Coffee. Curating. Cocktails.

Last week I had the opportunity to join the A.I. Selections 2012 tour of Piedmont, a province in the northwestern corner of Italy. The tour was led by CEO David Weitzenhoffer. David worked in NYC as the Wine Director at Felidia, until he and his business partner Laura Süpper formed Acid Inc. (now A.I. Sections) in 2007 and began importing wine. 

The tour began just north of Piedmont in the Italian Alps and moved southward to Alba. While the area of Piedmont is quite small (less than 26,000 square kilometers), there are a surprising amount of varieties that grow there, each taking on distinct characteristics. The most highly regarded grapes from the region are Nebbiolo and Barbera, which typically grow in sandy soil on southern facing slopes where it is warmer. It is the quality of the soil that give wines the naturally high acidity, minerality and tannins that are often associated with wines such as Barolo (made from Nebbiolo).

I first fell in love with wines from Piedmont when my girlfriend moved around the corner from Bar Veloce in the East Village. At Veloce, Beverage Director Thomas Crowley expertly assembles a list of Piedmontese (among other Italian) wines that showcase the diversity of variety and flavor from the region. It really opened my eyes to how unique Italian wines can be.

When I asked David what made him fall in love with Piedmont he replied, “Not being able to define what I taste. Being moved emotionally by the aromatics and flavors and not knowing how to describe it. From there it was the complexity, the diversity of wines in close proximity, then it was the people, the culture, the cuisine… hard to say: what one thing makes you fall in love with something or someone?”

Before A.I. began importing wines, David spent four months in Piedmont living with industry darling Luca Currado, interviewing dozens of local producers and building relationships with locals. On the tour we dined in the homes of many producers and experienced Piedmontese cuisine (YES, there were truffles). During several meals there was discussion about how many traditional winemakers are adapting to more modern techniques.

David explained to me (in breif) that traditional winemaking in Piedmont included:

* Long skin contact with the fruit

* Fermentation in concrete or large barrels

* Aging in large barrels. 

Then around 1990, four things changed to form what is now can be loosely definition of modern winemaking. 

* Shorter skin contact with the juice

* Rotor fermementes which aided shorter skin contact time and extracted more color

* The use of french barrique to add flavors like vanilla, coffee and toast to the wine and allow more transpiration making the wine softer and ready to drink at a younger age.

* Dropping more grapes in the field, focusing on quality over quantity.

I was blown away by how small some of the operations were. At Serafino Rivella, owner Teobaldo Rivella harvests grapes from only 2 hectares of land. David spoke a lot about working with small producers, and focusing on bringing high quality wines to that states that he felt were underrepresented. “A lot of sommeliers like discovering something new and being the first to tell the world about it. I think that aspect of my old career carried over to this new work I do.” 

When I asked David to explain how he wants to represent the wines in his portfolio, he replied “Aromatics are hugely important to me. From there we look for a more traditional winemaking style as I believe the wines age better and are more elegant. In general whether from here or another region we want transparency in the wine… pretty aromatics, high acid, and a wine that tells you something about where it comes from.”

One afternoon our group was visiting a vineyard called Decapo. Over a massive lunch, partners Paolo and Dino let us taste all of their 2010 and 2011 releases. Dino explained that they had finished the harvest the previous week and David looked up and said….”Can we taste?” Dino disappeared for 10 minutes and returned with an unmarked bottle and poured it in to a fresh glass sitting next to the the 2010 and 2011 vintages of the same Barbera. He swirled it, smelled, tasted and looked up at us with a smile. “This is what 7 days of life taste like. You can almost feel it fermenting in your mouth. This wine is not for drinking.” The table laughed because it wasn’t for drinking. It was just a baby.

Piedmont wines, like my favorite coffees are gorgeously floral, bright, fresh and alive. If you have never tried one before I highly suggest you do. 

For more information about A.I. Selections, visit their website www.aiselections.com

Very pleased to announce the new exhibition I’ve curated for the Leslie Lohman Musuem. 

Leslie-Lohman Museum Window Gallery

In-Between & Outside

Photographs by Sara Swaty

Curated by Cora Lambert 

June 26 - November 6, 2012

Closing reception: Friday, October 5; 6-8pm 

In-Between & Outside is a series of portraits by Sara Swaty exploring gender identity and the human form across a broad spectrum of individuals. The works were created with an interest in how cultural preconceptions about gender have created unattainable ideals about masculinity and femininity. Subjects range from those born into a gender they do not identify with, to transgender individuals who have physically transitioned and changed their bodies. The images aim to share the personal stories of a gender variant community while challenging stereotypes that LGBT communities face.

The Leslie-Lohman Museum Window Gallery is a street facing gallery featuring work by contemporary and emerging LGBT artists who address issues of gender, identity, sex and pop culture.

The Window Gallery is visible only from the street and is on view 24 hours a day.

26 Wooster Street, New York, NY 10013

(212) 431-2609  |  (212) 431-2666 Fax

info@leslielohman.org

www.leslielohman.org

Tuesday-Saturday 12-6 PM

The Second Annual Coffee Cocktail Mash Up Recap

Congratulations to Sam Penix and John deBary who won the Second Annual Coffee Cocktail Mash Up with a delicious coffee punch (see recipe below). The event was a huge success and together we raised $1790 for the panelist of Coffee: The Missing Ingredient. A huge thanks to all our participants, judges, volunteers and guests.

Just in case you missed it, here are a few thoughts from our judges and MC (also the moderator of Coffee: This Missing Ingredient).

“I absolutely loved Danny Gil and Mike Jones’s elegant buzzy riff on the julep with aeropress cold coffee as the base “spirit” and a touch of cocchi. The streamlined ingredients list allowed the coffee’s complexity to shine through, and it dovetailed nicely with the current low ABV trend in cocktails.

Of course, John DeBary and Sam Penix stole the show with a killer performance mixing myth, humor and fire for their caffeinated tiki tipple.

As for whether any of those drinks could appear on menus, I think it would take a spot that had both killer coffee and programs in place (see: Fort Defiance) to pull off a coffee-cocktail on the menu.” Mari Uyehara from Time Out New York

“The thing that always makes me so happy to be working in this community of people is all the great folks you meet —I was blown away by the good will and excitement and enthusiasm that everyone brought  — from the teams to the guests. It was just really, really fun and heartening.

The competitors totally blew me away — The level of thought and creativity, expertise and new ideas was just phenomenal. And I loved how in each drink the coffee used expressed itself in a totally different way — immediately on the palate, or on the finish, or mid-palate, and the way each one would morph with or stand out from the spirit and other ingredients used” - Amy Zavatto of Imbibe Magazine

“I’ve never been served such tasty coffee cocktails in all my years of drinking. Sam said it best when he described coffee as being “bitchy” and unwilling to play well with others. This is absolutely true, and why coffee cocktails usually fail. The collaboration between bartenders and baristas displayed last night is probably the best I’ve ever seen - they were all delicious. That said, my favorite drink of the evening was the one from Alex Bernson and Brad Farran, who created a silky smooth coffee dessert with Ron Zacapa. I loved the flavor, mouthfeel, and presentation, and would absolutely order one in a bar.” - Mike White of ShotZombies.com

“My thoughts are that bartenders really need to learn about cold brew as if they set it up overnight it’s all ready to go for service the next day without a lot of time or prep. It really elevates GOOD coffee in a cocktail and I also think the flavors. will come out more as well. In the array of drinks sampled yesterday it seems coffee cocktails can be used for aperitif, punches and the typical dessert style cream based drinks.” - Shawn Kelly of Pernod Ricard

Teresa Von Fuchs (Dallis Bros. Coffee) & Meaghan Doorman (Raines Law Room)

Colonista

Coffee: Dominican Republic, Finca Rufino from Dallis Bros. Coffee

Brew Method: Full immersion and then filtered through a cloth filter

3oz Finca Rufino

.5 oz Del Maguey Minero Mezcal

.5 oz Cynar
1 oz Lustau Solera Reserve Cream Sherry

Mike Jones (Third Rail Coffee) & Danny Gil (Weather Up)

The Troublemaker

Coffee: Ethiopia, Duromina from Stumptown

Brew Method: 80% Aeropress / 20% Cold Brew

2oz Duromina

1oz Cocchi Di Torino

8 Mint Leaves

½ Lemon Wedge

Muddle and garnish with grated cinnamon and nutmeg.

Alex Bernson (Joe) & Brad Farran (Clover Club)

Caribbean “Affagato”

Coffee: Guatemala, El Injerto from Stumptown (incorporating two microlots from the farm).

Brew Method: La Cima coldbrew and El Tanque as Japanese style made in to coffee ice cubes.

3oz coldbrew
1.5 zacapa
 .75 falernum
 .25 sugar cane,
1.5 banana cream float

 Sam Penix (Everyman Espresso) & John deBary (PDT)

Oro and His Princess

Coffee: Honduras, Finca El Puente Espresso from Counter Culture Coffee

Brew Method: Espresso

10 oz Finca El Puente
8 oz Elijah Craig 12 Year Bourbon
8 oz Banks 5 Island Rum
8 oz Passion Fruit Purée
8 oz Grade B Maple Syrup
3 oz Lemon Juice

Combine in a large bowl with pebble ice and stir. Pour over 4 flaming
shots of Wray and Nephew Overproof Rum. Served in tiki mugs. Garnish with fresh mint, sage sprigs and a tiki fan.

Park Brannen (Handsome Coffee Roasters) & Jane Danger (Jane’s Sweet Buns)

Rwanda Colada

Coffee: Rwanda, Dukunde Kawa from Handsome Coffee Roasters

Brew Method: Kalita Wave as Japanese style iced coffee

1oz. Dukunde Kawa

1.25 Neisson Special Reserve Rhum

1.5 Coconut Purée
.50 Cane Syrup
.50 Amere Sauvage
3 dashes Bittermans Mole Bitters

Whip shake pellet ice, strain, serve topped with more crushed ice. Serve in hollowed out coconut.