result, the food is both humble and humbling.

It’s challenging to find an Italian restaurant here that can truly recreate that experience (though there are some that come close). But with the opening of Marc Vetri and Jeff Benjamin’s Osteria, the landscape has vastly improved.


In Italy, restaurants are identified either as a ristorante, trattoria or osteria. Today, the names don’t carry the hierarchal meanings they once did, but back in the day they acted as a classification system. If the restaurant was called a ristorante, for example, you could expect a formal dining experience—a wine list, white table cloths and, of course, a price tag to match. A trattoria was more casual, but it did serve full, hearty meals. And an osteria was the least formal of the three—it was more of a gathering place that served wine and maybe some basic food.



At Vetri and Benjamin’s Osteria, the large wooden tables and the long dinner bar—perfect for those dining solo or couples hoping to sneak in without a reservation—help to capture the warm, rustic, communal spirit of the traditional osteria. Yet, like many of the osterias and trattorias in modern-day Italy, Osteria is more upscale than its name would suggest. And although the prices of some of the dishes here are closer to what you’d expect to pay at a traditional ristorante, the food is worth it.



Osteria's take on Northern Italian cuisine is authentic enough to make you nostalgic for the Old Country even if you’ve never been there. But at the same time, Osteria makes the dishes its own, all the while somehow managing to keep it all simple. For example, pappardelle with boar meat is a classic Umbrian staple. Osteria, however, takes this dish to the next level by substituting the pappardelle with long, tubular, home-made candele and by using just enough rosemary to highlight the flavor of the boar. As a result, the Candele with Wild Boar Bolognese is a reliable winner that has become one of Osteria's most popular dishes ($16.00—only around four dollars more than you’d pay in Italy for the pasta course, given current exchange rates). Sadly, this tasty bowl of heaven does not appear on the spring menu, which debuted last week. However, the Candele should return on the fall menu and hopefully will make guest appearances in the spring from time to time. In its place, though, are some worthy substitutes.



The newly-added Gnocchi Sardi with Proscuitto and English Peas ($16 for a full portion, half serving pictured) screams spring. Some of the pasta water is mixed with a little parmesan cheese to create a light sauce, while the peas taste so fresh and crisp you’d swear you were eating them right out of the pod.



The spring menu also features the Robiola Francobolli with Bluefoot Mushrooms ($16 for a full portion, half serving pictured). The silky and transparent Francobolli are barely thick enough to last more than a few seconds in your mouth before they melt, releasing the rich and creamy goat’s milk cheese known as Robiola. Combined with the meaty Bluefoot, you’ll enjoy a dish that’s rich and satisfying, yet light and delicate enough for spring time.



The most compelling and decadent addition to the spring menu is the mouth-watering Stuffed Baby Lamb “allo Spiedo” with Soft Polenta and Rosemary ($30). The baby lamb is de-boned and filled with a stuffing made from the liver, kidneys and leg meat. It’s then all tied together, roasted on a spit with thyme and rosemary, sliced and served on a warm pillow of polenta. These stunningly fresh, rich flavors are transcendent, making this second course well worth the money.



In Italy, most osterias and trattorias offer a simple, inexpensive house wine by the carafe; it’s part of the culture. Osteria does not participate in this humble tradition. But you’ll barely miss it. Sommeliers Karina Lyons (formerly with Susanna Foo) and Brett Taylor enthusiastically guide customers through a well-crafted, all-Italian wine list that is both fun and amazingly affordable, offering wines by the bottle, glass and quartina (a mini-carafe, about two glasses). As I have said elsewhere, the one thing you give up at a BYOB in Philadelphia is the wine service—the skills of a seasoned professional who can make recommendations that will make both the wine and the meal taste better than they would alone. Osteria delivers an impressive wine service that is hard to match. I’ve watched Ms. Lyons gently and diplomatically steer customers away from unwise pairings and then suggest a more appropriate and less-expensive alternative—a rare combination of skills.

One of the more exciting reds on the list is the Tommaso Bussola “BG” Valpolicella Classico DOC 2004 ($10/glass). The nose carries a strong peaty fragrance of nutrient-rich earth, but the palate is surprisingly light and refreshing, with red berry flavors. And the wine’s virtually non-existent tannins and bright acids make it rather versatile with lighter fare.



It’s hard to go wrong with a dessert menu that features home-made gems such as gelati and chocolate flan. But the dessert here that should not be overlooked is the inventive yet unassuming Polenta Budino ($8), which is guaranteed to evoke your most carefree childhood memory. Osteria mixes sugar with the polenta instead of salt, giving it an almost cookie-dough-like flavor. A dollop of hazelnut mousse is added and topped with hazelnuts candied with peanut brittle. It’s like watching Saturday morning cartoons with your favorite bowl of cereal.

Osteria
640 North Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19130
(215) 763-0920

For more Osteria pics, go here.

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City Paper Article on The Wine School of Philadelphia

If you’ve read my profile recently, you know I’ve been taking classes at The Wine School of Philadelphia, which was founded by Keith Wallace.

The classes have been validating in a lot of ways; the analytical way I have been approaching and deconstructing wine is directly in line with the school’s philosophy. At the same time, though, Keith and his colleague, Brian Freedman, have taught me so many new things. As a result, the course has been profoundly empowering—I’ve learned to identify characteristics about a wine from just one sip that I never thought were possible, things that highly-paid sommeliers can’t identify. It’s scary, actually. The funny thing is that you could do it too. It’s not supernatural. In fact, it’s imminently teachable.

When the City Paper put out the call for freelance writers, I pitched a piece on The Wine School of Philadelphia and they liked it. The article I wrote appears in this week’s issue of the City Paper.

In addition to the Foundation Program I wrote about, The Wine School also offers individual classes that are rooted in the same sensory-based philosophy for as low as $37.99. In Wine 101, for example, they cover the nine basic varietals and dispel popular myths about wine, including the sulfite myth and the belief that you need a different glass for each type of wine.

Also, please check out this week's Small Bites section of City Paper. I profile the Argiolas 2005 Costamolino Vermentino. The creaminess I describe is the result of a process known as partial malolactic fermentation, which I was able to identify instinctively thanks to the skills I learned from Keith and Brian.

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There and Back Again

Even though I’ve been back from vacation for a couple of weeks, my blogging hiatus has been longer than I originally expected.

I’m truly sorry for that.

A few other things took priority: work, a brief bout with a bug that’s making its rounds, a couple of non-blog-related writing deadlines, and a protracted battle with USAirways over a special piece of luggage they improperly refused to allow me to check at Rome’s airport (I eventually won; being a lawyer, I usually win these battles).

I will blog about the USAirways situation in detail soon, not only because it directly relates to the subject of this blog, but more importantly, because it was a victory for consumers. I’m not exaggerating when I say that everyone who leaves Rome flying USAirways could benefit from the work I did to resolve this issue.

For those who are interested, I’m in the process of posting pics of the Italy trip (Rome, Florence and Venice) on my Flickr page—first the sights, then (of course) the food.

A restaurant review is on the way, so please check back in a day or so.

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When in Rome....

PhilaFoodie will be on hiatus for about two weeks because I’ll be vacationing in Italy. Please note that any comments you post may not make it onto the site until I return.

After the trip, I'll be posting reviews of some of the newest and hotest Philadelphia restaurants. In the meantime, please explore the PhilaFoodie Resources section on the right for the latest on what’s happening in the Philadelphia restaurant scene.

Ciao.

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17th Annual Beer Tasting with Michael Jackson

You can’t really tell from this site, but I do enjoy beer. There was a time in my life when I was a serious microbrew disciple. I spent many-a-night in the early ‘90s tilting back bottles of pumpkin beer at the Squirrel Cage in Pittsburgh. Penn Brewery’s Mai Bock was the sweet nectar that nursed me back to health after a seemingly endless and crippling bout with (believe it or not) chicken pox the summer after my first year of law school. And shortly after it made its debut, I preached the virtues of the port-like Sam Adams Triple Bock to anyone who would listen.

I did not make it to make it to the 17th Annual Beer Tasting with Michael Jackson at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology last weekend. However, a good friend and fellow food blogger Mike at TVFoodFan.com did. When he offered to write a post about the event as a guest blogger for PhilaFoodie, I couldn’t refuse.

After the jump, read Mike’s review of the event. When you're finished, check out TVFoodFan.com for the latest news and views about what’s going on in the world of culinary television.


This past weekend saw the 17th Annual Beer Tasting with Michael Jackson at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. The event featured a guided tasting with beer expert Michael Jackson, a.k.a. The Beer Hunter, followed by a two-hour general tasting that offers beer from the Philadelphia area as well as from breweries around the world. This was my second year at the event, and this year's theme, Extreme Beer, provided a stronger roster of beers than last year's collection of beers brewed from various grains.

The presence of Michael Jackson was again the double-edge sword of the event. He is undoubtedly a tremendous draw, and his introduction was smart, funny and insightful. The problem is that his presentation quickly devolves once the tasting starts and he gets into the intricacies of each of the beers. They tried to combat that this year, with the presence of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery founder and Extreme Brewing author Sam Calagione on the stage with Jackson. Calagione did an admirable job of moving the conversation along and trying to regain the crowd's attention from time to time, but it's almost a hopeless situation. The room is just too large and the sound system can't fill it enough to allow everyone to hear what is going on, and the crosstalk among attendees rises from a chatter to all-out conversation, drowning out the presentation. I was fortunate enough to be able to get a seat about twenty feet from the stage, so I got more out of it than most.

The guided tasting beers were, for the most part, very good. The Hop 15 Double IPA from Port Brewing Company in San Marcos, California, was my big winner, while the consensus of those around me was that the Allagash White from the Allagash Brewing Company in Portland, Maine, was tops. It was the first that we tasted, and I must admit that I was a bit stingy with the scoring, and the white beer with a complex spicy flavor of cloves did bring more to the table than most in its variety. Calagione's own Nodding Head's George's Fault, reminding me of a number of hit-or-miss visits to the Center City brewpub.

The roster for the general tasting was promising, and the event moved into the Chinese rotunda. My first stop was to my favorite brewpub, Triumph Brewing Company. The Princeton and New Hope brewpub will be opening a location on Chestnut Street, and their offerings of a Vienna Lager, Bengal Gold IPA and Raspberry Wheat performed well. The Raspberry, with which I was not familiar, was light and fruity without being too sweet. Cherry Hill's Flying Fish, who I don't remember being there last year, had a table and was pouring their 10th Anniversary Imperial Espresso Porter. I had already tried a four-pack of the porter, which features a welcome smokiness, and my enjoyment of it was confirmed. A number of my friends agreed.

The one thing that you can almost always bank upon is the presence of good, flavorful IPAs, a fact that I, a confessed Hop-Head, thoroughly enjoyed. Michael Jackson alluded to the quality of American IPAs (and of the quality of all American craft brewing) during his speech, and his opinion was supported by the selection during the general tasting. Legacy Brewing Company's Hoptimus Prime Double IPA, Triumph's Bengal Gold IPA, Hop Whallop from Victory Brewing Company-- home of my favorite beer, HopDevil -- and the Greer Beer IPA from Philadelphia's Home Sweet Homebrew were memorable examples of the flavorful variety first brewed to survive the trip from the British Isles to the colonials in India.

But the star of the show for my money was the Cocoa Loco Triple Chocolate Stout from Arcadia Brewing Company in Battle Creek, Michigan. Stouts are usually a little too heavy for my liking, but the smoothness and lightness of Arcadia's brew was fantastic. I crossed the crowded room two or three times for the chocolaty, understated stout. Plus, the beer is brewed in Battle Creek, so I could certainly see myself pouring a bottle over my cereal -- what better way to start your day?

Of course, the main problem with the general tasting is that you can really only taste a small portion of the beers available. Fortunately, attendees got good news about next year that will allow them to spread the tasting over a larger period of time: Philly Beer Week.

For more on that, be sure to check out a full preview over at Seen Through a Glass.

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PhilaFoodie Interviewed by WHYY's Marty Moss-Coane on Radio Times

I was invited to participate in a radio segment today regarding the power of restaurant reviews on WHYY’s Radio Times hosted by Marty Moss-Coane. Recently, restaurants have been making news by fighting the critics who gave them unflattering reviews: the spat between Kobe Club owner Jeffrey Chodorow and New York Times reviewer Frank Bruni, an Ireland court’s verdict against a restaurant critic for libel (apparently one of the first of its kind), and of course the t-bone of contention between Chops Restaurant and Philly’s own Craig LaBan. Marty thought it would be fun to explore with me some of the general legal issues regarding libel as they pertain to restaurant reviews, so that’s what we did.

For those interested in listening to the podcast, here are the links: MP3 and Real Player.

The first caller was a little BENT-up about a review that HAMMERED his restaurant several years ago. Marty eventually PRIED out of him the POINT the critic had made in the review that ended up being too much for his restaurant to HANDLE: believe me, it’s a NAIL-biter.

In retrospect, I think this was a prank caller. While nobody likes to be the target of such a prank, you've got to give the guy props for executing it without being caught in the act, which, presumably, is the goal. Well done, sir.

Many thanks to Marty and her wonderful and talented staff for inviting me onto the show and for being so welcoming and gracious while I was there.

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The Washington Post Covers the Philadelphia BYOB Scene

Jason Wilson wrote a vivid and informative article about the Philadelphia BYOB scene, which appears in today’s Washington Post. (See “Philadelphia’s BYO Revolution”) (registration required).

I'm quoted in this article as well. Jason even published my intuitive little BYOB tip in the sidebar: check the restaurant’s menu before you pick your wine and don’t be afraid to bring a variety of bottles.

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The New York Times Weighs-In On Chops Restaurant's Lawsuit Against LaBan

In today’s New York Times you’ll find an illuminating article by Adam Liptak about the lawsuit Chops filed against Craig LaBan. (See “Serving You Tonight Will Be Our Lawyer”) (registration required).

Liptak puts some meat on the bone by placing the Chops lawsuit in context with other cases in the U.S. that have been litigated against restaurant critics, all of which have failed. Liptak covers the international angle as well; apparently such lawsuits are more successful in Ireland. You’ll also find a quote in there from yours truly.

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Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande 1979 (Pauillac)

The year the grapes for this wine were harvested was an interesting year. Revolution in the Middle East led to an energy crisis, The Police’s Roxanne was making its way to No. 32 on the Billboard charts and the U.S. Mint introduced the Susan B. Anthony dollar.

It was 1979.

I was eight years old then, and all I cared about was Star Wars and pizza. A lot can change in 27 years. And wine can be a fun way to measure those changes if you have the right bottle.

A good friend of mine is an antiques dealer, and in the not-too-distant past he picked up a few lots of mixed bottles of wine at an estate auction. From what I understand, the lots included an impressive collection Bordeaux. He had drunk almost all of the Bordeaux by the time I got the chance to see the wine, including a bottle of 1982 Chateau Lynch-Bages. He was watching the TV show Alias when someone on the show mentioned the ’82 Lynch-Bages, so he uncorked it. He didn’t know that 1982 is a legendary vintage for Bordeaux. He didn’t know that Lynch-Bages is a respectable Fifth Growth chateau or that Robert Parker rated its 1982 offering an impressive 94. For him it was more of an Alias experience than a Lynch-Bages experience—he just thought it was cool that he was drinking the same wine that was mentioned on his favorite TV show.

When I met him to go through the remainder of his stash, I spied a 1979 Pichon-Lalande still left in the box, so I liberated it. You may recall the episode of the Sopranos in which Tony and Christopher heist several cases of wine. The wine they stole from the van was the ‘86 Pichon-Lalande, which Parker scored a 94 in 2003. The ‘79 Pichon-Lalande, though, was no slouch—Parker includes it among his discussion of important ancient vintages for this chateau, calling it a “top-notch” effort and scoring it a 90.

I didn’t have high hopes for this wine, to be honest. There was no information about how it was stored all these years. Plus, although Parker said it was “fully mature” and suggested it would last until the end of 2007, I had read elsewhere that it was past its prime.



I knew I was in trouble as soon as I peeled the foil off the cap. Mold. Further inspection revealed that the top of the cork was also wet.

“Damn,” I thought, “not good signs.”



It only got worse. As the cork was about half-way out of the bottle, it started to crumble and tear in half. At this point, I pretty much knew it was over. Still, I removed the rest of the cork, wiped the mold off the lip of the bottle, poured the wine and let it breathe.



While I waited, I tilted the glass and held it above the white counter-top. The wine had that signature brown hue at the edge that you only see with older clarets. It was beautiful. I soaked up as much of the color as I could, realizing that this would probably be the only rewarding part of the experience.

Eventually, I swirled the glass, drew it up to my nose and took a deep whiff. I could identify the smell immediately; it was unmistakable. But even factoring-in my low expectations, it was heartbreaking: feces and disinfectant. After a while the smell mellowed into that of a wet basement. And that’s where it stayed, even into the next day. The subtleties of lush fruit and soft tannins the wine was supposed to reveal were nowhere to be found. All that was left on the palate was vinegary acid and the feeble hint of black currant—a faded echo of what this wine perhaps once was or what it could have been.

Tainted or not, the one thing this wine delivers is perspective about how far we have come in a quarter of a century. These days, a crisis in the Middle East is affecting the cost of energy, The Police just played Roxanne at the Grammys and the U.S. Mint is trying to push a new dollar coin. Oh, how times have changed. I don’t know about you, but all of a sudden I’m the mood for Star Wars and pizza.

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