Another Great Winemaking Area

The last few days I have been having a rough patch medically, so this is a little later than I had planned.

MY JOURNEY WITH WINE 3

Hi there again and thanks for joining me on my journey with wine. Today's recollection is one that you might want to relegate to the wanderings of a mind that has had a wine too many. Nevertheless the story is true but I leave your belief up to you. As a young man "travelling " in Spain we were frequently paid for our labour with or paid our peseta's for a rough red wine, often sold in a skin. The quality of the wine varied but at the end of a long day we would be looking for some refreshing beverage with our coca, a flat bread and some home made goats cheese. I asked many of those that provided us with the wine "what is this called?" to which the reply was almost universally "Bulls Blood" Imagine my surprise when thirty five years later I was in a Tapas Restaurant in Liverpool Street in Sydney and saw a bottle of Spanish wine labeled "Sangre del Torres" I translated this as Blood of the Bulls and then in my head Bulls Blood. Puzzled by the fact that I had been told the wine I drank from fifty sources during my three month stay in Spain was called Bulls Blood, what I until then thought of as a generic description of the wine, was now sitting in a trade marked bottle. I questioned the very knowledgeable proprietor of the establishment who told me this story that many of you may not know, I didn't.

The legend began in Egar a town in Hungary, which gained a reputation when 2000 soldiers defended the town against a siege by nearly 200,000 Turkish troops on their way to invade western Europe. During the siege the citizens of Eger either broke open or were invited into the cellars of winemakers and noblemen where they drank the local red wine to give them courage and strength to fight off the invaders. It is said that the wine spilled over their beards and onto their skin and armour or other clothing, colouring them blood red. The Turks saw the red and noted the fearless way in which the Egerian's fought and word quickly spread among the them that the Egerian's were drinking the Blood of Bulls to make themselves invincible. This turned the tables on the Turks who were very superstitious and the siege was repelled.

The story was relayed throughout Europe and in Spain where the peasant wine was rich, rough and red. It was given the name Bull's Blood to excuse it's lack of refinement and to honour the bravery of the bull and those early Hungarians. Today wine with the name Bull's Blood is produced in Spain, Australia and once again in a revitalised Hungarian wine industry.

MY WINE LOG

Yesterday there were five of us for dinner, Jocelyn and our daughter Robyn and her partner Glenn, Geoff and our grandson Matthew. Robyn cooked us a Laksa with Ham, which was divine.

This was accompanied by a bottle of Cruickshank Callatoota Estate 1994 (CF4) Two Cabernets. This wine is one of the classic Bordeaux Blends, but unique in the proportions that the wine was blended in, 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Cabernet Franc. Bordeaux blends are notoriously food friendly and less fussy when served with dishes that are unconventionally matched. Firstly let me give you my notes when I tasted this wine in 2001.

This full berry rich wine is a 60/40 blend of the cousin Cabernet's, Sauvignon and Franc. It was fairly rough on first taste and had considerable bottle stink, but by the time we sat down to dinner and I poured a glass each it had opened up and softened considerably.

It is now 2008 and the wine is another 7 years older and had a period when the cellaring conditions were not ideal, so it was with some trepidation that I opened our last bottles. I was not disappointed as this wine has continued to mature elegantly. There is some sediment that can be sieved by decanting, but the wine is rich ruby in the glass with a nose that is full of stewed dark fruit and vanillan oak In the mouth, the wine has zest and the complexity of liquorice and tobacco with hints of stewed blackberry and dark chocolate, the tannins are supple and leave a subtle hint of the delights gone before on the back palate, for some time.

Cruickshank Callatoota Estate is situated in the Upper Hunter Valley near Denmam and Muswellbrook and is an area of New South Wales that is full of vineyards and great wine. It is really worth a visit at the vintage when the festivities go on for several weeks.
We love the wine from this vineyard which only crushes grapes grown on the property.

The Laksa Lemak

This is a classic! The flavours are a true example of the type of Laksa that you will find in Southern Malaysia which are coconut based; as you travel further north toward Penang the Laksa is presented as a clear sourish Tamarind based dish. So Lemak is creamy yet spicy with the hint of fresh herbs such as lemon grass and Laksa leaves. It goes well with yellow mee or white Laksa noodles or a mixture of the two.

Rempah
(use either a mortar and pestle or a food processor to whizz the ingredients together):

1 lemon grass
1 thumbsize galangal, sliced thinly
6 candlenuts
13 shallots
1 tbsp ground chilli powder
1 slices shrimp paste
1/2 tbsp tumeric powder
1tbsp coriander powder

50 grams dried prawns, ground finely

850 mls prawn stock

850 mls coconut milk

Salt and Sugar

Heat a frying pan till hot, add 10 tbs oil and stir fry rempah on
low heat till fragrant and chilli oil oozes out from the mixture. Add in
ground dried prawns and stir fry mixture for another 2-3 mins. Put up
the heat, add in prawn stock and coconut milk and bring
to boil. Add sugar and salt to taste. Lower the heat and simmer for
10 minutes stirring continuously.

Garnish:

350 grams tiger prawns, boiled and peeled
350 grams fried fish cake, sliced
350 grams bean sprouts
1/2 kg laksa noodles (lai fen)

1/2 kg mee noodles

10 stalks laksa leaves, washed and shredded
1 packet of tofu puffs, cut into slices
6 eggs boiled and quartered

To Serve:

Blanch noodles and bean sprouts in hot boiling water and drain. Place in
individual serving bowls and arrange prawns, fish cake, tofu puff and
egg slices on top. Pour the steaming hot soup over the noodles and
sprinkle generously with laksa leaves.

Serves 6

For those of you who would like to try some Laksa recipes I have include some pages that highlight these dishes

http://www.soupsong.com/rlaksa.html

http://millennium.fortunecity.com/sweetvalley/300/laksa.html

http://www.dawncities.com/virtualbistro/recipes/laksa_recipe.htm

http://members.iinet.net.au/~mulataga/laksa.htm

http://www.delaksa.com/

http://www.lifestylefood.com.au/recipes/recipe.asp?id=1166

http://www.cuisine.com.au/recipe/Laksa

Breakfast at Granata's on Dean

A bit off the subject but worthy of your attention is the place to eat breakfast in Albury. Granata's on Dean was owned by the people who ran the Grove restaurant in Wodonga. This is an upsize from their previous venture but their meticulous attention to retain delectable meals and fantastic coffee make it a stand out in the town. Geoff was impressed, but he does come from Invercargill so we leave it to you to decide. If you go, just say Mike and Jocelyn recommended we came. The other thing I would be asking is that you give this blog some loving when you get here, I am sure the content is going to be the best you can get but people have to know it's here.

HISTORY OF WINE 2
Wine was first traded in quantity by the Greeks who were also responsible for the introduction of vines to the South of France. However it was the rise of the Roman Empire, with the relative stability and affluence that the legions brought to the "colonies" which really saw a sharp increase in the trading of vines and wines. Vines were introduced to and established in what we now consider the traditional grape growing areas of France and Spain.

Around this time grapes started to be grown in Germany, this may have been the result of the Roman Army encouraging German citizens to produce wine from wild vines found in the warmer river valleys, especially if they had come from postings in regions of France and Spain where wine was a staple part of the culinary diet and they were missing their tipple.

The establishment of wine growing areas created a crop and it was not very long before Rome's citizens who were well versed in locally produced wines demanded that some of the finished product from other areas be made available for their use. The storage of wine had greatly improved with the introduction of pottery jars which could be sealed, giving the wine greater longevity. However the shape of these containers known as amphorae, which was tall with a narrow base, led to problems when they had to be carted to the docks, packed into the hold of a ship and subjected to rough treatment by man and nature. The result was that often wine was much more expensive to freight because the containers could not be stacked and they were often broken. The Celts had been making barrels since 500 years before Christ, but their introduction in the 1st century AD as a storage container created a relatively inexpensive and hugely more efficient way to transport wine in quantities that would make it affordable to the masses. (that's you and me) The only problem was that wood was porous and the wine was seen to oxidise and spoil sooner. (A comment on the recent debate concerning the merits of cork and other closures).

MY WINE LOG

McIvor Creek Wines is a very small winery situated near Bendigo, Victoria. In what is known as the Heathcote wine region. Today we had some of their 1993 Shiraz. We bought this wine as cleanskin, that is, without labels. This was often seen to be inferior wine, in this case it was not true. It is a deep purple wine with a mellow bouquet and a distinct but very pleasant earthy taste on the front of the plate. I felt that although the finish was limited in it's complexity that it was full of typical Shiraz spiciness and still had an acid backbone exceptional for a fifteen year old wine. At the time of purchase the wine maker told us that the grapes were not grown at Heathcote but at Nathalia, also in Victoria.

For those intending to visit this winery, the part of Victoria where McIvor’s is situated, is beautiful rolling country and when we visited was still very green, despite the drought. By the way, there 26 other vineyards in the area, most have a cellar door.

The McIvor Creek Shiraz accompanied a beautiful meal of baked Lamb Shanks with a rich dark gravy on a sweet potato and leek mash with green beans.

Preparing The Lamb Shanks

I allowed 2 lamb shanks per person, but you might want to vary that depending on the appetites of your guests

I slit the shanks open in about 5-6 places and put slivers of fresh garlic into the openings.

I crushed some rainbow peppers in a mortar and pestle and rolled each of the shanks in the crushed pepper

I skinned and crushed four kiwi fruit over the lamb shanks and left them to marinate while I prepared the vegetables.

Preparing the Vegetables

I topped and tailed the beans, slicing them at a 45% angle and sprinkled some Murray River salt on them while I prepared the sweet potato and leek mash.

I peeled the orange sweet potato and then sliced it about a centimetre thick, then sliced the leeks about 2 cm thick.

A teaspoon of ordinary table salt from the salt pig I purchased from under a potters wheel when we were visiting the Wee Waa winery in North Western NSW. Now there is another story to tell.

Cooking The Shanks

The lamb shanks are baked in a tray with two teaspoons of olive oil for each shank and any juice created whilst marinating poured and spooned over them. This and the cooking juices will form part of the gravy.

Making The Gravy

I removed the Shanks from the roasting dish placing them in the warming drawer under foil.

I then scraped the contents of the tray including the olive oil into a jug, some people prefer to sieve this mixture, but I believe that reduces the texture of the gravy. I then covered the bottom of the tray with water and added a mixture of water, Dijon Mustard and cornflour and brought this to a simmer. Then I added the contents of the jug slowly over a high heat. I find this reduces the incidence of lumps forming in the gray, but it's up to the chef.

Cooking the Vegetables

The beans should be cooked until they are bright green, and should still have some snap in the mouth.

I’m looking for the sweet potato to be just soft and the leeks to be just underdone (they will finish cooking in their own steam). On this occasion I mashed the sweet potato then mashed in the leeks, the result was a crunchy mash with excellent colours. I have also sometime vitamised the sweet potato and leeks together for a finer mash with only glimpses of colour.

For those of you that fancy a lamb meal I've included some pages that specialise in lamb recipes, try one.

http://www.nepalhomepage.com/society/recipes/recipes.html

http://recipes.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Category:Lamb_Recipes

http://www.lambchef.com/

http://www.aussiecooking.com.au/cook/Submitted-Recipes/Lamb

http://www.farmgatelamb.com.au/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=4&Itemid=27

http://readysteadycook.ten.com.au/lamb-recipes.htm

http://www.realirishfood-recipes.com/lambrecipes-two.html

http://www.illawarra.net.au/hobbies/lamb.htm

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23373664-5012694,00.html

Geoff is here

This afternoon Jocelyn's son Geoff arrived to stay for a week. This is his first trip to see us in Australia in twelve years, although up to last year Jocelyn visited New Zealand annually and never missed time with him.

So it was high excitement for much of the week as his mother and sister Robyn worked out what they would spend time doing during his stay.The plan was to pick him up from the airport, take him for coffee, than return to our place and chat until the All Black Wallaby Bledisloe Cup match, after which we planned to celebrate another All Black victory. Obviously the Wallabies had other plans and gave the All Blacks their biggest thrashing in a long time, so the evening ended on a despondent note, but with hopes for a turnaround in next weeks game.

The highlight of the evening then turned out to be the meal. Let me first say that what we did was against traditional and conventional practice.

We enjoyed our last bottles of Cedar Creek Shiraz 1997 during the meal of grilled chicken drumsticks with coleslaw and a baked potato after spending the afternoon with some fine beers. This wine was produced by one of Australia's leading wine exporters Cranswick Estate. Cranswick Estate were taken over by Evans and Tate in 2002, at that time staff at the Griffith Cellar door were hopeful that the brand names would be salvaged. However Evans and Tate in their turn have disappeared from the scene after huge losses during the wine glut and a failed rescue attempt by McWilliams Wines. When we lived in Griffith that winery was only about a kilometre from our home and it still saddens me when I drive by and see the deserted buildings. In some wine notes I have from 2001 I say this: The wine was deep purple in the glass and had aromas of plum and spice with hints of oak and in the mouth the wine had black cherry and plum flavours with fine tannins.

Last night the skinless chicken with it's spicy rub and the highlights of the coleslaw’s peppers integrated well with the wine. I found that the wine now 7 years older had aged to perfection. Almost black in the glass and viscose in the mouth the fresh cherry and plum had integrated with the oak and added the complexity of dark chocolate and leather to the package. A great surprise for a quaffing wine and not what a purist would recommend maybe. However appreciation of wine and the food that accompanies it is not limited in Australia to tired clichés and rote responses.

The Australian Governments Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation Site has this quote from Sydney based Chef Neil Perry “I think food and wine pairing is important because it heightens the whole dining experience. There are two ways of going about it, what I try to do is look at the flavours and textures in the food and pick up flavours that are similar or comparable in the wine. If you have something that’s flavoured with truffles then an older Pinot Noir can work really well, because of those gamey aromas in the wine and the truffles. But then sometimes you also want to look at some opposing flavours, for example if you have something that’s really quite rich you might want to select a wine to cut through that.

There’s really no right and wrong, on a personal level though it’s better to drink things you enjoy, and many wines go very well with lots of food. I drink red wines with seafood for example.

Really big wines are more difficult to match with food, such as some of those really big Shirazes that Robert Parker goes for – I don’t know what you’re supposed to eat with that stuff. But then at the same time you’ve got something like Rockford’s Basket Press, which is one of the most food friendly wines you can imagine.

Matching wine and food makes it a more complete experience and it keeps adding layers and complexity and makes the whole thing more enjoyable.”

Enjoy we did, whether by reason of the company, the anticipated All Black win or because it was really good I’m not sure. But it really worked on the night.

By the way Shiraz is known by the name Syrah in the US and some other parts of the world, just to give your taste buds some orientation click here

The recipe for the grilled chicken is courteousy of step-daughter Robyn, who was last nights chef.

The Chicken
18 chicken drumsticks
Savoury Rub from Jones the grocer in Albury
Olive Oil
Garlic
Salt and Pepper

The Coleslaw
1 medium Savoy Cabbage
2 Red and 1 Green Capsicum
2 Large Red Onions
250 mls Grated Tasty Cheese
1 Cup Pepita's

The Baked Potato
6 Medium to Large Desiree Potatoes


Preparation
The Chicken
Remove the skin from the drumsticks
Rub in the Savory rubbing mix and place in fridge with garlic to marinate.

The Coleslaw
To keep fresh apply a little lemon to the grated ingredients and add the cheese last. Use whatever you have in the fridge, no rules apply.
Grate either fine or chunky to suit your taste, we had a chunky one last night to allow the capsicum to support the chicken against the red wine.
Toss lightly before placing in the serving bowl to mix ingredients.

The Baked Potato
This is so simple. Wash the potato.

Cooking
The Potato.
Bake for 30-40 minutes in a fan forced oven or 1 hour in a conventional one, until the potato is soft.
Remove from oven and cut a cross on one side of the spud, place some grated cheese prepared for the coleslaw in the slits and place back in oven for 5 minutes.
When you remove the potatoes squeeze to open the cross before placing on the plate.

The Chicken
Place the drumsticks in a tray with a drizzle of olive oil for twenty minutes at medium heat, turn over half way through the cooking.
Put the marinade in the tray to mix with the juices of the drumsticks.
As the chicken has no skin it can easily get overcooked and dry; to avoid this aim for just done and allow the chicken to continue it's cooking as you serve.
For those of us who just love the skin, crisp it in the tray after removing the chicken, takes 10 minutes and is sublime, better than pork crackling.

For those of you who might want to check out some more chicken recipes I have found some great sites for you to explore.

http://www.chicken.mb.ca/recipes.html

http://lifestyle.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=578421

http://lifestyle.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=579285

http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/collections/chicken

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/collections/healthy_chicken_recipes.html

http://www.cuisine.com.au/recipe-finder/chicken-recipes?page=6

MY JOURNEY WITH WINE PART 2

As a young person I new so little about wine. The British preferred their tea and a vile coffee and chicory mix. On my first visit to Germany I was told by another traveler that I could get a really nice bottle of wine called "Liebfraumilch" translated Sweet Mothers Milk, very cheap and it gave you a hit. My experience of alcohol was limited to beer, but being adventurous I was determined to give it a a go. Remember this was in the early 60's and the town was Hamburg. I didn't want to appear stupid so I went into a grocers and searched the shelves. Taking to the counter with me my purchase I couldn't wait to get back to our room and have a taste. Imagine the humiliation of opening the containing in front of my laughing friends to find out it was in fact cows milk that tasted just like mothers milk and not wine at all. It was some time after that that I got to try the real wine of that name as I stuck to beer for a while longer.

Love Food 'N' Wine

This page will be a labour of love. It will trace my enjoyment of wine over a forty year period.

In this blog I will concentrate on talking about Australian and New Zealand wines, which are those with which I have had most to do with. However if I come across a wine from elsewhere that you should know about then I will definitely let you know.

If you are a beginner there will be heaps of resources to help you choose wine and food to accompany it. I will look at wine etiquette especially with regard to that which pertains to visiting the cellar door.

If you are a seasoned connoisseur, I hope you will find inside knowledge that can only be obtained from frequenting the wineries and knowing both the wine-makers and the viticulturists.

Hopefully there will be something for everyone and that I will be able to provide a worthwhile service to all wine lovers through this blog.

HISTORY OF WINE 1

Wine has a history of about 8000 years. Debate still continues about whether wine or beer was the first brewed beverage. While the jury is still divided over the most consumed alcoholic drink in the world, wine is certainly the most written about.

The first wine was likely to have been produced by a woman, in what is now Kurdistan and Georgia. She probably left wild grapes in a clay pot then drank the resulting fermented liquid. The drink would not have much resembled our modern day wines, but it’s after effects created an immediate interest, and supply driven wine making began. As demand began to outstrip supply, wine began to become an article of trade, initially locally and then as civilisation became more organised, further afield. The spread of wine drinking was largely to the West. Countries such as Egypt,Greece and later the Roman Empire all became proficient makers of wine, which in those days was sweeter and lower in alcohol. It is said that the red "Recioto" and the white "Retsina" are modern day equivalents of wines drunk during the time of Jesus.

I will continue with this history of wine on an intermittent basis so that it develops into a valuable resource.

My Journey With Wine 1

My journey with wine began in the sixties as I made my way across France and Spain as a young "traveller". The water was often risky to drink and most of us, in those heady days, drank the local wines, which were often rough and always very inexpensive. My diet for many weeks, if not months was apples, cheese and wine. I finally arrived in New Zealand in 1968 and found a country with a embryonic but exciting wine industry. My experience was still limited to "Chateau cardboard", which is what we called cask wine, as well as a carbonated and very cheap sparkling wine. As my wine drinking developed I began to drink bottled white wine, Moselle to begin with. I will add to this personal history as we explore the world of wine and the stories are remembered.

My Wine And FOOd Log

Yesterday I shared with my partner, Jocelyn, a bottle of 1997 Reserve Chambourcin produced by Cassegrain Vineyards situated in the Hastings River area on the NSW Central Coast.

Chambourcin is a French/American Hybrid recently introduced to Australia because of it's resistance to mildew. It is normally produced as a light summer red that can be chilled and drunk with a luncheon BBQ. Cassegrain has chosen to produce a full bodied wine as an alternative style. The bottle label describes the wine in 1999 when it was first released as, deep red in colour, with an aroma intense in ripe plums, spices and the hint of oak. It has a full palate with a long finish. The wine was produced from bio-dynamically grown and hand picked fruit, but does contain sulphur as a preservative. Almost ten years after it's first release I wrote this: In the glass the wine is rich ruby with a Khaki margin. On the nose there are subtle hints of stewed fruit, in a complex mixture of oak and soft tannin. The palate was dry and lingering with hints of bittersweet chocolate, leather and star anise. In my opinion this was a wine well worth experiencing and one I will return to in another vintage. We drank this wine with a meal of Pork Tikka Masala. Here is an original recipe from an Indian Chef.

Pork Tikka Masala

Meat

Pork. 500grams of fillet or boneless pork, after cutting off excess fat.

Ingredients For Marinade:

ginger paste - 2 tsp

garlic paste - 2 tsp

tumeric powder - 1/4 tsp

chilli powder - 1 tsp

garam masala - 1 tsp

cumin powder - 1/2 tsp

dhaniya powder - 1 tsp

salt to taste

curd - 1/2 cup beaten well

To Marinate the pork

Take the beaten curd and mix all the above powders together and add salt. Cut the pork into medium size pieces and add it to the curd mixture, close the vessel with a lid, foil or cling wrap and leave it to marinate for about an hour.

Ingredients For The Sauce

Onion - 1 chopped

Tomato puree - out of one small tomato

Ginger paste - 1 tsp

Garlic paste - 1 tsp

Tumeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Coriander powder - 2 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil - 8 tsp

Garam Masala powder - 2 tsp

Coriander leaves

Ground almond - 2 tsp (optional)

Fresh Cream is optional to garnish

Preparation of the Pork

After the pork pieces are marinated, take them and bake them well in a pan on a low heat or flame setting. Or you can put the pork on the grill and cook it until well done but still juicy.

Preparation of the Sauce:

Heat oil in a pan, fry onions till they turn golden brown. Add ginger & garlic paste and let them fry till the oil separates. Add all the Masala powders to the mixture, and then add the tomato puree. Add salt to taste and then add a little warm water and the ground almond paste if you wish, and let the sauce to come to boil. Then add the cooked pork pieces and let the gravy come to boil again. Remove the dish from the stove and add the coriander leaves and the cream ( optional ) to garnish.

You can serve this hot with chappathi and roti

Tip:

Ground Almond just adds a little more flavour but it's not required.

Fresh cream is also optional.

Another visitor comments that you can make Pork Tikka Masala in exactly the same way as the Chicken dish, but to remember that Pork takes longer to cook, so spend that little extra time (10 mins).

Talking of Tikka Masala I thought you might like some links to pages on Indian Cooking and Indian recipes. So here are some of my favourites, if you have others especially any with authentic Indian recipes for Pork Tikka Masala, I would appreciate hearing about them.

http://www.ruchiskitchen.com/recipe.htm

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~mjw/recipes/ethnic/indian/indian.html

http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/3925/

http://www.indiaexpress.com/cooking/

http://www.mit.edu:8001/people/wchuang/cooking/Indian.html

http://www.indiandelicacies.com/meat.htm

http://www.syvum.com/recipes/ivrindex.html

http://www.gadnet.com/recipes.htm

http://www.recipelink.com/rcpindian.html