Wine & Spirits
Finding Poetry on the Wine Trails of New Jersey
Written by Patrick Walsh Friday, 01 July 2011 14:19
If there’s poetry in wine, then a visit to a vineyard in high summer makes for a whole volume of lyrical ballads.
Seeing the grapes in bunches on the vines, touring the winemaking facilities and talking with the winemaker will enhance your appreciation of this ancient beverage. It may not inspire you to verse, but you’ll certainly learn something.
Edible Art
Written by Michele Alperin Thursday, 26 May 2011 14:05
Pamela Giggie-Accetta, a wedding cake artist (and baker) who owns La Bella Cakery in Princeton, comes from an Italian-American family where everything is celebrated with food.
“Anytime there is any excuse to celebrate,” she says, “a special meal is made.”
Ms. Giggie-Accetta’s grandmother used to give her and her siblings lessons in Italian baking and cooking, and her first job, at age 15, was making holiday cookies, cakes and pies for the neighbors.
She took her early kitchen experience, combined it with her dream to open her own bakery, and turned her established career in information technology completely around to start a business doing what she loves: baking delicious works of art and creating the perfect ending to a perfect special occasion.
After 13 years in the computer field, Ms. Giggie-Accetta said she realized she was happiest baking in her own kitchen, and began to ponder how she could make a living doing just that.
A Bottle of Green?
Written by Patrick Walsh Monday, 02 May 2011 12:35
Tell a winemaker that her Cabernet tastes green and she’s liable to pour the glass on your head, but many winemakers jump at the chance to describe the green, eco-friendly practices they use in their wineries. They’re not catering to a fashionable trend; running a green operation can mean better wines as well as dramatic savings.
Vintners can implement ecologically sound methods at every step of the winemaking process, from nurturing the soil and vines to recycling bottles and minimizing packaging. Some green practices rely on Mother Nature, others on technology.
Pesticides and herbicides, for example, worry conscientious farmers and consumers alike. When I visited renowned winemaker Francois Barmes at Domaine Barmes-Buecher in Alsace, France, he showed me his all-natural pesticide: stinging nettles planted around the base of his vines. The tiny stinging hairs on these common plants create a “no-crawl zone” that sends ravenous insects packing. 
Lolonis Winery in California’s Redwood Valley in Mendocino uses an even more novel pesticide. At several points in the growing season, they release millions of ladybugs into their vineyards. These natural predators devour aphids and parasitic insects. The technique has literally become the winery’s trademark: ladybugs feature prominently on the label and capsule of every Lolonis bottle.
Closer to home, Crossing Vineyards and Winery in Washington Crossing, Pa., serves as a textbook example of how to integrate ecologically smart methods throughout the winemaking process.
Winemaker Tom Carroll Jr. says such a philosophy was always part of the dream: “Starting right from the beginning, we had a desire to be green and reduce our dependence on external resources.”
Mr. Carroll’s total approach starts in the vineyard itself. “We reuse all our winery waste,” he says. “Seeds, stems, and skins get carted to a compost pile on the property. The pomace — the solid parts of the grapes — is very nutrient-rich, just great for the soil.”
To prevent soil erosion and lessen the impact of tractor traffic, Mr. Carroll grows other plants alongside his vines, a technique known as cover cropping. “We use a permanent cover crop, a mixture of fescue, which is a clumping grass ideal for retaining topsoil.”
Even after the grapes have been harvested, a great deal of energy is needed to make wine. Fermentation tanks maintain precisely adjusted temperatures; the freshly pressed juice, called “must,” is eventually pumped into smaller tanks and oak barrels; the wine, whether in barrique or bottle, must be stored in a very cool setting year-round.
Springtime Cocktails
Written by Michele Alperin Thursday, 28 April 2011 11:38
Make it feel like spring with these refreshing cocktails.
The reawakening of nature in the springtime is a feast of the senses. Flowers in bright yellows, purples, and pinks; new growth dappling trees and bushes in a rainbow of green; and redolent breezes — all luring us out of our cozy winter lairs into the kinder, gentler outdoors.
Reacting to the strengthening sunlight and newly bright colors, human beings start to pack up clothing in darker wintry hues for whites and pastels. At the same time our taste buds dictate a move to salads and lighter fare, and even the drinks we imbibe mark the transition to longer, warmer days.
Area restaurants respond to the changing tastes of their customers by modifying their seasonal “culinary cocktails” from darker, warmer beverages to lighter concoctions for spring and summer.
“For every season there are definitely flavors and profiles that are more popular,” says Amy Foulks, general manager of Salt Creek Grille in Plainsboro. “Around St. Patrick’s Day, we have traditional Irish coffee and Guiness. But once the weather breaks, everyone has been so used to being cooped up inside and trying to stay warm, it’s nice to have a light, refreshing cocktail, preferably sitting outside.”
Sweet, Sour and Colorful!
Written by Faith Bahadurian Thursday, 14 April 2011 10:56
By late winter our palates are dulled. We’ve been eating comfort foods, and the variety of flavors on our dinner plate narrows with each meal. Short ribs, check. Starch, check. Veggie, check.
It’s time to wake up! Our taste buds are ready for a little excitement, and citrus is just the thing. Though we tend to associate citrus flavors with summery dishes, these fruits are in high season in winter, so one could be forgiven for needing a culinary pick-me-up transported from warmer climes.
The citrus found in supermarkets is bred to favor varieties that are heavy producers and ship well. So you’ll never see many of the older or more unusual varieties, as I learned several years ago when noted fruit expert David Karp visited Princeton University for a citrus “show and tell.” He had 60 varieties shipped in from California, many of which we’d never seen before. Some were ethnic or heirloom varieties, and others were new hybrids in development that still had numbers instead of names.
Since then, some of the experimental ones have appeared in markets, and exotic citrus has become a top food trend. Make a point of trying the rosy-fleshed Cara Cara oranges often found at Wegmans, Italian blood oranges (especially the Moro variety), and Meyer lemons and Key limes. And Trader Joe’s recently offered bags of Sky Valley heirloom navel oranges, once popular in the ’30s, now making a comeback.
Adding orange segments to salads is a quick way to bring citrus into your culinary repertoire. If you don’t want to bother cutting away membrane between segments, slice the oranges crosswise instead, and the short bits of membrane will not matter. Orange (regular or blood) takes well to butter lettuce and radicchio, with thin sliced fennel or red onion, and poppy seed dressing. A lightly dressed salad of orange and olives is also a great way to go.
Broiled or grilled citrus takes on wonderful caramel flavors; try grilling lemon halves with shrimp or fish, or the grapefruit dessert (facing page.) And preserved lemons are handy to toss in couscous, or over chicken or fish.
Of course, citrusy desserts are a wonderful way to refresh the palate after a meal. Not as heavy as chocolate and many other sweets, the options are as endless as, well, summer.
Faith Bahadurian writes and blogs about food for the Packet Publications (www.packetinsider.com/blog/njspice).
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