En sommeliers bekännelser/ the secrets from the sommelier

Prowein, first day in paradise

2012-03-05T00:23:00.000+01:00

First day at Prowein was very hectic as expected; I was aiming for the unusual wines from special countries and found some very good wines and some not as well.

I was surprised of the quality from some producers in Uruguay, great wines that can easily mach any great wines from more known European producers and I welcome them to Sweden in a few weeks.

Brazil

was to me none existing even that they have a huge production in the country but I could not find anything that was good enough for me, but I did try many.

An great friend with fantastic wines from Spain is on the way here as well, 96 RP and among the 20 best wines in Spain (in the price range) watch out AALTO.

Croatia

with the winemaker Bruno Trapan totally blow me away with his wines, fabulous with great storytelling is also on the way to the cold north J

Another Croatian producer and the only one specializing in sweet wine was outstanding and highly awarded in Decanter, ohh I just love the sweet wines this guy is making.

Slovenia

are historically making great white wines and the group of three young guys are producing the most beautiful wines from Maribor area, I tried some older Riesling that they have and I was amazed.

The best Pinot Noirs from South Africa is always a very special treat and I tried many of the best here today a truly world class experience, Cathy Marshall I miss yours.

More to come tomorrow from a guy who loves his job.

Prowein and Yummy wines

2012-03-02T21:44:00.002+01:00

Its time for this years big wine fair Prowein in Germany with thousands of producers and million bottles of wine to be pored for four days.

I will be focusing on new wine producing countries to see how the potential are, I’m curious of the less known places and I do believe in diversity when it comes to wine.

What do you think of Uruguay, Brazil, Moldavia, Azerbaijan,

India

among others and not to mention the other Russian former republics that have been making wine for centaury’s.

I don’t have any limitations when it comes to wine and I love to discover less known grapes and regions, look at Sweden for instance! Who could believe that there will be vines growing up here twenty years ago??

Or England for that matter who is giving Champagne a real battle for the money.

Before I leave tomorrow I will conduct a big tasty, juicy Toro wine tasting that I have been looking forward to for months.

I will be back.

California wines I love ya

2012-02-29T22:11:00.000+01:00

Today was an very busy day at the office due to that I hade a meeting with the Kenneth Volk winery from California, great guy with some terrific wines that will add up the selection on the Swedish market.

After a very Danish lunch with smörebröd = open-faced sandwich we were on our way to the big California tasting that was held at Marriot in Copenhagen and arranged by California wine institute, great venue with some exiting producers that many where new to me.

After tasting and documenting 139 wines I gave up with my teeth hurting of all the acid in the wines but very happy to hopefully find some new business opportunities for the wine trade in both Denmark and

Sweden

And yes I do love my job J

JUNIOR CULINARY TEAM SWEDEN

2012-02-29T21:50:00.000+01:00

I’m happy to announce the new website of the Junior culinary team of Sweden.

These youngsters are among the best chefs in the country and are all handpicked by team leader Peter Jälksäter to create the perfect team to challenge all nations in this years culinary Olympics that will be held in Erfurt this October.

To compete in cooking can for outsiders be strange and very difficult to understand but let me tell you that it is very exiting and electric during these days and I can recommend everybody to visit the Olympics

I will arrange a trip by bus from south of Sweden so do contact me if you want to join and check out the team web page here http://www.juniorkocklandslaget.se/

GO SWEDEN.

Kloka ord om vinkunskap

2012-02-25T23:42:00.000+01:00

Jag måste bara dela med mej.

Tack Mats för detta

Hur är det med era vinkunskaper?
Svårt o veta vilka druvor, varifrån dom kommer, hur länge dom har lagrats, på fat eller balja, kork eller skruvkork, grop i botten eller helt flat - ja, visst är det en hel vetenskap. Men här kommer lite hjälp på vägen.....

Jag som är lite kunnig när det gäller vin, har några tips som jag t...änkte dela med mig av.
Först och främst skiljer man mellan röda och vita viner: Lättast skiljer man dessa båda vintyper från varandra om man skvalpar ut en skvätt på en vit bordsduk.
Det vin, som lämnar en lila fläck efter sig, är ett rödvin. Riktiga kännare kan på bara smaken avgöra om vinet är vitt eller rött.
De vita vinerna smakar i regel ättika medan de röda smakar stämpelfärg. Man kan alltså genom att suga på en vanlig kontorsstämpel och sedan jämföra smaken med ett vin, konstatera om detta är rött eller inte.

Till fiskrätter, såsom fiskbullar och matjessill föredrar de flesta vitt vin, medan man till kötträtter såsom falukorv och sylta bör ta ett rött vin. Portvin är ett vin som man serverar i porten. Har man inte någon port, kan man bjuda på det i trappuppgången eller i hissen.

När man serverar torra viner bör man se till att det inte är tvärdrag eller att någon av gästerna råkar nysa, ty i sådana fall dammar vinet omkring i lägenheten. När man serverar ett torrt vin är det därför lämpligt att ha en dammsugare i beredskap.

Om man själv ska bära hem sina flaskor från systembolaget gör man klokt i att köpa ett lättvin, så man inte får för mycket att kånka på.

Till vilt bör man välja något vildvin, medan man till grillat och annat vidbränt kött serverar brännvin. Renstek sköljer man ner med renat.

Saker som är svåra att säga när du druckit för mycket vin:
- Oöverträffat
- Innovativt
- Preliminärt
- Kvastskaft

Saker som är väldigt svåra att säga när du druckit för mycket vin:
- Västkustskt
- Konstitutionerad
- Substantiera
- Tillvägagångssätt

Saker som är i stort sett omöjliga att säga när du druckit alldeles för mycket vin:
- Nej, ingen mer sprit för min del.
- Ledsen, du är inte riktigt min typ

Så svälj en pilsner o va som folk - skål ta me f*n o en rolig fredag till er där ute.......:-)

En fantastiskt bra glassmaskin

2012-02-25T12:41:00.000+01:00

Vilken kväll vi hade med Douglas och alla SOSA produkter han släpat med sig till denna träff av super intresserade medlemmar i Svenska kockars förening Skåne.

Alla fick vi labba runt med olika produkter där vi lyckades med en del och misslyckades med andra men lärorikt var det för oss alla, tack till er som kom på denna kurs.

Vi gjorde bland annat en glass med CUISINART nya glassmaskin som gör två olika glassar samtidigt med högsta kvalitet, vilken förmån att kunna bjuda på nygjord glass hemma på ett enkelt sätt och använda säsongens råvaror.

Maskinen gör ett strålande jobb på ett enkelt sätt där dom bägge bägarna fryser innehållet på ett snabbt sätt så att det inte hinner bildas en massa kristaller utan glassen/sorben blir smidig och mycket god.

Tack till Louise för att hon orkade släpa hem denna från Paris så att vi fick en chans att testa den.

The new exiting Spain on my mind

2012-02-24T22:06:00.000+01:00

I have been so busy and did not have any time to write here for to many days and I feel the need for it considering the writing on my book, more about this some other day.

Spain

and its wines is right now the most interesting for me, there are many great wines and I’m happy to se the enormous development in Spain for the last ten years.

My luck is that I have the opportunity to taste some of the exiting new wines on the market and that always makes me very happy.

In two weeks I will be at Prowein in Germany to taste many more and if you are there let me know and we can meet up for a glass or 2.

aferrarse en una botella, así que no lo beben

Abi Duhr, winemaker behind the label

2012-02-12T18:03:00.000+01:00

Abi Duhr rightly has his reputation as the enfant terrible of Luxembourg wines - and for good reason. Not for him the conventional, conservative and traditional winemaking of his neighbours, he is always prepared to push to the limit to gain that extra bit of quality out of all his wines.

Steeped in winemaking tradition and still responsible for final blending at the long-established family vineyards (Domaines Aly Duhr), his main work is at his Ch. Pauqué, in the picturesque village of Grevenmacher on the banks of the Mosel, which is 100% owned by him.
Château Pauqué is a small estate of about 5 ha which has vineyards spread over 6 villages from Schengen to Wasserbillig.
Two lines of wines are produced - the classic one (Riesling & Pinot Gris) and one with Burgundian characteristics, focused on wines fermented and aged in oak barrels.
The grapes are normally harvested from the beginning of October to mid November in order to get the best possible maturity.
The botrytised grapes do not see skin contact. Long fermentations, (the 2008 finished their fermentations only in July 2009) with natural yeasts give Châeau Pauqué wines a characteristic creamy harmony.

Over 70 % of the vineyards are located on the steepest hills of the Luxembourg Mosel Valley. With over 50 % of Riesling (some of the vineyards have been planted more than 60 years ago) the Châeau Pauqué Estate has one of the highest Riesling percentages in Luxembourg. Additionally, Abi grows Elbling, Auxerrois, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay.

What sets Abi apart from other wine producers, is his inherent ability to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear - time and time again.
He makes a large range of wines - but just a few hundred bottles of each - starting with his entry level Bromelt, made from the normally boring Elbling grape, but even here, he manages to give it a “lift” like no one else has been able to do.
A quintet of Rieslings starting with wines from two different location - “Gravenmacher Fels” and “Paradäis”, show delicate finesse and good length, with the “Gravenmacher Fels” showing more mineral characteristics than the “Paradäis” which has a bit more citrussy fruit.
The “Gravenmacher Fels” is available in moelleux in the 2006 vintage, whilst there is a Veilles Vignes version of the “Paradäis” with more intensity of fruit.
A straight Veilles Vignes is also made from vines planted in 1942 and here the wine reaches an apogée of class with great spätlese characteristics which would make it a wonderful accompaniment to foie gras.
There is again a “Paradäis” Vendange Tardive, which does truly bring the wine into an auslese quality.

Whilst Riesling can be said to be the mainstay of Mosel grapes, it’s what Abi achieves with other, native and non-native grapes which is truly remarkable.
Pinot Gris “Paradäis” shows good varietal spiciness and “Fossiles” is another great blend of Pinot Blanc and Auxerrois, nutty and with good length.
It is in the treatment of the Auxerrois, however, not normally noted for its noble character, which takes on a new dimension under the “Clos du Paradäis” label. 100% Auxerrois with full, rich, nutty, intense and creamy complexity, it is a masterpiece.
And to see what can be done with Chardonnay at so north a latitude, confusingly labelled just “Château Pauqué”, is smooth and rich, but with a great tannic structure displaying perfect balance between the fruit and the acidity.
A new Chardonnay cuvée tasted en barriques (old ones at that) shows great promise. Finally “Montée des Seigneurs” is a late harvest Auxerrois, smooth and unctuous without being sickly sweet but an absolute must for drinking with your puds!

Abi’s wines are not cheap, but you won’t see them anywhere except in the best places - the best restaurants, the best wine shops and in the best homes - stop by and add your home to the list - it’s a delightful trip to Grevenmacher, wherever you are coming from.

Abi Duhr - Ch. Pauqué, 73 Route de Trèves, L 6793 Grevenmacher, Luxembourg.

more information info@winebehindthelabel.com.

Banan & Vin

2012-02-12T15:37:00.000+01:00

När jag skulle möta upp en vän här om dagen för ett snabbt samtal så sitter denne och provar vin med inte mindre är allas vår Banarne Klasse Möllberg.

Klasse har sedan en tid tillbaka en vin importfirma med viner från Patagonien i Argentina producerat av den begåvade vinmakaren Leonardo Puppato och familjen Bodega Schroeder.

Familjen startade sin vin produktion i början av 2000 talet och gör nu viner på 120 hektar som alla är planterade med dom kända sorterna, vineriet som är nytt och använder gravitation och inga pumpar visar upp en ny sida av Argentinas viner där frukt och frächhet är det som man strävar efter utan att tappa kraft och koncentration.

Jag som alltid är nyfiken av mig kunde ju inte motstå Klasses erbjudande av att prova hela serien viner som han hade med sig till denna provning.

Det som stod ut var absolut deras reserva viner på Cab S, malbec så klart men där Pinot Noir var den klart bästa tyckte jag, dom gör även en mycket spännande SAURUS pinot noir late harvest med 67 gram restsocker som är väldigt intressant och passar i många vin paket på krogen.

Trevligt ny bekantskap som väcker intresse av vad mer som göms i Patagonien och där Parker redan har givit några av dessa viner +90 RP

Tack Chris & Klasse

Chateauneuf with a female touch

2012-02-11T15:16:00.000+01:00

Chateauneuf du Pape is without doubt one of the most famous appellations in the wine world started way back in the 1300 century, this wine “Le Cedres” is made by the talented Caroline Frey from vines with an average of 45 years and with a nice blend of 75 % Grenache, 10 % syrah, 10 % cinsault and 5 % mourvedre.

This wine have been matured for 12 months on used barrels and show some beautiful colour with the opulent nose packed with cassis, dry fruits, herbs and spice.

The lingering texture show me more of a new world pinot noir with elegance, balanced tannins and great finesse,

I love cherry in wines and also spice, liquorice, herbs and sweet plums and I got it all here with massive long finish. This is really a woman’s touch to this wine and a great companion for all the Valentine lovers.

In Sweden you can buy this at systembolaget for 259 kr and the art number is 70616.

Red roses to you all out there

Calvados & Chocolate, is that ok?

2012-02-10T18:38:00.000+01:00

What a treat I received in my mail today J and that changed my whole day in to sunshine, a bottle of Chateau du Breuil calvados CHOCOLATE BLEND.

This is a collaboration between the master blender Philippe Lamon and the French famous chocolate company Michel Cluizel where they together made this totally amazing liquid from calvados with the average age of 10 – 30 year old barrels hided away in the cellar.

The whole point is to produce something that will be the ultimate experience with dark chocolate of the highest quality.

This calvados is made of five different apples all harvested from five different families to get the right structure and balance.

The colour is deep golden with great dry fruits on the nose, the taste is smooth, fruity with a great balance and nice acidity with long lingering finish.

I must say that I am very impressed of this calvados and will use it on all my chocolate / beverage pairing.

You can buy this I the restaurant assortment in Sweden by contacting Stellan Kramer.

enjoy

Rapport från Bordeaux

2012-02-06T17:16:00.002+01:00

Bordeaux i Frankrike inger respekt. Knappast något vindistrikt i världen har en mer ärofylld historia, dyrare viner och vackrare vinslott att visa upp. Men finanskrisen sätter sina spår - prisrallyt är över, för den här gången.

Det är strävt, friskt och djupt blårött. Läpparna och tänderna är blå och skjortan har fått små vinröda stänk. Det är provning av primörvinerna 2008 och inköpare, vinhandlare och journalister från hela världen har kommit till Bordeaux för att bedöma den senaste årgången. Det spottas friskt i de utställda spottkärlen på vinslotten när alla söker svar på samma frågor: Är 2008 jämbördig med 2007 eller 2004? Och framför allt – vad sätter slotten för pris?

Primör ej tappat på flaska

Primör, på franska vin en primeur, är ett vinhandlarbegrepp som betyder att man köper vinet innan det tappas upp på flaska. Därför provar vinhandlarna redan i april, bara ett halvår efter skörden. Jäsningen är klar, men vinerna är långt ifrån färdiga. Minst ett års lagring på ekfat väntar för de flesta.
Men för slotten och vinhandlarna, på franska négociants, är det ett sätt att få in pengar så snabbt som möjligt efter skörden. Uppköparna betalar nämligen vid beställning.
– Provningarna är ett sätt för Bordeaux att hålla kontakten med marknaden, känna av intresset och visa upp den nya årgången, säger Johan Magnusson, Sveriges enda värderingsman för vin och med erfarenhet av primörprovningar sedan 1995. Han har dessutom jobbat på flera välkända slott.

En bra årgång ger högre pris

Primörprovningarna är en stor händelse, inte bara i Bordeaux där tusentals besökare åker mellan slotten under en knapp veckas tid, utan även för hela vinvärlden. I få andra distrikt, om ens något, spelar årgången lika stor roll som här. Vinets kvalitet styr priserna, vilket investerarna är väl medvetna om.
En stor årgång genererar automatiskt högre priser, och ett tydligt exempel är 2005. Väderförhållandena var perfekta från vårens blomning till höstens skörd. Journalisterna, med Robert Parker och den amerikanska vintidningen Wine Spectator i spetsen, var lyriska och höjde årgången till skyarna. Slotten var inte sena att hänga på utan höjde priserna rejält. De mest
berömda slotten begärde drygt 10 000 kronor per flaska, jämfört med knappt 2 000 kronor för årgången innan – den mindre hajpade 2004:an.

Finanskrisen ger billigare vin?

Men nu när finanskrisen och lågkonjunkturen har slagit till hoppas vinhandlarna att priserna kommer att sjunka.
– Priserna måste ner om vi ska kunna sälja något. Förutom lågkonjunktur har dollarn och pundet tappat 30 procent mot euron, och den ryska marknaden har kollapsat - där köper man ingenting, säger Frédéric Olivar, försäljningschef på Groupe CVBG, en av Bordeauxs största négocianter.
Och visst kommer marknadens förhoppningar att infrias. Redan ett par veckor efter primörprovningarna släppte flera namnkunniga slott priserna för sina 2008:or, och de var cirka 40 procent lägre än året innan.
– Vilken nivå det svenska kundpriset hamnar på är svårt att säga på grund av kronans försvagning mot euron. Men priserna på de dyraste vinerna borde blir cirka 20 procent lägre, tror Systembolagets inköpare för Frankrike, Gad Pettersson.
Bordeaux ligger i sydvästra Frankrike och är landets största vinregion, där över 80 procent av produktionen är rött vin, följt av torrt vitt, rosé, sött vitt och en liten del mousserande. Närheten till Atlanten och floderna Garonne, Dordogne och havsviken Gironde gör att klimatet är relativt svalt. Våren kan vara regnig, men sommaren är varm. Normalt gör varma höstar att druvorna får en lång mognadstid.

Flera druvsorter ger större spelrum

Just ojämna väderförhållanden har gjort att man odlar och blandar flera olika druvsorter, för att på så sätt kunna göra så jämna årgångar som möjligt. Fjorton druvsorter är tillåtna, men i praktiken används endast åtta: merlot, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, malbec och petit verdot för röda viner samt sémillon, sauvignon blanc och muscadelle för vita.
Bordeaux är indelat i region, distrikt och kommun. Den franska vinlagstiftningens högsta klassificering benämns Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée, i vardagligt tal förkortat AC. Bordeaux har 57 sådana områden. Kvantitetsmässigt är regionnivån den viktigaste. Men det är de enskilda kommunerna som ger området stjärnglans.

Slotten är statussymboler

Knappa fem mil nordväst om hamnstaden Bordeaux ligger Médoc-halvön. Här slingrar sig småvägar mellan de världsberömda kommunerna Margaux, St-Julien, Pauillac och St-Estèphe. Slotten, vars viner du hittar på alla världens auktioner, ligger lite nonchalant utslängda bland vingårdarna, vackra och ståtliga – ja, nästan som de vore lite overkliga.
– Slotten är mer en statussymbol än bostad, säger Johan Magnusson. Långt ifrån alla är bebodda av ägaren.
Men slotten som statussymbol och château-begreppet har haft stor betydelse för att stärka bilden av Bordeaux som prestigevinernas centrum i vinvärlden.

Gammal klassificering gäller än

Redan 1855 gjordes den klassiska klassificeringen där 61 rödvinsegendomar delades in fem olika klasser, på franska crus, och 26 sötvinsproducenter delades in i tre nivåer. Vinmäklarna fick uppdraget.
Tre slott i Médoc - Château Margaux, Château Latour och Château Lafite-Rothschild - och ett slott i området Graves, Château Haut-Brion - hamnade i högsta klassen Premier Cru. 1973 flyttades slottet Mouton-Rothschild upp från andra klassen. Bland de vita stack Château d’Yquem ut och fick en helt egen klass, Premier Cru Supérieur.
St-Émilion i östra Bordeaux fick sin klassificering 1956, och där är slotten Cheval Blanc och Ausone högst rankade. Grannkommunen Pomerol har ingen officiell klassificering. Däremot rankas Château Pétrus lika högt som de officiella.
– Bordeaux, och i synnerhet de här slotten, är de som oftast förekommer på världens auktioner. Och historiskt sett har de varit bra investeringar, menar Johan Magnusson.
Det kan tyckas att de gamla klassificeringarna är självuppfyllande – ju högre klass, desto högre pris kan man ta ut och därmed investera mer och på så sätt bibehålla sin status. Men en titt i backspegeln visar att det inte alltid har varit så.

Generösare smak på senare år

Château Margaux hamnade i en kvalitetssvacka under 1960- och 1970-talet, vilket medförde sjunkande priser. Motsatsen hittar man bland flera slott på lägre klassificeringsnivåer som under 1980- och 1990-talet investerade och förbättrade kvaliteten, varpå priserna sköt i höjden. Det finns med andra ord ingen fast korrelation mellan rankning och pris - klassificeringen ger snarast en bra indikation.
Oavsett prisnivå har investeringar och förfinade vintekniker gjort att vinerna från Bordeaux har fått jämnare kvalitet, men också en generösare smakprofil. Självfallet kräver många röda viner fortfarande flera års lagring för att visa sitt rätta jag. Men många viner går att dricka unga.
Nya världens frammarsch de senaste 20 åren, med fruktigare och mjukare viner som fallit konsumenterna på läppen, har fått vinmakarna i Bordeaux att tänka till.
– Redan på 1990-talet började Bordeauxs viner bli mer generösa. Och med årgången 2000 slog den ungdomliga frukten igenom på allvar, säger Johan Magnusson.
Enligt Frédéric Olivar, på négociantfirman Groupe CVBG, håller trenden i sig. Men han ser andra problem.

Konkurrens från Nya världen i lägre prislägen

– Bordeauxs signum är sträva och friska viner, vilket naturen och klimatet har gett oss, så vi kan inte göra hur fruktiga viner som helst. Problemet är att vi inte är konkurrenskraftiga i de lägre prisklasserna, där väljer konsumenterna hellre viner från Nya världen.
Systembolagets inköpare Gad Pettersson ser ett liknande mönster i Sverige.
– Enklare bordeauxviner saknar ibland distriktets ursprungstypiska drag, som svarta vinbär, ceder och angenäm jordighet. Däremot är vinerna runt 80 kronor och uppåt mycket konkurrenskraftiga.
Gad avslöjar också att det blir en större lansering av röd bordeaux i oktober.
– Jag hoppas att kunderna återupptäcker dessa viner i lite högre prislägen.
Men vad är det som gör bordeauxvinerna så speciella?
– För mig står Bordeaux för riktigt bra vin, både rött och vitt. De är komplexa, vilket till stor del beror på att man blandar olika druvsorter. Ett välgjort vin är elegant, nyanserat och mycket friskt, samtidigt som det är kraftfullt. Lagringspotentialen gör att det utvecklas positivt med mer och mer komplexitet över tiden, förklarar Gad Pettersson.

Text: Fredrik Axelsson
Artikeln tidigare publicerad i kundtidningen Bolaget nr 3, 2009

Confrerie Saint - Etienne D`Alsace

2012-01-31T23:13:00.000+01:00

Last Friday was a very nice day that I will remember and cherish for a very long time, me and Christina was inducted to the brotherhood of the winegrowers association from Alsace the Confrerie Saint – Etienne D`Alsace this is for us a very special thing due to that we love the wines and the gastronomy from Alsace and this is a way for us to be an even bigger part of this beautiful wine district of France.

The day started early in the town hall with lots of happy people and many wine producers that was attending this event al the way from France, and I especially enjoyed Hubert Trimbach from one of my all time favourite wine houses, he is a very funny man with a witty humour.

After some funny song and the induction we all moved on to the gala dinner with some amazing wines and lots of new friends that share the same interest as we do, we all missed the Alsace region sitting there and talking about experience and sharing good hotels and other information, this is a tiny region but so many things to se and to do, have an urge to go there soon again

Here on this blogg there are some more Alsatian adventures, look for it.

Cheers

Dragan

Chef of the year in Sweden

2012-01-30T21:25:00.000+01:00

A few days ago I was attending the most exiting competition when the chef of the year in Sweden was held in Stockholm with the six finalists of 140 applied was competing with great cheering crowd,

All the competitors have to do two dishes each one that was a secret until a few minutes before the started and that was a lobster this year and the other was the rack of beef that they know for a month in advance and was able to train and to figure out the best way of preparing this to be on the highest culinary level.

The pressure was enormous as you can expect due to that the chefs in the Nordic countries are considered to be on the top in the world right now and that is very exiting for all of us.

The winner and the Swedish chef of the year and who received the price from His majesty prince Carl Philip is Klas Lindberg a great guy and well deserved winner.

As always is the dinner and the after party something that everybody are looking forward to and this year was the best so far with great food and amazing music.

Klas is also a member of the Swedish culinary team who is in hard training for the culinary Olympics in October this year.

More about the Olympics to come and
here are some pictures I took with my phone, not great but better than nothing :-)

Hola Argentina como estas?

2012-01-28T22:50:00.000+01:00

Considering that Argentina is the fifth largest producer of wine in the world I took a challenge and ordered in some 98 samples from seventeen different wine producers with the focus on the most famous malbec grape but some cabs and syrah appeared in the blends.

This massive tasting was a great way to understand the recent development in the Argentinean viticulture and to see what is going on over there and let me tell you that I got one hell of a surprise with most of the wines, there where terrific to unforgettable wines with some massive rating from the well known people (no names) we hade a very hart time to decide our favourites (mine is at the pictures below)

The idea of this tasting is to find producers to work with on the Swedish and Danish market and so we did after wild and heavy discussions, I sure look forward to show of the wines on this market and the horeca sector.

But you have to remember that wines from here in great quality will never come cheap but always great value for the money.

Looking forward to visit Argentina

Can you compete in cooking ?

2012-01-22T23:36:00.000+01:00

The first sponsor dinner of the year for us went very good and I could notice that all the invited guests where very impressed of the food and the presentation of the new team, now is our focus on the cold table display that we will compete with on the culinary Olympics in October this year in Erfurt Germany.

The Skåne culinary team is really on the toes to do perfection and the team is in good spirit and doing the best even if there are some more months to go but we all know that time moves fast and we will soon be there.

Another thing is that we have the team captain Martin Hansen who will represent Sweden in the Nordic chef of the year and Pi Nghi Thanh Le for the junior chef of the year great guys with enormous talents.

My myself and I will go judge the kitchen work and my great pal Tomas Gustafsson will judge the dishes, only people from Skåne here now, great achievements from all.

Sebastian Gibrand are at the same time competing in London for the Hans Bushkens trophy with Magnus Johansson as the following judge, a very strong Swedish team.

Here are some pictures from the sponsor night.

A proud president of the Swedish chefs association of Skåne who missed to take pictures of the first dishes.

Can you drink Italian Fashion?

2012-01-16T21:55:00.000+01:00

The Italian company of Martini & Rossi started up in mid 1800 and are now days mostly known for its vermouth and are owned by the Bacardi company from 1992.

Martini Gold is a result of the great collaboration between Bacardi and the most famous house of Italian fashion Dolce & Gabbana that sourced the world to create a unique flavour.

This essence of bergamot, lemons and oranges from Sicily, Spanish saffron from La Mancha, myrrh from Ethiopia, ginger from India and Kubeba pepper from Sunda island of Indonesia and it is all packed in a beautiful golden bottle with a black packaging designed by the two fashion icons.

The taste is beautifully balanced of fragrant lemon, deep, zesty orange and rich exotic spices with the special Martini touch.

You just have to try it! Its for sale at tax-free for about 250 SKR

Please enjoy.

Kiwi wines from heaven

2012-01-04T18:45:00.000+01:00

What a great start of the New Year!! I have the fortune to taste the unbelievable wines from Misha´s vineyard and the winemaker Olly Masters for the first time in Sweden, thank you Misha and Andy for this special treat with your wines, and let med tell you guys out there that better than this is very hard to find in New Zeeland or somewhere ells for that matter.

Misha´s vineyards are located on the edge of Lake Dunstan in the region of central Otago where they have 57 hectare of sundrenched vineyards that provide perfect conditions to make world class Pinot Noir and fabulous whites on different grapes with no compromise viticulture.

Lets start of with the Pinot Noir The High Note inspired by Misha´s opera singing mother J

This ruby colour pinot have an amazing power in the nose packed with yummy dark fruit, cassis and herbs’ and a full on palate with warm dark fruit, pickled ginger, liquorice and an aftertaste that last forever, one of the best new world Pinots 95 DU points

Pinot Gris Dress Circle is for me a WOW wine that I did not expect at all, watch out all you Alsace producers, this wine is light golden in colour with very nice nose of juicy pear, granny apples and lemon verbena that continues with a full off dry palate with ripe stone fruits, orange peel and the best mineral tone with a very long finish, great balance.93 DU points

Sauvignon Blanc The Starlet is not like the other NZ wines that you can find on the Swedish market today, this is more in the French style with pale straw colour and a beautiful nose of lemon/lime, gooseberry and some ripe pineapple that will continue in this dry wine. The palate is refreshing, dry with good minerality and full of intense exotic fruit all balanced off with great acidity 91 DU points

Riesling Lyric is another wine that could be from a great producer in Alsace or Germany, this pale golden wine have a nice nose of rose petals, citrus and white peaches very very nice! The palate is dry, grapey with mineral, slate and sweet honey melons all balanced off with great acidity and long lingering finish 93 DU points

Riesling Limelight is the sweeter of the two Rieslings with pale colour, on the nose is this wine packed with sweet mature exotic fruit, lemongrass, lime leafs and mineral. In the mouth is this medium dry wine (25g/L) fantastically well balanced with bursting fruit, citrus, apple and ripe melon, all finished off with long spicy finish 95 DU points

More information about this wines is to be found here http://www.mishasvineyard.com

And the wines are to be found in Sweden by me in a few weeks.

Sunshine in my life

Med vänlig hälsning/ best regards

Dragan Unic

Closure of 2011

2011-12-31T18:01:00.000+01:00

I’m sitting here on the last Day in this year to sum up all the things that have happened this year and figure out that I will divide it as follow:

Wine:

This year have been the greatest wine year ever, I have tried thousands of wines from all around the globe with some disasters but also some icon wines that will blow you away when they appear on the market I Sweden in 2012.

I have the fortune to visit some amazing wine producers with my family this year and some of they are, Pol Roger, Bollinger, Guy Charlemagne, Trimbach, Domaine Weinbach and many more in France, Germany, Luxembourg what a treat that was.

The tastings and wine courses that me and Christina are doing was truly booming this year and we are looking forward to all the great people that we will meet in 2012, we have some great plans for you guys,

keep you updated on our website www.atmosphere-store.se

Gastro Import wine selection is another thing that was happened this year, a wine import business to the horeca sector in

Sweden

that will conquer ground in the following years to come, I sure look forward to this with all the great producers in the portfolio.

Gastronomy:

I hade the chance to visit some great city’s this year as an member of the Swedish chefs associations culinary board and you can read all of my impressions here on my blog, Istanbul, Bergen among others.

The world chefs tour against hunger In South Africa was a mind blowing experience with more than 250 chefs from 45 countries gathered together for supporting SACA to collect money for starving children, thanks Frida, Helena and Mike for excellent companionship and a job well done and an special thanks to the SKF for letting us do this trip.

The Skåne culinary regional team are improving all the time and we are aiming for the gold medal in the culinary Olympics this year in October more of this will follow later on, there are some pictures on my FB side from this event, check it out

Family:

The THEODOR tea is on the Swedish and Danish market now and we are very happy for this, a struggle but Christina will beet this challenge in 2012, any of you who haven’t tried this tea let us know and we will send you samples and

Please check out this great side www.unictaste.se

My girls are doing just fine and growing like a wildfire, I can not catch up with the already, Bianca is now six years old and Tammy is closing to sixteen and I’m grateful everyday for them. God bless

Christina the love in my life is the best companion a man like me could have, couldn’t do this without your support love J I love you passionately and deeply more and more for each day.

The 2012 will have its many challenges and opportunities who know where it all will end but I’m looking forward to this with the most enthusiasm.

Thank you all for following me here and have a very happy new year.

Over and out

Happy new year

2011-12-31T14:04:00.000+01:00

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all out there a very happy new year and may the wine god be with you all.

Respect

Dragan

German Pinots with a twist

2011-12-27T22:39:00.000+01:00

First of all I would like to wish you all out there a very merry Christmas and a happy new 2012, may the new year be wonderful with lots of joy and happiness to you all.

On my mission to improve my pinot noir appreciation I twist and turn all over for finding the soul of this grape that many ”know it all” of my friends in the trade consider to be the one and only grape.

I recently turned my head towards German pinots “spätburgunder” the third biggest producers of Pinot grape in the world even due to that most people never thinks about Germany as a red wine country.

The wines I have tasted are all very exiting with lush mature fruit, soft mellow and polished tannins with their own personality that shows very well how this grape adapt and show its potential where ever it grows.

I have tasted a lot of pinot noirs during my crusade to learn more about this grape and have found many grate wines but all of the are from outside France, what the heck are wrong with the frog eaters way of doing wine with this grape?

My 2011 high and low list will be out during a couple of days there are still some days that can improve dramatically J

Love conquers all

En ganska dyr öl

2011-12-21T21:34:00.000+01:00

Jag hade nöjet att äta ett fantastiskt julbord på Rusthållargården i Arild med min familj för någon dag sedan och fick en flaska Nils Oscar Jubileum 15 som är bryggt med pilsnermalt och mörk karamellmalt, men även med torkade skal och fruktkött från de ekologiskt odlade kaffebären Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza.

Ölet får därmed en härligt rund och fruktig karaktär där ljusa smaker dominerar med inslag av karamell och frukt.

Drycken passar till många olika rätter och lämpar sig därför ypperligt till flera olika kök, även riktigt kryddstarka rätter och klassisk Svensk husmanskost och julmat med en stor OP till, Man har även kryddat ölet med de båda humlesorterna Saaz och Tettnang.

Den karaktäristiska smaken förstärks av citrongräs, thaibasilika och limeblad.

Ölet är överjäst med en jäststam av belgiskt ursprung är ofiltrerat och opastöriserat och med tanke på att den är på 75 cl så är den nästan en måltid i sig själv till det facila priset av 498 kr styck.

Champagne Tarlant inför helgerna

2011-12-16T00:08:00.000+01:00

Champagnehuset Tarlant är en familjeangelägenhet där Benoit är vinmakare och hans yngre syster Melanie har ansvaret för marknaden.

Det jag gillar med vinerna från Tarlant är att dom gör sin champagne utan tanke på tid och pengar utan vill visa upp potentialen av sin odlade frukt och kompetensen som dom besitter sen flera generationer tillbaka, dessutom använder dom fat till sina basviner vilket skapar en fyllighet som jag gillar.

Som dom flesta odlare i champagne har dom flera olika viner i sin portfölj där fyra av dom finns att köpa via bolaget och där jag kan rekommendera alla att prova.

Standard vinet är en blandning på dom tre klassiska druvorna och pressade i gamla runda Coquart pressar för att sedan jäsa i kontrollerade ståltankar för att därefter ligga ytterligare 36 månader på flaska och sin jästfällning, detta vin har ingen dosage och är alltså helt torr.

Basvinet i denna flaska är från 2006 och reserv vinerna som legat på fat bidrar till en finish som är fantastisk.

NV Tarlant brut zero

262 kr

Artnr 88000

My Quest for Pinot

2011-12-15T00:44:00.000+01:00

In my quest for the Pinot noir that I like I accidently fell on this bottle of Catherine Marshall Eleven Barrels 2009 Pinot Noir from sunny South Africa, the wine gave me a nice feeling of tranquillity, laziness with a very sexy finish, how can anybody not like this wonderful wine, I hope to sample more of this producer in the near future.

As you all know Pinot Noir is my week spot on the wine heaven and I try a lot to overcome, challenge and learn the finesse in this grape.

I will not give up easily J

Dolina wine from Serbia

2011-12-13T21:29:00.000+01:00

Vilket spännande vin jag fick idag, ett fat prov på Dolina 2010 från Serbiensom lagrats på stål tank första delar av sitt liv för att därefter fortsätta på nya medelrostade och 1 år gamla fat,

jag har tidigare haft nöjet att prova både 08:an och 09:an som dessutom finns att beställa på bolaget, köp nu och njut till sommarens grillkvällar.

2010:an visade att det var en svår årgång med dåligt väder och mycket regna men trots detta så visar detta prov på fin härlig struktur med bra syra och en aning hårda tanniner som kommer att bli bra då det är dags att buteljera vinet, viner som fat prov är alltid spretiga och obalanserade vilket är naturligt med ack så charmigt.

tack Anders för att du orkade släpa på detta och att du tänkte på mig.

Pinot noir in concert

2011-12-11T17:07:00.000+01:00

I’m trying to get to know pinot noir wines from around the known wineworld to find some that suites and challenge my taste buds to the max.

In recent years there have been some of the best pinots and also some of the less worthy wines in my glass that have shown me how diverse this grape can be all depending of the climate but mostly of the producers ambition of producing the best he can in god and bad vintages. Chile has a lot of job left before we can se some great pinots made there, Germany make some fabulous wines on this grape variety and so are Austria who can challenge them for the money and not least California who have been doing great pinots for many years.

I just cant write about pinot without mentioning Burgundy and all that stands for this grape, I’m so pleased that the BIVB send me an invitation to visit them and to take part of the educational seminars in 2012, I’m truly looking forward to this and to learn more about its wines and to discover some of the secrets that I now don’t understand.

The biggest surprise are actually the pinots from South Africa that I tasted on my last visit there and the most astonish wine are made by Danie De Wet and his 2009 Pinot Noir Nature in Concert, what a wine!

AMARONE ELLER RIPASSO?

2011-12-08T10:55:00.000+01:00

Att kalla Ripasso för ”Mini-Amarone” menar Alkoholgranskningsmannen, Mattias Grundström, är både oriktigt och vilesledande. Nu fälls PrimeWine Group för olovlig alkoholmarknadsföring.

BGS Wine Import, som ingår i PrimeWine Group, har i annonser under hösten kallat sin Soprasasso Valpolicella Ripasso för ”Mini-Amarone”. Något som enligt Alkoholgranskningsmannen strider mot god affärssed.

I ärendet skriver Mattias Grundström: ”Amarone är en beteckning som skyddas av den italienska staten. AGM anser det viktigt att konsumenternas förtroende för ursprungsbeteckningar inte rubbas, något som den påtalade marknadsföringen riskerar att göra”.

– Vi visste inte att det var fel att kalla Ripasso för ”Mini-Amarone” utan trodde att begreppet var vedertaget känt. Hur tänkte ni där egentligen? eller som vissa andra när dom säger Amarone lik ripasso! vad fan är det?

Alla som varit på mina provningar av denna typ av viner vet vad jag tycker när man kallar saker för vad det inte är eller hur?

Amarone är Amarone och inget annat

FACEBOOK ? OR !

2011-12-07T20:57:00.002+01:00

How great is facebook? That made me thing about it when I realise that I have almost 1000 connections on FB with some people that I actually never met in person but they still want to be some sort of friends with me, this is great and I do appreciate each and every one of you guys J

I think that this is the greatest way so far to know new people that you have things in common, to get in touch with old pals from around the world but also to get and to give knowledge of in my case wine but also many other things that make you thing and to move your brain a bit, knowledge is fun and very challenging and I love it especially now when I’m thinking of to start up my Diploma course and I sure need everybody on FB so I can pass this tests on months and years to come.

Please help me out !!

WORLDS BEST SINGLE BARREL BOURBON

2011-12-02T21:40:00.000+01:00

When my wife Christina got back from New Orleans where she was visiting a good old friend for some days she brought back a bottle of bourbon to me without knowing what is was in the bottle, but let me tell you that this was the best whisky I have ever tasted and I have splurged a few in my days.

This original single barrel Blanton`s bourbon was once designated for high rollers in the world and I just love it !

Bourbon has been enjoyed for centuries, but single barrel bourbon only dates back to 1984, when the owners of Ancient Age Distillery (now Buffalo Trace Distillery) set out to create a premium quality product. In the process, they revolutionized the industry.

The inspiration? Colonel Albert Blanton,It all started during a conversation with his former apprentice, Elmer T. Lee. Mr. Lee recalled the days when Col. Blanton would entertain friends and special guests by serving them bourbon from Warehouse H.

Col. Blanton discovered that this warehouse aged bourbon better than any other on the grounds, especially in the middle sections known as the center cut.

After taste-testing samples, Col. Blanton would pick an individual barrel he liked best and have it bottled.

The bottles became his special select single barrel bourbons.

Mr. Lee’s concept turned into a reality when the owners asked him to oversee the project, selecting the finest barrels from the same Warehouse H. In 1984, Blanton’s became the first American entry into the ultra-premium whiskey market. Today, most distilleries offer one or more single barrel bottling, but Blanton’s was the first, and I think that this is the finest, single barrel on the market.

The tiny horse and jockey on the bottle stoppers are now a recognized trademark of Blanton's Single Barrel Bourbon.

The rich heritage and tradition of horses in Kentucky parallel that of bourbon.

there is a collectors edition set of eight different stoppers, featuring a horse and jockey in different strides and poses. Each stopper is marked with a single letter that spells Blanton's when the set has been completed.

For all Swedish guys I can tell that there are some 18 bottles left at systemet for the cheap price of 489 kr

Stand and Deliver J

House of Krug for the future

2011-11-30T10:08:00.000+01:00

Christmas and new year in sight when the prestigious House of Krug has released two rare Champagnes: Clos du Mesnil 2000 and Vintage 2000.
Produced from a single walled plot of vines in Mesnil-sur-Oger the Clos du Mesnil 2000 is characterized by aromas of peach, pear, apples and ripe lime this wine is ideal on its own och with seafood, made with 100% chardonnay.
If you can afford it buy whatever you can get your hands on and store away for at least 10 years.

The Vintage 2000 is a classical blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier.
It has beautifull aromas of exotic fruit, almonds, walnut and zesty lemons with a nice twist of cotton candy, excellent now and in many years to come.

Let the bubbles shine

The pictures are not mine.

Nya Skåne Kulinar

2011-11-28T18:45:00.000+01:00

Får jag lov att presentera Skånes stolthet som ska tävla i mat OS 2012 i Erfurt Tyskland, det kommer att bli en resa ner till alla er som har mat som sitt stora intresse, att vara med på ett mat OS är en fantastisk upplevelse som man måste vara med om.
Skåne Kulinar som är ett av tre Svenska regionlag är en del av Svenska kockars förening i Skåne med uppdrag att sätta Skåne och Skånsk mat på världs kartan.
Är ni intresserade av att gå in som sponsor till laget eller föreningen så maila mig gärna med frågor på dragan@unictaste.se
framåt framåt
Frida, Mikael, Tomas, Lina, Martin H, Joel, Mattias, Martin J & Jesper

The last posts

2011-11-27T22:54:00.002+01:00

To explain for you all not Swedish that the two last text are all about the Swedish monopoly and how bad they are in my opinion just so that you all know, I hade some E-mail from people who wonder what all the fuss was about, now you know and you can also use the google translate, not 100% correct but you will get the point.

Regards

Dragan

Monopolet ?

2011-11-27T22:34:00.000+01:00

Jag har tagit emot en del kritik mot mitt inlägg om monopolet utan att avsändaren gjort sig till känna vilket jag tycker är dåligt, men jag skriver det jag tycker och många fler håller med mig i detta vilket känns bra och befriande då monopolet har gjort sitt i Sverige efter en massa år och måste inom närtid få ett slut dels i sin dubbelmoral dels i sitt dåliga sortiment där man konstant vägrar mindre producenter en plats i sortimentet och en möjlighet att visa Svenskarna vilken fantastisk kvalitet och viner som produceras i världen.

Den som väntar får skörda.

DÖD ÅT MONOPOLET

2011-11-25T16:37:00.002+01:00

När jag håller provningar för vanliga vin älskande människor här i Sverige så uppenbara sig ett fenomen som är mycket märkligt, FOLK ÄLSKAR SITT SYSTEMBOLAG och vad värre är dom litar på personalens omdöme och förslag.

I min värld så är 99,99 % av personalen fullkomligt okunniga om vilka produkter dom säljer eller hur och vad man ska använda dessa till, dom kunde lika gärna sålt lampor eller vad annat som hälst enligt min mening, hur fan kan man anställa folk som inte kan sitt jobb? Det finns bara ett företag till som anställer på samma sätt och det är Sveriges kommuner, hade man skött ett privat företag på samma sätt så skulle dom gått under för länge sedan.

Systembolaget ljuger för sina kunder och undanhåller sitt sätt att arbeta gentemot importörer och andra sammanbets partners så att dom själva står i dager på ett bra sätt, dubbelmoralen ska vi inte snacka om, fylle hit och dit är det enda dom håller med utan att visa dom faktiska siffrorna hur BiB har påverkat konsumtionen på ett synnerligen negativt märkbart sett.

Jag hoppas verkligen att EU stryper systemfanskapet snart så att även vi får anständiga butiker som bryr sig om vad folk vill ha och kan hjälpa konsumenter på bästa sätt att få valuta för pengarna.

Död åt monopolet.

Champagne still on my mind

2011-11-24T21:59:00.000+01:00

What is it in champagne that always seems to turn people on when you drink it or even just talk about it, for me it is just another wine that can be well made or just badly made and everything in between.

I love great champagne made with care of skilled winemakers who truly understand the potential of the grapes and who can do the assemblage with that extra special care and some reserve wine to top it of.

When I travel in the champagne area and taste wines from both known and unknown producers I always get amazed how bad wines the big houses produce and people buy it just for the commercial side of it, for example the house of Moet-Chandon, all the vines except the Perignon in some vintages and also the Oenotheque can be truly stunning wines, but this is still not what ordinary people buy when they go to a wine store, the pay to much for the brand and not for what’s inside the bottle, I wish that more people pay attention like my good friend Susan Hanna Sipe who lives in CA and loves champagne, miss you girl.

Bubbly is nice

Шведски хране у свету / Svensk mat i världsklass

2011-11-23T00:08:00.000+01:00

I den gångna helgen så har jag varit med på träningen med Skåne Kulinar då dom funderar ut sitt smartaste och godaste mest glamourösa mat för att under oktober 2012 vinna ett efterlängtat guld på mat olympiaden i Tyskland.

Jag måste säga att det finns en hel del kul saker som man har klurat på och jag ser med tillförsikt fram mot slut resultatet och så även på nästa träning.

Den 15 januari finns det en möjlighet för er alla att komma förbi köket i Malmö för att titta på när dom tränar och även se dom olika rätterna som man arbetar på, super kul är det så varmt välkomna till Jörgen kockskolan i Malmö men glöm inte anmäla er ankomst till mig först.

Tack till hela laget för att dom tog hand om våra Serbiska gäster på ett utomordentligt sätt.

Srpski:

У протеклих викенда, ја сам био укључен у обуку с кулинарским Скане када раде ван најпаметнији и најукусније најгламурознијег хране до октобра 2012 да освоји дуго очекивани злато за храну Олимпијске игре у Немачкој.
Морам да кажем да постоји много забаве ствари које сте схватили, а ја радујем са поверењем према крајњи резултат и тако и на следећи тренинг.
15. јануара је прилика за све вас да се прошлост кухиња у Малмеу да гледам када су обуке и такође виде другачије јела да радите на, супер-забаве, тако је топлу добродошлицу Јоргена кувар школу у Малмеу, али не пријављују а долазе да ме први.
Захваљујући цео тим, јер су бринули о нашим српским гостима у ванредним начин.

(Google translate)

Sa Balkana / From Balkan / С Балканского

2011-11-15T21:18:00.000+01:00

Popularni švedski voditelj srpskog porekla objavio knjigu

Jovan Radomir: Kuvar sam napisao iz čistog inata

Bez nadmenosti koja bi se podrazumevala za prilično visoko kotiranu televizijsku zvezdu i bez oholosti nekog ko pravi intervjue sa svetski poznatim facama, kao što su, primera radi, momci iz „Ajron Mejdena“, „Metalike“ ili pevači Selin Dion, Eminem... Jovan Radomir svaki razgovor vraća na malo bosansko selo Bajince i Srbac, rodno mesto svojih roditelja, i na Beograd u koji dolazi kad god može.

Kuvar koji je Jovan Radomir napisao puna specijaliteta ali i sećanja na Srbiju

Sa voditeljem koji je u Srbiji najpoznatiji po pojavljivanju prilikom glasanja na Evroviziji upoznali smo se na tribinama sportske hale jedne stokholmske škole gde su u košarkaškom derbiju „Beli orlovi“, ovdašnji srpski klub, nemilosrdno punili svog rivala na putu do nove titule prve švedske lige (ali o njima u nekoj drugoj priči).

I u tom razgovoru, obojenom nostalgijom za zavičajem, došli do njegove knjige „Moj Balkan“, koja se ovih dana, u bogatoj opremi i u odgovarajućoj promociji pojavila na švedskom jeziku i tržištu. Knjiga je kroz recepte balkanskih specijaliteta i Jovanova sećanja na proputovanja, zgode i predele domovine, svojevrsni brevijar onog lepog u nama i najbolji mogući ključ za razumevanje balkanskog mentaliteta koji zna biti tako komplikovan Skandinavcima.

Na utakmici kluba „Beli orlovi“ u Švedskoj

- Moj cilj nije bio da predstavim samo Srbe u Srbiji i širom bivše Jugoslavije već i one koji su ovde došli i one koji su tamo ostali. Ovo je omaž svima nama koji smo, posle onih nesrećnih ratova, ovde odjednom ocrnjeni i precrtani, iako smo dali veliki doprinos uzdizanju Švedske. Želeo sam da pokažem kakvi smo kada smo mi - mi! Uradio sam to s puno ljubavi, nostalgije i humora - kaže Jovan dok listamo bogato opremljenu knjigu sa prelepim fotografijama beogradskog fotografa Bojana Stanića, koji je sa Jovanom obilazio ove naše predele, zavirivao u seoske vajate i gradske birtije, verao se bosanskim gudurama.

Fotografije podupiru recepte tradicionalnih balkanskih specijaliteta, a priču kompletiraju Jovanove lične impresije koje se na njih nepretenciozno naslanjaju. Tako ćete uz recept o pasulju čitati njegovu vojničku priču, slika ujaka Boška će na najbolji način predstaviti rakiju, a uz riblji specijalitet teče njegova žudnja za starom dedinom kućom u zavičaju i planinom Motajicom.

Detalj iz knjige "Moj Balkan"

Sve to izbija sa svake strane ove zanimljive knjige, koja je, s obzirom na pažnju i prijem na koji je ovde naišla, na putu da uradi posao za tri diplomatska predstavništva. Zbog specifičnog pristupa i stila ovde ga upoređuju sa čuvenim Džejmijem Oliverom i njihove knjige se izlažu zajedno po švedskim knjižarama.

Nije izostala ni odgovarajuća medijska pažnja, tako da je Jovan ovim povodom dao brojne intervjue, a knjiga je predstavljena u svim značajnim švedskim magazinima i dnevnim novinama.

- Nije bilo lako, ali onaj srpski inat me je terao da ovo izguram, iako, nažalost, nisam naišao na neku ozbiljniju podršku u Srbiji za ovaj projekat. Sad me kad su videli šta sam uradio i koji je efekat svega, svi tapšu po ramenima. Ali dobro! - pomalo rezignirano će ovaj šarmantni momak koji radi na Švedskoj televiziji, a za kog smo saznali sada već daleke 2004. godine, kada je u finalu evrovizijskog takmičenja na tečnom srpskom pozdravio svoje zemljake širom sveta i dodelio Srbiji i Crnoj Gori - 12 poena!

Radomir sa članovima Metalike

- Još uvek se ljudi toga sećaju. A ja pamtim emisiju koju sam radio sa Ninom Radulović pred Evroviziju u Beogradu 2008. godine. Bila je to fantastična avantura, a naročito mi je bilo drago snimati u mom Beogradu i predstaviti magiju ovog grada celom svetu - seća se Jovan, koji nije stao na ovome.

Pokazuje nam najprestižnije švedske magazine u kojima je objavio nekoliko reportaža o Srbiji i Beogradu. Istinski ambasador Srbije u Skandinaviji!

Ko je Jovan Radomir
Jovan Radomir je rođen 1963. godine u Srpcu (Republika Srpska) i sa dve godine se sa roditeljima obreo u Švedskoj gde i danas živi a radi kao voditelj i reporter prvog programa Švedske televizije. Ta njega se saznalo kada je dva puta objavljivao rezultate švedskog glasanja na Pesmi Evrovizije, a napisao je tekst za englesku verziju pesme „Molitva“ sa kojom je Marija Šerifović pobedila na ovom takmičenju 2007. godine.
Njegovo ime i prezime se sastoji od dva imena, ali Jovan priča da mu je deda govorio kako tu ne može biti prezime, jer „ime sveca sigurno dolazi na prvo mesto i nikako ne može biti prezime“

Arthur Metz Grand Cru Wines

2011-11-14T21:57:00.000+01:00

Alsace is a magical wine spot in Europe where you still can find the genuine and traditional food, wine and not to mention the very odd language that some of the older people still speak, great place to visit.

On my last tour there I was invited to a special tasting in the Arthur Metz fantastic shop and tasting room with the sommelier in the house.

My knowledge of the wines from here are just some of the bottling that exist on the Swedish market and the is not a lot.

The reason for this visit was to try all of the grand cru wines that they obviously produce without my knowledge,

The grand cru wines was all of very good quality and very reasonably priced and great value for money so try them out on your next visit.

Thanks Frank for a great tasting.

Тотална носталгија

2011-11-12T22:12:00.000+01:00

Кувар писан срцем заснован је на сећањима насталим око сеоске трпезе у селу Бајинци у Републици Српској. Јован Радомир је, попут многих из расејања, лета проводио код бабе и деде, а мириси тог сеоског стола и сећања на родни крај у основи су новог гастономског водича кроз Балкан, који је објављен у Шведској.Јован Радомир, шведски новинар и водитељ, написао је и објавио водич - кувар под именом "Укус хране на Балкану" у којем осим рецепата најпознатијих балканских јела има и елемената обичаја и традиције српског народа.

"Водич "Укус хране на Балкану" разликује се од других по томе што има духовитих прича, мојих личних запажања, мојих путовања кроз Србију и кроз Републику Српску, кроз моје крајеве", изјавио је Јован Радомир.

Овај "духовити путопис на српски начин" илуструју фотографије два аутора Бојана Станића из Београда и Ивана да Силве из Стокхолма. Највећи део фотографија је настао у Бајинцима, родном селу мајке Јована Радомира у којем је путописац, као дете, проводио летње распусте.

Данас су успомене преточене у причу о природној, еколошки чистој храни, укусној и мирисној, оној храни која враћа мисли у родни крај. Јован Радомир истиче да се сви са простора бивше СФРЈ могу пронаћи на страницама водича, јер како каже "сви у дијаспори имају исту причу као ја".
Та прича почиње плановима у расејању за летовање у домовини, наставља се путовањем преко читаве Европе и завршава "у дворишту бабе и деде, срдачним загрљајем", објаснио је аутор овог емотивног водича, додајући да је кувар у дијаспори већ окарактерисан као тотална носталгија.

Black Marble Hill Syrah

2011-11-12T18:40:00.000+01:00

In 1797, over a hundred years after the first Europeans began to settle in the Paarl area, Petrus van der Merwe built his home on the farm Rhebokskloof. The building has since been restored to its original Cape Dutch splendour and the distinctive gable still bears his initials, as well as those of his wife.

Between the First and Second World Wars, the area known as Rhebokskloof was divided into six separate farms. In 1986 the farm was returned to its original size when new owners took ownership of one of the six farms, and subsequently bought back the other five pieces of land. In 2006 Rhebokskloof was sold once again, but this time to a group of South African businesspeople, who have since been restoring the farm to its former beauty.

Rhebokskloof’s flagship wine, Black Marble Hill Syrah 2008, won gold in the Syrah du Monde competition in France. And are voted among the best syrah wines in South Africa.

The wine have dark plum aromas, aromatic spice and black pepper nuances from the barrel aging, this wine confidently reflects bold and generous Shiraz styling. Smooth-textured and with juicy palate appeal, it can be enjoyed now or aged for a further few years.

This wine can be bought in Sweden by Gastro Import wine selections (me)

How much are you willing to pay for a bottle of wine?

2011-11-11T23:04:00.000+01:00

How can you explain the cost of a bottle of wine? What does it takes to produce a bottle for

1000 € to a bottle of 6 €

I always get this kind of questions on every of my many tastings from ordinary wine drinkers who try to understand this issue.

You can always talk about quality, cost of grapes, marketing and many other things but when it comes to what’s inside the bottle then it starts to be difficult due to that is the only thing that matter, right? Does the wine taste good or not is the key.

A very clever friend of mine that knows things way above my head about wine and wine production told me that there is no wine in the world that can cost more than 50 € to produce no matter from where, that fore sure put different perspective when you see wines that cost 400 € and more on realise, those producers laugh all the way to the bank.

In vino veritas

Riedel glass Yes or No

2011-11-10T23:00:00.000+01:00

Do you need different wineglasses for different wines, the answer is ultimately yes you do and you should to get the most out of your wine.

The glass manufacturer Riedel from Austria have made a special packaging of five different glasses that are made for to bring out the special character in the specific wine type, Riesling, syrah, cabernet S, pinot N and chardonnay.

I have been using Riedel for many years now and also when I do glass testing with people who are all amazed when they find out the difference of how the wine turns out in the nose and pallet, you should try it if you can, even a bad wine gets better for all of you who cant resist to drink wine from a BiB.

PS. I can tell you a lots of stories about Riedel glass where

A hallelujah moment.

Hrvatska vina / Wines from Croatia / Viner från Kroatien

2011-11-09T23:45:00.000+01:00

English:

I have been fascinating of Croatian wines for some time and If you are a fan of BIG red wines then 2008 Zlatan Otok “Zlatan Plavac Grand Cru”, made from Plavac

Mali

grapes, is the wine for you.

They say it’s Croatia’s rarest wine, it enjoys a cult status and comes from vineyards on steep southern slopes of Hvar island (Sveta Nedjelja) with yield of only 0.5 kg per vine, Explosion of ripe, almost dried black (plums, blackberry) earthy leather, cigar smoke in the nose, in the mouth again ripe fruit, chocolate, plenty of extract supported by solid freshness. Finaly this wine will last for ages.

I was very curious to try Zlatan Plenković’s new wine that he made from the most popular grape variety in

America

, Zinfandel or in Croatian Crljenak.

The nose was fantastic of mature dark red fruit with a beautiful taste of ripe red fruit, apple smoke, cinnamon, and cloves with a lingering long finish with nice tannins, great wine.

The only negative thing must be the price that is high and when you fight with wines from other countries you have to take this in consideration.

Hrvatski:

Ja sam bio fascinantan hrvatskih vina za neko vrijeme, a ako ste fan Big crnih vina pa 2008 Zlatan Otok "Zlatan Plavac Grand Cru", od grožđa Plavac Mali, vino je za vas.
Oni kažu da je Hrvatska u najrjeđih vino, on uživa kultni status, a dolazi iz vinograda na strmim južnim obroncima otoka Hvara (Sveta Nedjelja) s prinosom od samo 0,5 kg po lozi, eksplozije zrelih, gotovo suhe crne (šljive, kupine) zemljani kože , cigara dim u nosu, u ustima opet zrelo voće, čokolada, puno ekstrakta podržano čvrstim svježine. Na kraju ovo vino će trajati dobi.
Bio sam jako znatiželjan pokušati Zlatan Plenković je novo vino da je od najpopularnijih sorta u Americi, Zinfandel ili na hrvatskom Crljenak.
Nos je bio fantastičan zrele tamno crvenog voća s prekrasnim okusom zrelog crvenog voća, jabuka dim, cimet, klinčić i uz dugotrajan dugim završiti s lijepim tanini, velika vina.
Jedina negativna stvar mora biti cijena koja je visoka i kada se bore s vinima iz drugih zemalja, morate uzeti u obzir.

The Malat family in Austria

2011-11-08T22:41:00.000+01:00

In English:

The Austrian winemaker Malat is now in the ninth generation in charge of Michael who took over the winery after his parents Gerald & Wilma in 2008

The winery is situated near Krems in the old monastery of Göttweig with 50 hectares in production of high quality grapes that are manually harvested and slow pressed with the greatest ambitions of making a top class wines in every category.

Wines in this house are all differend but very good from the lighter Gruner Veltliner to the super sweet TBA wines that are among the best in the country, super wines.

Another thing is that the Malat family was the first producer of sparkling wines in

Austria

when they started to make sekt by the traditional method and hand riddling of the bottles, I have not tasted these.

My favourites are the pinot noir, the Steinbuhel Riesling is superb and all of the sweet wines are just brilliantly amazing. Try to find and get as many as you can.

In German:

Der österreichische Winzer Malat ist jetzt in der neunten Generation in Höhe von Michael, übernahm das Weingut, nachdem seine Eltern Gerald und Wilma im Jahr 2008
Das Weingut liegt in der Nähe Krems in das alte Kloster Göttweig mit 50 Hektar in der Produktion von qualitativ hochwertigen Trauben von Hand geerntet werden und mit den größten Ambitionen, einen erstklassigen Weinen in jeder Kategorie gedrückt langsam entfernt.
Weine in diesem Haus sind alle Widerstreit, aber sehr gut von den leichteren Gruner Veltliner, die super-süßen TBA Weine, die zu den besten im Land sind, super Weine.
Eine andere Sache ist, dass die Malat-Familie der erste Hersteller von Schaumweinen in Österreich war, als sie zu Sekt nach der traditionellen Methode und Hand Rütteln der Flaschen machen begann, habe ich nicht probiert diese.
Meine Favoriten sind der Pinot Noir ist die Steinbuhel Riesling hervorragend und alle süßen Weine sind nur brillant erstaunlich. Versuchen Sie, und so viele wie Sie können.
(google translate)

Dragan Unic

I do not like red Burgundy, do I miss something?

2011-11-07T20:57:00.000+01:00

Pinot noir is something that every wine nerd is talking about at many has their favourites from Burgundy and its many producers, how can that be? Me myself and I don’t get this at all even if I have been trying to for years and in every price level but I just cant get it! I love the nose of pinots from Burgundy but the taste is not appealing to me at all, I must miss something on my taste buds and some cells in my brain that isn’t there when it comes to Burgundy pinots, anyone who have some suggestions for me where to find this missing link?

The Pinots that I do like is the ones in styles from S-A and some from New Zeeland and even from California, Hamilton Russel is one of my favourite points from S-A together with Meerlust, Danie De Wet Nature in Concert and seven barrels from Catherine Marshall all great wines and beautifully made pinots that I can appreciate any day of the week, thanks guys for making my life to pleasurable.

I will get back to this subject because I find it challenging and sometimes very tasty J

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for following my blog and all the inputs from you

Love well and drink well //

Dragan Unic

Master of Wine Stephen Skelton on viticulture

2011-11-06T19:19:00.001+01:00

Viticulture can be very boring or just fantastic when you are lucky enough to have someone like Stephen Skelton Master of Wine explaining the most difficult stuff on an very easy way so that even I could understand the complexity of winemaking and wine managing all called just viticulture.

This was a great exploration and I hade big expectation when I signed in for this master class held by Gustibus wine school in Malmoe, thanks guys for taking such a good care of us during these days and for your effort of doing these kind of things. Super

Soppmaskin ! behövs det?

2011-11-05T22:42:00.000+01:00

Äntligen finns det en termo mixer för alla hemma kockar som inte kostar en förmögenhet. Detta är en blender som funkar som dom allra flesta med en stor skillnad, DEN HAR EN INBYGGD KOK FUNKTION som gör att man kan koka en soppa direkt i skålen och mixa när den är färdig, man kan göra sin bearnaise sås, man kan koka sin kräm eller bär fyllning osv, otroligt användbar då man även kan göra super goda frozen Margaritas.

Alla som var på älska mat mässan förra helgen så med häpnad på dom Louise gjorde 2 olika soppor direkt i behållaren och slapp diska en massa grytor och annat, man bryner löken direkt i för att sedan fylla på med vatten, grönsaker och annat man vill ha i sin soppa.

Detta är en maskin som bör finnas i alla kök där maten och mat glädjen står högt i kurs.

Finns att köpa genom Christina@unictaste.se och kostar nu 1999 kr + ev frakt

Mouton Rothschild is big in China

2011-11-03T23:29:00.000+01:00

Mouton must be one of the most well known wine in the world and I guess that everybody that knows something about wine knows or have heard of Mouton.

This is pretty amazing that so many people know about it but very few have actually tasted them, and specially not a selection of vintages at the same time, this really show the greatness in this wine and the possibilities of saving them for many years.

The prices of these wines and other like it is truly insane and you sure have to dig deep in your pocket to by one bottle, the wine is extremely big in China slightly after Lafite that the Chinese holds even higher, this is very strange when they learn to drink these wines blended with COKE is this the right way of learning to appreciate great wines or is this just for show off? Anyway it’s crazy.

Dragan Unic

SWEDISH WHISKEY

2011-11-02T18:41:00.000+01:00

Does the world need another whiskey? If so why not from Sweden, If the Japanese can do it so can the Swedes with the Macmyra brand.

First of all I have to confess that I am not a big whisky drinker and I do not enjoy it as much as Cognac and aged Rum but I have the great pleasure to visit the new distillery outside the city of Gävle where they are building a whole new “City” that will be the whisky Mecca in Sweden, everything is brand new and the first batch is planned in end of November

This new site of the company will be something special and the new aging cellars (there will be 20) are magnificent and totally incorporated in the forest like old war bunkers.

The idea to sell whisky before it is made and the store it is great marketing and people who owns barrels love to visit and to cuddle with the casks. People do fancy different things ( I prefer to cuddle with my wife)

Macmyra whiskey is different and not at all in my style but I do like the not aged white spirit called White Dog, that I can sipp but I do recommend you to taste this whiskey and find out that the Swedes know how to make it.

Slainte

Restaurang galan 2011

2011-11-01T23:03:00.000+01:00

Nu är festen om det bästa i restaurang Sverige slut för denna gång och jag ser fram mot 2012 med stor tillförsikt och är tacksam för att jag fått en chans att vara på plats.

Alltid lika kul att träffa folk som man kanske inte ser så ofta och definitivt inte i finkläder utan oftast i kockrock eller dylikt,

Det delades givetvis ut en massa priser i olika kategorier där vissa vinnare verkade veta att dom skulle vinna men några var riktigt rörda över uppmärksamheten som tex Björn Halling som fick Svenska kockars förenings hederspris för långvarigt mentorskap i Svenska kök, vilken kille och legend, man blir stolt och glad att få ge honom detta välförtjänta pris.

Min personliga favorit var även den 24 årige sommelieren Niklas Löfgren som till vardags jobbar på Frantzen/Lindeberg i Stockholm, coolt att en så pass ung kille får detta för att visa att vi har en framtid tryggad.

Maten är alltid ett kapitel för sig där delar av det Svenska senior kocklandslaget ansvarade för maten ihop med personalen på Grand Hotell, en riktig bra och väl genomförd middag för 450 personer, well done amigos.

Här kommer en lista på samtliga vinnare och lite bilder på middagen.

Årets Servitör

• Ludvig Jureskog, Operakällaren, Stockholm

Årets Hälsokoncept

• Raw Food House, Malmö

Journalisternas Kock

• Tommy Myllymäki

Årets Framtidslöfte

• Filip Fastén, 21 år, Le Rouge, Stockholm

Årets Smaksättare

• Saiko, Malmö

Årets Barkoncept

• Little Quarter, Marie Laveau, Stockholm

Årets Sommelier

• Niklas Löfgren, Frantzén/Lindeberg, Stockholm

Årets Krogmiljö

• Restaurang AG, Stockholm

Årets Hållbara Krog

• Matmekka, Stockholm

Årets Leverantör

• Martin Olsson

Årets Förnyare

• Urban Deli, Stockholm

Årets matsalsteam

• Operakällaren, Stockholm

Årets Krögare

• Håkan & Anne Thörnström, Thörnströms Kök, Göteborg

RS Hederspris

• Björn Halling

Årets Krog

• Thörnströms Kök, Göteborg

Supporting children with cancer

2011-10-29T00:29:00.000+02:00

This weekend me and my fellow chefs from the Swedish chefs association in Skåne are doing a food fair in Malmö Sweden to raise money for the children’s hospital for cancer, this is much needed and we all love kids.

I would like to thank all the participating chefs during this weekend and I wish that I could support you more guys.

Thank you all sponsors for your support we could not make it without you

Dragan Unic

President of the Swedish chefs association Skåne

Världens bästa te kokare CUISINART

2011-10-28T00:34:00.000+02:00

Som ni alla redan vet så importerar min kära hustru teer från huset THEODOR i Paris som har den absolut högsta möjliga kvalitet i sina förpackningar (alla världens te proffs tycker detta)

Det som ofta däremot är problem vis te tillagning är den eviga frågan om vatten och temperaturer på alla möjliga och omöjliga sorter som finns, för mig är mycket av allt detta en djungel trotts att jag själv tycker att jag kan mer om te än dom flesta andra.

Vi har givetvis provat en massa olika vatten kokare på marknaden utan att finna en som verkligen funkar till olika teer och som man kan ställa in en perfekt brygg temperatur fram till nu !! J

CUISINART från USA är den ultimata vattenkokaren för olika sorters te med sina för inställda temperatur knappar vilket gör att vattnet alltid är rätt, super enkelt i superbra rostfritt material.

Finns att köpa genom Christina på UNICTASTE för 1400 kr hör av er om intresse finns.

THEODOR te finns att köpa på på utvalda kafeer och restauranger

När man dricker te ser man himmelriket ” ordspråk från Bhutan

Christinas great blog

2011-10-26T14:53:00.000+02:00

You have to check out my wife Christinas excelent blog on http://tasteland.unictaste.se/#post57

I love Sherry Wines

2011-10-25T21:33:00.001+02:00

The 4th edition of the Copa Jerez food and wine competition, held this week in the Jerez Hospitality School, ended in victory for the Spanish team made up of chef Cayetano Gómez and sommelier Juan Luis García, representatives from the Murcia restaurant Casablanca El Taller. This is the first time Spain has won the competition, which is organised by the Regulating Council for DOs Jerez-Xerès-Sherry and Manzanilla Sanlúcar de Barrameda, and Fedejerez, and which aims to give more international scope to the region’s wines by exploiting their food pairing possibilities.

The team from Casablanca El Taller won three of the six awards given by the jury, which was made up of representatives from the world of food and wine, including Juli Soler, owner and manager of the legendary restaurant, El Bulli, as well as sommelier at the Noma restaurant, Pontus Elofsson, award-winning Spanish chef, Julián Serrano, manager of the Picasso restaurant at the Velaggio Hotel in Las Vegas, and UK Master of Wine, Jancis Robinson. The Spanish team won in the categories ‘Best menu-pairing’, ‘Best dessert pairing’ and ‘Best chef’ competing against five other teams from Germany, Belgium, Denmark, the US, and Holland.

The pairing menu created by Cayetano Gómez and Juan Luis García entailed a starter of charcoal-grilled marinated oyster paired with an Amontillado, while the main course was shoulder of glazed suckling lamb on toasted almond cream paired with a sweet Oloroso VOS, and for dessert a cocoa and peppermint sorbet with ‘coffee cubes’ over date curd cream paired with a Pedro Ximénez VOS.

The award for ‘Best starter pairing’ was won by the team from the Danish restaurant Kiin Kiin, made up of chef Anton Ulrik Christian Eff and sommelier, Henrik Yde-Andersende, for their creation ‘mini corn with caviar’. Anton participated in the first Programme for Young Foreign Chefs in Spanish Gastronomy. In addition, chef Rogér Rassin and sommelier Ronald Opten, from the Dutch restaurant La Rive scooped the award for ‘Best main course pairing’, with their pork cheeks with carrots, potatoes and cloves, paired with an Amontillado. And lastly, the US team from the Colorado restaurant, The Broadmoor, made up of chef Bertrand Bouquin and sommelier Tim Baldwin won the award for ‘Best sommelier’.

The event, which was held in the Jerez Hospitality School, was the culmination of a endeavour which began three years ago, in which the teams taking part had to scoop the winning prize in their own countries before going to Jerez to take part in the final. Juli Soler, the manager at El Bulli and this edition’s chairman of the jury, highlighted the quality, creativity and daring shown by the participants in a competition he rated as “exceptional”.

cr/wines from Spain
I just love Sherry wines

Naturliga viner?!?

2011-10-24T23:05:00.002+02:00

Naturliga viner, vad är det? Jag tycker att det börjar bli lite väl hysteriskt med alla vin människor som serverar vad dom kallar naturliga viner.

Jag tycker inte heller om manipulerade, till fixade och översvavlade viner som filtreras för mycket, jag gillar också iden om att man ska göra vin på ett naturligt sätt som är skonsamt mot miljö och människor, jag har inget alls emot detta men när man börjar servera rent ut sagt skit viner för dyra pengar bara för att någon skriver naturligt på det så blir jag ilsk.

Är Latour, Margaux och Gajas viner naturliga? Självklart är dom det men inte fan håller dom på med att marknadsföra detta fenomen, dom är precis som alla seriösa vinmakare stolta över sina produkter och gör det bästa man kan.

Smaken på det vi dricker måste väl i första hand handla om att det är gott och välgjort eller har jag helt fel? Jag tar gärna emot synpunkter på dragan@unictaste.se

Rock on babe

Michelin 2 star dinner

2011-10-23T13:37:00.000+02:00

Hans Välimäki with his Chez Dominique is the only 2 Michelin star restaurant in Helsinki Finland, we where fortunate to share a great experience when he last night did a magnificent dinner at the Grand Hotel in Lund

Sweden

I meet this creative chef many years ago when we both was attending a jury for a fish competition and the most memorable moment that day was that Hans received his first star that day. How exiting was that!

The pressure on him and his staff is tremendously and he is working with full steam to be the first in Scandinavia who will receive the third star ‘’’

So how was the food? Great with a nice twist of Japanese flavours and a lot of personality and I will show you some pictures of the dishes and here are the menu.

Champagnes from Moet, to be or not to be is the question.

2011-10-22T16:01:00.000+02:00

What to say about the champagnes of Moet & Chandon? First of all, I really don’t like them at all, actually non of the wines that they produce ( very old vintages is different) I have tried so many times to understand what the winemakers are doing when they do the assemblage for the different cuvees and I simply dong get it and always try to skip using Moet’s wines on my tastings or I use them to show some bad examples of how champagne are supposed not to be, but at the same time I know that many people especially in the US love the Moet and symbolise champagne with that brand, everything is effective marketing like the latest small film with Scarlett Johansen as a Moet muse. Nice production by the way.

On my latest visit to Epernay I forced my self to enter the Moet HQ for a private tasting of the wines, the old tasting room from the Napoleon days is magnificent and amazing, the quiet and efficient private sommelier was very nice.

Reflection: I still do not like the wines produced by Moet but I will try them again.

Dragan Unic.

Two star experience tonight

2011-10-22T15:28:00.000+02:00

Chef-patron Hans Välimäki has been flying the flag for Finland's cuisine since 1998 at Chez Dominique, regularly voted the country's best restaurant for its innovative cooking based around Nordic and French flavours.

The idea behind Välimäki's cooking is to surprise by providing an experience unlike any other restaurant – an act he achieves through offering mystery menus where the diner places their trust at his mercy. It's a gamble well worth taking, we will meet up with him tonight and try his surprise at least 9 course meny.

I will post coments and pictures tomorrow.

regards from the eaven fatter pig.

BALKAN FOOD & SLJIVOVICA IN ENGLISH

2011-10-21T01:06:00.000+02:00

There are not many cookbooks on the theme of food from the Balkans, the famous TV profile Jovan Radomir have put a lot of effort and energy to produce a cookbook that shows that the food from the Balkans is good without having to use a lot of fuzz, good ingredients will go a long way.

The book showcases the Serbian cuisine, and the Serbian people's casual way of relating to food, parties and friends in general.

The recipes in the book is a classic simple to do with beautiful photos of food, people and environments, making it more interesting, I'm incredibly pleased and proud that someone has taken it upon themselves to make a book like this,so far in Swedish for Swedes.

Now we just wait for someone to do a book that shows the potential of Balkan wines.
I encourage everyone to buy a copy and give away as this year's Christmas present to yourself and everyone else.

BALKAN FOOD & SLJIVOVICA

2011-10-21T00:24:00.000+02:00

Det finns inte många kokböcker med temat mat från Balkan och det som finns är gammalt skräp som inte duger till något därför är det extra trevligt och fantastsikt att den kända TV profilen Jovan Radomir har lagt ner mycket möda och energi på att få fram en kokbok som visar att maten från Balkan är god utan att man behöver använda en massa fuzz utan att bra råvaror räcker en lång väg.

Boken visar upp den Serbiska matkulturen och det Serbiska folkets otvungna sätt att förhålla sig till mat, fest och vänner i allmänhet samt att traditioner i vår monekulära värd består och kan utvecklas för att måltiden alltid är fokus i alla familjer.

Recepten i boken är klassiska enkla att göra med vackra fotografier på mat, människor och miljöer vilket gör den extra intressant, jag är otroligt glad och stolt att någon har tagit på sig att göra en bok som denna, dessutom på Svenska för Svenskar.

Nu väntar vi bara att någon ska göra en bok som visar potentialen på Balkans viner.

Tack Jovan för att du visar hur bra och gott det kan vara och jag uppmuntrar alla att köpa ett ex och ge bort som årets julklapp till er själva och alla andra.

Ziveli & na zdravlje

Douro wine made by Negreiros

2011-10-17T23:53:00.001+02:00

You all know that I have been struggling to find some Portuguese wines that I like, It is a task let me tell you, to help me out on this my friend the wine producer Mario Negreiros send me some bottles of his stunning and delicious wines.

The wines are all foot pressed (is that the expression? ) with great colour, nice mature fruit, well integrated tannins with a twist of very nice oak, a lovely wine that I can strongly recommend, and of course the reserva stand out a little bit more.

Nearly 10 hectares of the vineyard produce around 50 tons of grapes per year in the Douro from which only 10 to 15 tons are used for the Negreiros wine. The large majority is still traded for Port wine production; only the very best grapes make it in to this IWSC Silver Medal winning wine, making it very special indeed!

Nice job Mario

Flor del Montgó Old Vines Garnacha (nr 90418) 69 kr

2011-10-16T19:41:00.000+02:00

Detta vin på druvan Garnacha (Grenache) är från området Carinena som ligger strax utanför Zaragoza i provinsen Aragonien i norra Spanien.

Skörden på över 40 år gamla stockar har skett för hand i slutet på oktober med ett uttag på 25 hl/hektar, vinmakaren till detta vin är den unge Dansken David Tofterup som började på vineriet under 2002 och är idag ansvarig för Montgo collection med fokus på viner från Yecla. Jag ser fram mot fler viner från denna producent.

Doften är ungdomligt mycket fruktig och full av härliga röda bär med viss kryddighet

Smaken är medelfyllig med väldigt mjuka tanniner och massor av härlig bärig smak, lätt kryddad av fat och örter, kort med god eftersmak.

Hur kan man göra ett så här bra vin för 69 kr?

“There is an explosion of creativity and energy; I predict that Spanish wines will become the darling of

wine consumers throughout the civilized world”.

Robert Parker Jr. The Wine Advocate issue 152

Cederberg Five Generation Cab

2011-10-16T13:08:00.000+02:00

South Africa

’s most uniquely situated wine farm falls within the pristine environs of the Cederberg Wilderness Area, which lies in the Cape Floral Kingdom. Here, among spectacular rock formations you will find the highest altitude vineyards in the Cape. The cold climate and remote location, with its pure mountain air and water, ensures that the vines are virus free. This results in award-winning wines which show an exceptional purity of fruit.

The farm has been in the Nieuwoudt family for five generations and David Nieuwoudt currently makes the wines.

Five Generation Cabernet Sauvignon Is a Cape classic and leads the pack in the Cederberg range.

The production is Limited to 3400 bottles, handcrafted, classically styled 2008, made to mature (peak around 2014 – 2016 though already delicious.
18 months of maturation in new French oak has intensified the rich aromas of blackcurrant and cassis, layered with decadent dark chocolate, minerality, herbs and cherry tobacco velvety finish leaves one wanting more.

Another wine that always amazes me in the range is the Bukettraube and I will come back to this.

Well done David.

Should we Eat Shark's Fin?

2011-10-14T08:51:00.000+02:00

Singer-songwriter Chet Lam is an advocate of green living and marine conservation. Here, he challenges young people to reject the tradition of shark's fin soup at Chinese banquets Oh, the ultimate hypocritical luxury, the famous-turned infamous dish found at all Chinese wedding banquets.

The fin itself is indeed tasteless; it is the chicken soup that gives the dish its flavor. I know you know that. It's one of the most prestigious offerings for guests at a Chinese banquet. I know you know that too. What you might not have noticed, or wanted to confront yet, is that people will still choose to eat it or offer it at a ridiculously high market price just to have 'face', the most mysterious attribute in Chinese culture. In other words, eating it is like blindfolding our minds, demonstrating our ignorance - how much 'face' could we have by doing that?

We, the younger generation, can be liberal, forward thinking, making our own decisions based on our own judgment every day. Yet, when something is tied to tradition, our ground is so shaken that we want to play safe, to please our parents and relatives. We argue that if there's no shark's fin soup offered at a wedding, the host family might be thought of as cheap.

I saw an anti-shark's fin ad from Singapore years ago. There was this nicely dressed newly-wed couple standing among the tables, smiling so sweetly to the camera, while slaughtered finless sharks were plied on the floor, all bloody and brutal. That says it all. That's the cost of shallow love. It's greed. Pure greed. It's worse than being cheap.

Some Hello Kitty-loving girls might find the finning of sharks a bit too cruel and decide not to have the dish any more. Stopping all of mankind's violence against one group of creatures because they are 'too cute' is very superficial thinking. Well, if that kind of mentality could stop shark massacres in one fell swoop, so be it. But the truth be told, it's actually not about the killing of creatures for food, clothing, byproducts or whatever. It's about unnecessary killing based on greed. It's about our ability to learn to have a sustainable world that we can enjoy for generations to come.

Something to think about

2011-10-14T01:18:00.000+02:00

Today for the first time I hade more readers from the USA then from Sweden,
It gives me so much plesure when I see where all my reades comes from, really different countrys like Peru, Azerbadjan, Nepal, Japan, Fidji and so on.
Thank you guys for supporting my blog and Im happy that you are following me and please do contact me if you have any suggestions of subjects for me to think of.

Much plesure....

DUMANGIN CHAMPAGNE IS VERY COOL

2011-10-12T22:12:00.000+02:00

I met up with my friend Gilles at champagne DUMANGIN a wile ago at his winey to taste his wines and to see what hi is up to, Gilles produce great champagne that even Sir McCartney used to his wedding last week, how cool is that for Gilles!

DUMANGIN also makes some special delicatessen products that all contains his champagne,

I love his duck liver with some champagne jelly on top.yummy

I like the inventions that he is making regarding bottles layout,( he do a special series of bottles for the famous Christian Audigier) ice buckets and other promotional things, the new wooden bucket that holds tree special bottles is just great and looks fantastic and I’m looking forward to what this marketing wizard will do in the future.

Go Gilles

This is a Great Pinot

2011-10-09T21:43:00.000+02:00

English:

Merrlust is for me more of the other wines like the Rubicon and merlot, not the pinot until now J .

This wine is massive on the nose and expresses layers of fresh red fruit with a deep oaky character; I can just sit and smell this wine forever.

The taste is pure red berries and well structured tannins with minerality, muscular body and very nice acidity, great long aftertaste.

To all of you who can find this wine please do and enjoy or keep in the cellar for another 5-7 years, it will improve beautifully.
Thank you Miguel Chan for introducing this wine to me.

Svenska:

Meerlust historia började 1693 då huset uppfördes på egendomen. Den svala brisen från kalla False Bay som dagligen svalkar, har gett den dess namn. Meerlust betyder ”pleasure of the sea”.1756 kom det i familjen Myburghs ägor och är det än idag.

Få vingårdar kombinerar så storstilat fantastiska viner med ett tjusigt och gästfritt hem och naturligt sköna omgivningar. Atmosfären är avslappnad och nästan poetisk, den inbjuder till att sakta ner och njuta av livet.

Druvorna plockas tidigt på morgonen för att vara svala när de pressas. Vinet har jäst och lagrats på 300 liters franska fat från Bourgogne, (ek från Allier) i 11månader 70% nya och 30% använda för andra gången.

2009 var ännu en suverän årgång för Meerlust och man fick bl a utmärkelsen bästa Pinot Noir i Sydafrika på den tongivande Old Mutual Show. Chris Williams är en brilliant vinmakare och har lyckats spegla årgången på ett fenomenalt sätt i vinet med en fyllig och komplex stil som vinner på att ligga i något år till.

Spanish Wine Festival

2011-10-07T22:02:00.000+02:00

On 30th September and 1st October, the Danish capital was the backdrop to the 3rd edition of ‘Spansk Vinfestival – Vinos auténticos’, an initiative organised by the daily newspaper, Ekstra Bladet, and sponsored by Wines from Spain and the Spanish Foreign Trade Agency Office at the Spanish Embassy in Copenhagen The event was targeted at Danish wine professionals, but also had a special interest in targeting consumers.

Those present —more than 1200 people along the two days— enjoyed a friendly atmosphere in which major Danish Spanish wine importers offered tastings featuring 200 wines from first-class Spanish bodegas from almost every Spanish appellation and protected geographical indication In addition, the event also boasted a Cava Bar and a Sherry Lounge, two specific areas where the characteristics and diversity of both types of wine were showcased.

The programme was rounded off with five masterclasses: two of which were devoted to Cava and were graced with the presence of Joan Amat and Rosó Gabarró (chairman and marketing manager of the Instituto del Cava, respectively), accompanied by speaker Sergi Castro i Solé. Masterclasses were also given on Sherry ‘The New Spain’, and on some of the wines made by Peter Sisseck at the Dominio de Pingus bodega

In an event focusing on premium Spanish wines it is only natural that a taste of Spanish cuisine be included on the programme, and in this case, as might be expected, it was presented in the form of Tapas. The Tango Food Club — owned by Argentinean Gustavo Cordes, with prestigious Catalan chef, Sergi Benages at the helm in the kitchen — was in charge of the Tapas Bar, one of the most popular attractions of the event thanks to a magnificent collection of ‘designer aperitifs’.

To all of which must be added the huge success of the tasting event targeted at the newspaper’s Wine Club members in which around 40 young Danish wine enthusiasts were treated to a wide range of Spanish wines.

Thomas Svensson, the event organiser, acknowledged that at the moment Spanish wines are not as well-known in Denmark as French or Italian wines. However, he is convinced that Spanish wines do have a promising future, and maintains that interest is increasing rapidly thanks to their excellent value for money and the allure of native grape varieties.

The 2012 edition of the ‘Spansk Vinfestival – Vinos auténticos is planned for the 28th and 29th September next year.

Do you know FORVM vinegar?

2011-10-06T23:49:00.000+02:00

Then you have to discover the great wines that are the base in this vinegars, today I meet my good friend Albert from the company CELLERS AVGVSTVS . FORVM located in the town of Tarragona by the east coast of Spain (just south of Barcelona) The wines of this small producer are extremely good and always great value for money with special focus on the chardonnay wine and the super interesting wine made of 100% cabernet franc that will age beautifully for the next 6-7 years.

I love when people know what they are doing and have the greatest passion for the land and the products that they produce, all in all these people are just farmers with a special gift to bless us all with good wines.

The flagship wine is the TRAJANVS reserva made with the blends of 40% Cab S 40% merlot and 20% Cab franc. The three grape varieties were harvested on the last days of September (Merlot one week before) and they were elaborated separately of the selected grapes from the oldest vines, in the estate “Les Deveses”, just in front of the Mediterranean sea.

The grapes first had a cold maceration during 48 hours and then fermented at 27ºC during 14 days in stainless steel tanks. The intense maceration lasted two more weeks (28 days in total).

In March 2006 the wine was sent to first year oak barrels, where it made the malolactic

fermentation and there it remained until the end of 2007 (21 months total), moving it to different barrels after the first 10 months. In January 2008 the “coupage” was made and got ready for bottling.

Albert thank you!

Twitter account

2011-10-05T22:31:00.000+02:00

Now you can follow me on twitter as a alternative to my blog, same information on both.

regards from the sommeliere

Fine de Cognac & Thé

2011-10-04T22:05:00.000+02:00

For the end of the year, the cold end of the year, Hennessy teamed up with the tea house maison de Thé Théodor and designer Mathieu Lehanneur for the creation of cocktails Fine de Cognac & Tea – including exclusive accessories for a limited edition.

Hennessy Cognac has developed a new concept around Fine de Cognac and tea, in collaboration with Thé Théodor and Mathieu Lehanneur.

The concept comes with four seasonal recipes for cocktails. Designer Mathieu Lehanneur created a whole tea set for this limeted edition.

The price of a Hennessy Fine de Cognac with cocktails recepies « Fine de Cognac & Thé » will be at 45 euros, and the carafe decanter limited edition with an infuseur by Mathieu Lehanneur will have a price tag of 250 euros, including a tea infuser.

HAUT COUTURE THEODOR TEA

2011-10-04T21:47:00.000+02:00

There is one tea in the whole world that continue to amaze me for its flavours and highest possible quality and that is THEODOR blended in France by the sheer genius Mr Guillaume Leleu who started to blend his teas in a historic antique creamery from the 1800 at the place de Trocadero in the heart of Paris in 2002 .

His passion for tea and flawless flavours took him around the world to source the best quality he could find and he blend all the teas by hand in the small village of Bonnieres s/Seine outside Paris with only natural ingredients that are all produced of sustainable methods and ethic ecological raw materials, THEODOR is also the only tea that the whole range is kosher certified to prove the highest standard possible.

Mr Leleu constantly give us surprising flavours like, tomato, bell pepper, lemon, black pepper, cinnamon and so on.
The THEODOR teas can be ordered for the Scandinavian market by Unic Atmosphere www.unictaste.se
My favourite is the J.E. Milky Oolong a black tea from China of highest quality.

Dragan Unic

Чтобы мои русские друзья

2011-10-03T23:25:00.000+02:00

Спасибо всем моим русским друзьям, которые следуют моем блоге, я надеюсь, что вы найдете его интересным и полезным.
Пожалуйста, не hezitate связаться со мной, если у вас есть какие-либо вопросы.
наилучшими пожеланиями
Драган

Very bad Champagne

2011-10-01T12:23:00.000+02:00

When visiting champagne I always try to taste and visit houses that are new to me and this time I was heeding for the Maison Canard – Duchene in the small village of Ludes all exited and ready to for some serious tasting, what a mistake that was!

The glitzy entrance and visiting area have nothing to do with this champagne that was all very uninteresting and fabricated without any soul and quality that I was expecting, so we actually walked out of there with a bitter taste, this is an seriously bad champagne that I will refuse to drink in the near future, and I love champagne.

It’s inside the bottle that counts

Vin ger godare utdelning än aktier

2011-09-29T23:18:00.001+02:00

Upp och ner på börsen och ingen hausse i sikte. Guldkursen är instabil. Inte ens diamanter kan man lita på i dessa kristider. Kanske är vin lösningen på dilemmat?

Det är inte konstigt att intresset för vin som investering växer. Priserna har gått som tåget och dessutom har allt fler upptäckt att nöjet med en vinsamling inte bara behöver handla om att dricka gott vin.

Tänk om du hade köpt fint vin istället för de där 17000 skattade kronorna du satsade på 200 Telia-aktier år 2000. Då hade du varit betydligt lyckligare i dag. Har du aktierna kvar fortfarande finns inte ens ett aktiebrev att titta på. Tänk om du åtminstone fick ringa upp pengarna?

Annat är det med vin. Du kan beskåda furulådorna med sina ståtliga slottssigill medan priserna stiger. Du kan ta fram en flaska, känna på tyngden och fantisera om hur fantastiskt det skulle smaka. Och skulle det gå helt åt skogen med din vininvestering så har du ändå flaskorna kvar. Då kan du bjuda alla dina vänner.

Vill du lyckas med en vininvestering så gäller det att ha kunskap och tur – som överallt annars. Är du tillräckligt insatt köper du dina vinlådor själv när årgången lanseras. Helst från några av de högst rankade slotten i Bordeaux. Men tyvärr är du inte ensam. Det är inte bara rika kineser som handlar i korridorerna, utan de stora vinslotten har också blivit smartare. Dels har de trissat upp priserna rejält och dels håller de hårt i lådorna. De tjänar nämligen ännu mer pengar på att själva lagra vinet några år.

Ett annat sätt är att ta råd av erfarna vinmäklare. De har koll på prisutvecklingen och kan tipsa om framtidens viner. Åtminstone i teorin. Sveriges ende auktoriserade värderingsman av vin, Johan Magnusson, pekar till exempel på att Premier cru-slottens andraviner varit lönsamma investeringar de senaste åren. Framöver kommer de mindre kända Grand Cru-slotten säkert också att dras med i prisspiralen.

Nu är jag själv ingen mästare på investeringar och har inte koll på lyxvinernas alla priser. Men nog vet jag att det varit fart uppåt. Kännare påstår att det varit 15 procents årsavkastning i snitt sedan 2001. Kanske det – även om det är knepigt att räkna på ett vinvärde. Sedan ett antal år finns det dock en slags vinbörs i London vid namn Liv-Ex. Deras index för de hundra främsta vinerna visar på en värdeökning på 110 procent de senaste fem åren. Ser man bara på de femtio främsta så handlar det om en värdeökning på 175 procent under samma period. Och då ska man ändå veta att finanskraschen 2008 innebar en rejäl dipp.

De bekväma investerarna satsar på det senaste: rena vinfonder. Vinlådorna blir då en del av en fond som fungerar som vilken annan investeringsfond som helst. Man satsar helt enkelt en slant och litar på att fondförvaltarna kan sitt jobb och ser till att det blir högsta avkastning. Det är bara en stor skillnad. Det handlar ju om dyrbara flaskor som rent fysiskt måste finnas någonstans i väntan på värdestegringen. Med stor sannolikhet ligger lådorna kassaskåpssäkert i ett lager i södra England. Där har nämligen världens största firma för vinlagring, Octavian Vaults, expanderat enormt. I deras 300000 kvadratmeter lär det finnas mer än 800000 lådor vin.

800000 lådor är lika med nio miljoner sexhundratusen flaskor. Jag gissar att det är många tusen ägare inblandade i dessa viner. Annars kan det bli lite jobbigt att dricka upp om investeringen slog fel. Även för den med många vänner.

SvD mat&vin

Luxembourg and wine? is that a joke?

2011-09-28T22:37:00.000+02:00

What is the fuss about Luxembourg and the wines there? The answer is Mr Abi Duhr of Chateau Pauque in the small village of Grevenmacher who is the wild cat in this small country and in my opinion makes some of the best Rieslings possible of the very old and steep vineyards facing the Mosel river.

I was there a couple a weeks ago to check out the grapes just before the harvest and the 2011 looks wonderful with ripe maturity and good acidity lever that are so crucial here and without it can make the wines bland and flat, this is what many winemakers miss out on, to bad.

Abi is a fascinating and highly knowledgeable winemaker with a great sense of humour that makes his wine with a passion and great skills to bring out the most in every plant.

The wines are concentrated and absolutely wonderful in every aspect with a great acidity that balances the mature fruits and makes them age beautifully.

If you can find any of his wines you better buy them before the whole world hear about it.

In vino veritas

Storing your wine collection? good or bad?

2011-09-27T20:30:00.000+02:00

If you speak to wine professionals who provide wine storage facilities or assist in building cellars, they will tell you that a great many mistakes are made along the way to building a dream wine collection. The good news is that, unlike doctors who have to bury their mistakes, those of wine lovers can be drunk – or at the very worst, poured down the sink. However, this can become expensive, so do be careful.

Surprisingly, the experts will tell you that it is often those with the deepest pockets that make the most errors of judgment. They can take a scattergun approach to filling the cellar, tossing a wallet at every offer so as to corner as many of the best wines as they can. Unfortunately, they often also dredge up a lot of crap wines on the way. Those who take greater care however, often have more interesting cellars.

So the million-dollar question is: what do you put in your cellar?

Deciding if you are a collector or an investor is key. Investors usually have an entirely different agenda, and some may not even like wine. Collectors, on the other hand, are the real wine lovers, although they may make the occasional purchase for investment purposes. Buying two cases and later selling one allows for future expansion, and if done astutely, can even finance the cellar.

Bordeaux has underpinned the secondary market in wine for decades but not every Bordeaux is the same. First Growths and wines known as Super Seconds, along with the best from the Right Bank, such as Cheval Blanc, Petrus and Ausone are as close to blue chip as is possible, and a good vintage is vital.

In recent years, the pronouncements of American critic Robert Parker have had a profound influence on this market. A good score from him can propel an unknown into 'blue chip' territory, or send well-known wines into the pricing stratosphere.

Outside of

France

, things are more hit and miss. Spain has many exciting wines developing, but Vega Sicilia and Pingus are probably the most reliable investments for the moment. Vintage port has seen somewhat of a recent revival. German wines is rarely a fruitful investment, and Italian wines are mixed. Super Tuscans, like Sassicaia, Ornellaia and Masseto have done very well (the 1985 Sassicaia has been one of the great wine investments of all time), and the best Barolos are starting to see the sort of return that such great wines deserve.

From Australia, Penfolds Grange and Henschke's Hill of Grace are the leading performers, but the next generation is making strides. Some of the boutique producers from the Barossa and McLaren Vale with their turbo-charged shiraz have been given a boost by Parker points.

New Zealand

has yet to establish such iconic auction performers, though some of the pinots from Martinborough and Central Otago, like Dry River, Ata Rangi and Felton Road, are close. From the United States, the auction performance of such wineries as Screaming Eagle, Araujo, Phelps 'Insignia', Opus One, Heitz 'Martha's Vineyard' and Harlan Estate is legendary and not completely unrelated to positive reviews from Parker and Wine Spectator.

Serious wine lovers soon learn that there is little point in collecting wines unless they are properly stored. High or fluctuating temperatures, light and vibration can all adversely affect wine. So can humidity: too dry an environment is detrimental as it can dry out corks, which allows for the ingress of oxygen and thus spoils the wine. Too much humidity, on the other hand, promotes the growth of bacteria and mold around the cork, which isn't very esthetically pleasing. However, the increased use of screw caps makes humidity less of an issue.

A cellar can be anything from a box under the bed to a massive underground, temperature- and humidity-controlled facility. If you do not have a proper cellar at home, consider storing your wine with professionals. It has the disadvantage that late at night, you cannot grab a favored bottle on a whim (next morning, some may consider that as a positive), but at least you can be assured the wine will be in ideal condition when you do decide to drink it.

Remember do enjoy your wines in proper wine glasses such as Riedel.

Боллинджер По существу

2011-09-26T23:16:00.000+02:00

Чтобы посетить Боллинджера миссии это сам, после месяца работы мне удалось получить время посещения этого великого Marque в шампанском.

Стиль Боллинджера является одним из моих любимых в течение многих лет и было специального лечения, чтобы получить возможность посетить их в качестве VIP-феерия, и меня, и Кристина была поражена от того, насколько руководство трудящимися было за все cuvees и какие усилия они помещают по крайней каждую бутылку.

Что мне нравится в Боллинджера власти в винах, я бы сказал, что они делают большие белые бургундские с лучших и мельчайших пузырьков, его мощный, мужественный, элегантный и чрезвычайно сложные вина всегда готовы к потреблению, ведьма я люблю J

Баррель хранения является одной из рода в шампанское и 3000 + баррелей, где все со штрих-кодом, так что винодел мог прочитать всю историю бочку с сканер, некоторые высокопоставленные Tec в традиционном месте.

Последняя ребенок розовые вина, что Боллинджера был последним принять благодаря тому, что Лилли Боллинджера не нравится идея розового вина, но потребности рынка делают их дважды подумать об этом, и за последние два года в два розлив розовоеСпециальных кюве и Ла-Гранд Année розы.

Наиболее загадочным в этом диапазоне бутылки Vieilles Vignes Francaises! Изготовлен из непривитого виноградные лозы, которые не пострадало от филлоксеры с двумя крошечными участками большой крю из 100% пино нуар в непосредственной близости от дома, и только около 2000 бутылок в год, мистическое, магическое и, вероятно, фантастические, я не попробовать его, к сожалению, бутылки Все, выделяемых на лучших клиентов по всему миру, и если вы можете найти его купить. Цена составляет в среднем 900 €

Диапазон выходит из специальных кюве, La Grande Année, RD (в последнее время изверг), а затем шедевр VVF, самое лучшее, что Боллинджера положить сосредоточиться на меньший портфель и делать лучшее, что виноград может обеспечить.

Боллинджера является торговой маркой для Gutsy шампанского, и я просто люблю его

Mr Gaston in Dizy, who the hell are he?

2011-09-25T20:12:00.000+02:00

One of my many meetings recently in champagne was with the charming Nicolas Chiquet in the village of Dizy where he produce champagne in an traditional style with great depth and concentration especially the blanc de blanc from the vineyards of Dizy

That wine is exiting and very different from the Blanc de Blanc of the Grand cru in cotes du Blanc that is more famous for producing such a wine.

This is truly a challenge to identify on any blind tasting, how fun would that be? Very fun indeed J the flagship wine is his Special club selection where he use the best pressing and the oldest parcels of his vineyards, great stuff!

Nicolas is a very modern winemaker with lots of new ideas without dropping the respect of the family and the tradition that he grew up with, we hade a good discussion about the cork issue and he told me a lot of how you actually can manipulate the wine just by choosing an certain cork quality, amazing and very interesting news for me.

Another thing was all the things going on with the organic and biodynamic winemaking that’s going on in the world, he just prove to me that most of the things that are going on is BS, halleluiah!!! I told you, but we both agreed on that sustainable winemaking is the best way of producing grapes of the best quality and to take care of the environment regardless what it say on the label.

The house of Gaston Chiquet is a nice treat if you ever visit the area, but do make a reservation ahead

Istanbul by night

2011-09-25T01:30:00.000+02:00

I culd not resist to put up some more pictures from this wonderful city even that I only use my mobil camera. tomorrow is off to Belgrade the capital of Serbia.

ISTANBUL, AN MAGIC CITY / İstanbul, Sihirli şehir

2011-09-24T17:00:00.000+02:00

English:

Istanbul an Magic city

I am actually here on work, as a representative for the Swedish chefs association on the WACS European presidential meeting, but you need some fun also don’t you think?

Where to start? The first thing when arriving to this marvellous city is the heavy and crazy traffic that easy scare the living hell out of you, everybody is driving like maniacs, its nothing for weak nerves.

Officially the live 16 million people in Istanbul but nobody really knows the right figures, some people told me that as many as 25 million live here, moving in from the country side to get a better life, I don’t know about that.

The culture here must be the best in the world without any doubt considering all what have been going on here for thousands of years, simply wonderful architecture and remains from great past times, there is something magical in the air when you hear the priest call people to the mosque with the songs from the minaret, I must say that Islam is truly an fascinating religion that I do not know anything about, but I would like to!

Food, what to say about that? I hade some great experience and some extremely bad, its like a coin, if you hit wrong you can suffer for days in your bathroom, I call this Jalla, and if you hit the superjalla! You can only start to pray.

The Turkish cuisine is in my opinion one of the worlds best with authentic flavours and ways to prepare food, when its good its world class, like the old restaurant Beyti that started in 1945 and is still consider to be one of the best in Istanbul, we hade a great treat of excellent food, and you know how picky I can be J don’t miss out when you are here next time.

The belly dancing is a very special chapter for its self, I saw the top dancer in Turkey and let me tell you boys a secret! She was fabulous and very sexy.

The grand bazaar is very grand, about 6000 shops and It takes some days to get around it all, sadly it is also the biggest tourist trap with fake cloths, handbags and so on, nothing genuine and no normal Turks in sight, I wonder where they shop? Maybe in the Gucci store when you look at all very well dressed ladies with top brands everywhere.

I would love to get back here asap to discover more of this amazing city and our friend Malin who lives here must be prepared to receive us soon

Turkish:
İstanbul, Sihirli şehir
WACS Avrupa başkanlık toplantı İsveç aşçılar derneği temsilcisi olarak, iş burada aslında, ama bazı eğlenceli değil mi?
Nereden başlamalı? Bu harika şehre gelen ilk şey, kolay yaşayan bir cehenneme korkutmak ağır ve çılgın bir trafik, herkes, manyaklar gibi zayıf sinirler için hiçbir şey sürüyor.
Resmen canlı İstanbul'da 16 milyon kişi ama kimse gerçekten doğru rakamlar bilir, bazı insanlar gibi pek çok 25 milyon olarak daha iyi bir yaşam elde etmek için ülke tarafında hareket, burada yaşıyor, ben bu konuda bilmiyorum söyledi.Rahip çağrı insanlar duyduğunuzda kültürü burada ne, binlerce yıldır burada sadece muhteşem mimarisi ve büyük geçmiş zamanlardan kalan edilmiştir düşünen hiç şüphesiz dünyanın en iyi olmalı, havada sihirli bir şey var. camiye minarenin şarkıları ile İslam hakkında hiçbir şey bilmiyorum gerçekten büyüleyici bir din olduğunu söylemek gerekir, ama ben istiyorum!
Gıda, bu konuda söyleyecek ne var? Ben bazı büyük deneyim ve bazı son derece kötü, yanlış vurduğunuzda bir sikke gibi, banyoda gün boyunca muzdarip olabilir dikey durumdan eğik duruma geçmek, ben bu Jalla çağrı ve superjalla vurdu! Sadece dua etmeye başlayabilirsiniz.Türk mutfağının otantik tatları ve yemek hazırlamak için yollar, en iyi dünyalar benim görüşüme göre, 1945 yılında başlayan ve hala İstanbul'un en iyilerinden biri olarak kabul eski restoran Beyti gibi iyi, dünya standartlarında, biz mükemmel yemek ayrı bir keyif damarın dikey durumdan ayrılma açısı ve ben burada bir dahaki sefere ne zaman  kaçırmayın ne kadar seçici olduğunu biliyoruz.Oryantal dans kendini çok özel bir bölümde, Türkiye'nin en iyi dansçı gördüm ve bana erkek size bir sır vereceğim! O muhteşem ve çok seksi.
Büyük çarşı, yaklaşık 6000 dükkan, çok görkemli ve aynı zamanda sahte bezler, el çantaları ve benzeri, gerçek bir şey ve hiçbir görüş normal Türkler ile en büyük turist tuzağı ne yazık ki, etrafında almak için birkaç gün sürer, nerede merak ediyorum onlar alışveriş? Belki Gucci mağazası, her yerde en iyi marka tüm çok iyi giyinmiş bayanlar baktığınızda.
En kısa sürede bizi almak için hazırlıklı olmalısınız burada yaşayan bu muhteşem şehir ve bizim arkadaş Malin daha fazlasını keşfetmek için en kısa zamanda geri almak isterdim
Şimdi ve İnşallah için Bye

Guy Charlemagne Champagne

2011-09-23T00:20:00.000+02:00

Champagne Guy Charlemagne is situated in the heart of the Côte des Blancs, in the small village of Mesnil sur Oger. As father to son winegrowers since 1892, they only harvest and vinify grapes from their own Chardonnay vineyards and produce around 130 000 bottles per year and most part of it is sold outside France.

I fell in love with this champagne house and its wines some years ago after tasting some bottles of the Mesnillesime vintages that I still today hold as one of the best buys when it comes to vintage champagne, I base this on the pure power and great finesse in the wine that I like and appreciate.

All of the wines are well worth the money.

On my recent visit I tasted the whole range of wines with the recently realised 2003 vintage of the wine that Christina refers to as the “kexchoklad label” all Swedes know what that is J

The wines of Guy Charlemagne is a champagne with great muscular presence, wonderful acidity and aging potentials, I try to use this as an reference wine on my tastings with great success, people just love it.

Another cool thing is that you can make your own personal label on the wines, great gift idea don’t you think?

POL ROGER IN MY HEART

2011-09-21T00:00:00.000+02:00

Upon arrival to the private office of champagne Pol Roger I noticed that the Swedish flag was in front of the house as an honour to us and that made us feel very special and welcome.

The champagne house of Pol Roger dated back to 1849 in Epernay and is still one of very few houses that are still privately owned with Christian Pol Roger and others in the family.

You can not write anything about this house with out mentioning sir W.Churchill who in 1908 bought his first bottle of Pol Roger and stayed unwavering client thru his life and called the house “the most delightful address in the world”

When Churchill died in 1965 the house declared mourning and in 1975 to celebrate the 10: th anniversary of his death the pay an tribute to an old friend by launching the Cuvee Sir Winston Churchill.

Entering the cellars of Pol Roger was a fantastic experience with all the new fermentation tanks and newly restored cellars, I have never seen something like this during my travels in wine countries, I can just say WOW..

Even more amazing is that everything is totally manually made with even the remuage made on every single bottle by hand, I don’t know any other champagne houses that are doing that considering the volume that they put out every year, I have the greatest respect to this great house.

The VIP tasting of all the wines in the range was a tremendous treat and an unforgettable memory that will stay with me until the next visit J

I sure believe in the sun & wine god

Unga EKO kockar & girl power

2011-09-18T16:38:00.000+02:00

Efter en lång tur med utagningar och semifinaler så var det äntligen dags för den stora finalen av Unga Eko kockar som gick av stapeln i Växjö denna helg, vinnarna av årets tävling var tjejlaget från dackeskolan i Mjölby som gjorde en utomordentlig tre rätters meny med tanke på deras ringa ålder, dessa tjejer visar vägen att vi säkrar en framtid för Svenska kockars förening och alla våra tävlingslag.
ETT STORT GRATTIS TILL EMMA, JONNA & FRIDA
Och ett tack till PM & vänner för en strålande middag på kvällen och ett extra tack till Per för den goda Chambollen.

här kommer även lite bilder på tjejernas rätter.

English:

This is from an competition this weekend where students from the 2:nd grade at restaurant school ware competing for the Ekological trophee.
what a great future we have in this country. bevare all the guys here comes the girlpower.

Why do you write in English?

2011-09-18T01:17:00.000+02:00

That is an very easy question to answer, half of my readers on this blog are from outside Sweden and as I am a very humble guy and most Swedes know English I think that this would be easier for everybody to understand and if you don’t please do not hesitate to write me and I will translate It for you, this will at the same time be a big challenge for me to do considering that English absolutely not are in any way my native language.

There will be some in just Swedish and sometimes in Serbian just for fun and I will improve over time so please have patience with me.

In Vino Veritas

Mouton Rothschild the magic Chateau

2011-09-16T23:38:00.000+02:00

This famous chateau is located in the village of Pauillac in the Médoc, 50 km north-west of the city of Bordeaux, France, Mouton Rothschild is one of the First Great Growths of Bordeaux Grand Crus, alongside Château Latour, Château Haut Brion, Château Margaux and Château Lafite-Rothschild.

The Bordeaux Classification of 1855 came about when wine brokers were tasked by Emperor Napoleon to create a classification of the wines of Bordeaux. The rating was based (mostly) on the price that the wines were bringing in the market and it divided these top wineries into five classifications. These classifications are known as 'Growths'.

Mouton was the first of the grand wines who started to do all the bottling at the chateau to assure quality of the wine.

Historically, however, Château Mouton Rothschild was excluded from First Great Growth status. This, it was thought to be so because the vineyard had recently been purchased by an Englishman and was no longer in French ownership.

In 1973, after decades of intense lobbying by its powerful and influential owner, Mouton Rothschild was elevated to "first growth" status - this was one of the two changes in the original 1855 classification (in 1856 Château Cantemerle was added to the Grand Cru list). This prompted a change of the Château Mouton motto: previously, the motto of the wine was Premier ne puis, second ne daigne, Mouton suis. ("First, I cannot be. Second, I do not condescend to be. Mouton, I am."). Today the motto is Premier je suis, Second je fus, Mouton ne change. ("First, I am. Second, I used to be. Mouton, I do not change.")

Mouton Rothschild's 203 acres of vineyards produce Cabernet Sauvignon (77%), Merlot (11%), Cabernet Franc (10%) and Petit Verdot (2%) that is used in the blend. The wine is fermented in oak vats (one of the few châteaux in the Médoc that is loyal to this traditional method) and then matured in new oak casks.

Baron Philippe de Rothschild, father of the current owner, Baroness Philippine de Rothschild, came up with the idea of having each year's label designed by a famous artist of the day. Since 1946, many of the world's great painters and sculptors have created works (displayed at the chateau) that are also reproduced on the labels of the wine.

On my first Mouton from the vintage of 1976 the label was painted by Pierre Soulages and was a gift from a friend on my 20:th birthday and that changed my direction in to wine and made me be more focused on wine and food pairing, I was an chef at that time and very nerdy in to food without knowledge of wine, what a great start it was, many thanks my dear friend Lars Bogren for introducing me to the world of wine.