A Good Year for De Bortoli Wines

We recently had a member's tasting for De Bortoli Wines because it's been nabbing accolades left and right - most impressively the QUAFF 2010 recognition of WINERY OF THE YEAR!

The brand carries the Windy Peak Variety which we showcased in all 3 stores, as well as the notoriously famous Noble One!

The Prime Minister of Australia actually gave 6 of these little bottles to the Pope last year when he visited. It's amazingly sweet, almost sticky... but definitely something to try. As I write this, I even just received an email saying that the Noble One Semillon 2006 won the Premium Gold Title at The Berlin Wine Trophy - the highest honor. This has been held for the fourth time under the patronage of the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV). A competition that's known to subject competing wines to the highest quality standards.

Maker of Wild Wine Decanter likes our blog!

Cheers! We've officially gone international! Guess who's reading this blog in the far reaches of the globe? My officemate in Wine Depot, Alex, came across a site which actually features a link to THE CORNER DEPOT blog! We thought we could return the favor and share with you the cool creations of this French Sculptor - Etienne Meneau. He has been designing some cool carafes for wines.

http://the-strange-decanter.blogspot.com/

A carafe, by definition, is a container for serving hot or cold beverages, while a decanter is one that's strictly for wine and other alcoholic beverages. The reason for the existence of a decanter is that it was used to separate a small amount of wine from the original container which contained sediments - thus its name. But because bottlers are now producing filtered, clear wines, these vessels are now just useful for letting wine BREATHE. Aerating wine lets you get a good whiff of its aromas and softens its tannins... the same concept behind the swirling of the glass.

Serve your favorite Wine Depot Wine in one of these babies!

This one's called Big Heart.

Leave Etienne a message if you want to avail of one of these limited edition designs.

Gourmet Shopping Made Simple

If you're at the supermarket with dizzying products filling the shelves, wouldn't you want easy-to-read information on why you should choose a certain bottle of olive oil over another, other than the scribbles found on back labels? Wouldn't insider tips on how to buy meat from chefs come in handy while cruising the store aisles?

Gourmet Depot, found inside all Wine Depot outlets, went ahead and did the research so customers can get the fast, friendly facts with shipping tags on all products.

Like...

Jindi Cheese: "Won in the World Championship Cheese Contest – the ultimate award in the cheese-making industry."

Yellingbo Olive Oil: "Martha Stewart finds this "Absolutely Delicious!"

The Chilli Factory: "Hot, fat free sauces especially good with barbecue or tuna"

For meat products, you can even take home various trivia and preparation instructions... like this chart on meat "doneness" depending on the thickness. I like personal touches like that.

AUSTRALIAN GARFISH IS THE NEWEST CATCH IN TOWN

*As featured in the Inquirer Column "The 101 on Wine and Food"


Seafood lovers in the Philippines will soon have no trouble finding premium quality fish in the country. Imported catches from Australia is making its way to the kitchens of chefs, homemakers and gourmets with specialty stores such as Wine Depot having a wide selection of the highest quality Australian seafood.

Apart from Coffin Bay oysters, Australia is world famous for seafood catch such as the Barramundi, King George Whiting and Garfish.


King George Whiting, readily found on the coasts of South Australia is one of the more popular and sought after fish from the land down under. It is what Aussies otherwise call the “butterfish,” because it melts in your mouth with its delicate flavor and texture. This makes it ideal for cooking a number of ways. Whether barbequed, pan-fried or baked with herbs and spices, one of the Whiting’s best qualities is that its fresh, buttery taste comes through even after being frozen.

Get the Whiting at its best quality at Wine Depot - it's vacuum sealed and individually packed so there's no human contact!

Another seafood favorite indigenous to Australian shores is the Barramundi. Derived from the aboriginal word meaning large-scaled river fish, it is usually found in the rivers of Western Australia. They prefer more tropical regions where they can go through their very unique lifecycle (it spends its early years as a male then changes gender when it reaches the age of 5).

This vegetarian fish can usually grow up to 62 cm long when fished from open waters but farmed baby barramundi will usually extend to about half this size. You may cook this whole but fillet bigger ones when needed. With its flavor compared to the most premium white fish such as sea bass, dover sole and red snapper, you never need more than just a little lemon or lime, some spinach or arugula or a splash of white wine to make this fish a sumptuous dish.

Sail to the Eastern waters and you’ll find the finfish with many names. The Australian Garfish may have one too many common names (136 to be exact) for a fish of relatively smaller size but it just goes to show that its taste has made it quite the popular pick. Whether prepared in an attractive boned-out, butterfly fillet that is ideal for more refined dishes, or deep-fried whole, its soft, succulent and sweet qualities make it a good pairing for more intense, fruity and lively wines.

We’ve asked a true blue Aussie Chef, Harry Callinan, Executive Chef of The Marriot Hotel Manila, how to prepare this Australian fish.

Here, he shares an easy-to-do recipe that anyone can enjoy at home.

Spiced flour dusted Australian garfish fillets, mango salsa and peppery leaves

Ingredients:

2 Garfish fillets
100 gm Flour
10 gm Chili powder
1 pc. Ripe Cebu mango
1 pc. Red capsicum
1 pc. Red onion
10 gm Parsley
1 pc. Fresh red chili
100 ml Olive oil
50 gm Fresh Arugula


Method:


• In a mixing bowl, combine the flour and chili powder
• Take garfish fillets and toss in spiced flour to coat
• Deep fry in hot oil (180C) until golden
• Remove and drain on paper
• Make a lemon vinaigrette by combining lemon juice and Extra Virgin Olive Oil, add sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.
• Toss washed Arugula leaves in lemon vinaigrette and place on center of plate. Add freshly ground pepper on top.
• Make a mango salsa by dicing the mango, red capsicum and red onion and combine in a bowl. Add chopped parsley and chopped fresh chili. Mix all ingredients and add lemon juice, sea salt and pepper to taste.
• Arrange fish fillets on top of leaves
• Spoon mango salsa over and around

Serve it with a good white wine like Villa Maria Estate’s Cellar Selection Sauvignon Blanc.

2009 Vintage: Gold Trophy from International Wine and Spirits Competition 2009
2008 Vintage: Gold Medal from New World Wine Awards 2009 and Silver Medal from International Wine Challenge 2009

Get it at CRU, Mariott Hotel Manila and at Wine Depot Stores.

Yummy Homemade Lamb Ravioli Recipe

The best part about my job is that I get access to all these new recipes from international food exporters and suppliers. Recently, Meat and Livestock Australia,  released their exclusive Autumn edition of  - Chef's Special - and I just wanted to spread the gourmet love and share a yummy recipe I found there. 

Braised Lamb Ravioli with Caramelized Onions

- makes servings for a whole party. I'm talking maybe 40 plates...

So the next time your hosting a dinner and you don't wanna make the usual kinds of pasta, make lamb ravioli just because it's impressive. Not anyone would dare tackle lamb because of the reputation it gets from not being cooked right. But if you get your meat from a good supplier and you know how to prepare it, you'll really appreciate its subtler, tastier flavors.

Caramelized Onions

1/4 cup olive oil

3 medium onions

7 sprigs thyme tied in a bundle

Ravioli Dough

2 cups semolina

2 eggs

pinch of salt

few teaspoons water to bind

semolina for dusting

Lamb Filling

1 kg lamb neck roast, bone in

2 tbsp vegetable oil

3 shallots, peeled and chopped finely

2 whole cloves of garlic

1 cup port

(it's a kind of sweet red wine originally from "Port"-ugal but is now produced around the world)

1 cup red wine

(try a powerful, full bodied red like Benchmark Shiraz. It's only P360 in Wine Depot.)

4 cups beef or veal stock

4 sprigs of thyme

2 bay leaves

1 cup diced tomatoes

FOR THE LAMB FILLING:

- Preheat oven to 350F

- Trim excess fat from Lamb neck and season with salt and pepper

- Heat oil in a deep pan on medium high

- Sear neck until brown on all sides then set aside.

- Pour off all but 2 tbsp fat from pan then lower heat to medium

- Add shallots and garlic. Cook for 2 mins.

- Add port wine, stirring to deglaze, then add stock thyme, bay leaves and lamb.

- Bring to a boil

- Cover sauce pan with foil then pierce 6 times to make holes

- Place in the oven and bake for 3-4 hours. Turn meat occasionally

- Remove from oven and allow to cool

TO MAKE CARAMELIZED ONIONS
- Heat oil in large saucepan on medium

- Saute onions and thyme until onions are soft and transparent

- Increase heat to medium-high and cook constantly stirring

- When onions are dark brown, remove from heat and discard thyme

- Season with salt and pepper, cool and then place in airtight container and refrigerate until needed

- Reduce the jus by 1/3

- Chop up shredded lamb then combine with 3/4 of the caramelized onions, 5 tbsp jus, then season with salt, pepper and fresh thyme.

To make sauce, puree the tomatos and combine with remaining jus. Season with salt, pepper and thyme.

TO MAKE RAVIOLI

- Combine semolina with 2 eggs and a pinch of salt until it gets a little course

- Add water a teaspoon at a time until dough stays together and can be kneaded

- Knead dough until elastic and a bit soft

- Divide into 2 portions, roll out each into a sheet with a roller, or  run through a pasta machine if you have one 

- Measure out tablespoons of the lamb filling out enough to press the top portion of the dough down between each piece

- Be sure to brush egg wash all around each mound of filling so the dough will adhere to itself to form a ravioli

- Using a knife, separate the ravioli, then press and fold edges until they're secured.

- Cook ravioli in a large pot of boiling, salted water until al dente. 

- Use caramelized onions as edible garnish

Serve this with your bottle of Shiraz and you'll be fending off hungry guests soon enough!

  

Guess who came for lunch?

I was thrilled to have my first taste of the notoriously quirky d’Arenberg wines yesterday. This Aussie brand may have stuck in my head for its cool names but I'm now a firm believer that its infamy comes from honest-to-goodness bottles... the kinds that landed it a Winery of the Year Award and a cult following for Dead Arm Shiraz (beating the $550 Penfolds Grange bottle).

Arriving at Purple Feet, I saw the table set for 10 and was curious to see who the surprise guests were that Stephan invited for lunch.

While waiting, I began dipping my hand at the ice-filled wine buckets to see what’s in store for the afternoon. (Ok, partly because it just looked enticing in the heat of the day) We were going to start with a very cold glass of the Money Spider Roussanne. (Roussanne being a white wine grape originally French grown, and known for its russet or reddish brown color called “roux”.)

I took my seat at the end of the table and lo and behold, joining us was Colin Mackay, the man behind the city’s chic trinity of dining spots - Sala, Sala Bistro and People’s Palace; Oliver Kreuzer, EAM F&B of Mandarin Oriental Manila and Eddie Sarton, the new F&B director of New World Hotel.

Suddenly, I got excited to see what they had to say about the pairings, and which wines and courses in particular they would come back for.

An apple melon mesclune salad topped with alfalfa and drizzled with jasmine green trea dressing for starters. Juicy, grainy fruits with some chopped pistachios set off the taste of the Roussanne. Paired with this was the Money Spider, which was Oliver's wine pick of the day. 

Eddy, Oliver, and myself

Across, Brett, Colin and Stephan take in the aromas.

The unanimous choice was the second course! All of our guests chose this Iberian Pork loin as their favorite dish.  Its an exclusive offering at Gourmet Depot, where you get the highest quality meat from the Spanish Iberian pig which feeds only on acorns. Its meat is ridiculously tasty and an absolute must try.

I would dare say its even tastier than rib eye with the fat content and the buttery texture. The trick is, you try to get everything in your fork for a complete flavor experience -the savory porkloin that melts in your palate, the rhubarb cherry plum sauce falling off the sides, then the crispy, feathery thin arugula leaves. Then you dig in for another bite. 

This was served with d'Arry's Original Shiraz Grenache and The Stump Jump.

Though a bit Intimidating to look at, the third course had all the makings of a hearty three-way turf dish. Though an off cut, the piece of grain-fed oyster blade beef proved that its the cooking that matters in making the meat tender and succulent. The lamb chop had a subtle taste to it while the Wagyu medallion was very tender. Giving the meats a richer taste was the tobacco leaves it was smoked in and a decadent topping of chocolate, wild mushroom and truffle sauce.

To accompany the dish, an equally robust red wine like the Coppermine Cabernet Sauvignon that's Eddy's choice and the Dead Arm Shiraz which got Colin's thumbs up.

For Dessert, a buttered peach, green apple and orange rind crepe topped with vanilla ice cream and butterscotch. Probably my favorite part. Especially because we drank it with the Sticky Chardonnay that's so sweet it feels like syrup you can pour on top of fruits or ice cream. Coincidentally, I researched serving suggestions of this wine and found that it is meant to be dribbled over dessert. Yumm!

Why does the sticky Chardonnay have such a high sugar content? Apparently its grapes are affected by a fungus that sucks the moisture out and leaves behind a concentration of all the sugar, nutrients and minerals in the shriveled up fruit... Kind of like why raisins are saccharine.

I'm definitely looking forward to the d'Arenberg Garden Party next week featuring more food and more of these wines.