michael tuohy's

Pre-Harvest Trimming

The other evening I was summoned by Virage Vineyards Proprietor, Emily Richer, to assist with a pre-harvest trim. This took place on a vineyard block planted with cabernet franc & merlot up on Atlas Peak, located at the eastern side of Napa Valley, due east of Yountville. we were actually on the western side of the peak if you follow me. This particular vineyard has a slope with it's high point at the south giving it a more north facing orientation. The mission here since the grapes were hitting the 25 degree brix count, was to remove any damaged or overripened fruit from the clusters and vines prior to harvest in a few hours. It was a beautiful fall evening with temps in the low 60's and dropping. We began around 5:30 pm and for the next 3 and a half hours, flashflights in hand, proceeded down each row, checking every cluster for unwanted fruit that could have a very undesireable effect on what appears will be a fantastic harvest & vintage. According to the meticulous and obsessed Emily, if any of this fruit were to find its way into the tanks during crush, the effect could be disasterous. The overripe fruit has much higher sugar levels that are quite raisin like to taste and would not only provide an "off taste" to the juice but, could elevate the alcohol levels to an undesireable height. "We aren't making port here!" proclaimed Emily.

Emily and her label Virage, are the producers of a very nice cabernet franc/merlot blend. This wine is a blend of grapes that are grown both on this vineyard at Atlas Peak, and another vineyard located down in my neighborhood, Los Carneros. The vineyard in the Carneros is located on an eastern facing slope with some southern exposure. When fruits from these two vineyards are combined, the result is a stunning bordeaux style blend that is such a pleasure to drink. Virage is a combination of delicate & rich flavored fruit with just enough structure mainly from the brightness of the cabernet franc that gives this wine its balance. Being that this is still a pretty new label, (years?) it will be very interesting to watch and see how this wine develops with a little age. I think it has a lot of complexity that will prove to be very interesting and enjoyable. The good news, the wine is priced at $50. per bottle, a fraction of the cost of many of Virage's neighbors here in Napa as well as across the pond in bordeaux.

I can't wait to try some barrel samples of the 2012 harvest to see if my handy work in the vineyard wasthe reason for a great vineyard! ;)

This is quite well written!
A DINER'S MODERN DICTIONARY
by John Mariani
Taste: Flavor; Also, the ideas of a culture in regard to what is harmonious or beautiful. Among so-called “hipster foodies” the latter is considered a wholly antiquated concept.

Contrived: Obviously planned or forced, artificial, strained. See “Modernist Cuisine.”

Modernist Cuisine. Also “molecular cuisine.” The contrivance of cooks for whom good taste is secondary to mere sensationalism. Also, the deliberate manipulation of an ingredient to be unrecognizable as food.

Manners: Polite standards, still confusing for or ignored by many American diners and therefore no longer expected at most restaurants.

Service: Duties performed by a waiter or restaurant employee to make a guest feel welcome and happy. In current usage, it often means the least amount of attention and interaction between guests and waiters.

Tip: A payment to a restaurant employee for work his employer refuses to pay for. The colloquialism “greasing the palm” means to pay the maître d’ or manager to insure he will suck up to a guest, usually proffered by people with a low sense of self-esteem or lack of manners.

Reservation: A table at a restaurant requested in advance and held for the guest for at least fifteen minutes. Although usually honored by most restaurants, they are commonly laughed at by managers of NYC steakhouses or not taken at all at the newest hot spots.

Background music: Soft, soothing music to provide mood to a restaurant without intruding on a room’s natural conviviality. Currently, this has changed to the playing of “house music” so deafeningly loud that only the bass and drums can be heard.

Dress code: Once a reasonable request that guests dress appropriate to the style of restaurant, i.e., fine dining, eatery, diner; now considered an insult by those for whom t-shirts, jeans and flip flops are good enough for any public room anywhere, often expressed as “Nice clothes don’t make the food taste any better.”

Tablecloths: A thousand-year-old amenity used to provide a sanitary, sound-absorbing, light reflecting soft surfaces, now considered wholly unnecessary and antithetical to a “design statement,” i.e., a cheap restaurateur trying to cut out linen costs.

Host/hostess/reservationist: A person at the front desk whose job is to make guests feel welcome, acknowledge their reservations, and show them to their table. Often, however, this job is now left to a highly attractive young woman whose only job is to recognize celebrities or restaurant critics and swoon accordingly.

Tasting Menu: An endless sequence of chef’s choices designed to overwhelm your judgment and to get you to order more wine.

“A” list: A list kept by the maître d’ for regulars, celebrities, Russian billionaires, critics, and palm greasers. “B” list is everyone else.

Wine pairings: A sommelier’s matching of appropriate wines to a tasting menu; also, a way of using up the wines from last night’s tasting menu.

Gouging: A way restaurants extort money from a guest without his knowing it, e.g., charging extra for a cocktail served straight up rather than on the rocks, or by promoting bottled water.

Seating plan: A way to make sure every waiter gets an efficient workload for the evening. Also, a way for maître d’s to put people in their place.

Siberia: A mythical space in restaurants where anyone not on the “A” list believes he is seated.

Supplements: Extra charges above a fixed price menu for certain items, justified for caviar alone, but not for smoked salmon, foie gras, lamb, risotto or soufflés.

Small plate menu: A menu designed to encourage customers to order too many dishes that add up to an unexpected large bill.

Locavore: A person or cook who eats only food grown or produced within a certain mileage from the dinner table. Exemptions commonly include wine, all seasonal fruits and vegetables, meat and fish.

Bread: Except in Asian restaurants, the service of bread is a worldwide amenity (once incurring a cover charge), now brought to the table only after guests have ordered their meal, in case they fill up on bread and cut out an appetizer or dessert.

Vegetarians: People who for ethical, religious, dietetic, or philosophical reasons do not eat meat but who do not usually make a fuss of it.

Vegans: People who for ethical, religious, dietetic, or philosophical reasons do not eat any food that once had a face and flaunt their fanaticism in everyone else’s face.