Before tasting, the wine will taste, depending on the quality of the wine until the wine is also closely related to the presentation. In order to obtain the maximum flavor of the wine tasting are some of the elements that the candidate’s advantage.

Service temperature
A general rule, white wines chilled, drink reds at room temperature in the direction. 16-18 ° C for Reds, whites, is for a service temperature between 6-11 ° C is ideal. Upon leaving this temperature range for red wines, tannins and fruity aromas difficult to detect. In general, white wines, is served at 6 ° C. noticeable aroma and bouquet. 10 -11 ° C, is served on the vitality and viability of the ugly loses. Sweet white wines, 6-8 ° C, 8-10 ° C dry white wines, white wines made from Chardonnay grapes and 11 ° C must be served.

Glass
Tone and clarity of the wine to be detected easily, Taste me you will need to have a wine chalice plain and colorless. In general, wine chalice, slightly conical-shaped, curved, and long enough to have a structure in terms of wine tasting, but, according to the type and variety of wine, wine glasses tadılacak be preferred. Red wines, white wines and sparkling wines are available for different glasses. Also, when looking over the wine tasting only one-third of the glass is filled, the dimensions of the glass for tasting must contain a sufficient volume.

Decantation
Red wines, especially those who are old and aged, at least 30 minutes before drinking the aerated process, decanting or “decanted” to is called. More tannin than red wines, white wines are available. Be resolved by contact with oxygen as a result of red wine tannins which add bitterness, fruity characteristics and bouquet of red wine to the fore. Decanter called special decanters or wine decanter, wine, increasing contact with the air, accelerating the decanting process.
Contains less tannin than red wines, white wines do not need to pre-ventilation. White wines pre-cooling is provided to gain freshness and vitality.

Tasting order
Cared for the taste of wine, or smoked more than one variety in environments, white wine, red, young wine becomes mellow, dry wine, sweet, mild and low-density housing to go with fuller wines, tastings for as long as it retains the sensitivity of taste palate, is recommended.

Wine Faults
10 of 1 percent of wines from around the world is impaired because of a fungus. Such wines smell of mold. Once opened, continue to spread the fragrance of wine increased. Moldy and sour tastes. To avoid this undesirable situation that can happen to all kinds of wine, wine producing, using high-quality one-piece cork, the cork can significantly reduce the risk of breakdowns. Oxidation occurs as a result of a flaw in the wine is exposed to too much oxygen. Such as may occur at any stage of production of wine, wine barrels may also occur as a result of fungus air pass. Such as common lambsquarters and insipid taste of wine is oxidized.

TASTING
During the wine tasting and wine tasting to assess and assure better is worth reviewing the following items:

Eye
First of all, the wine chalice, is recommended to keep the foot or base. Thus, on the chalice of wine that may block the perception of color and clarity are formed as a fingerprint, and if you drink wine and white wine to warm up the warmth of your hand will be blocked. Removed and the light is kept at eye level glass for visual inspection. White wine, a tablecloth or a neutral background color, and clarity of the study, is ideal for comparing the other wines.

Nose
To keep in the aroma of the wine and wine glasses in the glass bukesini is curved and narrow diameter of the glass to the mouth. Aroma and odors fill not to exceed one third of the glass is recommended for viewing. Then, the nose before you buy wine glass, wine is recommended to detect the primary aromas. In addition, the fungus problem and nuisance odors caused by oxidation is possible to understand at this stage. Then, holding wine glasses in the foot several times, turned around its axis, and again brought to the nose. The goal is the theme of wine phenolics by increasing the oxygen exposure of the original flavor and bouquet provide a more intensive manner.

Palate
First of all senses of smell and taste, a common move, the perception of the nose is expected from the aroma on the palate. Otherwise, the wine in itself does not have the consistency and integrity. Tongue and mouth taste with the rest of the regions are different sensibilities. For example, the end portions of the tongue sweet, acidic sides, the back side better perceive the bitter taste. After taking a sip of wine, tongue and mouth detection with integrity in every corner of the flavors that make it easier to circulate sip. In addition to the perceived flavor and taste in the mouth and nose and palate the wine has awakened the other sensations. Acidity, texture and length are some of them:

Acidity
If the acid had not been a lot of the grapes naturally contain the wines would be flat and insipid. White wines, one of the most important elements of acidity, the palate is expected to provide a desirable vitality and viability. Wines with high acidity levels low or offensive is not acceptable.

Tissue
Unlike the intensity of impressions on the wine taste in the mouth, or “touch” is related to the textural properties of properties. Language “surrounds” the, “create a sense of intensity” “easy to flow”, “left on the palate lasting flavor” is used to mention the features such as texture definitions. Density, body, tannin and length are grouped under the title of the concepts of tissue.

Density – Complexity
Taste and odor intensity, simple and subtle, powerful and assertive flavors can be evaluated on a line extending true. If the analogy with an example to be given food, potatoes and carrots, while a simple and low-density flavors, garlic, foods such as strawberries, offers a powerful and complex flavors. Some wines plain and thin, Moskado, some wines such as Riesling has a higher density is immediately distinguished by distinct odors and flavors. But complexity is not a criterion for determining the quality of the wine. Simple or complex according to his own tastes may prefer the taste or smell.

Frame / Body (body)
Density of wines evoke the feeling in your mouth is called the body. Wines “body” and “fat” from the “light” and “smooth” or spread across a wide array stretching. For example, milk, buttermilk, milk is also more intense sudan body. Bodied wines feel the weight in the mouth. Fullness of wine, grapes, depending on the type and determine the method of production, such as wine, sugar and alcohol may also increase depending on the ratio. Private Kav Boğazkere – Öküzgözü, are examples of private Kav Narince fuller bodied wines.

Oak
Wines are kept in oak barrels, oak and win unique taste and smell, oak and a small amount of oxygen that permeates through the porous structure of the wine to the air by taking a small amount of development continue. Also, that red wine tannins bitterness, particularly as a result of aging in barrels earn a round structure. Vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, spices, caramel, coffee, toast, incense, taste and smell reminiscent of butter or cream, gives us a hint about the wine in oak eskitildiğine. Gained fullness and richness of the wine cask, such as waiting in a complex structure within the facility. Meşeyle Some wines have a perfect harmony. The vast majority of fine wines made ​​from the Chardonnay grape, for example oak eskitilerek almost a “strong body” and “complexity” win.

Length
Some wines taste left on the palate is permanent. Such wines are “long” is considered. A wine to taste the wine’s a long sip of the encourages repeated. On the other hand, almost touches the palate, and lost some of the wines, the palate is not permanent. This type of wine “short” is defined as.

Balance
Come together in a manner consistent with all of the above items, wine, a “balance” is called. In order to define the visual and olfactory perception of a wine is a balanced perception tatsal must be harmonious. For example, the smell of a wine taste contradictory in itself, will be inconsistent. Unbalanced acidity of a wine, will disturb the palate. Rounded tannins in a red wine, the palate will cause excessive astringency.

For the past few years, I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts, which remind me a lot of my early fascination with Public Radio and some of the more obscure shows that would air at odd hours. I like a lot of the comedy-themed podcasts, but one directly related to this blog is The Sporkful hosted by Dan Pashman and Mark Garrison. The two guys debate about food in various ways, sometimes going into strange minutiae like the best strategies employed at a buffet. I enjoy listening to the show, but it hasn’t really inspired me to try something new or different–they tend to focus on foods that are not too far outside of the mainstream. However, the show has a handful of snappy slogans, including two that have generated some inspiration, or at least direction with my food consumption, production, and writing: “we’re obsessively compulsive about eating more awesomely™” and “eat more, eat better, and eat more better™”.

In this new year, perhaps our final if the Mayans are correct, I’m trying to be a little more adventurous. Not just in weird ingredients, because I’ve done a lot of that, but challenging my cooking techniques and approaches to food. With that in mind, today I decided to tackle something that I’d heard of, but had never eaten, and did my best to make it authentic. Congee, or juk, or 糜, or whatever you call it, is rice porridge. Normally when you make rice you use a 2 parts water/1 part rice mix, but with this you start with 8:1 and can go as high as 16:1. You end up with a thick, gelatinous, milky white porridge that serves as a base for all kinds of things.

I decided to use a few scraps from the refrigerator, which is traditional (this is a common breakfast dish of leftovers as well as a hangover cure, not to mention the fact that the rice porridge is supposed to be very easy to digest for anyone that is ill). I used shredded pork, bok choy, fried shallot rings, and a raw egg. I let the egg sit for a while, and then I added soy sauce and Srirarcha and mixed everything together. Even though this was my first time eating the dish, it was surprisingly comforting and mellow, not odd or exotic in the least. Salty and savory and smooth and crunchy all at the same time, not quite a soup and not quite a stir fry, but its own unique texture and sensation. If there were some way to prepare this quickly I think it would be the perfect backpacking food. I would have killed for something exactly like this after scaling a 10,000 ft.+ peak in the Rockies.

Like phở, I think a great strength of congee is the customization and economical use of leftovers. Next time I make this, I think I’ll do it for a group and use chicken broth instead of water, and lay out a few extra ingredients like shredded chicken or tofu or other vegetables. It’s always exciting to discover a new food, and even better when you can easily make it yourself and find great variations in the future.

A bad but serviceable Martini can be made in pretty dire circumstances: a clear liquor, a shaker of ice, and a brined vegetable or strip of citrus peel, and you can achieve something bracing but able to perform the work at hand. I prefer a Martini as an aperitif, something strong but bracing and crisp that gets you ready for four courses and half a dozen different wines.

The Manhattan is different. It requires a higher degree of civilization. Whiskey/Whisky can be found everywhere, but bitters and Sweet Red Vermouth are a must, and so many bad variations are made in bars that it’s often a losing proposition to order one in the first place. I once ordered said cocktail in a bar that shall not be named, and the bartender said, “Manhattan. Got it. Crown Royal and Dr. Pepper. Give me one second.” And I said, “Do you kiss your mother with that mouth? Good day, sir!” I swear that the silk ribbon on my top hat positively wilted at that egregious faux pas.

Your worst Martini might have ruined rotgut vodka that spent a few hours in steel tubing, but a bad Manhattan ruins years of barrel aging in oak. Keep these things in mind when you’re mixing drinks.

When I’m in the mood for a Manhattan, it’s normally with the company of other guys and as a prelude to a dinner of hearty red wines and lots of rare red meat. To do it properly, you need control over your own ingredients. Better, older whiskey will make for a better Manhattan, and quality bitters are essential.

Here I lined up the various components I assembled after a long, hard day at work, and a desire for something relaxing but dignified:

• Cocktail Shaker with Ice and a Long Spoon
• One Shot of Gallo Red Vermouth (in place of my beloved Noilly Prat)
• Two shots of Michter’s US*1 Single Barrel Straight Rye Whiskey
• Two dashes of Fee Bros. Whiskey Barrel Aged Bitters
• A Cherry That’s Been Soaking in Bourbon for Weeks

The end result was amazing, rich and spicy and with layers and layers of complexity. Even the cherry, the weakest part of the whole cocktail, was delightful upon consumption. When you have the opportunity, take the time to craft the very model of a modern major Manhattan, and enjoy the warmth and relaxation that flows from the glass.

Mom said, “Have you heard of Cupcake wines? I’ve heard they’re good for parties.” I think this might be the first time that Mom had asked me about a specific wine label, and I pointed out that it’s not just a single location, but rather a brand that gets wine from all over the globe and labels it. Nothing wrong with that, and there are many companies doing the same thing. But from anecdotal evidence I’ve heard that the Cupcake wines are popular at baby showers, bridal showers, and other such hen parties. And I say that not to condemn the wines from a male perspective–each bottle must be judged on its own merits. But I’m always a fan of making wine less intimidating and easier to pronounce for the average American consumer. You don’t need to be able to read the Greek alphabet or have a working knowledge of German to ask for these wines. And if we want a robust American wine market, we need brands like this.

NV Cupcake Prosecco
Prosecco D.O.C., Italy
100% Glera (Prosecco)
$14, 11.2% abv.

Crisp and refreshing with big bubbles and a splash of lemony acidity. Not the most complex Prosecco I’ve ever had, but it’s a serviceable midday sparkling wine for casual lunches. I served it with sweet potato soup that I made for Julia, one of her favorites.

2009 Cupcake Red Velvet
California
47% Zinfandel, 29% Merlot, 19% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petite Sirah
$14, 13.5% abv.

A very interesting yet distinctively Californian blend. I love creative red mixes but this one goes in the sweeter direction. Great berry flavors and low tannins, and better cold than at room temperature. For me, I’d serve this as a dessert wine (it’s really not that sweet, just my preference for drier wines). But if you’re just dipping your toe in the red wine pool, this might be a good non-threatening way to start. Served with thin pork chops and roasted peppers, a rerun of this memorable meal.

Note: These wines were received as samples.

It’s an Ekco, perhaps from 1972 as best Mom can recall. A sheet of steel that was probably stamped out in a Rust Belt factory just like thousands of others. It has a brother–a round sheet that’s pretty battered and beaten but can still cook a pizza. When I was a kid this baking sheet was used to make biscuits and cinnamon rolls and cookies and lots of other baked goods. Since it was handed down to me in the mid-90s, I’ve used it for those purposes as well as a million other things. Yesterday it was used to heat up frozen crab legs dusted with a little Old Bay seasoning.

It was difficult to get a good shot of the cooking surface, since you’re looking at black on black. So I took it outside and first snapped a shot of the bottom. Not quite as seasoned, but there’s nothing shiny or gray. A little rust here and there.

Despite four decades of use the baking sheet isn’t warped or bent, and it doesn’t have any holes from rust or damage. It won’t last forever, but it’s certainly performed far beyond what anyone could have imagined.

When you’re photographing something that is dark, it helps to go with brighter light, and you can’t get a lot brighter than the sun on a clear day. In this picture you can see some of the patterns in the patina, but more significantly the nonstick coating that has built up over the years allowed me to see my own reflection. A white t-shirt, a big SLR camera over my face, and the blue sky behind me.

This pan and a few bowls and other items are remnants from my parents’ wedding in 1972 and early years together before I came along in 1976. Sunday they celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary. As I gaze into my reflection in this otherwise unremarkable piece of metal, I know that I’m in the pan and the pan is in me. The food cooked on it allowed me to grow up and build bone and muscle, and every meal meant a few iron atoms that strayed from the pan to the food to my bloodstream. Likewise, I’ve burned myself on the pan many times, adding my own contribution to the patina of the lip and edges.

There’s a lot of enthusiasm about that which is new and exciting and sparkly, but there’s also a great deal to be said for that which is still going strong after so many years and shows no signs of stopping.

I’d heard good things about Simon and Monica Coulshaw’s Faugères based Domaine des Trinites from friends so an opportunity to visit, albeit in a group of over 40 others, was hopefully going to be a vinous pleasure as well as a social one.

Trinites is really two domaines in one. 24 hectares are split between vines on the schist soils of Faugères around Roquessels and less than 5 Kms away around Montesquieu. Here the land is mixed and includes limestone, basalt and other schists with the result that the area has been classified in the relatively distant Pézenas appellation. My overall impression after the tasting was more than just well made wines at a price point (from €4 to €8 and not much more for the last wine). They are uncomplicated but lively, well balanced and let their lights shine. The 2007s are a glorious first effort.

First were two whites. Viognier 2009 and Rousanne 2008 were grown on the Pézenas parcels. The Viognier was more herbs and grasses than fruit and would disappoint someone expecting classic aromatic apricot notes. The Rousanne was linseed and melon meets apple peel, a very attractive food white and a bit of a bargain.

Rosé 2009 was dry and mineral with a perfumed palate, very much Provence style and ideal with a meal. Made from the free running lightly coloured juice (saignée) of mainly Syrah.

2007 was the Coulshaw’s first harvest after purchasing the estate, the under performing Domaine du Moulin de Couderc and a name re-used for one of their Faugères reds.In 2008 the devastating early September hailstorm only spared the Rousanne and was a massive blow for established growers let alone new arrivals.

Simon and Monica

Pézenas Tradition 2007 showed elegant light ripe red fruits with hints of mild coffee beans. Soft with a mature roundness. Simple yet drinks well. I tried a bottle a few days later and it didn’t disappoint. 70% Grenache plus Syrah and Carignan. Simon talked about the challenges making Grenache poses and he’s clearly equal to the task.

Faugères Tradition 2009 has more structure and nice gripping tannins with darker fruits, pepper and spices. Do the terroirs make a difference? Here my vote would go to the differences due to the cépages. This Faugères has 40% Syrah and 30% each of Mouvedre and Grenache.

Pézenas les Dèves 2007 is a fuller version of the Tradition with more pepper and hints of thyme (Grenache reduced to 50%). Sort of a weekend wine to the midweek Tradition.

Faugères Mourels 2007 is meatier and sweeter with a richer finish than its Tradition counterpart. It also ups the Syrah content.

To finish there was an interpretation of Simon’s curiosity to emulate one of his favourite wines Côte Rôtie. A Syrah/Viognier 2007 oak aged with 90% Syrah from a schist vineyard. This didn’t do much for me – too much oak vanilla that hides its roots and I found the structure curious even though the idea is for the Viognier to soften the Syrah. I would keep a few years to aid integration. I also admit to not having tried a Côte Rôtie for many years.

I’ve also tasted the wine’s heady and opulent big brother Le O on a couple of occasions (60% Syrah, 40% Grenache). No doubt an even better wine but most of the time I prefer the more restrained La Réserve d’O that’s also two thirds the price at €11.50. Perhaps having 40% rather than 60% Syrah is one reason? All I need to do now is secure a few more bottles.

I subsequently found a press dossier issued by CIVL and dated 2011 here which looks to be a key source for the Midi Libre article. Quite why this didn’t appear back in August to keep up the momentum and clarify rumours perhaps hints at the politics involved. Interestingly, the introduction states the criteria for Grand Vin and Crus is “qualitatifs et économiques”. The only elaboration on the quality aspect is a restriction on yield, how long the wine stays in the cellars and that wines are bottled locally – but no mention of harvesting techniques. Obviously these are in addition to the underlying AOC rules.

The press release includes this useful bit of “power point”.

For me, two key points come out of the press dossier.

Firstly, it reveals hard evidence that the classification is very tenuously based on the quality of the wines and their terroir i.e. as would be revealed by a tasting or looking at current market prices. Back in August I was shocked that Faugères had only been classified as a Grand Vin and not a Grand Cru. The Terrasses du Larzac is a Grand Cru but the dossier reveals that Montpeyroux and Saint-Saturnin, villages geographically, climatically and geologically at the heart of the Terrasses du Larzac, are merely Grand Vins. If anyone from CIVL was at the Montpeyroux Toutes Caves Ouvertes and actually tasted the wines they will realise something is very wrong and there are big problems. Another upshot of the Montpeyroux and Saint-Saturnin islands is to add unnecessary complexity and confusion.

Secondly, there is a strong emphasis on the price of wine at the heart of this. Appellations that qualify geographically to be Grand Crus, a status depicted as being at the top of the pyramid, will only be able to label their wines as such if they retail at €10 or more. For the middle tier of Grand Vins the price is between €3,5 and €10. The principle here is that if producers and retailers cannot sell their wines at these price points then it will have to be labelled AOC. So, Grand Cru becomes a badge that says this wine comes from a designated AOC and can be yours for at least 10€. An upside of this is that the middlemen will need to satisfy themselves that the Grand Cru wines they buy will shift at over 10€ and hence focus them on rigorous selection. No doubt the hope over time is for Languedoc Grand Cru and Vins to gain a quality reputation with consumers. As a consumer, I would also expect hand harvested grapes for a 10€ plus bottle, a quality aspect that’s not mentioned.

Here’s a telling quote in the Midi-Libre article from the Director of the the AOC Languedoc Jean-Philippe Granier, who incidentally makes an exiting red Les Vignes Oubliées from forgotten vines under the rim of the Larzac plateau.
“Un grand cru à 10 €, ce n’est pas du luxe, c’est la réalité. Aujourd’hui on trouve des produits superbes à des petits prix. A l’heure actuelle seul un connaisseur peut s’y retrouver. Pas un Chinois. Un grand cru ou un grand vin, c’est plus facile à comprendre.”.
My translation is that “Grand Cru quality does cost 10€ but at present only connoisseurs can unearth these great bargains. A Chinese consumer would have no chance until he/she can read “Grand Cru” on the label.”
In reality little will change for connoisseurs as many of the best wines will be made outside the “Grand” territories or use non-qualifying grape varieties.

Obviously for me the Languedoc is about Independent Vignerons because they make the most exciting wines crafted from vine to bottle by characterful dedicated individuals. The problem being tackled here is the prosperity of the wine business as a whole, something as important to the region as Finance is to London. Just as politicians never please everyone, CIVL must be in the same position – they too have procedures involving voting.

Back to Montpeyroux. Today they can use the village name on labels and must see that as a bigger brand today than Terrasses du Larzac or Grand Cru. As far as only achieving Grand Vin status I propose a couple of theories; a ploy by CIVL to get them to embrace the Terrasses du Larzac combined with no big negociants producing in Montpeyroux so it’s all below the radar in the overall scheme of things. Somewhere “seul un connaisseur peut s’y retrouver“.

For more on this I’d recommend Ryan’s O’Vinyards blog – just type CIVL in the search box. In the meantime I suspect it may be less than 8 months before returning to this topic.

As local village wine events go this is the one to look out for. My first, back in 2003 on a sweltering June day, was a memorable family bash and included a twinning with the other Montpeyroux up in the Puy-de-Dôme. This made it replete with the likes of Aubrac cattle and aligot (melted cheese and potato). Subsequent years have been patchy on the animations and attendance front. One year it was cancelled altogether at a few weeks notice when someone twigged it clashed with the annual Roger Pingeon cycle race that needed open streets.

This year was well advertised and organised, well attended and blessed with ideal tasting sunshine. 17 Domaines is perhaps too much, especially as they they all offered at least three wines. Tactics were to start with the established stars with fresh palates.

A weeks holiday back in 1993 ended up in a nearby village by complete chance and marked a personal discovery of the region. A visit to Aupilhac was a wine highlight. These days the cave seems to have expanded into the houses next door, but there are still star wines. From a rather rapid fire tasting I would highlight Le Carignan 2009, still the regions benchmark for that grape, supple and complex with lovely grip. Montpeyroux Red 2008 and 2003 with the latter ageing well for the legendary canicule year. Cocalières 2008 red, from vines planted by Sylvain Fatat high above the village, had great elegance. Of the whites Cocalières 2010 blanc stood out – fresh white flowers and, in this vintage, the right amount of oak for me.

Along with Aupilhac, Pascale Rivière’s La Jasse Castel set a very high standard. The 1998 vintage was her first and at the time the wines made a memorable impression with their clear expressive style. All four current wines impressed. L’Égrisée (2010?) blanc intriguing floral and citrus grapefruit, La Pimpanella 2009 a straightforward red with heady primary fruits and quite gourmandise, La Jasse with its seductive Syrah that doesn’t bully. Finally La Combariolles proved that serious Grenache is growing on me, but is sadly expensive to make (€27). Pascale also invited us to taste a stunning library selection going back to 2000. It proves the wines age well with the great 2001 vintage shining along with 2000. Plenty of complex mushrooms and forest floor.

Also of note was Alain Chabanon’s wines. Campredon 2009 rouge with a nice perfume and balance offers plenty for €10. L’Esprit de Font Caude 2006 was surprisingly expressive but needs time to develop complex layers – it has a track record, Alain has been making it for at least 10 years.

Mas d’Amile make one wine, a pure Carignan that I discovered at the 2009 Montpeyroux bash. The 2007 has developed hedgerow flavours and still has great meaty tannins. 2008 is supple and fresh while the 2009 is earthier and currently a bit chunkier. All recommended and great value at around €8.

Three other estates sadly disappointed with two hampered by following the stunning quality of La Jasse Castel. Next year will need a strategy that visits more caves.

I’m always wary of cooperative wines. There is something depersonalised about them. The wine can only be as good as the poorest performing grape grower and usually undergoes particularly heavy handed winemaking to counter this. Most I’ve tasted at events along with independents and they show badly, but it has to be recognised they provide a massive service for the sub €5 a bottle market and have local affinity.

Coops are aware of this image and seek the cachet of an independent grower with their flashier cuvées. This bottle of 2008 Saint-Chinian Roquebrun “Terrasses de Maynard” is testimony to that – you need to read the micro-print to spot the origin as Cave de Roquebrun. I encountered the wine at dinner where the hosts, who spotted it at a local grande surface, stated they followed the cave and its fine reputation for decades. In the glass it was a pleasant melange of brambles, cherry and smoke with some grippy tannins and a nice medium weight. The oak was kept in the background – rare restraint with cooperative “premium” wines. It finished as it started, but was nevertheless a pleasant drink, confirmed a few days later having procured a €6.40 bottle to consume chez nous. 60% Syrah with Mourvèdre and Grenache from a schist terroir very similar to Faugères that borders to the east. A pity so few co-ops seem able to achieve this standard and hence value for euros. The flowers are wild garlic by the way.

The Natural Wine Fair held recently at London’s Borough Market is not the first. Les Caves de Pyrène are at the forefront of “natural wine” promotion in the UK and have held annual trade tastings for some time. Things are starting to come of age and expansion has included four other importer/retail partners and a day devoted to paying consumers like me. It seems much of this is down to Isabelle Legeron, who is on a mission to raise awareness using her considerable communication talent. I wrote about her re-vamping of the Hibiscus restaurant wine list here, admittedly focusing on how a Michelin 2* London restaurant now lists as many Languedoc-Roussillon wines as it does Bordeaux.

Well over 100 growers were present or strongly represented with 500+ wines to tempt. It felt busy but never crowded with a great buzz as the day went on. The growers had plenty of time to engage and this did sabotage note taking. A master stoke, actually a Borough Market necessity, was to be outside and avoid booming wall syndrome. “Natural” psychology was at play.

19 growers from the Languedoc-Roussilon represented a sixth of the total and was right up there with recognised pioneers the Loire and Italy. There were no Bordeaux wineries. In the spectrum of natural wines pretty much everything was on offer, often from individual growers, but the majority I would class as independent producers trying to get the best expression from their patch. Well known Languedoc names heading on the organic path were there – Daumas Gassac, Aupilhac, Alain Chabanon (all Hérault valley) and Mas Bruguière (Pic Saint-Loup). At the wilder “modern rustic” end Fontédicto (Caux) and Clos Fantine (Faugères) proffered textbook examples.

My L-R discoveries included Domaine Ferrer-Ribière (Roussillon) for a sublime Grenache Blanc and wind swept Carignan. Mas Foulaquier (Pic Saint-Loup), actually a bit of a rediscovery, for delicious clean purity and freshness of the fruit. It was also good to taste the Clos du Gravillas (St Jean de Minervois) range, including the legendary Carignan and delicious minerally white L’Inattendu, wines I’d recently bought but have yet to broach.

Writing this I regret not tasting more L-R wines, but I need to get out more and so much from the Loire, Alsace, Beaujolais and Italy beckoned. As regions I encounter less often they brought home the contrast in styles and, with Beaujolais and Loire reds especially, how noticeably much less varietal they were.

Conclusions?

• These were essentially wines at the organic end of the spectrum from family scale growers in mainly “country regions” imported by five UK merchants. Calling them natural wines is getting them attention and that’s a great thing for small artisan producers everywhere.
• Grape varieties are less obvious and perhaps less important with these wines.
• I tasted/spitted some 50 wines. Normally my palate would be numb after half that number, but the minimal use of oak made all the difference. Yes, many will be too tannic for some, but I find grape tannins dissipate faster.
• There were no real duds except perhaps an Alsace Pinot Noir that really was too low key. Quite a few whites had an oxidative style that was countered by complexity. You either like them or don’t – our household is certainly divided.
• The fair needed more than a day. All three in fact. I didn’t try any Rhone or South West tables.
• Last but not least it was a fantastic opportunity to meet so many caring passionate growers, something one takes for granted when on their own patch. Sadly, depersonalised wine fair really doesn’t have that ring about it.

Occasionally I do make a spontaneous purchase of a wine new to me, although this quite often results in a rather uninspiring evenings drinking – even if recommended by a cavist. This is a shame as for every grower I’ve heard of within 10 miles there are at least two I know nothing about. This is the size and complexity of the Languedoc.

Clermont l’Herault is a typical market town, the Wednesday market is a must, and could be described as the gateway to the Terrasses du Larzac. The Huilerie Cooperative is renowned for olive oil but their recently expanded touristy shop also stocks some quality food stuffs along with interesting trinkets and beauty products at fair prices. This bottle of Clos des Clapisses Carignan Blanc 2009 caught my eye as I’m a big fan of the rare Carignan Blanc from Mas Gabriel (see my post here). It comes from nearby geological marvel Octon, although this cepage has to call itself a VdP Coteaux de Salagou rather than Terrasses du Larzac.

It’s a splendid effort. White flowers and mineral oat cake lead to a clean palate with a savoury gunflint – a sort of ripe Chablis of the south and at 12.5% the delicate flavours are nicely balanced. From about €9.

At the London International Wine Fair Sud de France were showing their prestige selection of 42 Languedoc-Roussillon wines that are available in the UK. A varied panel of 11 influential names from the UK wine scene made the selection by blind tasting 200 wines presumably submitted by participating distributors. Now 200 different wines sounds and is a lot, but for a start this is a region with over 20 recognised areas plus near infinite Vin de Pays tucked in and between. Multiply this by factors such as red, white, sweet, rosé, aromatic, mineral, oaked, full bodied, fresh, mature – let alone grape varieties – and you get the picture.

The 158 wines that didn’t make the selection aren’t disclosed but knowing the lists of some of the importers all could equally have made the selection. Either by chance or some judging fine tuning, the 42 do project a diverse but balanced range of styles and a good spread on the map.

I came across the stand late and wished I’d discovered it earlier, so didn’t taste them all. Still, my personal highlights and observations were: -

• Plenty of boutique growers were represented alongside some of the big name producer/negociants.
• Four terrific Rivesaltes Ambrés – natural sweet wines usually from Grenache Blanc and/or Macabeu from around Perpignan. Totally underrated wines that are clearly easier to find in UK than much of the Languedoc. Good move to show four to make a point. Surprisingly there was no sweet muscat in the line up.
• Nice to find a couple of cool Orb valley (Bedarieux) masterpieces from Domaine de Clovallon, including the Les Pomarèdes 2008 Pinot Noir.
• Virgile Blanc 2005, Domaine Virgile Joly I’d tasted at Dudley & de Fleury Wines and again showed how brilliantly complex a Languedoc white can be.
• The fresh and vibrant white Mas Bruguière Les Mûriers 2010 has scored twice by also showing at the overlapping London Natural Wine Fair
• I was disappointed with Château de la Negly “La Falaise” 2008, a wine I’d enjoyed in the past but this was too much of an inky blockbuster. Maybe the wine has changed, but more likely my taste has moved on.
• Others I’d put in this category include a 100% Syrah (not sure the excellent spiral bound booklet is accurate on this) 2007 Domus Maximus, Massamier la Mignarde from reputed Minervois la Livinière. Hot, heady and spicy – perhaps aimed at those prepared to lay it down.

A thoroughly professionally presented line-up that seems to have been kept a bit of a secret. Fingers crossed I’ll get another chance and taste a few more of them.

Outsiders are a group of some of Languedoc-Roussillon’s best and most creative producers who have relocated to the region. The tasting last November in London was a wine highlight of the year. A few members were at the London International Wine Fair to support their importers and wrapped up one of the long days with a get together, along with their founder Louise Hurren, to say a few words, chat and share a few bottles.

This was a chance to drink rather than taste. The newest Outsiders member is Domaine Sainte Rose – with the exception of La Grange de Quatre Sous the one I’ve known the longest, starting with Charles and Ruth Simpson’s first harvest back in 2002. Les Derniers Cépages 2009 is from late ripening Mourvèdre and Petit Verdot and has heaps of velvety ripe black fruit with just the necessary tannic grip. La Garrigue is a classic Languedoc blend – Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre, and a favourite red. I have bottles going back to 2002 but the 2007 has refined elegance with a wonderful fresh finish. Domaine Sainte Rose is north of the axis between Pezenas and Béziers in the Côtes du Thongue. This is also one of the region’s most suitable white wine areas – their whites are just as good. Easily the best value Languedoc available, and as it happens widely available, in the UK and elsewhere.

Domaine Jones can only be described as a micro domaine at barely over 3 hectares in some of the wildest terrain imaginable. The product is simple, a Grenache rouge and a Grenache Gris blanc. The Jones Blanc 2009 was the most enjoyable wine I’d tasted all day. Since last November it seems to have relaxed a bit while retaining its extraordinary mineral structure and discreet savoury interest. Do read Katie’s blog.

I rarely come across wines from La Clape, a rugged coastal ridge near Narbonne. Along with Banyuls, it’s the only Languedoc-Roussillon red wine area near the cooling sea. The reds have an almost haunting perfume about them – lavender is the best association I’ve read. I need to get used to their character and the Château d’Anglès Rouge (2009 I recall, mainly Syrah, Grenache and Mourvèdre) is something I appreciate the more I try it. It combines softness with structure perfectly.

These young Vermentino vines at Mas Gabriel enjoy a home built solution to weeding and lunching rabbits, hares and the like. Hundreds of metal bars have been bent into a hoop and supported by a central bar attached to the trellis. The blue net is a common solution to deterring the hungry while the metal enables the use of an intercep for weed control – a special plough that uproots weeds growing between the vines. An intercep happily bounces off and around a grown stump, but these vines are barely thicker than pencils.

While this construction requires considerable work, the prospect of weeding young vines by hand is equally daunting.

Growing at the base of the vine on the right is perslane (pourpier in French) – one of the finest wild salads there is. Being biodynamic perslane it was manually weeded for lunch.

As inside temperatures, even in the evenings, edge above 25 deg. (77 °F) plus then common wisdom dictates a regime of rosé or dry white wine. Nothing wrong with that, but as a lover of reds these can be tough times. While white and rosé make fine aperos, not moving on is like a cricket match with the second innings rained off.

This season I’ve been much bolder at putting a bottle of red into the fridge for an good hour or so followed by a move to a wine cooler and all seems to work just fine. The wine quickly warms up when poured and the evolution in the glass takes on a few more stages that warmer wine ever can. It’s also more refreshing. I’d hesitate to try this on a fully mature bottle, wines proffering a good dose of primary fruit do best as do those where the oak is low key. A hit so far.

Considering Ollier-Taillefer has been the name for the Domaine and bottle labels for over 10 years its curious why this challenge has been so long in coming. Perhaps the continuing rise of Languedoc independents is starting to be seen as a threat that justifies court action. The tide is turning?

Vinotaure 2011 is a Salon des vins Bio et naturels organised by Epicuvin, who describe themselves as a club of wine and gastronomy lovers from Montpellier. Overall this was a slightly disappointing showcase for Bio wines. Several producers offered poor value and there were also too many underwhelming wines, an observation magnified by a few notable exceptions. That said, “regular” wine shows in France are just as variable, but if you’re going to have a Bio/Natural Wine event they need to excel and differentiate themselves in the glass as well as on paper.

The event took place at a rather soulless resort complex the Résidence Domaine du Golf near Fabrègues east of Montpellier. A navigation check on Google Streetview reveals a scene of bulldozed terrain – that’s how new this regimented village is. Fear not though, the spacious tasting hall turned out to be near ideal.

There were 17 producers billed, including 10 from the Languedoc and Roussillon. About the right number although the majority were showing five or more wines. It was also worryingly quiet on the Saturday and several producers understandably vacated their pitch for a early and long lunch. A few didn’t even turn up, at least for the morning.

There were no new “discoveries” to report at producer level, but there were some interesting individual wines.

I enthused about the 2008 red from La Réserve d’O back in April. Equally impressive is the white (2009?) lovely balance, fresh, clean yet complex with hints of white flowers, fennel and preserved lemon. Unusual blend of Chenin, Grenache and Roussane grown at 400m above Arboras in the Terrasses du Larzac. Sanssoo is a play on Cinsault (but also has some Syrah) and never sees sulphur so is natural wine by any definition (La Réserve d’O is also biodynamic). Harmonious ripe red fruits and unusually fresh raspberries – a flavour and berry rare in the Languedoc. Along with Mas Gabriel they were the star attendees with wines I’d be happy to, and do, buy.

Mas Delmas is at Salses-le-Château just north of Perpignan. I found the whites more successful and the Marie Delmas Muscat Sec, a blend of Muscat de Petits Grains and often derided Alexadria, the most interesting. It combined aromatic grapeyness with a backbone of earthiness and grapefruit peel. Their reds disappointed – jammy sums them up.

Domaine Mămăruta just north of Fitou is relatively near Mas Delmas. A white from 70% Macabeu and 30% Carignan Blanc showed best – a nice balanced seafood wine with a pleasant acidic bite. Otherwise an oaked nutty Muscat was a bit too offbeat and another white just apples.

Stella-Nova at Caux (Pézenas) takes low sulphur seriously and their white Les Pléiades 2009 from mainly Grenache Blanc and Clairette was a fine effort – delicate yeasty eldeflower. The red Mira Ceti is zero sulphur and I just noted cider.

Mas Zenitude is sited in the hallowed Montpeyroux/St Jean de Fos patch of the Terrasses du Larzac. Audace 2009 is admirably pure Cinsault. Fresh, not heady, nice mouth feel and quite tasty. Vent d’Anges 2009 is a well made carignan – ripe, soft fruit with some classy smoke and tapenade. Only problem is the RPQ (15€ and 20€ respectively).

Domaine Turner Pageot at Gabian is just to the south of Faugères. I found their whites different and a very personal style. For example La Rupture 2009 is an oaked Sauvignon Blanc with plenty going on – coriander seeds, preserved lemon, resins and cats. I returned later to try the reds and left with an impression of fruit driven wines with an oak backbone.

In the 1990 I was an admirer of Domaine Henry (Saint Georges d’Orques) who were on an early wave of the region’s rising stars. The reds were always an oaked style and my personal taste has moved on. Nevertheless, I was shocked at how inaccessably woody they were. In their defence they are food wines that need ageing, but cheap they are not. The wines also seemed totally out of character if one of the objectives of organic practices is to allow terroir to express itself.

I didn’t taste Abbaye de Valmagne having drunk quite a few in the recent past and always finding them a bit overworked and short on character.

One out of region wine demanded a mention. Domaine du Picatier is a Côte Roannaise by the upper reaches of the Loire. They make a nice fresh Chardonnay, easy drinking Gamays and a delicious, balanced gourmandaise Pinot Noir 2009 Auver-Nat-Noir.

A company has invented cheap pcs so that people can enjoy the low power consumption at low price. Its just not about the low price as power consumption directly effect you electricity bills and helps energy saving.

Its not just about the power consumption, but they are also the cheapest found on market. If people are really concious about the energy and the money then, I suggest people surely should get a one. I have order a piece for myself, as every good things should be started from ownself.

Save energy, Save world – Go green.

It occurred to me that passing through the vineyard a second time at a later date was an option, but as the photo shows, healthy leaf growth makes it near impossible to see and assess the ripeness of an individual bunch without actually cutting it away from the vine. The discarded bunches will return their goodness to the soil and vines so no waste, just loss. I calculated the resulting yield was around 30 hl/ha – the ideal spring flowering conditions have ensured a good crop.

The team were clearly experienced locals with the classy smooth action of hairdressers and speed of champion sheep shearers. 6 hours of picking had just one pause café when I managed to snatch this picture of the team (Christine had popped back to the cave).

No doubt I was expected to make my apologies but kept going and even helped with the destemming of the last batch before a very late lunch. Here the destemmed grapes will be pumped directly from the base of the machine into the cuve, a system that minimises exposure of the juice to the air.

Next up will be the Carignan blanc at Mas Gabriel. As white wine needs to be pressed immediately in one batch the picker’s duties will be limited to the size of the press – a lighter interlude is in prospect.

Given the quality and popularity of the Clos des Papillons, the Carignan blanc from Mas Gabriel, I am intrigued as to why this variety is virtually unheard of and seemingly rare. After all, red relation Carignan is arguably the defining contributory grape to the identity of the region’s red wine. Having picked it for a couple of days I now appreciate that, like the noir, yields need to be low and that even in the best years a labour intensive thorough triage of the bunches is essential for a quality wine. It basically isn’t economically viable and can only really exist as a second fiddle for an independent producer.

I came across this site Observatoire viticole of the Hérault maintained by the Conseil General de l’Hérault. Its packed full of data and statistics on all matters relating to the grape in the department. Finding stuff is a bit clunky, much of the content is just documents, the search facility works well at a high level when one gets the hang of it.

In 2009, the most recent data, Carignan blanc is reported to occupy 230 hectares. Maybe this sounds a fair amount, but it represents just 0.25% of the Hérault’s surface area under vines. Much of it will end up as the minor component of a blend, but if there’s any good news it should all be good quality low yielding old vines. By comparison, in 2004 there were 392 hectares representing 0.36%. At this rate it will be very rare indeed by the end of the decade.

The bare statistics are quite something. 15% of the department is under vines, but as a majority of the terrain is mountainous then where they grow they’re dense. If all the vines were in a single square vineyard the sides would be over 30 Kms wide.

From 2004 to 2009 the total surface under vine has declined by more than 13%. In 2004, 99% of the vines consisted of 37 varieties with the remaining 1% is classified as “autres”. In just 5 years four varieties have dropped from the list – Servant (blanc), Terret noir, Auban (noir) and Grenache gris.

Back in 2004 Carignan noir was the most widely planted at about 22% of the total, but has declined to barely over 15% – a fall of 40% and accounts for over two thirds of the nett vine loss. While this is alarming, at least 14000 ha (hectares) remain out there – plenty for independent start-ups looking to make something interesting. The other big losers are the reds Aramon, Alicant and, perhaps surprisingly, “king” of the rosé Cinsault loosing more than 30%. Grenache has lost 900 ha or 8%, but at least this is less than the average (13%) loss.

Just picked Grenache vines at Domaine Ribiera Aspiran 23rd August 2011

Just 8 varieties take up nearly 80% of vineyard space – Syrah, Carignan, Merlot, Granache, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cinsault plus two whites Chardonnay and Sauvignon. All big global players except the Carignan of course, but at a time when the world is warming up only three are Mediterranean varieties. Sauvignon has shown the most growth in 5 years of over 37%, Chardonnay expanding some 8% and Syrah a slight increase at just over 1%. The other five are in decline.

Other big winners are Pinot Noir, more than doubling in 5 years but only to a modest 522 ha and driven totally by the premium price for the name – the big case of Pinot Noir fraud in 2010 illustrates this. More aligned to the potential for interest and quality late ripening heat lover Mourvèdre is up 5%. Of the whites, and presumably mirroring the overall increase in white production, is a welcome increase in the Mediterranean varieties Roussanne, Marsanne and Vermentino. Starting from a higher base, Picpoul and Viognier have seen double digit growth with over 350 ha planted between them. Colombard, which didn’t appear in the 2004 charts, has stormed in with 383 ha.

Conclusions
These are statistics for part of the biggest vineyard in the world and as such will have little bearing on the fine wines that merit talking about for pleasure. The vast majority of production goes into anonymous blends and big brand names. However, the increase in better known popular varietals, and especially the whites, must be creating a good base for competing in world markets with a more locally identifiable product.

Every available container is used for storing grapes – Carignan, Cinsault and Grenache – ready for pressing.

The rosé is made the same way as the white. The de-stemmer ejects whole grapes into the empty white container – the only container other than the bath not storing grapes. The whole grapes, along with their separated stems, are then popped into the basket press to be gently pressed with the exuded juice pumped into a cooled cuve to settle overnight. That’s it. Problem is there’s well over 200 cagettes worth of grapes that, in the end, required three pressing runs.

The basket press in action. Surrounding it with a glass perspex screen (most visible on the top) not only catches skins as they are squeezed out, but also keeps in the carbon dioxide regularly dispensed over proceeding to minimise oxidation. It may look dramatic, but the press is very gentle and very slow. Just to be sure, the juice is tasted frequently towards the end of each pressing for any trace of bitterness. Juice collects in the white bucket and is pumped away to a cuve through the purple tube. The basket sits on a trolley so it can be wheeled out of the press mechanism to be topped up with more grapes and eventually emptied.

Despite these precautions, skins can be ejected indiscriminately – in this case on Peter’s second shirt of the day. Even the ceiling took a minor hit. I calculate the skin contact with the juice to be about 90 minutes on average. Long enough to give the wine a seductive colour plus impart a hint of grape tannin.

At the end of each pressing the cage and staves are removed to reveal a “cake” of skins and stalks. It’s prised apart and loaded onto the tractor to be returned to vineyard. The stalks help the release of juice during pressing.

Answers to what’s being said on a postcard

Rather like a big party, there’s all that washing up and cleaning to be done at the end, and some happy winemakers.

The step that’s missed out here is getting those grapes from the vines and into the hutch where the wine making process can assume control. On a per vine perspective the harvest is a short but intensive and critical process. Deciding when to pick is mainly a style decision, unless wet weather influences the pace, otherwise everything about the vendanges focuses on quality.

Here are two extreme and contrasting images.

The top picture has been machine harvested and is destined to be dumped into the receiving pit of a cooperative – a cooperative that hasn’t bottled anything for at least six years. It will be tankered off for use in an anonymous blend or even to create industrial alcohol.

Below, cinsault bunches have been hand-harvested by a family with vigneron friends and placed into shallow cagettes. Quality control on selection takes place at the best point – the start of the process. There are no rotten or unripe bunches, no leaves, no stalks, no snails, no grasshoppers.

This is not a dig at mechanical harvesting which has many advantages, not least the ability to pick volume, pick quickly, and in the cool before dawn. Nevertheless, the very best machine results will need a pass through the vineyard in advance to, for example, remove late forming unripe bunches coined «grapillons». On harvest day a labour intensive sorting table will be needed to receive the grapes. Hand and machine both have their place. A fun way to look at it is something like this. A drinking fountain will struggle to put out a fire, hundreds of drinking fountains could, but only with some serious resource and organisation. Think carefully before taking a drink from a fire hydrant.

For finer wines the Languedoc-Roussillon favours both approaches. In most years the grapes will be in fine condition and less selection is needed than in northern climes where the harvest is later. The diversity of grape varieties grown spreads the elapsed time of the harvest to 6 or more week.This aids hand-picking on small holdings where perhaps half a hectare is manageable in a long morning of picking and gives vignerons time to help out neighbours and share expensive modern equipment.

I supplied the wines and had declared my guest’s products interdit in advance. For the heart of the evening I had procured three whites and three reds with some tenuous connections to the guests – grape, style and all Languedoc of course. They were served blind, but I did reveal they were from the region. Most interesting were some of the comments. A white icon of the Terrasses du Larzac was harshly deemed by one of us to have contrived acidity and no more complexity than a Picpoul. Everyone, I think, agreed on which white showed best – Domaine Fons Sanatis B… d’Agniane 2009 (Aniane, geographically in the Terrasses du Larzac). A Vermentino I tried last year that had now shrugged off most of the oak of youth and opened into a lovely clean and rounded wine full of haunting interest. A comment “Riesling of the south” sums it up.

The bottle has an attractive glass closure originally held in place by the capsule. It avoids corked bottles and is certainly a more stylish (and expensive) alternative to a screw-cap.

The three reds generated a similar number of comments. Brett was detected by one observer on the first, but for the rest of us it was an expressive start. A still youthful 10 year old icon Carignan surprised everyone and it was the best equipped to complement cheese. We all agreed the Léon Barral Tradition 2008 (Faugères) was the red of the night. Spiralling circles of flavour captured everyone’s feelings. It will be hard to dislodge as my red of the year given how delicious it was on two previous occasions. I must make an effort to procure some.

For the record the menu included: -

• Roast aubergine and courgette with Pesto and Tapenade
• Brandade made with olive oil from Mas Cal Demoura, fresh Paimpol beans, capers from the commune and roast red peppers
• Pig’s cheeks braised in Cévennes onions, fresh sage and bay, garlic, reduced Noilly Prat and home salted anchovies (no other added liquid) accompanied by green beans with garlic and aforesaid oil, a baked mix of Jerusalem artichokes and new potatoes.
• Selection of cheeses including a Brebis called Nauc from the Larzac and chèvres from Le Chalet Roujan.
• Quince Frangipane Tart with home made vanilla ice cream
• Mature Armagnac soaked chocolate coated prunes.

There are similar stories in the area. The cooperative at Caux closed several years ago and is already a decayed building – the grapes go down the road to Les Caves Molière at Pézenas. Nizas has a similar tale.

The trend has been for cooperatives to combine to create even greater economies of scale, but there are notable local exceptions. Fontès and Cabrières seem to do well and are certainly good at marketing. Fontès boasts the best rosé in the area and a new customer reception salon has been constructed this year. Cabrières uses their reception space to host art exhibitions and has managed to maintain a reputation for its wine. To the south at Florensac a light and airy tasting and sales space has been created with an excellent and popular attached restaurant Bistro d’Alex serving their wine at near retail price. Adissan has more land suited to growing Clairette and their bottles line the shelves of the regions and no doubt beyond supermarkets. Much will also be supplied to make Noilly Prat in Marseillan (blog article here). Further afield I have commented on the quality of the Roquebrun Cooperative in the Saint-Chinian appellation.

Things are looking more promising for the grape growers of Aspiran to obtain a higher price. Between 1963 and 2003 eight villages combined to produce wine under the Clochers et Terroirs branding. An enormous modern facility at Puilacher now makes all the wine and the Aspiran cooperative has joined in. The relatively dull cooperative building (photo above) survives for now as the harvested grapes are collected and de-stemmed there before being tankered off to Puilacher. I tasted some of the wine at a recent village event and the Chardonnay for example was well made and offered some interest.

Cookery features of course and this takes place in vines with Carcassonne as a backdrop where Floyd demos his interpretation of Cassoulet and Crudites Anchoïade. While it lacks some of the pace and energy of his earlier food and cooking series, Languedoc wine lovers should nevertheless find it interesting.

To view these full screen and to browse other episodes in the series start on YouTube here

Back to the lunch. Of the 14 bottles generously brought by the group only two were (just) from this century. The rest went back to the 1960s. The majority were reds with two vintage Champagnes doubling as dry whites. My contribution, by popular demand from the organiser, was my last bottle of Mas de L’Écriture, L’Écriture 2001 – a bend of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre made around Jonquieres in the Terrasses du Larzac. It was partnered with no less than a Chave Hermitage 1998, a Penfolds Grange 1991 and a Beef en Daube. It was certainly not humbled despite the Chave being informally voted one of the wines of the lunch. I much preferred L’Écriture to the powerful Grange, an extraordinary wine in contrast to the line-up with the volume turned so high any Languedoc would seem meek. L’Écriture had a lovely ripe sweetness with elegant baked plums and waves of smoke. There was consensus that it didn’t come across as belonging in the Languedoc, something I’ve found less pronounced in more recent vintages. An interesting coincidence is that Mas de L’Écriture features strongly on the Medlar’s wine list. It’s also a restaurant I look forward to returning to.

The event was, for me these days, a rare foray into some mature classic wines. Something I’ll muse on in my next post.

For the record the line-up was: -

Krug 1985

Chapelle Chambertin Ponsot 1998
Chapelle Chambertin Ponsot 1997
Ruchottes Chambertin F Esmonin 2001

Middle white pork chop with celeriac puree, black cabbage, crackling and marjoram

Palmer 1966
Leoville Barton 1978
Vieux Chateau Certan 1998

Daube de boeuf with parsnip puree, parsnip crisps and bourguignon sauce

Le Mas de L’Ecriture 2001
Chave Hermitage 1998
Penfolds Grange 1991

Dom Ruinart 1996 (palate freshener)

Chateau Pajzos Tokaji Aszu 1993
Huet Le Haut Lieux Moelleux 1989

Coffee/Tea
Graham’s 1966 (port).

I discovered wine in
the early 1980s. In hindsight this could be considered the golden age of wine given
that, with the exception of the so called Bordeaux
great growths and a few equivalents, icon wines were affordable. A 10 year old
Palmer from a modest vintage back then cost me a similar amount after inflation
to the L’Écriture. These days Palmer is ×5 and up that of L’Écriture. Of course
much has changed in 30 years. Fine wine has become a serious investment and therefore
distorts values of course, but most crucial has been the revolution in wine making
know-how and equipment. Poor vintages are enjoyable rather than near
undrinkable or even a write-off. Often overlooked is that wines back then were usually
made to go with food, or more pertinently simply needed food, and traditionally
rich food at that. They also possessed less alcohol generally and the fruit seemed to be
in a lower key.

Most fine reds needed
to be aged. In their youth they seemed tannic monsters, or at least somewhat
hard, and most soon withdrew into a comparatively dumb period for several
years. With luck, a palatable complex wine would eventually emerge, usually
after several disappointing bottles had been broached along the way. Perhaps I
exaggerate a to make a point, but this did apply to plenty of well reputed
clarets I owned or tasted.

Some wines are still built
to age of course, but most have riper tannins and fruit making them more attractive
throughout their life. There are also new styles. So called fruit bombs mainly
from the new world are one that don’t appeal. Vibrant, expressive, supple and
perfectly balanced wines do.

Going back to my analysis
of ‘has my taste changed’ then perhaps the answer is not so much ‘yes’, but
more ‘my taste has grown to appreciate, and often prefer, certain modern
styles’. There are several Languedoc
domains making reds (from Mediterranean varieties) that I’m familiar with and
with a proven track record of ageing well for 10 years or more. Along with
L’Écriture, aged cuvees from Alain Chabanon, Virgile Joly, Mas Jullien, Marfée
and Ollier Taillefer have all given great pleasure and, in the future as a
treat, will continue to do so. Golden age the 1980s may have been, but with the choice and diversity available today certainly not missed by me.

Now France is pretty big – the Languedoc-Roussillon is one of 22 regions on the mainland. Nevertheless, for a region on the top tier in the expansion and tourism league it had a near zero presence. Just one obvious representation out of 150 exhibitors; a new build specialist based in Narbonne called Villas from Languedoc. Their website URL name is www.languedoc.co.uk as befits an established business of 28 years.

This is a wine blog so I’ll get back on topic with, on this occasion, much despair. I eyed well over 100 bottles on various stands and only spotted two L-R examples. There were two wine theatres and one was dedicated to Bordeaux. The other admirably featured Alsace and, seemingly forgetting this is January in London, Provence Rosé. The Sud de France logo, which covers food as well as wine, was nowhere to be seen. That said, with one cowboy stall charging £39 a kilo for 24 month old Comté to the uninformed, perhaps disassociation isn’t a bad thing. That said, such extreme rip-offs were as rare as bargains.

We chatted to a charming couple who are 3D Wines www.3dwines.com and operate a vine rental scheme that supports small family operated vineyards. Their portfolio is 33 strong but with zilch from the L-R and just 3 from the Rhône to prop up the south. While they did tell us to “watch this space”, we concurred that image and the lack of icon wines remain as L-R challenges.

I’ll end on a more positive note. The Languedoc-Roussillon’s reputation as a hidden secret is safe for now.

The cork has 2006 embossed on the top which may be confirming the year disguised in the code “L03.06“. Also on the cork is an email address and, while encouragingly my enquiry hasn’t bounced, so far I’ve had no reply.
 
Obviously these days information can be gleaned instantly from an internet search. What’s extraordinary is that nothing at all wine related comes up for any of the words available. Everything about the wine and the makers avoids the www radar which effectively means a winery with zero marketing and publicity. My conclusion is a small production hobby wine reserved for friends and contacts.

Either way, with pushing 1,000 independent producers registered in the region this must be one of many hiding away.

Fontès is the village above Caux on the other side of the basalt lava flow. Vinously, Fontès is dominated by a successful cooperative perhaps best known for its popular, keenly priced and harmless rosé. A successful cooperative usually means relatively few independents as the vines are accounted for. Judging by the cooperative’s new and attractive reception area dominance looks set to continue.

In the glass this ocra tinted wine has a particularly distinctive and individual bouquet – very aromatic and Mediterranean with pine and beeswax. In the mouth there are savoury herbs with a wonderful balancing acidity. Overall a substantial and well made wine that will no doubt divide opinions when it comes to personal taste. The empty glass test reveals an impressive lingering persistence. The dregs of the bottle had yeast lees which would certainly have magnified the flavours.

I’ve no idea what the cepage is, although it seems reminiscent of mature Rousanne so that’s my guess. I will seek to find out more.

The following cocktail was made in praise of bitterness, namely in the form of grapefruit juice. No sugar or other sweeteners, just the tart bitter joy of a half glass first thing in the morning. And while I had a half gallon in the fridge and some free time on a Sunday afternoon, it was time to use the ingredients lying around the kitchen to make a new cocktail.

Mixing two different cocktail recipes together is generally a bad idea. A Michelada Margarita is a recipe for disaster. A Rob Roy Wine Spritzer would… I don’t even want to contemplate the flavor. But I put a few things together in my head with this one, and was very happy with the result.

Benito’s Salty Pamplemousse Cocktail
2 oz. Gin
2 oz. Unsweetened Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice
Tonic Water
Dash of Fee Bros. Grapefruit Bitters
Kosher Salt

Start with moistening the rim of the glass with water and dip into a dish of the salt of your choice. Pink Himalayan would be an attractive and decadent choice for a trendy bar. The rest is easily mixed in the glass with ice. Combine the Gin and Juice and Bitters (the name of my upcoming rap album under my stage name “Ice Tongs” featuring “The Boston Shaker”). Stir carefully with a bar spoon so as not to dislodge the salt, and top off with tonic water. Serve immediately.

This is the accidental cross between a Salty Dog (vodka + grapefruit juice) and a Gin & Tonic (er, gin + tonic water). The idea was to boost the bitterness of the former with the quinine of the tonic water and botanicals of the gin. The sugar in the tonic water would mediate things a bit, the effervescence of the tonic water would make it a little more fun, and the bitters would add that little touch to make it special, like good bitters always do. As for the salt, if you’ve never had salted fresh grapefruit it’s one of the greatest things in the world. I detest salt on margaritas but here it’s divine.

The flavors all work quite well together, and I am sure that the ratios could be tweaked a bit to perfect it. But I found one to be just right on this bright, sunny, warm day during this preternatural winter we’re experiencing. As always, if you try one of my original concoctions, please let me know what you think in the comments or by e-mail.

I was walking past the organic freezer section at the grocery store, and saw this: Saffron Road Lamb Saag with Basmati Rice. I’ve had it in Indian restaurants, and thought I’d give it a shot. I’d never eaten microwaved lamb before, but the list of certifications was incredible: Halal, lamb raised without antibiotics, lamb raised on 100% vegetarian foods in an open pasture, etc. It’s a far cry from the mystery meat/soy protein mush found in your 75¢ frozen burrito.

The company also makes a variety of other frozen entrees based on dishes from Morocco to Thailand. I haven’t tried any of the others, but will probably check them out based on this experience.

I was really happy with how this turned out. Though it’s difficult to see, there is a lot of lamb in here, and I’m thinking that the cubes came from the shoulder. There were a few fatty pieces (that were delicious), though most of the cubes were fairly lean. Really tender and flavorful, and superior to the lamb that I’ve gotten in some local establishments. The saag was mildly seasoned and decent, and the basmati rice was properly tender without being chewy or crunchy.

I’m not planning on making frozen dinners a major or even minor part of my diet, and don’t plan on further reviews here. Burt this was a nice surprise, and it’s good to see that with quality ingredients and the right technology, it’s possible to do this properly.

Haiti is the western half of the island Hispanola, and notoriously the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. It became independent from France in 1804 following a slave rebellion led by Toussaint Louverture. Haiti has had a complicated and sad history that would take far too long to tell here. The US hasn’t exactly been a friend of the country for most of the past 200 years, with the embargoes and refusal to acknowledge a sovereign Haiti for most of the 19th century and the US military occupation from 1915-1934. Today, most Haitian immigrants are in South Florida or in large cities like New York. Though I’ve met a few Haitians in my lifetime, there’s not much of a presence either in people or food here in Memphis.

This recipe has three parts: a habanero hot sauce, a marinade, and the actual braising of the oxtails. I made the marinade first. Known as epis, you take herbs and garlic and oil and vinegar and onion and other goodies and make a thin pesto. This can be used either for marinating pieces of meat or as a flavorful punch up to other recipes. The recipe called for parsley as the main herb, but I decided to go with the variation listed in the sidebar and use cilantro instead. Since I’d already alienated several people with the hot peppers and the offal, I decided to go all the way and make myself happy with yet another contentious ingredient. Saturday evening I rinsed the oxtails, covered them in epis and let them sit overnight.

(As an aside, I completely shut down a lane at the grocery store with the purchase of oxtails and habaneros. Neither were labeled, neither had SKUs on the cheat sheet, and clearing up both took a solid 15 minutes as I apologized to the customers behind me and tried to explain to the poor checkout girl why I enjoyed eating chopped up cow tails. This is not the first time this has happened to me, and it won’t be the last.)

Making the habanero hot sauce was my next adventure that night. Eight habaneros, a carrot, half an onion, a little white wine vinegar and sugar and the juice of two limes. Blend until smooth. Now, the recipe was responsible and suggested wearing gloves. I’ve never really had a problem processing peppers before, but I’ve never made hot sauce or used an open bowl with a stick blender with hot peppers before. Not a great idea. The capsaicin became aerosolized and I got a nice zingy dose to the nose, lungs, and most of my exposed skin. I’m still stinging a bit in places, but the upside is that my sinuses are clearer than they’ve been since I was born.

I made enough to fill three of these little tubs. One was used with Sunday dinner and the other two were sealed and sent to the CDC in Atlanta and the State Research Center of Virology and Biotechnology in Koltsovo, Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia (Вектор).

If you decide to do this, use an enclosed blender or food processor, wear gloves, and maybe goggles and a mask. And if you’re in the habit of wiping your hands on a kitchen towel after chopping vegetables, go ahead and toss that towel in the washer before a roommate or family member happens to come by and use it. The resulting sauce is thick and bright–almost unnaturally orange, though I didn’t add anything artificial to it. Definitely hot but with that sweet habanero flavor and good balancing from the limes’ acidity and the carrot’s additional sugar.

I started the third part (the braising) around ten in the morning on Sunday. Put the oxtails in the Dutch oven, add a can of tomato sauce and a little water, and bring to a slow boil. Remove from the stovetop and put the entire thing in the oven for six hours. I skipped the last part involving browning the oxtails with onions and tomato paste–everything was browned and nicely tender and caramelized and any further cooking would just ruin things.

I threw a little turmeric in the rice, and have to say that the meat was incredible. Tender and flavorful and full of intense elements from the bones and fat and everything else. The hot sauce was still good on the second day but milder and fruitier. Julia, having her first encounter with oxtails said, “Tastes like pot roast, but not as stringy.” I’m impressed with the recipe but in the future I’ll probably roast at a lower temperature and add some things like beer or chicken broth or white wine to the braising liquid. The habanero hot sauce is delicious, but I’m going to need a new set of friends to share that level of heat.

I had planned on writing a long essay about getting my Cooking merit badge in Scouts, but when I went to grab my old sash it was notoriously missing. And now I don’t think I ever earned it, though I certainly met all the requirements and did all the work. (The white sash is a separate one for the Order of the Arrow, an honor society. Longer story that I won’t get into here.)

What are merit badges, and how do they work? As you advance through the ranks, you have to have various required merit badges (silver border) and enough electives (green border). The requirements have changed a bit over the years, but in general it’s always been around 11 required badges and 10 electives, plus all of the various other requirements, leadership roles, and community service to make it to Eagle, which I did in 1991. You can continue earning merit badges until you turn 18, which is why I have a total of 36. For the required badges, you generally have assigned instructors and very rigorous rules. For electives, you’re either getting it at camp through organized classes, or you’re seeking out an expert in the field to teach you the subject because you’re interested in it. Some people get every merit badge, but it’s very rare. Some of these badges involved a few days, some took years, some I barely remember, and others almost killed me. I’ve always wanted to list them out, so here goes…

From left to right, top to bottom, more or less in chronological order from 1986-1993:

• Citizenship in the World: Basically social studies class with a bit of geography thrown in.
• Swimming: Surprisingly difficult, with a lot of attention on how not to drown. More survival if you fall out of a boat than learning specific swimming techniques, though we were tested on all of those as well. This one was a make or break moment for a lot of guys over the years.
• Safety: Pretty general subject, but some good common sense stuff.
• Home Repairs: I don’t remember a lot of this, aside from basic plumbing and carpentry.
• Traffic Safety: Essentially Driver’s Ed long before you can drive. I think this was probably more intensive in earlier days, as I’ve met guys at reunions who talked about learning to drive via our Scoutmaster and having him take them to their license tests.
• Rifle Shooting: For this we shot .22 calibre rifles and I was a good enough shot to pass. My brother is an expert marksman and in our family there are lots of guns, but the sport never quite clicked with me, even while shooting oddballs like a .50 calibre black powder rifle.
• Reading: I think I had to do a book report for this, and since I was a kid who sometimes wrote term papers for practice in the summer, I was way overqualified for this one.
• Genealogy: Very interesting, and I got to do a lot of work with a few relatives who were really into the subject.
• Shotgun Shooting: Basically like rifle shooting, except that I really enjoyed shooting clay targets with a 20 gauge. The Roommate has a 16 gauge in the closet that doesn’t get any use, so I should probably take up this gentleman’s sport again at some point.
• Pioneering: Making structures based on chopping down saplings and binding them together with rope. Surprisingly difficult to pull off well and safely, and you learn a lot of primitive engineering techniques.
• Aviation: A cherished memory, and something of a rare badge to earn. Dad had his single engine pilot’s license and needed to get some hours in, so we did all of the preflight checks and filed a flight plan and everything else required for the badge while flying around south Memphis/northern Mississippi.
• First Aid: One of the best I ever took, and I’ve used the lessons learned with this badge many times over the years.
• Mammal Study: The first goofy summer camp badge I ever earned, which involved writing a report on river otters and building a habitat for various ground rodents.
• Canoeing: Loads of fun, and I loved canoeing for years afterward. It was good to learn some proper technique and how to recover from a tipped canoe in a safe environment.
• Indian Lore: A simple look at Native American culture, and may have indirectly influenced my later choice for an Anthropology major.
• Wilderness Survival: Probably my favorite of all time, since it involved going out in the woods, building your own shelter, and sleeping in it overnight. Multiple other tests for managing to live in the woods on your own without the benefits of civilization. I’ve always felt that if society completely collapses, I’ll be fine for a good long while.
• Basketry: As much of a joke as it sounds, though I still have the little wicker basket from 1988 and keep change in it.
• Citizenship in the Nation: Another social studies class.
• Woodcarving: I think I made a neckerchief slide and learned how to not cut myself, which was a bit late judging by the scars on my fingers.
• Leatherwork: Arts and crafts time, with emphasis on stamping patterns into leather sheets.
• Citizenship in the Community: Social studies class. By the way, these were good classes, I just don’t have a lot to say about them.
• Nature: Normally a simple badge, but in my Troop it was a requirement for Eagle and our Scoutmaster made up his own requirements. We had to be able to identify more than 40 trees (even in the winter, without leaves), plus bird identification and other requirements. This one took me years of hikes through neighborhoods and forests.to finally earn it. It drove me crazy at the time but I can still identify trees at a great distance or sometimes just by a piece of bark.
• American Heritage: More social studies.
• Camping: This was something you sort of earned out of endurance, by completing a number of nights spent outdoors and the ability to pitch a tent and build a fire and not starve over a weekend.
• Environmental Science: Fellow Scouts of my era will know why this one was difficult, but I’ll leave it at that. Another one that took months of work.
• Sailing: The most fun I ever had with a merit badge. Tiny one-person sailboats with a single sail, one seat, and a dagger board you had to drop through the hull before going out on the water. Learning to tack into the wind and not get hit in the head with the boom, and then you learn to catch the breeze just right and you zip across the lake while you’re just two feet above the surface… heaven.
• Lifesaving: The one that damned near killed me. It’s all about how to save someone who is drowning, which is accomplished by taking a 13 year old and having to rescue drowning adults, who punch you and try to dunk you and otherwise act like a frantic, scared drowning victim. Also fun was diving into a murky lake to pull up a cinder block (the “victim”) before brain death occurred. You dive, hear the minute count, you dive again, etc., if you fail, the victim dies. Keep at it until you can save the victim in time. This one made me angry at the time, but I’m so glad that I went through that training.
• Communications: Public speaking and letter writing and other good gentlemanly skills. I’m still exceptionally polite on the phone because of this and my parents’ upbringing.
• Personal Management: A difficult one that involved six months of work. This was basically an economics class, which involved learning about banking and taxes and other things. As part of the class I had to meet with a loan officer and go through a sample credit approval process.
• Pottery: Everything from here on out is just gravy, since I’d already reached the rank of Eagle. Can’t remember anything about this one, but I had a fun week at a new Scout camp.
• Archery: A lot of fun, and I still have my old scores and worksheets from this for some reason. I love archery.
• Sculpture: Like pottery, I have no memory of this one, and probably don’t deserve it.
• Rowing: I worked hard at this one, though I didn’t really enjoy it. Canoeing is great because one person can lift a canoe and paddle it and they’re pretty quick on rivers. Rowboats are heavy, slow, and you can’t see where you’re going. I’d hop in a canoe in a minute, but you’d have to force me back into a rowboat.
• Horsemanship: A great class that involved not only riding but also grooming, including cleaning the hooves. Along with earning a lot of respect for horses, I also managed to get bit and kicked by a new animal. (Before collecting wine grapes, I loved to list off all of the various critters that had gnawed on my flesh. Getting bitten by snakes is painful, but moles have a certain rage that is just scary.)
• Backpacking and Hiking: The last two were earned as a result of two separate treks at Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico, in the lower range of the Rockies known as the Sangre de Cristo mountains. Each trek involved two weeks in the mountains, carrying a pack between 40-50 lbs. depending on water and provisions, and days that included waking up in snow and spending the day slogging through hot desert with sand and cactus. Those experiences could fill an entire book, and serve as a fitting conclusion to the sash and to this post.

Le Vent du Nord is a blend of Chardonnay and Rousanne which combine to give some aromatic interest to a delicious citrus base. The warm spicy La Garrigue is Syrah with Grenache these days (all the wines were 2009) yet still retains the hints of outdoor wildness only those who have visited the region will fully relate to. Mourvèdre, once used in La Garrigue, goes into Les Derniers Cépages along with Bordeaux hard-man Petit Verdod, giving a wine with some delicious ripe tannins.

This is the last post for two weeks as I am off to see my mum in the UK.
The restaurant on the ship from Rotterdam to Hull has a poor wine list…so I have purchased 2 half- bottles to take into the restaurant for both the two trips.
Also…I have ordered some wines from UK Merchants and they are now at my mum’s place.
As we plan to eat out a lot…I will be taking some of the wines along.
Yes…I know it is a habit of mine…but if some restaurants insist on buying boring wines….listing no vintages etc…then it is a
solution to the problem. The North-West area is not reknowned for good wine lists!

The wines are:
Skillogalee Wines Clare Valley Riesling 2010 Australia
Escarpment Kupe Pinot Noir 2009 New Zealand
Stonier Chardonnay 2009 Australia
Chard Farm Mata-au Pinot Noir 2009 New Zealand
Burn Cottage Pinot Noir 2009 New Zealand

and of course…the 2009 version of
Crystallum Pinot Noir Cuvee Cinema, South Africa
The 2010 had been impressive…

PLUS
I am taking in the car…a bottle of white Austrian and a bottle of German Spätburgunder…just in case I get withdrawal symptoms!!

Erwin Sabathi Sauvignon Blanc
Merveilleux 2009
South Styria, Austria
Pure gloss on opening…intense flinty, nutty, spiky minerals, salty, loved this at once….and I give these wines 24 hours…next day…still very good…but the baby-fat was gone…pity…
needs time…
Points 17.25

F.X. Pichler Grüner Veltliner
Smaragd Loibner Berg 2002
Wachau, Austria
I purchased this bottle on Ebay along with the same vintage ‘M’….both for € 60,–
Was there a reason the seller was offering it?….one way to find out. My wife had cooked some fish in a mustard sauce.
Colour…pale gold…hope for me then. Nose…gorgeous…stone fruits, citrus, apricots…some petrol….a Grüner for Riesling drinkers!

No sign of age…vanilla, pepper, still with a thrilling dose of minerals…I may be going over the top...and it may be a wine for the advanced drinker ( after 35 years I belong in that group)…
If this is good…then the ‘M’ should be excellent as well.
Points 18

…and so to the reds….and a property not tried before.
Not available on any merchant’s list…so I emailed them over Xmas…and waited and waited. The middle of January I received an apology…saying they had been on holiday.
I ordered the two below and asked if they also had an odd bottle of the 2009 Marienthaler Trotzenberg which showed out-of-stock on their list.
I heard no more…until a 6-pack arrived with the invoice. In this day and age of payment up front (which I understand being in business)….it is refreshing that someone trusts someone. The money was transferred next day….which is part of the essential ritual to keep the trust chain going.

Paul Schumacher
Patience Spätburgunder 2009
Ahr, Germany
Lazy showing on opening…but give this an hour and you will be rewarded.
Medium colour….super aromas of forest berries and some cherry…great balance here…sweet Pinot fruit with a touch of cream….
Patience on the label…but this is enticing now…but…I gave it ‘patience’ and drank the rest next day…still in great form.
Love the style…
Points 17.5

Paul Schumacher
Walporzheimer Kräuterberg Spätburgunder 2009
Ahr, Germany
Explosion of soft, oaky vanilla….smokey…a little tight on day one. A few squirts of gas, pop in the cork….into the fridge….next day…take it out 2 hours before drinking…out with the cork.
The gas seems to help…but my guess is the wine would have needed the air anyway. Nose more complex…palate earthy, vibrant acidity, crackly tannins…this is a real pleasure.
Points 17.75

Drink the Patience now and over the next two years…and try this again in 2014

I had taken the wines along the day before…and had asked Agnello to open them all at 6pm.

The white…covered up as were all of them…was to convince Robert that there is a Sylvaner of top class to be had….
Zehnthof Luckert Silvaner * * * 2009
Franken, Germany
Like a mix of Riesling and maybe some Grüner Veltliner. Put some Burgundy in the mix and you will describe this wine perfectly. Just a beautiful nose….a trace of cream…honey…compact…the flavour just melts in the mouth…that ‘classy’ Burgundy feel again…but…this is Silvaner! And what a Silvaner! There are spices to combat that cream…and a minerality to add to it’s pluses. As perfect as it can get with the grape. None better has passed my lips.
Points 18…THE BEST SILVANER EVER TASTED

After choosing the three reds for the evening…I realized that they had all been Ebay purchases! Strange as the wine that was paying for the meal had ended up there.

Heger Ihringer Winklerberg
Spätburgunder *** 2004
Baden, Germany
I had called the property a day before to ask what the wine was tasting like. The lady on the phone said she would go into the cellar and ask Joachim Heger and then call me back. The call came…’Fantastic’ was the reply.
Slightly musty at first…but it opened to show roasted aromas…wild red fruit…perfect now…marzipan on the palate…and a lingering acidity of finesse that holds it together.
Will still hold a few years…but we caught this one just right…
Points 17.5

Brunel Chateauneuf-du-Pape,
Les Cailloux 1998
Rhône, France
Animals…wild…smokey…that lovely old sweet musky smell that I have missed over recent years in CdP. Almost pinot-like with strawberry and cherry fruit rising from the glass. Perfect integrated acidity…sweet palate…with some liquorice and those dusty tannins that appeal.
Points 17.5

Antinori Pian delle Vigne
Brunello di Montalcino 1997
Toscana, Italy.
In hindsight we should have drank this before the above two…as it was tighter with dry tannins. The nose was very aromatic…spices…leather…cherries…and the palate craved for food…which it got.
Certainly good but a long decant or a few years more would soften it. We certainly didn’t refuse it…just that the first two were more open.
Points 17

Five happy people set off home…thank you Paul Jaboulet!

Walter Skoff
Sauvignon Blanc Royal 2009
South Styria, Austria
Exotic aromas…lychees…tobacco and vanilla…sweet biscuits…it defies the 14.5% alcohol…sparkling diamonds….roast nuts…minerals…Walter Skoff is known as Mr. Sauvignon Blanc and one can see, and taste…why. I didn’t hurry this…and it helped…this opened and developed over 3 days.
Points 17.75

Erwin Sabathi
Pössnitzberg Sauvignon Blanc 2009
South Styria, Austria
Smokey…minerals….chalky soil…exotic…good acidity…the Limited 111 is my favourite from this property…but this is very good.
Points 17.5

What I don’t miss in most Austrian Sauvignon Blanc…the absence of cat’s pee…or extreme gooseberry. A step up from those New Zealand examples of years gone by.

Domaine Wachau Smaragd Axpoint
Grüner Veltliner 2009
Wachau, Austria
Suffered a little after the two Sauvignon Blanc. This has fresh, zippy acidity….dark pepper…some tobacco…and will benefit from bottle age.
Points 17

Hofgut Consequence
Blauer Spätburgunder 2007 ***
Baden, Germany
Probably no longer available. When I was there Eva Maria Schmidt explained that the property was now owned by Abril…another property a few doors down…since 1 January 2010. There was a new building being built on the outskirts of Vogtsburg-Bischoffingen. Her husband Manfred was now in charge of the grapes. So the wines with the Hofgut Consequence label were the last. I purchased 3 bottles of the top wine mentioned here. The style is very much easy Pinot that encourages big mouthfuls of the strawberry fruit. Great vintage…and at four years old just about ready to go. Tasty….and one can only hope Manfred Schmidt chooses well for the new project. The winemaking will be done by Sebastian Faber & Armin Süttler.
A snip at € 18,–
Points 17

R & C SchneiderSpätburgunder
Parzelle Schönenberg 2006
Baden, Germany
I purchased a few bottles of this after trying the 2005…and hearing that it was even better in this vintage. Well…I have tried them over a 2 year period…trying to give it all my love in the hope that it will give something back. One bottle is left and I think Ebay calls for this lady. She has never shown a sexy side…no seduction…and I can’t see it changing much. The nose is slightly raw…and the fruit just ordinary…a puzzle. If it had been one bottle I would have put it down to a bad-un…but every time I have been left wanting. Next wine please…
Points 16…..

Schloss Staufenberg
Durbacher Schlossberg
Spätburgunder trocken 2009
Baden, Germany
If you want to buy direct from this property…it is up a winding road with room for one vehicle(and you just hope a bus carrying tourists doesn’t decided to appear round the corner)…to the top of the hill overlooking Durbach…….park your car…and walk up round to the ‘castle’. You will be rewarded with a sensational view…and some good ‘Flammenkuchen’ in the restaurant. This is the top red…and the 2009 vintage was on offer. Was it worth the trouble?…hey…after the Parzelle I needed reassurance. What the 2009 vintage offers is a perfect package. From start to finish you have the great vintage feel. Ripe and forward…sweet fruit…rounded…a soft bristling tannin layer…which held it up for a day later…nice.
Points 16.75

Over a couple of days I have been eating the Xmas leftovers…still delicious.
As the year closes…I can only reiterate…my favourite white grape is Grüner Veltliner…and my favourite red…wait for it…yes…you guessed…Pinot Noir.

Emmerich Knoll Smaragd Schütt
Grüner Veltliner 2009
Wachau, Austria
For a Knoll…this is layed-back…I always expect a voluptuous wine. Herby and some tobacco on the nose…yellow fruits…glossy on the palate…velvety… already approchable….
Points 17.25

H.J. Kreuzberg Spätburgunder
Ahrweiler Silberberg GG 2009
Ahr, Germany
The ‘first division’ group of properties in the Ahr are Adeneuer, Deutzerhof, Meyer-Näkel and Stodden. The ‘second division’ probably comprises Burggarten, Nelles and Kreuzberg. There are a few more that could make a name for themselves….but unlike Baden & Pfalz…there seems to be very few ‘finds’ in this area. Surely in one of the best red wine areas in Germany there should be a whole host of new growers making a name for themselves. We will see… This is practically a 100% red wine property…with Spätburgunder comprising of 70%…and Ludwig Kreuzberg is improving year by year. Heading for the first division maybe. They have plots in Neuenahrer Schieferlay und Sonnenberg, Ahrweiler Silberberg und Dernauer Pfarrwingert. The 2009 vintage promises to maybe even surpass 2004 & 2006…so I was excited about trying this GG…albeit very young. Hoppla…as I caught the first whiff…a bit special. New oak…creamy…ripe forest fruit, cherry…tannins firm but approachable. Very good. After an hour the wine closed up…showing it’s youth…so…best tip for anyone here…pop in the cork…and try next evening. Twenty-four hours later…out with the cork and it all started over again… but now the palate was rounder…quite thick cherry fruit with a minerality that made a package to enjoy. I like this…and will try to keep the other bottle hidden…very enticing though.
Points 17.75

Meyer-Näkel Spätburgunder S
Magnum 1999
Ahr, Germany
Light colour….and a mature brown rim. Soft burnt smoke on the nose…this is a beautiful aged Pinot…with some pepper. Smell of forest undergrowth…just perfect on the palate…nice layer of mature strawberry fruit…and
a touch of age…which the magnum carries well…a bottle may have been too late!
Points 17.5

F.X. Pichler Grüner Veltliner M 2000
Wachau, Austria
Rich, power…no sign of any downhill turn…the ‘M’ is always built to last. This had me thinking dry d’Yquem. Strong smell of honey…rich and intense…perfect balance….amazing for it’s age…slight touch of boytritis.
Points 18

Chateau Trotanoy 1978
Pomerol, Bordeaux, France
Of all the wines I chose…this had me worrying that it would not stand up and be counted after 30 years. I have opened a few vintages over the years and Volker is a big fan. He had no dea what was in the decanter…but was saying ‘Merlot’ and ‘Bordeaux’. Still deep red…farmyard nose…meaty…earthy…holding up very well and a delightful old Bordeaux.
Points 17.5 although Volker rated it higher

Jaboulet Hermitage La Chapelle 1978
Rhone, France
Ah….Mr. Parker…rated this with 100 points. I had given it 7 hours in the decanter. This is still full of blood, smoked meat…loads of herbs. The palate is still firm and there is no danger that this is anywhere near it’s end.
It was not the blockbuster one would expect…and although the bottle has been in my cellar 30 years…there could be bottle variation. Certainly very good.
Points 17.75

Fonseca Vintage Port 1977
Douro, Portugal
Quite light surprisingly…and a reserved nose. Strawberry fruit….and some chocolate. Not a big port but nice finish to the evening.
Points 17.25

Very little white Austrian in the cellar…after a warm Autumn…so I needed to replenish. Lots of Grüner Veltliner…and this Chardonnay. As different again as two wines could be…
Johann Topf Strasser Chardonnay
Ried Hasel 2008
Kamptal, Austria
Minerals dominate here…the grape is masked at first but slowly developed. Exotic fruit…and compared to the Aussie…a reserved vanilla aroma. Green apple flavour…this begs you to leave this a year or two…but for different reasons again to the above…zippy acidity this time.
Points 17

My wife makes the best Hamburgers…
Impossible to eat with the hands though…

The first red was a property I had only just found after returning from Baden and checking out a wine forum.
Enderle & Moll have 3 reds…a Villages…the Muschelkalk…which I tried a couple of weeks ago….and this one which has had people raving about it.
Did it live up to the hype?
Enderle & Moll
Buntsandstein Pinot Noir 2009
Baden, Germany
We concentrated on this one…as we ate…as it told us it needed nourishment…and the Hollerith was a completely different animal.
Opened 24 hours in advance but left in the bottle to air.
A whiff of glue at first…and a general feel of minerals and reserved fruit. It had the guys guessing…New World…Rhone…Syrah…but not a German Pinot…and it does not
taste like one. Earthy…and changing it’s spots as it evolved in the glass. At the moment the Muschelkalk 2009 is the easier….but I bow to those on the net who think this will evolve into a GREAT wine….
A reserved marking here…a wine in it’s infancy
Points 17

We had had a quick smell of the next wine…and a sip…the unanimously decided not to compare it with the Enderle & Moll.
It would be drank and enjoyed all on it’s own.
Joachim Hollerith Maikammer Heiligenberg
Maximus Pinot Noir 2007
Pfalz, Germany
Opened only one hour before drinking.
Instant appeal…no messing around sticking your nose deep into the glass…the bouquet came out to greet you. Classy smokiness with smells of cherries & forest berries. The fruit just so perfect… and rolled over the tongue. Just a touch earthy…and with a length and elegance that says…GREAT wine. The guys were getting close to saying Gerrman….but I kept telling them the bottle was heavy with a large punt….ha ha…and they opted for U.S.A. Jim Clendenen. Now that is a compliment!
Points 18

The second was from a top Nahe property..
Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle
Riesling GG 2010
Nahe, Germany
I presumed this to be the 2009…this is very good…and showed very well in it’s youth with a perfect balance. A couple more years and you have gem.
Points 16.5

The five Pinot bottles had been decanted by Steffi…I had to choose the order…and am now obviously the king of blind tasting arranging. The way the wines turned out in quality was the order I chose them. You just can’t plan any better! The first two did not please…

Albert Bichot Domaine Adelie
Champs Martin Premier Cru 2005
Mercury, Burgundy, France
No character…dry fruit…in disorder
Points 13.5

Domaine Joblot Clos Marole
Premier Cru 2006 Givry,
Burgundy, France
A shade better that the above…but nothing to write home about
Points 14

OK..these are not from the medium to top level in Burgundy….but the prices should ensure you get something worth the effort.

Cortijo Los Aguilares
Pinot Noir 2009
Ronda, Sierras de Malaga, Spain
Some cassis here…and I guessed it was maybe from an unknown area…but I never knew they were planting the sexy grape down on the south coast of Spain.
Points 15.5

Studach Malanser
Pinot Noir 2009
Graubünden, Switzerland
Finally a smell of the grape I love….fine balance…soft raspberry fruit…the oak just noticeable…give it a year or two…delightful.
Points 17

Adeneuer Walporzheimer Gärkammer
Spätburgunger GG 2009
Ahr, Germany
Who planned this to be served last? Oh…yes…it was me…and it blew everything away. A full Pinot nose…cassis and cherry…with gentle biting tannins and a wonderful ‘feel’ on the palate. Length and style. This is what it is all about!
Points 17.75
We were then shown a list of the five wines and asked to correctly call them. I was on a role…but it was not difficult. The Ahr wine was the most expensive…with the two French wines costing maybe € 20,– less. Money well spent if you choose the Adeneuer….and for the prices of the French wines I will list a 100 German reds that would knock them sideways.

My wife had requested I took no wine with me…so I quickly checked the wine-list and chose the following…
Lageder Löwengang Chardonnay 2007
Alto Adige, South Tirol, Italy
100% Chardonnay…I remember earlier vintages were more oak influenced…so pleasantly surprised by this more delicate style. Alto Adige is a cool climate area… Yellow gold colour with a tinge of green…and a soft buttery aroma which opened nicely in the glass. There is a fresh acidity that lifts the fruit and it was a perfect match with all the starters. Good finish. Very enjoyable.
Points 17

The choice of red could have been a Barbera d’Asti “Bricco dell‘ Uccellone 2007…but fellow Blogger Alex who lives near to La Fattoria had enthused about a Barolo on a previous visit…so that was decanted.

Burlotto Barolo Cannubi 2005
Piedmont, Italy
Intriguing aroma…leather and spice and cherries…and dark roses. The mix of acidity and tannins is just about right…and the palate welcomed red berry fruit. A good choice…and perfect again with the food.
Points 16.75

A great evening…and we won’t leave it so long until the next time.

There were always rules about wine and food when I started out in the 70′s
Fish with white and meat with red was never broken…or you had no idea about wine! I was always prepared to change…but it was on holiday in Portugal in the 80′s with my daughter…who prefers red…that we often drank the soft fruity wines with the local fish.
Obviously the preparation plays a role.
Also for the last 30 years I have been pulling corks but more and more we see screw caps…something that has never really been as much a problem as you would think for this old traditionalist.
All this brings us to the wine featured here.
The food….well…a very good Thai Curry.
Now…I once had a 1966 top Red Burgundy with a Chinese curry…perfect.
Obviously an Indian curry would not be suitable….but Thai food is a regular diet for me and the curries lend themselves beautifully to Pinot Noir. The Zalwander (see previous post) would have had too much dry tannin…so I needed something rounder and softer.

Alexander Laible
Spätburgunder *** R trocken 2009
Baden, Germany
Alexander is the son of Andreas Laible a couple of kilometers away in Durbach. Over a short period he has built a modern property and is a ‘rising star’
It may not please a few people…as he is buying vineyards as far away as Sinzheim near Baden-Baden…but…needs must. But surely…it is what you do with it all.
His Riesling wines compare favourably to his fathers’ property…now run by his brother Andreas Jnr. My recent visit to obtain his reds…particularly the 2009s…was not a success in the fact that all he had were 2010s…just this one bottle of the very fine vintage.
Screw cap…kissed by oak….only the lips…no tongue-kissing here. Quite full and an aromatic smell…some blackberry…and..most important for the food…a rounded feel with soft tannins. The Curry and wine hit it off…rather like a tennis match that ended all square.
Points 16.5

Gross Ratscher Nussberg
Sauvignon Blanc 2009
South Styria, Austria
Probably the most difficult new Sauvignon Blanc I have tasted. It’s all wrapped up…but not ready to go. Limes, mint, cassis…and some lively acidity. Two days later it popped it’s head out…but then back in again.
Very complex and a cellar occupier for the long haul.

Difficult to mark…as you could look a fool in 12 months time.
Points 16.5……..but more to come

Alphart Rotgipfler Rodauner
Top Selektion 2010
Thermen Region, Austria
Don’t you just hate it when a wine merchant sends you the ‘new’ vintage when you ordered the previous one!
After raving about the 2009 I had re-ordered….and down in the cellar putting away a few recent delivers and searching for a white to drink…I saw this…..2010. Oh well..saves you searching anymore…try it I thought.
As I mentioned previously…not a grape type you often see on the label. Rotgipfler sounds red…but is a white…and what a white. The nose throws up aromas of pear…and is very Burgundian…bananas, mangoes…very exotic. It spends some time in new oak…and all the above evolves seamlessly onto the palate….compact bundle of minerals rolling around the mouth…salty even……delicious…and always something new to find. Beautiful harmony here. Leave it open for 24 hours…it will thank you.
So…the merchant won’t be getting an earful….
Points 17.75

Jürgen von der Mark
Pinot Noir 2008
‘For Unto Us A Child Was Born’
Baden, Germany
A property that only started out in 2003.
A soft gentle sweet oak whiff is the first impression…but with air this becomes more raspberry….in fact…the whole is like freshly squeezed raspberries. A real juice to activate the senses. Smoke developed…the wine spread itself but never loses a feel of freshness and minerality. A property to watch.
Points 16.75

Meyer-Nakel Spätburgunder S 2005
Ahr, Germany
We were chatting away…so I hardly made any notes…but David sent an email to say it hit the spot. A nice evening and I left David at the station to head off back to Frankfurt. He told me later he had gotten into a conversation with a guy on the train about whether Irish Whiskey or Scottish Whisky were the best. As David is from Edinburgh… I’m sure he put over his point!

September is Pumpkin month…here is one we brought back from Baden…and I love the soup my wife makes…with a few chilis in there…I eat it for days…well…there is enough there!

Wenzel Kleiner Wald
Pinot Noir 2007
Neusiedlersee, Austria
This is a new property in Austria…the first vintage was 2004…and does not yet even appear in the Falstaff Wine Guide.. Aromatic spices and sweet tannins…like a Cote de Beaune if you are into French Pinot. Work meant I made no other notes
Points 16.25

The evenings are getting shorter…but September has been gorgeous. What a sunset!

Lackner-Tinnacher
Sauvignon Blanc Welles STK 2008
South Styria, Austria
Gooseberry confit with some pineapple….and remember…a year ago I would not have touched a SB after all the cat’s pee I had been offered. These South Styria wines are another level though…where were we?..ah yes…blood oranges…like as silky snake slithering down the gullet…
Points 17.5

Erwin Sabathi Sauvignon Blanc
Pössnitzberg Limited 111 2008
South Styria, Austria
WOW!…get used to this. What an aroma…WOW. Cassis and top class gooseberries with a touch of lychees. Like inhaling Cleopatra’s bath water. And what a mouthful…WOW! After all that…you would expect a fruit bomb maybe…nope…this is elegant classy fruit…tropical with a dash of citrus… a hedonistic juice….and I can’t say any more than… I give it
Points 18.25
I bought some more…and will ‘maybe’ let it lie….only maybe

And so to another wine purchased on my recent trip to Baden…

Horst and Petra Konstanzer bottled their first wine in 1983, and in the initial stages from then on considered their winery to be a part-time occupation. However, the success of their products encouraged them to take over the operation of their parents in 1989, which had until then supplied grapes to the local co-operative, and to make a full-time job of winemaking from then on. Today they tend 9 hectares of vineyards. A vineyard to watch….

Konstanzer Ihringer Winkleberg
Spätburgunder Spätlese trocken 2009
Baden, Germany
This has more instant appeal…very juicy…but with a good backbone and perfect balance. Full of ripe fruit…these 2009 reds from Baden are going to be essential buys…but back to this one…and as Herr Konstanzer said…a real glass full of wine..
Points 16.75..and a good value at € 15,–

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
4 cups sugar1 (12 fluid ounce) can frozen juice concentrate – any flavor except citrus, thawed
3 1/2 quarts cold water, or as needed

Directions

1.Combine the yeast, sugar and juice concentrate in a gallon jug. Fill the jug the rest of the way with cold water. Rinse out a large balloon, and fit it over the opening of the jug. Secure the balloon with a rubber band.

2.Place jug in a cool dark place. Within a day you will notice the balloon starting to expand. As the sugar turns to alcohol the gasses released will fill up the balloon. When the balloon is deflated back to size the wine is ready to drink. It takes about 6 weeks total.

INGREDIENTS:

7 – 8 pounds of apples (or 2 quarts of juice with no preservatives added)

4 1/2 pints of water

2 pounds of sugar

2 1/4 tsp of Acid Blend

1/2 tsp of Pectic Enzyme

1/4 tsp of Tannin

1 tsp of Nutrient

1 crushed Campden tablet

1 package of yeast

1 tsp anti oxidant – This is added before bottling

Starting Specific Gravity (S.G.) – 1.085 – 1.090

Wash and sort your apples. Use only solid firm fruit. Cut your apples into smaller pieces and press the juice from your apples. (If you do not have a press to press the juice out of your apples you can put your cut up apples into a nylon straining bag and press the juice out through the mesh as they ferment. They will get soft so keep squeezing periodically.)

Put your juice into your Primary Fermenter and add your crushed Campden Tablet and Pectic Enzyme. This will help with the clearing of your wine.

Stir in all other ingredients except for the anti oxidant and your Yeast and cover your fermenter.

After 24 hours add your yeast and cover your fermenter.

Stir your batch every day and check the Specific Gravity with your Hydrometer. In about 3 – 5 days your S.G. should reach 1.040.

Now you will siphon your wine off of the sediment into your secondary container which is usually your glass carboy. The sediment is the stuff that accumulates at the bottom of your container.

Attach your airlock and wait for your fermentation to be complete.

You will know it is complete when your S.G. has reached 1.000. This will take about 3 weeks.

Siphon your wine off the sediment into a clean secondary carboy, reattach your airlock. You will wait about 2 months and then siphon your wine off the sediment again. Keep doing this until your wine is clear. If it is clear now then it is time to bottle.

Before bottling add your anti oxidant.

Let wine set for a couple of months before drinking.

*** If you want more of a full bodied heavier wine then make the following changes to the recipe:

14-16 pounds of apples (or 1 gallon of juice – no preservatives added)

1 pound of sugar

1 1/2 tsp of Acid Blend

All other ingredients are the same

3 1/2 lbs. fresh wild strawberries
2-1/2 lbs. granulated sugar
1 gal. water
1 tsp. acid blend
1 tsp. pectic enzyme
1/4 tsp. grape tannin
1 crushed Campden tablet
Champagne yeast and nutrient

Place fruit in nylon jelly bag and tie. In crock, crush fruit with hands. Add all other ingredients except Campden tablet, pectic enzyme and yeast in crock and cover with 3 quarts boiling water. Stir well to dissolve sugar. Cover and add crushed Campden tablet when tepid (about 2 hours). After additional 10 hours add pectic enzyme and 12 hours later add yeast. Cover and stir daily. On 7th day remove jelly bag and hang over bowl to collect juice. Allow to drain thoroughly without squeezing (about two hours). Pour all liquids into secondary fermentation vessel, top up to one gallon, fit fermentation trap, and set aside. Rack every 30 days until wine clears (3-6 months). When wine clears, bottle. Allow to age at least 1 year.

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Extract the flavor and aroma from the base ingredients by chopping, crushing, pressing, boiling or soaking them.

Add sugar, acid, nutrients, and yeast to the fermentation media or liquor to achieve the proper ratio and ferment, covered, for 3 to 10 days in a primary fermentation vessel (crock, jar or polyethylene pail) at 70-75 degrees Fahrenheit.

Strain off the liquid from the pulp, put it (the liquid) into a secondary fermentation vessel (a carboy or jug), fit a fermentation trap (airlock) on the mouth of the bottle, and allow fermentation to proceed at 60-65 degrees Fahrenheit until all bubbling ceases (after several weeks).

Siphon the wine off the sediments (lees) into another clean secondary fermentation vessel. Reattach the fermentation trap. Repeat after another one or two months and again before bottling.

When wine is clear and all fermentation has stopped, siphon into wine bottles and cork the bottles securely.

Leave corked bottles upright for 3-5 days and then store them on their side at 55 degrees Fahrenheit for six months (white wine) to a year (red wine) before sampling. If not up to expectations, allow to age another year or more.

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This week my recommendation is to make a gift of homemade wine, it’s an exceptional present because you are not giving just a liquor; you are sharing a part of your time, your experience and your frienship!

And now, which is the preferred wine? It could depend on the person, however I recommend this fruits: Blackberry, Strawberry and kiwi. Fermentation time should be for example 10 to 15 days; maturation must be up to 2 months … what a hard work, but the final result: The best wine for a friend!

In order to increase the gift value, you must select an appropriate bottle, and finally design a label to explain the wine content!

What do you think about this idea ?

Welcome friends, I hope you find inside my blog the appropriate space to learn and enjoy about wine making. Invite your friends to join and I will send to all new study material about “How to make wine at home”.

Your messages are so kind; it makes me work harder to share to you the best wine making blog ever!

I expect to establish a wine makers club!

Yours sincerely,

Carlos.

The first step to follow was to obtain mature blackberry fruits, remember that an increasing in the cultivation time leads to high fruit sugar concentration; normally 100 g of fruit contains 4.9 g of free sugar. Fruits were washed kindly by using water at 20ºC avoiding high mechanical stress in order to preserve tannins and flavoured molecules and then a manual extraction of vegetal pedicel was carried out.

Fruits were compressed manually in the presence of water and 26 g of sugar per liter of must was added. Yeast and other additives were calculated according to the methodology proposed here in “Make wine steps 1, 2, 3”

Fermentation was carried out in a glass bottle for over 15 days, CO2 exhaust was collected in water by using a silicon pipe. Fermentation were purified by filtration by employing a fine fabric made of polyester, you could use any textile material with small porous length.

I enjoyed it today; Blackberry Wine really has a strong flavour, dark red colour and delicious bouquet. So that’s my recommendation this month !!

This site was launch today and we expect stablish a better interaction with you !

New features:

–> A better template.

–> The first “wine consultory” concept on the web. Here you are able to make questions about anything you want.

The Complete Illustrated Guide to Homemade Wine

Home Winemaking: Step by Step

Home Winemaking: Step by Step will teach you how to make wine like a professional, so you can create wine so good that it can be served at any occasion. No matter how important it is, no matter how “wined and dined” your guests are. Using my techinques, you will be producing prize-winning wines time and time again – this is flat-out the best resource on the net for making homemade wine. Bar none!

The Ultimate Fruit Winemaker’s Guide.

The fruits are harvested both by hand and with motorized harvesters. However, harvesting by hand is more recommended. Avoid an exposure to air and temperatures up to 27 ºC.

A plastic material is recommended for fruit handle. Fermentation vessel should be made of plastic or glass too.

After harvest, fill the fermentation vessel with approximately 1/3 of fruit and complete the total volume with water and others additives such as sugar and organic acids for pH adjust.

Sugar concentration before fermentation should be 200 g per liter of must, however it is a free variable defined by the winemaker. A white sugar must be used for all winemade production. Remember: final colour is the key for a good selling and wine acceptance.

Some authors recommend the use of sulphites for oxygen control during anaerobic fermentation; however my experience in this field shows that sulphites could promote the wine degradation by the formation of sulphur compounds. So do not use them.

Yeast is rehydrated under warm water (28ºC) for 1 hour, prepare a stock solution of 1g yeast per liter and add a 10% of total must volume to the fermentation. For example if the most volume is 2000 mL a 200 mL of yeast solution is required.

Once you add the yeast solution to the must the fermentation has started.

Fermenter fill volume is normally 80% of total capacity.

It could be washed by using a diluted NaOH solution

So, you’ll find tip about the fruit selection, the processing, the fermentation, clarification and finally the storage.

In principle I began with grapes but then I found the fruits as the principal raw material, in the context of wine you call them fruits fermentum, but it is common to name simply “wines”. Fruits are really a success. In my origin country, Colombia, there are many exotic fruits, so I used them to obtain a wine. The results were …wonderful!

For example I made wine of: strawberries, bananas (Recommended), appeles, pineapples, tangerines, kiwi, orange, pear, Cape gooseberry, and multiple exotic fruits of south America as: Borojó (Some people says it is aphrodisiac), Corozo (member of coconut family) and many others.

I am not a tea expert or a snob. While I appreciate using a tea ball or other device like this strainer for using looseleaf, 99% of my tea consumption in my lifetime has been via bags. At work I mostly use bags of green tea, herbal tea, or Earl Grey depending on my mood and the season. I often head to the coffee maker and hear a yelp of “It’s not ready yet” when I’m just siphoning off some hot water from the release valve on top of the machine. That’s what the spigot is for, people.

In fact, for the past week I’ve had a little seasonal sinus trouble, and a gentle green tea with the perfect amount of dried orange peel made the start to each day so much happier.

At right you see a double dose of the Celestial Temple in the Teavana strainer, resting in a Pyrex measuring cup. Normally you just use a mug for a single serving, but I wanted to capture the color of the tea while it was steeping. The tea is rich and aromatic, with notes of flowers and honey. It’s nice because you get a full-bodied brew and the requisite caffeine kick but with great complexity and interesting aromas that will be fun for the wine enthusiast.

I do have to mention that growing up in Memphis, tea was one of my earliest beverages and one of the first things I learned how to make. Though always in the iced form. Brew four bags in a half gallon of water for five minutes, remove bags, add a quarter cup of sugar, let cool, pour into pitcher and cover. The alternative was reserved for holidays: essentially an Arnold Palmer called “Payne Tea” after my Mom’s maiden name. We would squeeze lemons and make pulpy gallons of this beverage and, to this day, none of us have ever suffered from scurvy.

High school got me into hot tea, partially as an extension of Anglophilia but also as a desire to try as many different culinary traditions as possible. Celestial Seasonings was widespread at the time and I had a blast working my way through their boxes of teabags. A night with the South American “Morning Thunder”/yerba mate was a transcendental experience of listening to trance radio and not sleeping for 36 hours. But these days, I approach tea in a much different way. I don’t add milk or sweeteners or anything else. Just the leaves, in water slightly lower than boiling, and sip at the temperature that makes me the happiest. Sure, I get some weird stares occasionally and people wonder why I’m looking at my watch for a few minutes before I drink something, but the ritual and the swirling of the colors in the water always make me happy, whether at work, or sitting in an airport, or crouched on top of a mountain where it’s taken forever to get the water up to temperature. As you sip the tannic liquid you can reflect upon centuries of British tradition and more centuries of Chinese/Indian agriculture, or you can simply accept the caffeine hit, let your belly get happy from the warmth, and be glad about the whole process… until the mug goes cold and it’s time to start over.

There are heated arguments over shipping costs and packaging costs and lots of other factors, but at the end of the day I am that six year old boy staring at the globe while lying on the floor, checking out all of these interesting places on the bottom of the sphere. Why is New Zealand a separate country from Australia? What does New Guinea have to do with New Zealand or New York or New Jersey? Why do all the pictures of New Zealand in National Geographic look a lot more like Ireland or Scotland instead of the South Pacific? As a child, I had to seek out these answers, and today, the luxury goods of the islands are delivered to my doorstep. What a wondrous time to be alive.

2011 Craggy Range Kidnapper’s Vineyard Chardonnay
Hawkes Bay, New Zealand
100% Chardonnay
$20, 13% abv.
Very interesting for a Chardonnay. Lots of green apple and pear, balanced acidity, slightly tart. Fascinating and ultimately delicious with some grilled shrimp with lime. The name of the Vineyard comes from Cape Kidnappers in Hawkes Bay, where Captain Cook’s crew got into an altercation with the locals and they tried to nab a Tahitian servant from the H.M.S. Endeavour. A bit ironic that they named the cape after that event when later, Cook would die after attempting to hold Hawaiian King Kalaniʻōpuʻu hostage.

2010 Craggy Range Te Kahu Gimblett Gravels Vineyard
Hawkes Bay, New Zealand
80% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Malbec
$20, 13.5% abv.
When this first arrived I was thinking that it was a Pinot Noir and let it rest in the cellar next to other representatives of that grape. And then when I served it, I knew it was something much different. While mellow and mild, this has definite structure and the balance of black cherry and leather and chocolate is incredible. Highly recommended and a great bargain, not to mention showing that New Zealand has an opportunity to do some Bordeaux or Meritage blends that can stand out.

I hesitate to quote directly from press releases or company websites, but to explain the name of this wine I could not add anything to the following: “Te kahu means ‘the cloak’ in Te Reo Maori and refers to the mist that envelops our Giants Winery in the Tuki Tuki Valley. Legend has it that this mist was used to protect a mythical Maori maiden from the sun as she visited her lover Te Mata.”

Another two wines, another two stories, and that little globe of cardboard with raised mountain features continues to spin at the slow rate of once per day, in a dance around the sun 365.25 times a year…

Note: These wines were received as samples.

Now, it’s not purely from the Tar Heel State, but it’s close enough, and I was impressed. I was also impressed with the bottle of sparkling wine that Joe brought from Georgia, and of course most in the know are familiar with the delightful Gruet bubbles of New Mexico. And on top of that, I was pleasantly surprised by my recent encounter with the fizzy Moscato of Moldova. If you know what you’re doing, good sparkling wine can be made in a lot of interesting places.

I still haven’t forgotten my encounter with Belarus, though. Shudder

2008 North Carolina Blanc de Blancs Chateau Reserve
Méthode Champenoise
100% Chardonnay: 88% North Carolina, 12% California
$35, 12.4% abv.

The nose is light with a faint tropical fruit note. It’s crisp and clean with a touch of lemony acidity. Decent bubbles with a short finish. I served this with a salad before a dinner of roasted pork, and I ended up sipping on it throughout the entire meal. A good complement with food and generally a fun wine to imbibe. It’s not often that I enjoy vintage sparklers and I’m curious as to how this one will develop over the next few years.

Note: This wine was received as a sample.

There are good hotels, affordable but clean motels, and places that are a little sketchy but sometimes the only option when there’s a big convention in town or you just need a few hours of shuteye before getting back on I-40 heading toward one of the coasts. There are the places that show up on the news for various criminal activity, and then there’s the Admiral Benbow. By the 1980s it was a haven for all sorts of weird, sad crime. If you had a friend who called in tears and needed a ride home at two in the morning, it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise to find him at the Admiral Benbow, missing his car, wallet, and most of his pride.

It was the site of the 1986 Memphis Trousers Affair, in which former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser was found in the lobby wearing nothing but a towel, and confused as to where his pants were.

This is an older and somewhat obscure cocktail, but it contains classic ingredients and proportions. You’re supposed to use Plymouth Gin, but in tribute to the Inn I went a little downmarket with a regular domestic gin.

The Admiral Benbow Cocktail
2 oz. Plymouth Gin
½ oz. Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice
1 oz. Dry White Vermouth
Garnish with Citrus Peel and Maraschino Cherry

Combine everything but the garnish in a cocktail mixer with ice. I tried one shaken and one stirred, and found that I preferred the cloudy appearance of the shaken version. Reminded me a bit of some bad motels I’ve stayed in across the country where you get a glass of water from the tap and it has to settle for a few minutes before it’s no longer cloudy.

The cocktail has a nice balance of elements, though the lime juice covers up most of the vermouth. Sort of a very tart martini, and while it won’t be in the main rotation, I think I’ll come back to it every once in a while. The stories alone are worth it.

He’d made pasta with varying results in the pursuit of delicious ravioli, but felt it was time to crack the knuckles and attempt a proper noodle. First, the dough. Simple 1 egg per 100g of flour (about one cup). He used two of each and after some vigorous kneading, had a little dough ball that needed resting. He pulled off a bit and ran it through the rollers to produce the taglierini at right. Not a perfect batch, but a decent proof of concept. Those noodles were tossed aside while waiting for the dough to rest and develop properly.

He mused on the whole eggs vs. egg yolks debate, but elected to keep it simple with whole eggs. Besides, there was no lemon pie in desperate need of meringue.

His manual stainless-steel pasta machine has nine levels of thinness, a nice square number. Some skip levels but he always works through the process methodically, two passes per setting. In the past it’s involved sweaty brows and sore arms, but on this Sabbath he fell into a rhythm and took pleasure in the work, much like the feeling of accomplishment after mowing a yard or painting a house. (Rather not like taking shingles off a roof one hot Memphis summer, which left Benito with a pair of jeans full of holes from all the exposed nails.)

The moment of truth is when you get to the seventh level of thinness and think, “Maybe it would be better to make lasagna.” But he persevered, and continued with the rolling, only occasionally dropping the handle to the ground where it clattered like a 11mm wrench falling through the engine of a car only to lodge in some obscure nook. Fortunately the space under the kitchen table is less complex and does not require a telescoping wand with a strong rare-earth magnet on the tip.

Another decision point. The pasta machine has two sets of rollers, one for the wider tagliatelle and one for thinner taglierini. He decided to try a sheet of pasta to see how the tagliatelle looked. And they were perfect. Picture perfect and delicate and even fitting within the 6mm specifications set by the EU.

Taking the story of Solomon and the baby far too literally, he split the dough in half and processed half into wide noodles and half into thin spaghetti-like noodles.

Time to let everything dry, a step that doesn’t show up a lot in cooking unless you’re making jerky or dried green beans or other survival fare. One can of course cook fresh pasta right away, but he realized that he couldn’t eat all of it in one setting (even with two dinner companions), and that it might be good enough to hang out for a few days in the freezer.

There are different ways to dry pasta: on spindly wooden pasta trees (not the other kind of pasta tree), on sheets or towels, in adorable twirled nests, or made in a dry climate more like Albuquerque than Memphis where the noodles will quickly dry themselves on the trip out of the machine.

The next decision point: which to use with his carefully made sauce and pork rillettes? The sauce was already simmering away, awaking from its winter hibernation with wakeup shots of red wine, balsamic vinegar, and a few other dashes of magic. He turned to the internet, where Facebook users had been following the progress, and ultimately went with the advice of the German reader. After all, Nudeln mit Schinken is delicious and the Germans know their pork. Plus, he was still a little concerned that the tiny noodles might fall apart.

The end result was divine, with the sauce warmed in a skillet, combined with the freshly boiled pasta and a little pasta water until everything came together perfectly. He grated a little Romano cheese on top, finding the unique tang of sheep’s milk to be a good fit for this dish.

As for the wine, he had an extra bottle of that 2004 Il Borro in the cellar, and felt that what had began as such a simple dinner deserved a really fantastic wine. Everything came together so perfectly, like magic, and Julia and The Roommate were equally enthused about the meal.

The next day, it was time for Benito to try some of the leftover sauce with the thinner noodles, the taglierini. They performed admirably but between the two he felt that the wider noodles provided a better dining experience, allowing better sensation of the flavor and texture of the homemade product.

Later, as he collected photos and began reminiscing over a regional favorite, BBQ spaghetti, served at locations like Leonard’s Pit Barbecue and too many church potluck dinners to mention. And he reflected on how a long and laborious process had brought him right back to a dish of his childhood. And while he thought that his was more refined and the pasta better presented, he thought back on both, and smiled.

Small beef burgers topped with homemade red onion marmalade, smoked cheddar, mesclun greens, sliced Roma tomatoes, and a variety of crazy mustards, because I have at least half a dozen in the icebox at any given time. And of course, a nice cold Claussen pickle to accompany the burgers and fries.

A brief note on ingredients… While I was a cheddar fiend as a child, enjoying all levels of mild/medium/sharp/etc., covered in wax or not, I really didn’t like smoked cheddar. I’d eat it with the same enthusiasm I employed while chomping down the questionable abalone dish at Dah Wah near Rhodes. Interesting but not something I’m going to seek out often. Yet as with Scotch and a few other things, I’ve discovered that smoked cheddar is amazing, even if it refuses to melt and is difficult to separate into single slices.

The meal was delicious, and fun to try with the variety of wines. I’ve had plenty of Clayhouse wines in the past, and have liked the various Paso Robles blends that made their way to my glass. And for the record, these are all Paso Robles wines…

2009 Clayhouse Estate Cuvée Blanc
40% Grenache Blanc, 40% Roussanne, 20% Viognier
672 bottles made
$23, 13% abv.
Light, mild, slight apricot aroma, low acidity, mellow mouthfeel.

2008 Clayhouse Estate Malbec
86% Malbec, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot
672 bottles made
$35, 14% abv.
Plum and spice with low tannins and a long, delightful finish.

2006 Clayhouse Hillside Cuvée
56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Petit Verdot, 7% Malbec
3054 bottles made
$33, 14.5% abv.
Black cherry and pepper with a touch of green bell pepper.

2006 Clayhouse Estate Cuvée
Rhone blend with Petite Sirah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah
3960 bottles made
$30, 14.6% abv.
Plum and licorice, mellow and mild, soft tannins, full-bodied.

2007 Clayhouse Show Pony Petite Sirah
98.5% Petite Sirah, 1.5% Syrah
1620 bottles made
$40, 14% abv.
Nice black cherry and licorice, touch of chocolate and leather, soft tannins and delicious.

2007 Clayhouse Estate Petite Sirah
15000 bottles made
$23, 14% abv.
Nutty, earthy, rich black cherry. Great example of the Petite Sirah grape.

Note: These wines were received as samples.

I first met Paul and Angela when they reached out to me in 2007 to have a little gathering of Memphis food and wine bloggers at a Mexican restaurant downtown. I knew we’d hit it off when they bypassed the gringo fare and went straight for the cactus appetizer. At the time they wrote about local food and related topics on a blog called Squirrel Squad Squeaks, though over the years they rebranded with the more essay-driven From the Southern Table. And of course, the book has its own website, which features a calendar of book signings and other events throughout the Southeast in the next few months.

The World in a Skillet: A Food Lover’s Tour of the New American South
By Paul & Angela Knipple
Foreword by John T. Edge
The University of North Carolina Press
$35, 296 pp.

While you can pre-order the book at Amazon using the above link, fellow Memphians might want to attend the official launch party at the local independent Booksellers at Laurelwood, formerly Davis-Kidd.

Don’t let the cover mislead you: this is not a collection of Southern classics like cornbread and collard greens, though those dishes make appearances. Rather, it’s a look at the increasing cultural and culinary diversity of the South and how such cooking traditions have settled and adapted in towns small and large in this corner of the United States.

The new South is a different place. Within walking distance of my abode in a fairly vanilla suburb of Memphis, I have two Thai restaurants, a Vietnamese place, two Indian restaurants and a third grocery store, two Japanese sushi bars, and more. I now encounter old Russian ladies working at local supermarkets, and whenever I say “Спасибо”, I get an involuntary response of “Пожалуйста” followed by a chuckle at the short Irish guy spouting bad Russian. Less than 20 years ago, this was still farmland, and even 10 years ago it was just a sea of fast food joints and chain restaurants.

Each chapter focuses on a chef or a restaurant, telling the story of how that person or family came to the United States, and concluding with a couple of choice recipes. (Memphians include Pepe Magallenes of Las Tortugas and Wally Joe of Acre.) In places, anecdotes and cooking tips are included as sidebars. It’s a fascinating oral history project that has the added benefit of making you very hungry.

It reminds me a lot of one of my favorite formative cookbooks, Jeff Smith’s The Frugal Gourmet on Our Immigrant Ancestors (Recipes You Should Have Gotten From Your Grandmother). He was writing from experience in the relatively cosmopolitan cities of Chicago and Seattle as well as lots of world travel. I was excited to have one book that had dozens of chapters focused on specific world cuisines, each with an introductory story/history lesson, quotes from friends, and four or five recipes. For someone that would go on to get excited about wines from Colorado, Moldova, and India, it was a book that combined Gourmet with National Geographic. (And come to think of it, the Hawaii chapter had a drawing of a topless native…)

For me, the best part of The World in a Skillet was reading about Haitian food. I’ve never been exposed to it and have never thought to seek it out, despite a love of Cuban, Jamaican, Puerto Rican, and other styles of cooking that are collectively Caribbean but so individually unique. I can’t wait to try out the recipe for queue de boeuf, which combines two of my favorite things that never made Julie Andrews’ list: habaneros and oxtails.

The book is a great read for either short or long stretches and builds upon a unique strength possessed by the authors. They both have distinct and interesting personalities but are able to collaboratively write in a third and separate voice. I’ve known them for years but when reading their essays or this book I can’t pick out which parts are Paul’s or Angela’s. I can edit or be edited, but I can’t write with a partner to save my life, and I admire that talent. Think about that love and friendship when you’re reading the book, and it will let you know how they were able to get so many people from so many different backgrounds to contribute to this effort. Best of luck to them both, and I can’t wait to read the next one.

Note: This book was received as a sample.

When the bottle first arrived, I snapped a photo and thought “Malbec” and set it aside to let the bottle rest and cool for a few days before sampling it. The first taste revealed more complexity than I was expecting, and I peeked at the list of grapes. Really a fascinating mix while remaining majority Malbec. I enjoyed it with roasted pork and a few steamed vegetables… Nothing special, but I was in the mood for a light dinner and the flavor of the pork shoulder was great with this bottle.

2009 Clos de los Siete
Mendoza, Argentina
57% Malbec, 15% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Syrah, 3% Petit Verdot
$18, 14.5% abv.

Great red blend with a good bit of heft to it. Firm tannins, big body, and lots of dark fruit. Blackberries and plum, touches of cedar and tobacco, long finish. 50,000 cases were produced, and imports from Argentina are somewhat easier than the former Soviet Bloc, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to find this wine. While I normally recommend flavorful red meats with Malbec (beef, lamb, buffalo, etc.), this one is more delicate and I think needs to go along with duck, pork, or veal. If you get a chance to try it with any of these, let me know what you think.

Note: This wine was received as a sample.

Although Moldova boasts five thousand years of wine production, there have been significant interruptions. 300 years of occupation by the Ottoman Empire, WWI, WWII, then half a century of making sweet wine and vodka for Russia, and most recently, since 2006 Russia has had a ban on Moldovan wine due to tensions over Transnistria. Losing their biggest export market meant that Moldovan winemakers had to look elsewhere for sales, which is how a bottle of bubbly and a bottle of vodka from Exclusiv ended up here in Memphis.

A friend asks, “How’d you get Moldovan wine and liquor?” I reply, “Well, it has a lot to do with the 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and the Cession of Bessarabia. How much time have you got?”

Exclusiv Vodca
Distilled from wheat
$9, 40% abv.
Typing notes about vodka is always interesting, because you’ll have an Absolut and a Polish wodka and now “Exclusiv Vodca”, all fun for the spell check. The vodka is clean and neutral with a quick finish. Very mild notes of grain. I sampled it both at room temperature and after a few hours in the freezer, and it’s much smoother at low temperatures. The real deal here is that you can get a frosted-glass bottle full of decent wheat vodka for under ten dollars, a third the price of its anserine competitor.

NV Esti Exclusiv Moscato Rosé
Made from Muscat grapes
$9, 10% abv.
I was excited to try this, but I was afraid that it would be incredibly sweet, or perhaps evoke some of the memories of my run-in with Советское Шампанское. But I was pleasantly surprised. Slightly musky nose with touches of ripe plum, classic Muscat aromas but with a deeper edge. Great acidity and not too sweet, great balance. Not cloying on the finish. Fascinating dark flavors and reminiscent of the plump muscadine grapes that grow wild here in the South. It’s still sweet enough that I’d recommend it as a dessert wine, though if you’re looking for an introduction to Eastern European wines you’ll be hard pressed to find one that’s a better crowd pleaser. The bottle’s non-threatening, it tastes good, and the Italians have made the word “Moscato” a safe one for the wine novice. Really a fun bottle, and worth checking out if you get the opportunity.

Note: These bottles were received as samples.

Now, I have no way of knowing this for sure, but it’s possible that a young Gustavus Adolphus took his first sip of liquor from the same distillery whose bottle now graces my humble Memphis abode. Skål, Gustav!

Kanon Organic Vodka
Sweden
$25, 40% abv.

This vodka is distilled from locally grown organic wheat, and on top of that the distillery currently runs on wind and water power. There’s a somewhat grainy flavor with a crisp finish–no citrus notes, but more earth and a touch of astringent bite on the end. Ultimately smooth but bracing. It works well in cocktails: I tried it with a Moscow Mule as well as a simple Vodka Tonic, and both got the personal seal of approval. Good all-around solid vodka with a fun story.

On top of that, it is an interesting bottle. While the design is a bit hard to make out (not enough contrast in that lower text!), I like the simple sans-serif font and the old metal seal of the cannon foundry. The sliced off cannonball cap is a nice touch, and I’ll probably hang onto this bottle for fun even after its contents have gone the way of Sweden’s non-neutral past.

P.S. One other odd bit of Swedish military history that I love but rarely get to mention. In the 19th century, the island of Visingsö was planted with oak trees in hopes of having shipbuilding supplies for necessary invasions of Germany or England or whoever needed to be fought… in 200 years. In the 1980s, the forestry service contacted the Swedish Navy and said, “Your trees are ready.” Now it’s a national forest.

Note: This spirit was received as a sample.

For more : Zebra Curtains 2012

After some research we found that Low Power PC has been introduced by some people around the world and has been a great success. It has a saying that its energy costs reduced 60% of the current energy consumption. So a Low Power PC can be a great revolution for the people and countries.

Its not just about the power consumption, but they are also the cheapest found on market. If people are really concious about the energy and the money then, I suggest people surely should get a one. I have order a piece for myself, as every good things should be started from ownself.

Save energy, Save world – Go green.

tempranillo sandy soil Bodegas Vinas del Cenit, DO Tierra del Vin de Zamora spain castile and leon

Bodegas Vinas del Cenit, Tierra del Vino de Zamora, Castilla y Leon, Spain, stock photography samples, by Per Karlsson, BKWine — This is a selection of samples. Use Image SEARCH to find more relevant photos — Bodegas Vinas del Cenit is a winery located near the small town Villanueva de Campean in the Tierra del Vino (Denominacion de Origen Tierra del Vino de Zamora) region in north western Spain. It is near the Duero river and near the DO Toro. The winery itself is an isolated building, almost warehouse-looking, on a small hill at the end of a dirt road.

The main grape variety grown in the vineyards is tempranillo (also called tinta de toro). There is also some muscatel and malvasia. The vineyards are on a variety of different soil types, including calcareous sand stone and sand. Vines are spaced wide, the climate is hot and dry and water is scarce, and yields are very low. Most vines are trained (pruned) in the gobelet (bush vine) free standing system, without supporting wires. There are even some ungrafted vines in the vineyard. Why these wines survive and are not attacked by the vine louse is a mystery.

Bodegas Viñas del Cenit makes two main wines, both red. Venta Mazarron is made from tempranillo and carries the denomination Tierra del Vino de Zamora. It is aged for some time (8 months) in oak barrel and has a deep colour. The other wine is simply called Cenit, is also a tempranillo wine but with longer oak barrel aging – almost two years. Both wines are very substantial and modern in style.

http://www.bodegascenit.com

prieto picudo Pricum bottle Bodegas Margon , DO Tierra de Leon , restaurant Imprenta Casado, Leon spain castile and leon

Bodegas Margon, Tierra de Leon, Castilla y Leon, Spain, stock photography samples, by Per Karlsson, BKWine — This is a selection of samples. Use Image SEARCH to find more relevant photos — Bodegas Margon is the creation of the two families Martinez and Gonzalez in the Léon region. It is located in the small village Pajeres de Los Oteros in Castilla y Leon (Castile and Leon) in north-west Spain. The DO (Denominacion de Origen) is Tierra de Leon.

The bodega was created only a few years ago so the winery has been built recently. Nothing seems to have been spare in equipping the winery with the latest vinification technologies. There are shining stainless steel tanks as well as handsome wooden fermentation vats. There is a barrel aging room filled with oak barriques for the aging of the wines. The winery is run by the oenologist and winemaker Raul Perez Pereira together with Eugenio Gonzalez Rubio and Alfredo Martinez Cuervo, co-owners.

The main grape variety for the wines is the local prieto picudo. The vines grow on dry land, are planted with a very low planting density (there is so little water so the density must be kept low), some are approaching a hundred years. They make a range of wines, all under the brand Pricum (perhaps unfortunately chosen, for the English market). For example: Pricum Rosado; Pricum Albarin Barrica made from the albariño grape variety and aged in wood, Pricum Albarin Valdemuz a white wine where albariño is blended with verdejo; the red wines Pricum Prieto Picudo, Valdemuz and Paraje de El Santo, and a sweet white Pricum Aldebaran Vendimia Tardiva.

http://www.bodegasmargon.com

stained glass windows cathedral santa maria de regla , Leon spain castile and leon

Leon, Castilla y Leon, Spain, stock photography samples, by Per Karlsson, BKWine — This is a selection of samples. Use Image SEARCH to find more relevant photos — Leon is a city in the region of Castilla y Leon (Castile and Leon) in north-west Spain. I arrived there being on a wine tour of the wine district in this part of Spain. I only wish I had had more time in Leon. It seemed like an interesting city.

Leon is the capital of the province of Leon with a population of 140,000 people. It is on the Bernesga river and also on the pilgrimage route Camino de Santiago leading to Santiago de Compostela on the Atlantic coast.

There are many sites and interesting buildings in Leon. some examples: the magnificent Gothic Santa Maria de Regla cathedral on Plaza de Regla, the Casa de Botines designed by Antoni Gaudi, the Palacio de Guzmanes etc etc.

There are also many restaurants and cafés of course. One to mention in particular is the restaurant Imprenta Casado where we had a wonderful lunch with some excellent wines from Castilla y Leon.

Time to go back?

When most people in the US crave “Italian” food, the menu sticks to the Southern Italian and Sicilian recipes as they’ve become adapted into the distinct Italian-American cuisine of the 20th century: spaghetti, pizza, lasagna… Noodles and cheese and red sauce. When I visited Italy for three weeks, I spent the entire time north of Rome (except for two somewhat unpleasant days in Rome itself). One of my favorite things to make and consume is crespelle, savory crêpes that are sort of like Italian enchiladas: stuffed with meat and vegetables, topped with a sauce, and baked. Here I used Marcella Hazan’s classic recipe with a spinach, garlic, and prosciutto filling with besciamella sauce and grated Romano cheese rounding out the inside and outside of the crespelle. Absolutely wonderful, and I limited myself to three as the primo piatto with a little New Zealand white wine I’ll write about later.

For secondo piatto, I didn’t follow any specific recipe but rather went with a gut feel about what I was craving: a rabbit chopped into its constituent cuts, slowly stewed with sweet discus-shaped cipollini onions, homemade chicken stock, red wine, and San Marzano tomatoes. A few hours did the lagomorph good, and I was able to spoon the rich stew on the plate beside a healthy dollop of freshly mixed polenta.

Sadly, this photo didn’t come out quite the way I wanted, but I was ravenous at this point and had just finished a few hours of cooking and plating and everything else for just two people. Julia had never had rabbit before but dove into it enthusiastically, and while I’ve prepared this meat many different ways in the past, I’ve got to say that this not only satisfied my cravings for rustic European food but was also my best rabbit dish to date. The onions were great but I knew that I could coax some more flavor out of them. Thankfully I had more cipollini waiting in a little net bag for Sunday lunch…

Time out for wine, which is really the focus of this blog, right? I had a pair of wines from Il Borro, a Tuscan winery operated by the Ferragamo family, famous for their fashionable shoes over the past hundred years.

Both wines are of the following label and built from the same combination of grapes:

Il Borro Toscana IGT
50% Merlot, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Syrah, 5% Petit Verdot

The 2008 celebrates the 10th anniversary of this blend, and retails for around $36 dollars at 14% abv. The 2004 vintage was included for aging comparison and clocks in at 14.5% abv. I really like the inclusion of Syrah along with the standard Bordeaux grapes, whether we’re talking about California or elsewhere. Both wines have a dominant profile of bright red cherry, with notes of cedar, leather, and a somewhat creamy finish. Hints of spice showed up later. While both wines had great full-fruit elements, the 2004 was smoother, better balanced, and had lighter tannins.

And, I must admit, both wines were amazing with the stewed rabbit. But how would they hold up the next day for Act II?

As I was celebrating getting out of a small cooking rut with some culinary successes, I chose to continue that momentum with some leftovers and a few additional ingredients. This Southern boy was craving cornbread and collard greens. But I didn’t want a slab of ham and some broccoli-rice casserole to round things out. I slow-cooked a big bunch of mustard greens with garlic and leftover prosciutto, seared and roasted a lamb shoulder chop, and pan-fried some of the leftover polenta in slices, topped with a bit more of the shredded Romano.

But what about my precious little cipollini? Oh, I just tossed them with a combination of balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, and olive oil and roasted them for about an hour until they became the sweetest little gems that any root vegetable could ever hope to become. Sunday lunch was a solitary affair, and once again the wines worked quite well with the food I’d made. I was able to quietly toast the anniversary with a pair of great wines in front of me, and no worries about the massive consumption of onions and garlic for any potential social encounters in the following eighteen hours.

All in all a delightful and epicurean weekend. Part of me wishes that I’d been able to entertain more people with the dishes, but on the other hand, it was fun to cook for two and then one. Simple peasant food can often be the source of such deep and wonderful pleasure, and on a cold January afternoon, that can sometimes be best enjoyed in smaller settings.

Note: These wines were received as samples.

Recently, one of the bedrooms of the most preferred models in the round bed bedroom models. Stance with its own air and creates a completely different bedroom decor with this model, water and air-filled models of the new favorites of people are becoming. Forming an air of elegance with this model is different from the bedrooms bedroom decoration ensured that the people who make the most favorite model. In particular, this model which has become a symbol of modern decoration in the bedroom, has earned the admiration of the people with the atmosphere created by the bedrooms.

How to celebrate? The Seven Year Itch suggests that it’s time to wander and maybe start writing for a different, younger blog. The seventh-inning stretch would indicate that it’s time to take a short break and make sure I can keep going for another two years. The existential dread of seventh grade encourages me that if I make it through this awkward phase with sanity intact then everything will be great later on.

None of that really applies to blogging, does it? There’s no end in sight, no definite map of how things should or can develop over time. Frankly, lasting past a week is a big accomplishment for most any website in terms of making new content and providing regular updates. In that respect bloggers are more like survivors of the Ebola virus: “We don’t know how long you’ll live because typically people in your position are gone by now. Please don’t cough on me.”

It’s been a fun year blogwise. Some highlights include:

• Tasting a wine from my birth year of 1976
• Hanging out with fellow bloggers Samantha and Joe
• My public radio interview
• My favorite April Fools Day Post
• Reaching 1000 posts

So what next? I’ve got a few ideas and tweaks and twists that I might apply to the blog, or not depending on how they work. I’ll probably redesign the whole layout again in a few months when I get tired of this particular look. Might try to do some more challenging cooking, tackling those areas like pastry or sausage making in which I have limited experience. But for now, I raise my glass to you, dear reader, and shout “Excelsior! Onward and upward!”