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Archives
September 2008
Harvest time!
It's that favourite time of year again, the harvest.
I've just returned from Austria's Burgenland where the grape harvest
has already begun - in fact, I even had the chance to sample my
first northern hemisphere 2008 wine, a light, fresh white made
from early ripening Bouvier grapes. More often, though, I was drinking
mugs of Sturm - cloudy, frothy, yeasty, still fermenting grape
juice. Like Mosto in Italy, Sturm is available only for a few weeks
of the year and is definitely the taste of autumn (but be careful
not to drink too much of it!).
In Piedmont, Mario has already begun
to bring in the Dolcetto grapes and the new wine is working away
in his wine cantina in Perno. The Barbera grapes will follow in
a few weeks, and finally Nebbiolo, for the production of Mario's
Nebbiolo delle Langhe, and finally his great Barolo and Barbaresco
wines. 2008, Mario tells me, is likely to be a good vintage, possibly
very good - but that all depends on the next month's weather.
Here
at home, meanwhile, Geoff will begin the harvest of Rondo and Pinot
Noir Early grapes this Sunday. In spite of the miserably wet summer,
the welcome September sunshine has brought the grapes on well,
and sugar levels are high. So it will be fascinating in a few months
time to taste Geoff's first Pinot Noir wines, our own Topsham Burgundy?!
As
usual, Geoff invites Club Vino and Friends of Pebblebed to help
with the harvest. This is always a joyous occasion - whatever the
weather - so if you fancy getting down and dirty, and helping to
bring in the grapes, then email geoff@pebblebed.co.uk for the 2008
harvest dates.
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Heurigen and Buschenshanken - Austrian tasting cellars - and Pebblebed
One of the most congenial things about being in the Austrian
wine country is the chance to go to winegrower's gardens to sit
out at trestle tables in vaulted cellars or under a canopy of vines
and sample the new wines along with the simplest drinking snacks
- a platter of Speck or Schinken from the local Mangalitza breed
of pig; good rye breads spread with Schmalz or Liptauerkase; pickled
vegetables; or a homemade wine grape strudel accompanied by an
amber glass of Beerenauslese dessert wine. Such places are known
as Heurigen and Buschenshanken and they are found throughout not
only the Burgenland, but all of Austria's wine country. The word ‘heurig’ refers
to ‘this
year’s wine’, as technically such places
should only serve the wine from the youngest vintage. The right
for wine producers to offer their own wines together with simple
drinking snacks is well enshrined, since 1784 when the Austrian
Emperor Josef II issued a decree allowing this. Traditionally such
places indicate that they are open by hanging out a fir branch.
I love Heurigen and Buschenshanker as they provide some of the
most authentic and congenial wine and food experiences you will
encounter anywhere.
It occurs to me that the Pebblebed Tasting Cellar
is actually our own Topsham Heurige, offering in a very similar
style an equally authentic, simple and genuine wine and food experience:
local wines - Geoff's own-produced Pebblebed - and almost local
Italian wines - Mario is like family! - together with the simplest
drinking snacks - Piper's Farm meats, amazing West Country cheeses,
smoked fish and locally made paté,
all within the congenial, cellar atmosphere of Topsham's underway.
The
Pebblebed Tasting Cellar doesn't yet hang out a fir branch to
indicate it's open. No need: the hours are 5.30-8.30pm Mon-Fri
and
12.30-8.30 at weekends and Bank Holidays.
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Spritz - Venetian style
We're back to Venice again this week to continue our research
into the best bacari - traditional wine bars found throughout
that watery city. These sometimes hole-in-the-wall places are where
you drop in for 'un ombra' - a small measure of local
white or red, usually enjoyed standing up, together with any variety
of cicheti - Venetian style drinking snacks or tapas - perhaps
a morsel of squid or cuttlefish, a round of bread spread with baccalà
mantecato
(salt cod pounded to a creamy paste), a nugget of soppressata -
the deliciously fatty salami of the Veneto. The best bacari serve
a large selection of wines by the glass - not just the straightforward
bianco or rosso, but good offering from throughout Italy, the better
vintages offered in large goblets or Riedel stemware (size matters,
it seems - the better the wine, the bigger the glass). We'll share
our favourite bacari with you in a later Club Vino newsletter,
but in the meantime, here's a recipe for the favourite Venetian
tipple, Spritz (pronounced 'spriss').
Spritz
Bacari are great places to drop in to before going out to eat,
either at friends' houses or in restaurants, and Spritz is certainly
the perfect pre-prandial aperitivo. When you order your
Spritz at a bar, you should specify how you like it, either with
Campari or with Aperol (non-alcoholic bitter), and with white
wine or Prosecco.
To make, simply take a large wine glass or tumbler,
add an ice cube or two. Add a measure of Campari (or Aperol if
you must - but it's not as good), and an equal measure of white
wine or Prosecco. Then top up with Seltzer water (sparkling mineral
water will do, but Seltzer is fizzier and better). Finish with
a twist of lemon.
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Enjoy autumn, enjoy the harvest, and enjoy the fruits of the harvest:
wine!
Best to all,
Marc and Kim |
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