Recently in Wine and Food Category
I had the good fortune to find a wonderful Peruvian restaurant in Washington DC this week and a was invited out to it two nights in a row! Both nights I had exactly the same thing, and I was delighted.
El Chalan is a small restaurant that serves Peruvian specialties. On the first night, my colleague wanted to go for the ceviche, which he said was great, and it was, tangy and flavorful. I had Peruvian paella and when I went back the next night, I had exactly the same thing; I enjoyed it so much. The second night a friend from the World Bank, said that he knew a great local restaurant and took me to El Chalan again. Since I enjoyed the meal so much the night before I eagerly said I would go again.
I had a great dinner at the Paternoster Chop House in Paternoster Square near St. Pauls in London. Above is a picture of the wine steward who kindly recommended two fabulous Australian wines: 2000 Keyneton Estate Henschke, 72% Shiraz, 20% Cabernet, 8% Merlot. This was a big, chewy Shiraz; just what I wanted and a big surprise. The other recomendation was 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon, John Riddoch, Wynns Coonawarra, South Australia. I will try to find it when I get home.
I spend a lot of time in London and a lot of the time I am hungry. This weekend I was in the mood for Vietnamese food and all I could find was the normal puff pieces in city directories. Until I discovered culinary hags in london. What a great food site. The recommendations are unpretentious and the food writing is straight forward and honest. In fact, the Vietnamese restaurant I finally went to was great. Cafe East was in a dismal part of East London, but the food was great, just as they said it would be. The hags share my obsession for good Pho and this little restaurant really delivers. No beer, however, which I missed.
Now I am looking for recommendations of a good Indian / Nepalese restaurant.
I have become a huge fan of My Web 2.0 BETA from Yahoo. When I up loaded my links from my browser to Yahoo, I found I had a ton of wine links, so, of course, I added them all. Now there are four pages of wine links on My Web 2.0. One of the most exciting links I found by browsing through the list was Crushpad custom wines.
Crushpad is a community winery located in San Francisco. Using their services you can by premium grams and make a wine from no matter where you line. You make the decisions, tell them where you want to buy grapes and they do the work, in small lots. What a fabulous concept! They even have staff consultants that will help you make your decisions. What you get is a unique wine.
There are few people I trust more on the subject of French cuisine, and in particular the institution known as the Bistro than my friend and fellow blogger Pim. Her blog, Chez Pim, is the envy of many an epicure, filled as it is with her frequent trips to Paris and infallible knowledge of the dining scene there. As a Christmas gift to all of us, Pim has succumbed to popular demands and posted a list of what she considers to be the best inexpensive meals in Paris. These include both her favorite Bistros, as well as some ethnic restaurants,...
In Segovia we were very lucky to visit a superb restaurant called Restaurante "JOSÉ MARÍA":
This restaurant had a traditional menu of dishes from the region which we all enjoyed. Of course, I had roast suckling pig which fell from the bone. The wine, which is produced by the restraunteur was the highlight of the meal:
PAGO DE CARRAOVEJAS
This is a relatively new winery in the Ribera del Duero region, headed by a somewhat famous restaurateur from Segovia, José María Ruiz Benito of Mesón Jose María. There are several other partners, including winemaker Thomas Postigo. They have extensive acreage in the area of Peñafiel. I gather they are rather selective about what is actually bottled and sold under their Pago de Carraovejas. The wine is quite rich and really nicely oaked. It's about 75% Tinto del Pais and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon. French and American oak barrels are used for the maturation of this, about one-third of the barrels being brand new. It's outstanding paired with pork, grilled steaks, or lamb.
Last week while visiting London on business, I had a fabulous Indian dinner at RASOI VINEET BHATIA. The translation is Vineet Bhatia's Kitchen. The restaurant is an easy walk from Sloane Square in a renovated town house at #10 Lincoln Street in Chelsea. The experience was completely unexpected; I had asked my hotel concierge for a recommendation of an Indian restaurant, which they enthusiastically gave me, saying they had an excellent choice. I was unprepared for a completely transcendent experience!
The dinning room was a dimly candle lit choclatey color. As you would expect in a small residence the rooms were small and intimate. I started my meal with a kir. Immediately I was brought a small tasting appetizer of onion fritters. One of my first experiences of Indian food was onion fritters, years ago, also in London, and I will never forget the experience. These small fritter exceeded the tastes firmly embedded in my memory. I knew immediately I was in for an extraordinary meal.
I started with a selection of chutney, each with a subtle differences with sweetness, spice, and heat. The chutney was served in a delicate long white dish about an inch wide with equally delicate spoons. I spooned the chutney onto the dal and delighted in every bite.
I choose the vegetarian menu since I am on a diet and did not want to overeat. The waiter suggested a young, crisp, and delicious Sauvignon Blanc, I had a wild mushroom khichdi.. The creamy khichdi had something in common with an Italian risotto. It had a thin crust but underneath was a pungent rice dish that worked well with the yogurt sauce served along with the entre.
After I returned to my hotel, I looked up reviews of the restaurant on the web and found that Vineet Bhatia was the first Indian chef to receive a Michelin star, an extraordinary honor. Although, pricey this is a restaurant not to be missed.
I finally found a Wiki application that I can use to start a project that I have envisioned for a while. Wikis are a perfect platform for a collaborative writing project on Wine. I wrote the first page in the Wiki tonight. It is a very simple page which lists wine related blogs. This wiki will be strictly about wine and I hope it will attract other contibutors. If you are passionate about wine, follow the link and add your two cents.
If you like wine, Beaucastel is one of the most famous wine in France, and they have a new blog to follow the 2004 harvest.
[Loic Le Meur Blog]
If you like wine, you could read this blog about wine.
[Loic Le Meur Blog]
This is an excellent list of wine makers from Burgundy, my favorite wine making region in France and the World
- Antonin Guyon - A prestigious estate in Burgundy, spread amongst the most renowned vintages of the C?d'Or.
- Alex Gambal Wines - A great producer and US importer of Burgundian wines.
- Bouchard P貥 & Fils - The largest vineyard owner of premiers crus and grands crus in the C?d'Or, and one of the most distinguished sources of both estate-grown and n駯ciant wines from Burgundy.
- Chateau Corton-Andre - The Chateau de Corton-Andre is a symbol of tradition in Burgundy as the only Chateau in the Grands Crus of the C?de Beaune.
- Chateau de La Tour - This Domaine is inside of the Clos de Vougeot in Burgundy. Site provides history of the Domaine, describes the appellations produced, discusses the 2000 vintage and has an email link to the Domaine.
- Domain Marechal - Created in 1981, with 10 hectares of vines spread throughout six communes of the famous C?de Beaune.
- Domain Morey-Coffinet - Chassagne-Montrachet - Welcome to Domain Michel Morey-Coffinet & Fils, winegrower in Chassagne Montrachet. Site includes information about vineyards, wines, distributors; includes photos.
- Domaine Alain Verdet - Organic wine and liqueurs in Nuits-Saint-Georges.
- Domaine Amiot-Servelle - Seven-hectare estate, managed using soil cultivation with compost addition and soil analysis check-ups.
- Domaine Armand Rousseau - Located at Gevrey-Chambertin in Burgundy. Provides history, appellations, vintages and how to find the wine.
- Domaine Chantal Lescure - The vineyards stretch from Chambolle-Musigny in the north to Volnay in the south, producing 16 appellations of AOC red wines and a single appellation of white.
- Domaine de Chassorney - Four hectares in Saint Romain, a famous and picturesque village in the C?d'Or.
- Domaine Des Epeneaux - Eleven hectares, producing premier cru wines in Pommard.
- Domaine du Clos Noir - Established almost two hundred years ago, the grape variety is exclusively Pinot Noir.
- Domaine Georges Roumier - Winery in Chambolle-Musigny that initiated the practice of domaine bottling.
- Domaine Herv頌avoreille - A family estate of seven hectares located in the old village of Santenay le Haut.
- Domaine Jean-Claude Rateau - Located in the heart of Beaune.
- Domaine Joliot - A family estate, cultivating vines in the traditional Burgundian manner.
- Domaine Laleure-Piot - Pernand Vergelesses - The Domaine Laleure-Piot is nestled in the heart of Burgundy in Pernand-Vergelesses. The Domaine offers you the complete palette of Pernand Vergelesses, including Corton Charlemagne, Corton Bressandes, and Pernand-Vergelesse.
- Domaine Meo-Camuzet - In Vosne Romanee in Burgundy, Domaine Meo-Camuzet invites you to discover its news, wine tasting notes and its fine wines from the terroirs Richebourg, Clos de Vougeot, Corton, and Nuits-Saint-Georges.
- Domaine Mongeard-Mugneret - The family cultivates approximately 25 hectares of vines spread out over 23 different appellations.
- Domaine Olivier-Gard - Located in the hamlet of Concoeur and Corboin, six kilometres from Nuits-Saint-Georges.
- Domaine Parent - This Pommard producer traces its roots back to Etienne Parent who in 1787 established a professionnal and friendly relationship with Thomas Jefferson, thus becoming the precursor in the export of Burgundy wines across the Atlantic Ocean.
- Domaine Pierre Damoy - In Gevrey-Chambertin, Domaine Pierre Damoy invites you to discover its fine wines from the terroirs Chambertin, Chambertin-Clos de Beze, Chapelle Chambertin, Gevrey-Chambertin, Marsannay La C?
- Domaine Prieur-Brunet - The estate covers more than 50 acres of vineyards located in the six principal wine villages of the C?de Beaune.
- Domaine Raymond Launay - A family-owned estate making wines that are vinified according to Burgundy tradition.
- Domaine Rebourseau - Founded in 1919 by General Henri Rebourseau at Gevrey-Chambertin.
- Domaine Rossignol-Trapet - Fine wines from Gevrey-Chambertin.
- Domaine Tortochot - In Gevrey-Chambertin, Domaine Tortochot invites you to discover fine wine of terroirs.
- Domaine Trapet - In Gevrey-Chambertin, Domaine Trapet invites you to discover their fine wines.
- Domaine Vincent Girardin - The Girardin family wine estate has been passed from father to son for 11 generations in the commune of Santenay.
- La Pousse d'Or - Producer in Volnay in since the 12th century. On line ordering for Volnays, Pommards, Cortons. Multilingual site.
- Maison Andre Goichot - This domaine, located near Beaune, produces Charmes Chambertin, Beaune Premier Crus, Mersault and Santenay. Information request form, price list request form.
- Philippe Leclerc - Hand-crafted wine, oak-aged for several years and bottled without filtering.
