After much stress, drinking of wine, tasting of cheese and practicing some presentation skills that I haven’t used in quite a while, the Wine Tasting event went off rather well. At least by judging the feedback and beaming (possibly tipsy…?) faces at the end of the event, it was well received. There were 8 wines on show for people to taste, starting with 3 variable styles of white and then onto 5 equally variable reds. The event was started by explaining a little about tasting wine (using some excellent structured advice from Jancis Robinson in her BBC book ‘Wine Course’ published in 1995) and how to search for flavours; what the various terms of body, length, acidity and balance mean with regard to tasting a wine. As the presentation progressed (somewhat…!), additional notes on old world and new world wine differences were discussed, fruit acids and how grapes take on flavours from their fermentation and treatment during this period and beyond. The first white wine was from Oddbins, their Green Fish Verdejo 2011 (Spain). This is a simple, light and fairly dry wine with slightly peachy flavour and a lot of acidity. The wine is from the Rueda region of Spain (the area just to the North West of Madrid) and the grapes are harvested at night when it is cooler; this prevents the oxidation and therefore browning of the juices on maceration, keeping the wine lightly coloured. Possibly, this was the least praiseworthy wine on offer in the event, at least judging by its reception. The second white was the Ridgy Didge Chardonnay 2012 from Australia, a white peach coloured white with an abundance of stone fruit flavours of peach, apricot and melon accompanied with a hint of ripe apples. The wine was slightly oaked, giving a slightly spicey, vanilla undercurrent and a buttery mouthfeel. Another relatively simple wine, but different enough from the other two whites to give the attendees a tangible variation. The final white on show at the event was the Les Cascadelles Pouilly Fumé 2011 (France, of course). The selection of this wine was to show the dryness accompanying the Sauvignon Blanc grape and the fresh green acidity with gooseberry and slightly citrus-sharpness, terrific minerality and the aroma of gunflint. At this point, a little time was taken to explain how Terrior [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terroir] comes into play and how French appellations are used. Moving onto the red wines, the first foray was the Freeman’s Bay Pinot Noir 2011 (New Zealand). A very pale red wine, light in colour and body, although deceptively full of flavour. A very smooth yet meaty and slightly oaky character with flavours of cherry, plum and strawberries all present alongside a slight vegetal taste and aroma, less pronounced than in some French offerings. Was generally well received by the group. The second red wine was the fairly reknowned Toro Loco Tempranillo 2011 (Spain), which some members of the group seemed to be familiar with. This is a full-bodied red wine using the Tempranillo grape with flavours of berries, plums and a hint of some tobacco and leather. The wine can be quite tannic, having a slight pepperiness and pleasant mouthfeel also. Positive feedback from the group all round with this one! Following the Tempranillo was a delicious Rioja with a little age behind it in order to show the group how a grape can change flavours with age and treatment and by accompanying it with other grapes. As with the Toro Loco, this is a full-bodied wine with plenty of vibrancy and flavour; the colour was noted to have been significantly different (slightly less reddish-purple around the edges, tending to be a little sepia coloured). This wine is also stored in oak for a while, giving an undercurrent of spice. A superb value wine; which was positively received from all the attendees. A very interesting wine was had to follow the Rioja in the form of the Mont Rocher Pays D’Herault Carignan 2012 (Rousillon-Languedoc, France). Taken from old gnarled vines in the Mediterranean region of France, this is a juicy and quite fruity red with plenty of body and a slightly confected aroma twinned with flavours and aromas of sumptuous violets. An excellent wine which was well received by the attendees. A very interesting wine was had to follow the Rioja in the form of the Mont Rocher Pays D’Herault Carignan 2012 (Rousillon-Languedoc, France). Taken from old gnarled vines in the Mediterranean region of France, this is a juicy and quite fruity red with plenty of body and a slightly confected aroma twinned with flavours and aromas of sumptuous violets. An excellent wine which was well received by the attendees. The final wine was something with tonnes of body and robust flavours in the Santa Rita Medalla Real Carmenere 2009 (Colchagua Valley, Chile). A little way of explanation about the Carmenere grape was given, along with the tasting, with the wine giving flavours of chocolate, coffee and plums along with deep savoury notes. Fruit was present in the form of some dark berries, but there was a comment from someone that one of the strong aromas reminded them of fly-spray, indeed, a very unusual aroma that accompanies the use of fly-paper was present. Slightly disappointing that the wine was not strongly received considering the interesting and complex flavours on offer. To round the event off, there was a little contest between the attendees to see who could correctly identify the placings of each of the wines from the tasting in terms of their cost (at time of purchase). The wines were as follows:
The highest mark was 4/8 and two people went into a tiebreak, being asked to name the three grapes used in making Champagne. Alas they both correctly identified Chardonnay, but fell down on naming any more (for those curious/uninformed – also Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier), luckily they were in a couple so shared a lovely bottle of red lovingly selected for a prize. A special mention needs to go to the excellent Liverpool Cheese Company, based in Woolton Village, for supplying cheeses to the event, a lovely selection from the shop was soon demolished in less than 15 minutes (you’d think these people had never been fed?!). The buche log goats cheese and Y-Fenni with mustard seed were excellent, along with a very interesting cheese washed named ‘Baltic’ with Liverpool’s own Wapping Beer from the Baltic Fleet pub (brewed in the basement) by the cheesemakers. Their website can be found here: [http://www.liverpoolcheesecompany.co.uk/] and they are located at 29A Woolton Road, should you wish to visit their lovely shop (where you can also pick up deli-items including many beers from the local breweries of Merseyside). Another successful event, I shall keep you all informed as more crop up (there are ideas floating around at the moment, but until they turn concrete, I’ll hold fire). Should anyone have any ideas for an event, please just give me a shout and we can perhaps work together to put something on! Until next time, adios! Pedro. -------------- P.S. to follow Liverpool Cheese Company on Twitter go here: http://twitter.com/liverpoolcheese
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Burgers are currently at the forefront of the recent penetration of ‘dirty’ American-style cuisine to hit the UK restaurant market. They are usually a safe bet; you know what you’re getting (usually) aside from the ‘accessories’ or side dishes that accompany the burger. There are usual one or two minor questions to answer along the way with ordering a burger, for example; how does the establishment handle the bun? Is it a brioche style bun or a soft but toasted sesame seed bun, or is it a bog-standard floury effort? Then there’s the issue of the aforementioned ‘accessories’; is there a cornichon (whole gherkin) present, is salad present nestling above the burger, how about onion rings and relish or sauces? I have sung the simplistic virtues of a burger in a previous article (right here: [http://electrokemistcuisine.weebly.com/1/post/2011/12/the-art-of-making-a-burger.html], funny that you should ask…), where there were very few places that provided decent burger satisfaction, one decent one (NOT Gourmet Burger Kitchen) and many provided frozen ready-made burgers, there are now a number of options. There has now been a proliferation of patties across the city in recent months, with the arrival of many American bistro/diner establishments in the shape of Free State Kitchen, Nolita Cantina and other establishments such as Attic providing solid candidates for ‘best burger’. We should expect another arrival in the coming months if rumours are to be believed, with ‘Almost Famous’ making a tentative march down the M62 from Manchester’s Northern Quarter (maybe). Now Byron Hamburgers [http://www.byronhamburgers.com/] have taken over a unit in Liverpool One just on Paradise Street Near to Jamie’s Italian and John Lewis. Choosing a Saturday evening to test out a new place is not my usual thing, but on this occasion compulsion, hunger and coincidence got the better of me. Byron’s was very busy when we arrived, so the atmosphere was lightly buzzing, albeit with a slightly canteen-style atmosphere. The choice to sit outside was an easy one to make considering the inside was rather clammy and warm and the start to proceedings was not really the best in terms of creating a positive impression. Twenty minutes passed by until we finally attracted the attention of someone to take an order, the speed of service following the initial hiccup was however, quite remarkable if concerningly impressive. You wouldn’t really expect to receive your food within 10 minutes of ordering it, except for the grimiest of fast-food places, but there the burgers were, in front of us…. In ten minutes. To be fair, selling burgers in a burger restaurant must be something easy to conveyor-belt-prepare. The burgers themselves were competent and tasted as would be expected from somewhere specialising in them; deep rich and meaty and with plenty of meat – not too dense from over handling and not too heavy grained to fall apart in the bun. I ordered the Byron Burger and my accomplice ordered the Cheese Burger. The former was very satisfying with cheddar, sauce and maple cured bacon adding layers of salty flavour and sweet piquancy, the latter I was assured equally so with a thick tranche of emmenthal cheese to compliment my friend’s burger cooked to a medium level. The side dishes were unfussy and presented in pristine enamel bowls; the fries, crunchy and fluffy centred with no superfluous grease and the onion rings, deliciously fragile and crisp with a slightly chewy centre. There were 7 burgers in all to choose from along with 7 types of main salad and a number of side salads and other side dishes plus add-ons to the burgers, so the menu is not totally exhaustive. Pricewise it is much of a muchness as one would say in comparison to other establishments. All burgers cost a similar amount to the previously discussed eateries and therefore Byron’s maintains a reasonable status quo in this regard. Special mention should go to the drinks menu here though, with 9 white and 9 red wines on offer and 2 options for pink/fizz, there is enough for those wanting to make more of an occasion whilst visiting. However, the Craft Beer selection is something to get a little excited about, a good selection which is sadly slightly pricey. Thornbridge Jaipur, Brooklyn Lager and Dead Pony Club are all great with a substantial meat patty, whilst Camden Brewery provide Gentlemen’s Wit and a Lager Helles beer to bolster proceedings. Our burgers were washed down gratefully with Jaipur and Wit. The gradual improvement of the service through the evening was a blessing, our waitress was exceptionally polite and friendly, not to mention thorough and helpful. If the joint irons out the initial kinks of keeping front of house in order, the rest is pretty much taken care of – this shouldn’t take too long. Byron’s apparently do take away for those who want to eat on the move or at home…. handy. All said and done, it is another tasty and viable option in the city for a delicious burger. You can’t go too far wrong! Pedro. |
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