It seems Emilio Lustau continues to dominate the sherry market, picking up yet another award, this one arguably the highest honor a Spanish producer can receive. Here is a press release from Europvin, whom we are fortunate enough to represent in several markets.

“We are proud to announce that EMILIO LUSTAU has taken the Spanish Wine Producer of the Year Trophy in the 40^th Anniversary edition of the International Wine & Spirit Competition.  This is in addition to the eighteen medals awarded to our Sherries, of which we advised you in the summer.

The gala awards banquet was held on 26 November 2009 at the Guildhall in London, and Lustau was announced as the winner from a shortlist which included such renowned names in the Spanish wine industry as Marqués de Murrieta and González Byass, amongst others.”

In other Sherry news, check out the finalist for the 2009 Vinos de Jerez Cocktail Competition. A huge thanks to akawinegeek for passing along this info!!!

They are:

Alex Raij, Txikito, NYC – “Elkano”, Manzanilla

Reza Esmalli, CONDUIT Restaurant, SF – “Espana en Emerica”, Pedro Ximenez**

Charles Joly, Drawing Room, Chicago – “Bread and Wine”, Oloroso

Danny Valdez, Cure, NOLA – “That Night a Forest Grew…”, Pedro Ximenez

Misty Kalkofen, Drink, Boston – “The Dunaway”, Fino

Todd Thrasher, Restaurant Eve, Alexandria, VA – “Walla Walla Bing Bang (aka the Witch Doctor)”, Amontillado

Erick Castro, Rickhouse, SF – “French Toast Flip”, Oloroso Dulce

Phil Ward, Mayahuel, NYC – “The Smoked Palomino”, Amontillado

Corey Bunnewith, Coppa, Boston – “Balao Swizzle”, Dry Oloroso

Thomas Waugh, Death & Co., NYC – “Delores Park Swizzle”, Amontillado

These 10 finalists will compete in the live finals on December 15th at Clover Club in Brooklyn, NY, to determine who will be crowned the winner of the 2009 Vinos de Jerez Cocktail Competition.

If you want to try out some of these cocktails at home, visit the Secret Sherry Society for the recipes of the cocktails.

And one other thing- please drink more sherry people!!!!

Salud,

Michael

P.S. Bloggers heads up- there is a ridiculous amount of flash on most of the restaurant websites……

After a fun-filled and informative weekend at the 2009 Wine Bloggers conference, I have come away from the trip with a new outlook on the California wine “scene.” As we work exclusively with wines from Europe, it was a nice break to explore the wines being produced in my neck of the woods- especially because I have limited knowledge about California wines. Many people will ask, “What, you haven’t had a Chardonnay or Cabernet Sauvignon from California?” Yes, yes, I have thank you very much, but there is much more to the area than just Chard and Cab, which can only be experienced by visiting the area.

From having over one hundred variations of soil, to the exploration of growing varieties like Tempranillo, Albarino, and an ongoing struggle with the TTB to resolve issues dealing with the pending Calistoga AVA, there is a lot happening in Napa. This was interesting for me as we have had to deal with similar problems in Europe in regard to DO’s and DOC’s dealing with what types of grapes can or cannot be grown, how high plants can be grown, how far apart they must be, etc. To have a controversy like this only a few states next to where I live, I was surprised (and a bit ashamed!) that I didn’t recognize the scope of what is happening in California.

However, the main reason for my attending the conference was for the social media aspects, meeting new contacts, and listening and learning from the fantastic speakers throughout the weekend. I learned a great deal how to better our site, our blog and what I can do now and in the future to get a better hold on the markets we currently sell to. While the speakers focused more on the blogging side of things (obviously), being an importer I still took away a wealth of information from the weekend even though blogging isn’t the most important aspect of my job.

The best part of the weekend for me was meeting all the wonderful winos out there that I’ve been following on twitter and facebook but have never met in person, so it was great to meet the faces behind the blogs! I had wonderful and humorous conversations with The Whineaux and her husband, and even hitched a ride back into San Francisco with them.

Not to mention the incredible outdoor tasting and panel discussion we had about AVA’s at Storybook Family Vineyards, being hounded into taking a pull of a bottle of Absinthe with the fellas from Mutineer Magazine, and managing to rock the late night “tasting” put on by ViniPortugal, the weekend was fun-filled to say the least! I was also fortunate enough to meet and be welcomed to dinner to the private residence of the owners of Lieff Vineyards who opened up their home to 30 random strangers (and bloggers of all people) which was definitely another highlight of my weekend.

It was also great to catch up with my friends from Catavino.net as well as Oscar Quevedo from Quevedo Port Wine and chat about the upcoming European Wine Bloggers Conference coming up this fall in Lisbon Portugal that I hope to attend. I hope to be fortunate to attend the EWBC and hopefully have a similar experience this October and November in Portugal.

A huge THANK YOU to all the volunteers, sponsors, and organizers of the WBC 2009, I had an amazing time and look forward to Walla Wall in 2010!!!

I can’t believe how many people now live in Jackson Hole Wyoming! It seems to grow every time we return to the beautiful surroundings of the Grand Tetons. To kick off the 2009 Memorial Day weekend, the P.R. Grisley Company joined a very diverse group of people at the 31st Annual Jackson Hole wine festival.

The day started with representatives from restaurants, wine stores, and hotels joining the exhibitors for a few hours before the public joined in on the fun. For over 6 hours we presented our wines, educated new wine lovers on several unique wines from Portugal, Spain and France. We poured a white and a rose wine from Chozas Carrascal located in the Utiel-Requena region of Spain, a fantastic Douro red from Quinta de Carregosa in Portugal and red wines from Bodegas Medrano Irazu, Santiago Ijalba and Ondalan in Rioja. We also poured the Chateau de Monbadon from Bordeaux and the Cuve Sabine from the Cotes du Rhone region in France. Everyone seemed to enjoy the diversity represented at the table, and they were excited to try some wines from several unique areas within the Iberian Peninsula. It was definitely one of the best-run events we have been able to participate in, and we hope to be asked back next year.

The festival was a wonderful combination of great wines, friendly people, and amazing scenery. There were over 400 wines presented from around the globe, and almost one thousand people in attendance enjoying the unique event. If you’ve never visited Jackson Hole, it’s a beautiful place filled with culture, western charm, friendly people, and some of the most amazing mountains in the US- not too mention people with great taste in wine!

–Peter

We recently welcomed the Salt Lake City French Club to a night of fine French wine and remarkably authentic French food, prepared by Chef Drew Ellsworth. Drew, and American who majored in French, spent two years training in Dijon as a master of French food. He currently owns and operates a wonderful catering business and cooking school, the Ecole Dijon Cooking School. His preparation and presentation of incredible terrines drew gasps from even the most ardent Frenchman at the tasting.

The club is comprised mainly of ex-pats working in Utah, so there was not much English to be heard. The crowd was quite diverse, ranging from executives of the Rossignol Ski Corporation to research biologists working at the University of Utah.

In true European form, many brought their young children making it a festive family affair and a fun, casual atmosphere. Almost everyone came with appetites on high alert, as there were only scraps left when the dust had settled.

We served two red and two white wines for the occasion. The first red, Domaine du Gros Pata, is a wonderful Cote du Rhone that paired well with the cucumber curry chicken salad. The second red was from Bordeaux, the Château de Monbadon that was fantastic with the marinated lamb and the complex cheese plate. The two white wines served were the Alex Gambal Bourgogne Chardonnay and the Dom du Rieux cote de Gascone. The Alex Gambal paired wonderfully with the Salade Jurassienne with the hints of oak playing off the smoked sausage in the dish. As for the Domaine du Rieux, the wonderful acidity and citrus flavors were perfect with the shrimp alla Romana.

The evening was a great success and we look forward to working with chef Drew again to see what wonderful dishes he will create!!

Sante,

-Peter 

Appetizers & Hors d’Oeuvres

 Stuffed Dates

 with Walnut and Orange-zest Cheese,

Curried Chicken on rounds of English Cucumber

Grand Plateau de Fromages

Fresh Fruit

Chef Baked Breads Crackers and Toasts

Grand Plateau de Charcuterie

Jambon Persillé, Terrine Ballantine aux Pistaches,  Mousse de Foie de Volaille

Pâté d’Agneau aux Noix,  Terrine Indienne au Grand Marnier

Cornichons, Choux Rouges, Chutney Sud Africaine,  Grey Poupon

Salade Jurassienne

Romaine Lettuce topped with Smoked Sausage and Cottage Fries

Dijon Vinaigrette

Shrimp alla Romana

Peeled Tiger Shrimp on a patty of Polenta drizzled with

Escargot Butter and Parmesan Cheese

Rosemary Lamb Skewers

Marinated Bites of Lamb served on a pick

Desserts

Hand-dipped Strawberries

Chocolate Truffles

With the wonderful world of Google come amazing and extraordinary things that one is able to find. Sometimes I think we all take for granted the power that technology has allowed us to possess, and the massive amount of information at our fingertips. Whether you want to find a recipe for tapas, or where the best skiing on earth is , just type it in and presto- you have an answer!!! Why am I going off on this you might be asking yourself? It’s because  I often type in our business or family name to see what pops up on Google, and just to make sure I don’t have a convicted felon in the family (thankfully not yet!) somewhere out there that might try to contact me for bail money.

Today however, in a strange twist of fate, I stumbled across an interesting little nugget of information in The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. It seems the stars aligned many years ago for my passion and ultimately my career in the wine world, as I discovered one of my ancestors was a wine merchant in Philadelphia in the 1750′s! I was shocked to read about this because the PLCB is one of our main clients, so apparently my relative Samuel planted that seed in Philadelphia many years ago.  I’ll have to do a bit of research on this but I’m almost positive we are Pennsylvania’s oldest “wine merchants.” I’m hoping someone will be able to verify this, but if not, I’ll definitely being raising my wine glass to Mister Samuel Grisley and thanking him for establishing our name in the wine business all those years ago!

Don’t you just love history?

Cheers,

Michael 

A few months ago my father and I were contacted by the beverage manager and several members of the Park Meadows Country Club in Park City to help out with a Spanish themed dinner for their members. They hold several of these events a year for their members and it’s a wonderful way for everyone to get together and learn about new and exciting wine regions that they may not be familiar with. We were of course very excited to have been contacted about the possibility to help out with the wine education part of the evening.

After the wines had been selected, it was up to the chef to come up with a menu that would compliment each wine, and we waited anxiously to see what he would come up with to go along with several wines from our portfolio. We were quite excited when we received the menu and saw that the chef had done an incredible job pairing up Spanish themed food with the wines and couldn’t wait to try everything!

The event was held this past Friday, but unfortunately my father ended up not being able to attend, so I drove up to Park City hoping one person would be sufficient to speak with everyone. Thankfully there was a PA system with a microphone, so I was able to speak about each wine while everything was being served. And, since I didn’t know anyone there, I was happy to find myself sitting at a table with a wonderful group of people from Arkansas who are members of the club and spend some time in Utah every year. I was even more amazed to find out that they had flown in that day and had actually attended a Spanish wine tasting the night before in Little Rock! I was very excited that hear that Spanish wine is still being featured at other tastings throughout the country and hope that trend continues. As the courses came out, we had wonderful discussions about the food and wine, the economy, the skiing and golfing, and all sorts of dinner table topics. I enjoyed myself immensely with these people as I am a firm believer that wine doesn’t need to be pretentious and snotty, but something to be enjoyed with family, friends and new people!

My favorite part of the evening was chatting with everyone about which pairing was their personal favorite and listening to them all explain why. We had some interesting match-ups all evening, but I think the overall winner in terms of expanding the member’s palates was the desert pairing of Pedro Ximenez sherry and some wonderful goat, sheep, and cow cheeses with wonderful fruits. Many people had never tasted Pedro Ximenez, let alone a sherry, so I think it was a pleasant surprise to taste the unctuous, syrupy like weight of the “raisins in a bottle” as agreed on calling it.

At the end of the evening, we all agreed that the chef had hit every plate spot on and really made the evening complete with his creativity. So, compliments to the chef and I hope there are some newfound Spanish wine lovers out there, from Park City to Little Rock, and everywhere outside and in between!

Spanish Wine Pairing Dinner
Friday, March 20

First Course
Roasted Dates and Serrano Ham With Radicchio, Shaved
Manchego and Pomegranate Vinaigrette
Ruiz de Vinaspre, Crianza 2002

Second Course
Herb Crumbed Sea Scallops Ratatouille, Light Tomato
Coulis, Citrus Butter
Coto de Gomariz, Blanco 2006

 Third Course
Pancetta Wrapped Pork Tenderloin Piquillo Peppers
and Wild Mushroom Ragout, Quince Jam
Ondalan 100 Abades, 2005

Fourth Course
Molasses and Cherry Braised Short Ribs,
Chorizo Saffron Rice, White Asparagus Gratin
Medrano Irazu Reserva, 2001, 2003

Fifth Course
A Selection of Spanish Cheeses With Grape Foccacia
and Stone Fruits
Pedro Ximenez, Sherry

After a busy few months entertaining family from out of state as well as hosting several producers from France, we have had the opportunity to dine both in and out of our house quite often. While cooking at home with friends and family sharing wonderful wines and stories about ourselves is great, it’s nice to get out and explore the many dining options that are available to us. I think many people, both local and out of state, are astonished at the amount of quality restaurants Utah has statewide. Luckily we are able to enjoy many right here in Salt Lake, as well as Park City!

Further backing the variety and quality of Utah’s dining scene is the recent release of Salt Lake Magazine’s 11^th Annual Dining Awards. Many of our favorite restaurants received awards this year including Fresco Italian Cafe, Caputo’s Deli and the Bohemian in Salt Lake, as well as 350 Main in Park City. When we are too tired too cook for ourselves after a long day of skiing, it’s comforting to know that we have plenty of fantastic places to fill our stomachs with good food and impressive wine lists.

Salt Lake has also recently received some national attention in the New York Times travel section last month. They recognized Utah’s wonderful and diverse dining scene, but chose to zero in on the surprising amount of Microbreweries we enjoy statewide in Utah. Whether you’re mountain biking in Moab, skiing in Park City, or walking around downtown, there are plenty of options to enjoy a cold one and some great pub grub.

So to all you tourists, out of towners and naysayer’s, come visit and enjoy Utah because you CAN actually drink beer and wine legally, and they pair well with any one of our great restaurants!!

Cheers!

–Michael 

Much like the recent surge in trying to find, restore, and cultivate ancient varieties if grapes in the wine world, there might be a push in the beer world to find ancient recipes and techniques. A scientist recently revived an ancient strain of yeast in a beer recipe that he is producing in California. While his original goal was to find ancient microscopic creatures for some sort of medical value, he ended up with a beer that has garnered some good reviews on the West Coast of the US. Much like Jurassic Park, the ancient organism was extracted out of a piece of amber, and while no medicinal properties were found, at least something positive came out of the hard work…………..Beer!

As if we don’t have enough reasons to drink wine, it just made the number 2 spot in a recent survey of the top 10 healthiest beverages. In a list made up entirely of fruit juices, you know wine would have to be on there!! It even ranked above good old plain Concord grape juice. However, I feel I need to mention to take this all in moderation!! I hate to break the bad news, but getting as drunk as possible WILL NOT help in your never end quest for super powers, sorry! On the other hand, enjoying a glass of red wine everyday with a great dinner and surrounded by great friends WILL bring about great conversation and memories for years to come as you reap the benefits of the antioxidant properties of wine. Oh and the deliciousness of a fine Spanish Crianza with practically any type of food! So get out there, grab a bottle of your favorite red wine, whatever it may be, and get some friends together and enjoy!!!

With a brand new blog set up courtesy of the good people at catavino.net, I figured my first post should be about the fact that the P.R. Grisley Co. is a wine importer based out of Salt Lake City, Utah. Yes, you read that correctly, Mormontown, U.S.A. Believe it or not, it is legal to drink here if you are of age, but unfortunately it is still illegal to dance in some counties in Southern Utah. While there are too many laws to discuss in detail, I thought I’d share what it is like to buy wine here on a daily basis, especially with two Spanish friends visiting for a few weeks. Here you go-

Carlos, Emi, and myself enter a State Liquor and Wine Store to check out the selection that an average wine store has in Utah. While I must admit, we have a decent selection based on other liquor stores I have been in around the country, there are areas that are definitely lacking, which I’ll save for another day.

The point of this story happens when we went to buy our selected wines and head home for a nice dinner. The store had the A/C pumping as the thermometer rises here, so Emi went outside to save herself from frostbite. Carlos and I, being the perfect gentlemen that we are, went to pay for everything and meet Emi outside. When we approached the cashier, she asked for our I.D.’s, which is nothing out of the ordinary. We obliged, but she insisted that Emi needed to come back inside and show her I.D………..rediculous. While I went outside to retrieve Emi and her elusive Spanish passport, Carlos was being lectured on how the cashier was unable to find the birthdate on Carlos’ I.D. He pointed the date out to her that was clearly printed on his I.D., but because she was unfamiliar with a Spanish drivers liscence, she would not sell us the wine. After trying to explain to her several times, that the Spanish switch placement of the month and date when writing out what day it is, I became fed up. I kindly asked to speak with the manager, who took a glance, said ok and enjoy. REALLY? Is it that simple I thought? Needless to say, we left with several big brown bags in our hands (the mark of a boozehound in Utah) and enjoyed our wine and our dinner. I still have been unsuccessful in explaining what exactly happened at the store to Emi and Carlos, but just wanted to fill everyone else in on how some of the laws work here in Utah and how tourists view them.