Belgium - Chocolate and Praline's

Belgium is known for fries. Still there is no historical evidence that the origins of fries is Belgium. The most plausible story would attribute the origin of the fries to the Meuse region. Inhabitants of the river Meuse banks had the habit to catch small fishes and fried them in oil. Around the 1750's winters were very cold. During frost periods and at dangerous currents, however it was risky to fish. As an alternative the inhabitants cut potatoes in the form of small fish, which they then also fried in oil.

Besides fries, the Belgium chocolates and pralines are world famous. Because I'm always looking for something special my attention was drawn by chocolatier Mary in Brussels.
It was 1919 and chocolate-loving Mary Delluc was keen to spread the world about her creations. The business she created in Brussels was destined to become the Mary Chocolaterie, as a result of pursuing excellence and quality, a goal which then became a legacy. The hand-made and hand-decorated Mary chocolates are what can only be called little gems. Each praline is created to produce the most carefully balanced selection of tastes, flavours, textures and appearances. Excellence, tradition and quality are still Mary's guiding principles in the case of the selection of raw materials, paying respect to the founder's recipes, the packaging and the customer services.

By using the history and words of Mary's guiding principles "Excellence" and "Quality" in a cover letter, this is a perfect gift that express appreciation for example on Administrative Professionals Day (also known as Secretaries Day).

"It's not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving" - Mother Theresa  

Portugal - Port

One of the cities that I have visited in my search for Portuguese specific products was Porto.

Porto is best known as the origin place of Port, which in Vila Nova de Gaia, located in front of Porto on the South Bank of the Douro River, is stored and from there exported all over the world.

It is a typical sweet red, white or rosé wine, alcohol content between 18 and 20 percent and served as an aperitif or dessert wine.

The finest Port is produced from grapes grown on the steep and rocky slopes of the Upper Douro and its tributaries.

History of Port
In the 17th Century British traders, cut off from their supplies of Bordeaux by frequent wars with France, took a liking to the full-flavoured, robust wines of Portugal. But these wines did not travel well, so the traders added brandy to fortify them against the rigours of their Atlantic sea voyage. Before long, pure grape spirit was added during fermentation and Port, as we drink it today, was created.

www.meaningfulpresents.eu

France - Champagne

"Champagne! In victory one deserves it; in defeat one needs it" - Napoleon Bonaparte

Champagne is a sparkling wine, which is produced in the champagne region in France. The more prominent champagne houses are located in Reims and Epernay. One of the houses I visited was Maison Eugène Mercier.

Eugène Mercier founded his own champagne house in 1858. His ambition wat to bring high-quality champagne to the masses. For the purpose of large-scale assemblage, Eugène Mercier built a giant oak vat of 1.600 hectolitres (the equivalent of 200.000 bottles). It took eight days, twelve pairs of oxen and eighteen horses to transport this twenty-ton "Cathedral of Champagne" from Epernay to Paris for the 1889 World Exhibition. A number of lights and building facades were to pay the price along the route.

It was at Mercier where I had my first Biscuits Roses de Reims. Biscuits Roses de Reims were first backed around 1690 at Reims. In between of two bake sessions a baker wanted to use the heat of his bread oven. He then got the idea to make a special dough and baked this twice (hence the name bis-cuit which means double baked). The biscuit was first just white. To flavour it a vanilla stick was added to the recipe, but that left brown traces on the biscuit. To hide this traces the baker added a natural pigment and so the delicious Biscuits de Reims was born. 

The most subtle aromas are released when the powdered and crunchy Biscuits de Reims is dipped in champagne. DELICIOUS!

www.meaningfulpresents.eu

Austria - Riedel grape varietal specific wine glasses

"It takes a great deal of effort to produce good wine. These efforts can be ruined in no time if the wine is not served properly."

During one of my holidays in Austria, I visited Riedel, the wine-glass company in Kufstein. Here glassblowers still use the ancient mouth-blowing technic to create the world-famous handcrafted Riedel glasses.

Professor Claus J. Riedel was the first designer to recognize that the bouquet, taste, balance and finish of wines are affected by the shape of the glass from which they are consumed. The character of the Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet, Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Riesling are totally different and not comparable in style.

As a lover of great wines Claus Riedel studied the links between the unique properties of a grape, the taste, smell receptors and the shape of the wine glass. To create the ultimate wine glass, he along with great winemakers discussed the specific features of the various grapes in the various regions. With the data collected, he developed, together with his son Georg, different shapes of wine glasses in which the unique character of a grape variety perform at its best.

By their shape, size and diameter a Riedel wine glass translate the "message of the wine" to the human senses the best.

I took a few glasses with be back home and experienced why top-rated wineries and restaurants throughout the world use Riedel. 

Cheers!

www.meaningfulpresents.eu