A worthy alternative for Gin & Tonic

June 18, 2015June 18, 2015 / dolcevitaspinelli / Leave a comment

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If you feel like trying something different as an aperitif drink or just a worthy alternative for the classic Gin & Tonic, you might try mixing the Tonic with a bit of Cynar. The Cynar will give a bitter sweet herbal flavor to your drink. For my dear followers that don’t know Cynar, it is a drink based on Artichoke.. I know this doesn’t make it sexier, but there are 13 herbs added to the drink which makes it a totally different thing and surprisingly good. The fact that Cynar already exists since 1952 and is sells well after 63 years says enough I think, right?

I didn’t come up with the the ‘cocktail myself it was Olivier Jacobs from the Gand coctailbar Jiggers (and maybe indirectly Angelo Dalle Molle inventor of Cynar) , and although it might not seem lie rocket science a cocktail is all about putting the right quantities together 🙂 .

Cynar

To make the cocktail you fill a glass with ice cubes. Add 5cl Cynar, 15cl of premium tonic. Finish it off with a slice of grapefruit and a few leaves of basil and you are good to go. This mix will give you the perfect combination between sour, bittersweet (with caramel and artichoke accents), herbal taste that will wake up your appetite like never before (the perfect drink for me I’d say 😉 )

Cheers

They keep surprising us

June 17, 2015June 17, 2015 / dolcevitaspinelli / Leave a comment

I have the feeling I keep repeating myself every year when I write about the new Bistronomy guide! Everytime it is launched I say it is a very good reference if you wish to eat well and want to get NO Nonsense food in Belgium and that they improve every year! BUT IT IS JUST THE THRUTH! Who thought Steve and Johannes (founders and owners) couldn’t surprise anymore or make their guide even better, think again, they succeeded to surprise again (and I think I’m not the only one) they literally spread their horizon since the last edition, this time they went across the language and even country boarders. After being a set value in Flanders, chefs from the French speaking part of Belgium, Luxemburg and even from the Netherlands have found their way to Bistronomy and in the guide.

For who doesn’t know yet what bistronomy stands for, it basically means No Nonsense food/restaurants where they serve bistro dishes that are brought in a more refined way. Thinking back to my visits to bistronomy restaurant gives me a big smile and the taste for more… BTW it doesn’t stop with the food as most restaurants also have a very nice wine selection like Les Eleveurs in Halle or Mondevino in Borgloon to name a few… but I don’t need to re-discover America, the motto described by the Bistronomy founders (that you seen below) speak for itself and describe exactly what Bistronomy stands for… and in case you doubt restaurants can be all that, just try and be amazed! Steve and Johannes were that excited about their new guide it was already in the shops the day before the press conference 🙂

Enjoy!

A must have in your book collection

June 15, 2015June 15, 2015 / dolcevitaspinelli / 1 Comment

As some of you might have seen on my facebook, twitter and/or Instagram account, I relaxed during my holidays by reading Sepideh Sedaghatnia’s recently published book about everything that one should know about wine aka ’69 things you always wanted to know about wine’. Sepideh’s aim of the book is to teach people in a pleasant non-boring way everything about wine, from the moment the seeds get planted until it becomes the finished product we all drink and love. I know most books about wine that you see in bookshops are very technical and already by looking at them they don’t really seem like swimming pool/seaside reading material :-). Sepi’s book however attracted me somehow (and not only because of the stunning picture of Sepideh on the cover). It attracted me because after reading the back cover it was clear the book would be strait to the point and everything explained in human language (with only using terminology when needed). In this book you’ll learn about how wines are made, which grape varieties there are (the main ones) and how their variants are called in different countries (you would be surprised how many wines you thought were different grapes that actually aren’t) , and even how best to pair wine with certain dishes where in between all the explanation she also gives 69 tips. Tips like to try instead of a classical French blend, to try maybe the South-African or Italian variant… basically to spice up your life. Although I think there is 1 specific chapter I believe is special for women :-). In this chapter she divides your drinking style according to the type of person you are 🙂 So for example if you are a rock chick or a high end upper East side lady what you’ll be wearing and drinking (so if doesn’t stop with the wine tips 😉 ) I’m not gonna give away everything, but I’m sure the ladies will love this part of the book (on top of all the other great stuff that is 🙂

The only ‘minor’ point is that there isn’t a pocket version the book or at from the tips, because they might come in handy next time I’m in a restaurant to decide what to drink 🙂 But besides that I’m a big fan of the book and I can only advice everybody to read it and learn that wine is FUN in every sense of the word.

For the moment the book is only available in Dutch, but I’m sure the book will sell that well they’ll have to publish translations 🙂 (available in the better bookshops or via Sepideh’s website Sepideh

Cheers!

Floom makes you bloom

May 18, 2015 / dolcevitaspinelli / Leave a comment

Last weekend I’ve been a healthy boy, not that I am ever non-healthy as to me healthy means not eating fast food or unhealthy products. I rarely eat those, I always eat fresh and good products and eat lots of vegetables and fruit… BTW Healthy doesn’t need to mean Bio, because sometimes people seem to mix those 2. So basically last weekend I have been an even healthier boy than usually :-). I must admit it is because of my lovely wife I did it (for who else 😉 ). She took me to a pop-up brunch restaurant called Floom. I won’t say I was immediately tempted in saying ‘yes’, as in her opening sentence she mentioned Muesli a few to many times to my opinion and liking… Let’s just say that is that step over the extreme healthy line I don’t always feel like taking. It brings up the words “without butter and sugar” up in my head and those 2 just happen to be 2 of my favorite breakfast partners 🙂 🙂 Nevertheless I am always into trying something new and getting convinced my idea/thought about it was wrong…

Floom is a once a month pop-up brunch restaurant that serves a healthy brunch where sugar gets left out as much as possible. They do replace the sugar by natural sweeteners like agave syrup. What Floom tries to show people (like me) that food without the regular sugar and organic food doesn’t have to be dull or boring and lets not forget to make people healthier. Floom also has a wide rang of gluten free products… just FYI. What Julie (owner and founder of Floom) had prepared for us that ‘morning’ did look fantastic and I couldn’t wait to fill my plate (ooooh yeah I rime). .. Really she had prepared Apple-rhubarb clafoutis, chocolate donuts, mango chutney, Red beet salad, green pancakes to name a few… next to her regular selection of muesli that is… Julie’s smile and pride about her food did also give me that extra ‘push’ to try other things :-). I was that surprised and so busy with the food I forgot taking pictures like I usually do, so the few pictures you see are from Floom… I promise that next time I go I’ll try to post a few of my own pictures. But I’m sure these picture’s do the trick 🙂

You could really tell she had put (and puts) her whole heart in the food and lots of passion. She had even prepared a special banana bread for my wife as she knows my wife loves it so much … (my wife already did a few Floom brunches) I enjoy nothing more that people who work with their heart and passion!! I find it my duty to spread the word. I do! I also do my best in showing/letting those people know they are doing a great job and that I’ll try to help them in every way I can to spread that word and making their passion an even better success than it already is. I know they’re not waiting for it, but I’ll do it anyhow 🙂

Did she surprise me? Yes she did!! I was a bit skeptic in the beginning, but after the 2^nd time I filled up my plate I had no doubt anymore that the ‘extreme healthy’ (in my eyes 🙂 ) food wasn’t as bad as I imagined it. Muesli won’t become my daily breakfast, but it isn’t banned anymore from my breakfast table as it might have been before. One step at a time and maybe after my next Floom brunch they will have convinced me even more…

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I do hope you guys get to try one of the famous Floom brunches, do check their FB page or website. In case you’re not able to wait for the next brunch you can also order some of Julie’s home made products via the Floom website. If she was able to convince me, she can convince everybody (she can). You can also find more info on Floom on their website, as I’ve been very brief 🙂

Copa Jerez

May 15, 2015 / dolcevitaspinelli / Leave a comment

Everybody knows the prestigious culinary competition ‘Bocuse d’Or’, where countries from all over the world send their best team to represent their country with pride. A competition as prestigious you might not have heard from as much is the ‘Copa Jerez ‘. The ‘Copa Jerez’ is more or less the same principal with the exception that in this case a team consists of a sommelier and chef that have to create a 3 course meal paired with Sherry wine. BTW for those of you who don’t know sherry there are many typs of Sherry Dry sherry’s (Fino, Manzanilla, Amontillado, Oloroso o Palo Cortado), sweet sherry’s (Moscatel o Pedro Ximénez) and semi-sweet (Cream, Medium y Pale Cream). You can read more about it on one of my blogposts 😉 (The blogpost). I fully support this contest!! First of all because ever-since my visit to Jerez or better to the Bodega of Tio pepe I became an enormous fan/lover of Sherry wines. Secondly the team representing Belgium this year are very dear to me 🙂 . Starting with the (TOP) Sommelier representing the Belgian colours this year is no-one less than Comme Chez Soi’s Cesar Roman (who originates from Spain). Cesar will be assisted by a chef who always puts a smile on my face when he serves me his food, Nico Corbesier (Les Eleveurs). A young dynamic team with a winners attitude that don’t take satisfaction with a second place 🙂

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I even support them sooo much that I (together with a few sommeliers and chefs) went to help/advice them on the dishes and their accompanying sherry’s. Before our commends and advice it was pretty clear this year’s team is a winning team, so you can imagine how it is after the advice 🙂 🙂 On the picture below you see a small assortment of the big assortment we (had – and what a sacrifice it was) to try to help our friends for the competition… talking about friendship 😉

I did take pictures of the dishes they will be serving, but I think it is better not to share them… that would only give the competitors the change to steal ideas. What I can say is that the dishes are a good mix of Spanish and Belgian influences and products they are proud of…

Join me and support the Belgian team by liking their facebook page!! I will keep you posted on how they did, but every facebook like will give them an extra reason to win.

Putting fun in factory visits

February 10, 2015February 10, 2015 / dolcevitaspinelli / Leave a comment

I know it has been a long since my last blogpost and no I did not stop with my blog 🙂 I just had to give priority to my very very soon to be born daughter (6-7weeks) or better to all the pre–birth stuff that have to get done + I do still have a day-time job that asks a lot of my attention the last few weeks… basically I had less or no time to write. I did have time to have a night out with friends 🙂 It was up to these friends to pick a restaurant and in that way ended up in restaurant Silo’s that only opened its doors on December first (2014)?! So it is/was still brand new! What I was surprised about was the amount of publicity and attention from magazines and bloggers it got…Until I found out that the 2 couples owning Silo’s used to be the former owner from the Michelin star awarded restaurant Folliez in Mechelen (and I did rememberDanny Vanderschueren talking about opening a new restaurant (during Gala Diner of the Best Belgian Sommelier)) and a very well known caterer Daniel’s in Mechelen. But instead of what you might think they decided to walk a different path serving well prepared classic dishes instead of the Michelin star type of food (so non gastronomical) for normal prices.

I didn’t know well how to describe the restaurant until I read Bruno Verspauwen’s article in DM magazine a while ago. He said Silo’s felt like being in a restaurant in the Meatpacking District in NYC… and it really is like that as the restaurant is located in a former industrial malt house like there are many industrial building in the meatpacking in NYC… FYI, Silo’s used to be a Malt house. Maybe picture below will help you picture it. Also this makes it the funnest factory visit ever 😉 😉 I know the picture is taken in the dark, but I’ll be going back in a few weeks and hopefully be able to take a picture in daylight…

Silo’s is a big restaurant that doesn’t feel big. Let me clarify, normally when eating big restaurants one always fears a the bad acoustics and you almost have to shout to the other people at your table… fear that wasn’t needed as they’re acoustics better acoustics that in lots of small restaurants :-). I was told by Danny Van Landtsheer that this on of their main priorities before opening the restaurant at this location! Apparently the reason for the good acoustics is the good foundation of the old factory and the silo’s that are still present in the restaurant… anyhow if that is the real reason or not I enjoyed the fact I didn’t have to shout 😉

As mentioned before you can only find not sophisticated dishes on the menu, my eye immediately fell on the marrow-bone with mustard and herb crust 🙂 NJAMMY !! (only not too good for my cholesterol though, but you can’t undo done things I always say 🙂 :-)) As main course the pork-cheek Belgian beer stew just seemed like the perfect follower for the marrow-bones. for me at least, my lovely wife had the codfish with and our friends a succulent piece of deer filet and Duroc pork rib 🙂 Only thing left on the plats was its varnish everything, so I guess everybody liked it.

What I encourage 100% and found great is that ALL wines from on the menu can also be taken per glass!!! I know that sometimes you drank a bottle(s) but you are still craving for 1 more glass and not another bottle from the same wine to go with you dessert or just because you feel like 1 more glass… at silo’s it is possible, 2 thumbs up!! FYI they also had some great Luis Pato wines (just saying)

Resuming my dinner: I liked it and will be back 🙂 Oh and 1 more thing, do take the classic ‘Dame Blanche’ dessert with home made vanilla ice-cream and really chocolate sauce 🙂

P.S.: I hope you won’t have to wait too long on my next blogpost… but that’s out of my hands…

Restaurant Silo’s

Website: http://www.silos.be/

Address: Leuvensesteenweg 350, 3190 Boortmeerbeeck – Belgium

Spanish summer in a glass

December 30, 2014December 30, 2014 / dolcevitaspinelli / Leave a comment

Who knew Halle (near Brussels) could feel like Spain or even feel like summer in middle of winter?! Andy De Brouwer did as he was the one to create this oasis in his restaurant Les Eleveurs (aka a Walhalla for food and wine 🙂 ) together with the Rueda wine region. Rueda might not seem too familiar, but Verdejo might ring a bell for more people as it is without any doubt the Spain’s most famous white wine… or one of as technically speaking Sherry (Jerez) is also a white wine 🙂

The Rueda region is located in the North of Spain between Portugal and that other very famous Spanish wine region Rioja. You can see it as the Spanish part of the Portuguese Douro valley as the Duera (Douro) river continues its path in this region. The vineyards/vines in the Rueda region are planted 700 to 800 meters above sea- level on dark grey – brown soils… mostly stony (but easy to farm), with good ventilation and draining. Important to know is that the soil is very rich of calcium and magnesium essential for a good development of the vines.

I must rephrase what I said before as I said this region mostly know for it white wine, but it does also have some world renowned red’s of Toro, Ribera del Duero and Leon. The wine grape of Toro, called Tinta de Toro, has long been considered a mutant of Tempranillo (one of the main grapes in the Rioja region). Today we’ll be focusing on the white wines.

Why I referred to summer is because the Rueda wines or Verdejo is the perfect wine for on a warm summer’s day in the garden under a pergola with some olives or some thinly sliced Parma ham or Pata Negra. Basically an everyman’s friend… young, playful, refreshing, smooth and floral. Typically Verdejo wines are aromatic (very fruity), often soft, and full-bodied. That full-bodyness it has to thank to the altitude on which the grapes are grown (+600m)

If Andy wouldn’t have told me it would have taking me much longer to find out what the smell and taste of the Verdejo reminded me of, as it did remind me of something I had tasted before… Apparently the Verdejo grape is a sister grape of Sauvignon Blanc and therefore has more or less the same notions as a Sauvignon Blanc and the confuse the enemy even more they sometimes also blend the 2 grape kinds together 🙂 . Sooo being a Sauvignon Blanc lover it won’t come as a surprise I like Verdejo wines as well??!! Also this was the reason it seemed so familiar. But do keep in mind that it are young wines that should be drunk young as they are not really aging material… also most Verdejo or Rueda wines in general (white ones) haven’t seen too much wooden barrels, which also isn’t necessary as it would make this already lovely wine more complex without too much reason if it would stay a long time in wooden barrels:-).If they blend the Verdejo with the Sauvignon Blanc it will make a richer and more aromatic wine.

We can do is a make a little distinction between the wines that are really ‘apero’ material as other do require a little snack or dish with it… From the 9 wines we tasted, the first 3 were the perfect example of non expensive (around 7 EUR) ‘apero’ or ‘summery’ wines (don’t get me wrong all 9 go well without food, but the 3 first best). The wines I’m talking about were a 2013 Rueda Verdejo by Marqués de Riscal (100% Verdejo), a 2013 Verdejo by Emina (100% Verdejo) and last but not least the 2013 Badajo Rueda Verdejo by Gotica. I loved the label from the Badajo as it reminded me a of the wallpaper I used on one of the walls from my still to be born daughter 🙂 🙂 (JUST FYI). Although all 3 wines are 100% of Verdejo grapes you could taste a small difference, the Marques de Riscal fruitier, whereas the Emina was more silt/salty like. FYI all the wines I’m mentioning are available in Belgium.

What I did enjoy was that for the remaining wines Andy and Nico (chef from Les Eleveurs) created and found some great matching dishes tapa style to go with the wines :-). The first matching dish they had to find was to fit with the 2013 Analivia Verdejo by Pagos del Rey. Although it won’t come as a surprise that most dishes included fish as although with can also match some meats the best pairing is still with fish… So for the first dish they went for a puffed codfish skin with hand peeled grey shrimps and avocado. The freshness of the dish went perfectly with the fruitiness and freshness of the wine. I do love my grey shrimps from the North-sea!!

Followed by crayfish with a risotto ‘croquette’ to match the Verdejo de Alberto still in the wine types of before nothing extravagant yet, just lovely and easy to drink.

The wines that were about to follow were slightly more ‘complex’ wines in comparison with the previous ones as some of them did get a little wooden barrel time (not too much though). The Verdejo from Traslagares is a good example.Well balanced acidity with a touch of bitterness and the taste for 2nd glass and one the favorites of the evening 🙂 Perfect for the hand-caught bass with eggplant caviar and a black olive crumble.

As first non fish dish we received a on low heat roasted chicken leg Moroccan style paired for the Rueda Verdejo wine by Reina de Castilla probably the most complex wine together with the last wine of the night.

The frosting on the cake is always the dessert, isn’t it? Normally they had forseen cheeses, but as I’m not really a cheesy guy (in every sense of the word) they gave me a caramel/pear/ice/chocolat dessert which also match perfect with I think favorite wine of the evening the PR3 Barricas Verdejo by Prado Rey that has been on wood for 9 months… which is a long time for this type of wine and results in a stronger wine, but still not too complex, I’d rather call it tropical with a light wood sense in between .

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I can’t wait for it to be summer, but I’m sure glass of Rueda wine will help me to keep patient as it truly is summer in a glass!

Hope to visit this region some day!

Thanks to Rueda Wines and Andy De Brouwer for learning me more about wines…

How to make Cannelés de Bordeaux

December 10, 2014December 10, 2014 / dolcevitaspinelli / Leave a comment

Making desserts has never been my thing, also in cooking school (highschool) we learned how to make lots of nice desserts it didn’t crumble my cookie 😉 😉 😉 Nevertheless from time to time I like eating like a nice ‘tarte tatin’ or ‘rice pie’… I don’t reallyt make them myself as you can buy them very well prepared in lots of bakeryshops. A dessert or better ‘ friandise‘ I was very keen on learning how to make as you don’t find easily (well prepared ones even more difficult) are ‘Cannelés de Bordeaux’. When a few weeks ago I got served some cannelés at restaurant Ardent and I just had to ask the chef how he made them as even though the recipe isn’t difficult there are always a few tips and tricks you can’t find in books… I even pushed my luck that far on asking him very very kindly if he could maybe show me :-). Lucky me Wouter van Steenwinkel is a very friendly guy who was more than willing to teach me all the tips and tricks to make my beloved ‘Cannelés de Bordeaux’ 🙂 (and to give me a few to eat at home that never got home 🙂 🙂 )

The recipe below is to make ca.75 cannelés. Before we start I must tell you that the batter must be made a day in advance before baking!! The good news is that the batter can be kept for almost 2 weeks in the fridge. It is also advisable to prepare the cannelés in silicone baking tin (if you have stainless steel they’ll also work, but they don’t give an extra value to the result)

Ingredients:

1l milk
100g butter (cut in small dice)
1 dried vanilla fruit (NO EXTRACT, THE ACTUAL FRUIT)
4 eggs
4 eggyolks
500g sugar
200g flour
Brown rum
Salt
Beeswax (for cooking not for cleaning) or butter to grease the baking tin
A needle

Getting Started

The batter:

Put a the milk, butter and vanilla fruit (but open) to a boil on a medium heat

Take a large bowl to make the batter.
Put all the eggs together with the sugar and start mixing them. Just mixing as there doesn’t need to be too much air in the eggs….

Add the flour and a pinch of salt. Mix again until you don’t see the flour anymore.

When the butter had been totally dissolved in the milk add the milk to the egg mix, just a little bit at a time en kip mixing with a whisk(so NOT all in one time )

When you added all the milk add a bit of brown rum. How much is up to you (it speaks for itself that you shouldn’t be adding a whole bottle. Let’s say a shot glass will do 🙂 don’t act as if you don’t have a glass like that at home from a crazy tequila night ;-). Give a last whisk.

Sieve the batter into a bucket or other recipient, something in which you can put the batter to put it in your fridge. Let it first cool down before putting in fridge.

Baking the cannelés:

Pre-heat your oven at 200°C (392°F)
Give you batter a quit little mix with a whisk or ladle.
Lightly grease the baking tine with either melted butter or beeswax

Pour the batter into the forms, but not all the way to the top as the cannelés will grow. SO keep it a few millimeters from the top.

Put in the pre-heated oven for 10 minutes
Change the oven temperature into 180°C (356°F)
Open the oven and sting the cannelés with a needle on the sides so they collaps

Close the oven and let them bake for another 30minutes
After 30 minutes turn the form over on top of a baking tray and put the cannelés for a few more minutes (2) in the oven

Take them out of the oven to cool down

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Enjoy!!

A special thanks to Wouter van Steenwinkel from Restaurant Ardent for making this happen 🙂

Tour de France without bikes but with wine and bubbles: J de Telmont

December 8, 2014December 8, 2014 / dolcevitaspinelli / Leave a comment

The initial plan was to just drive home after visiting the Beaune vineyards, but then I saw the Champagne region wasn’t an enormous detour to get back home… so what else could I do?? I just had to make the little ‘detour’ via the Champagne region to visit my 2^nd Champagne vineyard aka J. de Telmont. I wanted to visit the J. de Telmont vineyard for a while now, it is one of the 3 champagne vineyards on my ‘wish /to do’ list (the other 2 are Bollinger that I visited last year and the 3^rd vineyard I’m not gonna say yet 🙂 ). I know there are more than 3 vineyards in this region, but these are already for a long time the only ones I feel like visiting…. (it is like with everything else, you always have a few favorites)

When most people think of the Champagne region they automatically think of Reims or Erpernay, but there are many more little towns around those 2 bigger ‘cities’ where Champagne is made. I know this is only my 2^nd time in this region, but I do find it funny to see how close all the Champagne houses are to each other… no matter how you turn your head, you’ll always see another/ different one 🙂 Just made something clear, there is Champagne and champagne. I’ll clarify, it is not because on the label there is written ‘Champagne’ that it means it is a good champagne… Drinking a good champagne is a totally different sensation. In a good champagne there might be lots of bubbles, but they don’t disturb you or don’t get acid reflux or a headache the day after like you sometimes get when drinking ‘lesser quality’ champagnes. In case you were wondering, J. de Telmont is one the good ones, otherwise I wouldn’t be writing about them 😉

What I like and admire about J. de Telmont is that besides making very nice Champagnes, they also try to teach people how the whole ‘making-of’ process works. (BTW this is also the motto and philosophy of the house: conviviality, hospitality and sharing) They even go that far that you can blend your own champagne aka ‘Les Ateliers J. De Telmont‘ … I can hear you think that this is probably something only for professionals?? Wrong! This is something they do for and with everybody who is interested in it . Even the best sommeliers learn a lot from these workshops. For our visit we were honored to be guided around by mr. Bertrand Lhopital himself, 4^th generation of the Lhopital family to lead the company and to work (together with his team) to make every champagne they make their best champagne. He told us that from time to time some couples who are getting married come to make their own champagne for their wedding…

I did already tell you this but just in case you forgot, champagne gets made from 3 grape varieties:Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. These grapes must come from the area/region defined by the Champagne heritage board, if they don’t the finished product may not wear the name ‘Champagne’ but rather ‘Crémant’ (like Crémant de Loire, Crémant de Bourgogne). Champagne gets made in 2 fermentation periods. During the first fermentation the champagne makers will be making an actual (normal, but slightly more acidic) wine and it is only during the 2nd fermentation (aka Malolactic fermentation) by adding sugar that over time the bubbles will get in the wine and it will be come a Champagne. The assembling of different wines (from same or different grapes) happens just before the 2nd fermentation. Then what makes that not all champagnes taste the same?? Well because every champagne maker will just like any other winemakers ‘play’ with assembling wines from different vintages, age their wines in wooden barrels or stainless steel tanks and age wines longer etc…. all of this also in combination with working with the best grapes and traditions (FYI these are just a few examples)

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J. de Telmont was founded in 1912, but it was not until 1959 that André Lhopital (Bertrand’s grandfather) decided to change their name from Lhopital into Telmont… Why Telmont?? Well, it might seem like it corresponds to a person (I also initially thought this), but this is not true. As new name he wanted to use the name of his best parcel of land with historic vines from the vineyard on them aka “Beaumonts”. Unfortunately this name was already in use and there was refused by the CIVC. Mr Lhopital then opted to chance “Beaumonts “into “Belmont”, but again CIVC refused as there was still too much resemblance with the name“Beaumonts”. As Mr. Lhopital was no quitter he decided to try one more time by change “b” into “t” and adding initials to make it more special with as a result that in 1952 finally CIVC approved the vineyard was known as J. De Telmont 🙂 talking about perseverance!!

It was not my first contact with J. de Telmont as I was already able to taste some of their Champagnes during the yearly ‘Best Belgian sommelier’ trophy from which J. de Telmont since a few years is sponsor. It was during these first contacts that J. de Telmont came on my ‘wishlist’ of vineyards I definitely wanted to visit as the few things I tasted gave me taste for more exploring of their selection 🙂

I don’t want to sound cliche because I keep saying this, but I love hearing a passionate person like in this case mr. Lhopital speak. It is so contagious, I mean you just want to keep listing to what they have to say. They can make the most technical things sound like some the easiest and explain it in such a way that you can actually understand it as they really want to you to understand it (without only throwing around with fancy terms that sometimes make things more confusing). This is also what I always try to do in my blogpost of when explaining something in person. A good example was that we got to taste some wines before their 2nd fermentation to understand how the wines keep developing and change over time and during the 2nd fermentation. The frosting on the cake for me (besides tasting the finished product) is always walking through enormous cellars where maybe millions of bottles are stored from all vintages… a walk through Telmont’s history basically.

To celebrate this exceptional anniversary, the family Lhopital wants to share some of their history by reselling some of their older (best) vintage from 1964, 1969, 1975, 1976, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1990 and 1992. Champagne from ‘Collection Héritage’ as they are called are elaborated with 100 % Pinot Meunier grape variety You would expect this would be for exceptionally high prices, but you are wrong. They Lhopital family wanted the prices reasonable as they want everybody to be able to enjoy this and not only the happy few… it is part of their philosophy (sharing). It speaks for itself that they won’t be giving them neither, but can be bought ,depending the vintage, from 70 to 150EUR… Just as comparison if you would want a Burgundy or Bordeaux wine from 1964 you’ll have add a few zero’s.. J. de Telmont just wants everybody to be able to enjoy a bit of that legacy. SOOO if you want to know how 1985 tasted like… here is you chance 🙂

My absolute favorite champagne of the Telmont selection would be the Centenaire which unfortunately is not for sale and can only be tasted in exceptional cases like this year’s Gala diner after the ‘Best Belgian Sommlier’ trophy where fortunate enough to be part of :-). This one does without any doubt get followed by the O.R.1735 which is has the wonderful smell grilled/ freshly baked brioches or bread with notes of vanilla and a taste that makes every sip of champagne a feast… the O.R. 1735 is in a few words a Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru (Grapes come from Grand Cru area’s). If you afterwards compare it with the ‘regular’ Blanc de blancs, you’ll find the same notes, but less complex and less vanilla notes.

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From the non 100% Chardonnay champagnes my preference went to the Grande Réserve Brut which had and is the perfect balance between all 3 grape kinds as it exists out of equal shares of all 3 grape types (Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir). A very round full bodied wine with notes of fresh hard white fruits. I guess it won’t come as a surprise when I tell you that by miracle the just mentioned champagnes found its way to our homes (both mine as Carlos’) 🙂 🙂 My excuse was my daughter’s birth and being able to celebrate it with a good glass… not sure what Carlos’ excuse was 😉 ???

After our visit we can confirm that their philosophy isn’t only a few words, but in fact their way of work as it felt like visiting friends for whom they took all their time and we were the most important (hospitality and conviviality)and we learned a lot about champagne making and got to taste some real beauties (sharing)….Just the way I like it!!

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The end 🙂 We go back home with lots of new knowledge and a trunk full of wine 🙂

Tour de France without bikes but with wine: Les Hospices de Beaune

December 4, 2014 / dolcevitaspinelli / Leave a comment

We obviously had to eat during our, but this wasn’t easy as thought… not because there were not enough restaurants, but because the famous Hospices de Beaune were about to take place the next days (so lots of people from all over the world already traveled to Beaune). The Hospices de Beaune aka Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune is first of all know for formerly being a charitable almshouse in Beaune founded in 1443 by chancellor of Burgundy Nicolas Rolin, as a hospital for the poor. The Hôtel-Dieu, one very beautiful building to say the least. Nowadays they service their patients are in new/modern hospital buildings.

The second reason they are very well know (mostly amongst winelovers) is because of their yearly charity wine auction held in November (so the period I was in Beaune :-)) already since 1851 (on the 3^rd Sunday of November to be more precise) . Domaine des Hospices de Beaune is a non-profit organization that owns around 61 hectares (150 acres) of donated vineyard land by patients (with most appellations being Grand and Premier cru). So as they are a non-profit organization they decided to yearly keep auctions where the bidding happens mostly by professionals, but surprisingly also by a lot of private buyer and they can bid on 31 cuvées of red wine and 13 of white wine. I have no clue for which prices these barrels are sold, but I’m sure some nice investments can be done by the cause. The Hospices de Beaune is also the moment all winemakers in Beaune open their doors to the public and they whole town celebrates with food and wine 🙂 Also it is up to the buyer to age, cure and elaborate the wine further…

So moral of my story is that most restaurants were fully booked and I just had to look harder to find one 🙂 But instead of looking I just asked local people as to my opinion this is still the best way to discover good new places! One of the restaurants we were suggested and liked during our stay in Beaune was the Ermitage de Corton located a few minutes outside the city center of Beaune (direction Nuits St. Georges). The spot if you are looking for good refined food to be enjoyed in a relax atmosphere and put your thoughts on hold for a few hours. That is how I would describe the Ermitage de Corton…

As we were in Bourgogne it didn’t seem a bad idea to take the menu Bourguignon… I started with a Poached egg a in a red wine sauce with onion and bacon. Carlos being a snail lover started with the Chinese cabbage stuffed with snails, butternut and chestnut mousse. Mine tasted as I wanted it to taste, which is basically comfort food where you can taste the butter and rich ingredients 🙂

As we already had been tasting the whole day it wasn’t easy to decided which wine we wanted, but as I know Carlos is a big white wine fan we chose a nice bottle 2011 Saint-Romain, “Sous Le Château” by Christophe Buisson. Why I chose this wine? Well first of all I wanted to try a local wine that I hadn’t tried yet that was affordable 🙂 . I can also say for a fact it was a very nice bottle of wine, very floral with a little richer taste that everybody would like. Perfect for an evening amongst friends.

We continued our meal with for me Steamed fillet of plaice with quinces, lemons and walnuts, Crémant Sauce and polenta crisps. Although I must admit Carlos’ choice did make me doubt as he had the Beef cheeks cooked in a red wine sauce during 7 hours… (I did get to taste some 😉 )