What's your wine type? Tasting six European wines with Wine Discovery

Wine Discovering chairlady Evi Hock has many contacts in the wine business and on 5 October 2016, she introduced us to wine expert Barbara Hulsbergen at a very special wine tasting event. Barbara is a member of the executive board of Nüesch Weine and founder and chairlady of Die Weinausbildung. Evi told the group of 17 wine enthusiasts who gathered at her home, that she got to know Barbara at a professional wine tasting event many years ago and was very impressed with her extensive wine knowledge. Evi commented that what Barbara doesn't know about wine really isn't worth knowing!  

Barbara introduced six different styles of wine. Throughout the tasting, she helped us work out which is our favourite style and also gave us some handy tips on food pairing. It was a fun and informative afternoon.

Barbara mentioned her dual role as member of the family wine distributing business and a wine educator. She felt that wine appreciation was very much down to personal taste, and as we worked our way through three whites and three red wines, all from Europe, the wine lovers of our ZIWA group compared comments on their experiences and impressions, before seeing the labels.

1. Spanish Dry White. It had a fruity smell and a citrus taste, with balanced acidity. Barbara mentioned that the EU has rules regarding the amount of sugar content, and that the grapes must be of good, healthy quality. This wine was a Rueda from Northern Spain, a Valdelapinta 2015. The grape type was Verdejo. This wine would be good paired with seafood or cheese.

2. Italian White. A fresh taste which was quickly identified as Pinot Grigio, like the Pinot Gris but from a different terroir. It was fresh and fruity in the mouth, with a delicate aroma. It would be good served with pasta or risotto. La Tunella came from the Friuli region and has been kept for one to two months in the cellar.

3.  Grüner Veltliner comes almost exclusively from Austria, which has overcome its one-time bad reputation as a wine producer. This one was a Weinrieder 2014 and was dry, with a straw colour which had full flavour and a very pleasant taste.

4. Merlot. The first of our reds came from the Swiss Ticino, and impressed with its aroma. While still young, the 2014 Baicco had a full, dry taste, would be good with meat and would benefit from keeping. You could also serve it with polenta, risotto or a rabbit dish. It could also accompany cheese and dried meats.

5. Bordeaux Lamothe 2009 ‘Cru Bourgeois’, a French red from the Haut Medoc with a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapes. The Bordeaux appellation is a very special designation. This wine had good aroma and colour with a taste of tannin and a hint of vanilla.

6. Santi Nobile Terre Siciliane. Our final wine came from Sicily and comprised Nero d’Avola and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. It had a dark red, almost purple colour and a spicy, chocolatey taste. This 96 Luca Maroni was Barbara’s choice of the afternoon.

You can learn more about Barbara’s credentials at the links below:

http://www.nuesch-weine.ch/geschaeftsleitung/

http://www.weinausbildung.ch/wir-uber-uns/

Once again, ZIWA Wine Discovery charladies Evi and Marianne hosted a great afternoon of wine tasting, with long-standing and newer group members present. The group's next two dates are Tuesday 8 November to taste port on the Expovina wine ships and Monday 5 December 2016 for an apero and final event for our hostesses. Thank you for many years of wine-tasting pleasure.

Julia Newton, Tuesday 11 October 2016.

Wine discovery - Asian Food and Suggested Wines

http://www.janefinefood.com/en/

ZIWA's Wine Discovery group always offers pleasurable experiences. And yesterday's visit to old friend Jane's Fine Foods was very popular. Fourteen group members, including one husband, had the chance to sample six freshly-cooked fusion dishes and try a wine suggestion to complement the spicy food. Many people pair spicy food with beer, but a carefully chosen wine could bring out the flavour of both food and wine.

Coconut milk potato gratin and Riesling

The white wine was a sharp, citrussy dry Riesling from Langenlonsheim in the Nahe/Rhine Valley area of Germany. The Tesch 2013 wine would be  suitable as an apero wine on its own, but the spicy potato gratin dish with green curry paste enhanced it even more. Jane mentioned that the potato dish was one of her favourites and could also accompany meat or seafood dishes.

Here's the link to the Tesch website: http://www.weingut-tesch.de/

Peanut satay sauce with Pine Ridge Viognier/Chenin Blanc

The satay sauce was made by heating peanut butter and coconut milk, diluted with water if necessary, with red curry paste flavoured with garlic, chilli and ginger. It was served with vegetable crudites. The Californian white wine was a 2013 blend of Viognier and Chenin Blanc grape types from Pine Ridge vineyards and would be just as good drunk on its own. It had complex notes reflecting the grape types and the mineral soil of the terroir.

Here's the link to the Pine Ridge website: http://www.pineridgevineyards.com/

Grilled prawns with Zweifel Spätlese 

The frozen prawns had been defrosted and marinaded for half an hour in a chilli and garlic marinade with cumin. Jane grilled the prawns in a herby rapeseed oil and then served immediately. Complementing the seafood was a Zurichsee Spätlese 2013 white wine, Vidal Blanc. It had a rather sweet taste.

Here's the Zweifel Hürlimann wine shop link: http://www.zweifelweine.ch/thewineshop_aktuell.cfm
Zweifel is a great source of many wines.

Crab salad with Fusion Gewürztraminer

The crab was obtained frozen, and was served in small portions on a green salad, and tasted spicy and slightly salty. It could also be served with sushi ginger. The dressing was made from rice vinegar, soy sauce, lime and lemon juice and palm sugar. The accompanying wine this time was a Viognier/ Gewürztraminer blend from Fusion wines in California.

You can see the wine at this link: https://www.vivino.com/wineries/us-fusion/wines/viognier-gewrztraminer-9999

Coconut milk soup with Sebastiani Rose

Jane uses this soup mix as the basis for many dishes. It was flavoured with lemongrass, shallot, red curry paste and based on coconut milk from a tetrapack. A rose wine from Sebastiani in California this time went well and gave a kick.

See more about the wine here: http://www.sebastiani.com/

Beef teriyaki and Conundrum red wine

Jane buys her beef fillet from a butcher who supplies quality Australian meat. It was chopped into thin slices and marinaded in Thai sweet chilli sauce with soy and ginger, before frying. Salt should only be added at the last minute. The beef demanded a red wine, another Californian blend, the Conundrum 2012, which was served cool.

Here's the Conundrum website: http://www.conundrumwines.com/

Thanks to Jane for sharing her kitchen, her food and her expertise. A great sharing experience. Cheers!

Julia Newton, 15 October 2015.