The Melting Teapot

In the News

"The End of El Bulli?" One of the world's most renowned chefs, Spain's Ferran Adria, has announced that he will be closing the doors of his restaurant for good. . . in 2012.  Basically, he'll be honoring all of the reservations that have already been made (yes, it takes a loooooong time to get in those doors).  This Wall Street Journal article features an interview with Adria that looks at what the future holds for him.

Tasting Notes: a Top Performer, Seattle Magazine takes a look at the collaboration between winemaker Eric Dunham and actor Kyle McLachlan.  We tried a bottle of the Pursued By Bear wine last year, and it really was wonderful.  I was thinking that next time we purchase a bottle, we need to head out to Fall City or North Bend for a Twin Peaks picnic.  I know just where they took this photo:

New Food Critic in Town: The new food critic for the Seattle Weekly takes a moment to introduce himself.  I'm looking forward to viewing the Seattle food scene through his eyes.

Free Calculator for Winemakers: "Accessed online from either a computer or iPhone/iPod (in WiFi range), it easily calculates additions for acid, sugar, sulfur dioxide, copper, nutrients and yeast, as well as adjusting the Brix of musts."

Interested in Food, Tea, or Wine Classes?

Oh! Chocolate-Making Classes:  I first read about this on the Bellevue Local Table blog.  I'm considering attending one of the classes, where I can learn about cacao beans, tempering chocolate, and dipping techniques.  You leave the class with a box of chocolates you made yourself!  The 2-hour evening classes are $59 each.  They also have something called "Parlour Nights," that are all about wine and chocolate pairings.  I don't see any dates for those, but the cost is $69.

Floating Leaves Tea offers various tea tastings and classes, from now through April.  This is a great way to sample a range of oolongs, or to learn the terms that "describe a tea base, mouth feel, tastes, and fragrance."  If you really want to immerse yourself in tea, accompany Shiuwen on a trip to Taiwan in May!

Teacup Tea Classes: the February schedule is posted on Brett's blog.  He's got one class on oolong and another on green and white tea.

Wine 101, Intro to Wine Tasting: If wine is more your style, check out the monthly classes offered at Redmond's Fine Wines.  This month they'll be exploring the world of Port.  Feb. 17th, 6pm, only $5 (free to members).  I did an Italian wine class with them about a year ago, and it was a really special evening.

Seattle Area Events

Food & Wine Experience, Feb. 28th, 1-5pm at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall. Wines from more than 10 countries will be poured, with special pavilions featuring wines from California, Oregon, and Washington.  Regional chefs will be preparing gourmet bites of food.  There will also be artisan breweries, culinary exhibits, and the Starbucks Coffee and Music Lounge.

Willamette Valley Wineries Block Party is an opportunity to taste Oregon wines from 50+ wineries.  The list includes some really great wines.  This will be a wonderful event for anyone interested in pinot noir, but there will also be chardonnays, pinot gris, rieslings, and other cool climate varietals.  March 11, 5:30-8:30pm, $45 early purchase ($55 at the door).

Passport to Woodinville, tickets are now available.  This is a very large event that takes place over two days.  If you like the energy of tasting rooms full of people, and you want to try a bunch of wine in the same weekend, this is a very fun event.  2 Day passport is $60, Sunday only is $40.

A Few Videos

Blood Into Wine is a "true story film" about growing and making wine in Arizona. The two men behind the vineyard/winery are Eric Glomski and Maynard James Keenan.  Keenan is more famous in his role as singer for the rock group Tool, and the movie is sure to have an energetic sound track.  Another fun trailer can be found at Buddyhead's web site.  Blood Into Wine has limited showings in theatres around the U.S., and it will be released on DVD soon (Spring 2010).  I'm looking forward to this one!

Barrel-making by Tonnellerie Rousseau, coopers in Burgundy since 1954.  There are two at the link I provided, plus a longer list of more videos.  I couldn't get the ones at that second link to play, but if they work for you please let me know how you did it.

Just For Fun

Cake Wrecks: when professional cakes go horribly, hilariously wrong. About once every couple of months, I just have to click through to the Cake Wrecks blog to see the latest images.  My favorite of the more recent posts is A Teaching Moment, especially the cake that wrote out "Capitol Letter."

This has nothing to do with food, tea, or wine, but I love Bollywood music/dance.  Davis & White perform very well, and I'm hoping we'll get to see this routine in the upcoming Winter Olympics: