You may have noticed that over the last year, I’ve been blogging a bit less frequently and lately there have been more posts about wine. The reason for both is the same: I’ve been studying the become a vinologist (which means someone who knows about viticulture, wine making, grape varieties, terroirs and appellations around the … Continue reading
The last winery we visit in Spain is Gramona in Sant’ Sadurni d’Anoia, the capital of cava in which 93% of all cava is produced. DO Cava is allowed to be produced in many regions all over Spain, but most of the cava comes from Penedès. Gramona is a family business that has made cava … Continue reading
We pass more DOs (Denominaciónes de Origen) on our tour of Spain than we can visit. (This is also supposed to be a vacation for Kees, after all 🙂 ) And so choices have to be made. I decided to visit a winery in DO Toro on our way from Galicia to Catalunya. The DO … Continue reading
Our discovery of Spanish wines continues in the denominación de origen Valdeorras, a bit more inland but still influenced by the Atlantic. The climate is between Atlantic and Mediterranean with significant vintage variation. Wet vintages such as 2014 are called “atlantic”, dry vintages such as 2015 “mediterranean”. Because this is a cool climate, the best vineyards … Continue reading
Rias Baixas is a wine region in the north-western corner of Spain in the autonomous region of Galicia, north of Portugal. The rias are inlets of the Atlantic that are a bit like shallow fjords. Rias Baixas, which should be pronounced as “ree-ass-by-shuss”, is best known for delicate, aromatic whites of the albariño grape (which in Portugal … Continue reading
The first winery we visited in Rioja is a very new one: Nivarius. The first vintage produced was only in 2012. It is unique in Rioja because it is the first and only winery in Rioja that only produces white wine. This is possible because of the unique terroir after which the winery was named, … Continue reading
Rioja is the oldest and most famous wine production area of Spain. It has been famous for centuries, and in 1991 it was the first (and for quite some time the only) production area with the highest rank in Spanish wine law: Denominación de Origen Calificada (Qualified Denomination of Origin). Rioja is known for its oak-aged … Continue reading
The Spanish wine region of Navarra is famous for its moscatel de grano menudo, and the benchmark producer of moscatel is Bodegas de Camilo Castilla in the town of Corella. Navarra is on the northeast of Rioja in the North of Spain, with a climate that is influenced by both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. … Continue reading
The reason I’ve not blogged for a week is that I was away on a study trip to France. This trip is part of the wine training I’m taking at the Dutch wine academy (Wijnacademie) to become a registered vinologist (vinoloog). A vinologist is not exactly the same as an oenologist (who has a deeper … Continue reading
Pastiera is a traditional Easter cake from Naples, filled with boiled wheat, ricotta, and candied citrus. The wheat provides an interesting texture and also makes the cake quite filling. The candied citron, candied orange, lemon zest, orange blossom water, and cinnamon, give the cake a delicious flavor as well. The wheat needs to be soaked … Continue reading
A great way to get to know the wines of an area is to visit the area, visit wineries, taste the wines, talk to the winemakers, eat at local restaurants, and order local wines with your meal. It is even better if you can buy and take home some of the wine, as it usually … Continue reading
A traditional side dish of Sicily is Bastaddi affucati, a Sicilian type of purple cauliflower braised with wine. I got the inspiration to try this dish from Viaggiando con Bea. Since bastaddu (in Sicilian, bastardo in Italian) is difficult to find outside of Sicily, the version with regular cauliflower (cavolfiore) is more widespread. Affucatu (affogato in Italian) … Continue reading
Burgundy (Bourgogne) is a region in France that is famous for its wine and its food. Three years ago we went there for a few days to discover the wine region and purchased some nice wines. Most Burgundian wines are at their best between 5 and 10 years from the harvest, and since the wines … Continue reading
Wine and cheese are a great match. But not just any wine with any cheese. Restaurants still offer a mix of very different cheeses with a glass of port. However in cases that different styles of cheeses are served together, they should be paired with different styles of wine as well. Last night we tasted 12 … Continue reading
Lambrusco is a light bubbly red wine from Emilia-Romagna and Lombardia in Italy that does not have a good reputation at all. It is usually cheap plonk that is frowned upon by many connoisseurs. However just like almost any other wine, it is possible to make good quality Lambrusco. Over the last few years, Italy’s … Continue reading
There are two reasons for decanting wine: separating the sediment from the wine (only needed for all wines that have sediment in the bottle, usually older wines) and letting the wine ‘breathe’ (oxygenation and outgassing; this may improve most wines but especially young red wines of which the tannins haven’t yet softened). Dutch wine connoisseurs … Continue reading
Not very original, but this remains one of my favorite desserts. “Tira mi su” literally means “pull me up”, and that refers to the lightness of this dessert. Yes, lightness. Although it will of course never be low in calories, it is possible to make a ‘fluffy’ version of Tiramisu that is not extremely dense. … Continue reading
This was the secondo for our X-mas dinner this year. Pigeon is often overcooked and then has a strong livery taste and is dry. By cooking the breast sous-vide, it has a delicious flavor and is very tender. The pigeon jus is delicious and very flavorful because it is reduced to an almost syrupy consistency and because … Continue reading
As primo for our X-mas dinner this year I made these wonderful ravioli stuffed with scallops and parsnip. The inspiration for this recipe came from Niki Segnit’s The Flavour Thesaurus. The combination of parsnip puree and scallops works really well, and to enhance the flavor I also added chopped tarragon. If you can obtain fresh scallops … Continue reading
Bounet, bunet or bonet is a traditional festive dessert from Piemonte. The name is thought to be derived from “bonnet” (hat), since the dessert is the ‘hat’ of the meal. Bounet is delicious and very good with any dessert wine that goes well with chocolate, including Barolo Chinato and Pedro Ximenez. This recipe is adapted … Continue reading
Even though are favorite way of dining is to let the chef decide what to cook and the sommelier which wines to serve with it, we had never yet tried Utrechtsedwarstafel because of the pricetag (between 65 euros for 3 course with basic wines and 125 euros for 5 courses with premium wines) and mixed … Continue reading
I had some left-over gorgonzola and had bought some witlof (chicory, belgian endive) and decided to try something new: ravioli with a filling of gorgonzola and witlof. It turned out great and is definitely a keeper! The Italian version of witlof is radicchio and red instead of white, but they are related to each other … Continue reading
As a secondo after the primo of gnocchi al gorgonzola, we had another favorite: rack of lamb! The Dutch lamb from my local butcher is still very tender even though it’s almost December. Ingredients for 2 servings 1 rack of lamb with 6-8 ribs 3 sprigs rosemay salt, freshly ground black pepper olive oil 75 … Continue reading
I’ve always enjoyed sharing my enthusiasm for cooking, good food and wine with others. It gives me a big thrill when my sharing leads to someone trying something new or developing an interest for wine or cooking. I’ve had a home page on the internet since 1995, where I’ve shared some of my recipes almost from … Continue reading
