Archive for category food & drink
French Wine – Lirac
Posted by Volker in food & drink, wine on May 4, 2011
This blog post has been a draft since October 2010. As you can see I have to prioritise and do other more important things.
My passion for red wine should be well know. For my birthday my wife got me a nice Australian Syrah we enjoyed last weekend. With French wines I either love or hate them. Tannat is my most favourite grape in France.
On the other hand I discovered another region, Lirac, which is just opposite the Chateauneuf-du-Pape region on the Western hills of the Rhone River.
Red wine in Lirac is described as made from
- Grenache Noir (minimum 40%)
- Syrah and Mourvèdre (minimum of 25% together)
- Cnsault, and Carignan (maximum 10%).
Wikipedia gives greater details: “The style of red Lirac often resembles a soft Côtes du Rhône-Villages, but the more ambitious wines are often similar to Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Rosé Lirac is usually similar to Tavel.”
Funny enough I have been trying a lot of du Papes and never really had one which I found overly stunning. Lirac on the other hand really appeals to me for some reason. Maybe this is because Lirac has a high percentage of Grenache (see also this excellent red wine). It is a grape that is spicy, berry-flavoured and soft on the palate with a relatively high alcohol content. Too much of it however is in the du Pape. Not sure, what the best mix for me would be, however I remember drinking an excellent Grenache in a French restaurant in London a few years ago.
Anyway, for someone like me that is not too keen on French and not too keen on Rhone wines, Lirac is an excellent exception showing that it depends on the region and on the actual blend whether you like a wine or not, independent from country or grapes really (latter to a certain extend).
In the meantime, please try Lirac from either Waitrose or one of the other many retailers 
Vegetarian or not?
Posted by Volker in food & drink, health, personal on March 23, 2010
As you might be aware, I stopped eating meat in December for a trial and haven’t had much since. Whilst I didn’t stop for ethical reasons or Buddhist reasons, I stopped because I didn’t want to eat all that bad and processed meat.
Coming to a review after three months, I have eaten a steak two weeks ago. And I enjoyed the steak but could have happily lived without it. Then I had a chicken kebab recently, and I enjoyed that a lot!
What is the right way forward though? Should I stop eating meat, or enjoy to eat whatever I like?
The problem is the fatty content of the meat. I lost about a stone (6 kilograms) since Christmas, but feeling ill for the last 5 weeks, I discovered that I love to eat and enjoy good food. Hence I think that I might go back and eat meat on a reduced basis, e.g. only good quality meat. I want to cut down on saturated fat, and processed meat. Sausages and burgers are just wrong!
I have to find a way on qualifying that. A ham and cheese sandwich wouldn’t qualify, but a chicken breast wrapped in parma ham would. A tin of corned beef or some pork chops wouldn’t qualify either in my opinion, nor would cubed chicken on a pizza. But a corn-fed chicken, or lean pork from the butcher would.
My aim is to continue to eat vegetarian for the majority of my meals during the week. Green, healthy and full of energy. And, to compliment that, when I go out and maybe once at the weekend, I would eat meat where I know it is quality meat and not the burger from McD.
I keep you posted how it works.
Cheers
Volker
oil and vinegar set
Posted by Volker in food & drink, personal on February 26, 2010
We bought this oil and vinegar set: hope you can see the grape shape inside? Loving it. 70ies retro and dated 
Living to be 100 and more?
Posted by Volker in food & drink, health on January 9, 2010
I love TED. Ted comes up with the most interesting discussions, this one is about how you can live to 100 years plus. And, it boils down to living with more healthy food, have a good social live, be active, not to overeat, eat lots of vegetables etc. None of which is rocket science, but we just need to change our lifestyle.
Plastic Food in Japan
Posted by Volker in food & drink on October 17, 2009
The BBC has a nice article on plastic food in Japan.
Andere Laender, andere Sitten (other countries, different habits).
I guess it is different, however, we are used to some plastic food to show off the real thing. But Japanese plastic food almost looks better than the real thing
Enjoy.
Wine for under £10 – Pizzorno
Posted by Volker in food & drink, health, wine on July 21, 2009
Following the series about wines for under ten pounds, here is another wine review of a lovely wine.
A Merlot Tannat, 2006, from Uruguay, called Pizzorno.
I wrote about the Tannat grape before and how impressed I am with it. For under seven pounds this wine gives a different hint of the Tannat grape as it is mixed with Merlot. It almost makes the wine a bit sweet tasting.
Tannat is allegedly Uruguay’s flagship grape. Bright crimson red with a purple hue. The aromas you get from the Pizzorno are raspberry compote and elder flower, marry with hints of plum and rosemary. The palate is rich in its flavours of plum, chocolate and new tobacco, complemented by smooth tannis and good acidity, which lead into a lingering finish.
I have to admit, this combination of grapes really brings out a boost of flavours. Whilst I tried it on its own, I am convinced it would go well with strong flavoured food, such as game, red meat even and strong cheese. The latter I believe will always be on my list for wine.
You find further information about the vineyard on the Pizzorno Family Estate site.
Wine for under £10 – Take Seven
Posted by Volker in food & drink, wine on June 24, 2009
With me consuming, buying, testing, trying and enjoying it, I thought I focus a little bit on a wine column here in my blog and recommend some nice wines. Of course I focus on affordable wines and those that you can buy on the high street.
At Waitrose I got “Wente Take Seven – small lot red wine” the other day. It has 7 different grape varieties, hence the name
The wine is a mixture of Cabernet Sauvignon (16%), Barbera (20%), Petite Sirah (17%), Syrah (14%), Counoise (10%), Tempranillo (13%), Petit Verdot (10%).
Look at this post of Petit Verdot
Hence it is called a small lot and is made from grapes at the Central Coast of California, a city called Livermore, the Wente Vineyards.
I really like the wine. It has a warming taste to it and you can tell the grapes got plenty of sun. For less than £10 this is a bargain. The winemaker describes it as “delicious robust red, [...] showing ample, ripe black fruit flavors with subtle spice notes”. Almost like a Cabernet Sauvignon with some spicy character, no oak but very fruity. Still a heavy wine with 13.5% alcohol.
I would recommend this one to nice meaty dishes or just after diner with a few cheese crackers.
Enjoy.
Sunday Column (12)
Posted by Volker in food & drink, personal, restaurant review, Sunday Column on May 17, 2009
Time seems to fly quicker and quicker. It has been a few weeks now that I know about finding a new job and the input I am getting from conversations is good. But, so far I have nothing to report…..to the public anyway. But I keep you posted once there are new developments and progress. I have a couple more meetings next week, so keep your fingers and toes crossed.
This week was all about Social Media and Search Marketing. You read about my Inbound Marketing strategy and about the Social Media Summit. Next week I am going to review Viadeo and hopefully find time to write more about personal development and coaching. Also, I give you my views on telemarketing.
On Monday I went to York for some meetings. Tuesday I was booked all day with further conversations, meetings and discussions about my future. See above, I let you know if there is anything to report.
Wednesday I met a friend after work who I haven’t seen for a while. He was in London for an interview and although I only saw him for about 20 minutes before he had to catch his plane, it was so nice to see him. It so makes a difference to see people face to face! The night ended in a work night out before the summit with a few pints too many for a school night – at least for my liking.
The summit, see above, went well and finished with a great networking amongst the speakers in the Albannach in London. Not only do they have a fantastic Whisky collection, they also know how to make a very dry Martini, using Beefeater 24 As Hawkeye in M*A*S*H used to say “I’d like a dry martini, Mr. Quoc, a very dry martini. A very dry, arid, barren, desiccated, veritable dustbowl of a Martini. I want a Martini that could be declared a disaster area. Mix me just such a Martini.”
On Friday I had some meetings with my staff in London before enjoying a well deserved weekend. Starting with the finale of the season of NCIS. A sad and interesting end that will give hope for a “new beginning”. I guess it is another 6 months until the next season comes out.
I also updated my CV to find the right Business Development position in London – so if you hear anything, please let me know. I think a start up or a branch of an existing company that opens an office in London and looks for someone to build their sales and marketing team is what I would truly enjoy. Check out my Linkedin Profile for references!
Also, we went baby sitting with our neighbours, I had a great back massage and good food all weekend. Fingers crossed the weather is nicer next week so that I can do some stuff in the garden. Rainy, cold and windy it was. However, after watching the new episodes of NCIS on Sky, I am tempted to get Sky now too…..it saves me waiting for 6 months ;-( (see above).
Let’s hope for a successful week, hopefully more face to face interviews – partly with some bigger companies that offer interesting opportunities. Maybe, it won’t be a start up after all…more soon.
Night out in London town
Posted by Volker in food & drink, health, personal, restaurant review, wine on March 25, 2009
I know, whilst I am more the “settled down” type, who isn’t really in heading out in London, a good friend of mine and fellow MBA graduate likes to show me around in London now and again to point out new places.
Here we go: Banburi – a nice little Thai restaurant that reminded me of Wagamama a bit. More the atmosphere than the food, because the food at Banburi was great. The calamari as a side dish and the monk fish green curry was excellent. Summa summarum only £35 for 2, including a glass of wine
Afterwards I could be convinced – ok it didn’t take much – to go for a glass of wine. As you know, I am familiar with wine bars in London, and just off Oxford Circus you can find one of the Davy’s places called Chopper Lump.
I had a nice French wine (I know, hard to admit ), a mixture of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Tannat. Not exactly sure what it was called but it is their weekly offer, “Pelleut” or something similar.
Overall, a very nice evening. Thank you L. and hopefully see you soon.
Any recommendations for good food places are always appreciated
Volker
veggies….
Posted by Volker in food & drink, personal on March 24, 2009
Oh dear, I shall say. A week ago my wife sent me a picture of my veggies. Now, I had to get them outside.
So last weekend I spent 4 hours in the garden. My knees are still hurting! And the result is that we planted all our veggies and put a net over it to protect it from the cats (not sure!) and the birds.
Still not sure if they all will grow. They look a little bit bashed up and I am not sure if the roots will dig deep into the ground. So guess I have to wait and see. I hope they all recover and grow nicely for some nice veggies.
Here are the pictures:
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- tatties
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- Volker planting veggies
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- veggie bed
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