At the samovar, I and my Masha, or "Maslenitsa" in Bessarabian

18 March 2021 Travel time: with 14 March 2021 on 14 March 2021
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Epigraph

"The taste of cool wine is pleasant

He is as light as a breeze from the Loire River

Tossing a small piece of ice

To the bottom of a deep ringing glass.

And immediately a peach with field mint,

Then a hint of honey and vanilla

He will bring me a golden drink.

Another sip and the nerves let go.

All is vanity of vanities! Let the grape juice

Gives the gift of miraculous bliss,

One more! Another sip!

One sip of pure perfection! "


If there are no international tourist routes, national routes have to be laid. And since Ukraine is an international country, there is a unique opportunity to visit, as it were, in another state and plunge into a different culture. Shrovetide was approaching, I wanted novelty, emotional outburst and gastronomic exclusivity. And by the will of the fate that sent us, we went to Bessarabia, to the small village of Limanka, lost among the steppes, to visit real winemakers. At first, the navigator stubbornly did not want to pave the road, repeating to us that there was no such street! And since no one from our Zhek had been there yet, we had to ask for help from the locals, who also could not give clear instructions. In general, we have already begun to think that this is probably some kind of "underground" office, and having found the object we were looking for, we were finally convinced of this when we saw such a hut on the street of a bed without identification marks. Doubt began to creep in...

But inside everything turned out to be much more attractive. We were met by the craft family winery Manzul Winehouse, which creates its exclusive wines using experimental technologies.

I just love this kind of tourism and not mass production. In general, craft winemaking is a constant continuous experiment, which implies any experiments and implementation in technology, which should not be allowed, say, in industrial enterprises.

The tasting room is small, designed for only 15 people, but very homely, cozy and atmospheric.

A large number of certificates, awards and diplomas are striking. The tasting was conducted by the owner of the establishment, Albina Manzul, who told us all the secrets of family winemaking with great skill and great love for her work.

Our attention was presented to ten samples of ordinary simple wines, each of which had to be tasted and evaluated.

The wine tasting was complemented by a line of cheeses, and the cheeses were also craft, each wine was supposed to have its own special kind of cheese.


If you ever get carried away to the expanses of Bessarabia, I can share some tips from a winemaker on how to taste wines the right way. First, we determine which wine is the color by passing it through natural light. Then you need to determine the aroma of the drink. Initially, the smell is defined as the "first nose", i. e. never stir! And after that, in order for the bouquet to fully open, the wine needs to be slightly mixed, rotating in a glass, this process is called aeration. By the way, white wines can not be aerated and warmed. But red ones, on the contrary, must be slightly warmed in the palms, then subjected to aeration, and after saturation with oxygen, evaluate the bouquet and aroma. Next, we need to determine the taste of the drink. To do this, we do not swallow the first wine, but, as it were, “chew” it so that it is completely distributed throughout the oral cavity. Then we take a full sip and evaluate the taste and aftertaste, as well as vintage in more aged wines. I would like to briefly give my assessment of the “drink of the gods” presented to our attention. I must say right away that all the wines were ordinary, i. e. without aging in oak barrels. This is due to the fact that family production is quite young, only at the peak of its development, so aged wines only participate in the experiment, but it is too early to nominate them.

Dry white wines were presented in three variations: Muscat Ottonel, Suholimanskoe and Cabernet (don't be surprised, I didn't mix anything up, Cabernet was created exactly "in white". ) As for Muscat, then everything was smooth, the wine had a natural straw color and the same natural sweetness. But "Sukholimanskoe" surprised! It had very complex aromatics, almost like aged wines, and at the same time, there was something repulsive, reminiscent of leather goods, which is quite rare for white wines. I was also surprised by Cabernet in white, as it has a rather complicated production technology, where it is necessary to ensure minimal contact of the juice with the peel, performing destemming, in no case crushing the stone. Then pure juice is fermented without pulp, i. e. without pressing, the first gravity fraction is used. Therefore, this wine is the hallmark of a family business. And by right!

Well, in the classic version, more familiar to us, Cabernet red opened the line of dry red wines.

In order for the wine to fully open, the glass with the drink needs to be well warmed in the palms and aerated longer, since it needs more oxygen due to its high density. Given the fact that there are a lot of tannins in red wines, they are more tart, which is why they are called “evening wines”. I want to note that winemakers are often judged by Cabernet. If tasting Cabernet, you note that it was successful, then all other wines, as a rule, will also be good. The sample presented to our attention had a very strong potential, the wine was tart, berry, rich in powerful tannins with notes of currant and dark chocolate.


But the next sample presented for tasting turned out to be absolutely new for me. It was Odessa Black, made from Alibernet grapes, obtained by crossing Cabernet Sauvignon and Spanish Alicante Boucher. This wine, if I may say so, belongs to the male varieties (wine, for your information, are also divided into male and female). It is strict, tart and not too varied in taste, it has light makings of prunes. This wine loves an oak barrel very much, which rounds it out, makes it less angular and increases its potential. Cheeses were no longer served as an appetizer for this wine, the national dish of lamb "kavurma" or "kavyrma" was served.

If you come with children, then they will lay a children's table for them and treat them to grape juice with gingerbread cookies.

Wine is a very talkative product, therefore, depending on the format in which the conversation is planned, a certain type of drink is selected. If your conversation and feast will be long, then it is better to choose a wine with a very high degree of "drinkability". These varieties include the Georgian "Saperavi", which produces a very light, harmonious wine. The fact is that in Georgia the soils are stony, and the stone keeps heat for a long time, incl. and at night, so there is a double sugar accumulation. But, as a rule, this wine is not competitive, i. e. simple, table, “drinkable” wine for a long conversation.

Well, we tasted one more "Muscat" in the line of semi-sweet wines. There were very strong acacia and honey notes in it, evoking the association with spring. But at the same time, with its sweetness, it was very tender. It is often used as a base for cocktails. Do you know how sweet wine is formed? Yeast enters the juice and begins to multiply due to sugar. And now, if we give the yeast “free”, then the sugar will ferment completely (that is, the yeast will completely eat it), and we will get dry wine. But if you want to get sweet wines, then the fermentation process must be stopped (mainly with the help of cold), then fermentation begins with the participation of wine alcohol, as a result of which we get sweet wine. Do not add sugar to wine! This is no longer wine - this is a fake. During my studies at the institute, our professor of winemaking, Evgeny Pavlovich Scholz, constantly repeated that sugar in wine is a falsification! And he also liked to joke that "wine can be made from everything, even from grapes. "

"My tongue is not bright when sober, and my thoughts are rather short,

But as soon as I drink a couple of cups, Confucius is born in me! "

Therefore, a toast from me:


To health in the body! Good luck in business! For love in bed! And without the rigmarole! "

In general, this is how we joked and humored, time flew by unnoticed. But, unfortunately, the hosts had to interrupt our table conversation in view of the expectation of new guests. Saying goodbye to the hospitable winemakers, we decided to proceed to the hero city of Odessa to the sea pier, where a mass celebration took place due to seeing off the Maslenitsa. Instead, we came to the dacha. No, do not plant potatoes.

Dacha is a restaurant in the heart of Odessa on French Boulevard.

Oh, Van, look at the clowns!

I was immediately drawn to the dance floor. So, if you think you're the best dancer, go home, you're drunk. I danced the best!

Give me the horn!

There were many catering tents around that offered delicious treats. A real lamb pilaf was smoking in a cast-iron cauldron.

The tavern "Three minnows" treated pancakes.

"A brass band plays in the city garden"

"There are no empty seats on the platform where you are sitting"

Those who were not satisfied with the street format could well use the indoor format and enjoy a meal on a snow-white starched tablecloth.

It was not possible to use the tablecloth, since there was a high risk of being late for the scaffold, where the Scarecrow, who was to be publicly executed by burning at the stake, awaited his bitter fate with horror. Seeing the beautiful and bright symbol of "Shrovetide", I refused to contemplate the pagan ritual. For me, it has remained a beautiful straw doll. The people danced around the Scarecrow with such joy, and burned it with exactly the same enthusiasm.

I won't tell you for the whole Adesa, but half of her was definitely walking here, and the better half. They probably don’t celebrate so much fun anywhere, it’s not for nothing that the well-known “Humorina” takes place precisely in Odessa, the pearl by the sea and the city that Leonid Utyosov often saw in a dream.

At the samovar, me and my Masha:

Tired of singing and dancing, we temporarily occupied a nice little restaurant for family and friends.


Treats were both marine and mundane.

We decided to polish the meal with pancakes, or rather, not that they decided, it didn’t even fit, but Maslenitsa! Where are without pancakes? No way!

This is how we created a holiday and mood for ourselves! And the Scarecrow cannot be pardoned!! ! (place the punctuation marks yourself)

Translated automatically from Russian. View original
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