Archive for the ‘Blog’ Category

Spring Wine Tasting Events 2012

February 15th, 2012 by Jean-Pierre

Friday 23rd March
The Quad
Market Place
Cathedral Quarter
Derby
DE1 3AS
From 18.00 – 21.00
Recommended parking The Assembly Rooms

Sunday 22nd April
Shottle Hall
White Lane
Nr Belper
Derbyshire
DE56 2EB
From 11.30 – 16.30 (No Sunday lunch available)

Tuesday 24th April
Hemsley (University Club)
Lenton Hall Drive
Nottingham University NG12 2RD
From 16.30 until 20.00

Thursday 26th April
The Beetroot Tree
South Street
Draycott
Derby
DE72 3PP
From 18.00 until 21.00 (Please contact the Beetroot Tree Directly Click Here)

To register your interest please follow this link Click Here

If you’ve attended one of the above tastings feel free to leave any feedback you feel would enhance the experience for future events or even if you’d like to give a passing comment that may interest others it will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again and as always we hope you’ve enjoyed yourself at the tastings

Niepoort Port and Honey Iced Nougat

October 18th, 2011 by Jean-Pierre

Port and Honey Iced Nougat – the Niepoort Way!

An excellent iced nougat recipe for all Niepoort fans.
For more information on Niepoort Port then please visit the Niepoort Page

It takes about 60 minutes to complete, follow these 7 easy steps.  You’ll need a scale and a cooking thermometer.

Ingredients:

100g of honey

180g of sugar

105ml of Tawny Porto

120g of egg white

500ml of fresh cream, 35%mf country style thick cream

150g of candied fruits

5g of butter

50g of Brazil nuts

50 of almonds

About the ingredients:

Depending on your region, some type of milk cream might be hard to find.  Fresh cream is mostly used in French recipe while in America 35%mf is easier to find and much less expensive.  Both work for this recipe.

For the nuts, pick any 2 types you like, hazel nuts, pecans might also be very good.

For candied fruits, in this recipe I did use candied ginger and dried papaya.  Here again you can mix what you feel like.  I did pick a good proportion of dried papaya (125g) to make the whole thing less sweet while a small portion of candied ginger (25g) adds some zip.

For the honey, again you can play from the simple plain honey to as many varieties as different flowers exist.   Churned clover honey is normally of very good quality, this time I did pick honey from blueberry flower.

For the Port, I strongly recommend using Tawny type of Port.  Your end results will differ from having a young and frutier Tawny to an holder and nuttier Tawny.  Experiment!

Steps:

1-      Cut together the Brazil nuts and almonds.  In a pan, put 100g of sugar with 30g(30ml) of water and cook at medium heat until you get a medium dark caramel.  Add 5g of butter and remove from heat.  Add your nuts into it.  Blend altogether with a wooden spoon, the sugar will get into the nuts and crystallize again.  Before it gets too hard, spread it on a baking paper.  Let it rest, once it is hard you can cut it into small pieces.

2-      Cut together the candied fruits then put them in a bowl with 75ml of Port.  Let it rest.  Shake it once or twice so the port gets into all the fruits over time.

3-      In a cold bowl, abound (double the thickness, you don’t want whipped cream) your cream and let it rest in the fridge until needed.

4-      In a bowl, whip the egg white until stiff; add 30g of sugar half-way.

5-      In a pan, put the remaining 50g of sugar, the honey and 30ml of Port.  Cook it at medium heat until it reaches 121 Celsius (250F).   Slowly pour the resulting syrup over the egg white while whipping them.  Whip the meringue until complete cooling.

6-      Mix into the meringue the candied fruits with the Port and the nuts. Blend well but gently so you don’t break your whites.

7-      Blend your cream in by gently lifting your mixture.

8-      Pour into individual mold or metal circle.  You can put cling wrap into your mold so it is easier to unmold.  Put into your freezer until ready to serve.

9-      Enjoy!!! with a slightly chilled glass of Tawny Port

 http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150262709082727

For more information on Niepoort Port then please visit the Niepoort Page

Hourlier Wines All Time Top 10 French Wines

August 31st, 2011 by Chris Michael

After many many years of importing some of the incredible lesser-known wines that France has to offer we thought it was about time we paid homage to the best of the wines we’ve had the pleasure of selling. Over the years we’ve been lucky enough to work closely with a small group of talented & expressive wine growers that make our lives easier by producing outstanding wines year after year no matter the vintage. The following ten have been chosen because of their popularity with you, our customers,  have displayed something unique  or are wines that have plain impressed us here in the office. We’ve been out taking some photos of them with a bit of natural beauty and are certain you’ll enjoy discovering a bit more about them.

 

1. Domaine Pierre CrosVieilles Vignes

The first entry is from the ‘King of Concentration’ comes a unique & mouth-watering 100% Carignon made in very humble quantities. Wines of 100% Carignon are very rare, as they can only be made from these old vines, of which Pierre has 106 years behind his. A deep garnet-purple, viscous wine which is ideal matching for rich red meats such as game, venison and boar.  We have included this on our list because we have long connections with Pierre Cros and this is a wine that’s consistently incredible, even in bad vintage conditions. A highly sort after wine and a must try for every enthusiast.

  (more…)

Cloud Wine

August 5th, 2011 by Chris Michael

Wine and the Internet. Difficult “terroir” for those who try to combine them and we often find it a challenge ourselves to bring you the more captivating aspects of wine culture through the medium of computer screens. As much as we’d love there to be products available such as the one below, this has recently been made infinitely easier with the help of Bristol based company Brightpearl.

YouTube Preview Image

(more…)

Champagne: Just add Bubbles

February 25th, 2011 by Chris Michael

Champagne: Just add Bubbles

 

Whilst recently staring through a glass of Valentines Rose Champagne a simple wandering thought crossed my mind: How on earth do they get the bubbles in there without all hell breaking lose trying to get the cork back in? This was amongst a few others I’d always taken for granted when celebrating with a dose of sparkling wine, so, seeking answers I donated some of my time back to the books in attempt to appreciate the art of the méthode champenoise, and hopefully in doing so find fewer future distractions during a romantic drink… (more…)

10 Essential truths about wine by Pierre Hourlier

February 23rd, 2011 by Jean-Pierre
  1. “The truth is in the bottle and not on the label” Similar to “don’t judge a book by its cover”…the same applies to wine. Often a flash label might be you’re way to choosing a bottle. If you can’t taste before you buy then you might have to test a few bottles before finding the wines you like.
  2. There is no miracle at the bottom! In other words there is no cheap good wine. (more…)

Armagnac vs Cognac

February 11th, 2011 by Chris Michael

Cognac vs. Armagnac: It’s all about the VS

One of the most common questions asked when discovering the world of brandy is – What is the difference between Cognac and Armagnac? Granted I myself had only sporadically heard mention of Armagnac brandy before I began this job. It is often the case that people associate this well known spirit with the major brands such as Hennessy and Hines of the Cognac family, (more…)

A few words on Bandol Wine, Terroir & Rabbit Warrens

February 11th, 2011 by Chris Michael

Bandol Wine & Domaine de la Garenne

Le ville tranquille, as it is affectionately known by the locals is the glistening ruby in the diverse crown of French wine. It’s found on the Mediterranean coastline of the Provence wine region, sheltered between the bustling port towns of Marseille and Toulon and has been naturally blessed with beautiful environs. (more…)

Niepoort: from Port to Poort

February 10th, 2011 by Chris Michael

Niepoort: from port to poort

After time and again sampling the delightful range and variety of ports that are produced year after year by the Niepoort family, I made it a personal mission to find out a bit more about the history of this iconic British tipple and how Niepoort are innovating their way to a reputation for producing some truly quality port wines. (more…)