WTN: NZ SB, MSR Riesling

With scallops over a fennel slaw with olives and oranges, we had the 2007 Babich Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough). Very typical, grapefruit and gooseberry with a little edge of capiscum. Not as long or fragrant as some vintages, but certainly servicable. B

With a stirfry of turkey, sugar snaps, & peppers (with plum sauce, ginger, and garlic) over soba, the 2002 JJ Christoffel Erdener Treppchen Spatlese. Ripe, rich, and ready. Floral note, palate is quite sweet but loaded with citrus - oranges and a Fresca-like grapefruit (I like Fresca!). Good acidity, plays well with others (or with food). 8% abv is a bonus. Just a hint of pertrol coming in. This isn't very complex or deep, but it is tasty. Thanks to all with match opinions on FLDG. B+

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.
 

Had to look up "capiscum"!

Had to look up "capiscum"!

Oswaldo, I'm surprised by that, given the term's Latin roots. How is the plant referred to in Brazil?

Mark Lipton

Had to look up "capiscum"!

Oswaldo, I'm surprised by that, given the term's Latin roots. How is the plant referred to in Brazil?

Mark Lipton

Yes, I want to know that too.

Did some research and found that, in these here parts, capiscum is known as... capsicum. Curious. The fact that I had never heard of either can only be ascribed to a gaping hole in my general kulchur (though I am not entirely ignorant; for example, I know what a myxolidian flat thirteen scale is... ).

Did some research and found that, in these here parts, capiscum is known as... capsicum.]

Aha! I'd missed the typo, but am still surprised that the name wasn't familiar. Is capsicum not commonly used in Brazilian cooking? I freely confess to not knowing much about it beyond feijoada and the now-ubiquitous churrascaria places.

Mark Lipton

Wow, my national dish, now I'm really feeling ignorant and will have to run to the nearest feijoada place to check out some capsicum in the flesh.

Wow, my national dish, now I'm really feeling ignorant and will have to run to the nearest feijoada place to check out some capsicum in the flesh.

I missed the typo too. You read what you think you see.
Feijoada stumped me, so I looked up wiki (first hit on google) which says it is a typical Brazilian or Portuguese stew of beans and meat.
It was confusing because we grow feijoa fruit (native to Brazil and Uruguay) here in New Zealand. They are in season now.
http://www.edible.co.nz/fruits.php?fruitid=19
I sometimes get feijoa flavours in sauvignon blanc - but never feijoada flavours.

Cheers,
Sue

Wow, one little typo gets more attention than my notes.

My first experience with feijoada was at a birthday party for Oswaldo. Delicious! A second try at a restaurant was less thrilling. I've vowed to only eat Costa-approved feijoada.

[David M. Bueker]

Thanks for the update on the Christoffel. The 2002s were in the unenviable position of following Hans-Leo's 01s, but give plenty of pleasure in their own right. The 2002 Urziger Wurzgarten Auslese (no stars, bars or long capsules) is a wonderful wine that is still out there in a few places for the taking.

This morning I read the following in WA: New Zealand is synonymous with Sauvignon Blanc but it has been typecast by the high volume brands, your stereotypical notes of gooseberry, capsicum, cat’s pee and so forth.

Obviously, capsicum is not only a hallmark of Kiwi SB, but a more widely used word than I had imagined. But not around here. Friday night I asked the savvy chef at a well-known local restaurant here for some so I could taste it and he had never heard the word. If capsicum is that little red pepper that usually comes in oil (the one used in feijoada), we call it "pimenta malagueta" (translates literally as Malaga pepper).

Funnily enough, my girlfriend Marcia knew the word because she is an anesthesiologist and capsaicin is a natural anesthetic. She sent me an interesting blurb that I quote (and translate) partially below:

The origin of the name Pepper

The term pepper comes from the Latin pigmentum, which means paint. Its original meaning was pigment. Later, it came to designate an aromatic spice, and then finally the fruit of PIPER NIGRUM – the well-known black pepper. Today, however, in many places the word is used indiscriminately to designate not only peppercorn peppers but those of the Capsicum genus. One could say that Columbus was one of those responsible for this naming confusion. In 1492, when he went off in search of new routes to the spice islands, he was in search of black pepper. But he not only ended up in the wrong place, landing in the island of San Salvador, in the Caribbean, but also thought that the piquancy present in the local dishes was due to black pepper. Only in time was it noticed that the fruit responsible for the pleasant piquancy of the local recipes was of a different kind, but by then the designation "pepper" had already become disseminated to refer to the members of the Capsicum genus, today known as horticultural peppers.

By the way, we just got back from the best restaurant I have ever been to for regional Brazilian food. It is called Mocotó (marrow), and I only knew about it because a local journalist took Jancis Robinson & her food critic husband there last year and they loved it. It is really out of the way, in a god-forsaken part of town, so we have been postponing the trip, but it was terrific. If any of you (Dale, Mark, Sue, David, and others) ever make the trip down here, we'll take you there!

Wow, one little typo gets more attention than my notes.

My first experience with feijoada was at a birthday party for Oswaldo. Delicious! A second try at a restaurant was less thrilling. I've vowed to only eat Costa-approved feijoada.

It's natural to compare feijoada with cassoulet, but the overall flavors of the dishes are so different. Nonetheless, they both rank very high on the list of my favorite dishes. Some day I'll have to try one at a Costa-approved joint to see for myself.

Mark Lipton

The term pepper comes from the Latin pigmentum, which means paint. Its original meaning was pigment. Later, it came to designate an aromatic spice, and then finally the fruit of PIPER NIGRUM – the well-known black pepper. Today, however, in many places the word is used indiscriminately to designate not only peppercorn peppers but those of the Capsicum genus. One could say that Columbus was one of those responsible for this naming confusion. In 1492, when he went off in search of new routes to the spice islands, he was in search of black pepper. But he not only ended up in the wrong place, landing in the island of San Salvador, in the Caribbean, but also thought that the piquancy present in the local dishes was due to black pepper. Only in time was it noticed that the fruit responsible for the pleasant piquancy of the local recipes was of a different kind, but by then the designation "pepper" had already become disseminated to refer to the members of the Capsicum genus, today known as horticultural peppers.

Yes, this semantic confusion in the English language is regrettable. Unfortunately, it seems not to be limited to my mother tongue, since pimenta also refers to black pepper in Portuguese, does it not? BTW, your pimenta malagueta is almost certainly a member of capsicum annum.

By the way, we just got back from the best restaurant I have ever been to for regional Brazilian food. It is called Mocotó (marrow), and I only knew about it because a local journalist took Jancis Robinson & her food critic husband there last year and they loved it. It is really out of the way, in a god-forsaken part of town, so we have been postponing the trip, but it was terrific. If any of you (Dale, Mark, Sue, David, and others) ever make the trip down here, we'll take you there!

I'll keep that invitation in mind, Oswaldo!

Mark Lipton

Yes, this semantic confusion in the English language is regrettable. Unfortunately, it seems not to be limited to my mother tongue, since pimenta also refers to black pepper in Portuguese, does it not? BTW, your pimenta malagueta is almost certainly a member of capsicum annum.

Yes, we use the same word for both. Similar to how Columbus called the natives "indians" because he thought he had reached the Indies...

If capsicum is that little red pepper that usually comes in oil (the one used in feijoada), we call it "pimenta malagueta" (translates literally as Malaga pepper).

Oswaldo, I'm one of the most linguistically imprecise people here, but what I mean when I use capsicum is that flavor that red/yellow bell peppers and jalapeno have in common. I used to say jalapeno, but it apparently confused people who thought I was talking about heat. So I traded in one confusing term for another.
While my semantic sloppiness may confuse others, knowing that flavor in my own brain is useful for identifying SB, and in particular NZ SB (I don't remember in any Loire SBs).

Dale, you're one of the most linguistically expressive people here, and I'm just trying to keep up! Will look out for capsicum next time I go hunting for guava in my NZ SB.