Month: June 2016

Time to put the sommeliers in the spotlight: William Wouters

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William Wouters

In the world of gastronomy it are always the chefs that are put in the spotlight! Time for a change I’d say and put that spotlight on the sommeliers for a change :-). Especially with the ASI Worldchampionship for sommeliers coming to Belgium in 2019, they deserve it more then ever! That’s why I’ve send 10 questions to a few top sommeliers to find out more about their world… The first sommelier I’ve send the questions to is William Wouters aka ‘el presidente’ 🙂  or better the chairman of the Belgian Sommelier Guild and the person who we have to thank for bringing the championship to Belgium. I personally already know William since I’ve been born and have to admit that I look up to William when it comes down to wine and knowledge about wine!! He has learned me lots of things and still helps me to discover wines, vineyards, etc… I also know for a fact that I’m not the only one looking up to him. Lot’s of Top sommeliers still ask William for advice or help. For many years William has worked and participated in lots of competitions at international level with results one shouldn’t be modest about!! What I also always liked about William is that his motto is “wine doesn’t have to be expensive to be good”!!! A motto that was also a golden rule in his restaurant (Pazzo)

William wouters

Every winegrower, (top)sommelier or person involved with wine I mention I’m from Belgium comes with a at least one story about a crazy night they had at the Pazzo winebar with William 🙂 (who used to be the owner of Pazzo). 2 years ago William decided to leave Pazzo in the good hands of  chef Ingrid Neven and Tom Dhooghe. The mean reason for that was William being able to spend more time with his wife and kids in Portugal. William’s wife Filipa Pato is a very renowned Portugese wine maker who comes from a long line of winemakers in her family. You could also see it as William changing sides 🙂 from sommelier serving the wines, to winemaker making the wines.

William en filipa

Although it must be said he also spends lots of his time with his other passion… football. William is also the cook or better person coordinating the cooks for the Belgian national football team (Red Devils) and therefore also travelling a lot with them.

William red devil

What is your favorite wine region to work with?

Bairrada – you all know why… 😉 😉

What does it take to be a good sommelier according to you?

A broad knowledge of all beverages and a good culture about food. Perhaps the most important thing is: a very good “social” intelligence

Is the job of a sommelier underestimated/valued?

Underestimated because a sommelier is a kind of a barometer in direct contact with the customer. He feels the straight needs and consequently acts to them. A good sommelier is a big added value in the front of a restaurant, bistro, wine bar, wine shop,…

When and how did you get the passion for wine?

From small on I was intrigued by the complexity of wine and the wine world in general, the diversity, the interaction with the climate, soil, grape varieties, perception of the winemakers, link to gastronomy… the more you know, the less you know, the more you want to know… (Confucius 🙂 )

Who is your big example in the wine/sommelier world?

Obelix, he fell into a barrel with the magical potion as a kid, I think sometimes the same happened to me, but I was probably too small to remember

What is your approach for pairing wines(or other beverages) with dishes?

Feeling… This is the biggest challenge for a sommelier! There is no such thing as right or wrong… Depends of many factors : people, the mood, time of the day, the weather, the budget, taste, …

Which wine region would you recommend everybody to visit and why?

Bairrada – you know why… 😉 . No, no kidding, I would recommend to visit as many wine regions as possible. As a sommelier it is very important to go into the vineyards and speak to the winegrowers and winemakers to understand better the wines that are made, and why they are made in a certain way. Wines for me should always reflect the place they are coming from. Authenticity is a key word for me

For which wine would you make a big sacrifice to be able to taste?

For all the wines I don’t know. So I think I still have a lot of work to do!

What is your most wonderful memory of hotel management school?

That I always “had to be” a volunteer to go to things related to wine and other beverages. I really loved it! Also to share these experiences with the friends and colleagues gave huge satisfaction.

A culinary or wine experience everybody should have had besides have a meal at your restaurant?

Whatever, wherever, whenever be open minded and keep your eyes, ears and certainly your tastebuds open! This is the intriguing trigger that will always keep you eager to improve as a sommelier! You are never done!

Italian road trip 2016: all good things come to end

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We might be on our way to visit the last vineyard, but that doesn’t make it less worth it!! The last vineyard we would visit on white wine Saturday and even from our trip was Sandro de Bruno at the eastern side of Verona. As we arrived a bit early at our destination we decided to already check-in at our B&B (named La Dolce vita :-)) Once we arrived we also found out it was the perfect spot to stop after lunch and have a little siesta before visiting our last vineyard. I guess the picture below gives you an idea about oasis of piece we arrived at. Another great news fact, we still had some room left in the trunk of our car for more wine 🙂 🙂

Il paradiso

Not that we were stressed, but you would be surprised how tiring visiting and tasting can get. I can definitely recommend the B&B as they also have a very nice breakfast and very friendly hosts. The B&B was also only 1km away from the Sandro de Bruno vineyard, so we had all the time in the world as it would only take us a minute to get there for our visit.

Sandro de Bruno

The Sandro de Bruno winery saw the daylight in the year 2000, so you would think it is a young winery. It’s not! In reality the winery is already making wine  since 1930 or better current owner Sandro’s dad and his dad’s 2 brothers were making wine since 1930… Sandro changed the name of the winery  in the year 2000(when he took over and after buying the parts of his uncles) as a tribute to his dad into ‘Sandro de Bruno’ which comes from Sandro ‘son of’ Bruno… it is as simple as that 🙂

Sandro de Bruno produces different kinds of wine, but 2 of them are their trademark wines (I think that’s the best way to call them) : the Soave and the Durello. Let’s first start with the Durello (or Durella how the grape is actually called) a DOC wine, meaning the Durello can only come from a specific area in this case from the area between the provinces of Verona and Vicenza (DOCG would mean it would need to come from a specific town or more specified area and only from that place like chianti or Barolo, or Amarone, etc…). The Durello/Durella grape is a strong  autochthonic grape variety. Strong because it is said to be disease resistant and grows best on a soil composed of lime and clay of volcanic origin. Indeed volcanic origin… I was surprised to find out that the area we were at has a volcanic origin… I didn’t know the area used to be volcanic. Another remarkable characteristic of the grape is the thick and leathery skin (may be the reason for it name as ‘duro’ means hard in Italian). What I’ve learned from tasting other wines that come from volcanic areas is that they have lots of minerality in them. For the Durello this isn’t any different. Something fascinating is that there are around 500 growers growing the grape variety but only I0 of them actually bottle the wine of which Sandro de Bruno is 1. Because of its high level of acidity the grape is 99% used to make spumante wines.  At the nose you notice lots of white flowers and minerality. It combines nature and freshness and its character lends itself good to be paired with seafood I think 🙂 I’ll have it a try at home… according to Sandro it pairs great with codfish alla Vicentina.

Durello

At our visit we did see Sandro, but as he and his wife had to go to Genova it was Andrea (who was about our age) who showed us around the winery. At all vineyards we were received with open arms, at Sandro de Bruno it at some point felt like we were just having a drink with a friend at a bar or so 🙂 It felt so relaxed!!

Sandro de Bruno Sandro de Bruno 2 Sandro de Bruno 3 Sandro de Bruno4

Soave as I mentioned is their 2nd most important wine.  For me Soave has always been around, but never got the attention it deserved.  Soave was produced in a medium-bodied style that was often compared to Chardonnay, except with a distinct bitter almond note. In most cases people in that case chose a bottle of chardonnay over one of Soave  or at least this until the end of the 90’s as since the 21st century trends have been turning and now Soave is the new Pinot Grigio in the US 🙂 Basically a wine everybody wants to drink + it must be said that producers like Sandro de Bruno and others in the region have worked very hard to make the opinions turn!!  The main grape variety that has to be present in Soave wine is Garganega , but can be blend with Trebbiano di Soave and Chardonnay. The Garganega grape also lends itself well to produce sweet recioto (who knows maybe they could even make a White Amarone if they let it ferment more 🙂 ) wines that have the potential to improve with bottle age for a decade or more.  Garganega can make classic white wines, both complex and satisfying!  Sandro de Bruno has 2 kinds of Soave, a regular (DOC) and a superiore (DOCG). Although I like both, I have a slight preference for the superiore, maybe because it has been in wooden barrels and therefore has more body, whereas the DOC Soave only saw stainless steel thanks… Let me say it like this, the DOC would be perfect as apero in your garden, the DOCG Superiore is more appropriate with food. as it has a broader aroma and complexity (and again the nice minerality)… and is rounder (good with white meat).  It are definitely very good wines with a very good price/quality ratio!! Also the bottles I bought at the vineyard are already finished… so I guess I like them

Soave superiore

What I find amazing is that on every bottle of Sandro de Bruno, is that all info on the wine can be found on the back label. Info like best served with which dishes, the best temperature to serve it, which grapes used, etc… basically a simplified technical sheet :-).  Also every bottle is numbered, although I don’t remember why that was 😦 nevertheless the content in the bottle is nectar of the Gods!!

Thanks Andrea for the tour and Sandro for making such great wines!! Hope to see you soon. In case you would have questions regarding the wine, you can contact Sandro de Bruno or for Belgium you can check with Alex from The Vine.  Sad enough our trip ended after this visit…but they gave us a wonderful dinner advise that was maybe the best from our whole trip!! if you would ever be in the neighborhood do stop at il Convivio!!!! A true  hidden treasure!! I also know the bottle you see on the picture (and that we had) from during our meal isn’t one from Sandro de Bruno, but as we had already been tasting their wines whole afternoon I was also keen on finding out which other great wines they had in the area…

Il convivio

I can’t wait for the next wine trip with my buddy Carlos!! Always a pleasure to travel with him…. Although I’m now first travelling with my lovely wife and baby girl to Friuli!

Italian road trip 2016: at the home of the Friars

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Our trip had already been unbelievable… we had visited some great vineyards we, had some great food and had been very lucky with the weather as well 🙂 Travelling when the sun shines makes a trip much nicer. As if we ordered it, the sun was heating and more present on white wine Saturday than it was the other days!  So visiting a vineyard a stone’s throw away from the Garda lake was perfect, add great white wine to that and you have a perfect holiday 🙂 Coincidentally the vineyard we were visiting that morning had lots of great white wines 🙂 LUCKY US 😉

Ca dei Frati near Garda lake

When you visit a vineyard you always have some wines you prefer over others. It doesn’t mean those wines you don’t like are bad, they are just not how you prefer your wines to be…  If I tell you that we took home at least 1 bottle from every wine in the assortment from the Ca’ dei Frati vineyard…what does that tell you? Yes, in first place that our character or intention to buy less wine was out of the window. Also that my car has a big trunk, but also that all wines we tasted were our thing :-). For both of us (Carlos and me), so I consider this something quite rare 🙂

Ca’ dei Frati is as I mentioned before only a stone’s throw away from the Garda lake or from a town called Sirmione (I always remember Sirmione as the Garda Lake town with the Castle :-)) . That first bottle of Frati by ca dei Frati I had a few years ago at the Pazzo winebar with my dad left a big impression with us… ever since that day I had put the Ca’ dei Frati vineyard on my ‘to-do’ list if I was ever in the neighborhood… now, a few years later that moment had finally come. It was the Stefano (husband of the founder’s daughter and responsible for export) who showed us around the estate accompanied by his 2 year old son who insisted to come along 🙂 he reminded me a lot of my sweet little baby girl as they share the same big appetite 🙂 FYI, I know that you might say she inherited that from her dad, but at that age I was a very bad eater! It was only at the age of 12 when going to the chef school the tide had turned and I never looked back 😉

Ca dei Frati estate 1 Ca dei Frati estate 2 Ca dei Frati estate 4

I’m wondering off here… back to Ca’ dei Frati. You might have guessed the winery has something to do with ‘Friars’? You have guessed correctly as the winery used to be ‘Casa dei Frati’ or Home of the Friars in English. In documents from the 18th century the Del Cere Family (who owns the property since 1939) has found there is told that the home that is now the Ca’ dei Frati vineyard already had a wine cellar back then and that it was owned by Friars. It was only in 1939 that the wine estate was founded by Felice Dal Cero, the current owner’s grandfather who left the company to his son Pietro around 1969.  It was Pietro who actually made the Ca’ dei Frati estate world famous and expanded from 12ha to over 100ha 🙂 So you could definitely speak about an expansion and growth.  Since 2012 after Pietro’s passing away it are his 2 sons and daughter (and their families)that carry on the family tradition and legacy. The estate also keeps growing and modernizing…

Ca dei Frati estate 9 Ca dei Frati estate 8

Ca dei Frati estate 7

Ca dei Frati estate 6 Ca dei Frati estate 5 Ca dei Frati estate 3

Unlike lots of people might think, the vineyard is located in the Italian region Lomardy and not Veneto… but I admit it’s a close call is they are really at the border of both regions.  The vineyards themselves are among the best in the region (as the estate was on the first in the area), on limestone silt soils at the southern part of the Garda lake rich in mineral salts which help the fruit to reach high levels of ripeness. It really gives beautiful wines as a result.

90% of the wine production at Ca’ dei frati is white wines with exception of 2 red wines and 2 rosé wines. The story behind 1 of the 2 reds is special because it is a tribute to Pietro! Not just any wine, an Amarone. Yes, An Amarone! The Amarone gets cultivated (as it is dictated by the DOCG and with the allowed grapes:  Corvina, Corvinone, rondinella and Croatina) in the Valpolicella area. In reality it was Pietro’s project to go back to his ‘radici’ (roots –  as het originates from the Valpolicella region where his grandfather was a winemaker), unfortunately didn’t make it to see his ‘baby’ grow and meet the world. This is why the family decided to finish this wine and make it as a tribute. A success I might add (beautiful product)! The Pietro Dal Cero Amarone had quit the rest before it was sold (2008 it the first edition of this wine that is currently sold) 24months in a barrel, 12months in stainless steel  and 24months in its bottle. Patience is again the keyword here…

Amarone Pietre del cero

For the white wines their most well-known wine is without any doubt the Lugana.  Lugana is made with the Turbiano grape (aka Trebbiano di Lugana) which is  the essential ingredient for white wines in the region.  According to regulations a Lugana can only be names Lugana when it at least holts 90% of the Turbiano grape. They are characterized by their freshness , fruit concentration, underlying floral and spice notes, and delicate acidity.  Or basically a pleasure for the nose and taste buds.  Ca’ dei Frati has 2 different Lugana wines: Frati and Brolettino. FYI The Brolettino was in 2014 in the list of 50 best wines from Decanter. The only difference between the 2 is that one (Frati) was only in stainless steel and the other (Brolettino) stayed 10months in barriques and 3 more months on bottle.  I wouldn’t really see one is better, as they both have different characteristics, both very rich wines.  On the nose there were intense aromas of lime, white flowers, almonds and green apple… at taste there are the nice minerals and the green apples 🙂 FYI, it was actually the Frati I had that night at Pazzo and also the first bottle I opened when I came home from this trip 🙂 .

Frati

When looking at the grapes used in their other wines,  both the still as the sparkling, I noticed Ca’ dei Frati also uses Sangiovese and Barbera grapes in their wines… this is the second time on this trip I learn that in Veneto and Lombardy these grapes  are used to blend.  They obviously do enrich the wines. The Sangiovese is used for the other red wine from the Ca’ dei Frati estate  (Ronchedone), but more surprisingly also for the Rosé wines (from which 1 is still and the other sparkling). For the Rosa dei Frati and the Cuvée which is the rosé sparkling wine they blend Sangiovese with Barbera, Groppello and Marzemino . The first thing that came to mind when having a taste of this wine “this would be something for my wife” :-)… how dare she tell me I only think of myself during my winetrips :-)Rosa dei Frati has notes of  green apple, wild cherry and white almond. In the mouth it immediately shows authority… it keeps it fresh and delicate thanks to a pleasant acidity that points out the carefree ease of drinking 🙂  but at the same time robust and capable of being elected the versatile star of the table!! Need I say more? Basically a bottle that can become everybody’s friend 😉 (the same goes for the Cuvée by the way that adds a bubble 🙂 🙂 (I know to much smiley’s, but that’s the way it is)

Rosé ca dei Frati

Again a very unforgettable experience where we learned a lot and can’t wait to visit the vineyards again when their renovations are finished as they were already very impressive now that they were not finished yet.

Up to the last vineyard of our trip 😦 Up to our friends of Sandro de Bruno

For more information or to purchase Ca’dei Frati wines in Belgium please contact Non solo vino. For other countries please check with the wine estate itself.