Since being involved in Margot’s dinner party collective I think about wine a lot more than I think about other things, I wonder where it came from, what grapes it was made from, whether I can distinguish wines from a different terroir, I was upset to read that anyone can identify a sauvignon blanc, oh well, I can identify an oaky chardonnay too, admittedly also not hard, or a pinot noir (ditto) beyond that I am challenged, but working on it. I blame Anatoli from talk-a-vino for this new obsession in my life, happily, Anatoli is willing to help coach me in a bit, which is wonderful.
Anyhow, we had a little snack on the terrace on the weekend – gluten free galettes bretonnes made with buckwheat flour (and bought in France ready made), sour cream (bought in France, not homemade like Mr Fitz homemade butter – the man is obsessed…) and sprinkled with lovely, fake red, trout caviar (yes it’s gluten free, but not vegetarian..) – accompanied this with a Silver Bullet Grüner Veltliner 2011 – which jumped at me when I went to the basement, and which I thought we’d need to drink as it was from 2011.
It all went well, although, what Anatoli would say, I don’t know, I suspect we’ll find out though….
It is fun gaining knowledge about wine, the best advice I learned was to drink what you like.
you cannot go far wrong that way agree – but if you know what you like, knowing the grapes in the wine will help you find more of it, I have discovered (very recently!) happy Monday
I sure agree with that!
Lol ooooh I didn’t know you were becoming a wine conusseur how exciting. We are off to the south of France this summer so might have to look this recipe up as looks delish! 😀😀
oh hello you! lovely to hear from you – driving to South France? Long way – or planing it? IF you are in the South of France – go find Bandol -they make some lovely wines there (according to Anatoli)! I dont know yet as all I know is I have some in basement thanks to a recent foraging trip in the local french wine shop….and I have only had the grapes in a US wine – 100% mourvedre, more on this soon hopefully
foraging sounds fun and we are flying there, short flight luckily hehe, realy looking forward to it we are staying in an olive grove, the kids should ilke that hehe x
oh olive grove wonderful, nice wines, olive groves, fish, thyme and good food, hope you have a great time and short flight wont put your back out!
ooh you are making me hungry hehe x
Justine – I only just discovered you are now an entrpreneur – wow – great for you – what I have missed in the past months! What happened to the old blog, are you keeping one where we can still comment and exchange ideas or it is all – sell sell sell now (with charm and quality of course?) – very professional looking site you have now, very impressive .) happy that you have taken the leap!
oh no, of course I am keeping the old blog, the other is an online web shop 🙂 So you don’t get confused, the blog has .co.uk at the end and the shop has .com which is what the blog used to be.
So shop is http://www.eclecticoddsnsods.com
Blog is http://www.eclecticoddsnsods.co.uk
I will do a weekly feature on the blog however of products but other than that it is as it usuall is 😉
I hope you like the shop however, I can ship to other European destinations or anywhere really so long as I know where I can get a postal rate 🙂 Did anything take your fancy? grinz
Ah good selling my dear – I havent looked at in depth, but I have to say you have some lovely stuff there and the post is very professional, glad you are keeping the blog too – I thought you had suddenly given up…
oh nooooo, that would be like cutting of a limb…coughs
🙂 I understand!!!
That’s definitely the gluten-free treat for me!
practical eh, and this is the way they are meant to be, no substituting anything for anything!
How fabulous Poli that you were able to drum up a bottle of Gruner Veltliner from your basement! I’ll be trying to track down a bottle of this myself for when it starts to warm up again in a few months time! I’ve also been enjoying giving more thought to how the food and wine work together… quite a nice way to pass the time! 😉
thanks Margot, I agree it’s a lovely way to pass the time, I didn’t know you have Austrlalian versions of this too: http://www.hahndorfhillwinery.com.au/Gruner-Veltliner – although obviously you did. Warm weather and sit outside is always good!
Thanks Poli… I even recently found a winery in the Canberra area making Gruner Veltliner, so will definitely have to buy a bottle or two when the weather warms up a little. 🙂
the grape is on a “world-wine” domination tour it appears 🙂
That is indeed quite old for a grüner veltliner. What was it like? I would have picked a muscadet sevre et maine sur lie with this, from close to Bretagne and I think it would work well with the creme fraiche (creamy and tart) and the roe (salty).
interesting choice, never heard of it, will consider looking out for it THANK YOU 🙂 – not sure if it is old – just checked online and the recommendations for drinking of 2014 vintage go up to 2019 so I’d be within range, whatever the case, it was very good indeed 🙂 will need to get the rest of the wines out of the basement!
Interesting how availability of wines can differ so much around the world. Especially 25 years ago, Muscadet was a very well known and popular wine here in the Netherlands to drink with seafood.
I’ve never tried an aged Grüner Veltliner, but I’d imagine it would be rounder/less acidic.
well maybe I’m just ignorant too – here we seem to drink sauvignon blanc with seafood, BUT, remember I am in a landlocked little land with no access to the ocean and back then we didn’t pop across the borders so freely, SO we didn’t actually enjoy seafood the way I guess you do in NL. I will seek out the muscadet – gründer veltliner still quite acidic – I have another bottle downstairs in the basement, I will focus more on it when next I open it. And I will go and find out what the average age for a GV is – on the site where I bought mine Movenpick they say good for 5 years after bottling. And some Sauvingons apparently are good for much longer than 10 years according ot the french wine seller, so maybe depending on various factors the same is true of GV- I will see! Thanks for popping by as always
For Sauvignon it makes a big difference whether it has been made with oak or not — the oaked ones (especially Bordeaux, which is blend with semillon) have a much longer life span. Most other sauvignon is best in its youth. I only know of one oaked GV. Other whites that can age have high acidity, such as Riesling. The tannins from the oak or the acidity help to preserve the wine.
Also note that wine sellers often tell you that wines will keep for a very long time as they think you will buy more if they tell you that. It is also a matter of taste whether you prefer younger or older wines. I have started to appreciate older wines more than I used to.
Hi Stefan -thanks for all your thoughts – I have just checked – I have some bottles of Pouilly Fume – not oaked but aged in steel – and the wine seller told me they would be better with aging, actually he just sold me some older bottles 2007 and one older one, having checked online the general approach to these wines from france appears to concur with what the wine seller told me (and he was a very very cute young passionate about wines French guy across the border) : While the wines can be too strong to drink in the first two or three years, after about 5-10 they should be developed perfectly.
I don’t know about New Zealand Sauvignons but for the French ones he seems to be right. Lovely to read so much from you THANKs so much Poli
Hi Poli — I love aged Pouilly Fumé, but only the best ones from the best vintages improve with age. It really brings out the minerality after 8-10 years.
Pouilly Fumé was actually the wine that got the ball rolling for me — before that I was never into wine. That was not an aged one though.
By the way, Pouilly Fumé is amazing with French raw milk goat cheese.
2007 is a pretty good vintage for Pouilly Fumé.
Ok – 🙂 exciting – i have two bottles and old one and a younger one and well be comparing them – will keep your tips in mind, france is but a hop. Skip and a jump away, none of that pasteurised stuff if you please, i am really looking forward to this experience now, so cool!
Have you ever had raw milk goat cheese with Pouilly Fumé or Sancerre before? If not, you will be in for a very special treat. (It will remain a treat also if isn’t your first time.)
Hello my dear – not consciously no – I did live in France for year and I was on a farm down south for a summer (Bresse – I plucked chickens there) – I can remember raw milk goat cheese, but not having it with Pouilly Fumeé or Sancerre – this is going to be a celebration for all senses I can tell! Happy to have you along on the trip
I’m expecting a full report 🙂
🙂 am planning it – but currently have orecchiette making inlaws visiting – so will have to wait!
Poli, I’m definitely humbled by all your mentions – however, I’m glad to be the source of your renewed interest to explore the world of wine. The question of the aging is an interesting one – some wines are doing it better, such as acidic whites (so I perfectly see Gruner aging quite well). I think acidity is a key, whether the wine was oaked or not – this is why many of the US Chardonnays or Grenache wines across the board don’t age very well. But most importantly – don’t be afraid to experiment!
thank you Anatoli for weighing in – and don’t be afraid of all the mentions, I get very enthusiastic!
I like your tasty ideas too,..Yum Yum yummmm!