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| Zero Mostel |
Fly on the Wall
TRIPPING TO THE FORUM
WITH DON MERLOT
By Don Merlo
[aka Ron Alonzo]
Notes & thoughts on food and wine [1]
“A funny thing happened on the way to the Forum” – a line from Zero Mostel[2], a comedian from 1960s and a line I wanted to borrow for this edition of the “Fly on the Wall;” it is my reaction to what is happening now in 2021 that struck me of that statement some 50 years ago. The coming of 2021 emerging from 2020 Covid pandemic. When I was young to now, how did I go from drinking jug wine: Gallo- Hearty Burgundy, Liebfraumilch in brown bottles, and Lancers Rosé (and Mateus Rosé) in ceramic bottles in th 60s to drinking Burgundies of the Cote d’Or, Bordeaux’s of Médoc and Pomerol, & traveling to Paris eating in restaurants and drinking pichet’s of Sancerre and Beaujolais on Champs Elysée in 1969 & in the 70s? I absorbed and picked up an awareness of fine wine with fine food: I found out what Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, and Riesling meant to fine wine and they paired with fine dining. I was selling Ice Makers to a French Distributor (importer of our ice makers) that distributed our products in France, Switzerland, Spain, and Germany and all were bastions of fine food, liquor, and wine. My education came from casual experiences, and I read books on wines, and was lucky enough to travel and taste many local wines and eat the local specialties. In my transformation, I never aspired to become a sommelier and over time I concluded that I just did not have a fine tongue or nose that would make up the requirements to be a professional wine taster, with a discriminating palate as I observed that the sommeliers had.
Certainly, the Covid 19 epidemic of 2020 & shut down let me do a lot of thinking and evaluating of my life’s wine journey. I found that there are a lot of new books on wine and in the last 20 years; there has been a huge paradigm change on wine and its applications to the gastronomic culture. The traditional sites and grapes are still sound but there are new discoveries and changes to older wines, and they have been modernized and this has added to the wine mystique; creations of new vineyards are being developed; the role of our wine civilized world has a new Board of governors. My epiphany started recently when I read the book “Wine Folly”[3] – the essential Guide to Wine” by Madeline Puckett and Justin Hammack (2015), which is the book that re-directed me on my perspective or my Raison d’etre of wine. In my last issue of “Fly on the Wall” I mentioned the book “The Goode Guide to Wine” by Jamie Goode which really let me develop a new perspective into 2020+. With these two books I really put myself on a new track. “Folly” explained to me “WHAT IS, IS” in the wine world in a simple language. I had to ask myself – why did I not think of that?! It is like completing a jig saw puzzle that has taken you nights and days to complete. Yes, I learned a lot of new things, but most important I said, “Eureka” now I understand “what is what!” At least for this microsecond in our contemporary world.
I learned that my perspective is my perspective; I am not selling my perspective and I will listen to other perspectives as just a perspective and not truths. I am happy where I am in my wine Journey & I am not a “Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda person.” I make no excuses for what I like and If I cannot say anything nice about a wine, I will not say anything at all. I have done my best and appreciate all the people who offered me their perspective so I could reach mine.
As I already commented, I am not a wine taster: but I try to see what foods I like to Pair (match) with wine and are available at that moment. When I traveled, I was offered local preferences and if the wine was ordered, the host ordered the wine. – Of course, he would always ask if I preferred White or Red, and always went with the flow of the host they were the master, and I was the student. Since the 1970s I have been a fan of Hugh Johnson the British wine icon and read his books and comments on the wines that I had savored. When I hosted and paid for the meal, I would see if the wine list would fit their perception. So being a marketing trained mind, I learned what their perceptions were to be considered so I would marry their perspectives for our happiness and my development.
“Wine Folly” has a most informative breakdown on characteristics, how to taste, food and wine pairing that were neutral and informative about what criteria to consider, which to me made sense and no one was injecting an “experts” opinion or perspective – as occasionally I find some reviewers do. After many years of traveling and having formal meals, I marveled at a couple of do not’s: I will never again order wine with Asian Peanut sauces ( I love Indonesian cooking) because there is a flavor conflict between wine and Peanuts; and second do not drink a dry red wine with a Blue cheese; find out if a Port is available for the Stilton or find a compatible Sherry (Amontillado or an Oloroso) . The pairing (match) of wine and cheese will never be there for these combinations of foods. I think back at many times traveling in England or in France when the Cheese tray came out the way many guests stuck to the wine they were drinking and had various cheeses. I followed the host, but there did not seem to be the effort to get a glass of wine to pair with a specific cheese, so now I assume that was considered a personal preference.
The book’s perspective on how wine is viewed by the trade was summed up in a section called styles of wine. (Folly)
Sparkling Wine : Champagne and the process is followed in other regions in France; CAVA, Lambrusco, Prosecco.
Light Bodied White Wines: Albariño, Grüner Veltliner, Muscadet, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Soave, Vermentino
Full Bodied White Wines: Chardonnay, Marsanne Blends, Semillon, Viognier
Aromatic Whites: Chenin Blanc, Gewürztraminer, Muscat Blanc,
Riesling, Torrontés
Rosé Wine: Fr. Provence, Plus, It. Rosato, Sp. Rosado.
Light Bodied Red Wines: Gamay, Pinot Noir
Medium Bodied Red wines: Barbera, Cabernet Franc, Carignan, Carménère, Grenache, Mencía, Merlot, Montepulciano, Negroamaro, Rhone/blends, Sangiovese, Valpolicella, Zinfandel.
Full Bodied Red Wines: Aglianico, Bordeaux, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Mourvèdre, Nebbiolo, Nero D’Avola, Petite Verdot, Petite Syrah, Pinotage, Tempranillo, Syrah (Shiraz – Australia), Tempranillo, Touriga Nacional.
Dessert Wine: Madeira, Marsala, Port, Sauternes, Sherry, Vin Santo.
I reviewed the recent list of 2020 top 100 wines and I identified the wines that are new or old and recast future wine pairings. My intention is to have in the future for my edification wine pairing sessions and not have a wine with a flight of tasting several wines. The question for me now is what wines are available in my market.
I concluded that my new perspective wine will re-encounter Sherry because it has always been part of my life. Back in the 50s my father received Christmas baskets with Sherry wines. On Thanksgiving’s and Christmas’, we (the children) would have one glass of wine with the meal (Turkey usually) . It is a taste that is imprinted in my memory – “Those little grey cells”, as Poirot says – and when I was re-introduced to Sherry the taste came back. Manzanilla and Fino which are dry and a deep taste of almonds and or the sea. Today at home we buy a Tio Pepe, La Ina (both Finos) or sometimes a Dry Sack (an Amontillado) as a summer refreshment – served cold and with “tapas.” This was a habit I picked up when visiting Spain. Very few of my friends share my liking for Sherry; My renaissance came with Lucci my advertising colleague when I would travel to New York to do Advertising back in the late 60s and early 70s.
So, Sherry is from Spain and traces its vineyards origins to the Phoenicians and Greeks. Therefore, it predates the Roman empire where the Sherry system existed before the Romans arrived where thy attained wine status in the empire. The Pre-Romans called it Zera; The Romans called it Ceret; The Visigoths called it Sirit; The Moors called it saris – but the Koran forbade the drinking of Alcohol, but they knew how to distill Alcohol and shared that with the Jerez bodegas and vineyards. Sherry is a process different than the traditional viniculture in that Sherry has a vinification system called the Solera system. Sherry uses the Palomino for its Finos and the Pedro Jimenez for its Olorosos. After the Palomino grape is harvested it is laid out on mats and the grapes are left for 24 hours and after wards pressed and the wine juice is put a series of Butts (also known as “Pipes” of a 110 gallon barrel– put on the ground floor and there are 3 rows of barrels (and some bodegas use more) where the barrels are not completely filled – as the juice progressively matures – this is the first step used to vinify Sherry. As the process develops the wine base is altered by adding older processed batches . Butts are never filled which allows filling the butt with previously made Sherry. The final first step of the process is to Rack the barrels of wine into new barrels where it is filtered in a new barrel. A white film or crust forms on the new wine and in the open-air vat what is created is called a Flor. The Fino (and Manzanilla) will go through a process of developing a Flor which accumulates on the surface and protects from oxidation and when complete before the Flor is devoured by oxygen transitions into a dry light wine. [4] This is necessary for the Manzanillas (Sanlucar de Barrameda) and the Finos from Jerez de la Frontera. Montilla- Moriles follows this process too. Sherry until the demarcation was copied as Sherry in many countries vineyards. (the demarcation assigned Jerez as the region for Sherry – like Cognac and Champagne).
The geography of Sherry is in Andalucía, a strip of land in Southwestern Spain on the west bound by the Atlantic and has the Guadalquivir River on its northern border and the Guadalete River on the South where Cadiz is on the Atlantic located on the Southern bank. On the Northern bank is Puerto Santa Maria. The Sherry areas are Jerez de la Frontera in the center of the strip and Sanlucar de Barrameda which touches the Guadalquivir River.
The origin of name Sherry has several histories, but in Spanish it is Jerez – from the region of Jerez de la Frontera in Andalucía. In Spanish, the spelling can be with a “J” –( jota or an X - Xerez.) The X in Spanish is sometimes also pronounced with a “sh” sound. was pronunciation varied by several regions in Spain) In French it is spelled Xérès. When the Moors came up from Northern Africa to conquer most of Spain as The Caliphate of Cordoba was established it became Muslim – Under Moorish control. The Spanish had Jerez and or Xérès which became Sheris, and the Moors were there until 1492 (Moors were in Spain from the 8th to the 15th Centuries) when the Christian Reconquista removed the Muslim faith and became Christian again. The English called sherry - “Sack” – as witnessed in Shakespeare’s plays and is a derivation of the Spanish word SACAR – Take out – for export. In 1587 Sir Francis Drake raided Cadiz and seized 2900 Pipes (110 – gallon barrels) of Sherry and firmly established Sherry in England. The British took a major interest in Sherry after the expulsion of the Jews from Spain that also occurred in 1492 (Sephardim were the Jews that The Romans expelled out of Judea). Merchants from British, Scottish, and Irish areas located offices in Andalusia: and their names are embedded in Sherry lore: Duff Gordon, Osborne, Garvey, Terry, Sandeman, and Williams & Humbert. This region has little rain and temperature of 40C (104F) in the summer. [5]
The Sherry ( in contemporary thinking are in categories: into four types : Manzanilla, Fino, Amontillado and Oloroso. All Sherries when produced are dry, but Olorosos are sweetened by Adding a second grape: Pedro Jimenez (or Ximenes) PX for short. The PX is harvested and then sun dried until it becomes a sweet syrup that is then blended with the Palomino wine. Olorosos start off dry, and then can be semi-sweet or sweet, and these are also referred called Creams. A dessert Sherry is also called a cream. England and Holland (the Netherlands) drink more Sherry than the Spanish. [6] [7] [8]
Fino and Manzanilla are dry white wines with an alcohol content of 15- 16%.Oloroso which is blended with Pedro Ximenes which sweetens the wine and has a larger Alcoholic content. Amontillado gets its name from Montilla. It is a wine that with age and turns amber.
There is Montilla – Moriles that uses the Solera system near the Town of Cordoba but out of the Jurisdiction of Jerez de la Frontera as is its vineyards by the demarcation can be the only ones to call the wine Sherry and have wines but cannot call them Sherries. Prior to the demarcation they would ship their wines to Jerez to sell them as part of Jerez, but the demarcation put a halt to that. Both Palomino and Pedro Ximenes and their wines are marketed as Sherry wines. [9]
In my study of pairings, I notice that Scottish thin slice salmon matched well with a dry sherry. I drew a blank on Amontillados, but I think dry sack is more like an amontillado and I will look for more. I will look for an oloroso and match it with a crema Catalana, the Spanish version of a Crème Brulee. I remember when I first covered Latin America & the Caribbean, I visited a distributor in Bermuda, his name was Larry Popellwell, and he was a great English Ex-Pat who understood Sherry and Cognac and he served it with a gateau.
As it develops Sherries that are the Fino type, are young and to make a Fino during development the Flor is left on the surface of the open barrel and in the last step , putting it in the last barrel of its process. The Flor process is cut short to develop the Amontillados and Olorosos. and these develop an amber color during the maturation process. For Olorosos to make them dessert wines, the Pedro Ximenes is blended and becomes an elixir for desserts. A Palo Cortado which is a wine that is in between an Amontillado and an Oloroso is highly esteemed and is expensive. The wines were fortified to improve longevity in the transport to England and Holland.
So how have they paired with food?
In Spain, the Sherry is served in a Copita stemware.
Manzanilla is the most saline taste and goes with seafoods, fish and pork chops. It is an ideal Aperitif and matches the aroma of Almonds and freshly baked bread.
Fino is compatible also to Manzanilla pairings and in Andalusia is paired with aperitifs : with fried fish dishes, Ham (Jamon Iberico), anything with tomatoes, olives, anchovies, quail eggs, garlic prawns, cod croquettes and vichyssoise.
Amontillado pairs well with soups, chorizo bread, and sesame crusted salmon.
Oloroso in in natural state is dry but when Pedro Ximenes is blended it becomes a sweet wine. The English call these blends Cream. (i.e., Bristol Cream Harvey and Sons, Bristol, UK)
[1] Ron Alonzo is a Chevalier of the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin ; Wine Spectator Certificates : ABC’s of Wine tasting & Wine Tasting Professional ; Professionnel de la Table of the Chaine des Rôtisseurs ; and a CFSP level I of the NAFEM (Certified Food Service Professional) (Fly on the wall by Don Merlot) www.junto.blogspot.com.
Quotations from a Burgundian vigneron: “On croit avaler le bon Dieu en culottes de velours.”
- “One seems to have swallowed the good Lord himself wearing velvet pants.” (P. Morten Shand)
[2] 1 – Broadway musical , 1966 – Google.
[3] Wine Folly – the Essential Guide to Wine by Madeline Puckette and Justine Hammack – Avery – a Penguin Random House LC New York.
[4] Wines of the World Susan Keevil, Metro Books p 322.
[5] Wines of the World Consultant Susan Keevil, Metro Books, New York P 320,323
[6] Spanish Wines by Jan Read 1983, Mitchel Beazley London. Pp. 102 - 105
[7] Hugh Johnson Pocket Book 2020, Mitchel Beasley, London pp. 189
[8]The Vintage Wine Book by William S. Leedom, Vintage Books – div of Random House, New York pp175 – 183.
[9] Wines and Spirits by Alec Waugh & editors – Time Life Books, New York. Pp. 139 – 145.
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