The Green Wine Bottle

Ever wondered where the green wine bottle originated from? Well, it was actually invented in England by a Catholic diplomat and polymath, Sir Kenelm Digby (1603-1665), up until then it had been stored in goat skin bags.

In the 1630’s Digby owned a glassworks and manufactured globular wine bottles with a high tapered neck, a collar and a punt. His winning manufacturing technique of using a coal furnace which included a wind tunnel, making it hotter than usual and a higher ratio of sand to potash and lime resulted in stronger and more stable wine bottles than were customary. Digby’s bottles were square which makes them easier to stack. The translucent green or brown colour acts to protect the content from the light.

Digby is known for the publication of a cookbook called ‘The Closet of the Eminently Learned Sir Kinelme Digbie Knight Opened’, which is currently considered an excellent source of period recipes particularly for beverages such as mead.

The ‘Real Thing’

Without wine, there would be no Coca-Cola. Tonic wines became popular in the mid 19^th century and were fortified with the South American plant extract ‘coca’. By 1863 Vin Mariani was a popular coca-wine drank by millions across the world. It was even consumed by Queen Victoria and Thomas Edison.

In Atlanta, John Pemberton produced a popular American version, but in 1885 prohibition laws forced him to produce a non-alcoholic version which he livened up with kola nuts, which are rich in caffeine and Coca-Cola was born!

Italy –‘The Land of Wine’

Southern Italy was dubbed by the Greeks as ‘The Land of Wine’ whilst Romans enjoyed the wines of the Campania region. Wine has been produced there for over 4000 years. When the Phoenicians arrived in 2000 B.C, the wine business was already thriving. The rich soil and temperature climate are ideal for growing all kinds of fruit and vegetables including grapes.

Campania is the region surrounding Naples. It is home to pizza and Mount Vesuvius. When Pompeii was buried by Mount Vesuvius, over 200 wine bars were buried with it!

The Oldest Wine Cellar in the World

The oldest wine cellar in the world is held on the wreck of the Titanic. Amazingly, these bottles are still intact a century after the ship’s fateful day. Although salvaging materials from the Titanic is very controversial, it is believed six bottles of authentic wine actually from the cellar of the Titanic were sold to a ‘high profile customer in Asia’ by Australian company ‘Wineflyers International’ whose customers are believed to include pop legend David Bowie.

Wine and Celebrity Involvement

David Bowie is not the only celebrity famously linked to wine. Italian-American director Francis Ford Coppola comes from a family with a long history of winemaking and British Singer Cliff Richard has been a lifelong enthusiast and entered the wine industry doing something he enjoys. Fellow musician Sting and American actors Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp own vineyards and wine estates entirely for their own personal use, but a lot of celebrities are leveraging their name recognition as a selling tool in the wine industry. Five years ago statistics proved that sales of celebrity wines were up by nearly 20% over previous years.

Celebrities can be involved in their winery and vineyards in many different ways. Some will lend their names to winery for a one off production.

In 1974, Bob Dylan gave permission for Italian winery ‘Fattoria Le Terrazze’ to use his name, album art and likeness to create a wine that pays tribute to his album ‘Planet Waves’. In 2009 British chef Gordon Ramsey allowed a Bordeaux winery to use his name to celebrate the release of their 10^th vintage. (He rather nobly gave them permission without claiming royalties)

Good News

In the UK, wine has recently made the headlines as being a good investment. Returns on Individual Savings Accounts (ISA) remain low, with rates as low as 0.5 %, but investing the ISA amount in wine has currently seen returns of over 10% a year.

Although no one can predict the future, it does seem to be a good time to buy wine at the moment as consumers have been getting excellent returns. With other recent positive press reporting links between drinking wine and the protection against sunburn and the anti-ageing properties being confirmed in red wine it is definitely as good a time as any to raise a glass. Cheers!

Writer – Katrina Norman – is a freelance writer from England who covers both wine and travel for a number of journals. Whether you’re looking for a minibus in Spain or cheap taxi insurance to get your expensive crate of wine picked up and delivered to your party Katrina will point you in the right direction.

Matching food and wine can be an extremely complex and involved process or an activity only for gastro-bores, according to one’s point of view.

However, the subject is important enough that several books have been written by sommeliers, chefs, wine makers and wine writers. The truth is some wines are more suitable for certain foods than others. Much depends on the upbringing of an individual, his/her perception of taste, extent of gastronomic experience and training, educational background, including region of origin. A Muslim who has never had an opportunity to taste alcohol, let alone wine, is most likely to be very unappreciative of wine, and certainly matching food and wine.

On the other hand, to most French, not surprisingly, wine is simply part of gastronomy in general, and few, if any would dream of describing a wine without suggesting which dish or dishes it should or could be served with. France has traditionally looked to its chefs for expertise in tasting and selecting wine, and it was only in the late 1980′s that wine began to be viewed as a distinct subject in its own right. In the U.S.A. food and wine matching became a subject of intense scrutiny in the 1980′s as winery owners, under pressure from so-called neo prohibitionists, sought to distance wine from drinks consumed principally for their alcohol content by entrenching it on the dining table. The North American by tradition is not a wine drinker, let alone an enthusiast, and associates beer with food, more than wine. The reasons for this can be traced back to the original population of the continent, which was predominantly British, and to them, wine is an acquired taste, whereas to the Mediterranean, wine is the thirst quencher par excellence and the only beverage capable of elevating food to lofty heights. To this day most Mediterranean people routinely enjoy a glass or two of wine with lunch and dinner.

Wine in North America carries the aura of sophistication and etiquette more than enjoyment. Only recently have the young generations started enjoying wine, mostly due to marketing efforts by wineries, winery associations, and with a little help from politicians who look at wine as less harmful than liquor, and also extract more taxes from the sale of same.

It is certainly possible to consume any type of wine with any sort of food. Whether the wine would complement the food is an entirely different matter.

Some foods make wine taste terrible and should be shunned, i.e. artichokes, green asparagus, vinegar, heavily spiced food, eggs, just to name a few. The wine merchant’s maxim “Buy on wine and sell on cheese’ has a sound basis in gustatory fact. Fresh uncooked apples, like most fruits high in acidity, make many wines taste metallic; any wine that impressed when tasted with an apple must have been very good. Hard cheeses such as Gruyere, Emmentaler, good Cheddar on the other hand make a thin and tannic wine taste softer, and fuller because the fat they contain cover the taste buds, thus rendering them less acute.

Strongly acidic dishes containing vinegar and lemon juice are definitely inappropriate to enjoy with wine, but they can make excessively acidic wine appear fuller and more agreeable. Top quality wines in good balance would suffer in such combinations, because they taste fine on their own and unbalancing them with such foods is simply a gastronomic faux pas. Raw garlic can react with water to produce a burning sensation in many palates, while an acidic drink such as wine neutralizes the garlic and refreshes the palate.

Tim Hanni, at one time, the travelling chef of Beringer Winery in California’s Napa Valley, demonstrated convincingly that while freshly ground pepper is a sensitizing element that may ruin the nuances of fine wine, it can flatter a young, light bodied wine in making it taste stronger, fuller and more complex. A young Beaujolais served with a well-seasoned lamb or beef stew will flatter the palate more than an old and mature fine Bordeaux from Medoc.

Most humans detect sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and “umami”, which occurs in almost all foods and is a prototype of MSG, (mono sodium glutamate) which have, along with ribonucleotides, a savory taste and are found in higher concentrations of tasty foods. The word “umami” means “delicious” or “savoury” in Japanese. Umami was discovered by Japanese researchers in 1980, but widely ignored by western scientists for a variety of reasons. Umami is the fundamental good taste of foods, from meat to shellfish to chocolates. Ripening, cooking curing, and smoking food intensify their natural umami levels. For example, aged beef ilemore umami than unaged; ham has more than pork; dried shiitake mushrooms more than fresh, and smoked salmon tastes more delicious than raw. Sauces are generally higher in umami than other unflavoured or lightly flavoured liquids.

Cooking methods also contribute to the intensity of umami, i.e., if you poach a salmon fillet the taste will be relatively mild, than if you grill or barbeque it. Therefore,when matching food and wine one must take into account the cooking method employed. The following methods of cooking intensify the taste of the food; grilling, roasting, smoking, baking. On the other hand, poaching, boiling and steaming dilute the taste of the main ingredient. Some cooking methods such as sauteing and deep-frying breaded foods do little to intensify the umami.

In seafood, the concentration level of umami varies according to season. Scallops are highest in taste during the month of June. Lobsters taste better in July and August than at other times. Smoked salmon is perhaps the saltiest, smokiest oiliest dish there is, and with its rich, concentrated flavour, can be considered heavy weight food. Therefore, a soft, delicate, sweet white wine with smoked salmon is enough to make you gag! But match it with a full bodied, dry white wine with lots of acidity and flavour, and you have a marriage made in heaven! Highly spiced dishes are generally inappropriate for wine, but you must consider wines with high acidity and some residual sugar like cenin banc, off-dry reslings or white znfandel to be eligible.

Mexican and Thai specialties go well with sweetish gewurztraminers and chilled Alsatian rieslings. The more umami, the more bitter the wine is likely to taste. The umami in the green asparagus brings out tannins (bitter) in cabernet sauvignon, and in white Zinfandel, but to a lesser extent in the latter simply because there is less tannin.

Tannins coagulate proteins in our saliva and tissues, hence the mouth puckering effect. If you fix tannins by binding them with something else, the wine or food will taste less puckering. Eating a piece of grilled, salted meat will make a tannin wine much smoother than it actually is, mainly because of the salt and the fat it contains. Sweet and/or umami taste and spiciness in food make wines taste stronger; sour or salty tastes in food make wines taste stronger; sour and salty tastes in food make wines taste milder. Europeans have been balancing their recipes to make their wines taste better and in fact regional foods of wine-producing regions go best with regional wines, i.e. Burgundian food specialties are best matched with Burgundy wines, keeping in mind the basic principles of matching food and wine, and those of Bordeaux with Bordeaux wines. Alsatian foods go very

well with Alsatian wines and one could continue along these lines. In Burgundy, cooks employ prepared mustard, unripe grape juice (ver jus), and reduction of high acid wines with their sauces to make highly acid Burgundian wines palatable. In Tuscany, bistecca alla Fiorentina is always served, well salted, grilled, and garnished with a wedge of lemon, in an attempt to counter the leanness and tannins of the sangiovese wines that dominate viniculture. Chianti consists mainly of sangiovese, brunello di Montalcino from a clone of sangiovese, and Vini Nobile di Montepulciano is vinted from another clone of sangiovese, also known as prugnolo gentile.

According to Hanni’s theory, chardonnay wines can be divided into groups; light bodied, fruitier to lightly oaky, medium bodied, moderately oaky, and full bodies, rich and oaky. Accordingly, one could pick a dish and adjust the seasoning to match with the wine on hand. A heavily oaked chardonnay would be counterbalanced with smoked salmon or lobster thermidor, both of which contain substantial amounts of fat and umami. The main problem is, as mentioned earlier the individual, and his/her ability to taste. According to researchers at Harvard, some of us are endowed with more taste buds than others. (The average is said to be 2000 papilae. About 25% of North Americans have superior palates. It seems that the sensibility of palate is inherited, and females have better palates than men do. Super tasters are generally thin and are more interested in culinary matters.

You can now see how an excellent food and wine match for one person may mean disaster for another.

While there are only five taste components, the tongue and memory can recognize salty, sweet, sour, bitter and umami, there are well over 2000 thousand volatile compounds in wine that one can smell, all of which are much more difficult to describe. Wine tasters develop special vocabulary and liken the smells to a number of seemingly unrelated things such as cigar box, coffee, berries, roses, chocolate etc. In order to recognize these smells, one needs a lot of experience, interest and a good nose, an excellent memory and vocabulary. A “buttery” Chardonnay contains diacetyl- also a by product of malolactic fermentation. The smell of cloves is derived from eugenol extracted from barrels during aging, and pyrazine is found both in sauvignon blanc and bell peppers. Mr. Hanni’s progressive wine list ignores the smell issue, which is a most important factor, if not the most important factor in the enjoyment of wine,to wine enthusiasts.

Herbs can effectively coax the outstanding taste sensations from the wine if intelligently used in preparation of dishes. When cooking with herbs and

spices, consider the wine you intend to serve or match with the food. Generally, strongly spiced foods are inappropriate to match with wine. Herbs are much better suited to complement wine, and in fact, French, Italian, Greek and Spanish cooks rely more on herbs than on spices.

Below find some herbs and spices that are well known to enhance the wines indicated next to them:

Basil Riesling Bayleaf

Sauvignon Cloves Oak aged Coriander
Blanc

Red Rhone Valley
Chardonnay Wines

Sill Dry red Zinfandel Ginger Dry Riesling

Nutmeg Gewurztraminer Oregano Chianti

Pepper Beaujolais Rosemary Red Bordeaux

Tarragon Cabernet Thyme Pinot Noir

Sauvignon

Smell signals the presence of food, danger, or a mate. The French have known this for a long time and actually developed a thriving perfume industry that is to this day unrivalled anywhere. If your wine tastes bitter, dry, dull, or acidic, season your food with salt or sour ingredients (i.e. lemon juice, vinegar, olives, soy sauce, salt, and green grape juice (ver jus). If your wine is mild, flat, or simply devoid of taste, season it with sweet or savory ingredients such as honey, sugar, hoisin sauce, sweet wines, chilis and peppercorns.

Some ingredients can go either way; BBQ sauce, leeks, anchovies, rich sauce, and tomato products. Cheese and wine have been long known to complement each other superbly, if knowledgeably matched.

Below please find a proven list of fine matches.

Cheese Wine Style Wine

Blue (Roquefort Powerful, gutsy red/sweet white Baco Noir/
Late-Harvest Riesling

Brick (firm) Dry white/rose/light red Unoaked Chardonnay

Brie (soft) Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc Medium bodied white

Camembert (soft) Medium red/full white Cabernet blend/oaked, Chardonnay,
Viognier

Cheddar (hard, medium) Dry white/full red Chardonnay/Cabernet Sauvignon

Cheddar (hard old Full red Meriot, Cabernet Franc

Colby (firm) Fruity red Gamay, Pinot Noir

Cottage (fresh) White/rose dry Sparkling/dry Riesling/rose

Edam (firm) Fruity red Gamay, Zweigelt

Emmental (firm) Fresh white/light red Pinot Gris/Gamay

Esrom (semi-hard) Aromatic white, semi dry/dry red Select L-H GewOrztraminer,
Cabernet-Merlot

Feta (semi-soft) Crisp whites Aligote, Auxerrois

Goat’s Milk (soft) Dry sparkling/dry white sparkling Sauvignon Blanc

Gouda(firm) Full white/dry red Chardonnay/Cabernet Franc

Havarti (semi-soft) Dry white Sauvignon Blanc, Aligote

Limberger (semi-soft) Dry white Cabernet Sauvignon, L-H Riesling

Monterey lack (semi-soft) Light white, light red Unoaked Chardonnay/Gamay

Mozzarella (semi-soft) Light white Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc

Munster (semi-soft) Aromatic white GewOr-ztraminer, L-H Riesling
Oka (semi-soft) Supple red Pinot Noir, Merlot
Parmesan (hard) Full red Baco Noir, Marechal Foch, Syrah
Smoked Cheese (semi-soft) Fruity red Gamay, Sweigelt, Pinot Noir

Here are some unusual but fine matches for German taste buds. (All are based Riesling TROCKEN (Dry) a) Qualitatswein and Spatlese trocken

Excellent with shellfish. Particularly good with raw oysters and clams on the half shell. Good with smoked meats.

b) Auslese trocken Poached, grilled or broiled fish. Veal au naturelle Riesling HALBTROCKEN (Medium Dry)

Perceived by most palates as “dry” these wines are almost universal food wines with a wide variety of foods. However, barbecued red meats like beef or lamb are not the perfect partners for Riesling. A Riesling halbtrocken of Spatlese or Auslese quality can work magnificently with all kinds of roasts and stews, including beef!

Riesling Qualitatswein halbtrocken: excellent with hearty foods, smoked

meats, sausages, hams etc.

Riesling Kabinett halbtrocken: @ favourite wine with delicate fish (poached, broiled, grilled) and seafood. Wonderful with all kinds of not-too-spicy poultry preparations.

Riesling Kabinett (regular)

Riesling Kabinett with good fruit, crisp acidity and just a hint of sweetness is an all-purpose wine that can go with any type of delicately seasoned food and dishes with creamy sauces. Spicy, hot dishes and red meats excluded! Great with smoked salmon, shrimp, chicken and all kinds of salads with a mild dressing.

Riesling Spatlese (regular)

Good fruit, crisp acidity, restrained sweetness. Excellent with crabmeat, lobster, curries. Also, with veal, pork and chicken dishes where heavy cream, reduced butter, fruit (apples, cranberries, peaches, raisins etc.) are used as ingredients in the sauce. Good also with spicier (but not hot) oriental dishes.

Riesling Auslese

Dishes with reduced caramelized sauces that taste a little bit sweet (Madeira, Oloroso Sherry or Port-based sauces, fruit-based sauces). Excellent with rich pates, country pates. Excellent with blue-veined cheeses (Stilton, Roquefort, Gorgonzola) and with sharp Cheddar.

Older Riesling Auslese (at least 6 years old) wines are excellent with roast of venison!

Eiswein, Beerenauslese, Trockenbeerenauslese

Concentrated, sweet, superb dessert wines with lots of fruit but still elegant structure and good, in the case of Eiswein even mouth wateringly crisp, acidity. These wines are desserts by themselves. Excellent with all kinds of non-chocolaty and not-too-sweet desserts. Outstanding with very rich pates (e.g. foie gras) and with very ripe blue-veined cheese.

Here are some general rules you can rely on:

Fish and dry white wines are known to complement each other; except when the fish is cooked in red whine. White wines taste more acid and thus benefit from foods enhanced with lemon juice and other acid ingredients.

Sword fish, on the other hand, depending on how it is cooked can be matched with light red wines (There are always exceptions to general rules).

Red wines high in mouth-puckering bitter tannins can be tamed by pairing them with steaks and/or game stews in rich sauces (Young cabernet sauvignon, sangiovese, nebbiolo, syrah, and tempranillo wines come to mind.)

Sweet wines can be flattered by savoury cheeses; i.e. Roquefort and Sauternes, or Late Harvest Riesling or Beerenauslese wines.

A sautéed slice of fattened goose liver livened with a splash of balsamic vinegar from Modena goes very well with Sauternes or similar wines.

Dressings containing acid ingredients i.e. vinegar and lemon juice should not be paired with wine.

Highly spiced foods are best served with beer.

Moderately spicy food is fine with off-dry Rieslings and even gewurztraminer.

Chocolate-containing desserts are best served on their own. But less intense chocolates and/or desserts can be matched with Banyuls, and red sweet Port wines.

Wines should never overwhelm the food but complement it, and the reverse is true too.

Consider the cooking method of the main ingredient and choose the wine accordingly, i.e. smoked salmon or any smoked fish with dry, crisp riesling, onion tart with riesling, Chablis and oysters, well-seasoned cold cuts with young Beaujolais, roast or grilled lamb with red Bordeaux, pinot noir with roast grouse or pheasant, nebbiolo wines with roasted or stewed game, creamy sauced pastas with crisp dry wines meat-sauced pastas with light red wines.

Consider the intensity of the food and match it with the concentration of the wine. A pan-fried trout with a mild, delicately flavoured pinot blanc or pinot gris is fine. An intensely flavoured grilled salmon, with a mango, bell pepper and purple onion salsa, requires a highly flavoured, bold, fruity, aged pinot blanc from Alsace or Burgundy or even a barrel-fermented and barrel-aged chardonnay. The feel of the wine in your moth, a.k.a. as texture, results from the influence of all the components of fruit, alcohol, acids and tannins. A barrel-fermented and barrel-aged chardonnay may be full-bodied and velvety; as a stainless steel-fermented non-oak chardonnay firm and crisp.

You can match a barrel-fermented and barrel-aged chardonnay successfully with scallops in a tarragon beurre blanc; whereas a no-oak chardonnay would go better with an unctuous Camembert or Brie de Maux.

General vinegary dressing-containing salads are not recommended to match with wine, but today many people like to eat a salad for a light lunch, and enjoy a glass of wine with it. Some steps to help make these incompatible ingredients compatible are: reduce vinegar and/or lemon juice in the dressing with orange juice, incorporate mellow cheeses into the salad, i.e., Mozzarella, even well-aged Emmentaler or Gruyere; Grilled mushrooms, nuts or croutons, grilled meats, seafood and poultry, can also be used.

Chardonnay

Flavour Apple, baked apple, pear, lemon-lime, pineapple, tropical fruit. If barrel-fermented and/or oak aged, also butter, butterscotch, toast, fig, vanilla, hazelnut, nutmeg, clove.

Intensity, Restrained to assertive

Texture. Firm and crisp if stainless steel fermented; round full-bodies if oak treated.

Sweetness, Dry

Chardonnay’s rich elegance find its match in foods that are strongly herbed dishes, while more restrained versions shine in the company of luxurious cream and butter sauces and mellow, earthy flavours such as mustard and mushrooms.

The Basics- Lobster, Dungeness crab, prawns, scallops, salmon, halibut, sauted oysters, chicken, turkey, pheasant, quail, rabbit, pork, veal, sweetbreads.

The Flavoury. Marjoram, tarragon, thyme, sage, rosemary, saffron, garlic, mustard, mushrooms, fig, lemon, pear, apple, nutmeg, ginger, orange, mango, walnuts, hazelnuts.

Gewurztraminer

Flavour Clove, rose, lychee, grapefruit, fruit salad; drier styles also mineral, earth, pepper, citrus.

Intensity. Highly aromatic, assertive

Texture: Medium-light to full-bodied, lively sweetness. Dry to semi-sweet

gewurztraminer is one of our most popular varietals, and for good reason; its intense, exotic aromas and flavours seem ideally suited to spicy cuisines from China to Thailand to India, and it stands up equally well to the fruitiest salsas and smokiest grilled and barbecued flavours of contemporary North American cuisine.

The Basics-. Spicy fish and shellfish dishes, chicken, turkey, pork, ham, sausages, cured and smoked foods of all kinds (smoked salmon and prosciutto are classics)

The Flavoury. Ginger, honey-garlic, green, pink, black, white and szechwan pepper, caraway, fennel, sage, cilantro, coconut, tropical fruits, fruit-onion saisas and curries.

Riesling

Flavour Ranges from mineral, citrus and petrol to ripe peach, apple, herb and floral.

Intensity. Restrained to assertive

Texture. Light to medium-bodied, crisp

Sweetness-. Dry to very sweet.

No matter what the style; riesling maintains an attractive balance of fruit and acidity, making it an exciting match with dishes incorporating their own sweet and tart elements. The most fruit driven examples take well to barbecued or smoked foods and a wide variety of fruity and subtly spicy flavours.

The Basics-. crab, fresh and smoked salmon, scallop, halibut, barbecued or baked oysters; chicken turkey, pork, ham, mild sausages (choucroute is a classic), cured meats such as prosciutto

The Flavoury. Sage, onion, caraway, orange, kumquat, peach, ginger, fruit salsas, mild teriyaki; with drier leaner styles, also chives, capers, lemon, lime, grapefruit, dill.

Sauvignon Blanc

Flavour Grass, gooseberry, sometimes smoky, blackcurrant, melon

Intensit,y. Moderate to assertive, distinctive aromatics

Texture, Light to medium-bodied, usually crisp

Sweetness- Dry

Sauvignon Blanc is crisp, refreshing, high-acid wine for summer sipping, on its own, or as an aperitif. It is an excellent with shellfish or light, subtle dishes or, in its oak-aged versions, with richer fare.

The Basics- Hors doeuvres (antipasto), oysters, quiche, salads, smoked salmon, ginger or lemongrass influenced Thai dishes, almost all fish (with or without sauces).

The Flavoury. Lemongrass, ginger, baby onions, gooseberries, sharp white cheeses, parsley, baby greens, cilantro.

Pinot Blanc

Flavour Apple, lemon, pear, banana, fig, straw, sometimes slightly earthy or herbaceous; if barrel-fermented and/or oak-aged, butter, butterscotch, toast, vanilla, nutmeg.

Intensity. Subtle to moderate

Texture. Firm and crisp if stainless steel fermented; if oak-treated round and medium to fullbodied.

Sweetness,. Dry

Sometimes called the poor man’s (or woman’s) chardonnay, well-make pinot blanc can show remarkable strength of character. It is a chameleon of a wine, providing a rich, subtle background for whatever dish it accompanies.

The Basics. Salmon, crab, prawns, halibut, clams, oysters, chicken, turkey, pork, rabbit, veal

The Flavoury. Chives, leek, onion, mushroom, garlic, nutmeg, lemon, thyme, oregano, parsley, nuts.

Pinot Gris

Flavour Dried apricot, vanilla, almond, spice, smoke

Intensity. Assertive

Texture, Medium to full-bodied, firm, mouth filling Sweetness, Dry

Proving to be a brilliant performer in Canada the best examples of pinot gris are distinctive, complex and incomparably appealing. Vinified with or without oak, bone-dry and well structured, they are a match for elegant Canadian and continental cuisine.

The Basics- Fresh and smoked salmon, fresh and smoked trout, halibut, crab, prawns, scallops, clams, mussels, oysters, squid, chicken, turkey pork veal, quail, pheasant.

The Flavoury. French accents such as tarragon, thyme saffron, mustard; Italian flavours such as tomato, garlic, onion, basil, fennel, orange; contemporary North American cuisine with the accent on grilled foods and light cream sauces.

Sparkling Wines

Flavour From delicate floral, citrus green apple and fresh yeast to richer vanilla, toast, nut and earth nuances, depending on style

Intensity. Subtle to moderate

Sweetness-. Usually dry.

Sparkling wine’s crisp, almost crunchy effervescence makes it the perfect accompaniment to deep-fried foods – mini egg rolls, tempura prawns and vegetables. The lightest, crispiest styles also work beautifully with sushi and sashimi … just remember to go easy on the Wasabi.

The Basics- Not too spicy appetizers and finger foods of all kinds, sushi, sashimi, fish and shellfish, especially raw oysters, delicate poultry dishes.

The Flavoury. Almost anything goes but never stronger than the wine itself.

Dessert Wines: Late Harvest and Ice wines

Flavour. Ranges from citrus through peach, pineapple and apricot to caramel, raisin nut

Intensity. Moderate to highly concentrated

Texture, Medium to heavy, smooth, satiny

Sweetness. Sweet to Ultra-sweet.

Any dessert served with a lusciously fruity dessert wine is a spectacular way to end a meal. Just remember, always choose a dessert wine that is sweeter than the dessert; otherwise, the wine may taste bitter, thin and course by contrast.

Simple is best; pound cake, creme brulee, shortbread, nuts; or poached fruit and fruit-nut tarts with or without a custard base. Chocolate, unfortunately, is rarely a flattering companion.

Cabernet Franc

Flavour Currant, raspberry, blackberry, cedar, herb, mint; sometimes bell pepper, green olive, dill

Intensity. Moderate to assertive

Texture, Medium-bodied

Sweetness- Dry

Cabernet franc is similar in style to better-known cabernet sauvignon although almost always lighter and less tannic, and often with a characteristic “green” or herbaceous edge that pairs seamlessly wherever vegetables play a strong supporting role.

The Basics- Mild sausages, duck, beefsteaks, roast and hamburgers, lamb, venison, cold meats.

The Flavoury. Thyme savoury, rosemary, basil, parsley, bay, olive, green peppercorn, olive oil; Mediterranean vegetables such as eggplant, green pepper, zucchini, garlic, onion, fresh and sun dried tomato.

Cabernet Sauvignon:

Flavour Blackcurrant, cedar wood, blackberry, sometime eucalyptus, bell pepper, green olive .

Intensity Moderate to assertive

Texture, Medium to full bodied, tannic

Sweetness- Dry

While the classic accompaniment is rack (or leg) of lamb, Cabernet Sauvignon stands up beautifully to virtually all red meats, whether served simply with ‘jus’ or rich reduced sauces. Fine, older Cabernets are excellent accompaniments to special occasion meals, while younger ones match simpler fare.

The Basics-. Rack of Lamb (classic), filet mignon, roast beef, game birds, duck or goose, venison; younger, tannic cabernets with rare red meats.

The Flavoury. Herbs (rosemary, bay, thyme, sage, but only light garlic), rich sauces, currants, plumbs, onion, sun-dried tomato.

Merlot

Flavour Raspberries, plums, black cherries, licorice, orange, coffee, toffee, chocolate

Intensity. Moderate to assertive

Texture, Medium to full-bodied, can be tannic Sweetness, Dry

Meriot is THE red wine for red meats. It has the weight and fruit to match wine-braised stews and roasts, and the structure and polish to pair with rare-grilled prime cuts.

777e Basics- Squab, duck, beef, lamb, venison; lighter and softer Merlots also with lighter white and red meats and game birds

7he Flavour Rosemary, bay, sage, thyme, juniper, pink peppercorns, black olive, balsamic vinegar, currants, plums, prunes, dried blueberries onion, garlic.

Pinot Noir

Flavour Cherry, strawberry plum, violet, beetroot mint, smoke, cinnamon; mature examples also tea, leather, brown sugar, mushroom, even barnyard

Intensity, Subtle to moderate

TexturL- Light to medium-bodied, silky, generally soft tannins Sweetness, Dry

Pinot Noir’s greatest strength is its suppleness. Without the hard tannic structure found in many red wines, it pairs effortlessly with a wide range of roods – from rich through game birds to grilled beef and lamb. Don’t overwhelm its gentle fruits and refined complexity with strong or spicy flavours; simply prepared dishes are best.

777e Basic5- Salmon, scallops, halibut, tuna, (see notes on RED WINE WITH Fish); chicken, pheasant, quail, duck, pork, veal, beef, lamb, sweetbreads

7he Flavours- Thyme, mint, basil, chervil, figs, cherries, orange rinds, wild mushrooms, pinenuts, soy-honey-garlic.

Riesling Hugel (Alsace) Salmon Mousse with whipped cream
Chateau Beychevelle Bordeaux Roast Partridge with raisins
Pol Roger Doux Champagne Assorted Cheeses, Peach Cardinal
Johannisberger Klaus Rheingau Cheese Straws
Chateau Calon Segur Roast Striploin of beef with mushrooms
Bordeaux Almondine potatoes, saut6ed Green Beans
Cabernet Sauvignon Bel Paese Cheese
Chateau Mount Helena, California
Pol Roger Doux Bavarian Royal Cream
Champagne

Champagne Dom Perignon 1988 Fresh Malpeque Oysters
Riesling Zind-Humbrecht Goose Liver PaAte” in Pastry
Alcase
Pommard Rugien Latour Ham Chablis Style
Burgundy
Clos de Tarte Quail Nests
Burgundy Pommes Bonne Femme
Perrier Beatrix Salad
Osthofener Goldberg Nutcake, Whipped Cream
Scheurebe Auslese
Liqueurs Colombian Supremo Coffee

Graacher Himmelreich Cold Scotch Salmon, Mayonnaise Sauce
Weingut Selbach-Oster
Mosel-Saar-Ruwer

Chateau DAngludet Roast Aylesbury Duck, Roast New
Bordeaux Potatoes, Saut6ed Spring Vegetables
Chateau Mouton Rothschild Assorted Cheeses
Bordeaux
Roederer Champagne Sweet Bombe
Grand Find Champagne Hennesy Moka
Batard. Montrachet Salmon Steak Lucullus

1. Drouhin
Burgundy
Chateau Langoa Barton Roast Breast of Duck, Duxelles, Matchstick
Bordeaux Potatoes
Vosne-Romane@e Cheese Souffl@
Mongeard-Mugneret
Burgundy
Chateau Filhot Sauternes Strawberries Romanoff
Bordeaux
Liqueurs Colombian Supremo Coffee

Writer – Hrayr Berberoglu – E-mail – Read his books? Professor B offers seminars to companies and interested parties on any category of wine, chocolates, chocolates and wine, olive oils, vinegars and dressings, at a reasonable cost.

A comfortable two hour drive from Toronto along the northern shore of Lake Ontario will take you to the newest wine- and gastronomic region of the province.

Located around the beautiful and tranquil Bay of Quinte, this county has been always an agriculturally important and blessed corner of the province.

Prince Edward County is definitely a cool climate-growing region with 1400 sunshine hour per season, and on north latitude 44 N, the same as Burgundy. Winters are cold, requiring vineyard site selections that face south and east with extra labour involved to bury vines for winter damage protection. The soils range from clay/loam to sandy/clay, and clay with mixed chalk. Some growers planted chardonnay, riesling, Seyval Blanc, pinot gris, gewurztraminer, cabernet franc and Pinot Noir. Others are experimenting with hybrids!

Presently there are about 250 hectares under vine and some growers have suffered substantial losses during the severe winter of 2002. Gastronomically, the country offers a few restaurants to satisfy even the most discriminating diners. Waupoos Winery on the shore of the Bay offers fine fare as does Waring House, and Carmela (formerly Peddlesden) and Hotel Merill Inn in Picton.

Torontonians interested in wine would do well to spend a day or two in this quiet county enjoying the vistas and unhurried life.

Chadsey Cairn Winery owners Vida Zalnierinnas and Richard Johnson accomplished a lot by creating fine Gewurztraminers and Mosel-style, light, fragrant Rieslings. Converting old barns and buildings created this modern winery.

Waupoos Winery, overlooking the calm waters of the Bay of Quinte is the oldest and largest of the four wineries in Prince Edward County. It operates a restaurant that serves good food.

The tasting room and boutique winery offer samples (for a small charge per serving) of some of their wines.

Closson Chase is tucked away from the highway, but it is well worth a visit, as it is considered to be one of the best white wine producers of Canada.

Rosehill Run Vineyards and Winery is relatively new and well respected for its finely balanced chardonnay and pinot noir wines.

Norman hardie enjoys an excellent reputation amongst wine drinkers in the province.

County Cider Company is an estate winery overlooking the Bay of Quinte and specializes in cider, but the winemaker has planted a few hectares of chardonnay and riesling on chalky and pebbly, well-drained soils. The vineyards are exposed south east to benefit most of the sunshine and heat units. County Cider Company’s wines tasted proved to be good and potentially very good once the vines have achieved a higher level of maturity.

Writer – Hrayr Berberoglu – E-mail – Read his books? Professor B offers seminars to companies and interested parties on any category of wine, chocolates, chocolates and wine, olive oils, vinegars and dressings, at a reasonable cost.

Tucked between California and Washington State, Oregon produces the best pinot noir wines in the U.S.A.

Although a relative newcomer to winemaking, this unique state has been able to vint pinot noir to rival the mythical red wines of Burgundy.

It all started with David Lett, who while studying viticulture at University of California at Davis, asked one his professors where he could grow fine pinot noir grapes in Orgeon. The answer was nowhere. Undeterred, Mr. Lett set out to find the most suitable location and hit upon the Willamette valley. His pinot noir wines gained notoriety when one of his bottles won an unexpected award in Burgundy competing with local wines. When Joseph Drouhin, a famous winemaker and owner of the eponymous shipping company decided to buy land in Oregon, the fame spread throughout the world.

Today, Oregon has 5000 hectares under vines, of which 4000 are productive with a n average yield of five tones of fruit per hectare. Considering that California averages double that, you can imagine the flavour concentration of Oregon wines regardless of relatively low ripening temperatures. Of the total acreage pinot noir has the largest share, followed by pinot gris, and lately also chardonnay, riesling and gewürztraminer.

Oregon’s cool climate is most suitable for cool climate grapes such as riesling, chardonnay, pinot blanc, and pinot noir, although of late just above the California border zinfandel has been successful. Some growers planted cabernet sauvignon, merlot and even syrah on an experimental basis and report satisfactory results.

Oregon has six Ava’s (American Viticultural Area) – Columbia, Willamette Valley, Walla Walla, Umpqua, Rogue, and Appelgate.

Orgeon wines reflect the essence of terroir and the people who craft them. The terroir, and the contour of the land are most suitable and warm dry summers and mild winters help produce suitable fruit to make fine wines. Diurnal temperature changes allow grapes to acquire sufficient acidity to yield lively wines.

This state designed the strictest wine label requirements in 1977. Varietal wines must contain a minimum of 90 percent of the variety stated on the label, whereas everywhere else in the U.S.A the laws prescribes 75 and sometimes 85. Oregon wines display individualistic characters of not only the terroir but also the orientation of the winemakers.

The wineries are generous in their tasting rooms, welcoming visitors, and showing their products by enthusiastic and knowledgeable employees. Most do not charge for tasting but some do. Small wineries request reservations for tours.

Travelling in the Willamette Valley from winery to the next is a pleasure amongst

Writer – Hrayr Berberoglu – E-mail – Read his books? Professor B offers seminars to companies and interested parties on any category of wine, chocolates, chocolates and wine, olive oils, vinegars and dressings, at a reasonable cost.

Easy Ways to Afford a Napa Valley Wine Tour

Napa Valley is one of the most luxurious travel locations in the country, and quite possibly the world. Wine lovers flock to this lush California town to try some of the most supreme wines ever made. Rolling hills with beautiful vineyards speckle the landscape in perfect symmetry. Affording a vacation to Napa Valley can be hard for a wine lover, but it is well worth the effort.

Lodging Options In Napa Valley 

From hotels to vacation cottages, Napa Valley has something for all traveler preferences. Villagio Inn & Spa is one of the most luxurious spots to stay on your vacation. This property is a Four-Diamond location awarded by AAA. You will be enchanted by the flowering gardens and fountains. It’s fairly affordable at a mere $325 per night. You can get rewards programs to further reduce your cost.

For a more affordable stay, Euro Spa & Inn is another award winner. It is a TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Award Winner for 2010. The minimum rate of $129 allows you to stay in Napa Valley for a longer period of time without draining your bank account. Euro Spa & Inn features an intimate setting, vineyard views and a serene downtown location.

Wineries To See 

Most of Napa Valley is filled with vineyards and places to get delicious wine. There are dozens of small and large wineries, and it is impossible to see them all. The Kuleto Estate Winery is a must see, and they do offer tours. You must reserve a tour ahead of time in order to taste the delectable cabernet sauvignon, chardonnay and zinfandel. The Hess Collection Winery is a unique and superior spot with art and wine. The winery itself is breathtakingly unconventional, and the wine is just as amazing.

Pine Ridge Winery 

This Napa Valley winery is a sustainable farming winery. They strive to produce environmentally friendly wine, and they offer tours as well. This is a must see when you visit Napa Valley.

Tips For Your Vacation 

To better afford the vacation, spend time booking in ahead of time. This will allow you to get the cheapest prices for flights and hotels. Also consider using credit card comparisons to get a great travel card for your trip. This will allow you to pay off some of your vacation over time instead of all at once. Always use travel services such as AAA to get more discounts on your Napa Valley vacation.

The Napa Valley wine region may be notorious for its price, but with a little bit of know how, you can easily afford a nice relaxing weekend in the renowned wine region without breaking the bank.

Brewing in Denmark has a very long tradition and Copenhagen, where Carlsberg originates is still the center of the Danish brewing industry.

Although the original Carlsberg was available in Canada as early as 1950, only after 1972, when Carling O’Keefe (now absorbed into the Coors-Molson Brewing) started to brew it under license in Canada did it start to become popular.

This was mostly due to constant promotion but the novelty factor soon faded making it a “mainstream” beer, particularly since the taste profile was adjusted to the then prevailing Canadian palate.

During a visit to Denmark recently, I thought a visit to the Carlsberg breweries in Copenhagen was in order.

The brewery is impressively large, well organized, and super clean. Management takes brewing seriously, and maintains quality.

By tradition J.C. Jacobsen (1811 – 1887), the founder of Carlsberg, valued quality and emphasized it from the beginning. Christen Jacobsen, J.C. Jacobsen’s father, had come to Copenhagen from Jutland in 180l. After working at a brewery for a few years, he had saved enough to rent a brewery in Knabrostraede in 1811, where he started to brew according to his ideas.

J.C. Jacobsen was born in the same year. As a boy, he participated in the work at the neighboring brewery on Brolaeggerstraede, which his father had purchased in 1826. At the time Danish brewers were lacking appropriate brewing techniques. Christen Jacobsen was the first brewer in Denmark to use a thermometer to monitor both brewing and fermentation temperatures realizing that brewers knew little about the science and intricacies of brewing. Also, he decided to research the chemical processes of brewing in an attempt to implement the best scientific methods. To achieve his objective father Jacobsen sent his son to the Technical University of

Copenhagen to attend lectures on chemistry.

J. C. Jacobsen was 24 years old when his father died. At the time brewing technology in Germany, especially in Bavaria, was relatively advanced, so young Jacobsen felt compelled to visit the breweries in Munich, to learn more about brewing.

During one his visits he learned about the so-called cold fermentation (i.e. bottom fermentation). He obtained a yeast, sample and upon his return to Denmark attempted to brew a similar style beer in his washtub. The first experiments were unsuccessful, he was determined to master the technique.

After his failed first experiments, he concluded that he needed cool cellars and applied to the Danish court to establish a brewery on the ramparts of the city. His request was granted and soon construction began.

Gabriel Sedlmayr, his mentor at the brewery in Munich, supplied him with a large quantity of his specially developed, bottom-fermenting yeast. In 1846 J.C. Jacobsen started brewing a Bavarian style beer in Denmark.

A year later he started construction of a new brewery in the suburb of Copenhagen called Valby. He called it Carlsberg after his son Carl, and the hill on which it was located. Brewery No. 1 was started November 10 1847. During the first year, 3500 hectoliters of beer were produced, a quantity, today in the vastly enlarged plant, is brewed in two hours.

Soon demand exceeded the capacity beyond his wildest expectations and expansion became an absolute necessity. J.C. Jacobsen was still searching for more refined brewing technology and travelled famous brewing countries frequently in an attempt to learn more. In 1875 he decided to establish the laboratory, Carlsberg Research, devoted solely to scientific research on beer. The laboratory was divided into two sections: chemistry and physiology. In the chemistry department, headed by Johan Kjeldahl, a new method of determining nitrogen in organic substances was developed – a breakthrough. With this discovery the chemistry department became world famous, and even today, technicians everywhere refer to the Kjeldahl process.

S.P.L. Sorensen, the successor of Kjeldahl, was instrumental in protein research, and with his discoveries the department became the leader in brewing, not only in Denmark, but the world.

In the physiology department, Christen Hansen showed through his experiments that consistent yeast quality was instrumental in brewing. This discovery led to the development of a pure yeast culture, today known as saccharomyces Carlsbergensis. Today a modified strain of this yeast is still used and carries the same name.

In 1871, J .C. Jacobsen established another brewery, called Annex brewery for his son Carl. Young Jacobsen, however, decided to brew exclusively top fermented beers. The public did not like this type of beer and soon the Amex Brewery was forced to brew lager beers. Now both breweries were catering to the same market. While the son wanted to increase the production capacity, the father felt it unnecessary. Finally in 1879 father and son parted company.

Carl Jacobsen called his brewery New Carlsberg competing directly with his father.
In 1886, they reconciled but unfortunately J.C. Jacobsen died one year later.

Carl Jacobsen was keenly interested in art. He believed that art should be integrated into the daily life of people and in 1897 offered Denmark and the city of Copenhagen his collection of sculptures and paintings. At the same time, he submitted a plan for a Museum, which was accepted.

The Ny (New) Carslberg Glyptothek is free to all visitors.

A foundation was established to oversee the development of the museum, and soon after, the brewery was put under the jurisdiction of Ny Carlsberg Foundation. Profits of the brewery are channeled through the foundation.

After the death of Carl Jacobsen in 1914, both Carlsberg Breweries were amalgamated, increasing the income of the foundation. During and after World War I ,the business was depressed. Regardless, in 1938 an experimental farm was purchased to study the different strains of barley to determine optimal cereal growing conditions in Denmark. Also, a small experimental brewery is devoted to study all the phases of brewing.

After World War II, international development resulted in rapidly increasing exports and in 1960′s a new concept of international business was developed and through Carlsberg designs, constructs and operates breweries in several countries. Carlsberg is also brewed under license in many countries. Canada is one of them. Now Carlsberg is imported from Denmark, after Molson and Coors amalgamated.

In 1970 Carlsberg breweries merged with Tuborg breweries and although both produce and market their beers separately, there is one board of directors and one concept; to produce the best beer possible regardless of location.

Writer – Hrayr Berberoglu – E-mail – Read his books? Professor B offers seminars to companies and interested parties on any category of wine, chocolates, chocolates and wine, olive oils, vinegars and dressings, at a reasonable cost.

Carlsberg in Denmark Carlsberg

Oregon, situated between California and Washington State, is considered to be the best in producing Pinot Noir.

Consumers and winemakers gather annually at McMinville for a Pinot Noir symposium during which only scholarly papers are presented, and hundreds of wines organoleptically examined. |Oregon’s wine industry is relatively small; and diverse consisting of 5005 hectares (11,000 acres) of vineyards and 200 wineries

There is no route du vin, rather there are several routes to pick up, and in areas of winery concentrations tourist hotels and restaurants are far and between.

In fact most wineries are small family operations with small vineyards.

The State made a splash in 1980’s when pioneers proved the potential of Pinot Noir. Chances are that no one would have cared much if Chardonnay was produced, but Pinot Noir, the wholly grail variety, caught the attention of the wine world.

Some critics, confusing potential with achievement, dubbed Oregon the new Burgundy, and predictably deep disappointment followed.

Oregon is not Burgundy; although it lies on the same latitude, and cannot produce Pinot Noir identical to that from the fabled patch of land in France, but the state has been able to vint extraordinarily fine Pinot Noir.

This fickle grape, prone to mutation, requires a cool climate and a long growing season. Oregon has the former- and, when the autumn rains hold off, the latter – but cool climates do not tolerate even a small margin of error. If it is too cool, the fruit fails to ripen, and if the rains come too early, the entire crop is ruined.

Oregon wineries

have been lucky since 1998 and had fine vintages.

Last year I had the opportunity to visit Oregon to see for myself how the industry is evolving. During my visit, I tasted many fine Pinot Noirs and Pinot Gris but I believe that Riesling would also grow well.

Some vineyards are now 20 years or older yielding less but superior fruit and naturally deeply flavoured wines.

The best the more famous wineries of Oregon are located between McMinville, Dundee and Yamhill. (Willa Kenzie Estate, Beaux Freres, Adelsheim, Rex Hill, Torii Mor, Erath, Argyle, Archery Summit, Domaine Drouhin, Eyrie and Carlton Winemakers Studio).

Mike Etzel, the brother-in-law of wine critic Robert Parker and partner of Beaux Freres, considers the vineyard to be the most important contributor to quality and devotes considerable attention his vineyard; and it shows. His wines speak for themselves. They exude more concentration and depth due to low yields and enlightened use of minimal barrel aging.

David Lett, considered to be the founding father of Oregon’s wine industry, came in 1960’s in search of suitable terroir to plant Pinot Noir. His University of California, professors at Davis claimed Pinot Noir would fail to produce fine enough quality to compete with Burgundy. He wanted to prove them wrong and succeeded.

He was also farsighted enough to plant Pinot Gris which produces Alsatian-style, deeply flavoured and well-structured wines unlike northern Italian versions which tend to be very light and ethereal.

David Lett prefers to use old barrels for aging in an attempt to preserve fruit aromas and thinks many of his fellow winemakers overdo the oak component.

He is absolutely right. I am reminded of the French saying:” We don’t want to drink liquid oak, but fruity wine.”

Joseph Drouhin was so impressed with Lett’s Pinot Noir that he decided to buy land in the Dundee Hills to plant his own vineyards and start the Domaine Drouhin that many consider one of the best in the state.

The Domaine is managed by his daughter Veronique, who prefers light, never over oaked Pinot Noirs, with a Burgundian touch as might be expected. The rootstock was purchased from Dijon nurseries and ultimately show characteristics associated with Burgundian Pinot Noirs everything being equal.

Well-made Oregon Pinot Noir is expensive, but any quality Pinot Noir must be expensive, due mostly to low yield, high labour costs and the unpredictable nature of the variety. If you add to these the climate and its unpredictability, the high price is justified.

If you want to visit Oregon’s wineries, make it between the months of June and August and pack picnic lunches. You can buy wine from wineries; most provide benches and tables overlooking vineyards.

The following wineries are highly recommended: Archery Summit Estate, Argyle

(on route 99) (try their fine Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs), Beaux Freres ( fine Pinot Noir, Belle Seurs label is used for purchased grapes, Beaux Freres for estate wines), Carton Winemakers Studio (small, but quality oriented), Domaine Drouhin (call for an appointment), Erath Vineyards; Eyrie Vineyards, Ponzi (also operates Ponzi’s Dundee Bistro); Rex Hill, Torii Mor (call for an appointment) Willa Kenzie Estate, and Elk Grove.

Writer – Hrayr Berberoglu – E-mail – Read his books? Professor B offers seminars to companies and interested parties on any category of wine, chocolates, chocolates and wine, olive oils, vinegars and dressings, at a reasonable cost.

YIELD: ONE LOAF

½ cup butter
1 granulated sugar
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
½ cup milk
rind of one lemon
2 eggs

FOR THE GLAZE
½ CUP SUGAR
¼ CUP LEMON JUICE

Preheat oven to 350° F. Combine cake ingredients in a large bowl.

Beat until well combined. Place parchment paper on base of a 9x 5 “ loaf pan, Butter pan and spoon in batter. Bake for 45- 50 minutes until cake tester comes out clean. Place on rack. Bring sugar and lemon juice to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for three minutes to make a glaze. Prick holes in warm cake and pour syrup over. Cool.

Writer – Hrayr Berberoglu – E-mail – Read his books? Professor B offers seminars to companies and interested parties on any category of wine, chocolates, chocolates and wine, olive oils, vinegars and dressings, at a reasonable cost.

Does Taking Sips of Wine and Beer is good for Toddlers

When beer and other alcohol drinks have become legal to people from the age of 18, there are toddlers and babies who are already in competition to win their share of alcohol. There are people who say that their culture allows the kids to consume alcohol but in the other hand there are doctors who say that no matter what alcohol is dangerous and is strictly forbidden to all age groups. So what is the real deal about this? Let us run through.

Why kids are allowed to be acquainted with Wine

In places like France, Italy, Middle East etc., kids drinking wine is very common and is also encouraged by the parents themselves. They say that they respect alcohol and their kids consuming it don’t bother them enough to stop them. Beyond culture, some families feel that the kids consuming limited alcohol in front of them is far better than the endless alcoholism they would get acquainted with when they are besides they are spoilt friends.

Some studies also say that it is better for the kids to drink wine as it would give them a good texture for their skin and also helps in improving their metabolism. In western and European states, it is often a practice to consume wine with heavy meals as they help to digest the food. In between sips of wine also makes them to eat less. Wine is mostly paired with spicy heavy food to avoid the sense of purging. There are so many benefits that can convince the parents to allow their kids to get used to the flavor of alcohol like wine and beer. But, No matter the benefits, Wine is bad for kids.

Though people mind chart down numerous positive feedbacks about drinking wine, it is proved by medical experts that be it little or more wine is dangerous for kids and elders as well. When a child has up to seven sips of wine, that will more than sufficient to reach the blood alcohol level that is forbidden while driving. For small kids, the circulation of the entire body would be very active and this alcohol consumed will having a significant impact on their brain.

Over dose of alcohol can also lead to fatal results in children. The alcohol has adverse effects on the blood as it lowers down the blood sugar level which might result in giddiness, fatigue, irritation and confusion. The heat in the body constantly drops down due to wine and beer consumption as the alcohol’s quantity can surpass the limit that is allowed for that particular body weight.

When there are so many drawbacks of drinking wine and beer, they get overlooked by the small benefits which can be obtained from any other means with causes no harm. There are so many natural products which render the same benefits as that of wine and beer; hence let us and our kids all march towards the natural and healthy way instead of getting used to this nasty habit.

Writer – Brianne – E-mail- is a blogger by profession.She loves writing on technology and luxury. Beside this she is fond of books. Recently an article on Samsung Hero E3213 attracted her attention. These days she is busy in writing an article on Hindustan Motors.

Imagine sitting in any of thousands of Provence’s outdoor cafes in southern France. The sun is shining, and you are tired. What to order? Most North Americans think of cold beer, make that an ice-cold beer, a Provencale will order pastis – that unmistakable of all alcoholic beverages of the Mediterranean.

Although Provencale prefer pastis over any other aperitif and between meal drinks; many different versions exists throughout the Mediterranean basin in Greece, Turkey, Lebanon and Syria. In Greece it is called ouzo, In Turkey raki, in Lebanon and Syria arrak. While recipes vary slightly from country to country the basics never do.

Pastis consists of alcohol, star anise, black and white peppercorns, cardamom, sage, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, licorice and a little sugar.

Each distillery has its own secret recipe and variation. When you order pastis the waiter (always a waiter in Provence) will, pending on his mood, will serve you a generous portion (at least two ounces generally more) along with a beaded carafe of water.

Pastis becomes milky white and cloudy as you mix it with water (1:5 ratio). There is a sharp, sweet smell of aniseed and it is called, rightly I think, the milk of Provence, that felicitous corner of France where vegetables taste great, herbs are potent, garlic abundant, and olive oil indispensable in cooking.

Pastis must never be enjoyed in a hurry. It demands the correct ambience.

There is a distinct difference between anis and pastis – the latter resembles the former but happens to be less distinct in anis and more potent (by law pastis may be distilled out up to 45 per cent ABV). Both happen to have an unmistakable resemblance to absinthe that has been banned in France, and many other European countries, but not in Spain or the Czech Republic or England. Absinthe contains wormwood, a hallucinogenic that is said to have driven many to insanity. For beginners, absinthe contained 68 ABV and tujone, the hallucinogen said to have driven van Gogh to insanity and caused Verlaine to shoot Rimbaud. It gave its name to a particular disease – absinthisme- of which the victim dies.

In France absinthe was declared illegal in 1915.

One man who would not have been pleased to see it go was Jules Pernod who had an absinthe distillery in Monfavet, near Avignon, where pastis allegedly originated. Mr. Pernod being an astute businessman changed the recipe to legally authorized anis. It took off and became a commercial success.

Paul Ricard’s father was a wine merchant in Marseille and took his young son to many a bistro where pastis was essentially “brewed” in the back of the shop. Paul decided to distil his own and sell it to bistro owners. His pastis was like many others but he added an ingredient others lacked – promotion and clever marketing. He called his pastis “Le vrai pastis de Marseille”, and soon it became the best-known, best selling pastis in the city. When he was ready to expand his operation, he made another important marketing decision to promote it outside Marseille, logically thinking that consumers would be more interested in trying a new drink from “exotic” Marseille.

Pernod and Ricard joined their operations in 1975 to market more aggressively. Today Pernod-Ricard is a world- wide distiller and distributor of a range of distillates and wines. Pastis is still one of their mainstay, but mostly in France.

A curious and experiment-happy monk in a monastery kitchen, concocting recipes to find the “elixir of life”, a Marseillais will tell you, invented pastis. Somehow monks seem to have an affinity to alcoholic inventions, from Dom Perignon to Benedictine and Carthusian monks. The Benedictine monks invented the eponymous liqueur and Carthusians Chartreuse yellow and green. Benedictine, and both Chartreuse are still produced by monks using their secret recipes. Only a few privileged monks know the full recipe.

Scholars specializing in researching the origins of alcoholic beverages attribute the invention of pastis to a hermit who lived in a hut in the forest on the slopes of Luberon in southern Cotes du Rhone. He collected herbs, which he stewed in a giant pot. The juices left in the cauldron after boiling had remarkable properties, including quenching his thirst, and protecting him from an outbreak of plague that was threatening to decimate the population of Luberon. Since he was a generous philanthropist, he shared his mixture with sufferers, who immediately recovered. He then, in a quick decision to reverse his seclusion, moved to Marseille and opened a bar. This is the most unlikely story but also the most popular as such stories go!

The less picturesque but more plausible reason for Provence being the home of pastis is that ingredients grew wild around the villages and were easy to obtain. Most farmers made their own wine and distilled their own potent liqueurs. Until recently the right of distillation was a family asset that could be passed down from father to son. There are still families that distil their fabulously strong pastis maison.

Although now Pernod-Ricard is one of the biggest distilling concerns of the world, there are still many small producers with strong followings not only in Provence but also in other regions of France. Berger, Bardouin, Casanis, Janot, and Granier are the most important of the small distilleries.

Pastis is a charming drink – the first glass invites the second and very often the second the third. But be careful, very careful, it is insidious before you know you may need help to walk unless you are a Provencale.

Here is a recipe you may want to try:

1 litre of alcohol at 40 or 45 per cent ABV
10 grams of sweet fennel
10 grams of star anis
20 grams of fennel of small absinthe (legal)
20 grams of liquorice powder
20 grams of mugwort
macerate the whole thing for one week
add
2 grams of dried dill
20 grams of sugar

Writer – Hrayr Berberoglu – E-mail – Read his books? Professor B offers seminars to companies and interested parties on any category of wine, chocolates, chocolates and wine, olive oils, vinegars and dressings, at a reasonable cost.

Pastis