Food and Beverage

March 9, 2009

Burgandy, France – Famous For Its Wines

Filed under: 1 — Tags: , , , — pongchan @ 10:01 am

The terroir is a group of vineyards or vines from the same area which have a common soil and climate. And nowhere else, other than Burgundy in France, is it held so fondly.

Burgundy is a region situated in central east France, which experiences bitter cold winters matched with beautiful warm summers. It is the home of 1.6 million inhabitants.

Burgundy (Bourgogne) is famous throughout the world for its wines. Spanning over 31,500 square kilometers (over 12,000 square miles), with a 360 km (225 mi) strip stretching 100km (60 mi) south of Paris, down from south of Dijon to north of Rho๔ne, houses 99 different wine appellations.

Ranging from the vibrant red Pommard and Corton to the medium Beaune — to the sparkling whites, the dry Chablis or Chassagne Montrachet, over 180 million bottles of some of the fines wines are made in this region.

As an aftermath of the French revolution the vineyards belonging to the monasteries were broken down to smaller plots – which exist even today.

The finest quality wine, designated as “Premier Cru” – is available from 600 of the vineyards in the region while 33 of them is credit to produce the even more classy “Grand Cru” wines. Among these the most renowned are Montrachet, Chambertin and Clos Vougeot.

Made from the pinot noir grapes, the burgundy red wines taste best with Boeuf Bourguignon or pheasant. On the other hand a Chablis or their sparkling white wines go best with anything from shrimps to goat cheese.

The famous white wine called Chablis derives its name from a village of the same name. These are dry whites with an acidity that refreshes. The special Chardonnay grapes thrive in limestone that has been made richer with remains of fossils.

As an accompaniment to lamb or grilled chicken, the best choice is the fruity-flavored, world famous Beaujolais made from the Gamay grape. These grapes grow in granite limestone.

The ever-popular and delicious red is grown in Volnay for the last 8 centuries. The grapes are Pinot Noir grown across 600 acres which is responsible in producing 1.3 million bottles of this amazing wine which has the flavors of raspberries and violets.

And then there is Meursault, located close by, famous for its Premier Cru labels of finest white wines. 2.5 million bottles of the finest wine, Chardonnay, aged anywhere between 3 to 15 years is grown in just over 1000 acres. Fish in white sauce go extremely well with this fine wine with its almond and apple flavors.

But what still makes the headlines is the red Pommard with its tannic and manly flavor, staging a comeback after many years of decline. From just 780 acres of Pinot Noir grown in limestone and red clay are produced 1.8 million bottles of this wine with the flavors of black cherry and black currant. Goes excellent with game venison and roasted red meat with Livarot cheese, these can age from 5 to 15 years.

Whatever your taste buds need, there is very little chance of returning home disappointed with a Burgundy.

November 11, 2008

Discover The Power Of Living Foods!

Filed under: Wine — Tags: — pongchan @ 4:59 am

There is definitely an advantage to eating a huge amount of living plant food each and everyday! These foods contain the life force necessary to help keep you healthy and free of disease. The living energy found in these foods will help you grow older with clearer skin, nails that are much stronger and hair that is less likely to fall out. The problem is that we have been trained to eat an unhealthy diet and becoming untrained can be tough.

Undoing a lifetime of habit can be quite a challenge. We began learning things as small children and build upon this knowledge as we get older. As we get comfortable with these learned habits, the thought of sudden change becomes less and less of a possibility. This is why we should teach our young children to eat an abundance of living veggies and fruits. Establishing a habit among your children of eating lots of living vegetables and fruits is one of the best things you could ever teach another human being. In the U.S., most adults and children don’t even come close to the minimum recommended daily servings of 2-4 fruits and 3-5 vegetables.  And if you’re getting your fruits and vegetables from the market, more than likely you aren’t getting an adequate dose of maturely present phytochemicals.

Phytochemicals are chemicals found in plant food that serve particular functions in the human body, depending on which of the several thousands of phytochemicals you are discussing. Different plant foods have different phytochemicals and you should eat a variety everyday to ensure you get plenty of them. The more of these living enzymes you get over time, the better you will feel and the better you health will be. A true nutritional role for phytochemicals is becoming more probable every day as research uncovers more of their remarkable benefits. One of the cutting edge subjects on phytochemicals is their role in anti aging.

As we moved away from eating the way our ancestors did, we began to develop diseases that now kill millions of people a year. Signs of these epidemics are not seen in rural parts of the world where people eat much more of a plant based diet.. These people have been reported to live long, healthy lives that are free of such illnesses as cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. People on such diets seem to have an anti aging quality in relation to their physical health. According to the American Cancer Society- “eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day as part of a healthy diet can help reduce your risk of cancer.” This must be taken far more seriously than it is.

On the basis of modern research, biochemical researchers have identified certain phytochemicals that aid the body in keeping your immune strong and combating disease at all times. As an overall guideline, health authorities recommend that we consume diets rich in whole grains, raw fruits and vegetables as well as greatly reduce animal fat consumption. Eating beans, raw nuts and unheated vegetable oils will enhance your immune system to provide optimal protection from disease.

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