The Wall Street Journal - 04.04.2020 - 05.04.2020

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. **** Saturday/Sunday, April 4 - 5, 2020 |D9

WINE CAN DOmany things. It can

enhance a meal, a meeting or a

mood. It can make us feel less

lonely, too—an important attribute

as the weeks of social isolation grind

on, and we’re cut off from habits

that otherwise shape our lives. Wine

lovers, along with everyone else, are

looking for ways to connect. In my

town, a few blocks from my house, a

group of neighbors decided to get

together to toast one another—at a

safe distance, of course. They stand

on the sidewalk in front of their

houses or on their porch steps and

hoist glasses of whiskey or juice or,

in most cases, wine.

On the slightly chilly evening I

stopped by that gathering (my own

block is of a more teetotaling sort), I

found groups of family members,

some with dogs and/or children in

tow, in front of their respective

houses, safely apart, glasses aloft.

The attendees ranged from a year

old to 84, one neighbor proudly in-

formed me. What were they drink-

ing? I asked (in my outside voice).

Their wines of choice were quite

various. Some had chosen Malbec,

others selected a domestic Pinot

Noir or a Riesling from a mail-order

wine club or a Costco New Zealand

Sauvignon Blanc. Some choices were

perennial favorites for these wine

drinkers; others had been selected

during a mad dash when (false) ru-

mors abounded that liquor stores in

our state would soon close.

Some neighbors had decided to

start with the cheap stuff, they told

me, while others went a more mean-

ingful route. “This is the last bottle

of Chinon from our wedding,” said

Aaron, who was standing on the

sidewalk in front of his house along-

side his wife, Jen, and their two

young children—one of whom

showed me the exact place on the

sidewalk that he was not allowed to

cross. (The Chinon region of the

Loire Valley in France was also the

place where Aaron proposed.)

I toasted the group with my own

glass of Grüner Veltliner and told

them I hoped to see them in better

days soon. When I got home, I

thought about how each family or

couple had chosen a different wine

for a different reason, and I won-

dered if my friends elsewhere were

doing the same. I decided to email a

she immediately loved and bought

several bottles of for herself.

Some friends shared vivid details

of the settings in which they were

uncorking; a few even provided pho-

tographs. My friend Soula in Boston

sent a picture of a flag, flying from a

building near her house in Beacon

Hill, Boston, that read “Don’t Give

Up the Ship” along with a photo of

the bottle of Pinot Grigio from Italy

that she shared with her family.

Many of my friends chose Italian

wines, in solidarity with that suffer-

ing nation. Soula, her husband,

Chris, and their son, Stefan (who

will miss his graduation from Yale

this year), shared a bottle of 2018

Kris Pinot Grigio that they bought

from a local shop. “It was a fitting

remembrance of all that Italy has

given to the world: simplicity, love

and laughter,” Soula wrote. She

added that as they drank the wine, a

lone kilted bagpiper made his way

down their deserted street, further

lifting their collective mood.

My friend Denise and her hus-

band, Bill, also chose a Pinot Grigio,

which they drank with dinner on

their farm one night. Bill is often on

few of them and ask what they’re

drinking right now and why. It

wasn’t the same as drinking to-

gether, but it was a way to connect.

Because I thought readers of this

column might want to try some of

the bottles, I suggested that the

wines up for discussion should cost

less than $20. My friend Julie con-

sidered that too low. She gets head-

aches from wines under $30 a bot-

tle, she said. (It’s worth noting that

Julie is married to an eye surgeon

and her daughter is a rheumatolo-

gist at a New York hospital, so she is

dealing with the stress that comes

with that.) She chose a 2010 Cala-

bretta Nerello Mascalese Vigne Vec-

chie from Sicily—a wine I intro-

duced her to a few months ago that

‘Iopenedthebottleand

pouredataste,andfelt

myselfmomentarilystep

backtoagentler,easier

momentinmylife.’

FRANCESCO ZORZI

ON WINE/LETTIE TEAGUE

With Glasses Raised: Why

Wine’s Still a Great Connector

Total Time30 minutes

Serves 4

1 head cauliflower

2 small onions, sliced

1 stick unsalted butter,

cubed

1 bay leaf

1 cardamom pod (optional)

Kosher salt and freshly

ground black pepper

4 cups water

1 tablespoon saeu-jeot

(salted fermented shrimp,

optional)

Olive oil, for drizzling

1.Chop cauliflower into rough

1-inch pieces. In a medium

heavy pot over medium heat,

melt half the butter. Stir in

onions and sweat until trans-

lucent, about 5 minutes. Add

chopped cauliflower, bay leaf

and cardamom, if using, and

season with salt and pepper.

Sauté until spices are aro-

matic, 2-3 minutes.

2.Pour in enough water to

just cover cauliflower. In-

crease heat to medium-high

and simmer until all cauli-

flower is tender enough to be

easily pierced with a fork and

broth tastes good, about 20

minutes. Discard bay leaf and

cardamom, if using.

3.Use a blender or food pro-

cessor to purée everything in

pot, adding remaining butter

one piece at a time, until

completely smooth. If soup is

too thin, simmer to thicken. If

too thick, thin with splashes

of water. Season with salt

and pepper.

4.Ladle soup into 4 bowls

and garnish with saeu-jeot, if

using, or a drizzle of olive oil.

SPOON FEDLittle more than cauliflower, butter and onions, this

simple soup possesses surprising depths.

SLOW FOOD FAST/SATISFYING AND SEASONAL FOOD IN ABOUT 30 MINUTES

“I THINK WE ALLappreciate where our food

comes from right now,” said chef Sohui Kim,

chef and owner of three Brooklyn restau-

rants that have closed due to the coronavirus

crisis (though one, Insa, is reopening for

takeout business this week). “As a chef,

that’s always been my job. Now everybody’s

more tuned into the logistics.” Ms. Kim’s sec-

ond Slow Food Fast recipe calls for merci-

fully few ingredients, which keeps shopping

to a minimum. The quick and nourishing

cauliflower soup, creamy and full of flavor,

really makes the most of every element.

“This is about celebrating the good stuff,”

Ms. Kim said.

Consider the cauliflower, a remarkable

vegetable, sturdy and versatile. Here it’s sau-

téed with onions and plenty of butter, then

simmered in plain water—no need to break

into your stash of stock. If you have a carda-

mom pod, toss it into the pot for a nice floral

note—but you certainly won’t miss it if it’s

not there. As you purée the soup, more but-

ter goes in, bolstering the flavor and the vel-

vety consistency.

Ms. Kim likes to garnish this soup with

saeu-jeot, a Korean seasoning of salted fer-

mented shrimp that she always has in her

pantry at home. If you have some, you’ll ap-

preciate the umami depth it lends. Other-

wise, finish the bowl with a drizzle of olive

oil or some fresh herbs if you happen to have

them on hand. Got some bread that’s past its

prime? Cube and fry until golden to make

crunchy croutons to float on top. Use what

you have and what feels good. As Ms. Kim

put it, “This is about feeding the soul and

ease of preparation.”—Kitty Greenwald

Quick and Creamy Cauliflower Soup With Multiple-Choice Garnish

ALEX LAU FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, FOOD STYLING BY PEARL JONES, PROP STYLING BY VANESSA VAZQUEZ; MICHAEL HOEWELER (PORTRAIT)

EATING & DRINKING

The Chef

Sohui Kim

Her Restaurants

The Good Fork, Insa

and Gage & Tollner,

all in Brooklyn, N.Y.

What She’s

Known For

Cooking that deftly

marries classic Ko-

rean and American

flavors. Building

neighborhood res-

taurants where joy

is a priority.

the road for his corporate marketing

job, but now that he’s working from

home he’s also doing more farm

chores and making dinner, too. De-

nise said he’d made a nice chicken

dish—except he forgot to make the

rice to go with it. While they waited

for the rice to cook, Denise opened a

2017 Landmark Series Riesling from

Rheinhessen, and the family (three

of their four children at home are of

wine-drinking age) played an hour

of “competitive Yahtzee.” Then they

opened a bottle of 2017 Voga Pinot

Grigio when the dinner was (eventu-

ally) ready.

Liz and Greg also chose an Italian

wine, the 2017 Fattoria di Basciano

Chianti Rufina Riserva, in tribute to

a trip they took to Tuscany two de-

cades ago. “The wine is good—sim-

ple, sort of fruity and good for pair-

ing with pasta or a burger,” Liz

wrote. But the memory of the place

is what made it truly special.

Gabrielle‘s wine of choice, the

2018 Willamette Valley Vineyards

Pinot Gris from Oregon that she

shared with her husband, Steve,

conjured memories of a happier

time. “I opened the bottle and

poured a taste, and felt myself mo-

mentarily step back to a gentler,

easier moment in my life,” she

wrote, “thinking about how one day

we’ll be past this nightmare.”

Some friends reported that the

wines they hoped would offer com-

fort turned out to be simply decent

or even downright duds. Kathy

chose a bottle of Albariño based on

its cheerful polka-dot label and

thought it serviceable enough,

though perhaps more charming to

look at than to drink. Lori and Holly

opened two bottles and weren’t

much thrilled by either one, prompt-

ing Lori to write that she had de-

cided to spend her allotted “wine

money” on bourbon this month.

Like a number of my friends, I

chose an Italian wine, the 2017

Roagna Dolcetto d’Alba, a red from

the Piedmont. The crisis in that re-

gion and nearby Lombardy has been

particularly heartbreaking to follow

on the news. I chose that wine be-

cause I had a fond memory of meet-

ing the warm Roagna family—Al-

fredo and Luca, father and son—

during a trip to Piedmont with my

husband last year. Dolcetto is an ev-

eryday staple in the region. As Silvia

Altare, daughter of the great Barolo

producer Elio Altare, once told me,

“Piemontese winemakers don’t

drink water but Dolcetto.”

The meal my husband and I

paired the wine with had a poi-

gnancy of its own. It was an order of

lasagna from my friend, chef Mario

Carlino, of Divina Ristorante. Like so

many restaurateurs around the

country, Mario has been trying to

keep his business alive by offering

takeout. The lasagna was excellent,

as usual—and it came with a prom-

ise. “When all of this is over, I’m

opening some of my very best wines

with you,” Mario called out to me

when I picked up our order.

Here’s hoping this will all be over

very soon. In the meantime, I’m

sending my very best wishes to ev-

eryone reading this, for very good

wine and very good health.

Email Lettie [email protected].