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“Madeira Wine” by y kawahara – originally posted to Flickr as Madeira Wine. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Question: What are the main factors that make Madeira so unique from other wines?
Answer: Two main ones – the estufado system of heat maturation + the specific terroir of the volcanic soil on which the grapes are grown.
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By Joseph Temple
With the Labor Day weekend just around the corner, fellow foodies and BBQ aficionados alike will be flocking to get in their last big outdoor party off with a bang! Beer might be the go-to beverage for the upcoming tailgating season, but why not celebrate the last days of summer with these wine and hamburger pairings? Bon Appetit!
By SweetOnVeg [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
By Kyle Lam [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
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Question: I find the German sweetness levels confusing. Would you explain the simple meaning of the terms Spatlese, Auslese, Beerenauslese, and Trockenbeeranauslese on the label.
Answer: You are right there is an increasing sweetness level based on ripeness or must weight (Oechsle) but the terms really mean this:
Spätlese: Sweeter than Kabinett but made from late gathered grapes.
Auslese: Made from selected perfectly ripe bunches of grapes.
Beerenauslese: Made from selected grapes from the ripest bunches.
Trockenbeerenauslese: Made from single grapes which have been left on the vines until they have shrivelled to almost raisins.
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Outside of Jack Dempsey’s Restaurant, circa early 1970s
By Malco23 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
By Joseph Temple
The year was 1935. While America struggled through the Great Depression, “Cinderella Man” James J. Braddock proved that there was still some hope for the little guy when he beat Max Baer for the heavyweight championship of the world in one of the greatest upsets in the history of pugilism. And across the street from Madison Square Garden—the undisputed Mecca of boxing—William Harrison “Jack” Dempsey, arguably the best prizefighter of all time, traded in his gloves for the role of restaurateur at the corner of Fiftieth Street and Eighth Avenue.
Featuring live bands, dancing and no minimum charge, Jack Dempsey’s Restaurant, which eventually moved to 1619 Broadway quickly became a landmark watering hole for both native New Yorkers and fight fans eager to see the world-famous “Manassa Mauler” in person. Boxing historian Bert Sugar recalls, “I was walking up Broadway and I saw Dempsey in the window. Dempsey himself! I couldn’t believe it. I thought it was a cut-out.”
Greeting patrons with a genial “Hiya, pal,” Dempsey could usually be spotted in the corner booth where he eagerly signed autographs and posed for photographs (long before sports memorabilia became such a lucrative business). Of course, for any boxing fan, it must’ve been a dream come true to sit down over a Tom Collins while Dempsey told you the story of his epic battle against Georges Carpentier, marking the sport’s first million-dollar gate. Or how about eating Maine lobster while Dempsey described his version of the infamous “Long Count” during the rematch with Gene Tunney in 1927. Few places in the Big Apple could match the atmosphere like the one at this restaurant.
“Bubbling over with Music, Gaiety and Good Food,” wrote Charles Sievert for the World Telegram. “Jack Dempsey’s Broadway Restaurant attracts record ‘gates’ for the same reason the Manassa Mauler did in his Champ Days—plenty of action and color to be found,” according to Earl Wilson of the New York Post.
For over thirty years, after entering and seeing a giant painting of Dempsey’s championship fight with Jess Willard hanging on the wall, patrons could enjoy appetizers of stuffed celery, shrimp cocktail, and chicken gumbo, entrees of soft shell crab on toast, pot roast, and schnitzel a la Holstein, finished with a dessert of Fruit Jell-O or Pie with cheese. The menu was relatively short by today’s standards, but was certainly an example of the times – a mixture of American and French cuisine.
Being such an iconic spot, Jack Dempsey’s even served as a backdrop for one memorable scene in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 masterpiece The Godfather. As Michael Corleone waits to be picked up by Sollozzo and McClusky outside the restaurant, the signage illuminates what is about to happen next—a life and death struggle.
Unfortunately, just as Manhattan entered a period of sharp decline as soaring crime rates and urban decay plagued the city, Jack Dempsey’s suffered along with it, having to close its doors for the last time in 1974. But looking back at the restaurant’s nearly forty-year history, Dempsey was certainly a trailblazer in successfully transitioning himself from the boxing ring to the dining room. Long before other celebrities decided to invest in the restaurant industry, Dempsey proved it could be done through a powerful one-two combo of an irresistible atmosphere and a larger-than-life host eager to please his legions of adoring fans. The food came second.
Sources:
Kahn, Roger. A Flame of Pure Fire: Jack Dempsey and the Roaring ’20s. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012.
Miller, Donald L. Supreme City: How Jazz Age Manhattan Gave Birth to Modern America. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2014.
Vecchione, Joseph. New York Times Book of Sports Legends. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992.
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Question: I just have been job transferred to Toronto and want to try some of the better Ontario whites made from the Riesling grape variety. What are a few of your present suggestions?
Answer: Lucky you. Go crazy with some of those brilliant Riesling wines! Here are 3 of my favourites among the many choices available:
1. 2012 Charles Baker (www.charlesbaker.ca) Riesling from the Picone Vineyard on Vinemount Ridge (sub region of Niagara) around $35. Charles is the Director of Sales & Marketing for Stratus winery but has the passion to make this low yield single vineyard older vines distinctive beauty. Delicious! So fragrant with wonderful balance from vibrant acidity and so textured. Also check out his new younger vines refreshing 2014 Ivan Vineyard around $27.
2. 2012 Thirty Bench (www.thirtybench.com) Riesling from small lots every year show the classic signatures of the Beamsville Bench. I really like their complex “Steel Post” and “Triangle Vineyard” – the one I see most of – and also “Wood Post”.
3. 2012 Flat Rock Cellars (www.flatrockcellars.com) Riesling from Nadja’s is worth seeking out. At LCBO their 2014 regular Riesling for $17. is a good entry example of the success of this variety in Ontario.
Experiment!
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