Andean Adventure

Jane shows off the new kitchen

Last night we held one of our biggest wine tasting dinners at Tongham Village Hall with sixty four in attendance for the opening of our brand new kitchen.   Many locals were there as well as some from Ash, Farnborough and Guildford.  We even had visitors from Ascot, Bedford and Manchester!

We had 8 courses as follows:

1  Sparkling White from Chile - Casilliero Del Diablo Brut Reserva NV Chardonnay - Waitrose £7.49 - served with Prawns, Kidney Beans and Guacamole with Tortilla Chips

2  Floral White from Argentina - Fairtrade Torrontes 2011 - Waitrose  £5.39 served with Smoked Salmon Ceviché.   You can find the recipe for the ceviché by clicking here.

3  Dry White from Chile - Tabali 2010 Chardonnay  - Waitrose £8.61 served with Avocado Salad with Chicken and Red Peppers

4   Red from Chile - Terra Noble Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 -  FromVineyardsDirect £8.95 served with Terrine of Lamb, Corn & Peppers with Chimmi Churri Sauce

5   Red from Chile -Carmenere Gran Reserva 2009 -  FromVineyardsDirect  £11.45 served with  Chilean Chicken, Corn & Potato Chowder

6   Red from Argentina - Valle Las Acequias 2007 Malbec - FromVineyardsDirect  £9.95 served with Beef Braised in Red Wine with Gremolata

7   Red  from Argentina  - Clos de los Siete 2009 Malbec, Cab Sauv, Merlot, Syrah - Waitrose £10.49 served with Cheese - Manchego, Mature Cheddar, Cashel Blue

8   Coffee served with       Dulce de Leche Pionono (Caramel Swiss Roll)

The red wines were the star of the evening, that is apart from Jane and her food!    The Carmenere Gran Reserve was particularly good and the Clos de Los Siete was a great match for the cheese.   I also loved the Chardonnay which was quite restrained for a New World wine and the Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon that was relatively light and easy drinking but with a nice complexity.

Our guests learnt quite a bit about Argentine and Chilean food and wine.   

Chilean Wine

On the west side of the Andes, Chile is the ninth largest producer of wines in the World and even more important as an exporter where it ranks No. 5.  Wine has been produced since the invasion of the Spanish in the 16^th century but only really became serious in the 1980s when French grape varieties were imported and then the industry quickly grew.  The most common grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Carmenere but most international varieties are grown here. White varieties include Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. As Chile is in the Southern Hemisphere, the harvests are between February and May.

Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon tends to have a soft easy drinking style.  Carmenere is actually an old Bordeaux variety that is grown little anywhere except in Chile and more recently China.  Most Chardonnays are in the New World oaked style.  Sparkling wines are only just beginning to become a significant part of the Chilean wine portfolio.  We will be trying examples of all of these wines tonight.

Argentine Wine

On the east side of the Andes, Argentina is the sixth largest producer of wines in the World but as much of it is made of pink grapes and is only drunk locally, it ranks just No. 8 as an exporter.  Again the Spanish brought wine making to Argentina in the sixteenth century and it started to become serious in the 1990s.

Malbec is the most widely planted premium grape variety in Argentina, followed by Bonarda (a Piedmont grape now rarely grown in Italy) and Cabernet Sauvignon.  Of the white grapes, Torrontes is the widest grown.  Almost all of the Argentine vineyards require irrigation from the Andes.

The influence of the Andes on the wine

The Andes Mountains help wine growers by providing water from melting snow for irrigation and by creating a large temperature difference between day and night that adds acidity to the grapes.  The Andean foothills also have less extreme temperatures than the plains which is good for the vines and increasingly vines are being planted higher up to gain this advantage.

Chilean Food

Chilean cuisine come mainly from Spanish influences but often using local ingredients such as avocados, sweetcorn, quinoa and potatoes as well as more exotic produce.  Like most South American countries there is also a heavy influence from other European countries and the Middle East on the cooking in Chile.  Thus olives are grown in Chile and used in their dishes.

The country’s long coastline means that seafood and fish are common in their diet.  Ceviche is a common method of preparing fish where the “cooking” is done by citrus juice rather than heat.  In Chile, grapefruit is often used to make ceviche. 

Argentine Food

Argentine food uses a lot of beef and barbequed steak is the national dish.  Short ribs and pork are also popular ingredients. 

There are many Mediterranean influences in the cuisine but particularly that of Italy and Spain.

Chimmi Churri sauce is very popular and is normally made of herbs, garlic and vinegar.  In Argentina chilies are rarely added to this sauce but elsewhere they might be.

Dulce de leche is a sweet milk-based spread used in many desserts in Argentina. 

Special thanks to our sponsors who provided raffle prizes that enabled us to raise money for the maintenance of our Tongham Village Hall.    They included:

BA and Iberian Airlines     

Wines of Chile

The White Hart Tongham    

Thanks to Clive Greenfield for the photos, John Telfer for organising the raffle prizes, Chris and Andy Wall, Bob Monk and many others for their tireless help before and during the evening.  

Many of our Tongham Tasters helped out. Find out more about us below 

TONGHAM TASTERS

We meet every month, normally on the 2^nd Friday.   We share the cost of the wines and food and this averages out at £10 per person per month.

Our most recent tastings have included:

September – Chablis Uncorked which included everything from Petit Chablis to Grand Cru Chablis and even an incredible 1983 Premier Cru Chablis.

October – Six French Wine Regions which included lovely wines from Burgundy, Beaujolais, Loire, Bordeaux, Languedoc and the Sud Ouest.

Next month on November 9^th we will taste 6 red Cabernet Franc wines from top producers of Chinon in the Loire Valley and it will be a vertical tasting to include six years between 1990 and 2008.

In December we will be having our Christmas party and in January we will taste six Sauvignon Blanc wines from around the World.

If you are interested, talk to John Etherton 

John’s contact details are:

Phone – 07717 876743

E-mail – tonghamtaster@gmail.com

We welcome new members to our group which holds it tastings in our homes in Tongham and Farnborough