Wine

Making vinegar is easy. At a simple chemical level, alcohol + bacteria from the acetobacter genus + oxygen + time -> acetic acid (vinegar). There’s acetic acid bacteria floating around in the air, so red wine or cider left open over time will eventually turn to vinegar (the sugars in cider first fermenting to alcohol), but unpasteurized and unfiltered commercial vinegars may already contain “mother” (a significant amount of acetic acid bacteria + cellulose) that can be harvested to kick-start a new batch of vinegar (and ensure the acetic acid bacteria quickly becomes the dominant player and lowers the pH to a range where they are heavily favored). ...

A relaxing weekend with H in the picturesque environs of Healdsburg (Alexander, Dry Creek, and Russian River Valleys), about an hour North of San Francisco. Sometimes this blog is a place to jot down quick food/drink notes to look up later / in case I lose the paper notebook, and this is one of those times: Favorite wines of the 35ish tasted, all brought back for further “investigation” with friends and food: ...

After working late, I dropped by flour + water on my way home to see if there was a seat at the bar, sat down within 15 minutes, and had one of the better meals I’ve had there: roasted duck breast with chestnut, roasted squash, walnut & pumpkin seed I do like the time of year when chestnuts make an appearance in food. And this dish was phenomenal– juicy, tender duck with a slightly sweet chestnut puree and a lot of mellow, well-blended supporting flavors. ...