dmwine

Eye-popping prices for the best tuna on the first Tsukiji auction of the New Year are a bit of a good luck tradition. The same fish sold in a couple months wouldn't garner nearly the same sale.

Well, it wouldn't be fresh ...

By the way, Mac Murray Ranch, Rancho Zabaco and other "non Gallo" labels are Gallo owned.

So is Bridlewood. They also have interests (not sure about ownership) in some foreign labels such as McWilliams from Australia and are now the importers of Alamos from Argentina.

They also feature an obscure little Virginia winery.

Not so obscure anymore! You're in the Smithsonian!

Let us also remember that the région of Bordeaux is on the Atlantic Ocean, and that Château Margaux makes 3,000 cases a year of a minerally Sauvignon Blanc that goes perfectly with that region's oysters from Arcachon and Cap Ferret.

Cheers,

Hitler.

NOW it's invoked!

P.S. Just trying to show some support for the "locapour" movement. which has been "moving" in France at an escargot's pace, for about ... 1,000 years or so.

Except he meant the red! :-)

First, who says it tastes awful? You, or the person drinking it?

Years ago, I wrote a short piece for Wine Enthusiast on pairing wine with oysters. My muse was Michael Flynn, then of Kinkead's, who set me up with four dozen bivalves and several glasses of wine and proceeded to instruct me on the terroir of oysters. (At that point I was not an oyster slurper, and I prided myself for getting through that lesson without gagging or gout). For the article, I interviewed the manager of the Grand Central Oyster Bar in NYC, who told me of seeing an elderly Frenchman (he may have been wearing a beret, even, though my imagination could be adding that detail in retrospect) sitting at the bar, with a dozen oysters and a bottle of Chateau Margaux. Fearing that this pairing was an abomination, the manager asked how the customer was doing.

The gentleman smiled and said, "Life eeez bee-yoo-ti-ful."

OK, so help out the average wine consumer (like myself) and tell me what to look for on the label so I know I'm dealing with a smaller importer.

Locally, also look for Wine Traditions (Ed Addiss), Michael R. Downey Selections and Siema (Italian), Grapes of Spain (Aurelio Cabestrero Selections), Vin de Terra (Jonas Gustavsson, specializing in Spain and Portugal). Dionysus also has a good portfolio. Kacher, of course, is the granddaddy of local importers. Potomac Selections carries Tom Calder Selections - Tom is based in Paris but has local ties, and he has a fantastic palate.

Not every publication steers you to expensive wines ...

I don't think this column had the intended effect: http://eater.com/archives/2010/12/14/is-the-nyt-biased-against-dc.php

At least Tim, unlike this NY-based Eater blogger, knows how to spell "nation's capital."

Silver Diner's new healthy emphasis was reported in the Post early this year, and its local produce/local wines got a mention more recently, too.

Publicists (often in cahoots with the restaurateurs paying them) who pay bloggers, shills, goons, and "journalists" to do their dirty work. You don't know the half of things, my good friend. Not all apples are bad; some are.

Maybe I don't travel in the same sordid circles as Don, but as a "journalist" in this field for 15 years now, I can say that I have NEVER been offered a bribe or other payment by any restaurant publicist. For a time I attended several press dinners arranged by publicists for new restaurants or established restaurants seeking new ink, but while they certainly hoped that an article or blog post would come of the effort, that was never a condition of the invitation. As a freelancer, these events were especially valuable to me - I managed to pitch and sell several articles to various publications, either about the restaurant in question, or from a contact made at one of these events. Sometimes the benefit was two or three degrees of separation away, and sometimes the article had nothing to do with the restaurant that hired the publicist. Not all "journalists" have unlimited expense accounts; nor can we afford to try every hot restaurant or new hole-in-the-wall on our own dime.

It's a crowded field with lots of restaurants vying for our dining dollars, so it makes sense to court "journalists" and bloggers (and to participate on this site) in order to get the word out there.

Chester Gap Cellars 2009 Petit Manseng, $19. An excellent crossover wine - 6% RS, but not particularly sweet, it goes well with spicy foods or light desserts. A delicious rendering of a variety that can shine in Virginia.

It was reduced.

And what does that mean? As opposed to oxidized?

Did the Maryland-model inspire this Congressional bill?

Not really. This bill was drafted by the beer wholesalers lobby, which is afraid lawsuits will allow big box stores such as Walmart to buy beer directly from breweries - something that would obviously be beneficial to Walmart, Anheuser-Busch, and Michelob lovers everywhere. As written, it could make it exceedingly difficult to challenge state laws that restrict direct shipping of any alcohol beverages, including wine. That's why nearly everyone in the industry except the National Beer Wholesalers of America and the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America is opposed to this bill. And several state attorneys general who are tired of defending their discriminatory laws from challenges.

Yet despite all the opposition, the bill seems to keep gaining co-sponsors ... funny how that works in an election year when the wholesaler lobbies pour donations into campaign coffers faster than you can say "spit bucket."

I wrote about this legislation in The Post back in May, as well as in my regular Thursday entry on the All We Can Eat blog.

Help- My daughter is turning 26 this Friday and she would like to take a wine tour with 6 of her friends. She knows where she wants to go as she and her boyfriend have tried different wineries in VA. For her birthday, I would like to arrange a limo service by Fairfax Corner( a central location). Please recommend a good limo service-as I have read about Fairfax limo,Chariot limo,etc. She would like to go to Chrsalls Vineyards,Willowcroft, Hillsborough and Breaux. I would appreciate any suggestions about where they should stop for lunch. I think when they come back they will eat in one of the Fairfax Corner Resturants.

Thank you all for your help-

P.S. My niece and nephew treated me to dinner and we went to the new resturant Ozzie's in FX Corner. Everything we had was good- antipasto, brick chicken, Pasta,but wish that they could have itialian bread and expresso. I asked one of the managers about the expresso and he said it was not cost efficient for them. They tried having expresso in one of the other Great American Rest. chain but it didnot work.

Reston Limo does wine tours to Loudoun County, and they are reliable.

If they visit wineries in the order you listed, they will pass through Leesburg after Willowcroft on the way to Breaux and Hillsborough. Tuscarora Grill in Leesburg is excellent. If the weather is nice and they want to slum it a bit, there's a general store with barbecue on Route 9 just off Route 7. Limited seating, though, so they might end up scarfing lunch in the limo or in the parking lot.

If possible, they should be sure to taste and compare the Albarinos at Chrysalis and Willowcroft. Jenni McCloud pioneered the grape in Virginia, and her success with it has prompted others, including Willowcroft, to plant it. Willowcroft released their first one this summer, and it is teriffic.

~ducks~ Don't laugh! But the frozen croissants at Trader Joe's are really really good. You do have to have some foresight, because you need to let them rise overnight (7-9 hours) before you can bake them. They bake up wonderfully flakey. A hot croissant that you can have without having to change out of your jammies is definitely worth something in my book!

Saint Michel in Rockville. Praline in Bethesda.

I second both of these! The TJ's croissants are surprisingly good. At Saint Michel, be sure to get the croissants made with Charentes butter. They cost all of a few cents more, but it's like a plane ticket to France!

Finewine.com in Gaithersburg is excellent, and there is Cork & Fork on Bethesda Row or the new Bottle Shop in North Potomac (off Seven Locks, same shopping center as Amici Mei). Depending on where your wedding is located, you might have licensing issues buying wine in one jurisdiction for serving in another (at least, if you're working through a caterer as opposed to shlepping it yourself). Circle, on Connecticut Ave just inside the District line, is also a good choice.

I have heard some rumblings about severe staff cuts at Kacher, including the closing of the main office, and cutting sales staff in half. I hope this is not the beginning of the end.

They closed the Washington office several months ago, centering operations in NY, I believe. Bobby assures me this is not the beginning of the end.

The Court of Master Sommeliers, after sleeping off the celebration of Kathy's triumph, has finally posted the press release.

The Court of Master Sommeliers does not have this on its website yet, but I received a press release announcing that Kathy Morgan of Citronelle attained the title of Master Sommelier yesterday in Dallas. Kudos to Kathy, who has been working for this title for several years. This is no trivial achievement. Yay Kathy!

A somewhat skeptical view from my Christmas column last year. Note that after this was published, the company behind the "Breathable Glass" more or less admitted it was a fraud, that there is no scientific evidence to back up the claims. But as I noted, it is a very nice wine glass.

At the Charlottesville City Market this Saturday, there was a booth offering local bagels, baked there, and also fresh, local donuts. Also wonderful grilled sausages from locally raised pork, served on locally baked buns from Albemarle Baking Company, and some delicious steak tacos. The Mexicans serving the tacos weren't local - well, come to think of it, they might be by now, or were perhaps in town waiting for the (early) grape harvest to begin - and I didn't ask where the beef came from. I'll put that under supporting local business. (And I agree with Waitman, this begs the question of local wines again ... )

Organic v local is another question, especially with wine grapes, considering the amount of sulfur and copper use in the vineyard that is apparently allowed under organic and biodynamic certification.

..... I did note the large tasting room with tables walking to the bathroom and wondered about it being used with large tour buses visiting.

If the tables are walking, try using the spit bucket.

So, after yesterday's events, I was driving homeward and listening to NPR's Marketplace show.

Please observe a moment of silence for Tom Meyer. He lives while interally balancing being a Restaurant Owner and Winemaker.

Maybe he should be at the Beer Summit too.

The Sauvignon Republic wines were actually very good, and a novel concept - to showcase a single grape variety and how it expresses itself in different wine regions, such as Sonoma, Marlborough, and South Africa. I think they were a victim of economic trends and just not having the resources to sustain the concept.

No, but I did something in that vein years ago by giving away small glasses of sweet wine to great connoisseurs after dinner and asking them to guess what it was. Sherry? Port? Madeira? Vin Santo? Not one person ever guessed correctly: St. John Commanderia (which cost the restaurant $6.99 a bottle).

LOVE that wine! Haven't seen it in years ...

Is this the Cecile who is now at finewine.com?

Yes - she and her husband own and are very active in Finewine.com in Gaithersburg.