A colleague forwarded this link to me recently. It’s about a new book by food writer Robin Goldstein, called “The Wine Trials.” 500 people tasted more than 6,000 glasses of wine in a blind test. Now that’s a party.
The book takes the ingenious angle of picking wines according to how they taste, not according to price. Apparently, the best stuff doesn’t necessarily have to live on the top shelf at the state liquor store.
The book could be an eye opener for the assumption that the best wines must cost more than $100. Not so, according to Goldstein. As an example, she says that a bottle of Domaine Ste. Michelle Brut (cost- $9.99) scored higher than Dom Perignon, at $150. Intriguing. Boxed wines are included as good deals as well.
The research gives hope to those who simply can’t justify spending a paycheck on a bottle of wine. Some that cost $5 could be just as satisfying.
Also, the study Goldstein did showed that when the price was revealed before tasting, people tended to favor the more expensive bottle over the cheaper one. Could be a useful read. Here’s the link. You can pre-order it from Amazon.com for $14.95.
I took a trip to Belgium several years back, and was astounded to find the country has such a huge variety of Belgian beers. Obviously, at the time, I was new to the wide world of European beers. It started on the plane ride over, when they offered us Stella Artoise, which is like the Bud of Europe, you can find it anywhere.
It sounded exotic to me until it was offered to me every time I ate at a restaurant in Belgium. It’s not a bad beer, it’s just that when there are so many options, you don’t want to waste your time drinking the same thing. The walls of the bars in Belgium were covered in signs for the country’s different beers, and a wide selection was always offered, at restaurants as well.
I think I tried as many different ones as I could. There’s something for everyone. You could write several books about the variety of Belgian beers, so this blog certainly can’t do the discussion justice.
Although the trip was short, those experiences helped me get started on European and other foreign beers. What I like is that each Belgian beer has its own matching glass-how cool is that? They have various and sundry logos on them. They have huge beer stores where you can stock up on your favorite drink, while picking up the matching glasses that are usually placed right next to it, for ease of convenience. I bought the glass for Hoegaarden Forbidden Fruit, which has a picture of an Adam and Eve-type-couple hanging out in a garden.
Another beer that I tried recently was from my local convenience store, “Smiley’s” in downtown Dover. Don’t let the outside appearance fool you- the store has a lot more than Bud. There’s a nice selection of Belgian, British, and German beers; ones with funky labels, and ones that are oversized. I chose a Belgian ale (of course) called Leffe Blonde. It comes in four different varieties, the blonde, Brown, Triple, and Radieuse/Vieille Cuvée. I’ve only tried the Blonde one so far.
You’re supposed to drink many beers a certain way- pour some in a glass, then roll the bottle around, on its side, on the table, then pour in the rest to get a good head. I usually just drink it from the bottle. This one was very refreshing. It tasted light like an ale, but had a nice spiciness to it, like it had coriander and fruity overtones to it. It also had a crisp finish. Very drinkable.
I have to also recommend a really nice wine– Walnut Crest 2006 Pinot Grigio. I had heard that this was a good deal and a good wine for the money. I was very excited about it and was not disappointed. It was smooth, not too fruity, but had a bit of bite at the end.
It’s the kind of wine you could continue to drink all day, if alcohol content was not a factor.
According to Walnut Crest’s Web site, the grapes come from the Provincia Pavia region of Italy. It’s described as having hints of pear and lemon flavor, and some vanilla, but I didn’t taste the vanilla. The Web site also says that it can be enjoyed with seafood, light pastas or as an aperitif. But to me it seems rounded enough to be used for a lot of different occasions. It retails for around $7.
Everyone has a favorite, and co-worker Andrew Wolfe (you may recognize him from the Off Track blog) has a number of them to share with readers:
As with so many aspects of modern life, beer has gotten more complicated for the past few decades, and that’s mostly for the better. Some varieties have also gotten a whole lot stronger.
The alcohol content of run-of-the-swill American lagers tends to fall somewhere in the 4 to 5 percent range, and most imports and microbrews don’t reach far beyond that. Increasingly, however, ale enthusiasts can find brews that will sneak up behind you, kneel down and knock you on your can if you try to slurp them down like cold lager on a hot day. The alcohol content in these stronger styles ranges from a persuasive 7% to a whomping 18%, invariably with a flavor to match.
Here’s some favorite fortes, available at local specialty stores, such as Jasper’s or the Hollis Village Market, and occasionally your local market.
* Barleywine ales seem to vary more than most styles. The one thing they all seem to have in common is a strong flavor (nothing like wine, but tending toward sweet) and high alcohol content.
Harpoon makes an excellent variety, light and sparkling, with all sorts of what I suspect might be floral notes. I wouldn’t know from floral notes, though; I’m a beer drinker.Smuttynose Wheat Wine Ale is my favorite in the genre, better even than their standard Barleywine, which is just a bit too syrupy for me. The Milford-based Pennichuck Brewery’s Pompier Barleywine continues their firefighter theme, and actually tastes strongly of barley. It’s mighty and good, but it comes in really big bottles, with a price tag to match.
* Belgian Triple is strong ale for people who don’t like heavy, dark ales. They pack a punch, but the flavor tends to be light and fruity. I’ve yet to find a bad one, but my favorites, Brooklyn Brewery’s Number One and Victory Brewing Company’s Golden Monkey aren’t available in New Hampshire.
* Guiness is good for you, as their slogan said, but that’s because it’s weak. Imperial stout lives up to all the implications of its name, and Smuttynose makes what I think is both the best and cheapest around. It’s hearty and straightforward, with no extra fancy flavors. Pennichuck brewery also makes a very fine imp. stout, with strong coffee and chocolate flavors if you like that sort of thing.
* India Pale Ale tends to be just a tad strong, and some brewers up the ante. For the more potent versions, it’s tough to top Dogfish Head’s 90 Minute IPA… unless maybe with Stone Ale’s Ruination Ale, the most biter beer I’ve ever imbibed. Hardcore hopheads will love it, and Stone’s painted labels, depicting demons, make for the coolest bottles in the business. Smuttynose makes a good “Big A” IPA, too.
Other honorable mentions:
*Stone Ale’s Arrogant Bastard Ale: a bit like an old English Ale, but ever so much more so, to the point where it’s in a class by itself. We are not worthy.
*Dog Fish Head Immort Ale: this deadly potent (11%) ale has a smoky, peat sort of flavor that might appeal to Scotch or Lapsang Souchong drinkers. It’s a bit of an acquired taste, actually.
*Dogfish Head Raison d’ Etre: hard to describe, because it’s unlike any beer you’ve ever tasted. Imagine a cross between cinnamon raison toast and a mellow, brown ale.
If you didn’t hit the floor on Cinco de Mayo, then get back out there and join IUGO at Margaritas in Nashua for a tequila tasting May 6 from 5:30-7:30.
IUGO (pronounced YOU-go) will have a tequila expert on hand, and after the tasting, there will be drink specials and appetizers available.
IUGO is a networking group for young professionals between 22 and 40 (although the range is just a guideline) who live or work in the Greater Nashua area.
Get your pen and pencil out. Here’s a few sure bets for you beer folk.
I’ve tried these in the last few weeks and really enjoyed them. They are all different, so what you pick depends on your mood.
Fuller ESB: English Ale with notes of caramel and toffee. Great finish. I’m not a dark beer fan but I was hooked after the first few sips. Drink out of a glass for the best flavor.
Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy: Another beer from the Wisconsin brewery. I’ve blogged about some of their other offerings recently, but since then this has appeared on the market. This very lemony beer would taste best on one of those hot July days. You could definitely knock back more than you should without much effort.
Sam Adams White Ale: I haven’t seen this on the shelves as of late. It looks as if it is getting replaced by their Summer Ale, but if you can find it, this is worth a try. I’m always looking for a good witbier and this one has strong notes of orange and coriander, just the way I like it. You just can’t beat a good unfiltered wheat ale.
Recently I tried the new Moscato from Barefoot Wine. It retails for about $6.99. Moscato stands for “musky”; the grapes come from the Muscat family of grapes. They are used to make table wines, sweeter sparkling wines, or dessert wines. Barefoot describes theirs as “semi-sweet.”
Oh no… it’s way sweeter than that.
We decided to try it with some chicken. Or rather, “chickenfish”. We used Old Bay seasoning, a lemon/herb type of seasoning, on some chicken thighs. It kind of made the chicken taste a little bit like fish somehow. Then taking a gulp of this super-sweet wine did not help matters.
Maybe next time I won’t experiment with a new wine, while at the same time, experiment with my food. I could barely finish it with the dinner. I did finish it of course; I’ve been taught, as probably most people have, to never waste alcohol.
Next, I tried it with some cheese and fruit, namely pineapple, strawberries, and goat cheese. Another good tip- check to make sure you like the cheese before you go testing it with wine. I figured it was a good mild cheese to try out. I now know I don’t like goat cheese. To be blunt, it reminded me of dirty feet. The fumes at the back of the throat were quite noxious. Dirty feet and sickly sweet wine. Delicious.
It was okay with the strawberries, but nothing too exciting. I fared best with the pineapple. It matched the orange and peach flavors of the wine, and somehow complemented the stronger tartness of the fruit. Success!
To sum up, the wine was indeed very smooth. It’s best on its own, probably as a dessert wine. It has its own distinct flavor, and doesn’t need other flavors to mix up the party.
The label suggests spicy Asian cuisine could go with it, so that’s a possibility. Maybe next time… at some point I have to finish the bottle!
If you want to find out more about locally made wine, check out the Made in NH Expo this weekend in Manchester.
Bob Dabrowski of Candia Vineyards e-mailed me to tell me that five Granite State wineries will be represented at the event.
He said in his e-mail: "I am billing this as the world’s first indoor wine trail! We are encouraging patrons at this event to visit the wineries at the show and get the attached card stamped to receive a free wine-related gift. The wine industry in NH is growing, and this is a great way of getting the word out at an important venue."
