Friday, March 27, 2009

Wine Tip - Try White Wine With Sushi


With the warmer weather tempting our palates to lighter fare, now is
the perfect time to venture beyond traditional sushi and beverage
pairings. Try a crisp white wine instead of Saki or Japanese beer.


Trends in Wine and Affordable Luxuries


Trends for Spring 2009 Wines to Drink Now
Riesling and other light, bright whites are starting to be trendy right now. Lower alcohol and good acidity make them food friendly and perfect for cheese and light meats. Typically, there’s an about face from season to season. The big reds of winter give way to the lighter whites of spring/summer.

Cork or Screw Cap?
The screw cap works great for some wines you can drink immediately. This year, Mommessin’s Beaujolais Nouveau ‘08 came in a plastic bottle with a screw cap. The plastic bottle was cute, lightweight (cheaper shipping costs) which added a fun flair to the idea of Beaujolais, and only $10.00 a bottle. But overall, cork finished is still far superior. The wine doesn’t breath naturally without a cork. Wines do breath with a cork.
The Last Word: Decanting
To decant or not to decant, that is a good question. Most wine merchant’s wine on the shelf is for immediate drinking. Ask the wine purveyor as the starting point, as this person is probably familiar with the history of the wine. When the wine is big and tight, it needs to be opened and oxygenated. There are some grape varietal Syrahs that are ready to drink and some that need to be opened up one hour before, as an example. It all depends on the producer and the vintage. Some wines are closed and more tannic and need to age – these need to be decanted if you can’t wait for the wine to mature in the bottle. Decanting gives the wine a head start. You can always do a rough decant. Open the wine, pour it into something and then pour it right back into the bottle. Enjoy!

Affordable Luxury
Artisanal Honeys – in stressful times, people feel comfortable splurging in a little luxury to enjoy when they are spending more time at home. With the continuing problem of colony collapse disorder, honeys of all kinds will become more precious.
Green Tea Oil – made from the buds, food item du jour green tea oil works best as finishing oil. Recipes of the Pacific Rim call for it. Try it when preparing scallops, mussels and langoustines. Tip: Green Tea Oil can take a higher heat with low smoke.
Restaurant Menus – the economy is spawning lots of new small bite and tapas-like items. People like to try new things and still get some bang for their buck.