Wine Tasting And The Art Of Slurping

"slurp"

"Let me show you how I taste wine." We are in the wine tasting care of Pierluigi, wine maker at Tenuta Torciano in the heart of Tuscany. He studies the wine in his glass intently, rolling it around as he does, holding the glass almost vertical. Sharing the shades of red as he sees them, Pierluigi starts to swirl his wine, and quite furiously at that. He hovers his nose over the glass, sticking one nostril in deeper and sniffs, prolonged. He looks up and stares at us straight. "First, you smell," and again his nose hovers close to the contents in his glass. Waving his free hand as if conducting, he strings poetic words of scents and smells to describe what his nose is telling him. "Now", he continues, "you introduce the wine to each one of your taste buds".

He takes a sip of wine, pushes his upper front teeth over his lower lip and slowly he literally slurps it up. He slurps a few times. We can see the wine dancing on his lips. He starts swooshing it around in his mouth. Almost like he is chewing it, he rolls the wine carefully around the various taste buds as he goes. His fingers are counting in the air, eyes opening wider at every count, allowing all of his taste buds enough time to open up to the wine. The trick is not to spill a drop, nor choke when a slurp takes the wine straight to your throat. It takes several attempts and even more wine stains before we get the hang of it.

"Slurping" super Tuscans in the shadows of the magical towers of San Gimigniano is an experience not ever to forget. Especially when Luigi announces: "now, we taste olive oil," and our jaws drop when he starts to slurp once again, only this time it is estate-made olive oil. As we try and slurp the viscous green-hued liquid, he tells us he is planning to open a tasting room on Tiananmen Square. Tiananmen Square? As in Beijing? This is years ago, but even now, China is not a country I associate with wines, at least not the grape variety. How wrong can you be. I don't know if Luigi ever did open his tasting room on Tiananmen Square, but today China is the fifth largest wine producing country in the world.

Followed closely by Argentina, both facts were pointed out at a recent wine tasting in one of the private tasting rooms of Asado, the Argentinean grill restaurant in The Palace/Downtown Dubai. Some five months ago, Asado initiated the Wine Club. It offers wine tasting events for a minimum of 6 participants, highlighting the wines of Argentina. We are seated at a long table in comfortable chairs. There are cheese platters with Stilton and Brie de Meaux, walnuts and apricots, fruit platters, and plates with fresh baguettes and crackers. Four wine glasses and a water glass, a small plate and a napkin with cutlery are set in front of each participant. "This is our standard setting for a wine tasting," explains sommelier Sarah Belanger.

 

The selection offered takes us from a very pleasant Michel Torino Brut, a sparkling wine from the northwestern region of Cafayate, to an Alamos Chardonnay from the Mendoza wine region in the eastern foothills of the Andes. It is one of Argentina's largest wine producing regions. Also from Mendoza is the Ique 2010 Malbec - Argentina's most celebrated red wine grape variety. We cross the border to Central Chile for the last wine of the tasting: a late harvest Gewürztraminer - the "aromatic (spice) Traminer" (Traminer comes from the village of Tramin in Trentino/Alto Adige in the Italian Alps, where the grape is said to originate). Honey-sweet and full of floral and fruity notes, the Montes Gewürztraminer pairs deliciously well with the Stilton. Throughout the wine tasting, sommelier Sarah Belanger explains everything with great enthusiasm. She shares details about the grape varieties, the regions where the wines are produced, some of the wine houses, and mostly she discusses what we smell, what we see, what we taste, asking us to tell her what we smell, see, and taste in return. It is a most enjoyable and informative wine tasting, even if my husband was hoping for a Torrontés (Argentina's characteristic white wine grape variety) rather than the (generic) Chardonnay. 

         

In a smaller group, we move on to the restaurant for dinner, drawn in by the sights and smells of meat being grilled on the parrilla and al asador. Both words indicating "barbecue", the first one refers to the grill, the second to the open fire. It is this latter one that truly is a sight to behold at Asado: surrounding a round, open fire pit, split-open carcasses held up by metal cross bars (asadores) are slowly roasting in the heat that comes from the charcoal fire below. Specialty of the restaurant is baby goat al asador. Sweet and lush meat, you can order it as appetizer, main course, as part of the mixed grill, or for a group: a whole roasted baby goat. Over dinner we have a Torrontés, and another Malbec. My tasting palate done with slurping at this point, I simply enjoy the wines with the beautiful grilled meat.

For more information on the wine tasting events: asado@thepalace-dubai.com  
 
Note: the wine tasting was courtesy of Asado for a group of UAE-based food bloggers (see Fooderati Arabia)

goodies included in the gift bag that you receive as part of the wine tasting.
The cork in the box is not a key chain: it is the cutest memory stick

Wellbeing Cuisine Cooking Class

Hidden in Dubai's Madinat Jumeirah is Magnolia. Formerly Dubai's exclusive fine dining vegetarian restaurant, it is now used for functions. And chef Gabi Kurz' cooking classes. Chef Gabi is the wellbeing chef at the Madinat Jumeirah group. In a previous post, I raved about her vegetarian creations (here). Her wellbeing cuisine holds a beautiful balance between wholesome and simply delicious. Interested to learn more about how her chef's mind works, how she cooks, what she combines, the food choices she makes and why, I signed up for one of her cooking classes: "cooking with herbs".

herb water with rosemary, lemongrass, mint, and lemon basil

Not to say I am about to change my gourmet foodie ways, the wellbeing (wellness or spa) cuisine does intrigue me. It is a cuisine that very consciously looks at the health benefits of ingredients. For instance, and with respect to this particular "Cooking with Herbs" theme: herbs and spices are not just flavor notes, their healing properties are equally, if not more important. From antioxidant to antibacterial, rejuvenating to detoxing, relaxing to energising. Ginger seems to be the "cure-all" spice, lemongrass has an anti-ageing effect (don't you just want to nibble on a stalk all day long), lime leaf reliefs tension headaches, more than a fragrant herb to liven up any salad, basil is an antioxidant and stimulant. And so the list goes on.

When I arrive for the cooking class, the door is locked. The courtyard is littered with lounge-seating, high tables, bar stools, and other stylish remnants of what must have been a spectacular looking party. I call chef Gabi, and she comes to take me inside through the kitchen. The front door key had gone missing. Inside the villa, a similar after-the-party scene awaits us. Not a mess, don't get me wrong. Anything edible or drinkable is long gone, it is just a jumble of tables and chairs. Except for one in the middle of the room: set in white linen and glassware, it is waiting for the six of us joining chef Gabi Kurz for her Wellbeing Cooking Class.

As the class is quickly set up, chef Gabi introduces us to her herb water. She talks about the health benefits of various herbs, and explains how she makes herb water. She infuses cold water with a variety of fresh herbs for a minimum of 6 hours. It is perfect for drinking after 12 hours, and should be discarded after 48 hours. She has a daytime herb water using energising herbs such as rosemary or sage, mint to refreh, thyme. The night time herb water has herbs with relaxing and rejuvenating properties, such as lavender, geranium, lemongrass. The water we try in the cooking class is made with what she can get her hands on in Dubai. She does have a herb garden but this time of year the increasing temperatures in Dubai do not help abundance. She serves us a herb water that is fragrant with mint, basil, lime leaf, raspberry, thyme. Stunning really, how such crystal clear water can pack so much herbal flavor!

We still marvel over the aromatic taste of the herb water as chef Gabi starts to cook. She dissolves fresh yeast for a spelt baguette, explaining she prefers spelt over wheat because it is an ancient, unmodified grain. She grinds oats through a wooden hand-held mill, and tells us she wants oats rolled last minute to keep the oxygen out, and all the nutrients in as long as possible. As she chats away about her way of cooking in her wellbeing cuisine, beautiful food starts to emerge.

A summer tomato terrine with blanched carrot tagliatelle and herbed yogurt quenelle. Sweet pea gazpacho that appears thin and runny, yet is bursting with refreshing flavors and a hint of spiciness. Warm rosemary spelt baguettes that drive us nuts with their seductive fresh-baked bread smell. Fresh topfen (quark cheese) balls rolled in vibrant green mixed herbs. Pan-grilled purple potato and cherry tomato kebabs topped with a parsley pesto made the way the word dictates: from pestare which means to crush or pound. And a dessert that truly hits my wellbeing spot: a lush trifle of moist chocolate cake layered with whipped cream and a black currant & lavender compote.

Sipping on a pineapple-based detoxing drink, we talk about her next class. It will be raw food. She has tried it, and admits there is only so much "raw" she can handle until the craving for something cooked takes over. Raw foodism is wellness cuisine to the extreme. I had a look at the website of Raw Foodist Urs Hochstrasser (chef Gabi referred to him talking about raw foodism). Strictly vegan and raw, there is not a single item cooked or even heated, nor one ingredient non-vegan. Raw Foodism is a whole new ballgame, and for a gourmet foodie perhaps a bridge to far. Having said that, as an introduction - and by a wellbeing chef who showcases that wellbeing and delicious do go hand in hand - it will be worthwhile and eye-opening for sure.

Click here for more detailed information on chef Gabi's next cooking classes.