EAT WINE

In a year's time, we receive a lot of people with our Culinary & Wine Tours business (www.lizcaskey.com) that are very savvy wine drinkers. They come to Chile and Argentina to experience the wines in their place of origin, taste the local terroir, and inevitably, the desire to bring some of these drinkable memories (treasures?) home becomes a a big issue: Do you we ship it or pack it in our suitcase? How much we take back without raising eyebrows in customs? And if we want to buy a case, is distribution good? Many of the answers are surprising so my intention in this post is to help orient all of you traveling down to these latitudes that want to take wine back.

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY

The great irony of buying wine in country (in Chile) is that the prices are HIGHER than what you would pay for in the US. Yes, you read that correctly. HIGHER. It all comes down to taxes and demand. Chile is not a huge wine drinking country and as such, allocates most of its production abroad (around 90%). Beyond that, we have a huge VAT (sales) tax on everything here, 19%, from water to bread to batteries to wine. Wine also has an alcohol tax for wines included call ILA at another 16%. Grand total in taxes on a bottle of wine? 36%.

So why is this not the case if you are buying stateside? Wineries are able to export at what they call FOB (Freight on Board). FOB is the wholesale cost of wine without any taxes, tariffs, or third party mark-ups. Since the US has a free trade agreement with Chile, basically the cost structure breaks down to:
-FOB (cost of wine)
-Shipping
-Any third party margin (importers, distributors, wine shops)
-State sales taxes (ranging from 6-8.5%)

All of this however is still the same or LESS than that 36% we pay here.

I have to admit, when I was in California in July, I was blown away by how cheap Chilean wines were. At Trader Joe's in Napa, I found Don Melchor 2005 for US$40 (US$85 at Concha y Toro winery in Chile). They also had Clos Apalta at US$65 in various wine shops whereas at the winery we visit frequently, I can get it at "discount" for US$115. Continuing my laundry list of how much cheaper Chilean wines are in the US, Costco buys around 70% of Montes winery's Montes Alpha line which retails for US$13. Price at winery? Depending on the exchange rate, US$14-15. My favorite wines, red and white respectively, Almaviva and Sol de Sol Chardonnay, can be acquired online at Wine Exchange (www.winex.com) for US$75 for the blockbuster 2005 vintage (hand of winemaker extraordinaire Tod Mostero) and Sherry Lehman in New York for US$21 plus shipping. Price at winery (wholesale) here? US$120 and US$30, respectively. My Dad just called me yesterday, excited to have found this tiny boutique jewel, Neyén 2004 (sold out in Chile) at the State Store on Harrisburg Pike in my hometown Lancaster, PA. Go figure.

My advice is that if there is a special vintage or collector's item (like Neyen's limited edition Syrah or the impossible-to-procure Carmin from Concha y Toro), grab it. Or buy it in Chile to enjoy and drink while here. There is something magical about drinking wines in their place of origin with the local food. However if you are seriously stocking your cellar after a trip here, or want to acquire some good bottles, my suggestion is to find the distributor or importer and buy/ship the case.

That's the real skinny on buying wine here. Even working in the industry, it seems counter intuitive to bring home Chilean wine from the US. (Yes, I do it. At least with Almaviva). Next part to cover how to get it back once you commit to buying it while traveling. There are some tried and proven tricks to make it stress free.

It seems that most wine buffs are obsessed with how long a wine can, and should, be aged. Will it taste better? Will those tannins round out? Will it turn into hidden gold? For those collecting as a commodity, will it become so valuable that I resell it  to buy more wine futures? Etc. Etc. Well, as I have polled many winemaker friends, one thing is certain: pinpointing a wine's evolution not a science--far from it. The only way to really know when a wine "peaks", assuming your palate is trained and can distinguish a well-evolved wine from one well on its way to being expensive vinegar,  is through constant, consistent testing/tasting of the same vintage. And even in this equation, a specific bottle can cause confusing, different results. Remember, corks are not foolproof and the key "organic" material that let's a wine breathe, age.

On my 2005 trip to Bordeaux, I was privileged enough to taste some vintages older than my own existence. Leathery, velvety, subtle, different. Instead of my usual game of trying to extrapolate how a wine would taste in 10 or 20 years, I tried to work backwords and wondered how it was at its birth. How fun would it be to find a wine and taste it ever year, experiencing it in its "peak"!

Shortly after, I got my wish. Just about the time I was really wanting to put this concept to the test, I came across a great terroir wine--earthy, aromatic Cabernet Sauvignon from the micro appellation of the Maipo Valley known as Quebrada de Macul where cassis and menthol notes dominate the nose followed by bright acidity and soft tannins. It was love at first sip and the former grande reserve of Aquitania winery (www.aquitania.cl), the Chilean pet project of French wine powerhouses Bruno Prats  (Chateau Cos D'Estournel) and Paul Pontallier (Chateau Margaux) along with Ghislain de Montgalfier (Bollinger) and Chilean partner, Felipe de Solminihac. The winery had stopped making Paul Bruno in 2000 to focus on other wines so their stock was coming from their collection.

Paul Bruno Cabernet Sauvignon 2000 quickly became our house wine--a great price (US$16/bottle) and such finesse. In a country of 14.5% wine fruit bombs, it was a tiny refuge of what I loved about French wines (balance, low alcohol, expression)--but from Chilean soil. We brough it into our cav and lives and drank it for over three years. It just kept getting better and better--longer, more complex, delicious.  

Then this past May, for a big party for my husband's art inauguration, I ordered a case for the festivities. We cracked open a bottle in anticipation and something tasted off. It wasn't the feared Brett; it wasn't corked. It wasn't oxidized. It was flat. It was like the life force had been sucked out of it. All that vivacity was gone. "Okay, maybe it's me" (you never know). So we tried another; and another. By the fifth bottle, I picked up the phone and called the winery to give them the bad news. "Yes", I said, "we have several wine cadeavors". They were understanding and took them back and replaced the case with another line.

I was seriously bummed!! I had to bid farewell to Paul Bruno. As I mourned its final days, I realized it was essentially the best practical lesson I had ever learned about when a wine "peaks"; when that curve finally comes down.

So in the vain of all eulogies, here are my parting words (as Irving Berling once wrote): "The song has ended, but the melody lingers on"...so perhaps here "The wine has ended but the taste will linger on..."

  

 

Of all the edible things I am pining for at breakfast from the US (short list: light organic soy milk, Go Lean cereal, sesame bagels, and 0% greek yogurt), English muffins still rank as number 1. I think I literally ate them close to every other day for almost a month straight. I like them mostly with natural peanut butter, eggs, or with mashed avocado and sea salt (ok, this last one is the Chileanized version, they love avocado on toast).

So I have been back now about 2. 5 weeks and Saturday, the craving started again. Damn! What to do, what to do. Okay, well since obviously I cannot buy them here, I accepted the only solution was to learn to make them. Get psyched Liz.  “It’s only bread”, I thought. It should not be too hard…

Well it wasn’t hard. Time involving? Yes. However, I cranked out 20 in one shot with relatively little pain (and jammed to the groovy new Miguel Migs, Those Things Deluxe (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xrq395uzqY) album in the process). It made me appreciate the time and technique involved in this bread that I normally  would grab off the shelf. Another bonus: the taste was far superior to any of the commercial ones I have tried. The muffins got crunchy outside, spongy inside, beautiful when toasted and very balanced. Here’s the skinny on how to make your own English muffins. I opted for whole wheat to make them more nutritious. Now this weekend, I am gonna give them a real test run—see how they stand up with Eggs Benedict…and bloody marys of course!

Whole Wheat English Muffins (Makes 18-20)

¼ cup warm water (110 F)

1 tbsp dry yeast

3 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup white flour, plus more as needed for dusting/kneading

1 tsp salt

1 cup milk (I used skim to cut down on calories but for a richer taste, go for whole)

3 tbsp canola oil (or butter)

1 tbsp melted honey (I am so not into refined sugar; if you are in pinch, sub the honey for sugar)

1 egg

Cornmeal as needed

Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water. Let stand for 10 minutes until foamy. Mean while, in a large bowl, mix flours and salt. In a separate bowl combine the honey, milk and oil. Stir in egg, blend, then add yeast mixture.

Add the liquid to half the dry mixture. Once incorporated, add rest of dry ingredients. The dough is slightly sticky and very soft.  Turn out the dough on a floured surface and knead for a few minutes. I had to add several sprinklings of flour to get it to be pliable.

Put the dough in greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set in warm place for an hour. When the dough has doubled in size, place on work surface with cornmeal. Roll out to ½-inch thick. Cut into 3-inch rounds (I used a glass that exact size although surely a cookie cutter would have been easier…). Reuse all the scraps—don’t dump a muffin, please! Cover the muffins with a towel and let rise another half hour. 

 

To “bake”, here’s the cool part. On a griddle or couple fry pans, heat them over medium heat. Place the muffins in the hot pan/griddle and cook for 6 minutes on one side. The muffin will puff up and should be golden brown and crusty before flipping. Flip and cook for another five minutes. Remember—soft inside but not undercooked (gooey dough). At this point, they will look like the English muffins we all know. Test one if necessary. I found that they should be firm with some give to the touch and golden brown.

 

Let cool on rack. I split them in half and will keep a few in the frig for 3 days and freeze the rest. They keep up to three months and when toasting, go straight from freezer to toaster. It’s that easy!

After my long-lived blog hiatus, we are getting this back and running. We will soon be moving the blog to a new address (as soon as my husband/graphic designer gives the green light) but in the mean time, I feel compelled to add this new section.

I spent over five weeks in the US from late June to the end of July. It is the longest stint back Stateside since I relocated to Chile in early 2001. Now that I am back, I am missing some of those items that Americans have incorporated into their diet and can get with such ease and convenience. The list is long but here's what comes off the top of my head: canned beans of all sorts, hummus, English muffins, natural peanut butter, ready-made chicken stock (boxed or canned), paneer cheese, greek yogurt, healthy granola sans trans fat, good quality pasta sauce, veggie burgers, etc. etc.

So I have decided to stop my bellyaching and accept my culinary, whole foods destiny here in Chile. I think it may just be a blessing in disguise. We have mostly whole foods here and even more so since I have ditched the supermarket and go only to fresh produce markets, the fish market, my cheese guy, the butcher, my free range egg lady, etc. This section is an exploration of learning to make these things I loved and took for granted while in the US. They are convenient--in their absence, I will just have to make the time to make them.

I kicked this off this weekend by making English muffins. Read on--in this exploration, I am seeing that beyond the final result, it's about the process and connection with my food. It tastes SO much better than pulling anything off the shelf at Safeway or Trader Joe's. Enjoy--and I hope this serves as inspiration to all you cooks too!