Seeking an Alt Route to Choucroute
Joyce Lin gives a traditional and beloved Taiwanese dish an umlaut twist and a fresh French pairing.
Joyce Lin gives a traditional and beloved Taiwanese dish an umlaut twist and a fresh French pairing.
Born and raised in Taiwan, now based in NYC, Joyce Lin is a sommelier, writer, educator, and wine consultant, holding both CMS and WSET 3 certifications. Joyce’s interests in food and wine led her to create 酒意思Sip with Joyce, an omnichannel platform providing wine pairing ideas with daily meals, specializing in Asian cuisines. Joyce believes that through food and wine, people of diverse backgrounds can be unified and share the joy of life with each other.
Star-baker Martin Sorge wants you to up your bread game. Wine pairings including.
There is no fish soup in the Pfalz. Sad, but true. Like most of Germany’s winegrowing regions, the Pfalz is simply too far removed from the sea for fish to feature prominently in its traditional cuisine. By extension, Pfalz fish soup is practically a culinary contradiction. A delicious deception. A seafood swindle. A Pfalz cookbook is a celebration of rustic comfort: Leberknödel (liver dumplings), Kartoffelsuppe mit Speck (potato soup with bacon, often in unlikely combination with plum cake), and, of course, Saumagen (stuffed pig’s stomach). Arguably the region’s culinary signature dish, this is a hearty, sausage-y mix of pork, potato,…...
Can you hear the music? Forget onions and vinegar: this Franken co-ferment hits harmonies as only Handkäse can do.
When customers come for a tasting at Domaine Muré in southern Alsace, they typically start by asking for the crémant. Many know about the estate from individual bottles enjoyed within their circle of friends. Thomas Muré, owner of the estate, has come to see this as a golden opportunity. “Customers come to buy crémant and leave with an assortment of all categories,” he says. “A high-quality crémant doesn’t steal from our sales of still wines.” While his estate appears to have achieved a working balance between still and sparkling, that dynamic is reaching a tipping point at the regional level…....
It was the first hour of my first shift, and of course, it was a “Manhattan Cocktail.” I pictured the flashcards heavy in my pocket from the cram-session the night before: Rye whisky, sweet Vermouth, and bitters. Don’t forget the cherry. To that point, I had known Vermouth as little more than a grandmother’s drink, the bottle dying a slow oxidative death in wood-paneled curios around the world. So after making the guest’s request, and in the name of job experience, I downed the remaining jigger of inexperienced overpour. Later, I would comment to the bar manager that it tasted a…...
In Alsace, Grand Cru usually means one thing: Riesling. But on Zotzenberg — a low, east-facing slope between Barr and Mittelbergheim — the often overlooked Sylvaner holds an unusual place of privilege. Zotzenberg remains the only Grand Cru vineyard in Alsace for which Sylvaner is officially recognized on the label. It’s a rare exception that shows how a site can reshape a grape’s reputation and, perhaps, its future. Six Centuries on a Quiet Hill in Alsace Zotzenberg was first documented as “Zoczenberg” over 600 years ago. Its quality was noted early on: in 1541, Mittelbergheim’s village records mention the hill…...
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