Stevie's Dogs

How much do you love spontaneity? Especially when it involves NYC and wine?!

In a nanosecond, you can go from bored to excited.

Here it was, late Friday afternoon, with nothing planned except a date with Netflix. (Don't get me wrong - I love movies, and my routine has always been brush, bed and Blockbuster. Then Blockbuster closed, so I had to hop onto the Netflix bandwagon. The only issue I have with Netflix is that it offers too much of a good thing, including almost every TV series imaginable. For example, the show Grey’s Anatomy, whose title I find humorous for personal and obvious reasons. Problem with Grey's Anatomy is that instead of watching one episode, I watch three in a row - or even more - until my eyes begin to burn, it’s that darn curiosity wanting to know things like, how Meredith Grey will handle Mc Dreamy’s wife showing up? – I’m such a girl sometimes)


NY Vintners was having one of their Friday wine tastings, and Shane asked me to join him. (If you've never attended one, I highly recommend doing so, and not just because Shane is my WFF but because they happen to be really good! Seriously, check out Yelp if you’re looking for more endorsements.) Wine tastings are an economical way to try a bunch of wines, not to mention a great way to spend an evening. Just remember: All wine tasting are not alike. Some, if not most, can be quite dull and pompous (shocking, I know…)





So here I was, getting ready to leave for the Big Apple when I get an out-of-the-blue text message from my latest WFF, Amy (she's the one who introduced me to Tía Pol that wonderful, inexpensive tapas place on 9th Avenue), asking what I was doing this weekend. I quickly replied with an invitation to join me and Shane at NY Vintners, but first I had to pick up a bottle of Amarone in the Flatiron District that I wanted to try for my wine club (insert plug here). Being the good friend that she is, she offered to pick up the Amarone for me and meet me at NY Vintners. DATE ON!




The wines at NY Vintners that night were from Mount Eden, a winery in California. Chef Ryan prepared a complementary menu to go with each flight (although between you and me, I would have served the filet mignon with the cabs and the cheese course with the pinot instead the other way around). Still, it was daring of him to serve tongue. Kevin, the gentleman seated next to Shane, pointed out that as tasty a dish tongue is, it needs better PR. (Translation: a different name, the same way pancreas and stomach parts are known as “sweet breads.” Quite the spin, right?) Amy suggested La Langue, which is French for tongue. I just thought of a bunch of grammar school jokes while they were having this serious conversation about food titles.

Back to wine. The whites: Chardonnay Wolff Vineyard 2009 and Chardonnay Estate 2008 were the winners of the three flights and the only wines that I purchased. If these wines were guys and I was not in a relationship, I would have had a hard time picking which one I would make out with!



The Chard Wolff had that extra acidity that I enjoy, and if you're an oyster lover, search no further for a great hook up. The wolf, you, and that pearl loving creature is my kind of threesome!



The Chardonnay Estate was a bit heavier, like the guy with just the right amount of muscles (you know, the gymnast vs. the swimmer). It also had a more buttery note on the palate, so if you're into heavier whites that aren’t “oaky,” this is your baby. (For the record, I do not care for oaky wines, so if you're a big California oak-loving wine drinker, I'm not your girl.)



The pinots are not worth a mention. The cabs are, but not for the reasons you might think.



At the end of the dinner, I asked Shane to serve the hot dogs that he had been holding for me. That would be a whopping 20 pounds of hot dogs. And believe me, these aren’t just any hot dogs. These dogs are from that truck in Queens that has an exclusive with Sabrett’s (natural casing, extra garlic); the same hot dog truck that my late husband Steve took me to on one of our first dates; the same dogs that Steve smuggled into France to bring to the famous wine maker Chave, and that Robert Parker raved about; the same ones that I had Tru Restaurant in Chicago serve to all of the attendees at my first wine auction; the hot dogs I was going to serve in honor of Steve at my Viva la France wine event that Irene blew out. Those dogs.

So the lucky patrons at the NY Vintners tasting had the honor of eating what I now call “Stevie Dogs.” They were not only a hit with the clientele, but they also made the ho-hum cabernets that, before their arrival I merely tolerated, the way you do a distant relative who keeps talking about their son’s accomplishments ad nausea , into something wonderful. With the dogs by my side and the spirit of the “Wine HO” AKA Steve in the room, I actually welcomed the juice (in other words, the dogs made the wine come to life)! When a food makes a wine great, or vice versa, it’s a special moment – the kind of moment that, if you didn’t previously “get” the whole wine/food world, suddenly and absolutely changes that forever. If this sort of an experience doesn’t move you, give up, cause it ain’t ever gonna happen.