We are starting a new thing here at Vine and asking our friends and cohorts to do their own wine reviews and wine pairings. Thus allowing all of us to expose our own internal Robert Parker, watch out you might be next.

So without further ado I present one 'experts' opinon on Heirloom tomatoes and the Morgadio Albarino:

This pairing was definitely influenced by the exciting final episode of Hell's Kitchen. We hate and we love. We try and try again.

I hate tomatoes but 10 percent of the year. I can't stand the mushy, cardboard-tasting sodden lumps that sit forlornly in the supermarket in, say, March. As a kid I looked forward to the few weeks of the summer when the miraculous Venn diagram of garden lettuce, cukes, and tomatoes would converge, allowing for a sandwich that, larded with mayo, proved to be the best lunch of the year.

Have you ever seen 40 pounds of tomatoes? It's a sight to behold. Talitha gave me a selection, and with those and the bottle of Morgadio Rias Baixas 2004, I trotted home to begin the pairing.

We were very organized. First, we tasted the wine (to make sure it wasn't poisonous, of course). Tart, crisp. Floral nose. Light but with a nice, long finish. Not bad. We decided to let it breathe. In the meantime, I lovingly examined our heirloom tomatoes. We had your standard red, a green with red highlights, and a gorgeous yellow shot through with red. Slicing them up, I tasted each on its own. Good heirloom tomatoes are like oysters. They don't really need an accompaniment.

So we set it up in stages. Tomatoes and wine. Tomatoes and basil and wine. And finally (and perhaps the most potentially calamitous), tomatoes and mozzarella (or, as my Brooklyn Eyetalian family says, muhtzarrelle).

A good tomato has more to offer than just acidity. It should be sweet and fulsome. The green variety was sharp and matched the acid and the texture of the wine. And it really brought out the minerality. The salt and pepper enhanced this. The yellow was sweet and soft and after the wine had a chance to breathe it paired nicely with the wine. Adding a bit of the basil brought out the wine's natural herbaceous notes. The red tomato was red. No less delicious, but compared to its more vibrant counterparts it seemed...mundane. But the tomatoes and the wine: a perfect zen pairing.

Now, scientists will tell you that cheese will alter your ability to truly taste wine. That's why I saved it for last. Because as much as I believe in chemistry and science and all that other gobbeldygook, let's be real: we don't eat meals in a vacuum. And basil, fresh mozzarella, and tomatoes are like my holy trinity. Tasting this combo with the wine, though, proved a bit disappointing. The wine doesn't stand up to the milky richness of the mozz. I went back to the kitchen to try a few more experiments.

I cut open a clove of garlic. And this is how I made my discovery of the perfect pairing for the Rias Baixas and the tomatoes. Take some slices of fresh Italian semolina bread (or baguette--we're not picky), drizzle them with oil, and them with garlic. Plop some slices of heirloom and basil a la chiffonade and really, there is nothing better. (If you're a die-hard cheese fan, though, my recommendation is this: Trader Joe's pizza crust, slices of heirlooms, some basil and thin slices of garlic, and a generous sprinkling of the pecorino romano, in the oven till it gets all warm and crispy.)

Something about the tomatoes, the hint of garlic and the Morgadio Rias Baixas 2004: really, so much more satisfying than the results of the Hell's Kitchen competition.

Labels: albarino, food, spanish, whites

I never win anything. This goes without saying in my life, even the things I should win like second grade spelling bees and attendance badges. Usually some unforseen, weather related catastrophe occurs to foil my winning. Besides I was never any good at sports so I never won any of those categories either. This weekend however I won big time, you could even say I won twice.

Firstly I won in being invited along to an heirloom tomato festival in lovely New Paltz. Everything that I ever imagined the life of the former-chef-turned-upstate-farmer to be was in evidence. A big beautiful barn, dogs, a band, a few barbecues, pigs, chicken, lavender, strawberries and piles upon piles of tomatoes, all there. So I ate and ate and then ate just a little more, all in the snacking farm way. After a few dusty hours of eating and talking we decided to head back but not before we all humored ourselves by losing at the raffle. I stood around and thought what I would do if I were to win my weight in tomatoes, imagining sauces and salads galore. And wouldn't you know it I won, not first place - since nobody needs 200 pounds of tomatoes (okay I don't weigh quite that much) but I won second place; half my weight in tomatoes. Now I sit here staring at half a crate of tomatoes wondering what to do with them all. Which is where this entire post comes in to play, as a public service I will be pairing wines and tomatoes all week until I have firmly established the right pairings and I will post them here on Friday, so get ready.

It feels nice to win especially when it is something as easy to share as a crate of organic heirloom tomatoes.

Labels: events, food

It's August. It's hot and it seems like everyone I know is too broke to go on that vacation or long weekend they planned earlier in the summer. What to do?

Treat yourself right with a fancy bottle of wine. Not pretentious fancy. Not break-the-bank fancy. Just something you haven't tried before that costs a little more than you would usually spend. Make a night of it. Buy some cheese and bread and bottle (or two) of wine and have yourself a little "I'm broke (tired of summer, sick of my job, irritated with my significant other, freaked out by the world), but I still treat myself right" party. Invite friends. Have everyone bring a bottle of wine and something fancy to eat. The funny thing is, you'll probably spend less than if you went out to a bar, had three drinks and took a car service home.

What to get?

At $15.95 Flying Cloud Pinot Gris from San Luis Obispo County in California is an affordable luxury. This crisp white has lovely notes of Asian pear and a long clean finish. Perfect chilled with a soft ripened goat cheese like Le Chevrot or Lingot de Quercy.

What else?

Try Bandol Rose from Domaine la Suffrene. A full bottle will run you $20.95. It's also available in half bottles for $10.50. Bandol is a wine making region in Provence, on France's Mediterranean coast. Mourvedre, Grenache and Cinsault are the main grapes in this rose, and, with the addition of Syrah, of the Bandol region as well. It's a sturdy but supple rose, with nice raspberry lushness and sprightly lemon notes. Get yourself some aged sheep cheese from the Pyrenees like Abbaye de Belloc, Ossau Iraty or Vermont Shepherd (admittedly, from Vermont but in the Pyrenees style). Better yet, get some Brin D'Amor - an herb covered soft sheep cheese from Corsica. You will be in heaven.

Feeling really fancy? Want a wine with some real substance?

Crank up the ac and get yourself a bottle of Domaine Ligneres Notre Dame. It has a sleek modern label, is from Corbieres, France and if I was made of money I would drink a bottle of this wine twice a week. At $29.95 a bottle it's not an everyday wine for most of us, but worth every penny and more. The Notre Dame is big and silky with a beautiful warm, round fullness. Really go for it and buy yourself the most gooey, stinky, delicious cheese you can find. Brie de Meaux or Brie de Nangis would do it. A triple cream would also be appropriate. Invite someone you love, or think you might like to love, to drink it with you. You know those blizzard babies? Consider yourself warned.

Labels: american, californian, food, french, reds, rosé, whites

So I did it. I ventured in to Trader Joe's in Union Square, swearing the whole way that there was no way in hell that I would stand in line to shop at a grocery store. Luckily the line was diminishing rapidly as we approached and our ability to shop was semi-unimpeded, needless to say shopping anywhere on a Saturday is a bad idea. It looks like Trader Joe's everywhere else, just smaller and more packed. I wandered the aisles and filled my very well designed cart with a smattering of products. I could never actually elbow my way in to see the cheese or frozen meats but I assume they are fine. After standing in line for a very pleasant five minutes, interrupted only by the infernal clanging of their bell, someone in marketing must think that it's really cute to clang a bell when a register is open, lets see how long this lasts in New York city. I spent $27 on what? A WHOLE BAG OF SNACKS. Okay this is one of my complaints with Trader Joe's it seems to be a potheads mecca, which was evidenced by the woman in front of me in line at the Portland store who told her cashier that she had just quit smoking pot, hence the piles of snacks. What did I get, you ask? Let's see apparently some olives, bananas, chocolate cookies shaped like cats and chili - lime pistachios. I rest my case.

Pairing:
Dogpoint Sauvignon Blanc and Chili-Lime Pistachios

Labels: food, new zealand, sauvignon blanc, wine culture