Nigel and Me: Talkin’ Rioja with the Judge
Dutch Angle/Spanish Wine: (From left) ADM, photographer Nigel Barker, and Rebeca Gomez of Rioja’s Consejo Regulador, New York City, Wednesday, December 5, 2007. Photo: Kendyl Wright.
While admittedly not an avid television watcher, I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t pretty damn cool to lead a Rioja tasting a few weeks ago at the studios of photographer Nigel Barker, a judge on the CW Network’s America’s Next Top Model.
Mr. Barker is a professed fan of Rioja and of pretty much all things Spanish, having lived in Spain for many years with his family, and he struck up a friendship with Vibrant Rioja’s Kendyl Wright during September’s Fashion Week, for which Rioja was the official wine. In the event, Kendyl arranged for a tasting at the photographer’s studio in the Meatpacking District in early December and asked me to lead it.
It turned out to be quite a blast. Nigel and his guests were gracious, welcoming, and engaging. It wasn’t one of those scenarios in which those of us working the tasting–me, Kendyl, my brother Pablo– were clearly delineated as the help.
On the contrary, it hardly felt like I was working at all. For the second half of the event, after I had given my spiel and had made sure that everyone had tasted all of the wines, I was pretty much just hanging out.
At one point, near the end of the night, when I felt the music was a little out of sync with the vibe of the room, I asked Nigel if he’d mind if I put on a few tracks from my iPod.
“Not at all. Go right ahead,” he replied.
And for a half hour or so, as songs by Andrew Bird, Mason Jennings, and Beirut filled the loft, I had that pleasant and singular feeling that comes only when the soundtrack that happens to be in your head at a given point in time gets warmly received airplay in a crowded room.
The big hits that night were the Viña Salceda Crianza 2002 from the classic school (American oak, lighter extraction, relatively higher amounts of food friendly acidity) and three of the more modern-styled wines we brought with us: Baron de Ley Reserva 2001, Cosme Palacio y Hermanos Reserva Privada 2001, and RODA II 2001.
From the nearby Buddakan restuarant, we brought in both Lobster and Cantonese Spring Rolls, a giant tray of their amazing Char Sui Bao Pork Buns with curried BBQ sauce, and the surprisingly spicy but nevertheless addictive Tuna Spring Roll with crisp shallots and chili mayonnaise.
On the advice of the ever-helpful Max Schrem of Formaggio Essex, I had also ordered the garlicky and rustic Salame Toscano made by Paul Bertoli’s Framani Salumeria in California, quite possibly the best cured meat producer in America, as well as a quarter wheel of Stichelton, a startlingly complex raw-milk blue cheese created recently by Randolph Hogdson of Neal’s Yard Diary in London in an effort to recapture the lost glory of classic raw milk Stilton’s of old and featured in a New York Times food section article by the great Harold McGee that came out just that morning.
As the night draws to a close: ADM, Nigel Barker, and Pablo Murcia, New York City, Wednesday, December 5, 2007. Violeta says Pablo looks like one of the Beatles circa Rubber Soul. Photo: Kendyl Wright.