2004 White Rose Nekaia Pinot Noir

We opened up this pinot noir (another from our trip to Oregon's Dundee Hills and Willamette Valley a few years ago) to go with some lamb chops I made on Sunday. White Rose has an unusual tasting room at its vineyards that sits atop a hill and looks almost like a medieval great hall in miniature. But don't let this nod to the sci-fi/fantasy convention set fool you. The wine is very good. The 2004 Nekaia has bright rhubarb and cherry notes and just enough tannins to let you know the wine is there. It is a wine meant for food, particularly some mild game (yes, I know that's almost an oxymoron) or lamb. The wine is tart but not thin and has a medium finish.

The Macallan 1851 "Inspiration"

Jim Murray called this whisky "flat and uninspirational." Macallan has made a cottage industry out of producing replica whiskies -- bottles that are of more recent production but that supposedly replicate the flavor of the Macallan produced at a given time. A few years ago they came out with a set to replicate the Macallan from the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, with appropriate artwork to evoke the images of the time (trains, open-top cars, but no tanks or spitfires for the 1940s). Then they came up with the 1851 Inspiration for the duty free market. It comes in a squat bottle similar to the 19th century type (think Aberlour A'bunadh) with a wax seal on the top. I bought my bottle in the Seoul duty free about a year ago and had thought when I read more about it that I wouldn't like it. I was worried it would be a fiery or overly sherried malt.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I opened up this bottle finally and poured out a light golden liquid. It had a lighter, sugar (but not caramel) smell and betrayed very little sherry influence. According to the Grain Mash, it was partly aged in ex-bourbon American oak casks, which raises a few eye-brows I suppose at the genuineness of the flavor profile, but I am more likely to be charitable given that Macallan is trying to recreate a flavor, not the method per se. Anyway, the nose continues with sweet flowers, bubble gum and Big Red gum (the spicy cinnamon kind). This is a very unexpected flavor and aroma from Macallan, at least for me. There is a lot of high sweetness and it is sharp and brisk on the tongue, but not in a harsh or rough way. With water it settles down. It really reminds me of a young Bowmore at this point, though with a little less plastic. In fact, if you had given this to me blind, I would never have guessed Macallan and would have sworn this was closer to the Bowmore Legend. Quite an enjoyable whisky and certainly not, in my view, flat and uninspirational.

GMO or Organics?

I have heard many people touting genetically-modified foods as the only means to feed a growing planet. This blog post at the Atlantic's food section is the first place I have seen the thesis posited that organic farming can be as productive as conventional. Worth exploring further. I had thought that organic is difficult to do (particularly poly-cultural farming) on the scale that conventional farming is done, but it may just be more labor intensive.

Talisker Cask Strength (2007 edition)

If you recall from almost a year ago, I visited the Talisker distillery and picked up a bottle of the 2007 edition of the cask strength, exclusively available at the distillery. It is bottled at 53.9% ABV and has a pale gold color. The nose has the typical sea salt, but also some sweet licorice and biscuit, fresh pasta dough, rubber and thick plastic. With some water added I get a little chocolate biscuit as well. The whisky is nice and spicy on the tongue and has a very long finish. It's not oily at all. I really enjoy this whisky; it is one to savor for a long time over the course of an evening.

Great Pizza in Bethesda

We had lunch today at Mia's Pizza in Bethesda and were very impressed by the pizzas on offer. The menu includes two specialty pizzas of the day and a regular line-up of more than a dozen. The crusts are thin but not crunchy, and the sauces are just enough to highlight the toppings. I liked the spice the pepper flakes added to my salsiccia pizza, which made the pepperoni and mushrooms seem brighter.

Fish Ethics

Mark Bittman has a good piece in today's New York Times about the complicated issues involved in trying to eat fish sustainably given the confusing array of problems facing global fish stocks and terminology.

Port Wine

Port wine is supposedly less attractive to wine drinkers these days -- it's naturally hard to conceive that it will ever hold the cache and reputation it once held for 19th century high society, but it is a shame that more people don't partake of this great drink. One of our favorites at the affordable end of the scale is Dow's 2003 Late Bottled Vintage port, which can be found for about $25 a bottle most places. And now the major houses are starting to sell their 2007 vintage ports, which is apparently quite a good vintage. Jancis Robinson was recently singing the vintage's praises in the pages of the FT. Given the reasonable prices for some of these, it might be worth putting a few bottles in your basement. I made some chocolate mousse this past weekend that pairs very well with port and I am glad I had a spare bottle around to enjoy with it.

Kooper's Tavern (Baltimore)

I can only tell you that Kooper's Tavern in Baltimore's Fells Point area (think TV's Homicide police HQ) has a fantastic crab cake. You would probably expect that in Maryland, but this one was a cut above many others I have had in the Old Line State.

De Pijp' Restaurant

The Pipe (De Pijp') is one of those places that you have to know someone to find. In a side street of Rotterdam behind a nondescript door, the Pipe is a hole in the wall in every sense of the word. When you walk in, the first thing you notice (well, that I noticed) was the small kitchen in the middle of the restaurant that requires negotiating around servers picking up plates in order to get to your table. The next thing you notice is all the stuff tacked to the walls and ceiling: pictures, souvenirs, and even a collection of neck-ties. It reminds me of a local sports bar with lots of history, which this restaurant has certainly accumulated in its 100 plus year existence. It supposedly served as a meeting place for the resistance during the second World War (others tell me it was where the student union, after it was banned by the Nazis, continued to meet). The Pipe is a good place to enjoy some typical Dutch cuisine (yes, there is such a thing) and even more typical Dutch humor and bluntness. Because the food is very good, and the service is very blunt and humorous. If you have thin skin, don't go here.

And don't ask for Grolsch beer either, because, like many restaurants and bars, they only serve Heineken (the larger of the two major beer manufacturers in Holland). The servings are generous (I had a large helping of liver with well caramelized onions) and piping hot. The desserts, which include chocolate mousse (both white and dark chocolate) and various types of crepes, are excellent. I cannot boast that this is the best restaurant in Rotterdam or that it is the best place for Dutch food, but it is a very good choice for a group that wants to enjoy themselves and experience Dutch hospitality and vittles.

Save the Baguettes!

A feel-good but somewhat disturbing story in today's New York Times that should be read in its entirety. The story concerns a french couple that moved to northern New Hampshire town and opened a bakery that quickly became a vital part of the town's social fabric. One problem -- the State Department deemed its financial impact "marginal" and denied a visa renewal for one of them (the other is a US citizen now). That's the disturbing part -- that someone in State's bureaucracy made a decision based purely on financial data provided in the application, not on the actual impact (tangible and intangible) on the town. The feel-good part is that a letter-writing campaign and contacts with one of the state's senators led to a new interview at the Embassy in Paris and a reversal of the decision.

Chivas Regal 18 year old "Gold Standard"

I tend to get less out of blended scotch than I do single malts. What I mean by that is that the blending may make a well balanced and harmonious (more or less) scotch, but I have much more trouble picking out individual flavors or scents. This may well be the point, but makes my notes shorter. I spent quite some time on the 18 year old from Chivas. I like their blends, and this one is quite good. It has a golden color and a slightly smokey, sherried smell. I detect a little sandlewood as well. With water I get some biscuit, but little else. The body is rich and oily. The finish is medium and satisfying. I bought this bottle on sale for about $55, which is about right given its flavors, but I wouldn't make this a regular purchase.

Black Sheep Riggwelter Yorkshire Ale

Continuing our late spring/early summer odyssey through some British beers, we turn to a young company making outstanding beers: the Black Sheep brewery in Yorkshire. The Riggwelter is a dark, dark, dark beer with a slight reddish tinge around the edges. As you might expect, the nose is strongly infused with coffee and cocoa notes. I didn't detect bananas as the brewers maintain one should. Given that, it is surprising that this ale is not strongly bitter. It has a smooth, full and rich body, but a short finish. A refreshing drink that is on the edge of greatness.

Minor achievement: This is my 100th posting to this blog. It has taken me quite a while, indicating I am far from prolific or diligent, but it is a minor achievement.