Monday 16 December 2013

The Antidote to Christmas lunch

We have some good friends around for dinner regularly and during November the thoughts turn to Christmas lunch. One of my friends hates the whole idea of eating Turkey and Brussels sprouts both at home or when  he visits family. One evening he casually said that he would rather eat bacon, egg and chips for Christmas lunch but his wife was having none of it. We were happy to oblige one Boxing day.

We did not exactly fulfil his wish but we came somewhere close. We cooked a smoked ham in the oven slowly and kept plenty of water in the roasting dish to ensure that the ham did not dry out. We put the ham on a griddle above the water . The ham was covered with Canadian maple syrup with a little mustard but you could just as easily have used honey and mustard.

We stuck a good number of cloves into the flesh. We added some white wine near the end of the cooking and basted the ham. To go with this we cooked sauteed potatoes (French style) and tinned tomatoes and of course free range eggs.

For aperitif we drank nv brut Champagne and orange juice but not mixed together into buck's fizz. I regard this as sacrilege; mixing Champagne with fresh orange juice ruins both drinks as far as I am concerned.

We drank Bandol Rosé to go with the ham which was simply delicious and we had Stilton cheese and dessert afterwards. This was enjoyed by everyone including our wives who thought that it was actually a good idea and our male friend could not have felt better.

I now have to try to find a way of including this on a Christmas lunch menu. And, why not do it? In  parts of Germany it is the tradition to eat Schäufele or a smoked ham on Christmas eve.

http://www.majestic.co.uk/Domaines-Ott-Chateau-Romassan-Rose-zid08049

http://www.foodnetwork.co.uk/recipes/glazed-smoked-ham.html?omnisource=gid_uk

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2013/jan/17/how-to-cook-perfect-sauteed-potatoes


Friday 13 December 2013

Shock and horror! An Aldi ten quid bottle of Champagne tastes better than Veuve Clicquot

Aldi Veuve Monsigny Champagne Brut by Philizot at £9.99 has beaten a £130 bottle of Veuve Clicquot in a blind tasting according to today's "Independent". This does not surprise me one bit.

How does a silver medal winning Champagne get to be so cheap? Well, I suspect that Aldi has great buying power and the Champagne is probably being sold as a loss leader. It probably costs almost £10 to produce and retail a bottle of Champagne when you include taxes etc.  No doubt Philizot are making a couple of quid on the bottle.

Three cheers for Aldi for selling a prize winning Champagne so cheap and at Christmas.

Philizot is a small company and can probably blend Champagne from different producers just as well, if not better, than the grande marque houses. So it is no surprise that their Champagne beat Veuve Clicqout in a blind tasting - so what? A wine costing £130 pounds cannot taste 13 times better than a wine costing £10 retail. Remember the cost of producing the grande marque wines is very similar to the cost of producing  lesser known brand names.

There is so much hype and nonsense surrounding Champagne just like cosmetics and HiFi and fast cars. If it makes you feel better to buy a top name then go ahead. It is my pleasure to find lesser known but excellent wine at a fair price and report it here. I think that I can see through the hype and I am no scrooge.

Good luck to you and enjoy your Aldi prize winning wine for £9.99 including taxes. We have not got an Aldi near our home but if I pass one on the road I am going to get some of this Champagne, if it is still in stock, and drink it and enjoy it and report back.

This is what my blog is all about . It is finding very good wine at a good price. The big names make big profit margins and who can blame them if the public are prepared to pay an elevated price just to be swanky.

The best Champagnes come from the grower producers. That is small domaines that grow their own grapes and make the wine from their very own vines. These wines have regional character and a unique taste. Lookout for RM or Recoltant-Manipulant on the bottle.

Try R Renaudin and Benoit Lahaye; their wines are fairly priced and are of very good to exceptional quality.

http://www.r-renaudin.com/

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=benoit+lahaye+champagne&sa=X&rlz=1C1SKPC_enGB328&espv=210&es_sm=93&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ei=62CrUrjQFpCShgeYuYHwAw&ved=0CFkQsAQ&biw=1920&bih=988

http://www.laithwaites.co.uk/jsp/product/productDetails.jsp?productId=eprod520008&_requestid=115600


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/christmas/christmas-food-and-drink/9721641/Christmas-2013-Is-10-champagne-too-good-to-be-true.html


http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/christmas-for-scrooges-awardwinning-champagne-for-999-whole-cooked-lobsters-for-599-but-how-do-they-manage-to-sell-them-so-cheaply-9001443.html


http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/champagne-put-to-the-test-taking-the-fizz-out-of-bubbly-426379.html

More Christmas and New Year wine

Christmas and New Year  are not just religious festivals as they are also associated with renewal and celebration. So what better way to celebrate some renewal than pushing the boat out and trying some different wines? Some of my suggestions below are quite expensive but what is wrong with clubbing in to buy a couple of good bottles?

These are straitened times in the UK and Champagne sales are falling. The middle classes are turning away from conventional supermarkets and shopping at discount stores such as Aldi and Lidl but more of that in a later blog.

Champagne is a much better indicator of economic confidence that GDP growth figures. Most of the UK GDP growth is in the property market and most of this good feeling factor has not filtered down to ordinary folk with families to keep.

We can still afford to drink Champagne because we do not have a family to keep and the house is paid off and we know producers in France who can supply good quality fizz at a reasonable price; otherwise we would be drinking Prosecco and going to Aldi as well.

http://www.forbes.com/2010/05/19/clever-economic-indicators-2010-entrepreneurs-management-business-survival-10.html

So here are my recommendations:

England


Nyetimber Classic Cuvée 2004 dry sparkling wine: not cheap but great vintage wine which can genuinely rival Champagne. I can only describe this as elegant. It is very expensive but it is worth having a whip round to taste how good some English wines can be. In my opinion English sparkling wine is the best of English wine.

You have to pay for the risk of crop failures in bad years and that it is why it is so expensive. You pay more too because the English winemakers cannot enjoy the same economies of scale of Spanish, French or Italian producers.

English wine producers deserve our support and we should buy their products not out of sympathy but because they try hard to produce good results from unfavourable circumstances. Sometimes, they make really good wines and Nyetimber is a classic example.

 So come on all you Americans and Australians show the UK a bit of support too.

What better way to start off a party than with some UK fizz which has regional character? No, it has its own unique flavour so it does not taste like Champagne.


Ridgeview Cuvee Merret Bloomsbury, England 2010: the same applies to this lovely dry sparkling wine too and made from Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes. This is another great English wine.

Fino Sherry: drink the youngest available chilled. This is one of my favourite wines. You can drink it as an aperitif and with all of the fish courses and it goes with virtually any food including cheese. There is nothing to beat  the fresh, dry and nutty flavour of a good Fino or Manzanilla Sherry. It is so under-rated. I recommend you try it at least once over the festive period;you will not be disappointed. Somewhere, on one of my blogs I describe how it is made and why it is such good wine.

France makes almost every style of wine including the Port style and the Port method was invented in France. France has not mastered Sherry styles and does not make these style of wines.

No other country can mimic Spain's unique wine and this is good enough reason to try it.


Gonzalez Byass Tio Pepe Palomino Fino is a good example. Once opened, the bottle should be finished straight away so you must drink it with friends . It is the key to sociability.


Manzanilla Pasada NV: similar in style to Fino but has a salty edge and once again drink it chilled and in good company.


Australia


Buller Calliope Rare Frontignac Halves NV: this is luscious dessert wine from Rutherglen in Victoria state. This is a very high quality dessert wine. You will need a whip round at £40 for a half bottle but it is worth it just to experience how good dessert wines can be.


Campbell's Rutherglen Muscat 37.5cl: not as expensive but it is still luscious.


Montenegro

Vranac: This full bodied dry red wine is difficult to find in Britain but it is delicious and good value for money. It has a good structure and will keep for years. Made from the Vranac grape, pronounced vraanats, it shows regional character so what else could you ask for? Invite your friends around for some Balkan specialities. The Wine Society has got some suggestions for what food to eat but surely not Macaroni Cheese or Beef Curry! Macaroni cheese needs Italian wine and Beef Curry needs Kingfisher or Cobra beer.

Try,  Pljeskavica made from  ground lamb, beef , pork or veal  or a mixture with onions: this is absolutely delicious with mashed potato or pita bread. It is a bit like a Hamburger but much tastier. Vranac and Pljeskavica: now this is something a bit different and exotic for the New Year.




The Maghreb


Why not try some more exotic food like lamb or chicken couscous which my family in France cook in a Tagine; or they buy a takeaway made by Moroccans or Algerians in an authentic style. Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian reds go perfectly with this food.They are a delicious combination. In general , Maghreb wines are not top quality cru but some are and are very expensive. The lower priced wines are delicious and easy to drink and wash the food down so well.

These wines are difficult to find  in the UK but if you are making a wine buying trip to France they are freely available in the supermarkets and it makes a change from Bergerac.


Canada

Once upon a time Canadian Ice Wine was banned in the EU but now everyone has seen sense. Canadian Ice Wines are made from grapes that have frozen on the vines and shrivelled up to make the sweetness very concentrated. These are delicious wines and a real change from European dessert wines and just as delicious. They have regional character too; so try Peller Icewine Riesling 2007.


Slovenia


Slovenia has a fine wine making tradition and makes some of Europe's finest wines. Unfortunately I could not find a supplier in Britain. But, if you are completely fed up why not spend Christmas or New Year in Ljubljana. The city is stunning but cold at this time of year and full of Christmas and New Year spirit. You can spend a nice long weekend there eating and drinking well. 

Try the As restaurant for fish. I would give it a Michelin Star.

But most of all try visiting the Movia Wine bar right in the centre. Movia is the top wine  producer in Slovenia their wine bar is a good place to discover Slovenian wines. 

I have tried most of the wines on  the Jancis Robinson website and can confirm that they are of superior quality - not bad for a Master of Wine?



Monday 9 December 2013

Winejaw - Christmas and New Year wine

This year I feel obliged to write about Christmas and New Year Wine. I quite like Turkey but not at Christmas. Normally,  my wife and I either go to France at Christmas where Turkey is not on the menu or we stay at home and just have some friends round and you've guessed it Turkey will not be on the menu.

 The Turkey

I have eaten Turkey enough times to know what wine goes with it. My preference for a well cooked Turkey, which is not dry but succulent, would be a bottle of red Burgundy. If you have cooked the Turkey yourself and can guarantee that it will be juicy and succulent then go for several bottles of Majestic
Louis Jadot 2012 Mâcon Rouge 'Les Roches Rouges'. Louis Jadot is one of my favourite negociants and produces good standard quality wine.

If you are cooking such a big bird, I am assuming that you are having lots of guests and that is why I recommend several bottles.


If you are cooking the Turkey with sweet and acidic sauces then I do not recommend red Burgundy as it is a little bit too delicate. Try the Turkey with several bottles of a  Rhône  red  such as Côtes du Rhône 2011 Vidal-Fleury also from Majestic. Better still, forget about the Cranberry sauce and use the juices of the Turkey instead and pour in a glass of the red wine for an extra kick.


Alternatively, you could try a Pinot Noir from Australia, New Zealand or Washington State  each of which is more fruity than red Burgundy.

Christmas is the time of year when you might be invited to a party by someone who cannot cook and will serve up a dry Turkey. You probably know this will happen but you go along out of politeness but in the mood for some conviviality. In this case I recommend beer. Waitrose do some good beers and for Turkey I recommend Goose Island India Pale Ale from the USA or St Peter's Golden Ale and these will at least quench your thirst.

Most restaurants will also ruin Turkey especially at Christmas and the work party will be spoilt as far as food is concerned. So, unless you have been invited to a Michelin starred restaurant I would stick to bog standard Côtes du Rhône or better still a nice lager. If you are going to a top restaurant how about a bottle of Chambertin provided the sauces are savoury?

Turkey is of course a traditional American dish and if you are guaranteed that the Turkey will be cooked properly then why not push the boat out and buy a bottle or two of Qupé. This is one of my favourite wines and should go well with a free range Turkey. It really will add a bit of class even if it is a bit expensive. It will also go well with red meat. Try 2010 Qupé Syrah, Central Coast, California from Berry Brothers.

http://www.bbr.com/products-9298-2010-qupe-syrah-central-coast-california

You are not just limited to red wine with Turkey so why not try a good "oaked Chardonnay" from Australia or Chile. I am also certain that White Burgundy will go with Turkey . You will also need white wine to baste your Turkey with to stop it getting dry.

Winejaw  food and preferences for Christmas and New Year


Luckily my wife and I have similar  tastes when it comes to food and wine and I shall have little difficulty persuading her to eat one of the following for a main course:

Rare roast rib of Beef,

Game birds,

Roast Duck or Confit de Canard from a tin.

My favourite would be the Confit de Canard from a tin but I know that my wife will think that it is not special enough for Christmas day especially if we have guests.

So here is my ideal menu:

Aperitif: non-vintage Champange -R Renaudin brut or Benoit La Haye brut.

Starters:  Oysters washed down with Chablis from Jean-Marc Brocard.

Main Course: Rare roast rib of Beef - it is difficult to choose a red wine but I have a bottle of Torres 2006 Mas La Plana Cabernet Sauvignon from Catalonia which is the perfect red wine for beef. This red wine is of really superior quality and is not that expensive - oh well it is the festive season. It can compete with the top cru of France.



We could also try a bottle of Coriole 2005 Lloyd Reserve Shiraz; this is great wine from South Australia. If you can find it, it is a real treat. Forget about points scores and "The Ashes" as  this would go in my top 100 wines. It is made from very old vines in McLaren Vale - as the Australians would say it is a "beut".



If my wife insists that we go for French wine, which is quite likely,  then  2008 Château de Pressac St Emilion Grand Cru. This is an award winning wine and although it is cheaper than my other main course selections I expect that it will be of similar quality.



Cheese: It really is better to have the cheese after the main course and not at the end of the meal. We shall probably have Ossau-Iraty, Brie de Meaux, Long Clawson Red Leicester and Long Clawson Stilton.  Good English cheese can  easily  rival good French cheese. The Long Clawson Red Leicester is one of the best cheeses I have ever eaten. If all the main red wine is gone we shall probably drink Red Burgundy - Epineuil.

http://www.britishcheese.com/members/long_clawson_dairy_ltd-18

http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Dairy-farmer-given-royal-approval/story-12083681-detail/story.html

If Prince Charles gives his seal of approval to a cheese then you know it will be good.


My Wife's Apple Tart and Vanilla ice cream: I shall insist that my wife makes an apple tart and she will not get away with anything else: delicious. Our next door neighbours have supplied us with a lot of cooking apples from their garden. Try Apple Tart or Tarte Tatin with vanilla ice cream  and Château de Monbazillac sweet white wine from the Dordogne.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/tarte_tatin

http://www.chateau-monbazillac.com/uk/

Wine Prejudice

You may well think that I am prejudiced towards French wines and of course I am; my wife is French and I spend a good proportion of my time in France. My French family serve up great food and wine. I buy most of my wine in France. 

My next blog will have a good list of excellent wines which are not French. I am also planning a blog on an antidote to Christmas fare which was inspired by one of our good friends who is fed up of eating dry Turkey and Brussels Sprouts every year; so more to come.

Three cheers to conviviality and happy wine drinking and happy eating.









Wednesday 4 December 2013

Barolo DOCG Piedmont Italy

1Barolo DOCG Piedmont Italy

     Why not put Barolo on your Christmas wines list especially if you intend to to ignore the fashion of eating Turkey and opt for Wild Boar instead or a heavy stew? Barolo reds are very well structured and full of concentrated fruit flavour. They are high in tannin and have to be left to mature for a good number of years. They are well balanced for acidity, alcohol and sweetness or rather dryness. They have long length on the palate. They are usually high quality wines which rival the best from France and the USA.  You will have to pay much more than you normally do at the supermarket but if you cannot spend a few shillings more at Christmas or New Year when can you do it?

Geography

Barolo wines are located in the Piedmont region of Italy. The Barolo appellation is located to the south of Turin and Alba. The appellation is situated on the hills surrounding the two tributaries of the Tanaro river; the Talloria dell ‘Annunziata and the Talloria di Castiglione. The hills rise to about 400 meters and some of the newer vineyards are too cool for the Nebbiolo grapes to ripen fully. There are two soil types which are derived from calcareous marls. In the north west of the region the soil is higher in magnesium and manganese salts but in the south east of the region the soil is higher in iron salts.
The wines from the north west are reputed to be more elegant than their fuller bodied counterparts in the south east. The south eastern wines have a stronger structure of tannin which requires a longer period of ageing before they become accessible.

There is around 1700 hectares of land under vines. There are many domaine grower producers and the system of wine growing is similar to the system in Burgundy where domaines are passed down through the families.

Production is centred on 5 communes belonging to the towns of Barolo, La Morra, Castiglione Falletto and Serralunga d’Alba and the northern part of the commune of Monforte d’ Alba.
The grape is of course matched with the terrain and climate; the Nebbiolo tends to be late ripening.

Some history

From the first century AD the Romans were writing about a grape variety that resembles the Nebbiolo grape. And Pietro di'Crescenzi a, a writer on agriculture, recognised the grape in the 14th century.
Before the mid nineteenth century, Barolo was a sweet wine. The Nebbiolo grape starts to ripen late in October as temperatures are starting to fall. This meant that the grapes did not ferment fully during November and December and a high degree of residual sugar was left in the wine before it was it was left to mature in wooden barrels.  The wine became unstable because of this and became infected with yeasts and micro-organisms which spoilt the wine.

This situation was changed when the Count Cavour commissioned a French oenologist to improve wine making techniques. This winemaker was reputed to be Louis Oudart of Reims but quite possibly it could have been Comte Alexandre-Pierre Odart. One of the first modern Barolos was produced by Giulietta Falletti the Marchioness of Barolo. Improved usage of yeasts, controlled temperatures and winemaking hygiene produced a more stable product and a dry red wine which formed the basis of modern Nebbiolo.

The new dry style of wine quickly gained popularity among the winemakers of the region and the new style of wine won the approval of the nobility of Turin and the House of Savoy. The wine became a favourite with King Victor Emmanuel the second. Barolo became “the king of wine and the wine of kings”.

Count Cavour went on to become the first prime minister of the newly unified Italy in March 1861 – such is the power of wine!

In 1848 the first bottle of modern Barolo was bottled by the caves at Castello Grinzane and in 1873 Barolo started winning prizes. In 1879 the wine connoisseur and agronomist Louis Fantini catalogued the wine domaines of Barolo and termed the wine “The King of Wines”.

Just like Burgundy, negociants dominated the wine market until the late 1960s with their blended house styles. Modernity has seen a move to domaine based wine production and the marketing of estate bottled wines.

Character of the wine

The wine can change rapidly from plot to plot as in Burgundy. The vines are fussy about their soil so the Nebbiolo grape variety is only really suited to the Piemonte region.

Barolos are high in tannin and even the modern cuvees such as Renato Ratti reflect this. There are flavours of cherry, spice, truffles, tar, flowers. They are complex and concentrated wines which must age to soften the tannin. The wines are full bodied and dry with long length on the palate. They are designed to go with rich foods such as Wild Boar and Truffles. They are weather and vintage dependent.

Guyot training

The vines are cane trained to improve canopy management and allow the sun through to ripen the grapes and to lower  the yields from pruning.

Wine making

Traditionally the wines were subjected to maceration for long periods (20 to 30 days) in barrels. The wine were stored in older and larger barrels.  More modern techniques produce lighter wines from a shorter period of maceration (7 to 10 days) at lower temperatures to preserve the fruit flavour and pumping over also extracts the fruit character. The cellars are then heated to encourage malolactic conversion to soften the harsher acid components. Modern wines are matured in new French oak barriques to impart vanilla spice flavour and softer tannins. This spice flavour can mask the floral character of the wine.

Reputation

Barolo is one of the finest wines of Italy and it competes internationally with French, Spanish and Californian top cru.  The best vineyards are located on the slopes surrounded by the Langhe hills. The effects of terroir are conditioned as much, however, by the vineyard and wine making techniques deployed by the domaine and the producer. It is just as important to know the name of a good producer in Piemonte as it is in Burgundy. But it is important to bear in mind that a famous name does not guarantee a superior wine.

The producer must maintain high quality production year after year. The appellation laws (Goria Laws) dictate that lower yields are produced by domaines which claim single vineyard status.

There are two camps; the traditional camp and the modern camp. In the late 1980s there was a drive by some producers such as Renato Ratti and Angelo Gaja to produce styles of wine which were fruitier with softer tannin; wines which mature earlier than traditional styles.

Some of the traditionalist still produced “dried out” wines which were very tannic because they were bottled to order rather than when the wine was ready. However, the best of the traditionalist wines can compete with the more modern producers, their wines are more complex. Some of the best traditionalists are Giacomo Conterno and Bruno Giacosa. There is room for both styles but all Barolo should have strong structure.

Some Names

Renato Ratti, Angelo Gaja, Giacomo Conterno and Bruno Giacosa,Gran Bussia, Rocche,Mascarello and Voerzio.



Websites