Love Is Everywhere At
The Webster House
by Julian Schultz
julian@oxfordwineroom.com
Webster House post-Valentine’s Day wine dinner was…unique! That means it was
one of a kind, rare, unequalled: a wine dinner with six courses subtly infused
with…chocolate! In my 51 years of cavorting with food and wine, this
experience was a first. And…what…a…first!
The wines by association with the food were so delicately finessed by the taste of
the food that if you didn’t know about the chocolate…you wouldn’t know
about the chocolate, as Yogi Bera might say.
Dissent?Nary a squeak of disapproval; instead enthusiastic accolades: “A brave new
world of gourmet dining,” “Shangri-La at the table!” “This chocolate-y
food dinner is a dinner to end all dinners!”
“Who needs to schlep to Boston, who needs to trek to Providence?”
“Imagination, innovation, inspiration, individuality – Webster House’s
Joan St. Denis Clarico is her name.” Similar paeans of praise for the dinner
were voiced throughout the evening.
All 55 of us had romance in our eyes and love in our hearts. Our palates throbbed
with the anticipation romantic chocolate-kissed six food courses and six
especially selected wines for chocolate mating.
At the trial dinner, the tuna and the lamb chop dishes were rejected for being
incompatible with both chocolate and wine.
To plan a wine dinner accented with chocolate and wedded to tannic red wines –
Sirah, Merlot, Pinot Noir -- required a devil-may-care cavalier’s derring-do
-- some of us thought -- derangement! by Webster House’s Chris Liazos. But as
Shakespeare wrote: “All’s Well That Ends Well.” And, indeed, not only did
the dinner end well…it ended sensationally, judging from the enthusiasm of the
food and wine combinations on our palates.
Chris introduced me to Rex Ridgeworth, from Bangor, Maine, a first timer at these
monthly wine dinners. I invited him to join our table. He smiled sadly it
seemed, saying that he had asked Chris to seat him alone.
Responding to my questioning stare, he said: “For years, celebrating Valentine’s Day,
my late wife and I had dinner at different restaurants. I always arranged in
advance for the chefs to prepare a dessert with dark bittersweet chocolate for
her. She loved dark bittersweet chocolate, but she was not a chocoholic –
deferring to her svelte figure…By the way, I know you are a wine writer -- I read you
on the Oxford Wine Room website. And Chris tells me you
used to teach wine appreciation. I, too, am a wine writer; I write twice a month
for the local newspaper. Perhaps we can talk sometime before dessert.”
I agreed, saying I’d enjoy exchanging thoughts on writing about wine for the
public -- some of whom know little, others much, about the eloquent beverage. He
congratulated me on the “eloquent beverage metaphor” (somewhat patronizing,
I thought).
We sat together through the first two courses before he returned to the small table
that was in a corner.
First course: four seared large tender scallops over a salad of mesclun greens with
light shaved white chocolate in a perfecting balsamic reduction. Unique? You bet
it was! This novel taste buds experience evoked spirited, enthusiastic comment
that elevated the decibel level and made casual conversation difficult. Who
cared! We were too busy enjoying the food and wine for idle chitchat.
Elk Grove Pinot Gris 2002, Oregon, $12.79, after O’Hara’s Discount Liquors’
Jim Vasiiiadis’ generous 20 percent discount, accompanied the first course.
(All prices shown are at 20 percent discount.)
Elk Grove Pinot Gris tiptoed shyly to the nose, but became a graceful prima
ballerina on the palate with its fruit of peaches, pineapple, melon; its firm,
clean, crisp accompaniments perfectly balanced wine; smooth swallow and
medium-to-long aftertaste made this rich wine a 125/100 price value. I observed
proffered wine glasses for refills – including mine -- when wait staff of Lynn
Beardsley and Ann Robert, assisted by Jim Vasiliadis and Chris Liazos extended
the wine bottles to us.
Second course: Mexican beef soup – deliciously thick as a stew – consisting of
thick cubes of tender beef, orange zest, fresh cumin, chili powder, diced tomato
and smiling chocolate danced a spirited tarantella with Whitehall Lane Merlot.
WhiteHall Lane Merlot 2000, $19.99: soft nose, but a palate-full of plums, cherries,
berries with toasty oak; finished with balanced fruit acids, firm tannins and
smooth texture; moderate to long aftertaste. Despite price, a 100/100 price
value.
Rex: “Well, Julian, we certainly have one facet about writing in common: We both
rate wines by price value -- not by numbers, alphabet, stars, asterisks, or
whatever.
“Obviously, we can’t all agree on which wine is better than another, or worth more, but
that doesn’t change the premise that choosing the best wine for the price is
the way wine should be bought, or recommended by us wine writers. This is no
less true for the casual customer than for the professional. The idea is to get
the most value for your money. I refuse to buy well-made wines that are just too
expensive for its quality.
“You once illustrated this idea in a wine column; it went something like this: A man
spread his arms far apart, holding up two bottles of wine. He said, ‘This is
the difference in price between these two bottles.’ He brought his arms close
together, saying: ‘and this is the difference in quality. It costs a lot less
to get very little less in quality.’ ”
Third course: coconut battered gargantuan-size shrimp in a white chocolate liqueur
with a kiss of orange juice, augmented with steamed vegetables and brown rice
pilaf, was escorted by sweet white wine Schneider “Niersteiner Hipping”
Auslese 2002, $14.39 – bunches of very ripe grapes, late picked, and
beautifully rich with lush, fruit-acids and exquisitely balanced. I noted immediately a stone fruits variety, especially peaches, and a
smack of ginger, flowing over my taste buds. Price value: 150/100.
Wine and shrimp were perfection! Outstanding! I mused, however, about the wine’s
being positioned in mid-dinner, between two reds – the Shiraz yet to follow.
Later with my initial taste of the big Shiraz, I immediately went to water and
chewy bread to neutralize my palate. Then all was well with the world…and my
palate.
When Dr. Bob Ouellette, now bathing in sunny Florida, reported to me about the trial
dinner at which, unfortunately, I was absent, he said the shrimp course, the
Mexican beef stew and the veal pleased him most.
Fourth course: cocoa-coffee-crusted spiced chicken with tomato, avocado, and chocolate
chips salsa. In one word: De…licious!
Kirralaa Shiraz 2002, $11.99, a jolting abrupt change from the diametrically opposite
sweet Auslese, was right on target with the spiced chicken. A Rosemount/Robert
Mondavi enterprise, the Shiraz disclosed big fruit and balancing assertive
tannin. “Too young, needs time,” I wrote. Upon reflection, I further noted,
“Should never have followed the Auslese!” A better wine than what it showed,
still price-valued 115/100. I would like to taste it again it in a different
food menu context.
An, “Oh, wow!” course: seared veal with brown meat-based sauce, given pizzazz
with delectable chocolate and Meyer dark rum infusion, completed with duchesse
potato and steamed tender, tiny broccolini.
The Whitehorse Pinot Noir 2000, $17.59, married well with its cherries/berries spicy
fruit, easy fruit acids and tannin balance; not a Burgundy pinot noir, but OK
enough for a West Coast version. 100/100 price value. To nit pick: I would have
preferred the Pinot Noir instead of the Shiraz with the chicken and the Shiraz
substituted with the veal.
Chocoholics were in heaven with the dessert course: platter filling variety of chocolate
petit fours truffles from Prifti Candies, chocolate manufactures and retailers,
located on Green St., Worcester. Even I, who never eat candy, ashamedly
succumbed to seconds, thirds, fourths…..Nick Prifti reminded me how I used to
buy dark chocolate pecan bark for my late and beloved Lillian.
Accompanying wine: Domaine La Tour Vieille (Banyul) 2001, $15.99, 500 mg. bottle…and worth
every cent. Truly a magnificent
complex dessert wine from Banyuls, France, its fermentation stopped at about a
sweet 8 percent, infused with brandy from its own grapes leaving about 15.5
percent alcohol, was not overly sweet; its fruit was reminiscent of prunes,
raisins, and chocolate.
Len Presutti, corporate wine educator of Martignetti Companies, and wine host,
referred to the wine as, “The best wine in the world with chocolate.” Amen.
Our table consisted of Debbie Zachariewicz, professional chef; her mother Linda, my
caregiver, shopper, cook, and chief worrier about me – next to Dr. Bob; Cheryl
Orrico, manager of the Worcester Chapter of Elks; Buzzie Martin, a carefree wine
connoisseur; and Adele Wheeler of Dudley, an ingratiating and blushing sweet
connoisseur of good food. All of us praised the dinner as the best one ever, as
did other guests; a happy departure from commonplace dining, albeit fine wine
dinners at the Webster House and other fine restaurants.
As the fifth course wine was being poured, Rex caught my eye and beckoned to me. I
joined him.
“You must find it odd that I prefer to sit alone,” he said. “I just feel that I
would be disloyal to Clarissa’s memory if I didn’t confine my thoughts
entirely to her at this particular dinner on Valentine’s Day.…You know,
Julian, she was some kind of beauty. She had a mouth like a pomegranate of red,
cut in twain with a knife of ivory, and an idyllic face of lily beauty with
sparkling eyes of cloudless blue.”
I replied: “Happy are you, and you alone; you who can call this dinner – yours
and hers -- your own; you who secure within yourself can say: ‘Fortune do your
worst for I have lived today; be fair, or foul, or rain, or shine; the joys that
I have known in spite of fate are mine alone; not heaven itself upon the past
has power…for what has been has been…and I have had my hour.’ ”
Rex, nodded: “You would know; you have been through it, Chris says.”
We chatted over the veal course, discussing writing and annoying copy editors. I
told him about my beloved Lillian: She had been an editor in high school and
college – school newspapers, yearbooks and creative writing publications --
and had been my editor, but she was never annoying.”
Rex smiled: Yes, you write frivolously Julian. Usually, your columns make me
laugh.”
I was slightly annoyed: “Well, I may write frivolously, but I don’t
live frivolously – quite to the contrary. My personality in my writing is a
persona, sort of an alter ego; I am really a conservative and private person.
Anyway, this was her advice to me on writing:
“No dangling participles! They must
relate to the subject that follows…
“Keep your sentences short to ensure
comprehension and to prevent readers’ impatience…
“Above all: clarity, clarity, clarity.
If the sentence is awkward or vague, revise, revise, revise. Don’t force it.
Break it into two sentences
“Don’t try to impress readers with
long words, or words they may not understand. You are seeking to communicate. If
readers don’t understand, you aren’t communicating…
“If you -- with your extensive
vocabulary – need to look up a definition of an uncommon word -- don’t use
it! Keep your writing comprehensible by keeping it simple…
“Be conscious of redundancies…weak
modifiers…superfluous beginnings…hedging words… time and sequence
words…non-essentials…overwriting -- think about cutting to shorten…don’t
over-punctuate – it stops the reader.” She made me sit down, pay attention
as she explained, and convince her that I understood…
“Revise, and after you have revised,
revise again and perhaps revise one more time. Then let me see it!!!!!!!” She
never took anything for granted…
“What you think you wrote isn’t
always what you wrote. So reread carefully…
“The word you see as you reread
isn’t always there. So reread your sentences slowly and carefully…
“And for heaven’s sale, dear,
don’t be pretentious or pompous and don’t try to be cute. That doesn’t
mean, however, your writing shouldn’t be colorful, and original and unique and
an expression of your personality…
“It’s OK
to take little liberties with facts, or with events, to tell the truth better or
more interestingly…
Be conscious of rhythm and cadence.
Your words should flow gracefully, not stop, stutter and start.”
When I returned home from the dinner, I read the e-mail from Dr. Bob Ouellette, loyal
friend: “I wasn’t there looking over your shoulder to make sure you
weren’t over eating and over drinking…because I wouldn’t let you. I am
anxious to read your report on the dinner.”
I e-mailed back: “Your advice comes too late. I ate everything and drank
everything completely, even refills of some wines. Couldn’t – nor did I want
to – resist. Now I am miserable about my lack of discipline and am wallowing
in regret.”
Dr. Bob’s e-mail came today. I won’t repeat what he said.
Kudos: Joan St. Denis Clarico, chef; John Hammerstrom, sous chef; waitstaff, Lynn
Beardsley and Ann Robert; Len Presutti and O’Hara’s wine purveyor Jim
Vasiliadis; and owner/mine host, the inimitable Chris Liazos.
Next wine dinner: Spanish wines and food, Wednesday, March 24, 6 p.m. Avoid being
refused seating because of late reservation. Reserve now: 508-757-7208. See you
there.
Wine Pick: Montevina Zinfandel Sierra Foothills 2001, around $11. A charming,
delicate, kinder, gentler zin. The tannins are soft and the zin is easily
approachable: a zin for newcomers to wine and for connoisseurs who prefer
something with plenty of sweet cherry fruit, lower alcohol and a gentler
structure. Enthusiastically recommended with lighter fare.
Wine Pick: R.H. Phillips Toasted Head Chardonnay 2002, around $17. This beauty has
everything going for it: apples, varied citrus aromas and flavors, hints of
cinnamon and clove spices. Back taste of pears, light oak, vanilla and caramel
lead to a smooth finish and delicious aftertaste.
Email Comments to Julian at:
julian@oxfordwineroom.com