Stop It with "Like a French Girl"

Look, I love Paris as much as any other basic American girl - a lot. But even I have had my fill of "do this like a French girl" stories.

When French Women Don't Get Fat came out - way back in 2004 - it was celebrated, and rightly so. The author, Mireille Guiliano, is insightful, gracious and engaging and at the time, the "French woman" thing was fresh and new.

But here we are twelve years later and writers are still beating that same old drum. Yes, Paris is still thrilling. And I know these articles are getting clicks and that I am 100% part of the problem...because some of those clicks are coming from me.

I don't even want to link to the article that set me off this morning (it was about throwing parties). It's not that it was a bad article, per se. The advice was all good (don't feel bad about buying dessert vs. making, the quality of conversation is more important than the quality of anything else, ply them with booze). The writing was perfectly fine. I'm sure the writer herself is great. But the underlying notion - the shorthand use of "French" to mean "expert hostess" - that grates. It's tired.

Interestingly, the opposite version of this article - the one proclaiming French food culture all but dead as a global influence - is almost as prevalent as the "like a French girl" articles are.

The demise-of-culture articles have more depth, though - including this one, by Jon Bonne, published earlier this week on Punch.

The gist of the article is this: French cooking, particularly outside of Paris, is mediocre. It is stuck in the past and kept from advancing by the sentimental notions and expectations that diners - from the French to the Americans to the rest of the world - have about French food.

The author holds this in stark contrast to the current wine scene in France, which he describes as dynamic and exciting. He gives a shoutout to cheesemakers, too, noting that the best ones manage to do something very difficult, as they honor what makes French cheese historically great, while still celebrating innovation.

As a country that has been, historically, celebrated for its food and entertaining culture, France is in a tough spot. Embracing innovation is tough for any individual or entity, particularly ones with storied pasts. And it's not like every old restaurant in France feels boring; when we were in Paris two years ago, we basically did the Hemingway tour, eating at a bunch of the author's old haunts, and the food wasn't avant-garde, but it was excellent.

I understand why France falls back on its laurels and writers, especially American ones, keep writing those "like a French girl" listicles. But really, for the sake of France, it's time for all of us to move on.

Ramblings on Rose

At the end of last summer, I insisted I was over rose. I'd had enough of the pink. I moved on.

I should've known I was fooling myself. Here we are, nearly a year later and now that it's springtime in Baltimore, I'm fully back on the rose train.

Coteaux du Libron 2013 by Flickr user Chris Pople

I  kicked off rose season with a bang a couple weeks ago, when I downed way more pink wine than necessary at Kyle and Mary's daughter's fourth birthday party. The weather was nice, the company was good, and Alexander Valley Vineyards Sangiovese rose pairs perfectly with both of those things.

Things that do not pair as perfectly with rose: Sunday mornings. Ouch.

But this post is not about hangovers. It's actually just a long way to say that since we are, theoretically, approaching warm weather, rose has been on my mind lately.

A few weeks ago, I had a nice chat with Brigid McAteer, a wine buyer at The Wine Source in Hampden, all about rose. She gave me some good advice - paler wines are better for porch-sipping and darker shades are better with food, for one. Drink it young, she said. Most rose is not built to age. And, of course, keep it cold, especially when it's hot outside.

McAteer also said that even if you think you only want to drink dry-as-a-bone roses (wines that are as far from white zin as you can get), you actually might appreciate more sugar than you think.

She used that Alexander Valley Vineyards wine as an example. "It's a best seller and a favorite," she said, commenting that as far as roses go, it is on the fruitier, sweeter side. McAteer also recommended roses from the Loire Valley.

Of course, when I think of rose, I think about Provence. Long before I even started drinking pink wine - back when there were few legit rose options available at local shops - I associated rose with the southern French region. (Thank you, Peter Mayle.)

And that is why I jumped at reading this Punch article about rose and Provence, by Jon Bonne, who does a great job illustrating the tension that occurs anytime you combine business with either art or science. Since winemaking is both...there's a lot of tension.

(As an aside, Punch has quickly become my favorite food/bev website. Solid reporting, interesting articles, boozy boozy. I love it.)

The short version of the article is this: Provence has always been about rose and the summery, pink lifestyle that goes with it. As rose has grown in popularity, the increasing demand for pink has influenced the strategies of Provence producers, resulting in fewer interesting reds and whites out of the region...and lots and lots of rose.

And not even more complicated, interesting roses. Winemakers are shifting from tricky Mourvedre to heartier Grenache.

This is all unfortunate, the author laments; as Provence's approach has changed, some of the culture that makes it such a special place - and that makes rose a special type of wine - starts to slip away.

Of course, people are always longing for the good old days - and I'm sure the winemakers aren't crying too much over their newly fat bank accounts.

But that doesn't mean they're not mulling over the changes they see...over a couple glasses of rose. Though it'll probably be Grenache.

The Best Rioja in All the Land

Hazana Vinas Viejas 2013 Rioja. Get some - sooner rather than later.

While the best in all the land might be an exaggeration, this Rioja is pretty damn good. And here's what's even better: it's only $11.99 at Wells.

For Valentine's Day this year, Mike and Alicia threw a wine tasting party. Every couple brought a bottle; we tasted about a dozen bottles of Rioja, all under $25. The tasting was blind and at the end everyone got one vote for the best wine.

When all the tasting was done, and we'd dispensed with the very classy wine conversation (just like Sideways, but with much, much fouler language), Mike and I tallied the votes, discovering that nearly all the votes went to two bottles of wine.

Then we realized that the two winners were actually the same wine - the Hazana Vinas Viejas. It's not a complicated wine, but it is interesting, with lots of flavor and a very smooth, food-friendly texture. Total crowd pleaser.

I was thrilled, then, when I stopped by Wells last week and found it on the shelf for $11.99. Next thing I knew, I was telling Mr. Lee, who has worked at Wells forever, all about the party, and he was giving me a quick lesson on the geography of Rioja and how grape sourcing effects wine flavor.

Mr. Lee is (very) familiar with the current Pollard Rioja habit - we buy a boatload of the super-cheap-but-good Montebuena - and also with what we like to drink when we're willing to spend more than $10 on a bottle. So when he recommended I grab a bottle of Vina Alberdi and another bottle of Es Lo Que Hay, I did.

And I know they're going to be good. But will we fall instantly in love with them, like we did with the Hazana? It's hard to say. But it certainly won't be a hardship to try.

All of this is a very long way of saying: try this wine. And if you're in the vicinity of Wells and need advice or just want a little knowledge about how a wine is made or why it tastes the way it does, ask Mr. Lee. He will definitely know the answer.

Blushy & Lushy

Illustration by Hayley Thornton-Kennedy. Source.

I wish this Food and Wine article about pink wine personality was a quiz - because I have loved quizzes forever, since even before I was scratching up the multiple choice questions in the back pages of YM.

But even just as a list, I like it.

For one thing, it's a good reminder that it will, one day, soon enough, be rose season again. That's helpful to know, what with the snow on the ground and all.

For another, it points out that not every rose is exactly the same. Our standard go-to pinks - Provencal but cheap - aren't exactly on the list (Provence is there...but the pricier stuff).

But the wines that do appear on the list are pretty interesting. While I'm unlikely to go down the white zin road anytime soon, I see some pink txakoli in my future. (I'm already a fan of Basque wines - we had a few bottles of red Gorrondona Txakolina at La Cuchara last November and I was sold.)

But mostly, I like it because it reminded me, right off, of that time, over five years ago now, when Cooper and I drank some Domaine Ott - the fanciest of the roses - and were kind of unimpressed. It was at a Dogwood wine dinner and while we liked it, it definitely didn't seem worth the price tag. Perhaps I am a plebe.

Whether or not we were sufficiently enthused by the wine's flavor, drinking it is a great memory of a dinner that was both delicious and a blast. There was a lot of laughing that night - there always was, at those Dogwood dinners.

Which, in the end, reminds me of what I love best about rose. More than any other wine, it seems to always come with a whole lot of laughter.

The Social Side of Wine

Last month, we had a fantastic dinner at Fleet Street Kitchen - it was the third in the Fork and Cork series, which was a collaboative effort between the sommeliers and chefs from FSK, Wit + Wisdom and Aggio.

I've mentioned the meal here already, but what I didn't say was how much we enjoyed hearing from the sommeliers, especially Julie Dalton, of Wit + Wisdom, who ended up at our table a couple times and who was just bubbling over with excitement about the wines. When someone is that psyched about what they're pouring, it's hard not to get on board.

I was thinking about that dinner today and remembered that a couple years ago, I interviewed Julie for a Sun article about restaurants and bars using new approaches to wine dispensing (taps, etc.). 

During our conversation, Julie and I talked about a lot of different things, some of which were eventually cut from the article for length - including her take on people using social media to learn and share about wine.

That conversation took place over a year and a half ago, but I think what she shared is still pretty relevant...so instead of letting it languish in a file on my computer, here it is:

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Wit + Wisdom's Julie Dalton on the Social (Media) Side of Wine

At Wit + Wisdom, the Millennial clientele is highly experimental with different varietals, says Julie Dalton, and they incorporate technology into their wine drinking experience on the social side. "It's crazy what social media has done for the wine industry," she says. Activities like "sabering" (opening bottles of sparkling wine with swords) and drinking directly from porrons (double-spouted glass pitchers from Spain) have gained in popularity thanks to social media sites like Instagram and wine-oriented apps.

"Right now everyone is sabering any sparkling wine because they're seeing videos and the hashtag #sabering," she says. "They follow people on [the app] Delectable to see what other people are drinking. People use it to see if they're drinking 'cool' wine." (Delectable is an app that lets people to share photos of what they are drinking; from the photos it identifies the wine and users can rate and buy the wine via the app.)

Wit + Wisdom is tapping into these trends this summer (ed note: as in...summer 2014) with Instagram-worthy events like Porron on the Patio, which will be part Spanish wine class, part interactive porron experience. "It's fun," says Dalton. "And of course it's going to be on the patio because people sometimes make messes."

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And because I can, here's some proof that sabering remains incredibly entertaining. My sister, accidentally knocking more than just the tippy-top off a bottle of prosecco on Thanksgiving. In slow motion:

It was more than a little traumatic. It wasn't her first rodeo, either. Tom and Cail gave us that saber for Christmas last year and Erin definitely got in on the sabering action. I actually think the above mess was my fault - I gave her a bottle that had been on its side, not standing up straight.

All was not lost, though. We had another bottle in the fridge, so we didn't have to go without. And the whole mess was much funnier since we were a) all (as in, everyone at the house, from Dixon to my 97-year old grandmother) watching from my parents' porch and b) taping the whole thing. Slow motion video is fabulous.

At any rate, I'm pretty sure the Waskom family proved Julie's point. We saber, we share, we have fun when we drink. It's a good time to be into wine.

Wine for the Holidays

VinePair, once again speaking my language:

It's funny and it's true. Seriously, there's some good advice in here!

Out and About

One of the things that nobody mentions about restaurant reviewing is that you really need to love doing stuff. That sounds obvious and dumb, I know. But what I mean is this: If you are the kind of person who, at the end of the day, just wants to plop in front of the TV to decompress for two to twelve hours, it is not the job for you. You've gotta like going out - even when it's raining.

Fortunately, I do like it. A lot. Which is why it's not even bothering me that I have gone out five of the past seven nights. And hosted people at our house for the sixth. On the seventh day (which happened to be Monday, so it was actually in the middle), I did, in fact, rest.

In between the reviews and the Halloween festivities, this week included two collaborative dinners - one in Richmond and one in Baltimore. Both were just awesome. 

The menus, for your viewing pleasure:

Both dinners were packed full of special stuff - including duck. So much duck. And it was all so good. I'm not sure I can pick an absolute favorite, though I will say that the most exciting dish of all was the first course at Fork and Cork - scallop crudo from Zack Mills. It was paired with a Riesling, which is not usually my bag, but in this case, it was really lovely and right.

But really, both evenings were wonderful. From candy to crudo, we have had a hell of a week of eating. And crazily enough, I'm ready for more tomorrow.

Passe Rose

As usual, I find that, when it comes to booze, I'm right on trend. Rose is so yesterday. When Bon Appetit - a wonderful magazine, but not crazy edgy - says so, you know it's true. (Like BA, I am also not crazy edgy...which is why I am not ahead of this curve.)

This is not to say that I have not been drinking any rose this summer. Oh, I have. But between the grapefruit beer and the specialty cocktails, my pink wine consumption has slipped a bit. Honestly, it's been good for my head. As in, fewer headaches.

In the linked article, BA editor Adam Rappaport makes a few suggestions for what to drink instead of rose. My favorite pick? Vinho Verde. On this, I am trendsetting! (Not that VV is all that new of a US drinking trend - but it never did explode the way rose did.)

Rappaport describes it as "the Sierra Mist of Portugal." It's funny because it's true.

And that has summer written all over it.

VinePair Gets Me - and My Stars

I'm not sure when I first came across VinePair but I can tell you this: they know how to make me click on stuff.

Nothing they write is terribly complicated, but their reliance on maps and adorable drawings just does it for me. I can't resist. As much as I love longform writing...I can't get enough of their short-ish, focused and actually pretty smart approach to booze education.

Today's draw: this feature about what you should drink according to your Zodiac sign.

Though I am a totally rational adult, and someone who is super science and data-driven, and also someone who realizes that astrology is the opposite of science-y and data-y, I am also a complete horoscope junkie. It's embarrassing, but I love them.

So of course I loved reading that my Capricorn nature suggests I should drink ice wine. I'm not so sure about that - really, I think it means I should try making ice wine, not drinking it. But still, I get the point.

And I loved that Cooper should be drinking Malbec. Because, well, yes.

View through the Wine Glass

This is some interesting stuff.

The Washington Post's Dave MacIntyre talks with a sommelier from Fleurie, a restaurant in Charlottesville, and she reveals all kinds of little things that influence the way she recommends wines. She's obviously very into the tailored approach and there are some cool insights here (such as: if you like to butter and salt your bread, you'll probably be more receptive to intense wines).

She also speaks very delicately; she's careful not to sound judgmental or to offend, though it would be easy to do both when you are talking about pairing wines "not just with food, but with the diner as well."

I liked the article very much...and I can say that I always appreciate when a waiter/bartender/somm reads us correctly. But it's always slightly unnerving to be reminded that critiquing goes both ways. We're sizing up the restaurants we visit. And they're doing the same right back at us.

History, Wine and Intrigue

I love Rioja. We go through wine phases around here, jumping from country to country, varietal to varietal. For over ten years now, we've been serial wine monogamists, settling on a "house wine" and buying case after case, until we find a new love.

For the past six or so months, that wine has been a Rioja called Montebuena. Everyone who drinks it likes it - and it is seriously inexpensive. Plus, it's a screw top which means that, yes, some of the pomp and circumstance around opening the bottle is missing. But it's a whole lot easier to deal with mid-party.

I love history, too - especially when it involves tales of wine counterfeiting and general intrigue. Unsurprisingly, this short lesson about the origins of the gold wire on bottles of Rioja, from Vine Pair, had me fascinated.

Montebuena doesn't mess with the wires but more than a few fancier Riojas have rotated through our wine cellar at one point or another. I always assumed the wires were a holdover from the olden days - but I hadn't thought about why. Short answer: to prevent counterfeiters from gaining access to the bottle.

And isn't it just like 18th century Europeans to create an anti-counterfeiting measure that sparkles?

Speaking of Regionalism...

VinePair totally just got me with this map:

Is it totally reliable? No chance. There aren't even any actual sources attached, so even the wine vs. beer attributions are suspect. But still, it's cute. And it made me laugh. And...maps!

Year Ends, Year Begins

Unsurprisingly, we both ended 2014 and started 2015 with a lot of great food and fun and laughter. As busy as December always is for us, it's also stacked with family and friends.

And food. And booze.

Speaking of food and booze, the above is just a small taste of our Christmas festivities. My brother and sister, plus Cail and Clark, were all in Maryland for Christmas - it was the first time we were all together for the holiday. For logistical reasons, Bill didn't go home to his parents' until after Christmas, so he was there, as well.

Dinner at my parents' house was festive and fun. Oysters, prime rib dry-aged by my parents, cheesecake and lots of cookies. We came home and Bill spent the night and even made breakfast for us in the morning (Taylor pork roll!). That night, we went to Cooper's parents for red meat round two and more Christmas cheer.

The day after Christmas, Tom and Cail and Erin and Clark and Dixon and I had lunch at Carrol's Creek Cafe in Annapolis, then everyone came up to our house for post-Christmas festivities with our friends.

Tom and Cail gave us a sabre for Christmas, so we spent the whole week following the holiday knocking the tops of champagne bottles. Fun stuff.

A bunch of that sabreing took place on New Year's Eve, when, like last year, we had the Bargers and Kennedys and Swartses - and their kids - over for dinner.

Before dinner, we drank pomelder prosecco punch and ate Alicia's hot pimiento cheese dip, which was so good, in an old school sort of way, and a bunch of oysters (both raw and grilled).

With the reasoning that if it ain't broke, don't fix it, we stuck with last year's menu of tenderloin and crab imperial, plus cauliflower puree that is seriously so good. Alicia made chocolate and peanut butter cupcakes and we drank a couple bottles of Brunello that we've been saving...and more than a couple bottles of Montebuena Rioja. Plus, the champagne.

Kids had nuggets - with Dixon's special nugget sauce - and about six hundred candy canes. Dixon put himself to bed in the middle of the party (typical) and everyone else got to play with sparklers. It...was better for some than for others.

Last year, nearly all the kids held on until midnight. This year, there were meltdowns all around when 11 hit, so the only people who made it were the Swartses (and even then, Eva passed out, face down on the sofa, before midnight rolled around).

It was such a great way to kick off a new year - surrounded by friends and family. And eating such good food.

I hope everyone else's 2015 started out on such a great note!

Making the Most of August

The end of summer means amazing food...and a mad rush to do everything everything everything before school starts again. Here's a smattering of what we've done and eaten recently, starting middle top and working clockwise:

1. We're sailing! Last weekend, for the first time all summer, I had a chance to go out on the boat with my dad and brother and sister - plus Cooper and Clark (Cail was on her way home from vacation, so she didn't make it). There was absolutely no wind but it was a beautiful day, so a good time was had by all.

2. Early August cupcakes at the pool. We've been all over the happy hour/dinner hour at the pool this summer, including one random Tuesday night in early August, when Alicia made some of her best cupcakes yet. They were snickerdoodle cake with light cocoa buttercream...and so good.

3. Jalapeno jelly time. Every year, Mary's parent's neighbors, Frito and Cindy, turn a bunch of their jalapenos into a kick-ass jelly to be served over cream cheese. A little spicy, a little sweet and old school in the very best way. It's awesome.

4. Haircuts. Our deal this summer was that as long as Dixon was good, we wouldn't make him have his hair cut until it was time to go back to school. It is now time to go back to school. Yesterday, he had his mop chopped off and styled at Salon Method...and it looks great in the cutest little boy band way. He is less enamored, since his fierce lax mullet is now gone. But he looks so cute! (And it will grow back.)

5. Pie! Post-sailing, Cail arrived at my parents' house, bringing lots of fun with her, in the form of her dad...and pie! She had been on vacation in Little Compton, Rhode Island (my brother was with her for a week then he had to go back to work, so her dad joined her for a week). In Little Compton, they frequent a pie stand called Wilma's at Walker's. She brought two pies for dinner - one blueberry and one peach raspberry. They were so good words can't do them justice. Seriously, just amazing.

6. Tooloulou at Belvedere Square. One of the city's most fun carry-outs, Tooloulou, has recently relocated to Belvedere Square. I'm thrilled that it's so close by. The other night, we gorged on fig and goat cheese pizza, a muffaletta sandwich, dirty rice and a whole lot of pecan pie. Welcome to the neighborhood, Tooloulou!

7. How 'bout them O's? Seriously, how about them? We're not huge baseball fans but I love all the energy around the Orioles right now. It's so fun. We took Dixon to his first game recently. Though he lost steam somewhere around the fourth inning, he was quite taken with the swag - and the food. His new fave snack: the pretz-cho. Soft pretzels, nacho cheese...what more could you really want?

8. Busting out the good stuff. Back in early 2006, just before I found out I was pregnant, we started buying Bordeaux futures from Wells. All of a sudden, this year, we realized that it was just about time to start actually drinking some of those wines, including the 2003 Cap de Faugeres - a part of our first big purchase. Early in August, we celebrated Mary's birthday with dinner at our house and a couple bottles of the wine. It was delicious, of course, and felt very special. It's weird to start actually drinking something you've been cellaring for years. Makes dinner feel super fancy.

9. Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes (in the center). We are growing them - successfully - but I also can't help buying them. They're just so gorgeous. And they taste so good. I'm in a rush to eat as many as possible before this gorgeous time of year ends.

Because it is ending...and soon. Dixon goes back to school next week and we will be back in our regular routines. I'm ready for the structure and I love the fall. But still, some days, it's easy to wish that summer would last forever.

State-by-State Boozing

Yesterday, The Washington Post published some interesting charts of alcohol consumption by state:

Maryland is decidedly average on all counts - beer consumption, wine consumptions, spirits consumption and binge drinking. Average isn't really news but what interests me is our neighbors. DC is the biggest consumer of wine and spirits and a heavy binge drinking town, too, apparently. Delaware rises to the top for beer, spirits and binge drinking.

Both are teeny tiny, and the findings are based on per capita consumption, so that probably explains some of the discrepancy between the two locations and Maryland, which is tucked right in between.

But interesting, nonetheless.

Ancient & Alcoholic

How cool is this: scientists present findings from a massive northern Israel wine cellar that dates back to 1700 BC.

One of the interesting things, as the NPR article points out, is that the many jugs found held wine of the exact same recipe, suggesting at least some level of standardization.

I'd love to read more about what this says about that local area and their social patterns. Were the owners of the wine throwing parties? Charging guests? Producing to sell? I'm so curious about how people in the past socialized - and this seems full of clues.

The Dos & Don'ts of Keuka Lake Wine Tasting

We are just back from our third annual wine tasting trip around Keuka Lake. At this point, I feel confident that we are experts. To cement that status, here are our dos and don'ts of Keuka wine tasting:

This year, only Cooper, Alicia, Mike and I could make it. On Friday night, we went out to dinner then stayed up waaaay too late. Saturday, we had lunch at Bully Hill then hit two of our favorite wineries from years past: Keuka Spring and McGregor.

We rounded out the evening with a trip to the awesomely divey bar, The Switz, and a visit to The Olney Place for provisions and to say hi to the proprietor, Seth, an old friend of Alicia's family.

Overall, we had a blast - as usual. Lots of laughing, one dip in the lake (Cooper) and lots of wine - some of it good, even.

Can't wait to go back next year.

Rosy Future

The July issue of Bon Appetit is absolutely killer. It's worth buying for Francis Lam's dry-aging article alone. Great writing on a topic that I didn't know I'd find so interesting.

Here's something else that caught my eye: David Lynch's piece on rose. I can't find it online, but it's a two-pager that summarizes what rose is, how to best drink it and a few key types of rose.

Rose isn't a super new topic - at least not around our house, where I have been enjoying it liberally for more than a few years. (Sometimes too liberally.) But as much as I drink, I still learned a few new things from Lynch's article.

Most notably: ramato. Here's Lynch:

Here's another word to look for: ramato. It means "coppery," and it's typically attached to Northeast Italian Pinot Grigio that's taken on a deeper shade and tangier flavor as a result. It's the training-wheels version of the more robust and buzzy "orange wines."

Not that I need training wheels (Am I bragging about my capacity for rose? Not intentionally, but maybe.) - but I like the sound of this as a summer wine. Easy, tangy and new (to me).

Sign me up! (And buy the issue!)

Keuka Lake Wine Tasting Weekend Recap

As previously mentioned, a couple of weeks ago, we spent the weekend 

wine-tasting our way around Keuka Lake with Alicia, Mike, and Stacy.

It was a good time.

The highlights:

Links:

Bully Hill Vineyards

Keuka Lake Vineyards

Ravines Wine Cellars

McGregor Winery

The Olney Place

Keuka Spring Winery

Champaigne BBQ

[Some of these photos were taking by me, some by Alicia, and some by Stacy. And the picture of The Olney Place comes from a Keuka real estate website - A Chair on the Lake.]

Wine Club at Elliott's Pour House

We hang out with our friends Jeff and Christine as much as possible, but we don't go to their bar, Elliott's Pour House, nearly enough. Mostly because, well, because we have a kid and we don't live in Canton. But it's a great bar.

And it's a great bar that's about to get better, with the start of the EPH Wine Club. One Thursday a month - starting tomorrow, the 23rd - Jeff will be hosting a wine and food tasting at the bar. It starts at 7 PM, costs $10, and all the details are right here.

Needless to say, we'll be there.