On March 15th 2012, more than 50 winemakers unveiled the 2011 Sweet Bordeaux vintage at Cadillac’s wine house.
The opportunity for brokers, traders, winemakers, as well as students of Vayres’ Rural Institute to taste Sweet Bordeaux’s 11 AOC wines, meet wine producers and improve their knowledge about sweet wines. This tasting session was also a meeting between winemakers themselves and a forum about winemaking techniques, the vintage, and each appellation’s characteristics which represent Sweet Bordeaux’s diversity.
At the end of the tasting, professionals spoke about the 2011 vintage and described a promising wine with a balance between freshness and acidity. The vintage is pleasant and easy to enjoy.
A vintage which will be considered as a miracle, as pointed out by Philippe Dejean, Sweet Bordeaux’s president. In 2011, the weather was particularly surprising: a beautiful and unusually warm spring, followed by a early flowering, and a cold and rainy July. A slight improvement occurred in the first half of August. Weather conditions were still not good and could not bring the grapes to maturity. But a miracle happened in September with an “Indian Summer”. A few showers in September permitted the botrytis to develop rapidly and allowed a high quality harvest…
Festive and trendy, Sweet Bordeaux is part of the party. Here’s the new trend of 2012 : the Sweet Mix!
Sweet Bordeaux offers a new way to drink Sweet Bordeaux white wines with a fruity and surprising taste. A unique way to taste and enjoy sweet white wines.
The Sweet Mix will surprise everyone and will be, without a doubt, the star of Sweet Hour events! Sweetness and exoticism, a mix for a unforgettable sweet moment!
The cocktail recipe:
In your shaker, mix the following :
Shake it all together, pour the mix into a Sweet Bordeaux glass (if available). Add ¼ bottle of Schweppes (Indian Tonic) and serve chilled.
Enjoy!
As an appetizer or a starter, hot or cold, the samosas pairs perfectly with a glass of Sweet Bordeaux ! The wine’s sweetness goes well with the salty feta and spinach’s intensity. An easy and delicious recipe…
For 20 samosas:
Recipe of the stuffing:
Put some water in a pan and ½ a cube of chicken stock. Add the spinach that you’ve previously washed, chopped and simmered during 5 minutes. Drain it and set it aside. In a frying pan, fry the onions with a little bit of oil. Remove the onions from the heat and add the spinach, dill, parsley, nutmeg, parmesan, feta, ricotta and eggs. Add some salt and pepper.
Fill the samosas:
Pre-heat the oven at 180°C. Brush each sheet of pastry with a mixture of butter and oil, then stack them and cut them in half lengthwise. Put some of the spinach mixture on the corner of each half. Bend the pastry over the filling to form a triangle. Do the same operation as you possibly can. Brush the samosas with remaining butter and oil and put them in the oven until they have a golden color.
Bon appetit !
Our weekend recap of our fabulous time in Hong Kong for the Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival. We met new friends, enjoyed the landscapes, and sipped wine with the best!
Hope to see you next year, cheers!
We found this simply delicious canelé recipe from chocolateandzucchini.com and since our New Year resolution is to learn how to cook…I figure, why not try it?! I completely adore these caramelized crust desserts and looking forward to letting you know how the experiment goes!
Canalés have been around since the 18th century and recently, they’ve been coming back into successful fashion.
Ingredients (about 20 medium canelés):
Instructions:
Combine the milk, butter and vanilla in a medium saucepan, and bring to a simmer. In the meantime, combine the flour, salt, and sugar in a medium mixing-bowl. Break the eggs in another, smaller bowl, and beat gently. When the milk mixture starts to simmer, remove from heat, fish out the vanilla pod if using, and set it aside.
Pour the eggs all at once into the flour mixture (don’t stir yet), pour in the milk mixture, and stir until well combined. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla pod with the dull side of a knife blade, and return the seeds and pod to the mixture. Add the rum and stir. Let cool to room temperature on the counter, then cover and refrigerate for at least 24 hours and up to 3 days.
The next day (or the day after that, or the day after that), preheat the oven to 250° C (480° F). Butter the canelé molds if they are made of copper (unnecessary if you’re using silicon molds). Remove the batter from the fridge: it will have separated a bit, so stir until well blended again. Pour into the prepared molds, filling them almost to the top. Put into the oven to bake for 20 minutes, then (without opening the oven door) lower the heat to 200° C (400° F) and bake for another 30 to 40 minutes, depending on your oven and how you like your canelés. The canelés are ready when the bottoms are a very dark brown, but not burnt. If you feel they are darkening too fast, cover the molds with a piece of parchment paper.
Unmold onto a cooling rack (wait for about 10 minutes first if you’re using silicon molds or they will collapse a little) and let cool completely before eating.
Have you tried making canelés before? Tell us in the comments section. And check out more about the recipe over at chocolateandzucchini.com. Cheers!
Take a trip to Olivier Straehli’s kitchen in St. Augustin, where he’ll show us how to cook pasta, the risotto way. By using simple ingredients such as penne pasta, gorgonzola cheese and sweet Bordeaux wine, Olivier gives us visual instructions for his signature dish. [captions in English]
Looks delicious, doesn’t it? What to pair this dish with? Well, sweet Bordeaux of course! Enjoy!
Got a recipe you’d like to share with us? Post it in the comments! And if you’re looking for more recipes & interviews, check out more videos on our YouTube channel!
To the New Year!
A blemished label doesn’t stop us! 2009 Chateau du Grand Carretey, Sauternes. $16 Cheers!
[Photo courtesy: @myvinespot]
We’re getting in the golden mood for New Year’s. Whether you’re hosting a party or going out, here’s some cute picks (gold of course) we’ve found from Grey Likes Weddings: 
01 DwellStudio gold ribbons and gold triangles drinking glasses | 02 Design Within Reach satellite chandelier | 03 Essie golden nuggets nail polish | 04 The Future Perfect work lamp | 05 Minoux Jewelry three is company necklace | 06 Species by the Thousands salt ring | 07 kate spade ticker tape mug | 08 Urban Outfitters golden nuggets bookends | 09 Diane von Furstenberg night place setting | 10 kate spade gold misha shoes | 11 Alexa Chung for Madewell gold patrice top | 12 Madewell shimmer dust tee
We love the gold nail polish! Cheers!
Merry Christmas from our family to yours!
We’re enjoying the holiday lights over at Chateau Coutet! Cheers!
[Photo from Chateau Coutet in Barsac]
An absolutely divine meal…try out our Express Foie gras terrine recipe! Melt in the mouth, the textures and tastes of this meal is like a mini eruption of pleasure on the palate!
Ingredients (4 servings):
Instructions:
1. Melt the butter in a large frying pan
2. Gently fry the onions with the jam for 3 minutes
3. Add the balsam vinegar; Dry for 1 minute
4. Lightly flour the escalopes on each side
5. Set them in the hot frying pan and cook for one minute on each side
6. Put them in a terrine dish, in several layers, add salt and pepper. Press lightly. Cover with the lid
Put in the fridge to set for 24 hours
Do you have a foie gras recipe you’d like to share with us? Let us know in the comments section. And check out more recipes over at SweetBordeaux.com. Cheers!
Life is sweet. Discover the wine to match.
Sweet Bordeaux comprises 11 appellations, or vine-growing areas, making the best sweet wines in the world.
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