Farro Salad

Posted by Nicki Sizemore on May 14, 2008 in Recipes

This spring salad is picnic fare at its finest—rustic yet refined, scrumptious yet simple. If you haven’t yet tasted farro, you’ll definitely want to give this a try. Farro is an ancient Italian whole grain with an irresistible nutty and slightly sweet flavor. Bianco Sardo is a hard sheep’s milk cheese from Puglia that is salty and a tad floral—if you can’t find it, Pecorino Romano or Parmigiano Reggiano will make a good substitute. Enjoy this salad on its own or as a side dish with poultry or fish. It’s best savored outside on a warm spring day, preferably with a chilled glass of Italian Pinot Bianco close at hand.

Serves: 6-8
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes

• 2 cups farro
• 1 bunch asparagus (about 1 pound), tough ends cut off
• 1/4 medium red onion, thinly sliced
• 3 medium yellow beets (about 1 pound without greens), roasted, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice*
• 1 cup freshly grated Bianco Sardo cheese (about 1 ounce)
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (1 1/2 – 2 lemons)
• 1 plump garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1. In a large bowl, cover the farro with cold water and soak for 25 minutes. Drain, then place in a medium pot and cover with 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil; reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, 25 minutes, skimming any foam from the surface. Drain and rinse with cold water. Transfer to a large bowl.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the asparagus. Fill a large bowl with ice water. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Add the asparagus and cook 2-3 minutes, or until vibrant green and crisp tender. Transfer to the ice bath. Once cool, remove (reserving the water) and pat dry. Add the onions to the ice water and soak for 10 minutes.
3. Slice the asparagus into 1/2-inch pieces and fold them into the farro, along with the red onions, beets and cheese.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper. Drizzle in the extra virgin olive oil while whisking. Pour the dressing over the farro salad and toss well. Preferably, let the salad sit covered at room temperature for 30 minutes or up to 2 hours to let the flavors meld. Do Ahead: The farro, beets, asparagus and dressing can be prepared the day before and stored separately (covered) in the refrigerator.

*To roast beets, place the cleaned beets (green stems removed) in a small oven-safe dish and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; cover tightly with aluminum foil and roast in a 400˚ F oven for about 1 – 1 1/2 hours, or until tender when pierced with a paring knife. Cool, then peel.

The Battle for Wine and Love or How I Saved the World From Parkerization

Posted by Adam Morganstern on May 12, 2008 in Book Reviews

Alice Feiring wonders herself if she should have written a screenplay instead. She might have come up with The Stepford Wives. Around the world, wines she used to cherish have lost their personalities and are all starting to taste the same. Why? To please their man of course; Robert Parker, the world’s most influential wine critic. Positive reviews can mean millions and the great wine regions will do anything to curl up in his lap and get a nice pat on the head. Even if it means abandoning time-honored natural methods in favor of artificial and mechanical manipulation.

Casting herself as heroine, Feiring begins The Battle for Wine and Love or How I Saved the World from Parkerization attempting to “return the vineyards of the world to those who know how to work them.” Her journey becomes Apocalypse Now, seeing vineyard insanity in country after country as she heads up river towards an inevitable showdown with Kurtz, er, Robert Parker, the madman who created the 100-point rating system and whose loyal troops, er, wineries now make wines solely for his palate: “jammy fruit bombs, all vanilla-almond crunched up, often tampered with, and styled by technology and chemistry.”

Her experience in Spain exemplifies the overall problem she also finds in France and Italy. A tasting in Madrid reveals no white Riojas, but tons of new Chardonnays; a grape she feels should not be even grown in Spain.

Students returning from wine school used the new techniques that they believe were superior to their grandfathers’. Winemakers who didn’t trust themselves hired wine consultants to measure the chemistry of a wine. Retired CEOs hired consultants to create status-symbol wines. Winemakers wanted Parker’s attention – and there went the neighborhood.

So what can be done about Darth Vader and the Attack of the Clones? Feiring admits Parker may be a reluctant villain, entitled to his own opinions and free to publish them. Is it his fault that he has the influence he does? No, but Feiring does want an admission from Bob that he has become something bigger than himself; and that this has not been good for the world of wines.

Parker has none of it. “There is no global palate,” he claims. “Myths about me get embellished, exaggerated. I have sixty-five thousand subscribers, but the Wine Spectator has what, four hundred thousand? You’re picking the wrong target here!”

In fact, Darth Vader seems a better analogy for wines than for Parker. Grapes with soul trapped inside machines that are manipulating them. So what is a wine lover to do? Feiring does list the holdouts in each country that make “real wines” and even an entire region, the Loire, which “Parker forgot to review” and thus escaped his influence.

Feiring peppers her travel stories with humorous observations about past loves, including Owl Man and Mr. Bow Tie. The real strength of her writing, though, is her ability to describe what she enjoys about wine and allow the reader see the world through her own palate. The Battle for Wine and Love is not a long list of wine reviews with a narrative thrown around them. It is an explanation of desire, which is quite the accomplishment on any subject.

Purchase The Battle for Wine and Love or How I Saved the World from Parkerization at the Organic Wine Journal Book Store.

Maureen Lolonis at CIA

Posted by Adam Morganstern on May 12, 2008 in Letters

Maureen Lolonis spoke with students at the Culinary Institute of America’s Hyde Park campus on May 1st, discussing Lolonis vineyards and winery and tasting eight of their signature wines. The 2006 Chardonnay was my favorite. Maureen is an avid storyteller, and was quick to tell the history behind her family’s winery.

In 1914, Tryfon Lolonis, an immigrant from Velherna, Greece, saw California’s Redwood Valley for the first time. He was immediately entranced by the stunning beauty and its striking similarities to his home in the Mediterranean. Tryfon did not hesitate to purchase a plot of land to build a home for his wife and future family. For the next ten years, Lolonis and his wife, Eugenia, slaved over the land, rearing the grapevines that they had planted in hopes of producing a great-quality wine. Their hard labor was rewarded with their first vintage in the 1920s.

Three decades later, their son Nick Lolonis, having completed studies of viticulture and enology at the University of California, Davis, convinced his father to consider organic farming, relinquishing the use of artificial chemicals. A massive amount of ladybugs were unleashed throughout the vineyard, in an effort to keep pests at bay. This became a Lolonis tradition and the future symbol for the winery.

The original vines planted by Tryfon Lolonis were safeguarded, and the vineyards passed down to each generation of the family, ending with the current owner, Petros Lolonis, grandson of Tryfon and Eugenia. It was in the 1980s that Petros, along with his brother, Ulysses, decided to establish the Lolonis Winery to label their product with the family name, finally pushing their wines into the limelight and earning them great recognition; since October of 2000, seven Lolonis wines have so far been awarded 90 points or higher by the Wine Spectator.

Despite the fact that none of the Lolonis labels state they are “organic,” the vineyards were the first in the state of California to be certified organically grown. As many people lean towards a healthier lifestyle, the term “organic” is in danger of being misused by marketers with suspect motives and methods. “Organic” should have a specific meaning and should not be thrown about loosely or taken advantage of the way that it has been over the past decade. Thankfully, there are producers like Lolonis that strive to provide high-quality organic products.

Mary Borden is a student at the Culinary Institute of America.

Jean-Paul Brun Beaujolais Ban

Posted by Adam Morganstern on May 12, 2008 in News

On his blog, The Wine Importer, Joe Dressner reports on winemaker Jen-Paul Brun who is being denied AOC status for his wine because Beaujolais wants to “enforce a uniform and medicore style with no tolerance for originality and authenticity.”

Black is the New Green

Posted by Nicki Sizemore on May 9, 2008 in Features

Looking for an easy way to start greening your kitchen? Go black. Cast iron, that is. Unlike controversy-coated Teflon, which releases toxins at high temperatures (that have been linked to bird deaths and flu-like illnesses) and which is made with chemicals that don’t break down (ending up in the bloodstreams of humans and animals as far flung as polar bears), cast iron skillets provide a nontoxic nonstick surface and are excellent at maintaining and diffusing heat. Plus, they fit perfectly within the “reduce, reuse” model: they can be reclaimed from antique stores, flea markets, tag sales, or, if you’re lucky, family collections.

I have been keen on cast iron ever since my mom discovered my late grandfather’s skillet hidden away in her basement a couple of years ago. As polished as black onyx and as slick as turpentine, the pan beckons a chef like truffles lure a trained terrier. (The first time I saw the pan I uncontrollably blurted, “Can you please pass this down to me in your will?” Um, the wrong words to tell your perfectly healthy and vivacious mother.) Its ultra-smooth surface allows fish to glide in and out without worry, steaks sear to perfection, and cornbread has never had a better home.

On a recent trip out to visit me, my mom lugged with her two lustrous skillets that she had hunted down from her local antique stores (a hint, I’m sure, that my Grandpa’s pan won’t be coming to me for a long, long time). Not only that, but she had a pile of research about cast iron, and it appears that not all pans are created equal.

First of all, forget the new, pre-seasoned skillets that are now available at kitchen stores; they have a rough, mottled surface that is not nearly as effective as the smooth shell of the old models. Search out early-to-mid century Griswold or Wagner brands—they’re considered the best quality—at second-hand stores, tag sales, or on the Internet. (The Griswold Manufacturing Company of Erie, PA—which made various iron kitchen tools from 1865 to the 1950’s—is the most prized brand by collectors; The Wagner Manufacturing Company of Sydney, OH, bought the Griswold molds in 1957.)

Don’t let a bit of rust or grease buildup deter you—they can be removed without too much strain (and often make for cheaper prices). For small rust stains, use sandpaper to remove the spot then re-season the pan (see seasoning tips below). For larger stains, soak the pan in a mixture of one pint of cider vinegar to three gallons of water for ten to twenty minutes. Rinse the pan with soapy water using a scouring pad. If the stain persists, return the pan to the soaking solution and repeat the process until the stain dissolves. For pans that are in really bad shape, try this tip from my mom, which she used on the pans that she bought for me: put the pan(s) on the middle rack of your oven facing down, and set the oven to its self-cleaning function. Once the oven is done cleaning, the pans (and your oven) will be sparkling.

But in the long run, you don’t want a sparkling pan; you want the black luster of a well-seasoned pan. While seasoning may sound like a pain, it is really quite simple. I promise. Rub your cleaned and dried skillet with a very thin, even layer of neutral oil—I recommend using extra-virgin coconut oil (it has an excellent heat threshold, won’t go rancid, and makes the most delicious curries, granola and pastry dough… but more on that at another time)—and pop it into a 350˚F oven for an hour. Let the pan cool in the oven then rub it with another thin layer of oil. Done.

Seasoning is an ongoing process; the more you use your cast iron skillet, the better surface you’ll acquire. Follow the maintenance tips below, and your pan will last a lifetime. Or several. The planet—and your grandchildren—will thank you for it.

• Never put cold water in a hot pan; it can crack.
• You can use a mild soap and a scrub brush to clean the pan without ruining the seasoning, contrary to popular belief.
• After cleaning, dry the pan right away, then rub it with oil. I like to then put the pan on a hot burner for a minute or two to help the oil absorb. Wipe out any excess.
• Store the pan either stacked with paper towels, or hanging on a rack.

New School In Burgundy for Wine and Terroir

Posted by Adam Morganstern on May 1, 2008 in News

Anne-Claude Leflaive, director of Domaine Leflaive in Burgundy, France, in collaboration with six other highly respected Burgundy vintners, has founded Ecole du Vin et des Terroirs in Puligny-Montrachet. With the goal of broadening wine professionals’ knowledge and understanding, Ecole du Vin et des Terroirs is an educational program that focuses of vine growing and winemaking using an ecological, environmental and humanistic approach.

The first school of its kind, Ecole du Vin et des Terroirs has been in the works since 2005 when the initial plans were formed. The origins of its inspiration, however, were much earlier. In 1991 Domaine Leflaive began experimenting with biodynamic farming, which initiated inquiries about its effectiveness and benefits. Rather than respond to every individual inquiry Ecole du Vin et des Terroirs provides a forum for biodynamic advocates to share their experiences with a broader audience.

Beginning in May, 2008 Ecole du Vin et des Terroirs will offer seminars ranging in duration from three hours to two days covering such broad subjects as wine making techniques, biodynamic farming methods, wine tasting, and botany. Each seminar is led by an expert in their field, including such luminaries as microbiologists Claude and Lydia Bourguignon, oenological revolutionary Bruno Quenioux, and terroir specialist Bruno Weiller.

Classes will be held throughout the year. The 2008 schedule currently includes seminars May through August. The seminars are divided into in French and English offerings. The seminars are limited to only 12 people, providing an intimate and personal experience, and take place predominantly in the vineyard.

Ecole du Vin et des Terroirs is a non-profit organization formed under the guidance of Anne-Claude Leflaive in collaboration with Michel Boss, Vinium; Pierre-Henri Gagey, Louis Jadot; Dominique Lafon, Domaine des Comtes Lafon; Jean-Marc Roulot, Domaine Roulot; Aubert de Villaine, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti; and Antoine Lepetit, Domaine Leflaive.

For more information or to attend Ecole du Vin et des Terroirs please visit www.ecolevinterroir.org.