The Iron Chevsky Wine Blog

September 11 is my lucky day. It's my birth day. Or is it my un-lucky day? After 2001, I am not sure anymore. At least, everyone thinks it's memorable. I always feel mixed. This year Rona was sick, so mom-in-law flew over to help take care, and I headed for a few hours to my grandma's in San Francisco to have dinner with my folks, whom slowly over the past several years I've been bringing into the world of fine wine. I suppose decades ago they brought me into the world of not-so-fine Ukraine, so it's only fair that I do something for them now. Even my 87 year-old grandma (and doing fine, thank you very much), who treated alcoholics for 30 years as a doctor in Odessa, and has given me many a raised eyebrow when hearing me talk about wine, doesn't mind sipping on some fine Barbaresco herself anymore. What's the world coming to!!! Russian-Jewish meals always have an appetizer course, family-style, with lots of dishes overwhelming the table. Marinated herring is...

The other day, Boris & Marina invited my family for an Uzbek plov (pilaf). I find Central Asian cuisine to be one style of food that allows me to unload all those Napa Cabs that I still have from the days bygone (when I was in Napa almost every single weekend, tasting, learning, buying). The sweetness, meatiness, and the spices of the Central Asian food go perfectly with the ripe, sweet, fuity, oaky, low-acidity, high-alcohol Napa that besieges my cellar waiting for an opportunity. (Like the 2005 Pine Ridge Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon on the photo below, from the days when I was a member. Oh man... ) Plov offers that - sauteed onions and carrots with Basmati rice and classically lamb (but in this case, short ribs falling off the bone, because Rona doesn't like lamb). I am sure Uzbek, Pakistani, Iranian, Afghan, Indian would all work. Pickles of all kinds - my mom made pickled watermelon - go wonderfully with this sweet and pungent cuisine. So head over to your neighborhood C...