bitten
Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teethWhy making wine is like playing golf
“In Pursuit of perfection” – Lexus
No matter how much you have practiced or read about the subject, at the end of the day it is all about having the confidence and mental resolve to chase the ever moving mark of perfection.
Being able to master what nature throws at you using only the implements at hand rings true for both the aspiring golfer and wine maker. You can birdie one hole and the very next hole the wheels can come off completely, without really knowing what you have done differently.
I relate each of the 18 holes with varying degrees of difficulty to the fundamental processes of making and marketing wine.
- The front nine belongs to viticulturalist, vineyard team and wine maker
- Half way house belongs to the harvesting team
- The back nine, belongs to the wine maker and marketing team
- The 19th hole belongs to the owners/shareholders/bank manager
As with golf the end result is a combination of human, technical and natural interventions and each final score tells a story. Some holes will always be more of a success than others but after the score cards have been signed, the winner is generally the person that held it together when the wheels could have come off. Mental toughness and absolute forgiveness goes a long way in ensuring consistency and long term improvement.
I am easily humbled by a great wine or a challenging golf course and often the experience costs the same.
Cheers
ACiD
Uva Mira
Uva Mira Cellar Selection Sauvignon Blanc ‘08.
A great job done by Matthew and his team.
This wine reminds me of a Warwick Professor Black ‘03. So for those of you who prefer a NZ style with upfront peach and pineapple and a lovely clean acidity then this is the wine for you. I suggest that you order it ASAP as I am convinced that Wine Magazine will soon be raving about it as it is a real stunner at R75 a bottle off the farm and R79.20 a bottle from www.ewine.co.za .
As Professor Black is now at about R86.00 a bottle, this Uva Mira is not only better value but also a little more special in my opinion.
Nicole please can you send a bottle of the ‘08 to Gary Vaynerchuk as he needs another go at it.
Cheers
ACiD
Pizza to Pasta
“You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I’m not hungry enough to eat six.”
Yogi Berra
Today in the UK the famous Pizza Hut brand makes history by changing it’s name…. to Pasta Hut.
The change started earlier this year in the US to reflect their new food focus.
And it’s not a permanent change, contrary to the hype that’s been going on. They trademarked the Pasta Hut name to promote their new pasta range, Tuscani.
It was first launched on April 1st in the US this year (always be suspicious of any publicity on April 1st) as an April Fool’s joke to bring attention to their new pasta items, and launched a new website to promote their new pasta items: newpastahut.com.
On January 10, 2008, international restaurant chain Pizza Hut, Inc filed to protect the trademark Pasta Hut in relation to “restaurant services”. This is the company’s first trademark application for this name, as well as the first indication that Pizza Hut is considering opening restaurants using the Pasta Hut brand name.
The change is also to let customers know that they have made “significant changes” to the nutritional content of most of their menu items.
The company launched a salt reduction programme in 2004, when salt levels in some products were reduced by as much as 30%. It has now committed to a 10% reduction over the next three years, aiming to meet the Food Standard Agency’s salt targets for 2010.
Meanwhile, the children’s menu has been changed to include hidden vegetables and a free side salad. All traces of hydrogenated vegetable oils have been removed from the menu, and there is also an ongoing saturated fat removal programme.
Pizza Hut was founded in Wichita, Kansas, in 1958 and opened its first UK franchise in Islington, north London, in 1973.
Wall Street and Wine
The financial world waits with baited breathe, while the US congress debates on how best to solve impending economic crisis. Now even if I were on the congress I too would have voted no on the first count. I would want to see what this negative news would do to the US market, as this would enable me to quantify the real potential loss and compare it to the proposed $700billion required.
In fact I would wait a whole week to see how the markets recovered as only when you stop focusing on one thing are you able to see other things more clearly. Sure the market did drop but there has already been a recovery in Asia and Europe, all be they less exposed to interbank trading than their US counter parts. So by the weekend the US congress will more than likely re-evaluate and propose a new life line which should stabilize the market until the next bear attack.
On the worst trading day in Wall Street history a few stocks actually bucked the trend, Campbell Soup being one of them. When times get tough middle class people will stock pile necessity goods, while the upper and lower class will carry on regardless. They either have nothing too loose or have the financial prowess to overcome most market and political hiccups.
The wine industry has taken this age old norm and developed creative tools ensuring that their revenue streams continue flowing. Many wineries such as Thelema (Mountain Red) and at times de Trafford (Plan B) have a wicked red wine priced between R50-R60 a bottle. They understand that the majority of their customers are starting to feel the pinch and through these wines they should retain at least some brand loyalty. What we must remember is that these wineries have always had premium priced wines in relation to the local industry, so it is only logical for them to enter the market at the middle end.
Most of the local marketing hype is focused on wines targeted at the upper class customer. Here decadence is king and opulence the norm.
This reminds me of a story in the US where one race horse breeder decided to differentiate himself in the market. The breeder gave a competitor, who was also in on the scam, a million USD on the basis that at the next yearling auction he would buy a specific mare for the astronomical price. He got another party to start the bidding war and when the price got to the agreed amount the transaction was concluded as arranged. By giving away one horse in theory the breeder could claim that his mares where worth one million USD and the owner of the new mare could sell the progeny at a similar high price. Not rocket since but once again proving how easy it is to influence the price of luxury items.
As consumers we always have the option whether to buy an item or not. If you find yourself complaining about the exorbitant wine prices in the market don’t take it personally, but that wine was never meant for you in the first place.
The upper echelons of the global wine market respects first pedigree, then rarity, then rating and lastly price.
We have the ability to influence rarity and price, but the market will decide on the rest. It is always more difficult to fill a Broadway show on the second night, if there is one.
Cheers
ACiD
Bridges?
“When one burns one’s bridges, what a very nice fire it makes.”
Dylan Thomas
If revenge really is a dish best served cold, nobody told Gordon Ramsay. This weekend the Scots-born chef is raising the temperature to boiling point as he puts the final garnish on a dish that he has been preparing for 12 months.
“The Kevlar-plated ego on legs” latest media friendly outburst in an interview with The Times has created much buzz in the hospitality industry, especially amongst hotel-restaurant establishments. And especially getting the backs up of The Connaught management. Ramsay has slammed management at the Connaught – which is owned by the same company that runs Claridge’s, Maybourne Group
The York & Albany, in Regent’s Park, promises to be more than just another Ramsay restaurant. Seems it’s his way of getting even with the five-star hotel.
The Connaught parted company with Ramsay and his Michelin-starred right-hand woman, Angela Hartnett, last year. A two-Michelin-star French chef, Hélène Darroze, took her place after negotiations about a new restaurant deal broke down.
Ramsay said such things as: The Connaught management is “anally retentive”; is run by “little shits”; is “lord and lady pompous”; and that its staff “walk around with their heads up their arse”.
To really show he’s serious, Ramsay he has lured James Partridge, the former manager of the stylish Claridge’s in Mayfair, to run the hotel.
He states clearly in the interview that he’s ready for the critics’ views of “sticking to what he knows” and realises it’s going to be a “rough ride”, that they admit they’re new to it but eventually all wrinkles will be ironed out.
They’re even offering things for those who don’t want to eat in the restaurant. There will be tapas in the bar and a deli, for guests and passers-by. You can buy pancetta and puréed white truffle pizzas from the wood-burning oven, snacks, picnics for Regent’s Park and soon Hartnett will use the deli to launch her own food range under the Nonna’s label. Nonna is Italian for grandmother.
The hotel part is is a modern, ten-room townhouse hotel. The prices starting at 180 pounds including free wi-fi, compared to The Connaught’s extravagant 500 pounds certainly sounds more suitable to the pocket. The menu prices aren’t too bad either. Most expensive starter on the á la carte dinner menu is 9 pounds, and you can get a 3 course lunch for 15 pounds.
I think this was the logical “next step” for Ramsay to take. Burning bridges on the way there? I don’t know, but we’ve come to expect no less from him, have we?
Question is, will these three – Ramsay, Hartnett and Partridge – create enough of a success to thumb their noses at their posh former partners?
We’ll just have to wait and see won’t we.
As for burning bridges. I don’t think he cares. He’s building enough of his own.
Chefs
Thomas Keller
Grant Achatz and Thomas Keller
Who are they?
OK, so, Grant used to work for Mr Keller, a very very famous chef in America. Grant, is, in his own right, now also very famous.
Thomas Keller is the chef and owner of two of the most highly regarded restaurants in the United States. The French Laundry - Yountville, California in the Napa Valley (of which I had the honour of staring at the façade and walk around in their veg garden across the road and have my pic taken next to the name out front – yeah sounds bleak doesn’t it, but it’s practically impossible to get in there, nevermind the prices), and Per Se - New York City.
In 2005, he was awarded the highest, three star rating in the inaugural Michelin Guide for New York for Per Se, and in 2006 he was awarded three stars in the inaugural Michelin Guide to the Bay Area for The French Laundry, making him one of only two chefs in the world with two simultaneous three-star restaurants.
Grant Achatz spent four years at The French Laundry, rising to the position of sous chef. He has won a bunch of awards from prominent culinary institutions and publications including the “Rising Star Chef of the Year Award” in 2003 and Best Chef in the United States in 2008 from the James Beard Foundation. He has opened his own restaurant in Chicago – Alinea. He is is considered to be on the cutting edge of the movement often referred to as molecular gastronomy. This article is worth reading.
Anyway.
When these two chefs learned that both their new cookbooks were being published at the same time, they cooked up a brilliant plan. Total gastronomic nirvana. They will be hosting a series of dinners…
Three dinners. Rotating among Alinea, the French Laundry and Per Se.
Of course, Achatz and Keller being who they are, and having the reputations they do. These dinners aren’t going to be your run of the mill “here’s a couple of recipes from my book” menus.
Instead, diners will have a 20 – course evening of culinary magic, with each chef preparing half the menu in alternating courses. The dinners will be held at Per Se on Nov. 11, at Alinea on Dec. 2 and at the French Laundry, Dec. 9. Each meal will be limited to the first 65 people who sign up. Ooooh, limited, don’t us human beans just love that.
You gonna run out and buy your plane ticket?
Well maybe I should tell you that tickets for the dinners cost $1500…per person.
Nope. No jokes.
But hey, that includes matching wine pairings for each course and signed copies of both books!
