All About Argentina

After my recent journey to Argentina, I have written several posts about my experiences and will be writing more as well.  I found much of interest there and recommend that you visit this wine region and taste their wines. Though their modern wine industry is still relatively young, they have accomplished much in a short time and will only improve with time.

My journey was part of a journalist trip, sponsored by Winebow, a wine importer and distributor who represents several producers in Argentina, though about half the wineries we visited were not Winebow clients.  We stayed in the city of Mendoza and our intinerary included winery visits to Zuccardi, Vistalba, Renacer, Catena, Nieto, Alma Negra, and Alta Vista. We met winemakers, toured vineyards, tasted wines from the barrel, did comparative tastings, drank wines with delicious food, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

I felt it would be very helpful to my readers to compile the links to these posts in a single place. This post will be that repository, and as such will be constantly updated when I write another article about Argentina. Some of these articles were written before my trip, and others afterwards. The posts will be listed in chronological order, from oldest to newest.

Bound for South America: Argentina & Chile
Mendoza: A Positive Initial Impression
Rant: Traveling to Wine Country
The Wines of Argentina: Twelve Things You Should Know
Bodega Renacer: Enamored with Enamore
Alma Negra: A Japanese Aesthetic in Argentina
The Llamas of Alma Negra
Alta Vista Winery: A French Flair With Guinea Pigs

And though the following post is not connected to my trip to Argentina, it is still very relevant concerning the wines of that region and should be of interest.
Altos Las Hormigas: Malbec Is Unimportant?

Thursday Sips & Nibbles

I am back again with a new edition of Thursday Sips & Nibbles, my regular column where I briefly highlight some interesting wine and food items that I have encountered recently.
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1) On Sunday, August 21st, through Saturday, August 27th,  over 50 North Shore restaurants and wine stores will join together to hold the first annual North Shore Wine Week. Sponsored by Northshore magazine, in conjunction with NECN’s “TV Diner,” Red White Boston, Quarterly Review of Wines, the North Shore Dish and the Merrimack Valley Chamber of Commerce, North Shore Wine Week will celebrate the North Shore as a premier destination for fine wine and food.

Throughout the week the area’s wine stores and restaurants will highlight their wine selections with various complimentary events and great deals including everything from specially crafted wine tastings, wine dinners, wine flights, pairings, special events, and more.

North Shore Wine Week will kick-off with a VIP inaugural event at the Wine ConneXtion, located in North Andover, on Saturday, August 20th, from 12pm-5pm, during an exclusive, free wine tasting event featuring cuisine from several participating North Shore Wine Week chefs.

Buy local, drink global and join the North Shore as a vibrant food and wine community and support local businesses including: 15 Walnut, 62 Restaurant & Wine Bar, 9 Elm, Alchemy Café and Bistro, Alfalfa Farm Winery, Beacon Hill Wine Shop, Black Cow Tap and Grill, Bonta Restaurant & Grill, Brasserie 28, Burtons Grill, Busa Wine & Spirits, Café Escadrille, Ceia Restaurant, China Blossom, Evenfall Restaurant, Finz Seafood & Grill, Grand Trunk Old World Market, Grapevine Restaurant, Joe Fish Seafood Restaurant & Bar, Joseph's Trattoria, Keon's, L&D Liquors, Latitude 43, Loretta Restaurant, Masa Restaurant, Nathaniel's at Hawthorne Hotel, Oregano's Pizza, Orzo Restaurant, Pamplemousse, Pellana Steakhouse, Salem Waterfront Hotel, Samuel's at The Andover Inn, Savour Wine and Cheese, The Landing at 7 Central, The Loft, The Peddlers Daughter Irish Restaurant & Pub, Tuscan Kitchen, Wild Bites, Wine ConneXtion, and Yella Grille.

2) Last weekend, I celebrated my birthday dinner at AKA Bistro in Lincoln, which was my Favorite New Suburban Restaurant of 2010.  What an amazing meal! I did not take any photos, as I was there simply to savor the food and enjoy my birthday. My good friends Adam and his wife were there too, and the four of us shared a diverse assortment of creative dishes, all of which pleased.

Some of the dishes we enjoyed included Bronzini with hot sesame oil, pickled burdock root, Jalapeno & Cilantro; Scallop ceviche with Banuyls vinaigrette and fresh winter black truffle; Seared Tuna and sweet potato tempura with ginger vinaigrette; Homemade Kobe Dumpling with Sukiyaki consommé and mushrooms; Brandade of salted cod with baby arugula and toast; Bone Marrow, aromatic sea salt and toasted country bread and more. To drink, we shared the 2009 Kuentz-Bas, an Alsatian assemblage of Silvaner, Muscat, Auxerrois and Chasselas, and a sake, the Wataribune Junmai Ginjo 55. Both were excellent, and paired well with our dinner. 

Service was top notch and I am extremely happy that I chose AKA Bistro for my celebration. It continues to garner my highest recommendation, and is as good as any Boston restaurant. If you have not dined there yet, then make plans to do so.

3) This summer, NECN’s “TV Diner,” New England's food and dining program, is bringing together some of Greater Boston’s best chefs and restaurants to the beautiful rolling hills and orchards of Smolak Farms in North Andover, for the first annual TV Diner Summer Farm Food Fest. The festival will feature cooking demos, tastings and activities including live music, children’s games, hayrides, contests and more.

On Sunday, August 28, from 11:30am-5pm, spend the day at Smolak Farms with “TV Diner.” With over 1,000 attendees slated to appear, guests can look forward to everything from tasting stations, chef demos, live music, PYO seasonal fruit, hayrides, line dancing lessons, as well as classes and workshops offered onsite all afternoon. There is also free parking.

An all access pass to the event is $35 online for adults, $40 purchased at the door, and children under 10 are free. For more information or to purchase tickets please visit: http://www.necn.com/pages/smolakfarms

2009 Stadlmann Zierfandler Anninger Classic

What is Zierfandler?  No, it is not a comedy about male models starring Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson (that was Zoolander). Instead, like Rotgipfler, it is a rare Austrian wine grape, and I was excited to taste the sample that I received. How often do you get the chance to try Zierflander? After enjoying this delicious wine, my answer is "not enough." 

The 2009 Stadlmann Zierfandler Anninger Classic is produced by Weingut Stadlmann and you can read my prior review of their 2009 Stadlmann Rotgipfler Anninger Classic for information about the winery.  Zierfandler is considered to be the Stadlmann’s hallmark wine, and some of their vines are over 40 years old.  

Zierfandler is a white grape, likely a cross between Roter Veltliner and possibly Traminer.  In Austria, it is primarily grown in the Thermenregion, though you can also find plantings in Hungary (where is known as Cirfandel or Cirfandli) and in Slovenia (where it is known as Zerjavina). In Austria, it is also known as Spätrot ("late red") because the late-ripening grapes can sometimes acquire a red tinge. Historically, it was often blended with Rotgipfler, but nowadays you can find it more and more as a single varietal wine. Zierfandler wines typically evidence tastes of fruit and nuts, with plenty of acidity, and some sweetness. They also can age well, easily for ten years or so.

The 2009 Stadlmann Zierfandler Anninger Classic (about $15) is made of 100% Zierfandler, from 20 year old vines, and was aged in large old wooden barrels and on the lees for approximately four months. It only has an alcohol content of 12.5%, and has a bright golden color. On the nose, the fruit aromas dominated, citrus and ripe peach, with a mild undertone of some floral notes. On the palate, the fruit continued to dominate, adding some tropical fruit flavors and hints of slightly salty almonds. Very noticeable acidity partnered with some honey notes, which provided a mild sweetness to the wine, and the finish was fairly long and very pleasing.

In some respects, this wine reminded me of a cross between a Gruner Veltliner and a Riesling. The label suggested to pair the wine with spicy food, so I opened the bottle with my dinner of spicy ground beef tacos. It worked very well, the slight sweetness of the wine helping to cut the spicy heat of the tacos. The wine would definitely be an excellent accompaniement with spicy Asian food too. Two of us finished off the entire bottle with dinner, both very much enjoying it.

If you get the chance to try some Zierfandler, just say Yes!     

Food Sake Tokyo: A Fascinating Resource

With the growing interest in all matters food, numerous culinary tours and vacations have sprouted up all over the world. The publishing world has been a bit slower to catch up, and good culinary travel guides are not as common as they could be. Some food travel guides are merely a list of restaurants, but they lack explanatory information on cuisine, and also fail to provide the vocabulary that might be useful for a foreign traveler.  If the Tokyo edition is indicative of the quality of the rest of their books, then The Terroir Guides might be a model for other culinary travel guides.

While at the Kunikuniya book store in New York City, I purchased a copy of Food Sake Tokyo ($29.95) by Yukari Sakamoto (Little Bookroom, May 2010), a trade paperback of 304 pages. The book is divided into five chapters: Eating Out, Food, Beverages, Places to Eat and Shop, and Culinary Itineraries.  Yukari is a chef, sommelier, journalist, and restaurant consultant. She once worked in the depachika (epicurean food hall) at the Takashimaya department store in Tokyo. Yukari has produced a comprehensive and fascinating insider's guide to the food and drink of Japan, and specifically Tokyo. If you are traveling to Tokyo, I strongly recommend that you buy this guide. Your stomach will thank you.

Chapter 1, Eating Out, provides some basic information on Japanese dining etiquette as well as a list of common Japanese words you would use in a restaurant.  You will learn how to say things like "I have allergies" and "Is this raw?"  The chapter then describes kaiseki, casual dining, hot pot restaurants, and department store food halls, providing some specific recommendations as well. Within those descriptions, there is additional Japanese terminology. This chapter is a good basic introduction to dining in Japan, and would be useful to you even if you are not travelling to Japan. for example, it will help you better navigate a menu at a Japanese restaurant.

Chapter 2, Food, is a description of Japanese foods and ingredients, with additional Japanese terminology, and some restaurant and shop suggestions.  There are also some brief essays on related topics such as umami and sushi etiquette. This is also an excellent reference section for anyone who wants to learn more about Japanese cuisine, and once again useful for deciphering a menu at any Japanese restaurant. In this chapter, you will learn about the heirloom vegetables of Kyoto, a famous restaurant which serves horse meat, a seasonal list of seafood, the poisonous fugu, and much more. Just note that the individual sections are brief, and are more a basic introduction than an indepth study of each topic.

Chapter 3, Beverages, includes basic information on tea, sake, shochu, umeshu and Japanese wine, with additional Japanese terminology. Did you know Japan's first commercial winery dates back to 1875?  The sake information is brief and simple, with a few recommendations for where you can purchase sake. The chapter also has a list of Casual Places to Drink in Tokyo, including some izakaya and beer gardens. 

Chapter 4, Places to Eat and Shop, is the heart of the travel guide, breaking down Tokyo into neighborhoods and providing numerous recommendation of restaurants and culinary-related shops. Each recommendation provides all of the necessary information for the place, from its address and phone number to its website, as well as a description of the best items to order or purchase.  The neighborhood maps are very easy to read, and show the location of everywhere that is recommended. You can easily use those maps to plot out your own culinary itinerary. Though it is said to be difficult to find specific addresses in Tokyo, I think these menus make it much easier to find their recommended destinations. 

Learn how to navigate the Tsukiji Market, find out where to buy Japanese knives, discover the Antenna shops (where you can regional goods from all over Japan), where to find plastic food samples, uncover a restaurant where you can make your own pancakes, and much much more. There must be hundreds of interesting recommendations within this chapter. This chapter would be extremely useful when I eventually travel to Tokyo.

Chapter 5, Culinary Itineraries, is a short section, beginning with some suggested one and two day culinary itineraries for Tokyo. There is then a list of some unique Japanese ingredients and tools that you might want to purchase so that you can prepare Japanese cuisine at home. In addition, there is some information on the Kyoto's Nishiki Market. This is the weakest of the five chapters, due to its lack of depth, and would have been better with additional information and suggestions.

Overall, I think this is a well written and informative culinary travel guide, as well as a good introductory reference work on Japanese cuisine. Even if you are not traveling to Japan, you will find this book fascinating and useful.

Rant: Umi-No-Hi Omedetō or Happy Marine Day!

Today, people in Japan are celebrating Umi-No-Hi, that translates as Marine Day or Ocean Day, a holiday which expresses thanks for the blessings of the sea, as well as hopes for Japan's economic prosperity.  The holiday is celebrated every year on the third Monday in July, and many celebrate by taking a day trip to the beach. 

The origins of this holiday extend back to the the late 19th century, though it was not made a holiday until 1942.  In 1874, the Japanese Meiji government commissioned the construction of the Meiji-Maru, a lighthouse service steamship. When it was completed in 1876, the Emperor used it to take an inspection tour of northeastern Japan, starting in Aomori and ending in Yokohama on July 20.

It would not be until 1942 that Marine Memorial Day was established to commemorate the Emperor's voyage on the Meiji-Maru. But, it still would not become a national holiday until 1995, taking on a greater meaning of thanks for the blessings of the ocean.  Though it was originally observed on July 20, that changed in 2003 when it was moved to the third Monday in July. This was due to the Happy Monday System, which tried to move some holidays to make more three day weekends.

Today would be the perfect holiday for the Japanese to make a united effort to better protect the bounty of the sea, to agree to protect the endangered fish that they seem to eat far too much.  For example, most agree that bluefin tuna is seriously endangered yet the Japanese consume approximately 80% of all bluefin tuna. There is even evidence that when the U.S. consumption of blue fin decreased, Japanese consumption increased.

If we are to save the bluefin, major change has to come from Japan, or all our efforts will fail. Even if the entire U.S. stopping eating blue fin, that would be insufficient to protect these noble fish because of the massive Japanese consumption.  Eating a fish into extinction is not a true appreciation of the blessings of the sea. Rather, the Japanese need to become shepherds of the sea, protecting the "flocks" of fish rather than devouring them into oblivion.  This protection should extend to more than just bluefin, and include all endangered species.  

Japan, please take the opportunity of this holiday to step forward and support seafood sustainability, starting with bluefin tuna.