Friday, June 18th, 2010
Hills Like White Bostonians
Ribera Del Dueroa - Arzuaga
Ernest Hemingway loved to fish and see bull fights. This is not a story about fishing and bullfighting. This is a story about June 10-14, just about a week ago, when I sailed the Hudson north and then trekked across thick jungled accents only to find myself in Boston, a city that loves to sleep. If Boston could change it’s name it would surely want to be called “Sports Central.”
I was there with A Razor, A Shiny Knife supper club. I am the “wine-guy/entertainment” provider for ARASK’s evenings of culinary dry-walling. And they do a phenomenal job for sure. Matt Franco, an Old World lover of Old World wines who will soon open Rare Wines Limited in the West Village of NYC, offered several suggestions for wine pairings for our Hemingway-inspired dinner. You see, fair-natured wine friend, we modeled the dinner after “Hills Like White Elephants” because of the imagery conjured and not because of the actual subject matter. Though, Matt, brilliantly offered the idea that we give the guests a choice of wine at a crucial juncture in the evening. They would have to choose a “country” wine or a “city” wine. If yee hath not read H.L.W.E. I would suggest you do so right now and return to this flog. (It’s like 3.4 pages and the text can be found by guggling it).
Damian Gutierriez, a Spaniard in his own right of cabriniwines.com, and wino-friend, sat down with me before Boston and we battled about which wines to serve, taking into consideration Franco’s ideas. We settled on this roster of bingo bongo:
- Codorniu Cava Pinot Noir Brut
- Protocolo (Dominio de Eguren) Protocolo
- Ca Sa Padrina Arrel Binissalem Mallorca
- Bodegas Arzuaga Reserva-2005
- Costers del Siurana Miserere Priorat
So let’s talk about the wines. But first let’s talk about the cocktails. Cocktail concoctions by Mayur Subbarao (Mayahuel, Dram) lit people on fire, literally. I was schooled in the art of cocktail mixing and demoing before heading to Boston, and had Mayur on standby during the event in case I needed to call and have him talk me through properly shaking a shaker or lighting the Absinthe on fire that I was to light on fire. In short, three cocktails, one with white rum, one with bourbon, and one with brandy, delighted and shocked and awed guests and if you’d really like to know what the cocktails were, send me an email (info@thenoblerot.com). Now, the wines…
I only want to discuss the Ribera Del Duero and the Mallorca (pronounced “my-orka”). The hit of the evening was the Del Duero (aka Bodegas Arzuaga Reserva). This was our “city” wine hailing from the northeast of Spain and rich with thickity deliciousness but tied down by an Old World mouthfeel. This wine makes you want to mount a horse and fight a war (a war of love). The Ribera is a fascinating region where Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) is grown on land where billions of years ago it was likely that monks from France came down from France and planted vines. The planting of vines leads us to Mallorca, a tiny island off of Spain considered “The Pearl of Mediterranean.” The grapes in this wine are called “Mantonegro” and “Callet,” which are indigenous to Mallorca and its 2,300 hotels and 2,000 restaurants – only 33 cellars. Fancy. The taste was unusual, like turducken, only instead, horsecowsen, if you catch my stuffing. From one Hemingway to another, I bid this posting adieu, and would urge you to search out: Ribera Del Duero wines as well as any little gems you can find from Mallorca – they will be worth your time and will impress your sommelier, self-appointed or otherwise.
Tags: ARASK, Bullfighting, Cabriniwines.com, Callet, dinner party in boston, Dram, Evoe!, Hemingway, Hills Like White Elephants, Mallorca, Mantonegro, Matt Franco, Mayahuel, Mayur Subbarao, Ribera Del Duero, Spain, Tinto Fino
