SANTA FE, ESTADOS UNIDOS: MAXIME BOUNEOU, EL CHEF QUE CREA EN EL RESTAURANTE "FUEGO" DELICIOSOS SABORES Y COLORES

Personalmente el "chef" Bouneou acudió a supervisar cómo servía un "Big Eye Yellowtail and Foie Gras" ( stuffed sashimi grade tuna, radish greens and a Lillet rouge gastrique) seguido de "A Concerto of Butter Poached Red Spot Prawns" (watermelon jus and shellfish essence, tomato broth and horseradish oil, herbed duck fat and thyme), para finalizar con un "Chateaubriand of All Natural Beef" (potato soufflé, truffled white asparagus, Béarnaise foam and marchand du vin sauce). Todo delicioso, a punto.

De la carta de vinos seleccioné un vino Torrontés de Cafayate, Salta, Argentina, de la colección Crios realizada por la famosa enóloga Susana Balbo. La comida y el vino, totalmente recomendables.MM

(Precio aproximado por persona, sin vino, 125 dólares)

Un comentario adicional: el chef Bouneou con su esposa, poseen una pastelería en la misma ciudad. Una delicia.

Weingut Brundlmayer, Gruner Veltliner, Terrassen Kamptal, 2004

Rudi Pichler, Gruner Veltliner, Terrassen, Smaragd, Wachau, 2004

Weingut Knoll, Ried "Loinbenberg" Loibner Gruner Veltliner, Smaragd, Wachau, 2004

In this tasting we are comparing different styles of Gruner Veltliner from Austria. Gruner Veltliners are fast becoming a favorite among sommeliers due to the wide range of food pairing options that they offer. Although Austria and Germany share some climatic similarities, the wines really are very different. Riesling is grown in Austria as are some red varietals, but GV is a local specialty, a grape which is not grown anywhere else in the wine world.

The most defining characteristic of GV is an aroma and flavor of white pepper. Other characteristics include floral or meadow aromas, herbal, spicy green and some citrus. There are many different styles of GV, but all seem to share this flavor/aroma profile.

This wine has enormous versatility as a food wine, pairing particularly well with foods that are notoriously difficult, such as asparagus and artichoke. In Austria, Gruner Veltliner is as likely to be paired with a red meat as with a fish. As GV ages it takes on deeper, meatier, more earthy or mushroomy flavors.

When I asked an Austrian wine importer how the flavors change as the wine ages, her response was- "it becomes a more intense version of itself".

In the Wachau, there is a system for defining the style of wine, which is somewhat similar to the German system in that wines are defined by ripeness achieved. It is only used in the one winegrowing region and not throughout the country. The Seteinfeder is the lightest style of the wines, next is Federspiel and then Smaragd (named after a local lizard which likes to sun itself). Smaragd is the richest, ripest style, having a great viscosity as well as age ability.

dianeh@lpdsf.com

*Diane Hebert recently has been recognized by Wine Spectator like a talented Wine Steward.