Adventures of top 10 wine food pairing. Wine blogs can cover a little bit of everything ... basic wine knowledge to worldwide travel. US,Austria, Bahamas to Honduras, if you are drinking sparkling wine or a red table wine we are thinking about wine and food and how to combine them!
Wine food pairing on a perfect summer day in Niederösterreich, Austria ... visiting the Loipersbacher Schmankerlwirt for an extra special Sunday Buffet and getting mellow to the blues played by "Jo Ditty & the Big Joke" band.
The day was sunny and 80 degrees, the white wine spritzer was cool and refreshing ... we sat in the garden under an old chestnut tree enjoying the tasty Austrian treats.
The band played some oldies and sang many songs in English!
Wine food pairing ... wonderful relaxing afternoon in Austria!
Wine food pairing is always on the cutting edge of the latest wine happenings .....
I kid you not.....
New Wine for Seniors
California vintners in the Napa Valley area,
which primarily produce Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir and Pinot Grigio wines,
have developed a new hybrid grape that acts as an anti-diuretic.
It is expected to reduce the number of trips older people have to make to the bathroom during the night.
The new wine will be marketed as ... drum roll here ....
Wine food pairing .. this is the time of year to gear up for some wine and food pairing. My friend Jean sent me this advice:
HOLIDAY EATING TIPS
1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Holiday spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.
2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. It's rare... You cannot find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!
3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.
4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.
5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Holiday party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?
6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.
7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.
8. Same for pies. Apple, Pumpkin, Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three.. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?
9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.
10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner. Remember this motto to live by:
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand and wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"
Have a great holiday season!!
Wine food pairing is all about enjoying great food, good wine and wonderful friends ...
Wine food pairing on the tiny Isles of Capri Florida ... for a fun filled evening of casual waterfront dining, awesome Italian food and toe tapping music wander on down to the Capri Cafe. This takes casual waterfront dining to a new level with the roll down curtains and outdoor heaters so you can enjoy most Florida winter evenings outside.
BigAl and I decided to check out the Sampler platter and honestly, I don't think that I have ever had calamari so tender. Usually it is "chewy" ... you know ... kinda like gum, but this lightly dusted and fried delicacy simply melted in my mouth.
Now we got serious with the house specialty ... Pork Osso Buco. I am familiar with the "pig" shank from my travels in Austria and enjoying their version called stelze. Well, this is totally different ... same part of the pig, but with an Italian spin. The Osso Buco had been slow cooked in a light red sauce, came out fork tender and was sans skin ... served on a bed of Angel Hair pasta it was awesome. We split one dish and that was more than enough. We paired it with their house Chianti and had our very own wine food pairing "event!
There was even live entertainment ... Johnny Fusco had the crowd rockin' with his singing impersonations. He had the crowd dancing, singing and laughing. An all around great evening on isles of Capri.
Check out my video:
The Capri Cafe on Isles of Capri is definitely Naples "Best Kept Dining Secret".
The Breitenau Fire Department in Austria knows how to have a great time ... who would have thought that you could savor good Austrian wine, home cooked schnitzel and then get a personal tour of this station?
Watch and enjoy this wine food pairing adventure ... btw ... I went with a Grüner Veltliner ... a white wine grape variety grown in Austria. This tasty wine has a reputation of being a particularly food-friendly wine ... and it did.
Wine food pairing once again made the trek into Vienna to visit one of our good friends, Winnie Dichtl. Dr. Dichlt has been a close friend of Big Al's for probably 40 years now and he is the only one that Big Al allows to touch his teeth and I agree.
Well, once we were done in the office we walked over to a local eatery to enjoy some super food and conversation. The Kolonitz Beisl is just around the corner from the office and is well known for its local Austrian food as well as some delicious vegetarian dishes.
I went for a a vegetarian daily special called "Spinat gefüllt Palacinke" which translated is a spinach stuffed crepe like pancake ... served with a creamy garlic sauce ... it was heavenly to say the least! To start ... a creamy carrot soup ... oh my goodness. This lunch was so filling that I shared with Alfred and still was full at dinner time.
Wine? Did anyone ask about wine with lunch .... of course! Actually, we all had Sturm. We are at the beginning of "Sturm" season and all the gasthaus' have little billboards advertising this special Austrian "juice". I have written about sturm before ... actually about the first time I was introduced to it ... the guys thought it hilarious to tell me it was carbonated juice and got me totally blasted. It is, in fact, a very young, yeasty wine that tastes very sweet and has a high alcohol content. There is rot (red) Sturm and weiss (white) Sturm. I chose the red yesterday because I think the "rot" is pretty. I am a such connoisseur ... hehehe ....
Wine food pairing .... another adventure ... this time in Vienna Austria
Wine food pairing once again traveled to the Burgenland region of Austria ... this time to visit our friend and vintner Hans Tinhof. Located in St. Georgen, this heuriger is one of the best!
Hans was there to offer us tastings of his latest Zweigelt, one of my favorite Austrian red wines, as well as a Rose which was light and fruity ... very thirst quenching!
BigAl and I shared a "house plate" filled with all kinds of wursts and meats along with a cabbage and Austrian potato salad which paired well with the early red wine ... take a look ...
Wine food pairing ... when you look for a Burgenland heuriger don't forget to stop by and see Hans and his family. CHEERS!
What an adventure for wine food pairing! We spent the afternoon sightseeing and bumping around some of the wine areas of Burgenland in Austria. Burgenland is a famous grape growing region and known worldwide for their delicious wines.
BigAL was on the "Starfighter Team " over 30 years ago ... flying with vintage airplanes low over the vineyards to scare the birds out of the area without hurting or killing them. The Starlings , in German are called "Star", can devastate the crops by stripping the vines of grapes. The planes fly low over the rows of grapes “fooling” the birds into thinking that the plane is a REALLY BIG BIRD and that they need to leave the area NOW!
Well, we searched the sky to see if any planes were flying and then followed … as we drove into the landing field we came upon a small shack manned by a couple of the wine growers supervising the action. Alfred got out of the car, exchanged a few words and soon Alfred, Houdini and I were invited in. Well, as you can see from the picture, the “house” was probably about 8’x10’, a table with benches and a couple of shelves and 2 very friendly wine growers … one who remembered Alfred from over 30 years ago.
Hans Beck spoke English and told me that over the years he had exported over 1,000,000 bottles of wine to the US … his wines were served exclusively on Austrian Airlines for several years. He just happened to have a couple of bottles of his “house” wine that they were tasting when we came in … of course, soon we were enjoying the wines, also. Oh MY … these wines were terrific … if these were his everyday wines, I can hardly wait to taste the “good beans” … LOL. In fact, we did get an invitation to come back at a later date for an exclusive wine sampling from his wine cellar … I can hardly wait!
I was lucky enough to get Hans Beck on video explaining his 2 house wines … take a listen …
Just imagine, enjoying a Cuvee Heideboden 2009 and a 2006 Zweigelt with the producer himself.
Wine food pairing just spent an exciting Sunday in Breitneau, Austria ... I was promised that we would go Sunday "frühschoppen" at the "Feuerwehr Breitenau", or firehouse. Well, you guys know that my German is poor, even on a good day, but for some reason I was thinking that there would be "FREE shopping" ... sounded like a plan to me ... LOL!
Well, much to my surprise "Frühschoppen" has absolutely nothing to do with shopping, let alone FREE shopping. It is a type of brunch event ... well, let's say it is a meal after church and before lunch, but let me tell you it lasted until way after dinner time.
We walked to the firehouse .... an enjoyable jaunt for BigAl, Houdini and me with the weather in the mid 70's. The circus tent was in place, music playing from Musikerein Breitenau and the crowd eating, drinking and gossiping.
A quick gander at the menu and I made a decision on the surschnitzel ... "brined" pork that is then "schnitzeled" .... what better beverage to pair this traditional Austrian treat than a refreshing white wine spritzer from a Welsch-Riesling made locally here in Lower Austria. In fact, it was so tasty that after a while I decided to skip the spritzer and just go the wine all by itself ... fresh, light and fruity ... YUMMO!
In addition to the great music, wine and food they had events for the kids and a raffle with all kinds of goodies donated from local shop owners ... what more could you want?
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