Chateau Giscours older wines

Located in the Margaux appellation on the west banks of Bordeaux where exceptional terroir all the great qualities that are needed to produce world class wines Chateau Giscours are among the best wines made there of constant qualities year after year.

The Chateau is over 600 years old and have been thru many bad and also great times under many ownerships and are now maintained as the best in Bordeaux.

I love older wines and I am lucky to have a neighbour that showed up with two bottles the other day for our dinner, the 1974 and the 1978 that was both in great shape and amazingly well stored with all the fruit still there and nice polished tannins with a long lingering finish that stayed there for ever, what a treat this was.

Thanks Viveca.

From the land of Dracula

The land of the famous Vlad Tepes also more known as Count Dracula is a fantastic country with lovely and friendly people in the town of Arad in Romania where I spend the last weekend as a judge for a big cooking competition and food show with many contestants and a lot of visitors even with the temperature way above 40 degrees in the shade.

Iulia and Radu is pulling of great food shows all around in Romania with judges from Iceland, Greece, Germany, Serbia, Russia, Poland, Israel and a Swedish guy, how amazing this event was to meet up with all these lovely and talented people.

To judge a big event like this is not easy task and even harder when consider the heat outside for all of us.

This event have been running now for five years and getting bigger all the time thanks to the effort of the brave few who do their best to pull it off, great going guys and best of luck in the future.

My family on my dads side was originated from Romania and my dads name was Vladan! Where came that from? There must be some strange blood in my veins and not only wine J I guess that all the wine makes me transformed but I know better now.

From Mr Tepes with love and many more pictures on my Facebook.

Mexican wines - Los vinos de Mexico

Wines from Mexico is not that is very common at least not in Sweden, I hade the opportunity to taste some wines today that surprised me a lot.

The wines tested was from the following producers, Vena Cava, Poncelis, Malagon,, Montano Benson, Montefiori and Vinisterra.

All good wines with some for us strange blends of grapes like barbera – syrah – merlot whimsical but it works somehow.

I did not know so much about Mexican wines and winemaking until last week when I have to get in to this and I’m happy to have the chance to taste this wines.

The Mexican industry will grow and you will see more from them in the years to come, that’s for sure.

Who will be the first to bring them in?

Great restaurant moment a long time ago

It is crazy when I think of how long I have been in the food and wine business; I started out in 1979 so you do the calculation J

Over the years I did not regret any of my choices or the paths that I have taken with all the challenges on the way I still love every minute of It.

People always ask me for my favourite food, wine, restaurant and so on and Its hard to tell with so many nice bottles to drink and food to eat

but I do remember the dinner that changed my way as a young chef and did the biggest impact on my personal life.

Restaurant La Petite in Helsingborg still owned by Jean Louise Marchandise http://www.lapetite.se and still the same menu, why change a success!

I was at this day celebrating one of the greatest men in gastronomy and still my old friend Lars Bogren on his 50:th birthday and on the menu I hade the most life changing food

Poached egg in a red wine sauce with brioche on the side and French country butter.

Coq au vin the a real classic.

Crème brulée.

And we hade champagne thru the dinner, a demi sec from Veuve – Clicquot with lots of nice residual sugar, maybe I would choose something different today J

This may not sound as the most amazing dinner but at that time not many restaurant cooked food like this and I was blown away, thanks Jean Louis.

I have so many great stories to tell and will do that in my book (A Secrets from a Sommelier as a working title) just need to find a investor in the project.

Drink and eat well and you will remember that for the rest of your life.

Helsingborg och dess krogar part 1.

Det händer en hel del i Helsingborg just nu på restaurang och nöjesfronten.

Att börja med Teaterkatten och den nya satsningen där är väl störst så jag börjar väl med detta.

En trevlig lounge del med sköna möbler för en fördrink eller ostört möte av andra slag med bra mys faktor och trendiga toaletter i fint skick ( jag har toa fobi)

Jag har känt Rafael under en massa år och för mig är han en av Hbg`s bästa kockar och man blir glad att det är han som basar över köket på Katten, trevlig meny med nostalgiska Katten rätter med modern uppdatering.

Trevlig tapas variation packad med smak och en sjyst Skagen funkar alltid, plankstek har jag inte ätit på typ 20 år och försökte mig på  denna delikatess J jävligt bra kött och hem vevad Bea, enkelt utan krusiduller. Gott!

Entrecoten var bra grillad i all sin enkelhet, man förstår tanken bakom detta och att man försöker få den breda publiken, sure varför inte.

Så nu till det mindre bra, servisen var otroligt dåligt påläst om både mat & vin vilket inte är ok då dom haft lång tid på sig innan öppning, eller så får man ta in hjälp utifrån att utbilda personalen snarast.

Dom äldre mycket hjälpsamma gentlemännen var helt clueless och har absolut inget där att göra och tillför inte heller ngt positivt för den fina miljön, även om jag misstänker att dom har en del med investeringen att göra.

Man måste finna stabilitet i matsalen och byta matsedel ofta så att folk kommer tillbaka och trivs för lokalen har potential.

Barbord i Vikens hamn öppnar nu med start bara på helger och kommer att drivas av Gastronomibutiken vilket är trevligt och vi alla Viken bor ser fram mot detta. Kolla in http://www.barbord.com

Oscars Trapp som en gång i tiden var en av Sveriges bättre krogar har efter en mycket lång Törnrosasömn vaknat till liv som något oklar vinkällare/lagerlokal för vin/konferens/matlagnings aktiviteter ska bli kul och se var det landar.

Invigningen var bra med imponerande kockar från Nimb i Kph enligt uppgift som gjorde goda tapas.

Sillen & Makrillen har byggt nytt och jag återkommer om detta snart.

My the sun shine on your naked chest

Sherry Delgado Zuleta

Delgado Zuleta is the oldest family-owned winery in the Jerez-Xèréz-Sherry & Manzanilla district currently maturing and commercialising Manzanilla, Sherry and some still white wine. 

The bodega is located in Sanlucar de Barrameda, a small coastal town at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River, facing the Atlantic Ocean and the Doñana Natural Park.

Delgado Zuleta was established in 1744 by Mr. Francisco Gil de Ledesma, Knight of the Order of Calatrava and Sanlucar Honorary Mayor and the current name honours Mr. José María Delgado Zuleta, a navy officer and skilful business man

that ran the company after marrying a direct descendant of its founder.

That was a time of great growth and notoriety as the company became official suppliers of the Spanish Royal Court.

A famous flamenco dancer Aurora Jauffre, allowed the winery to use her artistic name “La Goya” for their very best Manzanilla. Since then “La Goya” has been a reference of quality in the most important Manzanilla markets where today the brand maintains its leading position. 

In 1930 their majesties King Alfonso XIII and Queen Victoria Eugenia, grandparents of the present King of Spain, honoured the Botas by endorsing the winery with their signature.

The very cool things is that the vineyards  have been in the family for over 200 years are located between the famous pagos of Miraflores and Pastranilla. Their special Albariza soils make them part of the “Jerez Superior” area.

The cellars are strategically situated in the most humid areas of Sanlucar de Barrameda to get the ideal conditions for the formation of the “flor”, which is essential to mature Manzanilla.

The buildings are divided between the Old Town or “Barrio Alto” and the Dehesilla zone where also the cooperage is located to guarantee the tradition and knowledge of the handcraft.

I am looking forward to se the brand established in Sweden in a few months.

I just love Sherry

Great Barolo wines

The Cantina Ascheri managed by the sympatric Matteo is a true world class wines from the Piedmonte region in north of Italy.

The wines are always hand harvested with full maturation for obtaining full flavours and perfect sugar content.

I like the way he treat his Wines with tradition and at the same time innovation to make the the perfect wine in La Morra, Serralunga and Bra area.

The three estates all show different styles that are all excellent and very easy drinking wines with great complexity and full body that I love.

You can easy visit the estate and stay at the wonderful little hotel so sample all the wines and to feel the true spirit of Barolo.

Amarone Brigaldara

There are many things to say about the wines of Veneto and especially the much loved Amarone and Ripasso wines that the Swedish people just love and have embraced to their hearts.

To speak about these wines without mentioning the Azienda Agricola Brigaldara wines are impossible due to the fact that the wines from this producer is one of the finest in the area.

What I like about Sandros wines is the tru identity of the land and the deep tradition of making this type of wines in a very handcrafted ways.

All the wines, from the Valpolicella, Passito, Soave, Recioto to the outstanding Grand Cru Amarone Case Vecie near Grezzana where the planted Corvinone, Corvina, Rondinella is grown from vines planted in 1994 in cooler climate with very long drying process.

If you have a chance you must try the Brigaldara wines or contact me if you are in the HORECA trade in Sweden and I will help you out.

Umberto Cesari Wines

The history of Umberto Cesari is the history of its founder, a stubborn man who, poor in means but rich in passion, has dedicated his life to his local corner of earth and to great Sangiovese wines.

Although Umberto Cesari is not from a winegrowing family, wine always played a prominent role in the Cesari household, since his father owned one of Bologna’s historic osterie. But instead of a career of selling wine,

Umberto Cesari decided to invest all of his efforts into making the highest-quality Sangiovese he could.

In the 1960s, high quality was still not a characteristic associated with the wines of Emilia-Romagna, and Umberto Cesari was a pioneer in this regard, one of the very first who was convinced that the Sangiovese could make a truly outstanding local wine.

In 1967, he purchased a small vineyard in the hills of Castel San Pietro and founded the winery that today bears his name.

From those initial 20 hectares of vines Umberto Cesari grew steadily, until it gained its current position of one of the few Romagna producers capable of combining substantial production with impressive quality.

The vineyards have expanded to 120 hectares, and Umberto Cesari has become one of the benchmarks in Italian and international wine production.

Umberto Cesari and his winery reached an unprecedented milestone when Tauleto, both in its 2003 and 2007 vintages, emerged the absolute winner in its category at the International Wine & Spirit Competition; beting the many other Italian and international Sangiovese producers.

Umberto Cesari winery is located in Castel San Pietro Terme, in the heart of Italy’s Emilia-Romagna, a region world renowned for its superb food products.

The vineyards lie on hillslopes at elevations ranging from 300 to 450 metres. Behind the hills is a circlet of calanchi, or badlands, known as the Calanchi Azzurri for their bluish hue. Their bulk helps to keep the climate mild. These conditions, plus good ventilation and strongly delineated seasons, render this area particularly favourable to high-quality Sangiovese.

I am happy to sell his top wines on the Swedish market and please contact me for a tasting session.

Kosta Boda Art Hotel is great

KOSTA BODA ART HOTEL is located in the small village of Kosta that are famous for the Orrefors glass design and the heart of glass manufacture in Sweden.

The hotel that is built some years ago by the owner Torsten Jansson who hade the idea of a great place to show all the design and to use as showroom for the best glass designers that Sweden have today.

The Hotel is a masterpiece in Swedish design and you can stroll around the hotel and you will find one of a kind pieces that are truly mind blowing and extremely rare.

The pool is made of tailed glass and show some great pieces on the bottom of the pool and are changed on regular basis to showcase something new all the time.

The exclusive Spa and guest facilities are wonderfully made and on highest level in every aspect, If you ever come to Sweden this is a must place to visit for some days.

The Linnéa Art restaurant is serving excellent food in wonderful setting and serving some of the best food from around the area and the staff will do they best to fulfil all your needs.

The menu I tried are this:

Creamy soup of leek

Seared scallops with celeriac puree, pear and dill meringue

Herb coated cod medallion with 63* egg, caviar from Kalix and Sandefjord sauce

Ice shavings gin & tonic

Creation of lamb from local farmers

Swedish cheeses from Jurss dairy farm

Passion fruit parfait with brown butter cream

All the food was paired with great wine selection and I’m looking forward to visit this lovely place again very soon.

Many thanks to Bengt Sjöström and all the staff.

Sausage making

Making sausage with friends is one of the funny things in life.

We started up with all of us bringing 5 kg of meat each to the table and ended up with 60 kg (some of the guys hade what they called leftovers)

Great fun to grind the meat the different and to flavour all the mixtures in to what finally ended up as 12 varieties of classical and not so classical sausages.

After a few hours and some more beer the kitchen looks like a disaster and we have to call in some cleaning persons who swiftly solved our little problem.

Part of the meat was used to smoke in the backyard and we also BBQ some of it with great result.

Here are some pictures of our sausage night, do try at your neighbours house J

DMZ (demobilisation zone)

If you travel to Korea you have to visit the DMZ (demobilisation zone) that runs between North & South on the 38 parallel.

This is a remarkable please when you consider that in the south you have one of the worlds strongest economies and in the North are people starving to death to remember is that the line is only 2000 meter wide but the most heavily guarded piece of land on the globe.

There are many places to visit and I recommend using a good guide who knows the history and all the stories.

The known tunnels that have been found is impressive when you know that 40 000 men with field artillery could pass each hour, and this only 44 km from Seoul, scary!

The south regular army of 650 000 men are nothing when you know that north side have over one million hungry men on the other side with army training for 10 years for all the men and 7 years for all the women, this is teambuilding don’t you think?

North Korea:

 The bridge of no return

 Mines everywhere

 The new build train station thet have never been used: