LeDomduVin: Artadi Viñas de Gaín 2020

Artadi Viñas de Gaín Vineyard Selection 2020 

con Jamón Ibérico, queso, huevos and patatas fritas.

The other day, I was at “Bayfare Social”, a cozy, vibrant, and welcoming Spanish restaurant in Rosewood (HK), to do the wine service for a private dinner. After the service, as it was my first time coming to this venue, I decided to taste some of their food with one of their wines by the glass.

With the suggestions of Cillian (the restaurant manager) and Yann (the assistant restaurant manager), I went for the “HUEVOS ROTOS” (Ibérico Ham, Fried Potato, Spanish Egg, and Aioli – see picture) and the “TXIPIRONES” (Baby Squid, Spanish Egg, Padrón Peppers), and chose the Artadi Vinas de Gain 2020 to go with it.

Pairing the wine of a great Rioja producer like Artadi with some Spanish comfort food was a wise decision, as it was a great match!

More especially a wine I know pretty well as I visited Artadi a few times in the mid-2000s and love their wines (I bought and sold a lot during my “New York” years).

ARTADI VIÑAS DE GAIN 2020

A beautifully crafted wine with a dark red color. It boasts aromas of ripe plums, black fruits, and berries intertwined with chocolate, licorice, earthy and toasted notes. The palate is medium-bodied, fruity, ripe, rich, dense, complex, yet fresh, vibrant, and youthful, with present and persistent yet integrated tannins, providing this attractive wine with a gentle texture and solid structure. Well balanced, it expands nicely until the long finish. Still a bit young (IMO) and yet so approachable now, too. Loved it.

The wine paired better with the HUEVOS ROTOS (in the picture) combination of ham, egg, and potatoes, echoing in harmony in a festival of flavors on the palate. 

I also like the cozy, comfortable, cheerful, and accessible restaurant atmosphere, where people were smiling joyfully and chatting while sipping a glass of wine with some Spanish fare. The restaurant felt good and alive. Loved it. Highly recommended. 

Cheers! Santé!

Dom

@ledomduvin #ledomduvin #wine #vin #vino #wein @artadi_eus #artadi #bodegasartadi #rioja #riojaalava #spain @bayfaresocial #bayfaresocial @rosewoodhongkong #rosewood #food #spanishfood

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LeDomduVin: Great tasting lunch at Auor Restaurant Hong Kong with Thibault Liger-Belair and his wines

Great tasting lunch at Auor Restaurant Hong Kong with Thibault Liger-Belair and his wines, the team of L’IMPÉRATRICE, and a few wine lovers and Sommeliers. 

Photos are worth a thousand words, so here they are.  

Thank you to Thibault. It was a pleasure to meet you, hear you talk about your winemaking philosophy, and taste your wines with your explanations. Love them. 😄🙏🍷

Thank you to Aiolos and Paul (from L’Imperatrice) for inviting me to this pleasurable and memorable lunch. Much appreciated. 🙏🙏🙏

Thank you to Chef Voon and his team for the excellent food and service and Cherish Ho for joining us, asking pertinent questions, and explaining each dish in detail. 

Thank you also to the other guests, especially Peter Pang, founder of Big JJ (@bigjjseafood). It's a pleasure to meet you. 

It was good to be back at Auor. Have a look at their website to see what they offer and book your table: https://auor.com.hk/

Cheers! Santé!

Dom

@ledomduvin #ledomduvin @thibaultligerbelair #thibaultligerbelair #wine #vin #vino #wein #burgundy #tasting #tastinglunch #lunch @auor.hkg #auor #auorrestaurant @cherish__ho #cherishho @edwardvoon74 #edwardvoon @aiolos.to #aiolosto @polo86tc #paulcouvertier @why.and.die #peterpang #food

Unless stated otherwise, all rights reserved ©LeDomduVin 2023, on all the contents above including, but not limited to, photos, pictures, drawings, illustrations, collages, visuals, maps, memes, posts, texts, writings, quotes, notes, tasting notes, descriptions, wine descriptions, definitions, recipes, graphs, tables, and even music and video (when and where applicable).

LeDomduVin: Find happiness in simple things

Find happiness in simple things 

Sometimes, happiness can be resumed with a perfectly seasoned pork chop with some potatoes, an inexpensive Bordeaux, some dijonnaise sauce and a good movie on TV. 

So satisfying and satisfied right now. 

Bon appétit!

Cheers! Santé! 

Dom

@ledomduvin #ledomduvin #wine #vin #vino #wine @chateaumoulindesmoines #moulindesmoines #crubourgeois #hautmedoc #simple #simplethingsarethebest #happiness #satifiying

Unless stated otherwise, all rights reserved ©LeDomduVin 2023, on all the contents above including, but not limited to, photos, pictures, drawings, illustrations, collages, visuals, maps, memes, posts, texts, writings, quotes, notes, tasting notes, descriptions, wine descriptions, definitions, recipes, graphs, tables, and even music and video (when and where applicable).

LeDomduVin: Petite visite du Christmas French Market at Asia Society Hong Kong

Petite visite du Christmas French Market 

at Asia Society Hong Kong 

This past Sunday, December 18th, I went with my mum and kids to the Christmas French Market at Asia Society Hong Kong.  

French Market like this generally mainly comprises Food and Wine, which is very much to my liking, like this "Raclette" below 😋😋😋

  

The protagonists in the above video, and the pictures below, are:  

@cheeseclub.hk 

@jeanfrancois.marechal 

Nothing better than a "Raclette" with ham on a piece of country bread with a glass of white wine from Savoie - Apremont to warm you up on a cold winter day.  

When you work in the food and beverage business, like me as a Sommelier and Wine Buyer, you are very likely to encounter friends and other people you know like some of your suppliers and maybe some producers too. And, luckily for me, 4 of my wine suppliers were present that day, at the French Market.  

• "L'Imperatrice Wine" represented by Roland Tram (Senior On Trade Sales Executive)
• "Easiness" represented by Minnie Wong (Founder/owner) and Kim, her husband
• "Vines and Terroirs"
• "Links Concept"   

Champagne Henri Giraud, which is one of my favorite champagne houses, was also present with their own market stand, and unfortunately, I did not make the time or have the chance to say "hello" and taste some of their champagnes, what a pity as I would have loved to do so.  I looooove Champagne!  

Minnie @wminniem (@easinesswine) and her husband Kim in the 3 pictures above

Roland @rolls64 (@imperatricewine) above

As a separate note, I really enjoyed tasting the 3 following wines, and a few more that I, unfortunately, did not take a picture of, too much talking and drinking 😁👍😋🍷🍷🍷

Patrick Piuze Chablis Grand Cru "Bougros" 2020

Nice, harmonious, well-balanced, rich, and complex without being heavy, with beautiful minerality, texture, and structure, from beginning to end. Nicely done.  Loved it.    

Hoffman-Jayer Bourgogne Hautes-Cotes de Beaune 2018

What a nice surprise! Never tried this specific wine in this specific vintage before and really enjoyed it.  Juicy and zesty, red and dark fruits, mineral, earthy nuances, soft and gentle, friendly and really approachable, a quaffable win, and a steal at this price too.    

Jean-Francois Marechal "Le 20 Gourmand" Vin de Savoie Apremont 

I did not check the vintage, but I think it was 2020 or 2021, however, served with the raclette and ham (above) it was delightful. Loved it.  I love this type of mountain wine: crisp, fresh, light, mineral, almost pure, soooooooo easy to drink. One glass was definitely not enough.     

Like this Buddha, after a few hours of talking and drinking, I was ready to go home and go to bed. It was a fun experience and my mum and kids appreciated it too, more especially the "rillettes" from Maison Argaud 😋😋😋

Thank you guys 

Roland @rolls64 (@imperatricewine)

Sylvain  (@maisonargaudhk) (@maisonargaud)

Minnie @wminniem (@easinesswine)

@links_concept 

@vinesandterroirs 

@champagnehenrigiraud 

Cheers! Santé! 

Dom 

#ledomduvin @ledomduvin #lesvideosadom #lesreelsadom #wine #vin #vino #wein #frenchmarket #hongkong #hk #food #artisan #artisans #foodandwine #raclette

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LeDomduVin: AUOR - An exquisite culinary experience in the heart of Wan Chai - Hong Kong

AUOR: An exquisite culinary experience 

I recently went to "AUOR", the new fine dining restaurant project of Chef Edward Voon, in Wan Chai (Hong Kong). It was a tremendously exquisite culinary experience. Highly recommended. 

The dimly lighted decor is dark, somber brown and matte metallic gold, sober, elegant, chic, sophisticated, yet cozy, comfortable, intimate, and inviting. 

The logo design, the name "AUOR" referring to both "Gold" and "Auror" (Dawn), as well as the clock concept for the menu and the menu itself,  have all been created by Chef Voon. 

As pictures are worth a thousand words, here is the menu we ate that night in pictures.  

Proving once again that, despite his (or her) skills and experience, a Chef is all about creativity and imagination, as well as a constant search for excellence and consistency, perfecting his (her) talent and skills as he (she) continues learning, experiencing and discovering, meticulously and precisely crafting each dish, while reinventing and improving his (her) cuisine every day. 

Each dish at AUOR was a delight for the eyes, the olfactory system, and the taste buds. 

Beyond the elegant and creative presentation, I savored the most the combination of scents, aromas, flavors, textures, and substances of each bite. Each dish was both intriguing and enticing, colorful and very tempting. 

Bravo, and thank you, Chef @edwardvoon74 (Chris and your team). You did an amazing job with the design, the decor, the menu, the food, and the service. My friend and I were very impressed and amazed. 

I'm happy for you that you can now run your own restaurant to splendidly showcase your talent and skills to the world and do what you really want to do. 

Each of your dishes was a rich, complex, refined, and sophisticated piece of art. And I feel privileged that I had the chance to see, smell, and taste them, as I very rarely indulge myself in such fancy restaurants. 

I brought 2 bottles, which paired surprisingly well with the food: 

Jacquesson Avize Grand Cru Champ Cain Brut 2009 (disgorged in 2019), and Château Léoville Poyferré Saint-Julien Second Grand Cru Classé. 

It was an exquisite culinary experience. Thank you to Chef Edward Voon for the food and to Chris and the rest of the team for the service.  

Have a look at their website to see what they offer and book your table: https://auor.com.hk/

Cheers! Santé! 

Dom

#ledomduvin @ledomduvin #lesphotosadom @auor.hkg #auor #restaurant #auorrestaurant @champagne_jacquesson #jacquesson @chateau_leovillepoyferre #leovillepoyferre #food #wine #vin #culinaryexperience #hongkong

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