I went up to NYC two weeks ago for a wine tasting event (day job) and haven't had the time to write up my thoughts. Before I get to the art, I thought I'd do a quick post on the wine and food aspect of the trip.
First the wine- Best Wine Saxum Syrah (I can see why Wine Spectator has this as their #1 wine last year.) Very close were two Aussie Shiraz- Two Hands Ares and Mollydooker Velvet Glove. The Cheval Blanc was my favorite Bordeaux followed closely by Lafite and Haut-Brion. The Bruno Giacosa Barolo was awesome. I made a point of tasting a number of Pinot Noirs since it is generally not my favorite varietal but the Kosta Brown was fantastic (could this be the wine of the year this year?) as well as the AP Vin, Bergstom and Beaux Freres. For California cab- my pick goes to Staglin. I was very intrigued with the blend that Brian Loring was pouring.
For food, I had a couple of burgers from places that had been suggested. HB Burgers was fine. Its the bar and grill version of Heartland Brewing. Beers were ok, burgers were fine, Nothing special. Tried the Shake Shack burger on Friday. Again, a weaker version of Five Guys with good crinkle cut fries. BTW- when you are going to a tasting expecting to taste 60-80 wines, you need protein before hand. Of course, I spit at the tastings, there is no other way to taste that many. When I organized my notes on Friday morning, I realized that I had tasted 85 wines Thursday night. Anyway, For lunch on Saturday, we met a friend in Chelsea were we had lunch at the Half King- better burger than either of the recommended burger places.
On Friday, we had lunch at a Bobby Flay restaurant, Cafe Americain which was recommended to us by some folks at Food & Wine Magazine. They know what they are talking about- one of the best steaks I've ever had. The spice rub worked perfectly with the house-made steak sauce. Since I believe I make a great steak, I don't usually order them out but since Flay is a grill kind of guy, I figured I'd give it a go- and there was the protein thing too.
On Saturday, we ended up on Mulberry Street at dinner time. We found a place that didn't seem like a tourist trap, Da Nico's. There was no slick guy trying to hustle us to a table. They appeared to have plenty of regulars that the owners were greeting. The food was very good if not great but we had a lovely time. A nice, completely unknown to me, Nero was recommended by the waiter.
Surprise food experience- truly kick ass meatballs in the MoMA cafe!
Showing posts with label Rambling Thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rambling Thoughts. Show all posts
Friday, November 4, 2011
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Whaddya Know?
I read an interesting piece at Wine Spectator Online today by writer Matt Kramer. He is a fascinating wine writer, though I don't always agree with him (well, not very often at all actually) but I find his positions to be thought provoking, challenging to my own ideas.
The article begins by quoting NYT writer, Eric Asimov on the confidence beer drinkers have about enjoying the beverage vs the anxiety wine consumers have about wine. Where it gets interesting is when Kramer brings in Adam Gopnik's critique of "elitist" wine writers. Kramer does a good job of taking down Asimov and Gopnik's arguments but the analogy of wine writing to contemporary art criticism got me thinking.
OK, so having a dual life as a wine educator/retailer and a contemporary artist that actually reads Artforum. I think that just might make me qualified to chime in on this one.
I believe it is true that you can gain more pleasure through knowledge. Here I'm talking about wine, art, music, poetry, etc. I get more out of wine now than I did 15 years ago. I also get more out of music since I've learned more about how music is constructed. But one thing I find is true, I don't usually decide something that I did not like initially all of the sudden becomes better because I came to understand it more.
Around the age of 13 or so, I first read T.S. Eliot. I'm not sure that I understood much of it but I was intrigued by it. Over the years, I kept coming back to his work and by my senior year of college, I had dove deep into his world, creating a suite of paintings based on his life and work. Clearly, my appreciation grew with knowledge but from the start, I knew his work was great.
So take wine, many of my colleagues prefer wines that some would define as sophisticated. These wines may have mineral or earthy characteristics. As a guy selling wine, this is how I describe them to customers. To friends, I would say they tasted like rocks and dirt. No amount of elevated understanding will cause me to like these flavors. I know people that do naturally prefer wines like these, but for the most part, wine geeks "grow" to like these wines.
I'm pretty sure I know what Paul McCarthy is doing but I find his work to be ugly and well, kind of stupid. It has been a long time since art has shocked me, so let's go with stupid. Likewise for Jeff Koons. Never once did I think these guys were making great art. Money- yes. Art-no. Somewhere some tastemakers decided this was good art and we are expected to fall in line. In art, as with wine, I believe in trusting yourself.
The article begins by quoting NYT writer, Eric Asimov on the confidence beer drinkers have about enjoying the beverage vs the anxiety wine consumers have about wine. Where it gets interesting is when Kramer brings in Adam Gopnik's critique of "elitist" wine writers. Kramer does a good job of taking down Asimov and Gopnik's arguments but the analogy of wine writing to contemporary art criticism got me thinking.
OK, so having a dual life as a wine educator/retailer and a contemporary artist that actually reads Artforum. I think that just might make me qualified to chime in on this one.
I believe it is true that you can gain more pleasure through knowledge. Here I'm talking about wine, art, music, poetry, etc. I get more out of wine now than I did 15 years ago. I also get more out of music since I've learned more about how music is constructed. But one thing I find is true, I don't usually decide something that I did not like initially all of the sudden becomes better because I came to understand it more.
Around the age of 13 or so, I first read T.S. Eliot. I'm not sure that I understood much of it but I was intrigued by it. Over the years, I kept coming back to his work and by my senior year of college, I had dove deep into his world, creating a suite of paintings based on his life and work. Clearly, my appreciation grew with knowledge but from the start, I knew his work was great.
So take wine, many of my colleagues prefer wines that some would define as sophisticated. These wines may have mineral or earthy characteristics. As a guy selling wine, this is how I describe them to customers. To friends, I would say they tasted like rocks and dirt. No amount of elevated understanding will cause me to like these flavors. I know people that do naturally prefer wines like these, but for the most part, wine geeks "grow" to like these wines.
I'm pretty sure I know what Paul McCarthy is doing but I find his work to be ugly and well, kind of stupid. It has been a long time since art has shocked me, so let's go with stupid. Likewise for Jeff Koons. Never once did I think these guys were making great art. Money- yes. Art-no. Somewhere some tastemakers decided this was good art and we are expected to fall in line. In art, as with wine, I believe in trusting yourself.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
New Computer
Finally, after a few months without regular access to a computer, we have made the switch to an iMac and I should have more time to work on the inevitable issues of getting work out into the world.
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