Brazilian wines.
Jim Skea
make any attempt at cooking Brazilian-style food, I'd like to surprise
them with a bottle of Brazililan wine. Does anyone have any personal
experience (all I know is that they exist) and recommendations?
Thanks in advance.
--
Jim Skea :ji...@uk.ac.susx.syma
(or for all those who drive on the wrong side of the road)
Jim Skea :ji...@syma.susx.ac.uk (JANET)
Geraldo Veiga
>I'm cooking a meal for Brazilian friends and, though I'm not going to
>make any attempt at cooking Brazilian-style food, I'd like to surprise
>experience (all I know is that they exist) and recommendations?
>
>Thanks in advance.
>
>--
> Jim Skea :ji...@uk.ac.susx.syma
> (or for all those who drive on the wrong side of the road)
> Jim Skea :ji...@syma.susx.ac.uk (JANET)
CHATEAU DUVALIER has always been my personal favorite, a fine wine made
in the ancient Haitian winemaking tradition. Off course, a New Year
celebration will never be the same without the ultra bubbly champagne
GEORGE AUBERT.
Ok, the above is a joke. But seriously, until 10 years ago there was
no such thing as a decent Brazilian wine. All of the domestic
production was made of very bad wine with some sugarcane alcohol added
during fermentation. Labels would bear some idiotic made-up French
sounding name.
Recently things improved quite a bit, some wine makers transplanted
varietal vines and implemented modern winemaking
technology. From what I heard, they are actually turning out some
acceptable cabernets. Some big wine producers (Almande'n, Moe:t
Chandon) have started operations there. I doubt you would be able
to find any of these wines in Europe.
Stef Gefter
I don't know of any really good Brazilian wines. I've lived in
Brazil for over ten years and have yet to find a Brazilian wine
that suits my fancy. Try a Chilean wine. The grapes there are
better (No, this isn't a plug for Chile). WIne is not a big
Brazilian thing. If you had some Cachaca, THEN you'd have something.
You could make caipirinhas (the Brazilian national drink)...or ask
your friends to make them. Guaranteed you'll have a better time
than if you just had wine. Besides, caipirinhas go with everything.
Watch it, they're very potent.
-Stef.
"Of All The Gin Joints In All The World, She Walks Into Mine..." -Rick
Stef (GEF...@ACC.FAU.EDU)
Gerardo Leute
>If you had some Cachaca, THEN you'd have something.
>You could make caipirinhas (the Brazilian national drink)...or ask
> your friends to make them. Guaranteed you'll have a better time
>than if you just had wine. Besides, caipirinhas go with everything.
>Watch it, they're very potent.
>
>-Stef.
>
>"Of All The Gin Joints In All The World, She Walks Into Mine..." -Rick
>
>Stef (GEF...@ACC.FAU.EDU)
And for those who want to know how to make them... you can make it with white
rum. It's called a Caipirissima (emphasis on the third "i") and is very simple
to make. Cut up limes (the green lemon type citrus fruits - don't use regular
lemmons) into small chunks. Put a tablespoon of these in a flatbottomed glass
and add about one ounce (3 cl) of white rum. Mash the whole thing with a
pestle - I use the handle of a kitchen knife cos I don't have a pestle. Add
1-2 teaspoons of sugar and pour another 2 ounces (6 cl) of white rum on it.
Stir a couple of times, and add a couple of ice cubes and serve with something
you can stir with, so whoever dringks it can disolve more of the sugar if it's
not sweet enough. Though it sounds rather strong (well, it is), it develops a
real smooth flavor after a couple of minutes (could it be the lime peels and
the alcohol?).
In Brazil, this is usually made with a sugar cane liquor called Cachaca (the
last c has a little tail) ("Cashassa") and the drink is called Caipirinha
instead. If you make it with vodka, it's called Caipiroska, and if you strain
out the limes and serve it, it's called a "Batida de limao".
If you can't get limes, you can use passion fruit instead (in Portuguese:
Maracuja "Maracousha"). Just scoop out the seeds and into the glass and add
sugar, rum and ice.
Enjoy! don't drink and drive
PS: if anybody has a recepie for a batida de coco, please post!
--
Gerardo Leute "Home is where the heart lies,
but when the heart lies, where is home?"
ger...@wpi.wpi.edu
Leonardo Lazarte
>make any attempt at cooking Brazilian-style food, I'd like to surprise
>them with a bottle of Brazililan wine. Does anyone have any personal
>experience (all I know is that they exist) and recommendations?
Brazilian wines used to be awful, up until around 1980, where
the Almaden company was established, using Californian tech.
Since then, they have produced several consistently good wines
in Rio Grande do Sul (south of Brazil). Another sort of good,
but not so consistently good, wine is Forrestier.
Then there is "Vinicola Aurora", just acceptable for a BBQ.
If you have the good luck of wandering around small villages
in Sao Paulo state conuntryside, Santa Catarina, Parana or
Rio Grande do Sul, you could find small family run winemakers,
with excellent regional wines.
Of course that is all academic, since I do not know of any
place in the UK where you could find brazilian wine, anyway...