My fifth post in this exciting new venture

Today, before I start to talk about wine I would like to introduce you to a free service which I have used for a number of years and which has enabled me to build up a list of friends with whom I can share my interests



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Okay, lets starts today's post with another episode in my understanding of the History of Wine

HISTORY OF WINE 3

I would like to summarise our first two sessions and maybe add some information which I think may assist to put modern day wine culture in context. Firstly let me say explicitly that the history of wine is intertwined beyond unravelling with the history of farming, food, the evolution of humankind and the society in which they lived. As I have already alluded to, there is some archaeological evidence suggesting that the earliest wine production came from sites in Georgia and Iran as early as 6000BC. However, undeniable evidence does not become available until approximately 3000 BC, where there is agreed evidence of the domestication of the grapevine, in a region encompassing Asian portion of modern Turkey, Syria, Jordon, Israel, Lebanon, Georgia, Armenia, Iraq and Egypt.

There is also strong evidence to suggest that European wine production occurred in Macedonia as early as 6500 BC. This is where the earliest evidence of crushed grapes were also found.

There is also evidence of dregs of wild wine dating from as early as 2000 BC, in China.

So rather than beginning to talk about wine making in the Dark Ages as though it were the result of a single linear process, I wanted to pull back and tell you a little about the other contributors to the complexity of good history as well as good wine.

When wine arrived in Greek territory is unknown, it was certainly known from as early as 3000 BC being referred to in many ancient Greek writings.

Many of the grapes grown in modern Greece are grown there exclusively and are similar or identical to varieties identified as being grown in ancient times

Pliny the Elder a Roman chronicler describes the ancient Greek method of using partly dehydrated gypsum before fermentation, and some type of lime after fermentation, to reduce acidity. The Greek writer Theophrastus also provides evidence of this practice.

The Greek god of revelry and wine Dionysus or Bacchus who was frequently referred to in the works of Homer and Aesop was sometimes given the epithet Acratophorus, and he was designated as the giver of unmixed wine, which resulted in frenzied behaviour. Wine in those days was served with and diluted by water and referred to as “The Juice of the Gods”.

It was Greek wine that was initially exported throughout the Mediterranean basin. Amphorae with Greek styling and art have been found throughout the area. The most likely origin of wine that appeared in ancient Egypt was when it was a Greek owned territory. It was also the Greek who first introduced the Vitis Vinifera (Common Grape) Vine and made wine in their numerous colonies in modern-day Italy, Sicily, Southern France and Spain.

MY WINE LOG

Last night I prepared Pan fried chicken thighs and pumpkin with steamed vegetables and a sauce “lak” which is translated as made from many ingredients.

We had a "Deen De Bortoli, Vat 2, Sauvignon Blanc 2007" to accompany this dish. Of all the white wines I find Sauvignon Blanc to be the most consistently appetising. Deen De Bortoli the son of the founder of De Bortoli's, has developed a range of varietals that he believes truly reflects the essence of each. De Bortoli’s Vat2 Sauvignon Blanc 2007 though still young, has strong characteristics of the best of it's kind. I especially like the long finish that tastes to me of ripe gooseberry, with a hint of pineapple, which I found very refreshing.

De Bortoli’s is a winery that was only about 8kms (5 miles) from where we used to live and we were frequent visitors to the Bilbul cellar door. Since moving away from Griffith it is much more difficult for me to pop in, but we follow the progress of the winery with interest and intend to visit the Yarra Valley vineyard in the not to distant future.

Of course for those of you into dessert wines it is also the home of the world famous Noble One, the bench mark in Australia, for dessert wine

Ingredients For the Meal

2-3 chicken thighs per person

Poppy seeds

Sesame seeds

1 egg

Two table spoons of corn flour

Broccoli two small pieces per person

Pumpkin 2 small pieces per person

Onions 1 medium per person

Spinach leaves 1 cup per person

Potatoes 2 medium per person

Butter 1-2 oz to taste

½ - 1 cup of milk

The Sauce

Small shrimp 10 per person (uncooked)

Garlic 2 cloves per person

Seed mustard 1 teaspoon per person

Ginger 2 thin slices per person

Coriander a small bunch fresh

Olive oil 2 tablespoons

Balsamic vinegar to taste

Cottage cheese 1 heaped table spoon per person

Parmesan cheese for thickening

125 mls of Chicken stock per person

Juice from pan in which the chicken was cooked

Preparing The Chicken

The Thighs should be skin free

Cut each thigh so that it lies flat on a shallow plate

Roll each piece of chicken in the cornflour and the egg which has been whisked

Then lie in the poppy seed

Preparing The Vegetables

Ensure that the broccoli pieces are about the same size

Finely dice the onions

Preparing The Sauce

Ensure that the garlic and ginger are cut into fine slivers

Cooking The Chicken And Pumpkin

Place the pumpkin in into a preheated pan with a tablespoon of olive oil. Cook on one side until beginning to turn brown and softening, then turn over,

Place the chicken pieces poppy seed side down in the pan with a drizzle of olive.

Cook for 5-10 minutes on medium heat, then sprinkle the top side the sesame seed and turn the fillets over.

Add ¾ of the onion per person and add more olive oil cooking until the onion is glazed

Cooking The Vegetables

Place broccoli in steamer and cook until it turns bright green, then add the spinach leaves until they start to shrivel in the steam.

Boil the potatoes in their jackets in a separate pot. Use a potato suitable for mashing such as Desiree, Nicola, Pink Eye or Purple Congo. Try mixing potatoes to get different textures. When the potatoes are soft all the way through, drain the water off and put the potatoes back over a medium heat, shaking the pan for 2-3 seconds.

Always mash the potatoes using butter to begin with; when the butter has melted, then add milk to cream the potatoes, then add the remainder of the onion, to add zest and texture.

Cooking The Sauce

Cook the sauce in the pan used to cook the chicken and pumpkin, keeping any liquid remaining.

Add olive oil

Add the Garlic, Ginger and Mustard seed

Add the chicken stock and bring to the boil stirring continuously until garlic and ginger are soft.

Take off the boil and add the coriander and shrimp, simmer for five minutes.

Then add the cottage and parmesan cheeses

Taste test and add balsamic vinegar for a bit of zing factor.

Serving The Meal

Serve the mash in the middle of the plate and the pumpkin and broccoli alongside.

Put the spinach leaves over the mash and place the chicken on top of that.

Pour the sauce over the vegetables

Bon Apetit!

In this day of cosmopolitan dining a meal is often differentiated by the sauces and gravies that the meat and/or vegetables are served with. For those of you who would like to expand your repertoire of sauces and gravies I've included some links to pages that specialise in them.

http://www.recipehound.com/Recipes/sauce.html

http://www.thegutsygourmet.net/sauce.html

http://busycooks.about.com/od/saucesandgravies/Sauce_Recipes_and_Gravy_Recipes.htm

http://www.real-restaurant-recipes.com/Sauce.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/get_cooking/cooks_guide/sauces.shtml

http://www.cancerproject.org/resources/handbook/sauces.pdf

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

http://saraskitchen.faithweb.com/sauce.html

http://www.fatfree.com/recipes/sauces/

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