Go Light with Torrontes
Argentinean white goes perfect with warm winter
By Josh Perilo
I left the house on Tuesday to move my car and I wasn’t wearing a coat.
Yes, this is the wine column, but I felt that sentence needed to be said. It’s both thrillingly amazing (considering the snow spanking we got last year) and very, very scary. By the way, thanks, Al Gore! I still have trouble sleeping whenever it’s unseasonably warm. Read more
Fighting the SADs
Winter may be gloomy, but these food-wine pairings will cheer you up
By Josh Perilo
Until very recently, I had never understood the idea of “snowbirds,” that group of (usually) elderly folks who are retired, yet not old enough to have their kids throw them in a home. Like a true ignorant “young person,” I always looked at this activity as a waste of time, money and energy—in addition to the fact that I can’t think of any place I’d like to spend my time less than Florida. No offense to any Florida natives. It’s just not for me. Read more
Upgrading Your Sippie Cups
Some do’s and don’ts when it comes to buying wine glasses
By Josh Perilo
“What on earth are you drinking out of?” I gasped.
My good friend Aaron froze mid-pour as he stared down at the bottle of burgundy in his hand, then at the plastic, fake bejeweled chalice that he was pouring the burgundy into. His face registered no shame whatsoever.
“This is my sippin’ chalice,” he said dryly. “It’s how I get my drank on.”
I tried to reason with him as I brought out glass after glass to demonstrate why his strange, Lil Jon-esque sippie cup wasn’t the prime choice for the beverage du jour. He listened politely to my educated diatribe, then, when I had finished, stared at me blankly again and tipped back his cup for an enormous gulp.
“Still tastes like wine to me.”
Touché, Aaron. Indeed it does. And, by all means, my rule of thumb with wine glasses (as with wine in general) is: Drink what you like out of what you like. That being said, there are definitely types of glasses that can enhance your drinking experience.
Buyer beware, however! There are plenty of flourishes and design elements added to a lot of high-priced wine glasses that not only do nothing to add to the enjoyment of your wine but can actually take away from the overall experience.
Today, I’m going to walk you through some of the do’s and don’ts when it comes to buying your next set of wine glasses.
Do buy cut-glass-lipped wine glasses. The glass on these vessels tends to feel much thinner, and sometimes consumers misinterpret that as cheapness. It is not! A good glass does as little as possible to get in the way of the wine—one way that is done is by using a very thin glass construction, and the other is to design the lip of the glass (from which you actually sip) as cut glass. This gives the liquid as little barrier as possible to pass from inside the glass to your palate. There’s also less spillage than with traditional rolled-lip wine glasses.
Don’t buy crystal. Yes, it is beautiful. Yes, it is a great investment and a fantastic hand-me-down to be cherished from generation to generation. It is not, however, a great material for making an effective wine glass; it can’t be blown into the most effective shapes to enhance wine’s taste and scent, in addition to the fact that it is always thick and heavy. Save the crystal for the holiday punch.
Do buy those glasses with the enormous bowls. They may seem ostentatious, but there’s a reason for their size. Red wine glasses tend to have slightly larger bowls than those for white wine, but they serve the same basic purpose. Because half of taste is actually smell, to accurately capture and concentrate the complex scents of your wine, a good glass will have a bowl that is large at the bottom and tapered at the top. When the wine is swirled in the glass, the aromas are released into the bowl and then trapped by the narrower opening. When you stick your nose into the glass for a hearty whiff, you experience the concentrated notes of the wine you are about to enjoy.
Don’t buy colored glass. This seems harmless, especially given how beautiful some of these glasses can be. But if you think about it, part of the enjoyment (and in professional wine circles, part of the judgment of the quality) of wine is its color and visible body. This is obviously impossible to judge through a red, blue or otherwise tinted glass.
Do buy glasses with stems. I may receive some flack for this, but I am a traditionalist and truly believe that the best glasses are those with stems. Holding the glass by the bowl changes the temperature of the liquid you are drinking. And if you put a lot of effort into serving your wines at the correct temperature, this can throw a wrench in all that great planning.
Of course, you can always take a tip from Aaron and go “chalice style.” Up to you!
Follow Josh on Twitter: @joshperilo.
South Indian Up West
Authentic Indian food comes to the Upper West Side
The first time I traveled to Chennai, India, my uncle-by-marriage swore the best cup of coffee could be found at Saravanaa Bhavan, a restaurant specializing in classic South Indian vegetarian fare. Naturally, we had to try it.
As they served us metal bowls containing tiny metal cups filled with steaming, light brown liquid, my Americanized coffee snobbery blossomed. Visions of glorious pounds of fresh roasted beans and hot mugs of black-as-night coffee and a general distaste for the world of sweet coffeeshop chains flitted by, but with a single sip, those recollections faded. The coffee was at once creamy, sweetish and comforting, with bold coffee back notes—indeed, the finest I tried in the whole country. Read more
Impress the Sommelier
Ignore the barolos and go for a Valpolicella
By Josh Perilo
I had been sorely missing my good, angry friend Jesse since he and his wife moved to Los Angeles. I knew that I could always rely on him for a good fight or two about everything from the meaningless to the epic. Now, my sparring partner was gone. Read more
Food and Family
Recipes from my grandmother’s kitchen to yours
By Josh Perilo
No disrespect to my wonderful, sweet mother, but my passion for cooking did not come from her. No, I would describe my mother’s relationship with cooking more like a daily wrestling match in which she choke-slammed it into submission. With five kids (four of them boys), there was little room for creativity or improvisation—it was all about what would fill us up as quickly as possible while still trying to stay somewhat healthy (although I’ll never forgive her for the canned green beans). Read more
Antique Cocktails to Usher in the New Year
Holiday drinks with a twist
By Josh Perilo
When most people think of New Year’s Eve, they conjure up images of chugging cheap, fizzy alcohol straight from the bottle while wearing glasses in the shape of the New Year’s number. I, on the other hand, have a much more romanticized dream of what New Year’s Eve could be: Ladies in long gloves sipping on Krug in bowl-shaped glasses (true, while Marie Antoinette glasses aren’t as good for holding the effervescence of Champagne, they look damn sexy) and gentlemen in tuxedos smoking cigarettes in holders, sipping on arcane cocktails made with muddled whatnots and long-ago-produced bitters and extracts.
Read more
A Gift to Make You the Life of the Party
Unusual sparkling wines to bring to holiday parties
By Josh Perilo
“Is this the third time I’ve worn this suit this week?” I said as I turned to Natali, straightening my tie.
“Yeah,” she said, pulling up her tights, “but you haven’t done that tie and shirt combo yet. You should be okay.”
Penniless Picks
The best wines of 2011
By Josh Perilo
From the moment I smell turkey in the oven, to the seconds before the ball drops in Times Square, I rejoice in the same holiday gift every year: a bevy of best of lists. Top TV shows, top movies, top albums…it is my annual, number one guilty pleasure. Read more
Lights, Camera, Fermentation
Taking a sip of celebrities’ newest hobby, winemaking
By: Josh Perilo
My wife and I had just finished watching the Orson Welles classic The Third Man. The credits were rolling and my head was swimming—not only from the brilliant piece of cinema I had just seen but from the man, Welles himself, and what would eventually become of him. Read more
