NY Vintners: Tex-Mex & Wine

Why on EARTH would I refuse the chance to spend a few hours drinking one of my favorite things (wine) and eating one of my favorite cuisines (Tex-Mex)? Of course I signed ABF & myself up ASAP for our second class at NY Vinters, a tiny but welcoming (and expandable) space in Tribeca. It's steps from City Hall and several subway lines, FYI.

ABF & I attended a pinot noir class there ages ago, and we were so impressed that I couldn't wait to find another reason to return. We've been to other wine classes before--NYV just blows away any competition.

I expected a much more informal setting, imagining we'd be getting small tastes of everything, not entire courses in lovely settings.

We had a few sips of bubbly upon arrival (such a nice touch!) I'm not a fan of carbonation, but I didn't let that stop me ;) This was the Gruet Blanc de Noir, and it is the only non-Champagne (France) region winemaker allowed to put "methode champenoise" on their labels. Impressive!

We started out with some whites: The Loca Linda Torrontes & the Kung Fu Girl Riesling. I loved both of them ($20 a bottle)--I have always been a fan of Riesling, from super-sweet to super-dry. Love 'em. The Torrontes is usually a nice crisp white (and you can usually find very reasonably priced ones!)

These whites went with our first course: a tamale. My heart sank a little at first because I do not like tamales do not like no thank you but oh wait..this was AMAZING. The secret(s)? Duck fat instead of lard, organic pork belly, intoxicating cilantro pesto and a whole lot of skill from NYV's Executive Chef Ryan Smith. I ate every single bite of this, from the micro-cilantro on top to the freeze-dried corn kernels surrounding the plate. Wow. Each bite was savory, satsifying, and shut-your-mouth delicious. If I had no shame whatsoever, I'd have asked for a second helping. Wowsa. The dish brought out the fruitiness of the Torrontes, and was especially dreamy with the Riesling.

Our second course was a bubbling cauldron of cheesy goodness--queso fresco, piquillo peppers, tiny, chewy dices of chorizo, and a match made in heaven with the white wines. The fattiness of the cheese disk was cut by the slightly sweet, acidic whites. Love.

Then it was time to move on to the reds: first the Biul & Gine 2008 Gine & Gine (a Priorat for $20 a bottle) and a Tikal 2010 Patriota (Malbec for $26 bottle). I didn't care for the Priorat by itself--too tannic and bitter for me, but I also don't like bitter foods (brussels sprouts, broccoli rabe, etc). I have yet to meet a Malbec I didn't like....

Our final dish of the evening was as stellar as I'd come to expect by now. What amazing food! This dish was a chili made from Colorado lamb, which Chef Ryan says is his personal favorite. Forget New Zealand, he said--go with Colorado. There was a nice chipotle smokiness to this dish, and the sunchokes (which are the root of sunflower plant--did you know that? I didn't know that!) were a nice, slightly crunchy contrast to the soft, succulent bits of lamb. Also? Not a WHIFF of that gamey flavor that has put me off lamb most of the time. The richness of the lamb completely tamed the Priorat--so much that I brought home a bottle!

I can't say enough about how well NY Vinters does these classes. Not only is it delicious wine, it's a welcoming atmosphere without a drop of pretension. You want stuffy and no fun? Go somewhere else. You want approachable, knowledgeable people who want you to love wine and food as much as they do? Come to NY Vinters!! It's crazy convenient, quite affordable, and just the best in town. Cheers!

New York Vintners
21 Warren Street
New York, NY 10007
(212) 812-3999

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Clovis Point Vineyards

Welcome to all my new visitors! After reading this post, feel free to browse my other Long Island Vineyard posts--just click here...and won't you add my blog to your daily reading?? Thanks for visiting, and come back often!

ABF & I ventured out east to visit a new spot: Clovis Point Vineyards. I'd purchased a private tasting/cheese plate/tour combo from them via Living Social, but we hadn't been able to get out there until today. We ended up getting there just about 20 minutes before closing, and Brian, the sole worker at that point, told us we could easily reschedule. They have been incredibly nice about extending the coupon and accomodating us, and they really didn't have to be. ABF & I appreciated that.

The Modern: Wine Tasting

Here's another amazing time I had at The Modern, and this time I got to bring ABF! The awesome Belinda Chang had invited my friend Patty to a tasting, and I was going (along with Mel of Epi-Curiousity) as a guest. Well, the morning of the tasting, both Mel & Patty got the crud that was going around, and it was up to ABF & me to represent.

Dewar's Scotch Tasting

I signed up for another UrbanDaddy.com deal, a tasting of Dewar's Scotch, and invited ABF, That Sara, and her BF Mike to join me. It was free, it was Scotch, and did I mention it was free? That almost automatically qualifies it as a Finer Things Club outing...which it was. :)

Mike is actually the person who got me interested in Scotch--back in the day at Montel, he and Kwame and I would share Johnnie Walkers & Ginger Ale--a refreshing combo!

Mike and I also went to a Scotch tasting years ago (before either of us even knew That Sara!) with my friend Jenny, so I figured this would be similar. There was food, but the servers rarely made it over to us in the far corner of the room. Hello, work the room! We got wise though, and Mike & I started meeting the servers as soon as they came out of the kitchen. This time was over quickly, though, so we hadn't eaten much by the time we went in for the tasting. I would have loved more food before the Scotch!

Back to the present--like the Johnnie Walker event, the Dewar's folks had set up a room with hors d'oeuvres and a free cocktail. They offered three kinds: Dewar's 12 year Scotch on the rocks, A Dewar's & Ginger Ale (!) made with their White blend, and the Smash, a spin on the mojito with the White blend as well. Mike got the rocks, Sara & ABF got the Smash, and I got the Dewars & Ginger Ale. They were all delicious--even the rocks! I had Dewars ages ago and thought it was too peaty/smoky for me, but I was willing to come out to a (free) tasting, and I am so glad I did!

The party then moved into the next room, where they had tables set up with lots of beautiful glassware and what looked like chemistry sets! It was a lovely setting.

Our eyes lit up at the chemistry set--clearly this was an interactive event! The front row of test tubes contained, left to right: honey, citrus peel, lavender/heather seeds, vanilla stick, and peat. The host walked us through each item, first asking us to smell the item, then reach behind and open the vial that contained the scotch that contained that flavor/aroma. PS: I could NOT smell the peat for the life of me. I think that's a good thing. Now, Scotch is only made with water, barley and yeast-yet each different vial held such a different array of scents--so cool and science-y!

We learned about the history of Dewar's (Scotland owes a big debt to the late President Harrison). When word spread that he was having a keg of Dewar's shipped to him from Scotland, their sales exploded! We also learned how the Scotch develops all those different flavors, and much like making perfume, Scotch blends are perfected by smell, not by taste.

Then came the hands-on part--we got to make our own blends! We picked the aroma we liked the best (I chose fruity/citrus) to use as the base, and then added bits of the others until we liked what we smelled. I used all the blends, but only a drop or two of the 'smokey,' as the peaty flavor/smell is my least favorite.

Smokey was ABF's favorite--his was a very manly blend--woo!

We also learned that what you call 'legs' in wine (those streaks that go down the insides of the glass when you swirl) are called 'tears' in the Scotch world.

My blend has very nice tears. :)

We also had ready and waiting samples of their Dewar's White Blend (recommended for mixed drinks), the 12-year Dewar's (best neat or on the rocks), and their latest batch which isn't even available on the market yet. I was surprised I liked all three of them (the not-yet-released was my favorite).

For our final tasting, they brought us out 12 year aged Dewar's on ice--the best way they recommend enjoying it. I was surprised at how smooth it was, and that I really enjoyed it. This branding event worked, because I walked in thinking I didn't even like Dewar's, and I walked out thinking the opposite.

While the Johnnie Walker event was a little more 'dazzling' and produced, this was more fun. We also got 2 rocks glasses each as a parting gift. AWESOME! Well played, Dewar's... well-played. And well done--it was fun!

Pindar Tour & Tasting

I arranged another Finer Things Club event for ABF & myself a few weekends ago--we signed up for a behind the scenes tour and tasting of Pindar, one of our favorite Long Island vineyards.

The geek in me enjoyed it a lot. We got to see the chilling tanks where they keep their whites, the machine that presses the grapes, and the back part of the field where they take all the leftover fruit, stems, etc and mix them into compost for future use. Pindar makes a point to be very green, and works with the locals as well to keep that movement going.

We tasted several wines right from the barrel, which I thought was pretty cool! The first was the Merlot, and let me tell you, while I am no wine conneissuer (ABF is a much better 'taster' than I), even I could tell this needed more time in the barrel. The tour guide told us it would be about another year or so before it was ready for bottling.

The vineyard owner and founder, Dr. Herodotus “Dan” Damianos (photo below, blue sweater, next to our tour guide & winemaker, Les Howard), also came along for the tour. He shared lots of interesting facts about how the barrels are made (a single oak barrel, usually made in France, can run up to 1200 each). We learned that a new oak barrel will be made to hold the vineyard's popular Sunflower Chardonnay, and once that wine has been aged, the barrel will then house another type of white, and finally a third type of white, before being retired.

We also learned how America gave France some starter vines more than a century ago after a fungus destroyed all of their vineyards, and how most French wine is technically (wink) American--how do you like that??

I could have sat all day listening to the how's and why's of winemaking, but it was time for our tasting back at the tasting room. We walked out into the bright, warm sunshine (it is CHILLY in that building!) and made our way across the property. The tasting room was PACKED, but they made space for us in the back area. We were anxious to get a chance to sample their reserve red, voted New York's Best Wine! While we waited we tried the sunflower Chardonnay, which I actually loved. Chardonnay is probably one of the last things I'll order normally, but this one was light, bright, sunny, even!

We also decided to take them up on the awesome offer of 5 bucks for a wedge of delicious cheese and crackers. You can't do all that tasting and not eat something! Well, apparently some people in our group could, but we couldn't.

One of the last tastings we had was of the reserve merlot, which won Best Red in New York, among other awards. This was AWESOME. It was rich, smooth, and you could definitely taste the difference between this wine and the younger reds. ABF & I both gave each other a look of surprise and appreciation--and we both agreed this wine was worth the slightly-higher price (it's around 27 dollars, I think, whereas most Pindar wines are around 10-15).

After all of our tastings, we made our way to the outdoor picnic area and ate the lunch we'd packed. I brought some of my homemade hummus, some delicious yogurt from Trader Joe's, and crackers and veggie slices. It was cool but sunny outside, and it was a good way to let the wine wear off before we hit the road again. We definitely enjoyed this afternoon, and we'll be back there again before long, especially to pick up 2 bottles of their awesome Reserve Merlot!

Sweet, Sweet Culture

ABF & I strolled through the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in Midtown NYC this weekend. We are saving the Tim Burton exhibit for a less crowded day, so we were happy to wander the halls and see the Van Goghs, Matisses, Picassos, etc. After a few hours, our stomachs got grumbly and we wandered over to the cafe. Oddly enough, there are no sandwiches on the menu! It's just soups, salads, appetizers, or desserts! Guess which one we picked. ;)

Pistachio Sundae. Sigh. THIS was outstanding. The salty/sweet pistachios had a wonderful crunch to them. We quickly ate up the ones on top, and were delighted to find many more strewn throughout the sundae. The pistachio ice cream was subtly and deliciously flavored, and smooth as silk, and the vanilla was super smooth as well. At the very bottom of the glass, we found a still slightly-crunchy vanilla biscuit (cookie ;).

The sundae cost 8 dollars, which, true, might be more than you might normally pay in a restaurant. However, every bite of this was decadent and sacrilicious, so if you figure it was 4 bucks per person, it suddenly seems like a perfectly reasonable splurge. (Ed: ABF's comment on this post prompted me to put in a side story I initially ommitted!) This sundae wasn't just delicious--it was also attention-getting. The couple sitting next to us had just taken their seats when we got our sundae. The girl, a bright, bubbly blonde gal, gasped in amazement and said to me, "Excuse me, what is that you're eating?" I answered and assured her that it was indeed as good as it looked. She went on rapturously to her date about how much she loves ice cream, how she could eat it no matter what the weather, she looooves pistachio, and oh my goodness, did she mention how much she loves ice cream? So what does her date say? "Eh, I'm more of a sorbet person." and instead orders the lame bowl of 4 tiny scoops of sorbet for them to SHARE.. Jerk. I think ABF and I both wanted to pull her aside and tell her she could do much, much better

We also had coffee--regular coffee for me, 3 bucks and quite strong, while ABF had a latte, which was quite pretty. I appreciate that they take the time to heat and foam the milk for even drip coffee! After we'd finished our coffee, our server came by and cheerily filled up both our cups (no extra charge!) A free refill policy anywhere is always a noteworthy event in NYC. The service was also attentive and welcoming--we didn't feel rushed at all.

We left feeling satisfied but not overly-stuffed, and we carried on for a few more hours in the museum after that.

Later, we joked about going back to MOMA just for that sundae. But I'm pretty sure neither one of us was joking.