If you haven’t heard of this group and you love dogs–and wine–you’re in for a surprise. Chateau La Paws (CLP) supports no-kill shelters all over the U.S. and to support its work, sells some very good wines from the folks at Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines (DC&E). Even more fun, they put pictures of their still-need-a-forever-home dogs on all the wine labels!
All posts by Barbara Payne, Editor
a la carte Chicago highlights French food and drink
Chicago loves French cooking, and during the week of November 9-19, a bunch of French restaurants are inviting Chicagoans to sample the French table with prix-fixe menus for $33 or $44. Like Restaurant Week, this festival, called a la carte Chicago, gives you a chance to try a restaurant’s offerings at a reduced price—a great way to expand your culinary horizons.
Chicago French restaurants and associations teamed up to create this festival of menus, tastings and events around town. It will showcase the best efforts of chefs, bakers and wine-and-spirits experts all over the city. Check here for more information and a complete list of participating restaurants and other venues.
A la carte Chicago also gives you chances to go behind the scenes. Hone your culinary skills with cooking workshops—say, how a French chef does hamburger! Follow a French Chef throughout the day and experience the life of a master at work. Discover new cookbooks at special events. Indulge in an Oscar-winning French film. Share a lunch with the Consul General of France.
The final event of a la carte Chicago will be the 31st annual Passport to France—basically a huge party where you get to savor specialties from more than 50 local chefs and vendors. Get the word out to your friends:
Twitter: @alacarteChicago #alacarteChi
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlacarteChicago
Instagram: @alacarteChicago
Partners include: Bistronomic, Chez Moi, Shaw’s Crab House, Sofitel Chicago Water Tower, Kendall College, French Pastry School, Viktorija Todorovska, Sommelier and Author of Provence Food and Wine: The Art of Living, Consulat General de France a Chicago, French-American Chamber of Commerce Chicago, Alliance Francaise de Chicago, Business France, Kendall College, and Watel / Davis.
Bon appetit!
CEO Alberto Buratto talks about Baglio Di Pianetto
Out in the Sicilian countryside near Palermo in Sicily nestles a deceptively simple-looking cluster of buildings known as Baglio Di Pianetto. Surrounding it are acres of vineyards and olive groves that supply the resort’s extraordinary house-made wines and olive oils—the two unshakable cornerstones of Italian cuisine, done to passionate perfection here.
But Alberto Buratto, CEO of this five-star resort and winery, lives in Verona in northern Italy and commutes an hour and a half by air every day to play his role here—except on the many days he travels the globe as the representative of these lovely wines, telling their stories to consumers and industry experts around the world.
Signor Burrato, a handsome man with kind eyes, a warm smile and a strong yet gentle manner, was in Chicago recently representing Baglio Di Pianetto (BDP) at an Italian wine event at Eataly. At dinner at Pane Caldo, 111 E. Chestnut, he set to ordering, in mellifluous Italian, bread to go with tasting the wines. Once the house bread arrived—a small, muffin-shaped, soft-crusted loaf of bread served with tapenade and bruschetta spreads, Alberto began to tell how BDP came to be.
The story begins
The founder of Baglio Di Pianetto, he said, is Paolo Marzotto, who was once president of Santa Margherita—where he invented Pinot Grigio—and is, according to Alberto, “really a tough guy.” He even drove Formula 1 race cars, that is, until he met his then-future wife, a French Countess named Florence. In 1955 a terrible accident at LeMans killed 18 people. The Countess, who had come that day to watch Paolo race, came down from the stands while he was off the course and told him that if he wanted to be with her, he had to stop racing. He quit that day, and they were married two months later. He turned 85 this year.
In 1990, Count Marzotto’s wife asked him to make a new kind of wines—Sicilian, yes, but with also the elegance of the French chateaux. That was when he asked Alberto to partner with him and commute to Sicily. Eventually, Alberto agreed to help Paolo fulfill his wish to please his wife with these elegant new wines.
Paolo bought two properties in Sicily, one in the north, Pianetto, one in the south, Baroni, one higher and one lower, one in the mountains with wide variations in temperature between night and day, and the other by the seaside, where temps don’t vary so much between night and day. These dramatically different terroirs would provide great possibilities for creating different wines and making different olive oils. Then he planted Viognier grapes because these French grapes were favorites of the Countess. He also planted Petit Verdot and Merlot, along with Sicilian grapes.
To provide the elegance they sought, they experimented with different oaks from different areas in France. American oak that comes from Oregon or Michigan is completely different. “Where and how the oak grows makes a big difference,” said Alberto. While the rings of a tree show its age in years, a six-year-old tree could be smaller than a four; the space between the rings controls its size and how it will behave in a barrel. “Smaller rings make a harder wood that lets in less air. And this is how the wood in a barrel affects the evolution of aged wine or beer.”
The passion of making wine
“To make wine, you must have passion,” said Alberto. “And the more you study, the more you know how much is yet to learn.”
Having learned early from his grandfather about timing, Alberto said they harvest three times each year: August, September and October. “Now, when we make the blend, we use a little bit from each harvest to change the character of the finished wine. Ficiligno is fruitier because we add more Viognier from September. Freshness comes from August. Sweeter comes from the October harvest. We taste to decide how much of each to use. Some years it’s very sunny and makes wonderful maturation—less Viognier, more Insolia.”
Baglio Di Pianetto wines and olive oils
With the arrival of the seafood risotto, Alberto called for BDP’s two dry white wines. The first, Baglio Di Pianetto Ficiligno 2014 ($19) is a blend of Insolia and Viognier grapes and epitomizes the personality of Pianetto: fresh, pleasant and mild-flavored, leaning towards savory with hints of exotic aftertaste. A lovely white wine that first gives off floral notes, and then slowly changes to tropical and fresh fruits like pineapple and mango. It was beautiful with the risotto.
The second white, Baglio Di PIanetto Ginolfo 2012 ($33), a pale golden yellow color, is richer and more full-bodied. Made of 100% Viognier grapes it, too, is the result of three different harvests. Its aroma has tropical hints and notes of toasted vanilla. It’s a beautifully dry, rich yet mellow wine—and went wonderfully with the seafood. Listen to this description of the loving process they follow in making this wine:
“The grapes were harvested by hand in crates in 3 different harvests (the first at pre-technical ripeness to create an acidic base, the second at technical ripeness and the third with the grapes slightly overripe). After sorting, half the grapes were de-stemmed, crushed and left to macerate 18 hours with their skins. The other half was pressed directly. The must was cooled once again, favoring the natural settling. The fermentation began in stainless steel tanks, then continuing for only a portion of the wine in new 225 litres French oak. In June 2012, the wine was blended.”
Baglio di Pianetto winery also grows its own olive trees and makes its own olive oil. When I asked why so many wineries do this, he looked astonished. He said that was like asking why you would want the best wine you could afford. The answer is obvious: if you control the production of your olive oil, like your wine, you know you are getting the highest possible quality. On his iPad he displayed multiple pictures of the BDP olive oil processing equipment at work—clearly as much a labor of love as the making of their wines.
With the cheese course, Alberto presented two of the company’s seven reds. The first, Baglio Di Pianetto Ramione 2011 ($23) is a fresh red blend of Merlot and Nero d’Avola (a grape exclusive to Sicily), again made with grapes selected from early, middle and late harvest. It has a deep ruby color with an intense and elegant bouquet of red berries followed by vanilla and licorice hints. On the palate it feels mellow and well-balanced with a long and persistent finish. “You feel this red,” said Alberto, “with a little bit of tannins that later give a powerful feeling.” This red made a nice accompaniment to Pane Caldo’s selection of six different cheeses, especially the soft creamy triple-cream one.
And then, Alberto presented another exceptional red: Baglio Di Pianetto Cembali 2007 (bottled in 2011), a 100% Nero D’Avola Reserve (~$44). He waxed eloquent: “Think how you taste: very powerful but with a velvet feeling.” He described the process: Two harvests and age 9 months in five different types of oak, a little bit in several separate barrels. Then they blend and age that, first in stainless steel, then for 10 months in a larger oak barrel. Then 36 months in the bottle before it goes to market. Four years from harvest to table—talk about tender loving care! And the wine shows it—a deep ruby color with a spicy palate of blueberries, cherries, balsamic. Warm, savory and intense, it expresses all the specific characteristics of Nero D’Avola grown in the Noto area of Sicily. Absolutely lovely.
Eating and drinking in America
Alberto noted that American palates are changing, and he feels BDP’s mostly medium-bodied wines will find a warm welcome here. “The previous mentality of Americans,” he said, “was they wanted powerful, tannic, structured wines—the big Cabernet.” He said American menus typically featured mainly steak and fish and potatoes and fries, hot dogs and hamburgers. While it’s probable that most Chicagoans haven’t lost their taste for those food items, the city certainly now has many international cuisines to choose from.
People ask Alberto what it’s like eating in America. He feels the difference is that the average meal in America is better than the average in Italy, but that to eat extremely well in the U.S. is hard to find and costs a fortune, whereas you can find very good eating in many places in Italy. He said in Italy from 1998 to 2007, for ten years many Italian restaurants began offering many other cuisines, like Peruvian, for example, and not so much Italian. Now for five or six years, Italian cuisine is again popular. His love and appreciation for his country’s cuisine shone forth when he said, “Why must we do something else? Italian cuisine is about the purity of the essences of the food.” Impeccable for pairing with fine wines.
When asked about the “smelling kits” growing popular in the U.S. now to help people learn to recognize “the nose” of wines, he said many winemakers start teaching their children, from as early as age 2, to identify the aromas of everything. He suggests putting a bit of something in many small containers—rosemary, tea, cream, thyme, and so on—then making a game of having the child learn to identify the scents. “Most city people have no idea what is the smell of the leaves of a tomato plant.”
Accept and appreciate
As to how a winemaker deals with changing weather—including global warming, hail storms and soaking rains in areas of Sicily where it has never rained—Alberto said it is simple. “Patience. You accept what God sends you, and know that not all bad things are bad. If you can see in a different way, sometimes what looks bad can give you more opportunity for the future.”
He said, in the end, it comes down to one thing. “The most important thing in this company is our people,” he said.
Salmon – What you see isn’t always what you get
About 40% of salmon sold in the U.S. is wrongly labeled, according to a small sampling done by advocacy group Oceana. That means when you pick up a package of salmon in the grocery store labeled “wild caught,” there’s a four in ten chance it’s actually either farmed or some lower-value fish. Download the full report to see pictures of the various types and grades of salmon.
For those who care about truth in labeling and potential contamination in seafood, it’s nice to know there’s a commission that’s recently made recommendations on reducing or eliminating fraudulent seafood labeling. You can help by encouraging the administration to enforce these transparency standards:
- Documentation for all seafood sold in the United States — require details such as what fish it is, whether it was farmed or wild caught, where and how it was caught. This information helps verify that the seafood came from a legal source.
- Full chain traceability — require key information to follow the fish through the supply chain, tracking the seafood from fishing boat or farm to the dinner plate.
- Consumer information — provide seafood buyers with more information about their purchase, such as what fish it is, where and how it was caught, so they can make more informed decisions.
Meanwhile, you can protect yourself when dining out by eating in restaurants that serve sustainably farmed salmon such as Skuna Bay or at home by using convenience packs of traceable seafood sauces and dishes like those by Fishpeople.
Catch chef-inspired dining while bowling or attending a movie in Chicago
Sexy – and practical – way to carry
Not talking about a concealed weapon, ladies, though I guess you could. But for hands-free carrying your flask or phone, credit card, cash and key without lugging a bag, try this very cool new item called SmarterGarter. The makers were kind enough to send a sample, and I’m impressed. As you’ll see from all the online photos, this new-fangled cache comes in multiple colors/designs (there’s even one with metal studs!) and looks mucho lady-macho on your thigh or your boot top. It also meets the new entrance regs for NFL games (no purses bigger than a hand-sized clutch and no butt bags).
And for those of you thinking, wow, those models on the website are all very thin. Will it fit me? I’m here to tell you, the large size fits a generous thigh nicely. Made with hooks on strong elastic (just like many bras), you can connect the hooks while it’s lower on your leg (at the calf), and then slide it up your leg until it’s comfortable. I like the feel of the vegan leather and the fact that the closures are magnetic. I hate trying to locate and close snaps, don’t you? The material on the inside assures that it stays firmly in place, too. What more can you ask?
Use one of these when you’re out clubbing/dancing, attending a festival, game or wine tasting (where you’re already trying to balance the tasting notes book and a pen, the food and the wine glass), traveling, hiking, or riding your, ahem, motorcycle. The SmarterGarter can hold many types of useful stuff…
- flask (small round, taller rectangular)
- smart phone (yes, it even fits the new iPhone 6 PLUS)
- ID (driver’s license, business cards)
- keys (home, hotel rooms, locks)
- safety (Mace, pocket knife, condom)
- comfort (tampon/pad, tissues)
- beauty (small comb, lipstick, compact, nail file)
- medical (medications, insulin pump, epi pen)
- travel (passport, tickets, map, guide)
- money (cash, check, credit cards)
- miscellaneous (pen, small notepad, flash drive)
- kid stuff (diaper, wipes, pacifier)
Food and drink drew 400 to Uptown Uncorked
An event called Uptown Uncorked, traveling around to major cities in the U.S., is the result of an interesting partnership among Lexus luxury cars, Diageo fine spirits people, and Uptown Magazine for upscale African American consumers.
For its recent Chicago showing, organizers invited two rising African American chef stars and two African American wine aficionados (The McBride Sisters) to provide the goodies, and everybody got to show off their products to a group of 400 enthusiastic members of their target market. It was a huge gathering, with loud pumping music, and lines of people waiting to pick up their samples of food
and wine. Lexus provided the spotlight adornments in the form of some of their latest models set up in the cool space at Moonlight Studios, 1446 W. Kinzie.
One of the evening’s master chefs, Chef Julius Russell is not only a private chef to celebrities but also serves as owner of A Tale of Two Chefs, Culinary Ambassador to Chile, and as a TV Host on the Big Ten Network. As a private chef, Russell provides everything from in-home cooking for the family to large scale catering for public events. He focuses heavily on authenticity, using ingredients and techniques specific to each of the regions he has traveled. Chef Julius says, “I’m just a shy guy who likes to cook.”
What a neat way to create synergy between brands and attract a crowd of folks who appreciate your wares.
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Book review: Vintage by David Baker
You’ll either be delighted or affronted by the protagonist of Vintage by David Baker–possibly both. Bruno Tennenbaum is a half Jewish/half Catholic, working-class gourmet food writer with a weakness for expensive wines and indulgent meals–and has a not-so-surprising resemblance to certain qualities of the author himself.
Unfortunately, protagonist Bruno’s excesses have come back to haunt him–a recent over-indulgence in wine has left him broke, fired from his job as a food columnist at the Chicago Sun-Times, and nursing a spot on his mothers couch. He’s separated from his wife and two daughters–though he still visits occasionally and charms them by cooking fabulous meals and bringing special wines–and he’s lost as to how to turn things around.
Eataly hosts Piemonte Italian red wines
Eataly Chicago is dedicated to providing a full schedule of educational programs around food and wine. A recent event featured wines by Prunotto, the Antinori family’s picturesque wine estate among the Langhe hills of the Piemonte region of Italy (located in the southern section of the cuff of the Italian boot-shaped land mass).
Signor Emanuele Baldi, representing the brand, said Prunotto made the Italian wine map after the Antinori family, with 600 years of wine-making fame in Tuscany and Umbria, turned its attention to Piemonte (aka/Piedmont). He presented a small array of tannic reds from the area: Barbera, Barbaresco, and Barolo, all paired with complimentary dishes from the chef at Eataly’s cucina.
First course, served with the Barbera and the Barbaresco wines was Vitello tonnato—melt-in-your-mouth-tender, palest-pink poached veal with a smooth, creamy tuna and caper sauce—delightful, light and piquant with a drizzle of fresh lemon to set it off. The second course consisted of a platter of salumi and formaggi, tidbits of succulent preserved meats and rich, smooth cheeses also from the
Piemonte region. He pointed out that eating any blue cheese with tannic wines is always problematical; the only cheese, he said, that can reliably go with almost any wine is classic Parmigiano. The third course was a beautiful nest of egg-rich noodles covered in a butter sauce perfumed with white truffle essence. Delicious.
The Barbera Pian Romualdo D’alba DOC 2012 with a ruby a color was representative of the high acidity of this variety of grapes as grown here in clay soils layered with sand and seashells. Here, these grapes tend to produce wines that are fresh-tasting with more fruit and more acidity. This particular wine improved with time after opening, gradually smoothing out some of what many Americans would perceive as sharpness.
The two Barbaresco wines, both DOCG appellations (the highest designation in Italian winemaking), included Prunotto Barbaresco 2011 and Prunotto Bric Turot 2008. Each had a beautiful garnet color which he said they would always have, no matter how long you age them. They show more delicate floral than fruit and are considered more feminine and are made with Nebbiolo grapes, grown only in Piemonte. Wines made with Nebbiolo grapes show elegance and finesse similar to what Americans find in Pinot Noir varietals. Good with pasta, stewed meat, roast duck and others.
The two Barolo wines, both also DOCG appellations, included Prunotto Barolo Classic 2009, and Prunotto Bassia Barolo 2008. These two, also made with Nebbiolo grapes, were the deepest and richest wines of the evening. The presenter described them as more muscular, with higher tannins and greater structure, not unlike Cabernet Sauvignon wines from America. Excellent paired with the rich, buttery noodle dish. Each of these is a perfect companion to a variety of salumi, meats and cheeses.
It was a pleasure to hear the presenter give a famous Italian maxim, “The best wine is the one whose bottle is empty first.” So, if you’re one who says, “Hey, I just know what I like,” that means your opinion matters as much as any expert’s.
By the way, their website is surprisingly easy to use. For more information, visit the Prunotto website.
Getting kids to snack healthier – New product is sweet and portable
Kids. They don’t even know when they’re hungry half the time because they’re so busy growing and learning they forget to eat. Making sure they get enough nutrition is always a challenge.
According to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the rate of childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents within the last 30 years. And the culprits are easy to figure out: too many pre-packaged, sugar-or-corn-syrup-laden, fatty, high-calorie foods instead of nutritionally dense foods (whole grains, fruits, vegetables, etc.)—the same problem a lot of adults have.
But in this modern, high-stress, no-time-to-cook world, what’s a busy working parent to do? I was intrigued when offered a sample of a new product created by a couple of moms who worried about what their kids were snacking on. The pouches are called Slammers Snacks, and they meet a busy parent’s needs as well as many kid preferences: screw-top, portable snack pouches (shaped like little old-fashioned hot-water bottles) that list organic fruits and vegetables as main ingredients (full list of ingredients below**). Labels say little or no fat plus 60 to 70% of daily vitamin C requirement. Other vitamin and mineral contents depend on the specific fruits/vegetables in each flavor mix (e.g., mango is big on vitamin A). A big selling point for two of their newest flavors is that each also contains seven grams of protein—read the label to make sure you’re getting a protein-boosted flavor.
Because without the protein, a potential downside is that they’re high in carbs and sugars because of all the fruit juice concentrates. Calories vary greatly—140 in the “Protein+ Organics Pomegranate Grape Crush” because protein powder boosts the calories, and 70 for the “It’s Epic Orange, Mango & Yogurt.” The concentrated fruit sweetening seems to be the tradeoff to get kids to eat it.
Taste is not overly sweet (no sugar added) and varies by the types of fruits used. The texture is smooth and soft like thin baby food. Or like a thicker version of the protein-powder smoothies muscle-building experts recommend.
The real test, of course, is whether kids eat them. I gave my 8-year-old granddaughter a couple of these squeezable, suckable pouches in flavors of Pomegranate Grape Crush and Orange, Mango & Yogurt. She ate them and is open to more. That’s a thumbs-up in my book—although thank goodness she still likes fresh fruit and vegetables (the very best road to kid nutrition).
You’ll find these pouches at Target, Safeway, Publix, H-E-B, Ralphs, The Market, Tom Thumb, Randall’s, Carr’s, Eagle and Vons. Targets in the Chicago area that carry Slammers: 7100 S. Cicero Ave., 2656 N. Elston Ave., 4433 S. Pulaski Rd., 1154 S. Clark St., 6525 W. Diversey Ave., 1940 W. 33rd St., 2112 W. Peterson Ave., 11840 S. Marshfield Ave., 1200 N Larrabee St., 1101 W. Jackson Blvd.
**Ingredients listed on a pouch of Slammer Snacks Pomegranate Grape Crush Protein+:
Organic apple, organic banana, water, whey protein isolate (Eating Well magazine says this powder can help build muscles and keep you lean), coconut cream, grape juice concentrate, organic pomegranate juice concentrate, purple carrot juice concentrate, organic lemon juice concentrate, ascorbic acid. 1g saturated fat, 26g carbs, 1g dietary fiber, 19g sugars, 7g protein.