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Friday, September 23, 2011

‘Buy Me Some Pinot and Cracker Jack,’ Fans Say

¡Viva No! The Aaron Boone’s Farm System throws up…..arms.

Maybe beer is the more traditional beverage for baseball fans, but as the World Series approaches, wine enthusiasts have more choices than ever, including some high-end vintages on tap to wash down those hot dogs and Cracker Jack.

“You certainly find more wine in a ballpark than you used to, at least the upscale ballparks,” says Kevin Reichard, publisher of Web site Ballpark Digest.

Sixth-generation grape-grower Tim Carl of Huge Bear wines is a big supporter of the trend. Huge Bear’s small-lot wines are sold at Fenway Park in Boston — their wines are also at TD Garden, formerly the Boston Garden and home of the NHL Stanley Cup champion Bruins.

“The folks that are going to these sporting events nowadays aren’t just looking for standard beer or mass-produced wines. They’re much more sophisticated from a food and wine standpoint,” says Carl. “What the parks have been really good at doing is creating great food venues and now they’re coming to realize that there is a real demand for some of these more unique wines.”

Repoz Posted: September 23, 2011 at 01:47 PM | 62 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
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1. Liver of blaspheming 'zop Posted: September 23, 2011 at 02:57 PM (#3934010)

As the BBTF resident oenophile, I will say I think this sounds like a terrible idea EXCEPT it would be awesome if someone opened a heuriger stand in a ballpark and I think the guys behind Edi and the Wolf should do one in one of the NYC stadiums.

2. Swoboda is freedom Posted: September 23, 2011 at 03:08 PM (#3934024)

Maybe San Fran or Oakland can open a grape stomping pit and put it next to the batting cages. More family fun.

3. YR Misses Reggie Bars Posted: September 23, 2011 at 03:17 PM (#3934035)

Fenway is now an upscale ballpark? I wonder how many requests their sommelier gets for "a good puking wine"?

4. The Long Arm of Rudy Law Posted: September 23, 2011 at 03:21 PM (#3934040)

I've had wine, beer, and most liquors at ballparks, but I've never had Cracker Jack there.

5. PreservedFish Posted: September 23, 2011 at 03:21 PM (#3934042)

I can't really imagine getting wine at a baseball game.

6. BDC

Posted: September 23, 2011 at 03:32 PM (#3934047)

There are several wine bars at the Ballpark in Arlington. Funny enough, I have no desire for a glass of Malbec when it's 99 degrees in the shade. Most of the selections look Godawful to me, and there's a decent local-beer stand, so I have never tried Ballpark wine.

7. Gotham Dave Posted: September 23, 2011 at 03:42 PM (#3934054)

I've had wine, beer, and most liquors at ballparks, but I've never had Cracker Jack there.

The Yankees have long sold Crunch 'n' Munch, which strikes me as vaguely blasphemous.

8. Jolly Old St. Nick Done Jumped The Ship

Posted: September 23, 2011 at 03:51 PM (#3934059)

Just out of curiosity, what sort of wine would go best with Cracker Jack? This is where I know to go for vital information like this.

9. PreservedFish Posted: September 23, 2011 at 04:01 PM (#3934069)

Just out of curiosity, what sort of wine would go best with Cracker Jack? This is where I know to go for vital information like this.

Chateau d'Yquem.

10. The Long Arm of Rudy Law Posted: September 23, 2011 at 04:30 PM (#3934097)

The Yankees have long sold Crunch 'n' Munch, which strikes me as vaguely blasphemous.

The Yankees and Crunch 'n' Munch were planted by God to test us.

11. Traderdave

Posted: September 23, 2011 at 04:36 PM (#3934104)

In the stands I generally drink beer, but wine is awesome at a tailagte. Dry Creek zins are perfect with blue cheese burgers. Beauloais Villages pairs nicely with grilled sausages.

12. Liver of blaspheming 'zop Posted: September 23, 2011 at 04:39 PM (#3934108)

Just out of curiosity, what sort of wine would go best with Cracker Jack? This is where I know to go for vital information like this.

#9 suggests Yquem, but I think that's wrong. This is probably a textbook case for a chardonnay, which takes on a "buttered popcorn" flavor with age. But you need something sweet, too, since you're going up against cracker jack. And somehting with it's own caramelly flavor would probably work synergistically with the cracker jack.

So this narrows it down - we need a sweet chardonnay with plenty of botrytis. That's an unusual set of constraints, but there are a few Aussie producers that make stickies from Chard. An expensive option (but cheaper than Yquem) would be the Sine Qua Non Mr. K Nobleman Chardonnay.

13. Dolf Lucky Posted: September 23, 2011 at 04:49 PM (#3934121)

Slight hijack...Bob Dernier Cri: did you ever take your New England beer trip? Thoughts?

14. dr. scott Posted: September 23, 2011 at 04:54 PM (#3934125)

All I know is that Fenway park is a beer wasteland. The best I could find was Green Monster IPA, which was not bad. In general, I found Boston to be behind the craft beer movement in general, so I guess it fit with the landscape.

I did not try any wine.

15. Daunte Vicknabbit! Posted: September 23, 2011 at 04:59 PM (#3934131)

Deeper hijack, do any other beer people find it funny that people look for "buttery" Chards? Because when I taste butter I think Diacetyl and thus think "man this is terrible."

16. Crispix Attacks 2: Swag Airlines Posted: September 23, 2011 at 05:01 PM (#3934133)

Butter on chard sounds good but you have to steam it first.

17. Alex_Lewis Posted: September 23, 2011 at 05:08 PM (#3934140)

Plenty of wine stands, or whatever you want to call them, at AT&T Park.

18. BDC

Posted: September 23, 2011 at 05:10 PM (#3934142)

do any other beer people find it funny that people look for "buttery" Chards?

Texture is perhaps what makes a Chardonnay "buttery," not a butter flavor. But I am hyposmic and more sensitive to texture and "feel" than to flavor.

19. PreservedFish Posted: September 23, 2011 at 05:13 PM (#3934145)

Butter on chard sounds good but you have to steam it first.

False.

20. BDC

Posted: September 23, 2011 at 05:16 PM (#3934150)

did you ever take your New England beer trip?

I did. Well, it was an academic trip, but beer was involved :) I really liked the Smuttynose beers, and though I had several strong ones, probably the best glass of beer I had was at the Portsmouth Brewery, just a simple blond ale with fish & chips. If you were the person who suggested Portsmouth and the Brewery, Dolf, I am very grateful. I had a good lunch and a very pleasant hour's walk through town.

Long Trail beers were also terrific. I picked up a mixed case of beer at the Table & Vine store in West Springfield MA and drove to Maine with it. The people I was with ranged from beer fanatics who were getting out their iPhones to record my finds in their Beer Apps to others who were like, this is crazy, I want a Coors Light :-D

21. Daunte Vicknabbit! Posted: September 23, 2011 at 05:19 PM (#3934154)

I suggested Portsmouth, hooray! I'm jealous, I need to go back.

Did you realize while there that Smutty and Portsmouth are actually owned by a pair of cousins? Or siblings, maybe. Pretty sweet fanily business, if you ask me.

22. Liver of blaspheming 'zop Posted: September 23, 2011 at 05:22 PM (#3934159)

Texture is perhaps what makes a Chardonnay "buttery," not a butter flavor.

Wrong.

23. Weekly Journalist_ Posted: September 23, 2011 at 05:22 PM (#3934161)

Portsmouth? Damn, Portland, ME owns that second rate knockoff town six ways from Sunday. We've got, like, 6 James Beard award winning restaurants. Also, Maine, of course, has many fine beeers: Geary's, Gritty McDuff's, Shipyard, etc.

24. Jolly Old St. Nick Done Jumped The Ship

Posted: September 23, 2011 at 05:24 PM (#3934162)

Just out of curiosity, what sort of wine would go best with Cracker Jack? This is where I know to go for vital information like this.

#9 suggests Yquem, but I think that's wrong. This is probably a textbook case for a chardonnay, which takes on a "buttered popcorn" flavor with age. But you need something sweet, too, since you're going up against cracker jack. And somehting with it's own caramelly flavor would probably work synergistically with the cracker jack.

So this narrows it down - we need a sweet chardonnay with plenty of botrytis. That's an unusual set of constraints, but there are a few Aussie producers that make stickies from Chard. An expensive option (but cheaper than Yquem) would be the Sine Qua Non Mr. K Nobleman Chardonnay.

This is far more interesting than what I can read in the food sections of the Washington Post. Give yourself a gold star.

"When you're eating a steak, red wine is recommended.

"When you're eating fish, a white wine will do.

"When you're eating cheese, you drink a sweet wine.

"And when you're eating nothing, you drink Muscatel."

25. BourbonSamurai, vassal of the Harpsburg Empire Posted: September 23, 2011 at 05:24 PM (#3934163)

My fiancee can really only handle one beer because of the carbonation, so I have purchased wine for her before at the ballpark. The heavens did not open, Ty Cobb did not appear and strike me down.

26. BDC

Posted: September 23, 2011 at 05:24 PM (#3934164)

Did you realize while there that Smutty and Portsmouth are actually owned by a pair of cousins?

I was aware of a connection, but not that it was all in a family. I loved the way people would stroll into the Brewery and get their growlers filled from the tap. America needs more pubs like that. Thanks, Daunte!

Wrong

That's my middle name :)

27. phredbird

Posted: September 23, 2011 at 05:30 PM (#3934168)

i love me some wine, and all that, but i just can't see drinking it at a ballgame.

28. Traderdave

Posted: September 23, 2011 at 05:33 PM (#3934172)

27

In warm/hot weather, I agree. But on cool Bay Area nights, red wine pairs well with baseball.

29. Alex_Lewis Posted: September 23, 2011 at 05:36 PM (#3934178)

Wrong.

I'm moved by your willingness to educate your fellow man. It's noble, really. Wrong. So prosaic. Far more beautiful than, say, listing the reasons for why he is wrong.

30. PreservedFish Posted: September 23, 2011 at 05:37 PM (#3934179)

My Chateau d'Yquem suggestion was mostly a joke. That #### is expensive! I've never tasted it.

31. phredbird

Posted: September 23, 2011 at 05:39 PM (#3934182)

wine is awesome at a tailagte. Dry Creek zins are perfect with blue cheese burgers. Beauloais Villages pairs nicely with grilled sausages.

on cool Bay Area nights, red wine pairs well with baseball.

well, LA DE FRICKIN DA ... say dad, my peepers aren't so good. is that robert parker sittin over there? well, he won't be sloshin down any bojolay with his crackers when he's livin in a VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER!!!

:)

dave, i wish i had had a chance to make it out to S.F. this season ... mebbe next year.

32. The Long Arm of Rudy Law Posted: September 23, 2011 at 05:41 PM (#3934185)

In warm/hot weather, I agree. But on cool Bay Area nights, red wine pairs well with baseball.

Actually wine at baseball games reminds me of the Bay Area, but I've never been to Candlestick or the current Giants park. The wine I had at A's games wasn't from a glass.

33. rlc Posted: September 23, 2011 at 06:02 PM (#3934206)

Just out of curiosity, what sort of wine would go best with Cracker Jack? This is where I know to go for vital information like this.

This is probably a textbook case for a chardonnay, which takes on a "buttered popcorn" flavor with age. But you need something sweet, too, since you're going up against cracker jack. And somehting with it's own caramelly flavor would probably work synergistically with the cracker jack.

So this narrows it down - we need a sweet chardonnay with plenty of botrytis. That's an unusual set of constraints, but there are a few Aussie producers that make stickies from Chard. An expensive option (but cheaper than Yquem) would be the Sine Qua Non Mr. K Nobleman Chardonnay.

34. Liver of blaspheming 'zop Posted: September 23, 2011 at 06:02 PM (#3934207)

I'm moved by your willingness to educate your fellow man. It's noble, really. Wrong. So prosaic. Far more beautiful than, say, listing the reasons for why he is wrong.

Here, let me google that for you.
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=cellartracker+"buttered+popcorn"+chardonnay

35. Liver of blaspheming 'zop Posted: September 23, 2011 at 06:08 PM (#3934210)

I don't agree. Yes, the dominant flavors in Cracker Jack are going to be sweet and salty, but I don't think you want to go out of your way to add still more sugar to them. I would look for something light with some fruit and a little bit of acid - a dry Riesling or a fruity Chenin Blanc, maybe. If you want bubbles, you could look for a Riesling Sekt or petillant Vouvray Sec.

With respect accorded to someone who knows about chenin and sekts etc., you must not have a lot of experience with food-wine pairing. There are only a few golden rules of pairing that actually must be followed but the single most important one is - the wine must be sweeter than the dessert it accompanies. You always want to ADD sugar, but balance with with commensurate acid.

A reasonable criticism of my answer would be - those wines aren't going to have the acid to cut the butteriness of the Cracker Jack. That's not an crazy point. But the nutty/popcorn nature of the, well, nuts and popcorn are going to BEG for a slightly oxidative wine, and the one or two chardonnay stickies I've had have taken on that chard popcorny oxidativeness very quickly with age. Thinking oxidative, a PX sherry would probably be too flabby, but a nice bual Madeira would be a great pairing. A tawny port could work, but it would have to be a really old tawny that had shed its fruit and was in that gnarly nuts-and-brown sugar-and-acid phase. A rivesaltes would be along the same lines as a tawny.

If you wanted to go with a non-sweet option, you COULD consider going with a vin jaune from the Jura. Now that I think about it, it would be a very funky but potentially amazingly delicious combination, especially if you found a really rich, ripe one. Bone dry but has the nuttiness down and searing acidity. I guess if I'm going to go down that road, an amontillado sherry would work too, but a fino would be too delicate for sure.

36. For the Turnstiles (andeux) Posted: September 23, 2011 at 06:11 PM (#3934214)

Deeper hijack, do any other beer people find it funny that people look for "buttery" Chards? Because when I taste butter I think Diacetyl and thus think "man this is terrible."

In fact it's exactly the same thing in beer and wine - malolactic fermentation producing diacetyl. In beer it's a major flaw, in Chardonnay it's a feature (though not everyone likes that style), and in red wines you probably won't notice it even though it's present.

37. Lassus Posted: September 23, 2011 at 06:27 PM (#3934231)

Will the wine fight be more interesting than the hockey uniform fight?

38. rlc Posted: September 23, 2011 at 06:35 PM (#3934239)

With respect accorded to someone who knows about chenin and sekts etc., you must not have a lot of experience with food-wine pairing.

True.

There are only a few golden rules of pairing that actually must be followed but the single most important one is - the wine must be sweeter than the dessert it accompanies. You always want to ADD sugar, but balance with with commensurate acid.

Well, this is probably why wine isn't served with Cracker Jack - it's hard to make a wine that's sweeter than caramel. Acknowledging my prejudice against Chardonnay, I still think it would be easier to find high sugar and acid in a Riesling.

39. Shock Posted: September 23, 2011 at 06:37 PM (#3934245)

Wine threads are worse than Hitler threads.

40. Liver of blaspheming 'zop Posted: September 23, 2011 at 06:40 PM (#3934248)

RLC, the beauty of botrytis is that it preserves the acidity at the same time as it cranks up the sugar.

If you want to have your mind blown, look out for a half bottle of Bedrock Lacryma Monti Botrytis Semillon. Picked at 40 brix, so much residual sugar that it hurts, a ton of botrytis character but has plenty of acidity to stand up to it. It's like Sauternes on steroids, but it's brilliant winemaking, and I say this as a full-blown Loire/Riesling wine geek (Joe Dressner RIP).

41. Weekly Journalist_ Posted: September 23, 2011 at 07:10 PM (#3934275)

btw, took a bike ride through the cote d'or in Burgundy this summer. Now that is some ####### wine.

42. Rants Mulliniks (formerly Cold Prosimian) Posted: September 23, 2011 at 07:11 PM (#3934278)

I would like become a wine snob, but its too expensive for me. Where I am (Eastern Canada) E&J Gallo is $10.29 FFS. You can get some half-decent Chilean ones for $11 or so, but I can't willfully put myself in a position where I feel the need to spend $20+ every time I want to drink wine.

They just started carrying Sam Adams Boston Lager here - only $15.79 for a 6-pack!

43. Weekly Journalist_ Posted: September 23, 2011 at 07:17 PM (#3934281)

Sam Adams Boston Lager here - only $15.79 for a 6-pack!

#### that ####### ####.

44. Yonder Alonso in misguided trousers (cardinal) Posted: September 23, 2011 at 07:18 PM (#3934284)

Isn't Tom Seaver running a vineyard now? Seems like a natural fit for Citi Field, if they're gonna sell wine. Which they might? I don't know, I haven't been there yet this season. Maybe tomorrow if the weather holds.

45. Rants Mulliniks (formerly Cold Prosimian) Posted: September 23, 2011 at 07:24 PM (#3934291)

The cheapest beer you can buy in New Brunswick is $20.99 for a 12-pack. Most other provinces are more; Quebec is the only one that is anyway reasonable.

I spent the summer of 2000 in Denver and damn near killed my liver, not buying six or eight 6-packs a week of some nice microbrews seemed like a huge waste of an opportunity I knew I wouldn't have again.

46. Weekly Journalist_ Posted: September 23, 2011 at 07:27 PM (#3934293)

Quebec is the only one that is anyway reasonable.

Drifts off into joyful memories of two magical nights in Montreal....

47. BourbonSamurai, vassal of the Harpsburg Empire Posted: September 23, 2011 at 08:25 PM (#3934328)

Drifts off into joyful memories of two magical nights in Montreal....

I have very little memory of any of my nights in Montreal

48. Shock Posted: September 23, 2011 at 08:46 PM (#3934348)

One fun thing about living in Canada is going down to the states and buying Canadian beer at a cheaper price.

49. BDC

Posted: September 23, 2011 at 08:51 PM (#3934352)

I bought some Danish akvavit in Denmark last summer to take to a friend in Germany: much appreciated, but I learned it was a lot cheaper in Germany.

50. The Good Face Posted: September 23, 2011 at 08:52 PM (#3934354)

The cheapest beer you can buy in New Brunswick is $20.99 for a 12-pack. Most other provinces are more; Quebec is the only one that is anyway reasonable.

What the ####?!? You people are living in savagery. Even the dysfunctional shitholes of the world tend to be able to deliver precious booze to their citizens at reasonable prices.

51. Weekly Journalist_ Posted: September 23, 2011 at 08:53 PM (#3934356)

I have very little memory of any of my nights in Montreal

It's spotty. There was 10% Molson malt liquor. Seeing JackWhoResemblesVoros puke his guts out in the Olympic Stadium parking lot. $1 hotdogs and a Wil Cordero walkoff homer. A stripper named Touchdown. I actually think I got in a drunken argument on the Metro with a Philadelphia Eagles fan about the Giants. Probably not in that order.

52. Shock Posted: September 23, 2011 at 09:01 PM (#3934363)

The cheapest beer you can buy in New Brunswick is $20.99 for a 12-pack. Most other provinces are more; Quebec is the only one that is anyway reasonable.

That's about right. You might be able to get Budweiser for cheaper; of course, you can also drink your own urine.

53. PreservedFish Posted: September 23, 2011 at 09:10 PM (#3934370)

I have very little memory of any of my nights in Montreal

Making twice yearly trips to Montreal for baseball games, legal beer and Schwartz's smoked meat was one of the best things about going to college in Vermont. Tom Seaver was on one of my drunken metro rides.

54. Liver of blaspheming 'zop Posted: September 23, 2011 at 10:08 PM (#3934404)

It was one of the best things about going to college in new Hampshire, as well.

55. Ted Williams Carlos Williams Posted: September 23, 2011 at 11:41 PM (#3934451)

Zop is creepily trying to make everybody aware he attended Dartmouth College.

56. Karl from NY Posted: September 24, 2011 at 12:17 AM (#3934473)

I like Cracker Jack and would love to have it at the ballpark, but can't get past this absurdity. They sell the bags that are printed with the 99 cents grocery price for $5.75. Could you at least try to hide a ripoff that ridiculous?

57. Lassus Posted: September 24, 2011 at 12:31 AM (#3934484)

Beer threads are worse than threads about the wine Hitler liked. At least wine tastes decent.

58. Liver of blaspheming 'zop Posted: September 24, 2011 at 01:41 AM (#3934501)

55, I was just paralleling the post above mine. One of my favorite college memories is trying to pick up a couple of native chicks with a friend who thought they were mexican and used a pick up line on Spanish. I don't sneak about having gone to dartmouth.

59. Tuque

Posted: September 24, 2011 at 01:48 AM (#3934503)

Sadly, I never got to go to Montreal while I was going to college in Greenwich Village, New York City. Nor will I now that I am in graduate school in South Central Los Angeles.

60. Tuque

Posted: September 24, 2011 at 01:53 AM (#3934506)

Beer threads are worse than threads about the wine Hitler liked.

Beer thread!

I've discovered a truly outstanding IPA recently: the Sculpin IPA by Ballast Point Brewing. Sadly, their Pale Ale kind of blows, and their other IPA wasn't my favorite.

The Sculpin though...mm. Up there with Stone, Ithaca, and (of course) Russian River as my favorites.

Can anybody recommend some SoCal area beers and breweries that I might be able to find at the beer store near me?

61. Lassus Posted: September 24, 2011 at 01:54 AM (#3934507)

Posse 23, between hoover and fig, yo.

62. Tuque

Posted: September 24, 2011 at 02:10 AM (#3934510)

Posse 23, between hoover and fig, yo.

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‘Buy Me Some Pinot and Cracker Jack,’ Fans Say

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