Category Archives: Andrew Chalk

by Steven Doyle | July 10, 2014 · 10:54 am

Tasting Ironstone Vineyards

Made from a grape created at U.C. Davis in 1948, this wine is worth looking for

by Andrew Chalk

It may be the largest California grape grower you have never heard of but John Kautz Farms has 6,500 acres of wine grapes in California, making them the sixth largest wine grape grower in the state. In terms of acreage, they are just behind household names like Gallo Vineyards and just ahead of Beringer and Sutter Home.

They sell most of the grapes, grown in the Sierra Foothills and Lodi appellations, to other winemakers but, increasingly in recent years, they have made their own wine under their Ironstone label. Continue reading →

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Tagged as Dallas, Ironestone, Vineyards, wine

by Steven Doyle | July 9, 2014 · 10:52 am

Viña Ventisquero: Complicated Name, Sophisticated Chilean Wine

The Apalta Valley, Chile’s most famous wine producing region

by Andrew Chalk

Viña Ventisquero winemaker, Felipe Tosso, came through Dallas recently and gave me a chance to taste some of his best wines. It is clear that this is a winery on clear march forward and we are going to hear a lot more about them in the next few years. Continue reading →

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by Steven Doyle | July 8, 2014 · 1:08 pm

Drink This: A Few Recent Tastings

by Andrew Chalk

2012 Gnarly Head Cabernet Sauvignon, California

The nose in this wine is extremely upfront with ripe fruit. Plums, blackberries, tar. A more complex nose than I expected fro this wine. In the mouth there is a higher level of acid than such rip fruit would portend (was it acidified?). Confirm the fruit from the nose. Also, thyme. Not a lot of complexity in the mouth. Medium finish.

$10 and worth it. Continue reading →

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by Steven Doyle | July 7, 2014 · 10:30 am

Dallas Theater Center’s Les Misérables Is a Must-See This Month

by Andrew Chalk

Les Misérables, affectionately known as ‘les Miz’ to millions of theatre goers, has arrived in Dallas just a scant 29 years after its first English language release and what an overwhelming and stylish performance it is by the Dallas Theater Center. Visiting director Liesl Tommy has produced a technically excellent production of this favorite, yet still found opportunities to introduce contemporary references that are fresh and relevant.

She must have found her task daunting. Les Misérables is the most watched musical in history. First performed (in the English language) in 1985 by the Royal Shakespeare Company at London’s Barbican Center after a two-year development program led by director Cameron Mackintosh, it went on to be the longest-running musical ever in London and to a record run on Broadway. This spring, a Broadway revival began at the Imperial Theatre. Add in Canada, Australia, Japan, Korea and Spain as countries currently hosting major productions, and you have a show that ‘everyone’ in your audience has seen and already formed expectations. Continue reading →

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Tagged as Dallas, Dallas Theater Center, Les Misérables, Wyly Theater

by Steven Doyle | July 3, 2014 · 10:09 am

It’s National Fried Chicken Day on Sunday So We Put “Fried Chicken and Champagne…Why the Hell Not?!” to the Taste Test!

by Andrew Chalk

When the Max’s Wine Dive PR peeps told me that this Sunday is “National Fried Chicken Day” it gave me the perfect opportunity to ask them if I could do the challenge that I had been waiting for ever since they opened: Does fried chicken really go with Champagne?

Busting my script, they took me up on the challenge. Kevin Usher, Wine Sales Manager at Max’s Dallas location put together a tasting of their popular Famous Southern Fried Chicken ($17), three pieces of chicken (breast, thigh and leg) with mashed potatoes, Texas toast and some of the best collard greens in Dallas, with Mumm’s ‘Cordon Rouge’ non-vintage Champagne. For completeness, and in deference to Dallasites who drink their sparkling wine from all over the world, he threw in four more popular sparkling wines from Max’s 15 selection list labeled ‘Bubbles’. I tasted each on its own and then with chicken. There was a surprise winner for best match with chicken! Continue reading →

Wild Salsa – Innovative Mexican Downtown

Lamb Shank Barbacoa at Wild Salsa comfortably feeds two people

by Andrew Chalk

Downtown? Fancy some Mexican food? Tired of Tex-Mex. Maybe something informed by a chef who has traveled extensively through Mexico? Look no further than Wild Salsa on Main Street at St. Paul which is turning out some of the most innovative Mexican-inspired food in the city. Consulting chef Kelly Hightower traveled through the interior of Mexico many times, off the tourist trail, from Chiapas to Sonora. He, and corporate chef A.J. Joglekar, have parsed what they know into a selection of dishes that is appealing to Dallasites but often different from what is available elsewhere in town. Rather than representing the cuisine of a region, as exemplified by restaurants like Mesa, this is a magpie-like pilfering of favorites from all over. Continue reading →

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Tagged as Dallas, Downtown Restaurant, Mexican, Wild Salsa

by Steven Doyle | July 1, 2014 · 1:33 pm

Allegra Antinori Introduces Guado al Tasso In Dallas

Allegra Antinori

by Andrew Chalk

The Tuscan region of Bolgheri is famous as the birthplace of some of the most famous wines of Italy. Surprisingly, in a country steeped in official classifications and regulations, these world-class wines are all Super Tuscans. That is a term invented not by regulators, but by wine critics seeking to distinguish these rule-breaking wines that officials originally only allowed to be classified as Vino da tavola (table wine) from the more usual, pedestrian table wine. More recently, the super Tuscan category has been integrated into the mainstream Italian quality system and the wines became designated Bolgheri DOC. Continue reading →

Report: Asador Summer Harvest Dinner Series

by Andrew Chalk

Remember Asador? It arrived on the scene as unexpected as rain in June when Marriott decided in 2011 that the Dallas Renaissance Hotel (aka the lipstick building) needed a destination restaurant. David Trubenbach was brought in from Florida to be execuchef and Chef Dean James Max became a consultant to a restaurant where the menu changed virtually daily to reflect weekly market changes. The liquid poison of choice was tequilla, of which a wall of over 60 was assembled.

Traffic picked up and lots of special dinners and events were held. Then it was announced that David Trubenbach was moving back to Florida to take a new position with Marriott and a new chef would be appointed. After that we heard… nothing. Asador went dark. Apparently the fire had gone out. Continue reading →

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Tagged as Asador, Dallas, Dallas Renaissance Hotel, Summer Harves