Archive for February, 2010

When you go to a dinner party make sure you do not arrive empty-handed, here are some gift ideas for the host. Host gifts are hardly obligatory, but during the holidays, wrapping up a wine bottle or two should not be a burden.

That said, finding the right wine requires the same due diligence that finding any other gift requires. Before you go, ask yourself a few questions about the kind of wine the host really enjoys: red or white, New World or Old World, traditional varietal wine or something more edgy. It all matters.

Never feel you have to spend a fortune. It’s all about choosing a wine that demonstrates you did a bit of work.

Most important, the gift is for the host. Don’t expect the host to open the wine you just gave her; in fact, you should insist she put it away to enjoy on a future occasion.

A host who suspects the wine he’s receiving is particularly meaningful to the gift-giver may consider tagging the bottle with that information and, in the future, share that bottle with the gift-giver.

The most important piece of advice is: Don’t wait until the last minute.

Sparkling wine is the ultimate host gift, because it’s something we seldom buy for ourselves. It’s both festive and celebratory and, best of all, everyone should have a bottle of bubbly in the house. To make your bottles sparkle, dress them festively in clear or coloured cellophane–perfect to see the bottle–and tie with ribbons.

Quirky off-the-beaten-path wines are perfect for the curious wine-loving host. The Austrian gruner veltliner fits this type, as does the aromatic torrontes from Argentina, petite sirah, mourvedre and more.

For the host who likes wine and food, an affordable, balanced red wine that works with a variety of menu items is a great choice.

Read more on canada.com

Kumkani Brand News

The Kumkani Infiniti MCC- Sparkling wine is a great wine to give your host.

If you want to give an interesting yet superb red I will suggest the Kumkani Shiraz Viognier 2006. Rich, medium to full bodied wine. Black summer fruit in combination with floral undertones from Viognier. Complex, yet soft tannin structure with multi layered palate and beautiful finish.

The wine:

Try this hot and spicy romantic recipe on your honey for Valentine’s Day. It’s sweetly spicy, inherently healthy, and couldn’t be easier to prepare or clean up. Piri-Piri is an African term for hot and spicy. Control the amount of fire by adjusting the amount of cayenne pepper. This recipe is presented as mild-to-medium heat.

Piri-Piri Pomegranate Chicken

Serves 2

Ingredients:
1 cup parboiled brown rice
1 cup water or broth
2 to 3 pieces chicken
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
Salt to taste
18 to 20 Brussels sprouts, trimmed with shallow “x” cut into stem end
1-1/2 cups baby carrots, halved
1 cup oyster mushrooms, sliced thickly
1/2 pomegranate, seeded
Fresh parsley

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 230 degrees C. Spray inside of 2 liter  Dutch oven and lid with olive oil.

2. Pour rice into pot and add liquid. Stir gently to coat grains and smooth into an even layer. Set chicken pieces in next in a single layer.

3. In a small bowl, mix together ketchup, honey, molasses, lemon juice, garlic and cayenne pepper. Drizzle 1/2 mixture over top of chicken. Drop in Brussels sprouts and carrots. Pour rest of mixture over all. Top with mushrooms and pomegranate seeds.

4. Cover and bake for about 45 minutes, or about 3 minutes after the aroma wafts from the oven.

Recommended Wine:

The Kumkani Chardonnay Viognier 2008 will complement this dish. This wine as aromas of lemon peach with a hints of vanilla oak flavours complementing a well balance elegant wine.

Notes:
You can use any combination of boneless, bone-in, skinless, or skin-on chicken pieces in this recipe.

Look for pomegranate molasses in specialty or health food groceries.

Source: www.sheknows.com

The wine:

Giving wine with chocolate makes for a more special Valentine’s Day, not to mention the opportunity to create time for sharing with your loved one.

There are actually a lot of different wines that pair well with chocolate. Generally, wines that are a little more “fruit forward” make the best partners with chocolate.

Champagnes also pair well with chocolate. Try dark chocolate with a brut champagne, and a lighter (maybe even white) chocolate with a sweeter bubbly. Be careful, though, not to go too sweet.

The Kumkani Infiniti is an excellent dry “champagne”. This exceptional wine is a MCC (Methode Cap Classique ) sparkling wine and pairs well with dark chocolates (especially with 50 percent, or higher, cacao).

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South Africa is commonly known as the Rainbow nation with a vast array of cultures and traditions. This is also true with regards to cuisine.

Barbara Ludman recently wrote that it was the search for food that shaped modern South Africa: spices drew the Dutch East India Company to Java in the mid-1600s, and the need for a half-way refreshment stop for its ships rounding the Cape impelled the Company to plant a farm at the tip of Africa. There are sections of Commander Jan van Riebeeck’s wild almond hedge still standing in the Kirstenbosch Gardens in Cape Town.

That farm changed the region forever. The Company discovered it was easier to bring in thousands of hapless slaves from Java to work in the fields than to keep trying to entrap the local people, mostly Khoi and San, who seemed singularly unimpressed with the Dutch and their ways. The Malay slaves brought their cuisine, perhaps the best-known of all South African cooking styles.

The French Huguenots arrived soon after the Dutch, and changed the landscape in wonderful ways with the vines they imported. They soon discovered a need for men and women to work in their vineyards, and turned to the Malay slaves (and the few Khoi and San they could lure into employment).

Much later, sugar farmers brought indentured labourers from India to cut the cane. The British, looking for gold and empire, also brought their customs and cuisine, as did German immigrants.

And black communities carried on eating their traditional, healthy diet: game, root vegetables and wild greens, berries, millet, sorghum and maize, and protein-rich insects like locusts.

Today the resultant kaleidoscope – the famous “rainbow” – applies not only to the people but to the food, for one finds in South Africa the most extraordinary range of cuisines.

Read more…

Kumkani Brand News

To complete these amazing dishes South Africa also have extraordinary wines. Like the multi award winning Kumkani Lanner Hill Sauvignon Blanc. This full bodied wine has ripe gooseberry flavours with a crisp lingering finish.

Essentially unchanged since 1894, the champagne bottle is a study in beauty, elegance, and scientific function. Everything about it, from the cork on the top to the indentation on the bottom, serves a crucial role in keeping your champagne safe and at its best.

The Cork Usually larger than corks used to seal wine, champagne corks are made in two parts: the bottom (inside the bottle) is a natural cork composite while the top (outside the bottle) is a mix of cork bits glued together. Corks are straight when first put into the bottle then swell when removed, creating the famous mushroom shape.

The Wire Cage The first champagne bottles used string to restrain the cork, but in 1844 Adolphe Jacquesson invented the metal cage system we still use today.

The Foil Foil was needed to deter rats and other pests from nibbling on the cork. Now it’s a decorative and traditional part of the champagne experience.

The Rim It’s there strictly to serve as an anchor for the wire cage.

The Glass The glass in champagne bottles is much thicker than that in wine bottles due to the pressure, which can be upwards of 70-100 pounds per square inch. The very first champagne bottles were not as thick and strong as they are today and bottles (especially when kept in volume in champagne cellars) were considered somewhat dangerous as they regularly exploded.

The Indentation The indentation in the bottom of the bottle isn’t a sneaky way of serving less champagne per bottle, but instead a means of keeping the pressure from building up near the bottom. Also called the punt or ‘kick-up,’ it helps redistribute the pressure to keep the bottle from exploding.

The process and wine style of South African “champagnes” is called Methode Cap Classique (MCC). Wine made in this style are produced by using similar processes of Champagne and it is of the same high quality.

Kumkani Brand News

One of the best South African MCC wines is the Kumkani Infiniti. This award winning sparkling wine has a pale straw colour with a fine, lazy bead. It has a creamy entrances with a complex and  full persistent  finish.

Source: seriousaboutwine.co.za

Pairing food and wine is not a one-way street. The wine should not only complement the food, but the food should also complement the wine.

Often, a person decides what they are preparing for dinner and then chooses the wine to drink with the meal. Some wine writers’ find it interesting to choose the wine or grape varietal, and then determine what type of food will provide the most enjoyment to the palate.

When you decide that you want to serve a full bodied yet spicy wine like the Kumkani Shiraz / Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 you can choose the dish to pair with the wine.

This wine as aromas of berries, spice, toasty oak and vanilla which carries through in the flavour of the wine. With this extraordinary wine modern meat dishes and fusion cooking dishes can be served.

This wine pairs well with  a range of meat and spicy dishes.

Read more on sunherald.com

The wine: