1. The best wines perfectly pair with food and compliment a meal.
   
2. It’s all about what YOU like, everyone prefers something different.

I’m not sure what it is about wine + food that throws me off or just doesn’t interest me. After six years in California, I can finally taste wine and know fairly well what I like.  However, when you add food to the equation or use the idea of a wine being perfect with a particular food, I lose interest.  Or, to be honest, is it that I lose discernment and my palate becomes prejudice? Or is it something else entirely?  Don’t get me wrong, the proper wine paired with food is important and tasty but why do I just not care about wine with food?

Wine lovers, sippers, and gulpers, CA visitors and residents … think back on recent wine tastings.  And yes, I know this conversation is laced in pretension and pretension seems to be the main marketing bent for wines.  The pretension is one aspect that would seem to hold the marketing of wine back in my book (along with the grogginess of the day after one has “tasted” too much of a good thing).  Because Americans have become the biggest consumers of wine in the world, maybe the pretension thing really does woo Americans.  BUT … have you heard some winemakers, *think serious indoor sophisticated voice*, discuss their wines as pairing with food and being low in alcohol as a marketing talking point? I have heard this quite often in wine tasting opening statements and we’ve had a lot guests this spring which equals a lot of wine tasting.  After hearing this the first few times, I started thinking, just to myself of course, “I don’t care about wine with food.”  Strongly recognizing that this thought was a no-no statement, because I know an attribute of French wines (or Old World wines in general) is that they are known for being very food friendly, made me keep this thought to myself.  However, I secretly wondered if I was alone in not caring much about wine with food?

The bigger isn’t always better concept in wines (bigger in flavor and alcohol) was partially described to me at Hillcrest Vineyards in Santa Cruz. One of the partners in the business told us that big California Cabernet was popular in the 1980’s and the oaky, buttery Chardonnay was the big thing in the 1990’s in the US.  I then read in an SF Gate article entitled “Ten food-friendly wines you can bring home to dinner,” that “Highly alcoholic, overly fruit-driven wines with an abundance of new oak are generally thought of as the antithesis of “food friendly“ (http://articles.sfgate.com/2006-06-15/wine/17297972_1_viura-caceres-spain-rioja-world-wines).” Ah dang it, those are the wines I like!  I’ve considered that my taste for the big and bold may have to do with dropping a decent amount of money on a good bottle of wine and wanting it to pack a punch (without being to tannin heavy).  This could also explain why I’m a wine saver/hoarder and don’t drink my stock until we have a justifiable special occasion (my brother claims we’ll have a great wine collection in the future or a hole in our closet floor, one of the two) so this also puts the pressure on wine to be extra bold and enjoyed on its own before or after a meal, I suppose you could even call IT a meal.  Then I found out, I’m not alone … on our Aunt and Uncle’s dining room table I spotted a recent article from the San Jose Mercury News entitled, “On Wine: With or without Food?” In the article it states that, “Recent research shows that nearly 60 percent of the wine consumed by avid U.S. wine drinkers does not accompany a meal. About one-quarter of the wine they drink is consumed on its own, in situations where food of any kind is a no-show. One-third of the wine is consumed with snacks or appetizers, or while the consumer is preparing a meal (http://www.mercurynews.com/top-stories/ci_17901771?nclick_check=1).”

The author from the San Jose Mercury article claims that the research of this new wine trend of wine being consumed without food may show that Americans are developing a wine culture of our own and that being a very good thing.  See US winemakers … I’m not alone.  With this in mind, we are apparently defying wines main purpose, to accompany food.  It sounds kind of dangerous for wine not to accompany food but maybe wines of our very own will be cultivated in the name creativity and new possibility.  You can pack a punch wine, go for it!

1985 New Year’s Eve Cocktail Party Bar Necessities

In McCall’s Cooking School Magazine from 1985 we found this list of bar supplies for a cocktail party.  Apparently they could booze it up in 1985!

Booze for the Party • Approximately $309 (without tax, from Bevmo for all the Booze (used 750 ml bottles), mixers, & garnishes below)

*Note to self, don’t invite 30 people! AND, if you do, many DD’s are a good idea!

Here are their recommendations from American Bartenders School:

For a 4-Hour Cocktail Party for 30 people (multiply or divide as necessary):

• 4-6 drinks per person

• 1 Liter of Alcohol = 22, 1 1/2 ounce drinks

2 Liters Each of:

• Scotch
• Vodka
• Blended Whiskey

1 Liter Each of:

• Gin
• Bourbon
• Rum
• + Tequila (if you have Tequila drinkers coming too)
• + 1 Bottle of Dry & Sweet Vermouth

Wine (yes, they drunk Jugs of wine in the 80’s, CAer’s wouldn’t be caught dead doing this):

• 2 Jugs of White Wine (5-6 bottles)

• 1 Jug of Red Wine (2-3 bottles)

+ For New Years:

• 5-6 bottles of Champagne for New Year’s Toasts

Mixers:

• 4 Large Bottles of Tonic & Club Soda
• 3 Large Bottles of Ginger Ale & Coke (1 Diet)
• 1 Orange Juice, 1 Grapefruit Juice
• BITF’s Additional Suggestions: Lemon/Lime Soda (2 bottles), Cranberry Juice (2 bottles), Sour Mix, Simple Syrup or Agave Nectar, Angostura Bitters (for Manhattans), Grenadine, Rose’s Lime Juice (these BITF suggestions are not included in above budget breakdown)

Garnishes:

• 2 jars, Maraschino cherries
• 1 jar cocktail onions
• 1 jar olives
• 4 lemons
• 4 limes
• 2 oranges

ICE!!!:

• 1 lb. of Ice, per-person

Bar Equipment:

• Ice Bucket & Tongs
• Jigger
• Bottle Opener
• Corkscrew
• Measuring Spoon
• Cocktail Shaker
• Coasters
• Straws
• Toothpicks
• Napkins
• Knife & Cutting Board

Glassware (3 types):

• 6 oz. Old Fashion Glasses, for on the rocks and other short drinks
• Stemmed Wine Glasses
• 10-12 oz. Glasses for Tall Drinks

Count on having twice as many glasses as guests!

—

If serving Beer too (not included in above budget):

• 24-36 Domestic Beers
• 24-36 Imported Beers
  

BITF Tested Holiday “Corktail”:

This cocktail is a great introductory drink for a holiday party cocktail hour. It can please the ladies and the gentleman.

Grateful Cranberry Cocktail

from: http://www.drinkoftheweek.com/drink-of-the-week/grateful-cranberry-cocktail/

1 1/2 oz. bourbon
1 oz. cranberry-honey syrup (recipe below)
Green tea flavored ginger ale (or regular)
Frozen cranberries
Crushed ice

Fill collins glass three-quarters full with crushed ice and frozen cranberries.  Pour in bourbon and syrup, then top off with ginger ale.

Cranberry-honey syrup

Boil equal parts water, honey and cranberries. Strain out solids, then refrigerate the liquid syrup.

San Jose Native: What the locals drink!

• Name: An
• Occupation: Art Student with an Eye on the Time
• How long she’s lived in San Jose: More than 20 years!
• Favorite Local Eat: Mint Mojito Iced Coffee @ Philz Coffee
• Location: San Jose, CA (Two Philz Locations in SF too)

An has lived in San Jose since she was one years old, so that counts as a native CA’er for sure!  She told me to go to Philz and order the Mint Mojito Iced Coffee and to get a large for a whopping $4.50!  She says you will want a large if you order a small and it is only .50 cents more than the small.   Philz even charges $3 for their drip cups of coffee and An claims it’s that good.  They make a mocha type of coffee drink with a frothy top and add fresh mint.  An discovered this drink in SF one afternoon and later found out they had a location in downtown San Jose where she now goes to get her fix while parked in a free, secret spot near the MLK Library. Thanks for the tip An!

Philz Coffee

118 Paseo de san Antonio
San Jose, CA 95112

Open Weekdays 6:30am-10pm; Sat 7am-10pm; Sun 7am-9pm

I will spare you the revolution metaphors, puns and bad jokes.  This place is about beer.  And not just good beer, but excellent beer.  Since the holidays are coming up, I’ll express my greatest desire: that Beer Revolution was move to within walking distance from my house.  Beer Revolution has every beer you can imagine for takeout or drinking there.  It has your IPA section, with your local Drake’s Denogginizer Double IPA, and your BrewDog Hardcore IPA out of Scotland.  It also has all your favorite Belgians and Belgian-styles, including some hard-to finds from Russian River Brewing.  There are Lambics and Guezes and everything that surrounds them.

Now, all I’ve been talking about is Beer Revolution’s refrigerators that line the left wall.  However, that leaves out one of the best reasons to spend an afternoon into an evening there.  That reason being the rotating taps of the same amazing variety held within the coolers.  There are ten to fifteen taps being poured, with almost a guarantee of one changing while you are there.

Since Beer Revolution is in Oakland, you have more of a chance that it will be warm there.  This means that you can take advantage of their outdoor deck and their openness to bringing outside food and having a picnic, then staying for a while to see what taps will change.

If you needed another reason to come, Beer Revolution also has great events.  There are weekly “Sweet and Sour Tuesdays” where sour ales and chocolate are paired and special events like the launch of new drafts from local breweries.

If you aren’t there already, you should be.

In Lovell, Maine, fifty miles north-west of Portland, on a Lake Kezar Country Club and Golf course, you will find the best beer bar in the world according to Beer Advocate Magazine. Ebenezer’s Pub serves 35 Belgian beers on tap and over 700 well kept bottles.

By far, this is one of the most fantastic places to find beer anywhere.  Upon our arrival, we were lucky enough to be carrying a camera.  Often, this blatant exhibition of a photographic device will get you sneers, or at least sidewards glances of disquiet.  However, we happened out of our vehicle just as one of the owners was entering his hallowed beer cellar.  He shouted to us, “if you want some good photos, follow me.”  We followed him into the basement of a house easily built before the Jackson administration had taken office.  In this cellar of great bounty, there were kegs, there were bottles, there were barrels.  It was a splendid sight to behold.  At this point, we were shown what was promised as one of the most expensive bottles of beer, fetching a price of $2000 per 750mL bottle (I cannot verify this price or the type of beer, that’s the problem with writing a post too long after visiting).  Further, we were shown bottles of a gueuze that were from the early 1900’s and others that were just discovered in the basement of a collector of unknown age.

Have I mentioned yet that we drank beer there too?  No, I’ve just been droning on about seeing it.  What was impressive here, is that there were beers from everywhere on tap.  There were the Belgians (the favorite style of Ebenezer’s), a few Germans, and the West Coast’s favorites, the American Crafts.  We had one of each (at least), in Ebenezer’s “pretend that you can taste all the drafts and walk out upright” size of 5oz tasters.  As an example of what can be found there, the current draft menu includes Dogfish Head’s 120 Minute IPA (limited to one per customer because of its 22% ABV) and Cantillon Kriek 2006 (a rare cherry lambic).  In any case, the selection of beers is practically unrivaled.  The only places that come close in selection are in large metropolitan areas, and don’t also serve delicious food, are on a beautiful lake (or ridiculously near), or have that selection on tap.  Beer Revolution in Oakland comes close, but is a different scene altogether and fantastic in other ways as you will see in the future post about it.

As I said before, we actually ate a meal here too.  It was a good meal, much better than at a sports bar or pub.  But to truly get an amazing meal (and more beers too), the Belgian Beer Festival that Ebenezer’s puts on is an event to behold.  Sadly, this information is second hand from my parents.  While we were there, they were beginning their preparations for the fest, but our trip did not overlap with the event itself.  Luckily, we have spies everywhere, and had them attend.  They reported that the owner was pouring the last known bottles of certain beers, the opening night dinner was sold out and attended by participants from around the country and Europe, the Belgian food was better than the regular menu, and that they had to wait a spell before they could drive back home.

All in all, if you are in Maine and love beer, get here.  I mean, you can only fly into Portland.  Even if you are going to the coast, the trip inland is well worth it.

Further, this trip was an education for me.  When we entered the cellar, the owner asked if we were beer aficionados.  Of course we answered yes.  What we didn’t know is that while we had a good working knowledge, there is always more to know, especially when it comes to Belgian beers.  I thank Ebenezer’s for introducing us to the Gueuze.  I hope you’ll introduce yourself to Ebenezer’s.

Over the 4th we were at a party in Malibu and I was offered a Margarita.  I noticed there was a half of a grapefruit sitting beside the blender.  I asked the woman who created it about the grapefruit and she said she was a mixologist and had came up with this Grapefruit Margarita recipe.  It was really refreshing and not too sweet, thanks to the grapefruit.  You could drink many of them and never taste the alcohol or the overly sweet flavors … dangerous!

Grapefruit Margarita Recipe

• Ice (enough to fill up the blender 3/4’s)
• 3/4 parts Tequila
• 1/4 parts Jose Cuervo Margarita Mix
• 1/2 of a fresh grapefruit

Put it all in the blender and go to town!

Here at Blame it on the Food, we are fans of the India Pale Ale (IPA).  An IPA is a higher alcohol content, hop flavored beer that originally became popular with the East India Trading Company and its customers in India.  A double IPA often has a stronger hop flavor and an even higher alcohol content.  Since we’ve tried most, this unfamiliar bottle from a Bay Area brewer struck our fancy at the local Whole Foods.  It ended up being a good buy, being a double IPA that the three of us could easily enjoy for an evening.  This means that while it had a hop flavor, it was somewhat muted, making the beer smoother and more palatable to non-bitter-lovers.  Two of us certainly thought it could use a bit more punch in flavor, but weren’t complaining as we quickly finished off the bottle.

http://bigbluefrog.com/