4/5/12

Swedish Meatballs ala Original

There are many things to say about Swedish cuisine and the food from the Nordic countries, but I guess that the Meatballs ( Köttbullar ) is the thing that people around the globe think of when asked to mention one Swedish dish.

The Meatballs is actually brought in from Turkey bye the Swedish King Karl XII in the 1700 and are now consider to be the number food for all ages here often served with potatoes, lingonberry and pickled cucumber.

The best meatballs in Sweden are served at Värdshuset Ulla Winbladh at Djurgården in Stockholm, this old Inn is very traditional in foodservice and I just love the way they represent Sweden and its food culture without being snobby or old-fashioned.

Milk, beer or water is the thing to drink with meatballs due to the very creamy sauce and all the different flavours that is going on at the same time makes this a dish very hard to match wine.
Please enjoy this amazing dish the right way and do not consider what is served at most IKEA restaurants to be the true Swedish meatball


3/31/12

NEO wine, music and good life

Bodegas y Viñedos Neo is, according to its musician founder friends Javier Ajenjo, José Luís Simón and Julio César Conde the “dream” since early age and who, in 1999, decided to make a wine they liked.

The first 6,000 bottles of Neo 2000, which some years later scored a rating of 95 points from wine writer R Parker, were made in a rented corner of a bodega by the very talented winemaker Isaac Fernandez Montana who is still in charge of the wines.

Selling wine on the world market is always challenging but when you receive high scores it for sure make life a little easier and the guys knows how to incorporate wine, music, lifestyle and great passion for food in a family style blend.

The bodega holds around 10 hectares of very old plantings with many of the more than 70 years of age and that boost some amazing ripe fruits that shows in the wines.

Neo the regular bottling is a wine that is made from 50-60 years old planting of Tempranillo grapes with extreme control in the vineyard and some 2000 kg per hectare out take, the wine is kept 15 months in American and French barrels.

The main wine Neo Punta Esencia is the flagship wine made from 80+ years’ old vines with very low yield of 1500 kg/hectare and the use of new French barriques for 24 months and loved by the worlds wine critics with high scores.

Bodegas Neo are now producing a wide variety of wines from around Castilla y Leon all made by the Neo design studio aimed for the modern wine drinker, Im looking forward to taste this range of 3 reds and 2 whites.
The first production of 6000 bottles are now 10 years later in the range of 500 000 bottlers annual.
You can go a long way with some money and a great idea, you rock hombres.



3/30/12

Find me onTwitter

Now you can find me on Twitter @draganunic
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//Dragan

3/26/12

I have been busy

I have been so busy lately and travelling in the name of the wine, fun? Yes but very exhausting
especially when I have to be away from my family for to long.

Prowein in Germany was great fun and I did some great deals for the Swedish and Danish market that will result in great wines, www.vallegarcia.com is already in the warehouse and out to the first customers.

To meet winemakers and producers in person is always great and to understand the philosophy behind the product is crucial to a sales guy, great personalities.

I have attended the Nordic chef of the year as a judge for some days and also a Nordic chefs board meeting with great colleagues.

Looking for new wines for my market is time consuming and people around me thinks that this is just fun, they should only know J

Applying for the university is something that I could not believe would happen 6 months ago, but yes I’m heading for the WSET Diploma starting up in September, more to come about this.

I’m a busy bee and could not travel nether to vinitaly in Verona or alimentaria in Barcelona this year but I’m already planning expo in Bordeaux next year, who will come with me?

Look up http://www.mishasvineyard.com great NZ wines from wonderful people.



Cheers