by Frank Mangio
Concluding my wine and food discoveries in the wondrous world of Las Vegas, next time you are in that timeless town, check out the new Double Helix Wine Bar and Boutique in The Shoppes at the new Palazzo Hotel for an exciting, breakthrough experience. First thing you’ll see is the beautiful open, circular bar in the middle of the main intersection of this indoor mall. The plush fixtures and dramatic lighting form a backdrop for some 45 wine selections by the glass in either 2 oz. or 5 oz. servings.
Next door is the Double Helix Wine Boutique shop where customers can purchase the wines they liked at the bar, and a lot more of the greatest wines of the world.
Ray Nisi, a New York restaurateur, enthusiastically conceived this new dimension in wine service. He told me that “Double Helix was a carefully chosen name to reflect the positive and proven benefits of wine on human health, and hence, structural DNA.” The bar offers weekly wine tasting events and features different vineyards, sometimes with the winemaker present.
For a schedule next time you’re in Vegas, call 702-735-WINE.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
A Little of This a Little of That Makes Tasty Blend
by Frank Mangio
Wine, like food, always seems to be just a little more fascinating to the taste when it’s blended. A pinch of this, a measured amount of that, and you have a taste all your own and can now call it by some seductive name. Great chefs have done this for years and enjoyed celebrity status for their dishes.
In the wine world the same holds true. In Napa/Sonoma, it’s Opus One, Insignia and Symmetry. In Paso Robles, it’s Isosceles and Rhapsody. In Italy try Tignanello and Sassicaia. Virtually all French Bordeaux style wines are blends.
Into this mix, a Temecula winery is establishing itself as a blending specialist with its Amante blend. Falkner Winery recently held a blending party to celebrate its newest 2004 release which is described as a “Super Tuscan Style Red Wine.” Guests at the party were challenged on two fronts: blind taste several bottles of wine and pick out which of the bottles was the ’04, and from several 100% grape releases, blend their own creation.
Ray Falkner and his seasoned winemaker, Steve Hagata, presented an introduction to the process of making a wine blend before we all dove into mixing the juice. Ray, who is half Italian, told the story of how he came to name the blend Amante. “It was one of five romantic names that resonated well with a musical kind of sound to it,” he said. “When we chose Amante we felt we should know what it meant in Italian so we went to the dictionary and found it was the word for illicit lover or mistress” A perfect name for this mystical mix.
It turned out the blend they used for the ‘04 Amante was 50% Sangiovese, a famous Tuscan grape, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. Amante is a distinctly Italian style wine with a pungent aroma, elegant cherry and a lovely hint of pepper on the finish. Price at the winery is $39.95.
Falkner Winery is celebrating its 8th anniversary with a lively party from Friday July 4 through Sunday July 6. There will be free jazz concerts, tours and discounts on wine and other gift items. Freshly prepared rustic dishes will be available at the award-winning Pinnacle restaurant at the winery which just launched a summer style menu with more salads, sandwiches, pastas and light seafood. For more information call 951-676-8231 or access their website at www.falknerwinery.com.
Wine, like food, always seems to be just a little more fascinating to the taste when it’s blended. A pinch of this, a measured amount of that, and you have a taste all your own and can now call it by some seductive name. Great chefs have done this for years and enjoyed celebrity status for their dishes.
In the wine world the same holds true. In Napa/Sonoma, it’s Opus One, Insignia and Symmetry. In Paso Robles, it’s Isosceles and Rhapsody. In Italy try Tignanello and Sassicaia. Virtually all French Bordeaux style wines are blends.
Into this mix, a Temecula winery is establishing itself as a blending specialist with its Amante blend. Falkner Winery recently held a blending party to celebrate its newest 2004 release which is described as a “Super Tuscan Style Red Wine.” Guests at the party were challenged on two fronts: blind taste several bottles of wine and pick out which of the bottles was the ’04, and from several 100% grape releases, blend their own creation.
Ray Falkner and his seasoned winemaker, Steve Hagata, presented an introduction to the process of making a wine blend before we all dove into mixing the juice. Ray, who is half Italian, told the story of how he came to name the blend Amante. “It was one of five romantic names that resonated well with a musical kind of sound to it,” he said. “When we chose Amante we felt we should know what it meant in Italian so we went to the dictionary and found it was the word for illicit lover or mistress” A perfect name for this mystical mix.
It turned out the blend they used for the ‘04 Amante was 50% Sangiovese, a famous Tuscan grape, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. Amante is a distinctly Italian style wine with a pungent aroma, elegant cherry and a lovely hint of pepper on the finish. Price at the winery is $39.95.
Falkner Winery is celebrating its 8th anniversary with a lively party from Friday July 4 through Sunday July 6. There will be free jazz concerts, tours and discounts on wine and other gift items. Freshly prepared rustic dishes will be available at the award-winning Pinnacle restaurant at the winery which just launched a summer style menu with more salads, sandwiches, pastas and light seafood. For more information call 951-676-8231 or access their website at www.falknerwinery.com.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Eli’s Wine and Food Has Loyal Following
by Frank Mangio
Every Saturday afternoon at Eli’s, in the Del Mar Highlands Center, the loyal followers gather for the weekly ritual of wine swap, tasting and wine talk.
Eli Shemirani, the smiling host and owner, provided incredibly great wines to taste for a very nominal charge. The Saturday I went, his Master Pouring Manager was Chris Faust who’s a regular, and he was introducing the new releases from Nickel and Nickel and Far Niente. Believe me, you are staring at spectacular wines with that Napa duo.
But that’s not what really got me. Eli’s followers were swapping tastes of their favorite wines, offering tastes to anyone who wanted to try them. Wines like Rubicon Cask, Denner Syrah and King Estate Oregon Pinot Gris were taste-tested.
At the same time, Eli was offering a knock-out deal of a Montepulciano D’ Abruzzo ’06 for $9.99 with a second bottle for a penny! Every Saturday tasting from 2 to 5pm is an event, with wonderful premium wines to taste.
Saturday June 14 is the new 2005 releases from Dominus! Cost is $10. To get the latest names offered, call 858-481-2323.
Every Saturday afternoon at Eli’s, in the Del Mar Highlands Center, the loyal followers gather for the weekly ritual of wine swap, tasting and wine talk.
Eli Shemirani, the smiling host and owner, provided incredibly great wines to taste for a very nominal charge. The Saturday I went, his Master Pouring Manager was Chris Faust who’s a regular, and he was introducing the new releases from Nickel and Nickel and Far Niente. Believe me, you are staring at spectacular wines with that Napa duo.
But that’s not what really got me. Eli’s followers were swapping tastes of their favorite wines, offering tastes to anyone who wanted to try them. Wines like Rubicon Cask, Denner Syrah and King Estate Oregon Pinot Gris were taste-tested.
At the same time, Eli was offering a knock-out deal of a Montepulciano D’ Abruzzo ’06 for $9.99 with a second bottle for a penny! Every Saturday tasting from 2 to 5pm is an event, with wonderful premium wines to taste.
Saturday June 14 is the new 2005 releases from Dominus! Cost is $10. To get the latest names offered, call 858-481-2323.
Meritage Opens in Temecula Wine Country
by Frank Mangio
This column treats wine and food as equal partners in the total culinary experience. Chefs who are in the know, craft their menus to romance the great wines of the world. A new restaurant that takes this preparation to a new dimension is Meritage, the just-opened rustic dining arm of Callaway Vineyard and Winery in Temecula’s Wine Country.
The word Meritage is generally known as a blending of France’s Bordeaux district varietals, usually Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cab Franc. The first part, “merit” means something of superior quality or worth. The second part, “heritage” is something that is passed down from preceding generations…a tradition. So it can be said for the hand-prepared food, with the “home” wines of Meritage at Callaway.
Executive Chef Michael Henry, shown in the accompanying photo, has designed a Tapas style menu with a Mediterranean emphasis. It’s the “small plate” concept, just enough to satisfy, but not too much to get bloated or request a “doggy bag.”
An example would be: grilled scallop, crispy Proscuitto, caper and green beans.
The menu suggests the ’05 Viognier in either a glass or taste, a choice of wine content unfortunately not found in many restaurants. I had the veal and ricotta Meatball Sliders on house-baked Focaccia. The wine pairing was the ’04 Winemakers Reserve Cabernet. Delicious! Entrees are also available. Meritage at Callaway is open for lunch and dinner plus a Sunday Brunch. Check hours and exact location at 951-676-4001 or access www.callawaywinery.com
Temecula wines, as I have reported time and again, are increasingly great wines that are showing up big in international competition. The recent Pacific Rim International Competition in San Bernardino brought in 33 medals including 11 gold. Wineries that captured gold included: Hart for a Rhone Blend; South Coast for its Gewurtztraminer, Merlot Blanc and Chardonnay; Maurice Carrie for its Muscat Canelli and Sara Bella Blush; Falkner’s Viognier; La Ceraza’s Viognier and Wiens for its Chardonnay. Congratulations to all the winners.
This column treats wine and food as equal partners in the total culinary experience. Chefs who are in the know, craft their menus to romance the great wines of the world. A new restaurant that takes this preparation to a new dimension is Meritage, the just-opened rustic dining arm of Callaway Vineyard and Winery in Temecula’s Wine Country.
The word Meritage is generally known as a blending of France’s Bordeaux district varietals, usually Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cab Franc. The first part, “merit” means something of superior quality or worth. The second part, “heritage” is something that is passed down from preceding generations…a tradition. So it can be said for the hand-prepared food, with the “home” wines of Meritage at Callaway.
Executive Chef Michael Henry, shown in the accompanying photo, has designed a Tapas style menu with a Mediterranean emphasis. It’s the “small plate” concept, just enough to satisfy, but not too much to get bloated or request a “doggy bag.”
An example would be: grilled scallop, crispy Proscuitto, caper and green beans.
The menu suggests the ’05 Viognier in either a glass or taste, a choice of wine content unfortunately not found in many restaurants. I had the veal and ricotta Meatball Sliders on house-baked Focaccia. The wine pairing was the ’04 Winemakers Reserve Cabernet. Delicious! Entrees are also available. Meritage at Callaway is open for lunch and dinner plus a Sunday Brunch. Check hours and exact location at 951-676-4001 or access www.callawaywinery.com
Temecula wines, as I have reported time and again, are increasingly great wines that are showing up big in international competition. The recent Pacific Rim International Competition in San Bernardino brought in 33 medals including 11 gold. Wineries that captured gold included: Hart for a Rhone Blend; South Coast for its Gewurtztraminer, Merlot Blanc and Chardonnay; Maurice Carrie for its Muscat Canelli and Sara Bella Blush; Falkner’s Viognier; La Ceraza’s Viognier and Wiens for its Chardonnay. Congratulations to all the winners.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Half Bottles Spotlighted at Updated Humphries
by Frank Mangio
San Diego has some venerable names in its restaurant history and none have a more romantic reputation than Humphreys on Shelter Island. So when I heard that this anchor spot had undergone a major makeover of the décor, dinner and wine menu, I had to see and experience the upgrades.
Humphries and the adjacent Half Moon Inn are hallowed grounds for me, having done all the communications for this intimate, south-seas format many years ago.
I have enjoyed countless music events on the grounds at the Humphreys Concerts by the Bay. It could be the most intimate venue in the country to see big names in the music business.
At Humphreys new format, I was struck by the positioning of the tables so that each had a view of the bay and marina. Cool, maritime colors are relaxing and inviting. The new executive chef is Paul Murphy (seen in the accompanying photo). He has created a modern, global menu to accent his French-trained skills. You may know him from his previous work at El Bizcocho in Rancho Bernardo and Delicias in Rancho Santa Fe.
I chose the seared Blue Crab Cakes and Treviso Salad for starters. The paired wine was an ’04 Trefethen Chardonnay. I then moved into a gorgeous Prime Rib with rock-salt crusted mash potato, au jus. That’s when the red wine accompaniment arrived: a half bottle d’Arenberg, “the Dead Arm” McLaren Vale 2002 from Australia. Humphreys knowledgeable manager, Shauna Aguirre, personally selected this varietal, and it was a home run.
Half bottles make a lot of sense in a restaurant environment. With its three- serving content, it’s perfect to complete the bottle in one sitting. If your companion likes something else, ordering up another half bottle won’t break the budget. And Humphreys has some household names that I never knew made a scaled down bottle: Grgich and J Lohr Chardonnay, Beaulieu and Chateau Montelena Cabernets and Opus One Meritage.
Humphreys also has dinner packages wrapped around a number of their summer concerts, that include up-front seating. You can also have the dinner package, concert, plus a guest room at the half Moon Inn. For more information or to make a reservation, call 619-224-3577 or visit www.humphreysrestaurant.com.
Wine World Mourns the Passing of Robert Mondavi
Robert Mondavi, the icon of Napa and one of the most respected winemakers in all the world, died on May 16th. He was 94. He was the father and founder of the American fine wine industry. He started his first winery in Napa in 1966, believing that world-class wine could be produced in California. His innovative spirit and techniques brought his Robert Mondavi Winery to the pinnacle of greatness, culminated by the Opus One Winery, a Meritage masterpiece. His Italian roots held firm with his message that wine and food are created equal, and he wanted to see a bottle of wine on every American table.
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