Roaming By Design

Sign of the changing times! © adroyt original

Why have just one serving when you can have as many as you’d like? Here’s another scoop of the US Department of Energy’s 2011 Solar Decathlon, which is running from Sept. 23rd through Oct. 2nd in Washington, DC. Adroyt had the pleasure of joining Miele USA and their publicist White Good & Company on a press junket (see our pre-event post on adroyt here), along with several other guests in the design and journalism fields, on a tour of their sponsored entry: the University of Maryland’s WaterShed house.

Skyler Stevenson knows his way around a Miele kitchen! © adroyt original

The house is a built metaphor for the path of a water droplet as it cycles from the clouds to earth, incorporated into a sustainably designed residence. The U of M team drew their inspiration from their native Chesapeake Bay aquatic ecostystem, the name of the structure an overt tribute to the integration of human and natural systems. A blend of simplicity, modernity, and vernacular tradition, the house is elegant proof that there are ways to live with the earth and not just upon it.

The sleek Miele induction cooktop. © adroyt original

Miele’s long-standing commitment to conservation, efficiency, and innovation was a perfect partner to the project’s goals: they contributed several of their top-of-the-line appliances to the sleekly designed living space, integrated seamlessly into the clean modern aesthetic. The reward of forethought and conscious evaluation was amply evident as we absorbed the results of the nearly two-year-long design and construction process. Nineteen other teams had their unique concepts on display on the park lawn, across from the Jefferson Memorial; their presence was a resounding affirmation that American ideals and leadership were still very much in evidence. 

The Lincoln Memorial © adroyt original

We’d like to offer our thanks to our hosts, Miele, White Good, the DOE, and the U of M team for a very enlightening (and encouraging) day in the nation’s capital, beside the Potomac. Lunch afterward at Founding Farmers (gotta love that name) was the icing on the cake, and our fasttrack to and from D.C had us hurtling back to the future in just over twelve hours!

When I received the invitation to attend a comparative glassware Champagne and wine tasting hosted by Maximilian Riedel, CEO of Riedel USA, and Nick Ord, CEO of Miele USA, with my dear friend and colleague Saxon Henry, my favorite roamer, I must say I was quite intrigued. I have spent many years in the restaurant and wine industry, and was taught that Riedel or any fine stemware should never be cleaned in a dishwasher for several good reasons. First off, residual soap interferes with the aromas and flavors of the wine, and scratches and breakage were always a concern. So of course, I wanted to find out firsthand from the man himself why the company had announced a new partnership with Miele to endorse their dishwashers as safe for their glassware. Lots of rules have been broken in the wine world since I first began to understand fine wines and cuisine as a server at the venerable Gotham Bar & Grill in the early 90s. We were taught to always hold a wine glass by the stem, never by the bowl, to ensure that our fingertips would not warm the wine. This would also allow us to swirl properly to release the aromas in the wine that were so integral to our overall enjoyment of it. We were also taught the importance of the right wine with the right glass which Riedel touched upon during the event we attended (see a bit of his tutorial in the video below), and the right food/wine pairing. These revelations have stayed with me for years for good reason. In 2004, everything changed when Riedel introduced the “O” line, a stemless glass series. Really??? Well, it took off like wildfire and stemless wine glasses were popping up in top restaurants and well appointed homes around the country. If Riedel endorses it, what’s not to love? thought those of us who paid close attention to wine and food subjects. The glass was so successful that it increased Riedel’s U.S. sales by $18 million dollars from the previous year. Sometimes, you have to break the rules, as they say.

It was quickly clear that Ord likes to break the rules as well. While shopping for stemware to best enjoy his fine wines at home, of course he was considering Riedel, he was shocked to read on the box that they did not recommend washing their “instruments” in the dishwasher. Well, of course Mr. Ord took this as a personal challenge and set out to make a dishwasher that was Riedel worthy. And the rest, as they say, is history. The event Saxon and I attended launched the global partnership of the two iconic brands, unveiling the next generation of Miele machines that will be introduced this coming June. The Futura series is made up of 20 models of 18- and 24-inch dishwashers that have features as sophisticated as a super tall bottom trays equipped with fittings that hold extra tall stemware in place and an option for chilling pilsner glasses (beer drinkers everywhere can thank Ord for this fact: he’s an ale man)! Beyond the tech fun, there is tech genius behind these new dishwashers as well, such as water and energy consumption features, and RemoteVision™ that alerts a technical service team whenever there is a performance issue. Oh, and did I mention we tasted some excellent wine in none other than Riedel stemware, or as Maximilian called them “tools” for making any wine-tasting experience delightful? It was a tough job but someone had to do it! Roaming by Design would like to thank Susan Wilber, our guest journalist today, for this juicy post! The dynamic food/wine guru is a freelance culinary event planner who makes the behind-the-scenes rigamarole of handling intimate and large-scale events seem effortless when they are far from it. We're thrilled to have her as an occasional contributor here. Welcome Susan! For my piece on the event, which I wrote for the kicky new site Food Republic, hop on over to this page (and don't forget to stay for a while and look around)! Happy Roaming everyone!