Hello Everyone

Just returned to the wonderful sub zero temperatures. A difference of over 30 degrees however feel warm and happy after this amazing gastronomic marathon trip. Just some numbers....
Distance traveled: 40.000 KM
Meals enjoyed: 20
Guinea pigs tasted: 4 :)
Wines tasted >60
Approx. Bottles wine enjoyed: >20 :)
Pisco sour finished >60
Capis in Brasil: >20
Countries visited: 4 (Brasil, Argentina, Peru and Chili)

These are just numbers. The stars on tour journey was magic. A lot of culinary sensations with fellow food and wine lovers discovering the best of best in South America. I am compiling the wine tasting notes, restaurant reviews and travel experiences for you. 

Thank you to Martin Scharff, Matthias Fehser for the organisation and the whole team of talented chefs and gastronomy lovers that joined us on this trip!. Not forgetting the guinea pigs that were soooo tasty! (gracias amigos de mi conejillo de indias)

Excited and ready to review all the fantastic material. And yes there will be items for the traubenliebe youtube channel as well

Yours,

Remy G Ourmet

PS Next week we go east. Pack your chop sticks!

We left the hotel in Rio de Janeiro for the airport. A with a little hectic a expert queuing skills we left and boarded our flight to the Iguazu. Service during the flight was fabulous At our destination we enjoyed the majestic falls and spend a lot of time walking and relaxing. Good food was served during lunch. The buffet approach was well executed and provided delicious options for all. The filet steak was simply delicious. The dessert on the other side had a synthetic feel to it.

In the evening the wine tasting presented by Mauricio Roloff from the Brazilian institute of wine. we tasted the wines below:

1. Salton Paradoxo – Sparkling wine
   Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Viognier, Prosecco vilification.Angel white golden. Light lime and citrus on the nose. Light chalky and playful. Nice mouthfeel with pleasant acidity. The freshness is dominant and definitely a matter of taste. If you like fresh this is easy drinking ?. This is a sparkling wine with medium to large structured bubbles. The Finish is light and fresh. 84/100
2. Casa Valduga 130 - Traditional method. 36 months in contact with the lees. On the eye brioche yellow. This starts with light notes of nuttiness and yeast on the nose. Lots of citrus (lime and citrus) and with a chew that is light chalky and full of minerality. Lots of freshness and light and some tropical fruits rounds of the flavour experience.  86/100
3. Monte Paschol Reserva Chardonnay 2016
   On the eye light golden yellow. On the nose citrus and green apple with moderate tropical fruit notes. The palette is welcomed by wonderful fresh minerality and a supplest that is fresh and full of summer. The chew is quite welcoming and truly brings out the summer. A light structured wine with solid freshness and good acidity a true food companion. Limited light finish and subtle nuances of  oak that is well integrated. 89/100
4. Pizzato Leger 2016 On the eye light golden yellow with a moderate orange hue. Notes of toast popcorn and fresh baked bread. The palate is full of white liquorice and feel of great viscosity. Fresh and chewy full of springtime. This is a wine to keep for at least another few years. 90/100  Truly very playful.  My personal favourite of this tasting.
5. Raizes Casa Valduga Terroir  2014 – Cabernet Franc
   On the eye  crimson red and playful. On the nose a leady liquorice feels quite young. Fresh on the palette and a berry explosion with moderate acidity. Light tannic structure nice chew with coffee and liquorice. Still light and easy drinking. 88/100
6. Pizzato Merlot Reserva – 2014 -  Merlot
   On the eye light purple and wonderful fresh red. On the nose marzipan, red berries and licorice. The palette is greeted by saltiness with a good tannic structure and berries, black pepper, lots of sweet wood and licorice. This is playful and fresh with some depth. Awonderful everyday drinking merlot. 88/100
7. Salton Valento 2012
   The eye is welcomed by a night copper red hue and rose red intensity. On the nose fresh cut gras, lavender and violet and very young lush berries. On the palate black and white pepper. Excellent chew with fun filled moderate structured tannins. Liquorice goodness with coffee beans and surrounding berries. A medium to short finish. 87/100
8. Monte Paschoal Dedicato Tannat 2013
   On the eye a dark red night. On the nose brambles, juniper leaves and light black pepper with nuances of blueberries. The palette senses the extravaganza of pepper, brambles, light tobacco and subtle cocoa. This is a wine with very big shoulders and a good guiding acidity. In a way this is light and playful like a ballerina whilst having the body of a body builder connecting the great mouthfeel with balanced acidity and good structured tannins and is followed delicate fresh finish. 90/100

Additional information will be added shortly.

Ancoramar, Rio de Janeiro

After the visiting  Christ the redemeers  we embarked on the first restaurant of the day situated on the waterfront in the location of an old market. The building was build in the same factory as the “Eiffel tour”.You could recognize some of the design features in the building. The restaurant is situated in the llast remaining building. There used to be 4. We were served a set menu for lunch. Unfortunately there was no description. Food just arrived and the “amuse bouche” was a selection of breads, butter, liver paté and a small salad. The food was fresh and to the point. The starter was a smallfresh salad with “house” dressing and a shell with a crab salad and cheese. This was a little coastal in the taste. The card was fresh but lightly oversalted. A a main course the haddock was cooked well and the vegetables were on point. The best fish so far on the journey. The dessert was standard with “mass procduced” ice cream and a vanilla pear which was ok but the pear was not correctly “cleaned” and some of the strings were left.  The pineapple carpaccio was nice the ice cream pairing was off. Stiff was friendly. The wines served were:

Carmen Insigne Chardonnay 2016 from Chili – 83/100

Domaine Alma Negra  2016 from Mendoza Argentina 85/100

I enjoyed the restaurant and would recommend visiting fr the ala carte option. The oysters on the other table looked delicious. On the wine side the selection is small and limited.

Realtasting score 85/100

Olympe, Rio De Janeiro

In a very nice renovatedintimate building withwarmlighting andan openkitchen we were welcomedby the team. They prepared a special menu for called “Confiance”. 

Amuse bouche of tuna and a fresh vinaigrette and crest. This was simple and an ok start but no indication of great things to come.

Scallops with Yukon potatoe and coffee. Simply delicious, fresh and easy. A very good start. Loved the bite structure of the dish.

The fava beans with squid was exceptional and worked well with the offered chardonnay. Timing was very and the textures, seasoning and presentation was excellent.

Red  snapper with heart of palm and squid ink was presented well however the fish was overcooked. Red snapper is a delicate fish that required precise timing. Nice dish just overcooked.

Ancho, pumpkin, acai and farofa was MAGIC. Well-cooked presented delicious textures and bite structure. The presentation was very good and showed the spirit of Olympe. This was the dish of the evening. Bravo

For dessert we enjoyed tapioca with roasted pineapple. The tapioca was perfect the seasoning and flavouring was excellent. The pineapple was simply too sweet and drowned the excellent tapioca execution.

All in all the team was fabulous I sensed the passion and can see why this is one the addresses in Rio de Janeiro.  Realtasting.com score 91/100

We enjoyed several of the house wines. Detailed tasting notes of the wines below will follow.

CT Cuvée – Claude Troisgros  (House sparkling wine)  - 86/100 –

CT – Merlot 2012 – Claude Troisgros (House red wine)  87/100

CT – Chardonnay 2016 – Claude Troisgros – (House white wine)  84/100

This was the best day in the trip and a good reflection of how wonderful a tour of this magnitude can be. Looking forward to the next port of call and see how the taste buds are enjoying the safari of the senses. Bravo to JRE for organizing this special day. 

After a fabulous flight with Airfrance to Rio de Janeiro. The JRE starts on tour journey kicked off. In a good hotel on Copacabana the rest of the team met. With around 40 professional chefs and gourmet lovers we embarked on a journey of taste and adventure throughout South America. The first port of call is Rio de Janeiro. On the first day we had 2 restaurants on the program. Sightseeing included the sugarloaf mountain famous from the James Bond film. The panaramic views are majestic and one great discovery was the cocktail master we met onthe beach next to the Sugar loaf mountain. We enjoyed several of the best mixed Capairina creations to be found in Rio! Fruit, acidity balanced to create a lively drink that was a pleasure for the senses. 

Fogo de Chão Botafogo

This authentic brazilian steak and bbq house offers ina buffet setting a wonderful experience for meat lovers. The pork, beef and lamb arevery nice and cooked to your liking. As the gauchos come by yourtablethey slice the meat and serve it to you. In this setting you can try out different cuts and types of sausages. The salads and condiments are fresh and well made. I liked the freshness of the produce. The wine list is good. The reds we enjoyed were all served too warm howeverthe bottles were in good condition. Glassware was standard. Better glasware would enhancethe experience. Service was adequate. This location lacks aright "polish" if you want a piece of meat cooked well with nice condaments this is the place to go and yes you can get a decent glass of wine as well. Realtasting score: 83/100

Lasai

This the first "star" on the tour and expections are high. The restaurant is located in a nice area of Rio. We were greeted by the team and the first impression was very good. We were offered for the apéro a good glass of "Chandon" Cuvée Prestige non vontage champagne. Made with a blend of pinot noir (65%), chardonnay(35%). The sparkling wine made with a lot of sunshine and limited minerality. The chardonnay is dominiant for this wine creation and provides lightnotes of toast, green apple and tropical fruit. The acidity guides you with limited precision guidance. The bubble structure was extremely light and was not completeley present. The pairing with the beef croquettes was sublime. The green apple and light acidity played well with the roux of the croquettes and bite size structure. Well paired! The fresh salad bites with pine nuts and dressing were precise and fresh. The shrimp crackers with radice fabulous. This was an excellent start of the evening. The main menu of the evening was a four course meal with a egg coconut yam creation with dried meats. This was creative and nice as an amuse bouche not a a starter. The second course was localfish with a sour cream papaya auce. The fish was light overcooked. The skin was a little sloppy and the fish was underseasoned. Well presented but lacked the rafinesse of expected of a restaurant like "Lasai". The next course was a piece of porkbelly with a lackered crust. This pork was ok seasoned but very overcooked that made the bite structure chalky this course was a complete waste of good potential. Who does not like porkbelly? Finally desert was milk icecream and local "cake" the icecream lacked a final seasoning and a touch of salt to raise the flavor profile. I believe this resturant has a lot more potential. The menu offered did not reflect the talent in the kitchen. Quality slipped. Nontheless I se a potential realtastingscore of 90/100 when you go ala carte. However this a pure speculation. Based on last night and considering the reputation and hype 79/100. The start of the evening saved the night and the friendly service. 

More about the wines later and other fabulous locations. The start was not as good as wished but stay tuned as some key names and destinations. This is so exciting after this dining experience we went to the samba drome to enjoy the carnaval. And this was simply magic. Excellent dancing and fabulous party time. What a day looking forward to the gastronomic adventure that awaits tomorrow.