You know the rest of that line, right? Well, it's with some small amount of sadness that I am saying that about this blog: It must come to an end. I've had a terrific time writing it, but we've decided that in the end it's a bit strange, for a magazine that's all about bringing together food and wine, to have separate blogs on those topics.

So, from here on out, any wine blogging that I (and Megan Krigbaum, Kristin Donnelly, and various other stalwart folks) do will instead appear in F&W's primary blog, Mouthing Off. No less wine coverage, just a different venue. See you there.

Ray Isle

When a friend invited me to a five-course, whiskey-paired dinner at Eleven Madison Park last Wednesday, I hesitated before accepting. I’ve been to plenty of wine- and beer-paired dinners, but sipping whiskey through a meal sounded a little intense. If anyone could pull it off, though, it would certainly be genius chef Daniel Humm. And the whiskeys around which he created the menu weren’t just any whiskeys. We were being treated to six limited-edition Balvenie 17-year-old single-malt scotch whiskeys, including the 2001 Balvenie Islay Cask and the super-rare 2006 Balvenie New Wood. The pairing of the night: The 2007 Balvenie Sherry Cask matched with Humm’s black angus tenderloin with roasted summer beans. Most of these scotches are nearly impossible to find, but the newest limited-edition release, the Balvenie Madeira Cask, will be in stores in early October. This extraordinarily rich scotch, matured in oak and finished in casks that were used to make fortified Madeira, was the nightcap to our feast, with sweet vanilla-oak notes that gave way to spices and dried fruit and a seemingly never-ending finish.   

© William Grant & Sons
The Balvenie Madeira Cask 17-Year-Old

A pair of very appealing southern French whites landed in the high-tech foam-lined Tasting Room bottle repository recently, and as we're headed away from Summer, at least in NYC, I figured I-d better squeeze them in before it becomes roast-moose-and-Amarone weather again.

2005 Guy Bossard Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie ($13) Normally I feel Muscadet should be drunk as fresh as possible. But sur lie fermentation seems to have given this bottling exceptional depth and staying power-it's got a lovely scent of lemon and seashells, and tastes roughly the same (yes, I know, the idea of chewing up a bunch of seashells isn't that appealing; if you'd prefer the term "chalky minerality," feel free to substitute.) Also, it's organic, biodynamically certified, and all that jazz, so you won't wake up dead the morning after you drink it.

2006 Laurent Miquel Viognier Vin de Pays d'Oc ($16) Finding good affordable Viognier is just about as difficult as finding good, affordable Pinot Noir. Most of the under-$20 Viogniers I run into basically need to be put on the Atkins Diet for wine. This one doesn't: lean and crisp, but still possessed of that classic peachy Viognier scent and flavor, it's a nicely made all-purpose white for a reasonable price. Plus, for 500 years this particular vineyard was tended by monks, until Robespierre and his gang summarily tossed them out. Et voilà! A history lesson in a bottle.