It was a tough job but someone had to do it.
Scenes from the Boulder Burgundy Festival Grand Tasting
Above: super cool Rajat Parr (right) and his sales manager Natalie Vaclavik (from Texas!) poured Rajat’s Burgundy négociant project Maison L’Orée.
The wines at the Boulder Burgundy Festival Grand Tasting a week ago Sunday were off-the-charts in terms of quality, price, and exclusivity.
But that’s not what impressed me the most about the event.
Check out my post for the festival’s blog here.
I’ll be posting throughout the week on my experience there. Thanks for following!
A very special guest for Thanksgiving 2014 (and possibly the best pairing ever)
It was a very special Thanksgiving for the Parzen family this year.
We celebrated the holiday in Tracie P’s hometown, Orange, Texas, on the Louisiana border, with all the traditional fixings.
Uncle Tim made the turkey: he added a can of orange juice concentrate to his brine, he told us, and the sweetness of the fruit juice added a nice zest to the meat, which was tender and moist throughout. It was one of the best un-split roast turkeys I’ve ever had (many gourmets will separate the breast from the dark meat to allow for different cooking times, thus ensuring a moist outcome).
For the wine pairings, I brought along a couple of wines from my clients.
The Barone Pizzini 2008 Franciacorta Satèn was outstanding and I am now convinced that Franciacorta is the perfect wine for the Thanksgiving feast, with the meal’s wide range of aromas, flavors, saltiness, and sweet.
It was the rich fruit in this wine that really won me over as a pairing. As a Franciacorta big wig recently put it, Franciacorta is a wine first and a sparkling wine second. The wine’s “vinous” character just worked so well at the table, delivering white and stone fruit with the savory meat but also zinging acidity that held its own with Tracie P’s homemade cranberry sauce.
The other hit was Cantele’s 2009 big and bold Amativo.
Tracie’s dad Rev. B. loved its dark fruit character and structure and it worked great as a meditative wine to pair with Thanksgiving football (the Cowboys played, of course). Uncle Tim loved it so much that I sent him home with a bottle!
But the biggest treat this year was a visit from my mom, Grandma Judy.
She’s been out to Texas to spend time with the girls on many occasions. But this was the first time that Georgia P could really “connect” with her.
Georgia, who will be three years old in a few weeks, is chatting up a storm these days and she and her grandma spent some really wonderful time together, talking about favorite books and singing songs (Georgia now sings the entire score to the musical “Annie” — no joke).
Mom, I know all too well what a pain it is to travel these days and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you braving the journey to visit with us.
To hear Georgia P say, “Where are you, grandma? Let’s read a book!”, was sweet music to my ears.
In other news…
Check out Alfonso’s post on Amarone 101: “How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Fruit-Bomb.”
Great post and great to hear people talking about Amarone.
In other other news…
Did you see that Joe Bastianich has published a new book in Italian, Giuseppino [Little Jospeh], co-written in Italian with one of Italy’s top food bloggers, Sara Porro (who is super cool and talented).
In it, he tells the story of “his return home” to Italy and talks about why he spends more time in Italy these days than in the U.S.
Many here don’t realize what a huge star he is in Italy. His role on the stateside “MasterChef” has made him a national attraction here as well. But in Italy, where “MasterChef” is one of the culinary-minded country’s most popular shows ever, he is a megawatt celebrity.
Happy Thanksgiving from the Parzen Family & wishes, thoughts & prayers for Ferguson
Happy Thanksgiving from the Parzen Family.
This year has been one of the highest highs and the lowest lows.
I flew back to Houston yesterday afternoon from Boulder where I attended the Boulder Burgundy Festival and mingled with leading wine professionals, winemakers, and wine scene glitterati.
After Tracie P and I put the girls to bed, she made me a wonderful risotto alla parmigiana and we opened a bottle of our favorite Fiano d’Avellino.
She was eager to hear about the festival but we were both riveted by the unfolding events in Ferguson, Missouri.
I hadn’t even been born, I thought to myself, when the Watts Riots in Los Angeles gripped the nation’s attention.
Here we are, I said to Tracie, nearly fifty years later, and it doesn’t seem like we’ve come far.
Grandma Judy is coming to Texas from La Jolla today and we’ll be heading to Orange, Texas to celebrate the holiday with Rev. and Mrs. B. and the Branch-Johnson families.
We have so much to be thankful for this year: health, prosperity, and the good fortune to experience some of the greatest pleasures in life through wine and food.
But this weekend, the folks in Ferguson will be on our minds and in our hearts and prayers.
Thanks for being here. I’ll see you next week…
Understanding EU restrictions on internet marketing for wine & FIVI’s call for civil disobedience
Above: Monforte d’Alba is a village in the “Barolo” appellation. It lies in the “Langhe” hills of the “Piemonte” region. EU regulations restrict a Monforte-based producer of Barolo from mentioning “Langhe” or “Piemonte” in online and other marketing materials because of a perceived conflict with the “Langhe” and “Piemonte” appellations.
This morning, a client asked me to post on the brewing controversy in Italy over the EU’s restrictive regulation of regional references in internet marketing and other promotional media.
The story’s not exactly news: it first came to light in early October when FIVI, the Italian Federation of Independent Grape Growers, called for civil disobedience in the face of the restrictions.
But when Slow Food founder and activist Carlo Petrini published an online op-ed on the controversy on Friday, the story was picked up by English-language media.
Op-Ed: the Venice roller suitcase ban & why it makes sense
Writing in a hurry this morning as I head out of Boulder on my way back to Texas.
But I did find time to post my op-ed about the Venice roller suitcase ban and why it makes sense over on the Bele Casel blog.
It’s been an incredible weekend here at the Boulder Burgundy Festival. I’ll be posting more images and notes after the Thanksgiving holiday.
Thanks for being here and please stay tuned…
O dem crazy sommeliers: a quick recap of yesterday’s lunch at Flagtaff House, Boulder #BBF14
It’s been quite a ride and it ain’t over yet.
The dish above was the pairing for the Chardonnay that was poured so liberally yesterday at the amazing Flagstaff House.
I’m on my way to the “Chablis Brunch” at the über-hip Kitchen in Boulder. But I still managed to get a post up on the Boulder Burgundy Festival blog, despite a late night with the festival’s volunteer sommeliers at Pizzeria Local.
How many Master Sommeliers are here? I’ve lost count.
Check out my post today on yesterday’s “Paulée-inspired” lunch at Flagstaff House (incredible!) and stay tuned for more.
Notes from the @GuildSomm “Old & Rare” tasting, Boulder Burgundy Festival
Here are my personal highlight wines that were poured at the phenomenal “Old & Rare” tasting by the Guild of Sommeliers yesterday:
Domaine Jean Collet 2004 Chablis Valmur Grand Cru
Domaine Paul Pernot 1998 Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru
Louis Jadot 1990 Chapelle-Chambertin Grand Cru
I’ve just posted notes from the tasting over on the Boulder Burgundy Festival blog.
I’m about to head out for the “Paulée-inspired lunch” at the Flagstaff House.
Holy shit, right?
Stay tuned…
Boulder Burgundy Festival has begun! #BBF14
What a thrill for me to get to sit in on the Guild of Sommeliers “Old and Rare” Burgundy tasting this morning, the first event of the Boulder Burgundy Festival, where I’m earning my keep as the event’s official blogger.
I’ve only had time to post a few photos and notes on the festival blog.
Check them out here… and stay tuned, more notes and images to follow tomorrow and throughout the weekend.
The first day alone has been entirely awesome, between the above-my-pay-grade wines and the lovely people I’ve met. More to follow tomorrow.
On my way to Burgundy via Boulder
Above: yep, I’ll be hanging with Robert Bohr and Raj Parr this weekend, drinking ridiculous Burgundy and munching on pizza at Bobby Stuckey and Lachlan Patterson’s Pizzeria Locale in Boulder this weekend.
It’s a tough job but someone has to do it… tomorrow I’ll be heading to Boulder, Colorado where I’ll be attending the fourth annual Boulder Burgundy Festival.
Back story: in spring 2014, Master Sommelier and owner of Boulder Wine Merchant Brett Zimmerman (one of the nicest people in the trade) asked me to blog for his shop and for the festival.
Italy is my signora but Burgundy is my mistress. While I’m often invited to taste rare Italy, I’m rarely asked to join in tastings of upper-tier Burgundy. So you can imagine how exciting this is for me.
Here’s the schedule of events/tastings.
But the thing I’m most looking forward to is getting to hang with the amazing cast of wine characters who will be in attendance.
The festival begins tomorrow and I’ll be posting throughout the weekend on the tastings and meals.
Thanks for being here and please stay tuned!
Do Bianchi 