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Love the Loire

Helen Brotherton — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:38:44 +0000

In between teaching on our WSET® Wine Courses this month, I’ve been busy dreaming up themes and ideas for our forthcoming programme of Gourmet Dinners and Food & Wine Matching events. I suppose being forced to open several bottles from each region with one’s students (we do spit, actually!!) constantly refreshes the memory as to what wonders there are out there to be sipped and studied. The region closest to home that has really made me sit up and be impressed, has been the amazingly diverse Loire valley here in France.

It perfectly wends its way westwards from the very
heartland of central France, giving us elegant Sancerre’s through a dazzling array of fizz’s, white’s, red’s
and pink wines, from searingly bone dry to lusciously and intensely sweet and honeyed. I know my students were all taken aback and seriously stupefied to discover the versatility and variety of Loire wines.

So I’ve opted to take this as my theme for our 1st dinner on the 12th March. Numbers are limited as we will be having a cosy indoor evening with a log fire blazing rather than our more extensive Summer events out on the Terrace overlooking the Med! We shall no doubt kick off with one of the many top notch sparkling wines from the region – made in the same way as Champagne (i.e. Traditional Method) a delicately creamy Saumur will be offered to whet the appetite whilst I entertain with some facts and figures about our chosen region. I’m hoping to track down some Smoked Eel for a pre-dinner nibble I
have in mind….. We shall then glide through a starter of Oysters with Spinach & Beurre Blanc alongside a perky, yeasty and intensely savoury Muscadet Sevre et Maine sur lie. You cannot think of the Loire without marvelling at the array of amazing goat’s cheeses so I shall conjure up a voluptuous Twice-baked Goat’s Cheese Soufflé with a Carrot and Sweet Vouvray wine sauce. The archetypal partner with high acid goat’s cheese is a wine similarly high in acidity (the mouth watering tingly sensation you
experience with some particularly crisp wines gives an indication that there is plenty of refreshing acidity). So we shall travel along to the far East of this great wine country and tackle a really excellent Sauvignon Blanc – a Pouilly Fumé from the producer Laporte – we tried the Les Duchesses PF on the Advanced course last week and it knocked many a pricier wine into a cocked hat, as they say!

The centre piece of the evening is probably going to be my take on Coq au Vin with a Loire twist – think tasty Guinea Fowl with a deep Red Wine Sauce – I’ll be introducing the much under valued but immensely subtle red wines of the region here: I’ve long been a fan of the silky, raspberry fruited Chinon’s and St Nicholas de Bourgeuil wines made from Cabernet Franc. But I’m still toying between that and another Fish course to illustrate how certain lightish red wines can work with fish….hmmm, Loire Perch in a Chinon Sauce, perhaps? The finale will be a delicious Pear Tarte Tatin, which if I can lay my paws on the pear species, Belles Angevines (from Anjou) will be absolutely authentic of the Loire – apparently the buttery squidgy caramelised pastry pud, the Tatin is believed to originate from the
area. Also, orchard fruits are text book collaborators in the food & wine matching world for the honeyed apple character of the great sweet wines for the Loire. Here Chenin Blanc comes into its own and I shall be unearthing either a Coteaux du Layon, a Montlouis or a Bonnezaux to meet the challenge.

And so with drooling lips I ask you to check out our Forthcoming Events page for more details and how to book for this fine Dinner experience –at 60€ per person all inclusive, this is a real must!
Look forward to seeing you in March!

Helen Brotherton
08.02.10

“Valking in a Vilmart Vonderland”

Helen Brotherton — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:35:31 +0000

Oh, gosh is that a hideously, schmaltzy, yuck way of introducing what we are up to over the festive period with Christmas? Sorry, folks, that’s me!! Bit on a wave of excitement here at FineWineWorks with our recent activities with our very own Vilmart champagne. Firstly, we’ve brought in a supremely experienced “Marketing Marvel” in the form of John Burke – a trusted friend, a graduate of all 3 levels of our WSET® Wine Courses with FWW (so he’s really seen us in action with a corkscrew), and coincidentally an amazingly experienced Marketing Consultant with a background history of working with some of the real big guns in the industry.

His past experience was with some of the biggest drinks companies (for example Diageo) where their marketing budgets were absolutely stratospheric! (he conducted the UK research that led to their sponsorship of the McLaren Formula One team with Johnny Walker Black Label). And its come to this….a non-paying position as Chief Marketeer and person “who knows what they are doing” with Fine Wine Works to truly launch, promote, encourage and assist us to endorse the extraordinarily different, “breathtaking” and exciting champagne house of Vilmart & Cie.
We’ve instigated campaigns with all the local media (check out the Riviera Times website and monthly publications, look out for our revealing interview in the Riviera Times and hear me whiffle on about the fab Vilmart champagnes on Monaco’s Riviera Radio). We’ve thrown caution to the wind and are madly offering a “first bottle free” when you order 12 of our gorgeous 92 Parker Points breathtaking “Vilmart Grand Cellier Brut NV” (normal RSP 35€). We have given an in depth interview which appears in this Dec / Jan “Riviera Reporter”. We’ve hooked up (‘scuse the pun) with Dan & Lucy Luger at Nice Rugby Club – watch this space for some rather exciting “co-promotions”, including a very romantic plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day in February (are you seeing hearts, roses and pink Champagne….????)
We are, as ever, proud sponsors of the International Club of the Riviera and wearing my professional ex-actress “hat”, I was deeply content and happy to be asked to join the panel of judges for the International Schools of the Riviera Speech Contest on 13th November. I assumed my stage name of Helen Patrick for the evening, and was, (quelle surprise?), vociferous in my thoughts, feelings and beliefs about the contestants that night. Public speaking, holding an audience and enchanting, informing and illuminating them is no easy feat and I think the final winner and (very) close runner up performed a brilliant feat – well done!
A few people have been asking if I have a secret Mulled Wine Recipe as a Wine Expert and Gerant of FWW – yes, I do! Some of you came to find out for yourselves at the International Club’s “Fusion Christmas Gala” last Saturday on La Croisette, Cannes (see www.internationalclub.fr) for piccies. If you didn’t join us for a glass – my secret is to stud a whole orange with cloves, then roast it in the oven for 40 mins. Add to a large heavy casserole with a couple of sticks of cinnamon, 2 or 3 star anise, a couple of bottles of red wine, 1/2 litre of orange juice. A triple shot of port, a double of brandy and a single of Cointreau or triple sec and a scoop of sugar to taste (try fair-trade brown sugar for a richer, more caramelised character).
Our Vilmart champagne will also be offered at the ICR’s New Years Eve Event – c’est moi doing the catering so please allow a brief plug!
No surprise, then, as to what we shall be brandishing when invited for a social event over the festive period, and I’m afraid our long suffering friends and family will all (secret present alert*%$//???””£*) be getting a bottle of Vilmart champagne in their Christmas stocking this year 2009. It’s the wine of choice when celebrating anything – and here’s to all of us who have “survived” and indeed enjoyed 2009!

Helen Brotherton
07.12.09

Monaco Yacht Show – what a week!

Helen Brotherton — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:33:22 +0000

FWW at Monaco Yacht Show

The sun shone, the Red Arrows flew, the Super yachts gleamed and we poured and poured!!! Four hectic days manning the Riviera Times stand at the Monaco Yacht Show, offering glass after glass of our Vilmart Grand Cellier champagne to ours and their clients, colleagues, prospective customers and yacht crew. In exchange for the champagne plus some sexy Vilmart prizes for their readers, we were able to
be at the Monaco show for the full 4 days, getting to meet up with brokers, shipyard companies and most importantly, putting a face to some of the crew members who will be attending some of our WSET® Wine Training courses this Autumn.
All sorts of possible new clients for our Wine Tasting Events also presented themselves – we still have heaps of follow up to do. Everyone was seriously “wowed”by the quality of the champagne on taste and even people who swore blind they never drank the stuff, enjoyed sipping this heavenly nectar with us.
The Riviera Times & Zeitung team happily launched their new website and invited people to subscribe on line in exchange for a chance to win a “jeroboam” (that’s a Double Magnum for those who don’t know – equivalent to 3 Litres!) of the Grand Cellier. The oversize bottle certainly looked impressive on the stand and drew envious looks when we finally pulled the winner’s name out of the hat on Saturday – thank heavens it was someone who was still actually at the show and could come by and collect it! It had dawned on us as the entry slips for the competition started to pile up, that between us we had attracted such a cosmopolitan range of nationalities to the stand and not all of them lived on the Riviera
– could have been a bit sticky trying to bubble wrap it and post it to Hong Kong!!!
I met a charming chap from the British Consulate in Milan who asked me if I could tell him the classic mix for a Martini cocktail (I advised him the high quality French vermouth Noilly Prat was what he was looking for – oh, and just to “waft” it over the gin and not drown it!); Nigel had a near brush with royalty as he passed just inches by Prince Albert of Monaco and we gave a glass of champagne (or three), to the team of “Yachting Matters” to celebrate its current issue with a top notch article about Wine Training for Crew by…..ahem, me!
Getting the train in and out of Monte Carlo each day, then the drive from the station home, was spectacularly knackering and yet a very pleasant way to get there each day. As the train trundles along the coast past Beaulieu sur Mer and Villefranche you can spot some very elegant yachts at anchor which takes your mind off the fact that you have your nose buried in someone’s armpit – it was quite busy all week so a seat was a luxury!
To conclude, we think it was a good partnership with the team at the Times & Zeitung and the arrangement worked really well for both parties – I can see us doing the same again next year! Watch this space for details!!

Helen Brotherton
05.10.09

Our first FWW Summer!

Helen Brotherton — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:31:08 +0000

Yachting, Trotting, Wining & Dining, Drinking & Thinking – our first FWW Summer! The Brotherton Family Hotel has now closed its doors for the season! All visitors and friends who have descended on us over the last three months have now gone back to the UK. The last batch left this morning, a good two hours later than planned so yet another FWW working day goes pear-shaped! However, even though we have had Thomas the Tank Engine to trip over, Shrek on DVD just as we need to make a phone call, a bathroom full of Strawberry Bubblebath and Plastic Sharks and a fridge full of Kinder Chocolate and Winnie the Pooh Yoghurt, we HAVE managed a pretty busy and exciting Summer workwise!

We’ve done lots of Wine Tasting Events: our own Fun Wine 4 Women concept has been very successful; we re-vamped our Food & Wine Matching Masterclass into a full blown 10 course Degustation Extravaganza Gourmet Dinner – you seriously have to skip lunch to get the most out of one of these! Plus we’ve run some Private Tutored Tastings on board a couple of Yachts and run Wine Tasting Challenges at various Summer Fetes, Charity Fundraisers and the International Club’s big Summer Event – the “We Are The World Party”.

Also, having sworn never to get back into her Chef’s gear, Helen has found herself catering for all sorts of Events and Tastings, big and small – have you any idea how hot a kitchen here on the Riviera can get in July and August???? The trick is to get up at around 5am and tackle pastry and other “oven” work, in the relative cool of the day – chopping can be done later when the temperature hits the mid 30’s!

The Wine Training courses for Yachts have, naturally, taken a break over the Summer, as crews have been busy with their Summer Med season. However, lesson planning and preparations for forthcoming Autumn courses have been ongoing. Oh, and wine sourcing for the Courses too! If anyone can find me a modern Greek red from Naoussa or Nemea here in the South of France in time for my Advanced course in November, I’d be very interested to hear from you!

Marketing plans for our Vilmart champagne are also blossoming nicely (take a look at our sexy new Vilmart Champagne page here on the website!) and we will be working with the Riviera Times to showcase the Champagne at the Monaco Yacht Show later in September. More of that anon!

Our new Winefinder Consultancy Service idea is still in its infancy but more of how that will work when we return from holiday. Yes, we at FWW are taking a very short break to address the now desperate state of affairs that means there is far too much Riesling in my blood stream and a trip to Germany’s wine regions is well overdue! I’m sure we will have tales to tell on our return – so watch this space, as they say.

Helen Brotherton – 28th August 2009

Gourmet Dinner - 10 courses and 8 wines!

Helen Brotherton

A Wine Tasting Event on our Terrace

Helen Brotherton — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:46:35 +0000

An enquiry back in April to organise and run a Wine Tasting Event and Lunch for a Gentlemen’s Club evolved into quite a happening! Firstly, the club is called the CRAFT Club – I envisaged (foolishly), a group of sedate gentlemen whose hobbies included building Sydney Opera House out of toothpicks or wild flower photography and happily started planning a gentle and not too challenging wine tasting for these charming chaps. When I was advised sometime into my planning exercise that CRAFT stood for “Can’t Remember A Flipping Thing” Club and that there are branches in all sorts of exotic places round the world, I realised that a more tongue in cheek and fun day was more appropriate.

So we kicked off with our legendary FWW Welcome cocktail (home-made Vin d’Orange with Sparkling wine) and bowls of Spiced Nuts and Olives on the back terrace. A real cosmopolitan and international set started to arrive – really interesting men with tales to tell and hailing from Germany, Sri Lanka, the UK, Holland, America and beyond. Through to the front terrace with a view of the Mediterranean and the first challenge was the Guess the Grape – a brief introduction to Wine Tasting (how to Swirl, Sniff & Slurp – Spitting was optional), although I have a sneaky suspicion that most of them were already well versed in the art! Then 2 Mystery Whites and 2 Reds were poured and using my potted Bluffer’s Guide to Grape Varieties the guessing commenced. A very different atmosphere to our Fun Wine 4 Women event back in April, as the chaps, split across two tables on the terrace immediately started issuing challenges & competitive bets to each other.

Having well and truly earned their lunch, we started with a Goat’s Cheese & Spinach Tart with Citrus & Pine-nut Dressing – a perfect match for our now revealed, “Villa Maria” Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. We then invited them to partake of a splendid cold buffet with dishes designed to be sampled with each of the Challenge wines. As usual, I’d over-catered and there was easily enough for 20+ (we had 15 Club members attending), but when I saw some of them returning to the buffet table for 2nds, 3rds and even 4ths, I gathered they must be quite enjoying the grub! A Smoked Salmon & Crayfish Salad (with a delicately oaked Beringer Chardonnay from California), Griddled Tuna with Mediterranean Vegetables (heavenly with a lightly chilled French Pinot Noir) and a Rare Roast Beef with Pickled Red Onions and Salsa Verde (coped admirably with a juicy Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon). Our standard cracking value “Sweetie” (the Sauternes lookalike, Ste Croix du Mont) was served with Roquefort Cheese and following hot on its heels was a squidgy Eton Mess (Strawberries, Meringue & Cream with a Raspberry Sauce), again a delightful foil for the pudding wine.

A round of Vin Triv, our much loved Wine Quiz over coffee and then a spirited final Wine Wizard Challenge (the question “Can you tell the difference between Red, White & Rosé wine?” gave us a duelling representative from each table) – I can’t tell you the “twist” in the challenge here as it will give
the game away……! But a Champion for the Day was duly crowned and our happy guests finally started to wend their way home. If I mention at this point that it was gone 4.30pm when the last one left, I think you’ll get some idea of the day! George Kasilyake did a magnificent job of organising the lunch from the Club’s point of view and FWW certainly excelled themselves with the presentation on the day. An e-mailed thank you from a Craftsman ended with the quote: “….a landmark occasion. A great and enjoyable lunch.”

Helen Brotherton
03.07.09