Wine tasting in Alsace

The wines of Alsace are world famous. Top of the range of the fine Alsatian wines are those from the Weinbach Estate. Established by Capuchin monks back in 1612, the grounds of the domaine are superbly set beneath the protective Vosges mountains of eastern France. The limestone and granite soil of this area has long been recognised for wines. The Romans back in 890 AD had planted vines here when the Empress Richarde gave the land to the Abbey of Etival. 

The monastery became government property following the French Revolution in 1798 and was acquired by the current Faller family  in 1898. I met Colette Faller over thirty years ago when as a wine buyer for Denmark I visited the estate on a regular basis.   Sadly Colette has now passed on but her daughter Catherine and her son Eddy are busy managing the estate. 

Domaine Weinbach

The 74 acres of the estate lie at the heart of the Kayserberg valley. Facing south and protected by tree lined hills, it's various terroirs amplify the regions hot microclimate and possess ideal wine growing conditions. 

Domaine Weinbach with Schlossberg Hill to the right.

Catherine Faller with Poul Jensen

Grapes on the lower estate awaiting harvest

A third of the Domaine vines are located on the prestigious Schlossberg Hill and enjoy exceptional environmental conditions: granite rock with shallow, sandy soil, southern and a steep slope ensuring optimal exposure to the sun. The first terroir in Alsace to receive the status of Grand Cru Schlossberg is particularly favourable for Domaine Weinbach's great Rieslings which it endows with elegance and finesse. We were exceedingly fortunate to be invited to taste a number of these wines by Catherine's son Eddy. 

Eddy Faller and Poul Jensen

Grand Cru Schlossberg 2016

The Grands Cru Marckrain, limestone clay gives birth to a fruity and well structured Pinot Gris.

Pinot Gris 2016

In contrast, the unique limestone and limestone clay soils of Grand Cru Furstentum and Mambourg are ideal for the Gewürztraminer grape, from which the Domaine produces opulent wines with great aromatic complexity.

All these fine wines had an extraordinary quality and an amazing depth of aroma which exploded on the palate, constantly challenging the vocabulary to resonate an appropriate response! 

We were in wine heaven! We could easily have stayed all day!  However having tasted so many fine wines so early in the morning ( we started at 10am) it was time to go out and explore some of the beautiful towns along the Alsace Wine Route. 

Sauce Béarnaise

Sauce Béarnaise is such a very versatile sauce. Whilst a classic sauce with a cote du boeuf as in the photo below, it works equally well with white fish (cod or monkfish) and stands deliciously alone with green vegetables or most vegetables in fact. The secret is to always use fresh tarragon and here stick to French rather that Russian tarragon as the French grown herb has much more superior taste.

serves 4

Ingredients

half a gram of crushed white peppers

2 tbsp of white wine vinegar 

stalks of tarragon

6 tbsp water

4 egg yolk 

400 g unsalted butter

salt & pepper

fresh tarragon 

Method

Melt the butter

Put the crushed pepper in a pot add vinegar, tarragons stalks and water and boil, reduce to half, whisk in the egg yolks  one by one, and then slowly whisk in the purified melted butter, - if the sauce gets too thick , just add some water till it has the desired consistency -  and finally the freshly chopped tarragon.

In the photo below we served the béarnaise sauce with a cote du boeuf, pan fried mushrooms, BBQ slices of aubergine (eggplant) and chips!

Bruschetta Lunch

Bruschetta is a lovely light and healthy summer lunch which is quick and easy to put together. More Italian than French, Bruschetta originated in Tuscany around 1950-55  and means "a dish of toasted (bruscare = to toast) bread slices drizzled with olive oil and usually topped with tomatoes and basil. In Provence there is a similar dish called Fougasse in that the flat (fogassa/focaccia) bread is brushed with garlic and olive oil and topped with a variety of ingredients including olives,

Ingredients

Serves 10

6-7 ripe plum tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic very finely chopped
1 shallot onion finely chopped
6-7 leaves of fresh basil chopped
1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar
lemon juice to taste
salt & pepper to season

1 x loaf (freshly baked) flat bread (focaccia) left to cool.

Method

Rinse the tomatoes cut in half and de-seed them. Then chop up into fine dices. Mix the garlic onion basil and balsamic vinegar well and season with lemon juice salt and pepper. Slice the bread and toast it so that you have as many toasted slices as you need. Once toasted rub it with garlic and brush it sparingly with olive oil.

Align the toast on a serving platter olive oil side up, Either place the tomato topping in a bowl separately with a spoon so people may serve themselves over the bread or place some topping on each toasted slice and serve. If you top each slice of toast with tomatoes do so just before serving to avoid the toast becoming soggy.  May also be served with an nasturtium flower which of course is edible and looks delicious.

Summertime and the cooking is easy......

Summertime is here again and so what a pleasure it was to welcome back last week some students who last joined us ten years ago! Mandy and her friends made sure we cooked eat and drank late into the night! 

Students enjoying an aperitif on the patio

Chef Poul shows the ladies how to plate up a dessert of caramelised strawberries

The weather was so good that we took a few days off cooking and headed to the coast of Brittany. If you ever get a chance you just have to go west and spend time visiting the little coves which exist between Douarnenez and Plobannalec-Lesconil.

It's not just about sandy beaches and beautiful coves. There are over twenty unique/historical/tropical gardens to visit in Brittany and the one we visited at Parc Botanique de Cornouaille did not disappoint. Here is a link to all the gardens in Brittany www.apjb.org

We had to leave Scoobeaudoo at home as we were staying with friends who had two dogs so he had a little sulk until he met up with his best friend and neighbour Louis. Thank you Louis!!

Back in the kitchen and busy again plating up the evening supper which is usually four courses with pared wines..

 Betty came all the way from Sidney and no sign of jet lag either! Not bad for a lady who has offspring over fifty years old!!

 We enjoy saying cheers in many languages. In Brittany we say "Yec'hed Mat" which is Breton as well as "Sante" which is French and Skol which is Danish and of course  "Sláinte" which is Irish. However this week I discovered "Yo" which is cheers in Vietnamese! Thank you Alex!

At the end of the day whether it is lunch or dinner - it is the food as well as the company which counts. This mussel soup with saffron was delicious:

 As was this classic French tomato salad on garlic bread (Bruschetta - recipe to follow) with nasturtium flower

This langoustine moose gave rise to some coos!!

The traditional roast chicken baked in its own juices with added garlic butter and served in a home made stock enriched tarragon sauce just melted on the palate!

Live long and stay strong with Chi Gong!

It's amazing that I never heard of Chi Gong until about a month ago! A Canadian student casually introduced me to the ancient Chinese exercise only because he was intending to "perform" in our garden before breakfast and cooking class.

Chi Gong which in Chinese means "Life Energy Cultivation"is a holistic system of coordinated body mind and breathing movements which help keep the brain active, the body supple and the mussels firm. Our instructor, Anthony tells me that a Chinese lady had introduced him to the exercise twelve years ago to assist him dealing with  stress and that the Chinese themselves have been practising Chi Ging for over 3000 years!

What attracted me to the exercise was that it is a very simple range of movements taking 11 minutes in total each morning and can be done in the bedroom, or the garden or even the kitchen! Anthony certainly expounded the virtues of Chi Gong with his fit youthful body who was certainly the youngest 81 year old gentleman I have ever met! You can see the movements in action and decide for yourself in the video below!

Chi Gong at French Dining School

Latest Review - très bonne pour nous!

Dear Niall and Poul,

Words can't express how much Julia and I enjoyed our stay at your lovely home and school. As you know, I've travelled extensively to experience various cooking vacations and I can say, without reservation, yours is truly one of the best. You are both wonderful people and truly expert at what you do. You have created a perfect blend of fun and learning which leaves your guests with both joy and skills. Your generosity of spirit, knowledge and delicious foods and wines will not be forgotten. 

Please give my regards to all and I look forward to staying in touch.

Love and blessings,

Teresa

Lunch on the patio

It was such a lovely day today that our students decided to have lunch on the patio. 

What better spot to savour the last of the season's white asparagus served in a fiesty grapefruit sauce followed by an pizza alsacienne and finally a selection of local cheeses. 

A cool bottle of Rosé (Le Cirque) did the trick along with the chirping of chaffinch and hum of bees under the shade of the blossoming lime tree!