How Racial Discrimination Changed This Wine Blog...

Let me begin by saying sorry for the dramatic title, but as you read this blog post, hopefully you will understand.

Those of you who follow our blog know us to be a couple of wine loving individuals that are generally upbeat, and always passionate about sharing our love of the grape with others. Despite being trained wine professionals with accreditation from two well-respected wine institutions, we have a very laid-back approach to wine. Wine shouldn’t be intimidating to anyone, yet for many reasons, it is. A lot of what I have noticed through reading several wine blogs (including ours) is that the content is pretty bland. In many cases, I have found that wine blogs are misleading, and create an undesirable image of the Wine World.

Recently, Olena and I have been discussing how to improve the content of our blog to better serve you. Rather than do the same thing that many wine bloggers are already doing, we want the content we write and put on video to be entertaining, and informational. This is not to say that all wine bloggers are doing it wrong, it is just that we have a unique situation being a married couple who happen to be Sommeliers. Why not showcase it?

After several conversations about this topic, we have decided to be honest with ourselves. What’s the point of leaving out details? We want you to understand who we are, and what we are all about. We want to share with you our everyday trials and tribulations that come with making a wine business bloom in a market that is barely budding in terms of wine consumption. We want our blog to become a behind the scenes look into what our end of the Wine Biz is all about. Being the only two Certified Sommeliers in El Paso (a city of more than 600,000 people) sounds, and looks great on paper, but it comes with a daunting uphill climb that serves as a reminder that we have to work harder. We are trying to educate the #1 Bud Light drinking city in the Country about wine. Needless to say, we’ve had easier times.

To catch any newcomers up to speed, we recently took over the wine program in a friend’s restaurant in downtown El Paso, TX. We are currently carrying about 70 labels, and plan to grow our selection to over 100 by mid-summer. Rather than our customers paying astronomical restaurant wine prices, we offer retail pricing with the option to consume on or off premise. This is an innovative way to generate a larger interest in wine, without intimidating prices (which are often ridiculously excessive). In addition, we host Wine Socials every other Saturday at the restaurant where we informally educate people on wine regions, varietals, etc. under the helpful guidelines of a tasting. The response for this has been phenomenal, and we have been rather pleased with the turnouts. That brings us to why I titled this blog post what I did…

This past Saturday was our “How do you pronounce that?” Wine Social. We were tasting a collection of exciting varietals from all over the globe that people seem to have trouble pronouncing. Going into the evening, we were excited simply because the varietals we planned to taste, also happen to be delicious.

For me, everything changed when a party of three showed up an hour late to the tasting (which is no big deal) and sat down in the bar area where we were hosting the event. From the moment the group walked in, they had an air about them that put me off. Being in the service industry, this is not an uncommon occurrence. They appeared to be well-dressed, well-groomed, and that was all I knew of them.

As I welcomed them to the event, the lone female member of the group stared at me with a furled brow, and impatiently waited for me to stop talking. The man to her left blankly glared up at me with a disappointed, bored, annoyed gaze. The other man in the group just stared at the table, and didn’t acknowledge me in the least. I thanked them for coming out to the event, and asked if they had any questions. They all just sort of shrugged, and chuckled to themselves. I didn’t pay much attention to it (there was a fairly evident language barrier) smiled, and excused myself.  As I walked away, I began to feel as though it may be of little use to prepare their glassware for the tasting. I knew they weren’t going to go through with it. I did it anyway, and while I was fetching their glasses, a fourth person joined the group. As soon as she sat down, a conversation between her and the first woman began. I know when someone is talking about me, and in this case, there was no attempt to hide that the topic of conversation was me. Because the continued glares, and disapproving looks continued to come my way, I casually paid attention to what was being said. The words that came out of woman #1’s mouth disappointed, and cut through me, leaving me with a bitter taste in my mouth. While looking at the man to her left, she said, “I don’t want to do this. They’re White.”

Moments later, Olena told me as she was returning the glassware to the bar, “they have decided not to take part in the tasting.” She went on to tell me that the man (who was staring at the table earlier) informed her, “We don’t want to do this. I already know a lot about wine. I know what I like. I like Cabernet.” Number one, we weren’t tasting a Cabernet that night, and number two, it turns out that the “How do you pronounce that? Wine Social would have benefited him after all. Cabernet is not pronounced, “Cahb-air-NET”.  As Olena finished relaying that information, all I could say was, “I know.”

I generally don’t take too many things seriously, and I feel as though I’m pretty hard to offend. However, the events of Saturday night have really stuck with me these past couple of days. I have been kind of down on myself, and El Paso in general to be perfectly honest. I’ve been trying to break out of this funk, and it has proven to be a little bit more difficult than expected. We’re often the only ‘white people’ in the room, but until now, I haven’t thought about it.

To the people who I feel are ruining the beauty of what wine should be about by painting a picture of elitism, I leave you with a quote:

“In Europe we thought of wine as something as healthy and normal as food and also a great giver of happiness and well-being and delight. Drinking wine was not a snobbism nor a sign of sophistication nor a cult; it was as natural as eating and to me as necessary.” – Ernest Hemingway

Please share any similar stories you may have. Thank you for reading.

Cheers!

Zak

[Via http://creativejuicesllc.wordpress.com]

Vegetarian On the Road

My book, New Vegetarian, is the very good reason that I didn’t blog last week. I was in a two week-long period of travel, starting with a tour of Texas and ending in a stint in New York City. I had a great time cooking and demonstrating, and came back ready to take vegetarian to a new level.

Traveling, though, can be a time when you need your old hunter-gatherer instinct. Getting a meatless meal on the road can be a challenge, depending on where you go. From the disappointing airport options (cinnamon buns and pizza, anyone?) to the crapshoot of hotel restaurants, you end up spending some time scouting it out. I try to think of the time I spend checking out my options at the airport as aerobic activity, as I patrol the entire food zone, dragging my bag and sporting my stuffed laptop backpack, seeking something acceptable to eat.

Sometimes the Luna Bars in the backpack are the best option.

But when you get to your destination, you have to start scouting. This time around, I came up against a familiar question. Do I go to a place that calls itself “vegetarian”? Or do I go to a well-reviewed, well-respected restaurant and check out the veg option? Sadly, most of the time places that are dedicated veg are less interesting to me. I’m glad to relate that eating vegetarian was easy at all of the above.

Cosmic Cafe, Funky Vegetarian with a Texas Accent

My first foray was in Dallas. A little place called Cosmic Cafe was just around the corner from my hotel, with a funky paint job and a yard full of Indian statuary, it proclaimed its vegetarian status proudly in a city known for beef.

The outside, as you can see above, says Indian food. A safe haven for meatless diners, Indian restaurants are usually good bets, even when they don’t say anything about the v-word. Cosmic Cafe, though, is not really an Indian restaurant, as I came to find out. There in the home of Tex-Mex, much of the menu consisted of tacos, burritos and pizzas, all with Indian accents. The heady aroma of curry spices wafted from pots simmering on the stove, so I hoped for greatness. My pizza, built on a nan bread and bathed in sort of curry flavored tomato sauce, was loaded with vegetables and scattered with croquettes of a lightly spiced black bean burger.

The fusion of Dallas, India and vegetarian was a little odd, but it was a satisfying and tasty lunch. Vegetarian places always seem to be trying to stay afloat, and in Texas, making everything into a burrito must be a strategy for making the food familiar. Funky, cheesy, and often rebellious, veg places like this one are always unique and creative.

Fast forward to another vegetarian restaurant. In New York City, close to the famed Kalustyan’s spice shop, I had lunch with a friend at Pongal, an Indian place that proudly proclaimed its vegetarian status.

My Gujarati Thali Plate

Here, in the city that never sleeps, the chefs at Pongal have no need to update their vegetarian traditions. There were no burritos or pizzas, only authentic dishes from Southern regions of India known for their meatless cuisine. The food was excellent. One thing that stood out was that the fried foods were wonderfully un-greasy. Usually the deep-fried breads are a decadent treat, and once they cool you realize just how oily they are, but not here.

Can't you smell the dosa?

My dining companion had the Pongal thali, and we shared with abandon. Steamed Iddly, fried poori, carrot chutney, and medu vada, the little fried lentil donuts, were making their way across our table as we feasted. No melted cheese, no meat, nothing but pure Indian vegetarian, and it was delicious.

In the end, it is hard to compare restaurants, especially in far distant corners of the country. Each speaks to its community-Cosmic Cafe to the local yoga and veg crowd, comfortable with something a little more familiar. Pongal was crowded with Indian-Americans, and the serious ethnic diners that populate one of the most international restaurant cities in the world.

There is a place for both, the sincere and the authentic. The hippie and the immigrant, the political and the nostalgic.

[Via http://robincooksveg.wordpress.com]

homenight

Yesterday evening we stayed at home and cooked together. Today is the last day before uni will start tomorrow

[Via http://eoik.wordpress.com]

Sushi Party!

My husband and I were invited over to the home of another couple who we are great friends with (Todd and Amy) to make sushi together a few weeks ago. I keep forgetting to upload the photos, so, here they are! Finally! The fish and most of the fixins were purchased at Asian Delight Marketplace. I highly recommend that you stop in there and take a look around. They have everything there; meat, produce, ice cream and other frozen goods, and several aisles with just about every Asian grocery imaginable. The candy aisle alone is worth the trip. We also had some amazing sake that Todd picked up; Coconut Lemongrass by Moonstone. It was refreshing and mildly sweet.

Making sushi rolls is actually really easy. The rice-on-the-outside kind is more difficult so we usually don’t bother with those. I learned pretty much everything I needed from this book, and have tutored lots of our friends at various at-home sushi parties. EVERYONE gets the hang of it after one roll. You should give it a try, too!

[Via http://eatinggrandrapids.com]

SE Australian Firetail: A tale of fire...

Firetail Estate Selection – Shiraz – SE Australia – 14%

Firetail - SE Australia

The smell of this one is of soft fruits, cherries and a hint of sweet raspberries, plus a bit of Cointreau in there too maybe? Fruity and fierce. It yields cloying sweet stickiness before I even tasted anything, yet it is at the same time deep and rich and very satisfying in the aroma department. I could get quite dizzy (and save tons of calories) not even drinking this – and still be quite happy tonight.

But here goes with the tasting.

Composed of unblended Shiraz at 14%, I am expecting some kick and, yes, it is certainly not a timid wine. I get redcurrant sharpness, followed by a sweet sensation of cherry, then the tannins hit quite severely drawing out moisture, followed lastly by a soft fruity liqueur taste which lasts a while. I feel like I’m breathing fire (tail?) out of my nose!

In appearance it is very inviting, a velvety deep purple-red, with good solid body, but the bottle somehow looks a little cheap (a minor point though).

Points: 8/10 for appearances, 9/10 for bouquet, then for taste I feel it should earn points for its teasing, it’s a wine that doesn’t exactly know what it wants to be. If being harsh I could say it’s both a bit too sweet and tannic, like cloying syrup which lingers too long and also dries out the tastebuds, yet it also is rather addictive. All round I think 21/30 for taste, not as multi-dimensional as some wines but holding up after a 4th glass! Total score 38/50.

Btw, the “Beautiful Firetail” is a small distinctive Australian bird.

I think this may be the wine producer website but it has no reference to shiraz variety which is odd. Also see this page for a reference on the Shiraz (Syrah) grape.

[Via http://mygrapevine.wordpress.com]

Recommended Kosher wines

“Today’s recommended wines are first and foremost food-friendly. In general, the overall quality of the kosher wine we tasted is better and more consistent than our last look two years ago. Though well-established Israeli brands were generally available, it was tougher to find French, Chilean, Spanish and New Zealand kosher wines this time.”

I didn’t know about the “U”, “K” or “P” labelling protocol. That’s really interesting.

“The label will carry the certifying organization’s symbol, often a circled “U” or “K.” In addition, wines labeled as kosher for Passover also carry a P to the right of the circled symbol.”

From the SF Chronicle,  read more here

[Via http://winefeeds.wordpress.com]

Dining in Hua Hin

There are plenty of good restaurants and fancy dining in Hua Hin, this seaside town about 3 hours south of Bangkok, which has become such a very popular destination for Bangkonians to spend the weekend.

During our recent workshop in Hua Hin we ate out a couple of times. I report about a not so famous place, called Pom Pom, where you can eat for very little money home cooked dishes. Some of the food is announced as “Italian”. The place was an insiders tip, which we could not refuse.

The participants of this dinner where divided as regards the quality of the food. Some thought it was awesome, other were appalled. There were few guests that night, a weekday, but the staff was very friendly and we remained seating and drinking wine for a couple of hours after the meal had ended.

We consumed many bottles of wine. Nothing fancy. Some of the wines were re-bottled and re-blended as the label in full honesty proclaimed. We drank “our way up price’wise” and did not regret it: We woke up the next morning without hangover. We had a jolly good time.

[Via http://themanfrommoselriver.wordpress.com]