The Iron Chevsky Wine Blog

To spend or not to spend? That is the question! Last week I drank Grand Cru white Burgundy - Corton Charlemagne, Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet, Bâtard-Montrachet, and Chevalier-Montrachet. A couple of great vineyards were missing from this exalted line-up, but believe me - it was exalted alright! We (as in "wino crowd") all know that 3 things matter - vineyard, vintage, producer. You leave out one of them, and you are as good as a sitting duck. 2006 - a vintage for white Burgundy that had received mixed comments from the aristocrati, though personally I found many brilliant wines. For the tasting lineup organized by a local wine shop, they picked the absolute top examples from the extensive portfolios by Girardin, Pernot, B. Morey, Boillot and Bouchard, ranging from $78/bottle to $235/bottle (and those were bargains at a 40% discount!) For reference, here are the wines I enjoyed: 1. 2006 Corton-Charlemagne (Vincent Girardin) $78 2. 2006 Bienvenue-Bâtard-Montrachet (Paul Perno...

Hidden away in the Town & Country Plaza at the entrance to Stanford University in Palo Alto is a little gem of a cafe called Douce France. The type of place which to me embodies everything best about Palo Alto - quality without pretense, sophistication so subtle that you'll never see it, yet it's in the relaxed air all around you. At first, it may look like any other cafe, until you sit down, relax, watch and listen. You start hearing French, Italian, Spanish... you are in Europe. A perfect savory crepe arrives, and a panini, and a latte so good you've never had it this good within 6000 miles of here. Chef Donato stops here every morning on his way to Donato Enoteca for that perfect cup of espresso. From behind the counter comes Victor, his pale face tired of sleepless nights - he just had a baby. A face of an immigrant who escaped, a face of an angel who has seen hell, and is here now to give the rest of the world a little piece of the sunshine emanating from his soul...

One of the most reputable wine writers of our time Eric Asimov aptly noted in New York Times in 2007: A good Châteauneuf-du-Pape is first and foremost a wine-lover's wine. Other wines can give you gloss and symmetry, the sort of good looks that are obvious even if you aren't much of a wine drinker. But Châteauneuf does not lend itself to smoothness and polish. It is earthy and sometimes fierce, the proverbial "brooding" wine. Yet as difficult as it can initially be to embrace, the ornery character of Châteauneuf makes it all the more rewarding when the lights finally go on. That aha! moment is like suddenly recognizing the beauty in one of Picasso's women, and realizing that conventional notions can take you only so far. A classic Châteauneuf can offer the fruit flavors that most wine drinkers love so well, ranging from cherry and blueberry to deep, rich raspberry. It can also have intense aromas of violets and other flowers, woven through with whiffs of earth an...

Author Dianne Hales writes : "Italians say that a good meal requires two arts: the art of cooking and the art of eating. I would add a third: the ever-so-scrumptious art of talking about what you have eaten, are eating or are thinking about eating. In Italy food and language meld together as smoothly as cacio sui maccheroni (cheese on macaroni). Both boast a rollicking history dating back to ancient times. Both vary greatly from region to region, even from village to village. Both reflect centuries of invasion, assimilation and conquest. And both can transform daily necessities into joyful celebrations." Last night while having a business dinner at Donato Enoteca , I saw the proof of Dianne Hales' insight right before my eyes. The 4 of us told the server: "Just bring whatever Chef Donato decides!" (5 mouth-watering dishes followed, plus a dessert platter! - for such an insanely low price that if I tell you, they will have to shoot me!) Somewhere around 10:30pm,...

Ross Bott was conducting the 4th in the 5-part retrospective series on 1984 Cabernets. The only one I zero'ed in on due to the French representation, specifically Chateau Margaux. My lukewarmness toward new world cabs is rather publicly stated. An inspiring example now and then keeps the faith alive, but serve me a Bordeaux 1st growth, and now we are talking! Hundreds of $$ a bottle a rare treat, but more than that - it's a Margaux, the most feminine of the Cabernet-based left-bank appellations in Bordeaux, and feminine is my kinda wine! The tasting started at 7:30. I came late, very late, 9. I was glad to be late. Ross accommodated, more than enough left in the bottle waiting for me - I love the "Bott crowd" - quirky always, grumpy sometimes, but always a caring bunch of geeks. I didn't want to do the blind tasting and ranking like the usual. I was there to take my time with Miss Margaux 1984, to give her my respects. For all the truthfulness and fairness of bl...

This is part 3 of the Shaoxing rice wine series. Click here for Part 2. While the in-laws are staying with us, our neighbors Vicky and Wu-Chung invited us for lunch to their famous restaurant Ming's - one of the oldest in Palo Alto, named after a powerful 14-17th-century Chinese dynasty. Originally from Taiwan, which according to Vicky is a melting pot of a variety of Chinese and other Asian cuisines, she comprises her menu mainly of Cantonese recipes, but with creative touches that extend beyond, and with the modern sensibilities of organic and more health-oriented diet. With a few dishes from the menu and some "owner-only" specials, they graciously presented me with an opportunity to continue my Shaoxing wine research against a variety of flavors. I brought the 20-year aged wine by Kuaijishan company - the best one I was able to find in the Bay Area so far. It's been mellowing out open for a few days now, and we decided to serve it warm - the traditional way. Tast...

This is part 2 of the Shaoxing rice wine series. Click here for Part 1. Determined to investigate taste differences between different grades and producers of Shaoxing rice wine, the Yangs and I scoured the Bay Area for 5 bottles ranging from low-end $2.99 to the highest-end we could find 20-year-aged at $21.99: 1. Shaohsing Huadiao Rice Wine by Kuaijishan Shaoxing Wine Co, 17% alc, $2.99. 2. Nu Er Hong Rice Wine, Yuequan brand, 17% alc, $4.99. 3. Aged Shao Xing Rice Wine, Pagoda Brand by Zhejiang Celeals, Oils & Foodstuffs I/E Co., 17% alc., 8-year-aged, $5.99. 4. Shaoxing Rice Wine by Zhejiang Gu Yue Long Shan Shaoxing Wine Co, 18% alc, 8 year-aged, $5.89 for 500ml. 5. Kuaijishan Shaoxing Rice-Wheat Wine with Caramel color added, specially designed for state banquet, aged in china jar for 20 years, 15% alc, $21.99 for 500ml. We then opened all of them at once and tried them at room temperature in 3 different ways: with a Chinese meal, by themselves without food, and blind. Our me...