A few blocks away from the touristy turnabout of Plaza Serrano in Palermo Soho, SIPAN, of the same well known downtown eatery, has added a second location in the Palermitano Hotel. Peruvian-Japanese mouthgasmic delights, a full sushi bar, a carefully chosen wine list, and top of the line cocktails including an impressive selection of pisco ideal for the perfect drunkeness, all make SIPAN a Buenos Aires classic for a reason. Continue reading
Indaba Shiraz 2010: A Spunky Wine
After the holidays, my kitchen is a burial ground littered with the glassy bodies of fallen soldiers – the graceful green-gold Argentine Torrontés, the sweet topaz Royal Tokaji‘s of 5 and 6 puttony (necessary at any Hungarian family gathering), multiple Carmenères left over from a trip to Chile, a flowery Perrier-Jouët popped open during the New Year’s countdown and finished off in mimosa-form during the Sunday brunch which followed, and some harsh Russian champagne (-insert Cyrillic here-) which was bought out of curiosity and swiftly poured down the drain after the first sip.
Class is in Session: The Tasting Room at Lo de Joaquin Alberdi
A few weekends ago, I popped into one of my all-time-fave wine boutiques in BsAs, Lo de Joaquin Alberdi, in the beating heart of Palermo Soho, just a few blocks from the always-busy Plaza Serrano. 90% of their customers are tourists who, checking the mate, leather gaucho belt, “artisanal” alfajores and fileteado bathroom sign off the obligatory Argentine souvenir list, flow out of the plaza, straight into Lo de in search of that last item, the famous Malbec, to take home to the fam. Señor Alberdi and his three expert sommeliers work tirelessly in educating (mostly re-educating) these customers, explaining that the Malbec is not ONE specific wine, falsely implied by the what-to-buy section of many travel-to-Argentina magz, that there is in fact a grand variety among the Malbecs with the unique traits of each depending on the region it hails from. Gathering info about the tastes of their customers through personalized and thorough (sometime a half an hour to an hour long!) wine-tastings, conducted in their colorful tasting room, the team at Lo de makes sure that each customer leaves smiling and satisfied with not just any-old generic “Argentine Malbec”, but one specifically geared to his or her preference.
They took his precious too...Not cool. (Photo by Rgs_)
“Preciousss!” Remember Gollum, that creepy, desperate little junkie thing from “Lord of the Rings”? Remember how into that little golden ring he was? And remember what he turned into when it got taken away from him?
Well that’s kind of how I was looking a few weeks ago, as I stood at the security checkpoint of American departure gates in Munich and watched, speechless and dumbfounded, as the TSA pulled my own golden treasure out of my sealed (!) Hungarian Duty Free bag and threw it in a box full of shampoo, Listerine and lube bottles. I’m referring, of course, to the 6 puttonyos Royal Tokaji Szt. Tamás that I convinced myself to splurge on in Budapest’s Airport on my way back to the States, as a gift for work-mates back in Buenos Aires. I had told myself that getting such a perfect Hungarian souvenir, labeled “bottled and sealed in Hungary” is much cooler than buying some bottle at the Russian store on 84th and 2nd in New York, not to mention the fact that 6 puttonyos is pretty darn difficult to find across the pond anyway.
Flyer for the event
Well, actually, there are two nights… in which more than 400 wines are available to be tasted at the “Salón Conrad del Vino”, a wine event that has become a favorite of wine lovers in the summer season. One of the classic images and representations of Punta del Este is the Conrad Hotel, where on the last weekend of January this major event is always held. The focus, as you may imagine, is placed on the wines of the region, with Uruguayan wineries as well as Argentinian and Chilean being the most representative. But, as Punta del Este is a magnet for international tourism, the most important wine importers of the country also present a selection of wines from other regions around the globe, both New World and Old World wines. Continue reading
Oops, Bitch you Fat Bastard, big ass Gnarly Head go drink some Cat’s Pee and run around Naked On Roller Skates. No, the Entaste blog has not been diagnosed with a mad case of Tourettes, we are just really into funny-ass, wacky and weird, creative names for wines. We have scoured the globe, far and wide, (and by globe, we mean internet), to bring you our top picks for the best wine names. Since there are so many bizarre wine names to choose from, we have brought you our first, of many, segments on the best wine brand names. Continue reading
The Gundel House
Budapest is not the most cheerful place on a December afternoon. Dark after 4:00 p.m., the city is blanketed by a dismal, gloomy gray mist, which seems to echo the collective cranky mindset of its inhabitants at this dejecting time of the year. Amidst the shadows of dead-tree-strewn City Park, one monument towers out, the Gundel Restaurant, the shiny crown jewel of Hungary’s food scene. At its swanky bar I am greeted by Sommelier Mihály Fabok, who walks me through how he pairs wines to dishes, highlighting examples of both harmony (smoked fish paired with smoke-y white wine kept in cured Barrique oak barrels) and contrast (tart, funky blue cheeses matched with delicate, honey-sweet Tokaji).
vinodivino in Brookline
“Wine is already intimidating. In many cases less is more.”
Rodolfo Neirotti, VP of strategy and innovation (and general wine guru) at vinodivino is referring to the chief axiom of his business, the idea that sets it apart from all those stuffy, dusty, over-cluttered wine boutiques you’re forced to visit 5 minutes before your married friend’s snobby dinner party. At vinodivino, you do not need a PhD in wine to select the perfect bottle, nor do you have to spend hours poring over hundreds of bottles of Burgundy to match your pot roast (or decide which Shiraz to drown your love-life problems in) – their knowledgeable and super-friendly staff has already done this for you.
If you haven’t heard already, Santa’s been known to hit the vino bottle pretty hard, especially around the holidays. At times, he’s just as absentminded as the rest of us, gifting such awful presents where even the thought going into it doesn’t count. Here’s a list of our top picks for the everyday wine lover that are undoubtedly miles better than any present you received.
Red Nek Wine Glass (US$13.00 per glass)
Who ever said drinking wine has to stay classy? Ditch the pretentious wine tools that you pretend to know how to use, strap on a pair of overalls, and go country. Whether it’s wine or good ole’ fashioned moon shine, Red Nek wine glasses make the perfect present for the modern-day drunkard on the go. Continue reading
A friend of mine had been telling me about a wine made by the Leonardo da Vinci estate and I was, to put it mildly, skeptical. After a pox upon this earth was unleashed in book form bearing the Da Vinci name diminishing literacy in this country and abroad, I was loathe to see further exploitation of the name bleeding into the world of Italian wine which does not need any additional help in that dark art. But no, he insisted, this is not a huge new ripe Super Tuscan with broad shoulders, gobs of fruit, mountains of oak and oceans of flesh, this is 100% Sangiovese. Curiosity and a bottle in front of me put my cynicism in retreat.