Darling Cellars – Chenin Blanc from South Africa

December 24, 2012

Darling Cellars 1

‘2012 Arum Fields Chenin BLanc Reserve’ by Darling Cellars

Ever since residing in Bangkok, Thailand I have learned to appreciate a grape variety which was not on my wanted list before: Chenin Blanc. Thai vineyards and wineries are producing some outstanding Chenin Blanc wines.

So when I had a chance to taste a South African version of it, I bought this bottle right away. The colour of the wine is golden. I was a bit surprised about the intense apple aromas I tasted with the first sip. The wines is soft but still crisp.

Darling Cellars 2

The tasting notes by Darling Cellars speak of guava flavours. The wine has 13% alcohol. The grapes come from non-irrigated vines. The wine makers are Abé Beukes and Welma Myburgh.

Darling Cellars 3

The vineyard is located in the Darling district in the Western Cape, which used to be a dairy area, about an hour from Cape Town. The mean annual rainfall of the region is 600 mm only (occurring from April to August). The mean temperature is 24 degrees Celsius.

I will try this wine again. Next time with some food.

Address:
Darling Cellars
Mamre Weg Station, R315,
Darling 7345, South Africa
Phone:+27 22 492 2276
www.darlingcellars.co.za

7 Comments | vineyards, wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver

Red and white in the snow

December 21, 2012

R and W in snow

Without words!

Merry Christmas to all my readers

1 Comment | wine | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver

Wine from France: 2011 Carignan Vieilles Vignes by De Chansac, France

December 5, 2012

De Chansac 1

Beautiful colour of the Carignan Old Vines by De Chansac

The other day I bought some wine at wine connection in Bangkok. On special was some wine from France. Frankly speaking I do not buy much French wine these days.

Today, I opened one of the bottles, a ‘2011 Carignan Old Vines’ by De Chansac Winery in l’Herault, a French wine region.

De Chansac 2

2011 Carignan Old Vines by De Chansac

The wine is made from 40 years old Carignan vines. The grape variety, originating from Aragon in Spain, is usually used in blends (in the wines from Rioja for instance) as a colouring component. It’s average yield is very high (11 t/acre).

Varietal wines are the exception rather than the rule. I assume that 40 year old vines have much lower yields and therefore it is worth making a varietal wine such as this one by De Chansac.

The wine has a dark red, almost purple colour. The alcohol content is 12.5% only. The dominant aroma is blackberry. The wine is full bodied, fruity, round, soft, almost velvety.

And did you see in the picture above? Even the French come around to screw caps these days. I was so surprised.

Of course we had the wine with some food. The pasta (below) was delicious and the wine went very well with the intensive aromas of the all amatriciana. I buy this wine again.

Matriciana

All Amatriciana

4 Comments | wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver

The wine glut is over – is it?

November 27, 2012

Recently quite a few reports and news sources have talked about the end of the wine oversupply which we experienced in global wine markets during the last couple of years. After years of wine surplus, it seems that poor vintages in the USA, Australia and Europe will lead to a drop in global production by about 20%.

“Technically” Australia is still oversupplied. But the demand for Australian bulk wine is back to normal, say some analysts. New acquisitions of vineyards producing wines at the luxury end is being reported. Sales prices for such estates were rather depressed during the last couple of years. For cash rich buyers sales prices and timing are right to make such new investments.

The mid-term prospects for high-quality grapes and high-quality wines are good. Such news is music to my ears. As a small vineyard with just under 4 ha under vines we have survived so far. Our plan is to bring our Pinot Noir vineyard back into production this season. The rest remains mothballed for another year.

Two Hills Vineyard Chardonnay plot

After that, we intend to bring first the Chardonnay and if demand should recover also the Sauvignon Blanc back into production. Currently we work on land fertility. Some of our Merlot is going to be pulled out. If we replant, it would be with Pinot Noir, I guess. But this is not going to happen until we are sure to find buyers for our fruit.

Let us hope that the wine glut is over, and that a reorientation to high-value grapes and wines is becoming a robust trend.

Leave a Comment » | general, wine | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver

Wang Ping Steak House in 桃園 Taoyuan, Taiwan

November 26, 2012

The shutters of Wang Ping Steak House when still closed

Together with my friend Jim I went to Wang Ping Steak House in 桃園 (Taoyuan) for a kind of farewell meal. The International Center Land Policy Studies and Training (ICLPST) had made a booking but we had to be there at 17.20 h already, because the place was fully booked.

Can you imagine that? Chinese gourmets seem to know what is good, and they eat early. So off we went and presented ourselves at the above time. It was a rainy day, with low hanging clouds, and it was dark when we arrived.

We had to wait a few minutes. Then we were shown to our table on the ground floor. The menu is in Chinese and in English. Straight forward so to say. We ordered in no time.

The appetizer arrangement

The salmon and mushroom arrangement was lovely and wetted our appetite. We were offered a glass of fizz, so to say, fizz with a sweet plum taste. We did not protest.

The fizzy plum drink

Both of us had ordered the mushroom soup. It came in two vessels, a soup bowl with the mushrooms lumped together like a little tower, the broth came separate. I was not quick enough to take a photo of both. The soup was good, fully flavoured, creamy and intense.

The mushroom soup

We ordered a bottle of house wine. Red was the colour we had chosen. I do not know much about French wines. When a bottle of ‘2010 Ginestet Bordeaux’ arrived, I was wondering what it would taste like.

As it turned out, Maison Ginestet is a wine trading house specializing in Bordeaux wines.

The wine was full bodied, had beautiful forest fruit aromas, and was dense with a long finish. Just the right wine with red meat, I thought. The typical Bordeaux blend is a good choice when eating beef or lamb.

Grand vin de Bordeaux

I liked the dark red colour

The sorbet

To cleanse the palate, a sorbet was offered. Again it had a plum taste. The fine acidity made sure our palates were ready for the main course.

Dried plums and plum sauce for the lamb

Jim’s main course: lamb

Beef fillet

Jim went for the lamb chops, I ordered the beef fillet. Big dishes but we were ready for it.

Chocolate dessert with ice cream

Crème brûlée in a shell

Also the desserts did not disappoint us. What a lovely way to end our farewell meal.

The service at Wang’s is very efficient. The well trained waiters and waitresses are polite and attentive. We both enjoyed the evening.

I was about to board a plane a few hours later. Jim stayed behind for another two weeks at the Centre. As always we are confident to meet again for another joint teaching engagement at ICLPST.

Chinese flower tea

Come and eat at Wang’s

PS: I highly recommend a meal at Wang’s. They have several outlets, I think.

Address:
Wang Ping Steak – Taoyuan Jhongshan Branch
No. 546, ZhongShan Road, Taoyuan
Taiwan –
Tel.:+886 – 03 – 339 1650

1 Comment | culture, food, food and wine, Restaurant Review, wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver

Pork on the rotisserie the German way: Schwenkbraten

November 17, 2012

‘Schwenkbraten’

Actually, ‘traditional German ‘Schwenkbraten’ is when the pork is on a movable gridiron which is beeing moved over a coal fire. The above picture is more of a rolled piece of pork on a rotisserie.

However, that may be, the German love to grill as much as the Australians do. And since the summers in Germany tend to be unpredictable, often short, every opportunity to be outside and operate a grill is used to everybodies delight.

What a delicious piece of meat?

The pork is stuffed with onions, bacon, maybe herbs

My friend Juergen doing the carving job

Ready to be served

Note: Let me tell you that the above pictures were taken in Eitelsbach, Ruwer. My old friends Elisabeth and Juergen Olk had organised a family reunion to which we were kindly invited. It was a lovely summers afternoon, with little children darting through the garden, and adults chatting, telling stories, and drinking and eating. Apart from some Ruwer wines, mostly Riesling, the preferred drink was beer. We had a delightful time. What a beautiful day that was.

1 Comment | culture, food, food and wine | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver

Out of business ? The Hong Kong Wine and Spirits Fair – excitement pour

November 9, 2012

I am in Hong Kong right now and very busy with my day job, which keeps me busy at night as well. So no time to write anything meaningful. Yesterdays local newspaper, the South China Morning Post, carried an interesting article about wine consumption in the territory. Moreover, two additional sections of the paper were devoted to food and wine and the up-coming wine and spirits fair.

Unfortunately, I will leave early tomorrow morning and therefore will miss the wine and spirits fair when it is open to the public on Saturday. If I would have known beforehand. The event must be an exciting one. There are 950 exhibitors from 36 countries, among them also the World’s Best Winemaker, Australia’s McGuigan Winery.

The import data on wine are impressive. Especially new world wine imports increased last year in Hong Kong. The sharpest increase was reported for wines from South Africa where sales were up by 52 % by value and 47% by volume. Imports from Chile increased by 36% and 33% respectively.

The bad news is that total wine imports dropped by 18% in value over the last year. Wines from France are still the most popular in Hong Kong. On the plane tomorrow morning, i will study the trade magazine and learn more about the fascinating world of wine consumption in Hong Kong.

Stay tuned. Cheers

Leave a Comment » | wine | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver

Merlot revival – Robertson Winery, South Africa

November 4, 2012

2010 Merlot by Robertson Winery

Recently I have been reading a lot about the revival and/or comeback of Merlot. I am not sure if this is real. It might be only applicable to California and not the “rest” of the wine world.

As a Merlot grape grower myself, I would welcome it if the variety would receive more attention again. But my own Merlot is very very fruity, full of cherry flavours which might put some wine drinkers off because it can be quite overpowering.

However that may be. Today I bought a bottle of ‘2010 Merlot’ by the Robertson Winery in South Africa. At 14% alcohol it was quite a big wine. Medium bodied and well balanced, it represented a perfect example of what Merlot can do.

The back label

The plum aromas went very well with the steak, we had it with. I was barbecuing on the terrace and the aged beef, just with some garlic gloves, some rosemary and salt and pepper, was juicy and tasteful. This was a good choice of wine though I did not know the winery, and just took my chances.

Beautiful piece of beef

Come and see me in Bangkok. I will cook for you.

Cheers

4 Comments | food, food and wine, wine | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver

Food and wine pairing: Pasta and Steinberger Riesling, Kloster Eberbach

November 2, 2012

My readers know that I adore Riesling wines. Here is another one which we had with a delicious pasta (see photo above) the other day. The intensity of the tomatoe sauce was matched by the vivid citrus aromas, the fine balance of the acids and the mineral character of the Riesling from the Rheingau, Germany.

The ‘2011 Steinberger Riesling trocken (dry)’ by the famous estate of Kloster Eberbach is a great drop for every day consumption. It is their basic wine, and at the cost of 8.90 Euro it is quite affordable. The wine has all what it takes to be an excellent Riesling.

Enjoy.

As the name “Steinberger” suggests, the vineyard is a kind of “stone hill” and just located nearby the monastry. For centuries fine wines were produced from this terroir. The short video below gives you an idea about it.

Leave a Comment » | food, food and wine, wine, wine regions, wineries | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver

Light lunch on a hot summers day

October 30, 2012

Our table on the terrace

As you know there is not really a summer in the tropics. We have different seasons than temperate climates. However, when the rainy season has come to an end, days are getting hotter, and the meal I am going to describe is exactly for such days.

We had a beetroot salad with some cured salmon and a self-made sauce based on yoghurt. For carbs, we offered a selection of bagels. Look at the photos below. Doesn’t the food look delicious?

Beetroot salad

Salmon

And here the ensemble on the plate

Bagels from the supermarket

I would agree that bagels from a proper bakery would be superior to the ones shown above. But hold it. Remember we live in Bangkok!

Since it was a weekday, no special wine was pulled from my wine fridge. Instead I opened a bottle of a mass produced Sauvignon Blanc by Tahuna from the Marlborough wine region in New Zealand.

I was a bit worried at first, since the vintage was 2009 but the wine was in a perfect condition. It showed all the characteristics of a solid but inexpensive Sauvignon Blanc, and satisfied our needs for a glass of wine with our light lunch on a perfect summers’ day. Cheers

2009 Tahuna Sauvignon Blanc

Leave a Comment » | food, food and wine, wine | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by themanfrommoselriver

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »