Question: In an argument with my spouse about whether watermelon and cantaloupe improve after picking. Are melons continuing to ripen? What about other fruits?

Answer: Debatable subject. Based on my personal experiences I trust only avocado and banana to continue ripening after picking. I have seen lots of lists out there but believe the best flavours are achieved when the fruit is fully ripe when picked. Certainly mostly unanimous are watermelon, orange, grapefruit, apple, pineapple, strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, cherry, and grape among a group that don’t continue to ripen. Some fruits seem to improve like kiwi, peach, pear, apricot, nectarine, plum among others but remember they usually are shipped very cold and probably need a few days to warm up and revive themselves. More controversial are melons particularly cantaloupe. I am not a scientist but I don’t think the fruit can get any sweeter once it is picked but it does continue to soften up and therefore seems juicier to you. Your thoughts please.

A few random tips:

– Check the aromatics of the fruit before you buy it.

– Careful when storing fruit and vegetables. Example: Never store onions and potatoes together!

– Hasten ripening by the brown bag trick – particularly add an apple or banana in the bag.

– Store fruit and vegetable unwashed and only wash it just before use.

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Just back from a short visit to Bordeaux. After 3 previous vintages of mixed results many producers are bullish on their 2014 vintage particularly for the cabernet sauvignon from the Medoc. Prices remain relatively high. Impressive tour last week of the new building at Chateau Margaux with their talented Managing Director Paul Pontallier a key component of the Corinne Mentzelopoulos team since 1983 – an outstanding vintage for their wine! No material additions had been made since the original construction in 1810-1815. Under the guidance of London architect Norman Foster they met the important challenge of making these additions new and efficient but not distorting the harmony of those traditional old structures. The expansion had 3 main purposes of extending the red wine cellars, having the white wine cellar closer at hand, and an experimental research and development facility. The design of the amazing spiral staircase to the top floor labs is breathtaking. They also have a magnificent new wine library of older bottles in progress to be held at a temperature of 15 Celsius. The 1st & 2nd year cellars remain unchanged except for noticeably improved lighting. Encourage you to visit.

Paul is so modest but a real fountain of knowledge. He loves using wood for fermenting his red wine and appreciates how it shapes and evenly controls the temperature. Now have an oak cooperage room in the old tasting room with experimental oak treatments using 25-30% Seguin-Moreau and other coopers. So many past great vintages of Chateau Margaux including last week where I enjoyed the still vibrantly alive and complex 1945 & 1959 both in magnum. What a treat! Also such fond memories of 2000, 1996, 1990, 1986, 1983, 1982, 1981, and 1953 among others -including authentic 1928 & 1900 when you can find them. In spite of these great old treasures Paul started our visit with a wine tasting of what he calls the best 3 vintages of Chateau Margaux in the past 100 years:

2010: Precision, certainty, purity, and structure. Perfect balance. Terroir is the key with a dense finer freshness that will easily last 15-20 years or more. Before there was 60-70% selection for the Grand Vin but lately using only 35% of the crop. The weather conditions are now more favourable with global warming and the way they work and the way decisions are made are different from when Paul arrived in 1983. This vintage has 90% cabernet sauvignon and I believe Paul tends to prefer this one.

2009: Riper, lush, seductive, open, generous, more obvious, and very voluptuous. Another outstanding pair to contemplate over future years like 1899/1900, 1928/1929, 1982/1983, 1989/1990 etc.

2005: Perfection, intense, classy, high level of concentration, obvious firmer tannins which are still more noticeable at 10 years than 2010 and 2009 but the quality really shows and patience is required.

All three of these are still very young but certainly should be added to the wonderful record of outstanding vintages of Chateau Margaux!

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By Joseph Temple

From dreary swampland to America’s Riviera, the city of Miami Beach has gone through an extraordinary transformation over the past century.  Known for its pastel colors and Art Deco style architecture, the urban decay that once plagued its streets is now a distant memory.  Today, tourists from around the world flock to Miami Beach to soak up some sun while enjoying all that this exciting and culturally diverse city has to offer.

Of course, in addition to the white sands and historic buildings, there is no denying the important role that cuisine plays.  Whether it’s food trucks or fine dining, there’s no shortage of great places to eat as you stroll through South Beach and beyond!  It is a proud gastronomic heritage dating back to the early twentieth century when frigid Northerners eagerly bought up real estate along the shore.  So take a trip down memory lane as we look at five iconic restaurants that put Miami Beach on the map.

Special thanks to FloridaMemory.com for providing most of the photos for this entry.

With a Jewish community deeply embedded into the cultural fabric of Miami, it’s easy to forget that at one time anti-Semitism was on full display as numerous businesses along the beach posted signs reading NO JEWS ALLOWED.  So when New Yorkers Joe and Jennie Weiss opened a restaurant on the edge of town, many residents predicted that it wouldn’t last a single year.  Fast-forward to 2015 and Joe’s Stone Crabs—now a Miami Beach institution—has been in operation for almost 100 years!  A favorite hotspot amongst celebrities, author Mandy Baca writes, “No trip to Miami is complete without a visit to this iconic restaurant, even if it is just for a slice of key lime pie … Like Delmonico’s and Peter Luger’s in New York, Joe’s is a cult classic known the world over and popular with anyone that enjoys stone crabs, fried chicken or keeping up with Joneses.”
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“Find me a Jewish person in Miami Beach who didn’t go to Wolfie’s” declared one Miami resident.  “Go ahead–just try.”  A staple amongst the Borscht Belt, this deli-style restaurant became famous for its large portions that made customers go home both stuffed and satisfied.  And if you were a fan of the hit television show Miami Vice, you’ll remember Sonny and Rico cruising past its 21st street location many times throughout the series. Operated by Wilfred Cohen who also owned Wolfie Cohen’s Rascal House delicatessen on 172nd street, the iconic name was the result of a contest asking residents to create one for the restaurant.  When a University of Miami student came up with Wolfie’s, it was such a hit with the owner that he later had his own name legally changed to Wolfie Cohen.
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Back in the 1980s, if you ever wanted to see a cocaine cowboy or a real-life Tony Montana up close, then you had to dine at The Forge Restaurant and Wine Bar.  Originally built during the twenties, it re-opened in 1969 after an extensive renovation that included the installation of a 300,000 bottle wine cellar.  Having an interior that one critic described as a “bordello meets Louis XVI,” the expensive decor attracted everyone from A-list celebrities to associates of Pablo Escobar.  One former maitre d’ recalls a story told in Gerald Posner’s book Miami Babylon: “One Latin guy walks up and says, ‘We are seventeen and we don’t have a reservation’ … The man took out a wad of cash and peeled off seventeen hundred-dollar bills. “That’s just to seat us.  We’ll spend ten times that inside.”
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During the 1950s when middle-class Americans could suddenly afford to travel by plane while the invention of air conditioning shielded tourists from the unrelenting heat of South Florida, Embers was definitely the place to dine.  Situated at Collins Avenue and 22nd Street, this restaurant became known for its sizzling steaks, which were cooked over an open pit.  Adding to the friendly ambiance was a maitre d’ named Mario who would personally welcome you as you walked through the front door.  Sadly, the original location burned to the ground in 1984.  Attempting to recapture the magic, a copycat restaurant was erected on the same lot in the 1990s. Unfortunately, tastes had evolved in the city since the heyday of Embers and the reincarnation proved to be bust.
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Palm Island, located between Miami Beach and the mainland is where an extravagant and posh nightclub called the Latin Quarter entertained the city’s elite for more than twenty years.  Owned and operated by Lou Walters, the father of legendary journalist Barbara Walters, the club was a magnet for attracting celebrities that included Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra.  The 20/20 reporter would later credit her time at the Latin Quarter hobnobbing with the rich and famous as an essential part of her education, learning not to be intimidated later in life by the same type of people she would go on to interview.
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Sources:

Baca, Mandy.  Discovering Vintage Miami: A Guide to the City’s Timeless Shops, Hotels, Restaurants & More.  Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014.
Baca, Mandy. The Sizzling History of Miami Cuisine: Cortaditos, Stone Crabs and Empanadas. Charleston: The History Press, 2013.
Biondi, Joann. Miami Beach Memories: A Nostalgic Chronicle of Days Gone by. Guilford: The Globe Pequot Press, 2007.
Bramson, Seth. Miami Beach. Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 2005.
Brown, Joseph. (2004, May 16). The Latin Quarter Nightclub. South Beach Magazine.  Retrieved from http://southbeachmagazine.com
Posner, Gerald. Miami Babylon: Crime, Wealth, and Power—A Dispatch from the Beach. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2009.
Staubach, James. The Magic City Captured by Miami Vice, Scarface, Movies, and Burn Notice a guide to 80s Locations and Culture. Raleigh: Lulu.com, 2014.

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Question: Is the vintage date on a bottle of wine still important?

Answer: Of course it is. That is why the IWFS continues with their sought after valuable Vintage Chart membership card every year! We try to keep you informed on the current vintage buzz from around the world. However you are right that for most commercial wines released for current drinking it may now be less important than some other factors. For warmer areas with more consistent harvest ripeness (including with global warming more and more wine regions) it becomes less critical. Nevertheless vintage is often reflected in the price you pay. I am presently at Chateau Smith-Haut-Lafitte in Bordeaux where this issue is clearly reflected in their wine shop where the last 4 vintages for sale are priced in Euros per bottle for 2012 (71), 2011 (66), 2010 (140), and 2009 (256). Vintage still does matter!

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I have spent the last 10 days in the sauna bath high temperatures of the Loire Valley and Bordeaux. Certainly the 2015 vintage is ahead of all normal schedules and the buzz is already for another hot 2003 like vendange. I remain impressed with the upside potential on the world stage for Muscadet. The average consumer is becoming more open minded to dry white wines with refreshing acidity which will match well with food – especially seafood. Classic Chablis is in demand as an increasingly popular pairing but prices are already rising. Here is a great value opportunity to try a Muscadet substitute.

Muscadet is made from a single grape variety Melon de Bourgogne which left its native Burgundy in the early 17th century and found a new home in the Loire Valley around the town of Nantes in far Western France. There are 4 main appellations: Muscadet, most important Muscadet Sevre-et-Maine, Muscadet Coteaux-de-la-Loire, and Muscadet Cotes-de-Grandlieu. Closer to the ocean as most westerly also check out Gros-Plant-du-Pays-Nantais for their dry white from Folle Blanche grapes for that unmistakeable taste of the sea. Note also that in 2011 three terroirs of Clisson, Le Pallet & Gorges were promoted to “crus Communaux” with AOC Muscadet Sevre-et-Maine to reflect their pursuit of excellence.

Currently from June to October 2015 there is a tourism program spotlighting 32 top producers at www.levignobledenantes-tourisme.com. A useful address for wine information is Maison Des Vins De Loire 15 place du Commerce 44000 Nantes or mdesvins-nantes@vinsdeloire.fr
I visited Chateau du Coing de St. Fiacre (www.chateau-du-coing.com) with Veronique Gunther Chereau and tasted many of their quality wines. Represented in Vancouver BC by Liberty Wines agency. Formerly Ch. du Coin “Castle of the Corner” because the estate results from its unique location at the corner of 2 rivers – Sevre & Maine. it is a historic property that dates back to the middle ages but destroyed by the wars and rebuilt 1810-1820. Noticed 3 distinct terroirs from their 3 owned properties:

1. In Saint Fiacre Ch du Coing on 45 hectares of “le schiste” soil displays tender perfumed generous floral white flowers.
2. In Gorges Ch. de la Gravelle on 17 hectares of “le gabbro” or volcanic rock under a layer of 40 cm. clay gives much more citrus high mineral “chablis-like” styling.
3. In Monnieres Le Grand Fief de la Cormeraie (organic since 2010) has “le gneiss” of sedimentary rock.

Various cuvees are made parcel by parcel on their fine lees right up to bottling. Also impressed that the natural acidity and minerality in their wines allow fabulous aging. Tried 2010, 2007, 2000, and 1996 of 100 year old vines Comte de Saint Hubert low yields 25hl/ha all still fresh and vibrant but more complexity depth and texture now. Most wines selling at 8-12 euros per bottle and the two oldest only 15 & 20 euros each – a bargain. Since 2002 aging some as long as 5 years on the lees and a Cuvee Excellence of 60-100 year old vines showing stronger aromative range with yellow fruits perfect at 15+ years of aging. Younger wines never racked so have a small amount of CO2 giving “perlant” slighty fizzy fresh perfect as an aperitif or with fish – or the abundant oysters and mussels grown here. Recommend!

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