The Power of the Four P's

The Power of the Four P's

Carol Klein's Wine Tasting, Saturday, November 15th

All women, all about food and wine, fun, and camaraderie. Best described with Four P's: passionate, poised, particular, and all around pleasant. The Four P's also happens to be the local's nickname for Ireland's Four Provinces Pub & Restaurant in Falls Church, the main watering hole for all the gals where gossip flies over booze bonding, frivolous fare, and all around fun times! Carol Klein invited me over to host a wine tasting and food pairing seminar, as her girl friends are passionate about wine and even more particular about their food! After providing me with a list of wines, I gave them a list of suggestions to pair with the wines. A number of the women pitched in and made delicious hors d'oeuvres. Below are some of the perfect pairs we discovered on that frigid, fall day.

Perfect Pairs to Share:

• Endive with fresh chèvre, mandarin orange, and almond slices

Paired with E. Guigal Côtes du Rhône Blanc 2012. A blend of Viognier and Marsanne that truly shows off the Viognier. Aromas of peach, apricot, white flowers and a bit of spice. But truly, the magic here was the orange zest burst followed by smooth viscosity all melding with the Endive crunch and citrus punch from the oranges. Explosion of pit fruits and mouth watering freshness.

• Salmon creme fraîche on cucumber with sprinkled dill

Paired with Trader Joe's Blanc de Blanc Brut and Ameztoi Getariako Txalolina 2011
The easy pair was the bubbles and the key ingredient: cucumber, which is light, refreshing and aromatic. The effervescence of the sparkling makes for a clean pairing, simply a wash that lightens the oiliness of the salmon, compliments the creaminess of the creme fraîche and swirls the cucumber aromatics around your mouth and dissolves the herb garnish.

The Ameztoi Getariako Txalolina was the unique pairing. I've never had this wine and I still cannot pronounce it! At first, I thought it was Greek, but it's from the Basque country in Northern Spain bordering the Mediterranean. You can taste the sea, plus it's a prickly wine that gives tactile sensations. I wouldn't drink it every day, but I can see it as a perfect spritzer sipper in the dog days of summer, and paired with cucumbers it's a match made in heaven for a palate cleanser, so no need for sorbet.

• Tandoori Chicken with Cilantro Sauce and Sweet Chutney Sauce

Paired with Errazuriz Carmenere, Aconcagua Valley, Chile 2011. God this was good. Straight up awesome pairing. Carmenere always presents a challenge because of its variety of spices. Some people describe Carmenere's aromas to be an amalgamation of Indian spices like cardamom, turmeric, cumin. Others describe Carmenere's smell as fresh churned earth (not so appealing in my opinion), but definitely cool to gardeners who love digging in the dirt. Depending on the ripeness level and the talent of the winemaker and viticulturist, Carmenere can sing. Errazuriz is top of the line, and for $15-$17 on the shelf, it's a steal. So I suggested we use this for a festive, fall lineup during our afternoon soirée. Due to the Indian spices I've always picked up in Carmenere, I asked the hostess to bring an authentic Indian dish. She brought Tandoori chicken with the dipping sauces. The fruit in the Carmenere nicely complimented the spicy and sweet sauces, which in turn toned down the spiciness of the Carmenere.

• Trader Joe's dark chocolate cocoa dusted truffles

Chocolate Box Sparkling Shiraz Australia NV
The Sparkling Shiraz proved to be pure decadence. The deep, rich folds of Shiraz juice, layered in

chocolate nuances, raspberry jam, and peppery spice, enveloped the bittersweet tones of the cocoa while the bubbles whipped up the entire magical concoction into swirls of chocolate ecstasy. Plenty of moaning was going on at this point, and only continued to part two:

• Dark Caramel Chocolate with Sea Salt 

Castello di Amorosa La Fantasia Rosé Napa Valley 2009
Step into pure fantasy for sure with this wine. On the lighter side, but beautiful ruby red in color, slightly effervescent, syrupy sweet but not cloying with just a hint of salt crunch to add texture and accents to the chocolate flavor. Mmmm. Mmmm. Good.

 Thanks ladies, my Four P's crew, for such a wonderful afternoon!

Thirsty for Adventure [And Cocktails]? New Series “Chug” Premieres Tonight!

Posted on National Geographic's TV Blogs

Rum company owner, world traveler, and drink aficionado, Zane Lamprey, travels the globe to explore drinking customs and cultures by tossing back a few with the locals in the all-new series Chug. As he explores the libations of the region, Zane visits watering holes, breweries, distilleries, and wineries. In every episode, he journeys by train to the outskirts of the big cities, chugging off to get a taste of local spirits.

Tonight on the series premiere of Chug: Kuala Lumpur, Zane sets off for Malaysia to experience local libations and soak up soul vibes with interesting people.

Photograph by Inzane Entertainment/ Melissa Schilling

Malaysia’s Local Drinks: The Toddy & The Lancow

There's a raw beauty inherit in the jungle forests, and Zane quickly realizes he’s in for an experience you can’t get in the States. Zane’s drinking guide, Deep, explains Malaysia’s drinking culture is relatively new. Considered a way station for cultural influences from surrounding countries, which don’t all embrace drinking, Malaysia's drinking culture is growing and evolving. In the village of Banting, Zane finds a true native gem--a drink locals have dubbed the Toddy, named for the Toddy Palm tree from which it’s derived.

Its harvesting method, Zane discovers, is just as unique as its taste. The locals hang pots on the palm tree’s fruit stalks in order to collect the nectar. It’s basically sweet, sugary water until the wild yeast that’s floating in the air and in the pots converts the sugar into alcohol… and Voilà. Fermentation occurs right in the pot as it hangs on the tree. Zane reveals the spirit tastes like cereal and bugs, which happen to be floating around getting their buzz on too!

The drink mongers stop at a local Toddy shop that sells a more refined version of the beverage that’s filtered and chilled. The Toddy now tastes more like a bready version of carbonated coconut water with a reminiscent flavor of cereal and milk. It’s kind of like a beer with yeasty nuances and 5-6 % alcohol content. Zane learns a new word for “Cheers” here in Banting, “Ban Thai!” It translates to “Whack,” and could be for the local tradition of dropping a shot of Toddy into a Guinness. Sound familiar? It’s like an Irish car bomb, but with a Malaysian flair--whack!

Photograph by Inzane Entertainment/ Melissa Schilling

The next stop for Zane is the Batu caves about twenty minutes outside K-L, which houses a Hindu shrine teeming with Macaques monkeys. Here, Zane discovers a Malaysian version of moonshine crafted by an almost forgotten people, the Ibans, who migrated from the Indonesia region to settle on the island of Borneo in western Malaysia. Locals today try to preserve the drinking tradition of the Ibans with the Lancow, named for the farm hut in which the illegal moonshine was crafted in order to hide their 35% ABV concoction from the authorities.

Cocktail Roundup: Popular Cocktails of Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia offers a number of unique libations known to backpackers and tourists alike. The notorious “Bucket” cocktail, most notably consumed in The Bucket Bar at the last stop on the river tubing run in Vang Vieng in Laos, or on the gorgeous white sand beaches of Koh Phi Phi in Thailand, is nothing but a child’s beach toy bucket chocked full of Sangsom, Mekong whiskey, vodka or gin, mixed with a version of Red Bull (dubbed M150), and a dash of fruit juice.

Vietnam boasts their beloved brew, Bia Hoi, and it’s a must try for thrifty travelers who dig paying only 50 cents for a liter of beer.

Found in Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos, Cobra & Scorpion Whiskey tops the libation charts as an aphrodisiac and cure-all-ailments-cocktail for only the most daring. Peppery and spicy in flavor, this whiskey instilled with either a real scorpion or cobra makes for what some might call a revolting drink, but certainly a fabulous souvenir!

Homemade Lao-Lao whiskey puts hair on the chest and is a favorite found in Laos.

Pro Tip: All hangovers can be treated with the delicious fruit shakes found in street stalls all throughout Southeast Asia. But, nothing beats the esoteric and unknown factor that Zane discovers in the jungles of Malaysia.

Don't miss the series premiere of Chug: Kuala Lumpur Monday at 10:30/9:30c for more escapades into the unknown libations of Malaysia.

Yum Seng!

NIAF 2014 Amarone Seminar

National Italian American Foundation 

Amarone Seminar and Gala 2014

http://marcopoloexperience.it/index_eng.html

NIAF meets annually and is an organization made up of quite astounding Italian Americans who have made tremendous successes of their lives. I was honored to sit as a panelist during their annual wine tasting, representing one of the most renowned Amarone families, Tommasi. The tasting itself was led by Philadelphia's food and wine writer, Brian Freedman. The dynamic panel consisted of wholesalers who rep honorable Amarone families. As we guided guests through a sampling of the Valpolicella region, we discussed the etymology of grape names, the history of winemaking, current statistics of Veneto production levels, and the differences between the 2009 and 2010 vintages of Amarone. The session ended with a tasting of prominent Amarones, such as Allegrini, Tommasi, Tedeschi, and Brigaldara.

Most memorable moment of the event: seeing Joe Piscopo live, listening to John Turturro speak of his family and life accomplishments, or drinking exceptional Amarone...I think I'll go for the latter. But the entire evening was a smashing success!