Frebar de luxe

Det gode ved et fast arbejde og faste arbejdstider er utvivlsomt fredagsbarer. Det er i hvert fald én af de gode ting. Og når nu ens arbejdsplads ikke lægger rammer, glas eller flydende varer til morskaben, så er det godt, at man har en sød veninde og Kødbyen lige rundt om hjørnet. Aftenen bød blandt andet på noget så sjældent som en dansk sparkler.

Efter en drink eller to endte vi på Fiskebaren i Kødbyen, hvor vi foruden super lækker mad og god urban stemning fik lejlighed til at stifte bekendtskab med den såkaldte Lilleø Skum (2010), der, som navnet antyder, er en dansk mousserende vin.

Sikrom med tang-chip, creme fraiche, rødløg og purløg

Ørredtatar med sprød perlebyg og urter

Lilleø-vineriet er et af Claus Meyers mange kulinariske norøne projekter, og da jeg tidligere med stor fornøjelse har smagt hvidvinen Arwen fra samme sted, lykkedes det mig lokke min godtroende veninde med til, at vi skulle kaste os ud i de danske bobler.

Og jeg er virkelig ked af at sige det, men den holder altså ikke. Boblerne er små og livløse, næsen en anelse oxyderet, og smagen fad og saltvandsagtigt. Medium til lille fylde og hverken tilstrækkeligt med frugtsukker til at gøre vinen imødekommende eller syre til at gøre strukturen viril og inciterende. Desværre, for jeg har den største sympati for Meyers og vinmager Anders Selmers projekt.

Fish and chips de luxe med rustik remo og sprødt brød

Hvorfor det er gået galt, kan jeg kun gisne om, for jeg har ikke kunnet finde ret meget information om vinen. Den er baseret på druesorterne Sauvignon Blanc, Silvaner og Chenin Blanc, som er dyrket på Lilleø i det sydfynske øhav. Nok ikke de mest oplagte druer til en sparkler, men på disse breddegrader måske det bedste valg. Jeg ved ikke noget om fremstillingsmetoden, men har svært ved at forestille mig, at SKUM er fremstillet efter methode champenoise. Dertil er den bare for flad i struktur, mousse og smag. Omvendt har jeg svært ved at forestille mig d'herer pumpe kulsyre i deres møjsommeligt frembragte vin - men who knows?

Men pyt - selskabet var i topklasse, byen emmede af letsindig fredagsstemning, og jeg blev mindet om, at det ikke er så skidt endda at være hjemme i Danmark igen. Trods alt.

Æbledessert med agernis

Chokoladeis, hvid chokolademousse (tror jeg), syltede blådbær og tranebær-granite

Vin lavet af lys

Her har I mig tilbage! To dejlige uger i Danmark med venner og familie har betydet usædvanlig stilhed på min blog. Men, men, men jeg kommer stærkt igen, nu hvor jeg er tilbage i Californien. I anledning af sommeren og ferien i Danmark har jeg lyst til at genpublicere nedenstående indlæg fra vores besøg sidste år på vingården Lille Gadegård på Bornholm. En sjov og underholdende oplevelse, som jeg dokumenterede på engelsk for min daværende arbejdsgiver, vin-markedsføringsbureauet Charles Comm i San Francisco. Jeg kan varmt anbefale et besøg på Lille Gadegård, hvis din sommerferie går forbi min dejlige ferieø. Jesper Paulsen er en sjov, uortodoks og meget underholdende guide - men husk din dansk/bornholmsk mini-parlør. Den får du brug for, hvis du ikke som jeg har insider-kontakter på øen. Masser af props og kærlighed til danske vinbønder, vinelskere og alle andre, som nyder sommeren i Danmark.

Wine made of light
We Danes are known for a lot of things. Big dogs, buttery pastry, a certain young lady with a fish tail where most of us have legs. But even though Denmark seems to have this kind of eclectic brand, wine doesn’t seem to fit in this picture. But maybe that’s about to change - at least global warming is working in favor of my countrymen’s struggle to turn Denmark into a real wine country.

It’s probably only known to a few people out side Denmark, but we do actually have a EU-defined quota of vineyards of no less than 222 acres. That’s less than a third of the Robert Mondavi Winery’s possessions, and less than 0.005 percent of the total wine grape acreage of California. During my summer vacation in Denmark I got to visit one of the 44 commercial wineries in Denmark, called ‘Lille Gadegaard’ and located on the small island Bornholm far east of the rest of Denmark in the middle of the Baltic Sea. There, I was lucky enough to get to talk to winemaker Jesper Paulsen who will be harvesting his 10th vintage this year.

Den speed-snakkende, bornholmske vinbonde Jesper Paulsen - et moi!

Throughout these 10 vintages Jesper Paulsen has only bottled 3 vintages of wine, which he considers suitable for sale. The rest has been distilled to brandy except for the 2004 vintage, which was bottled and labeled ‘Not suitable for drinking - works best as decoration’. To his own surprise he actually sells a few bottles of that vintage every year. At Charles Communications we blind tasted his ‘2007 Syd’ red wine based primarily on the Rondo variety, and though there’s no doubt that the wine is well made and completely unflawed, the fruit in it just doesn’t allow the wine to really excel. With the past 10 vintages in mind, Jesper Paulsen has now decided to replant his vineyard with varietals known to do well in the northern German regions with similar cold climates.

Bright summer nights
On another small Danish island with the romantic name Lilleø (Little island) another winegrower, Hans Lund Hansen and winemaker Anders Selmer have had somewhat more success doing just that by growing varietals such as Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Sylvaner and Solaris. The result is a beautiful dry white wine, with a floral nose and flavors of white flowers and peach. Winemaker Anders Selmer explains that what Denmark lacks in terms of warm temperatures, it makes up for in terms of light. With its northern location Denmark has long summer days and short, bright summer nights and according to Anders Selmer that’s more important than warm temperatures - since it’s light, not warmth, that catalyze photosynthesis in the plant.

Nordic food trend
It’s too early to tell, whether Denmark will eventually become a real wine country. Claus Meyer, chef and co-owner of the Lilleø Winery and the restaurant Noma, which recently was awarded the first place in the 2010 San Pellegrino 50 Best Restaurant Award, recently offered winemaker Jesper Paulsen a piece of advice. He suggested for him to make wine based on berries that grow naturally in Denmark, such as red and black currant, raspberries, gooseberries and strawberries. That’s also the idea behind Noma’s success: To use ingredients sourced locally and process them using a mix of traditional and modern methods to create world-class gourmet food and wine. Jesper Paulsen took his advice and is now producing sparkling wine based on red and black currant and a still wine based on strawberries. Personally, I prefer Jesper Paulsen’s berry based wines, but I’m sure that with the right selection of grape varieties he will also be making great white wines some years ahead.