Question: I am confused by wines being called rose, pink and blush. What is the difference?
Answer: It is confusing! As a long time Champagne lover I understood rose to mean a sparkler showing various shades of pink produced from either a little time spent on the dark skins of the grapes or with some red pinot noir wine later added to the clear juice. There were also those special still roses from Provence including Tavel AOC & Anjou in the Loire as well as rosato from Italy and rosado from Portugal. Sweeter styled Mateus became a big seller in the seventies along with the commercial pink “white Zinfandel”. As more red grape varieties were being used for still roses around the world the name evolved to include blush for those showing less red colour. Hard to know by the use of the name alone which wines are going to taste dry or sweet. Now it is all rather confusing and the three words you mention seem to be used interchangeably.
For the people of Romania, viticulture is a cherished art that has been practiced on their land for over six thousand years. Producing more wine than any other Balkan state, this republic currently ranks as the fifth largest area for wine acreage in Europe, behind only France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. Surviving both phyloxxera in the late nineteenth century and a collectivist system that diminished the quality of its wines for decades, Romania appears to making a comeback with certain regions standing out to foreign investors and wine buyers. So have a look below at ten facts that cover the basics of a wine industry that is one of the oldest in the world.
1. It has been said that when the Romans conquered Dacia in 106 AD, they found the local wines to be superior to their own.
2. In Romania, the Black Sea provides a moderating influence and the Carpathian Mountains serve as a barrier to cooler weather from the north.
3. Generally, the northern regions produce white wines and the southern regions are known for their red wines.
4. In 2008, Romania was the sixth-largest producer of wine in the EU, representing roughly 3.1% of their total wine production.
5. In addition to indigenous grapes like Fetească, Romanian vintners also grow many vitis vinifera varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Riesling.
7. One of the most famous wine regions in Romania is Cotnari in the northeast, which produces dessert wines that have been compared to Hungary’s Tokaj region.
8. Located on the 45th parallel, another famous region is Dealu Mare, which means “big hill” and has excellent conditions for winemaking.
9. Under Communism, quantity was preferred over quality in order to get stable western currency. This resulted in destroying the image of Romanian wines abroad.
10. Despite its production, exports have historically represented less than 10% of the Romanian wine market. In comparison, Hungary exports approximately 40% of it wines.
Sources:
Clarke, Oz. Oz Clarke’s New Wine Atlas: Wines and Wine Regions of the World. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2002.
Facts on File Incorporated. Romania. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2004. Harding, Julia. The Oxford Companion to Wine. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015.
Jackson, Ronald S. Wine Science: Principles and Applications. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2014.
Oxford Business Group. The Report: Romania 2008. Oxford: Oxford Business Group, 2008.
Roberts, James. The Mountains of Romania: A guide to walking in the Capathian Mountains. Milnthorpe, Cicerone Press Limited, 2013.
Shakespear, Nigel. Times New Romanian: Voices and Narrative from Romania. Leicester: Troubador Publishing, 2014.
Question: I will be visiting New York this summer and would be pleased with some winery visit recommendations.
Answer: Very topical to tour this region. Both the Finger Lakes for a focus on Riesling and Long Island for sauvignon blanc and chardonnay whites plus merlot and cabernet reds are all doing well. Of course the historic Dr. Konstantin Frank winery on Keuka Lake is a must. Also nearby Hermann Wiemer. Ravines has an interesting Alsace-like riesling and Sheldrake Point sweet dessert examples. Lots of tips on the web for visiting there. A new good one this month is on winespectator.com by James Molesworth spotlighting among others Bedell, Wolffer & Lieb. Lots of fine choices!
Since its inception in 1993, the Food Network has gone on to be a television juggernaut, available now in nearly 100,000,000 American homes and worth approximately $3 billion dollars. And by placing the culinary arts at the vanguard of pop culture, this cable channel has been successfully minting “celebrity chefs” for more than two decades, from Emeril Lagasse to Giada De Laurentiis. “We’re not trying to be the Gourmet magazine of the airwaves,” said one former network president. “Our shows are chock-full of recipes but reinterpreted in television terms for our audience, which is young, urban, and more interested in food as part of their lifestyle. It’s up to us to be bold.”
To document this meteoric rise is journalist and author Allen Salkin, whose 2013 book From Scratch: The Uncensored History of The Food Network gives us twenty years worth of juicy gossip about both the channel—and its larger-than-life personalities. Why did network executives decide to kick Emeril off the air after hosting their flagship program for over a decade? What was going on behind the scenes as Paula Deen’s career was imploding before our very eyes? Viewers of the network will simply devour all of this tabloid material. But more importantly, Salkin’s book provides us with some great insight on how the channel first got off the ground.
When TVFN premiered on November 23rd, 1993 as one of hundreds of new cable stations flooding the airwaves, very few in the industry gave it a chance. Back then, food and cooking shows were seen as something housewives watched on weekend mornings or during the daytime in between soap operas and picking up the kids from school. The idea that anyone would want to see a food-oriented program in prime time was simply ludicrous. Additionally, the fact that most of these shows like Julia Child’sThe French Chef aired on PBS led many to believe that there was no money to be made through advertising. After reading the first two chapters of From Scratch, you start to realize just how big of a gamble this whole endeavor was.
Strolling down memory lane, Salkin takes us through the early years when the Food Network featured hosts such as Robin Leach and aired classic shows like Ready.. Set… Cook!and the British import Two Fat Ladies. Running on a shoestring budget and desperately scrambling for content, the network even bought old episodes of classic cooking shows like The Galloping Gourmet in order to fill its schedule. What’s interesting to note is that the founding president originally envisioned it as “CNN with Stoves,” featuring more journalistic programs like Foods, News and Views which attempted to seriously analyze the politics and laws surrounding what people ate. But steering the ship in another direction was a New Orleans chef who would eventually put the network on the map.
After some fine-tuning, a flamboyant and extremely likable Emeril Lagasse quickly took off as the face of the Food Network during the 90s with catchphrases like “Bam!” and “Time to kick up a notch.” Cooking in front of a rowdy studio audience and featuring a live band, Emeril Live soared in popularity, helping the network move beyond its core demographic as the culinary arts met The Tonight Show. While today there are many detractors of the network who feel it is more about entertainment than food, Salkin reminds us that back then, even a distinguished chef like Emeril wasn’t immune from these sorts of attacks. Describing the atmosphere of the show as “a little bit of the wrestling ring or the roller derby,” New York Times dining reporter Amanda Hesser declared him to be “more jester than cook,” noting that “professional foodies are a bit dismayed at the tone of the program.”
Of course, as non-chefs like Sandra Lee, Guy Fieri and Rachael Ray started to dominate the lineup, criticism and the Food Network has gone hand in hand. Ironically, one of its biggest foes is CNN’s Anthony Bourdain, a former network star who has ridiculed numerous personalities for their lack of knowledge or for allegedly “selling out.” Dissecting these criticisms at length, the author also provides a number of counter-arguments, including one from Julia Child who compared some of these shows to her very own. “It’s entertainment programs that bring in the money … You have to make teaching an entertaining thing to watch … It has to be lively to and fascinating.”
Sandra Lee’s infamous “Kwanzaa Cake” provided tons of fodder for critics of the Food Network.
Unfortunately, despite being on the cutting edge with series like Japan’s Iron Chefand Good Eats, Salkin also reminds us how network executives completely missed the boat with slicker and edgier programs like Fox’s Hell’s Kitchen and the Bravo’s hit franchise Top Chef. Instead of copying the Food Network’s family friendly culture, its competitors did the exact opposite by featuring more reality-based chefs who don’t shy away from smoking cigarettes and using an unhealthy dose of profanity. However, as the author points out, personalities like the foul-mouthed Gordon Ramsey and chefs decked out in tattoo sleeves would have never fit in with a network that takes pride in a wholesome image.
And with this image, Food Network personalities have been able to cash in—big time! While earlier TV chefs like Child and James Beard dabbled in endorsements, they were being paid no more than a “C-level actor” for their efforts. But this all changed as superstars like Ray, Lagasse and the others were able to monetize their success to a whole new level. With only a few thousand dollars dedicated to the production of its earlier shows, hosts were able to promote their products as a way to compensate them for their lack of salary. Beginning with Emeril’s spices, a very lucrative market took shape from kitchen gadgets to the numerous cookbooks that fly off the shelves year after year. Given the multi-million dollar achievements of these undertakings, it makes you wonder if they should change their name to the Marketing Network?
Whether you’re interested in the history of cable television, the politics behind choosing the next primetime show or simply a fan of these big names, From Scratch has something for everybody. Meticulously researched and full of fascinating anecdotes, it is a book that will make you the center of attention the next time you’re at a dinner party as you tell your friends story after story about this game-changing channel and the people that made it into the powerhouse that it is today.
Question: I hear some chatter that Pommard Rugiens and Epenots should become Grand Cru vineyards. What are your thoughts on this idea?
Answer: Yes I have heard that lobby as well. There presently are 27 Premier Cru vineyards in Pommard and no Grand Cru. Certainly Rugiens & Epenots are 2 of their best but both are not totally consistent having different terroirs even within those vineyards. I am sure the INAO are hearing about these and other representations for changes to their original 1936 appellation classification. IMHO there are other vineyards that warrant consideration for elevation to Grand Cru ahead of Pommard. 3 that would be at the very top of my promotion list based on their quality and present price levels would be Chambolle- Musigny Les Amoureuses, Gevrey-Chambertin Clos Saint-Jacques, and Meursault Perrieres!
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By Vincon Romania (Own work) [
By Ulrich prokop (Own work) [
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By Vincon Romania (Own work) [
