A note about Crystal Champagne

The firm of Louis Roederer has been in the champagne business since 1776.In the 19th century, the most popular types of champagne were Doux, Demi-Sec and Sec--in other words, Very Sweet, Less Sweet and a bit Sweet.(Residual Sugar via Dosage in grams per litre:-- Doux 50 g-- Demi-Sec 33-50g --Sec 17-35g-- Brut 0-15g-- Ultra Brut-- 0g/ No Dosage at all. )At the court of the Czars in St. Petersburg, Roederer Champagne was probably the most popular brand.Alexander II disliked having his champagne poured while wrapped in a linen cloth. He alsopreferred clear glass. He was appeased with a special bottling, in clear glass, made just forhim. Thus was born "Cristal"-- the first Cuvee de Prestige.The combination of World War 1 and the Russian Revolution in 1917 destroyed the Russian market for champagne. No Cristal was made between 1914 and 1924. Then production wasresumed with a tirage of 20,000 bottles, made in a drier style, probably Sec.The world market for Champagne did not really recover from World War 1 until the mid 1980s.In 1985, Roederer announced that sales had finally surpassed those of 1872.Cristal today-- the blend is of 50-60% Pinot Noir with a minimum of 40% Chardonnay. All the grapes come from Roederer's own vineyards.Roederer's vineyards extend for 180 hectares, of which 130 are rated 100% (Premier Cru). This has always given Roederer champagne a solid foundation of quality.Note: When storing Cristal, do not remove the yellow cellophane wrapper which is designed to filter out nearly all of the damaging solar rays.

The Healthiest Chocolate Dessert

The Healthiest Chocolate Ever!
Did you get your vegetables today? Or your fruits or your wheat grass? Well if you had Chef Marcus Guiliano's Chocolate Torte then you got it all and some! Chef Guiliano, owner of Aroma Thyme Bistro, has developed what he calls the best chocolate you could ever consume. Guiliano exclaims, “ imagine consuming 30 different green vegetables, grasses (wheat grass, barley grass, kamut grass) and fruits interlaced with a rich dense chocolate fudge like torte.
Aroma Thyme Bistro located in the Hudson Valley of upstate New York has been serving gourmet health food since 2003 and has become a destination restaurant for customers from all over the Valley and beyond.
Chef Guiliano believes that food should nourish the body as well as the palate-- and his menu reflects that principle. All ingredients are carefully scrutinized for anything unnatural, whether it be food colorings, added sugars, trans-fats or pesticide residues. The meats are pasture fed, except for the Kobe beef, of course. The seafood is sustainable and fresher than anything you'll find in a store. Vegan and vegetarian offerings are cooked with loving care.To complement great food, the Bistro carries more than 250 wines and 120 beers.
“Basically we have it all without the funky stuff. I would not eat that stuff, so I don't serve it. So our menu is focused on pure ingredients and conscious preparations”, says Guiliano.
The idea for the ultimate chocolate dessert was born during the recent explosion of news reports on the health benefits of eating chocolate, because of its wealth of antioxidants.
The concept was how can we make chocolate even healthier! We have something that is delicious, and
good for us. So we start with organic cocoa powder, sweeten with a blend of organic agave and local maple syrup. We use organic coconut oil to emulsify the mix and hold it firm. Then we add the mix of wheat grass, barley grass, kamut grass, spirulina, parsley, kale, broccoli, cabbage, mangoes, cherries, watermelon, mangoes, raspberries, grapefruit and pears just to name a few. In all the torte boasts 30 different red and green chlorophylls. Now, you can't taste these additional antioxidants, and they add just a little more mass to the dish, nothing you would ever notice. But your body does! The Aroma Thyme Bistro Chocolate Torte delivers a massive dose of exactly what the body craves the most, anti-oxidants to detoxify the dangerous free radicals that are created all the time by digestion, exercise, normal life. Chef Guiliano says-- with a grin-- "It was only after we'd been making it for a while that we discovered that this torte was actually the greatest thing you could have for breakfast! Allthose chlorophylls, some natural sugars, coconut oil, which is actually one of the healthiestoils around, and organic cocoa to give you a little caffeine boost! "
Contact:
Marcus Guiliano
Aroma Thyme Bistro165 Canal St, Ellenville NY 12428
http://www.aromathymebistro.com/
845-647-3000

Pinot Noirs

Every now and then a customer at Aroma Thyme Bistro, up here in Ellenville, asks me the Pinot Noir question:--“What’s so special about Pinot Noir?” Or “Why is it so expensive?”The answer alas is both brutally simple, and pretty darned complicated. Brutal truth:-- Demand enormous, Supply limited. Complexities begin with the fact that Pinot Noir is a fickle, difficult vine to grow and a tricky grape to make great wine with. Pinot Noir is never ordinary. It’s either wonderful or not worth drinking. Flaws in either the fruit or the winemaking can’t be hidden by tricks of the trade, like adding lots of new oak. Then there’s location. The reason why Pinot Noir occupies it’s elevated position in the wine world lies in a band of vineyards, just a few hundred yards wide and about thirty miles long, on an east facing hillside in Burgundy, France. This is the Cote D’Or, literally the “slope of Gold.” This is where those names come from, yes,those names, Chambertin, Richebourg, Bonnes Mares, Romanee Conti, Musigny, La Tache, Clos Vougeot, and so on. Just 30 Grands Crus and a couple hundred Premier Crus, but they resonate in the world of wine like no others. There’s just 10,000 acres of vineyards on the Cote D’Or and not all of themare planted with Pinot Noir. On top of that, great Pinot means a harvest restricted toabout 2.5 tons of fruit per acre. Compared to other varietals this is just about ridiculously restricted. Down in Beaujolais, for example, the get as much as 13 tons per acre of the lowly Gamay grape. Of course, Gamay has been banned from the Cote D’Or since the 15th century. So the search has been on, all over the world, for places to plant Pinot Noir where great wine, burgundian wine, can be made. There have been success storiesin Oregon and California, but the supply cannot keep up with demand. And the result is that great Pinots from the West Coast have reached price levels not far below those of Burgundy, $35 to $100 or much more, a bottle. At the same time, as well as inspiring the movie “Sideways” the love of Pinot Noir has put vines into the ground at a frantic clip. Oregon has maybe 5,000 acres now and California as much as 24,000 acres-- substantially more than France. (odd little fact-- biggest Pinot Noir plantings in France are in Champagne). But fast as they plant ‘em the demand outpaces supply. At Kosta Browne, maker of California’s top ranked Pinots, they’ve doubled supply in the past six years or so, but the waiting list is still 7,000 buyers long. Enter New Zealand. The Kiwi winemakers have already won a place on the world stage with their Sauvignon Blancs, which are as good or better than anyone else’s. Now they’re delivering a slew of solid Pinot Noirs. Over the last decade or so New Zealand’s plantings of Pinot Noir increased to almost 10,000 acres, adding about a Cote D’Or’s worth of Pinot to the world’s pot.Here at Aroma Thyme Bistro we’re still in the process of selecting someNew Zealand Pinot Noirs for the list. Wines we’ve been impressed by includethe Brancott line from Marlborough. There’s the basic Brancott for $11, a Reserve at $18 and a single vineyard wine for upwards of $23. I’ve also enjoyed Mount Difficulty Pinot Noir from Central Otago, which exhibits a stronger herbal side to go with scents of raspberries and other fruits. Then there’s Martinborough Vineyards, Pinot Noir from the North Island with a great nose full of herbs, berries, cherries and even a note of chocolate. But while we work on that (well, someone has to do it) we continue to promote our line of Oregon Pinot Noirs. We have a great set, all deriving from the heart of the Willamette Valley on Route 99W. There’s Archery Summit, Gary Andrus’s startup, in Dayton. Then comes the Argyle winery in Dundee, where they make a terrific line of wines, including the bright, berry scented pinot that we sell.Also in Dundee is the Domaine Drouhin, a famous Burgundian transplant producingterrific Oregon Pinot Noirs. Finally from Newberg, a few miles to the north, comes Rex Hill, which we’ve carried in half bottle and full, and which has a devoted following. Finally, from California’s Central Coast we have Au Bon Climat in half bottle and at the top of the line, Calera’s Jensen Vineyard from Harlan Mountain where it broods over the beauty of the Napa Valley. Chris Rowley