Sippin' Saint Louis

Updates from the land of Charitable Wine

2011-12-14T09:29:00.000-08:00

Hey folks,

Many people have asked me where they can buy Ludovicus wine in order to support Mission: St Louis.

Here is an updated list of the accounts that have purchased it in November and December.

Veritas

St Louis Wine Market

33 Wine Bar

Five

Blood & Sand

Atomic Cowboy

Home Wine Kitchen

Straub's- all locations

Robust

Demun Oyster Bar

Market Grill in Soulard

One 19 North Wine Bar

Modesto Tapas

Wine and Cheese Places

Bottle Cellars

Vino Gallery

Truffles

Naked Vine

Lukas Liquor

Friar Tuck- all locations

So, get out there, buy some wine, and support a great cause!

Cheers!

Why Wine-on-Tap?

2011-12-01T07:48:00.000-08:00

Hi.

What an amazing month November was! Because of the generosity of those in St Louis that are buying Ludovicus, I'm already going to write Mission: St Louis a check for over $500, and we still have December to go! Keep up buying that wine!

I did want to make a short post about wine-on-tap. Yes, you read that correctly. Wine in kegs, just like beer kegs, has hit the St Louis restaurant scene. Sasha's on Shaw and Green Bean are already carrying it. It is being installed in Atomic Cowboy and 360 nightclub within the next couple of weeks, and several other places are heavily considering it.

Why?

Well, the short answer is that with wine-on-tap, you get the same benefits that you do with beer. The long answer is, well, longer. Here are the crib notes:

1) It's more Eco-friendly
Every time I order wine from a supplier, it comes shipped to me wrapped up on a wooden pallet. A normal pallet of wine is 56 cases, and weighs roughly 2000 lbs. It also contains 56 cardboard boxes, and 672 glass bottles that people say get recycled, but most often end up in a dumpster. For the same amount of cubic feet, I can bring in the liquid equivalent of 87 cases of wine in kegs, and it weighs 1300 lbs. This is a huge savings on the carbon footprint created by the shipping portion of this game. That also means that there is a recycling/landfill savings of 87 cardboard boxes and 1044 glass bottles.

2) It's less expensive
From the distributor (my) standpoint, the savings created by the wineries not having to produce bottles, boxes, labels, etc for all those cases of wine comes out to about $1-2 per bottle. I also save money on shipping, since it is lighter. This means that I charge restaurants less money, and they in turn charge less to the end consumer. At the end of the day, the consumer is getting a better bottle of wine for less money.

3) The wine lasts longer
If you run a bar, you know the feeling of coming in after you have been closed for a day or two, and having to dump out the leftovers in the bottles of wine that you pour by the glass. Most restaurant owners take this into consideration, and add padding to their pricing structure for the waste. With wine-on-tap, there is almost zero waste. The kegs are topped off with inert gas (usually a blend of nitrogen and co2) that keeps the wine from spoiling. Industry-types say that the wine will last over 6 months in a keg, but truthfully nobody knows. The wine is almost always sold before then. Once again, because the wine costs less, and there's no waste, you get to drink it for less $.

I think that's a wine-win.

Cheers.

Be Nice

2011-11-18T08:15:00.000-08:00

If you saw my Facebook rant last night, you know that I was pretty upset with some of my fellow food/wine industry cohorts. Yesterday, we held a launch party for a new wine-on-tap project that my company is carrying (more about that on another day). We held the party at a local wine bar that serves food as well. The way that it worked was that for $20 people got 4 tastes of wine, each paired with a small dish. Well, the party was really successful. Probably 120 people took advantage of the tasting, which is awesome. However, as the night got later the establishment understandably started running out of items (they were surprised by the number of people that showed for the event). At about this time, an individual that is involved with the local industry said to their server "You didn't save any (item X) for when I got here?"

Are you kidding me? This person really thought that the restaurant should say to their staff "Hey, such-and-such might be coming in, make sure you don't serve the 120 other people something so that they can get some when they are here."

This is the ultimate example of expecting to be treated like a rock star, and it drives me nuts. Just because you have a job in the industry, you should NOT expect to be treated in a special manner. Often you will be. It's nice, it's great, it's a perk of having friends in the industry, but you should never think that a restaurant should put service to someone else at risk, in order to feed your own self-worth.

Later in the night, a person with a job in the industry was given something of substantial value for free. They then left without tipping their server on the item. This is just plain asinine. Once again, in this industry, a lot of chefs, managers, bartenders, etc are extremely generous. However, if you get something for free, be it a dish, drink, bottle of wine, etc, you really need to tip your server on it. They are deprived of the opportunity to sell you something in that case, which they would have likely gotten tipped on if they had sold it to you.

That's the calmest way that I can explain myself. I want to rant, rave, cuss, spit, and call people out publically on their arrogant actions, but I won't. I have done wrong things in the past that doesn't put me in any position to judge. At the end of the day, please just get over yourself, and be nice.

Cheers.

The World Series Curse

2011-11-10T07:30:00.000-08:00

I have now had the opportunity to live in 2 different major baseball towns when their respective teams won the world series. My time in Boston and in St Louis has shown me one thing- World Series games are not good for the restaurant industry, and even moreso for wine sales in those towns.

You might think it's the opposite- that people pop good wine and champagne during the celebrations that follow wins. The truth is that people drink beer during baseball. They also go to sportsbars. I guarantee you, during any of the NLCS or the World Series games, you could walk into otherwise full restaurants and get a seat immediately. Friends of mine in the industry said that retail sales of wine were down roughly 15%, and that overall sales of restaurants (not sports bars) were off up to 25%.

Craziness.

In good news, if you have been following our drive to donate money to Mission: St Louis by selling Ludovicus, please add Blood and Sand, Home Wine Kitchen, and the Straub's stores in Webster, CWE, and West County.

Thanks all for your generosity!

Cheers.

Back in the Game

2011-11-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

What? It's only been since February since I last posted.

Since my last post, Nicole made the roller derby league, and subsequently a team. We all had birthdays. Peggy unfortunately had to leave the company, but we did hire a driver (Stephen), and and office manager/ sales person (Kelly). We have also grown the company after a rough summer to something that is really wonderful. We are riding our best two months in a row, and continue to be successful.

That being said, I'm going to try to blog more, and keep the few people that read this thing in the loop as to what is going on.

...Which brings us to the charity that we are working with in November and December. Basically, for every bottle of Ludovicus that we sell, we will be donating $1 to Mission: St Louis. This is a great organization that is committed to transforming the city of St Louis through education, empowerment, and education. Please check out their website at www.missionstl.org

Now, what is Ludovicus, and where can you get it? The wine is a grenache-based blend from the area of Terra Alta, Spain. Those of you familiar with the wines from Priorat will probably like it. It's a similar style, and much, much cheaper.

The wine will cost you around $12 at a retail store, and about $25 per bottle at a restaurant, so drink up!

Right now, the St Louis locations that are committed to working with it are:

Friar Tuck Beverage
33 Wine Bar
Lukas Liquors
St Louis Wine Market
Kaya's Imports
The Wine and Cheese Places
Wine Merchant
Robust Wine Bar
Atomic Cowboy
Demun Oyster Bar
Vino Gallery
Bottle Cellars
Five Restaurant
Veritas

I will be updating this list as more places come on line with Ludovicus.

So, please go buy a bottle- it really will help your fair city!

Cheers, it's good to be back.

Kyle

Not wanting to be a "beer poser"

2011-02-21T06:50:00.000-08:00

Something that I have noticed when some of my "normal" friends come to an event that is flush with my "wine geek" friends is that they normally try to bring an impressive bottle of wine. Sometimes this works out well, but often, we look down our nose with the snobbery we say that we eschew, and think "oh, that's cute" in regards to the bottle they bring. Hey, at least I'm admitting it. Wine folks are a funny crowd. They ALL say that they aren't snobs. They ALL say that they don't want to be pretentious. However, I dare you to roll into a meeting of Saint Louis Wine Therapy with a bottle of Yellow Tail, Beringer Stone Cellars, or Rombauer (gasp!!!) and see what happens. They will be cordial, but nobody will touch the damn stuff. It's not the person who brought it's fault- they just didn't know.

I found myself potentially on the other side of this situation not too long ago, regarding beer. Being in this industry, I have quite a few friends that are into beer (check out my buddy Mike's blog www.stlhops.com), and that get together to play cards/trivia/rockband every once in a while. Another guy that I know gave me a bottle of beer that I knew nothing about. I didn't know if it was a "nice" beer or a "oh, that's cute" beer in the eyes of my beer geek friends. I literally worried about showing up with what I thought was a nice bottle, and have them view me as a beer poser. Therefore, I did what I suggest to my friends regarding wine- I drank it with some friends that know less about beer than I do. This way I wouldn't be tempted to show off the next time the beer guys got together, and I saved myself from being "that guy".

Last night, I talked to Mike about the beer in question. He undoubtedly knows more about beer than anyone else I know. However, he had never heard of it. I told him about my dilemma, and the solution. He agreed- that sometimes the best thing you can do is drink the bottle with some people that will truly enjoy it, and not over-analyze it.

Cheers!

The Restaurant I Wanted To Hate...

2011-01-24T07:03:00.000-08:00

...But didn't.

On Saturday night, the Mrs and I were looking for something to eat after I had done a wine tasting in Chesterfield. Now, if you aren't from Saint Louis, this might not mean much to you. Let me explain. Chesterfield Valley is an area located on the very Western edge of the St. Louis metroplex, and is home to what is (I have heard, cannot confirm) supposedly the longest strip mall in America. Literally every convenience is here- Lowes, Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Target, and Sam's are all located within less than a mile of each other. There is literally an example of every type of chain restaurant that you can imagine, and most have multiple examples represented. As someone who champions the small, independent, family owned businesses of our great country, it's areas like this that I really despise. It's the type of place where everyone drives a Lexus, but nobody owns it. Too much convenience, no soul.

We mentioned that we were hungry, and literally had Babbo's Spaghetteria recommended twice in 45 seconds by people at the tasting. "Surely there can't be decent Italian in the Valley" I thought to myself. But, hunger overtook pride and we made the trek.

Upon entering, my snobbery continued. No bar? No seating area? Great. The hostess was very pleasant, even though the place was busting at the seams at 8:30 on a Saturday night. She assured us that the wait would be "no more than 15 minutes" and asked us if we would like a glass of wine. I ordered one, and we stood at one of the two cocktail tables available to wait at. To my surprise, we were seated within the time it took me to take a second sip of wine.

The ambiance at Babbo's isn't for those looking for a quiet, white tablecloth date night. There is roughly seating for 100 people at mainly 4-top, wooden tables, and a visible bustle and energy in the room. The wine list is all-Italian, and even though you get a menu, it is also posted on a gigantic chalkboard on one wall. The tables were set with small water goblets- each containing the necessary fork, spoon, and knife, and water comes in a chilled bottle pre-set on the table. The rusticity of the table set up is actually charming, and doesn't come across as lazy or cheap.

Okay, so I was starting to gain confidence at this point. Our server was efficient, friendly, and didn't pull the whole "I like everything" when asked. He actually had an opinion and recommendations, which I followed.

The first course of Bruschetta was really simple, well made, and delicious. The diced tomatoes had been tossed in some sort of vinaigrette, and my wife and I literally fought over the scraps left on the plate.

Salads are enormous. I ordered the "Del Pietro", which was lightly dressed, not soaked, and had a nice brightness to it. Sure, it was Iceberg and Romaine, but that's okay- it was only like $3 or $4.

The real surprise came with the entrees. I followed the server's lead, and ordered the House made lasagna. One of the greatest compliments that I can give to lasagna is that it tasted like something you would eat at a friend's grandma's house. So many restaurants try to make these 18-layer, heavy as a brick lasagnas with all kinds of weird stuff. This one wasn't in that mode at all. It was a bit lighter, the beef had a nice crumble, and you could tell that they didn't just slop it out of a pan. They took the time in the kitchen to put the piece in the oven for a few minutes to get the edges crispy. It wasn't "gooey", and I really appreciated that!

The Margherita pizza was pretty darn good, too- fresh tomatoes and basil on top of slightly greasy cheese and crust that actually had enough salt in it.

At this point, we were almost to the point of conceding that the $10 lasagna and $8 pizza were well worth their price, but wait...what about dessert? The only item offered was tiramisu. A Ha! We would get them on this one! Nobody does Tiramisu well in the Midwest.

Dang, we were wrong. It wasn't frozen (my pet peeve) and it wasn't boozy (my Wife's pet peeve). We finished the piece before the server could check on us.

So, there it is folks- there really is well made food for a decent price, with just a touch of someone's Italian grandmother available in Chesterfield.

Cheers!

Thankfulness and looking forward to 2011

2011-01-18T10:52:00.000-08:00

The rumors of my demise were greatly exaggerated. I know I have been quiet, but in retrospect, the last couple of weeks have brought some craziness:

I was in a tornado

I had surgery on my abdomen

We decided to step down from leadership of our church community group

I found out a dear friend has cancer

The weather has been less-than-spectacular

Frankly, I have every reason to bitch and moan. However, I will choose not to. I have noticed lately that people have been talking about how bad 2010 was for them. I can't say it was the best year I have ever had (per my last post), but some amazing things really did happen. In that spirit, I want to list a few of the things that I am thankful for, and looking forward to this year.

I am thankful for my beautiful, wonderful wife. During my surgery she was amazingly sweet and supportive. I am also proud of how she is starting to step out of her own personal comfort zone, and try Roller Derby. It's really fun to see her "find her voice" as she turns 30 this year.

I am thankful for my family. My father has proven to be a great business partner, and has done a great job selling for a guy that has never held a sales position before. My mom has also been very patient and understanding when I don't talk to her about "other stuff" during the day. My sister and her family are continuous examples of how to live within your means, and how to truly live a faithful life for God. My brother and his family have dealt with a job loss with faith and aplomb, and I look forward to a repeat of our BBQ Road Trip again this year.

I am thankful for Peggy, the first employee of Harsha Wines in St Louis. She works like a rock star, and is proving to be one of the smartest decisions I have made in running the company. I look forward to her building a successful route on her own, and achieving some of the wine educational goals she has set for herself.

I'm even thankful for those dogs. As much as I act like I don't like them to Nicole, she knows I'm joking.

I'm looking forward to building relationships with new accounts this year. We have already added Truffles, Scottish Arms, and soon Milagro to our business partners- This means we have even more fun, locally owned, quality places to eat! I'm thankful for the friendships that I have developed- people like Jeff at 33, Rich at St Louis Wine Market, Jim at Atomic Cowboy, Anthony at Five, Chris Spina, and a host of others are people that I now consider friends that I just happen to be lucky to do business with.

I'm looking forward to developing my wine, beer, spirit, and food knowledge even more this year. This will come only through my friendships with people in each of these communities that are incredibly generous with their time and knowledge. I also want to get my CWE and CSS (Certified Wine Educator, and Certified Specialist of Spirits) by the end of the year.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens with Harsha Wines this year. We were fortunate to turn a profit (albeit a infinitesimally small one) in 2010, and we hope to add another full time salesperson and a full time delivery person by the end of the year.

Finally, I'm grateful for the opportunity to get paid for writing for Avid Magazine. If you haven't seen it yet, check out www.avidmagazine.com for a preview- it's cool.

Let's make this a great year. It's up to you to decide to do so.

Cheers!

2010 in "Snapshots"

2010-12-27T08:01:00.001-08:00

Looking back at 2010, I would say that it has been a tough year, but also a lot of fun. I'm going to do the requisite blog post of reviewing the year in terms of snapshots- I'm going to pick some of my favorite moments from each month, and talk about them, and what beverage was in my hand at the time.

January- The moment that sticks in my mind from January was the night my neighbors decided to have a "progressive" dinner. We started at our house for apps, went to another house for entrees, and to a final one for dessert. One of my neighbors loves this whiskey-based stuff called Sweet Lucy. The snapshot is of us trying to drink this crap, while he also tried to teach me to play guitar. It was a lot of fun.

February- one thing that we did in February was go to the Dorm Room dinner put on by the guys from Niche. At the dinner, Gerard served the most over-the-top thing I have ever eaten- Two peanut butter cookies with about 2 oz of foie gras and a moscato gelee in between. I think I was drinking Spanish wine, but it didn't matter. That wonderfully obscene dish still makes my stomach hurt.

March- On March 17th, I played hooky. That was Saint Patrick's day, and I went to a party that my friend Sara was throwing. The mental image of that fantastically fun, sun-soaked day was watching a 50-something year old woman dance with a 20-something year old guy, and she was wearing only a bra and jeans. Gross? Yes. Fascinating? You bet. I'm sure I had a beer in my hand, and it was probably a can of Guinness.

April- April was a great month, and I'm having trouble picking one particular moment. One is my birthday party, which was amazing. However, the next day after a crawfish boil and riesling tasting, we went out to Farmhaus with my friends Bill and Ellie- the snapshot was Bill demanding in beer-soaked logic that their soon-to-be-born baby be named Megatron. I think I was drinking Schlafly something.

May- The snapshot of May came on May 7th, when I turned in my notice from Premier Cru. I left the office, returned a plant for my wife, and then had a terrible Mexican lunch. I sat there, scared as hell, drinking a Bud Light, wondering if I had just made the biggest mistake of my career. It wasn't.

June- June was a crazy month, as we were getting then Epiphany Wines off the ground. The snapshot is from when my folks brought over a couch from KC, and we sat on it, toasting the new company with a bottle of bubbly. Little did we know what we were in store for!

July- this was another month full of snapshots. In fact, I have two. One was sitting at the noodle bar of Momofuku in New York, eating one of the best things I tried in 2010- their ramen bowl with pork belly, drinking a Shiner Bock. The other came on my BBQ Road Trip with my brother- standing in front of Jerry's in Memphis, "drinking" a Dreamsicle Supreme with some of his friends. It was fantastic!

August- the snapshot from August came when I had a cup of coffee in my hand. That was the morning that I was talking to my friend Ben on the phone, and the Fed Ex lady showed up with a certified letter. Uh oh. That letter was the "Cease and Desist" from Parker Station winery- we had to stop using the name Epiphany in our business. Oh well, truth be told I like "Harsha Wines" better.

September- The moment that sticks out in my mind from September is when we took my parents out for an outstanding and fun meal at Niche for their anniversary. We had great wines (04 Baumard Quarts du Chaume stands out in my mind), and Gerard really took care of us.

October- I can't bring up the month of October without talking about Tour de Moose. Man, I both loved and hated that day. The snapshot is watching my sweet bride sing karaoke at DD's lounge, while drinking Bombay and Tonics with my friend Ned.

November- For some reason, I was fairly grumpy in November. Maybe it was stress, working 60 hour weeks, or just the weather turning. At any rate, I had a great time with my family at the In the Vineyards event. Too many wines to list, but it was a really fun evening.

December- The image burned in my mind came yesterday. My parents got my nieces a Wii. All three of them squealed, starting hugging each other, and fell on the ground. At that time, my brother's 2 1/2 year old son did a flying, get-fined-in-the-NFL style leap on top of them, and they all laughed. It was such a great moment watching childish innocence in action. Beverage-wise, I had a Diet Coke in my hand.

This has been a great adventure of a year. Thank you to all my friends and family for their support of my insane ideas. I love you all, and here's to an "epic" 2011.

Cheers.

Thankful for Generous Food and Wine Friends

2010-12-16T07:40:00.001-08:00

I'm a blessed man. Not only do I have an awesome bride, a family that loves me despite my multitude of mistakes, a great little house, two dogs that like me, a growing business, and a car that gets me from here to there, but I also am surrounded by friends that share the same passion for food and wine that I do.

Seriously- the people that I often hang out with to eat good food and drink good wine are some of the most generous people I have ever met. In fact, it's crazy how much more giving they are than a lot of the "church people" I'm in contact with. I have wine buddies that regularly open $60-$300 bottles of wine, just to share. I have a friend that footed a $100 dinner bill for me, so I could experience a fantastic meal this week. This is a great group of people that I know, and am proud to call them my friends.

So, in the Christmas spirit, I want to publicly thank Ned, Kelly, Bill, Ellie, Mike, Irene, Eliot, Amy, Izek, The moved-away Tony and Janet, Steven, Jeff, Mike, Dylan, Chad, Chris, Kris, Shannon, Jonathan, Jim, Peggy, Patrick, KBO, Lou Jack, and anyone else that my coffee-fueled brain has skipped for the drinks and bites to eat this year. I'm really glad that you are in my life- you rule.

Cheers! Don't slip on ice today.

Winter Whites

2010-12-15T08:09:00.000-08:00

Hello all,

Yeah, I know it's been a while. Running a company during the holidays leaves little free time to pound out inane thoughts on the interwebs.

Today, let's talk about white wines for the winter. I know it's about 3 degrees outside, and the last thing on your mind is a cool, refreshing glass of sauvignon blanc. However, the winter time does lend itself to some really fun whites. It's not like people completely stop drinking white wine between December and March, so you might as well drink the good stuff! Think about these:

Bubbly- Anyone who knows me for more than about 2 hours knows that I love bubbly wines. Saturday night, the mrs and I had a late dinner reservation, so we stopped at a wine bar. Did we drink Syrah, Cabernet, or a 17% ABV Zinfandel? Nope. They were warning of some weather apocalypse outside, so we drank Champagne, and it was delicious. Although bubbly should be drank year round, I think this is the perfect time to open Champagne, Prosecco, Cava, or any other sparkling wine with a loved one.

Chardonnay- Yes, you read that correctly. I'm a wine guy, and I'm saying it's okay to drink Chardonnay. In fact, a lot of the restaurants are putting out dishes this time of year with a ton of butter, cream, etc in them. The perfect match to these dishes is a chard with a touch of oak to it. Many of the big, heavy wines that you used to see coming out of Cali are much more restrained now. Also- don't fear white Burgundy. They are delicious, and if a restaurant or shop is carrying them, there's a good chance that someone on staff can tell you about that wine.

Riesling- I'm suggesting this for two reasons. First of all, this is a high-acid wine that cuts right through the fat of heavy, wintery dishes. Also, riesling is produced where it's cold. See? People in Germany, Alsace, and Upstate New York are producing white wine- it must be okay to drink in times besides the summer. Although they aren't made from Riesling, there are also similar wines from Savennieres, Quarts du Chaume, and Coulee de Serrant that fit the bill for the same reasons.

So, there you have it. Definitive, unarguable proof that it's okay to drink white wine in December.

Cheers.

Enough Already

2010-11-30T07:42:00.000-08:00

Last year, I noticed a trend starting that irritated me from the beginning. This has nothing to do with wine, but rather with the use of the word "Epic". That has become part of our current vernacular, meaning great, awesome, amazing, etc. I understand if people used it, like, once a year. However, now people have started using it to mean anything that is basically slightly better than "good."

Can we just all agree to quit using the word? Thanks.

Also, it would be great to consider when to use words like "awesome" (which I am guilty of- but not nearly as often as I thought. I used it twice on Twitter in November- once in reference to Cook's night out, once in reference to a friend of ours that really does cause awe with her dedication to a charity.) Another one is "Amazing". do that many things in life really cause you to be amazed?

I realize this post sounds grumpier that it should. I'm actually in a really good mood today. I am just trying to figure out another adjective to describe the Dorm Room Dinner last night, prepared by Anthony Devoti from Five. The courses were well thought out, delicious tasting, and had a bit of whimsy that was fun to be part of. Was it Epic? No. Was it Awesome? I guess not. Was it a really fun evening that I would love to repeat? Absolutely.

So, if we could all just quit diluting these words, that would be awesome.

One of those weird weeks

2010-11-22T07:17:00.001-08:00

The week of Thanksgiving is always a strange one in the wine business. Here's how it will go:

Monday- Check in with basically all accounts that are open. Nobody will want to take a delivery on Wednesday, so all of this week's worth of work will be packed into two days. However, it will also be just an order-taking day, as most accounts will not even consider a new product for the week. This is a bit of a stretch of a day to work hard, because most people use Monday as their "warm up lap", and aren't used to working hard.

Tuesday- make some deliveries, and check in with the restaurants that weren't open Monday. This is actually the easiest of the days this week. My advice is to eat lunch somewhere good.

Wednesday- because every retailer and restaurant in the city will be covered up with people, you feel like you have to be working hard. The truth is, most accounts don't want you there bugging them. This is a day where some retailers like you to hang out, and help people shop for wine. Others just want you out of the way.

Thursday is the day that we eat too much, drink too much, and nap too much- all in the name of giving thanks.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving, folks! If you want to pair wine, think along the lines of riesling, gewurtztraminer, Champagne, pinot noir, etc.

Cheers.

The same questions

2010-11-16T06:12:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I taught a "Basics of Wine" class to a group of about 55 senior citizens. It is so funny to me that, whenever I teach a class like this, the same group of questions always seem to pop up. So, here are the answers that I'm thinking in my head to them, as opposed to what I really say out loud.

Q: "My husband and I bought a bottle of wine on our honeymoon 26 years ago. It it still any good?"

A: I don't know. I have no idea what the wine is, where you bought it, what conditions it was stored under, or if it was good enough quality to begin with in the first place. My guess is that it has been moved 17 times, stored in a rack on top of your refrigerator, and probably resembles cat urine right now.

Q: "Have you ever heard of Blackstone Merlot?"

A: Yes. And what an amazing point that you bring up, interrupting me in the middle of my segment of how to make Champagne. Thank you for derailing the presentation altogether.

Q (when tasting the wine): "Does this have any oak in it?"

A: Nope. That's why I have been talking about the oak treatment on this wine for the last 2 1/2 minutes, talking about the specific oak barrels, and how you can taste the vanilla notes in the wine as the result. I was trying to trick you.

Q: "I like a really sweet, kind of dry wine, what should I try?"

A: Getting your terminology right. Those terms are opposite. That's like saying "I like a black, kind of white paint job on a wall."

Q: "I like to put ice cubes in my wine. Is that okay?"

A: Only if you are drinking it out of a Dixie Cup.

Q: "Do you like Missouri wines?"

A: For the most part, no. But I'm going to tell you I do, because I don't want to hurt your feelings.

Q: "Your job sounds awesome! So, do you really just drink wine all day?"

A: Yes. I never do anything like get to my office at 6:30 am to unload 72 cases of wine by hand from a surly truck driver that is about to cough up a lung on my sweatshirt. I also don't spend hours filing, updating quickbooks, emailing, and dragging around a heavy bag of samples just hoping that a given account will see me and buy something so I can afford to pay my mortgage.

Now, before you get offended, realize that these answers are just the smart ass ones that flash through my mind. I wouldn't ever actually say them, and most of them are exaggerated a bit. I love my job, and would want to do nothing else right now.

It's about that time- sit back, crack a bottle, talk to someone you love, and enjoy.

Cheers.

Advice for the youngin's

2010-11-05T06:27:00.001-07:00

Last night I had a great meal at Five with a buddy of mine that just graduated from Med School. One thing that came up in our discussion is that medical schools don't do anything to prepare newly graduated doctors for the social situations that they are about to find themselves in. So, if you are just about to head out into the work force (whether you're a doctor or not), here are some rules to live by when it comes to the wonderfully awkward situation known as "meeting for cocktails" in a business setting. Most people eventually get invited to a business dinner- we will go over etiquette for that later. Before said dinner, you will be asked to meet for cocktails. Here's how you survive, without looking foolish:

1) Have a drink that you can order with confidence. Make sure this is a cocktail that is relatively easy to make, and classic in style. You also want to order something that makes you look professional. Stay away from anything that uses coke or fruit juice as a mixer. My go-to cocktail is a Manhattan. If you aren't into something that big and bold, you might consider something in the realm of vodka tonic, Campari & soda, or simply your favorite (which should now be Ketel or something similar) vodka on the rocks. Under no circumstances should you order Rum and Coke, Vodka and Orange Juice, or a Singapore Sling. You are out of college- leave those drinks behind. Also, no shots are to be ordered. Ever again.

2) Only have one or two of your cocktail. After this point, things may start spiraling out of control for you. If people are pressing on, switch to beer.

3) If you order a beer, make sure it's decent. Again, leave the Bud Light in your college apartment, or your fridge at home. If they don't have a craft beer at the bar (they should), then at least order something that is locally made, or Guinness.

4) Don't get drunk. This is a touchy one, as the people who invited you might have too much to drink. However, if you cross the line, they will see you as less-than-professional, and won't forget. One easy way to keep this in check is to drink a full glass of water for each cocktail or beer you have. This will slow your consumption rate.

5) Be wary of wines by the glass. This totally depends on where you are. Most restaurants basically don't have very good wines by the glass and are making a ton of money on cheap product. If you at a wine bar, or a place that specializes in wine, throw this rule out. Also, don't ever, ever, ever order "House Red" or "House White". That's Busch league.

6) Offer to buy a round. When you do this, don't say anything about the prices of the drinks- they will cost significantly more than they do at your corner bar. Everybody already knows this, by mentioning it you will look like a rookie.

7) Have something to talk about. There will be some work talk, but also have a few subjects that you have brushed up on. One good way to do this is to read the front page of MSN.com, and ESPN.com so you can know what's going on in the world and in sports. Just like Momma told you- stay away from politics and religion. These usually just get people riled up, and aren't appropriate for most business situations. Oh, and don't talk too much.

If you follow these rules, and actually smile and have a good time, you will be just fine.

Cheers!

Many things going on

2010-11-03T06:22:00.000-07:00

I'm glad I didn't blog over the weekend. On Saturday, I had a couple of posts written in my head. Mainly, they were about the following points:

1) To all small business owners- Don't forget that the very customers you complain about, are rude to, and are sending away because you are "too busy during the holidays" are the same people that put food on your table, pay your electric bills, and put shoes on your kids' feet. Don't treat them as the enemy.

2) To other small business owners- Okay, I get it. You have thoughts about politics. However, you might want to chill with them a bit on social networking sites. Don't forget that roughly 50% of the people in your shop/restaurant/building are voting for the other side. By spouting off too much, you will certainly get your viewpoint across, but also risk driving your customers across the street to your quieter, nicer competitor.

3) If you have never been to a restaurant, it's a really jerk move to go there 3 days before it closes, and write a scathing review on Yelp. That doesn't give you power, rather just makes you look arrogant, selfish, and foolish.

I'm sure if I had written the full extent of the posts I had in mind, I would have named names, or dropped big hints, and as a result probably put part of my own business at risk.

From the offices at my small company, we are proud to announce that we have officially hired our first employee in St Louis- she will be doing deliveries during the holidays, and slowly start building a sales route. We also bought a big ol' van to drive these deliveries around.

Finally, as you prepare for the holidays, check out these wines: Domaine St Vincent (delicious sparkling wine from New Mexico), Villa Creek (awesome Rhone-style blends from Paso), Hermann J Wiemer (killer whites from New York), and Pavan Moscato (the ultimate wine for guys to say "I'm sorry", "I love you", or "Let's get freaky" to the woman they love.)

That's all. Have a great week. Make sure you look at the difference between "urgent" and "important" regarding the things in your life- they often aren't the same.

Cheers.

Mangalista

2010-10-28T06:33:00.000-07:00

I am here today to talk about the mighty mangalista. Never heard of it? That's okay. Up until about a year ago, when I started hanging out with my extremely food-centric friends (note that I did not use the term "Foodie". Evidently that's a bad word), I hadn't either. The food folks were talking about it because it is raised specifically for its lard, and evidently tastes better than most other pigs. Now, that's saying a lot. Those that know me realize very quickly that I am a fan of all things porcine. In fact, I would have made a terrible Jewish guy- I love bacon, chops, tenderloin, belly, skin, etc, etc, etc. When I heard that there was this super-pig hailing from Hungary, I had to check it out. Then I had to eat one.

Much like the Budini, an elusive cat in the hills of Argentina, I had a hard time tracking one of these monsters down. I would hear about them popping up for a night or two at a restaurant, but by the time I got there, they had already been eaten.

What was a guy on a mission to eat a wooly pig to do?

Stumble into one.

Yesterday, I was having a "business lunch" at the Crossing. Ian, the chef there, came out and asked the magical question: "Have you all ever heard of Mangalista"?

Yes!

I have!

Me! Me! Me!

Look over here!

Long story short, he served up some piggy ribeyes that were one of the best things I have eaten pig-wise in my life. The meat was tender, with just enough bite to keep it from being soggy. The flavor was amazing, as the fat on the pig is- I don't know- sort of lighter than your normal pork chop. It was freaking delicious, and worth the wait.

Should you come across a Mangalista, either on the street, or in a restaurant, grab a bottle of high acid red wine (we had a Barbaresco, and a Barolo with ours), and dig in. You'll thank me for it.

Tour de Moose, redux

2010-10-25T06:52:00.000-07:00

This last weekend, I was invited to participate in one of the most painful, yet fun, things I have done in quite a while. There is this annual bike ride/pub crawl/benefit fund raiser that happens each year called the Tour de Moose. It is called that because the guy who sets it all up is nicknamed "Moose" I guess. Basically, about 70 riders meet at Lemmons on Gravois on a Saturday morning, and start riding their bikes. Each 3 miles or so, they stop at a watering hole for games, beer, food, contests, and the like. The entire ride took about 17 miles to complete, and hit probably 8 different establishments. The money raised went to benefit the Matthew and Andrew Akin Foundation (www.matthewandandrew.org)

My wife didn't participate, as she was worried that it would be just an insane drunken brawl of a time. Truth be told, it really isn't. Most people (yours truly included) take it easy on the drinking and eating front because you have to get back on the bike and ride more. Those of you who know me, or at least have seen me in real life, probably could guess that I'm not much of a bike guy. In fact, this ride was a tough one for me- 17 miles on a borrowed bike that didn't fit me resulted in cramped legs, and being quite "Saddle Sore". Oof.

The portion of the event that was the most interesting was the after party at Double D's on Hampton. This is a cramped, smoky, local-style bar just down the street from Record Exchange. A group of 5 of us walked in to survey the scene. What we saw was a little, well, sad. There were 6 people in the bar, and 4 of them were related to the bartender, Tom. Tom let us know in no uncertain terms that any Karaoke (which is offered on Saturday nights) would have to wait until after the Mizzou-OU game. However, his tune changed as soon as about 25 more people walked in, money in hand. The game got turned down, the karaoke got fired up, and I'm sure the Double D lounge had one of their better nights in sales for the last several months. The original 6 people at the end of the bar left.

This is all to say that the biking portion was tough, but I made several new friends and had a great time. The Mrs. was even persuaded to get up there and sing karaoke, which is something I didn't think I would ever see.

I will be Touring with Moose again.

Winery Profile- Boedecker Cellars

2010-10-15T08:58:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while, I have to completely rely on those around me in regards to wines to bring in. Such was the case when a buddy of mine told me I had to try the wines from Boedecker Cellars. This is an urban winery in Portland that uses grapes from some of the best vineyards in Oregon to make their wines. Wine geeks will recognize that their grapes come from such vineyards as Shea, Stoller, and Carlton Hill.

The philosophy of Boedecker is simple- the husband and wife team of Stewart Boedecker and Athena Pappas each make their own Pinot bearing their name, and their own sense of style. Put simply, the wines flat out taste delicious. Besides the "Stewart" and "Athena" wines, they also make single vineyard versions of Pinot Noir, an unoaked Chardonnay called "Purity", Pinot Gris, and a line labeled "Pappas" which is their entry-level. In order to be earth-conscious, they package all of their wines in lightweight bottles, and screwcaps.

Check out the Stewart Pinot, which will retail around $30- it is fairly fruit forward, showing notes of black cherry, a touch of vanilla, and really nice cigar box aroma.

Other wines that are available in MO are the Purity Chardonnay (about $17), the Pappas Pinot (about $23), and the Pappas Pinot Gris (about $20)

Advice from Spiderman's Uncle

2010-10-07T07:12:00.000-07:00

In the comics, Peter Parker's (Spiderman) uncle Ben said "With great power comes great responsibility". I am slowly learning this in small increments. If you follow me on Twitter, last night there was a tweet that I put out there encouraging people to read this blog today and get a negative review on a local restaurant. About 20 minutes later, I got a text from a friend that owns another establishment, encouraging me to rethink my intentions. (Yes, I got a text about a tweet that referred to my blog. Welcome to 2010!!).

I quickly thought about the implications of what I was about to do, and I decided not to review the restaurant on here. I also deleted the tweet. This was for a couple of reasons:

1) This is a wine blog, not a restaurant review site. I do this thing for free. Even though it has led to a small, paying, writing gig, I am not paid to talk about restaurants here. The intention of this blog is to inform people about beverages. Sure, I eat out a lot but I'll let the full-time critics give you their views.

2) It's not fair to the restaurant. Look folks, just because you have the ability to get onto a blog, twitter, Yelp, etc doesn't mean you should. If you are blessed, like I am, with people that actually read your words, remember that they will also listen to them. This is where Uncle Ben's words come into play. Really think about the appropriate way to discuss your experience. One option (which I will take) is to send a letter or email to the restaurant if you had a negative experience. This gives them the opportunity to respond. Trust me, restaurant owners hate Yelp. Anyone can get on there, covered by anonymity, and say just about anything they want. I don't wish ill fate onto restaurants that don't serve good product. I wish they would fix their issues and deliver food that is worth the hard-earned money that I'm paying for it, but I don't want them to go out of business.

3) I'm a food snob. There, I said it. I think that you can get a great dining experience at any price point, but you can also get pretty bad food as well. In my restaurant and wine career, I have had the opportunity to eat at some of the greatest restaurants in America. This has jaded me a little in that I'm pretty critical about anything that is put in front of me. The meal last night wasn't bad at all- I was just going to be picky about little things in it. Truth be told, most people would have probably found the meal amazing.

4) I'm trying to avoid hypocrisy. Last week, I wrote a post about how people aren't positive enough. Razing a restaurant on here would not have been positive, and would have gone against my own desires.

So, there you go. The next time you are about to flame some other business, just think first about all the people that will be involved, and the fallout that your words might have. I'm not saying not to ever bring up negative points, just do it in a manner that is fair and equitable.

Cheers!

Wine transition days

2010-10-06T06:47:00.000-07:00

This is a strange time of the year for most wine drinkers. Summer is officially over- most of us have put the slightly out-of-style shorts and last year's shirts in the drawer or closet until next year when they won't fit anymore. We have replaced flip flops with the shoes we originally bought to "get into shape for real this time". We have also started to replace our summer wines with fall ones. We are finally able to admit that the crisp, clean, unoaked wines that we drank all summer are starting to wear on us. We want a big, hearty glass of Cab. However, the weather just isn't cooperating. It's just too dang nice outside. This weather calls for something good, but not too serious yet.

Another hitch in the ol' gitty-up is that many restaurants are starting to roll out the fall menus. Cue just about every possible interpretation of dishes with pumpkin or butternut squash in 3, 2, 1....

Might I suggest something? We don't need to be so black-and-white in our thinking (or, red-and-white as it were). I have already expounded on the virtues of Rose' this month, but remember that they are still delicious. Quite honestly, this is the perfect time of year for lighter reds. Think things like Tempranillo, Sangiovese, Montepulciano, Pinot Noir, and dare I say even Merlot (GASP!!!). When you are eating the butternut squash soup with basil oil and some other thing that tries to make it fancy, try it with a glass of riesling or gewurtztraminer.

Or, you can always drink Champagne. Seriously. It's okay to drink Champagne on days other than Christmas, New Years, and your Anniversary. Try it, it's fun.

Whatever you do, enjoy the weather, the changing of the leaves, and football. Don't worry- a crappy, cold day that calls for the Barolo will be here soon enough.

Cheers!

The hot new thing...wait, what?

2010-10-04T06:58:00.000-07:00

Being in the industry, it has been really interesting to see trends come and go. I often talk to retailers, suppliers, bartenders, GM's and waitstaff to find out what the "hot" items are at any given time. To my surprise, lately there has been one answer that has permeated the discussion. Evidently the thing to buy right now is Moscato. Yep, the slightly sweet, low alcohol, slightly sparkling stuff that normally comes from Italy.

Made from the perfume-driven Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains grape, this really seems to me to be a wine that would have been popular 20 years ago. The examples that I have tried range from just a touch sweet to almost syrupy, and have other notes of lemon peel, flowers, perfume, peaches, and green apple. A bulk of the wine that is made from this grape comes from Piedmonte, but there are delicious examples from Verona, and even from France and Australia.

To put this theory to the test, I ran an experiment with my family (yeah, I know, but hey- they got to drink out of the deal). Basically we had a large family get-together, so I put a couple different bottles of moscato on the table, as well as other various whites and a few reds. To say that the moscato was a hit is a gross understatement. Two bottles were completely gone before we even sat for dinner! The other whites barely even got touched.

So, with that in mind, get out there and celebrate this cooler weather with a bottle of wine that is easy to drink and rather refreshing.

Ludovicus

2010-09-30T07:56:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while, I try a wine that really gets me jazzed. I like most of the wines that I try, but sometimes there are single ones that really stand out. These are the wines that I want all of my friends, family, and customers to try because they have something special to them. This has happened with the 2009 Pinol Ludovicus.

This wine is a blend of Garnacha, Tempranillo, Syrah, and Cabernet, coming out of the Spanish region of Terra Alta- located a bit Southwest of Priorat. It is aged for a mere 3 months in French oak, resulting in a wine that is fruit-forward and a bit modern, but has enough "Spanishness" to it to make it interesting. The nose has a ton of floral notes, and the palate follows that up with black cherry, and blueberry flavors blended seamlessly with a touch of baking spice and mushrooms.

This is one of those wines that you start off slowly sipping a glass with your burger, then suddenly realized you and your spouse have polished off the entire bottle without thinking about it. I suggest buying multiple bottles in case this emergency occurs.

Starting tomorrow, it will be available at all Friar Tuck locations, Wine Styles, Veritas, Wine Chateau, and served at Modesto Tapas and Five. 33 Wine Bar, The Wine and Cheese Place, and Sanctuaria have all said they would bring it in as well. Your retail cost on the bottle should be about $11 or $12.

Cheers, and Enjoy!

Positivity

2010-09-29T06:46:00.000-07:00

Be Forwarned: this post has very little to do about wine or restaurants.

I want to bring up something that I have noticed lately, that has probably been going on for a long time.

Why is it that people, as a whole, are getting less and less positive? Seriously. I'm generally a pretty happy-go-lucky, smiley type of guy. However, if I tell someone that I'm having a great day, the reaction is usually a suspicious look. I know we can all blame the economy, or the weather, or Obama, or GW, or Satan, or God, or whomever, but I personally think that being happy and positive is a choice.

When was the last time you were honestly happy that a co-worker got a promotion that they worked hard for, and deserved?

When was the last time that someone lost weight, got into shape, and you were glad that they made a healthy lifestyle choice, instead of being jealous?

When were you last happy for someone who won an award that they honestly should win?

Heck, even for you reality TV watchers- when was the last time you were excited about the person winning whatever show it is that consumes you?

I wonder (out loud, evidently) if the trend that our culture is taking towards chatting/facebooking/tweeting/emailing all of our emotions has left us a bit cold and uncaring and as a consequence we have gotten bitter.

I challenge you- take somebody that you don't know very well out for a cup of coffee or a beer this week. Ask them about themselves, and listen to their response. Don't think about how your experiences match up or beat theirs, just learn about another human, face-to-face. Or, how about this- write someone a letter. Seriously, there are these things called pens. Go get one, and get another thing called stationary. Then just send someone a handwritten note, letting them know that you are thinking about them. Not an email. Not a text. Not a tweet. Not a DM.

Will you do one of those? If you do, please let me know how it goes. I really think it might put that thing called a smile back on your face.

Pietra Santa Cab

2010-09-22T07:35:00.001-07:00

My wine suggestion today is for those that have 1) gotten sick of the hot weather that is the scourge of all things that show sweat, and 2) those that think that you still have to pay $75 for a decent bottle of California Cab.

Go check out the 2006 Pietra Santa Cabernet Sauvignon. Yeah, I know that the '07s that are coming onto the market are all the rage right now. However, I also know that they tend to cost a lot of dough. I don't know about you, but during the middle of the week, I'm willing to sacrifice just a touch of quality in lieu of not paying so much for a bottle of good wine. This is exactly why I like the Pietra Santa stuff. Made by Italian-born winemaker Alessio Carli, these wines are from estate grown, hand harvested, sustainably produced grapes. Their belief is that the wines can only be as good as the grapes that go into them. Trust me, these grapes are good. Oh, and then there's the oak treatment. Carli likes long oak treatments- this cab saw nearly 3 years in oak! By the time the wine sees that much wood, it really integrates the spiciness and vanilla notes well. Production on this wine is only about 1200 cases.

So, if you put all of these things together- green farming, extended oak, small production, hand harvesting, you get the things that make Napa Cabs $75 a bottle. However, since this wine is from the Cienega Valley (25 miles inland from Monterey), you get a cab that is going to cost you $18 or less retail.

Check it out. If you don't like the wine, I'll buy the bottle back from you.

Cheers!!

Torremoron

2010-09-13T08:11:00.000-07:00

When it comes to areas of the world that produce really nice, value driven wines, Spain must currently be at the top of the list. From this wonderful country, you can get reds, whites, rose's, dry, sweet, bubbly, and just about every other imaginable sort of wines at decent prices. One such wine that I recommend is the 2008 Torremoron. This particular wine hails from the Ribera Del Duero region in North Central Spain, which is an area that produces stunning examples of Tempranillo. Torremoron, besides being a good little, slightly oaked version of the grape is also a cool story. You see, the winery is located in the town of Quintanamanvirgo (say that ten times fast). This is a tiny town of around 200 people. That in and of itself isn't notable, but the fact that nearly the entire town works for the winery is. The winery literally supports this town- they employ most of the adults, and pay for health services and schooling for the majority of the children. Pretty cool for a winery that produces 66,000 total cases of wine.

Go buy yourself a bottle- it should only cost about $12, drink up, and toast the fact that not only are you getting a nice, inexpensive bottle of wine, but you are also doing some social good in Spain (even if you can't pronounce the name of the town).

Don't Believe the Hype

2010-09-07T06:44:00.001-07:00

There is an trend that happens this time of the year regarding wine that is starting to bug me. For some reason, restaurants and retailers start the rumor with their customers that Rose' "season" is over as soon as Labor Day passes us by.

Don't believe the hype!

I stand with my feet firmly planted in the camp that rose', when made correctly, is a wine that can be enjoyed year-round. Caveat number one is that I said "made correctly". I'm not talking about Beringer White Zinfandel here. Don't drink that plonk, it sucks. However a rose' from Southern France, Spain, Italy, or even some producers in California tastes just as good when the humidity in the Lou dips below 93%. Here are a few reasons why you should still be drinking rose':

1. It's made from red grapes. Gentlemen, this one is aimed directly at you. I don't know how many times I have heard guys say something to the effect of "My wife likes that pink stuff, but I only drink red." Well, do a little research Einstein- the pink stuff that your wife is drinking is likely made from the same grapes (often time the same batch) as the red wine that's in your glass.

2. It's refreshing. Trust me, I'm just as much of a fan as a big, bad, robust glass of Cabernet as the next guy. However, sometimes at the end of the work day I'm just plain thirsty. I want the flavors of red wine, but also want something nice, cool and delicious. Once again, Rose' fits the bill.

3. It pairs with a huge array of foods. Rose is the wine version of a classic blue suit for men- it just goes with almost everything. Chicken, salmon, tuna, fillet, pizza, burgers, mushrooms, by itself, etc, etc, etc- it just matches. Notice I said "almost". If you try to throw the asparagus or jalapeno harpoon into my argument, I'll just tell you to drink a beer.

4. It causes a stir. One of my favorite things to do with a large group tasting or dinner is to unleash a rose' onto them, right in the middle of the event. Inevitably, I will see lots of eyes rolling, and hear people muttering under their breath. What happens once they are forced to drink the wine is fun. All of the sudden, I walk around the room, and people start saying things like "I had no idea!", or "Wow, this is surprisingly good!". If you are out with a group of wine sophisticates, order a bottle of Spanish Rose in the middle of dinner. You will be a short-term hero, and will truly raise your street cred.

5. It's usually inexpensive- unlike the red wines that come out of the same tanks, rose' is very seldomly expensive. In fact you can almost always find a well made example for less than $15 or $20 retail.

Please join me in the fight against post-summer rose' naysayers. Buy a bottle, heck- buy a case and pop it open all winter. You will thank me later.

In the meantime, check out the 2009 Rose from Cortijo. It is a 50/50 blend of Garnacha and Tempranillo from Rioja. It's inexpensive (probably will cost around $11), has wonderful strawberry and earth notes, and will make you look cool.

Cheers.

Mediocrity speaks Italian

2010-09-01T06:51:00.000-07:00

Last night, we were out of food. Not just out of something good to eat, we were seriously out of groceries. Since the Mrs and I have both been working 12 hour days, going grocery shopping just hasn't fit in. So we did what every couple that is trying to improve their fitness, health, and waistlines should do- we went out for Italian food.

I won't say the name of the restaurant, but if you know me well enough, you will figure out what it is. It's an Italian "Bistro" that is about 3 doors down from one of our favorite watering holes (that I mention on here a lot).

We walked in, and were immediately greeted by a server that seemed surprised by our presence. We were sat quickly, and handed menus and the wine list. The first thing I noticed was the decor. It was like they couldn't decide whether to be upscale, or just a family-friendly checkered tablecloth restaurant. Here's a hint- putting a Guy Buffet poster in a frame doesn't make for fancy art.

The wine list was fine- fairly well chosen, and stuck to their theme of being mainly Italian, with a bit of American wines on there. We chose a Paitin Nebbiolo d'Alba, a nice little wine for the price (I think it was $33).

I will have to say from the beginning that the service was astonishingly bad. I don't know if it was because our waitress was slammed (she might have been the only one on duty), or just couldn't handle 6 tables. She recommended the Lasagna, which I ordered, and Nicole got some pasta. We said that she would eat a couple of bites of the soup that I ordered as an appetizer. We had to ask for a spoon for the soup- which was brought to the table in a small bowl of additional soup by the bus boy (he was by far the shining spot in the service). The soup was bland- Nicole said that "Campbells makes better soup than this", it was completely void of either beans or pasta- either of which I thought usually went into this classic dish.

As a side note, the bread was stone cold. I'm not going to get into the whole bread basket debate, but IF you are going to serve bread that you don't make in-house, is it too hard to throw it into an oven for a couple of minutes before serving it? No, it's not.

The entrees were fine- the Lasagna was smothered in about 2 1/2 pounds of cheese, and I couldn't finish the portion.

Then the bartender walked over to us, with our check and said "Okay, here's your check". No thought from the waitress about asking us for dessert (which we wanted), or even trying to sell us anything. I asked for a dessert menu, and the waitress came over- apologized, and rattled off about 7 desserts in rapid-fire succession. We ordered Tiramisu (awful) and gooey butter cake (actually really good). I asked for Tua Rita to drink, and you would have thought I asked them to solve a Ramanujan equation or something. Tuaca was the closest they had heard of, so that's what I got.

In retrospect, it wasn't a bad meal, but for $100 out the door, I guess we're a bit spoiled and expected more. It was mediocre, which I can deal with. I just feel bad for a couple that doesn't go out often, or doesn't normally spend that sort of money on a meal, should they choose to go to this place.

Back to the old

2010-08-31T06:22:00.000-07:00

I came across a realization this morning- When I turned on Pandora on my laptop, it didn't yell at me. You see, when I was spending a lot of time at my office, I was constantly on the verge of crossing that 40-hours per month limit that Pandora lets you listen to free music. Pandora would "yell" at me, giving me the choice of either paying for unlimited service, or turning it off. This morning, I looked at my account, and I have 37 free hours left. Wow. This means that I have been spending significantly less time at my office, since that is usually my music source of choice.

I also realized that this blog has been a lot about me and the new company- probably not the most enthralling reading for those of you who simply want to know a little more about wine and the restaurant scene in St Louis.

Today I will attempt to go "old school" on you, and teach briefly about wine. The lesson today will be about Ribera Del Duero. Translated "Duero River", this is the area in Northern Spain surrounding....wait for it.....the Duero River. This particular area is midway between Madrid and the Atlantic Coast of the Bay of Biscay. Much like Rioja, Ribera del Duero is well known for the Tempranillo grape (which is sometimes locally called Tinta del Pais). The most magnificent examples of this cherry-flavored, dusty-noted grape can go for hundreds of dollars per bottle. However, you can also find inexpensive versions. Check out the Torremoron, available at Sam's Steakhouse, for a great version that is a wonderful cross between Old World earthiness and New World tannins and fruit.

Drink something good today, and let me know all about it.

Cheers!

Justus, Blue Stem, Ernie, and Bert

2010-08-28T09:56:00.001-07:00

During the middle of this last week, I went over to Kansas City to launch our wine distributorship in the area. Part of the "necessaries" was to eat at some of the best places in town. This led to two amazing meals- one at Justus Drugstore in Smithville, and the other at Blue Stem in Westport. Although they were both great meals, it's hard to compare them- they are totally different styles of places. Therefore, I will use the analogy of Ernie and Bert. You remember them- the two fellas that were best friends on Sesame Street, and sang songs in the tub.

Justus was Ernie.

Blue Stem was Bert.

In the show, Ernie was the more colorful one. He was more likely to get into trouble, he wore a brightly colored, horizontally striped shirt, and had an orange head. This is analogous to the experience at Justus. Jonathan Justus is an artist at heart, and it really shows in his food. It is bright, splashy, loud, and has lots of big flavors all combining toward a common goal of exciting the palate. There were things like marrow foam and goose on the menu. I personally loved the black pepper gnocchi, as well as the goose breast that I ate. My father, however, "won" the entree round by ordering the Wagyu Brisket. Freaking delicious is all you can say! The decor was modern, with lots of colors mixed with grays, and then accented by warm wood. The service was kind, efficient, and made us feel right at home. Even the bar staff was kind of wild with great renditions of classic drinks- including house-made absinthe and bitters. I would definitely go back in a heartbeat.

Like I said, Blue Stem was Bert. Bert was the trustworthy one- more of a linear thinker (he wore a v-neck sweater over a turtle neck, for God's sake.) He was a bit more buttoned up and polished. This was similar to the ethereal dinner at Blue Stem. The word that comes to mind in describing the entire experience is "refinement". First the decor- much softer feel, with tons of mirrors acquired from garage sales and flea markets, pictures of grass burning, and deep, dark fabrics and upholstery. You feel special just walking into the place. For dinner, you choose 3, 5, 7, or 12 courses, priced accordingly. Our table of 5 each chose the 5-course route. I started with a fantastic Foie torchon, followed by incredible and spicy crab folie pasta. Then came the biggest damn scallop I have ever seen in the Midwest (perfectly seared), and a duo of Pork. Yeah, I know that eating things like foie and pork at a place like this is sort of giving the chef softballs to knock out of the park, but the rest of the table ordered an array of fish, hen, salad, and tomato dishes. There wasn't a single off-flavor on the table. Speaking of perfection, I don't like to pull the whole "I have eaten at the best restaurants in the US, and know what good service is" card, but I'm gonna. And it's okay. The service at Blue Stem was absolutely immaculate. It was a really fun experience, and again, one would not have to twist my arm to go back.

So, there you have it- two different restaurants for two different experiences people may be looking for. Neither one was better, it just depends on what you want.

Worlds Collide

2010-08-25T02:44:00.000-07:00

Last night was one of those times when my worlds came crashing together- fortunately with great success. Most of you know that I often help out with Entre Underground- an underground, secret, moving restaurant located here in STL. I have done the wine pairings for these guys for around a year now, and sometimes act as their sommelier at events. Fewer of you know that my wife and I are members of the Journey, a church located on Kingshiway across from Tower Grove park. Through the Journey, we have had the opportunity to work with an organization called Mission St. Louis.

Check them out here- www.missionstl.org

This is a wonderful group of people that do community development through education, empowerment, and good ol' hard work in some of the lower-income areas around town.

Last night, the guys from Entre did a benefit dinner for Mission St Louis at an undisclosed location.

This is where it got a little strange for me. I'm one of those people that looks at the people in my life and unwittingly compartmentalizes them. I have my "church" friends, my "work" friends, my "wine" friends, and my (for lack of a better term) "foodie" friends. Very seldomly do these groups meet. I actually wish they would more often- Surprisingly enough, when they have, it usually went okay. The foodie friends realize that the church friends will have a glass of wine and a plate of good food with them, and not preach to them or make them weak khaki. The church friends realize that the wine friends won't set anyone on fire, or give an expletive-laden speach about how God is just an idea while drinking cabernet out of a goat skull in the moonlight. Naked. (Actually, that one might happen.)

Last night it went rather smoothly- wine and great food was shared, people laughed, and I think that most of the people had a good time. It was just strange explaining the oak treatment of a wine from Priorat to the dude that I sometimes serve communion with. Maybe he'll buy my wine for it.

Have a great week- reports coming soon about some meals to be had in Kansas City.

Cheers!

Wine Styles

2010-08-23T06:26:00.000-07:00

...No, I don't mean the store out in Chesterfield on Clarkson. However, it is a nice little store, and the owner, Bryan, is a good guy. Today I want to talk about the (de) evolution of what people in the wine industry wear.

When I first started selling wine, I was coming off of a stint at a very high-end, New York-based steakhouse. We wore suits every day- dark suits, white shirt, dark tie. Nothing too crazy or fancy. We were to look like we worked at an old-school, expensive, lots of dark wood and leather steakhouse (which we did). When I got my first wine job, the expectation was similar- it was owned by two older brothers that both wanted us in suits. However, this presented a small problem. You see, the Boston metroplex is essentially cut in half by the Charles River. On the south side of the river is Downtown, and most of the fancy joints. The sales people here wore suits and shiny shoes everyday. On the north side of the river was Cambridge and Somerville, where I worked. Now I can see how one might think "Oh, Cambridge- where Harvard, MIT, Tufts, etc. are- you should probably wear a suit there, too". Nope. This was a land where people dressed down to look smart. If I wore a suit everyday, I would probably be the only person in any room that I went into dressed like that. I very quickly, and in a clandestine manner, started wearing button up dress shirts and slacks. I learned that when a guy my size walks into a restaurant or retail shop in a suit, often times the owner doesn't trust me. They see me as a suit, not as someone that wants to help them make money. I literally had accounts ask me to take off my tie, so they could talk to me. The clandestine part came when I would keep a neutral-colored tie in my car, because my boss didn't seem to share my sentiment and he had a habit of surprising me by joining me in the middle of the day. In fact, he was pretty brutal the times he caught me without a tie. He also didn't have any friends.

Then a fresh, cool breeze started blowing in from California. This breeze came in the form of the "Tommy Bahama" style silk shirts that wine guys were suddenly wearing. This was a great thing, especially when I moved to St Louis, where the summers are ridiculous.

I have noticed around town what most of the wine guys wear. In the summer, a lot of them are in dress slacks and golf shirts, or silk shirts I just mentioned. I also know of a company that requires their men to wear a long sleeve shirt and tie, even in the summer. That's just mean.

For the new company, we have adopted a strategy of dressing as-good-as, or better than, anyone we meet with in that particular work day. Most days thats exactly what I described- Polo Shirt, Dress Slacks, dress shoes. I might don a nice pair of jeans on Fridays when I'm out running around. If I'm visiting a hotel, or a really nice restaurant, I'll put on a sport coat. I want to work as much as I can without ever wearing a tie.

Thank God a lot of my accounts wear jeans and t-shirts!

Okay, so that has nothing to do with "sippin". For those of you who want a wine-tip, get some Zestos Malvar- it's crisp, delicious, and sold by the glass at Farmhaus.

Cheers!

Time marches on...

2010-08-19T06:30:00.000-07:00

The name change is almost complete. We are now registered with the state of Missouri as Harsha Wines, llc and working on getting all of our licenses changed as well. If you look up the former Epiphanywines.com, you get led.....here.

Yes, it was a hassle. Yes, I'm still a little bitter about it. Yes, I still want to mail a bunch of my old company stuff to the front door of the big, mean, doesn't-care-about-the-little-guy winery. However, that takes too much energy, and I have already spent too much company dough on this baloney.

So, moving on- get out there with this weather change and drink some Cabernet! I really like the Pietra Santa 2006 cab. Treated in oak barrels for 31 months, this sucker is a bruiser of a wine. Big, bold, and rambunctious with notes of cassis, black cherry, and allspice, it will stand up to any red meat you can burn on a grill. The best part- it's less than $20 retail! I had a friend in the industry say it was perfect for someone who is "looking for Caymus for less than $20."

Wait, you say you want to try it before you buy it? For FREE? Well, what a coincidence! I just happen to be pouring this particular wine at the Wine Chateau on Saturday from 12-4. Come getcha some!

If you can't drive out to Clarkson to buy it, this wine is also available at 33 wine bar and Ernesto's.

Have a great day. Cheers!

Franco, Monarch, etc

2010-08-17T07:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, after defending the friends of mine that are in bi-racial couples, or have other-race children that they have adopted (long story, I'll tell it again sometime on here), I was in the need for a good bit of food and beverage. The Mrs and I headed over to the hard-to-find, but worth it, doors of Franco. There, TJ whipped up some magnificent cocktails for us, and we ordered some apps. The scallops were perfectly cooked, the pate was freaking delicious, and the chicken sausage was perfect for the upper-80's weather.

We then headed over to the newly remodeled Monarch, which was even more of a pleasant surprise. They have changed it so the area by the bar is sort of southern style comfort food. 7 of us had just about one of everything, and some killer wines. I highly recommend the Crawfish Bread (sort of like a cajun Hot Pocket), the praline bacon, and the shrimp and grits. Truth be told, there wasn't a bad thing on the table. Several friends endorse the Gumbo Dog- a foot long hot dog, served in a po' boy bun, and covered with gumbo. The prices are right, too. Our tab, with an app or two, two entrees, two desserts, and a bottle of wine was less than $100. I like the addition of the several televisions in the bar- I can envision myself grabbing a po' boy and watching Monday Night Football there very, very soon.

Drink something good today- You're worth it.

Cheers

Good little surprise of a wine

2010-08-13T08:19:00.000-07:00

One thing that is a perk of owning your own distribution company is that you get to try a lot of wine. You also get to know lots of people that have great ideas of products that you have never tried. When I was placing an order with one of my suppliers, I took their word on how good a particular wine is. I didn't order much of it, just to be safe. Let it suffice to say that I will be ordering more of the 2008 Ardevol "Anjoli" wine from Priorat.

If you aren't familiar with Priorat, you should acquaint yourself. Located in eastern Spain, just a touch southwest of Barcelona, this is quickly becoming an area that produces some of the best wines Spain has to offer. It is located essentially up on a mountainous plateau, and is extremely hard to get to. The soil is really poor, and the grapes get sun-soaked, which results in really good, ripe, hearty wine.

This particular wine is made of 40% each of Garnacha and Cabernet Sauvignon, with the remaining 20% being split between merlot and syrah. The nose is that of wonderful cassis, blackberry, and perfume. After being open a while, some raspberry and raw meat notes come into the glass. Put another way, this is a kick-ass red that is well worth the $24.99 retail pricetag.

You can buy this gem of a wine at Lukas, Kayas, and Farmhaus. Buy it, drink it, enjoy it, repeat.

Cheers!

For Heaven's Sake, Support the Little Guys

2010-08-12T06:52:00.000-07:00

If there is one thing that I have learned about this debacle with the name of my company, it's that big companies simply don't care about you. Seriously. They are more concerned with protecting their image than providing you with the service and quality that you deserve for your hard-earned cash. Instead of simply picking up the phone and calling me, they sent a letter that contained the following script:

"Your use of the same name creates confusion to the general public including wine customers throughout the world and improperly diverts customers to your company and website..."

Whoa! Throughout the world? I had no idea I was such a media magnate. Never mind the fact that my company only has three people in it. Never mind the fact that the "general public" rarely sees the name of the distributor that brings the wine they drink to the store or restaurant. Never mind the fact that they produce a product, and I provide a service.

That being said, look at other places you do business with. When was the last time you said "Man, I really just had a killer meal at Applebee's"? When was the last time you said "Wow, that person at Wal-Mart really went out of their way to get me the exact product I need"? How about "Dude, you wouldn't believe the folks at Jiffy Lube- they found three things wrong with my car, and just fixed them for free!"?

What I'm saying folks is this- support the little guys. You always have a choice. Support the restaurant, winery, mechanic, ice-cream shop, farmer's market, or deli that is independently owned. Remember that all of those small businesses you drive by on a daily basis were started by someone who had the guts to take a risk, borrow some money, and hang it all out there. You will meet some amazing people along the way as you talk to them about their businesses. Sure, it will cost you more, but you will be enriching your own life, as well as those who will really make an impact in this economy.

Off of my soapbox now.

Cheers.

Harsha Rules

2010-08-11T15:57:00.000-07:00

On Monday, I announced that we would be calling the company "Savor Fine Wines". I was wrong. After looking into it, there are just too many companies out there with Savor in the title for us to be comfortable calling ourselves that. Not to mention, I guess there used to be a restaurant here in STL with that name, that wasn't very well received.

So, we are going with the safe play, and calling the company Harsha Wines, llc. Sorry to the kind young lady that thought she won the contest- we just won't be able to use the name you suggested. Find me around town, I'll buy you a beer or three.

So, even though the name isn't legally changed yet, feel free to follow us on twitter- @HarshaWines

Thank you again for reading my scribble.

Cheers,

Kyle

Onward and upward

2010-08-09T07:31:00.000-07:00

I must say that the naming contest went splendidly well. I got tons of submissions via email, text, twitter, facebook, and phone calls. Here is a list of most of them:

Revelation (submitted by lots of people. Unfortunately, the same company also makes a wine called Revelation. No need to go through this again.)

Imbibe

Revel

Small Time Wines

Humble Wines

Pivotal Wines

Manifest

Essential Wines

Epiphan

Epinafia

Epiphanea

Mareh (Hebrew word for Theophany)

Burning Bush wines

Purah (Hebrew word for Wine Press)

Shamgar (I loved this one- the Mrs didn't. Shamgar was a guy that slew 600 philistines with an ox goad in the book of Judges)

Sip

Swirl

Harsha Wine Co (the safe bet)

....and several others.

However, I think we're going to go with a suggestion that fits our personality as a company-

Savor Fine Wine Company

What do you all think?

Contest- help us in our struggle against big business

2010-08-06T10:53:00.000-07:00

Today has been interesting. This morning, I got a letter from a law firm stating that I have 14 days to "Cease and Desist" with any business use of the words "Epiphany Wines". You see, there is a big company out there- I won't name them- that bottles a wine using the same first word as my name. Evidently, they also own the trademark on the word "Epiphany". They feel that some customer somewhere in Missouri might get confused that my company (whom the general public rarely even hears the name of) is the same company that bottles the wine.

Never mind the fact that we are a wholesale distributor, and they are producing a wine label, and the two companies will never step on each other's toes.

So, I have a couple of choices- I can fight this, go to court, and most likely win. I can see if they will play nice in the sandbox, and ignore my lowly little three person operation. Or, I can change the name of the company. Frankly, I don't have the cash to spend on a lawsuit in Federal court, regardless of the fact that I would probably win because I'm not infringing on anyone's trademark. Because the winery in question is so big, I doubt they will play nice. So, I must change the name of my company.

Here's the contest- If you can email me a name for the new company by 6 PM on Sunday, and we end up using it, Jeff Stettner (owner of 33 wine bar, and champion of all things small business related) has said that he will give you a 12-bottle case of wine of his choosing (read: From My Company) for $1.

That's right folks- Name a Company, win wine for a buck.

My email is kyle@epiphanywines.com and I look forward to hearing your suggestions.

Peace.

"Wine Blocked" by Dick Vermeil

2010-08-05T06:48:00.000-07:00

Mom, cover your eyes. In today's vernacular, there is the term "cock-blocked". This is when a guy is hitting on a girl, then someone else swoops in and ruins his chances. Well, yesterday I coined a new term- Wine Blocked.

I was at an account that I hadn't called on since working for my previous employer. The buyer was tied up with a customer for quite a while, which is understandable. While waiting, I got to talking to another wine rep that was at the store, and he told me that Dick Vermeil was about to come in to show his wines to the buyer. He knew that I was in a bit of a hurry, and said that I could go first.

When the buyer was done flirting, I mean working, with the customer, he and I started talking about the new company, and when I should come by. He then asked if I had wines with me to taste. Being the wicked good salesman that I am, of course I did. I answered in the affirmative, and leaned down to grab my bag and pull out samples. At precisely the moment I grabbed my wares, who should walk in the door but Superbowl XXXIV winning coach-now-wine guy, Dick Vermeil (I guess we all thought it was some other guy, or a joke). The buyer looked at me and said "Well, Dick's here. You can either hang out and wait until we are done, or come back another day."

I was "wine blocked"!!!

But it couldn't have happened by a nicer guy. Mr Vermeil was very pleasant, introduced himself to me, took my business card, and I walked out the door.

I have no idea if his wine is any good, but any guy whom has coached my KC Chiefs is okay in my book. Go buy a bottle, and report back to me.

I also want to give a shout out to my new blogger-friend Michelle. She writes Buttermilk Grosses Me Out, a great little food blog. My dad and I were sitting at Sanctuaria having delicious cocktails and tapas yesterday, and Michelle came up and introduced herself. Check her blog out, it's good!

Cheers, go drink some of my wines.

Let the craziness ensue...

2010-08-03T07:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we held the Launch Party for Epiphany wines at Atomic Cowboy in the Grove. It was an amazing event! I really want to thank my family, friends, and customers for showing their support. I hope everyone had fun. I also want to acknowledge the following businesses for having people there.

Atomic Cowboy (of course)

33 wine bar

Niche

Robust

Sage

Copia

Farmhaus

Mom's Originals

STLWinegirl

STLHops.com

STLBites.com

Wine Chateau

Sasha's Wine Bar

Eclipse (had dinner there- amazing effort by Wes!)

Pinnacle Imports

Major Brands

Araka

Brasserie by Niche

Cafe Provencale

Ernesto's

...If I forgot to list your organization, I apologize- I'm tired. Please let me know, and I will amend the list.

Cheers, and have a great, hot, sweltering day!

News Article

2010-07-29T17:43:00.000-07:00

http://bit.ly/cYlsTO

New sexy beast from Spain

2010-07-29T07:28:00.001-07:00

If you get the chance, check out a wine called "Dignus" from Bodegas Vina Magana in Navarra, Spain. This little gem is 50% Tempranillo, and 25% each of Merlot and Cab. The current release is the 2005 vintage, and shows notes of dusted cherry, cedar, and toasted bread, along with just a touch of tobacco and cassis. The winery makes some very cool, old-world style wines. A couple of weeks ago, I tried some Merlot that they had made in the early 80's that I would have guessed as Right Bank Bordeaux if I was tasting blind- they were stunning wines that aged gracefully.

The Dignus is available for about $17 at 33 wine bar.

Cheers!

A wine to watch the Cards win with

2010-07-27T07:12:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm a Red Sox fan. However, since I live in Saint Louis, and they are in the National League, I have started paying attention to the Cardinals. Baseball isn't a religion in our household, more like something to have on in the background, or to flip to when I get tired of watching Mad Men reruns. I do like watching good games, and also having a glass of decent wine with it.

Yesterday I was showing the Sacred Stone by Pietra Santa winery around, and I was trying to come up with a way to describe it, showing that it is a relaxed, easy-to-drink wine, with zero pretension, and that you don't have to pay a ton for. I was going to say a "wine to drink while eating a slice of pizza and watching CSI", but I've used that one before, and CSI is starting to majorly slide in my opinion. I got stuck mid-sentence saying "It's a wine to drink while eating a slice of pizza and watching....." Brain Freeze. My customer finished my sentence for me "...the Cardinals win." Score! That's exactly what this wine is for! It's a delicious blend of Merlot, Sangiovese, Carignan, and Dolcetto from Pietra Santa's estate vineyards in the Cienega Valley (inland from Monterey in California). It sees 2 years in oak, and is big, juicy, and fun to drink.

So, go out and grab yourself a bottle (should be around $10- available at Wine and Cheese Places, and Friar Tuck), crack it, and watch Pujols crank one into the upper deck.

Cheers!

And the winner is....

2010-07-25T08:59:00.000-07:00

This post is fun, and painful to write. First of all, thank you to Kevin for agreeing to go on this trip with me. It's been a long time since he and I could catch up, and have good "brother time" together. I look forward to making this an annual event. Secondly, there will be some that say that we didn't give Kansas City a fair shake. On this, I defer to Kevin's expertise. We had several people say that Oklahoma Joe's is the best BBQ joint there, along with Jack's Stack, Gates-n-Sons, and others. Kevin eats at Oklahoma Joes probably once a month, so his opinion in this contest weighs heavily. Their sauce is amazing, but this is a contest about meat- not sauce. The highway collapse in southeastern KC prevented us from going there. I have eaten repeatedly at Jacks Stack, and at Gates. They simply aren't as good as the other places we went (with the exception of Pork n Pig- they flame that place.) Finally, this isn't a serious thing. Sure, we will send t-shirts to the winner, but that's about it. I'm sure my dozens of readers will understand.

So, without further ado- here are the winners:

Best Ribs- Neely's. Pappys came in close 2nd, but man, I must admit that these ribs from Neely's were the best I've ever had. I'm still thinking about them.

Pulled Pork- Pappy's. It was the most succulent, and had the best flavor.

Sausage- Split decision- Kevin says Neely's, I say 17th street. Brothers will never agree on everything.

Bologna Sandwich- Neely's. Of course, they were the only ones to offer one, but it was freaking delicious.

Beans- 17th street. The ones at Neely's came a close second, with Pappys not far behind. I just loved the tanginess, and the fact that they had 3 separate kind of beans in them.

Sauce- 17th street. More on the mustard/vinegar side, it was tangy, refreshing, and the only one we bought.

Dry Rub- Neely's. Even though it has a cheesy picture of Patrick and Gina on the side of it, it's killer. I bought some, and put it on potatoes last night.

Overall Winner- As much as it hurts me to say it (I was rooting for my home team of Mike Emerson and the boys at Pappys), this coveted prize, and t-shirt, goes to....

......NEELY'S. We had to take all things into consideration, but this was a BBQ road trip. Their meat was the best overall.

Thanks for putting up with my ramblings. Back to our regular-scheduled programming on Monday.

Until then, Cheers.

Dining with the Neely's

2010-07-25T08:41:00.000-07:00

Friday night, the Harsha Boys Midwest BBQ Smackdown reached it's furthest destination- Memphis, TN. We checked into our fairly low-rent motel (fine for a boy's trip- the wives wouldn't have stayed there), and met up with friends Aleks and Sarah, locals. Since they have lived in Memphis for a number of years, we trusted their judgement on where to go for the best BBQ. I know some people are sitting there reading this saying "Rendevous", and others "The Interstate". Our local tour-guides disagreed. They took us to the Neely's restaurant on Jefferson. Let me say right now that I'm not a huge fan of Patrick and Gina Neely's show on the Food Network. I'm sure they are nice people, but they tend to bee too syrupy sweet and obnoxious to watch. Their restaurant is a bit of an ode to themselves- with their own pictures making up about 89% of the decor. It was a bit more rustic than expected. I almost thought we would walk into a TV "star" restaurant, and have it be uber-nice. Nope. All wood panelling, comfortable chairs, and a great mix of black, white, hispanic, and several other races eating there. It was exactly what a BBQ joint in Memphis should be.

The first course was the Sausage and cheese- Kevin liked this sausage the best out of all of them we ate. I actually liked it at 17th street the best, but this one did have an amazing rub sprinkled on it. What came next was jaw-dropping. Kevin ordered the "combo" platter- Ribs, Pork, Beef, and Turkey. I ordered a fried bologna sandwich. Yes, you read that correctly. I had never seen it on a menu before, and I'm glad I ordered it. The bologna was about 1/2" thick, smoked, and freaking delicious. The ribs were served piping hot- incredibly meaty, and supremely tender without being mushy. The pork was fine, nothing to write much about, as was the turkey. The beef was a bit tough. Another item that Sarah ordered that was probably the least-favorite thing on the table was BBQ Spaghetti. Huh? My mouth was confused. Let me go back to the ribs- I literally couldn't stop eating them! Will they give Pappy's a run for the top of the leader board?

The night ended with a trip over to Jerry's- a "famous" snowcone stand. You can get all flavors either regular, "supreme" (with soft-serve ice cream" or with "cream" (condensed milk). I opted for the Dreamsicle Supreme. Kevin got the "Legit". He doesn't know what flavor it was, but we both found small pockets in our pork-laden digestive tracts to shove the sweet goodness in.

Next post- the winners.

Friday Lunch- 17th st Bar and Grill

2010-07-25T08:27:00.000-07:00

Friday morning, we headed southeast out of Saint Louis, destination Memphis. However, since I'm pretty much a geek and have actually read the book "Peace, Love, Barbecue" from cover to cover twice, I knew that we had to hit one of the Midwest meccas of all things pork- 17th St. Bar and Grill in Murphysboro, IL. For those of you not-in-the-know, this restaurant is owned by Mike Mills, a guy who has won the coveted World Championship of BBQ at Memphis in May not only once, but 3 times. Simply put, he knows how to smoke a rib.

The first curveball came when we approached the door, on a side street of a po-dunk town. The dining room of the bar and grill had been moved up the street 1/2 block. When you enter, it's sort of like walking into the banquet hall of a Holiday Inn. Not what you expect for eating great BBQ. Kevin ordered the ribs and chicken, I ordered pulled pork and sausage (anyone sensing a pattern here?). Service was deplorable, but to our server's credit, she did have to deal with a 6 top of blue haired women, and a 5 top of middle aged women, ALL of whom wanted separate checks and to pay with separate credit cards.

Folks, let me rant for a moment here. Dont do this to your server! It takes forever, it's easy to make mistakes, and usually the server gets screwed on tips. You all took math at sometime. Put it on someone's credit card, and pay them back later.

Back to the food. The ribs and pulled pork were good, but that's about it. Just good, not world-champion worthy. I honestly think I could approximate them with a couple hours of hickory and apple wood smoke, and some dry rub. What were outstanding were the sides. The tangy beans were just that- tangy, with a vinegar kick and just a touch of heat. Kevin said that the red beans-n-rice were the best he's ever had. The sausage was cooked through, had a slap of heat on it, and delicious. The sauce was the best we had the entire trip- we each actually bought a bottle.

In retrospect, I would say that the ribs were definitely better than Pork n Pit, but Pappys kicks them in the junk. They were a bit lean on meat, and a touch dry. The same goes with the pulled pork. I just got the feeling that they might be resting on their laurels a little bit, and more concerned with opening restaurants all around the Midwest and Vegas to pay attention to their food quality slipping. If you happen to be in Murphysboro (or even Carbondale- it's worth the drive), check out 17th street bar and grill, but I wouldn't go an hour out of your way off of I-55 to try them.

Pappys lays the smack down, name mistake

2010-07-23T05:05:00.000-07:00

First of all, let me say that yesterday, I made a mistake. I called the place we got the terrible ribs from "Pig N Pit" when it was actually "Pork N Pit." Oops.

Yesterday afternoon, my brother and I headed into Pappy's in Saint Louis. One sign that a BBQ place is going to be good is when there's a line of at least 30 people waiting- at 2:00 in the afternoon on a Thursday! I must admit that I am a little bit biased when it comes to this place, as I have probably eaten there a dozen times over the last couple of years. I really, really like it. Plus, I think that Mike Emerson, the owner, is a great businessman that runs a true, clean, honest spot. He isn't trying to make it something that it's not. He also didn't see his success over the last couple of years, and try to open 4 more outposts, diluting the efforts of the original.

To say that the ribs blew the previous ones away is an understatement. They had a beautiful smoke ring in them, and just the right amount of "snap". I once heard that a rib should be tender, but still show the shape of your bite when you pull it away from your mouth. These did that, and had just the right amount of spice that you almost don't even need sauce on them. The pulled pork (not Kevin's favorite dish at any BBQ mecca) was moist, flavorful, and uniformly pulled. How in the world does Pappys do that? I have tried so many times to get my pork at home this consistency, always to fail. The ancillary items were just as delicious- I actually recommend the smoked chicken. It's killer!

So, if you are in the Saint Louis area, I would highly recommend this place. It's a bit tough to find- give me a call, I might give you directions.

It's sad when 5 adults don't finish a rack of ribs

2010-07-22T04:43:00.000-07:00

...This was our reaction upon trying the BBQ at the first stop of the Harsha Boys Midwest BBQ Smackdown. I had gone over to Kansas City, in hopes of trying a great BBQ restaurant with my brother, and sharing with my family. Let me start by saying that the Pig N Pit in Lees Summit was not our first choice. However, a hiway collapsed in KC this last weekend, making it virtually impossible to get from the Southeastern corner of the metroplex (where my brother lives) to anywhere else. Truth be told, I have had the sauce from Oklahoma Joe's dozens of times, but time constraints kept us from going there for the ribs. We were also kept from going to Gates n Sons, or Jack Stacks either. My brother had heard of this new place in Lee's Summit that was supposed to be really good. I don't know where he got his information, but it was incorrect.

The trip started in an innocuous manner. The Pork N Pit is located on Colbern road in a minimalistic, BBQ-Friendly environment. The 8 tables were surrounded by families obviously enjoying the meat, and the owner's eyes lit up when I told him his wares were being "pitted" (pun intended) against the best BBQ from St Louis, Murphreesboro, and Memphis. He even gave us a small sample of the brisket to try while waiting for our pulled pork, ribs, and burned ends. The brisket was tender, had a great smokiness to it, and proved to be the best thing we tried. We took the rest of the food home, and ate it there. I got a little worried about the ribs when I first opened them. They were grey, and literally fell apart when you picked them up. For you non-BBQ fanatics, this is not a good thing. "Falling off the bone" is not a good sign for quality smoked ribs. They had obviously been boiled, and then finished off briefly in a smoker. They were almost a mushy texture, and had a faint, acrid aftertaste of garlic-gone-bad. I'm not exaggerating when I say that 5 adults didn't finish a full rack. The Pulled-Pork was dry, lifeless, and didn't seem to have an ounce of fat in it. Again, not a good thing for BBQ. The sides we tried were unmemorable (the website claims to have the "best fries in the world- they aren't).

In all, if you are looking for the best BBQ in Kansas City, avoid this place. Those of you that know my style know that I very rarely tell you not to go somewhere. If you are stuck in Lees Summit, skip the Pork N Pit. Go to Holy Smoke BBQ instead- the place with easily the best beans I have ever tried.

Next post- Pappy's in Saint Louis.

BBQ Challenge

2010-07-21T07:07:00.000-07:00

Today begins the Harsha Boy's Midwest BBQ Challenge. That's right- my brother and I, over the next couple of days, are going to sample BBQ from the great cities of Memphis, Murfreesboro (IL), Saint Louis, and Kansas City. We will try ribs and pulled pork from institutions in each city, and report back with our candid thoughts on each one. The winning joint's owner will receive an Epiphany Wines shirt, and free veterinarian care for a year. (Just kidding on the vet care, no worries Kev.) More thoughts to come....

Winery Profile- Villa Creek

2010-07-19T09:32:00.000-07:00

To say that I'm excited to bring in the wines of Villa Creek (pronounced Vee-ya, Spanish Style) is an understatement. I had first tried their wines a couple of years ago through a local friend, but they haven't been available in the St Louis market yet. Located in Paso Robles, this particular winery produces Rhone and Spanish-style blends from grapes that they source from the Denner, James Berry, and Ohana vineyards. They also own a 60-acre estate that will be planted in 2012. Their white wine is a killer blend of Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, and Picpoul that is reminiscent of a white CdP, but has a new-world feel. I really look forward to sipping it while warming up my grill. After I cook pig, chicken, or beef on said grill, I will move onto their reds. The ones I will be looking at bringing into the state at first are the Willow Creek Cuvee (Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah), La Boda (Grenache/Mourvedre), and Avenger (Syrah, Mourvedre, Grenache). This isn't to say that the state won't be getting the other wines- stay tuned for the other wines down the road.

In the meantime, check out their website at www.villacreekwine.com

Cheers!

NYC, other schtuff

2010-07-14T11:10:00.000-07:00

On Monday morning, I flew to the Big Apple for an afternoon and Tuesday morning meeting with my Spanish wine supplier, Ole Imports. It was a very well run meeting, and we got to try some truly incredible wines. One of the best parts was that there were several of the winemakers there, and they were all jazzed about Spain winning the World Cup. If you are curious, look at their website to see the portfolio- www.oleimports.com

Monday night, we had a dinner/reception on the roofdeck of the Kimberly Hotel- really an amazing spot for cocktails (despite the fact that Ketel was $16 per glass. Oof). This is where the night took a southward turn. Some of us left the reception, and went over to Times Square, where my iPhone was promptly stolen off of a bartable. So, I was in a big city, no phone, no email, and most importantly, no map. To get back to my hotel, I wandered around a bit, and got very lost very quickly. Then my savior appeared- a black transvestite hooker with bleached blonde hair. After I declined the opportunity for a "date", he/she was nice enough to point me in the direction of my hotel. Now I guess I have my NYC story.

The next day, following the rest of the tasting, I took a cab over to Momofuku, and had an absolutely killer Ramen bowl with pork belly, scallops, and a poached egg. That was followed by a cab ride to the Spotted pig- quite possibly the coolest bar in America. One long, uncomfortable plane ride, and I was home. It was a heck of an adventure, but I'm plenty content with our decision to live in the Midwest. There's just no place to get away quietly in NYC.

In other sports news, I just got off the phone with Cris Cherry of Villa Creek winery, and I will be carrying their wines. Their winery profile to come tomorrow.

Tonight, it's Blues Music and a picnic dinner at the Botanical Gardens. Cheers!

Winery Profile- Denner Vineyards

2010-07-08T08:45:00.000-07:00

Today, I wanted to let you know about a cool little winery out of California that I will be working with soon. Denner Vineyards is located in Paso Robles, CA, and is the epitome of a "local boy done good" in the wine scene.

The vineyards themselves, owned by the Denner family, were planted in 25 small blocks in 1999. They focus on sustainable agriculture, and minimalistic approaches to fertilization, pest control, and irrigation. The vineyards are planted with Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Viognier, Roussanne, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petite Verdot, and Zinfandel.

The local connection comes through Anthony Yount, who was born locally and grew up in Clayton. He studied his wine stuff at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, and then worked as an intern at Denner. From there, he was the cellar master at Villa Creek under Cris Cherry, and then moved back to Denner where he is the current winemaker. He also makes the Kinero brand, which focuses on off-the-beaten-path whites.

I must say that everything I have tried from this vineyard has been exceptional. I particularly like the Theresa- a white Rhone-style blend, as well as the Dirt Worshipper- a Cote Rotie style blend of Syrah and Viognier.

So, even though these aren't the cheapest wines on the market, if you are fortunate enough to find some in your local store or restaurant, please snag it, drink it, and report back.

Cheers!

Wine from New York??? Really???

2010-07-07T07:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had the opportunity to try a couple of wines from New York, and I am getting really excited about the fact that they may soon be available in the state. The winery that sent samples was Hermann J Wiemer, which is located on the West coast of Lake Seneca. For those of you unfamiliar with the fact that New York is an entire state, and not just a city, this is about 5 hours Northeast of NYC in the Finger Lakes region, and you have to go through Pennsylvania to get there. Located near the town of Dundee, Weimer vineyard was planted in 1973 by Hermann Wiemer, a German immigrant that was born to a wine-making family in the Mosel. They have been producing wine from their 140 acre estate since 1979- most of which are in a fairly German style.

I only tried the semi-dry Riesling and the Cabernet Franc yesterday, but will get to the dry Riesling, Gewurtz, Cuvee Frost (blend of Riesling, Gewurtz, Chard, and Pinot Noir), and sparkling (method champenoise, made from Chard) either today or tomorrow.

Now, I can sit here and wax eloquent about how these wines were a great hybrid of German and New-world Rieslings with peach, apple, apricot, lychee and hazelnut notes, but rather I will tell you the true proof that this stuff is good. My wife and I usually have a bottle of wine open at dinner, especially lately since I have been sampling so many. Last night was the first time in months that I sat there and watched her drink her glass of Riesling, finish it, reach for the bottle, and pour herself another glass. Folks, we have a winner!

Here's to bringing a wine from the Finger Lakes into the red state of Missouri. Now, if I could only get it in a camo-can so my neighbors would buy it...

Delicious Wine from Alsace

2010-07-06T08:18:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while, I taste a wine that has such an immediate impact on me that I have to tell other people about it. This happened this week with the 2004 Rolly Gassmann Gewurtztraminer from Rorschwihr in Alsace. The Gassmann family has been producing wine from 21 separate vineyard sites in the area since 1676, and the name of the wine comes from the marriage of the Rolly family and the Gassmann family in 1967. All of the wines from this estate have been produced Biodynamically since 1997.

Enough about the technical stuff- how did it taste? As soon as I opened the bottle, the kitchen was instantly filled with aromas of pineapple, mango, ginger, and perfectly ripe pear. These notes continued right through the palate, along with flavors of Juicy Fruit gum, cinnamon, flint, and petrol. This isn't a watery wine by any stretch of the imagination, but rather viscous and full bodied. I tried the wine 2 days later, and it still hadn't lost a bit of its fruit. The word to describe this particular wine is "wow". Once again, we have living proof that white wines, especially those from Alsace, can age.

I highly recommend you get some of this wine, and check it out!

Cheers!

Trip to Denver, other goings-ons

2010-07-05T08:24:00.000-07:00

I didn't post on Thursday because I got up early to fly to Denver in order to meet with a potential supplier of mine, and on Friday because I was coming back home. A lot has happened since my last post, so bear with me a bit.

Thursday in Denver was a great trip. I will likely be doing business with a wonderful importer there that took me out to lunch and dinner, and showed 14 wines or so. The dinner at Barolo Grill was absolutely stunning- the courses were a Salmon Carpaccio; Mushroom Consome with mini raviolis; Black Rice with Quail Egg and Foie Gras Sauce; Guinea Hen with peas and fava beans; and finally a rhubarb soup with yogurt ice cream. It was a bit of a heavy course-load for summer, but it was a delicious endeavor nonetheless. I will post more about the wines we decided on as they become official. While in Denver, I also checked out their version of Atomic Cowboy. Ours is much better here in the Lou. I don't think there's any relationship between the two.

I came home from Denver to find shipments from three separate suppliers that want me to taste through their wines. It's a tough job trying to taste through 40 wines or so, but I'm willing to give it a shot. Again, as these become official, I will post about them on here. (**Hint- I may have accidentally leaked a few of them on my twitter feed for the company @epiphanywines).

So, now I'm back in the office, paying bills, blogging, writing my price book, writing an employee manual, and recovering from the massive amounts of grilled and smoked pork product I ate over the weekend. It's glamorous, I know.

Cheers!

100 point wine, Sanctuaria

2010-06-30T07:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon and leading into last night were really a lot of fun. at about 5:30, I dropped by Sanctuaria for my first time there. This is one of those restaurants that I sort of made fun of when it opened- I thought the logo was goofy, and that the whole tapas thing had really jumped the shark. Certainly, there was no way they could make it in the Grove. Then I started hearing all the local cocktail geeks talk about how good the drinks were there. In the name of honest investigative reporting, I dropped by. The food was great, and the cocktails were even better. Dare I say- I really like this place, and will be taking Mrs Sippinstl there sometime soon! Go check it out!

I then moved on to the "main event". Our wine group got together for the final leg of the "Tony and Janet Farewell Tour" that has been happening all week- we all took over 33 wine bar, along with about a dozen tortas from La Vallesana, and 4 amazing bottles of wine- included in which were 05, 06, and 07 Deus Ex Machina from Clos St. Jean in Chateauneuf Du Pape. The 05 was literally in the top 5 wines I have ever tasted in my life. It had so many layers of ripe red fruits, leather, tobacco, soy, meat, and about a dozen other flavors. The finish on that bad boy literally lasted over a minute! This, my friends, is what a 100 point wine is supposed to taste like!

So, we look forward to seeing our friends in the future in Houston when we visit the in-laws. For now, I need to get back to "Words With Friends", where my wife is stomping me.

Cheers!

Saucy Soiree

2010-06-29T11:21:00.000-07:00

Last night, Mrs Sippinstl and I headed down to the Four Seasons for the annual "Saucy Soiree" held by Sauce Magazine. This is the event where they give a pre-release view of their "reader's choice" issue. Many of the local restaurants and breweries/wineries had tables set up where you could sample to your heart's desire. Then, everyone moved to the roof deck patio/pool area of Cielo to listen to music, and drink free beer. It was a fun event- lots of old industry friends and some new acquaintances were there. In all honesty, I was going to leak the "list", but I grabbed the wrong issue of Sauce when I headed out the door to my Global Headquarters.

As far as things are progressing at Epiphany, we're simply waiting to get labels registered. As soon as I can place orders, I will get wine into your hot little hands.

Until then, enjoy this summer weather reprieve, and drink something delicious.

Cheers!

Delicious, but doesn't age well

2010-06-28T08:58:00.000-07:00

Last night, some of us wine geeks got together to go through a vertical of Elderton Command Shiraz from Australia. We opened 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2005. I must say that I love these wines, and have enjoyed all of these vintages in the past. However, the general consensus last night was that they simply don't hold up over time. The 2000, which was a Spectator 97-point wine was either slightly flawed, or way past its prime. The best of the lot was the 2001, and the 2005 was drinking pretty nicely. However, I would be reluctant to buy anything older than 05 based on the tasting.

Other wines that we opened were the 04 Mitolo GAM (didn't show well), the 06 GAM (pretty nice little wine) some Two Hands Sophie's Syrah (really nice!), and a really interesting wine- Rudi Schultz Syrah from South Africa- Definitely the most surprising-in-a-positive-way wine.

In all, it was a fantastic evening with the guys- lots of good wine, grilled meat, and no veggies.

Saying goodbye to a friend, first news release

2010-06-25T09:41:00.000-07:00

Last night, some of "the guys" got together to toast our dear friend Tony, who is leaving town. Tony is a doctor, and he found a great job opportunity in Houston, so he and his wonderful bride are leaving next week. He will truly be missed, as he is instrumental in keeping our "Saint Louis Wine Therapy" group going. We toasted him with cocktails at Taste, then some nice wines at 33- '07 Papillon, '08 Beau Freres Pinot, Elderton Ashmead Cab. So, Tony, this is for you:

Ah, takes me right back to Sophomore year.

In other (literal) news, check out the press release published on STLToday.com:

http://interact.stltoday.com/pr/dining-restaurants/PR06231003074025

That's all for today. Have a great weekend!

Cheers

A new grape

2010-06-24T08:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to do something that I rarely get to do- Try a wine made from a varietal that is completely new to me. The wine that was tried was the 2009 Zestos Blanco, from Madrid, Spain. It is made from the varietal Malvar. Maybe I'm behind the times and all the kids are clamoring for Malvar, but I don't think so. I looked it up in Wine Lover's Companion and Sotheby's- nothing. The Oxford Companion to Wine had two sentences about it. There's not even a Wiki page about it. I mean, there's a Wiki page about EVERYTHING, but alas- no Malvar.

So, that being said, check this wine out when it comes into the market in the next month or so. Tasting it, I would compare it in weight to an unoaked chardonnay, and in aromatics to viognier. It was slightly crisp, had some acidity without being searing, but also had some nice viscosity to it. I would drink it with most spring and summer-types salads and white fish. It would also be interesting to try it with avocados.

That's all for now, off to pay bills and try some more interesting stuff to bring into Missouri to ensure that your glass is never empty!

Cheers!

The place where cliches abound, and the children are scared

2010-06-23T07:24:00.000-07:00

It all started out so innocently. A friend of mine sent out an email to a group of guys that get together and hang out on a regular basis. He wanted to organize a night where we all go grab a bite to eat and then watch the new A Team movie. However, this friend is a vegetarian, and the rest of us aren't. His suggestion was that we meet at Red Robin, grab a burger (or in his case a veggie burger) and then proceed to the movie theater. "Well, okay" I thought. This couldn't be too bad. I had never set foot in a Red Robin before- all I knew about it was that it is my 7 year old niece's favorite restaurant. I assumed that it would be kind of like Applebee's or Chili's or something of that nature.

Let me step to the side for a minute here, and discuss chain restaurants. I have no problem with the existence of chains. I understand their place in the American food industry- it's where millions of people go to get adequately prepared food at a nominal price. Heck, I started my illustrious food and wine career at a TGIFridays, followed by Houlihan's. (If you are a parent of a teenager reading this, don't let your kid work at one of these places- I guarantee they will be exposed to drinking, drugs, and sex within about their first 30 minutes of their first day of work). However, I very rarely eat at a chain. My wife and I have decided that, if we have a certain amount of money to spend on eating out, we would much rather support locally-owned, independent businesses than chains. Plus, I think the food at these places is often wildly unhealthy, and mediocre in quality. Stepping down from soap box now.

So, we decided to meet at Red Robin. The first thing I noticed was the gaggle of unhealthy looking folks crowded around the door. Surely there can't be a wait at 6 pm on a Tuesday! Nope, just folks smoking outside. The hostess (who looked like she was no more than 14) was cheerful, but looked confused when I said I would wait at the bar for my friends. The bartender gave me a "What's up man, get you something to drink?" and threw a menu in front of me. He then walked away- nice close on the sale, bro. I looked at the drink menu- plenty of snazzily named fruity drinks, and milkshakes and stuff. Nothing I would partake in though. Their vodka choices were pretty pitiful- Absolute, Absolute Citroen, and Smirnoff. Wine- yeah, right.

About that time, the rest of the group showed up, and we took our table. Let me say right now that our service was excellent. The waitress was spot on in all of her points of service, and didn't roll her eyes about split checks.

This is where some of the funny stuff came into the scene. She was going around the table, taking orders, and one of the guys ordered the "Burnin' Love Burger". She then proceeded to ask "Do you want some pink, or no pink?" He replied with "as much pink as I can get". She didn't get the euphemism, but a table full of 30-something guys giggled. Evidently, this is their method of asking how rare to cook the burger. User friendly, I guess, but very corporate sounding.

The other amazing part of Red Robin is the atmosphere- oldies playing loudly, lots of neon, red, and yellow, and "vintage" movie posters on the wall. I don't know which was more fun to watch- the 5'6" Robin walking around, scaring the hell out of little kids (By the way, why does he wear a vest, but no pants? Creepy), the group of high school cheerleaders, one of which had a baby with her, or the couple that the woman had really short denim cutoffs to reveal the tatoos of sparrows and hearts running down her leg.

The food was okay- the other guys got burgers (one of which weighed in at over 1400 calories, 97 grams of fat, and 5600 mg of sodium), I got a caesar salad with a piece of salmon that had been beaten to death, frozen, then over cooked.

In retrospect, I can see why families go to this place- it is a physical definition of the word "cacophony" with plenty of distractions, noises, colors, balloons, and birthday songs. I just won't be going back anytime soon.

A correction, What do you want to see in the state?

2010-06-22T09:31:00.000-07:00

A friend in the industry shot me a text today- I made a mistake in my wine listings from Saturday. We actually drank the Four Vines "Heretic" Petite Syrah that night. Oops.

Another thing that I would like my friends and trusted industry folk to weigh in on- Is there a certain wine or boutique spirit you would like to see in the market here in Missouri that isn't currently sold here? I have a "hit list" of sorts that I'm going after, and I want to know what you want to drink. If you think of anything, shoot me an email at Kyleharsha@yahoo.com

Thanks, and Cheers

Tonight- we hit the new A-Team movie. Word.

Fantastic weekend of wines, the beat carries on

2010-06-21T15:09:00.000-07:00

My father claims that, whenever they have come to visit, I have never chosen a bad place to eat. The running joke is that every time they come into town, my dad claims that he has the "best thing he's ever eaten". This last weekend, my streak remained intact. Friday night, we just grilled humongous steaks at the house, and paired them with some decent wines- Domaine St Vincent bubbly, Pietra Santa Chardonnay, Sacred Stone "Cask #5", and 2004 Palladino Barolo. Not a bad line up, nor a bad way to start the weekend. My mom has a rather funny picture of my dad and I having our first Board Meeting in the office- we sat around and drank bubbly.

Saturday night pushed the line of being "epic" as described in posts past. We started at Taste by Niche, where I had some sort of Rye cocktail, and everyone else had something different. We split up some small plates, and as usual- no dogs in the bunch. I was particularly impressed with the Bruschetta with mushrooms, truffle oil, and ricotta. The journey continued onward to Ernesto's, the new joint in Benton Park. The girls had white sangria, and dad and I sucked back glasses of Decero Malbec- killer stuff. The standout nibble there was their self-proclaimed "World's Best Grilled Cheese Sandwich" with truffle fontina and mushrooms. I have a hard time disagreeing. This is where the night got borderline ugly. We rolled into Sidney St Cafe with the intention of getting a glass of wine, and a couple of apps. Two bottles of wine, and four courses later, we left- In pain. My wife had a beet risotto that was stunning, and my mom's rabbit was the best I have ever had. The wine selections of the night were Pine Ridge Merlot and Two Vines "Heretic" Syrah. Both really fun examples of their respective grapes. The plans of the night originally included a trip by either 33 wine bar, or Atomic Cowboy. Due to our state of stuffedness, we didn't make either destination (Sorry Jeff and Jim). As you can see, it was a fantastic night that I'm still partially trying to wake up from the resulting food coma.

Here at the Global Headquarters of Epiphany Wines, LLC, I'm just trying to get wineries lined up. I was on the phone today with a couple of cool projects from Paso Robles, and as soon as I get confirmation that they want to play ball, I will release names.

That's it- it's freaking hot outside. Drink Rose, and enjoy your evening.

Cheers

Sign of the Times

2010-06-17T11:45:00.000-07:00

Things here at the Epiphany Wines World Headquarters are progressing- albeit some things very slowly. We got the sign mounted on the front of the building, and I'm pleased at the way it turned out. It isn't the same font as our other marketing materials, but I still think it looks sharp.

On the legal side of everything, I learned today that it will be a minimum of 2-3 weeks before the wineries can get their wines registered with the state. Sure, this is a bummer, because I want to get some wine in here, and start selling it, but that's the way it goes. "Patience, grasshopper" seems to be my motto lately.

In other news, I met with a PR lady today, and went over my media launch for all things Epiphany. Surprisingly, I've already been doing the stuff that I needed to. I could probably use more exposure to the blog, but that's up to you all, not me. Hint, hint.

Wine-wise, I'll be tasting a few things with the wine writer for a coming-soon-to-STL food and wine rag tomorrow. We will look at the Sacred Stone (blend of Merlot, Sangiovese, Carignane, and Dolcetto) as well as the Chardonnay from Pietra Santa Winery in Hollister, CA. We will also look at Domaine St. Vincent- this is my new favorite cheap bubbly. It's the second label from Gruet, and is a method champenoise wine that will be available for about $10 retail! Here's to hoping she likes the wines, and writes about them!

That's all for today- time to contact more cool, boutique wineries, so you can have something good to drink.

Cheers.

Coming along nicely

2010-06-16T11:02:00.000-07:00

Yeah, yeah, I know...it is still a week or so between posts. To the two or three of you that are still following this blog, I apologize. One main reason for my lack of blogging is that my new office that I got into didn't have phone or internet until yesterday (no thanks to AT&T, whom tried to sell me services that aren't even available here). At any rate, I'm up and running in that department, so posting will be much easier now.

Here's where things stand- I now have all of my licenses, so legally I can buy and sell wine. Now it's just a matter of getting contracts set up with trucking companies, getting labels registered, and getting the juice shipped. I'm fully confident that I can have wine in stock by June 30, which would be amazing! My office is fully functional now, and I am having a couch delivered this weekend for those afternoon "brainstorming sessions" that may arise. I am fairly confident that I will be carrying wines from Pietra Santa Winery in Hollister, CA, Domaine St. Vincent (2nd label of my beloved Gruet), and the wines from Ole Imports, out of New York. I have a couple of other irons in the fire, but those will be announced in due course.

So far, this has been a roller-coaster of a ride- I have sweated, cussed, laughed, almost cried, been angry, been giddy with joy, stressed, and relaxed. I'm sure that litany of emotions will continue, but it's a hell of a ride!

Tonight, I sample Domaine St Vincent. Wanna try some?

Cheers!

Headless Chicken

2010-06-08T06:58:00.000-07:00

Yep, I'm running around like a headless chicken right now, which is my excuse for a lack of posting recently. As it turns out, starting a business is quite demanding on your time and energy. However, I did get the chance to play a little this last weekend. Friday night, I taught a class for some friends that were holding a fundraiser for their children's private school. Good wine was had, and everyone had a great time (I hope). Saturday was the June installment of Saint Louis Wine Therapy, and the theme was bubbly wines. I am happy to report that my favorite everyday bubbly (Gruet Demi Sec) easily went toe-to-toe with many of the "regular" Champagnes that are out there, and for 1/4 of the price. The wine of the night was a 1989 Cliquot Grande Dame Rose, probably the best Champagne I have ever tried. Sunday was the Slow Food Lambstravaganza event that Nicole and I volunteered to work. 8 chefs, 2 lambs, 73 people eating, awesome!

So, back to the business stuff- I drove to Jeff City yesterday to submit for my State liquor license. It sounds like the head state guy will sign off on it today, and it will get mailed to me this afternoon. As for the warehouse mess, I found a new warehouse and office space in Fenton (and also in Jefferson County- so I don't have to deal with STL County anymore), so today I have already met with the Fire Extinguisher company (file that under "miscellaneous unexpected expenses), my previous landlord, a carpet guy, and I still have to meet with the Fire Chief, AT&T, ADT, etc, etc, etc. I complain, but it's actually a lot of fun figuring all of this out.

Hopefully, I will be able to report that I have all licenses in hand by the end of the week, and can sell you some wine!

Cheers!

"Epic" weekend

2010-06-01T07:44:00.000-07:00

A lot of people have been using the term "epic" lately in a way to describe something that is really, really good. With that in mind, this last weekend could be truly characterized using that particular term. Friday night, my folks rolled into town, and we started off with apps and drinks at Farmhaus. The dishes were all standouts in their own way, but I truly love that chilled roast beef app. Get it, it's amazing. I also tried their cucumber martini, which was pretty refreshing- the icecubes had cucumbers in them, which was funky. Farmhaus was followed by a trip over to Five, once again for some apps and a bottle of 2007 Sandrone Barbera d'Alba- killer food, killer wine, killer restaurant. The Mrs particularly enjoyed the Rissoto Milanese- it's amazing how something so simple can be so delicious. We ended the evening with a nightcap on the patio at 33- 2004 Von Hovel Obremmeler Hutte Spatlese, if I'm not mistaken.

So, that night was amazing. The next night was a really fun one at home with the folks- patty melts and wine were on the docket, followed by an intense game of scrabble. We opened the newly released Summers Petite Syrah, and it is a very enjoyable, fruit-driven red. All of this following a typically "epic" lunch from Pappy's- the entire Adam Bomb!

We continued our ride on the epic train on Sunday with a post-church early lunch at Lilly's on Kingshighway. This is one of our favorite authentic Mexican restaurants. I tried the torta with carnitas. It was good, but no match for the one you can get at La Vallesana on Cherokee. That night, the folks left, and the wife and I made some pasta, played scrabble, and built a fire in the fire pit- great evening hanging at home.

Were we done yet? Not even close. Yesterday, a large group of friends descended upon our backyard for some Memorial Day grillin' and pork smokin' action. Several bottles of good wine were broken out- including 2005 Cadence, Copain Pinot, Kistler Pinot, and a delcious Sancerre that I can't recall the name. It was a fantastic, fun evening where nobody got too out of control, and everyone left our house full and smiling.

We are truly blessed to have such wonderful family and friends to celebrate with.

Cheers!

When the going gets tough...

2010-05-27T11:26:00.000-07:00

So, my last blog post found me in a state of caffeine-fueled ecstasy. Today, I'm in a different mood. When I got into my office this morning, I had an email waiting for me from the County Licensing office. There is a county ordinance that states that they will not approve liquor licenses within 300 feet of any church, playground, school, or public park. We have a church directly to the Northeast of us, but there was a huge parking lot in between the two buildings. I thought that it would be plenty of room. Well, as it turns out the nearest corners of the two buildings are about 260' apart. The inspector from the public works department felt this was too close, and told the County to deny our license.

Not good.

So, I'm in a spot where I need to relocate my office and warehouse, which will put this whole project on hold for a couple of weeks. I'm not as concerned right now as I was this morning (I was in a panic). I know that "God can't steer a parked car", and that the only direction I can move is forward.

So, if you have some cheap, temperature controlled warehouse space somewhere in South County, give me a buzz.

Until then, cheers!

Exciting times

2010-05-26T08:26:00.000-07:00

So, the reason I'm so excited today (besides about 44 oz of coffee so far) is that I'm typing this on my brand new laptop, sitting at my desk in my new office for my new company. I'm slowly putting together a portfolio of awesome wines to be able to sell to my friends in the industry, and my wife is supportive of it all. These are great times, and I feel like I'm living the American dream. My dad is even learning distributor lingo like "FOB", "5 on 51", and "terms are net 30".

Last night, I took a new supplier around to a couple of my favorite spots- 33 wine bar, Taste, and Sidney St. Cafe. Please continue to support these places- they are locally owned, have incredible drink and food menus, and are part of why the STL food and drink scene is gaining national attention.

Tonight, it's patty melt night at the Harsha household- Sounds like a great reason to open a nice bottle of red.

Cheers!

Impromptu Syrah Tasting, Anniversary, Epiphany

2010-05-24T10:42:00.000-07:00

Friday night, some of us wine geeks got together, and tried some really cool wines. We mainly were focused on Syrah, but here's the lineup:

08 Abbazia di Novacella Kerner
05 Creu de Lavit Xarella (weird)
04 Garretson "Craic" Syrah
07 K Vintners Motor City Kitty
03 Alban "Reva" Syrah (killer!!!)
04 Duval "Entity" Shiraz
07 White Knight Viognier (lots of heat/glycerine)
06 Cakebread Reserve Chard
07 Guigal St Joseph (I nailed this one blind- even down to the producer)
04 Oliver Hill Shiraz (I nailed this one, too)
07 Clape Cornas (My wine of the night)
04 Bonserine Cote Rotie (#2 pick of the night)
06 Petrolo Torrione
07 Lucia Susan's Vineyard Syrah

Once again, not a dog in the bunch- I'm glad we were taking small sips, as that night could have gotten ugly. Pizza from Ferraro's late helped, too.

Last night, we celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary (with some HdV Syrah, and Gruet Demi Sec). I love you, honey- Happy Anniversary!

As for Epiphany Wines stuff, we got the phone connected today- 631-1919, and I'm frustrated with Fed Ex for saying they tried to deliver my new computer, but didn't. We're having our first supplier in town to check out the market, which is kind of cool. I'll post updates.

Thanks for reading, and Cheers!

Time to hit the Hair Saloon

2010-05-21T06:25:00.000-07:00

If you are a guy, and you can handle moving beyond the $9.95 haircut special at Slip-n-Clip, then head on down to the Hair Saloon for Men. I go to the one on Tesson Ferry, but they are sprinkled all over the Lou. I really do like these places- you walk in, and are immediately offered a non-alcoholic beverage. The ladies who cut hair there are friendly, and do a nice job. If you're feeling extra special that day, there is a package that includes a scalp massage, a neck massage, one of those towels with the stuff that makes your face feel "minty" and they will even shine your shoes. All of this, while you are in an environment that is very Men's Clubby (not strip-clubby)- lots of dark wood, green, and pictures of hounds chasing foxes.

You know what will also make you feel like a man? Storybook Antaeus. I used to sell this wine, and I think it's a lot better than people give it credit for. It's a blend of zin, cab, petite verdot, and merlot hailing from Napa. The thing is that restaurants don't know where to put it on their wine lists ("other reds" is the death toll for many-a-good wine"), and retailers don't know where to put it in their shops. Add to that the fact that the label is kind of ugly, and you have a wine marketing nightmare. However, the juice is solid! Think notes of pepper, raspberry, currant, and plum, without being overly tannic. It's not a wine to age for 10 years. Instead, do what we did last night- cook up some Patty Melts out of Cooking Light magazine, pull the cork, and enjoy.

That's all folks, time to go get my flowing locks trimmed, and decorate my new office.

Cheers, and have a great weekend.

Laptops, and licenses, and warehouses, oh my!

2010-05-20T10:19:00.000-07:00

My appologies for not posting every day this week. As it turns out, starting your own company takes a lot of work and time! Here's where we stand, though at Epiphany Wines. I received my Federal permit today, which is a huge step. I have also procured warehouse and office space. The County signed off on my re-occupancy permit and my merchant's license. I have submitted my paperwork for my county liquor license, but that could take several weeks to get. After I get that, I can apply for my state license. Whew! Besides all of the paperwork stuff, it's also necessary to work on website design, get phones installed, get insurance, buy office supplies and a computer, work on the website, get business cards made up, get shirts made, etc, etc, etc! Oh yeah, I also have to get wineries to sign with me, so I have something to sell! This is an exciting time, and I'm happy to be doing the work.

In other news, I tried the "Lucy" rose last night, from the makers of Lucia. It's pinot noir based, and delicious. I got it at Sasha's- go check it out.

Cheers!

...And So It Begins

2010-05-17T06:51:00.000-07:00

One thing about quitting your job is that there is a lot of speculation about what you are going to do next. Well, speculate no more my friends. Many of the readers of this blog are within my immediate circle of trust, and know that my father and I are going to start our own wine distributorship. Yep, you read that correctly. Pops and I are going to submit the paperwork to get our license to sell wine at wholesale to restaurants and retailers in the Saint Louis and Kansas City area. This is a huge step for me, as today is literally the first day since I was 14 that I'm not officially employed. I have to admit I'm a wonderful combination of excited, scared, worried, sick, elated, happy, sad, and stressed. I made out my "to do" list for today, and it has 19 items on it! So, without any further adue, here is the logo that we will be using for the new company:

Like it? I do too. Stay tuned, as I will be posting about getting this company up and running, and telling about the successes and mistakes that will inevitably be involved.

Cheers!

French Press- There IS a Difference

2010-05-11T05:28:00.001-07:00

Many of you know that my sweet wife got me a really nice Bodum french coffee press for my birthday last month. I really looked into how to use the thing, asking some of my "coffee geek" friends for advice. I now have my morning system down, and rather enjoy the cups of coffee that it produces- they are dark, rich, full of flavor, and don't have a hint of bitterness.

Today, out of sheer laziness, I dumped the remaining scoops of coffee from my Kaldi bag into my regular coffee maker, threw some water in, and pressed "ON". Mistake. The coffee that came out was watery, a touch metallic, insipid, and bitter. Oh Lord. I'm already a snob about wine, shoes, and steaks. Now, do I have to add Coffee to the list?

Splashin' Slash

2010-05-10T05:35:00.000-07:00

This last weekend, the wife and I went over to Kansas City, stayed the night with my folks on Friday night (where we had a great time hanging out with my parents and brother), then on to Lawrence for a wedding reception on Saturday night. The reception was held at the new Oread Hotel near the KU campus (I don't recommend staying there), and the band that performed was called Sellout. This was an amazing party band. Each member of the band was dressed up like a famous person- Wonder Woman, Tina Turner, Slash, Gene Simmons, Lenny Kravitz, etc, and the band played great dance music from the 70's, 80's and 90's. Check them out at http://www.selloutlive.com/.

At any rate, during the party, I had gone to the men's room. It was a small "two holer", and there were three people in there- me, "Slash" from the band, and a third guy we'll call Drunk Fratboy. I went into the bathroom, set my cup of inexpensive beer down on a small table, did my business, and washed my hands. I then went to dry my hands, and the fun began. I think the hand dryer was powered by the jet engine from a 747 or something. It threw out the most amazingly powerful stream of air ever. Unfortunately for all three of us in the bathroom, I had accidentally put my beer on a table directly below the hand dryer. When I stuck my hands under there to be dried, the dryer shoved a blast of air directly down into my beer, 4 feet below. This caused my 20 oz of Bud Light to foam up, and spray out, soaking Slash and Drunk Fratboy. I turned around, in a mixture of embarassment, horror, and laughter. Slash looked down at his soaked shirt, looked up at me, looked back down, looked up, and shouted "Dude! That was AWESOME!" and gave me a double high five. I said "man, I'm so sorry" and Drunk Fratboy just started laughing and gave me a fist bump.

I guess all's well that ends well.

Have a great week, folks. Cheers!

Times they are a-changin'

2010-05-07T12:07:00.000-07:00

So today, I did one of the crazier things I have ever thought about. I turned in my two weeks notice. Yep, at the tail end of a recession, I quit a well-paying job. I worked at Premier Cru for 3 years, and it is just time to launch off into a new adventure. I have a "master plan" in place, it just isn't appropriate to talk about it until I am officially unemployed. Stay tuned for more details, though!

Until then, Cheers!

Get Thee to Five

2010-05-06T05:19:00.000-07:00

Last night I was reminded how much I really enjoy Five Restaurant. It is at the corner of Dagget and Hereford on the Hill, but isn't a "Hill Restaurant". Nope, no red and white checkered tablecloths, wicker-covered chianti bottle candle holders, or menus covered in plastic at this joint. Anthony Devoti and his crew are kicking out American food with a touch of French flair, and they really make an effort to source locally and organically.

I think the thing that I love about this place is the fact that it is truly a family venture. I walked in, and immediately Anthony's dad and mom said hello, and the bartender Glenn started making me a drink. Even though they had closed the kitchen down, they still brought out a killer charcuterie plate when the Mrs arrived. You just don't get that type of welcome and service at most places.

So, I charge you- get out to visit Five sometime soon.

As a side note, we did wander up to Guido's after we left Five, as we were still hungry. This is a funky place- they serve Spanish Tapas, and quasi-Italian food. We got a goat cheese appetizer that was decent, and a thin crust pizza that was pretty good. Definitely check it out, if you are within walking distance at 10:00 on a week night.

Zane Lamprey coming to town

2010-05-05T05:27:00.000-07:00

Aren't you excited? I am. Wait, you don't know who Zane Lamprey is? That's okay, I'll explain. He is the stand up comedian/actor/host that was on a show called Three Sheets that aired on MOJO (before it went out of business), and then later on FLN (which is now becoming the Cooking Channel). Most recently, episodes have been shown on Travel Channel, but it doesn't look likely that they will pick the show up for making more episodes. The premise of the show is that Zane travels all around the world, learning the customs involving drinking wherever he goes. The first time you watch the show, you'll probably think it's goofy. Then you will be slowly drawn in, much like the tractor beams on the Death Star, and you will never turn back. The show is insightful, and full of information.

Zane is currently touring the country doing a comedy act called "Drinking made easy", and will be filming for a show on HD Net, which will air in September by the same name. I think that some of us fans of "sippin" should head down to the Firebird on June 25, and welcome him to the Lou. Tickets are $20.

Who's in?

Fantastic weekend

2010-05-04T06:13:00.000-07:00

Hey friends,
Sorry I didn't post yesterday, I was helping friends pick up 1100 lbs of beef. Seriously.

Anyway, this last weekend was a really good one for Sippin Saint Louis. It started on Friday night, when the mrs and I had a bottle of sparkling rose, and watched the storm roll in. About the time we heard the 3rd tornado siren, we headed to the basement. This resulted in drinking Portuguese red wine, and playing Yahtzee (I was victorious) until the weather chilled out. Fun night!

Saturday night was fun in a different sort of way- I had a friend invite me to his house for mint juleps, and to watch the Derby. As a side note, is the winner "Super Saver" sponsored by a coupon company or something? Just sayin'. This was followed by going to "Fight Night" at another friends house. All guys, all big steaks on the grill, all fantastic red wines. Here's the line-up we had:

06 Montepeloso Eneo
99 Paolo Scavino "Bric del Fiasc" Barolo
98 Tenuta La Poderina Brunello
01 E&E Shiraz
06 Tempier Bandol
99 Dunn Cab (Are these wines EVER ready to drink?)
02 Jacky Truchot Morey St. Denis
95 Remirez de Ganuza Rioja Reserva (out of magnum)
06 Glaetzer Anaparenna Shiraz
95 Beaucastel CdP
96 Chateau d'Ampuis Cote Rotie (easily wine of the night)
95 Tommasi Amarone
95 Insignia (drank like silk)
97 Armstrong Shiraz (the most menthol/eucalyptus I have ever tasted in a wine)
05 Booker Vertigo (Eliot, Bill, and Tony would love this wine- Syrah based, and massive)
03 Giorgio Primo Toscana
07 Lucia Gary's Vineyard Pinot (this wine is just plain delicious)
01 Ojai Santa Rita Hills Pinot

As you can see, there wasn't a dog in the bunch. Thanks to Bill for this invite- I really enjoyed it.

Y'all have a great week- drink something good for Wine Wednesday!

Cheers

Dreams

2010-04-30T05:48:00.000-07:00

This post is less about sippin' stuff, and more about my personal life. I used to blog a little more about my own life on Fridays, and I just might start doing that again. Today's issue is about dreams. Not necessarily about dreaming at night, but more about the goals that the Mrs and I have for our lives. T.E. Lawrence once said:

"All men dream, but not equally: Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible."

With this in mind, I present to you two of the dreams that we have for our life. First of all is this bad boy

One of the Wife's dreams is to one day own a refurbished Airstream trailer, and to travel around the country for a month or two completely without an agenda. We would just go for a while, stop where we wanted, stay as long as we wanted, and then move on if we so desired. I love this idea. It would be awesome to explore this nation of ours with the woman I love in a bad ass trailer.

If that is the picture of her dream, then here is the picture of mine:

Anyone that has been around me for more than about 30 minutes knows that I'm sort of a beach bum stuck in the midwest. I grew up with access to a wonderful lake house in Arkansas, and that burned in my persona the need that families have for a place to vacation together. Therefore, I want to someday have a beach house that our family can go to whenever we want.

So, there you have it. Those are some of our dreams. What are yours?

Cheers, have a wonderful weekend, and drink a mint julep while watching the Derby.

Ponies and Butterflies

2010-04-29T07:46:00.000-07:00

I titled today's post that, because my wife told me to blog about Ponies and Butterflies. I really don't have much to say about either subject- Ponies are what little girls want for Christmas, but rarely get. Butterflies are fine. I have heard that the flapping of their wings affects the tides in Japan, or something like that.

Now on to business. If you haven't heard, tonight is Dining Out for Life- an annual event where local restaurants give a portion (sometimes up to 100%) of their sales of one night to benefit AIDS research. Reservations are tough to get, and most restaurants are packed, but it's a good reason to go out and eat, and feel good about it at the same time. Check out www.diningoutforlife.com/stlouis for more info.

Also check out Andrew Mark Veety's blog (listed on the side)- he is on a quest to find Saint Louis' best hamburger, and reviews McGurk's.

Lastly, on to Sippin' stuff. We have decided to make Wednesdays into "Wine Wednesday", and open a nice bottle of wine with dinner. The first bottle I opened was a 2004 Neyers Tofanelli Zinfandel, but it was corked. Secondly, I opened a 2001 Rodano Chianti Classico Reserva. It was delicious, with a really cool note of dried roses on the nose. Go find some, you'll enjoy it.

That's all folks, Cheers.

Update

2010-04-28T09:23:00.001-07:00

The Death's Door liquors are also available at Five on the Hill.

Not much today

2010-04-28T08:16:00.000-07:00

I'm just not feeling it today. The sun is out, maybe I'll go try to soak some up.

Sippin'-wise, go have some Death's Door Gin- it's available at Wine Merchant, Wine and Cheese Places, Friar Tucks, Atomic Cowboy, Taste by Niche, and Pi in CWE.

A Beer I Didn't Care For

2010-04-27T05:46:00.000-07:00

Very seldomly do I post negative things on here. Maybe it's the dreary weather, or maybe it's the fact I'm behind on my weight loss goals. At any rate, yesterday I tried a beer that I really, truly, honestly, thought about giving back to the bartender.

To set the scene, I was at a "Tweet-up". For those of you who don't know what that is, it is when a bunch of people on Twitter, some of whom have never met before, all meet in a given place at a certain time, to discuss a common subject. Because this is Craft Beer Week in Saint Louis, some of the local beer geeks and food bloggers all met at the Bridge (new spot- 10th and Locust, check it out) to talk about beer.

I tried the Schlafly Organic Pale Cask Ale (or something like that)- a beer straight from cask that has less carbonation than normal. I really liked it. After that, the mistake was made. I overheard someone talking about the New Holland Envious. "What the heck, I guess I'll give it a try. These guys know about beer" was my thought. Upon trying it, my initial response was that it tasted just like grape soda. Bill Burge tried it as well, and concurred. It just had a weird mouth-feel to it that I didn't enjoy. I looked it up on the New Holland Website, and it seems that they use pears and raspberries to create a secondary fermentation, and add tartness to it. Kind of like the ugly kid in class, or the little girl who is terrible at the clarinet, I'm sure there's someone that is really proud of this beer. For me, I'll stick with my Guinness.

Have a great day, drink something good.

Cheers!

Beers and Brats, Craft Beer Week has begun

2010-04-26T06:42:00.000-07:00

Saturday, dozens of people decended upon 33 wine bar in Lafayette square for what has become the annual kickoff to Saint Louis Craft Beer Week, the "Beers and Brats" fest. The boys from Salume Beddu made up some killer Salsicca with pork, fennel, spanish paprika, chili flakes, and a bunch of other stuff, and were smothering them with home made sauerkraut, onions, and a pepper relish. Man, these things were killer! They grilled until about 2:00, when yours truly took over the tongs, and started burning some meat. This lasted until God decided to re-enact the flood of Genesis, and we had to pull it inside.

All of this to say that this is Craft Beer week here in the Lou. Since I'm not as much up on the beer scene as I would like, I would suggest you follow Mike Sweeny on stlhops.com, or his Twitter feed at @mikedrinksbeer. There is something going on just about every night this week that will give you ample opportunity to check out cool brews.

That's all for now. Have a great week, and Cheers!

Wow...that was expensive

2010-04-24T08:09:00.000-07:00

Since when did Pizza and a Movie become a special-occasion type of thing? Last night, the Mrs. and I broke away from our healthy eating and fitness plan to have a night on the town. We started with a first-time experience for her at Lemmons. They have delicious deep-dish style pizza (be forwarned- the 14" is WAY too much for two people. I had two pieces, she had one). The cost of wings, pizza and $2 beer: $50. Then we hit the movie theatre. Tickets were $9.50 each, and snacks there zinged us for another $20 even. For those of you keeping track, we had now spent $89.50 before we even sat down in our seats at the theatre. Holy Crap! I know this "growing older" thing is expensive, I just wasn't expecting that. As a side note, we saw Kickass which was pretty good, not amazing. I grade it 82/100.

At any expense, it was a really fun night with my beautiful bride, and I'm glad we went.

Have a great weekend folks- Cheers.

Don't Call It A Comeback

2010-04-23T08:14:00.000-07:00

The last post that I had was about how I messed up a food and wine pairing. Last night, I redeemed myself by throwing one out there that was absolutely spot on. For dinner, we made some chicken tostadas that had a bit of spice to them, as well as quite a bit of acid from some pickled onions. What have I said in the past about pairing with spicy foods? Think slightly sweet wines. Also, since the acid from the onions was so high, I needed something that was also highly acidic. High acid plus slightly sweet equals German Riesling. We tried a 2007 Zilliken Saarburger Rausch Kabinett that was a really good wine, and went great with the tostadas. Ole!

An Argentinean Mismatch

2010-04-21T05:34:00.000-07:00

One of the things I pride myself on is the ability to match food with wine. I tend to think that I have a good sense of flavor memory, not only for the wines I have had before, but also for food. Last night, I had a big ol' "swing and a miss". For dinner, I had prepared a seared flank steak with a chimichurri sauce. If you have never tried chimichurri, it is a combination of fresh parsley, garlic, red wine vinegar, olive oil, and a couple of other things that is popular in Argentina. Since we were having a steak with a preparation from down South, I figured that a wine from Argentina would go best with it. That's one way to cheat on food and wine pairing- look for wines that are indigenous to the area that you are making the food from. I chose a 2008 malbec from Ben Marco, one of my favorite Argentinean producers. In this case, it simply didn't match well. Both were delicious in their own right. I was hoping that the malbec was still a little "green" to go with the parsley, but it wasn't. It was dark, smoky, and had amazing red fruit components to it. The steak preparation was bright, fresh, and green. These are just two flavor profiles that tend to clash a little bit. In retrospect, I would have been better served to do something with a little more acid- maybe a rose of malbec (there are good ones out there from Crios and from Vida Organica.)
Oh well, I'm sure even Picasso had a bad day once.

Wine for the spring: Viognier

2010-04-20T06:08:00.000-07:00

I know I have written about viognier before, but due to the local gorgeous weather, I thought it bears repeating. This mid-weight, rarely-oaked white grape originated in southern France. There, it is the sole grape in Condrieu, and is often blended with Syrah in certain areas of Cote Rotie. The popularity sent this grape to flourish in Australia and California where it is blended in the same manner with Syrah/Shiraz, with other grapes, or produced on its own. It is somewhat susceptible to disease, which makes it a touch rare, but the versions you can find out there are typically inexpensive and delicious. The wines have a definite floral note- think walking through the fresh flower section at Whole Foods- along with a bit of viscosity that will help it stand out in a blind tasting. For your money, I would highly recommend the Yalumba (from Australia) which is a bit on the crisper side, the White Knight (from California) which has some alcohol "oomph" to it, or the blended wine that Pine Ridge makes using Viognier and Chenin Blanc. All are wonderful choices for sippin' on your back patio, and will cost you less than $20.

Cheers!

Good wines from the weekend

2010-04-19T06:17:00.001-07:00

This weekend, we went over to Kansas City to celebrate our family reunion, my dad's 59th birthday, and my dad's retirement party. Whew!

First of all, I tried Bud 55. This is the new, 55 calorie, 3.2% alcohol beer that is being sold as "healthy". It pretty much tastes like most other AB products- not bad, but very watery. I suggest throwing a lime in there.

Let's get to the good stuff. Saturday night was the birthday party, and the lead-off hitter was a bottle of 2004 Trimbach Pinot Gris. What I love about this winery is that they make white wines that can age. I have had this particular wine dozens of times (I used to sell it in Boston) but this one was the best. With age, it still has the lime and slate notes, but it has picked up a really cool almond taste that is very enjoyable. Next up was a 2004 Beaurenard "Boisrenard" CdP. This wine is good, but still very young. I would suggest another at least 5 or 10 years if you have some- it doesn't have the flashiness of the '03, and the classic styling will give it some longevity. Next came 2005 Pride Merlot. Wow, I love these wines. This wine had plums, blackberries, and nutmeg all over it, and was drinking perfectly. Me likey.

For clean-up, I tried Liquor 43 from Spain. I had never tried it before, and my initial assesment is "eh". Not bad- kind of like a cross between Navan and Grand Marnier, but a bit syrupy for my taste.

All in all, it was a fantastic weekend- Congrats to my father, and I look forward to seeing what the next years will bring!

Cheers.

Seeing Coffee in a new light

2010-04-16T06:16:00.000-07:00

It's funny, just because this blog is called "Sippin' Saint Louis", a lot of people automatically assume it's just about booze. Yes, I am in the wine industry, and yes, I tend to be a fan of wine, really good whiskey, and most beer. I started a wine blog, but my wife has always made fun of the fact that I almost always have a glass, cup, or bottle of some kind of liquid within arm's reach: be it water, Diet Mountain Dew, coffee, wine, milk, Fresca, Iced Tea, or any other possible refreshment. I have lately begun to depend on one particular liquid for my ability to get through the day. For my birthday, my wife got me a really nice French Press for coffee. Bingo! I used to be an equal opportunist with coffee- the junk from Quick Trip was just as likely to be in my mug as something from Kaldi's or Goshen. This little press has changed my views on it a little.

I went out and got some Kaldi's Fair Trade Organic French Roast coffee, and started experimenting. I then talked to a guy that works there, and he gave me the following procedure:

Boil water,

Take water off of heat for 30 seconds, allowing the water to get to 2oo degrees

Meanwhile, put 10 g of coffee into the press for each 6 oz of coffee you want to drink

Set timer for 4:30, press start

Pour just enough water to cover the grounds- this allows the grounds to "bloom" and release CO2.

With 2:00 left on the timer, fill the rest of the press up with water.

When timer goes off, use a spoon to scrape foam off of top, and stir once.

Plunge the press.

Pour, and enjoy.

I do have to say that this process makes a really good cup of coffee, and Ihave started really enjoying my mornings reading while sipping the java.

This weekend will provide plenty to write about next week, with my family reunion (which last year consisted of tattoos, guns, and tobacco- and that was just the women) and also my father's birthday and retirement party on Saturday and Sunday.

Have a great weekend- Drink something good.

Cheers.

My New Toy, Getcha some Ice Cream

2010-04-14T06:42:00.001-07:00

Last weekend was my birthday, and my parents were really nice in the gift that they sent to me. When they had visited a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that through Sip of Knowledge (my wine consulting company) I want to teach a class called "What's That Smell?". This class would aid people in training their noses to identify the different aromas that can be found in a glass of wine. To help, my parents bought me a kit that has 36 different vials- each having the essence of a particular note that can be found in wine. There are vials that smell like butter, oak, raspberry, peach, yeast, etc. It's a really neat little tool that can be used in teaching, and I'm excited to use it!

In other sports news, if you live in Kansas City, go check out a place called Heres Your Scoop in South Lee's Summit. This is an ice cream shop owned by a guy named Greg Berry that my parents met at a cooking class. Greg has developed some really great flavors including Oatmeal Cookie that just took 4th in a national competition and Beer and Peanuts that early field scouting reports indicate is a winner. Greg was mentored by a woman named Becky Jacobs, who owns Serendipity Ice Cream here in Saint Louis. If his ice cream is anything like Becky's, then it's fantastic!

I'm on vacation this week, so I'm trying to blog consistently. However, sometimes sleeping in prevails. Also, I have added a couple of new blogs that I read to the list on the right- check out Merridith's blog "The Fabulous Food Fanatic", and also cool cat Kelli's blog "South City Confidential".

Cheers!

One amazing weekend

2010-04-12T06:13:00.001-07:00

This last weekend was a great one. Sorry I missed blogging on Friday, it was my birthday, and quite frankly I didn't feel like getting in front of a computer. That night, we held a party at 33 wine bar (33rd birthday at 33...get it?) and a lot of my friends showed up for the occasion. I asked that nobody would bring any presents, but would rather buy wine for everyone else to share. To say that people were being generous is a gross understatement. I have such amazing people around me- whether they are wine fans or not, they really brought out cool stuff! Monchhoff Riesling, ACV Chardonnay, Radio Coteau Zin, Sinskey Vin Gris, Moncayo Aquilon, Amon Ra Shiraz, Red Car Syrah, Sine Que Non "Labels" (yep, I have now had Sine Que Non two weeks in a row), Pride Cab Franc, Perrot Minot Clos de Beze, 77 Smith Woodhouse Port, 85 port, etc, were all bought and poured for everyone to enjoy. Between hanging out with my wife and friends, drinking great wine, eating pulled pork, and smoking a great cigar while having religion discussions, this was literally the perfect birthday. Thank you so much to everyone involved- I am a truly blessed person!

The fun didn't stop there, though. Saturday was awesome too, as the Saint Louis Wine Therapy group got together for a crawfish boil and blind tasting. Each couple was instructed to bring a riesling to try, and a "dealer's choice" red. The rieslings were amazing, however trying 12 in a row can be a bit taxing on the insides of your mouth. I hate to say it, but I liked mine the best- a 2004 Domaine Zind Humbrecht Vendage Tardive. A friend brought a 1990 one that was really cool (the name escapes me). The reds were quite funky though. We once again proved that "El Burro" Kickass Garnacha sucks. Some of the funky other ones were a syrah from Colorado (good, but overpriced), an aged Pinotage (actually pretty good- it didn't smell like Band Aids, like the other ones I have tried), and some killer 2005 CdP. That night, we went over to Farmhaus for dinner. If you haven't been there, go. Seriously. Go right now. Kevin Willmann makes some amazing dishes, including the best damn meatloaf I have ever had, really delicious scallops with mini twice baked potatoes, and a chilled roast beef with horseradish panna cotta that is to die for.

Once again, the fun didn't stop! On Sunday, we had a delightful lunch outside at Katie's Pizzeria with my wife and two buddies, then grilled burgers and played bocce last night at the house. The weather has been perfect, and to top it all off, I now have a week of vacation!

Wow- You are allowed to be jealous, because right now, I feel like I have an incredible life.

Cheers!

Weird, delicious wine

2010-04-08T07:17:00.000-07:00

Last night, my wife made a wonderful little grilled chicken and orzo salad with arugula and goat cheese. This was a great opportunity for me to pull out a new wine that a friend showed me that is...well, frankly pretty weird.

The wine is the 2005 Segura Viudas Creu de Lavit. You don't know what this is? That's strange, all the kids are tweeting about it. I kid.

This particular wine, from a nice Cava producer is 100% Xarel-lo from Penedes, Spain. You might remember that Xarel-lo is one of the three grapes normally used in Cava production. The funny thing about this wine is that it is still, not sparkling.

The nose hits you with a cool combination of baked apples, bread, lemon zest, and granite. It's sort of like drinking a wine that tastes like cava, but has a consistency and weight similar to viognier.

I told you it was weird. Go pick some up, and let me know what you think- it should cost you about $16 retail.

Tomorrow- it's my birthday, so I'm smoking some meat. Also, where to get the best ice cream in Kansas City.

Cheers!

Wine Reco- Rudi Wiest Riesling

2010-04-07T06:26:00.000-07:00

Folks, riesling season is officially upon us. Although I would contend that riesling season is ALWAYS on us, this is the time of year that it makes the most sense. Riesling (and rose) are perfect for those days when you want to kick back for a long lunch on a patio, or go deep into the night with wine that doesn't have a ton of alcohol in it. My recommendation today is the Rudi Wiest Rhein River Riesling. Alliteration aside, it is a delicious bottle of wine. It is also perfect for those of you that say things like "I don't like riesling- it's too sweet" or "I only get the stuff in the blue bottle". The wine is made for Rudi (an importer from Chicago) by a dude named Fritz Hasselbeck, out of Germany. Fritz is the winemaker at another project called Gunderloch, has a love for motorcycles and Hooters hotwings, and is also the only person to ever achieve three separate 100-point scores in the Wine Spectator. In other words, he can make some serious wine. He has a good relationship with Rudi, so he makes the wine, Rudi puts his name on the label, and they sell it here for around $12 retail. It has fantastic green apple, lemon zest, and slate notes, with just enough sweetness to make it a crowd-pleaser. Try it, like it, tell your friends.

The Forgotten Course

2010-04-06T05:05:00.000-07:00

In my last post, I completely forgot what was probably the best course of the night! Chef Galliano is serving fresh morel mushrooms over rissotto. He added some crispy pork belly to ours, making it one of the greatest dishes I have tried in the last year or so. Seriously, go make reservations at Monarch, eat there, and order this dish. You won't be sorry!

He is Risen

2010-04-04T07:03:00.000-07:00

Yes, today is Easter, which due to my Christian beliefs, I think is the most important holiday of the year. However, since I know that some of you don't line up with me theologically, I'm not going to pound that into your heads. Instead, I'm going to talk about the amazing dinner last night at Monarch, and how Josh Galliano has "risen" from the destruction of his home town of NOLA to give us great food here in STL.

My parents, my wife and I went to Monarch last night for a dinner to celebrate my birthday a week early. The meal we had was nothing short of stunning. The amuse that was sent out was a delightful bite of skate ceviche on top of thinly sliced radishes. Both my father and wife commented that this is the only way they would eat radishes, and were really excited to see what else Galliano would send out that night. Our first course was a couple of soups- a celery root puree with caramel, and a vichyssoise with carmelized onions and thai peppercorn creme fraiche. The celery root puree was really good- a touch sweet for my taste, but the vichyssoise (served warm) was out of this world. Get it. We paired the soups with a delicious bottle of Pinot Blanc from Trinitas, and the pairing worked out very nicely.

The next round of food contained some steamed mussels with some sort of braised veggies under them (I can't remember), a phenomenal Wagyu tartare, crispy pork belly (pretty hard to screw this one up but delicious nonetheless- thanks to BB for the suggestion), and a spring salad with an olive brandade that was a hit with everyone at the table. The tartare literally melts in your mouth, although I know some folks are weirded out by the texture. At this point, we switched to red and drank the Alvaro Palacios Petalos, from Bierzo Spain- a neat little wine that you should try some time.

Next came the entrees. Oh, Lordy, the entrees. I might have blown all of my success over the last three months in losing weight with this meal, but I don't care. Mom and the Mrs. got the braised short ribs. Again- a pretty tough dish to mess up, but Chef Galliano served them with some sort of rissotto that was killer. Dad had the Lamb Ragu, which was rich, decadent, and fit for a log cabin in Colorado. I had the lamb duo- a spot-on medium rare loin, and a lamb pot pie that had one of the flakiest, most delicious crusts I have had in years. There was a fava bean puree that accented the dish nicely, and some perfect trumpeter mushrooms. Our server, Kris, paired Tres Picos Garnacha with our dishes, which worked out nicely. As a side note, she was an excellent server, and even dealt with a corked bottle of wine with aplomb.

Were we finished there? Hell, no. Now it was time to cram dessert into our over stuffed bellies. First of all, Galliano just brought back some strawberries from Louisiana, and made the best strawberry shortcake I have ever had. A new dessert (which was my favorite) was a deconstructed "Rocky Road" that was amazing. The chocolate, brittle, marshmallow ice cream, and other components worked in delicate harmony together. There was an almond cake with orange "caviar" that was very pleasant (I finished the whole thing), and also a strawberry gelee dish with pistachio muffins that was good- it was just a bit cerebral of a dessert at that time of the night!

Looking back, my father mentioned that it was one of his favorite dining experiences of his adult life, and I cannot disagree. It's really fun when family, friends, good wine, great food, immaculate service, and a great ambience all come together for a wonderful birthday meal.

Cheers, and go eat at Monarch soon!

Happy Easter

2010-04-02T07:30:00.000-07:00

This one will be short- my folks are coming into town, and my home office is a wreck. Have a great Easter weekend- drink something good!

Also, go check out Farmhaus, Kevin Willmann's new spot on Ivanhoe (where Koko's used to be). It's flat-out awesome.

Cheers!

Easter Wines

2010-03-31T05:28:00.000-07:00

This coming weekend is one of the "big 2" holidays for Christians. It's also one of the holidays where most other folks who are on-the-fence about it dust off their finest duds, comb the kid's hair, and drag themselves to church. Regardless of bunnies, chocolate, and Easter Egg hunts, the holiday still holds great religious significance, and many people get together for a feast on Sunday. We will be hosting a get together of about a dozen people in our home, and since it is our home, wine will be served.

This begs the question: What wine is appropriate to serve on Easter?

I tend to think of Easter wines much in the line of Christmas wines, since many of the same foods are being served. Most people have either a ham or a roast, as well as various potato or green bean inspired sides. That being said, I would suggest a combination of: Bubbly, Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet. If you have enough people to bring all of these, it will make things pretty easy and user friendly.

Bubbly, whether it's Champagne, Cava, Prosecco, or from New Mexico will go great with most of the foods. It's also a great way to start a celebration (plus, if you are eating before noon- just throw some orange juice in there, and BAM- a drink that's perfectly acceptable in the morning!). Look for Gruet, Feuillatte, Codorniu, etc.

I say Chardonnay because most people can find one that they like- don't go too crazy on the oak, just find a nice middle of the road one from Central California or Chablis, and you will be doing fine. Good choices are Leese Fitch, Ramey, Crios, or any of dozens of others.

Riesling, especially one that has a touch of fruity notes or sweetness to it, is usually a crowd pleaser- plus it goes fine with that disgusting sweet potato salad with marshmallows on top. Try Monchhof, Richter, Rudi Wiest, or Von Hovel.

Pinot Noir is my choice for ham. It is usually lighter bodied, and has an elegance to it. Be careful when shopping, as these have gotten expensive. Check out Saintsbury, Loring, or just about anything from Burgundy.

Cabernet it my choice for roast. It is generally bigger, bolder, and can stand up to the flavors presented in the heaviest dish, even if horseradish is in the sauce. This is an area where a lot of wineries have been dropping their prices, so it's easy to find deals out there right now. Some favorites are Snowden, Larkmead, Conn Valley, and Carter.

Whatever you choose, just relax, have fun, and save me one of those Cadbury eggs.

Cheers.