Hold the press - the best easter wine and food match - Coq au vin and Madiran.

We really enjoyed the seafood paella and Chateau La Rayre Rosé on Good Friday (see earlier blog) and thought that could be THE easter wine and food match. However, upon returning home from camping decided to put together dinner from the pantry and the garden. In the garden we had last of the summer zucchini with flowers attached and the first of the autumnal field mushrooms, plus some fresh herbs. We had been wanting to try a jar of Comtesse du Barry Coq au Vin with Madiran Sauce. This is a very well respected product in France and recently available in Australia on-line at Hubert Gourmet in Perth (http://www.hubertgourmet.com.au/). At first look this looks like reasonably expensive product but it easily fed 2 adults and 2 children and at the end of the day it's a nicer and cheaper option than thai take-away. I stuffed the mushrooms with goats cheese, garlic and parsley and roasted them in the oven while reheating the coq au vin. Steamed the zucchini seasoned with salt and pepper and lemon rind. Then all was served with some couscous to mop up the delicious sauce of the coq au vin. Wow! great dinner and then there was the wine - Domaine du Crampilh Vielles Vignes Madiran 2006 which complimented and enhanced the coq au vin perfectly. The wines of this region date back to roman times and were made famous by pilgrims passing through the region. Winemakers of the region  draw on centuries of cumulated experience to ensure optimal viticulture practices, but modern techniques have brought out the best from this wine. It is made from 70% Tannat and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine is a beautiful deep purple colour. An intense and savoury nose with black fruits, vanilla and leather. A concentrated palate with rich black fruit and peppery spices balanced with great structure, fine chalky tannins and acid. Intense, powerful but great length and balance. This wine represents incredible value as this wine was awarded 2 stars in France’s prestigious wine guide, the Guide Hachette 2010. So I guess this comes down not to "paella v coq au vin" or "rose v madiran", but rather how the combination of the dish and the wine enhance each to create a memorable meal.

Wine Spectator Unveils Free VintageChart+ App for Smartphones | News | News & Features | Wine Spectator

Wine Spectator Unveils Free VintageChart+ App for Smartphones | News | News & Features | Wine Spectator

Great app from Wine spectator. Our current favorite app!. Of course DiscoverVin will only stock wine from good producers in good years so the need for this becomes less(!), but nevertheless a really useful smartphone app.

Best Easter Wine and Food Match

We just spent a lovely few days camping on the banks of Lake Hume near Albury-Wodonga on the border of NSW and Victoria.  Great campsite, great weather, great friends. We celebrated H's significant birthday on the first night with surprise silly dress ups,  white table cloths, candles, candles and more candles, champagne then a great meal. A spicy seafood paella and the most beautiful wine match Ch la Rayre Bergerac Rosé 2009. A beautiful red/pink colour, great fruit and soft acid. Perfect marriage with the spices of the  paella. Perfect wine to enjoy round the camp-fire with friends. I am sure that the spicy nature of the paella would have been too much for a white and the heat would have swamped a red. Not a wine for cellaring or intellectualising about, but a lovely wine to enjoy on its own or with a meal - it matches just about everything. Three days later and everyone was saying what a memorable meal and wow that rosé!

Wine tasting coming up next month in Melbourne

12 May · 19:00 - 22:00
Location	Casa de Vinos, 227 Bay St, Port Melbourne
More info	On this class we will taste 10 different French wines from Bordeaux, Burgundy, Cotes Du Rhone, Cahors and Madiran. All together with some French produce to match (olives, cheese, and pate!). Includes Malbec from Domaine Lagrezette (Cahors) and Tannat from Domaine du Crampilh (Madiran) Thursday 12/5 at 7pm Cost $35 Please Book as early as you can as we have limited places. Tel: (03) 9681 8006 E: sales@casadevinos.com.au

The Top 50 Best Restaurants 1-50 | The World’s 50 Best Restaurants

The Top 50 Best Restaurants 1-50 | The World’s 50 Best Restaurants

how many of these restaurants serve wine in our portfolio. Lots!

some interesting easter viewing

why DiscoverVin wines tick the boxes..

http://rickbakas.com/7-things-to-look-for-in-wine

why cahors is one of the great wines in the world (start at 6 minute mark)
http://tv.winelibrary.com/2010/02/03/2000-and-2005-cahors-tasting-episode-810/

would love any feedback about these!

have a great Easter and hope you get to drink a good bottle or two!

from the team at DiscoverVin

DiscoverVins list of stockists continues to grow

Hope you enjoyed world Malbec day yesterday! We enjoyed a Domaine Lagrezette with beautiful 
duck and pistachio sausages, marinated lamb cutlets,  sunshine and friends!

The number of restaurants/bars/wine shops stocking our wines continues to grow. We are very 
proud that our unique and good value for money wines are making their way onto more lists.


These customers include:

Gigis of Beechworth

Sourcedining, Dean Street, Albury

Armadale Cellars, Armadale

Seddon Wine Store, 2/101 Victoria St, Seddon

Casa de Vinos, 227 Bay St, Port Melbourne

Beaux Bar, Sydney Rd, Brunswick

City Wine Shop, Spring Street Melbourne

La Niche Cafe, Smith Street, Collingwood

We hope to announce some more in coming days (That will knock your socks off!) We keep updating the list and will make announcements on our facebook page DiscoverVin Wines

Good news too....We have more award winning wines from the South-West on the way in temperature controlled conditions. We will be topping up our stock and increasing the range on offer. More details soon.

If you are looking for wines for Easter get in quick! Our tasting packs are ready to go

Woo hoo. 2 months old (seems like longer!)

Wow, we have been so busy it does seem like more than 2 months that we have been trading. We do appreciate all of our customers, especially those who have already purchased for a second time. We have been pleasantly surprised at the number of people who have, for example,  bought a mixed half dozen and then called to buy a straight dozen or dozens of their favorites.

Special mention to 1. GiGis of Beechworth who put our Domaine Lagrezette on their specials board and have had to reorder due to a postive response and 2. Beaux Bar in Sydney Rd Brunswick. Open for one day  Beaux Bar wanted our wine as THE dessert wine on their list- the Pacherenc du Vic Bilh from Domaine du Crampilh. Made from manseng grapes, Pacherenc du Vic Bilh is the name given to white wines from the Madiran region. They are late harvest wines, often with the grapes picked in October or November. Congratulations to James and the team for having the vision to give this one a go. Big name and big taste- apricots, tropical fruit/mangos, honey, spice, not too sweet and a perfect match with dessert (or goes perfectly well with cheese/pates). And a bargain! In fact as a result we decided that we should make it the wine of the month. 

Pacherenc du Vic Bilh Moelleux-Cuvée Celeste

Domaine du Crampilh

2007

Pacherenc-du Vic Bilh are the white wines of the Madiran region. We are not so sure on the pronunciation but we are sure this is an incredible late harvest wine! Luscious and complex with a honeyed and harmonious finish. Where has it been hiding?

Region/Terroir: Pacherenc du Vic–Bilh (sub-region of Madiran). The wines of this region date back to roman times but were made famous by pilgrims passing through the region. Winemakers of the region can draw on centuries of cumulated experience to ensure optimal viticulture practices. Modern techniques have brought out the best from this wine.

Grapes: Like the wines of Jurançon these are made from petit manseng and gros manseng.

Wine making techniques: The wines are not botrytised, in fact it is said that the thick skin of the manseng grapes protects against rot.  A long dry autumn allows the wines to dry on the vine and concentrate flavours. The grapes are harvested by hand in November. As a consequence small volumes of concentrated juice is produced. Fermentation takes place in new oak barrels with batonage occuring for 10 months.

Our tasting notes: On the nose there are tropical fruit aromas. The palate is well balanced with fresh tropical fruit flavours and honeyed tones. A great structure gives balance, freshness and length with a lovely not too sweet finish.

This wine can be enjoyed on its own or with rich foods such as pate, cheese and it is perfect with fruit desserts.
We are not alone at loving this wine. It has consistently been rated in the Guide Hachette.

By purchasing this wine you confirm that you are over 18 and accept the terms and conditions of sale.

Price: $25.99

Size: 500ml

and here are some recent photos of the winery and the madiran region. oo, la la!

                                                                                   

  

South-West v Laguedoc

We have noticed some confusion about the wines of the south-west and the wines of the Languedoc. The Languedoc is in the south-EAST of France along the mediterannean coast, and is a warmer climate. The wines we sell are from the Boredeaux region in the south-WEST of France. The south-west region consists of a diverse number of terroirs/sub-regions (Bordeaux, Madiran, Bergerac, Jurançon, Cahors etc) but all have in common the more cool-climate Atlantic influence.

Social Media

We are told its important for business in the 21st century, so we are trying to learn about social media. We are on facebook,have a twitter account and are linked in and of course you can follow our blog! If you are so inclined we look forward to interacting with you soon. You can even phone us (0260206016) or email (info@discovervin.com.au)!

Upcoming events

Feel like a weekend of culture, wine and food in the North-East? The travelling Alliance Française Film Festival is coming to Albury-Wodonga, the last weekend of May. The Friday night opening session includes nibbles and wines from DiscoverVin. Tickets available now from the Regent Cinema Centre in Albury and may sell out due to limited capacity. Hopefully see you there!

From all of us again at DiscoverVin , thanks for your support !

Next edition sustainable practice, biodynamic wine, carbon credits and more. Vote on our carbon offsets poll- results in the next newsletter!

New Poll

So what do you think? Would you like the option of paying a few more dollars in carbon offsets to ship your  wines? yes, no , don't care
see the poll on our contact us page

Events:

An Evening of Wine and Cheese

from the South West of France

Discover new wines and new flavours

Divine food and wine combinations

Ossau Iraty cheese served with a rich red from Madiran

and

Basque Country Blue Vein served with luscious Jurançon stickies.

Monday 11th April

Where:       1860 Luxury Accommodation

    4 Surrey Lane, Beechworth

Time:          6.00pm – 8.00pm

Cost:           $20 per person

RSVP:         The Larder (Florence) 5728 2299

     Or DiscoverVin (Mary) 5728 2606

                             Or DiscoverVin (Helen) 02 6020 6016