Flight Savor Fare

If you read my blog, and obviously you do because you’re reading this, then you know how often I quote the Wall Street Journal wine columnists John Brecher and Dorothy Gaiter. The husband and wife team have written entertaining and easy to read columns for the WSJ for 12 years. They say (who is “they?” read it for yourself here) the columnists actually made decent salaries; something rare in journalism today. They blame it on the internet’s free information.

Let’s hope Dot and John resurface soon.

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In “Value From the Vine” in the December issue of Bold Life, Keith Dalbec interviews Nan (and other local experts) about good, inexpensive wines.

Nan said she loves Rhone reds and odd blends such as some of the Rhone-style Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre wines from California’s Rhone Rangers in Paso Robles. She is crazy about Oregon Pinot Noir, but her recession retreat wines would be Shiraz from Jacob’s Creek in Australia or anything from Chateau Ste. Michelle in Washington State. A Zinfandel under $15 from California such as Cline or Windmill would also make her happy.

Check out the entire article in Bold Life here.

Wine Spectator Top 100 2009 Wines came out recently.

Merry Edwards Sauvignon Blanc is #9 with 96 points!

We also have these on the list:

#19 Landmark Steel Plow Syrah 94 points#32 Colome Malbec 92 points
#47 Orin Swift The Prisoner 92 points
#69 Catena Malbec 91 points
#77 Gloria Ferrer Brut 90 points
#82 D’Arenburg The Stump Jump 90 points

How about a top 100 wine dinner? Let us hear from you if you like this idea.

Peppermint Martini

Ingredients

* 2 1/2 ounces vodka
* 1 ounces of white crème de menthe
* 1/4 ounce of peppermint schnapps
* Mini candy canes for garnish

Gingerbread Martini

* 1 part Vodka or Vanilla Vodka
* 1 part Gingerbread Liqueur
* ½ part Kahlua®
* 1 part Half & Half

Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a crushed graham cracker rim.

Cosmopolitan

Everyone has this recipe.

4th and Main – the Classic
Ditto

Where have all the bitters gone? Angostura bitters, that is. A crucial ingredient in some cocktails and there is none to be had in all of North Carolina nor the upstate of South Carolina.

Check your liquor cabinet — if you have any extra, let me know! Apparently, bitters is the new gold in our world.
The people who manufacture the bitters think it’s amazing too! Check out this quote.

“Angostura ® aromatic bitters is an essential bar ingredient. The mere presence of Angostura ® aromatic bitters is an indication of sophistication. There would hardly be a top quality bar or restaurant with any pretension to style anywhere in the world that would not have a bottle of Angostura ® aromatic bitters on its shelf.

What more can I say? I have to find some fast!

Global Surplus of Delicious Wines = Drink Well for Less

The Wine Spectator, October 15 issue, lists 500 great buys in wine right now. Some are grocery store wines (Barefoot, Little Penguin), some are boxed wines which according to WS, are getting better and better and some you can get by the case from Flight. (828-694-1030).

Reds- 90 points and higher

Peter Lehmann – Shiraz Barossa 2006. 91 $16

Yalumba – Grenache Barossa Bush Vine 2008 90 $17

White – 90 points and higher

Villa Maria, Riesling Marlborough Private Bin 2008 91 $18

Beaulieu Vineyard, Chardonnay Napa Valley Carneros 2007 90 $17

Chateau St. Michelle is Washington State’s values powerhouse for both red and white wines, according to WS.

Jill, a Flight bartender, dresses the part of a dry martini

The street was filled with pumpkins, goblins and martinis.  The deejay rocked and the little girls sang while the little boys danced although some could barely walk.

Pirates, and pumpkins and goblins

Flight's patrons enjoyed watching the little monsters.

November Cocktails

Cran-Peartini

2 anjou pear slices

juice of ½ lime

1 oz cranberry juice

1 ½ oz citrus vodka

½ oz triple sec

3 cranberries on cocktail pick for garnish

In mixing glass, muddle pear slices, lime juice and cranberry juice. Add vodka and triple sec. Add ice to tin. Shake well. Double strain into glass, using the strainer over the shaker while pouring contents thru a sieve placed over the glass.

The Toasted Almond

A relaxing sippers with a nice almond-coffee flavoring and are really nice on chilly fall evenings by the fire.
Ingredients:

* 1 oz vodka
* 1 oz coffee liqueur
* 1 oz Amaretto
* milk or cream

Preparation:
Build the vodka and liqueurs in an old-fashioned glass filled with ice.
Fill with milk or cream. Shake by placing a mixing tin over the glass and giving it one or two good shakes.

The Winter Cocktail

is a classic recipe from the first part of the 1900′s that would use ginger brandy, which is relatively scarce now, but the new Canton ginger liqueur is a perfect substitute and if you cannot find pimento dram another allspice liqueur will do. The Winter Cocktail is a wonderfully warming drink that is one of those gems lost to time but worth the reintroduction.

Ingredients:

* 2 oz rum
* juice of 1/2 lime or lemon
* 1 tsp sugar
* 1 tsp ginger liqueur (Canton)
* 1 tsp pimento dram
* 2 dashes Angostura aromatic bitters

Preparation:

Pour the rum, juice, sugar and liqueurs into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well. Strain into a cocktail glass. Add dashes of bitters on top.

Thanks to cocktails.about.com for these recipes.

I’m always quoting Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher, wine columnists for the Wall St. Journal, because they are so readable and their advice so on target. Recently, they printed a letter they received from Nathaniel Haines, a student at UNC-Chapel Hill. Nathaniel wanted to know how to shop for decent wines on a college kid’s budget. Here’s what they told him, more or less:

Find a good wine shop, set a budget of $120 for a case. (We’ve had four children at Chapel Hill, one is still there and $120 for a case of wine made my eyebrows go through the ceiling, but I digress) That averages $10 a bottle (and should last them a semester, no?). It’s cost effective though — you’ll likely get a case discount and you will have better wine than if you rushed out to by a bottle at the last minute.
Taste and take notes! Make certain to get all the information like vintage year as wines can vary greatly by year. Sip and enjoy!