I Love French Wine and Food - An Alsace Riesling

If you are looking for mulct Gallic vino and food, see the Alsatia part of northeasterly France. You may happen a bargain, and I trust that you'll have got merriment on this fact-filled vino instruction circuit in which we reexamine a local achromatic Riesling winetasted with respective repasts and paired with imported cheeses.

Alsace ranks one-tenth out of the 11 Gallic winemaking parts in footing of its land area devoted vineyards. But don't be mislead by statistics; small Alsatia is a major manufacturer of quality Gallic wine. Its vino growing country is barely 60 statute statute miles (100 kilometers) long, and at most 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) broad tucked between the Vosges Mountains to the West and the J. B. Rhine River and Federal Republic Of Germany to the east. But this relatively bantam country is celebrated for its typical wines. Their vino bottles are also distinctive; tall and thin with labels that characteristic the grape variety, not the usual pattern in France. Chaptalization (adding refined sugar to the fermenting grape mixture) is allowed for many vino categories.

About 95% of Alsatia vino is white. The major achromatic grape assortments are Gewurztraminer, Muscat, Pinot Grape Gris, and Riesling, reviewed below. Its secondary achromatic grape assortments include Pinot Grape Blanc, Sylvaner, and Muscat. The major redness grape assortment is Pinot Grape Noir, reviewed in a comrade article in this series.

The beautiful Vosges mounts are located in eastern French Republic near the J. B. Rhine River and Black Forest of western Germany. To a big extent they are composed of granite and reddish sandstone. Their peak point is the Thousand Ballon (also called Ballon Delaware Guebwiller) with an lift of about 4600 feet (slightly more than than 1424 meters). The vineries of its eastern inclines have got an lift of up to 1300 feet (400 meters).

The Vosges mounts are great for tourists. Attractions include beautiful forests, respective palaces in ruins, and wellness resorts. If you are so inclined you can tramp their usually gentle inclines and are never far from vineries and eating houses serving delightful nutrients and local wines. After all, you are on the Alsatia Wine Route, at least for the eastern slopes. Don't bury the wintertime skiing. The southern Vosges, near the small town of Bussang, is place to a lovely fountain exploiting a springtime that arises in the Moselle River. I trust you don't mind that this peculiar country is just over the boundary line in Lorraine.

Before reviewing the Alsatian vino and imported cheeses that we were lucky adequate to buy at a local vino shop and a local Italian nutrient store, here are a few suggestions of what to eat with indigenous vinoes when touring this beautiful region. Start with Schniederspaetle (Onion Ravioli). For your 2nd course of study enjoy Brochet d'I A lanthanum creme (Pike in White Person Wine and Cream Sauce). And as dessert indulge yourself with Strudel aux Pommes (Apple Strudel).

OUR wine reappraisal policy All vinoes that we savor and reappraisal are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed

Hattstatty Hatschbourg Riesling 2003 12.5% alcoholic beverage about $21.00

Let's start by quoting the selling materials.

This vino won a Gold Decoration at the 2006 Concours Riesling du Monde. Established in 1998, the Concours Riesling du Monde (Rieslings of the World) competition takes topographic point every twelvemonth in Strasbourg, Alsace. Rieslings from throughout the human race are submitted to an international jury of fermentologists and vino critics. This hugely respected competition exemplifies the diverseness and glare of mulct Riesling from around the world. And now for the review.

My first repast consisted of place made barbecued poulet in a sweet and rancid Tai sauce with Portabello mushrooms and reddish pepper. The vino was fruity, nice and complex. It was quite a good lucifer and I knew that this would be a quality wine.

The adjacent shot was a commercially barbecued poulet leg (of course of study not as dainty as my ain barbecued chicken) with its tegument in a sweet pepper sauce accompanied by, Turkish salad, and Grecian olives. I started by sipping the vino alone, as I was afraid that I might have got lost the bottle because the vino sat in the electric refrigerator for quite some time. No problem. This Riesling vino was good with an appely taste sensation but in the positive sense. In response to the nutrient the vino got even better. It was quite long and powerful and yet delicate. While I liked the Grecian olives and I liked the wine, I did not bask the two together. The Riesling's sourness actually intensified in the presence of the moderately piquant Turkish salad. I finished my glass with overripe cherries. This clip the vino went flat, especially with the sweet ones.

The concluding repast was an omelette with a local Provolone cheese and a side of Turkish salad. The vino was nice and crisp. I tasted a touching of lime. As dessert I had a high-quality chocolate-coated vanilla water ice pick bar. The water ice pick barroom was good but it did flatten the vino somewhat.

My first cheese was a nutty, fatty, and slightly rancid Dutch Edam cheese. My German Edam was well beyond comestible by humans, although the spores looked like they were having a existent feast. Anyway, in the presence of this Dutch Edam the Riesling was unit of ammunition and fruity, with pleasant acidity. In the presence of an Italian Friulano cheese the vino became rancid and flatter.

Final verdict. Great wine, I will purchase it again and ticker my couplings more closely. This should attach to very well the right epicure meal.

I Love French Wine and Food - A Midi Syrah

If you are looking for fine French wine and food, consider the Languedoc-Roussillon region of south central France. You may find a bargain, and I hope that you'll have fun on this fact-filled wine education tour in which we review a local red Syrah.

Among the eleven wine-growing regions of France, Languedoc-Roussillon ranks fourth in total vineyard acreage. This area, which includes the Midi, (the home of the wine reviewed below) was traditionally known for producing ton after ton of mediocre table wine called vin ordinaire. But times change and in spite of global warming Languedoc-Roussillon has started to produce fine wine. Some say that visiting Australian winemakers are largely responsible for this improvement.

Languedoc-Roussillon is home to about three dozen grape varieties ranging from the widely known such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah to the quite obscure such as Aspiran Noir, Aspiran Gris, and Lladoner Pelot. If I ever get my hands on one of those rare grape varieties, I promise to review the wine. But I won't be holding my breath.

The wine reviewed below comes from the Carcassonne area. But a previous article (I Love French Wine and Food – A Midi Viognier) already reviewed this beautiful old city. So I thought why not examine the relatively nearby city of Toulouse, which strictly speaking is not part of Languedoc-Roussillon but is the capital of the neighboring Midi-Pyrénées region. Will that stop you from visiting it?

Toulouse, France's fifth largest city and the fastest growing metropolis in Europe, was once the capital of the Languedoc province of France before the French Revolution abolished provinces. It is the capital of the French aerospace industry. The University of Toulouse is the second largest University in France. In many ways this lovely city seems more Spanish than French.

Toulouse is known as a pink city for its redbrick buildings. Among the many sights to see are the Capitole/Hôtel de Ville (Capitol/Town Hall) which, unlike most city halls, is decorated with beautiful paintings. The Église des Jacobins (Jacobin Church) which was built almost eight hundred years ago also displays many art masterpieces and is the site of several music concerts in the summer. The city is home to quite a few beautiful mansions called Hôtels.

The Musée des Augustins (Augustinian Museum) was once a convent. You should see its collection of religious paintings and Romanesque sculpture. The Musée du Vieux Toulouse (Museum of Old Toulouse) lives up to its name. Fanciers of archaeology won't be disappointed with Musée St-Raymond (Saint-Raymond's Museum). As you can well imagine historic churches abound. Toulouse's best-known landmark is St-Sernin, the largest Romanesque church in the world. The list goes on and on. You may get an idea of the time scale in the older areas of town when you realize that the Pont Neuf (New Bridge) was built in 1632.

Before reviewing the Languedoc-Roussillon wine and imported cheeses that we were lucky enough to purchase at a local wine store and a local Italian food store, here are a few suggestions of what to eat with indigenous wines when touring beautiful Toulouse.
Start with Garbure (Cabbage Soup with Poultry).
For your second course savor Cassoulet Toulousain (Bean and Pork Stew).
And as dessert indulge yourself with Violette de Toulouse (Violet Flower Crystallized in Sugar).

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed
Domaine de Salices Syrah 2004 12.5% about $13.50

Let's start by quoting the marketing materials. Grown on the vineyards around the gorgeous medieval town of Carcassonne, this Syrah is rich, ripe and very fruity. Aged for 11 months in oak barrels, the wine shows superb balance between the oak and fruit. Enjoy this delicious quaffer with grilled steaks, hamburgers, pasta with meat sauce or gourmet sausages.

My first meal consisted of slow cooked meat balls in a tomato sauce with potatoes. The wine was spicy, powerful, and mouth filling. It was tannic, but in a pleasant sense.

The next meal was whole wheat pasta with spicy meat sauce. The wine was round and powerful. I tasted pepper and black fruit.

The final meal involved store bought cold barbecued spare ribs with potato salad and roasted red pepper in garlic and oil. (I can't help it; that's the kind of food I savor, even more so with wines like this one.) The meat's congealed fat and thick tomato sauce made it very tasty. The wine did a great job of cutting the fat. It was very round and full, brimming with black cherries. The roasted red pepper brought out a tobacco taste in the wine.

My first cheese pairing was with a French Camembert. I had the feeling that the Syrah was diluted by this cheese. It was still good, but not as good as on its own. The second cheese was a nutty tasting Swiss Gruyere that flattened the wine, reducing its flavor peaks. The final cheese was a soft German Edam. This last combination was the best of the lot. The wine was almost as good with the buttery Edam as it was on its own.

Final verdict. I like this wine and intend to purchase it again. But I won't bother much with cheese pairing.