Food & Wine — Paroles de vignerons - Vinparleur

Please continue to take along #wine bottles to our house!

Permalink, by Dame B.

We love to welcome friends in our house. Create a menu to delight our guests, decorate the table with style, a beautiful bouquet and a few candles, compile a playlist to create a pleasant soundscape, so that everyone feels comfortable in a pleasant and welcoming atmosphere. And then comes the wine ... The right wine to accompany a meal, or the right dish for the wine? It depends on which inspiration comes first.

All of this may seem a bit cumbersome, just to spend a pleasant evening among friends, but it’s not. First of all, we love to do this and secondly, any possible effort is forgotten at the latest when everyone is there and the mood rises.

The first friends have arrived and the evening begins, the first glasses are filled and emptied, the aperitif plates as well, one laughs and talks on serious and nonsensical topics increase.
I remember a discussion with a friend, a great wine lover himself, who told me he would like to bring wine when he comes to us. But because of our reputation as “wine professionnals” he was reluctant, being afraid of bringing along “something wrong”. We laughed at it and tried to convince him that we do not know all the good wines, but would like to discover them and that we are also happy to share and enjoy well-known and confirmed wines with our friends.

So this is an appeal to our friends: Please keep on bringing wine to us! Your choice is always the right one!

Please pass on ...
Restaurant Le Pastis in #Montpellier - let’s talk about it again...

Permalink, by Dame B.

It’s a true love story that connects us to this restaurant. Over the last few years, we have always returned here with joy and every time we were surprised again by the composition of the menu, the quality of the ingredients, as well as the fine, intelligent cuisine. Being surprised again and again, isn’t this the basic requirement for a long lasting relationship?

On our last visit, we even had a double surprise. The entire restaurant has undergone a successful relooking and has also expanded as an adjoining former art gallery was taken over and merged with the historic restaurant. New, modern tables and chairs, handmade fabulous ceiling lights, as well as bowls and napkin rings carved by a real craftsman of sycamore wood. Clear, pure lines, very pleasing to the eye.

On the table just as much joy and precision as always, such as with a hors d’œuvre of anchovies on celery and puff pastry with olive puree. This culinary kick-off is followed by a soup of grilled bread with an emulsion of old Rodez, a cheese from the Aveyron, and a hint of chive oil. After this, place for the sea, with a fillet of mullet with raw kohlrabi on a little buckwheat tartlet with fresh herb sauce and caviar lemon. A true explosion of taste when the small, fresh pearls burst on the palate! But that is not all! The emotion rises to its climax with the perfectly cooked veal with a black olive-liquorice-coffee puree (just amazing!), with fried fennel, mustard leaves and a fresh cottage cheese with peanuts and black cumin.

We have only one thing left to say: keep it going! Rendez-vous in a few years to celebrate golden wedding!
Exquisite experience: Restaurant “I CUOCHI” in Genoa

Permalink, by Sebastian Nickel

The children are back at school, the grapes are in the tanks and summer holiday is already far away... No doubt a new season has begun. This is precisely why I would like to invite you here to a wonderful moment of farniente.

Wonderful moments + farniente often means “gastronomic escapade” and this time we will take you to Italy. After a pilgrimage through the luculous regions of Piedmont and Lombardy, a final stopover is on the agenda: Genoa in Liguria. After a day of strolling through the narrow streets of the old town, we are looking for a restaurant and agree on the welcoming”I Cuochi".

After getting lost in the labyrinth of the old town several times, despite a map, we finally reach the desired location. Our eyes and nose are immediately enthusiastic, thanks to the open kitchen. We pass through a spacious but cozy dining room to a smaller room on the first floor where we wait for a free table with a glass of wine and the literary offer of this former postribolo.

For a starter, chili, gorgonzola, onion jam and iced pears accompany a fine beef tartar (cut with a knife!). After that, it becomes even better with a tuna fillet perfectly baked in bread and almond crust, while fresh water and a fine bottle of Pinot Noir from the Alto Adige help us against our thirst. Wonderful!

Conclusion: Genoa is not only an extremely charming Mediterranean city, but also a nice place to get close to one of the many Italian cuisine styles.
The WAWA restaurant in #Berlin - A short trip to Korea @I_love_Berlin @BerlinTourism

Permalink, by Sebastian Nickel

Asian cuisine has found increasing popularity in Europe for years. Thai, Japanese or Korean, their different dishes tempt us with their spices, exoticism and precision of preparation. Often also with its simplicity and sincerity. Personally, I take every opportunity to dive into this universe of strange flavors and textures. On the condition to find a certain authenticity and quality.

If you like exotic cuisine, I warmly recommend the WAWA restaurant in Berlin, a small, modest but very authentic Korean restaurant in Schöneberg. Nibble a little Edamame (steamed soybeans) and tofu-kimchi (fermented cabbage with chili) while waiting for your Mandus (Korean ravioli), your Bul Gogi (marinated meat, which is served with lettuce leaves and rice, to eat with your hands) or Bibim Bap (stewed pot of rice, vegetables, kimchi and, optionally, meat)... Everything is extremely tasty and of powerful flavours. However, I recommend you to keep a bottle of mineral water ready, as Korean cuisine may be strongly influenced by chili. But just then it’s interesting. As besides its power and its fire, good chili is above all a rich source of aromas. A true flavor enhancer that adds strength to the other spices leading to a long lasting finish. A culinary delight, accompanied by a friendly and cheerful service.

A few words on the wine list. The selection of the wines is rather small, which, however, is not very inconvenient. You may be better off with beer (a loyal ally when eating chilli) or tea (an amazing table companion). Also interesting are the various Korean drinks made of rice. Although their flavors seem to originate from a different world, they are very well suited to the different dishes: warmly served sake, milky and cloudy but velvety textured makgeolli, more or less strong soju ...

A short trip to Korea’s kitchens, which is definitely worth a stop.

Bon appétit ! Doyo wihayeo ! 도요 위하여
Marinated Munster - A real challenge for cheese lovers! #Recipe

Permalink, by Sebastian Nickel

A very tasty dish, though not very low in calories. But nevertheless fits very well for summer! Very easy to prepare (the day before) and definitely loved by all cheese fans. 100% success guaranteed!

Ingredients for 4 persons
1 not too ripe Munster cheese
250 ml crème fraîche
1 glass Mirabelle brandy or schnapps
1 bunch of chives
Salt pepper
1 kg waxy potato (Amandine, Roseval, rat ...)
300 g raw ham

Chop the chives and mix them with the crème fraîche and the brandy. Add salt and pepper. Choose a terrine with cover, big enough to make the Munster cheese fit in completely. Cover the bottom with crème fraîche, cut the cheese into eight equal parts and depose it on the cream. Pour in the rest of the crème fraîche and completely cover the cheese. Cover and leave in a cool place for 24 hours (preferably in the garage or the basement, otherwise in the fridge). The cheese is undergoing rapid maturation and will become soft and creamy. Bring it back to kitchen a few hours before, at the cheese will be best at roomtemperature.

Place the ham on a plate or dish, boil the potatoes and serve all with the Munster and a crispy white wine. For the “deluxe version” of this cheese-sin, you should open a bottle of Champagne Extra Brut or Brut Nature.

Bon Appetit!
Today we are sitting in the shade, sipping rosé #wine!

Permalink, by Sebastian Nickel

Personally, I mainly drink rosé wine to relax. I rarely ask for more than to keep me happy (but maybe that’s a mistake ...). I have been drinking Pierre’s rosé for years, perhaps even for decades, because it does exactly what I’m expecting. This rosé amuses me. Sitting on a terrace under a parasol, or in the garden in the cool shade of a tree, I’m already enjoying its pale color, promising a crispy fresh taste. Peach syrup in the nose, with a zest of grapefruit and a handfull of strawberries. Pleasant and delicious! Juicy in the mouth, with exactly the freshness I was looking for, and the pleasant light aroma of fruit candy. With this, I’ll have some slices of raw ham, goat cheese with olive oil or some mussles.

This really makes me feel good! Give it a try…
El Xampanyet – Great Tapas and Cava in the heart of #Barcelona

Permalink, by Sebastian Nickel

You may have to struggle a little to get a table in this tapas bar, located in Barcelona’s El Born district. But if you like an authentic atmosphere, it will be worth the effort: El Xampanyet is crowded, colorful and popular... and its popularity is well-deserved. Tourists and locals mingle here in a colorful Catalan bar atmosphere, decorated with bottles and pictures, the place is small and noisy, a real mess! But before all, the tapas are fresh and excellent!

We’ll leave you no choice, you’ll have to try everything! From the simple tapas classic Pa amb tomàquet (bread with tomato and olive oil), to mussels, serrano ham, fresh olives, papas bravas, omelettes and cod fish, marinated in olive oil with tapenade and sun dried tomatoes (our favourite!). Just try them all , even if you do not understand everything on the menue, because every bite is worth it. Do not forget to enjoy this delicious moment with few glasses of cool sparkling Cava. You will leave the El Xampanyet with the a feeling of having tasted “real” Barcelona, and you will also have improved your skills in Catalan language. At least for a few hours…

Fins aviat!
Restaurant Le Naka in #Avignon: Zen #Food in the papal city

Permalink, by Dame B.

There are several ways to discover a restaurant.

A) By listening to friends and colleagues, who praise the ambience and the food of a place they went to last weekend.
B) Through an extensive analysis of comments and pictures on the Internet. Just like it suits in the third millennium ...
C) You drop rather casually into a restaurant, because the business meeting of this morning drags on and you change, for practical reasons and for the purpose of food, to a nearby location.
D) By chance (rare).

For us, the Naka, a Japanese restaurant in Avignon, is a typical C-case. And since then we can’t let go.. First of all there is the place, a room full of poetry. Natural stone walls, fine silk kimonos and large, zeppelin-like lamps, hanging like glowing bubbles over heads and tables, instantly driving the mind into a certain state of peace. We advise to settle in the back room of the restaurant, at one of the two spacious tables, where you actually may take off your shoes (which is not an obligation any more) in order to feel a little more “like at home”.  

As to the composition of the food, the kitchen focuses on the essentials, setting accents of flavours and treating the ingredients with respect: Perfectly cooked rice accompanies the sweet, stewed eggplant “Naka-style”, seemingly simple Sushi hide surprising flavours, exemplary tempered sashimi melts on the tongue. With three words: simple, light, good!  

For your thirst, there’s fresh beer, even iced in summer, but also a beautiful, manageable list of wines from the Rhône Valley. Those who like to keep it authentic may also opt for Sake, warm or cold, or choose one of the various teas on the menue. Afterwards you will be pleasantly satieted and feel relaxed, a nice break during a normal day. Please smile, you’ve just savoured a delicious meal...