Serge the Concierge

Drinking Outside the Box takes the Snob out of the Wine

At a recent wine tasting I was more than a bit turned off by a fellow attendee who did not seem to know a technical detail she would not like to mention.

Have we forgotten that good food and good wine is supposed to be fun, pleasurable not a doctoral pursuit?

Simon Woods of Drinking Outside the Box ('Wine for people who have a life) understands that and takes the snob out of the wine.

He also has the good taste to reference 'New Order' (one of my favorite bands) in his latest ditty Everything's gone green - the whites (and reds) of Galicia (July 16).

Makes me wonder why I have not mentioned Rías Baixas (old map above from region's site) and the lovely whites from the area, Albariños, not to forget the Celtic connection.

I have to correct that and share my tasting notes on Adega Eidos for example.

Cheers Simon!

Foodies Vacations: Cooking Schools in Australia, Pork Butchery to Stocks and Soups

Your inner chef might have forgotten that cooking and food is not just about being romanced by Provence or Tuscany.

In Cooking Schools Around Australia (Australian Traveler, May 2007), Christine Salins offers a number of destinations down under for Foodies Vacations.

It runs the gamut from barbecued seafood class at the Sydney Seafood School (opened since 1989) in Sydney's Fish Market which she says attracts 10,000 students a year to gourmet vegetarian cuisine with Nadine Abensur in Byron Bay.

Her more recent book is Enjoy.

Asian food has its place of course with Thai 'Cookery Retreats' at The Tamarind in Maleny, Queensland with chef Paul Plain.

Want to get down to basics the PodSchool in Canberra recently offered Stocks, Soups and Sauces, teaching how from the 3 basic stocks, beef, fish & chicken you can create the best sauces and soups.

I almost forgot to mention programs at wineries such as Chapel Hill (McLaren Vale) which has a Pork Butchery Session on August 8th with Ian Shaw from Ellis Butchers who will break up a pig and explain the cuts, while Chef Peter Hogg creates dishes using the appropriate technique for each cut (10.30am – 1.30pm).

A quick trip down under for a change.

15 Days Motorcycle Wine Tour de France, Naps Included?

My friends at Kermit Lynch have been posting their Tour de France Wine of the Day when the inspiration comes.

On July 15, they picked a 2008 Cheverny Rosé, Domaine du Salvard by Delaille from the Loire Valley (pictured below) for Stage 11.



Out of curiousity, I went to check if anyone else was matching wines with the Tour de France stages.

Nothing came up, instead I unearthed a 15 Days Motorcycle Wine Tour de France (by AdMo-Tours) taking place from September 2 to September 16.

Intriguing

Are naps included?

Sweet Tooth, Can't Get No Gluten or Dairy, Sweet Alternative Saves the Day

Don't get mad at me if you think this is old news.

OK the book originally came out in 2006.

Some might have missed it and its content is as relevant as ever.

For those of us with a sweet tooth who can't get no gluten or dairy (or soy) or choose not to, Sweet Alternative by Ariana Bundy saves the day.

Ariana shows us how to make caramel with fructose, pancakes with (?) chestnut flour plus deep chocolate muffins made from rice flour, creamy vanilla-studded pastry creams made with rice or almond milk, chewy chocolate chip cookies without gluten...

As Sweet Alternative is coming out in paperback (cover, my illustration) in the UK (Conran Octopus Publishing) on August 3, 2009, it gave me an opportunity to share it with you.

Doesn't it look yummy?

Elbowing your Way to the Spit Bucket, Spitting with Elegance, Wine Tastings

Things can get crowded at Wine Tastings, so it can be as much of a challenge to get to the Spit Bucket as it is to find a spot at the table itself.

I noticed a few individuals who carry their own spitit cup.
At least they stare only at their own leftovers.

You might find the whole spitting thing gross but who can drink if only a bit of anywhere from 50 to 200 wines at a tasting without getting sloppy drunk.
Can you do it with elegance, I am not sure.
It helps if the buckets are cleared quickly so the level in them is low, prevents accidents.

In How to Spit Wine (Chow, June 27, 2009), all around wine guy Matt Skinner practices the pursed method (see video below) and suggests you keep (swallow) one quarter of each wine for a real sense of taste and texture and spit the rest.

Before I leave the scene, I might get some food and a second helping of a wine I particularly enjoyed that day.

I did just that at the Top Rated Sud de France Wine Tasting on July 13 with cheese, charcuterie and La Coume du Roy 'Maury' (2004, 100% Grenache).

How do you handle it?

Felines Picpoul, Poujol Pico, White Wines that Taste like Love in the Afternoon

Long and exotic (like love on a summer afternoon?) is how they describe the finish on Domaine Felines Jourdan 'Picpoul de Pinet' (2007)...good structure and acidity.

In the words of The Wine Society, Pinet near Mèze and Sète, "has been planted with vines for over 2000 years. The vineyards lie just inland of the Mediterranean. The grape picpoul, or piquepoule, lives up to its French name: 'pique' (sharp and lively) and 'poule' (soft and maternal)."

Another off the beaten path white wine I tasted today was the Domaine du Poujol 'Pico' (2008) an unusual threesome of Rolle, Carignan Blanc, Roussanne.

This Vin de Pays de l'Herault is just like honey as Jesus and Mary Chain once sang, fresh, perfect for summer.

Domaine du Poujol is situated to the North West of Montpellier in the South of France

I tried both for the first time at Sud de France Top Rated Tasting in New York on July 13. They should retail for around $14 in the US Sante!

Celebrate the Roaring Twenties at Bastille Day Ball, July 13, New York

Could not make it to the New York street festivals for Bastille Day on July 12, here's a second chance to be part of the festivities.

On Monday, July 13, you can dance the night away to the sound of the roaring twenties at the Bastille Day Ball.

Where: The China Club

When: 7pm to 2 am

Get some rest and put on your dancing shoes.

Related: No Guillotine: Pastis, Pate, Patisseries, Petit Basque, Ratatouille on Bastille Day menu

Will Top Rated Wines Move Me at 'Sud de France' Tasting, New York, July 13?

Well even if some of the wines getting the top ratings from US wine critics at the Sud de France Tasting on July 13 fail to move me on the eve of Bastille Day, no heads will roll under the guillotine.

The master of ceremony will be wine critic slash aspiring novelist Jamal Rayyis (pictured below) responsible for five editions (or is it 6) of Food & Wine Magazine's Wine Guide.



In any case, I will be sipping and spitting for you from 2 pm to 6 pm at the Maison de la Région Languedoc-Roussillon in New York ans surely discover new favorites of my own.

Douce France, Joli Pays de Mon Enfance!

No Hunger, Ask Al Gore to Make this Film that does not Exist Yet, See the Trailer

Rather than send him a script, Action Against Hunger put together a trailer for No Hunger , a film they would like Al Gore to be involved with since he was so successful getting the message across with An Inconvenient Truth.

64, 422 people have already signed the petition.

Will you join them?

Related: CauseWired in Action: Daniella's Apartment Fund by David Armano

Scan 800 Barcodes Per Hour, Give 500 Thank You A Day, Ready for Checkout

What started as a way to pay your way through college might have turned into a dead end, that's the feeling one gets from reading Kiss and till: What the checkout girl saw (The Independent, July 13).

I learned from this bittersweet piece that the top three questions asked at the till (the cash register here in the US) are:

Where are the loos?

Don't you have any bags?

Are you open?"

As for the answers, here is a sample of possibilities offered in the piece:

Customer: "Are you open?"

Polite checkout girl: "I'm not but my till is."

Sarcastic checkout girl: "Beeeeeep!"

Or if the Customer is good-looking: "Try me and see."

Checkout girl with her best smile: "Are you?"

The Independent piece found its inspiration in Checkout - A Life on the Tills (Gallic Books) by French caissiere Anna Sam (to be published in the UK on July 31).

I will let you read the rest of Kiss and Till for more insight on the life of a Checkout Girl or Guy

Let's not be sexist for Monday Work Etiquette # 98

Previously: Is Vagabond Life the Answer to No Vacation Nation Conundrum?