Category: Cooking, Food & Wine

One family. One estate. One clone of Sangiovese. Fermentation with native yeasts, 36 months of aging in Slavonion oak casks, two years of aging in bottle. “Every riserva is vinified in the same way,” said seventh-generation family member Tancredi Biondi Santi at Saturday’s four-vintage vertical tasting of Biondi-Santi Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Greppo Riserva. This is as traditional as Brunello gets, with most elements of its production carried through over decades and many going back to the very first vintage of the wine, 1888. The wine even spends some time in five barrels from the 1880s.

Still, as Biondi Santi spoke, he displayed a slide with the credo, “Sharing a family vision from generation to generation with feet firmly planted in tradition with the mind on tomorrow.” After all, as he noted, “We are still studying the evolution of this wine. We think so far it is kind of endless.”

Senior editor Bruce Sanderson started the seminar with a bit of history. Clemente Santi made the first known red wine to bear the name Brunello; the reference dates to 1865. His grandson, Ferruccio Biondi Santi, cultivated a selection of Sangiovese plants that resisted phylloxera, and his son, also Tancredi, homed in on a specific clone, BBS11, that suited the Montalcino terroir particularly well; it is still used to make Brunello at Biondi-Santi and elsewhere across the region.

Since its creation, the Tenuta Greppo Riserva has only been produced 38 times, in the best vintages. It is sourced from the oldest vines in four plots around Montalcino, totaling 65 acres. “Minerality is the main characteristic, I think,” said Biondi Santi, attributing that to the sites’ nutrient-poor schist-based soils known as galestro.

The first wine, the 2004 (95 points, $400 on release), was born of a cooler vintage, which translated to a freshness and vibrancy in the wine. “Acidity, tannins, balance, the structure and the perfumes is really what makes these wines unique,” said Biondi Santi.

The 1997 (95, $425 on release) benefited from a temperate spring and warm summer; it showed a bit more evolution, with spice, tobacco and iron notes. 1990 brought a rainy spring and hot summer to Montalcino; that vintage (97, $230 on release) showed even more secondary and tertiary notes of balsamic, truffle and forest, with the “tannins now starting to become really well-integrated,” noted Sanderson. Biondi Santi still considered this one “young.”

Finally, the 1983 (93), from a vintage with a comparatively early summer and harvest, had come into its own, with all elements harmonized in a “very balanced” structure.

In closing, Biondi Santi said that while the wines pair nicely with roasted chicken (a traditional dish in his family), wild boar or deer, he prefers them on their own: “We call them ‘meditation wines.’” Then, bringing the audience back to 2018, he took a selfie in front of the ballroom crowd before leaving the stage.

Read more about Biondi-Santi in “The Bastion of Brunello,” in Wine Spectator‘s Oct. 31, 2012, issue.

When Mark Tarlov introduced one of his Oregon Pinot Noirs, the Chapter 24 Willamette Valley Last Chapter 2015, to the audience at the New York Wine Experience on Saturday, he began with a quote from famed American physicist Richard Feynman: “If we look at a glass of wine closely enough we see the entire universe.” Feynman’s point was that there is a world of detail in a glass of wine, from the physics of the tears that form when it’s swirled to the geology of the rocks its vines grow among. Tarlov used the idea as a launching point to dive into the details of Chapter 24’s vineyards.

Speaking to the same crowd a few hours earlier, pro golfer and vintner Cristie Kerr cited attention to detail as the key to success in both golf and wine. “I’m a details person,” she said. “I’m persnickety.”

The details of wine’s universe are what make it great, and this year’s Wine Experience, the 38th, was all about diving deep into those glorious minutia. More than 5,000 people wanting to make the plunge—including consumers, winemakers, winery owners, wine merchants, chefs and sommeliers—flocked to the New York Marriott Marquis in the heart of Times Square, from Oct. 18 to 20, for two evenings of Grand Tastings, 18 seminars, two multicourse lunches paired with the wines of Italy and Santa Barbara County, and a black-tie Champagne reception and banquet recognizing the world’s greatest restaurant wine programs. More than 362 wines were poured from 27,252 bottles into more than 60,000 glasses.

Shannon Sturgis

The seminar ballroom was packed with guests eager to delve into the nuances of each wine in front of them.

Part of what makes wine special is its diverse geography, and the Grand Tastings on Thursday and Friday nights were the perfect place to explore the world. Wineries representing more than 15 nations poured 269 wines, all rated 90 points or higher and selected by Wine Spectator’s editors. More than 2,400 attendees packed two ballrooms and had the opportunity to plan their own education, whether it was comparing greats of Spain or Italy, contrasting Bordeaux first-growths and Napa cult Cabernets or just wandering and finding new things, like a Catalan sparkler or a Japanese red blend.

“It’s overwhelming, it’s exciting. I don’t know where to start,” said Allison Pitts, 25, a New Yorker attending her first Wine Experience. “I feel like I’m learning a lot. There’s different wines from all over the country I never thought I would have the chance of tasting. It’s amazing.”

For Isabel Ferrando, owner of Château St.-Préfert in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the great names in the room gave her new perspective. “I’ve been making wine for 15 years, and here I am, in the temple of winemakers.”

Shannon Sturgis

Bordeaux’s Château Canon-La Gaffelière 2014, the No. 7 wine of 2017, was among the wines showcased.

Friday and Saturday’s in-depth daytime seminars offered more detail, including presentations of the Top 10 Wines of 2017, capped by a tasting honoring Wine Spectator‘s 2017 Wine of the Year, Duckhorn Merlot Napa Valley Three Palms Vineyard 2014.

No one does detail like Burgundy, and attendees got to drill down into the terroir of one hill in the French wine region, as four of its top houses presented Pinot Noirs from the Corton grand cru. History lovers could learn about one of Italy’s pioneering estates, Biondi-Santi, which showcased four vintages of its Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Greppo Riserva, including the 1983. California devotees were wowed by six bottlings of Schrader Cellars Beckstoffer To Kalon Cabernet presented by Fred Schrader and winemaker Thomas Brown. Prince Robert de Luxembourg spoke of some of the highlights of the five-century history of Bordeaux’s Château Haut-Brion, while the first-growth’s director, Jean-Philippe Delmas, gave details on specific vintages the audience got to taste, including the 2005, 2000 and 1998.

Shannon Sturgis

A guest enjoys a taste of California winemaker Mark Aubert’s Sonoma Chardonnay from his Lauren vineyard.

Wine is more than history and geology, however. It’s people, passion, poetry and even song. For rocker Jon Bon Jovi, wine is a project that lets him work with his son Jesse Bongiovi and his new friend, vintner Gérard Bertrand. The Bon Jovi family presented the fruits of that friendship, Diving into Hampton Water Rosé 2017. And Bon Jovi shared his music with the crowd. “I’m often invited places, and often told that I have to sing for my supper,” he joked. For winemaker Louis Barruol of Château de St.-Cosme, who shared his 2015 Gigondas, wine is a craft and profession, passed down from father to child, as Barruol’s father taught him and he is now teaching his children.

Shannon Sturgis

Guests capture Jon Bon Jovi’s performance for posterity.

Wine can show us a diverse range of perspectives. Laura Catena of Argentina’s Bodega Catena Zapata, spoke about discussing how to bring the history of Malbec to the world; “I want to tell this story through women’s eyes,” her sister, Adrianna, had told her. Domaine Huët’s Sarah Hwang presented her Vouvray Demi-Sec Le Mont 2016 and remarked how proud she was to share a stage with fellow female vintners Cleo Pahlmeyer and Aline Baly.

Shannon Sturgis

Three of the Top 10: Cleo Pahlmeyer of Pahlmeyer, Aline Baly of Château Coutet and Sarah Hwang of Domaine Huët

Presenting her 2006 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia, Priscilla Incisa della Rocchetta explained how her grandfather Mario’s unorthodox decision to plant Cabernet in Bolgheri opened the world’s eyes to what was possible in Tuscany. Ti Martin, co-owner of Commander’s Palace and daughter of famed restaurateur Ella Brennan, brought her spirited point of view to the Chefs’ Challenge seminar, joining José Andrés, Emeril Lagasse and Mario Carbone to explore the magic of pairing wine with food.

German vintner Nik Weis showed how wine can also inspire generosity. He shared nearly the entire tiny production of his exquisite St.-Urbans-Hof Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese Mosel Leiwen Laurentiuslay 2015 with the Wine Experience audience.

Shannon Sturgis

Wine Spectator editor and publisher Marvin R. Shanken takes a break between tastings to do a Q&A with some of the senior editors about their tasting beats and the wines that stood out to them from the Grand Tastings.

The Wine Experience would not be possible without such generosity. All net proceeds go to the Wine Spectator Scholarship Foundation, which has raised more than $20 million for scholarships and grants for the hospitality and wine industries, including Washington State University’s enology and viticulture program, Sonoma State University’s Wine Business Institute, the viticulture and enology program at the University of California at Davis, Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and Florida International University’s hospitality school.

Shannon Sturgis

Pulling off a series of such large tastings requires a team of sommeliers who check every wine for soundness before the bottles are poured for guests.

In his lecture remarks on wine, Feynman concluded by saying, “If our small minds, for some convenience, divide this glass of wine, this universe, into parts—physics, biology, geology, astronomy, psychology, and so on—remember that nature does not know it. So let us put it all back together, not forgetting ultimately what it is for. Let us give one more final pleasure: Drink it and forget it all.”

Three days packed with gorgeous wines and fascinating information are impossible to forget. But it’s true that the final pleasure of wine is to drink it, preferably in the company of 5,000 good friends.

The 2019 Wine Experience will be held in New York City, Oct. 17–19.

—With reporting by Emma Balter and Brianne Garrett

“I am a golfer who makes wine,” Cristie Kerr announced Saturday morning at the Wine Experience. But Kerr is not just any golfer, and she’s not making just any wine.

Kerr’s 23-year golf career began at age 18. Her 20 career wins include two LPGA majors, and she has thrice reached Women’s World Golf’s No. 1 ranking. Along the way, she fell in love with wine. “In the early 2000s, we had a tournament [in La Jolla, Calif.],” Kerr said. “And I would play my practice rounds at 6 in the morning because all I wanted to do … was to go wine tasting. Because golf is boring, but wine tasting is fun. And wine keeps you sane, but golf … if you’ve ever played golf, well, you know what I’m talking about.”

Starting with the 2006 vintage, Kerr teamed with Suzanne Pride Bryan of Pride Mountain Estates to create Curvature, a Napa label specializing in Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay and benefiting breast-cancer research. (Kerr’s mother, diagnosed in 2002, is a breast-cancer survivor.) Through Curvature and her foundation, Birdies for Breast Cancer, Kerr has raised more than $4 million.

In 2013, Kerr Cellars was hatched with star California winemaker Helen Keplinger. “We had a kinship, because of my meticulous attention to detail,” Kerr said. “It’s almost annoying at times how perfect I like to get everything. If anybody has ever seen me putt, they know what I’m talking about!”

“It’s commonly misconstrued that celebrities cannot make great wine. But I think that perception is changing,” Kerr said, presenting her Kerr Napa Valley Reserve 2013 (93 points, $150), a Cabernet-Merlot blend. “I hope that you’ll taste this and see the quality in the glass.”

“If you wanted to tell the story of Napa Cabernet over the past few decades, Fred Schrader’s story would be the perfect way to do it,” said senior editor James Laube, introducing the last of Friday’s seminars. “Fred came to Napa Valley in the 1980s and caught the wine bug. … He and his [then-]wife, Ann Colgin, founded Colgin Cellars, hiring a winemaker named Helen Turley.” The wine debuted in the legendary class of 1992 cult Cabernets, alongside Screaming Eagle and Bryant Family. It was an overnight success.

But after the couple parted ways in the late ’90s, “Fred was faced with the prospects of starting over,” Laube said. “His story is one of renewal and determination.”

Uncertain of his next move, Schrader was tasting through barrels of the 1999 vintage at Behrens & Hitchcock when inspiration struck. “I tasted this one barrel—it was like an epiphany. It was unbelievable. I thought, ‘Good God Almighty, where did this come from?’ They said it was from To Kalon Vineyard down in Oakville. Andy Beckstoffer owns it.”

Schrader promptly struck a deal to buy grapes from Beckstoffer and, his new course set, hired talented young winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown. “His attention to detail, his compassion for wine—he’s completely devoted,” said Schrader. But, “Thomas had never made a Cabernet in his life when I met him. He said, ‘What the hell, we’ll give that a try.’ We shook hands on my porch, and that’s the only contract we’ve ever had.” Since then, more than 50 Schrader Cabernets have earned classic scores of 95 points or more.

Schrader described Brown as “the ultimate master at reading a vineyard.” Through years of selection, Brown and Schrader have contracted 16 prime acres of Beckstoffer To Kalon. “There’s a crossroads in Andy’s vineyard that we think of as the tenderloin of To Kalon,” Brown said, “and we’ve focused on those blocks.”

Schrader and Brown presented three cuvées—Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard RBS, CCS and Old Sparky (MM V and MM VIII, in magnum)—from the 2005 and 2008 vintages. Five of the wines earned classic ratings on release.

“The RBS is much brighter, more red fruit, some savory elements but mostly fruit-dominated,” said Brown. “CCS has a darker profile, you see more things like black walnut, tobacco … for Sparky, it’s the most complete, and holding the most in reserve.”

The two vintages were quite different: 2005 was “a big vintage, more modern” and “2008 was really tiny and really hot,” Brown continued. Although Schrader Cabernets drink well young, he feels they start to hit their peak around 10 years old. “What I like is you’re starting to see the savory character, especially these 2005s, you’re getting more tobacco and herbal notes … really complementary. I think the 2005s, especially the CCS, are just in a spectacular place right now.”

While Schrader wines are often described as opulent, what Brown has done, better than most, said Laube, is achieve an equilibrium between richness and elegance, with nuanced aromatics and flavors.

“So many people are trying to make the best Napa Valley Cabernet, and getting to the top is a very, very combative exercise,” Laube concluded. “And Fred Schrader’s been there twice.”

Read James Laube’s full profile of Fred Schrader in the Nov. 15, 2010, issue of Wine Spectator. Laube’s recent cover story, “The Midas Touch of Thomas Rivers Brown,” appears in the Nov. 15, 2018, issue.

6 Schrader Cellars Cabernets

• Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard RBS 2005 (94 points, $95 on release)
• Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard CCS 2005 (95, $95 on release)
• Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard MM V (“Old Sparky”) 2005 (95, $250/1.5L on release)
• Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard RBS 2008 (97, $175 on release)
• Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard CCS 2008 (95, $175 on release)
• Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard MM VIII (“Old Sparky”) 2008 (98, $400/1.5L on release)

This is the ONLY way to make this! Even the pasta gets cooked right in the crockpot! SO stinking easy, right?

I’m finally back home.

I went from Arkansas to Minneapolis to a two-day shoot in Los Angeles to Ecuador and then Big Sur. All in a span of 2 1/2 weeks.

Not to mention but we were actually delayed at the Monterey airport on Sunday for over 4 hours (this is the closest airport to Big Sur). And to give you some perspective, we could have driven back to LA from Monterey in 5 hr and 17 min.

It’s been rough to be away from home for so long to say the least.

But, I am home with Butters nonetheless. And this giant crockpot of spaghetti and meatballs.

It’s such a classic cozy dish, perfect for this time of year. And it’s even better because you can make this right in your crockpot.

Just let it simmer and cook low and slow for 7-8 hours, stirring in the pasta and letting that cook for another 30-40 minutes.

Yes, the pasta gets cooked right in the crockpot so it legit doesn’t get any easier.

Serve with extra crusty bread, and maybe a few more meatballs covered in fresh Parmesan. It’s simply perfection.

Slow Cooker Spaghetti and Meatballs

Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 8 hours 45 minutes

Total Time: 9 hours 5 minutes

This is the ONLY way to make this! Even the pasta gets cooked right in the crockpot! SO stinking easy, right?

Print Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 cup beef stock
• 1/2 medium sweet onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 8 ounces spaghetti, broken in half
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

For the meatballs

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 pound Italian sausage, casing removed
• 1/2 cup Panko
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine ground beef, sausage, Panko, milk, egg, Parmesan, parsley and garlic; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Using a wooden spoon or clean hands, stir until well combined. Roll the mixture into 3/4-to-1-inch meatballs, forming about 32-35 meatballs.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add meatballs, in batches, and cook until all sides are browned, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; set aside.
3. Place crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef stock, onion, garlic and sugar into a 6-qt slow cooker. Stir in meatballs until well combined; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
4. Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or high heat for 3-4 hours.
5. Stir in pasta; cover and cook on low heat for an additional 30-40 minutes, or until pasta is tender, stirring once. Stir in basil.
6. Serve immediately.

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