Beauty

“Beauty is truth, truth beauty.” – that is all

Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.      John Keats (1820)

I found myself looking for a bouquet of flowers on a rainy Saturday recently.  As I was leaving the flower shop, I paused and pondered why I would go through the trouble of walking in the pouring rain to purchase flowers.  It wasn't a birthday or party evening.  Beauty has a way with attraction.

Beauty rarely appears in wine writing.  Perhaps, seeking truth in wine is seeking beauty.   And perhaps, that is what John Keats was writing about.  

In France, some vineyards are still planted with roses at the beginning of each row of vines.  Some historians believe roses are planted because when horses used to till vineyards, the roses at the start of each row would signal the horses to turn around for the next row of vines.

Some enologists believe roses are planted to indicate health of vines. Since roses are sensitive to diseases, the roses would be an early detector of potential ills of vines.

Some wine lovers believe roses are planted at the beginning of each row of vines because the roses are beautiful.

Beauty of French Copper Cookware

While waiting to catch my plane at the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris on a return trip from meeting the vigneron a few years back, I met an American gentleman.  He was carrying a carefully packaged bag of something.  On a side of the bag, there was a green tag that read ‘E. DEHILLERIN’ with a picture of a rooster. The gentleman sat beside where I was sitting.  So, we ended up having a pleasant conversion.  He said, “I come to Paris on a business trip every year.  And I buy a copper pot or pan at E. DEHILLERIN on every trip.  My wife and I like cooking.”

Ever since that moment at the Charles de Gaulle Airport, I now, too, buy a a copper pot or pan at E. DEHILLERIN every time I visit Paris on my wine buying trip.

French, rich in all things related to cooking, has an array of copper cookware.  If you have visited E. DEHILLERIN, you will know what I am talking about it.  And when the copper pans and pots get brown after use, they are easy to restore to their beautiful copper patina.  Simply use one egg white, ¼ cup of regular vinegar, 2-3 tablespoon of course salt, and some flour to bind into a paste.  Then, use a non-scratch sponge to clean with the paste. It will only take a few minutes.

If you like cooking, it is worthwhile investing in French copper pots and pans.  There is no equal to great copper pans.  Cooking with them is one of great life compensations.  

Mystery of Clos

It is not intentional.  I just noticed two of our vignerons have the word Clos in their domain names: Le Clos du-Tue Boeuf from Thierry and Jean Marie Puzelat and Clos Roche Blanche from Catherine Roussel and Didier Barrouillet.  Well, Noëlla Morantin farms half of Clos Roche Blanche.  So, Noella really belongs to the ‘Clos Club’.   There are no usual Clos in the Le Clos du-Tue Boeuf and Clos Roche Blanche.  The Clos is actually the stunning forest.  There are no neighbouring vineyards.  A huge insurance when you are farming with no pesticides and herbicides.

Then, there is the magnificent ‘Le Clos Guillot’ vineyard in Chinon from Bernard Baudry.  Although when I visited the vineyard with Matthieu Baudry multiple times, I could not see the Clos in ‘Le Clos Guillot’.  I was so mesmerized by the beauty and taste of the wine of the vineyard that I probably forgot to take notes about the historical context of the vineyard. ‘Le Clos Guillot’ is on a hill with a beautiful view. The vineyard has the unique feature of constant winds.  I think Matthieu told me the area of ‘Le Clos Guillot’ was once referred to as ‘Belles Vents’, meaning ‘Beautiful Winds’.  I was there in the early spring and I can almost taste the wind in a bottle of ‘Le Clos Guillot’ in a form of fragrance.  It is a fleeting experience to translate.  Every time I drink a bottle, I am instantly transported to that vineyard, with Matthieu being there, pouring me another glass.

Then, there is the most striking Clos Sénéchal in Bourgueil from Catherine & Pierre Breton.  There is actually the Clos in Clos Sénéchal. For a reason that is difficult for me to explain, Clos Sénéchal has a singular taste like no other.  When I am dead, I want to be buried near Clos Sénéchal.  I love Catherine & Pierre Breton ‘Clos Sénéchal’. Pictured left is Pierre Breton in his car entering the ‘Clos Sénéchal’ when I visited him.  You can see the Clos just the right the rear-view mirror.

Clos, of course, means wall in French.  Some wine texts say that Clos vineyards are the most prized.  Some wine texts say Clos was manually made so as to minimize the exposure of vines from natural elements of weather extremes, thereby leading to healthier vines and grapes.  What ever the case may be, I like to let the mystery be.  I no longer believe in demystifying wines. 

Pictures from the 'Vin de Soif' Event at Burdock & Co January 19, 2014

We had a blast at our ‘Vin de Soif’ Event at Burdock and Co January 19, 2014. The evening featured a special menu with the Loire wines  from the chef and proprietor Andrea Carlson. It was an evening to remember. Here are some pictures.

Catherine & Pierre Breton Vouvray Methode Traditionelle Brut

Jana, Richard, and Layla

The quail dish - OMG

Chef Andrea plating the first course: Etude & Pleasure in Egg Variations

The menu:

Canapes

course 1
Urban Digs Egg and Black Pearl Oyster Roll, Namaste Sencha Tea salad, Kasu, Smoked Hazelnuts

course 2
Seared Sturgeon, Blood Sausage, Green Farro( Charred Wheat/Buckwheat), Yellow Foot Mushroom, Mustard Greens, Febbel

course 3
Braised Quail, WIld Rice, Garlic confit, Celeriac, Lingonberry

Course 4
FarmHouse La Pyramide Cheese, Crab Apple, Almond

Honey and Cocoa Nib Caramel

Decanting – Unceremoniously Delicious Act

I like restaurants that simply do things without asking me.  It is as though the owners and staff are so confident in their chosen endeavour that all things seem to unfold naturally.  Perhaps, that was Henry David Thoreau’s observation when he penned: “…advance confidently in the direction of your dreams and endeavours to live the life which you have imagined, you will meet with success unexpected in common hours”.  

I had the above Henry David Thoreau’s experience at Vivant in Paris.  The sommelier brought the bottle that I had ordered and decanted unceremoniously without saying a word.  The sommelier, then, left the table for a few minutes and returned with glasses to pour the wine.  He knew the wine had to sit in the decanter for a few minutes.  The wine was so mesmerizing and delicious that I almost fell from the chair.

There is a French wine saying: “drink now and experience caterpillar or cellar and experience butterfly”.  Like the Dance of the Seven Veils, some wines take time to reveal.  So the next time you enjoy a wine that you know will open up with some time, try decanting.  You may even see a glimpse of transformation to a butterfly.  

And Know the Wine for the First Time

“We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.”

T.S Eliot

  

After twenty five years of enjoying wines, I ended where I started.  I distinctively remember walking into the 39^th and Cambie BCLDB Store and intuitively asking Steven, the product consultant at the time, if he would recommend an honest traditional Chianti.  That was twenty five years ago.  Steven took me down to the aisle and pointed the wine. 

I trusted Steven.  I remember buying six bottles and opening one on the same day.  The necks of bottles were all at different levels.  Years later, I would learn the wine was probably hand-bottled – a sure sign when the neck levels are different on young wines.  I opened a bottle and stuck in the refrigerator for a half hour before I had the wine with a simple meat pasta dish.  The bottle was all gone quickly.  Well, the remaining bottles were finished within the same week.  When I returned to the store to buy some more, the wine had sold out.  I wish I took some notes or a picture of the wine.  I simply cannot recall the wine.

After my initial years of enjoying wines in my terms, like the Chianti, I bought and read a bunch of wine publications.  Then, I started buying and drinking wines in someone else’s terms.  So, It seems, the truth about wine can only be discovered when I am only true to myself.  So, my exploration of wine has arrived where I started and know the truth of wine for the first time.

Cheese Plate – A French Experience

Cheese plates in France are, well, just awesome.  I remember eating at Chez Michel in the 10^th Arrondissement in Paris a few years back.  The table next to us ordered a cheese plate, which always follow after the main entrée.  A dizzying array of cheeses arrived in a huge wooden cutting board.  A proper cheese plate always has a brick of butter and is always accompanied by a basket of crusty bread.  I wanted to order the cheese plate but I was just so full. At Chez Michel, like many fining restaurants throughout France, the cheeses arrive in tranche, round, or brick.  The idea is to help yourself to cheeses.  It is simply spellbinding to see the French devour cheeses after main entrée with aplomb.  It is rumoured the French have a separate stomach for this separate dish.  Now, when I am in France, I enjoy a cheese plate as a part of dinner.  And I always lose weight when I am in France.  It is a mystery.

Pictured above is the cheese plate at Jean Foillard in Morgon during my last visit to the domain.  Jean and Agnès Foillard make the cheese plate look so effortless.  Jean and Agnès also serve butter with their cheese plate – of course.  White wines are generally better accompaniments to cheeses.  I personally like Loire or Jura white wines with a cheese plate.  I noticed Jean and Agnès Foillard served the whites from Thierry Puzelat of Clos du Tue-Boeuf in Loire with their cheese plate.

By the way, LesAmis du Fromage has awesome cheese selections.  And Les Amis is where I shop every time I have a French craving for a cheese plate.