There’s something to be said for a winemaker’s long tenure at one estate. It would be a fine thing to, season after season, become one with a vineyard, with its vines and insects and rows and birds and microclimates. Don Schroeder, the winemaker at Sea Smoke, has been at the estate since 2003, and he knows every square inch of it.
I met Schroeder recently in Los Angeles at a Sea Smoke lunch tasting. The wines were very good, and I enjoyed speaking with him about his experiences in Alaska (we both once lived there), his education, his family, and his enthusiasm for Alsace, which I share. We also, of course, talked about the wines he makes.
Schroeder is the subject of the latest “Wine Talk,” which you can read here.
The Sea Smoke Estate shares an intimate relationship with the Pacific Ocean. (Courtesy Sea Smoke)
It was 1976, and a little thing we call The Judgement of Paris took place that year. In short, American wines largely bested their Gallic counterparts in the tasting, as determined by some fine French palates. The world noticed.
Chateau Montelena was one of the American producers involved in the tasting, and to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the auspicious event the estate is introducing a sparkling wine and a brandy in limited editions. These bottlings mark the first time that the estate has made a sparkling wine or a brandy.
The 2023 Blanc de Blanc and Brandy Release #01 go on sale today, July 3 (the brandy is available in California only). The wine is $125 for Chateau Montelena wine club members and $150 for everyone else, while the brandy sells for $75 (members) and $95 for non-members.
“The Blanc de Blancs and the brandy both trace back to the same ground that produced the 1973 Chardonnay,” said Matthew Crafton, president and winemaker at Chateau Montelena. “They aren’t recreations of that wine, nothing could be, but they are honest expressions of the same vineyards, approached with the curiosity and discipline that have always defined Montelena.”
Matthew Crafton, president and winemaker at Chateau Montelena, sits with some bottles at the estate. (Brockhaus Photography)
The sparkling wine’s fruit — 100 percent chardonnay — comes from Napa Valley’s John Muir Hanna Vineyard, which played a pivotal role in the 1973 Chateau Montelena selection that finished on top in the chardonnay category at The Judgement of Paris. The brandy was distilled from fruit (all chardonnay) harvested from the John Muir Hanna, Belle Terre, and Bacigalupi vineyards, the three sites that provided grapes for the famed 1973 vintage. Montelena plans to release nine additional bottlings of brandy over time.
Speaking of the Spirit of 1976, Montelena put together a great kit for the sparkling wine and brandy that includes a bottle of each, along with all of the ingredients needed for the Montelena 76, a cocktail I am looking forward to try.
In honor of a grand occasion and a storied cocktail. (Brockhaus Photography)
If you want to get a bottle of the sparkling wine, click here beginning on July 3. As noted, the brandy is for the moment available solely in California — contact the winery for information on that.
Steven Spurrier receives most of the accolades, but Patricia Gallagher and Jon Winroth Broneer deserve a lot of the credit as well. I’m referring to The Judgement of Paris, which took place in Paris in 1976. Wines from California bested French wines, according to some discerning Gallic palates. The world of wine changed forever on that day.
To mark the 50th anniverary of the tasting heard ’round the world I’m taking a look at bottles from some of the wineries involved in it. First up, the wines that finished first in their categories: Chateau Montelena (chardonnay) and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars (cabernet sauvignon). Read the story in in PaperCity Magazine here.
Was Paraguay that bad? Was the U.S. that good? After some thought, I’d say the latter is the more accurate assessment. The United States men were that good yesterday in Los Angeles before 70,000-plus fans in SoFi Stadium.
A solemn space at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Larry, Scott, and I prepared for the big event by attending the FIFA Fan Zone in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, itself a grand venue. Another former teammate of mine, John Ryan, from my Florida playing days, had traveled to L.A. with his girlfriend to attend the match (the two of them are also making their own journey up the coast to Seattle during this World Cup) and we met them at the coliseum.
Scott, Larry, and James outside SoFi before the match.
All was orderly and efficient at the match stadium, entry lines moving briskly, excitement visible. Reuniting with Larry and Scott for the tournament has been a surreal experience for me, and that sensation was heightened as I thought back to our Germany days. Fußball was and is front and center for us; we were in our safe space.
The K-Town trio at SoFi.
I won’t go on about the match. I enjoyed it thouroughly. Pulisic was splendid in the first half (he was substituted out at the half after sustaining a “kick” to a calf), there were two stellar goals — one from Balogun, one from Reyna, the latter my favorite, a curling piece of poetry that he curved around the keeper — and the U.S. side played a nearly flawless match. If they play close to this level against Turkey on the 25th things will really become exciting for U.S. supporters.
We will now enjoy Saturday in Los Angeles, take in the Brazil-Morocco match at home, and prepare for the journey toward Seattle. And what’s that I hear? It’s Die Mannschaft calling — Germany kicks off its tournament tomorrow, and I’ll be watching as we head up the coast.
Though I love good coffee, and drink it daily, I have measured out my life with World Cup tournaments.
The 1982 edition marked the actual, live beginning of my journey with the moveable feast; Spain was the host country, I was attending school in Germany. I had, of course, seen footage of Pelé and his magic, and had a few years earlier commenced my research into the history of the tournament. But now I was in Germany, in Europe, and the sport was with me 24 hours a day.
I began playing Fußball in New Hampshire, as a junior high school student, and continued in Clearwater, Florida, on school and club teams. Germany was next. My father was ordered to duty in Kaiserslautern, a small city in the Rheinland Pfalz. My mother, two sisters, and I accompanied him.
One of my coaches in Florida, Otto Lohmann, was a German, and I learned a lot from him. He was my first genuine coach, an individual who knew the sport and knew how to manage players. At the time I had no idea I would one day play and live in Deutschland, but I prefer to think that it was my destiny. In Florida I became a fan of the television show “Soccer Made in Germany,” which was moderated by the great Toby Charles and broadcast on PBS channels.The program was a Sunday-morning priority, and Charles brought the Bundesliga into my life. I watched what would soon become my club team, 1 F.C. Kaiserslautern, on that show.
On to Germany. That’s where it all shifted into overdrive.
I attended a Department of Defense school, for which I played soccer. I also tried out for a German club team, T.S.G. Kaiserslautern, and became a member of the A-Jugend squad. Life was perfect.
In May of 1981 I found myself at the home of the Kehls, watching Germany play Brazil in a friendly. I was also there for dinner; Frau Kehl had cooked pork and red cabbage. We drank riesling that Herr Kehl made his son and me dilute with water. I had already adopted Die Mannschaft as my national team, but that match firmly placed the team in my being. Herr Kehl was my trainer at T.S.G., and I admired him greatly. He was the best trainer I would ever have. Germany lost that friendly 2-1.
The KAHS Red Raiders, a good team. Scott Babos is second from left on the bottow row, Larry Day third from left, and I am sixth from left.
Larry Day and Scott Babos were among my best friends in Kaiserslautern. They were fellow Air Force Brats, and they were my DoD school teammates. We spent hours together on the training pitch, on buses traveling to away matches and home again, and playing together for the Kaiserslautern American High School Red Raiders. Scott and I had a standing appointment at a local raquetball facility near my house, at which we played endless one-on-one matches to improve our dribbling and ball control in tight spaces. The small plexiglass window on the door of the court was the target of our free-kick competitions. Larry joined us as often as he could at outdoor three-on-three matches to stay in shape during the brief off seasons. They both played for German club teams as well.
Larry and Kelli Day in Tokyo earlier this year.
The World Cup is back, and my journey continues. This tournament is especially meaningful to me, because my two friends and I are, beginning this evening, writing another chapter of our friendship. At the beginning of this year Larry phoned and asked me to get in touch with Scott. “I’ve got an idea for us,” he said. A few days later we heard Larry’s idea: He wanted to buy tickets for the three of us to World Cup matches taking place in Los Angeles, my home, and Seattle, where Scott lives. The last time the three of us were together was in late 2000.
Scott Babos, left, two of his grandchildren, and his son, Alexander, at an FC Dallas match.
Larry is, as I write, in the air between California and New Hampshire, and Scott is somewhere between Seattle and L.A. They are joining me here in Los Angeles this evening, and tomorrow we will be in the stands watching the U.S. battle Paraguay. On Sunday morning we take to the roads in an RV, headed up the beautiful coast, Seattle our ultimate destination, where we will attend the match between Australia and the U.S.
I am measuring out this thing called life. Larry and Scott will meet Angela for the first time. These two men who mean so much to me, who became part of my story, my existence, will now become part of my World Cup journey. It’s going to be our journey. It will be, I am certain, epic. And I’ll be documenting it here.
Evan White is the star of the latest “Wine Talk,” and he got his start in the hospitality industry at one of my favorite restaurants in Manhattan. That would be Babbo.
White now resides in Houston, Texas, and he’s the wine director for the Bludorn Hospitality Group, for he which oversees a number of wine lists and beverage programs. I liked hearing his take on problematic customers, and share his enthusiasm about pairing wines with Vietnamese cuisine. Wait until you hear what he says is the best cabernet sauvignon made in the United States.
Bludorn occupies one of my favorite spaces in Houston. (Julie Soefer photo)
Vin de France, how I appreciate thee. You let winemakers focus on grapes no matter their provenance (the fruit, not the winemakers). You are young — VDF as a national classification was born in 2009 — and your potential is immense. You’ve been a great addition to a proud and prestigious legacy, and I think you will mature into a fine individual.
Chardonnay, grenache blanc, viognier, marsanne, mauzac, muscat, and clairette. They are all in this bottle. And skins and whole clusters are used. It’s an orange wine, from Gérard Bertrand, and I opened it yesterday and loved it. It has a suggested retail price of $24.99, and you can search for it here or wherever you like to buy your wine.
Lovely color in the bottle, lively aromatics in the glass. Gérard Bertrand’s 2023 Orange Gold, a vin de France.
The 2023 Orange Gold, a project that sings of the Mediterranean, offers peach, apricot, jasmine, and white pepper as entry points, and those aromatics carry on when one drinks this wine. Your palate might pick up on the notes of apricot and peaches, as mine did, along with a hint of oxidation that is intriguing. Body is medium to medium-plus, while the finish is long and fairly complex.
Bertrand sought to pay homage to the history of Georgian orange wines, and I think this one aced that assignment.
I paired this with a frisée salad whose stars were slices of goat cheese battered with egg and panko before frying and pieces of pears macerated in balsamic vinegar. This wine would also be great with a goat curry dish or a tray of your favorite cheeses.
Pay no attention to the hype and trendiness of orange wine; it’s been around a long time, and will outlast us all. It deserves better than hype.
The latest “Wine Talk” is here, and this one is heavy on pinot noir. Specifically, pinot noir from California. Adam Lee, of Siduri fame, opens up about his journey from Austin, Texas, to making wine with his former wife, Dianne Novy, in California, to founding his current main project, Clarice Wine Company.
Along the way Lee debated alcohol levels with Rajat Parr, surprised Robert Parker with some wine left with Meadowood’s concierge, and made myriad outstanding wines. He’s still making them.
I enjoyed speaking with Lee, and his background and story are fascinating. He majored in French History, knows a lot about the French penal system, and has managed to maintain a passion and enthusiasm for wine for decades now. That’s a good thing.
One night, not so long ago, I decided to make a curry dish. It would be piquant, it would be made with cream and fresh chili peppers, and it would include tofu, which I planned to sear in a pan until it was well browned. I’d garnish it with basil, basil grown on our balcony in West Los Angeles.
When I cook, I always, as part of the process, which includes the actual serving and eating of the food, think about the wine (or wines) I would like to drink with the dishes.
“Pairings” is a word one sees often in culinary milieus, and it’s used with alacrity for good reason: the wines I choose to serve my dinner guests are selected as companions to the cuisine. They might accentuate a certain flavor element or ingredient, or they could serve as a counterpoint to a dish. I love how a juicy, racy red wine tastes with a pepperoni pizza, and some of my best moments have been spent eating oysters while drinking Chablis.
Oysters are never tiring.
Conversely, how about halloumi and a big Gigondas? Or a sparkling rosé and beef short ribs? I have offered these two pairings at dinners, and when guests saw them on the menu they expressed disbelief at the former combination and incredulity at the latter (in the case of a gentleman who was in the habit of drinking nothing but heavy cabernet sauvignons with his beef). Once they put the food and wine in their mouths they conceded.
Taste, and Taste Often
What should you take from all of this? First, the classic food and wine pairings are classics for a reason. Use them as part of your repertoire. Second, don’t be afraid to blur the lines, or surprise your guests (and yourself). Above all, taste. Often. Taste when cooking, taste with intention when pairing food and wine.
Drain and press tofu well before browning and the crisp factor will stun you.
Tofu and rice in this dish.
To that curry, and what I drank with it. It was an Eroica Riesling, 2024 vintage, an off-dry wine produced from a joint venture between Dr. Loosen and Chateau Ste. Michelle. It’s a low-alcohol (11 percent), vibrant, fresh, and delicious riesling, one that, as I was certain it would, paired well with the tofu curry, which I made by roasting red onions, garlic, and ginger in sunflower oil. I made a spice mixture that included toasted and ground cumin seeds, cardamom, cloves, turmeric, red chili, fenugreek, cinnamon, coriander, and several other components. A highlight for my palate was the play between the wine and the touch of cinnamon in the dish.
The Eroica riesling is well worth its $22 suggested retail price.
The Eroica’s aromas — papaya, peach and other stone fruit, and springtime grass — give way to a comforting minerality and notes of honey and cold-river stones. A medium body and whispering acidity complete the wine.
The fruit here comes from the Evergreen Vineyard, which is in the Ancient Lakes AVA, and is a wonderful example of cool-climate growth. Grapes were harvested at night and went directly to press, and the wine was aged for 10 months in stainless steel.
The Eroica represents great value; it sports a suggested retails price of $22, but is often available for a bit less (buy here). If you already know and love riesling, this one will definitely not turn you off, and if you are new to the wines produced from this noble grape, give this one a try.
Chicken thighs — bone in and skin on — have been on heavy rotation at The Brockhaus home kitchen lately. I prefer dark meat — thighs and legs over breast for me (though I do make an exception for the perfect scaloppine made with chicken breast, second only to veal in my book for this) — and cooking pieces of poultry that have not been deboned almost always results in more flavorful dishes.
I like to trim the excess skin from the thighs, pat them dry with a towel, place them on a rack on a quarter sheet, and season them liberally on both sides with salt and black pepper (and other spices and herbs, depending on what I’m making.) We let them rest for 20 minutes or so while we do other prep work.
A sauce that provokes desire.
A few nights ago I decided to make what I’ll call chicken puttanesca. I had thighs, and I had some olives, green and black, and capers. The thighs, prepped as noted above, I put skin-side down in a large skillet that contained a tablespoon of shimering olive oil. Heat was medium high. Be patient, don’t manipulate the chicken; when the skin is ready it will release from the skillet. Six or 8 minutes should do it. Flip, brown the other side. Remove the chicken to a plate.
Which Onion Should I Choose?
You’ll have thinly sliced an onion — I used a white onion, but red works as well. In addition, 10 garlic cloves are sliced razor thin, and a red and yellow bell pepper are sliced. If you want, and if necessary, remove all but a few tablespoons of fat from the skillet, but know that that liquid is full of flavor. Add the onion slices and soften them for a few minutes, stirring a few times; add the peppers and cook for 5 more minutes. Then throw in that garlic and a teaspoon or so of fresh crushed red pepper, more if you like it hot, because some do. Cook for three minutes more, then push the mixture to the side of the skillet and squirt some tomato paste into it. I say 2 tablespoons of it. Stir the paste for 4 minutes.
A good way to make your friends happy.
Time for tomatoes. Don’t fret if you can’t get ahold of fresh tomatoes, but if you can, use them. (Score a small “x” on one end of each tomato, boil for 45 seconds or so, then put them in an ice bath until they are cool enough to peel. I won’t judge you if you skip the seeding process. Use about 30 ounces of tomatoes.) I had a 28-ounce can of whole San Marzano tomatoes, and I crushed them in my hands over the skillet. Keep some chunks in your sauce, this is not a thing over which to stress. Once the tomatoes and juice are in the mix stir everything, being sure to scrape the bottom of the skillet. About 5 minutes later I am in the habit of adding a cup of good red wine, perhaps a Chianti or a tempranillo. Stir and let simmer for another few minutes, at medium high.
Here come the olives and capers. I prefer 1 cup of olives, whole and pitted, and 3 tablespoons of capers. Put them in the mixture and stir it all. The thighs can now go back into the skillet; tip the plate they were resting on over the skillet, because you don’t waste the liquid. It tastes good. Oh, I forgot to write that I from time to time add some chicken stock along with the tomatoes and wine. This time I did, because I had made stock earlier in the week and needed to either use or freeze it. Lower the heat to low, partially cover the skillet, and simmer for 20 minutes or so. When done, if the sauce is too thin, remove the chicken and raise the heat for a few minutes, cover off, to thicken the sauce. Taste and season.
A bowl that makes one’s evening better.
Rigatoni or Polenta? You Decide
Now you decide how you’ll serve this. I like rigatoni, or another tube pasta, as the sauce plays well with that, and that’s what I did on that evening, but polenta is another option. Crusty bread? Yes. Sprinkle some Italian parsley over the bowls, and grate some Parmigiano-Reggiano over it all. Drizzle some good olive oil on this if you like that. I’ve served to this many people, and they all, with the exception of one individual, still like me. Pair with that Chianti. (Note: Unlike some skin-on chicken recipes, the goal here is not keeping the skin crisp. In fact, I will often, before serving, remove the skin and take the meat off of the bone, putting equal amounts of the meat in each bowl. The flavor the skin imparts while cooking is marvelous, however, so leave it on while cooking this dish.)
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