Wine and Spirits Travel

After a preview tasting of some of the new offerings and more than two weeks of eating many other items, I think I’m well-qualified to talk about what there is to eat and drink at the U.S. Open . I know it’s supposed to be about the biggest sporting event in the United States, and you will never get me to say tennis isn’t important, but attending the U.S. Open is about the entire experience.  The experience here is about “cooks” like Executive Chef Mike Lockard, Spiaggia Chef Tony Mantuano, Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto, Border Grill Chef Susan Feniger, Carmen the Restaurant Chef Carmen Gonzalez, RM Seafood Chef Rick Moonen and New York’s infamous Jonathan Waxman, winner of the 2010 US Open Master Chef Charity Competition. The new chefs and additional offerings by Levy Restaurants have transferred into some great dishes.  The South Plaza Café, which still offers the great Panini’s, now also has an assortment of other menu items.  I hear (I’m allergic so I didn’t try it) the Lobster R

The winding roads and beautiful lakes of this area don’t ever seem to end and one of them led me to Shaw Vineyards .  Steve Shaw grew up in this region so winemaking was a natural transition for him.  In stark contrast to nearly every other place I had seen, the set up here is very simple, in a barn, with a tasting table surrounded by art (for sale) by a friend of Shaw’s.   His winemaking ideas are unconventional as well and they led him to branch off from a partnership to his own place.  Among the methods he employs are wind power and geothermal energy to run his Europress, which gently de-stems and turns grapes rather than following the usual crushing process.  Shaw’s other point of note in winemaking is patience and you will find many more aged wines here than on the racks of some of his neighbors.  We tasted a selection that included his newest release, a perfect 2007 Riesling  to a 2004 Chardonnay that showed the strong pepper and vanilla from 24 months in old French oak to a 20