Mateus Rosé - Vinho de Mesa
Served at 7:16 PM on Thursday, April 17, 2008
Recently, at a neighborhood wine store, I found something that was locked inside(what I want to describe as) an unusual bottle, a sort of flask. Unusual because it looked a class apart. It looked to be a part of the bygone era of the 70s, but had the feel of an modern wine bottled in old-world charm.
The look of it almost seduced me into buying it. With words such as Vinho de Mesa(table wine), Portugal and Rosé I was overwhelmed by the mixed reactions it could evoke. On one side I was making up an exotic world, retro and all, and on the other I was thinking perhaps this is going to be a not-so-good-experience. So wrong I was about the latter!
Some History
MATEUS Rosé’s story goes back to 1942 when Fernando Van Zeller Guedes, SOGRAPE’s founder, created and launched an entirely new concept, combining innovative elements within the different variables of the marketing mix.
Fernando Van Zeller Guedes was convinced that it was possible to make attractive and internationally interesting wines in Portugal. To that end, it was necessary to offer the market a wine that would be different from the others, especially the French ones.
Using technology that was an innovation at the time, the decision fell on a pink-coloured wine, made from red grapes from the Douro region.
MATEUS Rosé’s true secret – the one which gives it its distinct pink colour and great versatility – lies in the oenological care that goes into its making. Made exclusively from Portuguese red-grape vine varieties, such as Baga, Rufete, Tinta Barroca and Touriga Franca, its vinification process, involving a long fermentation period at controlled temperature, uses techniques similar to those used in the making of white wine. Avoiding a prolonged contact between the must and the skins, the wine acquires its distinct pink colour and retains a soft and fruity style.
Light, young, fresh and slightly fizzy, this wine has a great drinking versatility and is an excellent alternative to a glass of champagne or, simply, to a glass of beer. Seafood, fish, Chinese cuisine and light meals by and large go particularly well with MATEUS.
As regards the packaging for such a wine, originality was the key-word: the decision fell on a low and squat bottle, inspired by the flasks used by soldiers during World War I, a shape that made it stand out from other, taller bottles, in the shelf; the label, noble and innovative for the time, showed the Palácio de MATEUS, a baroque manor house, and provided a link between the product and its land of origin.
An innovative concept had been born, the competitive advantages of which were five-fold: the Mateus brand, the label portraying the palace of the same name, the use of an innovative bottle, all associated with the quality and organoleptic characteristics of the wine and with the image that gradually became part of it, constituted some of the variables that came to be the brand properties and that quickly made Mateus a world-wide known and enjoyed brand.
And that is how the MATEUS Rosé brand came about, along with its road to success.
The Wine
MATEUS ROSÉ is a light, fresh, young and slightly fizzy wine. Its quality, extreme versatility and consistent style make it the ideal wine to accompany a variety of cuisines and occasions.
Tasting Notes
MATEUS ROSÉ is a rosé with a very appealing and bright hue. On the whole, it is a fresh and seductive wine with fine and intense bouquet and all the perkiness of young wines. Roll it in the mouth and one realizes that it is a well balanced and tempting wine, brilliantly complemented by a soft and slightly fizzy finish.
Labels: Blush, entrée, floral, Portugese, Rogue, Rosé, table wine, tasting notes
Chargrilled Vegetables with Herbs and Pepper Sauce
Served at 7:35 PM on Sunday, April 15, 2007
What you need:
1 long fork, preferably with a wooden grip
1 large floret of Cauliflower (This is almost 1/4th or 1/5th of the whole)
2 medium sized potatoes
1 large Capsicum
Tabasco® Sauce, Mild Jalapeno Flavor (The local variations of pepperico and Capsico will do)
2 teaspoons Ground Pepper or pepper powder
Curds (one medium-sized bowl)
Stir Fry sauce (If you have it around, otherwie not very necessary)
2 teaspoons Oregano, Basil and any other herbs that you'd like (dried, flakes)
Half onion, sliced longitudinally, very thin
How you make it:
Stab the Floret with the fork, and sprinkle olive oil. Put it on the gas flame or choolha on low blast and use a cooking mesh if you can. You can also put it on a real barbeque or grill it in a microwave. But the flame thingy adds more to the flavor. Cook till semi-cooked, we don't want it soft and mushy. Make sure that the florets are smoked well.
Do the same to the Potatoes. Keep the peel intact while you do so. It comes off very easily later. To figure out how deep has the potato been done, just poke in a sharp knife and let it glide in smoothly. When it goes through, or at least till the core without much effort, get 'em off the flame.
Repeat the same with the Capsicum. Perforate the Capsicum on the sides with the Fork. You don't want it to go 'phut'. Then follow the same as above. Allow it to cook till it develops that smoked aroma, and becomes a little tender.
Separate the florets, as small as you'd like them to be. Peel and Sliver the potatoes, and keep watching for a color change near the core. This is the portion not well done. You could discard it or use it for another preparation later. Thin slice the Capsicum.
Now for the Sauce:
Sprinkle a hot wok with olive oil. Add the thinly sliced onion. Sautée till gold, but not crisp. Add a little stir fry sauce if available. Add the Tabasco®, just a few dashes. Add the herbs, and keep the tossing on. Just before the aroma is about to die out, splatter the pepper. Add salt to taste. Add the Chargrilled vegetables. Cook till the flavor sets in, keep it dry. Add the curds. Bring the wok out of the flame. Mix the contents off the flame.
Note: You can use very little of curds if you plan to use this preparation as a starter.
And Voila! You're all set to go!
This tongue-tickler goes well with risotto, or plain white steamed rice. It is slightly pungent, and full of textures, and could be paired well with a good full-bodied Syrah or a dense Merlot. Good blends like the medium-bodied Chateau Libertas, or the La Reserve from the Grover stable could be great pairings as well.
Labels: bbq, char-grilled, entrée, main-course, starter
Hummus bi tahina
Served at 10:03 AM on Sunday, August 13, 2006
Smear your senses with the subtle exotica of Hummus. Relished as an unparalelled dip that originated in the middle east, it's both nutritious and tongue-tickling at the same time.But mind you, it is an acquired taste. Just like chinese food for Indians, just like Wasabi sauce for Americans and Chicken Tikka Masala for the Japanese.
For the ones with an adeventurous palate, this dip is highly recommended.
It is a paste made from chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, and garlic. There are two ways you can cook this delicacy, one by soaking chickpeas overnight, and simmering for three hours, or an alternative method by using a pressure cooker which requires about no pre-soaking and is ready in about two hours.
Now, coming to the recipe of Hummus, here we go:
What you need:
- 3 cups raw dried chickpeas (or skip the soaking and cooking steps, and use 7 cups of drained tinned chickpeas)
- 9 cups water (twice)
- 1 T cooking oil
- 3/4 cup (175 g) tahini
- 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 12 cloves of garlic (peeled and roughly chopped)
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 T salt
- 1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
- approximately 3/4 cup chickpea cooking liquid
How to make it:
- Soak the chickpeas in the water overnight, then drain (skip this step if you are using a pressure cooker).
- Gently simmer the chickpeas with the next lot of water (generously salted) and the tablespoon of oil until very soft, but still whole (about 3 hours, or 1 1/2 hours if using a pressure cooker).
- Drain the chickpeas, and reserve a few cups of the cooking liquid (you will need it later).
- Rinse the chickpeas with plenty of cold water, while doing so, gently rub them between your hands to release the skins, they should float away with the rinsing water. After a several changes of water, and removing a majority of the skins, drain the chickpeas again.
- Using a food processor (or other means), mix the lemon juce with the tahini.
- Process (or mash) the chickpeas in batches, using the lemon juce and tahini mixture, the olive oil, and the cooking liquid as required to maintain the desired consistency (add the garlic to the batch with the olive oil, and process until smooth).
- In a large bowl, using a spoon, mix the salt and pepper into the other blended ingredients (add additional cooking liquid, if still too thick).
Technorati tags: hummus, hummus+recipe, wine+pairing, hummus+bi+tahina, tahini, dip, White+Zinfandel
Labels: entrée, main-course, starter
