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Like Dunking Your Head in a Pot of Boiled Peanuts

Wine geeks talk a lot about “terroir” – that magical something that inhabits a wine and shouts out its sense of place… the soil, the vines, the climate, the earth that brought forth the grapes and the air that surrounded them as they ripened. It’s an elusive thing that is often used as a way of saying that a wine has a unique character, character that truly does trigger something in the nose, on the tongue, in your brain that connects that bottle of juice to its source in an often faraway land. Every so often, a wine will smack you in the face with “terroir” – like a veritable T-rex terror of terroir. The other day I had such a wine. Except it smacked me in the face with a bouquet that was nothing short of dunking your head in a pot of boiled peanuts on the side of the road in southern Georgia on a steamy summer day. This was the kind of nose that makes you do a double take. Then a triple take. Then beg your friends to taste it to confirm that you’re not crazy. It spoke so strongly of the boiled peanut stands of the South, that surely it had to be some crazy backcountry-Georgia-peanut-fortified-muscadine (does such a thing exist?? It should), but no…

The wine? Domaine Brazilier Coteaux du Vendomois Tradition Rouge, 2009. All the way from the Loire Valley in France, specifically the Coteaux du Vendomois appellation, featuring Cabernet Franc, Pineau d’Aunis, and Pinot Noir. Despite the “pineau” and the “pinot,” I don’t think there was any “peanut” actually in the bottle (at least it doesn’t list any peanuts in the ingredients). But apparently the Pineau d’Aunis grape, fairly unique to the Loire, is known for its “green” and “leafy” characteristics that could call to mind boiled green peanuts. So, yeah, maybe the “pineau” is what brought the “peanuts.” Above all, its the kind of wine that makes you sit up and take notice. The opposite of homogenized juicy juice. The epitome of esoteric.

I don’t frequently quote wine critics or wine hawkers, but the words of some pretty savvy wine dudes ring true here. Just ask David Schildknecht of The Wine Advocate, who said this wine “represents one of the most amazing red wine values I have tasted in years… features ripe dark cherry complicated by nutmeg, toasted walnut, pungent black tea, and salinity that guarantees lip-smacking.” He went on to speak to the unusual source of this wine, “When I last (and first) wrote up Jean and Benoit Brazilier’s wine, I couldn’t even correctly place the Vendomois in Touraine, but not only have I learned a thing or two since about Loire geography, I’ve also come to realize that the Braziliers render some of the fines values in France.”

Then there’s a guy by the name of Jon Rimmerman who runs an email-based wine shop called Garagiste which often features just this type of esoteric crazy juice, and (typically) exulted, “If you are looking for a rare combination of wine geek, value and terroir from a laugh-out-loud vintage that delivers a discernable sigh of relief upon first and last sip, the 2009 Tradition from the Brazilier family is like a juice-filled dam waiting to burst. Despite its seamless, velveteen quality (from the vintage), the wine feels and tastes as real as it gets – it never allows you to forget where the grapes were grown but it does so in a way that makes you forget the cares of the day without forcing you to contemplate if the terroir aspects are more distracting than enjoyable – not an easy tightrope to pull off. In addition, the value rating on this wine is 10 out of 10 – I had this ranked as one of my very top values of the entire summer with phrases such as “$10, you’re joking?” scribbled on my note pad.”

I doubt you’ll be able to find this wine now, and for that, I’m sorry. I’ve got one bottle left that I look forward to sharing with friends here in Atlanta, hoping to see a shock register on their face when they take a sniff. Speaking of which, I need to get Jon Rimmerman and David Schildknecht and any other wine geeks who dig this juice down to the peanut fields of Georgia to sip some boiled peanut pot likker. Because peanuts have terroir, too.

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Thirsty Scenes from the Atlanta Food and Wine Festival

The inaugural Atlanta Food and Wine Festival has been so expansive, so broad ranging, so diverse, that to even attempt to capture the totality of this festival in photos, words, video, memories is an overwhelming challenge. There has been an overflow of bourbon, cocktails, wine and beer, mostly with a focus on the very best of what the South has to offer. There has been a multitude of bites of food, whole hog goodness, pickled veggies, comfort food and creative craziness. Above all, there have been lots of fine folks who care passionately about the food and drink of the South. That was the reason for the festival.

My friend Broderick at SavoryExposure.com captured some of the amazing faces of the festival. I tended to focus on the bottles, glasses, and plates, so here, in some small way, is a very minor taste of the Atlanta Food and Wine Festival through the lens of my camera.

First up, the ridiculous bounty of fine things to drink. Our favorite bourbon – Pappy Van Winkle – was well represented. There was an amazing array of Madeira dating back to 1875 that simply blew my mind. “Moonshine” in many varieties made an appearance. And some Corsair experimental “cocoa hull bourbon” knocked my socks off.

Food “trucks” had their own dedicated area. Gotta love the old Airstream trailers. And the “legalize it” message takes on new meaning when it comes to the street food scene.

The stars inside the seminars included Kevin Gillespie (photo below: “Kevin Gillespie in 3 Variations”), Sean Brock, Linton Hopkins, Tyler Brown, and a poor little piggie.

And the tastes. Oh, the tastes. A few favorites hailed from the whole hog tent, but you can’t have a Southern food festival without pimento cheese and pickled eggs. Good stuff, y’all!

After all that, we’re already eager for what they can do with a second annual Atlanta Food and Wine Festival next year. Though first I need to recuperate from the past few days of over-abundant Southern goodness. While it was worth it, I think I need a vacation…

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Near Wild Heaven (Beer That Is)

From a rooftop facing the heavens (and downtown Atlanta), Decatur’s own Wild Heaven Craft Beer celebrated the launch of their Invocation Belgian-style Golden Ale and Ode To Mercy Imperial Brown Ale in bottles. These two fine beers have been available on tap around Georgia and select spots in Alabama for many months now, and have gained quite a fan base, so seeing them in bottles is another good sign of support for our local beers. (Caveat: Wild Heaven is currently brewed – and bottled – at Thomas Creek Brewing in Greenville, South Carolina, but has plans to move production to their own brewery in Avondale Estates next year)

If you haven’t yet tried these beers, do yourself a favor and give them a shot (we especially dig the Invocation – delicious).

In other beer related news… next week is CRAFT BEER WEEK! (May 16-22)

Look for intersting specials at all your favorite beer bars around town (here’s a list of our favorites by the way, including The Porter, seen below). Cheers!

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Barrel Aged Cocktails: Ready For Primetime?

Atlanta is finally seeing the barrel aged cocktail wave that has been sweeping the country over the past several months, as Iberian Pig in Decatur and sister restaurant Double Zero in Sandy Springs have rolled out barrel aged cocktails – the “Blackthorn” at Iberian Pig (gin, Dubonnet Rouge and Kirschwasser) and a Negroni at Double Zero (gin, Campari, sweet vermouth). Can it be coincidence that a restaurant by the name of Zero Zero in San Francisco also recently started serving barrel aged Negronis to much fanfare?

Barrel aging is, of course, a key ingredient in creating great bourbon, rye, Scotch, wine… and is seeing more and more use in beer as well. Its use in cocktails seems to be catching fire recently, especially in places like San Francisco and Portland and Chicago and New York, and now … Atlanta. The time in the barrel, as little as a thirty days for many of these cocktails, as many as thirty plus years for several coveted whiskies, imparts color and flavor from the wood and, often, from the spirit that was previously aged in that barrel. For cocktails, it clearly gives the ingredients time to meld, and for the lower alcohol elements (like vermouth) to oxidize and develop characteristics you wouldn’t normally find out of the bottle. See Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s blog for some interesting experiments you can even try at home (if you are adventurous and have a few hundred spare bucks to spend).

So… who has tried a barrel aged cocktail? How did you think it compared to its unaged version? Any other bars in the South doing interesting things with barrel aging? Let us know!

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When in doubt…

When in doubt … post a photo and talk about Pappy Van Winkle. Yes, Pappy is a frequent topic of conversation around these parts. So, three things Pappy today.

First, I hadn’t seen this before, but our friend Jimmy at EatItAtlanta.com posted a link to Mr. Julian Van Winkle III making the “Julian” cocktail at Husk Bar in Charleston. (and here’s our previous take on the subject of a Pappy 15 Old Fashioned)

Second, a recent tasting of Pappy Van Winkle 15 year old vs. Pappy 20 year old confirmed our personal preference for the 15, especially on the value scale (the 15 runs for about $70, the 20 goes for about $120). A group of three all leaned to the 15 in blind preference – it’s a near perfect expression of bourbon in our book, though the 20 was just a touch behind. There are definitely a few folks who vehemently disagree with rating the 15 over the 20 – of course, to each his own.

Third, Old Rip Van Winkle seems to pop up in all sorts of random and unexpected places. Here he is at ROCK CITY in Chattanooga. SEE ROCK CITY! (notice the whiskey jug and the barrel in the foreground – they do pay attention to detail, those mischievous elves)