Jefferson’s Own Monticello Beer Now Rebrewed Just in Time for Presidents’ Day

Thomas Jefferson’s personal ale is now being recreated thanks to the efforts of two brewers past and present.  Meet Mark Thompson of today’s Starr Hill Brewery and Joseph Miller of colonial fame.

Mark Thompson has collaborated with the staff at the Thomas Jefferson Foundation to rediscover from Jefferson’s detailed notebooks the flavorful beer that the President enjoyed when he dined at his Monticello estate.

The resulting research has uncovered a nearly lost tale of courage, romance, politics, pirates and, of course, great beer.  And as all great stories do, this story begins with a great love story.

In 1772 the young Virginia lawyer Thomas Jefferson married Martha Wayles in what was to become a devoted marriage of two soul mates. Martha became the guiding mistress of the Jefferson former bachelor estate and there brewed 15 gallons of “small beer’, a beer with a low alcoholic content, about every two weeks for her husband’s enjoyment and use.

The deep affection between the two resulted in a long string of pregnancies that eventually weakened Martha’s health.  Finally in 1782 Martha died at the early age of 33. Jefferson locked himself in his room to grieve and weep for three weeks.  He never remarried.

Jefferson soon accepted a position as the American Commissioner to France shortly thereafter. And for the next 26 years Jefferson’s efforts to help establish the American nation on firm ground often kept him away from his beloved Monticello.

Once he had completed his second term as president, he left government service exhausted and very, very gladly returned to the calm and quiet of his beloved country estate.  There he began to actively brew beer again, using the wheat and corn grown on his own estate to create a “table liquor” for his many arriving guests.

Enters Captain Joseph Miller, gentleman farmer AND master brewer. Captain Miller and his young daughter Mary Ann were Americans with deep English roots, but Miller chose to side with the young nation over Britain.  In 1812 the Captain boarded the sailing ship Lydia with his daughter to return home to America. 

It would take over six long months to complete his trip. While enroute to the States, the War of 1812 broke out between England and America as Great Britain sought to reclaim her former colony. Their boat was boarded mid-Atlantic first by French privateers and then detained by the British navy.

When they finally arrived on American shores, they were forced to sail northward to find an open port as the ports of the deep south were closed to any ships from England. Then their boat was destroyed in a massive sea storm outside Norfolk, Virginia. Luckily they survived the wreck.

Once on dry land, their problems had only begun.  Because of his long residence in England, Miller’s citizenship was questioned, making it impossible for him to claim the American estate he had just inherited from his late half-brother.

The submission of various required paperwork in order to claim his estate took him into the region of Virginia where Jefferson lived.  There he met the former president and soon they were good friends.

Jefferson, who was interested in all things scientific, appreciated and admired Captain Miller’s indepth knowledge about both the art AND science of brewing. He asked Miller to come to Monticello and review his country production methods.  Because of his professional skill, Miller was able to offer Jefferson several important ideas for improving his beer.

At Jefferson’s request, he stayed and began to teach the very talented house slave Peter Hemings, who was also a trained French cook, the art of malting and brewing. In return Jefferson supported Miller’s lengthy appeal for the rights of his disputed American citizenship through a constant stream of letters and petitions to officals.

All the while, the rich ale unique to Monticello flowed and was enjoyed by the many visitors arriving, served in silver tumblers as they marveled at the many inventions Jefferson had created in his treasured world of order and purpose.  Sadly after his death, Jefferson’s heirs were unable to maintain the now debt-burdened property.

It a little known fact that Monticello (and its valuable records, including those about beer brewing) was saved by the Uriah P. Levy family.  Commodore Levy was the first American of Jewish heritage to receive a commission in the U.S. Navy. When Monticello was near collapse, Commodore Levy bought it in 1834 and worked throughout his lifetime to preserve its unique and vital heritage.

Interestingly, it was Thomas Jefferson who wrote the nation's  first laws guaranteeing religious freedom to all, the same laws that Commodore Levy revered and that still protect each citizen today.  That’s something we should all raise a glass to and now we can do it with Jefferson’s very own beer.

Thank you Thomas Jefferson Foundation and Happy Presidents’ Day! 

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2011  

The Sudden Death of Santi Santamaria Marks the Passing of a Great Culinary Star

The culinary world is in shock as the news that Spain’s Michelin-starred Chef Santi Santamaria has died suddenly in Singapore from what is believed to possibly be a heart attack.

Santamaria, who was only 53 years old, collapsed on Tuesday, February 16^th while greeting guests at the inaugural opening of his restaurant Santi at the new breath-taking Marina Bay Sands Resort in Singapore.

Santamaria is universally acknowledged in the culinary industry as the chef who launched Spanish and especially Catalan cuisine onto the world stage. By 1994 his Can Fabes Restaurant, located right in his own hometown of Sant Celoni, was awarded (and still retains) three Michelin stars.

Not one to rest on his laurels, Santamaria went on to open three more restaurants – Evo in Barcelona, Santceloni in Madrid and Tierra in Valdepalacios outside the Spanish capital.  Under his insightful direction, all of these restaurants have also earned their share of Michelin Stars.  

With such success, the world called and Santamaria answered opening first his stunning Ossiano Restaurant in Dubai’s Palm Island and then finally the Santi in Singapore.

Though a largely self-taught chef, Santamaria’s innate talent was legendary and sometimes controversial.  As the chef who introduced the wonders of Hispanic cuisine to the world, he declared the value of only the freshest and most natural of ingredients.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that this dedication brought him directly into conflict with Spain’s other leading chef, Adria Ferran, who was also opening new doors with innovative techniques and new ingredients.

The intense verbal war between the two was finally brought to an end when Euro-Toques International (ETI), the leading organization representing Europe’s top chefs, intervened and calmed the waters between these two very talented chefs.

Despite this conflict, which represents in reality the creative diversity that is the very nature of the culinary profession, Santamaria has always been honored by his peers as one of world’s leading chefs and a beloved colleague.  On his death, such great chefs as Daniel Boulud, Guy Savoy, Justin Quek and Tetsuya Wakuda paused and remembered their professional friend with nothing but words of high praise.   

The famed French Chef Daniel Boulud of New York City said it best when he stated,”a great friend and inspiration had been lost. He will be great missed.”

Indeed Santamaria did give the world so much – his courage, his passion, his flare as only he could.  Thank you for such great and honest gifts to us all. 

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2011 

What Egypt’s Revolution Can Teach Us About the Meaning of Cuisine

The Future of Terroir, and Terroir of the Future

An Essay by Peter Schlagel 

First, let us praise the power of an impassioned people.  Their common yearning for a better life, an authentic meaningful living shared openly with family and friends that fills their hearts and minds and souls with pride and joy, their iron refusal to suffer further abuse or intimidation, their rising up together to transcend fear and hold their ground – these dramatic courageous recent events in Egypt and Tunisia have inspired people all around the world and forever changed these ancient lands. 

Such is the transforming power of a new vision of a life of freedom in each familiar long-suffering locality, the universal human need to be free to work and create and love and live with family, neighbors, colleagues and countryman, one unique neighborhood, city and country at a time.

Such, also, is the transformed “good ground” and terra firma of a new vision of terroir whose roots reach deep into the rich ground of a living community’s unique heart and soul and local cultural legacy extending beyond place and time and environment.

This new philosophy of hospitality and cuisine, this new vision of “La Vie de Terroir”, has a long and noble ancestry.  We owe a great debt of gratitude to the French who first introduced and popularized the term “terroir” as an ingenious marketing innovation to sell French wines by highlighting its origins from unique local vineyards and chateaus.

Others (notably Spain and Portugal) had developed systems of classification based on local origins, but it was the French advocacy of terroir that proved most successful.  It became so popular that their system of "Appellation d' Origine Controlee" (A.O.C.) came to dominate the making of the finest French wines, Champagne and Cognac.

The actual mix of grape varietals was secondary to the wine’s region of origin.  As fine winemaking took root in new regions around the world (such as North and South America, Australia and South Africa), the particular qualities of new wines in new soils gave birth to entirely new styles of wines expressing the local character of their new cultural and physical terroir.

Along with advances in knowledge about successful practices of growing various wine grapes and scientifically informed techniques of winemaking, the concept of terroir expanded to include all the local variations of time and place, of season and soil. But it is only recently that a new vision of a more complex terroir has begun to take wing, an integrated multi-dimensional terroir whose center of gravity is creative culture rather than physical environment.

From this expanded point of view, it is the rich interplay of local cultural values and master artisan traditions with the particular qualities of local soil, season and sensibilities that gives rise to the highest quality of unique local products grounded in historical cultural conceptions of meaning, excellence and depth.

Thus, while we can speak of the highest standards of French haute cuisine and the best pairings of various superior quality wine styles for each traditional course, we can also envision new styles of quality wines and beverages steeped in other great cultural heritages with profoundly different cuisines and standards of value and excellence.

For example, China (“Our Land”) has one of the world’s oldest and most diverse cultural histories reaching back many thousands of years and encompassing a vast and diverse array of different local peoples, languages, traditions and environments.

Yet the central cultural tradition of a shared community-style meal with all dishes served together on a large communal table does not lend itself easily to the foreign European tradition of sequential courses.  This kind of cultural difference can give rise to new creative additions to an already rich tradition of diverse cuisines, a new terroir of the future.

India, similarly, also has one of the world’s longest and richest cultural traditions including thousands of local variations.  The innovative marriage of modern technical knowledge with local cultural legacies and wisdom gleaned from thousands of years of practical experience can be blended and transformed by the creative choices of great chefs to yield new exciting samples of the art of cuisine as shared gifts from surprising new terroir.

This view of terroir honors its esteemed heritage while extending its depth and range to include new creative meaning grounded in the amazing wide diversity of local practice, culture and standards of value that give shared significance to our common human experience. 

Just as the cultural revolution born from the acts of brave Egyptian people has forever changed the familiar ancient lands around the Nile, so can the creative choices of food artisans, from growers to chefs to those sharing fine meals, forever change the honored traditions of our shared cuisine experiences through the new terroir of the future. 

We are grateful to the 80 million people of Egypt for reminding us that the daily art of cuisine and hospitality we all share and enjoy is made possible by a connected cultural terroir grounded in freedom, respect and civility. We thank you for your courage, your example, and for this great gift of a hard lesson relearned and freely given to our common culinary world.

Your Culinary World copyright Peter Schlagel/Ana Kinkaid 2011

For Valentine’s or a Wedding Nothing Says Love like White Chocolate Roses

It’s that time of year when romance is in the air all the way from Valentine’s Day to summer weddings. And nothing says love like pure white roses. But they are expensive and often don’t last the day.  What the romantic to do?

Consider chocolate roses.  But aren’t they expensive and time consuming to make?  That certainly can be the case unless one has a chocolate ruffler.  Adapted from the classic French monk’s head or “tete de moine” cheese slicer, it cuts the thinnest strip of chocolate and clusters it into a breathtakingly beautiful but easy to make chocolate rose.

Available from Albert Uster Imports, the base chocolate wheels come in a wide variety of flavors and colors so those with a more expansive romantic heart aren’t limited to just white.  No matter the color chosen, these elegant yet easy to craft creations will enhance any cake top, cupcake or dessert serving plate.   

Why not make romance easier this year – indeed, all year long with beautiful chocolate roses? (They'll think you worked for hours to create these beauties).

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2011 

Robert Parker Emails Wine Advocate Readers About Major Changes Afoot

An inherent part of creativity is change. And Robert Parker has just followed in that honorable tradition by announcing a major change at his famed magazine Wine Advocate - he is handing over primary responsibility for reviewing California wines to his associate Antonio Galloni.

But such change is nothing new to Robert Parker, who through his own efforts altered the world of wine.  But to understand that story one has to go back to 1978 and meet a young lawyer with a growing love for fine wines.

That young attorney was Robert Parker before he became ‘the’ Robert Parker of Wine Advocate fame. Between law cases, he wrote a newsletter for follow wine lovers in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland. His first issue was free but by the second issue Parker had over 600 paying subscribers.

Soon the newsletter was large enough to become a major publication.  That publication, Wine Adocate, went on to change the wine industry because Parker implimented two revolutionary changes in his publication. 

First, he rejected the standard review format based solely on vague wine words and instituted instead a number system for evaluation wines from 51-100 points. Second, he declared that he would not accept any promtional connection with any winery.

The affect of Parker’s changes can be seen in nearly every wine shop today.  Parker’s numbers are almost always posted on the shelves next to the wine telling the shopper what’s ‘great’ and what’s less then that.  The result is that the buyer has some guide through the vast array of wine available.

But there’s a problem.  With only one person evaluating the wine, there is only one voice heard, insightful though that voice may be. But the difficulty goes further.

Few up and coming younger critics can afford to savor bottles of hallmark wines such as bottles of Lafitte Rothschild 1982, 2000 or 2003. The tab could easily amount to over $1,000.  Ouch! 

As a result, it’s going to be difficult, without some support from the wineries, for young writers (not to mention bloggers) to develop an in-depth understanding of the wide diversity and richness of wine. How, on their own, can they literally afford to know what the great (and often very expensive) wines taste like? Without such a benchmark, personal taste replaces a broader knowledge of taste and legacy of flavor.

One can only hope that the new changes afoot at Wine Advocate will open a broader avenue between the wineries and the new reviewers.  By stepping back from either a total commercial immersion within the wine industry or a complete avoidance to it, a new broarder understanding of wine is possible.

If these two worlds of critique and production will meet and work together, a new approach to understanding wine can be achieved.  And that's the kind of change we can all raise a glass to. Cheers to Robert and all his staff!

Your Culinary World copyright Ana Kinkaid/Peter Schlagel 2011