Barone Montalto Pinot Grigio and Baked Scallops with Shrimp by Philip S. Kampe

With the pandemic forcing us inside, there is little doubt that our cooking skills and wine drinking abilities should reach new heights. I’m from New Orleans, needless to say, my cooking skills have been useful for years. I used to help my mother cook, at age five, for my parents bi-monthly social gatherings at our house. My dad loved French wine- Burgundy’s  and Bordeaux’s. He was at the cusp of the wine world-way before it was fashionable.

Cooking secured my life, as my Italian (Capri), soon to be mother-in-law, had me cook for her before saying that I could marry her daughter. Fortunately, I passed the test (I cooked Italian) and the rest is history.

During the pandemic, at least in our household, meals are very important.

Matching wines with food is essential.

The best way to do that is to choose the wine first, and then build a meal around the wine. That is what was done in this case.

With warm weather lingering, it was apparent a white wine was the way to go. And Italy’s most famous white wine export is Pinot Grigio. With a search online, I found an interesting Pinot Grigio from western Sicily- a wine that can handle shellfish, in this case, sea scallops and shrimp.

New to me, Barone Montalto makes a Pinot Grigio that is exactly what a Pinot Grigio profile entails: a wine that is refreshing, crisp, full of fruit (apple, pear, dried flowers) and is clean. Sampling the 2019 wine, while cooking, I found good minerality, with additional flavors of lemon, grapefruit, papaya and peach. There were undertones of sage, lemon grass, pineapple and hay. A heavy dose of green apple and lime surrounded my palate, as well.

Using this wine in cooking the scallops and shrimp added the extra special necessary dimension.

The Wine: 2019 Barone Montalto Pinot Grigio from Sicily. 12% alcohol

The dish: Baked Sea Scallops and Shrimp

Ingredients:
8 xl Sea Scallops
12 16-20size Shrimp
1/4 cup Pinot Grigio
1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/4 grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 stick of melted butter
Quarter squeezed lemon
olive oil
kosher salt
ground pepper
butter
parsley

Procedure:
Pre-heat oven to 400F
Cook 16-20 minutes
Use a baking dish or divide into two ceramic bowls
Put a drop of olive oil in each dish, pat dry the scallops and peeled .shrimp. Put salt and pepper on both sides of the scallops and shrimp. Arrange them in the baking dish. In a bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients. Spoon them on top of the scallops and shrimp. On top of the scallops and shrimp, pour the melted butter, wine and lemon juice. Put in the oven on a middle shelf and cook til brown (16-29 minutes). Take out of the oven and serve immediately.

Remember to sample the 2019 Barone Montalto wine while cooking the dish. That is part of the fun during preparation.

I’m happy to say that this Pinot Grigio from Sicily held up to the dish. It is a wine, I will order again.

Philip S. Kampe
Philip.kampe@thewinehub.com

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms with Natural Origins Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon by Philip S. Kampe

The pandemic has changed my shopping patterns. It seems that hoarding groceries and libations is now common place. Unfortunately, refrigerators only hold so much-whether its fresh and cold or stored in the freezer.

Dry goods are different. If you have a basement, which most New Englanders have, storing dry goods like pasta, jars of artichoke hearts or boxes of Oreos is no problem. The same holds true for wine. It seems that the three liter (4x750ml) boxed wine that was once looked down upon, has emerged as a pandemic star. Sales, according to Nielsen data are up 53% since COVID-19.

As a wine writer and wine lover, it made sense to stock up on boxed wine- storage wise, each box was a drop larger, spatially versus a bottle of wine.

There are so many advantages to boxed wine. Space, price and most importantly, the wine doesn’t go bad in a day or two, thanks to innovative packaging. Once opened, the wine has a 30 day window. What could be better?

After sampling several boxed wines, I found an organic Argentine wine with 14.1% alcohol, made by the owners of Domaine Bosquet, Anne Bosquet and Labid Al Ameri. The three liter boxed wine is marketed under the name, Natural Origins and is a segway for the owners to enter the natural wine industry.

Originally, I sampled the Malbec and was curious enough to try the Cabernet Sauvignon. The fruit used in both wines is from Argentina’s TupungatoValley, known for its extreme daily temperature variations. The differential produces grapes that are overly fresh, with an abundance of aroma.

One night I cooked stuffed portobello mushrooms and paired it with the Malbec. The pairing worked perfectly and now it will be a meal I can make for others, once, we can socialize.

I’m originally from New Orleans and seem to make up my own recipes.

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

Ingredients:
1/2 lb Chorizo (I use ground chorizo versus the sausages)
4 Portobello mushrooms
1 Yellow or Red Bell Pepper
1 medium Red Onion
2 Celery Ribs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
1/4 cup Breadcrumbs (pancko is fine)
2 eggs
1/4 cup Mozzarella
Salt
Pepper
Sage
Olive oil
Butter


Procedure:
Chop all the vegetables and put them in a medium hot sauté pan after the olive oil and butter bubble.
Add the chorizo separately. After ten minutes the vegetables and chorizo should be cooked. Put all ingredients in a mixing bowl until cooled. Add the sage, salt, pepper, breadcrumbs and cheese to the mixture. Break two eggs, mix them and add to the bowl. Mix well and put into a blender.

Heat oven to 400F
On a baking sheet, put the four portobello mushrooms. Rub oil on top and bottom of each mushroom.
Fill each cap with the mixture and top with mozzarella cheese. Bake for 20 minutes.

Pour a glass of Natural Origins Malbec while cooking and with your meal.

Philip S. Kampe
Philip.kampe@thewinehub.com

The Botanical Drink of the Summer made with L’Apertivo Nonino by Philip S. Kampe

Since the pandemic has taken over our daily lives, cooking and drinking wine and spirits, daily, has become a ritual in our household.

I have been the sole cook in our family for the past 26 plus years. Since work is a thing of the past, my wife has started to join me in the kitchen. She has been using cher Caprese mother’s recipes to create several main courses. And has found a knack for creating desserts.

Having been in the candy and ice cream (Fabulous Phil’s Gourmet Ice Cream) business for several years, my yearning for sweets diminished because I over consumed during those years. My appetite for sweets had changed since my wife, Maria started making pastries.

My position of house sommelier has an added change, I am now the house bartender. What that means is, I can make up drinks and the two of us can enjoy the fruit of the labor. Negroni style drinks have been big hits, as we both love vermouth and Campari.

Maria’s mother, Anna, was known for her devotion to sweet vermouth and martinis at dinner time. We, now, call that ‘Happy Hour.’

One of the drinks that has taken our ‘Happy Hour’ by fancy is a cocktail made with botanicals from the famous Italian Nonino sisters (Elizabetta, Antonella & Cristina) 1940 recipe from their grandmother, Silvea Milocco.

Their grandmother was a pioneer in the spirits world, as she was the first woman in Italy to produce Grappa. Her recipe for the apertivo was lost during the war and recently surfaced. The sisters followed the recipe which includes sixteen vegan friendly, all natural botanicals. The infusion of berries, herbs, roots and flowers helped create a fruity, somewhat bitter, citrus product, full of white peach, lemon, rhubarb and gentian root, appropriately named L’Apertivo Nonino.

Distillation took place in a copper steam still with the head and tail removed. In layman’s terms, it was a modified copper still.

The result is a relatively new (2019 release) botanical apertivo called L’Apertivo Nonino.

As you can see in the photos, the bottle is quite elegant. The design includes the three sisters incorporated into a botanical design.

On the backside of the bottle is a recipe for a cocktail, which has become our favorite drink of the pandemic. It is simple to make and doesn’t seem to have a name. So, we call it L’Apertivo Nonino.

Ingredients:
2 parts L’Apertivo Nonino
1 part Sparkling wine
A splash of lemon juice

Preparation:
Add ice cubes to a bourbon glass, mix the ingredients above in the glass and add a lemon wheel to the glass and serve.

Its a hit in our home, thanks to this lost recipe of 80 years ago.

Philip S. Kampe
Philip.kampe@thewinehub.com

Ignore the Name and Try this Wine: “B I T C H,” the Wine by Philip S. Kampe

You can’t help noticing the bottle on the shelf.

With a pink neck and bold black label emphasizing  the word, “BITCH,” it’s had to pass up this affordable wine ($14),

Its a wine to show off to a crowd or one to bring to an event where social distancing is practiced. Or even, serve it along with the other Bitch wines, Grateful Palate imports.

As founder Dan Philips might say: we have a Bitch for each course. Grateful Palate imports Bitch Bubbly, Bitch White, Bitch Vodka, Bitch Power and Bitch Chocolate Truffles.

Yes, the name is catchy, but, what’s in the bottle of this Spanish (Aragon) wine?

The 2016 Bitch Grenache exploded with obvious aromas of raspberry, upper Michigan cherries and Australian style, black licorice. The bouquet enticed my plates curiosity. Which was awakened and even startled with juicy fruit-especially blackberry, raspberry, red plum and pronounced cherry. That’s where the flavors began to open on my palate, followed by a healthy dose of baking spice, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and milk chocolate dipped glazed apricots.

The tannins were soft,
I’m guessing the extra aging of this 2016 un-oaked Grenache contributed to its exceptional acidic balance, holding off the ripe fruit and 14.5% alcohol. Its structured, soft and truly enjoyable.

If the name of the wine is offensive to you, ignore it and try this wine. Its affordable, available and delicious.


Philip S. Kampe
philip.kampe@yahoo.com

Komarna7-“High Quality” Plavac Mali, a Croatian Red Wine Made by Seven Wineries by Philip S. Kampe

Croatia is a beautiful country.

Years ago I spent four months on the Dalmatian coast, traveling in a VW camper. Split to Dubrovnik was one of the many drives where the seaside and somewhat dangerous coast roads, with memorials and monuments to those who perished in freak accidents, adorned the road.

The beauty of Croatia was the lure.

 Since those days, my curiosity of food and wine from Croatia has been very high on my list of what to learn more about. I have a great Croatian friend, who has been an inspiration for the past twenty years. He has opened my eyes with observations about Croatian food and wine. I’m seafood oriented, he’s meat oriented.

We both agree on wines.

So, when we both were about to taste this “High Quality” Dry Red Wine, as the label expressed, we were doubters, simply because who in their right mind would prejudice you with the words “ HIGH QUALITY”  That means that the wine has to, 100% of the time, turn into a “ High Quality” wine on your palate a hundred per cent of the time.

We all know that’s impossible.

So, after definitive advice from Brendan David Edwards of 21st Century Wines, regarding decanting the 2016 Plavac Mali, I followed his direction for the wine to breathe. In fact, two hours was necessary for this “High Quality” wine to reach its peak.

Seems like I sampled its growth, every fifteen minutes.

Like a new born horse, it takes a little while to get on your feet.

Once this 2016 Komarna Plavac Mali woke up, (2 hours), the super “High Quality” of the complex wine kicked in. My Croatian friend would say it’s definitely a “meat wine,” and I would agree. Its dry with medium tannins, rich, but needs to age, rounded with medium acidity, has concentrated fruits, a long finish and has lots of spice and chocolate.

At under $24 a bottle, paired with aging capabilities, this is the wine to buy.

Komarna 7, actually is a serious name for the wine.

Seven vineyards blend their Plavac Mali wines together as a collaborative experience, market only one Plavac Mali together, the Komarna7, and market it to America through Croatian Premium Wine Imports (Boston, Ma).

If you like wines like Sagrantino from Umbria and Primotivo from Puglia, you will love this wine. Its big, bold, with 14.5% abv and complex.

Why not put a case in your basement and age this underpriced beauty.
It won’t be here very long!


Philip S. Kampe
Philip.kampe@yahoo.com

Three Quarantine Russian River Valley Wines from Ron Rubin You Should Be Drinking by Philip S. Kampe

The more time we have at home means the more time we have to learn about wines. Its a big wine world out there.

 With well over ten thousand vineyards in America and 89% in California, its obvious what states wines to try extensively, until I begin dreaming  about the wines from Italy, France, Spain and Portugal.

A lot of my ‘workaholic friends’ who are home bound ask for wine suggestions-each one with different price points. Most prefer wines in the $15, $20 and $25 range.

It seems $10 bottles of wine are out of favor or they are embarrassed to ask.

I believe a good way to learn about regions and wines is to find wines that are from the same vineyard and various locations on their property. Sampling the same variety, whether, oaked or un-oaked is a mind opener, as well as sampling a single variety from  a single plot versus the same variety from several plots in the vineyard.

Recently, I was introduced to the wines of Ron Rubin. He is an entrepreneur and founder of the Republic of Tea. His story is interesting and on his website, if you have interest. What interests me are his wines, their quality and affordability.

The Pam’s Un-Oaked 2018 Chardonnay was made specifically for his wife, Pam, who is obviously not a lover of California style, buttery and toasty Chardonnays. Her husband took care of that and made this wine especially for her. Winemaker, Joe Freeman modeled the Chardonnay after a Riesling-low alcohol, lots of sunny fruit and off dry. Its a wine that should be poured quite cold and served festively like a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Its under $14 a bottle.


The complete contrast to Pam’s Un-Oaked Chardonnay is Ron Rubin’s 2018 Russian River Valley Chardonnay. Its a barrel fermented wine, using a mix of both American and French oak. Its buttery, oaky, toasty profile opens up to lively acidity, full of hints of butterscotch, cream cake icing, burnt pineapple and vanilla. If you like California style of buttery Chardonnay, at $19 a bottle, this wine should fulfill your desire.


Ron Rubin Winery makes an affordable Pinot Noir , at $24 a bottle. Pinots under $40 a bottle are rarely enjoyable. This one is. Its dry, smooth with a medium body, full of cherry, strawberry, vanilla, oak, dark chocolate, plum and blackberry. Its dark ruby color and long finish with red berries and smoke make this a wine to buy over and over, again.


Philip S. Kampe
Philip.kampe@thewinehub.com.

EXCLUSIVE: How the Coronavirus Affected Two Wine Shops in Massachusetts by Philip S. Kampe

Life in western Massachusetts has been tourist oriented for as many years as one can remember. With an abundant amount of ski slopes to choose from in the winter and the seasonal likes of Tanglewood, Jacob's Pillow, The Clark Museum, The Mount, Mass MoCA, Berkshire Theater Festival, Hancock Shaker Village and a handful of year round spas, including Canyon Ranch and Miraval, there is little doubt that the area is hopping with locals, tourists and second home owners much of the year.

The second home owners comprise families from the New York City area (under three hours by car) and Boston (under two and a half hours). The demographics and deep pockets help keep Berkshire county alive.

My observation for this second home owner economic infusion started many years ago when my first business, The Candy People, opened in downtown Pittsfield in 1982. Jack Welch and Gene Shallot were among my weekly customers.

When I expanded and opened my second  ice cream shop, Fabulous Phil's, in 1989 at the ill fated Berkshire Mall, three quarters of sales on weekends were attributed to the second home owners. Add the buying power of the locals and transplants to the area and Berkshire county is sound, business wise.

At least, this is what it was like, pre-coronavirus.

What are these people doing during quarantine? Apparently, the second home owners have found their homes as havens and are working from home-in the Berkshires. Since these coronavirus transplants are here for awhile, maybe forever, their buying power has helped our community.

My interest is solely on how the local wine and spirit establishments are doing, sales wise. Are customers in the stores? Do they pick-up curbside or are their products delivered?

With no sales tax on wine and spirits, the customer is already ahead of the game.

Joe Nejaime is the proprietor of  two stores, named Nejaime's, one in downtown Lenox and the the other in the center of Stockbridge, Massachusetts. His brother, Jim Nejaime, owns Spirited, a shop in Lenox, on busy Route 7. These are the two shop owners I interviewed and these are their responses.

1) Is your store open for business the same hours as before the pandemic?
Jim from Spirited-Before 9am-9pm Monday through Saturday. Now: 9am-7pm Monday through Saturday.
Joe from Nejaime's-Hours changed to 9am to 6pm Monday through Saturday and 11am o 6pm Sunday. Normal hours, 9am to 9pm Monday to Saturday will gradually resume.

2) Do you do curbside pickup? If so, what percentage of your business is curbside?
Jim-Yes, we immediately began curbside pick-up. About 60% of our business is curbside.
Joe-Yes, curbside pick-up +/-20%



3) Since your shop is open, do you have more or less sales then a year ago at the same time from from February to now?
Jim-Yes, our sales are higher than comparable months.
Significantly increased during the lead up to and is continuing during the pandemic.

4) Have buying trends changed? If so, how?
Jim-Clients are much more trusting to allow us to select for them. They want higher quality products than before. And they are very explorative, and willing to try new, recommended products. They are also using, exploring and placing curbside, shipping and delivery orders through our website much more than before. Exponential growth in web sales.
Joe-Customers are often ordering in case quantities as well as large sizes. Quicker transactions and higher quality products.

5) Are brand names outselling specialized wines?
Jim-No, both are selling well.
Joe-Brands always have outpaced specialized wines. But, unique wines are still selling due toour customer service and the selections available through Nejaimeswine.com

6) Have beer sales increased? What are customers buying?
Jim-Beer sales have increased-primarily craft beers. Sales of spiked seltzers have increased similarly.
Joe-Beer sales are up. Craft beer sales are up and commercial brands like Bud and Coors are brisk.

7) Have spirit sales surged?
Jim-Yes, spirit sales have surged. People are buying higher quality spirits-primarily, Bourbon, Whiskeys, Scotch, Vodka and Gin. Many are buying Tequila and Mezcal also, as well as aperitifs and digestives.
Joe-Yes, top shelf is very active. Customers are very discerning.

8) You sell charcuterie. Have sales increased or decreased?
Jim-Our cheese, charcuterie and panini sales have all increased dramatically.
Joe-Our large selection of cheese and charcuterie and all of our specialty groceries are selling well. Fresh deliveries arrive weekly. 

9) Are you able to receive deliveries from your vendors, as easily as prior to the pandemic?
Jim-There are minor interruptions in product flow to us-but, for the most part, we are able to re-stock and get deliveries.
Joe-No interruption in deliveries by suppliers.

10) Do you have new customers? Or mostly the same from pre-pandemic?
Jim-We do have a very significant increase in new clients shopping with us, and they have been very appreciative about being able to be provided with our products to enjoy while they are quarantined.
Joe-Long standing patrons and new ones too.

11) Do you deliver wine? What percentage of customers prefer delivery?
Jim-We do deliver to every corner of Berkshire county. I'd estimate about 5% of clients aew utilizing our delivery service. More are using and enjoying Curbside service.
Joe-Yes, we deliver 10-15%, as an estimate.

12) Have you reduced or increased staff?
Jim-We have added staff, especially in the areas of answering call in orders and deliveries. We have some staff working from home, due to concern of exposure.
Joe-Same staffing levels.

My first take from the answers suggests that the wine and spirits world is as active as ever. Business is booming. Curbside pick-up has a new life. Hand selling wine via suggestions has reached a new high. With the cannabis shops closed during the pandemic, it should be obvious that the wine and spirit shops should emerge as the only legal choice for consumers.