Posted by Neil Brody Miller on March 7, 2010
I don’t often cook fancy when I am home by myself. By the time I’ve prepped, cooked, eaten and cleaned up I figure it’s as economical to eat out as to prepare a meal. I recently picked up a bunch of foodstuffs at local farmers markets, however, and have been putting together a meal in my head that would feature these ingredients. I also know from experience that cooking, like any learned skill, is a use-it-or-lose-it proposition. So the time had come, I decided, to get out the pots and see if my cooking chops were still up to par.
Actually, I didn’t get all that ambitious, as this was a two pot dinner with only a handful of ingredients. But the ingredients were so good that I had to write about the meal, and post a short photoessay.
The menu consisted of braised, pasture-raised lamb shanks from Meadowood Farms in Cazenovia, which I purchased last Saturday at the “Fourth Saturday” farmers market at Circa Restaurant, served on a bed of French lentils that I purchased in bulk from Lombardi’s Fruit and Imports, a Syracuse institution and one of my favorite specialty food shops. Additional ingredients included organic dried sage from Fresh Herbs of Fabius; organic carrots, New York State onions, and anise purchased at P&C Market; locally grown garlic from Muriel Barrows of Morrisville and an inexpensive New York State red wine, the 2006 Motley Cru, a blend of Syrah, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Merlot from Brooklyn Oenology, a winery on the North Fork of Long Island.
The preparation was very simple, a fine dice and quick sauté of some carrot, onion, and anise bulb for the French lentils, then chicken stock, two bay leaves, salt and pepper, and a slow boil for about 45 minutes. In the mean time, I browned the lamb shanks, did a rough chop and quick sauté of the carrot, onion, anise and crushed garlic, and then put the shanks back in the pot, along with the sage, thyme, bay leaf, red wine and a bit of water, and braised them on low heat for about 90 minutes.
The lentils came out al dente, well seasoned and very flavorful. The lamb shanks, however, were clearly the stars of the meal. By the time I removed them from the pot they were falling of the bone, and had taken on a gorgeous shellacked mahogany color. The meat was moist and fork tender, with a mild gaminess that paired well with the natural sweetness of the carrots, anise and lentils, and the aromas of thyme and sage.
As good as everything looked and tasted, it wasn’t restaurant quality. Close, but it needed something to deepen the flavors and add a bit more complexity. I probably should have added tomato paste when sautéing the vegetables, and some beef or veal stock to the braising liquid to offset the acidity of the red wine. Still, it was very tasty, and I’m reasonably satisfied that my cooking skills are in good order. At the very least, I had no problem cleaning the plate, and I won’t have any problem polishing off the other shank for dinner tomorrow night.
All told, I spent around $30.00 on the meal, including the wine for the braising liquid and a glass of the 2006 Allegrini Palazzo della Torre, a very tasty, highly rated Italian red wine that is widely available in the Syracuse area. So the meal wasn’t cheap, but at $6.00/lb., or around $4.50 per shank, the lamb shanks, which were large and meaty, were very reasonably priced. We’re extremely fortunate to have so many dedicated local farmers like Marc Schappell and Bee Tolman of Meadowood Farms, who raise grass-fed livestock and are committed to sustainable agriculture, and we should take every opportunity to support them, and let them know how much we appreciate their efforts.
Posted by Neil Brody Miller on March 4, 2010
Things have been quiet of late across this great frozen wasteland, as beleaguered residents hunker down through the long shadows and cold nights, and decide which red wine to pair with Boeuf Bourguignon, or perhaps with a roasted free-range chicken and organic root vegetables. It’s a bitter struggle to survive winter’s ravages in style, but we look forward expectantly to the arrival of spring, which augurs warmer days of Finger Lakes wine and roses. In the meanwhile, we await the vernal equinox, give thanks to Bacchus for getting us through the winter, and keep our eyes fixed on the horizon, or the shelves of our local wine shop, for signs of a drinkable under-$20.00 Pinot Noir.
Nor has our vigil been in vain. Out of the western expanse comes a young contender, the 2008 Johnson Family Pinot Noir ($18.99 at Northside Wine in Ithaca), a strapping red wine in the full vigor of youth, already proclaimed a champion – and an excellent wine value – by clamoring critics. Hailing from the Russian River Valley in Sonoma, California, this wine-who-would-be-king nevertheless comes shrouded in mystery, as there is no Johnson Family winery in Sonoma County (the wine is produced by Hunter Wine Cellars of Sebastopol, CA for John Bowler Wines, a New York City importer and distributor). Whatever its pedigree, this wine’s reputation precedes it, and it seems determined to dethrone local pretensions that the Finger Lakes can produce world class, competitively priced Pinot Noir.
We are not without our own local champion, however, the 2007 Red Tail Ridge Pinot Noir, ($19.99 at Northside Wine in Ithaca), a brawny first-born hailing from the western shore of Seneca Lake, which has already been proclaimed by Vineyard and Winery Management Magazine “perhaps the most exciting pinot noir yet made in the Finger Lakes.”
So, we gather once again in the Vinodome, as did our fathers and mothers, and their’s before them, to bear witness to a timeless ritual of vino-a-vino combat, in which two wines do battle until one bottle is drained to its dregs. And the ancient cry goes up, “two wines enter, one wine leaves; Two Wines Enter, One Wine Leaves; TWO WINES ENTER, ONE WINE LEAVES!!!”
Don't let their sweet dispositions fool you, these two will kill for a decent bottle of $20.00 Pinot Noir
Judging today’s competition are three experienced veterans of the Vindome: myself, a wizened misanthrope who vents his rage on unwary winemakers; Stephany “You wish I was Nurse Ratched” Hess, who strikes terror into the hearts of ill-mannered or incompetent resident MDs; and her hushand, Tim “Slow Cooker” Hess, whose magical touch with a Crockpot masks the roiling emotions within. We three have been there, wherever “there” is, and done that, whatever “that” is (and whatever the definition of “is” is), and it takes a damn fine wine to excite our tired, jaded palates.
So then, let the battle begin.
The 2007 Red Tail Ridge Pinot Noir opened with a bright garnet color, with a bit of pink/orange towards the rim. The nose was initially a bit volatile, but quickly settled down to reveal oaky, toasty notes and some smokiness, which the judges variously described as “earthy,” “tar” and “leather coat.” Overall, the aromas were interesting and complex but lacked a distinct fruitiness on the nose. In contrast, the 2008 Johnson Family Pinot Noir was noticeably darker in the glass, a dark ruby that could only come from a warm, sunny California climate. The aromas, however, were surprisingly unexciting, with some attractive cherry and plum aromas but nothing that leaped out of the glass. Even with time and swirling the aromas never matched the bravado of the wine’s deep ruby color.
In the glass, the two wine’s couldn’t have been more different, and really brought home the distinct differences that cool and warm climates have on Pinot Noir. The Red Tail Ridge was rich and ripe, with sweet plummy flavors, a nice full mouthfeel, and an unusual spiciness. At the time I knew I recognized the spices, but couldn’t put a name on them. It was only later, after the tasting that I realized I had tasted graphite – what some reviewers refer to as “pencil lead” – and sandalwood, which gave the wine a complex, interesting flavor profile.
In comparison, the Johnson Family was all West Coast machismo, with a fuller weight and mouthfeel, and rich, very ripe cherry and black plum flavors, but with noticeably less spice or complexity. Although both wines were clearly New World in style, in that neither wine offered up the mushroomy, barnyardy aromas or flavors associated with Burgundy, the cooler climate of the Finger Lakes produced a wine that was lighter colored, more aromatic and classically structured, and with higher acidity and more pronounced minerality, while the warmer Russian River Valley climate, as expected, produced a deeper, more fruit-driven wine.
The Johnson Family Pinot Noir, however, really fell apart in rounds 4 and 5, where we judged the mid palate and finish. While the Red Tail Ridge was persistent through the mid palate into the finish, with no drop off in the quality or weight of the fruit, the Johnson Family wine dropped off precipitiously, with the fruit declining in the mid palate and finishing quickly. Overall, the judges agreed that the Red Tail Ridge showed better structure and balance, with more persistent flavors and a longer, more compelling finish, while the Johnson Family showed its best up front, with a big, fruit-forward mouthful of ripe Pinot fruit.
In the end, the judges were unanimous that the Red Tail Ridge was the better wine, and clearly bested the Johnson Family Pinot Noir. We also agreed that, at $19.99, it represented an outstanding value that easily rivaled or surpassed wines from Oregon in the $30.00 to $35.00 price range. The tasting also dramatically reinforced our appreciation that Pinot Noir produces more aromatic wines and better overall balance and structure in a cool climate like the Finger Lakes, than in California, despite the fact that California can produce some fabulous, if expensive Pinot Noirs. We were very impressed with the 2007 Red Tail Ridge Pinot Noir, and were surprised to learn that the grapes, which were estate grown, were harvested from vines that were only planted in 2005. That is very young for any wine, but extraordinarily young for a wine of this quality and complexity.
The biggest issue, however, is what one gets for their money. In California, $20.00 buys you an entry-level Pinot Noir, typically sourced from grapes grown in several locations within one or more large AVAs, which yield a somewhat generic fruit-driven wine that lacks complexity or a sense of terroir. Hunter Wine Cellars produces a half dozen single-vineyard Pinot Noirs under its Chasseur label that regularly earn scores in the low-to-mid 90 point range from the Wine Advocate. They also cost between $40.00 and $60.00 a bottle.
It’s not difficult to do the math. For the same $20.00, one gets in the Finger Lakes a wine made from the best grapes grown in a winery’s own vineyards. I’m really excited about what the Red Tail Ridge vineyards will yield in 8-10 years, when the vines reach the level of maturity that winemaker’s say can produce truly noteworthy wines. Of course, by that time they may also be charging $40.00 to $60.00 for a bottle of wine. In the mean time, however, I and my fellow judges are already planning a trip out to Red Tail Ridge Winery to pick up more of their 2007 Pinot Noir while it is still available, and still priced under $20.00 a bottle.
Posted by Neil Brody Miller on February 19, 2010
A week rarely goes by without my discovering a wonderful new restaurant, unusual shop, or noteworthy food producer in the greater Syracuse area. Such discoveries always come as a welcome surprise, despite the fact that I moved to Central New York knowing that it offered a wealth of local resources and attractions. Yet, even as each new experience deepens my appreciation of how good we have it up here, it also reminds me of what really is at the heart of the region’s high quality of life: the dedicated individuals whose family farms produce the great local produce, and whose independently-owned eateries, cafes and businesses bake the breads, roast the coffee beans, create the eclectic menus, and source the wonderful array of goods we all enjoy.
Occasionally, however, all these feelings come together in a single, memorable experience that really brings home to me the meaning and value of community. That may sound corny or contrived, but by my best calculations, I have since I left home at age 17 lived in 7 states, moved 20 times, held down 14 different jobs and taught at 10 different colleges or unversities, and made, lost, and renewed more close friendships than I care to remember. So, while community has always been important to me as an ideal, it is only in the last year or so that it has begun to have any real, tangible meaning.
The Poolville Community Center, Poolville, NY
Which brings me to the Second Saturday Farmer’s Market, which I visited last weekend, and to the remarkable community of dedicated, artisanal farmers and food producers and socially conscious consumers who made the experience so memorable. As the name suggests, the farmer’s market meets the second Saturday of each month at the Poolville Community Center, in Poolville, NY.
The story of my visit began a week earlier, when I chanced to meet Debby Zahn, a member of Things From Here, a group of Poolville-area community activists who organized the Second Saturday Farmer’s Market, while dining at Circa. Circa is the dining spot of choice for many of western Madison County’s progressive farmers and food producers, whose seasonally available foodstuffs regularly show up on Circa’s menu. Before meeting Debby, I had already met Renata Nollen, the owner of Dutch Girl Cheese, and her husband at Circa, and enjoyed several soups and dishes that featured the extraordinary mushrooms grown by Owen Tallman of Hantana Mushroom Farm, both of whom have booths at the Second Saturday market. Debby’s good nature and enthusiasm for local farm products were immediately apparent, and I quickly made plans to drive out to Poolville that weekend.
Debby Zahn of Things From Here, organizers of the Second Saturday Farmer's Market
Even by rural, Central New York standards, Poolville is an out-of-the-way spot on the map. After printing out directions from New Woodstock to Poolville, which I regrettably left at home, and referring repeatedly to Google Maps on my iPhone, I still managed to get thoroughly lost, and had to stop several times to ask for directions. For anyone interested in making the drive, especially during the winter, staying on a major road like Route 20 or programming your GPS navigator are worth the added distance or effort, as I spent close to 45 minutes wandering around between Georgetown and Lebanon before finally finding my way to Hamilton, and from there on to Poolville.
My cursing and exasperation notwithstanding, the trip was worth the effort. By the time I arrived, the market was already in full swing, with a healthy crowd of 30-40 shoppers chatting with the vendors, sampling and purchasing the available products, and enjoying cake and Chenango Coffee Roasters coffee at the Dump Run Cafe.
Owen Tallman of Hantana Mushroom Farm, displaying his fabulous elm oyster mushrooms.
Here’s the list of participating farmers and food producers, and the products they offered:
Drover Hill Farm, Earlville, NY: pasture raised Scottish Highland and Angus beef.
Dutch Girl Cheese, Leonardsville, NY: aged raw milk cheeses.
Evans’ Farmhouse Creamery, Norwich, NY: milk, butter, yogurt, creme fraiche and cheese
Full Quiver Farm, McDonough, NY: home baked breads.
G and M Farms, Morrisville, NY: salsas, dried beans, and organic winter vegetables
Jewett’s Cheese House, Earlville, NY: aged New York State Cheddar and Krugerrand Farm’s aged goats’ milk cheese.
Johnson’s Honey Bees, Eaton, NY: honey
Maple Avenue Farm, Earlville, NY: Black Angus, “sun fed beef.”
Maple Hill Farm, Hamilton, NY: farm raised, spring lamb.
Mizrahi Manor Farm, Norwich, NY: sprouts, eggs and homemade jams and jellies.
Quarry Brook Farm, Sherburne, NY: grass fed and finished pork, beef and chicken and eggs.
Slickepott, Delhi, NY: all natural chocolate fudge sauce.
Of these producers, several for me really stood out and are worth describing in more detail. First, the meat providers – Drover Hill, Maple Ave., Maple Hill, and Quarry Brook farms – are already quite well known for their high quality meats and sustainable farming practices, and all I can add is that their reputations are well deserved. As anyone who has watched the documentary film Food, Inc., or read Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma can attest, raising livestock is among the most energy-intensive, commercialized areas of the U.S. industrial food chain, and we are especially lucky to have as many farmers as we do who are committed to providing us with pasture-raised, grass-fed, humanely-slaughtered, and locally-butchered meat.
Terri Jewett Larkin of Jewett's Cheese House, with her killer aged, New York State Cheddars
Because I am prone to moments of profound stupidity, I drove out to Poolville with no cash, and only one personal check. So I passed on these producers, with whom I was already familiar, as well as on Dutch Girl Cheese and Hantana Mushroom Farm, and spent my time speaking with and sampling the products of new vendors. Of these, Jewett’s Cheese House in Earlville really stood out, with 10- and 12-year old aged New York State Cheddars that were spectacularly good. Terri Jewett Larkin, one of the proprietors, told me that their business had been around since the 1970s, that the NYS Cheddars were made specifically for them by upstate NY farmers using locally sourced milk, and that they have even older cheeses at their shop. I found the 10-year old Cheddar to be particularly outstanding, with a rich, full flavor, a nice balance of sharpness and creaminess, and a firm yet crumbly texture. At $21.99/pound, it blew away many of the tasteless European imports featured at Wegman’s, and I couldn’t help but purchase a 1/2 pound chunk.
A happy family raises happy cows: Evans' Farmhouse Creamery
Evans’ Farmhouse Creamery are highly regarded for their terrific dairy products, including their Evans’ Farmhouse and Siggi’s brand Icelandic-style Skyr yogurts, and rightly so, as everthing I sampled was delicious and well worth seeking out. My favorite new vendors, however, were undoubtedly Robin and Nathan Mizrahi of Mizrahi Manor Farm in Norwich, NY. Although they only had samples of their sprouts left by the time I made it to their table – which were delicious – I was extremely taken with this young couple’s enthusiasm and commitment to organic, sustainable farming. A visit to their website reveals that they grow a broad selection of fruits and vegetables, produce honey and maple syrup, and raise cattle, turkeys, chickens, hens, and eggs. A full share of their 2010 CSA, which provides 16 weeks of farm fresh produce, is only $200.00, which may be the best CSA value in Central New York.
Robin and Nathan Mizrahi of Mizrahi Manor Farm
The Second Saturday Farmer’s Market meets next on Saturday, March 13th, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 Noon. The Poolville Community Center is located in the center of Poolville, which is about 6 miles south of Hamilton, NY. I’d provide directions if I didn’t think I would get readers lost, so you are better off using MapQuest, Google Maps, or GPS navigation to find your way to the Community Center. It will be well worth the trip.
Posted by Neil Brody Miller on February 13, 2010
Over the past year, Lemberger, also known as Blaufrankisch, has received a surprising amount of attention from wine writers and bloggers, especially given the fact that the grape is virtually unknown to American consumers. New York Times wine columnist Eric Asimov recently blogged about a Blaufrankisch tasting organized by David Schildknecht of the Wine Advocate and eRobertParker.com, who has taken the lead in promoting Blaufrankisch and other Austrian wines. Readers of the New York Cork Report (formerly Lenndevours.com), moreover, may recall that the 2007 Keuka Spring Vineyards Lemberger was named one of the NYCR’s Wines of 2009, and that Evan Dawson and Lenn Thompson posted several pieces on whether Finger Lakes winemakers should continue to market the varietal as Lemberger or switch their labeling to Blaufrankisch.
When I first heard this buzz, I thought it was much ado about nothing, as I saw little interest among consumers in Lemberger or Blaufrankisch, and even less likelihood that the varietal would catch on and compete successfully against up-and-coming international superstars like Carmenere or Nero d’Avola. I’ve given the matter a bit more thought, however, and I’ve come to better appreciate why Finger Lakes winemakers are and should be interested in Lemberger and other lesser known varietals. What Lemberger offers winemakers is an opportunity to experiment, both in the vineyard and in the winery, to see how well the grape performs given the region’s difficult climate and short growing season, and what flavors, textures, and structure can be coaxed from the wine using different winemaking techniques – cold stabilization, stainless steel versus barrel fermentation, etc. And a winemaker interested in experimentation, I’ve concluded, is a winemaker interested in learning more about his or her craft, which is a good thing for anyone interested in Finger Lakes wines.
And yet, my initial point still stands, which is, virtually speaking, that far more ink has been spilt about Lemberger than the wine itself (this review ironically being a case in point). Wine writers understandably want to taste everything, and generally are as interested in winemaking, at least in terms of the fruit of the winemaker’s labors, as winemakers themselves. Correctly predicting the Next Big Thing, whether it be an obscure grape varietal or an emerging winegrowing region, also earns one bragging rights and pays other professional dividends. Hence, all the chatter in the past few years about Pinotage, Hungarian and Greek wines, German and Alsatian Pinot Noir, and other wines that few consumers seem to care much about.
Lemberger too, seems destined to fall into this category, despite its suitability to the Finger Lakes region,. And in terms of flavor profile and pricing (the wine lists for $18,99, and I paid $15.99 at a local wine shop), there are valid reasons for it doing so. What I liked most about the 2007 Keuka Spring Vineyards Lemberger was how unapologetically European it tasted out of the bottle. When I think of European-inspired wines from the Finger Lakes, I turn first to the Rieslings produced by Dr. Konstantin Frank, and then to the fiercely dry red and white wines produced by Morten Hallgren of Ravines Wine Cellars. Yet, the meaty, gamey aromas wafting from my glass of Keuka Spring Lemberger suggest that Mark Wiltberger, the winemaker at Keuka Spring, also looks to the Old World for inspiration. In fact, if I hadn’t known what I was drinking, I almost certainly would have pegged this wine as a Chinon or another Loire Valley red.
That’s the good news. After these impressive aromas, however, which were followed by the cherry, berry and black pepper flavors for which the varietal is known, the wine quickly lost my interest, and is likely destined to end its days in a stew pot alongside some mirepoix, stew meat, and Hungarian sweet paprika, which, not surprisingly given the wine’s popularity in Central and Eastern Europe, is the spice with which this varietal seems most compatible.
Heron Hill’s winemaker, Thomas Laszlo, got it exactly right, accordingly, when he described Lemberger/Blaufrankisch as tasting like “a Syrah with a Burgundian profile.” That might sound like an interesting combination, but I found the wine to be somewhat one dimensional, and lacking in fruit and weight from the mid-palate to its rather abrupt finish. Paired with the right dish, such as goulash or beef Stroganoff, or perhaps with roasted duck or goose, where the wine’s naturally high acidity and unusual salinity would cut against the fattiness and rich flavors, this wine might really shine. Lemberger might accordingly find its raison d’etre as a specialized, niche wine that pairs well with game and Central or Eastern European cuisine. But the Next Big Thing, as several wine writers and Finger Lakes winemakers have predicted? I think not.
The disconnect between the prognostications of wine professionals and the realities of the market highlight once again the difficulty many winemakers and wine writers have in seeing things from the consumer’s perspective. Undoubtedly, a handful of dedicated vinophiles sought out the top-rated examples of Austrian Blaufrankish after reading Asimov and Schildknecht’s reviews, and perhaps a determined fan or two of Finger Lakes wines ponied up $35.00 for a bottle of Heron Hill’s 2007 Reserve Blaufrankisch after reading Evan’s piece in the NYCR. In the mean time, however, Chilean winemakers sold millions of dollars of Carmenere to American consumers, not because of media hype, but because they produced stunningly good wines, including many Reservas, for under $15.00 a bottle. The same holds true for the dramatic uptick of interest in Portuguese wines. American wine drinkers are voting once again with their dollars, this time for world-class red wines with names they cannot pronounce, made from native Portuguese varietals few Americans have ever heard of or feel compelled to learn about, that cost around $10.00 a bottle.
So I say again, I think the discussion about whether these wines should be labeled Lemberger or Blaufrankisch, along with the complaint that Lemberger sounds too much like and is unfairly associated with Limburger, the smelly German cheese, are silly distractions that further alienate winemakers from the retail market. If Finger Lakes winemakers can produce a competitively priced, world-class table wine from the varietal, consumers will buy it regardless of what it is called. If not, they should continue to experiment with the varietal for their own purposes, follow Thomas Laszlo’s lead in producing small quantities of high priced Blaufrankisch for the cognoscenti, and look elsewhere for a red wine suited to the Finger Lakes region that can compete successfully for a fair share of the American market. To that end, my money and my best hopes remain pinned on Pinot Noir.
I intended this piece to be a relatively straightforward wine review, not a rant about Finger Lakes winemaking, so before concluding I want to say a few more positive things about the 2007 Keuka Spring Lemberger and about Keuka Spring Vineyards, because neither the wine nor the winery fairly deserve to bear the brunt of my criticism. For starters, anyone interested in tasting a Finger Lakes wine with a clear sense of terroir should check out this wine, which reveals a definite sense of the vineyards and the region where the grapes were grown. The same is true for Keuka Spring’s Gewurztraminer, which I first tasted not long after moving to upstate New York, and which remains one of my favorite examples of a Finger Lakes Gewurztraminer.
Second, there is a lot to like in this wine, from the low 12.5% alcohol level and high acidity, cold climate characteristics that make the wine ideal for pairing with rich dishes or creamy sauces, to the medium body and supple tannins, which are very reminiscent of Pinot Noir. Lemberger has been described as a cross between Pinot Noir and Gamay, and were it not for the wine’s Syrah-like black pepper note, the description would be apt. As noted earlier, I personally have problems with this wine’s flavor profile and with its price, and am likely to look elsewhere for wines better suited to my taste and budget. But I look forward nonetheless to seeing how the story of Lemberger/Blaufrankisch unfolds in the Finger Lakes (Evan Dawson says that Keuka Spring will begin labeling their wine Blaufrankisch, beginning presumably with the 2008 vintage), and to tasting more of these wines when the opportunity arises.
Posted by Neil Brody Miller on January 27, 2010
For sheer audacity, one can’t help but admire Applebee’s slogan that its customers are “eatin’ good in the neighborhood.” With 1600 restaurants in 49 states (one wonders who’s the lucky exception), Applebee’s not only has trademarked the phrase “There’s nothing like the neighborhood,” they also proudly proclaim “we’re everywhere you are,” apparently not noting the irony that neighborhood and being everywhere are near-perfect opposites, or that being “everywhere you are” makes them the Big Brother of casual dining.
In truth, I don’t harbor an animus against Applebee’s. What they do, they seem to do well enough, and I have plenty of friends, especially friends with small children, who look upon their restaurants as a godsend. But like so much of the marketing churned out by America’s industrial food producers, the idea that neighborhood and being everywhere are synonymous turns common sense on its head, and undermines the meaning of words and values that I hold dear. So while I will on occasion eat at Applebee’s if invited by friends, I draw the line at accepting their corporate redefinition of neighborhood.
Which brings me to my neighborhood, and to my two favorite local restaurants: Circa, located in Cazenovia, and the Red & White Cafe in DeRuyter. To better defend the notion that neighborhood is rooted in a sense of locality, I was joined by Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, author of the Cookin’ in the ‘Cuse blog and a writer for Edible Finger Lakes magazine, who has done as much as anyone to raise awareness of the many good local eateries, coffee bars, and food producers in and around Syracuse. We met last week for lunch at Circa, and then drove down to the Red & White Cafe for coffee and dessert. Together, the good food and company reinforced my belief that the community of local food producers, restaurants, vendors and consumers, like the idea of neighborhood itself, is inherently precious and worth defending.
If Circa didn’t already exist, it would still be for me the normative ideal of what a neighborhood bistro should be: funky, friendly, and unassuming, with an oft-changing menu that reflects the singular vision of a talented chef and the seasonal availability of fresh, locally sourced ingredients. Such is Circa.
Opened in February 2006 by chef Alicyn Hart and her husband Eric Woodworth, Circa bills itself as a “new American bistro,” that works “with local farmers and regional artisans to create daily specials and a seasonal menu that changes weekly.” An increasing number of establishments these days make similar claims, but Circa walks the walk as well as talks the talk. I regularly pester Alicyn about the source of various ingredients, and to the best of my knowledge, every ingredient I have inquired about came from a local or regional farmer, cheesemaker, or producer: lamb from Meadowood Farm in Cazenovia, fresh herbs from Fresh Herbs of Fabius, terrifically flavorful, free-range chickens from Ingallside Meadow Farm of Canastota, etc. Working with these fabulous ingredients, Alicyn combines a minimalist touch that allows the quality of the ingredients to speak for themselves, with a culinary artist’s sensibility, so that every dish, whether a bowl of soup or a dinner entrée, is simply prepared and yet more than the sum of its parts.
For lunch, Jennifer and I began with the cheese plate appetizer ($10.00), which featured very generous portions of Old Chatham’s Hudson Valley Camembert and Ewe’s Blue, a decadently rich, sheep’s milk blue cheese, two “Dutch-style” semi-soft cheeses from Dutch Girl, an artisanal cheesemaker out of Leonardsville, including an aged 100% goat’s milk cheese, and my personal favorite, a crumbly, full-flavored Tilsit from the Brovetto Dairy Farm of Harpersfield, NY, which was washed in Ommegang Ale.
For our lunch entrées, Jennifer ordered the daily special, a grilled panini sandwich of sliced chicken breast, avocado, and field greens served on home-baked bread ($7.00), while I ordered the cup of soup and 1/2 sandwich combo ($7.00) The soup, a parsnip and root vegetable purée, was thick and delicious, with a silky smooth texture. The chicken (I also ordered the daily special), was tender and flavorful, with a slight gaminess that immediately reminds you that free-range, farm-raised chicken tastes nothing like the flavorless, chicken-like product found in most supermarkets.
After lunch, we drove down to the Red & White Cafe in DeRuyter, a small town 15 miles south of Cazenovia on Route 13, about halfway between Cazenovia and Cortland. The drive, I promised Jennifer, was well worth the trip, as the cafe itself was not only physically beautiful, but featured some of best coffee and homemade baked goods to be had anywhere in Central New York.
The Red & White Cafe, opened in September, 2008 by Christine & Jeffrey Glave after a year-long remodeling, was once, as the name suggests, a Red & White Market. Christine, whose family were dairy farmers in Lincklaen, has deep culinary roots in the Syracuse area, having earned a degree in restaurant and hospitality management at Morrisville State College, and worked at the Hotel Syracuse, Pastabilities, and Syracuse University.
Jeffrey, a scenic artist working in television and movie production, did a remarkable job designing the cafe’s interior, which combines a small-town, rustic esthetic, including a wealth of vintage advertising tins, with modern lighting. The result is a large, homey space that invites one to settle in for an extended visit with a cup of the cafe’s stunningly good coffee (from Coffee Mania of Cortland), and a book or laptop (both Circa and the Red & White Cafe offer free Wi-Fi).
I’ve enjoyed a number of good meals here, especially the breakfasts, which include generous slices of Chris’s delicious home-baked breads. The soups are also particularly good. But what really makes this cafe unique, and what keeps me coming back again and again, is the coffee, which gives Sugar Pearl Cafe a run for the area’s best brew, and the baked goods. In addition to the breads – wheat, Italian, pumpernickel, white, rye, and cinnamon raisin – which are also available by the loaf, Chris turns out an impressive assortment of muffins, scones, pies, cookies, meringues, and marshmallows, all of which are homemade and freshly baked on the premises. Her brownies, which are made with Ghirardelli chocolate, are alone worth the drive.
Circa, which celebrates its four year anniversary this February, is open for lunch and dinner, Tuesday through Saturday, from 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM, and is located at 76 Albany Street in Cazenovia. In addition to selling locally produced eggs, cheeses, dairy products, meats, and vegetables as they are available, Circa also hosts a local farmer’s market, which will meet next on Saturday, February 27th, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 Noon. For reservations or further information call 315-655-8768 or visit Circa’s website.
The Red & White Cafe, which is located at 1692 Albany Street in DeRuyter, is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days a week, Sunday through Thursday from 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM, and Friday and Saturday from 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM. At present, the breakfast and lunch menu, as well as the daily specials, are served all day, although Chris says she is planning to add a dinner menu in the near future. The Red & White Cafe also features live music from some of the region’s best local artists twice monthly on Friday evenings. This Friday, January 29, the Serious Dudes, a local acoustic roots band will perform. For more information, call 315-852-2016, or visit the cafe’s website.
Posted by Neil Brody Miller on January 24, 2010
In the coming months I hope to publish a series of reviews of Finger Lakes wines produced from French-American hybrids and native American grapes. Folks who were born and raised in Central New York likely grew up hearing of if not drinking wines with names like Baco Noir or Traminette, not to mention Concord and Niagara. As a relative newcomer to the region, however, I was largely unfamiliar with these varietals, and even now I have sampled only a handful of these wines. To make matters worse, the skepticism of my downstate and out-of-state friends threatened to reawaken my own wine snobbery, an inner demon against which I have long struggled. Can wines from French-American hybrids or native American varietals really compare favorably with European Vitis vinifera varietals like Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir or Riesling? The only way to settle the issue, I realized, was to make a concerted effort to taste these wines.
I initially decided to review the 2008 Hunt Country Vineyards Valvin Muscat, which I heard was worth checking out, but a search of local wine shops failed to turn up a bottle. Peter’s Skytop Liquors, an unassuming wine shop over by Syracuse University with a good selection of Finger Lakes wines, however, offered a number of interesting alternatives, and after a bit of consideration I selected a bottle of the 2008 Hosmer Winery Cayuga White. Cameron and Maren Hosmer have been farming their 60 acre vineyard, located on the west side of Cayuga Lake, since the mid 1970s, and released their first wines in 1985. Like the majority of Finger Lakes wineries, Hosmer is best known for their dry and off-dry Rieslings, which have won numerous awards, but they also have earned a reputation for producing some serious Cabernet Franc, Lemberger and Chardonnay.
Cayuga White, as I subsequently learned, is one of the hybrid varietals developed at Cornell University’s New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, NY, and is a cross between Seyval Blanc, a French-American hybrid, and Schuyler, an American Vitus labrusca varietal (the native American grape species that includes Concord and Niagara).
The first noticeable quality of the wine was how pale it was in the glass. At first glance it appeared almost as clear as water, but closer inspection revealed a very pale yellow hue. The initial aromas were also pretty subdued, but a bit of coaxing – giving the wine a good swirl in the glass – released aromas of tangerines and clementines, as well as a slightly astringent note that reminded me of the orange-flavored St. Joseph’s aspirins I took as a child.
The citrusy aromas carried over to the wine’s surprisingly delicious flavors, which married citrus with the flavors of Golden Delicious apples and ripe Anjou pears. The taste also triggered another childhood memory, that of orange creamsicles, a summertime favorite. With 2.5% residual sugar the wine was off-dry but not as sweet as I expected, and was offset by moderate acidity. Although the wine was light-to-medium bodied, it delivered a good mouthful of ripe fruit flavors that continued through the mid-palate into a reasonably long finish.
If this wine is a fair example of what Cayuga White can produce in the hands of a skilled winemmaker, it can’t match the structure or complexity of a good Finger Lakes Riesling. But it comes close, and on a warm July evening, with friends and light summer fare, it would be very quaffable and satisfying. Which, I expect, is all that the winemaker intends, and – at $8.99/bottle – all anyone can reasonably ask of the wine.
My downstate wine buddies, who think they’re getting a deal when they pay $39.99 for an Aussie Shiraz on CinderallaWine.com, will never be impressed with this wine. But as I have learned from experience, more specifically from a year-and-a-half without full-time work, a well made, reasonably priced wine like this is all I need to wrestle my wine demon into submission, and it makes the hard times all that more liveable.
Posted by Neil Brody Miller on January 20, 2010
I’ve been obsessing for the past few months about Finger Lakes Pinot Noir. Maybe it’s just the lucky coincidence of having moved to Central New York a few months before the 2007 vintage red wines were released, which many winemakers believe are the best red wines they’ve produced in the last ten years (the timing was similarly fortuitous for the terrific 2008 Rieslings). Lucky timing aside, however, it’s confounding to visit local Syracuse-area wine shops and find few or no Finger Lakes Pinot Noirs on the shelves. More often than not there are one or two Finger Lakes Cabernet Francs, a handful of inexpensive red blends made from French-American and native varietals, and plenty of Red Cat and Red Cat wannabes. There are also any number of California and Oregon Pinots, with the Oregon wines priced at $30.00 and up, as well as Pinots from just about everywhere else in the winemaking world except the Finger Lakes: France, New Zealand, Australia, and yes, even Chile. In fact, I’ve seen a growing number of Chilean Pinots showing up in local wine shops, which may be very good, reasonably priced wines. But I want Finger Lakes Pinot Noir.
I get quite excited, accordingly, when I come across a Finger Lakes Pinot, especially if it is made by a winemaker I know and respect, which was the case with this 2007 Billsboro Winery Pinot Noir. I first met Billsboro’s head winemaker Vinnie Aliperti (who with his wife Kim are co-owners of the winery), this past summer at the Finger Lakes Cabernet Franc tasting I organized with Peter Becraft of Anthony Road winery and Evan Dawson of the New York Cork Report. The Billsboro Cab Franc was one of my favorite wines at that tasting, and I since have enjoyed their Dry and off-dry Rieslings. Vinnie and Kim acquired Billsboro in 2007, so this presumably is their first release of Pinot Noir.
I enjoyed this wine over lunch at Circa in Cazenovia, NY, my favorite local bistro, with Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, author of the Cookin’ in the ‘Cuse blog and a writer for Edible Finger Lakes magazine (I’ll write about our lunch at Circa, and our visit to the Red & White Cafe in DeRuyter for coffee and dessert in a follow-up post). I later finished the bottle at home, where I took the following notes.
My overall impression is that this wine will improve with a few more months of bottle age, but that at present it is still young and a bit tight. As one would expect, the wine is a bright ruby garnet in the glass, which a hint of orange towards the rim. Although the wine was not particularly aromatic, likely another sign of its youth, swirling in the glass released aromas of black cherry, plum, and strawberry rhubarb pie, with a bit of baking spice and some earthy/leathery notes.
In addition to varietally correct flavors of cherry, plum and cranberry, there was an interesting, slightly tart, citrusy component that reminded me of kiwifruit. The wine was medium bodied, with a good upfront mouthful of ripe red fruit followed by moderately firm tannins and noticeably high acidity. After a bit of dry tannins on the back end, the wine finished with long, lingering fruit flavors.
I liked this wine, and hope to try it again in 6-12 months. It needs some time for the tannins and high acidity to settle down and better integrate with the fruit, but with a bit more bottle age I think all the elements will come together. At $22.00, this is a reasonably priced Pinot Noir that is certainly better made and more varietally correct than the majority of similarly priced California Pinots, and is significantly less expensive than Oregon Pinots. I don’t usually score wines, but at present I would score this wine 86-87/100, with the expectation that within the next year it will improve to 88-89/100. Although it is not a profound wine, it is yet another encouraging sign that Finger Lakes winemakers are producing some very good, competitively priced Pinot Noirs. Hopefully, sooner rather than later, local wine shops will get the message and make some shelf space for these wines.
A final note: Readers may have noticed that the tag line for the blog header has been changed to “A blog on Central New York food, wine, art & culture.” Although I will continue to post reviews and other pieces on Rieslings and other Finger Lakes wines, I want to expand the blog to include pieces on regional restaurants and local food producers, as well as on Central New York’s terrific arts scene and cultural resources. Hopefully, the loss of focus will be offset by more regular postings on a broader range of interesting topics and events.
Posted by Neil Brody Miller on December 19, 2009
Standing Stone Vineyards was one of the first Finger Lakes wineries I got excited about when I moved to Central New York. At the time, I knew nothing about the winery’s history and had no reason to suspect that the winery would consistently impress me as producing some of the Finger Lake region’s best wines. As soon as I tasted the 2006 Standing Stone Gewurztraminer, however, I knew I had encountered a world-class wine that compared favorably with the classic Alsatian Gewurztraminers I had enjoyed for the past 20 years. That first impression was soon reinforced by tasting Standing Stone’s Riesling and Cabernet Franc, and most recently by their 2007 Pinot Noir.
As much as I love Finger Lakes Rieslings, I secretly have hoped that the region’s viticulturalists and winemakers would figure out how to produce Pinot Noirs that rival the best wines from Oregon and California, and would pin their hopes for producing a great red wine on Pinot Noir, rather than on Cabernet Franc. Admittedly, this is based on personal preference. I am learning to like Finger Lakes Cabernet Franc, especially since attending the Cab Franc tasting held this past summer at the New York Wine and Culinary Center, which clearly confirmed that several Finger Lakes winemakers – Paul Brock of Lamoreaux Landing, Rob and Kate Thomas of Shalestone Vineyards, Lou Damiani of Damiani Cellars, and Morten Hallgren of Ravines, among others – are producing delicious Cab Francs. Nevertheless, I may never love this varietal.
Not so with Pinot Noir. Two of my fondest memories from when I first began collecting fine wines are of uncorking the 1985 Saintsbury Carneros after several years of cellaring, which was a revelation, and of enjoying my first Oregon Pinot Noir, the 1985 Ponzi. I became very excited, accordingly, when Evan Dawson of the New York Cork Report and other regional wine writers began favorably reviewing Finger Lakes Pinot Noirs. The problem, I soon discovered, is that almost none of these wines are available in Syracuse-area wine shops, even in shops that otherwise carry a good selection of Finger Lakes wines. It was a big deal, accordingly, when Allison Record, co-owner of The Savvy Wine Cellar, offered me a bottle of the 2007 Standing Stone Pinot Noir she had received as a sample, enough of a big deal that I didn’t want to drink the wine by myself. Luckily, it wasn’t hard to convince a friend and fellow wine lover, Stephanie Hess, to join me for the tasting.
Stephanie, with her husband Tim, who unfortunately had to work that evening, had enjoyed other wines from Standing Stone, so we were expecting good things, even though neither of us had ever tasted a Finger Lakes Pinot Noir. From the first sniff and sip, however, we both were blown away by this wine, which offered classic aromas of New World Pinot Noir: ripe cherry fruit and cola with some spicy notes that reminded me of sarsaparilla, but with none of the earthy, mushroomy aromas I associate with a good Burgundy. The flavors of ripe, as well as tart, cherry and red berries carried over to the palate, and were complimented by hints of pepper, cinnamon, and cigarbox. Both the aroma and flavors were varietally correct and compared favorably with a well-made Oregon Pinot Noir from a good vintage. What really knocked us out was the wine’s supple, velvety tannins, unctuous texture, and medium-to-full body, which reminded me of nothing so much as umami, the uniquely satisfying mouthfeel associated with rich, savory foods. To put it simply, the mouthfeel of this wine made us both smile.
Learning about fine wine may one day save this young man from a life of petty larceny and cheap tattoos.
I liked this wine so much that I took the remainder of the bottle home with me, an inexcusably selfish act that I justified, at least to my own satisfaction, by claiming that I wanted to taste the wine again the next day. As it turns out, the wine did in fact taste better on the second day, the tannins were even softer, the acidity seemed better balanced with the fruit, and the wine displayed a longer finish and a broader range of red fruit flavors and spice.
Priced around $25.00, this wine is well worth seeking out, and compares favorably with a good Oregon Pinot Noir in the $30.00 to $35.00 price range, which makes it a relative bargain. I especially liked the fact that this wine exhibited pure, varietally correct New World Pinot Noir flavors and aromas, without the overly extracted fruit I find in many lower-priced California Pinot Noirs that have been adulterated (legally), with Petite Sirah or Syrah. Anyone interested in Finger Lakes Pinot Noirs should look for wines from the 2007 vintage while they are still available, as 2007 is widely considered the best vintage for red wines of the past 10 years. The 2007 Standing Stone Pinot Noir clearly reflects the strength of the vintage, and indicates that dedicated Finger Lakes winemakers can produce world-class Pinot Noir, which makes me very hopeful about the future of Pinot Noir in the Finger Lakes.
Posted by Neil Brody Miller on October 21, 2009
Okay, I admit upfront that this is a shameless rip-off of the always interesting “What We Drank” entries published weekly by the New York Cork Report (formerly LennDevours.com). It’s not just that the New York Cork Report has become the 800 lb. gorilla among New York wine blogs (i.e., imitation is the highest form of flattery). It’s also that I am way, way overdue for a blog entry of my own. I have been trying unsuccessfully for the past several weeks to organize a multi-wine, multiple judge Vinodome wine competition (you’d think an offer to pour several really good wines for free for friends would be more than enough to get folks motivated, but noooo…). And finally, I drank something so unusual and so freaking delicious that I just had to post an entry.
I’ve always loved hard ciders. As much as I enjoy wine, there is something about a clean, crisp, refreshing, and yes, food friendly, hard cider that I find almost irresistible. Several of my favorite pubs usually have one or two hard ciders on tap, which is typically where the beverage really shines (just try a freshly poured pint of Woodchuck at The Blue Tusk versus the relatively uninteresting bottled version to see what I mean). But recently, I came across several different bottlings of hard ciders by Eve’s Cidery at Red Feet Wine Market in Ithaca, NY. After talking about the different ciders with MP and Empar, I purchased a bottle of Eve’s sparkling Bittersweet Cider.
Wow. The color is a striking amber gold, much deeper than I expected, with a nice thick mousse and small perlage. Very intense fresh apple bouquet, not just the aromas of the apple flesh, but the skin and the slightly astringent core. Big nose. The intensity carries over to the palate, which marries mostly tart green apple flavors with some residual sweetness, noticeably high acidity, and dry but not overly dry tannins. The tannins, as well as the relatively full body, were both surprises. This cider has structure, which is not to say that it is age-worthy (although with wines, residual sugar, high acidity and tannins usually translate into age-worthiness). The sweetness is really a background note, as the tart apple flavors and acidity more than balance the bit of residual sugar. The finish is long, complex, and lingering.
The flavors are more complex and compelling than I can fully convey. Eve’s Cidery states on their website that they use 20 different varieties of French, English, and American apples in this sparkling cider, and since these are bittersweet varieties, which Eve’s Cidery describes as very different from eating apples, some of the flavors are simply unfamiliar to me. The best I can do is to describe these flavors as I would a wine, there is a slightly peppery quality, although it is different from and more exotic than white or black pepper, maybe closer to pink peppercorn or Sichuan pepper. There are also equally complex, complimentary spice notes, something in the range of freshly ground cardamon or coriander.
Altogether, this is a much more serious cider than I was expecting, with a refreshing, palate-cleansing acidity that makes this a great food-wine pairing. I think it would be outstanding with hard cheeses, pork dishes prepared with apples or dried fruits, a simple roast chicken, foie gras, or a complete Thanksgiving dinner. At $14.00 it is well worth the price, and at 10% alcohol it offers an excellent low alcohol alternative to the many excellent Rieslings and Pinot Grises produced by Finger Lakes wineries. This is a noteworthy, truly artisanal beverage produced by an obviously dedicated, local cidermaker, and you can taste the passion and expertise in the glass. Highly Recommended.
Posted by on September 13, 2009
I apologize for not having posted a new entry in so long. I moved over the past two weeks, and started teaching courses at Morrisville State College and Onondaga Community college as an adjunct professor. So it’s been a busy couple of weeks. Things are beginning to settle down, however, and I hope to post a new entry by week’s end.