When the Douro Boys group was created, the aim behind the idea was not to work together commercially but rather to put the Douro on the wine map. That required a lot of travel both from Portugal and the Douro valley where the wineries are but also into the region. Today, 17 years later and as the group approaches its 20 years since its existence with a pandemic in between, the five wineries which have put the Douro on the wine spotlight are reflecting as to what the future holds. The Douro Boys was set up by the owners of five wineries, Quinta do Vallado, Quinta do Crasto, Quinta Vale D. Maria, Quinta do Vale Meão and the port wine house Niepoort to raise awareness for the Douro region worldwide. Over the past weeks, I sat down (albeit via Zoom) to speak with a representative of each of the wineries to discuss the impact that the Douro Boys have had on Portuguese wine in particular but more importantly what changes they are considering particularly given the COVID-19 pandemic … [Read more...]
Two natural winemaker associations in Italy join forces
Two natural winemaker associations VinNatur and Vi.Te - Vignaioli have joined forces in a year that is proving to be one of the most uncertain years in our living history. A rapprochement of two of the most important natural winemakers in Italy took place in August 2020. The presidents of the two associations Angiolino Maule and Gabriele Da Prato met to lay the foundations for a shared path. "It was a meeting that had been in the pipeline and wanted for a very long time and has finally materialised," they said. Among others, they discussed what are natural wines, when can a winemaker be truly an artisan when very often it is a trend or commercial project? The need to clarify the movement and to join forces in order to succeed was evident to the two associations. Collaboration is the best way forward to give greater authority to the natural wine sector and to its message, and for this reason we have already started to consider the criteria needed for a winery to be … [Read more...]
Time to learn, play and grow your wine knowledge with Somm360
Are you in a country that is already in lockdown or heading towards another lockdown? Do you have some time on your hands? Maybe because you cannot visit your local bar, gym or restaurant? Then Somm360 has the answer for you. If you want to improve your wine knowledge, Somm360 have designed a free-to-play educational platform for mobile, tablet and desktop microlearning that not only educates you but rolls out a barrel of wine fun for all those who participate. Somm360 has teamed up with top sommeliers and wine experts from around the globe to constantly create rich daily content and quizzes on a myriad of topics with different difficulty levels. Somm360 is inviting the world to challenge each daily quiz creator as it opens up its 90-day inaugural season on its website. “In this difficult time for our industry, it was important for us to create an accessible platform, free of charge, where everyone can join, anytime, anywhere, everywhere, from their mobile to their desktop. … [Read more...]
Bottura’s open letter to Italian Prime Minister: ‘Politics is like to poetry. It’s about providing courage and dreams’
MODENA: The most influential Italian chef, Massimo Bottura has published an open letter to Italian premier Giuseppe Conte suggesting five immediate measures to avoid a catastrophe. He fears that without a positive sign from the government, the restaurant sector is set to suffer a fatal blow that will lead to the closure of many restaurants across Italy and will lead Italy to lose one of the pillars that is essential to its identity. "Politics is about courage and dreams, it is similar to poetry. It is made of imagination and the future. Politics needs to make visible, the invisible," Bottura said in reply to the decision taken by the Italian government to close restaurants, bars and cafes at 6pm. "We need to be able to close at 11pm, we need help with liquidity in relation to our turnover, we need unemployment benefits for staff until there is a return to European tourism, a tax deduction for 2021 given we have already used the one for 2020 and a decrease in VAT to 4 per cent for … [Read more...]
The last supper for restaurants in Italy
This evening Italian restaurants will serve their last supper. From tomorrow and until 24 November, restaurants, bars and cafeterias will be closed as from 6pm. Chef Niko Romito, the three Michelin star chef of Reale and entepreneur with a number of restaurants across Italy and also outside Italy said that for many restaurants in Italy this will really be their last supper. "Many of us will not have the strength to fight against the government's decision to close bars and restaurants at 6pm and to force a sector to renounce to over 50 per cent of their turnover for what is likely to be an indefinite period of time. For many of us, the assistance that will be provided will not be sufficient to counter the second wave that forces us to close for a second time in eight months," he said. Niko said many of his friends as well as restauranteurs he doesn't know where assessing what to do in the coming days. "Should they keep the restaurant open just for lunch and decide how to manage … [Read more...]
Stand-by mode for Hisa Franko as it closes for ‘second lockdown’
KOBARID: When the first lockdown was announced in Slovenia, the team of Hisa Franko, Ana Ros and Valter Kramer's acclaimed restaurant, all stayed in the Slovenian countryside, some out of choice and others because the borders were closed and they were stuck there. Together, as a multinational team, they faced lockdown, helping each other and using the time to work on new projects, to train and prepare the restaurant for the reopening in summer. Now as winter approaches and another closure of restaurants has been enforced by the Slovenian government, the Slovenian chef has said she will unfortunately have to say goodbye to a part of the restaurant's team forever. "A few hours from the second lockdown, I am broken hearted because I have found no more jollies in my pocket to save the work positions of some colleagues. Who is next?" she asked adding it all depended on her, you and us. This has been a difficult year for restaurants worldwide but for Hisa Franko, which was riding … [Read more...]
Learning from the lockdown: “The most important value is being human” – San Degeimbre
LIERNU: When Sang Hoon Degeimbre was forced to close the restaurant, the first time and the Belgian government announced a lockdown amid the pandemic way back in March he did not hesitate to move to the countryside. He took one of rooms that normally welcomes guests and which would remain empty throughout the course of the lockdown in the Belgian countryside in Liernu and spent most of his time there. Returning to Brussels from time to time, where he normally lives, some 45 minutes by car away from the restaurant felt surreal to him. In the countryside, there was not much sign of the pandemic. He worked together with his farming team to prepare the garden for spring. At L'Air du Temps, the Korean born Belgian chef has a garden where he grows his own vegetables, herbs and fruits which serves not just his restaurant but also some of his other restaurants in Belgium. “Nature does not stop because of the pandemic. Life just goes on,” he told me he told me in an interview in … [Read more...]
L’Air du Temps opens temporary farm shop as restaurant lockdown returns in Belgium
LIERNU: Chef Sang Hoon Degeimbre and Carine Nosal, owners of restaurant L'Air du Temps in Liernu, Belgium have announced the opening of a temporary boutique shop that will sell produce that was set to be delivered to the restaurant over the coming days and weeks. L' Air du Temps is one of the top restaurants in the country that has been hit by a second wave of COVID-19 infections in the past weeks. The shop will open between 1pm and 7pm at L’Air du Temps in Liernu as from Tuesday 20 October. “Yet again, the restaurant sector is impacted by what is going to be moment in history. It is extremely rare for generations of restauranteurs to face what they have had to face in 2020.” The Belgian government announced on Friday night that all restaurants will close for a month as from Monday 19 October. Many Belgian chefs and restaurants took to social media and posted a black image, some with the hashtag JeSuisHoreca. Sang Hoon Degeimbre said that during the next weeks, they will … [Read more...]
Small is beautiful: What we learned after closing Hertog Jan and how we plan to start again
ANTWERP: When Gert de Mangeleer and Joachim Boudens announced the closure of Hertog Jan at the end of 2018 it was a shock to the Belgian gastronomy scene. At the helm of a three Michelin star restaurant, one of just two in the country, they were at the top of their game. Many could not understand how two relatively young entrepreneurs, a chef and host, could quit at the peak. But the two had very clear ideas and over the past years they have emerged as two exceptional entrepreneurs that have created a unique L.E.S.S. Eatery in Bruges (the concept has been copied by others since) and Bar Bulot. Today, they have announced the return to fine dining with a restaurant that will create a new chapter for Hertog Jan. Gone is the 70 cover restaurant. It will also move to Antwerp from Zedelgem on the outskirts of Bruges. Instead they will create a new restaurant with just 12 seats. Ivan Brincat sat down with Gert de Mangeleer and Joachim Boudens to learn more and also to delve deeper … [Read more...]
Botanic Sanctuary Antwerp: ‘A once in a 20 to 30 year project’
ANTWERP: When Botanic Sanctuary Antwerp opens in Antwerp next year, it will be an extraordinary location and in the words of Marc Alofs, the manager responsible for the development of the hotel, it will be something that is developed once every 20 to 30 years. It will be the first five star superior hotel in Antwerp and the first hotel in the city to be a member of the Leading Hotels of the World. “We have managed to find lots of people and staff members who like craftsmanship, who have one thing in common which is an incredible eye for detail. People who focus on quality not quantity, who look at every detail,” Marc Alofs, who is managing the project said. “It is going to be a unique property in Europe. Under our roof, there will be two chefs that had three Michelin star restaurants. One is Gert de Mangeleer, the other is Dutch chef Jacob Jan Boerma.” The executive chef will be Wouter Van Tichelen who will also head the Botanic restaurant. “This is going to be unique in … [Read more...]