Feb 17th, 2011 by David Flaherty
Serge Hochar (pic courtesy of Wine Naturally)
At 9 am, I entered the restaurant to prepare for the trade tasting. By 10 am, the stage was set.
17 guests, 10 wines each. Without nary a cup of coffee in me, I banged out 170 tasting-size pours in about 20 minutes, maneuvering the decanters and the bottles through the maze of glassware à la an episode of Mission Impossible.
While possibly a new personal record, I was just happy to be a part of something much bigger. Today at Hearth, we were honored to host one of the most revered winemakers in the biz, Serge Hochar, of Chateau Musar.
That's some serious energy on one table
Hailing from Lebanon, his name alone invokes gasps of reverence in even the stodgiest wine lovers. Why? Because he is passion, he is energy, he is a conduit for what nature is capable of when put in the right hands. And because Chateau Musar, much like a grapevine fighting for life in difficult soil, has gone to often incredible lengths to make their wine. War on your doorstep? Pick the grapes. Fight on.
Feb 14th, 2011 by David Flaherty
Ilkka Sirén is one hilarious dude. Although he lives across the globe in Finland, after watching his videos and experiencing his sense of humor, I now consider him kin.
Perhaps my mother spent some time in the Norwegian countries before meeting my father? But I guess that would make Ilkka more than 40 years old…hmm…okay, you can rest easy, Dad. And so the mystery of Ilkka and I’s connection continues.
Regardless, this wine-loving, fun-loving, world-traveling guy cranks out some great videos. In this one below, he falls madly and deeply in love with Robert Parker…err…Tigger…err…Robert Parker; not sure which.
*Note: if your kids are devout fans of Robert Parker, please put them to bed before watching…oh, and slap them around a little bit. They need to get a better idol.
Feb 8th, 2011 by David Flaherty
Packers Cocktail (Citrus Vodka, Midori, White Cranberry Juice, Lemon and Star Fruit)
This past weekend, we trekked north to my friend’s place in the fair state of Connecticut for Super Bowl XLV.
Being the wondrous party-host she is, Jaime assembled the raw ingredients to make some football-praising, booze-delivering, drinks of delight. Being the maniacal palate-chemist I am, I worked to put it all together.
This is what our partnership spawned.
Steelers Cocktail (Blanco Tequila, Triple Sec, Orange Juice, Lime and Blackberries)
Feb 2nd, 2011 by David Flaherty
Design by Steven Solomon (stevensolo.com)
Forget wine. Forget beer. They’re mere newbies in the world of fermented beverages. Mead is the patriarch, the original, the granddaddy that launched the human fascination with alcohol. But, strangely enough, it’s fallen out of fashion. How could this be? This was the drink of Aristotle and the Ancient Greeks; the drink of the brave Danish warriors in Beowulf. But now? Where have you gone, mead? It’s time to reclaim your glorious throne.
That's some sweet, sweet bee ass
Mead is a true symbiosis between insect, nature and man. The bees are king. And for lovers of terroir, their honey is as reflective of their home as any Pinot Noir grape.
Just like with grapes or cheese or oysters, honey tastes different the world over. Be it from clover plants, wildflowers or orange blossoms, bees transport the various flower nectars in their stomach (where it is combined with digestive enzymes), later storing it in a honey “cell” or “comb,” allowing it to partially dehydrate. The types of flowers and plants in an environment—such as those found in a high-altitude meadow in the Alps—and their inherent flavors and characteristics come through in the taste of the honey.
Stairway to Honey
Jan 26th, 2011 by David Flaherty
The Grand Poobah always brings tasty treats for his subjects. (From left to right: Fred Navarette, Carolyn Edgecomb, Craige Moore, Jonathan Moxey, Lauren Moxey)
You better hydrate. You best have a gang of food in your belly. Your mind must be focused and your palate on-point. Cause you’re going to get slaughtered…with a smile on your face.
Hold on to your hats, craft beer geeks, because the hurricane-force winds have finally died down, and BrewYork #7 has gone down in the record books. For those of you who are avid readers of Grapes & Grains (have I told you lately that I love you?), you may have seen the final bottle list from BrewYork #5; or even watched the frighteningly beautiful video footage of BrewYork #4.
But for all the new visitors, all you really need to know is that once a month, at a once-undisclosed location (but now at the cozy confines of New Jersey Brewing Company–thanks, Matt for the upgrade), we get it on. It’s a right pissing contest of who can bring the rarer bottle, the tastier homebrew, the better brisket. And the winner in all this? Everyone.
This weekend was no exception. Holy shit, the bottle list was insane. Akin to looking into the sun during an eclipse. Careful. Look too hard and you’ll be blinded by the vortex of craft beer power.
Here’s a look–I advise numerous breaks to rest your eyes, take some breaths, say a few Rosarys and recenter:
(some of my favorites are in bold)
Jan 22nd, 2011 by David Flaherty
Before setting sail for battle, it is best to drink rum. And a shitload of it.
In fact, why don’t you light it on fire first to add a bit of toasty courage to your gullet (video below)? So goes the wisdom of the Ron Cremat.
This past weekend, my wife and I were once again deep in the bowels of the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas for a mega photo shoot. She was hired by them to document the culinary and mixology madness going on at 13 of their restaurants and 3 bars (*shameless plug: she is pretty awesome at her craft; check her work out at Kat Bryant Photography). I was there to assist, fluff micro-greens and keep the trains running on time.
While at our first shoot at Jaleo—Chef José Andrés outpost of Spanish wizardry—we met their talented Beverage Director, Lucas Paya. Formerly of the ridiculously famous El Bulli (a 1-year wait for reservations) it’s clear that the guy has Catalan passion running through his veins. Working with Chef Ferran Adrià and Chef José Andrés has no doubt sent his imagination into overdrive.
Pulling on both the beverage classics, as well as newfangled tools of mixology geekdom, Lucas has created a complex and beautiful beverage program. While shooting pics of some of his cocktails, his eyes lit up with a spark and he dashed off like a kid running off to grab his favorite toy. He returned to tell us about the Ron Cremat.
Jan 8th, 2011 by David Flaherty
The mega-winery minions launch their 2011 marketing campaigns
Pinot Gris, Prophet’s Rock, 2009, Central Otago
(13.2% abv)
The orcs are moving in on you. You can hear their gnarled grunts approaching the perimeter of your camp like a fast-moving plague. The ringwraiths were spotted yesterday on the horizon, their ghostlike, ethereal figures barely visible through the fog.
You’re being hunted. And the enemy is mass-produced, characterless wines that threaten to swallow us up in their suffocating embrace. Welcome to Central Otago, New Zealand, the land where Lord of the Rings was shot and where the battle for the underdog wine region lives.
New Zealand is a late-comer to the wine world. With wine grapes first being planted in 1883 by James Busby—a pioneer in the Australian wine industry—it wasn’t until the early 1970’s that quality varieties like Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon were brought to the islands. Being a newcomer has it’s advantages; with no connection to the ways of the past, New Zealand quickly embraced the latest technology and viticulture techniques available to them and is now a major player on the world market.
Dec 30th, 2010 by David Flaherty
My chandelier has more crystals than yours!
As I sit here looking down on the bright lights of the Las Vegas Strip from my 40th floor perch in the sky, December seems like a blur.
As anyone who works in the food & beverage industry can attest, the month of December is no short of an all-out waterboarding session. The hours, the stress, the sensation of drowning under a thin veil of muslin…it’s enough to make one long for a vacation in Guantanamo.
The Cosmopolitan threatens to jump into the Bellagio fountain...but is talked down by the monorail just in the nick of time
But as 2011 inches it’s way over the desert horizon, I’ve finally come up for air. We’re out here in Vegas for the second time in three weeks for the opening of The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. My wife and her crew are handling the PR for the thirteen (!) restaurants on the premises and I’m in the fortunate position of being the lucky sap that gets to come along for the ride.
In addition to sinking my fork into some fantastic food—the Lobster Tail with Miso Butter at Blue Ribbon, the Braised Octopus at Milos and the Beef Tendon & Kumamoto Oyster Tacos at China Poblano come to mind—I’ve had my eye on the bar scene rising up throughout the hotel. And this is one serious, kick-ass, balls-to-the-wall, cocktails-as-scripture type of operation.
Dec 13th, 2010 by David Flaherty
Dec 11th, 2010 by David Flaherty
Dec 6th, 2010 by David Flaherty
Dec 5th, 2010 by David Flaherty
A tower of cocktail power (photo by shaderlab)
Their movements were balletic. Like robotic apothecaries, they created elixirs in a dizzying progression of steps.
They spun on their heels with perfect calibration, knowing exactly the degree of rotation needed to land on their spirit of choice, and spin back while the bottle was upended and measured into a jigger angled over the mixing glass.
The area behind the bar—their stage for the night—was tiny. A four-person trapeze act performing in your living room.
Would you like that shaken or stirred?
Jedi Knights, each sensing the others’ movements, and the bottles and delicate glasses wizzing by each other in a blur, barely passing by millimeters and avoiding a spectacular explosion of glassware (which happened later in the evening, but more on that later). Welcome to Angel’s Share, a speakeasy located in the East Village of Manhattan.
Nov 29th, 2010 by David Flaherty
Nov 28th, 2010 by David Flaherty
Contra, Bonny Doon Vineyard, 2009, Contra Costa County
(13.5% abv)
At the mouth of Big Thompson Canyon in Northern Colorado, lies a small store that sells Black Bing Cherries. Juices, ciders, jams, you name it.
The store itself was unmissable; a large red roof over a white building from which hung hundreds of red juice bottles like some sort of bizarre Christmas tree ornaments.
The entrance to Big Thompson Canyon
