Jana’s Bordeaux

Be There or Be Square! The Planet Bordeaux virtual tasting of Bordeaux Supérieur reds on the US market on TasteLive.com is coming up fast!

Bordeaux Rouge, Twitter TasteLive Tasting No Responses »

Mar 132011

Bonjour!

Working on the upcoming Franco-American Twitter TasteLive virtual tasting (my first – anyone already done one of these?) on Friday, March 18, 2011 (please see below for times in various time zones), organized by Planet Bordeaux.

Part of the work is pre-tasting the 4-6 wines that will be tasted simultaneously by bloggers, trade, winemakers and wine lovers all over the U.S. and here in Bordeaux.

So right now I’m trying out a lovely Costes du Château Féret-Lambert 2008 – soft, fruity, round & balanced, and the acidity makes this a natural “food” wine, and I’d say anything goes – pasta, BBQ, salmon…

Known collectively as “Planet Bordeaux,” a shorter, more convivial name that represents both the winemakers’ association and all wines produced in Bordeaux’s regional appellations, the winemakers’ are working on fresh new ways for people to discover the high-quality, value-for-money – and very often overlooked – wines from the world’s wine capital.

The Twitter TasteLive tasting on Friday, March 18, is part of the launch of the English-language website – www.planet-bordeaux.com – created by the Bordeaux & Bordeaux Supérieur Vintners’ Association for American trade and consumers.

Below you’ll find the link for the press release announcing the Planet Bordeaux website and Twitter TasteLive virtual tasting:

http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Planet-Bordeauxcom-Brings-the-World-of-Bordeaux-to-the-US-1391583.htm

PARTICIPATION
The tasting is open to anyone who would like to participate, and several of the winemakers, their importers/distributors/clients – the people who know these wines the best – will also be online to answer questions.

Here’s what you need to do:

• go out and buy the wines (trade may be able to request samples from local sales reps)
• create an account on www.TasteLive.com
• select the Planet Bordeaux tasting under « Events »
• click on « Log in to RSVP »
• log in to the event – pay close attention to your time zone as it is listed as starting at 7pm Eastern Standard Time:

DATE Friday, March 18, 2011

TIME 4pm Pacific (California)
5pm Mountain (Denver)
6pm Central (Chicago)
7pm Eastern (New York)
1am in Bordeaux, France

TasteLive link to register for the event:

http://www.tastelive.com/events/view/3/18/2011

WINES
Here is the list of wines in the tasting – all Bordeaux Supérieur AOCs currently available on the American market:

Château La Gatte La Butte 2006
Château de Lugagnac 2008
Costes de Château Féret-Lambert 2008 to be confirmed
Château de Terrefort-Quancard 2008
Château de Parenchère Cuvée Raphaêl 2007
Château Penin Tradition 2008 to be confirmed

If you don’t find them at your local wine shop, check on www.wine-searcher.com for availability at nearby stores and online merchants.

THE STORY BEHIND THE WINE
Of course there will be much discussion about « organoleptic » qualities and terroir, but this event is also a great opportunity to share the stories behind the wine:

• owner and family – have they been there making wines for generations or did they come from a different industry/country…

• winemaking teams – in the vineyard and the chai, and whether there are any renovations or modifications underway, organic…

• the château itself – what the building looks like, when it was built, any anecdotes or historic events that took place there…

• where the château and it’s vineyards are located, description of vineyards (slopes, plateau, exposure…), surrounding countryside dotted with picturesque, cobble-stoned villages and bastide towns…

• sales team – how the wine is distributed, by whom and where it can be bought – stores, restauraunts, wine bars…

Mike Wangbickler, contact person for Planet Bordeaux in the States, Bordeaux-based New Yorker, Jana Kravitz (under “PlanetBordeaux1″), and Frédéric Roger from the Syndicat des AOC Bordeaux et Bordeaux Supérieur will participate online as well.

Please don’t hesitate to contact Mike Wangbicker
(Tel.: + 1 (707) 255-7667, mwangbickler@balzac.com), or
Jana Kravitz
(French cell phone: + 33 (0)6 72 98 91 54, vinanimus@yahoo.fr) if you have any questions.

A bientôt !

Home & Homegrown Vegetables

Bordeaux Blanc, Bordeaux Rosé, Gardening, Videos No Responses »

Jul 152010

What could be better than having some friends over, sharing an apéritif with a refreshing Bordeaux white from Château Pierrail and a dry, fruity rosé from Château Marac, and then grilling a steak for dinner?

Going out into your vegetable patch, or potager as they say in French, and picking your own homegrown vegetables to add to the meal, that’s what!

This was only my second year at vegetable gardening, so I took it slow. Before being out here in the countryside, I had made some feeble attempts at keeping basil alive in a window box – but I killed it like almost everything else (overwatering, I’ve since found out).

Thanks to my small successes last year during our first summer and fall in the new house – three cherry tomato plants and three pumpkin plants, and it was more than enough – I moved up to 18 tomato plants (six each of cherry, beef heart and a standard round one), feve beans, radishes and sugar snap peas.

What a marvelous thing to grow your own tomatoes! I love going out there and picking them, still warm from the sun. And the taste – so much better than what you could ever buy. I did learn more this year, though, especially about staking early and high (the back rows fell and became a bit of a jungle), watering more, and giving a preventive treatmeant of Bouille Bordelaise (copper) against mildew.

The radishes were a no-brainer : plant the seeds, water them, pull them up. Love it. And they were tasty. The only thing is that I often gathered a bunch, tied them with a ribbon and brought them to friends when we were invited for dinner, so we didn’t actually get to eat too many. Will have to plant more next time.

I was not successful with the feves, and they scared me. They were immediately overrun by enormous black ants, and then they turned black. No more feves.

The sugar snap peas were the best, what a joy. Okay, so I didn’t stake them like I should have either, and they were a bit jumbled, but it didn’t take away from that « Jack & The Beanstalk » quality of the plant. They grew fast, and the tendrils caught onto anything nearby. The plant itself was lovely to look at, a light, spring-green with nicely shaped leaves. Then all of a sudden, I noticed fully grown peapods! Never even saw them, then « poof » there they were. Delicious as is, just rinsed them, chopped off the one end, and threw them in a salad.

Family Lunch at Château de Terrefort-Quancard

Bordeaux Rouge, Videos No Responses »

Jul 152010

It’s all about the family wine producers here in Bordeaux. Generation after generation, they put their soul, their know-how, the fruit of their labor inside the bottle.

And their name – their reputation and values – on the outside of the bottle.

Château de Terrefort-Quancard is a real family affair. Originally built in the 16th century, the château was bought by the Quancard family in 1891. Nowadays, it’s run by Sylvette Quancard and her sister, Caroline, with distribution handled by their nephew, Roland Quancard, and the family’s négociant house, Cheval Quancard.

The Quancard family has been making and selling wine in Bordeaux since 1844. Their logo incorporates the first letter of their name with the image of a horse – cheval in French – chosen as the embodiement of the values defended by the Quancard family – authenticity, class & fidelilty.

The château is indeed a grand, historical building – but above and beyond that, it’s a home, brimming with memories of family dinners, children playing in the vineyards… life’s stories.

The day we went to visit, there was a steady drizzle, which softened the green vineyards surrounding the château like in an Impressionist’s painting. Luc and I were warmly greeted by all the family: Sylvette, who lives at Terrefort-Quancard, her sister Caroline, nephew Roland and the ab fab Emma.

In addition to a lovely lunch, served with wines from the château, including an exceptional 1995 Hommage à Jean et Raoul, Sylvette told us family stories, brought out photos, and proudly showed us her antique gravy boat collection.

One wonderful and unexpected story was how Luc’s grandfather, who was at school with her father, Raoul Quancard, met his future bride at Château de Terrefort-Quancard. Ever thoughtful, Sylvette had prepared copies of photos for Luc of his grandfather when he was young, some even taken at Château de Terrefort-Quancard.

Bordeaux is a village! And the people are kind.

And the wines aren’t too bad either!

BBQ & Eric’s Risotto with a nice Clairet

Bordeaux Clairet, Food & Wine No Responses »

Jun 252010

As a New Yorker living in the Bordeaux wine region, I get the best of both worlds when I go to Desiree & Eric Padovani’s house for dinner: killer barbeque (Des is from Atlanta, Georgia – it’s very serious down there!) and delicious French cuisine. Eric, who hails from Toulouse, impressed with his Sausage Risotto, and the pork chops were grilled to perfection. We washed the meal down with a fresh and fruity (yet dry) Bordeaux Clairet from Château Haut Colombier.

Great food, great wine, great company – la vie est belle!

MY BRIEF WINE NOTES
I discovered Bordeaux Clairet pretty recently, only since being here in Bordeaux. In New York, I was used to very pale, very dry rosés that I would drink all year round, especially on those cold, rainy days to remind me of the sun. Clairet falls between a rosé and a red wine – take a rosé, keep the dryness but add more body, structure, souped-up color and layers of fruit and you’ve got the luscious Bordeaux Clairet. It can be served as an apéritif, but it’s got the stuff to continue on with the main course.

The Chety family makes a fine example at Château Haut Colombier Clairet: intensely aromatic, soft structure with lovely raspberries. And now part of my “Rainy Day Blues” remedy!

http://chateauhautcolombier.com

Apéritif in April at Château de Bel

Uncategorized No Responses »

Jun 232010

Spent a lovely evening at Château de Bel at the end of April. The wine is on my list to taste and discover, and I thought it would be good to start here, as Anne & Olivier Cazenave are friends and very easy going. We arrived to find the small, rustic, family-run vineyard full of activity as Olivier was in the middle of his “mise” as they say around here, short for mise en bouteille or bottling the wine.

Apéritif – where you have something to drink and small savory things to eat in order to open the palate for dinner – is a staple in France. In the Bordeaux wine region, it’s a wonderful moment, moved outside whenever possible, and guests are often served a fresh Bordeaux White or Rosé. So, what a lovely thing to share a glass of rosé, on a deck overlooking the Dordogne River, at the château where it was made, with the winemaker and his family, on a surprisingly warm April evening.

Rosé on the deck for apéritif with Olivier Cazenave, the outgoing owner-winemaker of Château de Bel.

The evening was so balmy that we stayed on the deck for dinner as well. We were guinea pigs for Anne’s pork confit, that she will prepare to feed the grape pickers and sorters (including friends and family) during the harvest this fall. We all gave her thumbs-up!

We finished our dinner watching the moon rise over the river, and listening to the frogs in their mating frenzy – now that is a new sound for me!

Moonrise over the Dordogne

It’s true that I get to come over to the Cazenave’s often, as we are friends and I live 15 minutes away! – however, this is not one of those accounts of things that only insiders or VIPs can do. Like many châteaux in the region, Anne & Olivier welcome guests for visits & tastings, organize Open House days with tastings and concerts, and have several rooms available for B & B.

First Post

Uncategorized No Responses »

Jun 232010

I’ll start at the beginning, with the first soirée in April, and will catch up to today, just in time for Bordeaux Fête Le Vin, the Bordeaux Wine Festival that will begin tomorrow, June 24th, and go until Sunday, June 27th

So, as I mentioned in the profile, I live in the heart of the Bordeaux Supérieur vineyards on the Right Bank, and my assignment is to drink wine.

I’m a helluva lucky girl from Queens. It’s one of those things I used to hear other people say and think, “Why can’t I ever get a gig like that?!” But I’m a sharer, and wine is meant to be shared, over splendid meals, at apéritifs, barbeques, in the kitchen with my mother while she’s cooking… so my idea for this blog is share the occasions that the wines inspired, with friends, family, and the people who made them.

A grand merci to Adam Sullivan at Balzac for coming to my computer rescue!

Be There or Be Square! The Planet Bordeaux virtual tasting of Bordeaux Supérieur reds on the US market on TasteLive.com is coming up fast!

Home & Homegrown Vegetables

Family Lunch at Château de Terrefort-Quancard

BBQ & Eric’s Risotto with a nice Clairet

Apéritif in April at Château de Bel

First Post

Categories

Archives

Meta

Be There or Be Square! The Planet Bordeaux virtual tasting of Bordeaux Supérieur reds on the US market on TasteLive.com is coming up fast!

Home & Homegrown Vegetables

Family Lunch at Château de Terrefort-Quancard

BBQ & Eric’s Risotto with a nice Clairet

Apéritif in April at Château de Bel

First Post

Follow Us!

Categories

Archives

Meta