Monday Morning Rant

Mondays often seem the most difficult day of the week, the start of the work week after the weekend. I hear more complaints from people about Monday than any other day of the week. And I too sometimes dread Mondays, especially after a particularly fun and relaxing weekend. So, maybe Mondays are the best day for a rant.

There are issues about food, wine and spirits which sometimes irritate me, which irk me with their inanity. I get upset when soundbites are promoted over logic and analysis. Sometimes I get annoyed by rampant ignorance. Someone needs to step forward to speak out about those matters, to oppose these problems. And I am going to try to do just that, every Monday.

Each Monday, I will post my rant of the week, discussing the current issue that has irked me. Please join the discussion by commenting on my rants. How do you feel about the issues? Do they irk you as well? Are there potential solutions?

Let us see what develops from Monday rants.

Travessia Urban Winery: Tasting at Bin Ends

Though a handful of states (such as California, Oregon, Washington and New York) get all the press for their wines, excellent wines are made in other states as well. In fact, all fifty states have wineries and Massachusetts alone has more than 25 wineries. And new wineries continue to open, including the Travessia Urban Winery.

I first met Marco Montez, the owner and wine maker of Travessia, several months ago at a Boston Wine Expo after-party held at the Boston Wine School. He was personable, down-to-earth, and genuine. He passionately talked about his winery, but in humble tones. It was not until recently though that I had the opportunity to taste some of his wines. Bin Ends held a special tasting of several wines from Travessia and Marco was there to talk about them and his winery.

Marco, who was born in Angola, has been involved with wine since a young child. When he ws young, his family moved to Portugal, about an hour north of the Douro River. His family made wine, generally for family and friends and Marco assisted. This was still a time when people stomped on grapes with their feet, which is not even legal in the U.S. any longer. Eventually, Marco moved back to Angola for a couple years before then moving to New Bedford, Massachusetts.

He acquired a degree in electricial engineering and currently has a full time job in that field yet his passion is wine making. In 2007, Marco began to assist Running Brook Vineyards, in North Dartmouth, with their wine making. This led to Marco opening his own winery in December 2008, deep in the heart of New Bedford. Though Marco lacks any official oenology education or degree, he has plenty of hands-on experience.

An important aspect for Marco is that he uses only local grapes. He does not want to import grapes from California or New York. He only wants to use grapes grown in Massachusetts, so that his wines will truly be Massachusetts products. Currently, he obtains his grapes from Running Brook, who have vineyards in Dartmouth and Westport. Eventually, Marco would like to own his own vineyards.

His wines are generally intended to drink young, thus he uses less sulfites as he does not need additional sulfites to ensure the wine will age well. All of his wines are also currently filtered though that that may not always be the case. It will all depend on the particular wine.

We got to taste five of Marco's wines, including one that is not yet available for sale. His wines are available for sale at the winery as well as Bin Ends. Note that the prices I have listed here are those at Bin Ends.

We began with the 2007 Travessia Unoaked Chardonnay ($10.40). This wine is made of 100% Chardonnay grapes. It was fermented and aged solely in stainless steel plus malolactic fermentation was prevented. It has an alcohol content of 13.6% and only 211 cases were produced. I found the wine to have a bright gold color with an enticing nose of citrus and apple. On the palate, the wine was crisp with an acidic bite. It had delicious fruit flavors, especially apple and almost some tropical fruit flavors, almost reminescent of hints of pineapple. A lively wine that will be excellent for the summer, as well as an accompaniement to food. I was impressed with this wine, especially at this price which makes it an excellent value.

The 2007 Travessia Chardonnay ($12) is also made from 100% Chardonny but sees some oak aging. All of the Chardonnay is actually fermented together and then later split, some being aged in oak and some not. This wine spent about six months in French oak, about 20% new, and underwent a partial malolactic fermentation. It has an alcohol content of 13.6% and only 440 cases were produced. The color of the wine was the same as the unoaked Chardonnay though the nose is much different. There was a mild buttered popcorn smell wth hints of underlying fruit. The taste was creamy with restrained apple and melon flavors. It was not overly oaked, not heavy handed. I liked this wine too, though my personal preference is the unoaked version. This is still though a very good value at this price.

We got to taste the Travessia Rose, which is not yet for sale. This is not a traditionally made Rose but is actually a blend of red and white wines. It is an area of some controversy as there are many traditonalists who don't think blending should be a permissible practice to make Rose. Marco would not tell us what type of grapes were used to make this wine, though he indicated two different grapes were used, as well as three different wine batches. The Rose has an alcohol content of 12.8% and only about 50 cases were produced. The wine had a bright pink color and a dominant smell of spice. I could not fully identify the spice, though it reminded me of Xmas cookie spices. It has a bit of residual sugar so there is a slight sweet taste to the wine, which also had those same spice flavors s on the nose. I generally prefer Old World style Rose so this wine was not that appealing to me though others at the tasting enjoyed it.

I did though enjoy the 2007 Travessia Vidal Blanc ($10.40), a wine made from a hybrid grape and was made to be a semi-sweet wine. It was fermented and aged only in stainless steel. It has an alcohol content of 13.6% and only 575 cases were produced. The wine had a rich golden color and an enticing, spicy nose. It had a full mouthfeel with nice tastes of apricot and spice, almost reminding me a little of Gewurztraminer. The sweetness was mild, not cloying, and this would probably make a nice accompaniement to spicy Asian cuisine. Another very good value wine.

The final wine of the evening was the 2007 Travessia Sweet Vidal Blanc ($11.20), a sweet wine that was fermented and aged only in stainless steel. It has an alcohol content of 11% and only 120 cases were produced. The nose on this wine seemed closed, and I could not really smell anything. The wine was sweet, like a dessert wine, with some tropical fruit flavors but there was a bit of bitterness on the finish. I preferred the other Vidal Blanc.

I recommend you check out Travessia wines, and visit the winery in New Bedford. I will be making a trip to the winery in the near future and will report back afterwards. Good wine can be made in many different places so give Massachusetts wine a try!

Saké Scam

Wine scandals, all over the world, have made major headlines. The world of Saké is not immune to scandal either. The Japan Times Online (6/2/09) has a new article, "Law urged to clarify what's in sake, 'shochu,' detailing a recent major scandal involving a major Saké brewery, Bishonen Shuzoh Co.

The brewery would sent out expensive rice to be polished but would receive a much cheaper rice back. The brewery would receive money to make up for the difference in price. So their Saké would not have the type of rice it was supposed to have. Customers would be paying for a lower qulity product. The brewery President eventally admitted to conducting this practice.

Japan has a liquor tax law which defines certain alcoholic beverages such as Saké and shochu but it does not dictate anything concerning quality. Japan should enact a new law to regulate quality, so consumers of Saké know exactly what they are getting when they buy a bottle.

For more information, check out the full article.

Burtons Grill: Father's Day Dinner

Poor Dad always seems to get the shaft on his special day. Between the un-wearable ties, ratchet sets and grilling duty, it seems the best good ol’ Dad can hope for on Father’s Day is some grill scraping duty or maybe catching the last few minutes of a game.

Burtons Grill, the casual-upscale restaurant, located in Boston’s Fenway district asks the question “Isn’t it time we did something for Dad?” This year, Burtons Grill is running a special “Dine in Peace” campaign for Fathers everywhere!

Beyond Dad getting to skip his grill duties and enjoy Burtons everyday special items such as: A 14 oz. dry-aged Angus Ribeye or New York Strip, a 9 oz center-cut aged angus Filet Mignon, a classic Burtons Grill cheese burger topped with applewood smoked bacon, sautéed mushrooms, and onions or one of their many seafood, chicken and pasta dishes, every Dad this year will get his very own complimentary set of ear plugs upon check in. So let Dad loosen his belt, enjoy an amazing dinner and tune out if only for one meal a year!

Ear plugs only available on Father’s Day. Reservations are recommended by calling 617-236-2270.

Burtons Grill
1363 Boylston Street
Boston, MA
Phone: 617-236-2236

La Festival Gastronomico del Gato

In some places around the world, you might find a cat on your dinner plate. I don't think I could try cat meat, as I have had many cats as pets, and currently have two (which includes the cat in the photo above). Just a psychological thing. So I was a bit shocked to learn about a Peruvian cat eating festival.

In La Quebrada, a small Peruvian farming town south of Lima, they hold La Festival Gastronomico del Gato (the Gastronomic Festival of the Cat) on September 21. This festival is allegedly a commemoration of the original settlers, slaves, who once had to survive only on cat meat. Many of those black slaves had been brought to Peru to work on cotton plantations. The festival is also part of a celebration for Santa Efigenia, the town's patron saint.

The cats for the festival are supposed to come from special nurseries though some do allege cats may have been taken off the streets. About 100 cats are eaten at the festival, prepared in a wide variety of recipes such as Cat Stew, Milanese of Cat, and Grilled Cat with Huacatay. It is also claimed that cat meat helps respiratory problems and acts as an aphrodisiac. Forget oysters, go eat Fluffy.

Could you partake of cat meat? How about dog?