An Artisanal Oyster Shucking Knife

No self-respecting wine importer, who has two artisanal Muscadet producers on the portfolio, should be without a decent oyster knife.  Oysters, especially raw, are a magnetic match with Muscadet.  Having a pitchet of Joseph Landron Muscadet at Les Pipos in Paris in October 2010 was one of those food conscious bliss moments.  A similar experience happened at Balthazar in November 2008 with a plate of oysters and a bottle of Marc Ollivier’s Domaine de la Pepiere Muscadet.  Now, I can have the consciousness bliss experiences at home very soon when the Muscadets arrive in April or May of this year.  I truly believe our BC coasts have world-class oysters.

I have had my share of cuts and bruises from shucking oysters.  Having a bad oyster knife did not help.  My wife and I were strolling through this fine kitchen ware shop and I accidentally came across this oyster knife.   It is about $20.  

I recycled the tag that came with it.  So, I can’t recall the details but if my memory serves me correctly, the oyster knife has been around since the 1920’s.  Painfully recalling the cuts and bruises of the past, and wearing a rather fresh cut from shucking the oysters a couple of days ago, I purchased the oyster knife.  I figured a tool that has been around that long must have its reasons.  The oyster knife feels and looks as though someone put a lot of care and thought into making it.  I get the feeling that it is made by a proud person in the same Massachusetts shop that has been around for awhile.

Well, the oyster knife is simply the best.  It comes in neutral wood and carbon-steel.  It has just enough give (i.e. flexible).  With the carbon blade, you need to wipe it dry after use to keep from rusting.  It is well worth the chore of wiping.  Now I can enjoy a plate of oysters with a glass or two of Muscadet without wearing a band-aid.  A bonus!

The Art of Eating and Muscadet

If you are a foodie and wine lover, I strongly recommend the magazine “The Art of Eating”.  It is issued quarterly.  The magazine feels as though it is from a bygone era. The articles are long and detailed.  There are no one-page or executive summaries.  Oh heck, there are no ads.  The subscribers solely fund the magazine.  The magazine takes a food or wine topic, such as Comte cheese or Muscadet, and takes an in-depth look by going to the source.  I just subscribed the magazine.

I was given a copy of an article of the June 2009 “The Art of Eating” by Joseph Landron when I visited him.  He gave me the copy of the article, along with other documents, so casually that I did not know I had it until I got back home.  The article is written by Jacqueline Friedrich, who is one of my favourite wine writers.  She is an American ex-pat who has been living in Loire Valley since 1989.  In the article, she writes about Joseph Landron Muscadet.  She writes “Muscadet, one of the most exhilarating, food-friendly, and reasonably priced white wines in the world, may be the most underrated.”  She goes on to describe Joseph Landron Mucadet La Fief du Breil: “After being hand-harvested at 3.5 hectoliters per hectare (this is very low yields)…the wine spends 18 months on its lees and is bottled unfiltered.”  Jacqueline continues “The first impression is tactile: simultaneously lush and with a stinging thread of effervescence, characteristics of long aging sur-lie.  The wine revives with its vigour, focus, and utterly dry finish.  Sensations of minerals and every expression of lemon – zest, pulp, plucked-off-the-tree, preserved…”

Jacqueline’s words sum up my tasting experience with Joseph Landron.  I can’t wait till the Joseph Landron Muscadets get to our shores in British Columbia. 

Above is a picture of Monsieur Landron and yours truly, amongst his biodynamically cared Muscadet vines.  Visiting his vineyards with him is just as exhilierating experience as tasting his wines.