One Magnum of Pinot Blanc Begets Two Tarts, a Kugel, and a Pile of Choucroute

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Some friends generously gave me a magnum of Robert Sinskey Vineyards Pinot Blanc for my birthday, and I decided it was only fair to offer to share the bottle with them sometime at Sunday dinner chez Clink. Knowing that they like French food, I decided to riff on some Alsatian recipes in two cookbooks I like a lot: Joan Nathan‘s Quiches, Kugels, and Couscous and I Know How to Cook by Ginette Mathiot/Clotilde Dusoulier. The tangy, salty, cheesy, porky dishes that ensued were a nice complement to a wine that was as acidic as Anthony Bourdain’s tweets and as lightly floral as your old Laura Ashley bedspread…yet far more fresh and pleasant than either of them.

Weekday Dinner Drinking: Burgenländer Rot

Burgenlander Rot

First, let’s answer the obvious questions: I can tell you that “rot” means “red” in German (and it rhymes with “goat”) and that Burgenländ is a renowned wine region in Austria. Now that’s out of the way, and here are five reasons why we liked this wine.

It’s a blend of Blaufränkisch, Zweigelt, and Pinot Noir, which means it’s equal parts familiar (Pinot’s berry fruit, medium acidity and body) and exotic (spice and tannin and cherries from its Austrian pals).

The label says “I’m hip” but the screwcap says “I’m easy.”

It’s from a biodynamically farmed vineyard, so eco-points are duly awarded.

Much like your neurotic roommate freshman year, it’s a little tart and not so great at being alone. When you put some food on the table though – for example, dark meat chicken pot pie, slow-cooked elk in tomato sauce, black beans with rosemary and chorizo, or even gingerbread cookies – it’s a wine you could take home to mama. “Easy drinking,” as a hang tag in a wine shop might say.

It’s only $13 for a liter.

Pittnauer Burgenlander Rot 2009, 1 L, $12.96 at Astor Wines in NYC

A Soothing Cocktail for a Snowy Evening

Ingredients

Hey, clouds, enough with the snow already. If I liked this much snow, I’d live in Quebec.

Speaking of Quebec, they make kickass apple brandy there.  Here’s a way to use such ambrosia to take the edge off a cold winter’s night.  Calvados will do just fine if you’re not close to an SAQ.

Soothing Cocktail (a tweak on the “Soother Cocktail” in Mr. Boston Official Bartender’s Guide, 2009 Edition)

1 oz VSOP Armangac
1 oz Apple Liqueur
1 oz Triple Sec
2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Simple Syrup

Shake with ice and strain into two martini glasses.

And Now A Word About Beekeeping . . .

Unlike the aforementioned falcon, the bee has no role to play in vineyard management. You see beehives in vineyards simply because people like honey and vineyards are a fine place for bees to make it. It makes sense when you consider that good honey and good wine both owe a lot to terroir.

This video I took during Cakebread Cellars‘ American Harvest Workshop takes you inside a hive on their Suscol Springs Ranch that belongs to Helene and Spencer Marshall of Marshall’s Farm Natural Honey. Fast forward to the five-minute mark if you just want to see what the queen bee looks like up close, but if you do watch the whole thing, notice that while Spencer takes apart the hive and bees begin flying around, Helene remains calmly uncovered. I went full body armor, pulling my hand out of a glove only to sample the honey straight from the comb, which was floral and herbaceous and delicious enough to make me risk a stinger.

And Now A Word About Falconry…

I bet you’ve never thought about falcons while sipping a glass of wine, but birds of prey can play a key role in sustainable vineyard management when deployed to chase away the birds who would otherwise eat ripe grapes at harvest time. If you want to learn the basics of how it works, it’s all in this video I took during a demo at Cakebread Cellars‘ Suscol Springs Ranch a couple weeks ago at their American Harvest Workshop. If you watch until the actual hunt begins (and if we had the same freshman English teacher), you’ll be reminded of John Updike’s poem “The Great Scarf of Birds”:

More to come from the Workshop soon!