by Julian Schultz
julian@oxfordwineroom.com
It was an evening of graciousness. It was an evening of elegance. It was an evening of camaraderie.
Corks were popped! Shellfish was ravished!
Restaurant was festive! Dr. Bob Ouellette became orator!
And once again, Webster House owner/mine host Chris Liazos presented a
socko/bravo wine dinner that elicited enthusiastic and sustained applause from
the sold out house of 55 gourmet/palateers.
Table-hopping, as I am wont to do because I am a busybody, I learned that an all-sparkling wine dinner was a “first” for most guests. And most of them said that they were thrilled with it beyond their imaginations and anticipations. They added that not only were the shellfish preparations deliciously different and the flavor-variety among the five sparkling wines exciting, but that the good doctor Bob Ouellette interestingly enlightened them about the differences among the bubblies that he had selected for the dinner, his drawing on his wide knowledge of sparkling wine.
When some bemoaned that they hadn’t come prepared to record Dr. Bob’s remarks, I got his notes on which I will elaborate…elaborately, as I am unfortunately so disposed.
Reception
sparkler was Prosecco di Valdobbiadene from Italy, a blend of pinot bianco and
pinot grigio grapes. Formerly it was made soft and sweet, Dr. Bob said, but it
is now dry and is more fruited than France’s Champagne; its second
fermentation is made by the simpler, least expensive Charmat tank method as
opposed to the expensive labor intensive Methode Champenoise in-this-bottle
second fermentation process. My notes: “colorless, simple, easy-to-sip wine;
dry with balanced sweet-edged fruit and floral accent; dancing effervescence,
consistent sparkle, crisp, not yeasty; smooth pleasant swallow.” Good value
and price positive at $9.59, after 4-bottle purchase (mix or match with other
wines) at O’Haras Wines & Liquors, 402 W. Boylston St., 508-853-1919.
Speaking of “good value and
price positive,” we tasted (correction from dinner menu here) a superb Segura
Viudas Cava Brut Reserva Heredad, Spain, $13.99, and a not at all shabby rosé
bubbly from France for $$9.59. Yes, we also enjoyed a more expensive Perrier
Brut Cuvee Royale from France’s Champagne region ($22.99) and a frisky fizzy
from California: Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs from California ($21.59).
Eager now to enjoy bubbly with friends? Let’s discuss important facts you should know. First is how to remove the cork properly from the highly pressurized wine to prevent broken lights, sprayed ceilings, or visits to the ophthalmologist.
It is estimated that a
flying cork leaves the bottle at more than 60 mph. The Guiness Book of
Records reports that the world’s distance record for cork popping was a
blast of 94 feet 6½ inches. So always point the bottle away from people, unless
they are Osama Ben Laden or Saddam Hussein -- and then fire away!
Place a napkin or towel over the bottle to prevent unplanned cork departures. Unwind and remove the wire hood. Grasp the cork (still covered with a napkin) in one hand and the bottle in the other. Tilt the bottle away from you and others at a 45-degree angle; while holding it close to your body, twist the bottle – not the cork. Keep a firm grip on the cork with the thumb and let it ease out.
You
won’t get the loud euphoria inducing popping sound, but neither will you lose
bubbles or hose down your friends. Maintain the bottle at the 45-degree angle
for about 10 seconds and watch the flume drift out, curling like a genie from
the bottle. To turn the bottle upright too soon is to invite a geyser of
spurting wine and a wet rug.
Labels of sparkling wines made from 100 percent chardonnay grapes read “Blanc de Blancs” (white wine from white grapes). Such wines are generally crisp, light, delicate, and fruited and should be drunk young.
Bubblies
that are made from pinot noir grapes are full-bodied, usually complex and show
big fruit in the bouquet and flavor. Their labels will read “Blanc de Noirs”
(white wine from black grapes). These wines improve with age.
The popular, medium-bodied sparkling wine is the classic blend of two-thirds pinot noir (a little pinot meunier may be added, Dr. Bob said) and one-third chardonnay. This style embodies the best attributes of the aforementioned two methods.
Is the sparkling wine properly refrigerated? The best way to cool down the bubbly is to immerse the bottle in an ice bucket filled with ice cubes and -- as Dr. Bob emphasized – water…. water is a must. Within 30 minutes the temperature will be at an ideal 45 degrees. In a refrigerator, the wine will take about 90 minutes to chill thoroughly; if not removed after several hours it may get too cold, repressing the froth and masking the wine’s aroma and flavor.
If the champagne is too warm when opened, be careful. You’ll release a fountain; possibly the cork will rocket from the bottle before you are prepared. To ensure that the wine at the top of the bottle is chilled, place the bottle upside down in the ice bucket for about 10 minutes.
Dr. Bob discussed the
need for proper sparkling wine glasses: tall, narrow glasses – flute or
tulip shaped, such as we had this evening – to contain and preserve the
wine’s bubbles and bouquet at the narrow lip. He was too modestly shy to
explain the common traditional saucer-shaped coupé glass that came into
prominence because of Marie Antoinette. But modest and shy, I’m not…fearless
and irreverent, I am:
Marie Antoinette decided to
drink champagne from a glass formed in the shape of her breast, borrowing from a
tradition dating back to Helen of Troy when milk was served from containers in
the shape of her breast. The coupé glass isn’t satisfactory for sparkling
wine: It permits bubbles, froth, and aroma to escape too soon because of its
wide opening.
And we, too, at the Webster
House replicated the ambience that surrounds the drinking of sparkling wine: As
it flowed, creaming, sparkling, and foaming into our glasses, everyone’s mood
seemed to soar. Dr. Bob’s smile brightened broadly, Chris was chuckling and
laughing as he visited the tables, the bearded silky-voiced guy at the adjoining
table was urging the sweet young thing to view his etchings after midnight;
ripples of wit, laughter and merriment were in harmony with the wine’s
winking, twinkling bubbles; uninhibited tasters clinking their glasses with
increasing gusto resounded at the exuberant tables.
Well, back to the dinner. Appetizer course of large crab cake, thinly crusted, delicately seasoned and presented with warm Newburg sauce and contrasting cool Spanish horseradish sauce made with herbs and spices, was paired with the Segura Viudas Brut Reserva Heredad from Spain, $13.99, which was highly popular with the eye-glowing, face-flushed sippers.
A word about
“natural,” “brut,“ or “dry” that appear on labels of
sparkling wines -- what they mean and why: Natural has no discernible sweetness
– 0 to ½ percent. Brut has very little sweetness – perhaps ½ to 1½
percent. Brut of different shippers will vary in sweetness within that range,
which is why some bruts taste sweeter than others. Bubbly with about 3 percent
sweetness is labeled “dry,” which, yes, means…sweet! “Doux” is even
sweeter, lacking elegance and undeserving of consideration.
Why sparkling wine labeled
“dry” is not dry, as we understand dry! Blame it on English wine dilettantes
about 175 years ago, who, although preferring their Champagne sweet, wished to
emulate wine sophisticates who were drinking their wine dry. They insisted their
Champagne likewise be made dry.
The astute merchants knowing
their customers’ tastes continued to make the Champagne sweet but labeled it
as “dry.” The wine dabblers were satisfied. They had it both ways: Their
wine tasted sweet and was labeled “dry.”
It followed that the Champagne intelligentsia renamed their wine “brut.” Later, when the Champagne ignoramuses caught up with brut, the connoisseurs’ wine was made drier and was designated “natural.” I don’t know what happened when the wine wimps caught up to natural…if they did.
Enough lecturing, so back to the dinner and my notes on the Spanish Heredad Reserva: “delicate and fresh with fine fruit of grapes and apples; crisp acidity nicely fruit-balanced; firm; lingering aftertaste; more assertive than the Prosecco.” Some tasters detected subtlety of nuts and yeast – I didn’t.
Well received was the pleasing interlude of New England clam chowder exquisitely prepared with chopped clams, cubed potatoes, and arrestingly seasoned with smack of tarragon. Delicious!
Serious eating began with the first course of fork-cutting-tender seared scallops moussaka on grilled eggplant, layered with whipped fish roe, olive oil, and white wine, topped with fresh tomato salsa. What was there not the love here? Answer: Nothing! Exquisite! Unless you tasted with a wooden palate. I would have settled on another serving and sacrificed the piece de resistance, the inimitable Webster House lobster. (Glad I didn’t.)
Jos. Perrier Brut Cuvée
Royale from France, $22.99, proved to be perfect partner to the scallops
moussaka with its complexity of green grape, red berry, and sweet apple flavors;
balanced with taste of nuts, fresh bread dough, crisp acidity, and assertive
zesty effervescent texture. In all likelihood, a blend of pinot noir, pinot
meunier, and chardonnay. …Ah, good indeed was life this evening, surcease –
if only temporarily -- from the pall of care.
Came now the eagerly
anticipated main course: Maine lobster, baked and stuffed with shrimp, haddock
and scallops in a sauce of fish varieties, fish stock and Johannisberg Riesling,
smothered with a generous goo of Swiss cheese sauce, and accompanied by a medley
of fresh vegetables. It was belly-bustin’ time! All but black belt trenchermen
among us had to inwardly cry – some vocally, “Hold, enough!”
I managed to consume with delight, the palate delectable, belly filling lobster, but added my vegetables variety to the take home container of my caregiver, food shopper, cook, household factotum Linda Zachariewicz.
Sipping
the consorting Schramsburg Blanc de Blanc California sparkling wine, $21.59,
with the lobster, I imagined my being transported to Mt. Olympus where I would
suffer the gods with envy, describing how we dined more sumptuously than they
do. So I neglected to make notes on the wine. Fortunately, Dr. Bob’s notes
rescue me: “rich, creamy, refined; fruit complexity with beautiful aromas and
tastes of freshly baked apple pies and loaves of bread from the oven. No
second-class sparkling wine is this.”
Surprisingly, I heard no groans as waitstaff of Webster House’s service staff chief Paul Woupio, Holy Cross College’s Philip Colvin, and Clark University’s sweet and lovely, gracious and graceful, bright-eyed and smiling Jen Smetana – hey, where am I? Oh yes, they served dessert of rhapsody in blueberry, a blueberry compote of fresh large berries, light puff pastry, sweet whipped cream, and fried won ton sticks. “And to hell with the diet!” exclaimed table guest Debbie Zachariewicz – herself a professional chef – as she fell to upon the dessert, her eyes dancing with delight.
Yes, Dr. Bob
demonstrated that with the proper wine a sweet dessert can be blissfully wed. He
selected for pairing Perle d’Aurore Rosé de Saignee from France, $9.59. The
combination was a right-on-target bulls eye. I observed proffered tulip glasses
being extended to the waitstaff, which were promptly filled and promptly
drained…and promptly filled and promptly…….
Thus ended another Webster House successful evening of gourmet dining with imaginative and innovative food preparation. Chefs Jim Lemoine and Frank Quartarone acknowledged our congratulations and prolonged applause and fielded questions from the guests. Chef Tom Couillard, absent, aided in the planning and preparation of the dinner, and Helena Liazos, Chris’s boss, prepared the delicious dessert of rhapsody in blueberry, which was music to our taste buds, but modestly refrained from taking a bow.
Wine Pick: Rancho Zabaco Reserve Pinot Gris 2002, $20. Super all-seasons wine with aromas of spice, peach, orange peel, and floral nuances; rich and full on the palate with flavors of mango, fig, pear, and green apples; a superb spicy lively wine with breadth, depth, and power. Enjoy artistry in winemaking here.
Wine Pick: Bonny Doon Ca’ del Solo Malvasia Bianca 2002, $13. Aromatically intense with aromas of litchi, elderflower and gooseberry that transfer to the palate with added crisp acidity and hint of residual sweetness; a delicious wine with soft texture, smooth swallow, and long pleasing aftertaste. Great price value.
Wine Pick: Terra d’Oro Zinfandel Deaver Old Vines 2000, $24. Powerful, big wine – 15.9 percent alcohol -- with assertive ripe jammy plum, clove, allspice, sweet wood, and black pepper in nose and on palate. Rich, flavor filled finish with firm tannins and balancing fruit acids. This gem is a keeper, drinkable now and after 10 to 15 years.
Wine Pick: Wolffer Estate Long Island La Ferme Martin Chardonnay 2001, $13.50. Handcrafted chard in European winemaking style with fresh and lively pronounced fruit of apples, pineapple and lemon; some tasters discerned butterscotch, grass, vanilla; others found flavors of nuts, toast and wood. Everyone extolled the wine and lauded the $13.50 price quality value.
Email Comments to Julian at:
julian@oxfordwineroom.com