Thursday, July 15th, 2010
And We Stormed The Bastille Alright…
Noble Rot does Bastille Day (with Peter Sellers) at ORSAY Restaurant - photo by Brian Quinn
Ladies and Gentlemen of the vine:
On this, the day after Bastille Day, the year of the wine bottle 2010, I bring to you descriptions of an evening reminiscent of that fine day in French histoire whence the Revolutionaries stormed the Bastille in 1789 (only three years ago!).
The Noble Rot first uncorked in July 2009 when Brian Quinn and I decided to become wine experts. For our one-year anniversary extravaganza we wanted to return to our roots and present delicious wines that retail for just $20 bangers and under. And the best way to do that, we assumed, was to try out what we dubbed “French Vacation Wines.”
It’s July and so all of France is vacationing in Saint Tropez, Le Mont Saint Michel, La Rochelle, Montpellier, Biarritz, and Villefranche sur Mer, and Cap Ferret – to name a few of the most beautiful beach towns in the south of yee old France. These French people are consuming billions of gallons of crude oil rosé and are baking basking in the sun. We wanted our Noble Rotten crowd to enjoy the same benefits. And so we offered them an evening of utter wine and cocktails and food implosion (while Dr. Strangelove played silently on a projector with French Subtitles).
Before I list the wines, I want to divulge to you good wino, the entertainers for the evening: annihilating the Noble Revolutionaries with words, words, words in French, French, French, like “Lingerie!” and “Baguette!” was the famed TRAV SD. Trav is an actor, author, journalist, impresario, I-mean-you-name-it, wildly hilarious, avant-gaurded genius. He has a blog, which I am very impressed by, as it is maintained pretty much every day. It is here. And if you are a person interested in theater and the history of vaudeville, don’t be a fool, get his book: No Applause: Just Throw Money.
The elusive Trav SD in bowler hat flinging French words at the crowd - photo by Nora Leah Sherman
As for the musical aspect of the eve, Les Chauds Lapins, presented French songs of the ’20s – ’40s, “an epoch when American jazz and swing was being absorbed into the witty, passionate, highly melodic tradition of French popular music” – quote from their site. They were: Kurt & Meg on the banjo-uke, Ian on Bass, and Karen on Viola. As one Francophile to the next, I can assure you that they were hands down, the best damn music act I’ve heard since I first heard Django Rheinhardt. I mean – wow! Banjo-ukes!! A phenomenal frenchy-sound, got the crowd feeling damn good and damn French, had a terrific sense of humor and I couldn’t recommend their CD enough. Or don’t take my word but listen for yourself as they’ll be at Barbes in Brooklyn on August 13.
Les Chauds Lapins - photo by Nora Leah Sherman
Now for the wines!
But before the wines, cocktails!!
Mayur Subbarao, of EVOE! (and Mayhuel and Dram), a brilliant mixologist begat our evening with a cocktail and ended the evening with a cocktail. He used bourbons and gins and Armagnac and Lillet – Mayur whipped up Twentieth Century’s for people as well as what he dubbed a “brandy crusta variant” with the Armagnac and Lillet aka the “Paris-Midi.” WOW. Perfectly executed, I ended up the evening myself with a Lillet bottle full of left over batch and thrilled taste-buds. Assisting Mayur was the ever-brilliant food-photographer Nora Leah Sherman. And we have to thank Nicole Cloutier for our Lillet and for the Armagnac, May Matta-Aliah.
Mayur Subbaroa of EVOE! and faithful Noble Rotter Paul Fawell - photo by Nora Leah Sherman
So, ahem, the wine:
- La Source de Vignelaure rosé – ($13 per bottle)
- Patrick Lesec Costierre de Nimes Vieilles Vignes – ($17 per bottle)
- Jaillance Cuvee Imperiale Sparkling – ($12 per bottle)
- Domaine de Felines Jourdan Picpoul de Pinet ($12 per bottle)
Twentieth Century Cocktail
1 1/4 oz gin
3/4 oz Lillet Blonde
3/4 oz lemon juice
1/4 oz creme de cacao
Shake, strain, serve up with lemon twist
Paris-Midi
1 oz Laubade VSOP armagnac
1 oz Lillet Rouge
1 barspoon each lemon juice, orange curacao, maraschino
Stir, strain, serve up with one ice cube
Les Vins - photo by Brian Quinn
Damian Gutierrez of Cabriniwines.com and Matt Franco of Rare Wines Limited (new store opening in the West Village soon!) were on-hand to lend validity to my and Brian Quinn’s nonsense. There you have it. My favorite was the Vignelaure. It smelled of first dates and the excitement of exchanging phone numbers with the woman you will eventually marry. Second in line was the Picpoul – this is a wine I have discovered recently and consider my staple French summer drink. The taste is easy on the palate, crisp like a Lays potato chip, dazzling like sea-shine reflecting off a remarkable sunset. The Lesec was a brit, if you catch my drift. And the Jaillance was exactly that: Imperiale!
The event would not have been possible without the gracious staff at Orsay, and their food, which was exceptional! Passed foods for the evening included: Gougères (choux pastry with cheese specialty from the Burgundy region), Tuna Tartare on toast, Chicken pretzel (chicken breast), Croque monsieur (grilled ham and Swiss cheese mini sandwich), Vegetable roll, Pork Rillettes (preparation of pork similar to pâte spread on white bread from the Tours region). Many thanks to Jean-Pierre and Melanie at Orsay – they were the best of hosts, and I encourage you to visit Orsay for an enchanted evening of delectable French-cuisine that will honestly knock your french socks off. Orsay Restaurant is at 75th & Lexington Ave in Manhattan.
Finally, our good friends, Nick Gray, Sean O’Hagan, Jeremy Welch, and Zach “the shark” Bernstein made the evening possible by pouring wine, passing food, and being knowledgeable in the place of my ignorance (I was busy tasting!). Please enjoy these delicious photos in no particular order, and hopefully dear wine-stewards, we will see you at a Noble Rot event soon.
Quinn Parisian and Nora Parisian - photo by Nora Leah Sherman's camera
Orsay Vegetable Rolls - photo by Nora Leah Sherman
Cheese course! Courtesy Louis of Orsay - photo by Nora Leah Sherman
Lila reads about the Revolutionaries storming the Bastille! - photo by Nora Leah Sherman
Zach "the shark" Bernstien, Cigar, and guest expert Matt Franco (going to pour the hell out of those bottles!) - photo by Nora Leah Sherman
Happy Birthday Emilee! (No better place to be for your b-day than with The Noble Rot) - photo by Brian Quinn
Jonny Cigar, self appointed Master Sommelier with Les Chauds Lapins at The Copa 1967 Happy Birthday Emilee! (No better place to be for your b-day than with The Noble Rot) - photo by Brian Quinn
Cigar, Spain (Damian G), Quinn - photo by Brian Quinn
Saturday, July 10th, 2010
The Path To Wine Enlightenment
Follow The Three-Fold Path To Wine Enlightenment
Earlier this year I appointed myself a Master Sommelier. Since then, life has been easy-going for me. More often, now that I am a Master Sommelier, people ask me what I think of a wine. And I have learned that the best answer to that question is to ask a question in return, “What do you think of the wine?” I know what I think of a wine when I drink it. Being a Master Sommelier, simply by making a quick assessment of the people drinking wine around me, I can accurately predict what they will think of a wine as well. However, what good would it do my humble students to simply tell them what I think, see, hear, feel, sense, smell, taste, and enjoy in a particular wine? To fully understand and appreciate the amount of wisdom I possess, we must consider the Three-Fold Path to Wine Enlightenment.
1. To Know not to Know
First you must accept that you know absolutely nothing about wine. This conscious state of knowing that you know nothing can only come about through proper meditation. This meditation is not a formal meditation but a continuous meditation; an on-going process. When you are confronted with a wine, or an acknowledged “wine-connoisseur,” or a “winemaker,” or any person purporting to be in the wine business, or a selection of wines in a wine retail store or at auction, your first reaction must be: I know nothing about this wine. I am not even sure if it is red or white or rose. Any one of the aforementioned individuals will attempt to tell you about wine, may even suggest the color to you and where the wine hails from. When this happens you must stand your ground: I know nothing about this wine. I know nothing.
2. To Taste Only Beef Chili
When tasting a wine, knowing that you know nothing is only half the battle. Persons of wine-intrigue will press you for more information. They will say things like, “How much tannin is in the wine?” and “What are the grapes?” and “Where is this wine from?” and “How old is this wine, how long was it in the barrel?” and they will also say things like, “This wine smells of citrus,” or “This wine has hints of limestone and lavender,” and “I detect bret in this wine.” When this happens, the enlightened wino, or in my case as a Self-Appointed Master Sommelier, I will have this reaction: “I think your observations are interesting! However when I smell and taste this wine I perceive only this: Beef Chili.” You must stand your ground after making this statement, for many will attempt to cull your opinion. Also, it is important to note that when drinking a wine you feel is better than another wine, look for a positive quality in the poorer wine. “This poorer wine tastes and smells like a vegetarian beef chili.”
3. To Know Your Enemy
Once you have mastered the first two steps in the three-fold path to wine enlightenment the third and final step will either lead you to a higher state of being or lead you down the path to wine snobbery. This is a crucial moment where you must choose carefully the road not taken, or fall victim to the eternally repeating wine-club of the month routine. You must learn to know your enemy. You must scrutinize and question your enemy. You must think you know more than your enemy and you must distrust everything your enemy tells you. Your enemy is your teacher. Your teacher is wine. Once you distrust, despise, dislike, and are utterly discouraged with wine, you may then begin to know that you know nothing about wine, that all wines taste like beef chili, and that wine is your enemy and should anyone ask you to describe or talk about wine, a wine-region, a place to buy wine, a great wine for a special occasion, you will be able to respond in an enlightened way: “I don’t know. Whatever you think is best.”
The Three-Fold Path to Wine Enlightenment is a registered trademark and copyrighted educational tool created by Jonny Cigar, for Jonny Cigar’s use, please use at your own risk.
