Do you like wine? And are you familiar with the difference between the Old and the New world? I had the opportunity, thanks to the experience in the restaurant U Emy Destinnové, to learn everything about it. Blind Tasting included 4 courses of meal and eight wines.
Do you know the restaurant U Emy Destinnové? It is located in a house where the famous singer was born, a short walk from IP Pavlova in Prague. Owner and the main chef is Steven Trumpfheller. You can feel the cozy atmosphere everywhere. Most of all, I was wondering if I could distinguish wines from the Old and New World. To make it clear, the Old World includes Europe, Asia and Africa. The New World includes America, Australia and Oceania, Chile, Argentina and South Africa. And why the Old and New World? In Europe, as in the Old World, the wines were produced somewhat earlier than in the New World. The New World began to produce wine after the discovery and colonization by Europeans.
I was looking forward to being in this classy restaurant and to have the opportunity to learn to recognize these differences. We received a tasting sheets where we could write our tips. We were motivated by chocolate truffles, which you get if you guess correctly at least three wines.
The restaurant can feel a "presence" of Ema Destinnova. There is her portrait. Or a couch that emphasizes the home atmosphere. But let's go to the actual tasting. We started with an appetizer, fried St.James scallops served on creamy ragout of white truffles and mushrooms. I love seafood and pairing it with Chardonnay goes perfectly together.
The next course was slowly roasted pork brisket lberico served with soy-honey smoked sesame oil. I admit that I do not like briskets and I thought that I would gladly skip this meal. However, many times it is better to have low expectations because I was pleasantly surprised. In this case, we tasted it with red wine Mas Rabell from the Torres family.
Then we went back to seafood, we tasted fried cod from France, served with a puree of green asparagus. This time we paired it with white wine Sauvignon.
And finally the fresh New Zealand lamb lollipops with demiglaz honey and Chianti wine served with small sprouts and mashed potatoes with roasted garlic. Meat lovers would be in true heaven. Lamb meat is of high quality, healthy and because it is not so common in Czech cuisine, I was grateful for this meal. The lamb is perfectly paired with Merlot.
Tasting wines is my thing. However, I must admit that I enjoyed to guess the origin, because I had to wonder how the wine smells, whether it is full or bitter taste, and so on. It is nice when you get an introduction before you drink. But then you know what to expect, or you search for the taste that the waiter told you, and the element of surprise is gone. And this was the magic of blind tasting.
And what is the main difference? Wines from the Old World have earthy flavor. Wines from the New World are more fruity. Thanks to the perfect interpretation I have at least mastered the theoretical background! Service was professional, helpful and everything went smoothly.
And the result? I managed to guess one combination. Better than nothing! And I have confirmed that white wines from South America, particularly from Chile, are my favorite. If you love wine and gourmet cuisine, the experience is worth trying. Food and wine quality is above average. Lime & Tonic definitely deserves a credit for a remarkable experience. Simply a combination of art and food which I enjoyed.
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