A short course in port

Port, the perfect way to mark any special occasion, the perfect way to make any occasion special.

By Steve Siciliano

A bottle of Dow’s 1997 Vintage Port has been aging in our home wine cellar for about twelve years now. Every so often I’ll pick that bottle up and think about opening it but I always place it back on the rack. I know the wine is ready to drink now and if I was to succumb to temptation we would be entranced by its dark purple color, the aromas of licorice, chocolate and roasted coffee, and by flavors of maple syrup, blackberry and plum. But I also know that it has the potential to age gracefully for at least twelve more years and a wine like that is best enjoyed when marking a special occasion. Maybe I’ll open it when my son Chris and his fiancée Gena get married, or when Barb and I celebrate our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, or when the Lions win the Super Bowl.

While there are many fine port style wines made throughout the world, the wines that can legally be called Porto are produced only in Portugal. The grapes are grown in the upper Duoro Valley in the north where the blazing hot summer temperatures allow them to attain high levels of sugar. Winemakers add neutral grape spirits at a certain point during the fermentation. This stops the yeast from working and results in a sweet, fortified wine. Which part of the Duoro the grapes are from and the quality of the harvest determine the style of port that’s produced—a ruby, an aged tawny, a late bottle vintage or, like that bottle aging in our cellar, a vintage porto. Vintage ports are wines of extraordinary depth and complexity that are produced only in exceptional years.

Ruby ports are the least complex and the least expensive. They are blends of young wines that are aged in oak for two to three years and are made from grapes that come from the less prestigious vineyards. While a good ruby port is a simple, straightforward wine that will not benefit from extended aging, it will entice you with it fresh berry aromas and nice red fruit flavors. Siciliano's recommends: Taylor Fladgate Fine Ruby Porto, $16.89.

Aged tawny ports are blends of wine from several, non-vintage years that are aged in barrels until they develop nutty, brown sugar and vanilla flavors and a soft, silky texture. The extended barrel aging transforms the wine from bright ruby red to the light brown, tawny color from which it gets its name. An aged tawny will usually have a ten, twenty, thirty or forty year designation on the label. This does not necessarily mean that the wine has been barrel-aged for the specified time but rather is an indication of the target age profile. In other words a forty-year-old tawny tastes like it is made from wines that are forty years old. Siciliano's recommends: Graham's 20 Year Tawny, $58.39 or Taylor Fladgate 10 Year Tawny, $32.89.

Late bottle vintage ports (LBVs) are unblended wines from a single vintage that was a good but not great year. They are aged in oak barrels four to six years and then filtered and bottled. Thanks to the barrel-aging the wine matures more quickly, giving it to some extent the nuances of a vintage port. But LBVs lack the depth and complexity of vintage port and because they are filtered they will not benefit from extended aging in the bottle. Siciliano's recommends: Smith Woodhouse 1984 Late Bottled Vintage, $40.99.

On average, about three times a decade the Duoro will experience perfect growing conditions resulting in young wines that are almost perfectly balanced. Samples of these wines are sent to the Port Wine Institute and, if approval is given, the year is declared a “Vintage.” Vintage ports are only made from grapes grown in the best vineyards. They are aged in oak barrels for two years and are then bottled unfiltered. As the wine matures the flavors and aromas become deeper, more refined and more complex. Siciliano's recommends: Warre's 1994 Vintage Porto, $117.99.

Vintage ports are extraordinary wines that should be saved for those most special of occasions (providing you have the will power). It doesn’t look like the Lions will win the big one anytime soon, and since our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary is a still silver speck on the horizon, I guess the date Barb and I crack the '97 Dows depends on Chris and Gena.

Homebrew equipment kit, a.k.a. the best gift ever

Give away a beer, make someone happy for an hour. Give away a homebrew kit, make someone happy for a lifetime.

By Doug Dorda

I will never forget the day I walked out of Siciliano's with my first homebrew equipment kit. For a long time the staffers had encouraged me to try my hand at making beer (I wasn't yet employed there). I finally took their challenge, fell in love with the hobby, and began the long crusade that led eventually to a career in the fermented arts.

I tell you, nothing quite compares to the feeling of making your first beer, of being that connected to the sweet intoxicating liquid. The smell of boiling malt wafting through the air. The complex aromas as hops are added to the wort. The sick, sinking feeling when you realize you've forgotten something important for the batch.

The last of those feelings is what inspired us to compile the ultimate beginner's homebrew kit, a complete collection of glassware, literature, and the necessary equipment. For $189, more than $15 off the regular retail price, the following can be yours.

• Brewers Best Deluxe equipment kit
• wine thief
• How to Brew by John Palmer
• 5-gallon stainless steel brew pot
• 2 cases of 12oz amber bottles 

Not included in this deal are ingredients for the first batch of beer. We recommend first time brewers begin with one of our Brewers Best ingredient kits so they can wrap their minds around the process without having to fret too much over recipe construction. We have a wide variety of styles to choose from, and they range in the price from $29 to $48.

So if you're looking to get the perfect gift for that loved one who has always talked about making beer, this is it! You can expect to spend between $225 and $250 to get him or her (or yourself) completely ready to make beer, all depending on which ingredient kit you choose.

Note: We also offer gift cards. If you can't decide what to get for the homebrewer who has everything, get them one of these. Gift cards work for every product for sale at Siciliano's, not just those related to homebrewing. 

From all of us at Siciliano's

We wish you a safe and happy holiday season!

Revisiting Wendell Berry's "The Pleasures of Eating"

A good meal is more than just a well-seasoned dish.

By Weston Eaton

This column is all about the pleasures of eating, but I am probably going to talk about pleasure in a way you may not be familiar with. Pleasure has at least two sides: receiving pleasure, which has a gluttonous ring to it when speaking of food, and giving pleasure to others, which strikes me as altruistic. The pleasure I’m talking about below, as related to food, spurns such categorizations, collapsing this dichotomy into a unified practice. I’ll keep it short so as not to preach, but if you find my logic appealing then maybe you too will come to think of pleasure in a new way.

In his essay The Pleasures of Eating Wendell Berry tells us “eating is an agricultural act.” This is a conceptual reminder that no matter how difficult it is for us to see, the food we eat was once grown someplace, and that the very act of eating itself links us to that place and the people there. As eaters then we have certain responsibilities as our actions are linked with both land and livelihoods. Berry’s point is two-fold. First, industrial food is unhealthy for people, animals, and the land. We are disconnected from this type of food: those who produce it do not want us to know how it was produced; they would rather we remained ignorant. Second, and the point on which I want to elaborate, is that eating food is innately connected with what is pleasurable.

What does it mean to take pleasure from food? Of course it has everything to do with taste, smell, the feel and sense of the experience. But can we extend this? Moving into the realm of aesthetics seems fair. This is to say, the company we keep, the background music we play, even the setting of the table contributes to the overall pleasure of the meal. As has been said, beer, for instance, tastes best when shared with people you love and respect. But there’s more. Preparing food, making food, this is an act of creation. We are the creators. We plan, mull over, select, and then act. Our creation is shared and enjoyed. This kind of pleasure reaches beyond the individual. This is a collective act, and in being so it cannot be experienced alone.

But this all takes place after the growth, harvest, hunt, slaughter, or fermentation, each a primary act (before cooking) that can be pleasurable as well. Berry tells us “a significant part of the pleasure of eating is in one's accurate consciousness of the lives and the world from which food comes.” This kind of difference, between knowing your food’s origin and being ignorant to it, is not something that can be measured scientifically—there is no instrument for this. Economically too there is difficulty in deciphering importance. In fact there is little common language for expressing a spiritual connection, as we are no longer much of a spiritual society. But Berry asks us to go here anyway, specifically too for the sake of pleasure. The simple act of knowing is important in itself.

Yet each process that takes place before we cook (or have dinner served) is brutal or violent in its own way. Each takes place “out-of-doors” and miles away from the supermarket, co-op or farm market. Moreover, each process involves "resources" that we ourselves did not create, resources that only require our stewardship and care (and even that may be an overestimation). People, for instance, don't make wine. Yeast does. Seeds become plants independent of the people who planted them. Animals simply are their own meat. We may express our influence upon these things, but we did not create them; they are not borne of our own conception. Soufflé, on the other hand, is something we created.

Perhaps that’s why the acts of agriculture and horticulture are seen by many as brutal. Too often we try to master nature, to make it our servant, to force it to bend to our will. But as Katrina, the Gulf oil spill, the Dust Bowl, Japan's nuclear disaster, and countless floods, hurricanes, and snowstorms have shown, we are not really in charge; in fact, we are hardly in control. And perhaps our desire for control is also the root of our disconnect, our ‘original food sin’, our disenchantment. By acknowledging the limitations of our control, however—and by giving up the infinite options for food provided to us by often faceless corporations—we can in fact become empowered. In the words of Berry, “eating with the fullest pleasure—pleasure, that is, that does not depend on ignorance—is perhaps the profoundest enactment of our connection with the world.”

Is this a zero sum game, practically speaking? Must I denounce much of society to re-enchant my life? Must I pay premiums for “green” food? And what about those who cannot afford it? Change takes place in many forms both small and large. Perhaps the best way to begin answering this question is to meditate on the heart of Berry’s message, which I think benefits from a little explication. Yes, eating is an agricultural act—we eaters are often at the end of a commodity or value chain. But eating is also a social and spiritual act, one enhanced when we learn the origins of food, when we begin to participate, and when we take on the responsibilities of being a good “food citizen”. My point then is that starting to make a change is much better than no change at all.

*Photo credit Mark Siciliano

New Beer Wednesday - Thanksgiving Edition (Nov 23)

Pilgrim's Dole, perfect for Turkey Day

This year West Michigan craft beer fans have much to be thankful for. Thanks in no small part to places like Founders, New Holland, Vivant and Hopcat, not to mention events like the Michigan Winter Beer Festival or the double handful of new breweries slated to open in 2012, our area has maintained and reinforced its reputation for being one hell of a great place for beer.

However, at times like these we should be careful not to overlook the one thing that really makes this scene successful: legions of craft beer loyalists who continuously support the local movement with both their hard-earned cash and valuable time. At Siciliano's we recognize the importance of the individual enthusiast. From the most discerning aficionado to the most casual beer geek, we're grateful for all of you, knowing full well that IPAs and bourbon-barrel stouts, now matter how tasty or hard to find, just don't sit around and drink themselves. Thanks so much for helping to make Siciliano's the store it is today.

New (and Returning) Beers

• Short's Ginger in the Rye, $1.99/12oz - "A Rye Munich Weizen Ale with approximately 2 oz of fresh ginger per gallon and an ABV of approximately 7.0%" (source).
• New Holland Pilgrim's Dole Wheat Wine, $3.99/12oz - "A barleywine-style ale made with fifty percent wheat malt...[it blends] warming and slightly sweet flavors with a unique caramelized character. It would be an excellent accent to nutty dishes, fruit crisps or creme brulee" (source).
• A. le Coq Imperial Extra Double Stout, $6.89/9.3oz - This beer is "a towering achievement, on the same level as a great old Barolo or vintage port. It makes a mind-boggling match with venison in sour cherry sauce and is a fine accompaniment to game sausages, particularly wild boar... As for cigars, only the finest, strongest Cubans will do, unless you have an Arturo Fuente Opus X. In that case, I'll be right over." Garrett Oliver, The Bremaster's Table, p.151 (source).
• Schloss Eggenberg Doppelbock Dunkel, $4.59/12oz - According to the Beer Bibliographer "this Austrian brew is deep brown with red-orange highlights and floats a sparse but consistent tan head. The bouquet is fabulous: malty, roasted carmel, licorice, coffee, raisins…and all well-balanced and very appealing" (source).
• Gulden Draak Vintage 2010, $14.49/750ml - A Belgian Strong Double Ale, "quite malty, but well balanced. Caramel, sweet estery malt with a hop presence that's understated but provides backbone. Tasty. Another classic from the Gulden Draak family, glad I finally got to try it" (Review from Beer Advocate).
• Wittekerke Winter White Ale, $9.99/750ml - The double version of Witterkerke's classic winter white, which "famous beer connoisseur Michel Jackson describes as 'creamy, aromatic, with a clean, teasing, perfumy fruits and Faintly herbal defies ness ness'" (source).
• Dark Horse Too Cream Stout, $1.99/12oz - A beer "made with milk sugar (lactose) which gives this beer a nice creamy mouthfeel...hints of chocolate and roasty flavors" (source).
• Buffalo Bills Blueberry Oatmeal Stout, $1.59/12oz - "At 7.5% alcohol, this award-winning brew is a true winter warmer...hints of chocolate, oatmeal, and fresh blueberries" (source).
• Innes & Gunn Original Oak Aged Ale, $2.39/12oz, $5.29/750ml - "Its lengthy 77-day maturation imparts flavours of toffee, vanilla and oak that perfectly complement the beer’s backbone of luscious malt and fruity hop notes. The oak helps to give Innis & Gunn Original its appealing colour and also mellow the alcohol character, so although the beer is 6.6%, it’s very smooth and easy to drink" (source).
• Innes & Gunn Rum Cask, $2.59/120z, $6.29/750ml - "Soft fruits and malt balanced by a lively spiciness from the rum." This finish is "mellow and oaky with just a lingering hint of spice" (source).
• Fomosa Lager, $1.79/12oz - "The most famous beer in Guatemala, with a different name exclusively for commercializing in foreign markets. Famosa is a lager beer with a light golden color...possessing smooth bitterness and delicate aroma. Thanks to its wholesome flavor and balance, it has become the favorite of those who demand and enjoy a high quality beer" (source).
• Dragon Stout, $1.99/12oz - A beer from Jamaica "starting out very roasty and malty, then building up some milk chocolate and vanilla notes, leading into the finish. Hints of dark fruits (raisins, dates) and coffee. For a stout, this is smooth and not bitter" (As reviewed on Beer Advocate).
• Heineken Mini-Keg Collector's Pack, $25.19 - Includes a 5-liter keg of Heineken, two 8-ounce Heineken glasses, one skimmer, and ten Heineken coasters. The perfect gift for the Heineken fan who already has everything.
• Cerveza Cucapa Tequila-Barrel Barley Wine, $6.99/22oz - From the label, "Our inspiration comes from the mountains of Jalisco where agave is king. This is the first tequila barrel aged beer in the world. We took a batch of our multi-prized barley wine and put it into tequila barrels and here are the results."
• Cerveza Cucapa Green Card Barley Wine, $7.69/22oz - From the label, "Brewed to a heavy 10% ABV [with] a viscous malty character and a hint of hops. This beer is complex and life-changing." 

Picture of the Week

At the Waldorff in Hastings, the glass is half full

Siciliano's Market Thanksgiving Holiday Hours

Closed Thanksgiving Day

Friday & Saturday 8am - 10pm

Sunday 10am - 10pm

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

You picked a fine wine to serve me, Lucille

When choosing the right wine for Thanksgiving, balance is key...obscure Kenny Rogers references are also important.

By Steve Siciliano

When folks talk about all the Thanksgiving food they look forward to eating, invariably it's the side dishes they gush over most. I'm not saying the roasted, baked or deep-fried turkey doesn't get its due praise, it just seems that more often than not the bird has to share the spotlight with the stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, candied yams and countless other dishes that make up this annual November feast.

Because there are so many different flavors vying for attention on the typical Thanksgiving dinner plate, I feel that special care should be given when choosing the wines to accompany the meal. A big red would overpower not just the turkey but many of the side dishes as well. Conversely, a delicate white wine would be nothing more than a lackluster footnote when up against the bountiful flavors of the Thanksgiving table.

After many years of trial and error I've discovered that two varietals in particular are perfect accompaniments to the Thanksgiving feast, Pinot Noir and Gewurztraminer. A Pinot Noir's soft tannins, balanced acidity and bright fruits pair well with the flavors of the turkey, and the floral aromas and spiciness of a good Gewurtztraminer will help bring out nuance and character on even the most diverse menues.

Our wine buyer, Sarah "The Cheetah" Derylo, has made sure that our wine room is well stocked with both of these feast-enhancing varietals. A few of our favorites are detailed below.

• Heron Pinot Noir 2010, $12.19  - "An elegant composition of sustainably farmed grapes from several of California's cool, marine influenced micro-climates. Ripe red berry and black cherry fruit balance its delicate spiciness."
• Primarius Pinot Noir 2009, $16.49 - Silky with layers of fruit that unfold on the palate, this Oregon Pinot Noir lives up to its name: Primarius, Latin for distinguished. Sourced from high quality Oregon vineyards, Primarius speaks of the state's idyllic climate for producing Pinot Noir.
• Firestone Santa Ynez Valley Gewurztraminer 2008, $13.59 - "Our Gewürztraminer comes from the estate Firestone Vineyard in the Santa Ynez Valley. Th is historic site features a cool-climate, maritime-influenced climate that accentuates the character of the variety" (source).
• Shady Lane 2009 Estate Grown Gewurztraminer, $14.39 - "This wine is a tribute to fruit and spice with tangerine and melon and a hint of rose petal. Perfect with any spicy dishes or your favorite shellfish."

Happy Thanksgiving!

New Beer Friday - November 18 Edition

With legions of deer hunters currently roaming the Michigan woodlands, it's best the non-hunters among us stay cozied up at home with a bottle or two (or ten) of the newest beers to arrive on Siciliano's shelves.

As for you hunters already out in the field, fear not, with few exceptions (GL Blackout Stout) this week's new beers will be awaiting your return from the cold and blustery hinterlands surrounding GR. When you finally decide to hang up your camouflage for the day, stop in and see us and we'll fix you up with something tasty.

New (and Returning) Beers

• Bell's Batch 10k, $2.99/12oz - Our distributor found a few cases of "the last of the batch series" in their warehouse. They delivered four of them to us just today. Available only while supplies last.
• Founders Harvest Ale, $2.59/12oz - Like Bell's 10k, our distributor found a couple cases of this rare beer. Like Bell's 10k, it's available only while supplies  
• North Peak Black Cherry Porter, $1.99/12oz - "A perfect Michigan Porter, made with a hint of Michigan cherries" (source).
• Anchor Brewing Christmas Ale, $2.39/12oz - "Every year since 1975 the brewers of Anchor Steam® Beer have brewed a distinctive and unique Christmas Ale, which is available from early November to mid-January. The Ale's recipe is different every year—as is the tree on the label—but the intent with which we offer it remains the same: joy and celebration of the newness of life. Since ancient times, trees have symbolized the winter solstice when the earth, with its seasons, appears born anew. Our tree for 2011 is the bristlecone pine. Found high atop California's White Mountains, bristlecones are among the oldest living things on the planet. Some date back nearly 5,000 years, to the dawn of the ancient art of brewing" (source).
• Jolly Pumpkin Autumn Fire, $13.79/12oz - "To catch a bit of soft radiance in each bottle, we wait for fall colors to begin their bright and fleeting glow before brewing this wonderful ale under their autumn fire. Gentle amber malts blend smooth caramel notes, gently lapping against a shore of distant forgotten spice. A beer to sip, contemplate and enjoy" (source).
• Sierra Nevada Ovila Quad, $11.49/12oz - "This full and sultry ale is sure to warm the soul and welcome in the season. This silky ale is rich, mahogany brown in color with a velvety malt aroma, spiked with hints of dried cherry, fig, raisin, and plum notes. A full and creamy body offers layers of flavor including a perfume-like wave of intense dark fruits and caramel-like maltiness. Rich and warming, this complex ale should be shared among friends in the true spirit of the season" (source).
• Avec les bons Vœux de la brasserie Dupont, 11.29/25oz - "This Bons Vœux is coppery blonde, has a very fine hop aroma and tastes bitter, fruity and mild. [Dupont's] selection of yeasts, in combination with a riping process, on a 'dry-hopping' base, creates a complex aroma and taste. A real refermentation in the bottle, which will continue for a long time in your cellar, results in a harmonious and well-balanced beer, full of unexpected and complex aromas" (source).
• B. Nektar Zombie Killer Cherry Cyser, $8.59/500ml - "Apple cider with honey and tart cherry juice. Lightly carbonated" (source).
• Stoudts Revel Hoppy Red Ale, $1.99/12oz - "This full bodied ale has a deep reddish amber color with a thick creamy head. Pungent hop flavors are derived from 3 different varieties of domestically grown hops. This ale finishes on the dry side with a wonderful citrus hop flavor" (source).
• Avery Old Jubilation, $1.79/12oz - "Our winter strong ale has a gorgeous mahogany hue, a hint of hazelnuts, and a finish reminiscent of mocha and toffee. No spices, just a perfect blend of five specialty malts. Cellarable for 2 years" (source).
• Crown Valley Brewing Big Bison Ale, $2.49/12oz - "A rich, malty, full-bodied very complex beer. This beer is deep ruby color. The palate has a malty sweetness with notes of caramel and other complex flavors. A dried fruit characteristic is readily apparent with hints of raisin and plum. The high alcohol content gives a warming sensation and balances the malty sweetness. Large amounts of candy sugar add to complexity" (source).
• Crown Valley Brewing Strawberry Cider, $2.09/12oz - "This cider has a slight golden pink color. This strawberry infused cider is a semi-sweet cider with a wonderful balance of sweetness and acidity" (source).
• Great Lakes Blackout Stout, $3.29/12oz - A Russian imperial stout with a hearty malt body and bold hop flavor" (source). Sorry. This one's gone already.
• San Miguel Dark, $1.99/12oz - "A rich dark lager complemented by bold caramel tones, recognized by the distinguished panel of tasters of the world-renowned Monde Selection." This according to San Miguel's six-pack carrier.

Picture of the Week

Taps at the Hideout

Prost!

Destination GR: Craft beer capital of Michigan

With several established breweries leading the way, and with more on the horizon, Grand Rapids is poised to become a center for beer-related tourism. That's a good thing for West Michigan residents, and here's why.

Our in-store brewery map needs updating

By Steve Siciliano

Last Saturday Barb and I were at Brewery Vivant enjoying beers and appetizers when a couple of folks sat down next to us at the bar. We began chatting, and during the course of the conversation they told us that they were from the Washington DC area and had flown into town to attend the Breakfast Stout Breakfast that morning at Founders.

This is a concrete example of how beer is helping stoke the economy of West Michigan. People from out of town and out of state are traveling here with the express purpose of drinking locally produced beer and in the process are spending money on ancillary things such as hotel rooms, rental cars and meals in other restaurants. Siciliano's also benefits from these beer related pilgrimages. Whenever Founders has a party at their taproom we get a good number of out-of-towners stopping by the store to load up on beer they can’t get back home. And it’s not just the special brewery events that are drawing beer-loving travelers to West Michigan. The Brewers Guild Winter Beer Festival has exploded in recent years and many travelers who pass through the area do so while on statewide beer bar and brewery tours.

The money being spent on these beer pilgrimages benefits the state as well as local communities. More beer sold in brewery taprooms means more excise tax dollars ending up in the state coffers. More beer sold in bottle shops like Siciliano’s means more dollars generated by state sales tax, and when local businesses prosper the effects are felt in other areas of the community. Over the past few years we here at Siciliano’s have reinvested a good deal of our beer-generated profits into our brick-and-mortar building which has meant more work for local contractors. And that's just one example.

There are a lot of good things happening in Grand Rapids. We are being recognized for our medical facilities, for having a rejuvenated downtown and for popular outdoor festivals and events such as Art Prize. The opening of even more breweries in the near future can only further enhance our reputation as being a destination for good beer.

Note: Buzz editors are aware of at least seven area breweries looking to open sometime in the coming months or next year. In no particular order, they are: White Flame Brewing, Grand Rapids Brewing, Harmony Brewing, Elk Brewing, Perrin Brewing, Rockford Brewing, and Pike 51 Brewing Company. Did we miss any? Let us know.