A Short History
Posted on July 29, 2010
The Romans sometimes finished their wines in a smoke-filled fumentarium and grew grapes up the side of trees, the Greeks plugged up their amphorae with pitch, and the Egyptians pressed wine in large canvas sheets that they twisted like they were wringing out a towel.
The French developed a taste for wine stored in a barrel and knew that burning sulfur in the barrels helped clean them. Despite the fact that wine was significant in most ancient religions and important in both the Old and New Testament, attempts to restrict and regulate its consumption have been consistent ever since Medieval monks tried to sober up their members.
Wine is now produced seriously in most of the world’s temperate regions and global consumption has continued to grow despite phylloxera, prohibition, and war, to its greatest amount in history.
This is an even more concise history of wine than the one I finished reading recently, Rod Phillips’s A Short History of Wine. The book itself was good. It was easy to read and covered most of the big events in wine history. A lot of the sections were anecdotal, which is what one might expect in a book not called The Entire History of Wine. He connects it together but it’s obvious that he’s leaving a few things out.
The book does better covering the olden days before good records. No one knows what wine tasted like back then, and there was no real discussion of quality beyond good, bad, sweet, dry, old, or young. In modern times wine is subjected much more harshly to recorded criticism. The Greeks and Romans didn’t sit down and write descriptors or scores and they had no scientific measures to speak of, so they probably just enjoyed it more. Viticultural recommendations were simpler—don’t crop it too high, plant it toward the sun, and pick it at the right time—these were the main words of advice of the theorists.
Now we’ve entered an enlightenment in which sophistication thrives well. To understand the transition from monasteries to sommeliers one would have to reach for a different tome. But at IPNC I was asking Thibaud Mandet and Steve Doerner about vine spacing, and Steve said that it used to be the width of a monk’s ass, then changed to the width of a horse’s ass, then changed to the width of a tractor, and each measure works fairly well to make great wine. I have to thank Steve for making sure we don’t get too sophisticated.
Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Did someone say tacos, mango salsa, and Pinot Gris?
Posted on July 6, 2010
Illahe fans everywhere are beginning to write in with their recipes to match
our wines. This recipe for fish tacos comes from Santa Barbara, California
from our esteemed graphic designer, Merry Young, who believes that it was a
perfect match with our pinot gris.
Remember, it takes a lot of beer to pair with great wine.
You’ll probably want to make the salsa and stick it in the fridge before you
start in on the tacos.
*Beer Battered Mahi Mahi *
Canola or olive oil
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (or whole wheat, or a combo)
1/4 cup extra flour for dredging
2/3 cup beer (PBR works well)
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp paprika
pinch of cayenne
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 pound or so of Mahi Mahi (tilapia, flounder, etc.)
In one dish, whisk together 1/2 cup of the flour, beer, egg, baking powder,
salt, pepper and spices. In a separate shallow dish, place remaining 1/4 cup
flour.
Heat enough oil to shallow-fry the fish in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high
heat. There should be enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan, plus a
little more.
Pat dry and season both sides of the fish fillets with salt and black
pepper. First, dredge fish in flour dish, turning to lightly coat both
sides, then shake off excess flour. Second, dunk fish in beer mixture and
turn to coat both sides, let excess drip off.
Add the fish to the hot oil and cook 2 to 3 minutes per side, until cooked
through and opaque. Remove the fish from the oil. Place on a paper towel
lined plate. Cover and let rest a few minutes.
*Mango Salsa*
1 ripe mango, diced or 1 1/2 cups (I use Trader Joe’s frozen mango chunks)
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/2 medium red bell pepper
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon or so chopped fresh cilantro
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Let chill a half or so and stir
before serving.
Corn tortillas are the best, and can be fried quickly in the oil or wrapped
in paper and microwaved, or even steamed if you have such a contraption.
Brad Ford thanks to Merry Young
Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment