I like Relax Riesling a lot. I just had some the other night.
Off topic but I have to ask, since you might know.. Luis what do you think of the new Walmart meat commercials? Are they kidding, or is it really better quality?
I've seen those, and my mind always goes to the same place...better quality than what exactly?
Walmart does NOT sell Prime beef, and I haven't spotted any Black Angus, or Natural Angus in their display cases. Having said that, 80% of all cattle slaughtered in the US are slaughtered by four companies, output @26 billion lbs of beef annually.
There are four grades of beef in the US: prime, choice, select, and standard, and some beef companies choose to NOT have their beef graded, and that is sold as ungraded or no-roll; no-roll because when a side of beef is graded by a USDA inspector, they mark the grade of the side by rolling an ink stamp down the length of it.
No, each grade has internal grading according to the marbling of the cut (streaks of fat within the meat), so a Prime+ cut is the best.
Once you get beyond all that, there is the aging of the beef; overall, the American palate prefers a cut of meat that is at least 11 days past slaughter, aged in a sealed plastic which both allows for purge (blood letting) and uses the very same purge to maintain tenderness and assists in the aging.
We usually hold our beef fourteen days past slaughter date before we start selling it. Fine restaurants add their own dry aging of the beef, and maintain it in a cool, closely watched meat storage locker for up to 30 days, adding extra tenderness, and flavor via controlled spoilage.
Prior to cutting the beef above, the butcher will scrape off all the mold.
Having said all that, the single most critical aspect of the whole thing is the actual cutting of the steaks, since cutting against the grain and making other simple mistake will render the best piece of meat inedible.
Walmart sells Select beef (I haven't spotted any choice) and I can SEE horrific errors in the actual cuts, so I've never purchased a steak there.
Meat that one buys for for things like pot roast and stir fry and such appear to be OK.
I hope I didn't get too wordy.
