I like mine medium rare

Occasionally someone in this world surpises me. Half-way through my perfectly prepared medium-rare rump steak the restaurant manager noticed that my glass of 2009 Cefiro Casablanca Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile was empty. He came over to ask if I'd like another wine and if he could recommend something different.

Back he came with two tasters... a little 2010 VdP Maurel Verdeau Pinot Noir from France and a little Pulenta La Flor Malbec 2010 from Argentina. I thought the Malbec was a little thin, but loved the cherry notes in the Pinot Noir so I chose the former.

Five minutes later, the manager was back... this time with a bottle of wine! I had barely taken a sip of my Pinot Noir, but "this wine" is his favourite off the wine list and I simply must try it - even though it wasn't available by the glass. So, onto the Italian wine we went... to the 2008 Allegrini La Grola from Veneto. It was bigger and bolder than I was expecting although I am not much good with my Italians. Was that a hint of coffee? My brother sighed and took a sip of his Bitburger Premium Pilsner Draught. All this wine talk was distracting us from our steaks and him from his beer!

But how nice it was to have an enthusiastic restaurant manager, who takes pleasure in the food and wine he serves and shares that with his guests... I was and am impressed.

http://www.thebutcherandgrill.com/wimbledon

To top it off our meals were faultless and we had a lovely evening, catching up and enjoying a good glass (or two) of wine on a cold winter's night. I will certainly recommend you try The Butcher & Grill in Wimbledon Village SW19, and form your own opinion.

Revisting Gruner Veltliner

Earlier this month I mentioned tasting the Gruner Veltliner 2008 Weingut Pfarre Weissenkirchen - the Austrian wine from the Wachau region.

I've tried this once very trendy white grape again, and again I really enjoyed it, so will have to go out and buy a bottle or three - you can buy the current vintage at Magestic for £9.99 a bottle.

It's acidity is racy - but this time I got green pear on the palate, with a lovely minerally backbone! I love the 'clean' feel I get from this wine. Almost but not fizzy, maybe like a pear-drop. It's a lovely change from a New Zealand style Sauvignon Blanc, which is not my favourite after all the Hermanuspietersfontein wines I so enjoyed in South Africa.

Gruner Veltliner is one of those varieties, like Riesling, and due to it's acidity, that will age well. It is also a versatile grape variety that is great with spicy foods and other complicated foods such as asparagus - I'll be sure to try it out.

Gruner Veltliner 2008 Weingut Pfarre Weissenkirchen

What is love?

Remember Dr. Alban? He asks the question we all want the answer to: "What is love?"

At school we had heated debates with our English teacher who said emphatically that you just cannot love anything other than another human. She said we can't possibly love our pet cat or dog. But you could love Shakespeare? Not so sure...

So as it is "V" day - what is love? I think I love relatively easily... I love my parents and family. I loved my cat Nelson (after Nelson "Madiba" Mandela!) - he was a great cat and I know he loved me back! I love my friends. Living away from family your friends become your family and are your pillars and support. Do I love my job? Sometimes. In retrospect, I love most of my ex-boyfriends. They are good people. I'd like to think I wouldn't have dated them otherwise.

But all that is different to being "in love".

We joke in the office saying "I love you, but I'm not in love with you". I love this line - it works and it puts relationships with people in perspective.

There's another great line that I love: "I may love you, but I don't have to like you at this moment." - a great line!

I love wine. I love food. I love them together. And even better when together with the people you love.

Could I be "in love"? Maybe. But maybe it's that cheeky word "infatuation" - which I think is such a dangerous word. It plays with you. Toys with you. It distorts perspective. It can be mean. And it can hurt. A lot. We've all witnessed the pain and confusion our friends have been through during those blind moments of infatuation. So maybe, just maybe.... we should just dive in - take a gigantic leap... and shout: "I am in love!"

But only if he's worth it!*

Happy Valentines Day!

* Note: Taking a gigantic leap or a dive into the unknown of course may hurt the most of all. But maybe it's the result and reward that will be oh so worth it? I'll keep you posted and I look forward to your point of view on love...

На здоровье! Na zdorovie! Cheers!

I haven't yet mentioned my visit to Moscow in December 2012. My colleague and I were there during the biggest protest march since the fall of communism in Russia. Security in the thousands monitoring even greater thousands wearing white ribbons on their lapels as they marched through Moscow protesting against Putin.

I have been working on Russian projects for a little over two years now and thoroughly love the people. They are intelligent, cultured, driven, and passionate. They are immensly proud - and rightly so - about their great city and country. Coming from a country that has also been troubled over recent decades I feel I can relate to the desire to prove to the world that we are from great countries, with wonderful traditions, fascinating histories, and beautiful landscapes.

Of course when you are in Moscow, being so well looked after, you are exposed to the joys and tradtions of drinking vodka. And with vodka, closely follows caviar - the wonderful pop of oily salmon roe and the release of its velvety juices and saltiness, followed by another toast to someone or something and enjoying the ice cold cleansing vodka. In this case it was the deiciously smooth and silky Beluga Vodka. No more Smirnoff for me! In London, Russian Standard is a good option to keep in your freezer.

Since my visit I have been making my version of a Russian influenced sharing platter. It is truly out of this world and has been greedily devoured as a summer Christmas starter, a beach-side sundowner platter, and a starter before a winter lamb stew with the candles flickering and a crackling fire - keeping us protected against the -6 degree winter freeze. It goes something like this:

Starter with Russian Salmon caviar

Caviar platter

Finely dice 3 or 4 cooked beetroots (out of a bottle is also fine) and a good handful of chives. Arrange lengthways in strips along a dinner size plate, but one with a dip like a shallow soup or casserole plate, the beetroot, a carton of plain cream cheese, the chives and a jar of black and/or red caviar (Ikea sell a seaweed version, and Waitrose sell a herring roe - all are fine - of course if you can get your hands on the Russian salmon roe caviar or the ultimate Beluga caviar, then you're in business!). For additional textures and colours you can also finely dice two hard-boiled eggs. Serve with a french loaf and/or blinis and unsalted butter. With that, serve with a shot of ice-cold vodka or Champagne. На здоровье!

Caviar platter

Three majestic wines

Our wonderful Chairman (on this particular day I think he's particularly wonderful!) has assigned the task of wine buying to myself and a colleague. What fun! And what a wonderful challenge to have. As a company, we have a considerable budget to accommodate the needs of my colleagues - enjoying a post-work drink around the kitchen on a Friday evening - and our clients - for meetings, lunches & dinners, and corporate events.

Majestic arrived with some great wines for us to taste. For me it's extra special to get valuable information and insight from people who are knowledgeable and educated in wine. There were some notable wines worth mentioning - all available at under £10 a bottle:

Gruner Veltliner 2008 Weingut Pfarre Weissenkirchen is an Austrian wine from the Wachau region. I rather liked the balance between the green acidity and the more oily, slightly mineral finish. This is not a wine for everyone, but is definintely worth trying with food, such as pork and oriental and spicy-type dishes.

If you are looking for a Burgundy wine, try for a change the Eikendal Chardonnay 2010/11 from Stellenbosch, South Africa. It is a classic Chardonnay that has been aged for 7 months in French oak. Wines like this encourage me not to rule out Chardonnays - I think this is an elegant wine and is lovely to enjoy around the fire with your book and slippers. Maybe even a pipe for the boys?

Continuing with Burgundy-style varietals, one wine definitely worth trying is the Wither Hills Pinot Noir 2009/10 from Marlborough in New Zealand. Not your French classic, but this medium-weight red has lovely black cherry flavours and a soft smoky finish - or perhaps a hint of cocoa? Fruity yet smooth - no sharp acids, resulting in an elegant wine, perfect to drink straight out the bottle or with a rack of lamb or seasonal game birds. I'm salivating at the very thought!

Majestic wine tasting - Friday 3 Febraury 2012

South African summer whites

Before I moved to London, back in 1998, I was predominantly a red wine drinker. To be honest I was probably an any wine drinker, specialising in whatever I could find in my father's cellar or free tastings in and around the Stellenbosch and Paarl wine routes.

Then came the parties, late nights and cheap red wines from the local pubs we frequented in London and along with that came the red teeth and lips syndrome. I quickly learnt that if I was to maintain any kind of visual composure, that I had to avoid red wine at all costs. Soon enough I was onto the over-oaked bottom-line Australian Chardonnays, followed soon after by the citrusy Pinot Grigio, etc - you get the picture!

Over the years I have graduated throught the ranks, refining and defining what I really enjoy in a white wine. To help matters along my budget allocation to buy wines has improved, enough to enjoy a flinty Chablis or a slightly, but not too floral Viognier. Even a Tasmanian bubbly...

One of and probably the only the good thing about being taxed to hell on wines in the UK is that when you go on holiday to places like South Africa you are happy to pay that little bit extra for a special bottle of wine. Together with hot and sunny weather the whites reigned supreme and over the days and weeks we tasted, drank and enjoyed countless bottles of truly delicious wines. Below, from what I can remember, are my (current) top 10 South African white wines I enjoyed this holiday:

1. Hermanuspietersfontein No.5 Sauvignon Blanc 2009
2. David Nieuwoudt Ghost Corner Semillon 2008
3. Beaumont Hope Marguerite Chenin Blanc 2010
4. Hermanuspietersfontein No.7 Sauvignon Blanc 2011
5. The Oak Valley Sauvignon Blanc Semillon 2008
6. Hermanuspietersfontein No.3 Sauvignon Blanc 2011
7. Paul Cluver Sauvignon Blanc 2010
8. RAATS Original Chenin Blanc (unwooded) 2010
9. Hermanuspietersfontein Sommer Nommer 2011
10. Nabygelegen Sauvignon Blanc 2011

Hermanus, Walker Bay

Note: There is a bias towards the coastal wines of Walker Bay as the bulk of my time in the cape was in this area during my January 2012 holiday.

Hermanuspietersfontein Die Bartho, Bloos & Swartskaap tasting



Burning sunsation...

Why is it that two weeks ago, out in the plains of Phinda game reserve in South Africa looking for the thrill of an overnight kill by a lion, cheetah or leopard, did I have to cover up, like an exposed vampire, against the burning sun as it rose up over the distant ocean, when, two weeks later, that exact same sun that rose up over the River Thames did not have any effect against the cold that winter brings. No impact against my steamy breath or warmth against my skin as it ached against the icy breeze whilst I waited, not for the kill, but for the 22 bus that takes be to work...

Phinda sunrise, KZN South Africa

Paying the rent

After almost five weeks of glorious holiday I find myself back at my desk glaring at my screen, punching in words and numbers and dreaming of being whisked away from the reality of work.

Oddly, I actually enjoy my job! For the most part I work with wonderful people who are talented, professional and committed. My salary covers my rent and allows for my annual leave, but sadly it doesn't give me the freedom to plan a great escape to a world of frivolous adventure and pleasure - a place where I can do as I please and when I want.

The grass is ALWAYS greener on the other side. Or is it? I'm sure Mr Wine- or Dairy- farmer doesn't think how lucky he is when he's up at 4am to check his vines and milk his cows, seven days a week and 365 days a year. I'm sure the romance of living and working on a farm wears off quickly once reality sets in.

When would I be able to have that Saturday morning lie-in? Or take a five week holiday?

So 2012: I face you armed with my thoughts, dreams and determination to do more of the things I love and to do them well. And of course enjoy what I do!

Delicious tomato-chilli 'jam'

I finally found the time to visit the local farmers market along New Kings Road. It's not quite like a French market, but it had everything a hungry person needed...  baby plum red and yellow tomatoes; mild, fresh goats cheese, a little oven-ready partridge, a rack of lamb, and a red cabbage. Certainly not cheap, but something to do on a mild November Sunday and something different to shopping at the local Waitrose.

So my lucky housemate was treated to roast partridge on a bed of red cabbage, which I cooked with a diced onion, chopped apple, a splash of cider and crispy streaky bacon.

After that I served rack of lamb. I covered the fatty side with a crunchy breadcrumb(breadcrumbs, onion, garlic, and thyme) and served with pureed pumpkin and a delicious tomato-chilli 'jam'!

Tomato-chilli 'jam' recipe
Finely dice half an onion, crush a clove of garlic and soften over a low heat in a little olive oil. Add some fresh thyme and toasted coriander and mustard seeds broken using a pestle and mortar. Finely slice a chilli and add (keep the seeds if you want more kick). Halve and add a handful of red and yellow baby tomatoes and a teaspoon of brown sugar. Cook slowly until the juices have reduced to a chutney-like consistency. Splash in a little more olive oil to give it a glossy appearance and serve as an accompaniment to your meal.

Burn baby burn!

It started with a kiss. It was a kiss of fire...

I parted my lips in apprehension, letting the smooth cold liquid run over my tongue and along my teeth and gums, swallowing the pleasant chilli-mango puree margarita, shaken with fresh lime, Olmeca reposado tequila and agave syrup. And then... Smack! A kick like a mule. Oh WOW! Sweat! Heat! I sat bolt upright, flushed, grabbed my water and took a large gulp. Burn, baby burn. Breathe. Wew! Lekka! Another sip?

Once I'd recovered from my chilli-infused margarita, the rest of the evening at New Zealand chef Peter Gordan's Kopapa was comparatively tame as we shared the tapas-style sharing plates of delicious little chestnut croquettes served with a tomato, lime & chilli jam; a chickpea battered aubergine & Manouri fritter; pan fried Scottish scallops in a sweet chilli sauce; densely packed spring rolls of slow roasted duck & a tamarind aioli; and a delicious pork belly with a preserved lemon & prune chutney & cider jus.

We finished with an interesting banana tarte tatin, served with a heavenly sea salt caramel and rum and raisin labne.

We had eaten here once before, and had the added pleasure of seeing Peter Gordan cooking in the kitchen. I must admit that I had been dreaming of the 3-way oysters that were on the menu the last time, so I was ever so slightly disappointed not to see them - I think this girl about town has been too spoilt!

Hot toddy my way

It's difficult to be inspired when you succumb to some nasty little bug that makes you feel like throwing in the towel. Aches, pains, shivers, cough cough cough. But, nothing soothes the throat and restores (some) order than a hot toddy - especially when the sun is low, the cold north wind is rustling through the trees and shaking off the last of the autumnal leaves, and you're safe from the world, with your slippers and blanket!

This is how I like my hot toddy: Add and stir in to boiled water a slice and squeeze of lemon, 2 cloves, a tsp of honey, and a tot of brandy.

Diwali - the festival of lights

Tasting note: Knappstein Three 2008, Clare Valley, South Australia

This Clare Valley wine, a blend of Gewürztramminer, Riesling and Pinot Gris, was a wonderful find!

It's been sitting patiently on my wine rack (under my bathroom sink), waiting for the right meal and occasion. Riesling has always been one of my favourite white varietals, and Gewürtzraminer has such a distinctive nose, so I was keen to find out what the Aussies have been producing using these traditional "Alsatian" grapes - especially Clare Valley which is known for it's Rieslings.

The nose released fresh lemony, lychee and aromatic notes (from the dominant Gerwürtztraminer - it said 'rose petals' on the back label) and we were rewarded with a smooth, very slightly off-dry citrus and well-balanced wine that was a pleasure to drink. Perfect with the curry I had prepared for dinner, in celebration of Diwali, a Hindu festival of lights which honours Lakshimi, the goddess of wealth, to pray for a successful year:

From Vivek Singh's 'Curry: Classic and Contemporary Curry Recipes' (of Cinnamon Club and Cinnamon Kitchen) I attempted, with great results, the lamb and beetroot curry. I marinated the diced and deboned shoulder of lamb overnight in ginger, garlic, red chilli and yoghurt. Once cooked, you add the garam masala and pureed and whole beetroot, which gives your dish this wonderfully deep and shiny look. I served it with another of Vivek's recipes, a sweet and sour basmati rice, which incorporates star anise, curry leaves and coconut milk. Truly delicious! Additional side dishes included saag aloo (spiced potato and spinach), a curried chickpea and tomato mix, and a pomegranate raita, which was a lovely chilled yoghurt-based dish to compliment the spiciness of the meal.

What I did enjoy was the blend and depth of flavours, without the chilli heat, which can kill those subtle ingredients that create complexity and round your meal.

Serve with a good Indian beer, or the Knappstein Three, make a toast to a successful year ahead, and enjoy the end of a rather enjoyable October month.

Sharing is caring

Fashion is not only a clothing thing.

We come across it in almost all aspects of life. Wine trends change… in whites we went from Australian Chardonnay, to Italian Pinot Grigio, to New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, and this summer everyone shifted to sipping Rosé. In food, we’ve witnessed the rise of the gastro pub, of my starters, mains and desserts all turned into a frothy mousse or purée (enter stage left Tom Atkins), and today it’s all about sharing our meals. Whoever told me as a child that “sharing is caring” should be shot! But, when it comes to food - I actually love the idea – you get to sample everyone else’s meal without being rude!

I believe this trend of sharing plates has been the influence of Asian and Spanish cuisine in the UK. I can think of a few restaurants in London that cater perfectly to this concept:

Yauatcha and Hakkasan – both serving innovative dim sum and Chinese meals
Tendido Cuatro and Casa Brindisa – present delicious Spanish tapas

There are many many more restaurants I can happily list, but today I’d like to tell you of a recent visit to Tendido Cuatro, which you can find along New Kings Road.

My friend and I were seriously thirsty after a long day and week. So that Tuesday, after a brief debate, we hot-footed it to Tendido Cuatro. I can’t say I’ve ever ordered wrong off their menu selection of 10 cold tapas and 20 hot tapas. We narrowed it down to croquetas (Serrano ham & béchamel croquettes with tomato and thyme sauce), grilled baby lamb chops with pardron peppers, griddled king prawns a “la plancha”, and aubergine chips with rosemary honey. Now if that list doesn’t turn you on, then go speak to your doctor!

The hot, crispy aubergine is sticky and sweet in its honey-coating, such an unusual, but obvious combination. The lamb chops are succulent and pink and the blistered pardron peppers, tossed in sea salt were so delicious that I had to make them for our post rugby world cup final Sunday brunch! (Oh yes, good work New Zealand, but reviewing the New Zealand rugby team requires some dedicated thought and focus and a separate entry entirely!)

The croquettes. Oh, those little mouthfuls of smooth cheesy heaven. Sigh.

I mustn’t forget the wines as they are worth a mention.

I started with a glass of La Goya Manzanilla. It’s a dry, fino style sherry with a slightly briny nose and an almond finish on the palate. You can feel the cooling effect of the alcohol. I would recommend this with food, maybe seafood and olives.

For wine we had a lovely Nerola White (2009) from the Torres family. This award-winning organic wine from Catalunya, Spain, was the perfect complement to our tapas. The Torres website says this wine is a blend of Xarel.lo and Garnacha Blanca varieties, styles I’m not hugely familiar with. It had a lovely citrus freshness, with apples, and the oak aging gave it its roundness and long finish. I will definitely have this again when I next visit.

Finally, because it was a Tuesday night, we finished with a plate of the lovely, nutty Manchego cheese with quince fruit marmalade and a glass of Licor 43. I had never come across this liqueur before. They say it’s made up of 43 different Mediterranean fruits and herbs – move over Bombay Saffhire (which uses 10 botanicals)! – and was a deep golden colour and syrupy. It was thick and silky and tasted of toffee-apples, vanilla and butter-scotch.

Dinner for 2 at Tendido Cuatro was £90.
http://www.cambiodetercio.co.uk

Recipe: Padron peppers
Heat 2 table spoons of olive oil in a frying pan and heat. Add Padron peppers (£2.49 for 150g from Waitrose) and fry on a medium heat for about 4-5 minutes until the skins have blistered and softened. Toss in a good sprinkling of course sea salt, such as Maldon and serve.

Gluttony [gluht-n-ee]: noun

Slowly, over days, weeks, months and years… if you’re not paying careful attention and enjoying living too good a life, this happy life will suddenly turn on you and bite back! You will wake up one morning and realise that you just can’t do up that button, no matter how hard you suck and bend and twist. Yes, you’ve slowly eaten and drunk yourself to bursting point.

In our first-world western lives, gluttony is no longer seen as one of the seven deadly sins. The desire for wealth and the finest foods and wines have become part of our everyday lives and ambitions. Are we part of the successes and excesses of capitalist living, or are we just greedy piglets with a hunger for more, more, more?

I'm afraid I don’t have the answers and I’d cry like a baby if someone took away all the treats I’ve become accustomed to. Following the principle of “everything in moderation” will perhaps give us a more balanced approach to life, and I get this. Totally. But in the words of Oscar Wilde, “Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess.”

Our friend Oscar Wilde

Connoisseur or piss-cat

It’s a fine line between being a wine connoisseur and piss-cat. I don’t think I’d be far wrong saying a wine enthusiast is a bit of both! Wine may not be my profession, but as it’s my passion I have been to my fair share of tasting events and at the end of these events you see enough exhausted and slightly frazzled professionals starry-eyed and red-eyed after all the tasting, talking and entertaining that comes as part of the show.

I have been known, on the odd occasion, to blur the lines between a good night out and a passing out, but as I grow up I like to think I’m getting to know my personal limits. But, like any good thing in life, one is constantly challenged as such limits are tested. And tested again. And again.

It’s a terrible thing to have a £90 sample of a big busty inky red in your hand knowing that you really should swirl, sniff, sip, and… spit. It goes against the very nature of things. Standing amongst the professionals, it is a true testing of limits. It just wouldn’t be cool to glug down this liquid deliciousness, says the connoisseur in me. But as I don’t have to remember anything about the wine, do I really care? says the piss-cat in me.

Cabbage and Monbazillac

I really must look up the medical condition for having the craving for CABBAGE! It's also been bothering me that I have a half empty bottle of Monbazillac in my fridge. I lugged this sweet, honeysuckle wine all the way from my holiday in Bergerac last year, so there is no way it's going to waste. Not on my watch!

So I thought I would try out a mix of pork chops, caramalized red apples and fresh 'fried' sage on a bed of steamed savoy cabbage. Serve with a little Maille mustard on the side and... a large glass of the remaining Chateau de Sanxet Monbazillac and... dinner for winechick is served. Bottoms up kiddies!


Loin pork steak, red chief apple and fried sage on a bed of savoy cabbage



Tasting note: Château de Sanxet Millenium Monbazillac 2007

During my October 2010 holiday around Bergerac, we came across Château de Sanxet. We were looking for the Musée Automobile du Château de Sanxet near the town of Pomport, but it was closed. As a result we turned our attention to their wine.

Monbazillac is a sweet wine AOC and only grapes affected by noble rot can be labelled under this name. We tried both the 2005 and 2007 wines. To the eye you could immediately tell, just by the deeper, richer gold, that the 2005 was a bigger and bolder sibling to the 2007 vintage. The Château de Sanxet wines are made up of a blend of Semillon, Muscadelle, and Sauvignon Blanc and around 50% is aged in new oak for 18 months.

Château de Sanxet

On opening the 2007 wine you get a good whiff of honeysuckle, typical of Monbazillac - the hint of vanilla is a subtle clue to the barrel aging. On the palate the silky honey comes through, thick and viscous as it envelopes your mouth, balanced with the sharper, apricot flavours and a touch of vanilla and spice from the barrel aging. I know it’s not typical to serve a sweet wine with something like pork, but with the simple clean flavours and fresh produce, and balanced acidity in the wine, I thought it worked a treat.

Prices (at cellar door, October 2010): 2007 = 7.50 euros; 2005 = 9.50 euros

Today's the day!

Standing in front of shelves stacked with wines from around the world brings a smile to my face and a shudder to my credit card. Stroking the cool cellar walls in Burgundy, Napa, or Stellenbosch - and peering into the darkness that protects the forthcoming vintages fills me with wonder. Not to mention the the excitement in tasting local foods and meeting and getting to know the many wonderful and passionate people you bump into along the way. So... today is the day to start sharing my little adventures in the world of food and wine...

The vines of Chateau de Pommard, Burgundy - September 2011