Weather

Windy now. Sky pale blue, greyish pink near the horizon. Not a cloud.

Me in the underground

Domaine Weinbach [this is a transcript in progress]

Arrived late. The front door was locked. We knocked. People visible inside would not open. Finally we were admitted, only to sit in a sort of small dining room while Faller women marched through. Smells of lunch cooking. We looked over a list. Colette Faller asked what we wanted to try. I replied, "Votre pinot noir W, s'il vous plait. Et puis vos vendanges tardives." Steven remonstrated gently with me for indicating only that we wanted to try a single red wine and some very sweet wines. Then in came Catherine Faller. She asked what language we wanted to proceed in. We agreed on English.

SRG: But I should explain. I mentioned to your mother just now—

CF: Yes? Yes?

SRG: —that we want to try vendanges tardives, which of course we want to try, but it probably would be best to begin—

CF: Of course. With the dry—

SRG: —with the dry wines. And we're particularly interested in your rieslings.

CF: The riesling.

SRG: Yes, please.

CF: Yes. And where . . . You come from . . . ?

SRG: I'm from California. The two of us are from California. And this gentleman, originally from California, now lives in Berlin and Paris.

CF: In . . . Paris . . . ?

SRG: Paris and Berlin.

CF: Berlin is a beautiful city. As well.

SL [utterly disbelieving]: Beautiful?

[burst of laughter from SRG]

CF: —artists

SL: It is interesting 

CF: This is the pinot noir "W" which is the . . . malolactic fermentation
two or three year old barriques
That's whty it's called "W," which means "Weinbach wood."

SRG: Oh. Gotcha.

CF: Opposed to the regular pinot noir, which is aged—fermented in old oak in barriques which are between 40 and 100 years old. Of course, there's no exchange of tannin.
Maybe a little too cold. And it comes from the clos which is composed of

SRG: And how old are the vines?

CF: Forty years old. Would you like something to . . .

[sipping]

SL: Thank you.

CF: Full bodied, hein, with ripe tannins.

SRG: And very ready to drink.

CF: Mm? Yes. Like to try a riesling?

SRG: Yes, please.

[Catherine leaves the room.]

WS [to Sam]: You took that in one gulp.

SRG: Yeah. I've gotta say, I'd take a Russian River pinot noir over that any day. Virtually no bouquet.

WS: No, I thought . . . initially . . .

SRG: No. Virtually nothing. And in these glasses, who could tell, anyway? There's not much . . . What do you think, Steven?

[Catherine returns.]

[pouring]

CF: 2006. This is the richest cuvée among the dry rieslings that we produce. It comes from vines which are between 40 and 60 years old, located on mid-slope, which is the best exposure.

[silence from the drinkers]

SL: What does the "inédit" mean here, on this?

CF: "L'inédit" means "one of a kind." It's between a dry style and a late harvest.

SL: Oh. Okay.

CF: But that's not this one, hein. This is the two-six and l'inédit is a two-four. So this one's . . . Concentration and the elegance. It has a very long finish. A very ripe and harmonious acidity.

SRG: Yeah. It's very good. For sure.

CF: And it can age. Very expressive now . . . Would you like to try L'Inédit?

SRG: Sure.

SL: Yes.

[Catherine leaves & returns]

SRG: So, in 2003 the ripes were super ripe?

CF: Two three: yes. Uh-huh. So, this is L'Inédit. [pours] This is very silky; it comes from sixty-years-old vines located on mid-slope. And it was picked with 15 alcoholic potential at harvest, and the fermentation stopped at 13.6, but—which are very well integrated into the acidity.

SRG: So in any given year you'll decide for the Ste. Catherine, which vines are going to go into that cuvée?

CF: Yes: it's always the same. It's always the oldest vines that we have in the Grand Cru Schlossberg. Yes, so this one is very silky, hein, with wonderful tropical flavors of pineapple. And it's a wonderful complement to scallops, sautéed goose liver, crab. It's nice as an aperitif as well.

SRG: Do you get many visitors from Japan?

CF: Some. Not too many. But we export to Japan. [to Won Sun] Do you come from . . . ?

WS: No.

SRG: I ask because we were in Champagne a couple of years ago and we met some Japanese tourists who had been to Alsace.

CF: Yes. From time to time.

SRG: China?

CF: Not so much. We have more people from the States, I would say, from England, from Europe, Italy. A lot of people from Sweden. Yes. Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland. And of course from Germany. Austria from time to time.

SRG: Do you export virtually all of your wines to the United States?

CF: Nearly all of them, yes. Most of them.

SG: Not the pinot noir, probably.

CF: We did some special [straining for the word] export for just one or two clients. Would you like to try the pinot gris? This is the Pinot Gris Cuvée St. Catherine. Between 2006, which comes from the clos, which was cultivated by the monks until the Revolution. And it's composed of soil on granite pebbles.

SRG: So the clos . . . How many different cépages are in the clos?

CF: Nearly all of the varieties. Sylvaner, pinot blanc, pinot noir, pinot gris, riesling . . .

SRG: I've had very few pinot gris; this is very good. I've had pinot grigio, but this is so much better.

CF: It's very well structured, hein? It's a perfect accompaniment to risotto with mushrooms, white meat, poultry . . .

CF: All our vineyards are farmed biodynamically.

SRG: How long have you been doing that?

CF: We started in 1998. Which is more a philosophy than a religion, you know. It really allows the terroir to express much better in the wine.

SRG: Are your vineyards all close by?

CF: Yes. We have 8 hectares on the Grand Cru Schlossberg. There. Which was the firs And then we have one hectare furst
three hectares in the Altenbourg
and half an hectare in the Grand Cru Montbourg.
And the rest is . . . around.

SRG: Are all of your wines made entirely from your own grapes?

CF: Yes. All of the wines are made from estate-grown grapes. Exactly. Yes. And yields are kept low by short pruning. And all the grapes are picked exclusively by hands at optimum maturity to assure maximum ???.

SRG: Outside of the biodynamic, is there any sense in which Weinbach is not a traditional Alsatian winery?

CF: Mmmmmmmmmm. I don't think so. You mean, not—

SRG: For example, vinification . . .

CF: Vinification? No. It's traditional. We use . . . My sister is the winemaker—Lawrence—
and we use the indigenous yeast. And all the fermentation are made at the temperature control. Would you like to try a gewurztraminer?

SRG: Sure.

SL: Okay.

SRG: Sure.

[Catherine leaves]

WS: How did she say "gewurztraminer"?

SRG: "Gewurztraminer"? That's what she said.

WS: Turned an "r" into an "h" . . .

SL: But, I mean, it was . . . it was very close to the German, with a strong French accent.

WS: I liked the riesling, the Ste. Catherine.

SRG: We had two.

WS: The one we had before this.

SRG: L'inédit. It was definitely more character.

SL: More sugar.

[Catherine returns]

CF: This is a Gewurztraminer Alternbourg Cuvée Laurence 2004. Altenbourg is composed of limestone and clay, and it's between the Grand Cru Schlossberg

Gewurztraminer with a great aromatic complexity and a wonbderful balance.

SRG: So each of the varietals, the cépages becomes classified as a Lawrence or a Catherine.

what is shared among

CF: The Cuvée Lawrence usually comes from limestone and clay soils. From the ---, from the Altenbourg. And the Cuvée Ste Catherine are usually picked later. But we will remove—we removed, in order to simplify the labels and the comprehension, we removed the word "Cuvée Lawrence" for the Altenbourg
so it will be . . . Since 2006, it is only Altenbourg or Grand Cru
And then we have the regular Cuvée Laurence, which comes from the Altenbourg.

SRG: Oh, I see.

[drinking]

CF: This is very elegant. It's not too exuberant; it's very well balanced; it's not cloying. Indian cuisine, smoked fish, rich cheeses. Epoisse.

SRG: And how is the Grand Cru [Gewurztraminer] Mambourg different from the Altenbourg?

CF: Grand Cru Mambourg is a little bit richer, a little bit more concentrated that the Altenbourg.

SRG: 'Cause I like this very much and I'd like to try the Mambourg.

CF: You'd like to try the Mambourg. I'll have to check if I have it.

SRG: 'Cause I'm going to buy some of this, but I may buy the Mambourg if it's available.

[Catherine exits]

WS: It's extremely attractive.

[sound of bottle opening, wine pouring]

WS: Merci.

SRG: Oh. I forgot. I left something in the car that I have to bring in.

WS: Do you have the key?

SL: Is it in the trunk, I assume?

WS: What are you looking for?

SRG: The tea.

[discussion of the key and the trunk]

SRG: Oh, I see. Okay.

SL: Maybe you'll have more luck.

CF: It's a little bit more candied fruit. Yellow plums. Than the Grand Cru Altenbourg.

SRG: What happens to these flavors over time, with the gewurztraminer? How would you describe what it will be like . . .

CF: In ten years you will have faded roses, and it will be—the sugars will be more integrated, with a little bit more, maybe, candied orange and mango. And I think the bitterness will be a little bit more . . .

SRG: If you had a choice—and of course the wines have different qualities at different times—what do you think would be the optimum age for this particular . . .

[Catherine notices the minidisc recorder]

SRG: I should have asked.

SRG: Je vous demande pardon.

CF: Parce que vous ecrivez pour . . .

SRG: C'est seulement pour moi.

SRG: It's just for myself.

CF: L'age optimale? 2004, 2008. It's very good now.

SRG: Of course. But different people like different qualities. It's just, when you say something like "faded roses," I think, maybe I should wait ten years.

CF: Maybe four more years.

SRG: And for the vendanges tardives

CF: Very expressive when they're young. . . . But our venfadges tardives are already showing quite well. Because in the mind of some people, if a wine is good young, it will not age well. I think a young wine should be good. If it's not good, you can just forget it. Whether it's red or white. For sure. A little bit closed

SRG: People talk about a "dumb period." Does this happen with your wines? Is there a moment when . . .

CF: Not as in . . . I think it happens in Burgundy

SRG: And in Rhône whites.

CF: With our wines, it's not very frequent. It may happen, but it's not very frequent.

SRG: I drink a lot of German rieslings. And my experience is I almost always prefer them young.

CF: We also like young rieslings. But our riesling from the Grand Cru Schlossberg, they, the minerality of the GCS is not dominant, you've tasted the 2004, it shows some minerality
not heavy
it's combined with the fruit, so it's very subtle in a way.
is more dominant
You tasted the two-oh-four, which is—it shows some minerality
it's very subtle, in a way
But, of course, you have to be very careful, with the older rieslings.
And you have to choose the food, which you're going to serve. Or you can just ake them—

SRG: I would drink your wines as an aperitif.

CF: Of course, riesling is one of the most food-friendly wines in the world. It's wonderful. You know that. But of course, the most complexities, the more simple should be the food. The more complex the wine, the more simple the food. So, again, riesling, compared with a 2006, 2005, even compared with traditional fish
As well as Thai cuisine
But a riesling—a ten-years-old riesling would pair with something more traditional, like a sole meuniere, with a beurre blanc
traditional French cuisine

SRG: Because . . .

CF: Because the wine is more complex. If you add the coconut milk, it's not going to work. It's difficult to pair those. And because
first-quality fish
The simpler the recipe

SRG: Well, I'm from San Francisco.

CF: You are lucky. You have very good restaurants in San Francisco. I know a lady—

SRG: Did you visit recently?

CF: A long time ago. It's my sister.

visited San Francisco by the time there was a riot in Los Angeles.

SRG: We were all there.

CF: I was there. There was a riot and the bridge were going to be closed. I was in San Francisco when there was a riot in Los Angeles. There was something in Los Angeles

SRG: Los Angeles, you could see smoke all around the city. San Francisco never saw anything like that. What year was it?

WS: '91 or '92. [It was 1992.]

CF: In the nineties, yes. I can't . . . '91 or '92. La Fleur de Lys—you know?

SRG: Of course.

CF: They are very good friends. Hubert Keller. Fleur de Lys, yes.

SRG: Are there any great Alsatian chefs working in America?

CF: Yes, they are. Fleur de Lys.

SRG: Was the guy at Lutèce, André Soltner, is he Alsatian?

WS: The FCI.

SRG: What's that?

WS: The French Culinary Institute.

SRG: Is that in New York?

CF: In Chicago. And Jean-Georges Vongerichten in New York. They come from Alsace.

SRG: They're all from Alsace.

SRG: Can I get back in?

CF: You just have to leave the door open.

[Sam goes out]

CF: You would like to try a late harvest?

SL: Yes, please. Um.

CF: Rieslings?

SL: Yes, rieslings.

[Won Sun tells Steven about "Top Chef" and Bravo, the gay network.]

CF: So this is a Riesling Grand Cru Schlossberg Vendanges Tardives 2004.

[sound of pouring]

SRG: Je vous ai apporté un petit cadeau.

CF: Ah! Merci beaucoup.

SRG: C'est du thé de chine. C'est quelque chose d'assez spéciale.

CF: Je bois du thé chaque matin. Donc, c'est pas du thé vert.C'est du thé normal.

SRG: Disons normale, oui.

SRG: This is really good.

CF: Merci beaucoup. Trés gentil. Emballé le 12 mars. Is that the right way to open it?

SRG: Just gently pull it apart.

CF: And you can reseal it after this. I'll try it tomorrow morning.

[drinking wine]

CF: Merci beaucoup.
Is that the right way to open it? And you can reseal it . . .

CF: I'll try it tomorrow morning. You know, I have girlfriends. They know that I have . . . the wine. They keep giving me, as a gift, tea with fruit
I hate! It's awful. Tea with passionfruit flavors. The worst is the grapefruit. Add acidity to the tea. The tannin of the tea, plus the acidity of the grapefruitTea with passionfruit flavors
Grapefruit
You can't drink it! I can't! If I drink tea, I like regular tea
It's awful.

SRG: It can be nice as a novelty. At Christmastime, a little bit of candied orange or something like that . . .

CF: Yes, or Earl Grey, with bergamot, which is classic. Or but you know you go into a tea shop an that's all those junky flavors . . . Like a chef cooking with ten-ingredient dish and then you forget

SRG: What's underneath all that

CF: Or can I find the fish . . . It's all about that. I like precise—I like precision. In the food and in the wine. It's important, I think.

SL: Coffee. For a while, my parents were drinking flavored coffee as well, and I had to bring my own coffee.

WS:

SRG: When people who don't know anything about French food . . .

It's all because their meat was so bad. Their meat was so bad . . .

WS: A lot of those additives

SRG: And let me tell you: when people in America

WS: No, no, no. The meat two hundred years ago

CF: I agree with the fact that your meat is better than ours. For sure.

SL: Because they have greater grazing areas, which is really important.

CF: Yes. The best beef in France in the Charolais. You can't find Charolais at my butcher's.
I would buy it, but maybe I would be the only one to buy it

SRG: I see these beautiful pictures of cows up in hillsides, and their milk is made into beautiful cheeses . . .

CF: But the cows that are raised for meat come from near Burgundy . . .

SRG: Because in America the meat is considered a bit of a scandal

SL: But there are also alternatives

SRG: You can always find excellent beef, but what McDonalds is selling, often from South America . . .

WS: They say they're not selling . . .

CF: But the best beef comes from Argentina, I think.

SRG: It's an argument

CF: Kobe beef
You can only eat, maybe 50 gramsIt's more white than red.

SRG: But fat is awfully good.
I'm a vegetarain, so I don't eat any of this.
CF: Yes, of course, it's awfully good. I agree. Butter is awfully good, as well. Bearnaise is awfully good. . But I don't cook that, except if I have guests. But for the family: no sauce! My son is complaining, says, "I like it when you are on business trips, because with Colette we don't eat diet food." Because my mother likes potatoes, likes sauces. So he's more happy when I am away. He is 28.

SRG: Does he work for the family business?

CF: He says it's boring. Because he likes tartiflettes

SRG: Is tartiflettes pomme de terre

CF: You should go to the Alps to that

SRG: That's what we should have for lunch.

CF: It's not typical for Alsace, if you'll allow me to say that.
Tarte à l'ognion is very good.

SRG: If we went to Ribeauvillé for lunch.

CF: And the Sommelier in Bergheim is closed as well?

SRG: I don't know.

CF: They have a wonderful winelist. Shall I call? And I can make the reservation for you.

SRG: Yeah, that would be great.

CF: And how did you like the riesling?

SRG: This is terrific.

[Catherine leaves]

SRG: Oh yeah.
Especially since

SRG: Thank you very much.

CF: Thank you very much.
And in San Francisco you have Alice Waters
And you have the French Laundry in Napa. And I know chefs—

SRG: Steven's been there.

CF: And did you like it?

SL: When I was leaving California, that was one of my farewell dinners.

CF: My sister has.

SRG: Oh yes, she's the one who travels.

CF: To the States.

SRG: Gewurztraminer. This is a Vendange Tardive 2004. I just thought that that last riesling was marvelous.

WS: You know how much I like

SRG: Well, they don't have any of that bitterness.

[Steven talks German on telephone.]

[Catherine speaks to Sommelier staff.]

SRG: Tant pis!

CF: Si non, vous avez . . . They have one . . . And on the other side . . . Chambard. Mardi soir et mercredi.

SRG: Roundabout.

CF: How do you call that?
You can park at the beginning of the village.

SL: This is lovely also.

CF: Do you want me to make a reservation?
At the

[Catherine makes reservation by phone]

CF: I'm frustrated on horses. Because when I was 9 I wanted to ride a horse.
My father said, "No!"
I said, "Why?"
Because it's dangerous and you will have a complex of superiority.
We had horses to work in the vineyards.
Compensation
When I was 13, he was the president of the basketball club.
I said, "No, I'm not going to play basketball, because when I wanted

SRG: Motorcycle.

CF: No. But they bought one.
And then he had an accident.
The first accident was me.
I had an accident on the scooter
When I was 19
When my son was 15
"Do you want the helmet?

SRG: Typical.

CF: Then I had to get gas, and the one to brake
I hit the wall.

SRG: He was probably more upset about his scooter than he was about you.

CF: I could have got killed. I had two black eyes.
Two black eyes and a raw nose.

SRG: So few of us have perfect noses.

SRG: Okay, are you guys done?  May we buy some wine?

There was

There was a bird I'd heard of, but never seen, a bird neither large nor rare, but somehow representing spring, and I hoped to see it in Britain. As it turned out, I did. With an hour before our train shot out of Saint Pancras, Won Sun and I walked from Bill's house to the southeast corner of the Regent's Park. It was wet, though hardly torrential. The narcissus were handsome; there were blooms on flowering trees; wood pigeons and magpies walked across the lawn. And then, from a tall tree, a voice I knew could belong to neither of the sauntering birds. A minute later, a whir of blue: yes! The blue tit had appeared.

Jeff Goldblum

Does he believe in God? "Uhhm, not in the way I think people... ssss... uhh, do I believe in a figure outside myself, a being, who lives somewhere... where we can't see them who, you know, umm, sends you to heaven or hell... I'm not sure I believe in that bit of it. I, I, I, err, ahh you know... I believe in stillness and spaciousness."

Calochortus uniflorus

Here is a picture of the sort of flower now in bloom in a pot on my south-facing front porch.

BMI

Mine's 20.

http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/

Debt

I owe a report on Alsatian wines, a report on how cute European cars are, a report on the pleasures of salad with cheese. All coming soon. Hard to believe that when I first started writing this weblog I produced several entries a week. What happened?

Facts

-Eating sugar does not make children hyperactive. All that talk about the "sugar high" and the "crash" that follows is bull.
-Eating chocolate does not cause acne.
-In all but a small number of people, ingesting salt has no effect on blood pressure.
-Salad consumption will not reduce the risk of colon cancer.
-Total fat consumption—even consumption of saturated fat—will not raise your cholesterol level.
-Those who are lactose intolerant can consume a glass of whole milk without any discomfort.