WORLD WINE WATCH TOP 20/20 WINES: 20 under $20 and 20 over $20 for APRIL 2, 2016.

 

WORLD WINE WATCH TOP 20/20 WINES: 20 under $20 and 20 over $20 for APRIL 2, 2016.

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By DEAN TUDOR, Gothic Epicures Writing deantudor@deantudor.com. My Internet compendium "Wines, Beers and Spirits of the Net", a guide to thousands of news items and RSS feeds, plus references to wines, beers and spirits, has been at www.deantudor.com since 1994.

 

So many people have asked me for wine recommendations, with numbers only. The readers' most common response is that while they like what I say, they only relate to the score. The score is a combination of MVC (Modal Varietal Character, where e.g. a Southern Rhone tastes like a Southern Rhone and not like a Northern Rhone) and Quality/Price Ratio. Let's take it for granted that, e.g., a Riesling tastes like a Riesling, and the wine has some value in the marketplace either above or below its selling price. This way too I can also cover more wines.

 

This restructured wine newsletter for the Ontario market, with wines available through the LCBO and Vintages on a bi-weekly basis can always be found at http://www.gothicepicures.blogspot.ca/ or at www.deantudor.com

 

20 under $20  My BEST BUY  is Mas des Bressades Cuvee Tradition 2014 Costieres de Nimes, +143099, $16.95, 13.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 91.

 

W - Baron de Hoen Riesling Reserve 2014 Alsace, +446427, $14.95, 12% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 89.

W - Chateau Haut Philippon 2014 Entre-Deux-Mers, +445171, $14.95, 11.5% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 88

W- Waterkloof Seriously Cool Chenin Blanc 2014 WO Stellenbosch, +443382, $16.95, 13.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89.

R - Gerard Bertrand Grand Terroir La Clape Syrah/Carignan/Mourvedre 2011 Coteaux du Languedoc, +370262, $18.95, 13% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89.

W-  Henry of Pelham Estate Riesling 2012 VQA Short Hills Bench Niagara, +557165, $17.95,        MVC/QPR:  90.

R – Ca' Momi Rosso di Napa 2014 Napa Valley, +449744, $19.95, 13.5% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 91.

R – Ravenswood Old Vine Zinfandel 2014 Lodi, +942599, $19.95, 14.5% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 89.

R – Hogue Genesis Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 Columbia Valley, +275123, $18.95, 13.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90.

R – Norton Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 Mendoza, +663120, $17.95, 14.5% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 89.

W – Aresti Trisquel Sauvignon Blanc 2014 Leyda Valley, +443341, $18.95, 13% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 91.

R – Vina Tarapaca Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 Maipo Valley, +18721, $17.95, 14.5% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 91.

R – Zonte's Footstep Avalon Tree Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 Fleurieu Peninsula South Australia, +353193, $17.95, 14.5% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 89.

R – Stellenrust Timeless 2011 WO Stellenbosch, +443325, $19.95, 14% ABV, Bordeaux-style blend, 

MVC/QPR: 89.

R – Chateau Brehat 2008 Cotes de Bordeaux – Castillon, +348672, $18.95, 13.5% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 90.

R – Mas des Bressades Cuvee Tradition 2014 Costieres de Nimes, +143099, $16.95, 13.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 91.

W – Dr. Hermann From The Slate Riesling 2013 Mosel, +446617, $17.95,  MVC/QPR: 89.

W – Rocca di Montemassi Calasole Vermentino 2014 Maremma Toscana, +435446,  $14.95, 12.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89.

R – Farina Solers Le Bocce 2011 IGT Toscana, +309393, $15.95, 13.5% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 88.

R – Aroa Jauna Crianza 2011 Navarra, +353524, $14.95, 14.5% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 88.

R – Papale Linea Oro Primitivo di Manduria 2013 Puglia, +261784, $19.95, 14% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 88

 

 

20 over $20 My BEST BUY is Coto de Imaz Reserva 2010 Rioja, +23762, $22.95, 13.5% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 92

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R – Coyote's Run Red Paw Vineyard Pinot Noir 2013 VQA Four Mile Creek Niagara, +79228, $24.95, 14% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 89.

R - Torres Salmos 2012 Priorat, +450734, $30.95, 14.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90.

R- G. Marquis The Silver Line Epic 2010 VQA Niagara Peninsula, +310367, $29.95, 13.9% ABV, MVC/QPR: 91.

W – Chateau St. Jean Robert Young Vineyard Chardonnay 2012 Alexander Valley Sonoma County, +990499, $39.95, 14.4% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 91.

W – Iris Pinot Gris 2013 Oregon, +445726, $23.95, 12.6% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89.

R – Napa Cellars Zinfandel 2013 Napa Valley, +126607, $29.95, 14.9% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 89.

R – Rodney Strong Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 Sonoma Coast, +226944, $22.95,  MVC/QPR: 89.

R – Emiliana Coyam 2012 Colchagua Valley, +63891, $29.95, 14.5% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 91.

R – Thorn-Clarke Shotfire Shiraz 2013 Barossa, +18796, $21.95, 14.5% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 90.

R – Xanadu DJL Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 Margaret River Western Australia, +444802, $22.95, 14% ABV,   MVC/QPR: 90.

W- Stoneleigh Latitude Sauvignon Blanc 2015 Marlborough, +324228, $21.95,  MVC/QPR: 89.

W – Loimer Langenlois Gruner Veltliner 2014 Kamptal Austria, +142240, $21.95, 12% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89.

W – Henri de Villamont La Canee Auxey-Duresses 2012, +445270, $39.95,  MVC/QPR: 90.

R – Chateau de Lisennes Cuvee Prestige 2009 Bordeaux Superieur, +444364, $21.95, 12.5% ABV,

MVC/QPR: 89.

R – Tsantali Reserve Rapsani 2011 Thessalia Greece, +734855, $20.95, 13.5% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 89.

R – Ruffino Modus 2012 IGT Toscana, +912956, $29.95, 13.5% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 91.

R – Bodegas Langa Pi-3.1415 Concejon 2012 Aragon Catalayud, +313841, $21.95, 14.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89.

R – Coto de Imaz Reserva 2010 Rioja, +23762, $22.95, 13.5% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 92

R – Vina Vilano Crianza 2011 Rivera del Duero, +82180, $21.95, 14% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 90.

R – Rocca delle Macie Riserva Chianti Classico 2012, +930966, $22.95, MVC/QPR: 89.

 

Chimo! www.deantudor.com

* THE RESTAURANT/CELEBRITY COOKBOOK...

 

...is one of the hottest trends in cookbooks. Actually, they've been around for many years, but never in such proliferation. They are automatic best sellers, since the book can be flogged at the restaurant or TV show and since the chef ends up being a celebrity somewhere, doing guest cooking or catering or even turning up on the Food Network. Most of these books will certainly appeal to fans of the chef and/or the restaurant and/or the media personality. Many of the recipes in these books actually come off the menus of the restaurants involved. Occasionally, there will be, in these books, special notes or preps, or recipes for items no longer on the menu. Stories or anecdotes will be related to the history of a dish. But because most of these books are American, they use only US volume measurements for the ingredients; sometimes there is a table of metric equivalents, but more often there is not. I'll try to point this out. The usual shtick is "favourite recipes made easy for everyday cooks". There is also PR copy on "demystifying ethnic ingredients". PR bumpf also includes much use of the magic phrase "mouth-watering recipes" as if that is what it takes to sell such a book. I keep hearing from readers, users, and other food writers that some restaurant recipes (not necessarily from these books) don't seem to work at home, but how could that be? The books all claim to be kitchen tested for the home, and many books identify the food researcher by name. Most books are loaded with tips, techniques, and advice, as well as gregarious stories about life in the restaurant world. Photos abound, usually of the chef bounding about. The celebrity books, with well-known chefs or entertainers, seem to have too much self-involvement and ego. And, of course, there are a lot of food photo shots, verging on gastroporn. There are endorsements from other celebrities in magnificent cases of logrolling. If resources are cited, they are usually American mail order firms, with websites. Some companies, though, will ship around the world, so don't ignore them altogether. Here's a rundown on the latest crop of such books –

 

 

19.BAKING WITH MARY BERRY (DK, 2015, 192 pages, ISBN 978-1-4654-5323-5, $19.95 US soft covers) is by the British Queen of Baking, who was one of the judges on The Great Holiday Baking Show (now available on US TV) and The Great British Bake Off. She's authored over 80 cookbooks, selling 6 million copies. This current book is tied to TGHBS launching in the US. It is a basic primer of tips, advice, and step-by-step instructions for 100 or so recipes, covering mainly the classics, and with colour photos of finished plates. She ranges through cakes, cupcakes, pies, tarts, crumbles, cobblers, brownies, special occasion desserts (rich Christmas cakes, souffles, pavlovas, roulades, mille-feuilles) and British faves such as scones, Dundee cake, and treacle tart. Preparations have their ingredients listed in mostly avoirdupois measurements with some metric, but there is no table of equivalents. Quality/price rating: 87.

 

 

 

20.MOVEABLE FEAST WITH FINE COOKING; inspiring recipes from seasons 1 and 2 (Taunton Press, 2015, 238 pages, ISBN 978-1-63186-373-8, $30 US hard covers) is from the editors of Fine Cooking magazine. The preps come from the award-winning PBS "Moveable Feast" series; it is a companion book. The series, and the book, feature US chefs from across the land  sharing their recipes, tips and techniques for using regional/seasonal ingredients. There are also food gathering adventures with chefs and food purveyors. 75 preps comes from 40 different chefs, accompanied by colourful photos of feasts prepared in different locations. Thus, from LA there is the Ruby Cigar Cocktail, a lobster and chorizo queso fundido, carnitas with rice and salsa, charred baby octopus salad with pickled jalapeno plus plums and peaches, followed by a dessert of kahlua with espresso and chocolate trifle and candied peanuts. Great fun. All recipes are sourced, and each feast is a menu that can be recreated at home. At the back, there is a recipe index by course. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is a table of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 88.

 

 

 

 

 

 

21.SUPERFOODS 24/7 (The Experiment, 2015, 176 pages, ISBN 978-1-61519-278-6, $19.95 US paper covers) is by Jessica Nadel, owner-baker of Oh My Bakeshop in Sudbury, Ontario, an organic vegan special order bakery, and Tucos Taco Lounge, a vegan taco restaurant. Previously she had written GRRENS 24/7 in 2014. Here she presents more than 100 quick and easy vegan preps for superfoods (almonds, blueberries, leafy greens such as kale) – meant for every meal of the day plus desserts and snacks. Try one of the green smoothies for brekkies. 35 superfoods are covered. She begins with nutritional profiles and prep guides for each type, followed by the recipes (golden turmeric milk, mole tofu with slaw, fresh cherry berry jam, seedy quinoa flatbread). She's got an international flavour as well, with spicing from the Mediterranean, Asia, and Latin America. There is also nutritional data for each prep. Nadel has been blogging for almost six years at http://www.cupcakesandkale.ca. Preparations have their ingredients listed in mostly avoirdupois measurements with some metric, but there is no table of equivalents. At the beginning she has some typical day superfood meal plans (with page references) that are worth considering. Quality/price rating: 87.

 

 

 

 

22.SOUPING (DK Publishing, 2015, 192 pages, ISBN 978-1-4654-4930-6, $19.95 US paper covers) is by Alison Velazquez, owner of Soupology, a company specializing in health-based soups (she's been a vegetarian for 20 years) and special diets. Here she presents 80 preps to help you lose weight, cleanse, detoxify, and generally re-energize yourself. It comes with the lovely artwork that DK is well-known for, and after the primer, it is arranged by season – ending with broths and consomme. Each season also emphasizes a cleanse: there's a three day metabolism cleanse in the spring, as well as an energizing cleanse. In the summer, there is a weight loss five day cleanse as well as a two day hydrating cleanse. There are two more in each of fall and winter, centering on detox, immune boosts, beauty reboots, and alkalizing. Typical soups include broccoli arugula soups, carrot and fennel soup, ancient grains soup, and ginger sweet potato soup. Each recipe has quantities, time prep notes, and nutritional data. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 88.

 

 

 

23.LUCKY RICE (Clarkson Potter, 2016, 224 pages, ISBN 978-0-8041-8668-1, $25 US hard covers) is by Danielle Chang, with a PBS series "Lucky Chow" and founder of the Lucky Rice festivals (night markets, dumpling making, feasts). She's got good company for log rollers such as Daniel Boulud, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and Susur Lee. She has a range of some 100 Asian culture recipes that include comfort foods done in a new way, new techniques, and classics. There is sweet Vietnamese coffee frozen into pops, one-hour homemade kimchi, and a variety of cocktails for the millennials. As the subtitle says, these are stories and recipes from family tables. At the end she's got 10 festive menus, unfortunately with no page references to the recipes, so you will have to dig them up through the index. Thus, for a Malaysian supper, she recommends herbal bone broth tea, okra with shrimp paste, sambal stingray, curry, Indonesian fried rice, and Thai mango pudding. Although she encourages you to mix and match to suit your palate or whimsy, for the Thai menu (or the Malay, or the BBQ, or dim sum, or Korean, etc.), you've got to use whatever is appropriate to the style or to the region. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 86.

 

 

24.FAST FOOD MANIAC (Three Rivers Press, 2016, 278 pages, ISBN 978-0-553-41803-3, $15 US soft covers) is by Jon Hein, who was the host of Fast Food Mani on Discovery TV. He's a rabid fast food fan within pop culture. As such he caters to over a quarter of a million fast food places in North America. His book explores the cultural history and menu items of national (first part) and regional (second part) chains, ranking the food, and making his own expert tips on where to go and what to eat (third part of the book). He's got some short notes on chains no longer with us, such as Red Barn. The book is profusely illustrated with menus and logos and pix of the typical food. But there is no index. A fun book, especially for American families who eat out a lot. Quality/price rating: 86.

 

 

25.HAPPY HENS & FRESH EGGS (Douglas & McIntyre, 2015, 200 pages, ISBN 978-1-77162-097-0, $22.95 CAN soft covers) is by Signe Langford, a former Toronto chef (Riverside Cafe, Amber) who now writes for a wide variety of publications. She's got some hens at her place: the book's subtitle is "keeping chickens in the kitchen garden, with 100 recipes". It is an interesting book on urban farming, and there are many cities where it is legal to have chickens in the back yard (Vancouver, Victoria, London, Niagara Falls, Kingston). If you ant to raise urban chickens for their eggs, then this is the book for you. She tells all you will need to know about coops, roosters, year round production, best breeds for backyards (e.g. Chantecler, Ameraucana), feeding and gardening, and the like. Many, many stories too about life with the ladies. The recipes (some from well-known contributors such as Vij, Calder, Reader and Cushing) all deal with eggs, and like the birds, they are arranged by season (Spring through Winter), covering many uses for eggs beyond the breakfast plate. She's got a few pages on treating illnesses, but I also wish she had some more pages on what to do with the flock when their time is up (even if she needed pages edged in black). There must be more to death than just stock and pot pies. Still, an engaging book, well-worth the time in reading. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of equivalents given. Two indexes complete the book, one for the chickens and the gardens, and another for the recipes. Quality/price rating: 88.

 

 

Chimo! www.deantudor.com

* FOOD BOOK OF THE MONTH! ENCHILADAS (Trinity University Press)

ENCHILADAS: Aztec to Tex-Mex (Trinity University Press, 2015, 239 pages, ISBN 978-1-59534-751-0, $39.95 US hard covers) is by Cappy Lawton, who has designed, developed and operated 29 restaurants in Texas. Today, with his wife Suzy and his son Trevor, he actively owns three in San Antonio: La Fonda on Main (in business since 1932), Cappy's and Cappyccino's. His co-author is Chris Waters Dunn, a San Antonio food writer with a creative writing MFA and culinary degree from CIA. Major log rollers include Mark Miller and Anne Lindsay Greer, who have both written about southwest US food. The book collects a variety of more than 60 regional enchiladas and 40 sauces and garnishes, from Baja to Yucatan, ending up with Tex-Mex. Just about all of them are lavishly illustrated with up close photos. The first 90 pages deal with a primer about ingredients and the techniques of making tortillas, roasting chiles, making refried beans, assembling, and some tips on garnishing and accompaniments. Then follows the parade of contents: pork, beef, poultry, seafood, dairy, and vegetable. The Tex-Mex section is entirely different, and has notes on brisket, chicken, cheese, and gravies. Preparations have their ingredients listed in mostly avoirdupois measurements with some metric, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Source material at the back carefully explains the derivation of each particular recipe (some are from books), including changes and modifications and some updating. A lot of the recipes come from La Fonda on Main, but even these have been changed a bit for the US home kitchen. At the back there is a glossary of Spanish food terms. This was a recent winner at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.

Audience and level of use: those interested in Mexican food

Some interesting or unusual recipes/facts: enchiladas de atun (tuna), enchiladas banderas, enchiladas de nayarit, enchiladas de langosta, enchiladas nortenas,  de pato, enchiladas rojas, napa slaw, red rice, roasted tomato salsa.

The downside to this book: weight-wise, it is close to five pounds.

The upside to this book: it does a good job of dissing the notion that enchiladas are just rolled and smothered in some gravy.

Quality/Price Rating: 90.

 

Chimo! www.deantudor.com

* THE REISSUES, THE REPRINTS, AND THE NEWER EDITIONS...

...all reflect a boom in the cookbook publishing business. A paperback reprint will lower the cost to the purchaser, and also give a publisher a chance to correct egregious errors or add a postscript. Some will reissue a book in paper covers with a new layout or photos. Others will rearrange existing material to present it as more informative text while keeping the focus tight. Some magazines will reissue popular or classic recipes in an "easy" format. Here are some recent "re-editions"...

 

 

 

26.VEGETABLES, HERBS & FRUIT; an illustrated encyclopedia (Firefly, 2013, 2015, 640 pages, ISBN 978-1-77085-200-6, $29.95 CAN soft covers) is by Matthew Biggs, Jekka McVicar, and Bob Flowerdew. Separately, they had written books dealing with vegetables (Biggs, 1997), herbs (McVicar, 1994) and fruit (Flowerdew, 1995), and they had last been revised in 2002. Here they have been collated into three distinct sections, with glossary, bibliography, seed sources, yearly calendar, and practical gardening matters. Each botanical plant has been identified, illustrated, given a variety of names under which it is known ("species"), some cultivation notes, some culinary uses, some medicinal uses, and some warnings and other uses. So for example, parsley has three zone 5 species, it propagates by seed, pests are notes, gardening and harvesting are noted, two preps (fine herbes and fish bouquet garni) are given, diuretic use and poultices are mentioned, and other uses include killing head lice. The warning is to not use parsley for medicine during a pregnancy. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Caution: the book weighs 2 kilos. Quality/price rating: 88.

 

 

 

27.THE SCHOOL OF SOPHISTICATED DRINKING (Greystone Books, 2013, 2015, 244 pages, ISBN 978-1-77164-119-7, $22.95 CAN soft covers) is by Beate Hinderman and Kerstin Ehmer. It's "an intoxicating history of seven spirits" according to the subtitle, although one of the seven is Champagne which is actually a wine. The book was originally published in Germany in 2013 and translated for the North American market. It is a general overview but lively account of how (in separate chapters) brandy, vodka, whisky, rum, gin, tequila and Champagne have fared through history, looking at them from angles dealing with social, political, and scientific themes. Both authors are part of the team behind the Victoria Bar in Berlin; they began a lecture series there known as the School of Sophisticated Drinking. Cocktails are mentioned throughout, and their recipes are collected at the back, with page references. While it has some end notes and a bibliography, it has no index, a major failing. I think it should have had an alphabetical index to the cocktail recipes, at the very least. Quality/price rating: 86.

 

 

28.THE WINE BIBLE. 2d ed. Revised and updated. (Workman Publishing, 2001, 2015, 996 pages, ISBN 978-0-7611-8083-8, $24.95 US paper covers) is by Karen MacNeil, once Culinary Institute of America director of wine in Napa. She's now a consultant and a free-lancer for food and wine magazines. The book was originally published in 2001; of course, much has happened in the wine world since then (and 90 pages have been added). Every chapter has been researched and consulted with experts. The problem with the misspelling "ice wine" has been fixed. With a lot of data and facts being crammed into this book (all of it readable and legible; no squinting at the typeface), there are bound to be some misprints. Each wine region chapter concludes with a few pages on "wines to know"; these are thumbnail sketches of wineries with short, generic tasting descriptions for a half-dozen of so US nationally distributed wines from each region, accompanied by its wine label. The notes reflect the generalities of the producer, not the vintage being sold. So there is really no detail on the quality of any particular vintages. There is no range of prices, so you do not know what it is selling for. And there is a separate "Index of Producers Found in Wines to Know", so you can clearly access these wines quickly. There is an extensive table of contents (five pages) plus 72 pages of indexes, wines laws, glossaries, and bibliography. All the usual wine data are covered, with black and white photos, "what to look for" sidebars, technical discussions, and interesting notes scattered about in screened boxes. Her opinions are, for the most part, spot on. The Canadian section has been doubled since the 2001 edition. What I do like about this book is its price and its value to both the casual and the professional user. QPR: 92.

 

 

 

 

29.THE PLAN COOKBOOK (Grand Central Life & Style, 2014, 2015, 214 pages, ISBN 978-1-4555-5651-9, $17.99 US soft covers) is by Lyn-Genet Recitas who wrote the bestseller, The Plan. This is the 2015 paperback reprint, reissued as is. It is an anti-inflammatory nutrition protocol. Some material from the first book is necessarily repeated here, but I should think that you would not need both books. If you are indeed interested in The Plan, then this is the book, with all of its recipes. The Plan seems to have helped people lose weight fast and forever by discovering which food work for their unique body chemistry. Her preps are supposed to boost your energy and cut inflammation, as well as make you lose weigh. It is a lifestyle change. Preps cover all meals, from breakfast through salads, soups, sides, apps, sauces, dressings, mains, and desserts. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there are tables of metric equivalents. Some interesting recipes include vegan cream of mushroom soup, duck breast tacos, whipped coconut cream, venison medallions in apple bourbon sauce, mini lamb meatballs, and steak fajitas. Quality/Price Rating: 87.

 

 

30.W.C. WHITFIELD'S MIXED DRINKS AND COCKTAILS (Skyhorse Publishing, 2015, 132+ pages, ISBN 978-1-63450-222-1, $16.99 US hard covers) is an historical book. It is a reprint of Whitfield's two cocktail books, with over 600 recipes: Just Cocktails (1939) and Here's How: Mixed Drinks (1941). Both were originally published as hand-lettered and sans-serif type with nifty and funny line drawing illustrations, and this has been continued here. It is an illustrated, old-school bartender's guide, with quotes scattered throughout. Hey, if we are drinking old-school cocktails, then we certainly need an old-school guide!! Try Pink Whisker, Magnolia Blossom, White Cargo, Bachelor's Bait, Five Fifteen Beauty Spot. And the cocktail names could also serve as names of boy bands.

Quality/price rating: 89.

 

 

 

31.SUPER FOOD EVERY DAY (Ten Speed Press, 2015, 160 pages, ISBN 978-1-60774-940-0, $14.99 US soft covers) is by Sue Quinn, a UK food writer, book author, and journalist. It was originally published in France as "Super Food: La Bible"  and then in Australia as "Cooking with Superfoods". This is the North American edition. There are 65 recipes here using kale, blueberries, chia seeds – about 52 in all (greens, tubes, squashes, nuts, seeds, fruit, beans, oily fish). It is all arranged by course, from breakfast through apps, sides, mains, and desserts. The primer includes drawings, and the photos are sharp for the plated dishes. There's a creamy comfort soup (mainly cauliflower and beans), containing Vitamins C and K, folate, molybdenum, and fibre. Or a detox bowl with squash and dried cranberries, loaded with six different goodies. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 86.

 

 

32.THE BEST AND LIGHTEST (Clarkson Potter, 2015, 336 pages, ISBN 978-0-8041-8534-9, $25 US soft covers) is from the editors of Food Network Magazine. It is a selection of 150 recipes for all three daily meals. It's a basic cookbook, emphasizing lightness in food, arranged by categories from soups and stews through sweets. To lighten a dish, the magazine substitutes ingredients. For stuffed baked potatoes, they mixed pureed cauliflower into the filling. Ham and mushroom risotto has a barley substitution, although here they lose the gluten-free crowd. Fried fish is now baked fish. And so on – with 500 calories being the cap, per person. Icons show which dishes are GF, vegan or just vegetarian. Nutritional data is also supplied. There are two recipe indexes: the one at the front is a pictorial index so that you can see what the dish looks like (it is arranged in page order); the one at the back is an alphabetical index by ingredient. It's basic food such as sardine salad sandwiches, scallops with cabbage, chicken salad with gazpacho dressing, turkey and avocado sandwich, and shrimp tacos. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there are tables of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 86.

 

 

 

 

33.THE WORLD ATLAS OF COFFEE (Firefly, 2014, 2015, 256 pages, ISBN 978-1-77085-470-3, $35 CAN hard covers) is by James Hoffmann, barista champion and operator for a coffee roasting company in London UK. It is a reissue-reprint of a popular book from 2014. There are details on some 29 coffee growing countries in Africa, Asia, and the Americas, along wit harvesting, processing, roasting and brewing methods. The best way to make coffee at home is also covered. Detailed maps locate key growing areas and chart trends worldwide. Lots of great colour illustrations and photos. Updates include the Potato Defect, organic and fair traded coffees, and modern business information. Quality/price rating: 88.

 

 

 

34.THE DORITO EFFECT; the surprising new truth about food and flavor (Simon & Schuster, 2015, 2016, 261 pages, ISBN 978-1-4767-2423-2, $22 US soft covers) is by Mark Schatzker,  an award-winning food journalist and author of "Steak". He's on CBC and writes often for the Globe and Mail. This book was originally published in 2015; this is the 2016 paperback reprint. His premise is that the flavour of food is changing: all food seems to be bigger and cheaper but blander. Also, technology now produces in the lab those flavours that have been lost due to agribusiness. The lab materials are added to the bland chicken as "seasonings". Our natural sense of eating well through evolution has been transformed into eating unnatural flavours that create addictions to foods the create obesity. The easy answer to reverse this is to produce better tasting natural food, getting rid of chemically-induced habit-forming unnatural flavours. At the end of the narrative he proposes his principles on how to live long and eat flavourfully: eat real flavour; flavour starts in the womb; eat organic from a small farm; eat herbs/spices/chocolate/wine; avoid synthetic flavours; avoid restaurants that use synthetics. There is a bibliography, end notes, and index. Quality/price rating: 88.

 

 

35.THE NEW TRAILSIDE COOKBOOK; 100 delicious recipes for the camp chef (Firefly Books, 2013, 2015, 191 pages, ISBN 978-1-77085-189-4, $19.95 CAN soft covers) is by Kevin Callan and Margaret Howard. He has written several books on camping, while she has written books on outdoor grilling and preserving. The book is a reprint-reissue of a popular 2013 title. The 100 preps here are easy, nutritious, and full of energy. They range from "gorp" (which we ourselves make at home with bitter chocolate, raisins and almonds, but here -- in this book – references "good old raisins and peanuts") to gourmet (which needs a bit more time). Chapters cover all courses, plus dehydrating food, shopping/packing, camp stoves, cold weather camping, weekend gourmet and living off the land. There's also a planner for all the work to be done at home and at camp. There is even a seven day menu plan. Tips and advice in the form of sidebars provide references to handling bears (!!), cooking at high altitudes, smoking, storage, ax handling, and one litre boxed wines. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both

metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of equivalents. Some interesting preps include grilled banana oatmeal pancakes, herb and garlic pasta, peanut butter banana muffins, pesto avocado dip, polenta appetizer pie, tuna quesadilla, baked veggie loaf. Quality/Price Rating: 87.

 

 

 

36.MY KITCHEN IN ROME (Grand Central Life & Style, 2016, 384 pages, ISBN 978-1-4555-8515-8, $28 US hard covers) is by Rachel Roddy, a former actress from London but living in Rome since 2005. She fell in love with the Testaccio quarter that centres around a slaughterhouse and a food market. This is her account of a year of cooking in Rome (shopping, cooking, eating, writing). In 2008 she began a blog documenting her daily food activities in the "cucina romana", and this became the foundation for her book (first published in 2015 by Hodder & Stoughton in the UK). There is some rich text on how it all began for her, followed by 5 sections: antipasti, soup & pasta, meat & fish, vegetables, and dolci. Try the beef rolls in tomato sauce, or the oxtail with tomatoes and celery, sweet and sour onions, octopus and potato salad, or the ricotta and lemon bundt pie. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements (with added metric in the baking area where she scales), but there is no table of metric equivalents. A useful urban Italian cuisine cookbook with some scenic non-food photos. Quality/price rating: 88.

 

 

----------------------------------------------------

Chimo! www.deantudor.com

The Event: Media tasting and dinner with Periklis Drakos, Exports Director at Tsantali Winery.

The Date and Time: Wednesday, March 9, 2016  6:30PM to 10PM

The Event: Media tasting and dinner with Periklis Drakos, Exports Director at Tsantali Winery in northern Greece. He also handles Santo winery on Santorini. We tasted wines from both.

The Venue: Vintage Conservatory

The Target Audience: wine media, mostly Wine Writers' Circle of Canada

The Availability/Catalogue: most wines are available or will be soon.

The Quote/Background: Mr. Drakos spoke about the current situation in Greek wines and how price is a factor. Germany is their best market. He led us through the tasting, emphasizing the consistency of the brands' wines year over year. Both wineries use all French oak. Between tastings, he showed videos of the vineyards and production techniques.

The Wines: Wines are also available via Kolonaki Group www.kolonakigroup.com

 

**** BEST -- Four Stars (91+ in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-Santorini Assyrtiko 2015, $14.95 June General List LCBO, bottled in Feb.

-Santorini Assyrtiko Grande Reserve 2013, $34.95 TBD, 12 months medium toast French oak at 14.7% ABV.

-Tsantali Rapsani Grande Reserve 2009, ~$50 [equal parts xinomavro, krassato, stavroto]

18 months in French oak, from Mount Olympus.

 

***1/2 BETTER -- Three and a Half Stars (88 – 90 in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-Santorini Assyrtiko Sparkling Brut NV Methode Traditionelle, $26.95 TBD

-Santorini Vinsanto 2008 $37.95 LCBO Store #4 750 mL or Kolonaki Group consignment [85% assyrtiko. 15% aidani]

-Tsantali Rapsani Reserve 2012, $19.95 Vintages [equal parts xinomavro, krassato, stavroto]

 

 

*** GOOD -- Three Stars (85 – 87 in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-Tsantali Rapsani 2013, $13.40 General List [equal parts xinomavro, krassato, stavroto]

 

 

The Food: we started with a reception cheeseboard and charcuterie platter, followed by a Caesar salad (with the white wine), beef tenderloin on polenta (with the red wine), and tiramisu (with the vinsanto). All was well as the Caesar was lightly dressed.

The Downside: there was some confusion about hot to let people into the secured space (we had to navigate through two sets of locked doors).

The Upside: a chance to talk with Perikles.

The Contact Person: zis.passas@kolonakigroup.com

The Event's Marketing Effectiveness and Execution (numerical grade): 89.

Chimo! www.deantudor.com

WORLD WINE WATCH TOP 20/20 WINES: 20 under $20 and 20 over $20 for March 19, 2016.

 

WORLD WINE WATCH TOP 20/20 WINES: 20 under $20 and 20 over $20 for March 19, 2016.

=======================================================================

By DEAN TUDOR, Gothic Epicures Writing deantudor@deantudor.com. My Internet compendium "Wines, Beers and Spirits of the Net", a guide to thousands of news items and RSS feeds, plus references to wines, beers and spirits, has been at www.deantudor.com since 1994.

 

So many people have asked me for wine recommendations, with numbers only. The readers' most common response is that while they like what I say, they only relate to the score. The score is a combination of MVC (Modal Varietal Character, where e.g. a Southern Rhone tastes like a Southern Rhone and not like a Northern Rhone) and Quality/Price Ratio. Let's take it for granted that, e.g., a Riesling tastes like a Riesling, and the wine has some value in the marketplace either above or below its selling price. This way too I can also cover more wines.

 

This restructured wine newsletter for the Ontario market, with wines available through the LCBO and Vintages on a bi-weekly basis can always be found at http://www.gothicepicures.blogspot.ca/ or at www.deantudor.com

 

20 under $20

=========

Fruit - Georgian Hills Bartlett Frozen to the Core 2014 Blue Mountains Ontario, +347401, $19.95 375 mL, sweet pear,  MVC/QPR: 92.

 

R-Zaccagnini dal Tralcetto Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2013, +396382, $19.95,  MVC/QPR:  89.

R-Antichi Poderi Jerzu Chuerra Riserva Cannonau di Sardegna 2011 Sardinia, +270272, $17.95, 13.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90.

R-Nozzole Chianti Classico Riserva 2011 Tuscany, +324160, $19.95,  MVC/QPR: 90.

R-Frascole Chianti Rufina 2012 Tuscany, +85167, $17.95,  MVC/QPR: 89.

R-Renzo Masi Erta e China 2012 IGT Rosso di Toscana, +132308, $16.95,  MVC/QPR: 89.

W-Konzelmann Late Harvest Gewurztraminer 2013 VQA Niagara Peninsula, +392357, $14.75, 13% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 90.

W-Tawse Sketches of Niagara Riesling 2014 VQA Niagara Peninsula, +89029, $17.95, 10% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90.

W-Indelible Wines Vintage Ink Sauvignon Blanc 2014 VQA Niagara Peninsula, +391953, $16.95, 13% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89.

R-Susana Balbo Signature Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 Uco Valley Mendoza, +260919, $19.95, 14% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 90.

R-Vina Montgras Antu Syrah 2014 Colchagua Valley, +675371, $17.95, 14.5% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 91.

R-Alto Casablanca Primus The Blend 2013 Colchagua Valley, +712463, $19.95, 14.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89.

W-Ad Lib Hen & Chicken Chardonnay 2014 Pemberton Western Australia, +297697, $19.95, 14% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 90.

W-Winery of Good Hope Vinum Africa Chenin Blanc 2013 WO Stellenbosch, +739955, $15.95,

MVC/QPR: 90.

R-Cedre Heritage Malbec 2012 Cahors, +148635, $17.95, 13% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90.

R-Chateau Bellevue La Foret 2011 Fronton, +354134, $13.95, 14.5% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 89.

R-Fontes de Cunha Mondeco Red 2010 Dao, +442210, $13.95, 13.5% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 89.

R-San Jose de Aguaron Monasterio de las Vinas Reserva 2006 Carinena, +166579, $14.95, 13% ABV. MVC/QPR: 91.

R-Arroyo Senorio de Sotillo Crianza 2011 Ribera del Duero, +438648, $19.95, 14% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90.

R-Vinicola Real Vina Los Valles Tempranillo/Graciano Crianza 2010 Rioja, +438721, $19.95, 13% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 89.

 

 

20 over $20

=========

R-Villa Mora Montefalco Sagrantino 2009 Umbria, +342394, $25.95,  MVC/QPR: 89.

R-A & G Natale Fantino Cascina Dardi Bussia Barolo 2010 Piedmont, +268515, $49.95,  14% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 91.

R-Barone Ricasoli Rocca Guicciarda Riserva Chianti Classico 2012, +943613, $24.95, MVC/QPR: 91.

R-Il Molino di Grace Il Margone Gran Selezione Chianti Classico 2010, +435115, $39.95, 13.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90.

R-La Braccesca Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2012, +566216, $24.95, MVC/QPR: 89.

W-Charles Baker Picone Vineyard Riesling 2012, +241182, $35.20, 11% ABV, MVC/QPR: 94.

W-Culmina Decora Riesling 2014 BC VQA Okanagan Valley, +444836, $24.95,  13% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90.

R-Henry of Pelham Estate Cabernet/Merlot 2012, +395855, $24.95, 14% ABV, MVC/QPR: 91.

R-Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin 2011 BC VQA Okanagan Valley, +626325, $44.95, 13.8% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89.

W-L.F. Edwards Merea Chardonnay 2014 Leyda Valley Chile, +439349, $22.95, 14% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90.

R-Intriga Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 Maipo, +57901, $22.95, MVC/QPR: 88.

R-Burch Family Howard Park Miamup Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 Margaret River, +410019, $22.95, 14% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 88.

R-Hamilton Russell Pinot Noir 2013 WO Hemel-en-Aarde Valley South Africa, +999516, $57.95, MVC/QPR: 89.

W-Michel Picard Les Chalumeaux Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru 2008, +446237, $64.95, 13.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89.

W-Marnier-Lapostelle Chateau de Sancerre Sancerre 2014, +340893, $24.95, MVC/QPR: 90.

R-Chateau Coufran 2005 Haut-Medoc, +446666, $56.95, 13% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 90.

R-Cheateau de L'Ou Infiniment Syrah 2012 IGP Cotes Catalanes, +440610, $26.95, MVC/QPR: 89.

R-Chateau Mont-Redon Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2011, +959627, $46.95, 14.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 92

R-Quinta Vale do Armo Vila Jardim Special Selection 2011 VR Tejo, +277624, $22.95, 14.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 90.

R-Muga Seleccion Especial 2010 Rioja, +712067, $39.95,  MVC/QPR: 90.

 

Chimo! www.deantudor.com

The Event: Benvenuto Brunello Toronto 2016

 

The Date and Time: Tuesday, March 8, 2016  Noon to 4PM

The Event: Benvenuto Brunello Toronto 2016

The Venue: AGO

The Target Audience: wine trade

The Availability/Catalogue: most wines are available through an agency, although some wineries were looking for representation.

The Quote/Background: The Consorzio di Brunello di Montalcino was celebrating the 50th anniversary of the DOC appellation. The walk around tasting featured 37 wineries from the region, most with principals attending here. There was an LCBO public buying function later that evening, but the Rosso wines were not available for purchase.

The Wines: I did not try all the wines, preferring to begin with the oldest first. In addition to the reds, there were three sweet wines (half-bottles). All of the Brunellos listed are, of course, DOCG; the Rossos are DOC.

 

**** BEST -- Four Stars (91+ in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-PODERE LE RIPI LUPI E SIRENE RISERVA BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2009    

-UCCELLIERA BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO Riserva 2010

-VOLIERO BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2011

-SASSODISOLE BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO Riserva 2007

-LIVIO SASSETTI PERTIMALI RISERVA BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2010

-ARGIANO RISERVA BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2010

-FATTORIA DEI BARBI BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO RISERVA 2005

-CAPANNA BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO RISERVA 2010

-COL D'ORCIA BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO RISERVA POGGIO AL VENTO 2008

-DONATELLA CINELLI COLOMBINI BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2011

-FANTI RISERVA VIGNA LE MACCHIARELLE BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2010

-FANTI BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2010

-IL GRAPPOLO RISERVA BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2009

-LA FIORITA RISERVA BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2007

-LISINI UGOLAIA BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2009

-MASTROJANNI VIGNA LORETO BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2011

-PALAZZO RISERVA BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2009

-PALAZZO BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO RISERVA 2010

-RENDOLA ROSSO DI MONTALCINO 2009 [Vintages-May, $14.95]

 

 

***1/2 BETTER -- Three and a Half Stars (88 – 90 in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-LA FIORITA BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2010

-PODERE LE RIPI AMORE E MAGIA ROSSO DI MONTALCINO 2010

-LA FIORITA BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2009

-FANTI BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO VALLOCCHIO 2011

-PODERE LE RIPI LUPI E SIRENE RISERVA BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2010

-DONATELLA CINELLI COLOMBINI BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO PRIME DONNA 2011

-DONATELLA CINELLI COLOMBINI BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO RISERVA 2010

-RENDOLA BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2004

-LIVIO SASSETTI PERTIMALI BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2011

-PIETRANERA BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2011    

-POGGIOTONDO BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2011

-PICCINI VILLA AL CORTILE BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO RISERVA 2010

-NARDI BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2011

-BANFI BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2010    

-BANFI POGGIO ALLE MURA RISERVA BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2009

-VILLA I CIPRESSI BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2011

-MASTROJANNI BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2011

-VILLA I CIPRESSI ZEBRAS BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2009    

-CAPARZO BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO RISERVA 2010

-CASA RAIA BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2010   

-MARCHESI DE' FRESCOBALDI CASTELGIOCONDO RIPE AL CONVENTO RISERVA BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2009

-BERTANI VAL DI SUGA BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2011

-VAL DI SUGA BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2010    

-UCCELLIERA BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2011    

 

 

*** GOOD -- Three Stars (85 – 87 in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-PICCINI VILLA AL CORTILE BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2011    

-ARGIANO BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2011    

-ALTESINO BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2011             

-ALTESINO MONTOSOLI BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO 2011    

 

The Food: international cheeses, breads and breadsticks.

The Downside: it got really crowded really fast.

The Upside: a small enough selection of wines to perfectly fit the afternoon; it was a reasonable amount to handle.

The Contact Person: p.titone@ice.it

The Event's Marketing Effectiveness and Execution (numerical grade): 91.

 

Chimo! www.deantudor.com

Some New wines tasted this month

SOME NEW PRODUCTS TASTED THIS MONTH --

 

1.Henry of Pelham Family Tree White 2012 VQA Niagara Peninsula, +251116, $17.95 Vintages: HOP makes a very serious blended white wine and red wine (see below), with grapes from their site (about 40% of the blend) and from across Niagara. The grapes change from year to year, as do the percentages. For 2012, they've got chardonnay (60%), viognier (20%), gewurztraminer (11%), and sauvignon blanc (9%). Each, of course, contributes various distinctive aromatics and flavour profiles. Not only that, about 40% of it is barrel fermented and aged in barrel for 8 months (I'm guessing mostly chardonnay), and the balance is in stainless steel with no malolactic so as to preserve freshness (the wine is about four years old now). So we have orchard fruit, citrus, and some lingering spicy aftertaste. Cork closure, 13% ABV. Quality/Price rating is 88 points by Dean Tudor of Gothic Epicures.

 

 

2.Henry of Pelham Family Tree Red 2013 VQA Ontario, +247882, $18.95 Vintages: This red blend for 2013 (it can change with each release) comprises syrah (40%), cabernet franc (30%), cabernet sauvignon (15%), merlot (10%), and baco noir (5%). The latter may have resulted in a VQA Ontario designation rather than a VQA Niagara. It's all barrel aged, 65% French oak and 35% US oak for 17 months. It is substantial, reflecting the aromatics and flavour profiles of the grapes used. Cherry-berry tones, fresh spices on the finish, some spine to stand up to hearty food. Cork closure, 13.5% ABV. Quality/Price rating is 88 points by Dean Tudor of Gothic Epicures.

 

 

3.Henry of Pelham Cabernet-Merlot Estate VQA Short Hills Bench, +395855, $24.95 Vintages: both cabernet franc and sauvignon are used in this Bordeaux-styled blend which comes across as a mid-Atlantic version of Cali/Bordeaux New World and Old World. It is still in its youth at 3.5 years of age, and it would be a shame to consume it this young. You could do what I did: open it and drink it over a couple of weeks, exposing it to air gently or speeding up the process by double-triple decanting. You will get several different wines out of one bottle over the course of time. Extended maceration in stainless, followed by French and UA oak (40% new) for 18 months. Currently, you could match it with heavy meats. 14% ABV on label. Quality/Price rating is 91 points by Dean Tudor of Gothic Epicures.

 

 

4.Abeille-Fabre Chateau Mont-Redon Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2011, +959627, $43.95 Vintages: a bargain wine for its price, still too young to consume unless you double-decant and drink it over a few days. Half of the wine was made in barrels, the other half in vats. A selection of the better barrels is made into a single blend after 18 months, and stored for six months before release. It will be well-aged after another 10 years. Of the 13 permitted varieties, grenache, syrah, and mourvedre are dominant, with cinsault, counoise, muscardin, and vaccarese added. Still tight but plenty of black fruits and spices. 14.5% ABV. Quality/Price rating is 92 points by Dean Tudor of Gothic Epicures.

 

 

 

5.Culmina Family Estate Decora 2014 BC VQA Okanagan Valley, +444836, $24.95 Vintages: this single vineyard 100% riesling comes in at 13% ABV. It is a solid beam of energy, bone dry but with emerging "petrol" notes dancing on top of floral and citric tones, not unlike a Clare riesling. Well-framed and well-priced. Best with a variety of lightly-hot spicy foods, or pork/poultry/seafoods. Quality/Price rating is 90 points by Dean Tudor of Gothic Epicures.

 

 

 

6.Chateau des Charmes Chardonnay Barrel Fermented 2014 VQA Niagara-on-the-Lake, $13.95, +81653 LCBO: A consistent wine, year in and year out, my fave chardonnay at this price level. There's a new label, and a new back label with more info, stressing its lighter body and fruity finish (orchard fruit) with some buttery complexity from the barrel fermentation, and with a longer finish. Aged in oak for 9 months. Tastes amazingly richer than previous vintages, buy it up. Cork closure, 13% ABV. Quality/Price rating is 92 points by Dean Tudor of Gothic Epicures.

 

 

 

7.Chateau des Charmes Pinot Noir 2012 VQA NOTL, +454967, $16.95 LCBO: A nifty well-aged wine (almost four years now), with some forest floor (mushrooms, earth) to complement the red fruit (strawberries are suggested). Estate grown and bottled. Good written notes on the back label are spot on. Just under subtle oaking, with a moderate intensity of medium flavours. Ready to drink now. Cork closure, 13.1% ABV. Quality/Price rating is 89 points by Dean Tudor of Gothic Epicures.

 

 

8.Concha y Toro Marques de Casa Concha Cabernet Sauvignon 2014 Maipo Valley, +337238 Vintages Essentials, $21.95: one of the better values from Concha y Toro, a determined prize winner every year. Some changes this year: fruit comes from both the acclaimed Puente Alto and the Pirque Vineyards, plus further aging (after initial French oak barrels) is now done in 5000 litre foudres from Piedmont. This has led to retention of its black fruit component but it is also in a more fruity, more juicy and less oaky style with a lingering food-friendly finish. 6% Cabernet Franc has been added plus small buts of Syrah and Merlot. 14% ABV, cork closure. Quality/Price rating is 89 points by Dean Tudor of Gothic Epicures.

 

Chimo! www.deantudor.com

The Event: Taste Ontario! Toronto; experience the VQA wines of Ontario

The Date and Time: Monday, February 29, 2016  11AM to 4PM

The Event: Taste Ontario! Toronto; experience the VQA wines of Ontario

The Venue: ROM

The Target Audience: wine trade

The Availability/Catalogue: all wines are available at the winery; some are also available at the LCBO.

The Quote/Background: The media were invited to the Glass Room at the ROM at 11AM, ahead of the 1 PM show – so that they could taste in private and in a sit down situation.

The Wines: There were about 127 wines; I did not try them all. The first price listed below is the licensee price, the second is the retail.

 

**** BEST -- Four Stars (91+ in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-Niagara Escarpment    Flat Rock Cellars    Chardonnay    2013    +286278     $15.83 $19.15

-Niagara Escarpment    Flat Rock Cellars    Riddled    2009    +383315     $25.29 $30.15

-Niagara Escarpment    Henry of Pelham Family Estate    Cuvée Catharine Vintage Estate Blanc de Blanc Carte Blanche    2008    +315200     $37.78      $44.95

-Niagara-on-the-Lake    Château des Charmes    Equuleus, Paul Bosc Estate Vineyard    2012    +319525     $33.60      $40.00

-Niagara-on-the-Lake    Château des Charmes    Old Vines' Riesling, Estate Bottled    2013    +277228     $14.14      $16.95

-Niagara-on-the-Lake    Château des Charmes    Rosé sparkling wine, Méthode   Traditionnelle     2012    +78055     $24.27      $28.95

-Niagara-on-the-Lake    Stratus Vineyards     Stratus Red    2012    +131037 $37.15 $44.20

-Niagara-on-the-Lake    Stratus Vineyards Stratus White 2012 +660704 $32.08      $38.20

-Niagara-on-the-Lake Southbrook Vyds Estate '101' Cabernet Franc 2013 $29.34 $34.95

-Niagara-on-the-Lake Southbrook Vineyards    Estate 'Wild Ferment' Chardonnay 2013 $29.34      $34.95

-Niagara-on-the-Lake    Two Sisters Vineyards    Eleventh Post [Bordeaux-style]    2011         $32.76      $39.20

-Lake Erie North Shore    Colio Estate Wines Lily Sparkling Wine NV    $14.14 $16.95

-Prince Edward County    Norman Hardie Winery & Vineyard    Chardonnay Unfiltered    2013    +184432     $32.93      $39.20

-Niagara Escarpment    13th Street Winery    13th Street Vineyard Cuvee Rose NV MT

-Niagara Escarpment    Tawse Winery Tawse Quarry Road Chardonnay    2012    111989     $30.35      $36.15

-Niagara Escarpment    2027 Cellars 2013 'Aberdeen Road Vineyard' Chardonnay    2013         $25.14      $30.00

-Niagara Escarpment    Bachelder Wismer Chardonnay    2012        $38.50

-Niagara Escarpment    Cave Spring Cellars    Blanc de Blancs CSV    2008    +908404     $33.57      $39.95

-Prince Edward County Closson Chase The Brock Chardonnay Niagara River 2014 $19.21      $22.95

 

 

 

***1/2 BETTER -- Three and a Half Stars (88 – 90 in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-Niagara Escarpment    Tawse Winery    Tawse Grower's Blend Cabernet Franc    2012    +284570     $22.75      $27.15

-Niagara Escarpment Henry of Pelham Family Estate Speck Family Reserve Cabernet-Merlot    2012    +616433     $33.56      $39.95

-Niagara Escarpment    Henry of Pelham Family Estate    Speck Family Reserve Chardonnay    2014    +616466     $25.12      $29.95

-Niagara Escarpment    Tawse Winery    Tawse Grower's Blend Pinot Noir    2011    +130989     $22.75      $27.15

-Niagara Escarpment    Tawse Winery    Tawse Limestone Ridge Spark Riesling 2014    +370361     $16.84      $20.15

-Niagara Escarpment    Vieni Estates Wine  Classic Brut    2013     $22.95

-Niagara Escarpment    Vieni Estates Wine  Merlot Private Reserve 2012         $29.95

-Niagara Escarpment    Westcott Vineyards Estate Chardonnay 2013    +427484 $21.23 $26

-Niagara-on-the-Lake Reif Estate Winery Estate Merlot Reserve    2013    $19.95 $25.95

-Niagara-on-the-Lake    Two Sisters Vineyards    Riesling    2013    $29.38      $35.20

-Niagara Escarpment Domaine Queylus Chardonnay Tradition 2013    $20.90      $24.95

-Niagara Escarpment Domaine Queylus Pinot Noir Signature 2013    $25.12      $29.95

-Niagara Escarpment    Fielding Estate Winery    Sparkling Rose, Traditional Method    NV     $25.29      $30.15

-Prince Edward County Closson Chase South Clos Chardonnay    2014         $33.56 $39.95

-Niagara Escarpment Malivoire Wine Stouck Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 $29.38 $34.95

-Niagara Escarpment    Kacaba Vineyard & Winery    Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon    2010         $37.95      $45.15

-Niagara Escarpment    Kacaba Vineyard & Winery    Terrace Vineyard Syrah    2011    +394171     $21.06      $25.15

-Niagara Escarpment    Nyarai Cellars    Viognier    2015         $18.36      $21.95

-Niagara Escarpment    Ridgepoint Wines    Cabernet Appassimento    2012     $45.42 $55

-Prince Edward County Closson Chase Watson Pinot Noir    2014         $29.33      $34.95

-Prince Edward County Norman Hardie Winery & Vyd Riesling 2014 +131169 $17.73 $21.20

-Niagara-on-the-Lake Southbrook Vineyards    Triomphe Cabernet Merlot 2014 $19.21 $22.95

-Niagara Escarpment    Rosewood Estates Winery    Lock, Stock & Barrel 2013 $31.20 $34.95

-Prince Edward County    Rosehall Run CEREMONY Blanc de Blanc Brut    N/V    [black or white label]     $29.51      $34.95

-Prince Edward County Rosehall Run JCR Chardonnay Rosehall Vineyard 2013 $25.12 $29.95

-Niagara Escarpment    Creekside Estate Winery    Iconoclast White    2013 $15.83 $18.95

-Lake Erie North Shore    PELEE ISLAND WINERY LOLA    2014    +450981     $10.79 $12.95

-Niagara Escarpment 2027 Cellars 2012 'Queenston Road Vineyard' Sparkling Wine 2012         $25.14      $30.00

-Niagara Escarpment 2027 Cellars 2013 'Queenston Road Vineyard' Pinot Noir    2013         $29.35      $35.00

-Niagara Escarpment    Bachelder Lowrey Pinot Noir    2013         $38.50    

-Niagara Escarpment    Bachelder Niagara Chardonnay    2013         $21.90    

-Niagara Escarpment Cave Spring Cellars La Penna 2011    +224303     $33.57      $39.95

-Niagara Escarpment Cave Spring Cellars Riesling CSV 2014 +566026     $25.12      $29.95

 

 

 

*** GOOD -- Three Stars (85 – 87 in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-Niagara Escarpment    Kacaba Vineyard & Winery Reserve Riesling    2014    $15.15 $18.15

-Niagara Escarpment    Rosewood Estates Winery    Origin  Riesling    2014 $22.95 $19.38

-Niagara Escarpment    Vieni Estates Wine     Momenti    2013             $13.95

-Niagara Escarpment    Megalomaniac John Howard Cellars of Distinction    Bubblehead NV $24.45      $28.95

-Niagara Escarpment    Nyarai Cellars    Cadence    2011    +451781     $18.36 $21.95

-Niagara Escarpment Westcott Vineyards Violette Sparkling Brut NV +438200 $20.89 $24.95

-Niagara-on-the-Lake    Reif Estate Winery Gewurztraminer Reserve    2014 $16.85 $19.95

-Niagara-on-the-Lake Reif Estate Winery Kiln Dried Syrah    2012         $50.00  $65.00

-Niagara-on-the-Lake Southbrook Vyds Triomphe Chardonnay 2014 +172338 $19.21      $22.95

-Prince Edward County    Grange of Prince Edward Vineyard & Estate Winery    Traditional Method Brut 'Lot 3'     2010 $26.00      $29.95

-Niagara-on-the-Lake Stratus Vineyards Cabernet Franc 2013    +412759     $32.08 $38.20

-Niagara Escarpment Creekside Estate Winery Iconoclast Syrah    2013    $19.21 $22.95

-Lake Erie North Shore    PELEE ISLAND WINERY Chardonnay Vinedressers 2012 $14.99 $19.95

-Niagara Escarpment    Bachelder Niagara Chardonnay    2012    Mineralite     $19.95    

-Niagara Escarpment 2027 Cellars 2013 'Wismer Vineyard - Fox Croft Block' Chardonnay    2013         $19.19      $22.95

-Niagara Escarpment 13th Street Winery 13th Street Vineyard Riesling 2014 $20.05 $23.95

 

The Food: the media had a sandwich buffet lunch from Daniel et Daniel with meaty baguettes and vegetarian brioches, plus assorted salads and desserts, coffees and teas.

The Downside: too little time for looking in at the booths during the trade show, but that was my fault.

The Upside: a chance to taste some really good wines and meditate over them.

The Contact Person: magdalena@wmao.ca

The Event's Marketing Effectiveness and Execution (numerical grade): 90.

 

Chimo! www.deantudor.com

FAST & FEARLESS COOKING FOR THE GENIUS (For the Genius Press, 2016, 287 pages, $24.95US paper covers, by Ann Tudor

FAST & FEARLESS COOKING FOR THE GENIUS (For the Genius Press, 2016, 287 pages, ISBN 978-1-941050-27-9, $24.95US paper covers, PDF eBook $21.95US) is by Ann Tudor, my wife and head chef at home. A MAJOR CONFLICT OF INTEREST IS BEING DECLARED...The publisher says: "Home cooking is making a comeback, whether for health, entertainment, economy, or the simple joy of learning. Ann Tudor's cooking philosophy focuses on impromptu, innovative, and improvisational meals. Instead of set recipes, the book emphasizes riffing and playing with food." Here are kitchen secrets, stories, and free-wheeling kitchen moves. For anyone who forgot to learn how to cook, this is a chance to learn. The book is a boon to those who need to get food on the table with no delay. Long-time cooks as well will find new tricks and tips to encourage efficiency and improvisation. This is more than cooking wisdom; it is also a tight little stash of timeless kitchen secrets. Ann Tudor shares her revelations and shortcuts and revolutionary ideas, pulling readers into the warmth of her kitchen and her life. Here are meals and dishes that you can prepare when you get home (exhausted) from work, much less expensive than a diet of take-out and restaurant meals. She teaches you to fly by the seat of your pants, to cook without a net. In short, to riff. She outlines basic and easy principles and techniques for cooking. Using ingredients and methods that are sometimes idiosyncratic, Ann presents her credo: Don't be afraid, have a basic larder with some normal ingredients and some that are new to you, and approach the whole business in a spirit of play. The eBook alone should be a useful phone/reader text when you think of dinner for tonight – while on your way home! Orders at http://bit.ly/fast-fearless-cooking-ftg, use coupon code "fast-fearless-cooking-ftg" (no quotes) for discount. Quality/Price Rating: major conflict of interest.

Chimo! www.deantudor.com

The Event: a tasting of 15 Southbrook wines from 2013 vintage: Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay.

The Date and Time: Sunday, February 28, 2016    2Pm to 4PM

The Event: a tasting of 15 Southbrook wines from 2013 vintage: Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Chardonnay. Paul DeCampo led the tasting.

The Venue: WWCC Fieldhouse

The Target Audience: members of Wine Writers' Circle of Canada

The Availability/Catalogue: many of the wines are already available at the winery and to licensees. Some may be coming to Vintages.

The Quote/Background: all of the wines we tasted today are handpicked grapes which are organic – ProCert and Biodynamic Demeter. They are estate bottles and suitable for vegans. All of them are VQA Four Mile Creek, all are wild yeast fermented, and all, except for one done in Missouri oak, are aged in French oak from different forests (as noted on the labels below). All are small lots, ranging from 24 to 288 cases (1 to 10 barrels). The white wines were lightly filtered through bentonite, but the reds were either coarsely filtered or unfiltered. The larger production wines were meant to retail at $34.95, while the exceedingly small lots were set st $39.95. It was a very productive and instructive seminar, and we are thankful to Southbrook for showing off their Small Lot barrel program.

The Wines: There were three series of wines: 2 cabernet sauvignons, 8 cabernet francs (6 made with just one barrel each for 25 cases), and 5 chardonnays. All are VQA Four Mile Creek.

 

**** BEST -- Four Stars (91+ in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-Southbrook Estate Grown Small Lot Wild Ferment Chardonnay 2013, $34.95. 180 cases, rated 94.

-Southbrook Estate Grown Small Lot Chardonnay "Vosges" 2013, $34.95. 114 cases, rated 92.

-Southbrook Estate Grown Small Lot Chardonnay "Allier" 2013, $39.95. 62 cases, rated 94. Most Burgundian of the flight.

-Southbrook Estate Grown Small Lot Chardonnay "Jupilles" 2013, $39.95. 31 cases, rated 91.

-Southbrook Estate Grown Small Lot Moon Harvest Barrel Chardonnay "Boutes" 2013, $39.95. 31 cases [oak cut on the appropriate biodynamic moon day for wine storage and aging], rated 90.

 

-Southbrook Estate Grown Small Lot Cabernet Sauvignon 2013, $39.95. 100 cases, rated 94. [12% cabernet franc]

-Southbrook Estate Grown Small Lot Cabernet Sauvignon "Witness Block" 2013, $39.95. 175 cases, rated 92. [37% cabernet franc, 3% merlot]

 

-Southbrook Estate Grown Small Lot Cabernet Franc "201" 2013, $34.95. 144 cases, rated 91. [15% cabernet sauvignon] 75% new oak, a cut above "101"

-Southbrook Estate Grown Small Lot Cabernet Franc "Bertrange" 2013, $39.95. 25 cases, rated 92.

-Southbrook Estate Grown Small Lot Cabernet Franc "Radoux Revelation" 2013, $39.95. 25 cases, rated 93.

-Southbrook Estate Grown Small Lot Cabernet Franc "Missouri" 2013, $39.95. 25 cases, rated 91. [US oak]

 

 

***1/2 BETTER -- Three and a Half Stars (88 – 90 in Quality/Price Rating terms):

-Southbrook Estate Grown Small Lot Cabernet Franc "101" 2013, $34.95. 275 cases, rated 90. [9% cabernet sauvignon] 9% new oak

-Southbrook Estate Grown Small Lot Cabernet Franc "Vosges Nadalie" 2013, $34.95. 288 cases, rated 90.

-Southbrook Estate Grown Small Lot Cabernet Franc "Moon Harvest Barrel Boutes" 2013, $39.95. 25 cases, rated 90.

-Southbrook Estate Grown Small Lot Cabernet Franc "Colbert" 2013, $39.95. 25 cases, rated 90.

 

The Contact Person: Paul@southbrook.com

The Event's Marketing Effectiveness and Execution (numerical grade): 96.

 

Chimo! www.deantudor.com

WORLD WINE WATCH TOP 20/20 WINES: 20 under $20 and 20 over $20 for MARCH 5, 2016.

WORLD WINE WATCH TOP 20/20 WINES: 20 under $20 and 20 over $20 for MARCH 5, 2016.

=======================================================================

By DEAN TUDOR, Gothic Epicures Writing deantudor@deantudor.com. My Internet compendium "Wines, Beers and Spirits of the Net", a guide to thousands of news items and RSS feeds, plus references to wines, beers and spirits, has been at www.deantudor.com since 1994.

 

So many people have asked me for wine recommendations, with numbers only. The readers' most common response is that while they like what I say, they only relate to the score. The score is a combination of MVC (Modal Varietal Character, where e.g. a Southern Rhone tastes like a Southern Rhone and not like a Northern Rhone) and Quality/Price Ratio. Let's take it for granted that, e.g., a Riesling tastes like a Riesling, and the wine has some value in the marketplace either above or below its selling price. This way too I can also cover more wines.

 

This restructured wine newsletter for the Ontario market, with wines available through the LCBO and Vintages on a bi-weekly basis can always be found at http://www.gothicepicures.blogspot.ca/ or at www.deantudor.com

 

20 under $20

=========

Gonzalez Byass Cristina Oloroso Abocado Sherry, +196808, $18.95. MVC/QPR: 92.

Vietti Moscato d'Asti 2014 Piedmont, +441253, $19.95. 5% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 88.

W-Fielding Gewurztraminer 2013 VQA Niagara Peninsula, +146753, $18.95. 12% ABV, MVC/QPR: 88.

W- Flat Rock Riesling 2014 VQA Twenty Mile Bench, +043281, $16.95. 9.5% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 88

W-Henry of Pelham Family Tree White 2012 VQA Niagara Peninsula, +251116,  $17.95,  13%ABV,

MVC/QPR: 91.

R-Henry of Pelham Family Tree Red 2013 VQA Ontario, +247882, $18.95. 13.5% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 88.

W-Kew Vineyards Old Vine Chardonnay 2012 VQA Beamsville Bench, +438374, $18.95, 14% ABV, MVC/QPR: 92.

W-Peninsula Ridge Barrel Aged Chardonnay 2014 VQA Beamsville Bench, +211490, $15.95, 12.5% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 90.

R-Joseph Carr Josh Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 California, +412320, $17, 13.5% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 90.

R-Columbia Crest Grand Estates Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 Columbia Valley, +240093, $17.95, 13% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 89.

R-Finca El Origen Gran Reserva Malbec 2013 Uco Valley Mendoza, +65425, $19.95, 14.6%, MVC/QPR: 88.

R-Falernia Reserva Syrah 2013 Elqui Valley Chile, +208371, $19.95, 14.5% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 92.

R-Nativa Single Vineyard Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 Maipo, +456921, $17.95, 13.5% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 90.

W-Excelsior Sauvignon Blanc 2014 WO Robertson, +382085, $13.95, 13.5% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 88.

W-Pierre Sparr Reserve Gewurztraminer 2014 Alsace, +747600, $18.95, 13% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 89.

W-Foucher-Lebrun Le Petit Mont Sauvignon Blanc 2013 Loire, +443127, $14.95, 12% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89.

R-Chateau La Roche Doree 2010 Medoc, +165381, $17.95, 13.5% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 89.

R-Syrousse 2012 Cotes du Roussillon Villages, +357343, $16.95, 14.5% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 89.

R-I Sodi Chianti Classico 2011, +435123, $17.95, 14.5% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 89.

R-Vizcarra Senda del Oro Roble 2012 Ribera del Duero, +331249, $18.95, 14% ABV, MVC/QPR: 89.

 

20 over $20

=========

Forbidden Fruit Pearsuasion 2013 Similkameen Valley BC, +447151, $20.95. 13% ABV.  MVC/QPR: 89.

Henriot Souverain Brut Champagne, +959643, $62.95.  MVC/QPR: 92

R-J. Lohr Hilltop Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 Paso Robles, +686584, $46.95. 14.9% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 89.

R-Casa Rojo Alexander The Ham Factory 2012 Ribera del Duero 2012, +439687, $36.95. MVC/QPR: 91.

R-Nk'Mip Qwam Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 BC VQA Okanagan Valley, +303719, $28.95.MVC/QPR: 88.

R-Sperling Vineyards Pinot Noir 2013 BC VQA Okanagan Valley, +382283, $27.95. 13.3% ABV. MVC/QPR: 89.

W-Macrostie Chardonnay 2013 Sonoma Coast, +244467, $35.95. 14.5% ABV. MVC/QPR: 88.

W-Elk Cove Pinot Gris 2014 Willamette Valley, +955906, $24.95. 13% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 88.

W-Laura Catena Luca G Lot Chardonnay 2013 Tupungata Mendoza, +167338, $34.95. 14% ABV,

MVC/QPR: 91.

R-Clos de Los Siete 2012 Uco Valley Mendoza, +622571, $23.95. 14.5% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 89.

R-Claymore Walk on the Wild Side Shiraz 2013 Clare Valley, +166983, $21.95. 13.8% ABV, MVC/QPR: 88.

R-Rustenberg John X Merriman 2013 WO Simonsberg-Stellenbosch, +707323, $24.95. 14% ABV,

MVC/QPR: 89.

W-Domaine Le Verger Chablis 2014, +181289, $22.95. 12.5% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 88.

W-Jean-Max Roger Cuvee Les Caillottes Sancerre 2014, +065573, $27.95. 12.5% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 88.

R-Faiveley Mercurey 2014, +341925, $29.95. 13% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 88.

R-La Celestiere Tradition Chateauneuf-du-Pape 2010, +247999, $47.95. 15% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 89.

W-Tenuta Roveglia Vigne di Catullo Lugana Riserva 2012,  437004, $23.95. 13% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 90.

R-Luca Bosio Barbaresco 2011, +437046, $29.95. 14% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 89.

R-La Mannella Brunello di Montalcino 2010, +279083, $47.95. 14% ABV,  MVC/QPR: 90.

R-Quercecchio Brunello di Montalcino 2010, +438580, $29.95. 14.5% ABV, MVC/QPR: 91.

Chimo! www.deantudor.com

* THE RESTAURANT/CELEBRITY COOKBOOK...

...is one of the hottest trends in cookbooks. Actually, they've been around for many years, but never in such proliferation. They are automatic best sellers, since the book can be flogged at the restaurant or TV show and since the chef ends up being a celebrity somewhere, doing guest cooking or catering or even turning up on the Food Network. Most of these books will certainly appeal to fans of the chef and/or the restaurant and/or the media personality. Many of the recipes in these books actually come off the menus of the restaurants involved. Occasionally, there will be, in these books, special notes or preps, or recipes for items no longer on the menu. Stories or anecdotes will be related to the history of a dish. But because most of these books are American, they use only US volume measurements for the ingredients; sometimes there is a table of metric equivalents, but more often there is not. I'll try to point this out. The usual shtick is "favourite recipes made easy for everyday cooks". There is also PR copy on "demystifying ethnic ingredients". PR bumpf also includes much use of the magic phrase "mouth-watering recipes" as if that is what it takes to sell such a book. I keep hearing from readers, users, and other food writers that some restaurant recipes (not necessarily from these books) don't seem to work at home, but how could that be? The books all claim to be kitchen tested for the home, and many books identify the food researcher by name. Most books are loaded with tips, techniques, and advice, as well as gregarious stories about life in the restaurant world. Photos abound, usually of the chef bounding about. The celebrity books, with well-known chefs or entertainers, seem to have too much self-involvement and ego. And, of course, there are a lot of food photo shots, verging on gastroporn. There are endorsements from other celebrities in magnificent cases of logrolling. If resources are cited, they are usually American mail order firms, with websites. Some companies, though, will ship around the world, so don't ignore them altogether. Here's a rundown on the latest crop of such books –

 

 

14.SIMPLE GREEN SMOOTHIES (Rodale, 2015, 281 pages, ISBN 978-1-62336-641-4, $24.99 US soft covers) is by Jen Hansard and Jadah Sellner, founders of www.simplegreensmoothies.com

and hosts of the 30-Day Green Smoothie Challenge which involves over one million people. This 100 recipe book encourages you to lose weight, gain energy and feel great in your body by going the green smoothie route. The authors also include a 10-day kick start section. One green smoothie a day provides a good dose of nutrition to build upon for that day. Lots of good details on how to use produce and how to get around the taste of some green smoothies. Important too are preps for kids and jump starting your day.

Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 88.

 

 

 

 

 

15.BRODO (Pam Krauss Books, 2015; dist. Random House Canada, 160 pages, ISBN 978-0-553-45950, $20 US hard covers) is by Marco Canora, chef-partner in three NYC restaurants, including Brodo. He's also a cookbook author. This one concerns bone broth, which is the upscale name for stock that you can drink, somewhere between stock and soup. Here are his recipes for broth, add-ins (ginger juice, beet kvass, chili oil), broth bowls (like soups), and risottos (the six preps here are for risottos using bone broths rather than just stock/wine/water). The recipes are for year-round service and most come from his restaurant. There's lamb brodo risotto with peas and mint, hearth brodo bowl with faro, a lamb brodo bowl with freekeh, and a duck brodo bowl. It all fits in with paleo eating. Preparations have their ingredients listed in avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of metric equivalents. Quality/price rating: 86.

 

 

16.THE SCANDI KITCHEN (Ryland Peters & Small, 2015, 176 pages, ISBN 978-1-84975-654-9, $21.95 US hard covers) is by Bronte Aurell, Danish restaurateur, who runs ScandiKitchen Cafe and shop in central London along with her Swedish husband. She has also been published widely. Here she has an introduction to Scandinavian food through 75 dishes for all occasions. The contents begin with a pantry/larder, and move on to breakfast, open sandwiches, smorgasbord with soups and salads and light dishes, followed by dinner and desserts. There is even a chapter on fika (get-together with coffee with cakes). Try the breakfast open sandwich, shrimp and asparagus open sandwich, a Nordic Christmas, or traditional Danish apple trifle as individual servings. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements. Quality/price rating: 87.

 

 

 

 

17.THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO SUSHI & SASHIMI (Robert Rose, 2015, 306 pages, ISBN 978-0-7788-0520-5 $29.95 CAN, spiral wire binding) is by Jeffrey Elliot and Robby Cook. Elliot was executive chef of Zwilling J.A. Henckels USA; Cook is executive sushi cook for an unnamed Japanese restaurant in NYC (googling his name reveals Morimoto New York as the restaurant). It is a basic book, certainly affordable, with 625 step-by-step photographs. Unfortunately, the spiral binding will plague libraries as pages get torn out by borrowers. Still, it does lie flat. The basics include history and culture notes, ingredients, equipment, and buying/storing/butchering fish and seafood. Elliot takes care of the knives, Cook shares his 11 years experience with fluke, octopus, and red snapper. The various forms and shapes of sushi are covered – chirashi, gunkanmaki, maki,  nigiri, makizushi, inarizushi, and oshizushi – as well as all the knives and butchering.

Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements.  Quality/price rating: 90.

 

 

18.VANILLA TABLE (Jacqui Small LLP, 2015, 240 pages, ISBN 978-1-90934-286-6, $40 US hard covers) has been collated by Natasha MacAller, a food writer-consultant and a former professional ballerina. She's also opening Sausal restaurant in LA year. The book was originally published in 2013 in New Zealand, and it is a collection of vanilla preps from chefs around the world (Waxman, Ottolenghi, Lebovitz, about 32 in all, from Maldives, Vancouver, NYC, LA, London, Paris, etc.). There's a primer on vanilla, followed by a chapter selection based on the meal: starters, mains, sharing, brunch, desserts, cookies, and beverages. Her vanilla pantry includes vanilla sugar, vanilla salt flakes, vanilla extract, vanilla syrup, vanilla oil, plus caramelized onions, candied bacon bits, vinegars, toffees, curds, ice cream, and icings – with recipes for each. Dishes include slow-roasted oxtail pot pies with vanilla Shiraz gravy, spiced lime smoothie with granola, carrot-vanilla gougeres, beekeeper's elderflower cheesecake, and rhubarb ginger gazpacho and buttermilk panna cotta. There is usually one recipe per global chef, and this is fleshed out by many variations and themes of her own.

Preparations have their ingredients listed in all of metric, avoirdupois, and volume measurements, with a table of  equivalents at the back. First rate stuff here, well-worth taking a look at, even the gastroporn pictures. Quality/price rating: 89.

 

 

 

 

19.AT HOME WITH UMAMI (Ryland Peters & Small, 2015, 176 pages, ISBN 978-1-84975-667-9, $24.95 US hard covers) is by Laura Santtini, UK restaurateur, food entrepreneur and food writer. She launched Taste #5 (umami paste) in 2009. Her first book was a Guild of Food Writers (UK) award winner. Umami-rich ingredients will add depth to any dish. She identifies these ingredients and then uses them extensively in her cooking, such as bonding anchovy with tomato or pancetta and Parmigiana Reggiano in spaghetti carbonara. These are home-cooked recipes sorted under compelling chapters such as: fresh and uplifting, mellow and comforting, bold and bright, heady and daring, and sweet and interesting. The primer covers definitions and food sources of umami (includes a pantry). Dishes include Thai-steamed snapper with sticky coconut jasmine rice, or truffled mac and cheese, or calamari and chorizo salad, or parmesan ice cream sandwiches with chocolate balsamic strawberries. At the end there are a handful of preps using her Taste #5 pastes. Preparations have their ingredients listed in both metric and avoirdupois measurements. Quality/price rating: 87.

 

 

 

20. MODERN MEAT KITCHEN (Ryland Peters & Small, 2015, 240 pages, ISBN 978-1-84975-726-3, $24.95 US hard covers) is by Miranda Ballard, who runs a food company with her husband in the UK (Muddy Boots). Together they opened The Modern Meat Shop in London. This is a basic book on choosing, preparing and cooking meats at home. There is also information on sourcing meat that is farmed responsibly. All of these are covered in the primer areas. Typical preps reflect a UK orientation, such as Scotch eggs and haggis, game and gammon, but there is also turkey, chilli con carne, and pork and beans. Korean-style butterflied lamb caught my eye, as did game rillettes. Preparations have their ingredients listed in mainly metric and avoirdupois measurements, but there is no table of equivalents. Quality/price rating: 85.

 

Chimo! www.deantudor.com