Blog - La Guinguette

Posted on 13/09/202213/09/2022 by Sarah — Leave a comment

Marsanne Grape

Marsanne loves the sun

Marsanne appeared in the 12th century in the Drôme in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. It loves the sun and heat, ingredients necessary for its good development. This white grape variety is distinguished by its red and golden colour. Its grapes are quite large and provide juicy berries. This grape variety is present in the Rhône Valley, in Provence, Languedoc-Roussillon and in Savoie.

Power and roundness

Marsanne is rich in taste. It evokes different flavors. It develops almond aromas in all its forms but also the smell of jasmine, beeswax. Marsanne is known for its generosity. Very floral, this grape gives life to soft wines, but with character. This variety brings power and roundness to a wine. Its aroma tends to increase over the years and gives a slight nutty taste when the wine ages.

Aromas

Fruits: green almond, peach, apricot, apple, orange, dried fruit

Flowers: jasmine, acacia

Bonus: walnut/hazelnut, truffle, almond paste, beeswax/honey

It complements harmoniously other grape varieties, often the Roussane. These two grape varieties complement each other perfectly: together they give wines with little acidity, with aromas of yellow fruits, white fruits, flowers with honey and liquorice notes. This is the case, for example, of the appellations Crozes-Hermitage, Saint-Joseph, Côtes-du-Rhône, Costières-de-Nîmes, etc.

Marsanne wines selection

Marsanne – Paul Mas
Languedoc-Roussillon
218 HKD

Roméo & Julieta – Michel Raynaud
Languedoc-Roussillon
248 HKD

Scamandre – Domaine Renouard
Rhone Valley
458 HKD

Les Davids – Domaine Lombard
Rhone Valley
310 HKD

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Posted on 10/09/202210/09/2022 by Sarah — Leave a comment

Wine & Food pairing : Roquefort

Roquefort is one of the references of French cheeses. Smooth and frank notes, a fine and pronounced taste, a melting texture.
A prestigious cheese that needs to be associated with rich and structured wines.

A sweet white

Create a beautiful contrast with sweet wines. They recall the creamy texture of Roquefort while counterbalancing its salty character. Opt for example for a Sauternes from Bordeaux. This blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon and Muscadelle delivers notes of quince, almond, citrus and apricot. It is ample and rich with elegant touches of white flowers and honey. In Alsace, a Gewurztraminer. Very aromatic, it offers intense fragrances of rose and litchi. Structured, creamy and charming.

Find our selection of sweet white wines

Gewurztraminer
Alsace
398 HKD

Le Cirque Muscat Moelleux
Languedoc
198 HKD

Muscat de Beaumes de Venise
Rhone Valley
165 HKD

Sauternes
Bordeaux
230 HKD

A red wine of character

The pairing is a little more risky and may be less delicate. Choose a wine after a few years, when its tannins are melted because they would risk in their youth to harden the flavors of Roquefort. In the Rhone Valley, a Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Fine and complex, it offers ripe fruits, truffle, mushroom, spices and undergrowth aromas.

Roquefort AOP

Posted on 10/09/202210/09/2022 by Sarah — Leave a comment

Roquefort AOP

An explosion of scents and flavors, distinctive in taste, blue-veined cheese from sheep milk…Yes, it’s the Roquefort. This cheese is the result of a thousand-year-old tradition. A knowledge passed down from generation to generation to amaze your taste buds.

A cute legend

According to legend, a young shepherd left his meal made of bread and sheep’s curd in his cave to conquer a beautiful shepherdess who passed. On his return, he found his piece of bread and curd, covered with molds called Penicillium roqueforti. With no choice, he still had to eat everything. However, the molds transformed the cheese into an exquisite taste, so much so that the shepherd fell in love with it. The Roquefort was born.

The first Appellation d’Origine Protégée (Protected Designation of Origin)

The name of the cheese refers to the village of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon in Aveyron.

At the beginning of the 1920s, counterfeits of Roquefort multiplied. The Roquefort producers decided to react collectively. Together, the Aveyron Union of Roquefort cheese manufacturers and the Federation of sheep breeders are asking for an Appellation d’Origine (Designation of Origin) to protect Roquefort from fraud attempts.

The AO Roquefort will be recognized on July 26, 1925, by a law signed by President Gaston Doumergue. This is not a small event: the Roquefort becomes the first French Appellation d’Origine for a cheese.

Thanks to the Appellation d’Origine (AO in 1925, AOP in 1996), Roquefort cheese remains faithful to its terroir and the French culinary culture. Roquefort has contributed to the preservation of French landscapes and know-how.

The manufacture of Roquefort

Roquefort is made exclusively from Lacaune sheep’s milk. For 3 kg of cheese, you need about 13 litres of raw and whole sheep milk.

Once the milk is brewed, hardened, moulded, drained and salted, the cheese is pricked to allow the Penicillium roqueforti to develop. It is from this small organism that come bluish spots with the powerful flavor of Roquefort.

The fresh cheese is placed in the natural caves of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon. While resting in these rock caves with fresh walls, Penicillium roqueforti awakens in the cavities of the cheese. The blue-green marbles appear in the white-ivory paste. This particular period must last at least fourteen days.

Then, when the Cheese Affineur decides, the Roquefort cheeses are packed in a microporous sheet that slows down this process. They start a long maturation of at least three months. Once finished, they are ready to be tasted.

The tasting

First, taste with your eyes the blue-green marbles from the heart to the edges in the pearly white paste, slightly damp.
Then smell the aromas expressed by the mold and acidity of the curd milk.
Now savour the Roquefort. Smooth and frank notes, a fine and pronounced taste. Its texture is melting.

Roquefort can be enjoyed on a cheese platter or in sauce with your meals. In sauce, it goes very well with red meats, or with pasta.

Although it is well-known that his most beautiful romance is the one with the pear, Roquefort has character, it pairs perfectly with the most unexpected foods.

On your cheese platter or as an aperitif, Roquefort goes well with nuts, almonds, hazelnuts, apricots, figs, prunes, etc. It also goes well with jams, quince paste and fruit compotes, …

Roquefort is paired, according to the season, with bananas, pineapples, melons, figs, grapes, green apples, pears, etc.

Roquefort loves the crispness and freshness of vegetables such as endive, sweet potato, salad, tomato, celery, radish, beetroot, etc.

Do not hesitate to taste it on different types of bread, with brioche or gingerbread.

Wine & Food pairing: Roquefort

Posted on 06/09/202213/09/2022 by Sarah — Leave a comment

Merlot Grape

Emblematic grape variety of Bordeaux

Merlot is a red grape variety, appeared at the end of the 18th century, traditionally used in Bordeaux.

Its name would refer to the Merle (blackbird) because of its colour which is similar to the plumage of the bird. Moreover, the Merle would be fond of the grains of this grape variety.

68 000 ha : it is the amount of Merlot planted in Bordeaux.

But Merlot is no longer the exclusivity of Bordeaux, it is now vinified all over the world.

Very appreciated for a simple pleasure. This wine is fruity and easy to drink in its youth. It delights lovers of the right bank of Bordeaux (Pomerol, Saint-Emilion, Blaye Côtes de Bordeaux, Fronsac)

It is easy to grow in a warm to temperate climate. Its berries with fine skin ripen easily.

Profile

Dark and dense, with aromas of red and black fruits and a superb aromatic palette, merlot evolves during its aging to give way to notes of prunes, undergrowth, spices. In the mouth, it is supple with distinguished tannins.

Aromas

Prune, blackberry, blueberry, black cherry, violet, mint

When ageing: leather, game, meat juice

Merlot is often used in blends to bring roundness to the wine.

Cabernet-Sauvignon is its ideal companion. Merlot and Cabernet-Sauvignon are like a Laurel and Hardy duo (Merlot would play the role of the chubby).

For great Bordeaux, it can be blended with Cabernet Franc, which extends Merlot’s lifespan.

It pleases also a lot as a varietal wine (wine made with a single variety of grape). 100% Merlot is immediately supple, opulent and soft to the palate.

Merlot wines selection

Cavage – Georges Vigouroux
South-West
168 HKD

Anqui – Vignerons de Tutiac
Bordeaux
218 HKD

1937 – Vignerons de Tutiac
Bordeaux
248 HKD

Les Trois Corneilles
La Bouche du Roi – Ile de France
488 HKD

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