|
GrapeRadio uploaded a new video
(10 months ago)
Blending, or the combining of multiple ingredients, has always been part of the art of cooking. So too has it always been a part of wine making and...
more
Blending, or the combining of multiple ingredients, has always been part of the art of cooking. So too has it always been a part of wine making and the creation of exotic mixed drinks. So, it should be no surprise that blending the flavors and aromas of Cognac with the culinary arts results in a sum greater than its parts. In fact, this beautiful marriage of components is likely to elicit a gastronomical delight. But, as with cooking, it is all about the quality of the ingredients.
There is a familiar saying, "All Cognac is brandy, but not all brandy is Cognac", and the Cognac region of France is rightly famous for its brandy, a spirit made by double-distilling wine to create an eau-de-vie, a colorless liquid of about 70% alcohol. After years of aging in large oak barrels, the spirit takes on additional complexities and various shades of amber-gold color depending upon age. During this aging process much of the alcohol is lost through evaporation (called the "angel's share"), and after final blending the spirit is reduced to about 40% alcohol. Cognac is usually consumed on its own as an aperitif (before dinner), as a digestif (after dinner drink), or used in cooking. In addition, it has also become very popular as an ingredient in many cocktails.
GrapeRadio is pleased to present, "The Art of Blending", a tribute to the artistic efforts of master blenders, chefs, and mixologists who use palettes of flavors to create passion in the world of wine, food and cocktails.
less
|
|
| |
|
|
GrapeRadio uploaded a new video
(10 months ago)
After fermentation, the white wine is distilled into 'eau-de-vie.' To become Cognac, this involves a double distillation, for which only the heart,...
more
After fermentation, the white wine is distilled into 'eau-de-vie.' To become Cognac, this involves a double distillation, for which only the heart, or middle portion of the second distillation is retained. The heads, too high in alcohol, and the tails, lacking harmony, are carefully removed and distilled over again to perfection.
For its first distillation, the unfiltered wine is brought to boil in the copper pot. Since alcohol evaporates faster than water, alcoholic vapors can be collected in the onion dome shaped cowl and in the swan neck, which slows the rectification process of the flavors, before passing into the long serpentine condenser coil. Vapors condense to the contact of the cooler and turn into a liquid known as 'brouilli,' with an alcoholic content of 27 to 30% vol. This is distilled a second time in a process called the 'bonne chauffe'. The distiller's key task is then to choose the moment when to isolate the 'heart' of this second distillation, extracting the 'head' and the 'tail' in the process.
This distillation process is a delicate and slow one. It lasts for approximately twenty four hours and requires the constant care of the distiller. It usually begins in November and is conducted day and night for several months. The rule binds it to stop at the latest at the end of March. Distillation is a key factor that gives Cognac its distinctive character. Its secrets are handed over from generation to generation.
less
|
|
| |
|
|
GrapeRadio uploaded a new video
(1 year ago)
[From "The Scent of Black": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2wmj4...]
Claude & Lydia Bourguignon, perhaps the world's most distinguis...
more
[From "The Scent of Black": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2wmj4...]
Claude & Lydia Bourguignon, perhaps the world's most distinguished experts on vineyards soils, give us their definition of terroir. They discuss how vines absorb nutrients from the soil thereby giving unique flavors to the grapes.
less
|
|
| |
|
|
GrapeRadio uploaded a new video
(1 year ago)
|
|
| |
|
|
GrapeRadio uploaded a new video
(1 year ago)
In the Cahors region of France, black truffles are almost literally as valuable as gold in the culinary world. Prized for their glorious scent, bla...
more
In the Cahors region of France, black truffles are almost literally as valuable as gold in the culinary world. Prized for their glorious scent, black truffles are fungi that grow exclusively on the roots of oak trees. Found in late autumn and winter, the truffles cannot be seen since they grow under the ground. Pigs, or specially trained dogs have been used to search for these elusive truffles. About 20% of the French production comes from southwest France, which possesses the limestone soils and dry hot weather that truffles need to grow.
In the late 19th century, an epidemic of phylloxera destroyed many of the vineyards in southern France. Large tracts of land were set free for the cultivation of truffles. Thousands of truffle-producing trees were planted, and production reached the peak of hundreds of tonnes by the end of the 19th century. Wars during the 20th Century decimated the fields. After 1945, the production of truffles plummeted, and prices rose dramatically. In 1900, truffles were used by most French people, and on many occasions. Today, they are a rare delicacy reserved for the wealthy, or used on very special occasions.
Originally a common grape in Bordeaux, Malbec has lost popularity as one of the five varieties in the Bordeaux blends. Meanwhile, Malbec increased its status in the French region of Cahors, an area southeast of Bordeaux, where it creates distinctive wines that now require 70% of the variety.
GrapeRadio is proud to present a look at the Cahors region, as rightly famous for its black truffles as it is for its Malbec, a wine that exemplifies the scent of black.
less
|
|
Much love,
BiggerVisions*com