The other day we held a Wine and Food Pairing Lunch for Vincent, the Gayda winemaker, and his team. They were 12 in total and an eclectic mix of French, Italian, American and Mexican nationalities. This group had been gathered from around the globe to work the 2009 vintage, processing the grapes, controlling the fermentation and ensuring that Vincents’s high standards were maintained. Now that all the grapes, bar a little botrytis Chenin, have been picked many of this group will return home.

We started the tasting with a comparassion between Antech Blanquette and Cremant 2007, the Blanquette being much fruiter but less elegant and shorter on the finish. Both were sampled with a green and black olive tapanade, some olives and ail confit. We all agreed that the green olive tapanade worked best with the Chardonnay dominated Cremant and the black tapanade with the weighter Blanquette. We then moved onto a crisp and citric Picpoul de Pinet from the Caves de Pomerol 2008, fresh and delightful. A simple wine that is to be enjoyed on a hot summers day or with a plate of oysters. Next up was weighty 100% Maccabeo from the joint venture between Roussillon superstar Gerard Gauby and English winemerchants RichardsWalfords, Le Soula 2008. No oak is used in this wine and it packed a puch with plenty of ripe fruit and clean fresh flavours. This was followed by another Gerard’s wine, Bertrand this time, his white Cigalus 2005. Predominately Chardonnay with 15% Sauvignon Blanc and 5% Viognier, fermented and aged in oak barrel. This is a wine to rival any serious Chardonnay around the world, rich, elegant, ripe fruit flavours with layers of butter and nuts. We tried this with a hummus dip, made with a good amount of lemon and cumin, and a mature comte. Both worked very well indeed, the earthy flavours of the hummus and the buttery,nutty character of the cheese, far better than a red wine.

Now we moved onto the reds. Starting with the Mouscaillo Pinot Noir 2007 from the Limoux hills, a wine rich in berry fruits, light in oak character with plenty of crisp acidity. An usual wine from this area, but PN is a grape that we will see more and more of in the Limoux area as winemakers realise the potential they have with this difficult grape. This we tried with some smoked duck and a cepes and chicken liver pate. The acidity softened and the fruit flavours came  to the fore, just what was needed. A St Chinian followed by the Mas de Champart winery, a small producer of high quality wines (try their white, it is stunning!). The mineral and garrigue character of the wine lent itself to pairing with a dish of Puy lentils with a herb dressing and Toulouse sausages. As although the wine was not shy on fruit, the drying minerality and herbal character were the key components. Our last red was the Mas de Soleilla Terre du Vent, Cabernet Franc based with some Merlot. This wine is a VDP as the AOC La Clape does not permit these varieties to be used. No matter as the wine is super, rich, black fruits, witha perfumed nose, liquorice, spice, freshly ground black pepper and silky, ripe tannins. A real mouth full which lingers with you. This we tried with a magret de canard that was roasted with a little soy, honey and a cherry jus. Excellent, the fat of a duck is sweet and so requires a wine that has some sweetness, be that a little residual sugar or (in this case) ripe fruit character.

We finished our lunch with the Domaine Cazes Tuille 1990, made from 100% Grenache Noir this is a wine that is fortified in the same style as Port but then aged un ullage until bottled. They calaculate that they loose 7% in volume each year and do not top up. This gives the wine its tawny/brown hue and rich, nutty, spice, fruit cake character. Not a way to make your fortune but what a superb wine! Domaine Cazes is Europes largest biodynamic vineyard with 220ha, although they only received their biodynamic status in 1997 which means this wine isn’t bio! No matter it was delicious, on its own, with a salty Roquefort and a honeyed nut and and date tart.

ALL red wines complement ALL cheeses. This is a myth; it is much more complicated then that, and much more fun! Trying to match one wine to a cheese board crammed with every style of cheese is a daunting task for even the best of sommeliers. So instead why not choose one or two of your favourites and try with some of the wine suggestions below.

Cabernet, Carignan and Syrah (full flavoured tannic wines) tend to complement the sharp, salty, hard cheeses such as Comté or an aged Brebis, the high fat content in the cheese softens the harshness of the tannins and the wines appear fruitier. However, tangy goats’ cheeses are excellent with dry white wines, particularly an aromatic Sauvignon Blanc; the crisp acidity in the wine lifts and refreshes the palate whilst the intense fruitiness compliments the vibrancy of the cheese. Pungent, intensely flavoured blue cheeses are better accompanied by a sweet wine, for example, the Vins Doux Naturels of Maury or Banyuls with a Bleu de Causses or Roquefort with a Late Harvest Muscat. Here the sweetness softens the saltiness in the cheese whilst the powerful flavours of the wine mirror that of the cheese. Then there are soft cheeses like the creamy Pelardon that should be served with either a nutty Chardonnay, when the cheese is young, or a fruity red St-Chinian, if the cheese is aged.

2009 has been another hot and dry year here in the Languedoc. Although we had plenty of rainfall over winter and spring it will not take effect until the following year and the weather has been pretty dry since May. Here we are in October and we have seen days of 30ºC and more!

The vendange started early, mid August in the Roussillon and not everyone was ready for it, but has not yet finished here in the Côtes de Malpère with the Cabernet Franc still to be picked. This hot weather has created the perfect conditions for botrytis and they have already done two “tries” for the Chenin Blanc at Gayda.

The word is that we will be looking at a fine vintage, high in quality but the quantity has dropped yet again.

Last weekend we had a great group of wine enthusiasts from West London over and during the weekend we held a Fine Wine Tasting of some of the top estates of the region. Domaines shown included: Mas de Soleilla, Domaine de la Rectorie, Vault-Gasparets, Mas Champart and Cazes. The wines were stunning but I think what was most impressive was the range of styles that this region has. Show me any other region that is able to cover the depth and the breadth of the Languedoc-Roussillon, I bet you can’t!

For me the star of the show was the Aimé Cazes VDN 1975 Rivesaltes. This is a wine that is aged on ullage and looses 7% of its volume each year, so by the time it is bottled there is only a third of the wine left! Probably not the best money maker but what a delicious treat of honey, nuts, dried fruit and spice with a lingering flavour that remained with you for the rest of the evening. Delicious!

This week we are running a 3-day intensive Intermediate Course. We have students from the UK, Ireland, Paris and Limoux attending. It’s a great course covering the wines of the world and is a real eye opener on the complexities and variations from one country/region to another.

Yesterday we tasted the Chateau d’Armailhac Pauillac Cru Classe 2005 against a Chateau Grand-Pontet St-Emilion Grand Cru and Cape Mentelle Cabernet Merlot 2006 Margaret River. What a fascinating comparison, from the pencil shavings and cedar wood character of the Pauillac to the rich dark fruits and chocolate of the St Emillon to the cassis and mint of the Margaret River. Each wine showed their individual character and demonstrated how the same varieties, albeit in different proportions, produced such variation in taste and aroma.

La Clape Wines and Food for the Summer Weather

The wines of La Clape are predominately red and full bodied not necessarily what you would reach for on a hot sunny day. However these wines although a base of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre retain a fresh acidity and a strong “Garrigue” character and it is that that makes them so enjoyable in the summer as well as in the colder, winter months.

There is something about cooking outdoors that just excites the senses; the smell of the jasmine, the wild herbs and the sizzling meats (gently charring not cremating!) Grenache and Syrah are grapes that produce wines with pepper and spice, a mix of red and black fruits and a good wallop of herby aromas. The Mourvèdre will add dark fruit, a gamey, earthy character and provide the structure to the wine. The resulting wine is full of fruit, ripe not jammy, peppery, spicy, herby with hints of gamey notes and dark chocolate. A bit of a mouthful really so we need to match it with something equally flavoursome, a dish that will enhance the spices and herbs, whilst shaving the edges off any tannins.

The dish that comes to mind is a barbecued leg of lamb with a rich, herby ratatouille. To get the perfect leg of lamb you need a good marinade recipe and time, preferably overnight.

Perfect Leg of Lamb:

Butterfly the leg of lamb and lightly slit the skin, put into a clean plastic bag with 4 cloves of garlic smashed up (skins on), 1 large red onion roughly chopped, 6 large anchovy filets in oil (add a dash of the oil to the lamb), 2 lemons cut in half, the juice squeezed and then add the rest of the lemon to the bag, plus large handfuls of herbs, whatever is in the garden, I always use rosemary, thyme, mint and chives, a good twist of black pepper (no salt is needed due to the anchovies) and a large glug of olive oil. Tie the bag up and give a good shake, pop in the fridge and shake from time to time. Cook on a medium hot barbecue for 20 – 30 minutes, depending on size and personal preference.

Best wine match: Mas du Soleilla Les Bartelles 2006 €15 – 16

Contact: Peter Wildbolz 00 33 (0)4 68 45 24 80

This dish will also work well with one of the La Clape’s Grenache based rosés, they still retain the spicy, herbal character but are lighter and have the bonus of being served chilled to quench the thirst in the hot sun.

The white wines of La Clape tend to be equally full flavoured from a blend of Bourboulenc, Roussanne, Marsanne, Viognier and Vermentino. Try these with Chinese Spring Rolls, a Comté Fruité or Roast Garlic Soup.

Bon Appetit !

Emma Kershaw

I was once told by a customer at a tasting that she was not able to taste one of the wines on offer as it was made from peaches and she was allergic to peaches. She had read the back label which stated that the wine had aromas of peach and had assumed, quite naturally, that she would have an allergic reaction to the wine. I explained that wine was made from grapes, the legal definition states that it must be made from freshly gathered grapes (fruit wines are not legally counted as ‘wine’ by the EU).

So why is it that the wine had aromas of peach if it was not made from peaches? In fact why do we get the different aromas that we do in wine? This is a question we get asked a lot at Vinécole. But why is that? Well to answer the peaches question it is a simple matter of DNA, the chemical compounds that make up that particular grape variety are similar to those of the fruit and so when we swirl the wine in the glass and inhale the aromas we get wafts of peaches.

Wine rarely smells or tastes ‘grapey’, the only wines that do are those made from the Muscat grape as that is the only wine grape that we actually eat. Next time you buy some grapes at the market ask what variety they are, most likely Muscat or Sultana but never Chardonnay or Syrah. So when we taste wine we get aromas of fruits, spice, floral, vegetal and/or oak. It helps to identify the wines, it is why they are all so different.

In this region we often get hints of the ‘garrigue’ in the wines especially the reds, the garrigue is the mix of thyme, rosemary, lavender and pine that grows prolifically all over the Languedoc-Roussillon. This is not because they have added anything during the wine making process it is simply due to the fact that the soil has absorbed these herbs and then passes these on to the vine as it searches for water and nutrients.

We have 10,000 senses of smell and only 5 senses of taste (sweet, salt, bitter, sour and the newly introduced umami) so we actually do most of our tasting with our noses, hence the reason that wine people make that terrible slurping sound when tasting, they are aerating the wines. Next time you have a glass of wine, pour a sample first and swirl it around in the glass and then inhale the aromas and take a deep sniff and think about what you can smell is it fruit, spice or floral?

One of the easiest wines to identify is Muscat due to its pungent aromatic qualities, and at this time of year it is a delightful end to a dinner with roasted peaches.

Roasted Peaches

Wash and halve the peaches, removing the stones and place in a roasting tin. Sprinkle a mix of cinnamon, vanilla powder and brown sugar onto each peach half and dot with butter. Roast in a hot oven for 10 minutes. Meanwhile in a small pan mix a tablespoon of  honey (local lavender or acacia honey is best) with a vanilla pod and a large glass of Muscat de Rivesaltes, boil and reduce until you are left with a rich sauce. Add some finely shredded mint leaves and drizzle over the peaches and serve with a chilled glass of Muscat and possibly some vanilla ice-cream.

Wine recommendation:

Muscat de Rivesaltes Domaine Cazes 11.50 €

Tel : 04.68.64.08.26

Made by the largest Biodynamic producer in Europe, this is a beautifully balanced wine combining sweetness with fresh grapiness and floral characters. Great as an aperitif or dessert wine.

by Emma Kershaw

Rosé Wines with Food

Rosé wine has always been popular here in the Languedoc-Roussillon where so much of it is produced, but in recent years the rest of the world has caught on and rosé wine is now a fashionable drink all year round. It comes in all styles from dry to sweet, full-bodied to light, fruity to herby, frivolous to serious.

Matching rosé with food works better than you might think. The sweeter styles such as the Anjou Rosé from the Loire or the Californian Zinfandels tend to work better as aperitifs, however. Here in the Languedoc-Rousillon the style is drier and these wines really work with an array of dishes. Tuna and rosé are a match made in heaven, tuna is a “meaty” fish and needs a wine with some weight and body and rosé fits the bill perfectly: It has the acidity that fish needs, due to their salty character and the fact that they are often served with ether a citrus or vinegar dressing, and has more weight and depth of flavour than most whites without any oak character which would clash with the salt in the fish. Rosés also work with other seafood, particularly crab and squid, why not try with a seafood salad, most traiteurs sell these and they make for an easy picnic.

These wines are not just for seafood lovers, try a herby style such as the Domaine Gayda or the Plan de L’Om Rosés with a barbecued lamb and rosemary, and note how the herbal notes in the wine compliment whilst the acidity refreshes the palate and lightens the fattiness of the meat. Or even a fruity style such as the Combebelle St Chinian Rosé with a ripe Brie de Meaux, although this wine is dry, the ripe fruity character compliments the cheese, similar to a chutney (UK) or a confiture de cerise (local).

Lastly, one of my personal favourites at this time of year are tomato based dishes, tomatoes should really only be eaten in the summer when they are bursting with flavour and natural sweetness. Tomatoes have high acidity and high acid foods need high acid wines otherwise the food will cause the wine to taste flabby and dull. White wines are an obvious choice but they need to be full flavoured to cope with the tomatoes sweetness and, as it is usual to use herbs such as basil and thyme when cooking with tomatoes, the wines need to cope with these aromatics too. So again rosé comes out tops, plenty of natural acidity, fruit and herbaceous aromatic qualities.

Top Match: Domaine Clavel Mescladis with a Tomato Tarte Tatin

Contact Details:

Domaine Gayda

04.68.31.64.14

Plan de L’Om

04.67.10.91.25

Chateau de Combebelle

04.67.38.09.86

Domaine Clavel

04.99.62.06.14

Driving home from work the other day I could see smoke in the distance. When only 10 minutes away it was clear that this was a major fire and that it was not far from our house. By the time I arrived in our village , fire engines were screaming down the narrow lanes and the road past our house was closed off.

The Cave Cooperative at the end of our road became the nerve centre of operations as the full force of the emergency services swung into operation. After persuading a fire officer that I only lived a short distance away, he let me past. The children were out, so I took a stroll down the drive to see what was happening.I did not have to go far as by now a huge pall of smoke dominated the skyline and the fire was increasing in intensity at an alarming rate. Fortunately the wind was blowing the fire away from our direction into an area with no dwellings just pine forest, garrigue and vines.

There then followed a massive concerted effort on behalf of the fire service to bring the fire under control. 240 firemen, over 100 appliances and 10 Canadair were deployed to tackle the blaze. Four years of drought, tinder-dry forest, blazing sunshine and a steady nor’wester soon fanned the flames over a considerable area. Around midnight the wine changed direction and the smoke spread over our house. My wife and I decided we had better pack a few essentials in case we were asked to evacuate as the fire was by now less than 2kms away. She packed our wedding album, the kids’ favourite toys and passports. I packed my record collection and saxophone.

It took 2 days for the fire to be extinguished. A stray spark from a vigneron’s tractor had been enough to ignite the biggest fire in France this year. Over 900 hectares went up in smoke, it was all over the papers and even made the national news.The response from the emergency services had been nothing short of fantastic. All through July and August fire engines are based in villages around the Languedoc to enable a rapid response in the event of a fire. Most days for the firemen are filled with endless rounds of poker and petanque waiting for the call. When it did happen, they were on the scene within minutes.

Despite the extensive area affected, no houses were damaged or people injured. The vines also played their part, acting as firebreaks and preventing it spreading even further. They stand like an oasis of green surrounded by an ashen lunar landscape. Unbowed, although a little singed, this majestic plant shows again what a great asset to the “paysage” it is. Perhaps the authorities should take this into account when deciding when and where to grub up vineyards.

The vines have survived, the fruit is now being harvested and the quality is looking very good. I may, finally, be able to use “a hint of an autumn bonfire” in my tasting notes for the 2008 Corbières this year.

I jumped in the car when I realized my TVA (VAT) return was due and sped off to the Tax office in Narbonne. What I’d forgotten was that it was the day the Tour de France was in town and the whole local population was heading in the same direction.

An hour later after what should have been a journey of 20 mins I decided it was best to dump the car and walk. A good move as it turned out, as all the roads in the City Centre were blocked off and much impatience and general intolerance was in the air.

I arrived at the Tax office 10 mins before closing for lunch and the place was deserted – unheard of on deadline day for Tax payments. The guy at the “accueil”, normally man of few words and even less sense of humour was positively chirpy. He checked the form, corrected a mistake without treating me like a moron, and offered to take it to the correct dept. I wish I’d taken a photo as it probably won’t happen like that on the next visit.

By the time I left, Narbonne was at a standstill. I joined the throng, weather was fabulous, the team coaches arrived and the riders emerged. After each one had been individually introduced to the waiting crowds it was down to the start-line in front of Les Halles, the indoor market. I watched the départ and then waited a full 20 minutes whilst all the support vehicles, team buses, police, medics and a huge caravan of Press and TV went past. 

A normal round trip of 60 mins had taken approx 5 hours, yet it’s not often that a rather routine chore combines with one of the world’s greatest sporting events. Paying tax has never been so much fun and the cerise on the gateau was that the stage was won in Nimes 4 hours later by the Brit – Mark Cavendish. 

I must leave it to the last minute next time……..