My fair Verona - wine districts

Last week I had the opportunity to travel around two of the most famous Italian wine regions, both located near the city of Verona (yes, the city of Romeo and Juliet).

The Valpolicella region is located at the north of the city of Verona, and produces world renowned Reds like Amarone, Valpolicella Classico, Superiore. Its produces a White called Soave and also the Red Recioto desert wine.

Valpolicella has been for millennia a wine region, as a matter of fact, "Vallis-Polis-Cellae" is Latin for valley with many cellars, meaning since Roman times that wine has been produced there.

Now-a-days, this wine district is more famous for the Amarone wine than for its Valpolicella Classic Reds. Amarone is a very peculiar Red, it is not a every day consumption wine, still amazing.

The story behind this wine is just like any lucky strike moment.  Someone forgot in a baric the Recioto sweet wine for years and once opened the wine changed colour, aroma and taste.

All wines from this region are produced from the grapes: Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella, Oseleta e Negrar. The differences between the various sorts of wines vary from aging to fermentation technics.

Amarone (bitter good), is a Red wine, full body normally 16° alcohol. It is usually an expensive wine, thus if you came across an Amarone that under €30 a bottle it’s a fake. Prices can reach €200 or more, pay attention to the DOC or DOCG label for authenticity.

In my humble opinion, wines like this must be considered precious and enjoyed in special moments, both with food (red meats, cheese) or also for meditation.

Oh, in Italy, it is considered very rude to open a bottle of Amarone alone. To be opened with close family and friends.

The other region, just next door to Valpolicella is Bardolino Wine district left of Verona by the Garda Lake (Italy’s biggest lake).

This incredible beautiful area produces Bardolino Reds (Rondinella and Corvina grapes), the famous Rose Chiaretto and the White Custoza.

There are many cellars that are open to the public, where you can enjoy wine tasting, talk with the producers, visit the vineyards, learn about wine in the museum and of course purchase directly the wine at very reasonable prices before it enters the market mark-up.

So, my suggestion, next time that you pay a visit to northern Italy, pass through this wines districts enjoy history, taste and take some nice bottle home with you.

Bon Apetit,

Chef Gourmet Du Art

There's a new cork in town. Here's Helix.

Portugals’ main export to the world is cork, and Corticeira Amorim is the world leader company in cork products. Using its expertise Corticeira Amorim joined forces with the American company Owens Illinois, world’s largest glass bottle producer and created a unique bottle and a unique cork, which will be revealed in this year’s Vinexpo, world largest wine fair.

This novelty in the market will make it possible for one to open a wine bottle that has cork with our fingers only.

Such novelty is supposed to hit the markets only in 2014 and its main destination according to its producers is fast consumption wines, with price range vary from 5 to 10 euros.

During tests, the reception both from wine producers and consumers were excellent. The cork made out of cork composite is a state of the art addition to wine.

This cork was produced in order to preserve and not change any of the characteristics of wine.

At last some good news and a fine response from the cork industry to the uprising of plastics taps and metal screw tops that in my humble opinion do not belong to the wine world.

Has they say in Portugal “Haja saude”

Chef Gourmet Du Art

The origins of Curry

Little is known about the true origins of Curry, and of course that present history is much influenced by the ones that write history books, without polemic but history is always made by whoever wins the war, giving a partial, bias or simply wrong report of the actual fact.

Curry is not a spice but a mixture of several spices, apparently the term Curry derives from Malay word Kari that means sauce. As a matter of a fact, when Portuguese first arrived in India back in 1498 (Vasco da Gama), Curry simply meant soup, any kind of vegetable or meat soup made with several spices.

Curry powder mixture is composed mainly by: Coriander, turmeric, cumin, fenugreek and red pepper in the main base and then variants made by adding: ginger, garlic, asafoetida, fennel seed, caraway, cinnamon, clove, mustard seed, green cardamom, black cardamom, nutmeg, long pepper, black pepper and chilli pepper.

The chilli (one of the main ingredients used in Curry) was brought to Asia from America by the Portuguese and with the cultural exchange in the various colonies was adopted by locals and influenced for good their cooking habits.

Goa (a former Portuguese colony in India) is a wonderful melting pot. Some of the hottest curries come from this region and also one of India’s most famous recipes “Chicken Vindaloo”. Vindaloo derives from the Portuguese “Vinha de Alhos” a marinade  (used for meat) made with White Wine, Sweet Paprika paste, Chilli and loads of Garlic (alhos).

If you try to research the origins of Curry, you will find that  credit is given to English traders and their relations with India are in the basis of the curry. It is not the truth, but in good faith English have helped and still are, in the proliferation of curry and curry recipes throughout the all world. Because Curry was adopted as the national dish of the UK.

The English left India in 1947, Portugal lost India in 1961 (Goa, Damao and Dìu territories were invaded by India).

When the portuguese Princess Catarina de Bragança married the King of England Charles II (1662), some territories in India were offered by Portugal to England . There is a famous tale, already posted in this Blog “The true origin of Tea”, that the Queen to be, when she first arrived in Portsmouth did not feel well and she requested her favourite drink (hot tea). This event marked the introduction of Tea in England. Apparently, she was also responsible for the introduction of Orange Marmelade (Marmelada in Portuguese is a sweet jam made with Quince or in Portuguese “Marmelos”), the Tea and Cutlery at the Kings table.

So now you know the true story of how the English have came to be in India, a dowry from the Portuguese King.

Dear folks, Portuguese were in India since 1498 and started the so called “Age of Globalization” still in force now-a-days. Lisbon became the world capital of trade with the arrival of all the spices, richness from all over the world.

England arrived in India after 1662 and left in 1947. Portuguese arrived in 1498 and their territories occupied in 1961.

I hope that now you understand that many facts of the world history have mutated and change for good the cultural habits of many countries.

Today’s Post is not to arouse polemic but to celebrate diversity and how beautiful mixture is, for example the Curry Mixture.

Bon Apetit,

Chef Gourmet Du Art

New Wine Trends - 2013

1.       USA became the first wine market in the World. Even though it is not a sophisticated market and not the biggest wine consumer market per capita (like the European countries), the USA is living a Wine rush. It became popular, trendy and hype to have wine during the meal in North America. Like someone said, “Wine is the new Black”;

2.       The advent of web and the proliferation of social media is hammering the famous wine critics, folks take into account Blogs (such has mine) to seek for advice;

3.       Craft Beer is becoming popular, as a matter of a fact, beer tastings events are becoming more and more common leading for a new discovery of Beer values, such novelty could affect wine consumption;

4.       The present economic crisis is actually changing the wine lists of most Restaurants, the famous “small is beautiful” phrase is actually in motion now-a-days, and restaurants are limiting their wine offer because of stock costs;

5.       Counterfeiting famous wines is and will remain an issue as long as consumers are ready to pay enormous sums of money for a bottle of wine;

6.       Wine auctions register a slowdown, mainly because of a certain standstill of the Chinese economy;

7.       Burgundy is replacing Bordeaux, both in wine auctions and in the famous Restaurants shelves;

8.       Moscato, Sweet Reds and Porto are becoming more and more popular, especially for new wine fans;