Friday, October 2, 2026

Wine Trivia

Wine is probably the most storied and legendary beverage conceived by mankind, and its history goes back literally to Biblical times. This makes for some surprisingly fun trivia hunting; wine is the beverage that always has another surprise in store! Wine's first purpose was as a water purifier! A long time before modern methods for sanitizing water, primitive peoples developed one foolproof method for ensuring that water was safe to drink: they'd mix in the fermented juice from fruit and found the alcohol was sufficient to kill any harmful organisms. The fermenting of beer and wine was one of the first applications of alchemy and hence chemistry, going as far back as the year 1000 B.C. Wine has an important place in more than half of the world's religions. Jewish practitioners say a blessing over wine on holidays, and Passover is observed with four cups of wine. Wine makes an appearance throughout Christianity, with even one of Jesus' miracles being to turn water into wine. It is used in the Eucharist of both Catholic and Protestant religions. The ancient Greeks had the god Dionysus, the god of wine and with it, of both madness and ecstasy. Of the major world religions today, only the Islamic ones specifically forbid wine. While we assume that glass bottles of wine is the preferred standard, glass bottles only came into use after the 18th century. Before this time, wine was traditionally stored and transported in bulk, usually in wooden barrels or clay casks. For individual-sized serving, it would be carried in a wineskin, usually made from leather and originally lined with resin to keep them from leaking. The use of oak barrels is frequently touted as a contributor to the taste of wine. But actually, oak was originally used simply because oak wood was plentiful and widely used in the old world, as an all-purpose storage container. Oak wood has a tight grain which makes it leak-proof. Oak barrels also favor the aging of wine because they allow very controlled exposure to oxygen. One of the reasons that so much fuss is made over the proper serving temperature of wine is that human taste-buds function differently at different temperatures. Sweeter tastes come through better at room temperature, while more savory tastes come through better at colder temperatures. The world's most influential wine critic is currently Robert J. Parker, Jr. The lawyer-turned-wine-snob is responsible for creating the 100-point wine rating system widely used today. It is said that a 100-point rating from him is enough to drive up the price of a wine. This effect has even given rise to the term "Parkerization" in the wine world, which is the tendency of many establishments to base their purchasing habits on what Parker's review says this week. Of the top wine-producing nations in the world, France still ranks number one at 5.3 million tonnes per year. Italy (4.7 tonnes) is second, Spain (3.6 tonnes) is third, and the United States (2.2 tonnes) is fourth. Australia is in sixth place, but very nearly tied with, of all countries, China! However Australia is the fourth largest exporter of wine and has the third largest market share. The "French paradox" has it that the French have a diet rich in fatty foods, yet have one of the lowest rates of heart disease in the world. It is the French paradox that led to the realization that wine, which the French consume in great quantities, is beneficial to the heart. View this post on my blog: https://www.enjoyredwine.com/wine-trivia.html

Tuesday, February 22, 2022

Wild Video Game Recipe: Frying Pan Roasted Duck with Corn Crepes and also Sage, Sour Cherry Sauce

Wild Video Game Recipe: Frying Pan Roasted Duck with Corn Crepes and also Sage, Sour Cherry Sauce

For this recipe, I use either muscovy duck, a brazilian breed which is recognized for its unbelievable flavor as well as lean profile, or wild-hunted duck. Other breeds, such as moulard or pekin, will certainly do great, but realize that the primary distinction amongst these types of duck is the fat cap underneath the skin. With any breed of duck, to cook it appropriately, you intend to make the fat from under the skin of the breast at a cooking temperature and also time that will permit the skin to brownish completely, once all the excess fat is rendered away. For all types, gently score the duck breast, skin side, so that the skin is pierced (releasing the fat to render away), without entering into the flesh of the breast. To do this, you will require a sharp knife. Score the breast at 45 deg. angles, so you wind up with a diamond pattern on the skin side of the breast.

To prep the duck for cooking, score it and period it with salt as well as pepper on both sides. Allow the duck to rest for thirty minutes. When you are all set to offer, do not add butter or oil to your frying pan - just set the duck, skin side down, in the pan as well as chef over low to modest warm. As the fat renders away, put it off. You wish to readjust your warm, and also your time in preparing the skin side, to ensure that a lot of the fat is provided about the time your skin is browned perfectly.

For 6

6 chicken busts, or 3 drake busts (of moulard or muscovy), each part being app. 8 ounces, uncooked.

Corn Crepes

Corn Crepes
4 mugs corn bits (regarding 4 ears).
salt.
white pepper.
1 1/2 cups flour.
4 eggs.
1 1/2 mugs milk.
3 tablespoon melted butter.
nutmeg (number of pinches).
4 tablespoon diced chives.
Olive Oil.

Warm oil in pan over tool heat. Include corn, salt and also pepper and also cover, cooking about 3-4 mins and tossing through a number of times. Refine in food cpu and also cool. Once trendy, include flour, eggs, milk, butter as well as nutmeg. Blend till smooth. Fold in minced chives. Refrigerate at the very least 3 hrs. Prepare crepes with olive oil in non-stick per s.o.p. Amazing as well as alloted. At service, take 3 crepes as well as reheat delicately. Fold up right into triangulars.

Sage-Sour Cherry Sauce

2 mugs pinot noir or excellent wine red.
1/3 c shallot, diced.
1 mug cut, dried out sharp cherries.
2 cups duck demi-glace, 4 mugs (slim) duck stock, or 2 cups demi-glace (greater than exquisite will function okay).
1 tsp diced sage.
pinch of minced thyme.
1/3 tsp balsamic vinegar.
salt.
pepper.

Simmer red wine with shallots, cherries and duck sauce till reduced back to 2 mugs. At service, bring 2 ounces of sauce (with cherries) to simmer as well as throw in sage, thyme as well as balsamic vinegar with each other and warm via. Season with salt and pepper as well as offer.

At Solution

Pre-heat stove to 375F.

Fleur de Sel (top layer, gathered sea salt, if you have it).

Sear duck as above. When skin is browned and fat is provided, "kiss" flesh side around 1 minute as well as area in oven. Remove from stove when duck breast still has a great offer of simple "springtime" to the touch - you do not desire to surpass tool (I favor tool unusual). Remove the duck from the cooking/roasting pan and cover freely with foil, shiny side out. On the other hand, reheat crepes in a frying pan with a touch of olive oil, layer in triangles, and area in overlapping pile at center of plate. You additionally intend to saute some coarsely sliced rainbow chard, which includes some caramelized sugar, resentment, and also color to the plate (usage organic when possible - it will include even more all-natural sugars). Thinly piece duck and also organize on either side of crepes; drizzle with warmed sauce (including cherries), and also position a few crystals of fleur de sel over the meat (if you have it).

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A Glass Of Wine Drenched Scenic Tour Along The Red Path of Paarl, South Africa

A Red Wine Drenched Excursion Along The Red Route of Paarl, South Africa

The red wine practice in Paarl is older than the roots of the aging Oak Trees that line its Cape Dutch roads. The first European settlers showed up at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652, growing the seeds that strengthened the Cape's track record as a wine expanding paradise.
Now that the work has actually currently been done, what else can you and also I do but enjoy the delicate fruits pushed with decades of winemaking experience and also take a trip the recently formed paths leading us to the finest red wines worldwide.
Fail to remember the greatness of the Drakensberg Mountains, attempt to neglect the historical monuments perched loftily upon pearly hills, the sort of a glass of wine tasting to be performed in Paarl will need every ounce of your concentration.
Since we understand what we are mosting likely to be doing in Paarl, besides taking pleasure in the scenery, let's make a trip into the winelands, diving into present day winemaking communities, discovering their intriguing features as well as tracing those lively red wines to hideaways so often missed out on by the wide range.
Along the method, if we're fortunate, we may make the colleague of an authentic Garagiste, a class of heretic garage wine makers steered clear of in France by the old institution reactionaries due to the fact that of the stir their separately crafted white wines produce. There could be a hint along the road as to where we could uncover among those that make these "Vins de Garage". The combination of Paarl's ideal climate as well as their special abilities makes sure to be very fulfilling.
We begin our trip at the entryway of the Hugenot Tunnel, the breach to the longest red wine path in the globe, also called Route 62. But we go no additionally; what we are mainly interested in is the infamous Red Path ... The Red Path The Red Path, as you can visualize, is called as a result of the huge amount and high quality of merlots along its relaxing meander. It was formed by a collaboration of red wine manufacturers called the Paarl Vintners (Red Wine Sellers). The Vintners faithfully outlined a red wine route for an approximated 24 participants, all discovered within the Paarl Valley. 1 or 2 of these consist of the De Zoete Inval Estate owned by the Frater family, who have actually been making wine below for greater than 115 years. The Rhebokskloof Estate has additionally been producing red wine considering that 1692. Sadly, the white wine from that very early duration has currently been consumed.
The Red Route lacks question a collection of one of the most distinguished a glass of wine manufacturers in the world. Any type of initiative made in discovering them would certainly never be a trouble to your palate. The Red Course's Cabernet Sauvignon and also Shiraz are definitely the best worldwide.
Fairview
Not purely a wine route, the Red Course is likewise, by happy coincidence, a cheese route. Which brings us to our next quit along our trip - Fairview.
Fairview is South Africa's largest manufacturer of speciality cheeses. For over 25 years, dairy goats have actually supplied milk for a selection of cheeses varying from Jacket Milk, Brie as well as Camembert to a wide range of Italian and French-style cheeses.
If nonetheless that is not nearly enough of a motivation to go to Fairview, a little historic run-through should offer to amplify your interest ...
Fairview not just generates speciality cheeses, but additionally award-winning glass of wines. In 1693, Simon van der Stel, the 2nd governor of the Cape of Great Hope, alloted the initial land at Fairview to Steven Vervey, a French Huguenot. The very first a glass of wine was made on Fairview in 1699 and also a long custom has actually time out of mind developed. Fairview began its own bottling in 1974 and also auctioned its first bottled red wines at the really first white wine public auction ever kept in the country, pre-dating the now renowned Nederburg Auction
The Nederburg Auction.
The Public auction is Paarl's largest a glass of wine festival and resembles the Globe Mug for winetasters. Held at the end of every summertime, the public auction epitomises what fine red wine is all about. The extremely significance of the event lies in the sampling of 147 award winning white wines, perhaps also those of the Garagistes, but you will certainly have to wait and see!
The public auction is a criteria of high quality for South African Red wines and also works as a showcase for African wines to the international trade. As a result of this, any type of label proclaiming "cost the Nederburg Auction" is related to as having a main stamp of approval, worldwide.
Excessive talk about wine is responsible to make an individual a little obsessed. It is after all only fermented grape juice. Yet Paarl makes it well as well as the Red Course is the very best area to find it.
Good a glass of wine naturally complements good food and also Paarl provides a few of the very best dining establishments in the Cape, offering a selection of foods that socialize well with a bottle of your favorite tipple.
Paarl is also a location abundant in history with its architectural marvels. They seem to represent the concrete as well as rock versions of its great white wines. Each wine estate has a special destination - a gable, an unique goat tower like the one at Fairview and even a gargoyle waiting for the flash of your camera.
Olive Sampling
Since passage vision limits the mind, lots of points can be missed along the Red Course. Take olive sampling for example. This is ending up being a significant tourist attraction on some of the estates, numerous of whom currently grow Olive Trees for the export of olive oil.
The rest is up to you. Whether you obtain down to the specifics and better details of wine tasting or expand your horizons staring over the Paarl Valley from Paarl Rock depends on which side of the passage you get on. Delight in Paarl!

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