Yesterday Betsy said she was making seared scallops, so I got out a Chablis,
the 2002 Francine & Olivier Savary "Fourchaume" Chablis 1er Cru. A bit riper
and less crisp than I expected (though by no means flabby), yet this wine
screamed minerals. Chalk, rocks, chalk, a little flint, more chalk. Good apple
fruit under the (yummy) chalk aromas. Turned out the recipe was for scallops
seared and then topped with a vinegar drizzle, accompanied by braised red
cabbage and an apple/potato/onion gratin. This was orginally a meal in Bob
Appetit (there was a pork roast main course, but Betsy skipped for time reasons
and make bigger portions of the scallop appetizer). The mag recommended Barbera
with the whole meal. And I could see an acidic red working with the scallops
(due to the vinegar sauce). But while the sauce made the Chablis not an ideal
match, it stood up surprisingly well- no shrinking violet of a wine. Good,
needs time. B+/A-

Early this morning I took Betsy to the airport to fly to NC for concerts, by
time I got home tonight I was really tired. Luckily, David wasn't home, I only
had to cook for me. Last week I was by one of the great culinary treasures of
NYC, Gus's Pickles. I had grabbed some great full & half sours, and some
sauerkraut. Good pickles don't last long in our house, but sauerkraut is only
popular with me. Too tired to do a real choucroute, I managed to pan-fry some
knockwurst to have with the kraut. Too lazy to go get a bottle of Riesling, I
tried the Chablis. Actually not a bad match (as in not hurting either). I also
opened a 375 of the 1998 Faiveley "Clos des Myglands" Mercurey 1er Cru. Good
match with the sausage, bad with the kraut. But after the sauerkraut had been
consumed, showed itself as a nice little wine. Not really little, actually.
Medium-bodied, concentrated black cherry fruit, some damp earth and maybe a
little merde. Good wine at $12/half. B/B+

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a
good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where
it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy,
and certainly not of consistency.**
Dale

Dale Williams
Drop "damnspam" to reply

Great notes Dale,

Although it was a bit strange reading in that I'm here in NC and my
wife's name is Betsy !!!


Art Stratemeyer
=============================
http://www.stratsplace.com
A Community Celebration the Joy of Wine,Gardening and the Arts

Cellar! Wine Software
http://www.cellarwinesoftware.com

Art,
let me add to the chorus of "welcome backs". Good to see you around
here again. You're in Triangle, right? I grew up in NC, and went to
Chapel Hill. MY Betsy, though a native Californian, taught at UNC-G for
years (before our marraige brought her to NY). She still does a series
of NC concerts with her trio (Carolina Piano Trio) - they're playing
Beaufort, Wilmington, and Raleigh over next week. I have friends in
Durham, and keep thinking I'll join her one January. Maybe an "offline"
then?

cheers,Dale

"DaleW" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Art,
> let me add to the chorus of "welcome backs". Good to see you around
> here again. You're in Triangle, right? I grew up in NC, and went to
> Chapel Hill. MY Betsy, though a native Californian, taught at UNC-G for
> years (before our marraige brought her to NY). She still does a series
> of NC concerts with her trio (Carolina Piano Trio) - they're playing
> Beaufort, Wilmington, and Raleigh over next week. I have friends in
> Durham, and keep thinking I'll join her one January. Maybe an "offline"
> then?
>
> cheers,Dale
Dale,
Do you have specifics (date, time, location) of the concert in Beaufort? I
live in New Bern, NC; about 50 miles away.
Jim

No sweat ... feel free to contact me at anytime if you are ever in the
area

art_at_stratsplace_dot_com


n 27 Jan 2005 09:56:27 -0800, "DaleW" > wrote:

>Art,
>let me add to the chorus of "welcome backs". Good to see you around
>here again. You're in Triangle, right? I grew up in NC, and went to
>Chapel Hill. MY Betsy, though a native Californian, taught at UNC-G for
>years (before our marraige brought her to NY). She still does a series
>of NC concerts with her trio (Carolina Piano Trio) - they're playing
>Beaufort, Wilmington, and Raleigh over next week. I have friends in
>Durham, and keep thinking I'll join her one January. Maybe an "offline"
>then?
>
>cheers,Dale

Art Stratemeyer
=============================
http://www.stratsplace.com
A Community Celebration the Joy of Wine,Gardening and the Arts

Cellar! Wine Software
http://www.cellarwinesoftware.com

Jim, I'm not actually sure if concert is Fri or Sat night- I THINK it's
Fri at 8. I do know they're playing at the NC Maritime Museum in
Beaufort. The Carolina Piano Trio, the concert is organized by the
American Music Festival. I'll try to remember to ask Betsy when she
calls tonight.

Dale,
Are either you or your wife familiar with the Degas Quartet? The female
player (violin), Tamaki Higashi, is from the same town as my wife
(Kagoshima), where we had seen her perform. We had a chance to chat
afterwards (my wife knows her from when they were kids). The Quartet is out
of a town called Hickory, NC. I do get out to Charlotte (Oakboro) about once
every two years on business, and if the opportunity ever comes along, my
wife and I would like to see them perform here in the US. Small world
though. Cheers!

\/


"DaleW" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Art,
> let me add to the chorus of "welcome backs". Good to see you around
> here again. You're in Triangle, right? I grew up in NC, and went to
> Chapel Hill. MY Betsy, though a native Californian, taught at UNC-G for
> years (before our marraige brought her to NY). She still does a series
> of NC concerts with her trio (Carolina Piano Trio) - they're playing
> Beaufort, Wilmington, and Raleigh over next week. I have friends in
> Durham, and keep thinking I'll join her one January. Maybe an "offline"
> then?
>
> cheers,Dale
>

DaleW wrote:
> let me add to the chorus of "welcome backs". Good to see you around
> here again. You're in Triangle, right? I grew up in NC, and went to
> Chapel Hill. MY Betsy, though a native Californian, taught at UNC-G for
> years (before our marraige brought her to NY). She still does a series
> of NC concerts with her trio (Carolina Piano Trio) - they're playing
> Beaufort, Wilmington, and Raleigh over next week. I have friends in
> Durham, and keep thinking I'll join her one January. Maybe an "offline"

Cheers Art.
Amazing, all these winos from the buckle of the Bible Belt. I grew up
there too but found my wine out side the state. Now NC has some of the
best wine shopping anywhere with 11 Total Wine stores and some very nice
small shops like the Wine Seller in Wilmington. And they have Art too.
I just wish I could get there more often.
Bill

I was wrong, concert in Beaufort is Sat night. Cheers!

Vincent, Betsy probably knows of the Degas. Certainly our friend
Barbara does, cause I just googled them and they're playing the same
series- American Music Festival this fall. And they're playing with
Kelly Burke, a clarinetist who's a friend of Betsy. Classical music is
a small world!

"DaleW" > wrote in message
oups.com...
>I was wrong, concert in Beaufort is Sat night. Cheers!
>
Thanks, I'll see how my wife is feeling tomorrow; she is sick today. We will
enjoy it if we can, I have music practice tomorrow (bass player in a church
orchestra) at 5p, but we may be able to go.
On topic - We haven't yet been back in NC long enough to check out NC
wineries, but hope to be able to do so this coming summer.
Jim

Tighter yet.
"Dale Williams" > wrote in message
...
> Yesterday Betsy said she was making seared scallops, so I got out a
> Chablis,
> the 2002 Francine & Olivier Savary "Fourchaume" Chablis 1er Cru. A bit
> riper
> and less crisp than I expected (though by no means flabby), yet this wine
> screamed minerals. Chalk, rocks, chalk, a little flint, more chalk. Good
> apple
> fruit under the (yummy) chalk aromas. Turned out the recipe was for
> scallops
> seared and then topped with a vinegar drizzle, accompanied by braised red
> cabbage and an apple/potato/onion gratin. This was orginally a meal in Bob
> Appetit (there was a pork roast main course, but Betsy skipped for time
> reasons
> and make bigger portions of the scallop appetizer). The mag recommended
> Barbera
> with the whole meal. And I could see an acidic red working with the
> scallops
> (due to the vinegar sauce). But while the sauce made the Chablis not an
> ideal
> match, it stood up surprisingly well- no shrinking violet of a wine. Good,
> needs time. B+/A-
>
> Early this morning I took Betsy to the airport to fly to NC for concerts,
> by
> time I got home tonight I was really tired. Luckily, David wasn't home, I
> only
> had to cook for me. Last week I was by one of the great culinary treasures
> of
> NYC, Gus's Pickles. I had grabbed some great full & half sours, and some
> sauerkraut. Good pickles don't last long in our house, but sauerkraut is
> only
> popular with me. Too tired to do a real choucroute, I managed to pan-fry
> some
> knockwurst to have with the kraut. Too lazy to go get a bottle of
> Riesling, I
> tried the Chablis. Actually not a bad match (as in not hurting either). I
> also
> opened a 375 of the 1998 Faiveley "Clos des Myglands" Mercurey 1er Cru.
> Good
> match with the sausage, bad with the kraut. But after the sauerkraut had
> been
> consumed, showed itself as a nice little wine. Not really little,
> actually.
> Medium-bodied, concentrated black cherry fruit, some damp earth and maybe
> a
> little merde. Good wine at $12/half. B/B+
>
> Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
> wine, B a
> good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party
> where
> it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity,
> accuracy,
> and certainly not of consistency.
> Dale
>
> Dale Williams
> Drop "damnspam" to reply

Tighter yet.
"Dale Williams" > wrote in message
...
> Yesterday Betsy said she was making seared scallops, so I got out a
> Chablis,
> the 2002 Francine & Olivier Savary "Fourchaume" Chablis 1er Cru. A bit
> riper
> and less crisp than I expected (though by no means flabby), yet this wine
> screamed minerals. Chalk, rocks, chalk, a little flint, more chalk. Good
> apple
> fruit under the (yummy) chalk aromas. Turned out the recipe was for
> scallops
> seared and then topped with a vinegar drizzle, accompanied by braised red
> cabbage and an apple/potato/onion gratin. This was orginally a meal in Bob
> Appetit (there was a pork roast main course, but Betsy skipped for time
> reasons
> and make bigger portions of the scallop appetizer). The mag recommended
> Barbera
> with the whole meal. And I could see an acidic red working with the
> scallops
> (due to the vinegar sauce). But while the sauce made the Chablis not an
> ideal
> match, it stood up surprisingly well- no shrinking violet of a wine. Good,
> needs time. B+/A-
>
> Early this morning I took Betsy to the airport to fly to NC for concerts,
> by
> time I got home tonight I was really tired. Luckily, David wasn't home, I
> only
> had to cook for me. Last week I was by one of the great culinary treasures
> of
> NYC, Gus's Pickles. I had grabbed some great full & half sours, and some
> sauerkraut. Good pickles don't last long in our house, but sauerkraut is
> only
> popular with me. Too tired to do a real choucroute, I managed to pan-fry
> some
> knockwurst to have with the kraut. Too lazy to go get a bottle of
> Riesling, I
> tried the Chablis. Actually not a bad match (as in not hurting either). I
> also
> opened a 375 of the 1998 Faiveley "Clos des Myglands" Mercurey 1er Cru.
> Good
> match with the sausage, bad with the kraut. But after the sauerkraut had
> been
> consumed, showed itself as a nice little wine. Not really little,
> actually.
> Medium-bodied, concentrated black cherry fruit, some damp earth and maybe
> a
> little merde. Good wine at $12/half. B/B+
>
> Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
> wine, B a
> good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party
> where
> it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity,
> accuracy,
> and certainly not of consistency.
> Dale
>
> Dale Williams
> Drop "damnspam" to reply