I have often been asked whether organic wines give hangovers or not!! My reply is usually that drinking enough of anything will give a hangover, organic, biodynamic, cheap, expensive….

However it is often found that organic wines do not give the painful headache in the middle of the forehead as this comes from excessive use of sulphur and spraying pesticides onto the vines. The sulphur allowed for organic wines is half that of conventional wines. What I find particularly interesting is that those who suffer headaches from drinking wine are able to drink cheap beer with apparently no ill affect. Also, to my knowledge, they have not had an ill effect from eating non-organic dried apricots or drinking fresh orange juice, both of which contain high levels of sulphur.

So is sulphur the dastardly culprit that we all think it is?? Actually it is often the naturally occurring histamines that cause the headaches. These are found on the skins of the grapes, hence a general feeling that red wines give more headaches than whites.Produced by wild yeasts and bacteria they are also common in food stuffs where some fermentation has taken place.

So if you suffer from a ‘wine headache’ take note whether the following foods also give you a headache: cheese, charcuterie, chocolate and oriental foods.

Organic wines will definitely have less sulphur and no traces of chemical sprays but they cannot prevent a hangover!

Cheers!

Death by chocolate might be a better title to this blog!! The other night we ran a Wine and Chocolate Tasting at Vinecole. Not an obvious marriage as, on the whole, chocolate kills most wines. However I like a challenge and thought it only fitting to get into the ‘Easter’ spirit!

Whilst researching the subject it became more and more apparent that chocolate, much like wine, is a hugely complex subject. The type of bean used differ in much the same way that the range of  grape varieties differ. The soil, climate and location are equally as important.

We kicked off the tasting learning how to ‘taste’ chocolate – as opposed to the usual stuffing of chocolate that most of us (myself included) are more familiar with. Look, smell, listen ( I have only ever had one student do that to wine, he used to listen to the bubbles of Champagne, I’m not sure that the WSET approved!), then let the chocolate melt in your mouth and with your tongue coat the insides whilst you search for the chocolates’ characteristics. Fabulous stuff. We tried a 75% Trinidad Grand Cru and then a 75% Ivory Coast Grand Cru. It was fascinating to see how different they both were. From fruity and acidic to smoky and toasty. I think that last night 16 people had their perception of chocolate permanently changed.

So to the wines. What makes pairing chocolate with wine so difficult is not necessarily the sweetness but the cloying, coating character that numbs the tongue and deadens the senses. Hence the fact that fortified wines work so well, they have both the sweetness and weight from the alcohol required to lift the palate and withstand the chocolate.

However last night was not all about sweetness, we also looked at using chocolate in savoury dishes. There are many French and Mexican dishes that use chocolate, it can add spice and depth to sauces. The chocolate that I used for these dishes was a 100% Cacao from Peru – Willy’s Peruvian Black. Outrageously dark and bitter, this is not for munching on but delicious as a cooking ingredient.

The first dish was duck coated in a balsamic and chocolate sauce, wonderfully rich but not at all sweet. This we partnered with the Domaine du Petit Causse, Cuvée Andréa, AOC Minervois La Livinière 2007.  The wine was intense with hints of cinnamon, nutmeg and dark cherries which complimented the richness of the duck and sauce.

Next up an authentic Mexican Chili with plenty of spice, the chocolate added a glossiness to the sauce and a smoky spiciness. This we served with the Wolf Blass Yellow Label Cabernet Sauvignon 2007. Cabernet often has notes of bitter chocolate, in fact many enjoy a glass of New World Cabernet with a bar of chocolate. The Wolf Blass was rich, ripe and powerful. Plenty of fruit, ripe tannins, balanced acidity and it worked beautifully with the Chili.

This was followed by a light chocolate and orange mousse served with the lightest and frothiest of Asti’s! As Matt said, if a wine was to get points for fun then Asti would be at the top of the class. Muscat is the grape that works best with chocolate, it is highly adaptable and has the right balance of sweetness and acidity. The mousse was light, frothy and and not too sweet, the chocolate used was a Javanese milk chocolate with 65% cocoa solids. The wine had the perfect balance of lightness, sweetness and orange blossom that complimented the Cointreau in the mousse.

The 4th dish was an incredibly rich, chocolate cake – the River Cafe’s Chocolate Nemesis. No flour, just chocolate, eggs, butter and sugar and lots of each! This required something with weight as it would overpower a Sauternes so we turned to Australia and a Rutherglen Muscat from Campbells. Intensely sweet, notes of toffee, dates, caramel and fruit cake. The chocolate used to make the cake was a mix of Madagascan and a premium cooking chocolate by Michel Cluziel which gave notes of coconut and toffee.

The next dish was for the gentlemen present, an unusual combination of Tawny Port, Dominican Republic chocolate and Bleu de Gex cheese. My take on Paul.A. Young’s chocolate and blue cheese truffle. A very rich truffle that had a gentle after taste of blue cheese, it was rolled in toasted praline to give an added ‘crunch’. This was served with a local wine, Domaine Cazes Ambré 1996 made from Grenache Blanc and left on ullage to gently oxidise. The wine was superb, nutty, intense, not overtly sweet, a great combo with the blue cheese and with just enough weight for the chocolate.

Last but not least were Agen prunes soaked in Armagnac and dipped in 3 types of chocolate, Peruvian Pralines Noir, 64% Noir and 72% Noir. The prunes were alcoholic, chewy and very naughty! The wine, 2008 Maury from Domaine des Soulanes. A wine that is a perfect balance of sweetness, fruit, acidity and tannin. If in doubt serve Maury with chocolate as it is always a good match.

Our conclusion, wine and chocolate can and do match. Muscat is a bet as is Maury (fortified and Grenache based). Next time you are buying cooking chocolate look out for specific regions, and remember that if the chocolate is black in colour it is because inferior beans have been used and over roasted, they should be a rich brown or red/brown colour instead.

They do you know. Last night we ran a Wine and Oyster Tasting and we had a room full of Dutch and what fun they were!

Christophe from L’Espandon fishery in the under cover market at Les Halles in Narbonne, came laden with oysters and taught us about all the different styles, sizes and origins of oysters. Christophe’s family have owned L’Epsandon for 45 years and he has been working there for 22 years so what he does not know about oysters is not worth knowing.

So here are some of the facts that we learnt last night with the wine pairings that we chose and why.

France is the biggest oyster producing country in Europe, the 4th largest in the world, and more than 90% of what they produce is consumed here in France. There are two types of oyster, the Pacific “Creuse” oyster, also know as the “Japonaise” and the European oyster, native to France, known as the flat oyster. The later is considered the finest and is quite rare due to being almost wiped out by a plague last year and so is also the most expensive.

Oysters breathe much like fish, using both gills and mantle. They filtre six litres of water an hour, which sounds impressive until you realise that the humble mussel filtres an amazing 10 litres an hour! There is no way of telling male oysters from females by examining their shells. While oysters have separate sexes, they may change sex more than once during their life span. Sounds useful!

Once harvested the oysters will spend several days in clean seawater to purify before being sold to eat. Traditionally oysters have been eaten only in the months with an “R”, however that was before refrigeration and oysters can now be enjoyed all year round.

Here in the Languedoc we are fortunate to have two types of oyster on our doorstop , the Leucate and the Bouzigues. The Mediterranean is a large source of farmed oysters from the Etang de Leucate just north of Perpignan and then the Etang de Thau just south of Montpellier. However, the finest oysters in France are from the Atlantic coast of Brittany, the Marennes in particular, these are the “Fines de Clair” that you will find in Parisian restaurants. Oysters are sized from 0 to 5, with 0 being the largest and 5 the smallest.

When it came to tasting we found that the oysters from Bouzigues were the saltiest and largest, their taste was strong and rich. The Leucate oysters were less salty and fresher, we had two sizes, “Petite” which were number 3 and considered an “apero” style and then the “Grande” number 2 which were richer and creamier. Lastly we tried the Marennes which were size 2, these were the most delicate and creamiest and a lot less salty than the Mediterranean styles.

When it came to matching with wines, white was definitely the order of the day and dry white at that. We started with the Leucate No. 3 and a Grüner Veltliner from Austria, the Domaine Wachau, very dry, crisp and fresh which lifted the slight saltiness and got the gastric juices ready for more! This was swiftly followed with a Marenne No.2 and an organic Chablis from Brocard, a classic match, steely Chardonnay with slightly more weight than the Grüner which partnered the richer Marenne. Next up was the Bouzigues, very salty and rich. The obvious partner was a Picpoul de Pinet as this is the wine grown along the banks of the Etang de Thau and whenever you go to Sete this is what is being drunk in the bars and restaurants. Quite right too as the high acidity refreshed the saltiness and the lightness of body acted as a good contrast to the richness of the oyster. For a more controversial match we tried a white Collioure from Domaine de la Rectorie made from 100% Grenache Gris, here it was a question of weight matching weight, tasty but not as refreshing and so it would limit you to only a half dozen oysters instead of the full dozen! We then moved back to Leucate and to the larger No.2 with a St Peray from Chapoutier, a Marsanne/ Roussanne blend that was fermented in barrel. The oak was slight but added weight and a slight spice. We then finished with the Marenne and a glass of Billecart-Salmon Brut Réserve made with a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier from three vintages. A classy wine to finish the tasting with, the combination of  high acidity and effervescence cut through any saltiness and the elegance of the wine harmonised the creamy character of the oysters. Delicious!

Whilst tasting the oysters we had the traditional “Pain de Siegle”, rye bread, and salted butter. However we did not use either lemons or the red wine vinegar and shallot dressing as neither do the wines or oysters any favours. Vinegar over powers most wines, and Christophe explained that the dressing and lemon juice will be the dominate lasting flavour overriding the oysters. He recommended ‘au nature’ or with a hint of freshly ground black pepper.

Before he left he gave us his own recipe for gratineed oysters.

Christophe’s “Huître Gratinée”

Open the oysters 2 hours in advance.

Empty the water 6 times, oysters produce water 7 times! Keep the 7th water.

Pour 1 tsp of Champagne, 1 tsp butter and 1 tsp of grated Gruyére onto each oyster.

Grill under a hot grill until the cheese begins to melt, no more than a minute or 2.

Serve immediately.