sâmbătă, 30 iunie 2012

Basic rules for pairing food and drinks

You know, for the success of a meal, you must think in advance about the menu and about the drinks (mainly wines, if you ask me!) pairing with your dishes.
According to my experience, there are some basic rules about it, which are very generally and apply not only in Romania, but also anywhere else in the world, maybe with a few local alterations.
1.For the hors d'oeuvres you can try some appetizers, but also dry normal or sparkling wines. But let it be dry, for sure!
2.For the soups, cream soups or borsh you don't need necessary to pair them with wine; exception, the fish soups where you can use a strong dry white wine. In Romania you find these wines in the vineyards from Moldova and Transylvania.




3.For the fish,craw fish and shells I normally recommend a white wine; but won't say no to a good roze wine!
4.Pair mushrooms with half dry white wine, any other combination is wrong!
5.For the main dishes use the red wines (say it in Romanian: vin rosu). For the white meat, the light red wines; for the red meat use heavier more consistent wines; keep the best reds for the hunting meat.
6.If you use a sort of wine to the cooking of a certain dish, never forget to offer it to the dinner together with that dish!
7.For the cheese use further the  wine of the main dish, the red one.
8.For the desert use use young wine ( or must) if available; also possible to use sweet flavored wines, as Muscat Ottonel!


8. Serve always the lighter wine before the heavier consistent ones; also the first should be the young wine (must).
9.For a normal meal, you don't need more than two sorts of wine, a white one and a red one. On special occasions and sophisticated meals is permitted the third sort of wine; choice it according the upper rules.
10.No matter how many sorts of wine you offer, try not to go beyond the limits of a normal consumption (which is between half and one liter).
My basic rules and recommendations turned to be a Decalogue!Try to respect it if you want that everything go smoothly while your celebration!



duminică, 24 iunie 2012

A special way of wine tasting


Strictly from an astronomical point of vue, the summer just started. Nevertheless, it is extremely hot, not only in Romania. Bad times for addicted wine tasters!

Fortunately, I can give you some tips!
Beware, there are many dangers in a cave
1. Make longer or shorter walking trips in the Romanian Carpathians. Enjoy the springs, the forests, the shadow wherever you find it! Be sure to find bearable temperatures and wonderful places, but you must be fit and carry some bottles of wine in your rucksack.Your favorite drops will taste even better after a good exhausting walk, you will be able to feel their hidden energy.

A nice cave, very good for the explorer inside you

2.If you find a cave during your trips, that is really the heaven on Earth ! Even if you are not a trained speologist or a professional cave explorer, you may not miss this opportunity. Take the normal precautions about animals or birds who may have nested there. You need only to penetrate 10 meters inside the cave, and you will feel a huge relief. The climate here is much more pleasant than the killing heat outside. If everything goes O.K. you can camp here for a few hours, or even days, feeling like a discoverer (Neanderthal e.g.). Our ancestors began our Earth adventure in caves, there is no doubt about it. Now you can experience the same feelings of an early people on Earth. And the bottles of wine from your pack will help you deepen this special feeling.
A typical cabin from the Romanian Carpathian Mountains

3. Find a cabin on the pics of the Romanian Carpathians. There are many (Bucura, Zanoaga, Babele etc) and you will find nice company there, other people like you aiming to escape civilization or heat ( or even the both simultaneously!)  Be sure to find beer and mineral water there, some food, but not your special wine(the supply is very difficult, easy to understand)! Be sure bringing it with you. Again, I must underline, you must be fit for climbing mountains, reaching the peaks, and carrying your wine.

sâmbătă, 16 iunie 2012

5 Reasons for visiting Romania

Well, let's be fair: maybe Romania is (still) not on the top of your must do list. Why is this happening? Maybe Romania has not the insistent publicity which other countries enjoy, maybe you heard something bed about it, or maybe there are other hidden or obviously reasons ( let me know them, I'll try to understand them, and may be I will be able to convince you about how uneffective are they).


On the contrary, I give a few reasons for visiting Romania.
1. Romania is cheap, one of the cheapest country in Europe. Looking simply to offers of wine tasting in Romania or abroad makes anyone easy to select!

2.Romania is a wine country. You can enjoy the wine here in organized groups, or on you own. Discover the best places on your own, find the best cellars, enjoy the huge hospitality of the ordinary people.


3. Romanians are civilized and speak and understand foreign languages, they enjoy new contacts and are very interested to find up new things or make new friends.

4.If you are beer addicted, you shall not be afraid of Romania as a wine country. You can sit very quietly on a terrace enjoying your favorite beer, all the beer producers are very well represented here. And be sure to find at once good company, in summer many Romanians turn to beer.


5.Try to understand the hidden saw of this very particular nation, learn something about its rich history and geography. And if you try to learn a few words in Romanian language, be sure to win a few friends for all your life.

But if you really want to see in Romania, you don't need other extra reasons. You are welcomed at any time, and you will be surely rewarded. Romania is not very commercial, it is still genuine and authenthic, specially to the countryside
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