Calvet Kitchen

Six wines from France's Calvet - and the Calvet Kitchen experience

If you know Calvet's wines, it is probably for their range of easy-drinking and inexpensive Bordeaux. And if you don't, you probably should, as they are the largest French wine brand in the UK and the UK is Calvet's largest market.

But Calvet turns out to be a lot more than just Bordeaux; established over 200 years ago, the company makes wine in almost all of France's major regions.

Calvet Kitchen is a food-and-wine matching initiative to pair regional French dishes with Calvet wines; which is, after all, when French wine is all about.

With 64 winemakers in 7 regions, Calvet is a diverse business and yet all the wines here had a family resemblance that reflects Calvet's aims - an elegance and easy-drinking freshness with plenty of food-friendly mid-palate.

These wines all drink well on first pouring, but also open with aeration and have the body and complexity to stand up to food.

Loire-based winemaker Pierre-Jean Sauvion explained his approach:

- quality of fruit

- balance of fruit and freshness

- food-friendly salinity

The wines were all of broadly similar quality and, the Chablis aside, price, so preferences come down largely to personal taste.

Of the whites, I enjoyed the Chablis most, but given the price difference, the Muscadet makes a good value alternative.

Of the other colours, the CdRV was the most substantial and interesting.

The Calvet Kitchen playlist archive is here:

Calvet Kitchen | Meet Guillaume Lassevils, chef in the Bordeaux region - YouTube

Calvet Muscadet 2020, abv 12%, (£5.95-7 Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Co-op)

Grown on warmer sandy soils, resulting in more ripeness in the wine.

minty and floral with tropical fruit; fresh, rounded and saline with pear and white stone fruits

Thoroughly enjoyable.

Match with seafood and freshwater fish.

Calvet Haut Poitou 2021, abv 11.5%, (£10.99 Waitrose)

A new appellation to the south of the Loire around an hour from Saumur, it was created in 2011 but has a long history dating back to the 14th century. The soils are part of the same chalk limestone that runs under Champagne and moderates the water table which is key to the condition of the grapes.

Loire Sauvignon with a new world nose, but old world palate.

expressive and exuberant; gooseberries, exotic fruits and mintiness; juicy citrus, ripe green fruits and herbaceous, minty, zippy lime,

Thoroughly enjoyable.

Matches well with fresh tomato-based dishes.

Calvet Chablis 2021, abv 12%, (£20 Ocado)

Grown on chalk soils with 80% fermented in stainless steel for freshness and 20% in barrel for complexity.

stone fruits, peaches an dapricot; green apple and grapefruit, with lemon zest, fresh coriander and salinity.

Thoroughly enjoyable.

A versatile food wine, serve as an aperitif or match with starters and lighter mains.

Calvet Murmure de Rose Côtes de Provence 2021, abv 12.5% (new)

Newly-launched in the UK; night-picked for freshness with a short maceration; fermented in stainless steel for freshness.

red fruits, mint and spice; fresh, fruited and textured with red berries and salinity.

Sip as an aperitif or match with picnic foods.

Calvet Prestige Bordeaux Red 2020, abv 14%, (£7.50-£8.50 Sainsburys, Ocado, Co-op, Tesco)

80% Merlot with 20% Cabernet

red and dark berry fruits with vanilla spice; fresh with juicy, ripe and fleshy berry fruits; fine tannins and leafy, savoury, mushroomy flavours

Thoroughly enjoyable.

Match with red meats, such as bbq burgers or char-grilled steak.

Calvet Prestige Côtes du Rhône Villages 2021, abv 14%, (£7.50 Tesco)

Classic Rhône GSM blend

dark fruits and spices with garrigue herbs; substantial, fresh and supple with gentle tannins; harmonious and adept

Thoroughly enjoyable.

Match the freshness to meaty fish, such as salmon or rare tuna steaks.

Hyper Japan: Curry Workshop ​with S&B Foods and Kinu Yukawa

A lesson in Japanese curry making with S&B Foods and Kinu Yukawa at Ichiba London

Understanding Japan

It is something of an oversimplification, if not a cliché, to say that Japan spent two centuries looking inwards before venturing out to the world from the 1860s to discover and bring back the best it had to offer.

Any student of Japanese culture will explain to you that the reality is both more complex and less clear-cut than this.

It does, however, give some insight to those unfamiliar with Japan of the country's values and approach; Japan's food and drink culture is not so much a Thing as a Way of Doing. An island nation, historically an empire, Japan imports ideas from the rest of the world and applies a Japanese way of doing them, so that Craftsmanship is refined to the point of becoming almost an Art Form.

For a European, perhaps the nearest parallel as a country is Germany: innovative, artistic and Romantic with a strong sense of self-identity, a striving for excellence in everything and a love of both high art and high kitsch.

Some Food History

Japanese curry is based on British curries imported from India; the flavours and spices will be familiar to anyone who has ever been to a traditional British curry house.

S&B's curry sauces were developed for restaurants in the 1920s and 1930s, becoming popular enough in homes to sell directly to consumers from the 1950s.

This curry recipe combines influences and techniques from all over the world.

Katsu is the breaded and deep-fried element here using panko breadcrumbs, which are are a Japanese take on standard breadcrumbs; the secret is not so much in the bread used as in the grinding process which results in larger, lighter and more elegant crumbs.

The flour-egg-crumb-fry approach of katsu is straight out of central southern Europe, be it Escalope milanaise, Wiener Schnitzel or Smažený sýr.

Wasabi dressing is clearly a take on classic French vinaigrette while the addition of sliced ginger and the bento box-style presentation feel uniquely Japanese.

The Chef

Kinu Yukawa had her first taste of cooking in her hometown of Kobe Japan, where she used to help her grandmother, who also worked as a professional chef Her career led her to Kyoto where studied traditional Japanese cuisine, then Paris where she was enrolled at the Ecole Ritz Escoffier.

Now a cooking instructor, food stylist and private chef with almost a decade of experience teaching at the Japan Centre London, Chef Yukawa is more than ready to tell you everything you need to know about the perfect Japanese dishes.

Ichiba and Hyper Japan 2022

Ichiba is Europe’s largest Japanese Food Hall; located in the new extension of Westfield London in Shepherd’s Bush, near John Lewis, Japan Centre Ichiba is a 5 minute walk from Wood Lane underground station and a 10 minute walk from Shepherd’s Bush underground station.

Hyper Japan is the UK’s largest celebration of all things Japanese.

In 2002, Hyper Japan will once again take over Evolution London, bringing an iconic mix of tradition and innovation to the capital for an experience like no other. Heading into the event’s 10-year milestone, Hyper Japan will celebrate the culture, cuisine and cool of Japan with a party that delivers a true feast for the senses!

The Method

For the curry base, gently fry onions until caramelised, then add cubed root vegetables and stir to coat in the cooking oil as this will prevent them disintegrating later on.

Add plenty of water and a whole block of the S&B curry sauce; the curry is thickened using flour, so simmer for a couple of minutes after adding, then set aside for 15 minutes to thicken.

Line up three separate bowls of plain flour, beaten egg and panko breadcrumbs; coat slices of aubergine in flour, then beaten egg and finally breadcrumbs. Deep fry until golden.

Plate up with rice, curry sauce, katsu aubergines and the salad with wasabi dressing and sliced ginger.

The method here is straightforward enough for any moderately competent chef who can cook a curry; what makes this Japanese is the S&B sauce as well as the combination of katsu, curry and dressed salad.

For a more-thorough recipe with measurements, see here: Japanese Curry | Recipes | S&B Foods Global Site (sbfoods-worldwide.com)

Links: Kinu Yukawa : Sozai Cooking School – HYPER JAPAN

Recipes To Preserve Seasonal Summer Fruits

Recipes to preserve seasonal summer fruits 

By Toby Geneen, co-founder and co-head chef at Kindling Restaurant 

Here are a couple of recipes to help you preserve the taste of summer:

Strawberry Jam

· 1kg of strawberries, green part removed and cut into quarters

· 1kg caster sugar (or you can use preserving sugar and omit the pectin)

· 15g pectin

· 3 tsp citric acid 

1. Place a small plate in the freezer ready for testing the set of your jam.

2. Mix the caster sugar and pectin together so the pectin is well distributed.

3. Place the strawberries and sugar pectin mix in a large pan over a low heat and stir regularly until the strawberries have released lots of juice and the sugar is dissolved.

4. Stir in the 3 tsp of citric acid then bring the jam mixture up to a simmer, stirring regularly.

5. Hard boil the mixture for about five minutes, stirring to ensure it doesn’t catch on the bottom.

6. Remove from the heat and test the set of the jam by placing a small amount of your freezer chilled plate. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes. If it is set it will crinkle when gently pushed with a fingertip. If it’s not setting, return the mixture to the heat and boil for a few more minutes and test again. Repeat until the setting point is reached.

Fermented Plums

Fermenting fruit in brine is a great way to keep it for use later in the year. Fermented plums add a delicious punch as a sliced or diced garnish, or they can be pureed into a zingy sauce.

You’ll need a large jar suitable for fermenting, such as Kilner jar with a rubber clip top lid.

· 1kg plums

· 1L water

· 50g table salt 

1. Rinse the plums and cut in half, removing the stone.

2. Tightly pack your plum halves into your fermentation jar.

3. Whisk the water and table salt together ensuring all the salt is well dissolved.

4. Pour just enough of the brine over the plums to ensure they are covered.

5. A fermentation weight or a ziplock bag filled with water should be placed on top of the plums to weigh them down and force the brine to cover them.

6. Seal the jar and allow to ferment at room temperature or slightly warmer. Fermentation will take around five to seven days.

7. Burp the jar if necessary to prevent carbon dioxide from building up and creating too much pressure in the jar. At the end of the fermentation period the plums and the brine should taste pleasantly sour and acidic.

8. At the end of fermentation, burp the jar and place it in the fridge to halt or dramatically slow fermentation before using. If you intend to keep the jar in the fridge for a long time its good practice to burp the jar occasionally to release any gases that have built up and avoid explosions. Alternatively, you can drain the brine from the fermented plums and freeze them to use later on.

The benefits of using seasonal ingredients

The Japanese call it shun, the precise moment in the year when any food is at its peak in terms of harvest and flavour. Imagine the snap of spring asparagus, the heady scent of summer raspberries or the crunch of freshly frosted cabbage.

In recent decades innovations in food and transport have created a much more global food market allowing supermarkets to stock exotic foods from all over the world, 365 days a year. While this is fabulous from a consumer choice point of view, we’re missing out on the best produce, spending more money than we need to, and failing to get all the health benefits by overlooking seasonality.

When you choose ingredients that are naturally in season, you will get fresher, sweeter produce that tastes better. The joy of something perfectly ripe is that you have to do very little to it to make it taste amazing. Nothing compares to the taste of tomatoes grown outdoors and ripened in the late August sunshine. Fragrant, sweet, and juicy these tomatoes are a far cry from the red bullets you can buy that are imported in December. They taste of tomato and need nothing more than some salt and pepper to sing on the plate.

Imported produce is generally picked well before it’s ripe to make it easier to transport. This is why avocadoes in the UK will never taste like the ones in Mexico! Imported food is kept refrigerated for long periods of time and doesn’t develop the same levels of nutrients as food that’s allowed to ripen in situ. Seasonal food has a higher nutritional value because it is consumed riper and closer to the time of harvest, while food that’s transported and stored for long periods rapidly loses antioxidants such as vitamin C, diminishing its health benefits.

Seasonal food also supports what your body needs. Summer foods such as tomatoes and stone fruits contain high levels of carotenoids which help protect us against sun damage. When ripened on the vine, tomatoes have plenty of time to develop lots of the red plant chemical lycopene. This has been well documented in safeguarding our skin from damaging UV rays and protecting against skin cancer. Summer vegetables are also naturally lighter and have a higher water content helping us to stay cool and hydrated. Although 80% of your daily water intake usually comes from drinks, the other 20% comes from foods. Cucumbers, lettuce, courgettes, and watercress are all excellent summer vegetable sources of water. By contrast winter veggies tend to be rich in starches. These help to provide the extra energy we need to stay warm in the colder months. What we eat sends signals to our body about the time of year. A warming pumpkin curry in October makes much more sense than a cold leafy salad.

If this isn’t enough, buying food in season can also be kinder to your wallet. When food is at its peak in supply it costs less for farmers and distribution companies to get it to your local supplier, which helps to reduce the cost to you. Local food also avoids any import costs. The more local you buy, the bigger the saving. Farm shops and veg box schemes are a great way to access the best of what’s available and learn about what’s in season throughout the year.

Using produce that is grown or reared in the UK also reduces the number of ‘food miles’ and brings down your carbon footprint. There is less transportation, refrigeration, and fewer hot houses, all of which helps to reduce air pollution. Not only is it environmentally friendly, using seasonal produce supports regional farms and communities, helping to grow the local economy.

Call me romantic but I’ve rather fallen in love with the ebb and flow of British produce. Getting excited to taste the first forced rhubarb and awaiting the moment I can viably put deep fried Brussel’s sprout back on the menu in the winter. At our restaurant Kindling our self-imposed restriction of buying local has become a catalyst for menu development. It has initiated dish changes, inspired new combinations and driven us to learn more about preserving things so we can use them later in the year. When we started the restaurant, we really wanted to live by seasonality and local produce, and we have found it both liberating and exciting.

At first seasonal eating can seem restrictive but it doesn’t have to be. Every item you buy produce that’s grown closer to home some air miles are saved and some flavour gained. You’ll soon discover how much better food tastes and how much easier it is to make a delicious meal when the produce you’re using is at its peak. To keep things interesting have a go at preserving or fermenting gluts of summer produce so you can have those flavours later in the year. We love to make berry jams, tomato chutneys, piccalilli, gherkins, and fermented fruits. Then we can use them for a splash of colour and some zing in the colder months.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Toby Geneen is co-founder and co-head chef of Kindling Restaurant in Brighton. Kindling is about more than just the delicious food, it is a community of people: staff, customers and suppliers all sharing and celebrating local produce. Nature writes the menu as the seasons inspire the dishes. Kindling is featured in the Michelin Guide and is a member of the Sustainable Restaurants Association. 

Web: www.kindlingrestaurant.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KindlingBrighton @KindlingBrighton

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kindlingrestaurant/ @KindlingRestaurant

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kindlingrestaurant

Food and Wine Matching with Kindling Restaurant - Slow Roast Shoulder Of Mutton With Carrot, Tomatoes And Red Wine

A lamb recipe from Kindling Restaurant, Brighton - with some classic wine matches

Kindling Restaurant in Brighton is about more than just the delicious food, it is a community of people: staff, customers and suppliers all sharing and celebrating local produce. Nature writes the menu as the seasons inspire the dishes. Kindling is featured in the Michelin Guide and is a member of the Sustainable Restaurants Association.

Web: www.kindlingrestaurant.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KindlingBrighton @KindlingBrighton

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kindlingrestaurant/ @KindlingRestaurant

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kindlingrestaurant

The Food - slow roast shoulder of mutton with carrot, tomatoes and red wine

Perfect for Easter or a Mother’s Day gathering, why not try Kindling Restaurant’s slow roast mutton shoulder as a centre piece for your table. A classic combination of seasonal flavours from Chef Toby Geneen’s childhood, this dish is rich, comforting and perfect for a family celebration.

Kindling’s ethos centres around seasonal produce and ethical farming. Here, the traditional spring lamb is replaced with a piece of regeneratively farmed mutton. Regenerative agriculture is a farming system that aims to restore and improve the countryside. When it comes to sheep this means rotating their grazing and uses practices such as planting herbs into the fields to enhance the health of the herd. This has the added benefit of enhancing the flavour.

Mutton is typically four to six years old. Being a matured meat, it has had plenty of time outside allowing it to develop a generous fat content and deep gamey flavour that just isn’t present in the younger lamb.

At the restaurant the mutton is sourced directly from a local farm, Saddlescombe, located on the Sussex downs. To source high quality mutton, speak to your local butcher or farm shop.

Chef Toby Geneen: credit Jo Hunt

The Wines

Roast lamb and Big Red is a classic match; ripe-yet-fresh wines will have the body and acidity to stand up to the richness of lamb.

All these wines will benefit from a couple of hours in the decanter before serving.

Torres Altos Ibéricos Rioja Crianza (£11.99, Waitrose)

red and bramble fruits with complex oaky spices; dark cherries, black raspberries and ripe red plum with leather and earthy tobacco; fresh, substantial and intense with firm but fine tannins.

Chateau La Raze Beauvallet Medoc Cru Bourgeois 2016 (£14.99, Virgin Wines)

A medal-winning Cru Bourgeois Bordeaux from the Medoc; outstanding 2016 vintage and has some bottle age that will match well with the gaminess of the mutton.

bramble fruit, blackcurrant leaf and earthy, toasty cigar-box with some evolved, leathery complexity; dark berries, plum fruit, dried green herbs and toasty spice; complex and savoury; fresh, supple and elegant with very fine, perfectly-ripe tannins.

Wynns The Siding Cabernet Sauvignon, 2019, Coonawarra (£15, Tesco)

ripe dark berries and bramble fruits, oaky spice and some florality; supple cassis, baked blueberry and black olives with minty green herbs and liquorice; ripe, rounded and very well-integrated tannins; savoury, fresh and elegant.

The Recipe

Ingredients:

1 whole mutton shoulder, on the bone (1.8 - 2kg)

5 echalion shallots, halved and peeled

10 ripe plum tomatoes, halved with the white core removed

5 large carrots, peeled and thinly sliced

1 head of garlic, divided into cloves, but not peeled

1 tbsp olive oil

Sea salt

1 bunch of thyme, tied

3 sticks of rosemary, tied

3 bay leaf

500 ml red wine

500 ml chicken stock

Method:

Preheat your oven to 130C.

Mix all the vegetables together in a roasting tray with a little salt and olive oil. Spread them out into a bed for the shoulder. Tuck the herb bundles underneath the meat and pour your wine and chicken stock over the vegetable bed. Slow roast for 4 hours uncovered, topping up the liquid with a little water if the stew becomes too dry.

Remove the tray from the oven and put meat to one side to rest, ideally with a clean tea towel on top to prevent it from cooling too much. Remove herb bundles from the sauce by giving them a little shake.

Carefully pour or spoon the sauce into another pan, then simmer for 10 - 15 mins until thickened. Season with some salt if it needs it, then arrange in your serving dish and top with the mutton, carved or pulled apart. Serve with mash potato and seasonal greens.

***

Here is WineMatcher Fiona Beckett's recommendations for lamb-and-wine matching:

4 tips to bear in mind when pairing Easter lamb | Matching Food & Wine (matchingfoodandwine.com)

Food and Wine Matching with Kindling Restaurant - Chocolate Sponge with Salted Caramel Sauce and Popcorn

A dessert recipe from Kindling Restaurant, Brighton - with wine matches

Kindling Restaurant in Brighton is about more than just the delicious food, it is a community of people: staff, customers and suppliers all sharing and celebrating local produce. Nature writes the menu as the seasons inspire the dishes. Kindling is featured in the Michelin Guide and is a member of the Sustainable Restaurants Association. 

Web: www.kindlingrestaurant.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KindlingBrighton @KindlingBrighton

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kindlingrestaurant / @KindlingRestaurant

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kindlingrestaurant

The Food - chocolate sponge with salted caramel sauce and popcorn 

This decadent dessert is dairy-free, suitable for vegans and can even be made gluten free as well, but you’ll never be able to tell! Rich moist chocolate sponge, topped with creamy caramel sauce and crunchy salty popcorn.

Serve with chocolate sorbet or dairy free ice cream for a luxury finish.

For non-vegans, just substitute with the appropriate dairy products. 

The wine matches

The rule of wine matching for puddings is that the wine must be sweeter than the food; the sweetness in this recipe comes from the salted caramel sauce, so the quantity of sauce you apply will determine the required sweetness level of the wine.

These two wines will work with the gentlest of drizzles - no more than a teaspoon or two. This will leave you with a lot of surplus sauce so either reduce the quantities or, if you want the sponge bathed in the style of a sticky toffee pudding, you'll need to consider espresso, whisky, ruby port or a sweet dark sherry.

Gewurztraminer is a once-classic, now slightly-out-of-fashion aromatic and perfumed grape; with high natural sugars, it is a spiced, exotic, indulgent hedonist's delight.

Gewürztraminer Cave de Turckheim Gewurztraminer Sables et Galets (£14.99, Virgin Wines)

a heady perfume of lychees, rose petals, exotic fruits and sweet spices; rich, full and supple with exotic citrus fruits, pineapple and mango with acacia-blossom honey. 

Cave de Turckheim Gewurztraminer Vendange Tardive (£22.99, Virgin Wines)

tropical fruits with honey, ginger and lychees; waxy, viscous, unctuous and sweet with pineapple pieces, exotic melon and overripe peach and orange, candied peel; concentrated and intense

The recipe

For the sponge:

75g oil

35g good quality cocoa powder

220g dairy free yogurt e.g. soya yogurt

30g oat milk

2 tsp (10ml) distilled vinegar

150g soft dark brown sugar

140g self-raising flour (gluten-free self-raising flour will also work here)

¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda

½ tsp table salt 

• Line an 8-inch square cake tin with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 170C. 

• Place the oil and cocoa powder in a small pan and heat gently for a few minutes to help bring out the flavour of the chocolate, then set aside to cool.

• Put the dairy free yogurt, oat milk, vinegar and sugar together in a mixing bowl or kitchen aid and whisk until smooth. Then stir in the chocolate and oil mixture.

• Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt together in a clean bowl. Fold into the wet ingredients, mixing well to avoid any lumps.

• Pour into the lined cake tin and gently level using a spatula, being careful to avoid removing too much air from the cake.

• Bake in the preheated oven at 170C for 20 - 25 mins, until risen and springy to the touch.

Salted caramel sauce:

200g vegan butter alternative

250g soft dark brown sugar

125g golden syrup

Large pinch of Maldon sea salt 

• Place all the ingredients in a medium sized pan and heat gently over a low heat, whisking until combined.

• Whisk the sauce occasionally as it cools to ensure a silky texture.

Popcorn:

A small handful of popping corn kernels

2 tbsp of oil

Fine salt for seasoning

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan on medium high heat.

• Put 3 or 4 piece of popping corn into the oil and cover the pan.

• When the test kernels pop, add the rest of the popcorn kernels in an even layer. Cover, remove from heat and wait 30 seconds.

• Return the pan to the heat and gently shake it as the popcorn starts to pop.

• Try to keep the lid slightly ajar or use a lid with a vent hole in it to help release some of the steam.

• Once the popping slows, remove the pan from the heat, remove the lid, and put the popcorn immediately into a wide bowl. Sprinkle with salt and toss to ensure it is evenly seasoned

To serve:

Cut the cake in long fingers and drizzle with the caramel sauce. Top with salted popcorn and serve with chocolate sorbet or dairy free ice cream.

Food and Wine Matching with Kindling Restaurant - White Chocolate Fudge with Dark Chocolate Crumb

A dessert recipe from Kindling Restaurant, Brighton - with some attempted wine matches

Kindling Restaurant in Brighton is about more than just the delicious food, it is a community of people: staff, customers and suppliers all sharing and celebrating local produce. Nature writes the menu as the seasons inspire the dishes. Kindling is featured in the Michelin Guide and is a member of the Sustainable Restaurants Association.

Web: www.kindlingrestaurant.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KindlingBrighton @KindlingBrighton 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kindlingrestaurant / @KindlingRestaurant

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kindlingrestaurant

Chef Holly Taylor: credit Jo Hunt

The Food - White chocolate fudge with dark chocolate crumb 

This is Kindling’s signature petit four, but it also makes an excellent Mother’s Day gift. Sweet, creamy and soft this fudge is perfect with a cup of coffee or espresso martini.

The Wines

The fundamental rule of matching sweet foods is that the wine should always be sweeter than the food. Fudge is about as sweet and rich as desserts come, so this is a tricky match.

Cream sherry or whisky would be the traditional options but for something lighter, fresher and a little more unusual, serve the fudge in very small pieces and match with either a botrytised Riesling or an Italian red fizz. .

Belmonte Marlborough Botrytised Riesling 2018 - Virgin Wines

New Zealand dessert Riesling:

aromas of roses, orange marmalade, dried apricots and butterscotch; unctuously sweet and opulent, very concentrated and intense yet also fresh and balanced; complex botrytis flavours of beeswax, aromatic scrubland bitter herbs and hedonistic overripe peaches.

This is a very sophisticated dessert wine that stands up to the sweetness of the fudge.

Banfi Rosa Regale Brachetto d’aqui - Flagship Wines

Made from Brachetto grapes, this red fizz is fermented in stainless steel for freshness and aromatics, with some lees aging for complexity and just 7.4% alcohol.

intensely aromatic with roses and soft red berries; elegant soft red fruits with hints of almond and nutmeg; sweet yet refreshing; very elegant with crisp red berries and some leesy complexity

Light and moreish, the wine is not overpowered by the fudge but plays a supporting role, with the sweetness of the fudge enhancing the freshness of the wine.

The Recipe

To make the dark chocolate crumb:

30g water

125g sugar

60g dark chocolate

1. Put the water and sugar in a pan and cook to 168C, checking the temperature with a thermometer suitable for high temperatures.

2. Remove from the heat, stir in chocolate to create the soil.

3. Cool on a baking paper lined tray, then chop to a medium crumb.

To make the fudge:

500g of caster sugar

150g of glucose syrup

280g of double cream

330g of white chocolate, chopped

75g of butter

1. Line an 8 inch cake tin with non-stick paper.

2. Place the sugar, glucose syrup and double cream in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Cook whilst stirring to a temperature of 114C. Be careful not to heat the mixture too strongly because it can bubble and spit. Be patient, heat it steadily and keep stirring at all times.

3. Once the mixture is at the correct temperature, remove it from the heat and add the butter and chopped white chocolate. Stir well until everything is melted together. If the mixture is a little stiff, you might want to return it to the heat for a few seconds to ensure it is liquid enough to pour into your tin.

4. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin and immediately sprinkle the top with the chocolate soil.

5. Allow to cool at room temperature, then wrap the tin in clingfilm and chill overnight in the fridge.

6. The fudge is easiest to cut when cold and should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge.

The CWB Aussie Red-Off

A five-way Australian Red-Off: three wines from Tesco, plus Yalumba and Vasse Felix

Once a byword for "sunshine in a glass", that became increasingly monolithic fruit bombs, Australia is discovering European-style fresh, savoury complexity.

Here are five Australian reds that have plenty of easy-to-enjoy fruit, but also enough complexity, and food-friendly freshness.

More a continent than a country, Australia is not only one of the few places that can successfully make varietal Cabernet Sauvignon, without the need for blending, but actually has two areas where Cab thrives - Coonawarra in South Australia's Limestone Coast and Western Australia.

These five wines are are a mix of:

- two varietal Cabernets

- two Cab-Shiraz blends and 

- one varietal Shiraz

Cab-Shiraz Blends

Penfolds Max's Shiraz Cabernet, 2019, South Australia (£20, Tesco)

Max's Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon displays the Penfold's 'stamp' inspired by Max Schubert, a winemaking legend in Penfold's history who was the company's chief winemaker from 1948-1975. 

Aged for 12 months in French and American oak.

dark fruits, green herbs, peppery spice and graphite with mushroomy sous bois; generous, supple and plush, with dark berries, plums bramble fruits and cherries, minty eucalyptus and oaky vanilla spice; rounded and firm, well-integrated tannins; long and savoury

Good.

Drinks well on first opening; opens up further with aeration and can be cellared.

Match with beefy dishes, such as casserole, ragù alla bolognese or burgers.

Yalumba The Signature 2016 (£35, Majestic, Waitrose Cellar, Fine & Rare Wines)

Yalumba, Australia’s oldest family-owned winery has been making Cabernet-Shiraz blends for over half a century. The Signature was first made back in 1962, taking inspiration from Bordeaux winemakers who added small amounts of ‘other’ grapes to bring out the best in their cabernet wines.

Yalumba’s winemaker Kevin Glastonbury, who has been making The Signature for more than 20 years, describes it as a “Yalumba icon”. Every vintage of The Signature is individual, each reflecting the influence of vineyard differences and vintage conditions while maintaining a high level of quality and bringing The Signature landmark style.

The Signature is made using the best fruit of the vintage. The Cabernet Sauvignon, which makes up 53% of the blend, comes from four vineyards in the Barossa Valley and provides the rich, lifted Cabernet Sauvignon aromatics and palate structure for which The Signature is renowned. The Shiraz components include plantings of varying vine age; the oldest were planted in 1925. 

tarry-plummy dark fruits, minty eucalyptus, florality and complex oaky spice and sous bois; fresh and inky with black olives, ripe black and bramble fruits, cassis, sage and scrubby garrigue herbs, graphite and supple, very fine, rounded and well-integrated tannins. Dense and concentrated, deft and nuanced with very fine detailing. Very long.

Very Good.

Drinks nicely on first opening, opens up with extensive aeration and can be cellared for up to fifteen years.

Suggested food match from Yalumba: ham with a sweet orange and mustard glaze, served warm with some crusty bread and a glass of Yalumba The Signature 2016.

Match the sweet and salty flavours with the balance and fruit sweetness of the wine; this is a perfect classic festive food and wine pairing. 

For festive glazed ham, in eight easy steps, see the recipe below and watch Robert Hill-Smith and Nick Waterman cook their version here:

Varietal Cabernet Sauvignon

Wynns The Siding Cabernet Sauvignon, 2019, Coonawarra (£15, Tesco)

From a winery built 1896 on Conawarra's terra rossa soils in South Australias limstone coast. 

founded by pioneer John Riddoch, The wine is named after the railway siding - a local landmark that played a defining role during Coonawarra's early settlement. Completed in 1898, 'The Siding' was responsible for transporting around 600 hogsheads of wine a year to Adelaide

ripe dark berries and bramble fruits, oaky spice and some florality; supple cassis, baked blueberry and black olives with minty green herbs and liquorice; ripe, rounded and very well-integrated tannins; savoury, fresh and elegant. Very harmonious and adept.

Good.

Drinks well on first opening; further improves with aeration and can be cellared.

Match with rare roast beef and horseradish, or rack of lamb.

Vasse Felix Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 (£30 Direct Wine, Harvey Nichols, Australian Wines Online, Bonafide Wines, Vinvm. Ltd, Wine Direct, Connolly’s Wine Merchant, Averys, Laithwaites, The Secret Cellar)

Vasse Felix made their first Cabernet Sauvignon in Margaret River in 1972, from the vines planted by regional pioneer Tom Cullity in 1967 when the winery was first founded, and this wine has been made every year since.

The blend also includes some Malbec and Petit Verdot.

tarry dark fruits, lifted blackcurrant, violets and complex, oaky vanilla spice with leathery, truffley sous bois; ripe, juicy cassis, bramble fruits, liquorice, tobacco leaf, balsamic and ripe, well-integrated tannins. Supple, adept and harmonious.

Very Good

Match the blackcurranty fruit to rosemary-and-garlic lamb shoulder or barbecue foods on first opening. 

 Alternatively, decant for serval hours and match with beef dishes or savoury pates.

Cellar for several years for something to drink with darker game, truffles or mushrooms.

Varietal Shiraz

Bird In Hand Two In The Bush Shiraz, Adelaide Hills (£14, Tesco)

Made by Master of Wine Kym Milne.

Aged in tight grain French oak for 16 months, our 'Two in the Bush' Shiraz has rich aromas of vanilla, blackberry and a hint of chocolate which resonates on the palate. This medium bodied Shiraz displays the elegance and complexity of cooler climate red winemaking.

This cool climate Shiraz was harvested early in April from a hot, dry summer followed by a particularly mild autumn. These conditions favoured more medium bodied, structural and aromatic red wines. Made using open fermentation vessels this Shiraz was then aged in new (20%) and older French oak barrels for 12 months. 

Situated in an area of the Adelaide Hills that was littered with goldmines in the 1800s, the Bird in Hand winery was purchased and planted in 1997 by Andrew Nugent. Andrew has kept the close historical links alive both in the naming of the winery and their wine ranges; Two in the Bush and Nest Egg were the names of mineshafts in the Bird in Hand goldmine. From vineyards in Woodside and Clare, Bird in Hand produce classic examples of cool climate Chardonnay and Shiraz that have won world acclaim.

The seaside influence of the Gulf of St. Vincent, the cloud-trapping rise of the Mount Lofty Ranges and plenty of Australian sun all combine to create a special diurnal temperature shift that the grapes love.

juicy black fruits, cassis, black cherry and blackcurrant with black olive, pepper and aromatic green herbs; juicy, fresh, pure and supple with very fine, well-integrated tannins.

Good.

Very closed up on first opening; benefits from extensive aeration and will repay some cellaring.

Match with roasted red meats, such as garlic-and-rosemary lamb shoulder.

Top 5 Bordeaux Wines for National Curry Week

Five Bordeaux Wines for National Curry Week

Another week, another curry-and-wine matching exercise.

This time it was Bordeaux wines.

I had something of an advantage this time round, having carried out an extensive curry and wine matching recently.

Plus there were suggested food matches from Bordeaux Wines UK.

Fresh, full-bodied whites are perhaps the easiest match to curry; any traditional-method fizz will also have the neutral acidity and mid-palate weight not to be overwhelmed by curry.

Pink wines and seafood is a natural match, just add a moderate amount of spice here.

Reds are perhaps the trickiest match with curry, but red-meat-based stews with not too much heat work best.

Finally, a new idea to me; dessert wines with a paneer-based dish.

Bordeaux wines has this to say about matching wine to curry:

With National Curry Week kicking off October, it is the perfect time to cook up some hearty, warming dishes as the weather gets cooler. With bold flavours, spice and chilli heat notoriously difficult to pair, curry lovers can find it hard to match with wine.

However, the right bottle of wine can really upgrade your curry night. From dry fruit-forward rosés ideal for traditional Thai curries, to characterful Crémants perfectly placed to lift Keralan fish dishes, Bordeaux wines have the diversity, affordability and quality to get the most out of your favourite curry dishes, whatever the style.

Here are five Bordeaux wine and curry matches for autumn.

Calvet, Crémant de Bordeaux Brut Rosé with Keralan Monkfish and Prawn Curry (£12.99, Ocado)

Kerala Prawn Curry Recipe - Great British Chefs

Rich seafood in a creamy, coconuty sauce, this South-Indian style curry is ideally matched with a fresh, zippy Crémant de Bordeaux rosé

Calvet Crémant de Bordeaux Rosé has a bright and racy palate presenting notes of raspberry, cherry blossom and toasted baking spices that harmonise well with the fragrance of the dish.

With a creamy mousse, and attractive palate, this traditional method sparkling rosé can happily be served before, during and after the meal.

fresh, elegant redcurrant fruits, a leesy-creamy texture, fresh red summer berries, florality and some pastry notes. The bubbles are fine and the finish is long and complex.

Thoroughly enjoyable.

Fresh enough for an aperitif, when not matching with curry, it also has the savoury versatility to work with a range of lighter foods, such as chicken or ham salads and mixed antipasti.

Château de Rochemorin 2017, Pessac-Leognan With Butter Chicken (£27, Waitrose)

Butter chicken recipe - BBC Food

A favourite for those who like a rich Indian dish without a significant kick of heat, butter chicken is nutty, aromatic and creamy which is a wonderful match for a Sauvignon Blanc from Bordeaux with plenty of structure.

Château de Rochermorin is complex and textured with notes of grapefruit, lime and a toasty savoury undertone, which cuts through the richness of this hearty meal.

aromatic and herbaceous with lime and grapefruit; fresh, precise and mineral with white stone fruit, honeysuckle, gooseberry and nettles; savoury, concentrated and sappy with good underpinnings.

Good.

Alternatives to curry include roast white meat, lighter game and white cheeses.

Clarendelle Bordeaux Rosé 2020 With Prawn Red Thai Curry (£15.20 from Hedonism)

Thai Red Prawn Curry | BBC Good Food

Clarendelle Bordeaux Rosé is biodynamically produced with elegant notes of crunchy cranberry, pink grapefruit and cherry blossom.

There’s nothing better on a cold evening than a delicious, and nourishing Thai red curry, and Bordeaux rosé makes for a wonderful match.

Far from being just for summer, Bordeaux Rosés have the acidity and lively fruit flavours to cut through the richness of the coconut milk in this dish, yet are not tannic, making them the classic choice to stand up to spice.

ripe, red berries, stone fruit and leesy mineral; long, substantial and clean. A very classy and adept wine.

Good.

An alternative match for the Clarendelle is cold cuts.

Esprit de Puisseguin 2019, Puisseguin Saint-Émilion With Laal Maans - Rajasthani lamb curry (£13.49 from Waitrose)

Rajasthani Lamb Curry Recipe - olivemagazine

Red wine is usually overlooked as a curry pairing as high tannins can clash with chilli heat. However, with many modern, fruit forward reds ready to drink young emerging from Bordeaux, there’s a great breadth of reds that harmonize well with richer, meatier curries.

Esprit de Puisseguin is a smooth, rounded Merlot blend which has wonderful fruit definition showing flavours of red plum, cherry and cinnamon that has the strength and complexity to stand up to this flavourful lamb curry. 

cherry and red plum fruit with spice and some coffee grounds; fresh and juicy with bramble fruit and herbaceous raspberry leaf; savoury, with fine-grained, slightly drying tannins.

Thoroughly enjoyable.

Match with any red meats, curried or otherwise.

Château Gravas 2016, Sauternes with Shahi Paneer (£12.99 from Virgin Wines)

Shahi Paneer Recipe | Allrecipes

Sweet Bordeaux wines are far from only being suited to serve with desserts, in fact the sweetness and succulent fruit flavours make for an ideal match for spicy, creamy curries.

Château Gravas has a beautiful palate of sweet apricot, honey, cinnamon and hints of ginger, which harmonises well with the spices of this dish while the racy acidity perfectly cuts through the creaminess of the paneer.

floral with candied fruit and sweet spices; fresh, sweet and viscous with overripe yellow stone fruits, pineapple, sweet vanilla and butterscotch and a whiff of beeswax.

Thoroughly enjoyable.

Other than curries, match with blue cheese.

The CWB Beer vs Wine Curry Off

Does beer or wine go better with curry?

I recently reviewed two Tesco wines with a curry for National Curry Week and was pleasantly surprised at how well they went together.

Gewurz with curry is a go-to much-cited match that I have never been really convinced about, but it worked rather well here.

Red wine and curry is a much tougher ask, in my opinion, but a chilled Carménère was a surprisingly successful match with rogan josh.

A bit of discussion on Twitter about the food and wine combinations led me to the following conclusions:

- curry works best with high acidity, relatively neutral wines with a good mid-palate;

- traditional method fizzes meet all these criteria, so don't be afraid to try Cava and curry; it's generally quite inexpensive, so a more affordable starting point for experimentation than vintage Grand Marque Champagne

- crisp, citrussy and bubbly, Cava is also not dissimilar to a good lager; the traditional match for a curry

- if you want other inexpensive refreshing bubbles with curry, I would advise that you avoid Prosecco; with its shorter fermentation and more floral profile, it does not really stand up to the spicy bitter-umami of Indian foods

- chilling reds enhances the freshness and suppresses the flavours; this works with curry and is most suitable for simply, juicy wines rather than anything too high-end, tannic or complex

- bear in mind that chilled reds become a different wine, albeit chilling does not quite turn them into white wines; they retain a texture that is still red, even if they lose their "red wine" flavours

- you can chill expensive Cali Zinfandel if you want and it will then match with a curry; but why? It is something akin to a Monster Truck - Big, Expensive, Pointless, Blue-Collar Dumb Fun.

Beer and Curry - the curry

For this experiment, we started with poppadoms and sauces; mango and lime chutneys are a complete palate-killer so, unsurprisingly, the beers won out here.

For mains, I made a (version of) coconut and tamarind chicken curry from a Meera Sodha recipe: Coconut and tamarind chicken curry | Meera Sodha

It's similar to a European stew, slightly sweet from the coconut and not too spicy with exotic flavours of ginger and cinnamon.

Beer and Curry - the beers

I tried two traditional "curry beers" from Tesco; unsurprisingly, they both worked well.

Kingfisher Lager - £2.00/650ml bottle, Tesco

Kingfisher is an Indian lager brewed in the UK, but crucially to the same recipe as the original. It is India's best-selling lager and dates back to 1978.

hoppy and aromatic; crisp, citrussy and expressively hoppy with zippy grapefruit zest and a food-friendly bitter-sweetness.

Matches well with the curry and stands up to the strong flavours - unanimously agreed as the popular favourite.

Good.

Cobra Indian Premium Lager - £2.00/620ml bottle, Tesco

Cobra is brewed in the UK from barley, rice, maize wheat and four varieties of hops; the company was founded in 1989 by Karan Bilimoria who wanted to create a beer with the refreshment of a lager, but with the smoothness of an ale.

malty and savoury with subtle aromatics; rich, smooth and refreshing with an easy-drinking sweetness; very well-made, well-balanced and harmonious if a little neutral and unassuming.

Works well with the curry, but very much in a supporting role; lacks the immediate appeal of the Kingfisher.

Good.

Alternatives and rejects

I tried a couple of other wines I had on the go to see how they went with curry - in general they did not work, so the advice here is: approach with caution.

Chateau La Negly La Clape, France (Co-op, £12)

A lovely wine, but the "red wine" fruit flavours clash with the curry; interestingly, the acidity and tannins work well with the food, so chilled down, it might be a much better match.

Copper Crew Discovers Sauvignon Blanc (around £4 per can)

A WIGIG limited-edition from Copper Crew that I had on the go, this works well with the curry on most, but not quite all fronts. With plenty of acidity and a bit of lees aging, it has the freshness and the savouriness not to be overpowered by the food.

The acidity works well on the front palate and the leesy savouriness carries it through to the back palate; but the mid-palate sweetness and spices of the curry are just too much.

Surprisingly successful with the curry, it also just-about stands up to poppadums and onion salsa. If you drink mainly Sauvignon and must have wine with your curry, this is about as close as it gets.

Tesco Finest Puemo Carménère, Valle de Cachapoal, Wine of Chile, 2019 (£8, Tesco)

This had worked well with a savoury rogan josh when chilled, but like the Negly, failed completely with a sweeter, coconut-based curry when at room temperature.

Finally, here is WineMatcher Fiona Beckett's take on curry and wine matching: What wine to pair with curry - my top 5 picks | Matching Food & Wine (matchingfoodandwine.com)

Slow Cooked Breast of Lamb - And a Pinot Noir

Slow Cooked Breast of Lamb, Pickled Red Onion, Mint Crème Fraiche and Spring Vegetables Created by Le Cordon Bleu, London to enjoy with Louis Latour Les Pierres Dorées Pinot Noir

Serves 4

Slow cooking the breast of lamb makes for a tender texture; here it is marinated and slow cooked in duck fat creating a rich flavour which is complemented the sweet-pickled onions and finished with green spring vegetables and a refreshing minty crème fraiche.

Slow cooked breast of lamb

6 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

finely chopped rosemary leaves

10 g Maldon sea salt, 

500 g lamb breast off the bone, duck fat to cover (about 1 kg)

150 g flour

2 eggs beaten

500 g Panko breadcrumbs 

Mix garlic, rosemary and Maldon sea salt to combine and rub into the lamb. Leave in fridge for 3 to 6 hours. Wash lamb with cold water to remove the salt mixture and pat dry. Melt duck fat in a pan over a low heat. Place the lamb in a deep oven proof dish and pour over the warm duck fat and cook in oven at 150˚C for 3 hours until soft and tender. Allow lamb to cool before removing from fat. Roll the lamb tightly in clingfilm to make a cylindrical tube shape. Refrigerate for about 2 hours, until firm. Slice the lamb into 8 equal sized disks. Coat lamb in a thin layer of flour, then beaten eggs and finally breadcrumbs. Season and refrigerate until required.

Pickled red onion 

10 g granulated sugar

20 ml red wine vinegar

30 ml water

1 thyme sprig

1 red onion peeled and thinly sliced

Put sugar, vinegar, water and thyme in a pan and bring to a boil. Add onion and continue to boil for another minute. Remove from heat, lid pan and leave to infuse. When cool remove the red onion and discard the liquid.

Mint crème fraiche

50 g mint washed and finely chopped

200 g crème fraiche

Mix mint with crème fraiche and season. Set aside.

Spring vegetables

12 asparagus spears peeled

100g broad beans

100g peas

60g lambs lettuce washed

½ bunch French breakfast radish thinly sliced lengthways

20 g butter

Bring salted water to a boil in a saucepan and cook each vegetable separately so they retain a ‘bite’, around 3 minutes for asparagus, 2 minutes for broad beans and 1 minute for peas. Drain, refresh and set aside. Pod broad beans from their skins. Set aside with lambs lettuce and radish.

To serve: Heat oven to 200˚C. Cook lamb for around 20 minutes until breadcrumbs are golden brown and crispy. Reheat asparagus, peas and broad beans in a pan with butter and a tablespoon of water. Season to taste. On each plate, arrange warm vegetables, with two discs of lamb (per person), and top with radish slices, lambs lettuce and pickled onions. Finish with dots of mint crème fraiche.

Wine recommendation: Louis Latour Les Pierres Dorées 2018