THE UNION DES GRAND CRUS DE BORDEAUX
The Culinary Institute of America is housed in a beautiful building, and has the best facilities you can imagine. There is a spacious kitchen with wonderful stainless equipment, specially made stoves, and everything necessary to prepare dinners for large groups. The Institute is set up to prepare anyone interested in the wine and food industry for every task in those areas, but it is particularly adept at preparing chefs for working in restaurants. There is a restaurant on the upper level, open to the public, and on the lower levels there are a number of rooms, which are decorated like the interior of a medieval castle, for private functions such as wine tastings and dinners. In spite of all the brain power available at this "university" of food and wine, there were a number of problems with the Napa tasting, some of which were beyond anyone's control. First of all, when evaluating a wine, professionals (as were most of the invitees) like to evaluate the color by putting the glass against a white surface. For that reason, most wine tasting tables are draped with a white tablecloth. At this tasting there were dark red tablecloths! Next problem: there were about 200 people present at the tasting, but only 4 tables were set up for approximately 60 wines. There were three tables for 50-60 red wines, and one table for 4-5 white wines. That meant that there were at least 50 people standing in front of each 8 foot table, which translates to "four deep." Only the aggressive or the very patient could get to the wines. Once lucky enough to reach a table, there were bus-boys-in-training pouring the wines, and they didn't know much about them. This was not the fault of the event coordinator: the flight from New York to San Francisco was cancelled, so the producers who were supposed to be there to talk about their wines didn't get to the event. But some of the instructors at the wine school were present in the crowd, and it would have been a good idea to post one of them at each table. In fact, Rebecca Chapa, formerly of Windows on the World in New York City, did get behind one table and field questions. The scene at the table was not too pleasant: not only was it crowded, but the spitting buckets were next to the wines being poured. That meant that while someone was pouring wine in your glass, someone else was spitting next to you into the bucket. Following the tasting there was a delicious dinner served. Seared scallops in a delicious fondue and fried leek sauce came hot to the table (try doing that at home for 200 guests), followed by lamb chops (very special quality lamb) in a wine reduction sauce, with pearl onions, roasted turnips and squash gnocchi. For dessert there were white chocolate truffles and jellied passion fruit candies-and, of course, some of the Sauternes. Wonderful! Two days later the same wines were presented at Casa Del Mar in Santa Monica. What a difference. White tablecloths. A light, airy room with at least 20 tables, and 3-4 wines on each table. The producers themselves were pouring the wines, and were glad to chat about them. Spitting buckets and water were on separate little round tables away from where the wine was poured. There was no dinner, so the concentration was on the wines. And what about the wines? Many of the white wines, and especially the Sauternes, were excellent. For the reds, the 2001 vintage, following the 2000 vintage that was hyped as one of the best ever, will have a hard time finding buyers. For this reason the prices might be somewhat lower, although the rise of the Euro has trended the prices up, not down as one would hope for a "lesser" vintage. Several of my friends found the Chateau Carbonnieux to be particularly good, and I liked the soft, smooth merlot taste of the Chateau Clarke (one of the Rothschild wines). Bordeaux is an acquired taste; the taste is less forceful and direct than the wines of California, Italy and Australia. To appreciate the wines they need to be aged 3-4 years, and the focus is on the balance of fruit, tannin and acidity. The 2001 Red Bordeaux have this balance, with adequate fruit, and can be consumed now and within the next few years with great pleasure, as an accompaniment to food. Picture of Chefs in training at the Culinary Institute at Greystone:  ADDITIONAL ARTICLES |
A TOUCH OF FRANCE IN HAWAII