FEATURED WINE Albariño de Fefiñanes 2011 Palacio de Fefiñanes, Rias Baixas
The outstanding Albariño grape from the Salnés valley has always been the main protagonist of the wines of Palacio de Fefiñanes. It is a variety which has been nurtured to maintain its character, extraordinary expressiveness and uniqueness. This white wine is made exclusively from the Albariño grape and is fermented in stainless steel vats and bottled in its first year. A pioneer among the Rias Baixas wines, its classic presentation is a reflection of the elegance that, 100 years after in creation, continues to set this prince of Albariño’s apart from other wines.
“Wine is like people, in the closer it comes to its roots, the closer it comes to its real identity. In Bodega del Palacio de Fefiñanes we put this identity first and foremost”. “Our wines speak clearly of their landscape, their soil, with the fullness of a singular variety; the Albariño grape, as powerful and evocative as it is scarce. This is the fruit of our labors over the past hundred years and more, a tradition that is now part of our history”
Richard and Kaz Padidar travel to London in April with Jersey Tourism for their ‘Jersey Goes To London’ event.
The spirit of a century-old name is kept alive in the state-of-the-art equipment and winery.
Fefiñanes has always been an Albariño of complexity with less notes of vanilla and texture more evident than the bright and citrusy fruit character of most Albariño’s. The 2011 is no exception, but don’t think for a moment that the fruit has been sacrificed: the wine also shows peach, orange, lemon and even banana and mango hints.
APRIL 2013 Welcome to our second Tassili newsletter of 2013. The season of Spring is upon us, although you would not really known this from the weather, but this is one of the most anticipated seasons of the year because it signifies a new beginning, a fresh take on life. Spring is the symbol of change, literally, the turning over of a new leaf, as nature once again begins to envelope the earth in colour and beauty. In this newsletter I would like to highlight two members of Tassili’s team who have excelled in every aspect. Firstly, our cheese queen, Kinga Sztabler from Poland has been promoted to Head Waitress. Kinga has been working in Tassili for two years and has shown professionalism and dedication that is a pleasure to witness.
Juan Gil de Araujo González de Careaga The 17th century palace (also known as Palacio de Figueroa), with an architecture inspired in the Renaissance, is one of the most beautiful historical buildings in Galacia and as such appears in all the lists and guides to our heritage. It stands in the large open square of the same name, considered by many to be the equal of that of the Obradoiro in Santiago de Compostela, in the centre of the noble seafaring town of Cambados. There is much to see and admire in the surrounding area, where the estuaries formed by drowned river valleys provide visitors with a magical seascape. Although the beginnings of the Palacio de Fefiñanes winery go back to 1904, it became firmly established with the bottling and labelling of its first Albariño wine ‘Albariño de Fefiñanes’, which was registered as a trademark in 1928.
We congratulate Kinga on her new role and wish her every success for her future.
Its approachability belays its ageing potential, which I believe will last for a further 6 or 7 years. It’s a great partner with most shellfish dishes and bloomy cheeses. I often open serve a glass with our tasting menus and it is perfect with our Sea Bass dish, served as a fillet, goujon and tartare with Japanese mushrooms and wasabi mayonnaise. It is available at Dunells Premier Wines for around £20, and well worth investing in.
In the kitchen, Sarah Clark will be visiting L’Enclume Restaurant in the Lake District, working for a week with Simon Rogan and his team. Sarah has been working in Tassili for a year, originally coming from Victoria’s kitchen. She excelled in the brasserie so when an opportunity became available in Tassili, Richard did not hesitate to promote her. Sarah hopes to learn ‘new techniques and produce’ on her work experience. “Visiting such a beautiful area and the chance to work with Simon Rogan is an amazing opportunity”.
In May, Jersey will present our ‘Food Festival’ week and we will host two special dinners. On Thursday 23rd May we will add an additional wine dinner to our calendar. Entitled ‘Harmony and Balance’ this event will focus on the processes involved in our food and wine pairings. A six course dinner with paired wines offers the opportunity for our guests to learn the complexities of our senses and the basics of successful pairings. On Saturday 25th May our host for the evening, Kazz Padidar, will invite us to join him on a ‘Foraging’ coach tour where we will ‘select our dinner’, return to Tassili and Richard and his team will prepare a four course dinner. I will select some nice wines and Kazz will enlighten us through dinner on Jersey’s foraging history and seasonality. Wine Dinners: Wednesday 17th April: Sicily We are delighted to welcome back Michael Palij MW from Winetraders UK who is an Italian wine specialist from Oxford. Michael will introduce Thomas Schuster from Sicily and responsible for some of the greatest wines made there. Thomas will introduce six wines from his winemaking consortium “I Vigneri”. Thursday 30th May: The Parisian Market Based on the famous Rungis market in Paris, we offer the finest French artisan fare. Richard will create a six course menu based on the French classics and I will choose six wines from France that best pair their characters. Thursday 27th June: Perrier Jouët Champagne Grand Jersey’s house champagne and great supporter, Perrier Jouët will host their annual Champagne dinner in Tassili with a selection of six sparkling wines matched to mouthwatering dishes from our culinary team. Thursday 25th July: AOC (anything other than California) When we think of the USA, California wines take centre stage, but there are other treasures to be found in this vast country. I have chosen six wines from outside California which are well worth exploring.
WINE MASTER CLASS
FEATURED RECIPE
FEATURED SUPPLIER
It is Gary Duffy’s turn to offer a recipe to our newsletter, and he has chosen one of Richard’s signature dishes; Parfait of Foie Gras (coated in grated chocolate).
Kazz Padidar
Recipe: Lobe of foie gras Madeira 25g Cognac 25g White Port 25g Sugar 15g Salt 15g Pink salt 15g Duck fat 250g
As an addition to our monthly wine dinners, we will also offer wine master classes. These courses will take place every three months and go through the basics of understanding wine; winemaking, grape varietals, ‘terroir’, wine tasting, reading from the label and food and wine pairings. As is our style in Tassili, we will focus on the more ‘original’ wine styles and grape varietals, offering in-depth knowledge to the principles of our wine program.
Method: De-vein the foie gras lobe, flambé the spirits together over heat and add the sugar and salts. Sprinkle the mixture over the foie gras on a tray and marinade for 24 hours in a fridge. Wash off the mixture and place in a vacuum pack bag with the duck fat. Sous vide the foie gras for 20 minutes at 68◦C. Once cooked, drain off the duck fat and pass through a sieve, shape into small columns (or whichever shape you desire). For extra effect you can coat in chocolate. Use one-hundred percent chocolate – Indonesian, Columbian or Peruvian (all available at the chocolate shop in St Helier), grate the chocolate thin, and roll the foie gras parfait straight onto the chocolate, coating the parfait.
Starting at 4pm, we will start in the classroom and talk about the history of winemaking, the regions, wine styles, grape varieties and taste some wines. After a break at 6pm, we will adjourn for an aperitif. A four course menu will be served in Tassili at 7pm with a more ‘practical’ demonstration of what we have learnt. Saturday June 15th will be Burgundy and we will welcome Sebastian Thomas from Howard Ripley Wines in London. Sebastian will enlighten us with the intricacies of this fascinating region and its wines. Saturday 14 September will focus on Austria and we will welcome Mark Savage MW from Savage Selection Wines. Mark has a lifetime of experience searching out the best wines and th
Kazz Padidar grew up in Jersey on his Grandma’s farm at the bottom of Mont Ube woods. He used to ride to Grouville Fountain to fetch fresh drinking water, spent his days playing on the farm, in the woods and took countless trips down to Green Island to forage in rock pools. Picking blackberries and sampling nature’s abundant larder began at a young age.
For a great wine pairing, try the Riesling ‘Eroica’ 2010 from Ch Ste Michelle in Columbia Valley in Washington State, USA. A beautifully balanced, medium-sweet wine with a perfumed bouquet and a green apple and mineral finish. As this dish is coated in chocolate, a mediumsweet wine perfectly balanced the richness of the foie gras without overpowering the delicate flavours, but enhancing the wine’s fruit and aromatics.
He became an outdoor adventure instructor overseas as well as in Jersey and now runs his own business to inspire individuals to become more involved in the outdoors. One facet of the business is Bush-craft and foraging walks that began partly because Kazz once offered a wild carrot to a child and they responded by saying ‘I’m not eating that it comes from the ground’. Kazz believes the supermarket culture seems to be taking us away from our connections to our natural environment. He thinks a knowledge and understanding of what grows in our natural environments helps us appreciate more what we put into our bodies and gives us greater understanding of how to care for it. Wild food is a great source of natural vitamins and minerals and a treasure chest of medicinal benefits. Working with a great chef like Richard Allen at Tassili has been an amazing experience. To see what can be done with the unique flavours, textures and colours in wild food when in the hands of an expert is amazing. ‘Jersey has such a great variety of wild habitats both coastal and inland providing an abundance of foraging in quite a compact area making the island truly unique.’ Kazz Padidar.
Kazz has always been inspired by an outdoor lifestyle and worked as a wildlife gardener along with other local environmental agencies. Through this work he explored more in-depth into wild plants and trees discovering the edible, medicinal and other practical properties they possess. Conservation became a main priority and this took Kazz to many wild places around the world working with endangered animals. Through these projects he had the great opportunity of working alongside local tribes who inspired him in their sustainability and understanding of the natural environment.
Wild food do’s and don’ts: Permission, always find out who owns the land as you may get into trouble for picking plants especially in protected areas. Don’t forage on roadsides because of fumes and heavy metals. Try to forage away from dog walking areas or above the pee line. Always be nomadic in your foraging to allow an area to rejuvenate. Only pick what you need or what the plant can give you without exhausting it. Always be 100% sure of what you are foraging as in some cases it can cost you your life or make you seriously ill. Go on walks with experts and do your research. Kazz has been inspirational for us in Tassili with his expert local knowledge and abundant enthusiasm. The locally foraged plants and sea vegetables we select from Kazz have become essential ingredients in many of our dishes, and we owe Kazz a great debt for teaching us what is on our doorstep.