By JANET K. KEELER and CHRIS SHERMAN
Published August 25, 2004
Wine of the week: Nora 2003, Rias Baixas, Spain
Bottoms up, maybe
Beringer Vineyards has dubbed its record-breaking 130-liter bottle of wine "Maximus" and filled it with 2001 Private Reserve Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon. The 15 9-liter bottles pictured were used to fill the big boy. The bottle, which holds the equivalent of 14.4 cases of wine, is 41/2 feet high and was produced in the Czech Republic. The Guinness Book of Records had officials on hand at the July unveiling in St. Helena, Calif., to certify it as the world's largest wine bottle. The project was commissioned by Morton's steakhouse to mark its 25th anniversary, and in November, Sotheby's will auction it, with the proceeds going to Share Our Strength, a national hunger-fighting organization.
Garbage for grapes
Restaurants are now feeding vines as well as people.
The latest twist in wine farming is using food scraps from restaurant kitchens to make a compost to feed the vines.
Inman Family Wines of Sonoma County contends that it uses composted table scraps gathered from major San Francisco restaurants as fertilizer on its 10-acre Olivet Grange sustainably farmed vineyard.
This compost program is handled by Norcal Waste Systems of San Francisco, and winery proprietor Kathleen Inman calls it "a perfect loop from table to earth and back again, in the form of sustainably produced wines that enhance the meals."
Tempest in an alcopop
Cocktails that are one part booze and two parts soda pop flavor, such as Smirnoff Ice and Bacardi Breezers, have been too big a hit with Eurokids.
To discourage the imbibers, European governments have tacked new taxes and regulations onto alcopops. Most recently, Germany added an 80- to 90-cent surtax on each bottle. When bottlers protested, courts backed the tax.
Maybe it's a move to temperance; maybe they just don't share our soft-drink palate.
BE A BARTENDER
A class on Plan ahead for class on how to tend bar, stock a home bar and entertain like a pro will be held Sept. 13 at the Ca d'Zan Bar in the Ritz-Carlton, 1111 Ritz-Carlton Drive, Sarasota. Bartender school is $45 plus tax and gratuity and includes hors d'oeuvres, bartender's kit and recipe booklet. Call (941) 309-2206 to reserve a spot, must be 21 to attend.
For news of tastings and other wine events, see Food File in this section.
- Compiled by JANET K. KEELER and CHRIS SHERMAN from staff and wire reports.
WINE OF THE WEEK
Nora 2003, Rias Baixas, Spain
Revitalized Spanish winemakers gave their favorite white wine flashier dress and changed the name from albarino to the more comely Nora, and she's already making a splash.
Albarino is an unsung white grape, like viognier of the Rhone, that was foolishly overlooked by fans of chardonnay, riesling and sauvignon blanc. Can you say peaches, the best of all fruits? Albarino has a bushel of them. Plus, the best albarino comes from Galicia, the rocky northwest coast of Spain, home to many early Tampa residents. Although albarino has been hard to find in the past, you'll see more of it these days, starting with this vintage.
Good albarino, and Nora is one, has stone-fruit sweetness, apple sharpness and a little citrus edge, as crisp as a riesling, plus flowery perfume and round, smooth texture.
