-quick chills and redeeming reds for February

Winter is my time to combine juvenile science and entertaining. When the temperature drops below freezing, I like to by-pass my freezer and put the ice trays outside my Kitchen door to see how fast nature makes my ice. This year I witnessed, to my amazement, little spikes were rising up out of the trays, defying gravity and, in the absence of percolating calcareous water dripping from above, impossibly stalagmitic.

The answer is simple – bubbles. But the colder it gets, the less likely it is they will have time to rise to the top and push up those spikes. (Mensa should be calling me any minute now.)

This is not a sign that I have too much time on my hands. Rather, I entertain with just as much passion in the dark months, especially when I can chill the beer, white wine, and sparkling wine on the balcony table beside the ice trays.

Sometimes guests arrive for winter bonfire parties, a specialty of the Sherry-loving Ranger next door, but they bring their beer in ice-filled coolers. Did they not feel the cold, cold wind between parking the car and buying the beer and bag of ice for the outdoor party?

The cold has me thinking more often about Bourbon this year, but it is a contradiction not only that we order and pour these drinks over ice and then fuss over any premature dilution, but that we then shiver whilst drinking iced drinks in winter. Why do we not refrigerate all the spirits (not just the vodka) we do not want to become watered-down, or, better yet, choose drinks which are not so strong since we cannot seem to stomach them without the ice.

Hence, red wine. I like rustic red wines especially in winter. Reds of Negro Amaro and Monastrel, from Sicily, Salento (the heel of Italy), and of course Spain are all over my dining table for more stuff and less price.

However, against my usual preference, full-bodied chardonnay made it to the table at a recent dinner for a first course of stuffed quail. This was a spontaneous creation, as I had a different food in mind when its unavailability led me to finding quails in the grocery freezer, two to a pack for super-cheap. (I do not know how the quail farmers make any money.) Guests brought Ferrari-Carano ($27) and I had Zaca Mesa 1997 Santa Barbara (n/a) in the cellar – it had aged beautifully.

If you attempt this, you may be surprised at the speed of preparation, if you focus. Quails thaw quickly in water. I had four things on hand: cooked bacon, cooked gourmet brown rice, sprigs of thyme, and string. Tying the legs and wings up required some concentration, but fifteen minutes in the convection roaster made an elegant first course. Until…

“Hey, Riff Raff – wanna eat a cheee-kin?” It was Rick, known in the artsy circles as "the king of class", dangling the one extra stuffed quail over the head of my pit bull terrier.

Ever since reading Midnight In the Garden of Good and Evil, I have kept, in the spirit of Jim Williams, an inbox and an outbox for these occasions. Rick is currently in dinner party purgatory with those who light up or go pee just when the soufflés come out of the oven, but you can bet he will gracefully come out of this one, perhaps by bringing some of the following to the next dinner party:

Wrongo Dongo, Jumilla red wine, Spain 2003 ($8) Even Rick could bring this Wrongo to redeem himself. I love the reds of Hoo-mee-ya, which are typically made of Monastrell. It’s a stupid name, but for the money I like the dark berry fruit and spice.

Castillo Perelada, Tinto Crianza, Emporda Costa Brava, Spain 2001 ($10) Half Garnacha, half Tempranillo, this medium red from south of the Pyrenees foothills and the Catalonian coast was wood-aged for a year, resulting in appetizing hints of vanilla.

Coto de Hayas, Campo de Borja, Spain 2001 ($9) I have always had good wine from this label, expensive or not. Grenache/Tempranillo, 60/40%. This has nine months in American Oak resulting in a little vanilla, plus there is nice spice and a more masculine style with the tannins.

Nadaria, Nero d’Avola, Sicily 2002 ($11.50) This is what I mean by rustic and hearty but nice enough for a fine dinner of Kansas City Steaks. Nero d’Avola is also similarly made in the heel of Italy by…

Promessa, Rosso Salento, Italy 2003 ($9)

Kempton Clark, Petite Sirah, Dunnigan Hills, California 2001 ($10) Wow - I may buy six more of these. This Petite Sirah delivers deep, full-bodied, delicious red for the money with a combination of flavors I can’t keep up with.

Recommended fizz for Valentines Day, as always, includes the inexpensive goodness of Spanish Cava plus a couple from elsewhere. I won’t bore you with much the same description for each sparkling wine. Really, are you actually interested in the names of all those little nuances in these under-ten-dollar sparklers? Trust me, and your retailer, they are all bargains:

Castillo Perelada Brut Cava from the same winery of the above recommended red.

Castillo Perelada Rosado Cava – remember – pink sparkling wine can be delicious.

Don Conde Cava – while descriptions remain very similar, Don Conde is my current favorite Cava.

Marques de Gelida Cava

Tura D’Arnau Cava

Veuve du Vernay, from France

Gratien et Meyer, Cardinal, demi-sec – this one is red, hence “Cardinal,” and a little sweet, and would be as much fun for Valentines as it was for Christmas.