Broughton Quarterly - Summer 2008 - (Page 18) wine & cuisine Cork Jester QUé SyRAH SHiRAZ Which is which? Like it matters. few years back everyone had Syrah pegged to be the next big trend. The Millennium Wine, they were calling it, a red to finally end the insipid reign of Merlot. After all, it’s easy to drink, blissfully free of macho tannins and neither boring—like wines that come in only one style—nor annoying, like some quirky wines you have to be in the right mood for. So friendly it practically smiles back up at you, Syrah enjoys the sort of universal approval normally reserved for puppies and firemen. Compared to buttoned-down Cabernet and prima donna Pinot Noir, Syrah is a mensch. What’s more, it’s easy to pronounce, which has a lot to do with the popularity of Merlot and Chardonnay. Yet, here it is, 2008, and I’ve yet to hear someone order “Syrah” in generic lieu of “red wine.” What happened? Sideways, for one thing; the buddy-flick that introduced the world to the beauty of the spit bucket. Thanks to Miles, the insufferable protagonist, Merlot has become the drink of social outcasts, while Pinot Noir is now the fashionable thing to do. Alas, Miles neglects to point out how elusive good Pinot Noir can be. So now normal people, who should have been swigging down friendly bottles of Syrah, are going around haggard and haunted about the eyes, trapped, like connoisseurs before them, in a lifetime quest for the wily and capricious Pinot Noir. Another culprit is the name tangle: Syrah is not the same as Petite Sirah. DNA wine sleuths have dubbed Petite an imposter, really a distantly related grape called Durif. Syrah is, however, the same as Shiraz. This alternate name might come from the ancient Persian city of Shiraz, or from when cuttings arrived in Australia mistakenly labeled “Scyras.” Anyway, that’s what they call it in Australia, although they say Shee-raaz and we say Shur-oz and let’s call the whole thing off. A { Jennifer Rosen } Winner of a James beard award for wine writing, Jennifer Rosen is the author of Waiter,There’s a Horse in My Wine and The Cork Jester’s Guide to Wine, both winners of the gourmand World Cookbook award for Wine Literature. Read her columns and sign up for her weekly newsletter at www.CorkJester.com. Eeether or ayther way, the grape is ubiquitous because, for one thing, producers love it. An easy keeper, it’s so vigorous they periodically have to wrestle it to the ground so it doesn’t turn into a jungle when it should be putting its energy into fruit. It’s happy in all temperatures. There’s no benchmark style, like Bordeaux for Cab and Burgundy for Chardonnay, so winemakers feel free to experiment. Warm climates bring out a fruit cocktail of plum, blueberry, and blackberry, edged with peppery spice. Cooler regions produce chocolate, minerals, earth, smoked meat, and licorice tones. Syrah hits the ground ready to drink, no mellowing or aging required. The price is terrific; exceptional Syrahs go for $20 - $30, and pretty damn good ones for under $12. And there it is, on almost every wine list. California went from 344 acres of the grape in 1990 to over 14,000 today. It represents 40% of all red growing in Australia, showing up there in everything from $2 boxes to the fabulously expensive Penfolds Grange-Hermitage. That is, at least until France made them drop the “Hermitage” part, on the grounds that they had first dibs on the word. You see, French Syrah is concentrated in the Rhône Valley, in appellations like St. Joseph, Côte Rôtie, and Crozes-Hermitage. Legend has it a 13th century French knight swiped Syrah cuttings while crusading in the holy land, probably somewhere near Persia. When he got home, planted, vented, and got a taste, he decided to make wine, not war, and spent the rest of his life holed up in his “hermitage,” stirring lees. You, on the other hand, have a life. If you don’t want to devote hours of it to memorizing wine factoids, stop! Just order Syrah, the wine that nobody Q doesn’t like. CABERNET BiSTRO 485 Alisal Rd. #L2, Solvang, CA 805.688.8871, CabernetBistro.com Chef-owner Jacques toulet studied the classic art of french cuisine under his brother Joseph, and the duo worked at a number of top L.a. restaurants before opening Les Pyrenees in Santa Monica, which earned renown for its duck entrees. the tradition continues at Cabernet bistro in Solvang, the danish-style hamlet where you’ll find pastries and aebelskivers a-plenty, but nothing quite like the fatty delights served here. Make no mistake: this is a place for duck, succulent roast duckling prepared by a chef who knows how to cook it. the thinly sliced duck magret arrives meaty and red, with its skin scored to a tempting crisp. the confit, which includes two thighs, is also superb. all of toulet’s duck dishes are accompanied with either grand Marnier sauce, blackberry currant sauce, or green peppercorn sauce. begin the meal with a classic french appetizer of escargot gently simmered in shallot butter sauce, or stick to the duck theme with mouse of duck pate, with raisins and pistachios. the wine list is heavy on french and California wines, with a nice selection of local labels. - Matt Katz 18 Broughton Quarterly Summer 2008 http://www.CorkJester.com http://CabernetBistro.com
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