wine Archives - Page 5 of 6

More Ripasso at vindict.nl

My overview of Ripasso wines in Amsterdam is missing an interesting lower price Ripasso. For only € 7,75 you can find a bottle of Cantina Valpantena Falasco Ripasso at Dutch online wine retailer Vindict.

I discovered the Ripasso – and the online retailer – at a wine tasting last night. The tasting was a private event that Vindict organized for us. Vindict served us nine wines. First four whites and then five reds, ordered from light to full bodied. I was not so impressed with the selection of white wines, a rather average choice of Sancerre, Chardonnay and Chablis.

The red wines were more interesting! We got to taste the Falasco Ripasso alongside the regular Valpolicella from the same producer. The difference is amazing. The Ripasso has so much more body and is much more balanced than the Valpolicella. Then we tried a Lebanese wine. The Clos St. Thomas – Les Emirs not only looks a lot but also tastes a lot like a Bordeaux. And also the German Spätburgunder from wine maker Salwey was surprisingly good. Unfortunately it was also expensive at more than € 30 and is apparently so special that you will not be able to order it online.

Overall, the wine tasting was fun and informative. The sommelier gave as a lot of technical information about grape varieties, regions and wine making techniques. The same is true for the Vindict web site which presents color, intensity, nose, aroma, smell, flavors, taste, body, alcohol, sweetness, acidity and tannin. The well organized wine product sheets are a good way of discovering new wines that have similar characteristics than your favorites! And although I have not had a chance to try it out, I was pleased to find out that delivery options include evening service.

Tarwebloem Schijven met Zeewolf

Yes, I am talking about catfish tacos. They are very popular in the US, found on many southwestern and tex-mex menus. I can’t recall having seen them anywhere in Amsterdam, so I decided to make my own.

Luckily there are plenty of recipes available online. I liked the catfish tacos with thai cabbage slaw by Whole Foods Market. The Thai slaw dressing with coconut milk and peanut butter is a nice twist. The catfish is grilled. And there is a nice video that explains very nicely how to make the catfish tacos.

There is no Whole Foods Market in Amsterdam, so I set out to procure the ingredients elsewhere. The good news is that everything is available in decent quality and easy enough to find!

The biggest obstacle? Finding out the Dutch word for catfish – zeewolf. I always struggle with translating and remembering fish names. When I have to, I turn to a handy brochure published by visbureau.nl – a Dutch fishermen’s marketing organization – that not only lists all fishing companies but also has an extensive appendix with fish names in English, Dutch, German, French and Italian. Well prepared linguistically, I got some nice zeewolf at Marqt, expensive but very good in fish and herbs. I also got fresh cilantro there.

I wasn’t sure about availability of flour tortillas. But it turned out to be easy, too. Sandwich wraps are very popular in Amsterdam and all supermarkets carry soft tortillas nowadays. While at the supermarket I also picked up peanut butter and honey.

My Turkish corner shop usually has the best fruit and veggies and I went there for avocado, limes, red cabbage, carrots, radish and red onion. And the Toko across the street stocks fish sauce, sesame oil, red chili paste, coconut milk and red pepper flakes if you don’t have them in the house.

Here is a picture of my stash of zeewolf, tarwebloem schijven and more, ready to be turned into yummy catfish tacos.

The recipe is quick and easy and can be done in less than 30 minutes if you are well organized. Make sure you have plenty of catfish so that the the flavor of the slaw will not be overpowering. And simply broil the fish at the highest temperature in the oven if you – like most Amsterdammers – do not have a grill.

With the tacos, we had a lovely bottle of the Pacherenc du Vic Bilh that we bought at Gall & Gall the other day. The pungent and mineral-flavored Pacherenc worked very well with the catfish and the Thai dressing.

Enjoy! Eet smakelijk!!

Vino di Pino Amsterdam

The other day I wrote about different kinds of Ripasso wines that I had found throughout Amsterdam.

I had found one of the better Ripasso at Vino di Pino on Haarlemmermeerstraat near Hoofddorpplein. It was a Monteré Ripasso. Full bodied, balanced and very good overall. But not cheap at € 23,- per bottle. It worked out because Vino di Pino had a special 3 for 2 opening deal in December.

I saw that readers of dutchgrub were particularly interested in Vino di Pino. So I stopped by them again.

Turns out that there will be a similar sale throughout January. Vino di Pino is offering 50% off every second bottle for the entire month.

They are specializing in Italian wines and have a good selection of it. They know their wines and are happy to explain and make recommendations. I also like that they are open until 20:00 from Monday to Saturday – rather unusual for Amsterdam.

I got a bottle of La Guardiense Aglianico and a bottle of Primitivo by Tenuta Viglione that I cannot wait to try.

And Ton Overmars, the best store in Amsterdam for wine, whisky and other liquor is just across the street on Hoofddorpplein. Ton has a great selection of wines and whiskys, top quality and offers great value for your money!

La Oliva Jordaan – Don’t Bother

I am often disappointed after visits to what has been described as a ‘leuk restaurantje’ – a nice little restaurant – that people found ‘gezellig’ – a cozy sort of fun. ‘Leuk’ and ‘gezellig’ are superficial and indiscriminate words – and often the restaurants are likewise, not worth a foodie’s time.

La Oliva, a new Pintxos y Vinos bar on Egelantiersstraat is like that. It’s beautifully designed and heavily frequented. The food is average and high priced and the service unfriendly, inattentive and ignorant.

La Oliva is located in the heart of the Jordaan in the space formerly occupied by organic food cafe De Vrije Vork. It’s one of those locations where no restaurant ever seems to survive for a long time…

We were out and about the Jordaan, checking out the contemporary galleries, having a great time deciphering the works of the Sauerkids at gallery KOCHXBOS. We wanted a glass of wine to warm up and relive the experience, remembered the new wine bar and decided to try it out.

It looks beautiful – a dark colored but fresh design very much centered around Mediterranean food. There are large shelves stocked with wine bottles, hams hanging from the ceiling, a glass counter top full of cheese and an enormous buffet of pintxos, Basque style tapas.

It was all downhill from there.

Upon entering, the waiter gestured us to sit at the bar next to the pintxos where there were was space for one and a half guests at best. We did manage to sit elsewhere but then it took forever and two unanswered requests to be handed a wine list. The wine list is limited, about 10 Spanish wines, half of them available by the glass. I quite like red wines from Priorat and saw one was available only by the bottle. When asking if they might be able to serve a glass I was silenced by a stern note that the menu clearly stated that it was by the glass only. We ordered two other red wines, which the waiter mixed up. When we pointed this out it turned out that he had no idea about wine at all.

The wines, a 2006 Bodegas Olivares Jumilla Panarroz and a Valdepeñas house wine were ok. We were quite enjoying ourselves until a large group entered La Oliva. They were regulars and personally greeted. And within minutes they claimed the table we and another couple were sitting at entirely, pushing us to the end with the help of the waiting staff who didn’t even bother asking if we minded moving.

La Oliva is ok for a drink and some people watching when you’re hanging out in the Jordaan. But don’t go out of your way for a visit and be prepared to look after yourself when ordering wine and food and to protect your space…

Pacherenc + Ripasso + Celeste = Gall & Gall Card

If there are two things I hate about food shopping in Amsterdam, it’s (a) Dutch super markets and (b) bonus cards.

For the non-locals: Dutch food shops are generally small, focused on low cost and much more concerned about the expiration date than the quality of food. And all of them offer some sort of bonus scheme that provides discounts in return for loyalty. ‘Spaart u zegels’, anyone?

I generally prefer the Turkish corner shop over Dutch darling supermarket Albert Heijn and my local liquor store over AH’s cousin Gall & Gall. I might pay a little more but the quality is much better and the service much friendlier and more knowledgeable.

Today, however, I bought seven bottles of wine at Gall & Gall and subscribed to their bonus card scheme! How did this happen?

Well. I went to the large Gall & Gall near the Dam to pick up a bottle of Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh. The same ‘Torus’ I bought a few months ago and enjoyed a lot. I did enjoy it enough to pick up three bottles instead of the intended one. On the way to check-out, a bottle of Masi Campofiorin caught my eye. Only two days ago I had posted about how much I love Ripasso wine and that I never had tried one from Masi, the vineyard that invented the Ripasso technique. So I definitely had to get two of those. And right next to it, perfectly placed, I spotted a Torus Madiran. A red wine made by Brumont who also produces the Pacherenc. So I also had to get two of those bottles.

Über-happy with my unexpected stash of seven bottles I finally made it to check-out. Fully prepared to decline the usual offer for a bonus card. The friendly customer service representative, however, explained to me that it would be rather foolish to decline. A Gall & Gall card, he continued, costs € 10,- and entitles me to a 10% discount on each purchase for the next 12 months. And with my current shopping basket, I would be almost even immediately.

I went for it.

Did I give in to the system?!?

Pacherenc + Ripasso + Celeste = Gall & Gall Card

If there are two things I hate about food shopping in Amsterdam, it’s (a) Dutch super markets and (b) bonus cards.

Today, however, I bought seven bottles of wine at Gall & Gall and subscribed to their bonus card scheme! How did this happen?

I went for it.

Did I give in to the system?!?