The secrets from the Chef & Sommelier

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.

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

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

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.

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 et...

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...

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. ...

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 zaviča...

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.

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 ...

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 nuance...

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

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.

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 th...

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 Ma...

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 ch...

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

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 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

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 Whit...

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 pe...