Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Mitchell's Fish Market carries Kathy Lee Gifford's GIFFT Wines--A Match Made In Heaven by Philip S. Kampe









There is a new seafood restaurant that recently opened on the Hudson River, overlooking Manhattan’s beautiful skyline.  The name of the restaurant is Mitchell’s Fish Market, located on 541 River Road in Edgewater, New Jersey.

Mitchell’s dining area is close to 10,000 square feet. Much of the space is devoted to outdoor dining, with a drop dead backdrop of New York City. The open floor plan includes a main dining room, a huge bar, which was packed for ‘Happy Hour’ and a second floor event space with a 180 degree view of the Statue of Liberty and the George Washington Bridge.

Both are NY icons and reasons to visit to Mitchell’s.

I visited the restaurant during my last trip to the ‘Big Apple.’

 Always a seafood critic,  I was amazed that the selection and availability of the fresh seafood was on a top ten scale.. 

The selection was tantalizing and more than this New Orleanian could handle.
I felt like I was at home in New Orleans, enjoying fresh, juicy and briny oysters and Gulf shrimp.

Now that I am living in Massachusetts, a New England resident, the addition of clams, lobsters and long legged crabs have been added to my diet.

 I am known as a tough critic with seafood, due to my Louisiana roots. Fortunately, Mitchell's  seafood tastes authentic and easily passed my test, due to its freshness and obvious proximity  to the sea.

One of the reasons that I made the trip to attend Mitchell's opening from Massachusetts was to sample GIFFT Wines, a wine that Kathy Lee Gifford,, the television personality  promotes. It is her wine and the one she highlights, daily, during her morning TV program, the ‘Today’ show, which she hosts with Hoda on CBS.

I sampled her Chardonnay and Red Blend and found both wines, (under $16)  perfect for the palate. The Chardonnay was aged in both stainless steel and oak and was a tempting wine that lingered on the palate. The red blend was concentrated, had light fruit and seemed like a wine made for food.

Kathy Lee Gifford explained to me that she was a life-long wine lover, who decided to contact Monterey California’s Scheid Vineyards to produce wine for her. They agree in and in 2014, the GIFFT label emerged.

The obvious question is: What does GIFFT really mean? According to Gifford, the name is a play on words. GIFFT combines her last name, Gifford, with the idea that the wine will be given as a ‘Gifft.’

Her wines are highlighted at Mitchell’s Seafood Restaurant, one of the few lucky restaurants in the country to carry the 'boutique wine.' 

The Chardonnay has a balance between a very crisp, fresh wine married to a rich, luscious wine. Maybe it is the marriage between an aged French oak barrels and stainless steel. Whatever it is, it’s a balanced wine that is elegant and rich.


                                            Kathy Lee Gifford with Maria Reveley

GIFFT also has a Pinot Grigio and a Rose that are in the market. Production and availability are limited.

Scheid Family wines were founded in 1972 and are a family owned company. Scheid practices sustainable farming on their ten estate vineyard located in the Monterey, California Vinicultural Appelation. They are a perfect match for Kathy Lee Gifford's entry into the wine world.

If you have further interest in GIFFT wines, visit, www.gifftwines.com

Philip S. Kampe

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