We Should Have Dumped Our Whites
I can't quite remember who said it. I think, actually, it was CME, but my thoughts were mirroring the words so closely I may have uttered it myself. Judging by the quality of my handwriting when I wrote the phrase down for future recollection, we must have been somewhere between wine 11 and wine 14.
It was close to the end of a wine class titled, 16 Wines, 8 Cheeses, 1 Night identified by CME and offered by NYC Wine Class on West 23rd Street. A few hours earlier, we had looked at each other and said, 'Who dumps their wine!?" Convinced we weren't going to be served anything we didn't at least find drinkable, we thought it might be sacrilege to waste good wine.
Although, frankly, I did express my doubts to CME that I might not be able to handle 16 tastings, which I imagined would add up to be more than a half of bottle of wine. I also questioned my ability to eat an entire plate of cheese. However, she kindly pointed out that she had been with me on more than one occasion when I had clearly surpassed both of those markers.
Fair enough.
Not only was there the possible crime against Dionysus, but at $90 a ticket, we wanted the most out of our wine class experience. And boy did we get it! But, by the last pairing, we didn't have much capacity left for pulling out flavors. Suddenly it became clear that dumping the whites may have been a good choice since we both enjoy reds so much more.
Regardless, we had a grand old time. I am sure our school-girl grins betrayed our happiness as we sat at a small high top packed with wine glasses, a water pitcher, cheese, olives and bread. The plate of cheeses was presented before the class started. We were instructed to begin at "12:00." For each cheese, we were served two wines. In between rounds, a fast-talking and socially awkward, but charming sommelier gave a speedy talk about the wines. After wines five and six, the crowd was noticeably rowdier and more talkative than the first few rounds. The wine was loosening tongues, and the sommelier had to work hard to quiet the class down.
We were provided with a few pages containing the names of each cheese and the wines, unless the tasting was meant to be blind for that pair. A helpful left or right glass designation was in parenthesis to help us keep the wines straight. This, we found, was very helpful, because as CME said, there were too many glasses on the table to keep it sorted out.
Each pair was either of the same grape or of the same region, which clearly illustrated that grape, region and producer all affect the overall tasting experience. A cab is not just a cab, and a chablis and a chardonnay are actually the same. Who knew? Well, all right, lots of people, probably, but not this amateur gastronomer.
So, how does one sum up a such an experience, particularly on a Sunday night after a jam-packed weekend? Hmmm.... I am contemplating as I sip my martini made with Crop organic cucumber-infused vodka which is garnished with bleu cheese stuffed olives... How about a snapshot of my notes?
And, CME was right. I made it through all the wines and the cheeses. But we both learned it may have been wiser to dump the whites. She sent me a post-class text that said, "Can't believe how drunk i am from a tasting - we definitely should have dumped the whites:)!!!"
I replied that I was still drinking, because I was, at that very moment, sipping bourbon with the German. And surprisingly, I awoke without even a headache, which I can only attribute to all the fat in the cheese.
There are so many more gastronomic moments to cover from this past week... a wonderful dinner at ilili with the German, mistaken cocktails at Flatiron with LP and JC, and a delicious homemade brunch in the Jersey suburbs at EB and LB's this afternoon... But alas, I am an exhausted digital girl. The martini is done, and I am content in body, heart and mind to end here and crawl into bed with a good book which will surely put me to sleep before two pages are read.
Stay tuned! And take a moment to answer this week's poll on the upper right corner of this page!
I can't quite remember who said it. I think, actually, it was CME, but my thoughts were mirroring the words so closely I may have uttered it myself. Judging by the quality of my handwriting when I wrote the phrase down for future recollection, we must have been somewhere between wine 11 and wine 14.
It was close to the end of a wine class titled, 16 Wines, 8 Cheeses, 1 Night identified by CME and offered by NYC Wine Class on West 23rd Street. A few hours earlier, we had looked at each other and said, 'Who dumps their wine!?" Convinced we weren't going to be served anything we didn't at least find drinkable, we thought it might be sacrilege to waste good wine.
Although, frankly, I did express my doubts to CME that I might not be able to handle 16 tastings, which I imagined would add up to be more than a half of bottle of wine. I also questioned my ability to eat an entire plate of cheese. However, she kindly pointed out that she had been with me on more than one occasion when I had clearly surpassed both of those markers.
Fair enough.
Not only was there the possible crime against Dionysus, but at $90 a ticket, we wanted the most out of our wine class experience. And boy did we get it! But, by the last pairing, we didn't have much capacity left for pulling out flavors. Suddenly it became clear that dumping the whites may have been a good choice since we both enjoy reds so much more.
Regardless, we had a grand old time. I am sure our school-girl grins betrayed our happiness as we sat at a small high top packed with wine glasses, a water pitcher, cheese, olives and bread. The plate of cheeses was presented before the class started. We were instructed to begin at "12:00." For each cheese, we were served two wines. In between rounds, a fast-talking and socially awkward, but charming sommelier gave a speedy talk about the wines. After wines five and six, the crowd was noticeably rowdier and more talkative than the first few rounds. The wine was loosening tongues, and the sommelier had to work hard to quiet the class down.
We were provided with a few pages containing the names of each cheese and the wines, unless the tasting was meant to be blind for that pair. A helpful left or right glass designation was in parenthesis to help us keep the wines straight. This, we found, was very helpful, because as CME said, there were too many glasses on the table to keep it sorted out.
Each pair was either of the same grape or of the same region, which clearly illustrated that grape, region and producer all affect the overall tasting experience. A cab is not just a cab, and a chablis and a chardonnay are actually the same. Who knew? Well, all right, lots of people, probably, but not this amateur gastronomer.
So, how does one sum up a such an experience, particularly on a Sunday night after a jam-packed weekend? Hmmm.... I am contemplating as I sip my martini made with Crop organic cucumber-infused vodka which is garnished with bleu cheese stuffed olives... How about a snapshot of my notes?
- Swirl, increases surface area of oxygen, offers up more aroma
- Slurp, if no slurp, miss 80% wine, incorporates oxygen
- (Slurp, don't inhale, which causes choking)
- Brie de Meaux - can't actually find real brie in the U.S., but this is close (stay tuned for more research on this one...)
- Oak - toasted barrel, vanilla, dill - Chardonnay --- surprise!
- Brillat Savarin - triple creme, Normandy, fat --- Butter!!!
- More sugar = more alcohol
- Mentrillo is quince paste, sweet dried jam
- Limerick Lane, Pinot Noir, Orsi Vineyard, Russian River Valley, 2007 - nice, smooth, lite, 13% alcohol
- Limerick Lane, Zinfadel, Collins Vineyard, Russian River Valley, 2005 - spicy, a little intense for long drinking, raspberry white pepper, 16% alcohol
- 14) Blind (right glass) --- blood, iodine, licorice and creosote
- Starchy mouth-feel = tannins
- 5-8 year window for best taste
And, CME was right. I made it through all the wines and the cheeses. But we both learned it may have been wiser to dump the whites. She sent me a post-class text that said, "Can't believe how drunk i am from a tasting - we definitely should have dumped the whites:)!!!"
I replied that I was still drinking, because I was, at that very moment, sipping bourbon with the German. And surprisingly, I awoke without even a headache, which I can only attribute to all the fat in the cheese.
There are so many more gastronomic moments to cover from this past week... a wonderful dinner at ilili with the German, mistaken cocktails at Flatiron with LP and JC, and a delicious homemade brunch in the Jersey suburbs at EB and LB's this afternoon... But alas, I am an exhausted digital girl. The martini is done, and I am content in body, heart and mind to end here and crawl into bed with a good book which will surely put me to sleep before two pages are read.
Stay tuned! And take a moment to answer this week's poll on the upper right corner of this page!
Comments
Post a Comment