There’s no need for food to ever be pretentious, ever. Food is about enjoyment, plain and simple. That’s why I like Slice, this guy is on a great and noble quest, finding the perfect slice, which is something that anyone whose ever spent time in New York can appreciate. New York isn’t Europe, people don’t just sit around at cafés all day and smoke cigarettes and drink coffee. New Yorkers live on their feet. In my time in NYC I began to appreciate two things: Ray’s is not the best slice of pizza (just like Nathan’s aren’t good hotdogs) and there’s really no better lunch for a person about town than a slice. You don’t even need a plate, you can just eat it above your New York Times and get informed whilst curbing those hunger pangs. Slice has ingeniously done his own little map on Google’s MyMaps, and what makes me proud is to see my local joint, Nick’s Pizza, on it. By the way - a Nick’s Pizza Pepperoni Slice with a bit Kanonkop 2005 Pinotage ($14) is a killer combination (and you can get Kanonkop at the wine shop just up the road: it’s a neatly balanced equation, because the money you save on the food affords the little bit extra on the wine.)

On Saturday, in the spirit of summer, we went up to Richmond Park and had a picnic in our own local Royal Park. Picnics are perfect for pasta salads and we prepared a pesto, olive oil, Greek feta and tri-colour fussily salad garnished with roast pine-nuts and fresh chopped basil. Picnics should be cheap and simple, and perhaps the most important factor to take into consideration is the wine. White wine would be my preferred choice for such an occasion, and on Saturday we treated ourselves to Boschendal 2006 Sauvignon Blanc ($10), Ogio Pinot Grigio ($6) and Leopard’s Leap Lookout White ($8).

To my mind, Leopard’s Leap won the day, for a couple reasons. First off, this wine is amazingly priced and when one is splitting costs amongst friends it’s always nice to keep things simple. Graphically, they’ve pulled off playing on South Africa’s wildlife heritage without creating a critter, and instead have created an attractive brand. Third, the varietals choice makes use of what South Africa is abundant in and does well - chenin blanc, chardonnay and columbard, promoting the real essence of the Cape. And lastly, the wine is exceptionally pleasant, and is refreshing, clean, uncomplicated and elegant with fresh lime flavours on the entry and subtle hints of honey and melon on the finish. One could easily entertain a host of friends for an afternoon in the sun, and have Leopard’s Leap Lookout White keeping everyone very satisfied throughout the day.

Alder of www.vinography.com offers a very cool little aroma guide, and on it is a beautiful piece of prose - ‘from simple grapes, a bit of yeast, some wood and some time, we can taste so much of the world in a bottle.’ How succinctly eloquent! If anything, its proof how wine teaches people to express themselves and the high standard of writing that this new medium embraces. In Veritas Vino starts with a vignette appealing to for the Phillip Roths and Chaucers (who told some good tales about wine himself) after which Alice pleads for wines that ‘tell a good story.’

In today’s post I would like to take a moment to think about the people who set time aside to tell a good story, because this month many of us will sit with our fingers crossed as we wait in anticipation to see the results of the 2007 James Beard Foundation Awards - the ultimate industry award lending much deserved and prestigious recognition to the people who give of their lives to make other people’s leisure time more enjoyable.

The remarkable thing about the blogosphere surrounding wine and food is that most of it is done for the love of it. It is an industry of passion and a labour of love without so much labour and a lot of love. The categories of awards have grown over the years, and it’s great to see that Dr. Vino is in the running for much deserved accolades. The categories range from best graphic design in restaurants, to best bar service and in recent times there are best webcasts or integrated nominees to sites like http://www.ciaprochef.com/, http://www.spatulatta.com/, http://www.leitesculinaria.com/ or Edward Deitch’s ever resourceful and practical columns.

Read the rest of this entry »

The community value of food & beverage went to new heights at the first ever Food Network Awards this past Sunday night, which was actually part of the South Beach Wine & Food Festival back in February. Although it seems silly to glorify food, the show was more about glorifying cuisine and cooking and how it brings us together. Plus, with awards like “Icy Innovations” and “Tasty Technologies”, I kinda got reeled in.

The award that I found most interesting was “Not Your Grandmother’s Food of the Month Club.” The nominees were cool food club delivery services that ship a variety of tasty treats direct to their members’ doorsteps. The Z-club from Zingerman’s won because it delivers a wide variety of foods and creates a sense of adventure for its members. Self-described as a premier food club that a hungry, adventurous food-eating nation has fallen in love with, the Z-club provides a random assortment of exciting new foods from fine olive oils, cheeses, and meats to exotic sweets such as Calabrian candied orange peels covered in chocolate and Australian sweet dried figs. Looks like they’re only missing one thing.

The other big nominee was The Grateful Palate, which most of us know for its imports. It was up for its Bacon of the Month club, which is a little odd given its quality wines. I don’t know though, do bacon and wine match well? The other foods that they offer, however, look absolutely delicious. Check out this Fork & Bottle review of a Grateful Palate Breakfast Combo.

A smart company, with an already established brand like Grateful Palate should feel really confident about their position right now. As the logistics become well-oiled (I like that phrase), consumers are going to tap into the opportunity to have food and wine shipped direct to their doorstep, especially if it is exciting new stuff from different places. Even more, what if we could pair this service with recommended packs personalized to each member and based on their unique tastes? And what if we could send them recommended recipes, ingredients, and wine for that night? Could be fun.

Also, guys, your Grateful Palate imports page is practically non-existent (right) and the only place I can find your wines online is The Jug Shop. What’s going on? You’ve got a great reputation and have awesome wines. Share them with us.

Wine is such that even the most simple pairing can have a tremendous effect on its expression within the mouth… tarting the sweetness, accentuating the fruit forward, building its body, etc… There is a satirical piece by W. R. Tish (PN) at Wine For All about how one of the executive editors of Wine Spectator had some chorizo sausage and cheese with a Spanish wine he was rating and it complemented the Tempranillo so well that he gave it a 101 point rating, and then was admitted to the hospital for hyper-euphoria. The story went on to say (paraphrased) that food pairing has added such a dimension to wine, that an 85 point wine could easily become a 95 point wine, and vice-versa, and that because of this discovery, wine ratings will start spiraling out of control. Not necessarily a fan of the current rating systems, as they are not representative of how the wine rates to your/my taste, the message was well understood.

For many of those who are just beginning to adventure into the world of wine, one of the more overwhelming responsibilities is pairing wine with food. Even more burdensome is the thought that you may pair something so terribly wrong that the independently great meal or wine is inevitably ruined. This rarely happens of course, but that doesn’t mean the thought isn’t a source of stress for the uneducated. It’s such a great feeling to cook up a “gourmet” meal for your wife, friends, or family, using your Uncle’s famous recipe for lamb chops, or better yet one of Giada De Laurentiis’, Alton Brown’s, or Mario Batali’s recipes. Giada oftentimes recommends a bottle of wine with her recipes, as does Alton Brown, and to no surprise Mario Batali is a partner in Italian Wine Merchants.

Where does one go today to find a wine that matches a recipe your looking to prepare?. Some of the gourmet food sites such as Cuisine Solutions, recommends 4-6 different wines for each of their recipes.. (except the asian bbq ribs, as they feel beer is a better combination - anyone have a good wine recommendation here?) Epicurean.com touts themselves as the place for food and wine lovers, but yet wine is not suggested in the recipes. Food and Wine magazine has its gallery, but this is 2007… consumers don’t want pay for information especially with the plethora of free information out there. There are also others that try… MSN - The Wine Life, Wines and Recipes, Food Network…etc.

Wine and food, like Romeo and Juliet, belong together, and we are marrying these two lovers into one site. We just want finding a place to eat, a recipe to cook, and a wine to drink to be a simple, enjoyable experience.