Ramps!  Like snails, single malt scotch or sweet breads, you either love ‘em or hate ‘em.

Maybe it’s because of my familial ties to the ramp capitol of the world – Richwood, West Virginia - but I really do love those little odiferous lilies that dot the mountains of our wild and wonderful state this time of year.

The stories about Richwood and ramps are many, outrageous and sometimes true. The late Jim Comstock, publisher of the now defunct West Virginia Hillbilly, chronicled many of them in his newspaper. He is also responsible for literally creating a national stink when he added ramps to the printers ink for one edition of the newspaper. The US Postal service was not amused, but it sure did put his town and ramps on the map.

My paternal grandparents hailed from that little mountain village fast by the shores of the Cherry River, and I spent many happy summers there, escaping the heat and humidity of Clarksburg in the days before air-conditioning. I don’t remember ever having been exposed to the little lilies back then, but I do remember my first experience with them.

I was in the US Army at the time and home on leave, enjoying a few days with my family before heading off to Southeast Asia to defeat communism. One evening, my next door neighbor brought over a six pack (or so) of beer and a mess of ramps.  He suggested the best way to enjoy the little veggies was to sprinkle them with salt and eat them raw – which we did until the wee hours of the morning

Well, I awoke that spring morning to a home in which every window and door had been opened. My mother was outside with an industrial size container of Lysol and was spraying the stuff into the house from each window. The moral of the story:  For the protection of mankind, don’t ever drink beer and eat raw ramps unless you are encased in a hazmat suit.

This time of year, just about every town in our state features a ramp feed at which people are introduced (many for the first time) to over-ripe and under-cooked ramps. After experiencing the culinary massacre of ramps by those who fry them in lard or bacon grease and add them to potatoes or (worse) pinto beans, people leave the events belching and flatulent, vowing never to get within a country mile of a ramp.   

However, I implore you:  don’t give up on ramps just yet.  Today, I want to offer a recipe for your consideration that uses the pungent flavor of  ramps as just a nuance to a pasta dish which is enhanced by the accompaniment of full-flavored  sauvignon blanc.

Shopping list:

-          a small bunch of ramps

-          asparagus  

-          thick sliced bacon

-          extra virgin olive oil

-          one-pound of capellini

-          red pepper flakes

-          grated pecorino-romano cheese

-          salt and pepper to taste

       1. Dice four pieces of bacon and sauté it in a frying pan over low heat until it is crisp. Then remove the bacon and allow it to drain on paper towels.

       2. Drain off all but about two tablespoons of bacon fat and add two ounces of extra virgin olive oil to the pan.

    3. Clean and dice a small bunch of ramps (eight or ten). Reserve the green parts for later and sauté the white parts along with one-quarter pound of cleaned and diced asparagus tops in the bacon fat and olive oil until the veggies are tender.

    4. Cook the pasta (al dente) in a large pot of boiling water to which you have added a teaspoon of salt.

    5. When the pasta is done, add a quarter cup of the cooking liquid along with the pasta to the frying pan with the ramps and asparagus.

    6. To the pan, add the bacon, the pecorino romano and the red pepper flakes and integrate the mixture over low heat.

    7. Now add the reserved (and chopped) green ramp tops to the mixture and serve.

This ramp and asparagus pasta dish would be well served by a crisp, yet round,   sauvignon blanc. The grassy, herbal and melon flavor components of sauvignon blanc, especially ones from New Zealand, go exceptionally well with vegetables like asparagus that has been flavored with ramps (or even garlic).  

2007 Villa Maria  ($17); 2008 Nobilo Icon   ($22); 2008 Whitehaven   ($17); 2007 Geyser Peak ($13); and 2008 Kim Crawford ($20).

A superb wine for your sipping pleasure: 

2005 Ramon Bilbao Rioja ($15) – I love the wines of Rioja in northern Spain and this special 100 percent tempranillo is a real stunner! With 14 months in oak, the wine has a nose of vanilla, leather and cola. On the palate, bright, ripe cherries give way to a rich, round, toasty mouthful of Rioja that lingers on the finish.  You need to try this wine with roasted meat such as tenderloin of pork which has been rolled in rosemary, garlic, crushed black pepper, sea salt and olive oil.

Wine and Food Events 

Join the good folks at Bridge Road Bistro on Tuesday, April 21^st for a reception and special dinner featuring the wines of France.  Olivier Lotterie of Vineyard Brands will describe the wines which have been specially selected to match the multi-course meal.

The reception begins at 6 p.m. followed immediately by dinner. Cost of the dinner is $69 (plus tax and gratuities) per person. To make reservations, call the Bistro at 304-720-3500. 

 Canaan Wine Weekend 

Just about every six months, I have the pleasure of participating in and presenting at a wine weekend event at Canaan Valley Resort in the mountains of wild and wonderful West Virginia.  The fourth version of this mountain gourmet extravaganza will take place May 8^th and 9^th at the lodge on the grounds of the Tucker County state park.

I’ll select wines from around the world that will be paired with a cornucopia of culinary delicacies prepared by Canaan Valley Resort’s executive chef Nemat Odeh.  Chef Odeh, who received his culinary training in Europe, knows a thing or two about food and is also adept at working with wine – and picky wine guys like me. 

Here’s the schedule: Friday,  May 8 at 7 p.m.: Guests will kick-off the weekend with a “taste-around reception” where  more than 20 wines from the world’s most prestigious regions can be sampled with matching culinary treats, including crab cakes, beef tenderloin, smoked salmon, pasta, a raw bar, desserts  and other treats.  This wine and food “graze around” is a wonderful way to evaluate wine with food. In fact, I always seem to experience a wine and food “epiphany moment” at these informal taste arounds.  

The next day at 11a.m., yours truly will conduct an educational wine tasting and seminar followed by a delicious luncheon with specially selected wines. Chef Odeh will then conduct a nutrition and culinary demonstration after which guests can enjoy an afternoon of activities or take a nap and get ready for evening ahead.  

Saturday evening’s activities begin at 7 p.m. with the multi-course Grand Gourmet Dinner with accompanying wines.  The menu includes Lobster Martini, Tabouilli Salad in a Cucumber Boat, Duck Cake with Tomato Lavender Marmalade, Steamed Pacific Cod with Napa Roasted Tomatoes, Braised Veal Shank with Morel Mushroom Risotto, and Baked Alaska with Huckleberry Puree.

Guests have the option of attending the entire weekend for a package price, or choosing to participate in individual events ala carte. For pricing and additional information or reservations call 800-622-4121.  I hope to see some of you at this great event.

My good friend Rich Ireland , author of the eminently informative “Beers To You”  blog,  is a passionate proponent of all aspects of the stuff of which he writes.   Not satisfied  that he has almost single-handedly improved the number, quality and  availability of craft beers in the state, he also insists that we (and those who serve us) observe proper suds etiquette.  

In fact, his recent blog taking to task one of my favorite area  restaurateurs  for having the audacity  to serve beer in an iced tea glass got me thinking.  I should probably be more observant and critical regarding  the myriad wine-related faux pas committed each day by well-intentioned, but under- educated, wine lovers.

However, I must admit, when it comes to following rules of etiquette, I am a swine.  Just ask my wife.  In my rush to experience the sensory pleasures of certain liquids, I sometimes take shortcuts that might be as egregious a sin as eating with my bare hands. But, as someone who has served time in Catholic school, I am a great believer in redemption.

 So, from now on, I hereby give fair warning that I will be on the lookout for those of you in my line of sight who do not observe the rules (see below) of proper wine etiquette.

Rule #1 – Never drink from a wine skin that is made from the following animals:  anacondas; skunks; wombats; flying squirrels (still on endangered list); frogs; coyotes; muskrats; aardvarks; ring-tailed lemurs; porcupines; llamas; or hyenas. The best wine skins are still made from mature sheep by celibate shepherds.

Rule #2 – Only swirl wine in the proper direction – time depends on this! It is absolutely essential for people in the northern hemisphere to swirl wine in a counter-clockwise direction while those living south of the equator swirl in a clockwise fashion.  If everyone swirled in the same direction, time would either go faster or slow down. This does happen occasionally which accounts for why so many people experience déjà-vu while others seem to be getting ahead of themselves.

Rule #3 – Snorting wine is not yet approved by the American Oenophile Association - so don’t do it in public.  I’ve noticed more and more folks in restaurants who have taken to snorting instead of sipping wine. While this can certainly be therapeutic for those with sinus problems, I still feel sipping is a better way to evaluate wine –though I’m willing to be convinced otherwise.     

Rule #4 – Inappropriate cork behavior.  Corks should only be used for their intended purpose. Once a cork is pulled from a bottle and presented to you by the sommelier, it should be treated with respect. It can be sniffed, but should almost never be eaten.  And  please refrain from charring the  end of the cork to paint a moustache on your tablemate.    How appalling!

Rule #5 – Please do not drink from the dump bucket at formal wine tastings.  I know…. the protagonist in “Sideways” did this at a tasting room in the Santa Rita Hills.  But real life is not a movie!! While it is acceptable wine etiquette to spit, rather than swallow wine at a tasting, it is not appropriate (nor sanitary) to pour yourself a glass of wine from the dump bucket (unless the tasting is of First Growth Bordeaux).      

So Rich, I hope this demonstrates that I can be a stickler for, and enforcer of, all the wine rules. As a matter of fact, I suggest we meet down at the Southside Bridge and toast each other with a wine skin full of  spoody-oody! For those of you unfamiliar with this tasty treat, a spoody-oody is comprised of equal parts of  beer and wine and is best consumed under a full moon.