Your Guide to Organic, Biodynamic and Natural Wine
The Organic Wine Journal is pleased to announced we have a new video blog from winemaker Tony Coturri. This series is being filmed and edited by Tony’s daughter Gia Coturri.
In this first installment, Tony talks about the difference between organic and biodynamic growing practices.
In this video interview, Mike Benziger takes you on a tour of his insect highway.
[flashvideo filename=insecthighway.flv /]
This is the first in a series of videos brought to us by Deborah Gavito of Counter Restaurant.
Our good friend Deborah Gavito, of Counter Restaurant, has been touring vineyards and interviewing winemakers. We’ll be featuring her series of videos here, starting with Mike Benziger explaining his insect highway. We’re looking forward to a lot of great content from Deborah, so be sure to keep checking in to see her latest work.
Counter Restaurant is an “organic wine and martini bar, vegetarian bistro” in New York. Visit them online at www.counternyc.com.
For seasonal eaters, nothing is more delicious than the very first strawberry of the season, eaten straight from its container. Except, perhaps, this. Strawberry shortcake tastes even better than you remember with a moist, almond-scented (and surprisingly easy) biscuit, berries that have been macerated in a splash of sweet wine, toasted almonds, and a generous billow of whipped cream. Spring (or shall I say, summer?) has officially arrived.
Serves: 6
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 14-16 minutes
I once had a conversation with winemaker Tony Coturri where he told me that the “organic” label should also cover whether or not your laborers are treated fairly. The story of Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez puts some understanding behind that theory. She was 17 years old and worked all day in 100 degree heat without access to proper shade and water. The company she worked for has been accused of dragging their feet to get her medical attention after she collapsed. Maria went into a coma and died two days later.
Her story has sparked outrage, and even California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger attended her funeral. Read the full details at the San Francisco Chronicle and NPR.
Many thanks to Winefarmer’s Weblog for bringing our attention to this story.
Spring in New York. The energy in the reawakened city materializes on the streets and in the restaurants. Nowhere is this as visible as in downtown’s newest neighborhoods; places like the lower east side, where generations of immigrants lined the streets to conduct commerce and socialize (be sure to visit the Tenement Museum,). Storied blocks like Hester, Ludlow, Essex and Orchard now teem with a youthful, crackling, trendy buzz. The vibe is still chain store free and it is nice to see a New York that is not an endless repetition of banks, chain pharmacies and Starbucks. The lower east side is still a place where an individual’s dreams of food and drink can be pursued.
I found a BYOOW (bring your own organic wine) place called Georgia’s East Side BBQ for an OWJ wine tasting. The feel is fun, casual and relaxed. Georgia’s is very small, only four tables and seats about 20. Service in a place this size is rather personal, as it seems more like a family get together than a formal restaurant experience.
The core OWJ tasting panel was comprised of our editor-in-chief Adam Morganstern, Steven Hall (food, chef and restaurant public relations man extraordinaire), and myself. Steven has a solid list of top chefs and restaurateurs that he has promoted for over twenty years and a Wikipedic knowledge of the industry. This man is a walking buzz factory in the Warholian sense of the term factory. Our food delivery facilitator Chelsea and general manager Maria helped out too. Chelsea loves wine and tries to do things organically so she was delighted when we asked her for her opinion. Maria also gave us her thoughts.
I brought two wines from Austria: a 2007 Pinot Noir from the Michlits Estate and a 2006 Zweigelt, both imprted by Prescott Wines (www.prescottwines.com). They are biodynamic and Demeter Certified, so the wine’s makers are doing this the hard way. Zweigelt is a hybrid, 20th century grape grown almost exclusively in Austria.
Steven thought the Pinot was smooth, with blackberry sensations and balanced tannins and it’s easy drinking nature would go well with fatty fish or chicken. A good bistro wine by the glass. Adam agreed it was a good everyday wine, though did not find it a very terroir-driven Pinot. I found it had nice spice notes, with cherries on the palate. It would go well with an omelet and fries at a sidewalk café in Europe. Chelsea said it was really delicious, and added she might prefer this wine with a slight chill.
The Zweigelt was very smooth and rich, bursting with fruit flavors. This unique grape had an interesting mouthfeel and went great with the BBQ. Steve found it very food-friendly; crisp with a rich berry flavor. Adam called it a “third date wine.” Chelsea loved its high pitch, richness and boldness. Maria thought it had a nice acidic balance; very peppery, yet agreeable.
The Zweigelt, and other organic and biodynamic wines, can be purchased around the corner from Georgia’s at September Wines and Spirits, 100 Stanton Street. $17.00. The food was great. This place does a very good BBQ with excellent traditional sides, so if you want to eat BYOOW downtown, this is the place to go.
The box of red velvet cupcakes that I received last night couldn’t have arrived at a better time. This morning’s news revealed that The Center for Science in the Public Interest has petitioned the FDA to ban eight artificial food dyes that have been linked to hyperactivity and other “disruptive behavior” in children (Bloomberg News). The Daily Green notes that, according to British researchers, artificial dyes are as damaging to children’s brains “as lead in gasoline.” And CBS reports that the dyes are shown to push children who are pre-disposed to behavioral problems “over the edge.”
While countries in the EU have taken measures to eliminate artificial dyes from food and several British food companies are removing them from popular candies and snacks, there has been no regulation in the US, where artificial dyes abound in foods from cereals, to candies, dips, soda, and, of course, red velvet cake.
Although I had a longtime love of red velvet cake (starting as a child with a penchant for the color red and continuing as an adult with my love of anything with cream cheese frosting), I’ve kept my distance ever since making it at home for the first time several years ago. The recipe called for an astounding 8 vials of red food coloring, and all I could think about as I stirred the batter was my brother Chris, who couldn’t eat or drink any foods with red dye as a kid because his lips would inexplicably swell up like little balloons. I still served the cake I made (with trepidation), but my affair with red velvet ended then.
Until last night.
My good friend Vanessa Cantave, owner of YumYum Chefs, surprised me at dinner with a box of her signature red velvet cupcakes, which she hand-delivers to customers in Manhattan and Brooklyn. I couldn’t resist giving one a taste in the bumpy taxi ride home, even though it was close to midnight and I had just eaten dessert. Luscious and moist with a perfect cake-to-frosting ratio, I was soon left with only a dusting of red crumbs. But they weren’t your standard red-dye-number-40 soaked crumbs. YumYum’s cupcakes are made with organic ingredients and plant and fruit based coloring. They’re even baked in recycled parchment paper cups. I’m hooked.
The FDA has claimed that there is no link between food dyes and child hyperactivity, despite the evidence to the contrary. For me, I have all the evidence I need. I’d simply rather not eat an artificial “food” derived in a factory from petroleum and coal. After all, where’s the “yum” in that?
YumYum Chefs
www.yumyumchefs.com
718-404-6763
Limoux is a small French appellation in the eastern Pyrenees of France, buried deep in the Languedoc and surrounding the town of the same name.
Given the southern location and summer heat it is unusual to find that Limoux is dominated by white grapes – the local Mauzac, Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc are grown extensively. This is primarily because of altitude; the vineyards range from 200-400 metres above sea level in this undulating and frequently wild landscape and hence they are some of the coolest in southern France.
Winegrowing here probably dates back to Roman times, but Limoux should be better known for being the true birthplace of fizzy wine. This can be attributed to the Benedictine monks of Saint Hilaire abbey, where records date back at least to 1531 – over a century before bubbles appeared in Champagne! Now that should be a question in Trivial Pursuit! The original fizz made was sweet and low in alcohol and made from the Mauzac grape. It is still made to this day, where it bears the name méthode ancestrale.
However, Limoux produces two other sparkling wines by the more advanced méthod traditionnelle that became established in Champagne. Crémant dates only from 1990, created to take advantage of Chardonnay and Chenin’s ability to make elegant fizz. Mauzac may be included in this blend, but it usually plays second fiddle.
The fizz made predominantly with Mauzac is known as Blanquette. Indeed, Blanquette is a local name for Mauzac, referring to the distinctive white hairs found on the underside of its leaves. For me, Blanquette has a more original and distinctive style and is highly underrated. Here Chardonnay and Chenin play a minor role, principally to add some elegance. Blanquette is perhaps slightly more rustic than Crémant, but it is a true taste of Limoux, and when made well by an artisan winemaker the results are delicious.
July 2007. I’m standing with several hundred others by a dusty roadside at Esperaza waiting for Stage 14 of the Tour de France. The hours pass slowly on a hot morning. Picnic tables laden with bread, cheese and beer are decanted from the backs of dusty Citroëns and Renaults. Corks are popping and children playing, but no cyclists appear. Finally a cavalcade of sponsor and team cars pass, showering gifts and goodwill, building the excitement. Finally the leading cyclists flash past, followed closely by the peloton. In five minutes it’s over. I look at the wooden sign I’ve leant against for the past three hours. In faded letters it says: Delmas, Vins Biologique, Antugnac, à 3 km.
And so we visit Marlene and Bernard Delmas. They have 25 ha of organic vineyards at 300 metres altitude in the southern and coolest part of the Limoux appellation, a sub-zone known as the Haut-Vallée. They grow Mauzac, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and Pinot Noir and produce all three fizz styles as well as some excellent still wines – Limoux Chardonnay and a very fine Pinot Noir. All are some of the best wines I found in Limoux.
My pick of the Delmas wines is this Blanquette de Limoux – which is also great value. It’s made from 80% Mauzac and topped up with Chardonnay and a splash of Chenin Blanc. Delmas treats his Mauzac especially well, using the minimum of sulphur, experimenting with skin contact and ageing the wine on the lees longer than the minimum 9 months to enhance flavours.
This isn’t a cheap Champagne look-alike, it has a personality all of its own. There’s a golden hue and a foaming mousse with long-lasting and fine bubbles. On the nose there are delicate citrus, quince and yeasty aromas, while the palate is dry and has fresh creamy acidity and bite. Medium-bodied, there’s a very gentle cider-apple character alongside grapefruit and lemon flavours. A nutty and slightly spicy ending and a clean finish round things off. Drinking now and over the next couple of years (where it develops some honeyed flavour), this isn’t for keeping long-term.
But does it taste as good back home as in Limoux? You bet. Apparently Blanquette was a favourite of Thomas Jefferson, 3rd president of the United States – and he knew a thing or three about wine.
Try as an aperitif – very refreshing on a hot day – or with fish or chicken accompanied by white sauces.
Price around $19.99. Bargain!
