Girolles, ceps, button mushrooms, coulemelles... Mushrooms are a delight to add to autumn dishes. Mushrooms can be used in an infinite number of ways and are a real source of flavour in everyday recipes. Sliced, porous, spherical, capped or elongated, there are thousands of varieties of mushrooms. From grey to brown, passing through intense reds or blue, they can measure from a few millimetres to several centimetres in diameter and height. It is best to avoid immersing them in water to clean them, otherwise they will lose their flavour as they absorb the water. Instead, use a toothbrush or paper towel to clean all sides of the mushroom. Discover original food and wine pairings with mushrooms.
There’s a reason why heavily-applied perfume ranks highly on most wine lovers’ list of pet peeves. It overpowers your senses, conceals aromas and distorts your perception of a wine. In professional tastings and wine exams the wearing of perfume is banned, if not thoroughly frowned upon. You just don’t do it. What then, if we applied the same logic to music, controlling the sounds we hear, or don’t hear, while tasting wine? There’s no doubt that a chaotic environment can clog your synapses, makin ...
In the last board meeting of 2021 for the regulatory council of DO Terra Alta, in Catalunya, Spain, a long list of changes was approved. The most prominent was the making of a very strict certification system for wines that are 100% Garnatxa Blanca given that it’s their flagship grape variety. But perhaps the most interesting item is a bit further down the list that allows certification for a type of wines that in Catalan are called “vins brisats”. The name refers to white wine ...
Tongue firmly in cheek, I sometimes define ‘wine consultant’ as ‘someone lacking employment who will work for whoever pays them’. Although meant in jest, the implied question is valid: just what does a wine consultant do? More importantly, in this age, when every assistant in a retail shop styles him- or herself a sales consultant, who would hire one? The short answer is this: a wine consultant is someone who advises wine lovers about their passion. He or she advises buyers on what to buy (and a ...
