La Marca Prosecco

Keeping Tradition Alive with Modern Winemaking

Founded more than 40 years ago, La Marca^® is a winery cooperative representing over 5,000 winegrowers who farm over 17,000 acres in the area of Treviso, in the Veneto region of northern Italy. The name “La Marca” refers to the zone of La Marca Trevigiana, source for the winery’s finest grapes. The winery’s headquarters are in the city of Oderzo, in the heart of Prosecco country. Consulting winemaker for La Marca^® Prosecco is Fabrizo Gatto.

Tradition at La Marca^® runs hand in hand with modern winemaking techniques, all with an eye to the changing demands of the international market for wine.

La Marca^® is particularly proud of its fully sparkling Prosecco Spumante. Prosecco has been taking the international wine drinking public by storm. La Marca^®’s Prosecco is a delicious, fragrant and fruity wine that is winning hearts and palates wherever sparkling wines are consumed.

Though relatively new to the international market, Prosecco production reflects a long history of painstaking grape growing and winemaking in its unique region.

The hills of Treviso provide unique soils and microclimates that are perfect for the Prosecco grape (the grape and the wine have the same name). La Marca^® adds to that perfection by expertly creating the base wines for their Prosecco and then gently adding effervescence through the Charmat process, the ideal way to protect the wine’s delicate aromatics and delightfully light texture. La Marca^® Prosecco is a versatile sparkler, a delight on its own as an aperitif, and for any (and every) special occasion. The wine has the substance and energetic acidity to match a wide range of foods and cuisines: Italian of course, but try it with Thai cuisine, a solid American barbecue, or light appetizers.

Although sold under a single brand, La Marca^® Prosecco represents the work, the skill, and the traditions of literally thousands of Italian winegrowers and wine workers who remain dedicated to upholding the traditions and quality standards of their region’s own unique wine.

 

Light, lively and lovely, all that bubbles need not be Champagne and here is a perfect alternative. Paired with Asian, Indian, meat, fish or solo, we liked La Marca Prosecco a lot. And at $17.00 SRP, the value is there.

La Marca Prosecco NV = $17.00

Copyright 2011 By Punch In International. All Rights Reserved disclosure

Mr. K’s NYC Is The Emperor Of Manhattan’s Chinese Restaurants

Mr. K’s NYC

570 Lexington Ave, New York 10022

(At 51st St)

(212) 583-1668

 

Website:

www.mrksny.com

Notes:

DeliveryTake-OutVisa, MC, AmEx, DC, Carte Blanche

Hours:

Mon-Fri: 11:30am-11pmSat-Sun: 12pm-11pm

Serves:

Lunch, Dinner

Features:

Prix Fixe, Romantic, Delivery, Accepts Credit Cards, Take Out

Johnny Kao: Owner

Edward Cheung: General Managing Partner

John Fong: General Managing Partner

Cheng-Hua Yang: Executive Chef

Greg Olving: Concept Architect

 

Contact The Restaurant

Make A Reservation on Open Table

Mr. K’s is situated in the landmark old GE building. The restaurant’s architecture is art deco in keeping with the entire building’s design. The dining room has high ceilings and plush carpeting and is adorned with museum-quality art pieces. The wood work, fabrics, and etched glass are magnificent. Mr. K’s is easily the most elegant and spectacular Chinese restaurant in New York City.

The Art Deco decor with its dusty-rose color-theme, huge scalloped banquettes, cherry wood covered columns and etched glass has the aura of opulence. The well trained wait-staff spoil you with personal and benevolent service and owner, Johnny T. Kao, is as charming and elegant as he is a perfectionist, as are General Managing Partners Edward Cheung and John Fong.

With such drama, food is not a subordinate player. After one bite of any appetizer such as the delightfully crispy and light Shanghai-style spring rolls or marvelous Vegetarian’s Purses, a medley of mushrooms and vegetables wrapped in tofu sheets, fried and then softened in a soy-sherry sauce with a touch of garlic, you know this is a serious kitchen. Best of all, try the scrumptious Sesame Shrimp Toast with ground shrimp on bread triangles and sesame seeds, fried to golden brown, and an elegant Seafood Imperial, consisting of minced lobster meat, shrimp, fish and scallops sautéed and served in a refreshing lettuce cup.

Entrees are no less admirable. Peking Duck is superlative here and the incredibly accessible $48 prix fixe dinner ($28 at lunch)  includes some of the best dishes. Miniature thimbles of sorbets are offered as palate cleansers and scented towels are served after courses that require them.

Other memorable dishes include a special of Chilean Sea Bass, quickly seared and snowy fleshed within, Lobster in or out of the shell with a choice of preparations and “Firecracker” filet of fish simmered in a tangy Szechwan sauce with onions and a touch of tomato.

Desserts,are a welcomed concession to western taste, since that is one area of Chinese food least appreciated by Americans. We loved the Green Tea and Pistachio Ice Cream and chocolate lovers should try the Tri Chocolate Mousse Dome. There is a short and well priced wine list starting at $28 with plenty of bottles under $40, glorious private rooms and an air of "money’s no object" at Mr. K’s, with its mix of upscale Asians, downtown Wall Street types and lovers out for a night on the town. Perhaps that explains the lovely gesture of giving the fairer sex a corsage when they are seated. Mr. K’s is not the most expensive luxury Chinese restaurant in Manhattan, just one of the  most civilized and gracious and thus retains its A Major rating.

Copyright 2011 By Punch In International. All Rights Reserved

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The Albariño Wines of Martín Códax

The Region – Rías Baixas

The Albariño wine of Martín Códax® is produced under the strict rules of the Rías Baixas D.O. (denomination of origin, or appellation). Translated from Gallego, the native language of Galicia, Rías Baixas means “the lower fjords”, referring to the deep fingers of water there that reach inland from the sea.

Albariño wine is sometimes called “The Wine of the Sea” because of the impact that the Atlantic Ocean has on the weather over the vineyards, and because the wine goes so well with seafood from the local villages. The moderate climate and well-drained soils provide perfect growing conditions for Albariño – ample water, ample sunshine in the summer, and mineral-rich soils of eroded granite sand, chalk, and clay.

The area is lush and green, unlike the common idea of Spain. It is cool, not hot, with many rivers running through hillside and valley vineyards. The landscape is so rocky that even the posts of the pergolas that hold the canopy of vines overhead in old farmstead vineyards are made of granite.

Winter storms on the Spanish shore of the Atlantic bring moderate temperatures and rain from the southwest, a result of the circulation of tropical air from the equator. The ocean regulates the temperature over the land, with little difference between day and night. High pressure fronts from the Azores settle over the region in summer, giving a long, friendly growing season to the vineyards, with the driest weather perfectly timed for late ripening and a September harvest.

Rías Baixas is divided into five sub-regions: Val do Salnes, Ribera del Ulla, Soutomayor, Condadodo Tea and O Rosal, the largest of which is Val do Salnes, home to Martín Códax wines.

The Grape – Albariño

Albariño, long the best-kept secret of Spanish winemaking, is making its mark in the world. It is aromatic, complex but immediately pleasing, dry, but full-bodied: peach, melon, grapefruit and lemon zest flavors decorating a frame of refreshing minerality.

One story says the grape was brought to the region from Germany by Benedictine monks in the Middle Ages and is descended from Riesling. Another story says the grape is native to the seaside hills of Galicia. This is a grape so special and so important in Spain that the grape itself is subject to regulation, not just the wine. Inspectors examine every load of grapes arriving at the winery to certify that they were grown in vineyards that meet the exacting standards set for Albariño in Galicia.

Albariño is made to be enjoyed when it is young, and the flavors float on a slight tingle that touches the tongue on the first sip. “Refreshing” is a word often associated with this style. To preserve the delicate qualities and subtle sequences of flavors that the wine so generously offers, winemakers restrict their fermentations and storage to stainless steel.

This is the style of Martín Códax Albariño. One hundred percent Albariño. One hundred percent estate grown. One hundred percent stainless steel.

 

Delicious and highly recommended, this clean, crisp wine with its floral hints and pleasing balance of acidity is just one example of why the consumer should turn to Spain for excellent wines at exceptional value at $15.00, SRP. Lovely paired with shellfish, veal, poultry in light sauces and cold roast beef. Great with goat cheese.

Martin Codax Albarino 2010 = $15.00

Copyright 2011 By Punch In International. All Rights Reserved

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Arctic Zero: Ice Cream Without Guilt

• The founders of Arctic Zero saw the increasing number of children developing food allergies, and the increasing waistlines of Americans and wondered if there was a solution – They saw these problems manifest in there own lives with family members diagnosed with diabetes and having other weight related
health problems

– So they decided to develop a product that diabetics could enjoy and was still nutritionally sound — what better medium than ice cream! • In 2002, they developed Carbawhey, a protein-based soft serve ice cream that was diabetic friendly – As they sold Carbawhey at many yogurt shops throughout Southern California, the company received requests from consumers for a similar product that could be taken home and eaten

– As a result, in 2006, they started working on a pre-packaged pint and Arctic Zero was born • When developing Arctic Zero, they decided to address other health issues and produce a product that could be consumed by all – As opposed to Carbawhey, the company decided to develop an all natural (Splenda free) product that was also gluten free –They wanted it to be low calorie, low carb, fat free, and lactose intolerant friendly, all of which took a number of years to develop
• In 2009, Arctic Zero began to be sold through natural food, retail grocery and direct-to-consumer channels

• In Spring 2011, Arctic Zero released an 85 calorie premium chocolate dipped ice cream bar in 4 flavors

• Arctic Zero is currently sold online through Amazon as well as across 40 states through 1500+ grocery stores including Whole Foods, Sprouts, Henrys, Sunflower Markets, Bristol Farms, Publix, Safeway, Kroger/Ralphs, HEB,
Hy-vee, Food Lion and Winn-Dixie and expects to be in an additional 1,000 stores within the next several months

Overview

Copyright 2011 By Punch In International. All Rights Reserved

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