Wines for Thanksgiving

Tastings: Giving thanks that the wines match the meal
By Lisa Ramirez
For the Times Herald-Record
November 18, 2007
Thanksgiving dinner is, arguably, the most anticipated meal of the year, and, for many of us, our very favorite.
Choosing the right wines, though, can be a challenge.
"Thanksgiving dinner is not an easy meal to cater for when it comes to wine," says Marcus Guiliano, the chef and owner at Aroma Thyme Bistro in Ellenville. "The food, while fun, is all over the map in terms of flavors. Sure, there's turkey, stuffing, gravy. But what wine goes with sweet potatoes topped with marshmallow? Brussels sprouts and chestnuts? Cranberry sauce? Sour-cherry stuffing? Or any of the other interesting, once-a-year specialties by region and family preference?"
The second challenge, Guiliano says, is the range of palettes likely gathered at the table.
"(Your guests will) include regular wine drinkers, such as those who only drink red, and want massive, tannic cabernets, and others who hardly ever drink wine and may even feel a bit intimidated by the whole idea," Guiliano says.
This year, Guiliano will be serving a couple of inexpensive, excellent South African white wines for Thanksgiving feasting. Both come from the Robertson winery, situated in the valley of the same name, in western Cape Province.
"We like Robertson's chenin blanc and gewürztraminer (each about $10-$12) because they will happily accompany everything that Thanksgiving dinner can throw at them," Guiliano says. "The chenin blanc has a dry finish, but is fruity, soft and very easy to drink. The gewürztraminer has the spiciness one associates with this grape, but has been made German style, with some residual sugar, and is thus a great wine to offer people who like a little sweetness."
Guiliano notes that gewürztraminer is a nice wine to introduce to people who are fans of blush wines like white zinfandel.
"The name may be a little harder to say, but people generally love it," Guiliano.
Guiliano also loves to serve prosecco, the lively fruity wine from Veneto, Italy, on Thanksgiving — especially if he's serving a crowd.
"Champagne at $50 a pop may be a bit too steep for a table of six, 10, 12 or more, but prosecco can be had for much less," Guiliano says. "In fact, good proseccos like the organic Perlage Riva Moretta Prosecco we serve at Aroma Thyme can be had for $15 a bottle. Other proseccos can be found for less, (and) nearly all prosecco is just a pleasure to pour and drink."
Prosecco, the chef notes, is a little less acidic and considerably less structured than champagne, which, he says, " helps when you're drinking it to accompany that sour cherry stuffing, or the sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows. Just chill it for an hour or so before dinner and start popping corks."
Michael Taiani, a Pine Bush-based wine consultant and owner of winesbytheglass.net, offers some suggestions with various budgets in mind.
In whites, Taiani likes St. Urbans-Hof Riesling (about $12) from Germany. "It's slightly sweet,'' he says, "and very good for the price.
If you plan to spend a little bit more, try the Chateau Ste. Michelle "Eroica" Riesling (about $20) from Washington state. Taiani calls it an "awesome wine with a lengthy finish."
In reds, Taiani recommends Georges Duboeuf Moulin-A-Vent "de la Tour du Bief" (about $15). "Simply killer," Taiani says, with a style very similar to high-quality pinot noirs. And if budget allows, try California's Seasmoke Pinot Noir. Expect to pay upward of $30, but, he says, "quite worth it with rich flavors and a velvety mouth feel."
And for Taiani, Thanksgiving must include a tawny port. From Australia he likes the Benjamin Tawny Port (about $13), a "basic, well-made" port. For something special, he loves the 20-year-old Taylor Fladgate from Portugal (about $43-$50), which, he says, is considered by many to be "the absolute best."

Dish of the Week

Our Rare Crusted Albacore Tuna Dish is featured in the November 12th issue of Nations Restaurant News. Nations Restaurant News is a national magazine for the foodservice industry.

We start by taking Pacific North-West troll caught Albacore Tuna. We use this tuna because they are smaller fish and have not had the time to concentrate harmful mercury. But they are old enought to reproduce. The large or older tunas are the ones that contain the harmful mercury.

After the proper tuna is selected we roll the loins in brown and black seasame seeds. Then they are seared in a hot pan for 10 seconds on each side. This adheres the seeds and keeps the tuna rare. The tuna is then thinly sliced and served with a spicy mayo and peanut sauce. Pickled ginger and wakame salad go well as sides.

At Aroma Thyme we offer the tuna as an appetizer or entree. This dish pairs great with a dry to semi dry Reisling or Sake.

Wine made from the Roscetto Grape, by Falesco

Recently myself, Marcus Guiliano, and Chris Rowley, Wine and Beer Guide at Aroma Thyme Bistro, where invited to a wine lunch. The occasion, Wine Maker and Owner of Falesco from Umbria Italy was in town. Riccardo Cotarella, known in Italy as the master of Merlot for his rich, juicy, complex single vineyard Montiano merlot, has come up with a new passion.
The Line-up included Est!Est!Est! A white blend Trebbiano, Malvasia and Roscetto. His well known Vitiano White, Rose and Red. The wines just kept coming it seemed like. The single varietal red line-up included Pesona Merlot, Sangiovese and two Montiano's, 2001 & 2003. The 2001 Montiano has been a flagship half bottle for the Aroma Thyme Bistro for a while now. It was great to taste both side by side. Our favorite is still the 2001. But time may change that, as it does with wines. Since there was not much more of the 2001 in stock with the distributor I hurried and purchased enough for the year. And I was right, by the end of the meal the other restaurateurs and wine shop owners felt just as I did. Also showed where the Marciliano a blend of Cabernet and Cab Franc, A nice powerhouse red. Of course thier was a dessert wine from this award winning vineyard. Pomele which is made from 100% Aleatico, a new grape for Chris and I. But the show stopper was Ferentano Bianco made from 100 % Roscetto. "My passion now is for Ferentano, a white wine. I know, this is not what people in America expect of me," he says with a twinkle in his eye.You pour Ferentano into your glass. It has the look of a dense, solid white wine. Immediately you think of Meursault or an intense California Chardonnay.You swirl and sniff and first impressions are heavily reinforced by a massive honey note accompanied by hints of apricot and berries and perhaps figs.You taste and find a finely balanced, yet quite enormous wine, with that long honeyed edge to the palate that I, at least, associate with white Burgundy, especially Meursault, and some of California's finest Chardonnays. But this is no Chardonnay, the flavors of apricot and pineapple are alloyed with the honey along with some nuttiness and an earthier flavor that I can't quite nail down. The flavors go on and on, as with great Chardonnay, and the depth and the tannic structure are balanced by a fine level of acidity.Wow.Now very much interested you learn that Ferentano is named for the ruined city of Ferentum,originally Etruscan, then Roman. The birthplace of the Emperor Otho (one of the short reignEmperors following Nero in AD69), and later an ecclesiastical center of some importance until the eleventh century when it was destroyed in some long forgotten war over christian heresies.The name, interestingly enough, harks back to the Indo-European root "bher" -- to bear or carry, and the placename thus meant "fruitful" or the "fertile place of fruit."Which, as you sip this wine, seems just perfect.The varietal is the next surprise. Not Chardonnay, not at all. This is from the virtually unheard of Roscetto grape, which Signore Cotarella believes is of the Greco family. Roscetto is a minor component, perhaps 10% of the famous, fragile Italian white wine "Est! Est! Est!" which, it so happens was Signore Cotarella's first breakthrough wine. His long fascination with this varietal began back then.However, the Roscetto is problematical. When fully ripe the skins are thick and pink, and in a normal crush they will release bitter tannins, which will not go away and will not be pleasant in a white wine. Cotarella's answer was some modern technology. By producing a "thermic shock" by dousing the grapes with freezing carbon dioxide, he chills them in a matter of seconds, cracking the skins open, releasing the juice, without using pressure and extracting those tannins from the skins. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel and barrique, and the young wine is aged for a few months in two-year-old oak."This wine it continues to improve for maybe two days after it is poured," says Riccardo Cotarella. "Now, with "Est!Est!Est!" if we pour it and leave it for just an hour it is gone. But this wine will change and evolve in the glass for many hours."Which, over the course of lunch, it does, and even two hours later it remains lively with the fig and honey note now completely dominant.
Astonishing.Then there's the price. Retail around $20. Compare with California's best, or anything fromMeursault. You get the picture.Chris Rowley
Wine and Beer Guide
Aroma Thyme Bistro
165 Canal St
Ellenville NY 12428

great value Organic Wines

A Pair of Good Value Wines from South AmericaAt Aroma Thyme Bistro lately we’ve been carrying the Santa Digna Chardonnay, one of the massive Torres wine company’s offerings from Chile. The Torres family, long established in Penedes, Spain, expanded to Chile in the late 1970s and now produce quite a range of varietal winesthere. The vineyards are in the Rio Clara section of Curico, a bit further south and cooler than the central valley of Chile. Stainless steel tanks are used for the three weeks of primary fermentation, and then half the wine goes through a month in oak. This chardonnay sells for $8 or less in stores and pours with a nice, deep yellow gold color in the glass. The nose has the mix of mangoes and apples that is to be expected from Chilean chardonnay along with vanilla notes from the oak treatment. A nicely balanced chardonnay, good with fish and a steal at the price. For something completely different try the Santa Julia Torrontes 2003 from the Mendoza section of Argentina. Mendoza lies just a hundred miles or so from Santiago, Chile, but it’s a world away, because in between are the Andes Mountains, twenty thousand feet high and covered in snow. Mendoza lies in the rain shadow of the mountains and the vineyards survive on irrigation derived from snow melt. Torrontes is a spanish varietal, little heard of today, even in Spain.It comes from the Ribeiro of Galicia, but you’ll have to search really hard to find Spanish Torrontes. In Argentina, however, it remains the number one white wine grape. And in Argentina it makes unique wine. At Aroma Thyme we have the Santa Julia Torrontes 2003. As soon as you put your nose to a glass of this wine you sense something different is coming. There’s a strong floral aspect, with notes that are reminiscent of Muscats, and the flavors follow through with ripe, but unusual fruit combinations, there’s a grapey aspect, but there’s a hint of pomegranate and a citrus flavor as well. The acidity is above average, but the wine is balanced and easy to drink. At something like $7 in stores this is a wine well worth trying. If you like it you’ll have added a new varietal to your personal list.

Chris Rowley

Wine and Beer Guide

Aroma Thyme Bistro

165 Canal St

Ellenville, NY 12428

845-647-3000

Irish Whiskey for St Patricks Day

Irish Whiskey (note that letter e), is the first whisky, the oldest whiskey, and a very differentspirit from Scotch. It used to be, back in the 19th century, that Irish was THE whiskey in most pubs and bars in England and North America. Then as now, Irish whiskey was big and bold. But in the early 20th century the Scottish distillers began marketing their blended whiskies, adding neutral grain spirits to the pot still malt whisky to make milder, more accessible brands that caught on with the global market and began to shoulder Irish out of the way. Two disasters in a row then struck the Irish distillers. The first was Prohibition in the US, which collapsed the big US market for Irish whiskey. The second was the war for Irish Independence from Britain, which hurt all things Irish in the prime market for their whiskey, England. When the dust settled, Scotch was the world's whisky and Irish had slipped to a distant second place. But Ireland's great whiskeys are recovering some of that ground today, with their big flavor profiles and lush, smooth palates. The biggest differences from Scotch are the absence ofpeat notes, because despite its abundance in Ireland, the Irish don't use peat to heat their malting kilns, plus the spicy taste provided by using unmalted barley mixed in with the malt in the brewed mash. For historical reasons, Irish whiskeys are nearly all made in the same distillery complex, at Midleton outside Cork. Irish whiskey was legal while Scotch was not in the early and mid-19th century, so Irish distilling came out of hiding and moved into the cities. There, the ways of capitalism soon concentrated the business among a few big players and a handful of distilleries. More recently the whole business was centralized under a single business banner. Then it was bought by the French (Pernod Ricard) and broken up again. Even more recently than that a slew of new brands and labels have appeared in the US market to joust with the established favorites such as Jameson's, Bushmills andTullamore Dew. My favorite is Jameson, which we sell at Aroma Thyme Bistro, here in Ellenville. Of course nothing is simple in this world, and John Jameson, who founded the company, was, what else, a Scot. But, that's all uiskebeagh under the bridge, as it were and Jameson has been synonymous with Irish whiskey all over the world for a century or more. There's a sweet heart to this whiskey that is unmistakeable, and the spiciness of the unmalted barley is there, with a slight oiliness that floats the other flavors across the tongue. A drop of Jameson to accompany a pint of stout is a wonderful way to end the day. For variety you can switch to Bushmills, which is still made in Country Antrim, in Northern Ireland and comes in a variety of forms these days, from the white label, through Black Bush, a blend mostly of single malt Bushmills matured in sherry casks, and up to the 10, 16 and 21 year old single malt varieties, which are all lovely things to be savored and sipped while thinking of that gorgeous green Island far across the sea.Chris Rowley

Wine Dinner & Tasting, Aroma Thyme March 1st07

At Aroma Thyme Bistro, Ellenville NY, we have a monthly wine dinner and tasting. Here are the notes from our February 28th 2007 event.

Theme:

California Wines and Cuisine

The Wines:

Yorkville Sauvignon Blanc (organic grapes)

Fess Parker Viognier

Van Ruitten Charddonay

Stonehedge Zinfandel

Bonterra 1994 3L (organic grapes)

Deco Chocolate Port

Frey Late Harvest Zinfandel (organic wine, no added or detectable sulfites)

The Menu:

Crispy Artichokes with Soy Ginger Dip and Pomegranate Dip

served at the bar

Our first plated course was going to be Organic Guacamole with Rice Crisps,

BUT we had a small problem with the avocados. We had some that were overripe and some that were way under ripe. So I went and bought some frozen Cavalo avocado pulp. Seemed like the next best thing in a pinch. But once the box came open we read the ingredients, as we do with everything! Yikes, SUGAR was the second ingredient, along with some preservatives. So myself, Jamie and Chris Rowley voted to send the Avocado Pulp back to the vendor.

Instead we served our Sesame Crusted Albacore Tuna Loin as the fourth course.

Second Course:

Crab and Shrimp Cake with a Wasabi Sauce

Third Course:

Hearts of Palm Salad with Lime, Orange, Tomatoes & Cilantro

Fourth Course:

The Tuna

Fifth Course:

Hanger Steak Skewers

Marinated in Lime, Cumin, Garlic & Cilantro Mojo

Kobe Beef Flank Steak Teriyaki

Dessert:

Our Chocolate Torte with Agave Marinated Oranges

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yorkville Sauvignon Blanc 2005

87 points from the attendees

Some comments:

Lemony, deliciously fruity, fruity, clean, grapefruit, vanilla, lemon, citrus, pineapple, some grass aromas.

most people said they would buy this wine

Fess Parker Viognier 2004

91 points from the attendees

Comments:

Smooth, balanced, delicate, apricot, peaches, mangoes, turpentine aroma turns to fruit, loved it, got fruitier the more we tasted.

Van Ruitten Charddonay 2003

61 points from the attendees

comments:

needs more body, no finish, light but fresh, buttery, very light but enjoyed it, bitter aftertaste, light floral, took a while for the wine to express itself, licorice

Most people said they would not buy this wine

Stonehedge Zinfandel 2003

71points from the attendees

love this, it does not taste red, love the nose, cherries, light for a zin, berries, some caramel, cherry aroma, easy to drink, nothing wrong with this wine.

most people said they would buy this wine

Bonterra Cabernet 1994

89 points from our attendees

surprise for a 13 year old wine, drinking very well, not overpowering, no tannis, love it, wonderful, oak, moderate fruit

most people said they would buy this wine

Deco Chocolate Port NV

95 points from our attendees

went great with the chocolate dessert, very nice, wonderful, nice chocolate finish, some berries

most people said they would buy this wine

Champagne for Valentines Day, Dining Hudson Valley

For Valentine's Day, and other romantic moments, I have to say, that for me, and my wife, Champagne is the first beverage that comes to mind. Unfortunately, there are millions of people just like us all over the world, which keeps the price of the fabulous stuff right up there at the edge of affordability, or even, alas, beyond. This sad fact of life is something that we have contemplated on a great many occasions, frequently with an empty bottle of Veuve Clicquot or Louis Roederer Brut sitting between us. Happily, a multitude of other winemakers have done their best to do something about this situation. Their efforts, while never quite champagne, are oftendelicious. Among our favorites at Aroma Thyme Bistro are Rumball's Sparkling Shiraz from Australia, and Nivole. a cremant sparkling Moscato from Italy's famous Asti. If you're out shopping for champagne and its rivals for this February 14 you will find your champagne choices limited in our region. Non Vintage Brut from two or three makers, plus the occasional bottle of a luxury cuvee at absurd prices is about all you'll find.When you consider that Non Vintage Champagne comes in the following styes-- Extra Brut (the driest), Brut, Extra Dry, Sec (slightly sweet), Demi (definitely sweet) and Doux, you can see how deprived we are. A bottle of Doux, by the way, if you can find one, can make a delicious dessert wine and a memorable way to end a fine meal. However, Brut is what we'll be seeing on the shelves. Please remember that Bruts and their equivalents are not all the same. There's a huge difference between, say, Taittinger NV Brut-- made with a high proportion of Chardonnay grapes, and Louis Roederer Brut, made from 2 parts Pinot Noir to one of Chardonnay. And if you want to have a fun, if slightly expensive, dinner party sometime, have a champagne tasting. First, however, make sure you have champagne flutes to drink the lovely stuff from. At Aroma Thyme Bistro we use the Riedel flutes, because they are just perfectly elegant and flawlessly rimless. However, any flute will do the job, and once you have them you're set up for all the other sparklers that fill the wine store shelves, like Italian Proseccos and Spumante, Spanish Cava, or the excellent Californian sparkling wines made by methode champenoise in a variety of styles. And, it's that methode, by the way, that lifts champagne and its closest relatives above the bubbling herd. Some basic notes:-- Brut Champagnes are blends of wine made from Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir. Each champagne house blends wines from different years, different cuvees to come up with their house style.When you step up to Vintage Champagne, if you can find it, you are entering the rarified air at the height of the wine world. Vintage wines are only made in the best years, they are usuallymade with more Pinot Noir and less Chardonnay (but not always) and they can be laid down for several years ageing. Some of the greatest wines I have ever tasted have been vintagechampagnes. At Aroma Thyme Bistro we have Krug 1995 waiting for that lucky someone. Beyond the Vintage wines lie the Luxury Cuvees, the Dom Perignons, Cristals and Comtes de Champagnes. Glamorized by the likes of investment bankers and rap stars, these wines are fabulous, and, yes, expensive. Guys, you know that if you spring for Taittinger's Comtes de Champagnes, Clicquot's La Grande Dame, or Roederer Cristal, she's gonna be impressed. It's just the way the world is. Just remember, while you're busy impressing, or being impressed, to savor the wine, because these lovelies are all superstar wines and you don't want to miss anything in the excitement of the moment. Coming back to earth, and to Brut champagnes and good efforts from California, or niceProseccos from Italy, there are a few standouts to look for. From California I like the ChandonBlanc de Noir, which I think always provides pretty good value for money. From Italy, I like Prosecco, it's a great way to start any dinner party, or even a nice romantic night out. At Aroma Thyme we have Mionetto Prosecco Brut, from the Valdobiadene, a really nice example of this wine. We also have the unusual, but tasty Canaletto sparkling Pinot Grigio, Cuvee Brut. If your significant other is a Pinot Grigio fan, this wine will be an eye opener! So, here's to Valentine's Day. Pop one or two of those big fat corks, pour some bubbly into a pair of flutes and here's to romance!

Chris Rowley

Aroma Thyme Bistro

www.aromathyme.biz