2005 Vodopivec Vitovska Classica

In my earlier post about the The Spirited Gourmet/Bistro 5 wine dinner, I mentioned the 2005 Vodopivec Vitovska Classica, which I felt was unique enough to deserve it own post. I had never had the rare grape Vitovska before so was intrigued to taste the wine.

Some of the major grape encyclopedias and guides fail to even mention Vitovska. It exists in Italy and Slovenia. But in Italy, it is only found in the Friuli region and primarily in the Carso region. Its name is likely of Slovenian origin and it is sometimes known as Vitovska Garganija. This hardy vine has small, greenish-gold berries. The grape may be a cross between Prosecco Tondo and Malvasia Bianca Lunga.

The Vodopivec winery is located in the Carso mountain range and is owned and operated by two brothers, Paolo and Valter Vodopivec. "Vodopivec" is a Slovenian word that means "water drinker." The brothers began making wine in 1997 and they practice biodynamic agriculture. They have about ten acres and only grow Vitovska on that land, with very low yields. They produce only two wines, the Classica and the Solo MM4, grapes taken from a single parcel.

The 2005 Vodopivec Vitovska Classica ($64.99) was aged for about 20 months in an amphora made of Georgian clay, like the famous wines of Gravner. It does not look like your typical white wine, having a deep amber, almost orange, color. This is a wine that would benefit from letting it sit and breathe for a time. Its aroma and taste both open up much more over time. On the nose, there was apricot and a touch of honey, and you actually felt like the wine would end up being sweet. Yet this is a bone dry wine. On your palate, you will get some apricot, orange, honey, vanilla, a little spice and even floral notes. Lots of complexity, good acidity and a lengthy, pleasing finish.

This was a fascinating wine, so unlike many other white wines. This is an excellent example of minimal manipulation, of the wine being made in the vineyard not the winery. I bought a couple bottles of this wine and expect I will find even more within it when I really have time to savor it, and can refill my glass a few times. This is a real wine-lover's wine and I highly recommend it.

Spirited Gourmet & Bistro 5: Italian Wine Dinner

When I received an email from Nick Martinelle of The Spirited Gourmet in Belmont concerning an upcoming wine dinner at Bistro 5 in Medford, I was definitely interested. I love the food at Bistro 5 and selected it as my "Favorite Local Restaurant" of 2008. The wines were being provided by Vineyard Road, one of my favorite importers, so I knew they would be very good too. Angus of Vineyard Road would pour and present the wines to us.

Thus, when I attended the wine dinner last Friday evening, I had high expectations. I was not disappointed in the least, savoring some excellent cuisine and fine wines while enjoying some interesting and fun conversation.

Soon after we were seated, we were poured a glass of NV San Giuseppe Prosecco ($14.99). This Italian sparkling wine sees no oak and only has an alcohol content of 11%. I found it to be quite delicious, crisp, tart and with prominent green apple flavors. An excellent, refreshing wine that is low in alcohol and made for a nice start to our meal. (I later bought some of this wine as I enjoyed it so much.)

The chef sent out a little amuse bouche to start our meal, a bruschetta with olive tapenade, sliced cherry tomato, and ricotta. A nice combination of flavors and textures, from the saltiness of the tapenade to the creaminess of the ricotta.

Our first course was a Hamachi Carpaccio with a truffle froth, pink Peruvian sea salt, foccacia crouton, and micro greens. Some lemon juice, olive oil, and purple basil were also used for this dish. There was plenty of tender hamachi and I enjoyed the combined flavors of the various ingredients. It was fresh and clean, a light dish to start the dinner.

This dish was paired with the 2007 La Bella Notte Armonico ($15.99), which is from the Friuli region and is a blend of 50% Malvasia and 50% Friuliano. It is aged in steel and sees no oak. It had a nice golden color and a pleasing smell of pear with mild floral notes. On my palate, there were good flavors of citrus, pear, and a little honey. There was also a slightly bitter finish, which did not detract from the wine. A good match to the hamachi.

You might think this was a spider with all the "legs" visible but it actually was a fried Soft shell Crab with garlic scapes tempura, Spanish chorizo, chipotle aioli and frisee. The crab was delicious, a nice crunchy exterior and moist, silky interior. This was the first time I have had garlic scapes and they too were delicious, with a much milder garlic flavor. The chorizo slices were very spicy and flavorful. Another excellent dish.

The wine for this course was the 2005 Vodopivec Vitovska Classica ($64.99). It is a unique wine that deserves a post of its own so I am giving it one.

Chef Vittorio Ettore makes his own salumi and it is incredible. For this dinner, he made Wild Boar and Duck Salumi, topped by a vincotto rather than balsamic. Vincotto is a sweet, grape must and is not a type of vinegar. With the salumi, was a coriander tart filled with a foie gras mousse and topped with glazed Mission figs. The salumi was exceptional, silky smooth, salty, and flavorful. The mousse and figs went very well together, almost making a dessert. I could have eaten several plates of this salumi.

Our wine for this course was our first red, the 2005 Montaribaldi Barbaresco "Palazzina" ($29.99) from the Piedmont region. This is a single vineyard, 100% Nebbiolo which has been aged for 14 months in 1/3 new oak. Only about 600 cases of this wine were produced. This was an amazing wine, an excellent value for the price. Dark purple in color, it had a very alluring smell, black fruits and a touch of spice. The aroma makes you want to drink it, if you can tear your nose away from smelling it. The taste lived up to its smell, wonderful flavors of blueberry, black cherry, plum, spice, and leather. Its lingering finish was very satisfying as well. I think this wine is good now though would probably get even better with a bit of aging. (This is another wine I just had to buy.)

Our fourth course was Grilled Lamb with baby artichoke risotto and goat cheese. The lamb was absolutely delicious, tender and cooked perfectly. I really love lamb and this dish pleased me. Now, I dislike artichokes but it was easy enough to push them aside and enjoy the rest of the risotto . Chef Ettore always makes delicious creamy, risotto and this was no exception. And the goat cheese added a nice taste to the dish.

Our wine this time was the 2003 Convento Muri Gries Lagrein "Abtei Muri" ($34.99) from the Alto Adige region. This wine is made in a monastery and spends 20 months in 40% new oak barriques. A rich wine with a great nose, and flavors of dark berries and even a bit of chocolate. It had a lengthy finish and was well structured and very pleasing. We also got to try the 2004 vintage and I found it to be more restrained, austere and elegant. Yes, vintage definitely matters with some wines.

We had another wine with this course, though after the Lagrein. This was the 2006 Oasi Angeli "Kurni" Montepulciano ($99.99) from the Abruzzo region. This wine is made from 100% Montepulciano D'Abbruzzo and aged for 2 years in new oak barriques. "Kurni" is the nickname of the grandfather. This wine smells like a port, and even tastes like one too, though a bit drier. The smell and taste were very unexpected. I liked its taste, though see how it could easily overpower many different foods. It almost might be better as a dessert wine.

Dessert was a tasting of three items, including: ginger-caramel ice cream, chocolate ravioli, and strawberry crepe. An excellent ending to our meal. The ice cream had a unique flavor, with a strong ginger taste, and the chocolate was actually very spicy. The crepe was light with fresh, sweet strawberries.

The dessert wine was the 1999 Riecine Sangiovese Passito ($39.99) from Tuscany. This is 100% Sangiovese with a touch of botrytis and which has been aged in oak for about a year. A powerful sweet wine, with rich, complex flavors. Lots of ripe, dark berry flavors with hints of spice. It is not cloyingly sweet though, and paired well with the various desserts, especially the spicy chocolate.

Such a wonderful dinner and everyone else seemed quite satisfied as well. Service was excellent, and Angus did a great job of presenting the wines. Chef Ettore created another winner menu and I continue to highly recommend Bistro 5. If you would like to order any of these wines, you can get them at The Spirited Gourmet.

The Spirited Gourmet
448 Common Street
Belmont, MA
Phone: 617-489-WINE

Bistro 5
5 Playstead Road
Medford, MA
Phone: 781-395-7464

Gospel Brunch: House of Blues

There are plenty of choices in Boston for Sunday brunch, though not all of them are accompanied by live entertainment. It is a riskier move for those restaurants as they have a double burden, needing both delicious food and fun entertainment. Yet when they succeed, they are also doubly rewarded.

The original House of Blues in Cambridge used to hold Gospel brunches, good food with spiritual music. That practice has now been instituted at their new Boston location, on Lansdowne Street near Fenway. I had the opportunity to check out the Gospel brunch this past Sunday and I was very pleased with the experience. You definitely need to check out their Gospel brunch.

Brunch may seem a bit pricey at $45 per adult and $25 for children (aged 4-10). But you should consider that the price includes the all-you-can-eat buffet, live gospel performance, coffee, tea, juice, tax and gratuity. So when everything is considered, the price seems much more reasonable.

The brunch is held in their main event hall, which is over ten times as big as the old Cambridge location, and has a capacity of about 2400 people. There are two levels of balconies in the hall and plenty of eclectic art work on the walls, a significant portion which comes from the Cambridge location. Despite its larger size, it still retains an intimate feeling and should be a very cool venue for concerts.

Brunch begins at 11:30am, and you receive an assigned seat at one of the long, rectangular tables which holds twelve people. So you get to meet new people, those seated near you, making for a friendly ambiance. You will then eat for an hour before the Gospel show starts, though you can continue to dine during much of the show. The Gospel show lasts about an hour.

You might want to start with coffee, tea or some juice. Unfortunately, they did not have any iced tea available but hopefully that will change in the future. You can though get a Mimosa or Bloody Mary for only $4.

There is a ton of food at the buffet, lots of different breakfast and lunch dishes, many with a Southern flair. In general, I really liked the food, though I had a few minor issues with some of the items. The scrambled eggs were very good, not runny like some other buffets. You can get bacon, sausage links, cheese grits, hashed brown casserole and more. The biscuits were also excellent. There are thick Belgian waffles with which you can top with fresh fruits and whipped cream.

The lunch items include various salads, a delicious jambalaya (with plenty of pieces of chicken) and a spicy Cajun catfish which was quite tasty. You can select a huge breast of moist, fried chicken (another excellent choice) or get a slice of tender prime rib. I did not care for the sliced turkey breast which seemed a bit too dry.

There is a table with desserts including bread pudding, fresh whipped cream, apple crisp, fruit, brownies, chocolate croisssants, muffins, and more. They had corn muffins but they disappointed me as I was hoping to find their signature rosemary cornbread, one of my favorite items on their regular menu. The rosemary cornbread is one of the best cornbreads I have had. The rest of the desserts though were good, especially the bread pudding which I topped with a nice dollop of fresh whipped cream.

I was pleasantly full by the time the Gospel show began. Freda Battle and the Temple Worshippers entertained and inspired, about fifteen singers and musicians presenting Gospel music with a Latin flair. You do not have to be religious to appreciate their skill and burning passion. I really enjoyed the music, especially with the Latin twist, and the rest of the audience also seemed quite enthralled. By the end of the show, most everyone was on their feet, dancing to the music, clapping and singing along. You can even see Freda Battle, a Boston native, and the Temple Worshippers in concert at the Berklee Performance Center on July 18.

If you want a fun brunch, with plenty of delicious food and inspiring music, then I definitely recommend the Gospel Brunch. I will be sure to return there.

House of Blues
15 Lansdowne St.
Boston, MA
Phone: (888) 693-2583

The End of the Line: Where Have All the Fish Gone?

Due to overfishing, many species of fish are endangered, and some face the possibility of extinction. You may not realize which fish are in danger and could thus be unwittingly contributing to their demise. More knowledge about this issue should be spread. To help disseminate the word, a new independent documentary, The End of The Line, has recently been released, explaining the dire problem of overfishing.

The film is based on a book written by Charles Clover, an investigative reporter, and Charles is also in the film. Ted Danson narrates the movie which ranges all across the world from Alaska to Senegal, from Tokyo to Nova Scotia. You will also hear from others, including a number of scientists and fisherman. The film runs about ninety minutes long.

The photography is visually stunning and often quite evocative. There are some incredible shots of sea life and plenty scenes of fishing too. It is a well crafted film. About 80% of the film details the problems and issues behind overfishing and 20% deals with some possible solutions. The position of the movie is quite clear, and there is little contrary opinion voiced in the film. Though I really did not expect much opposition to be inserted into the film. It is not intended to be a balanced debate of the issues but more to make their specific position known.

The information presented forms a disturbing picture and should unsettle anyone watching the film. It is filled with many intriguing items of which you are likely unaware. For example, bottom trawling, dragging huge nets across the floor of the sea, is said to be equivalent to plowing a field seven times in a year. That obviously can cause much destruction to the sea floor. Though the movie indicates there is some disagreement of the number of fish still existing in the seas, there seems little disagreement over the fact there are serious problems. Counting fish is said to be similar to counting trees except they are invisible and they move. Part of the problem of overfishing is the huge boating capacity that now exists, far too many boats for the fish that exist. Technology has made it much easier to decimate the fish of the seas.

There are many political issues involved, in countries all across the world. For example, the international organizations that decide the quotas on fishing often don't listen to the scientists, bowing to pressure from fisherman. Thus, the quotas are much larger than what scientists recommend to protect endangered fish. There is also a significant problem from illegal fishing, which ignores quotas, and some countries do little to stop such illegal fishing.

If fishing practices continue as is, without efforts to resolve the problems, it is predicted that the fish population could collapse by around 2050. But there is still time to stop that from happening, if we act now. Efforts in Alaska are praised as a good model on how to preserve the fish population.

The key ways to combat the problem of overfishing are threefold. First, consumers need to be careful what type of fish they eat, eating only sustainable fish. Second, politicians must be convinced to act responsibly, to take action to help preserve the seas. Lastly, there must be support for the creation of marine reserves where fishing is not permitted.

Overall, I liked the film and I think it did a very good job of presenting the problem of overfishing. I think though it could have dedicated more time and detail to potential solutions. Practically, a concerned individual has to take the time and effort to learn much more about potential solutions. Hopefully that will occur, though there are no guarantees, but I would have preferred to see more specific details in the film.

If you would like see this documentary, it will open in Boston on July 24 at the Landmark Kendall Square theater.

Stoneham Sun: What's New

My new column of "A Passionate Foodie" can be found in the July 1 issue issue of the Stoneham Sun newspaper. This is a weekly column that concentrates on reviews of local restaurants though it also sometimes touches on other food and wine topics.

The new column has been published today and will be available online soon. The new article contains three brief items that should be of interest. They include information on the new wine stores in Melrose, the Farmer's Market in Stoneham, and a recommendation for an exciting wine that costs under $6.

If you have any questions or comments about my column, feel free to add them here.

Dine with passion