Tesco boss: Green retail must be achieved

Supermarkets can play a vital role in ensuring that emissions are cut and businesses improve their green credentials, Tesco’s chief executive Sir Terry Leahy has said.

Leahy argued that if the organisation wants to witness long-term growth then it must adopt a green strategy and disagrees with those who think this sort of thinking and business operation cannot be combined.

He said that if consumers can purchase lower-carbon items, then they will reward the retailers that offer them.

Arniston Bay is one of the brands assisting the retailers in their efforts to sell greener products.

Claiming an 80% lower carbon footprint and 90% less waste and landfill than regular glass wine bottles, Arniston Bay wine pouches are aimed at the eco-conscious wine drinker

Developed as an extension from South Africa’s fourth biggest-selling brand, the Arniston Bay Reserve range of six wines made by wine maker Nicky Versfeld features a Barrel-Fermented Chenin Blanc, Barrel-Fermented Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz, Pinotage and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Sources:

Talking Retail

www.which.co.uk

Talking Retail

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Blended Wine: Are two grapes better than one?

In the world of varietal labeling, there are both deceptions as well as limitations that come into play. First let’s consider the deceptions. These are certainly not meant to be malicious in any way but they simplify the marketing of a wine so that the consumer has an easier time finding what he or she wants.

In the case of American wines, a wine with a grape variety listed on a label must be comprised of at least 75 percent of the grape stated. That means there is 25 percent wiggle room for other grapes to be added. In the case of cabernet sauvignon this is almost always the case and merlot is usually added to soften the stiff tannins of its cab counterpart.

Most grapes alone lack the balance to create great wines, but when blended with other grapes a symbiotic relationship is created that makes some of the world’s greatest wines. In the case of Bordeaux, the left bank is dominated by cab-based wines that use merlot, cabernet franc, malbec and petite verdot to create the desired color, ripeness and balance. On the right bank, the wines are merlot-focused and use cab in smaller percentages to give the wines more structure.

The Southern Rhone is a blending paradise where 23 different varieties can be used. Most red wines in this region, however, are dominated by grenache, syrah, mourvedre and cinsault. When blended, these wines can possess a level of balance that is seldom seen by any one of these grapes standing on their own.

Read full article: Salt Lake Tribune

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Wine lovers should not spend more than £6.99 – experts

Wine lovers should only spend £6.99 on a bottle of wine to impress dinner party guests because they are unlikely to be able to tell the difference between that and a more expensive tipple, experts have said.

A group of leading connoisseurs from around the world agreed that £6.99 should be enough to buy what they would consider a “decent” bottle in a British shop.

Above that figure, the differences were more about “individual taste” than quality, they said.

Judges taking part in Decanter magazine’s World Wine Awards came up with the price amid fears that customers are regularly paying over the odds in an effort to satisfy the wine snobs.

Their guidance will come as a welcome relief to the nervous dinner party guest eager to impress and will make the task of selecting wine a slightly less expensive affair.

The magazine asked the judges to reveal how little they would pay for a bottle of wine if they were going out for the evening without risking their reputation. They agreed that anything over £6.99 was enough to satisfy the aficionados.

With prices for top vintages increasing despite the international economic slow down, the figure will offer some comfort to buyers keen to navigate the social minefield of selecting a bottle of wine.

“There is such a difference between £4.99 and a bottle of wine that is £7.99, but from there it is more about individual taste and preference,” said Guy Woodward, the magazine’s editor.

Read full article: The Telegraph

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Cooking with wine

Using wine in food and pairing wine with food are greatly misunderstood concepts.

Although both are incredibly complicated, they are at the same time very simple if you keep to two general guidelines:

When cooking with wine, treat it as a spice or flavor.
When pairing wine with food, consider its acidity or tartness as the key 

Reds

Dry reds add grip, depth and a pleasant balance to richness.Sweet reds add a deep, syrupy, semi-sweetness to a sauce.
Reds add color. Whether dry or sweet, when used as a marinade they’ll leave white meats like pork and chicken pink. In my view, reds also toughen and muddy the flavor of a dish unless it’s a roast, which cooks for a long time. 

Whites

Dry whites add necessary tartness and structure to a dish to counteract and balance richness, dairy and olive oil.
Sweet whites add bright, toned sweetness to a sauce. When reduced, they can impart a light caramel tone.
Dry or sweet, a white-wine marinade doesn’t leave color as a red does but can leave a spirituous flavor on a dish.

Pork, chicken, fish and shellfish actually begin to cook from the acidity in a dry white, leaving it tough. I wouldn’t recommend marinating for more than half an hour. Even better, don’t combine the food and the wine at all.

Make the marinade separately and use it to “paint” your dish regularly every 5 to 15 minutes of cooking. This introduces the flavor to the outside of the meat and the heat turns it into a moisture-sealer and glaze.  

Red or white: Never add “raw” (uncooked) wine to a dish, such as when finishing a soup. It will give an unpleasantly hot and bitter character to the dish. 

Source: Wine and Food Blog

 

 

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Wine and food pairing basics

‘A meal without wine is called breakfast’ is a common saying in the wine world.

 

Wine and food are meant to be, but most persons don’t really know too much about wine. So what exactly do you need to know about wine and food matching in order to enjoy it? If you are not planning to be a Master of Wine, a Master Sommelier or do any other formal wine certification, then you really don’t need to know too much in order to have some fun.

The first rule of wine and food pairing is that there are NO rules. Drink what you like with what you like to eat. However, there are a few guidelines that will make the experience much more enjoyable. Long gone are the days of “white wine with fish and red wine with meat”.

For the most part, food changes the taste of wine, so we will want to consider what we will be eating in order to select a wine to go with the meal. There are some wine lovers among us, though, who choose the wine first and then find something to eat with it.

Some believe that the wine should make the food taste better, while others believe that the wine should taste the way the winemaker intended and the food should taste the way the chef intended, in other words, wines should complement, not dominate food. Which school of thought are you from?

Balance is what we are attempting to achieve; neither the wine nor the food should overpower each other. The primary factors to consider in doing a pairing are to weigh the flavour and intensity of the food to the flavour and intensity of the wine. The more powerful and flavourful the food, the greater the flavour and intensity the wine will need to be in order for the pairing to remain in balance.

Source: www.jamaicaobserver.com

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Hilary Swank buys film rights to French Paradox book

Oscar-winning actress Hilary Swank has bought the film rights to best-selling lifestyle book French Women Don’t Get Fat.

According to news agency AFP, the 34-year-old US star (pictured) will produce a romantic comedy based on the book, which extols the virtues of a continental diet – meals rich in fat and carbohydrates.

Written by Mireille Guiliano, a former executive with Champagne house Veuve Clicquot, the book examines the reasons why Guiliano, who was used to a continental diet of bread, pastries, wine, and three-course meals, went to the US as an exchange student and ‘came back fat’.

According to Guiliano, the book ‘unlocks the secrets of the “French Paradox” – how to enjoy food and stay slim and healthy’.

The book topped the New York Times non-fiction bestseller list and has sold over 2m copies worldwide.

Although not as wine-led as recent wine films Bottle Shock and Sideways, according to reports, the film’s protagonist will be the boss of a Champagne house.

Swank has won two Academy Awards (Oscars): one for her role in the 1999 film Boys Don’t Cry and one, in 2005, for her portrayal of a boxer in Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby.

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