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LOU on Vine: Gastronomic Culture both Foreign and Domestic

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LOU on Vine: Gastronomic Culture both Foreign and Domestic
Lou loves 3 Liter Batič.


One of our early supporters, Lou Amdur of LOU on Vine has always been one of my favorite people to work with. His love of wine and food extends far beyond his sensitive nose, palate. Tasting with Lou is more history, science, farming and people than strawberries and tannins. As a space LOU is intimate, slightly psychedelic and smells good, it attracts a whole host of interesting food and wine affiliated individuals oftentimes to dine and sometimes to host events. Coincidentally “A Feast for Ed Behr” editor of “The Art of Eating” was to be held the same day as our follow up tasting of all of the Croatian samples from our trip this summer with our partners Empty Glass. All of us really wanted to go to the Ed Behr dinner; the guy is kind of a legend. Thankfully Lou offered to let us hold the tasting there before hand so that we could.

In 3 hours we tasted 60 wines that ranged from international varietals produced in a global style to obscurities like the white grape Gegic. Lou tasted most everything and at the same time readied the restaurant for the dinner, wrote feverishly on his laptop and make astute observations of the wines. Part of what makes Lou a great taster is his openness. He does not prejudge. After looking very serious and saying little during an expansive line up of concentrated Plavc Mali we asked what he thought of them. He liked the way the slightly off dry quality in some balanced their rustic charms. This was music to my ears. The powerfully flavored Plavac grown on the ocean vineyards of Peljesac have long been tempered by a gentle sweetness. Dry examples can be found and they have their place but with Croatia so eager to reach out to the world if we (importers and buyers) fail to embrace the typical styles, run the risk of homogenizing what is unique and indigenous. Thankfully Lou is a junkie for the indigenous.

Dinner started with a refreshing intermezzo of sparkling unfiltered Cabernet Franc (the aperitif for the rest of the crowd). Some of our favorite people from the trade were also in attendance as enthusiastic guests, Mike Green from Woodland Hills Wine Company, wine PR consultant Dan Fredman, and French wine importer Charles Neal to name a few. It is rare to see such a crowed at a public event. Would be dinners take note – LOU is the choice of some discriminating folks. Before the simple delicious creations of chef DJ and Lou’s subtle pairings started rolling out Ed Behr spoke. A gentle but curious personality with palpable energy, he painted a truncated (his own word), but beautiful world of food and place and how they have shaped his life. What was clear was that he loved food and was in a room full of people who also loved food the mood was electric.

Where else other than LA can one find a place like LOU. None come to mind. Culture is hard to identify, it is a moving target but between the locally sourced food, far reaching selection of wines, thoughtfully informed guests and industry professionals dinning together, sharing food, wine and ideas, culture could be felt. In a dingy strip mall on Vine near Melrose in Hollywood, USA culture flourishes.

Thank you LOU


The New Wave of Blue Danube Wines

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The New Wave of Blue Danube Wines
The long run of the Danube River from the Black Forest to the Black Sea.


It is with pride and pleasure that we invite the trade and media to join us at our special upcoming tasting events. We will be introducing the latest arrivals from Hungary and Croatia. Our hosts, A Cote, Da Flora and Mignon, will be serving appetizers inspired from their travels along the road from Budapest to Venice. This is our best selection from Hungary ever and the U.S. Premiere of most of the wines:

* First organic vintage of the popular Pfneiszl Kekfrankos.

* First U.S. showing of the fiery Kadarka from up-and-coming estate Eszterbauer.

* Vylyan’s Pinot Noir, considered the best Hungarian PN to date (Caroline Gilby MW).

* New vintages from red wine super star Attila Gere: Portugieser, KOPAR, SOLUS.

* Sweet and dry premium Tokaji wines from top estate Patricius.

* First arrival of beautiful Tokaji wines by artisanal wine maker Judit Bott as featured in the recent NY Times article on Tokaj–Hidden in Hungary,Treasures on the Vine.

From Croatia we will introduce our first red Teran, delve deep into the story of Malvasia and share super premium wines from one of the most ambitious new projects in Croatia:

* Naturally made Malvasia and Teran from the young Istrian estate Piquentum.

* Two Malvasias made in different styles by leading wine maker Matosevic.

* A rare wine made from almost extinct grape Malvasia Dubrovnik by Karaman.

* The new ABC of wines from well known Bibich winery in Dalmatia: B5, B6, G6.

* And if the shipping stars align: the Premiere of a Dingac and Nevina from cult wine producer Saints Hills.

We know you are very busy, but these wines should be on your lists and shelves for this Holiday Season. We are hosting three events you can choose from:

* Tuesday Nov. 30 | A Cote | 5478 College Avenue, Oakland | 1 – 4pm

* Tuesday Nov. 30 | Mignon | 128 E Sixth Street | Los Angeles | 1 – 4pm

* Wednesday Dec. 1st | Da Flora | 701 Columbus Ave | San Francisco | 1 – 4pm

Please R.S.V.P. (650) 941-4699 or frank@bluedanubewine.com – trade and media only

Contact us if you are unable to join us. We will be happy to schedule a tasting appointment with you.

Cheers and see you soon,

All of us at Blue Danube Wine Company

Batič & Kabaj visiting NYC, PHX, LA & SF

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Batič & Kabaj visiting NYC, PHX, LA & SF
Jean-Michel and Tomo of Kabaj – Miha Batič.


We are pleased to announce the visit of two Slovenian wine makers in California in May: Miha Batič represents a pioneering organic estate in Vipava Valley. Jean-Michel Morel and Tomo Čeh come from Kabaj in Goriška Brda. Kabaj is reknowned for their unique Amphora and long maceration wines. Meet them at one of the many events we are planning. You can read the full schedule on the new community site Slovenes in USA.

Please welcome Jean Michel of Kabaj when he makes his 1st step into an American Wine Bar: Terroir NY Tribeca, Thursday, May 12, 1-4pm. Jean will pour a selection of his finest wines for trade & media. R.S.V.P. required. On his trip from New York to Los Angeles Kabaj will meet and work with two James Beard Award nominees: The first is Chairman Paul Grieco of Terroir NY who was nominated for Excellence in Wine Service. We are very happy that Paul graciously agreed to host Kabaj for his first ever tasting in the United States at his renowned wine bar in Tribeca.

terroir
The trade mark logo of Terroir NY.

It is an honor that the first wine dinner featuring the wines of Slovenian breakout Kabaj will take place at LA’s iconic AOC. Paired with the cuisine of 2010 James Beard Award Nominee Suzanne Goin by the chef herself, this is a once only experience. The combination of Kabaj and AOC is deeper than great wine and great food.

aoc
AOC Wine Bar and Restaurant.

The kitchen that French vigneron Jean Michel Morel and his wife Katja maintain at the Kabaj estate in Western Slovenia has a decidedly Provencal touch thanks to Jean’s French roots. This elegant meal represents nothing less than a meeting of masters is also a cross cultural dialogue. The comprehensive line up of Kabaj wines will include 2 vintages of the estates benchmark “Amfora”. This is sure to be one of the finest dinners we have yet been a part of. Please join us as we toast to them both this Monday, May 16th at 7pm at AOC. Please see the menu here.

Watch a short & sweet video about Kabaj.

Kabaj Tasting at Terroir, NYC

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Kabaj Tasting at Terroir, NYC
Jean-Michel Morel, proprietor and wine maker at Kabaj.


“Taste it with your eyes closed,” says Jean Michel Morel as I swirl his Amfora 2006 in my glass.

We are at the Kabaj tasting for trade and press, held Thursday at the restaurant Terroir in Tribeca, NYC. Jean Michel and Kabaj’s sales manager, Tomo Ceh, were there to pour eight wines made in the hills of Goriska Brda hard against Slovenia’s border with Italy.

I closed my eyes and tasted the light amber wine in my glass. The aroma was rich, of honey and sweet pollen. The wine was smooth, with ample body and a lactic topnote, like the smell of a great cheese shop, as well as a noticeable oxidation which, with the healthy acidity and slight tannin of the wine, gave its body rigor. Beneath was an elusive floral quality and light smoke. If I hadn’t known this wine was white, with my eyes closed I might have assumed it was a red with a little age on it—and that was Jean Michel’s point.

terroir
The truth about Amfora.

“It’s red wine—only the color is white,” he says. The 2006 is the middle vintage of three white blends he is pouring that are made in Georgian clay amphoras buried in the ground following a 7,000-year-old method. Amfora is made from the indigenous Rebula (Ribolla Gialla), Sauvignonasse (Tocai Friulano), and Malvasia Istriana. The maceration and fermentation of these whites is ten months long, extracting tannins, deep color, and the flavors of wild yeast while intensifying further through the loss of 20% of the wine through evaporation.

Kabaj’s non-amphora wines are also intense. Winemaking in this area of western Slovenia is characterized by long maceration for concentration and structure. Many who taste the wines may recognize the grapes from their knowledge of the Italian wines of Collio, but most don’t realize that Collio and Brda are the same place. Both words mean “hills,” and the vineyards cross borders without regard for nationality. (30% of Kabaj’s Sauvignonasse grapes grow in Italy.)

terroir
Tasting at Terroir Tribeca.

Kabaj’s wines are Old World in style, with the still-tart acidity made for food, and the structure for aging. Tomo pours the 2007 Merlot and I ask when he would drink this herbaceous, smoky, slightly tannic red. His answer: “From 2013 to 2020”. It is easy to imagine the Cuvee Morel 2006 (60% Merlot, 18% each of Cabs Franc and Sauvignon, 4% Petit Verdot), a beautifully complex wine that tantalizes the senses with aromas of herbs, flowers and grasses, developing nuance upon nuance well into the twenty-teens.

After the tasting, Stetson and I chat about what makes these wines stand apart. It is Brda and its winemaking traditions, the terroir of soil/fruit/yeast that the wines express, and Jean Michel’s careful guardianship in the winery. These are not “minimalist” wines, which can sometimes seem dirty and experimental, but they do possess a quality that I loosely call funky. Funky is a very good thing—it means I can taste the land, the fermentation process, a bit of oxidation maybe. The wines taste earthy more than fruity, and they have integrity.

“Elegantly funky,” says Stetson. Perfectly stated.

Jean-Michel and Tomo are flying now to California where they will be hosting a number of wine dinners and tasting events in Los Angeles and San Francisco starting Sunday, May 15 with a tasting at Silverlake Wine at 3pm. We hope to see many of you there.
You can read the full schedule of the Kabaj events on the new community site Slovenes in USA.

Text by Katherine Camargo, DWS , photos by Holley Robbins.

Bistro SF Grill Rocks

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Bistro SF Grill Rocks
Hosts Hasim, Seni, and Gino at Bistro SF Grill.


San Francisco has recently added a very vivid food destination and we are happy to be part of it with our wines: Bistro SF Grill. This is a gourmet burger restaurant owned and managed by three multi-talented friends hailing from Bosnia-Herzegovina: Hasim, Seni, and Gino. We sometimes jokingly call them the ‘Balkan Trio’.

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The line-up.

In a short couple of months the trio has managed to put their ‘almost famous’ burgers on top of the heap. This is not your ordinary burger joint where the choices are between American or Swiss cheese.

At Bistro SF Grill they serve only the finest beef some of it as exotic as Alligator, Buffalo, and Ostrich. Then there is a Lamb Burger and another made from organically fed Kobe beef. I tried most of them and my favorite is the Balkan Burger, made from a mix of lamb and beef with savory spices.

Our wines from Balkan countries like Slovenia and Croatia pair beautifully with these burgers. For instance, try the Donkey Dingac or the Bibich Riserva R6 with a Balkan burger and you will agree that the wine will make the flavors jump. The Croatian Plavac Mali – relative to the Californian Zinfandel – shows a certain rustic spiciness which pairs well with the Balkan burger. My guess is that it’s the Paprika which corresponds so nicely.

bistro
Everybody feels welcome at Bistro SF Grill.

Besides offering great food and wine, the Bistro also frequently hosts wine tastings. We were invited to pour our wines at the first tasting which was dedicated to Balkan wines. We are now looking forward to the next event: The Party – Rock me Amadeus! As you can tell, this one will feature wines from the former Austrian-Hungarian empire, home of Mozart and an old, sophisticated wine culture. Join us when we pop a couple of corks and pour some really nice Gruner Veltliner, Blaufrankisch, Kadarka, and Kiralyleanyka. Come explore with us the lands along the Blue Danube River:

Tuesday, August 16 from 6pm – 2819 California St. 415-409 6410

Photography courtesy of Eric Danch ©2011

The 2009 Juris Saint Laurent Selection is very, very delicious

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The 2009 Juris Saint Laurent Selection is very, very delicious
2009 Juris Saint Laurent Selection

As a sales rep, you never know what to expect when you taste with an account for the first time. Fortunately, my first tasting this past week with Prima Ristorante & Wine Merchants in Walnut Creek, CA was a pleasant surprise. John Rittmaster, Wine Director and Owner, has been with the restaurant and adjoining wine shop since 1994. He has developed one of the most dynamic wine lists in the area. A well respected palate, to say the least. I was pleased when he and his partner Frank Rothstein got excited about our ’09 St. Laurent from Juris, one of our Austrian producers based in Gols, Burgenland. John was so impressed that he passed along the write up below that he sent to his customer base. Thanks John for allowing us to use your wonderful post. Cheers!

“Want to know how we wine merchants spend our own hard-earned dollars? Here’s a wine that I can guarantee you will find in all of our own cellars.

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Winemaker Axel Stieglmar

Saint Laurent (Sankt Laurent locally) is one of those grapes you typically have to experience in situ, maybe from a pitcher, ever so slightly chilled, alongside one of those oversized schnitzels you can get for a few Euros in one of Vienna’s many outdoor dining establishments. It’s grown throughout Burgenland and the Niederosterreich in Austria and across the border in what’s now the Czech Republic where it is believed to have originated, perhaps as a rogue clone of Pinot Noir. St. Laurent is also known as one of the parents (along with Blaufrankisch) of the now-better-known hybrid grape Zweigelt. Identity crisis notwithstanding, there isn’t much St. Laurent exported, and what is, is often relegated to the bottom of the importer’s roster after the far more popular Austrian varieties of Gruner-Veltliner, Riesling and Zweigelt. But we recently tasted a St. Laurent right here in America that got our attention- big time- from one of the variety’s acknowledged masters, Juris.

Frank, our Sommelier and Northern European wine specialist, and I, at the same time, compared Juris’ unoaked, beautifully nuanced St. Laurent to a fine Cabernet Franc from the Loire Valley, like a great Chinon. There’s a dark, grapy snap to the wine that helps set off its amazing array of violet, peppercorn, black earth and cardamom aromas in sharp relief. On the palate it has ample weight and succulence but will always stand out more for its impressive zip on the finish. We loved the idea of serving this cellar temperature with a simple roast but agreed we can’t wait for a warm spring day with which to chill it off a bit and serve it with braised sausages and lentils or anything with wild mushrooms. The bottom line is that this is very, very delicious.”

pallets
Pallets at the Juris Estate waiting to be shipped



By the way: The JURIS St. Laurent Selection is also on the wine list by-the-glass at Edi and the Wolf, THE Austrian Heuriger (bistro) in New York.

Jeff Berlin of À Côté

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jeff-berlin
Jeff Berlin

“Your wine list definitely leans toward the esoteric: Slovakian riesling, kadarka from Hungary, a cornalin from Switzerland and recently an entire zierfandler flight. How are you able to get away with a list like that?”

Jeff Berlin, the General Manager of Oakland’s À Côté restaurant is one of our biggest supporters. Jeff was recently interviewed by Wine & Spirits Magazine about the success of his unique outstanding wine list. Read the entire interview.

Tokaj At Terroir Murray Hill in NYC

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tokaji_terroir

It’s only in the last few decades that the infamous sweet wines of Tokaji have fallen off of mainstream restaurant lists and the common-knowledge radar of average wine drinkers. Changes in the political climate of Eastern Europe are the main cause of this absence of Tokaji in the mainstream wine world. With the new generation of drinkers, the millenials, we are seeing a resurgence of appreciation for this ancient region. The enthusiasm goes beyond the famous sweet wines and explores all of the styles these aromatic wines come in.
A few weeks ago Rienne Martinez of Terroir Murray Hill and I decided to share our love of Tokaji wines with New York. We developed a pairing menu that showcased the dry and sweet wines of Patricius, letting the flavors explain why these wines have been so prized throughout history. The crowd favorite was overwhelmingly the 3 puttunyos with duck confit salad. Check out the beautiful video below, produced by David DuPuy, to get a glimpse into this special event, first of many!


JURIS wine tasting with the Stiegelmars

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portfolio-juris

Last week, we enjoyed the visit of Axel and Herta Stiegelmar, the charming owners of Juris Winery, who participated in a series of promotional events in San Francisco and Los Angeles. In San Francisco, they were featured at Portfolio, our annual tradeshow located this year at the San Francisco Old Mint, pouring their Pinot Noir and St. Laurent wines non-stop from 11:00am to 3:00pm.

portfolio

Herta, Frank, and Eric at Portfolio

Juris is a family estate in Gols, Burgenland, run by the Stiegelmar family since the late 1500′s. After acquiring practical experience in Germany, Bordeaux and California, Axel Stiegelmar is now considered a Pinot Noir and St. Laurent specialist, producing wines of character and style with aging potential.

Pinot Noir and St. Laurent are two difficult and fussy grape varieties that have actually many common characteristics. Pinot noir was most likely brought to Austria in the late 14th Century by Cistercian monks from the Order’s motherhouse in Burgundy. It grows well in the mild climate regions of Burgenland and Thermenregion (Lower Austria) and is recently gaining more importance in the country (1.4% of the plantings in 2009, up from about 0.8% in 1999).

The origins of St. Laurent are mysterious but thanks to genetic testing, it is believed to be a crossing between Pinot Noir and an other unknown vine. Like Pinot Noir, it came to Austria from France and is now planted in Burgenland and Lower Austria. Because St. Laurent ripens sooner than Pinot Noir, it is well suited to regions with short growing seasons like Austria. It is also one of these finicky grapes that has been recently rediscovered by Austrian growers. In 2009 it covered 1.7% of the total grape plantings in Austria, up from 0.9% in 1999.

After Portfolio, we all met again at Bar Tartine in the San Francisco Mission for a wine and food event featuring a vertical lineup of Juris Reserve St. Laurent from 2002 to 2009. My favorite was the 2005, a well-balanced wine, with rich fruits, good complexity, and an elegant finish.

bar-tartine-juris

To accompany the wines, chefs Nicolaus Balla and Cortney Burns provided tasty little tartines, small open-faced sandwiches topped with various Eastern European inspired ingredients.

bar-tartine-tartines

bar-tartine-crowd

Everybody is having a good time - Courtesy of Robin Jolin

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This was a long day! Frank, Herta, Axel, and Eric at Bar Tartine

Blue Danube wines excell at Wine & Spirits 24th Annual Restaurant Poll

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On May 1, 2013, Wine & Spirits Executive Editor Tara Q. Thomas organized a tasting of sommelier favorites from Eastern Europe for the Wine & Spirits 24th Annual Restaurant Poll.

Watch the sommelier interviews that were conducted during the tasting and notice their enthusiasm for the wines:
“These are wines with a sense of place, these are wines that tell a story of a remote region, and wines that make you travel, let’s say, imaginary travel while we’re drinking them.” shares Ciprian Toma from Domaine Wine Bar.

Also note that several Blue Danube wines were among the sommelier favorites!

Beyond Italian Borders : Wines Of Croatia & Slovenia

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Map of Croatia

When I first started selling wines from Croatia and Slovenia nearly four years ago, the myriad of Italian restaurants almost mocked me as I rolled my bag down the streets of New York City. Very often their food and quality of service were just begging to be married with the flavors and level sophistication of the bottles I had on hand. Yet, to get the Sommelier to even consider tasting was nearly impossible. “Sorry, Italian only wine list, no exceptions.” It’s not as if I was trying to pawn some New York State Riesling or Merlot onto their focused and curated list, these were wines that had an equally long tradition in the same regions as everything on their menu and these were the flavors that were meant for their food.

Italy, perhaps more than any other country, embodies a strong sense of regional pride. All 20 regions have held fast to their gastronomic cultures, preserving their distinct styles of wine and food. Over the centuries the regions formed their unique cuisines based on what was available in their land. This is why ingredients like truffles are hallmarks of Piedmonte while a dish like veal Marsala is unmistakably Sicilian. It’s no wonder that serious Italian establishments in one of the cultural capitals of the world seek to preserve these regional essences. What’s not so clear is that modern political borders should shape the centuries old traditions.

It seemed to me that in an attempt to preserve the Italian culture, many sommeliers were missing an opportunity to be authentic by incorporating traditional grape varieties and styles. At the time when the regional food and wine cultures were forming, many of the current political borders were not in place. Even so, political borders are just that, political. Especially in an area like Collio and Brda, both meaning ‘hill’ in Italian and Slovenian respectively, it is the same hill, and the vines do not recognize the theoretical boundaries.

Map of Slovenia

Keith Beavers, owner of In Vino, an Italian restaurant and winebar in NYC’s East Village, recalls the moment the scale tipped for him:

“I was tasting wine with Stetson while I was eating, and he poured me a glass of Kabaj Rebula, I took a bite of risotto and a sip of this wine, and I thought, there’s no reason not to have these wines on the list. We started talking about borders and terroir, and of course I knew Slovenia was right around the corner, but it wasn’t until the moment I tasted them together I realized I had to celebrate these wines on my list and that political borders do not define terroir.”

Almost paradoxically, by incorporating wines from just beyond the borders of current day Italy, a more authentic profile of flavors is achieved. Since incorporating Blue Danube Wines onto his Italian list, In Vino now features at least one white and one red by the glass from Croatia and/or Slovenia and will soon be dedicating an entire section of his list to these extended regions.

At the Northern tip of the Adriatic, Slovenia, Croatia and Italy converge, sharing terroir and centuries of history. Blue Danube has always focused on sourcing the best wines in their traditional styles from all of the regions they represent. Not surprisingly, this makes many of the Croatian and Slovenian selections ideal for Italian focused restaurants.

“For our restaurant, Danube wines are a natural match. Our chef, Nick Balla, lived in Hungary during high school and our menu shows Eastern European influence in the cuisine. Blue Danube offers the most meaningful selection from this part of the world.” Mary Christie of Bar Tartine in San Francisco.

Another attribute of these wines is their relative value compared to wines from regions that have more name recognition, and therefore command higher price points. Both buyers and customers have been pleased to find a high quality to price ratio in these off-the-beaten-path varieties and styles.

“Blue Danube’s book is a treasure trove of gems from Croatia and Slovenia. The wines are vibrant, pure, well made and exciting. And there are many great value wines that work well with our mostly by the glass list. They give our guests an opportunity to try something new and exciting that really highlights and compliments the food.” Ben McGroarty of Superba Snack Bar in Los Angeles.

“The quality of the products are top notch and yet the wines cost a fraction of what I am paying for the more esteemed appellations of Italy, France and Spain. People commonly say “Wines from Slovenia? …No way!” Which I find funny as these regions are just as ancestral in their winemaking traditions as say Burgundy. At the end of the day, it is nice to be able to offer affordable indigenous wine flavor in a world clogged with expensive and homogenized wine style. This is especially true if the wine flavor is delicious.” Maxwell Leer of Bestia in Los Angeles.

Ultimately these wines appeal to people and establishments that embody an enthusiasm and passion for educating their customers and offering something new and exciting.

“As Americans enter a new phase in our wine drinking, I find that more and more people have the courage and confidence to explore regions and grapes unknown to them. It makes for a lot of learning and a lot of fun!” Mary Christie of Bar Tartine in San Francisco.

I’m delighted to see that nearly four years later, it is not uncommon to see Slovenian and Croatian wines on the bottle and glass lists of Italian “only” and Italian focused restaurants and winebars. In fact, I’d say it’s becoming the status quo.

A Tinderbox Outing

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A Tinderbox Outing
The well-appointed interior of Bernal Height’s Tinderbox


We recently had the enjoyment of eating at the new digs of Tinderbox. It’s a restaurant in the Bernal Heights area of San Francisco that is wedged in the middle of a burgeoning gourmet ghetto. The dishes are focused around that growing genre of food called, “New American”, which, as was the case at Tinderbox, means new twists on old dishes that surprise you in new ways.

cutlet
The avocado cutlet

The menu has been coupled together with a very unique and tasty wine list compiled by the sommelier and general manager, Omar White. It includes a good number of Blue Danube Wine selections like the exotic Juris St. Laurent from Austria, an unoaked Hungarian Szõke Chardonnay, and the indigenous Pošip Marco Polo from the Croatian island of Korcula among others.

We started with a nice Dolcetto to warm up our palates. It was inviting and light, yet still flavorful and enjoyable to sip with our appetizers. It also had the ability to not trounce the fact that one of us had the grilled sardine appetizer.

frank omar
Omar tops off Frank Dietrich

From there, we split off with a glass of white for the cod and a bottle of Bura Dingač for the game hen, steak, and avocado cutlet. All of these dishes were delicious, but it was the last of which on that list was the most remarkable. The server summed it up best by saying, “Who knew you could grill an avocado?” Who indeed, but it works. It really, really works and when paired with a nice, deep-bodied red wine, it only works to amplify it.

Dessert was a lovely affair as well. Everything we had was paired with a very nice Five Puttonyos Tokaji. The sweetness of this Hungarian dessert wine was not overpowering to our closing dishes and once again, worked to complement not fight with the complexity of the desserts.

tokaj
Tokaji to finish

We found the atmosphere of the restaurant to be very nice and fit well with what we look for in a place to dine. The service isn’t snooty, just knowledgeable and helpful, which is a welcome change to a great many restaurants in The City. It’s also good to see that the establishment caters to people eating in groups (we were four) and those dining solo with a small, adjunct room just up a small set of stairs in the back. The crowd seems to fill in from about 8:30-10, but with a recent review in the SF Chronicle, the crowd is bound to come earlier and leave later. And naturally if this isn’t enough word of mouth for you, read up on what others are saying these days.

Return of the Michelin

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Return of the Michelin
Jean-Paul Naret and Marcia Gagliardi during the Michelin Guide presentation


So it was that last year, that the first Michelin guides entered the US with in New York City and San Francisco. We didn’t get to read the 2007 guide, but took more of an interest this year as they’re introducing Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

jean-luc
Jean-Luc speaks

Also, the director, Jean-Paul Naret was at a local bookstore to promote it a bit. So, we went down to see it.

As it turned out, the event also featured Marcia Gagliardi of Table Hopper there to talk as well. While very much about food and dining in San Francisco, it was something of an odd paring as listening to Jean-Paul Naret was amusing. He’s a very charismatic fellow and very, very French. Putting Marcia next to him showed just how international he was and how local she was. In theory the line up should have worked to show different of approach to food that their respective writings take, when it actually just showed the different leagues that the two worked in.

guide
The 2008 Guide

Naturally, we bought a copy of the guide. Want to know some ratings? Well, it would be ridiculous to try and summarize all of it, since it is a very good guide for dining in the San Francisco Bay Area. But, a couple of highlights include:

Aqua (2 stars), Á Côté (which we previously wrote about here), Cesar, Ame (1 star), Rivoli, Rubicon (1 star), Slanted Door (Bip Gourmand), and Village Pub. Keep in mind that there is a maximum of three stars and just a mention in the guide is quite a stellar accolade. But, there are many, many more and our best recommendation is for you to go out and get one of your own. Now!

Austrian Wine Dinner at Café Venezia

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Austrian Wine Dinner at Café Venezia
Café Venezia’s main dining area


Last Thursday on November 8th, Blue Danube Wines supplied the wines for an Austrian Wine dinner at Café Venezia in Berkeley. It was a great opportunity for those not yet familiar with Austrian cuisine, to taste it while sipping some of the finest wines of that country.

cook
Cooking in action.

Café Venezia is a nice, spacious restaurant on University Avenue that sits pleasantly far enough away from the student buzz of UC Berkeley, yet close enough to the town center to be very much a part of Berkeley. With high windows that look out to the street, you’re beckoned in to a warm interior that is held up by a wonderfully friendly wait staff. The interior picks up on the restaurant’s namesake with kitsch murals and a clothesline of laundry, while at the same time allows one to sit down, have a good meal, and feel pleasantly at home.

The four course dinner started with a tasty charcuterie plate of typical Austrian meats and cheese, paired with a new release of Grüner Veltliner from Schmelz winery. Grüner Veltliner, which accounts for over a third of Austria’s vineyards, is one of the country’s most famous varietals, having beaten world-class Chardonnays from the likes of Mondavi and Louis Latour in blind tastings organized by the Austrian Wine Marketing Board. The fresh, crisp, Grüner Veltliner Steinwand Federspiel from 2006 that we had matched perfectly the strong flavors of the smoked pork meat and Austrian paté.

The second course was definitely our favorite, with an expertly cooked Viennese schnitzel and a side of surprisingly delicious giblet gravy.

snitz
Schnitzel makes a meal.

The crispiness of the breading and the tenderness of the meat were just perfect. The wine paired with it was another one of our new releases from Schmelz winery, a Riesling Wachauer Weingebirge Federspiel from 2006, which was a bit drier than the Grüner Veltliner with a long finish that had a hint of white pepper. Riesling is the second most produced grape varietal in Austria. So with these two wines, we covered the most typical and well-known whites of the country.

Then came the reds with the slow-roasted goose cooked in the traditional St. Martin’s Day style, stuffed with apple, orange, pear and marjoram. The wines we chose for such a full-flavoured dish were the the Zweigelt Siglos 2005 from the Heinrich winery, and the Cardinal Cuvée 1999 from Giefing. We started with the Zweigelt, the most widely-grown red grape variety in Austria, made from the famous Siglos vineyard of the Heinrich family.

goose
The goose.

This light wine, somewhat similar to a Gamay, combines the bite and fruity character of the Blaufränkisch grape with the body of the St. Laurent, and so it is a very good pairing with poultry.

The Cardinal Cuvée, a blend of 60% Blaufränkisch, 25% Zweigelt and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, had a much deeper, full body. This wine has a harmonious taste of sweet wood and spicy, chocolate aromas with a hint of dry plums. Made of grapes from the oldest vines on the Giefing estate (40-50 years old), and aged for 26 months, the Cardinal Cuvée is not surprisingly the flagship wine of the winery.

footer
Enjoying the Austrian wine tasting while watching the kitchen.

But after all these delights we still one last thing in the menu: dessert. And it was, of course, a good old apple strudel paired with a late harvest sweet wine, the Welschriesling from 2001 by Rosenhof. This fragrant, lively wine, with its fruity finish and a hint of almonds and autumn leaves, was the perfect ending for a perfect dinner.

All in all it was a surprisingly well-balanced and harmonious meal considering. And although Café Venezia is obviously an Italian restaurant, it has a very creative chef that every so often likes to immerse herself in the cuisines of other countries. Thus, after extensive research, chef Cindy Deetz manage to recreate the flavors of a few classics of Austrian cuisine as if she was used to cooking them like her famous Sicilian spaghetti with meatballs that are a house favorite.

Croatian Cuisine & Wines at Del Monte

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Croatian Cuisine & Wines at Del Monte
Del Monte Restaurant is in Sunnyvale, CA


Since coming back from our trip to Southeastern Europe last summer, we haven’t had the chance to eat any dishes from the region as San Francisco is lacking in restaurants specializing in Balkan cuisine. Fortunately, for all of us Ćevapčići lovers in the Bay Area there is Del Monte Restaurant in downtown Sunnyvale, on Murphy Avenue.

Del Monte, in spite of the name, is a 100% Croatian family business: Mate Slade, the head of the family, usually can be found in the kitchen doing what he loves best, while his wife Dragica can be found in the restaurant greeting the guests who all seem to know her, alongside her son who serves the tables.

interior
The interior of Del Monte

Originally from Dubrovnik, they came to California some 25 years ago by way of Louisiana, New Orleans and Washington D.C.

We recently had dinner for the first time at Delmonte with some relatives, and so we got to try almost everything in their menu. Although the decor is lacking in sophistication, it has a Croatian feel to it as well as a family atmosphere that we enjoyed together with the big plates of food.

Since the Slades are from Dubrovnik on the Dalmatian coast, we started with a Dalmatian platter of pršut (cured ham similar to Italian prosciutto), olives, Dalmatian cheese and anchovies in olive oil. Since they have a number of seafood and fish dishes, we decided to try some of them: fried calamari, mussels marinara, sole Dalmatian style and chicken with prawns. They even have linguine with different shellfish and calamari on a tomato sauce, which was very tasty.

cevapi
The Ćevapčići plate

They also offer meat dishes more typical of continental Croatia, such as different types of steak, a plate of mixed meats, or a delicious Goulash Croatian style which is one of their most popular dishes. However, our favorite dish was, of course, the Ćevapčići plate: pieces of minced meat made of a mix of different types of beef and pork, hand mixed and then grilled with a side of ajvar (red bell pepper spread). Heavenly meat.

To accompany this Croatian feast we needed to have Croatian wine, so we ordered a red and a white from their wine list: a Debit from Bibich that paired really well with the sole, and a Plavac from the Dingač Winery that we enjoyed as always with all sorts of meat. And, although we were too full to have a dessert, we couldn’t resist finishing this perfect Croatian meal with a small glass of delicious Prošek, the nectar of the Gods!


Albona: San Franciscos Istrian Restaurant

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Albona: San Francisco's Istrian Restaurant
The potato gnocchi, which are a good deal different that what you might be used to.


When it comes to Italian restaurants in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood, the choices are nearly endless. When it comes to Italian restaurants in the area that are actually good, the list tightens up a great deal. So enters Albona, which is best described as the Italian restaurant in North Beach that is pretty much not Italian nor in North Beach. A simpler way to say that is to call it an Istrian restaurant.

menu
The menu

Istria is a peninsula that sticks off the far western corner of Croatia. This wasn’t always the case as the region has been under flags of Venice, Italy, and even France for a spell. This is reflected in the cuisine a great deal. While it’s easy to call it “Italian-esque” and leave it at that, this would do a heavy disservice to what makes the food unique. It’s a crossroads of Central European, Mediterranean, and Slavic foods and you taste that with every bite.

Take for instance the strudel. Yes, that’s right, a strudel. Try and find that on an Italian menu! This dish which is oft considered Germanic or Slavic is one of the stars on the Albona menu. But, it’s not like your Central European strudel. It has prosciutto, béchamel, a tomato-cream sauce, and a number of seasonings that lend it an extremely unique flavor. It’s absolutely delicious and is typical of what Albona offers. The dish is a delicate balance showing the influence of several different cultures.

veal
The veal shank

The menu doesn’t stop there and while it has a great selection of pasta and chicken dishes, there are also a few seafood dishes and a veal shank that is delicious as well. You really can’t go wrong and the best part is that the foods go well with any number of wines from many places, again showing diversity of the region. In fact, Blue Danube is happy to announce that Albona is going to start pouring our Kozlović Malvazija and Santomas Big Red Refosk which add distinct authentic flavors to their already eclectic wine list.

Albona, much like Istria is a little out of the way, sitting at 545 Francisco, just off Columbus. It’s in something of a transitional area between North Beach and Fisherman’s Wharf. The beauty of this is that it avoids the cheesy hustle and bustle on Pier 39 as well as a lot of Columbus, while still being very convenient and offering a quieter, classier evening out. Give them a try if you want to sample a much different take on dishes that you’ve known a long time, as well as getting to know some new ones.

Experiencing Texture and Flavor at BREADBAR

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Experiencing Texture and Flavor at BREADBAR
BREADBAR Hatchi Series features two Blue Danube Wines


The BREADBAR Hatchi Series Wine Dinner event was packed! There was literally a “club line” at the reception stand that was about 30 people deep. To see so many people at a mall for an 8 course meal was both surreal and welcoming. BREADBAR Century City regularly hosts a series of dinners that feature guest chefs and sommeliers. This evening, the dinner was managed and featured Chef Michael Voltaggio, the Chef de Cuisine at The Dining Room At The Langham, and a Bravo TV 2009 “Top Chef Las Vegas” Contestant. The beverages were managed by David Haskell, formerly of Bin 8945 Wine Bar.

Chef Michael Voltaggio.Photo courtesy of LA.Eater.com
Chef Michael Voltaggio.
Photo courtesy of LA.Eater.com

David included two of of Blue Danube Wine Company’s Croatian wines in his varied and textural selection. Take a look at the menu pictured above and the food pictured below. From bubbles to beer, to Sherry to Croatia, the libations that David selected reinforced the whole texture and flavor theme. An audible favorite of the night was the Japanese tomato tartare and 2006 Križevci Winery Graševina. This wine works so well with higher acid vegetable dishes containing plenty of fresh herbs. Here, the wine enhanced the brightness of the herbs and tomatoes. While the dish gave the impression that the wine was much weightier than its modest 11% ABV would suggest. The Crispy Chicken thigh and Deus Flanders Belgian Beer pairing was a tasty diversion mid-meal and did not interfere with any of the wines.

Chef Voltaggio's Wagyu Beef.Photo by Lauren Lundy
Chef Voltaggio’s Wagyu Beef.
Photo by Lauren Lundy

It was followed by the Wagyu Beef Shortrib and 2007 Dingač Vinarija Plavac.The thing about this particular Plavac is that it will honestly go with just about anything.

Dingac Winery's Plavac. Photo by Lauren Lundy
2007 Dingac Plavac.
Photo by Lauren Lundy

Its dusty tannins and tobacco leaf notes were a cleansing contrast to the luxurious and elegantly sauced beef dish accompanied by a horseradish foam. I also have to mention the Miso cake and sparkling Beaujolais we had. These are ideal mid-summer combination that was simultaneously complex and playful. Los Angeles is the perfect place to enjoy a wide variety of everything. To me, that’s what this event was all about. I believe both Chef Michael Voltaggio and David Haskell have a bright future ahead so keep an eye on them.
–Stetson

Tasting event at Seasons

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Tasting event  at Seasons
Mike Dunne’s Blog: A Year in Wine.


Our friend Tamas Torok recently hosted an extended sit-down tasting at his restaurant Seasons in Davis, CA. We designed a flight showcasing Hungary’s best white, red, and sweet wines. Well known wine connoisseur Darrell Corti of Corti Brothers in Sacramento attended together with Mike Dunne, the Sacramento Bee’s former wine and food editor. Read Mike’s article From Hungary, Diversity and Quality.

The stars of the tasting were Tokaj’s classic grapes: Furmint, Harslevelu, Yellow Muscat from Patricius and Zoltan Demeter in their dry & Aszu styles. Medium bodied reds made from native grapes paired well with home-made Hungarian food: Gere Portugieser and Pfneiszl Kekfrankos.

LOU on Vine: Gastronomic Culture both Foreign and Domestic

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LOU on Vine: Gastronomic Culture both Foreign and Domestic
Lou loves 3 Liter Batič.


One of our early supporters, Lou Amdur of LOU on Vine has always been one of my favorite people to work with. His love of wine and food extends far beyond his sensitive nose, palate. Tasting with Lou is more history, science, farming and people than strawberries and tannins. As a space LOU is intimate, slightly psychedelic and smells good, it attracts a whole host of interesting food and wine affiliated individuals oftentimes to dine and sometimes to host events. Coincidentally “A Feast for Ed Behr” editor of “The Art of Eating” was to be held the same day as our follow up tasting of all of the Croatian samples from our trip this summer with our partners Empty Glass. All of us really wanted to go to the Ed Behr dinner; the guy is kind of a legend. Thankfully Lou offered to let us hold the tasting there before hand so that we could.

In 3 hours we tasted 60 wines that ranged from international varietals produced in a global style to obscurities like the white grape Gegic. Lou tasted most everything and at the same time readied the restaurant for the dinner, wrote feverishly on his laptop and make astute observations of the wines. Part of what makes Lou a great taster is his openness. He does not prejudge. After looking very serious and saying little during an expansive line up of concentrated Plavc Mali we asked what he thought of them. He liked the way the slightly off dry quality in some balanced their rustic charms. This was music to my ears. The powerfully flavored Plavac grown on the ocean vineyards of Peljesac have long been tempered by a gentle sweetness. Dry examples can be found and they have their place but with Croatia so eager to reach out to the world if we (importers and buyers) fail to embrace the typical styles, run the risk of homogenizing what is unique and indigenous. Thankfully Lou is a junkie for the indigenous.

Dinner started with a refreshing intermezzo of sparkling unfiltered Cabernet Franc (the aperitif for the rest of the crowd). Some of our favorite people from the trade were also in attendance as enthusiastic guests, Mike Green from Woodland Hills Wine Company, wine PR consultant Dan Fredman, and French wine importer Charles Neal to name a few. It is rare to see such a crowed at a public event. Would be dinners take note – LOU is the choice of some discriminating folks. Before the simple delicious creations of chef DJ and Lou’s subtle pairings started rolling out Ed Behr spoke. A gentle but curious personality with palpable energy, he painted a truncated (his own word), but beautiful world of food and place and how they have shaped his life. What was clear was that he loved food and was in a room full of people who also loved food the mood was electric.

Where else other than LA can one find a place like LOU. None come to mind. Culture is hard to identify, it is a moving target but between the locally sourced food, far reaching selection of wines, thoughtfully informed guests and industry professionals dinning together, sharing food, wine and ideas, culture could be felt. In a dingy strip mall on Vine near Melrose in Hollywood, USA culture flourishes.

Thank you LOU

Croatian Wine Tasting at Bistro SF Grill

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Full house for Croatian wine
Full house for Croatian wine

If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, you must go visit Bistro SF Grill! It is a cozy, intimate spot in San Francisco’s Lower Pacific Heights neighborhood. Co-owners Gino, Hasim, and Seni make you feel right at home with their slightly Balkan influenced menu and wine list; all three are originally from Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Local artwork adorns the walls
Local artwork adorns the walls
Hasim and Seni behind the bar
Hasim and Seni behind the bar

We had the pleasure of spending an evening with them this week to celebrate our latest arrival of Croatian wine. The guys put together a flight of 5 wines for guests to choose which included: Bibich Debit, Šipun Žlahtina, Bibich G6 Grenache, Miloš Plavac Mali, and Dubrovački Crljenak Kaštelanski (aka Croatian Zinfandel).

The whites - plus Carić Bogdanjuša
The whites – plus Carić Bogdanjuša
The reds
The reds

It was a fun night of exploration, good conversation, and wine! The experience is not complete without one of their fabulous burgers. I highly recommend the Balkan Burger, which is a lamb patty between pita bread with mint yogurt sauce.

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