WTN: Gabrielle Simmers of &Co (NZ) visits Finland

Gabrielle Simmers, who makes a fascinating Sauvignon Blanc in Hawkes Bay, NZ, was in Finland on Tuesday, so their Finnish importer, Funky Wines Imports, took a small group to Restaurant Brasa. Brasa is a fascinating restaurant in Porvoo, some 50km east of Helsinki, that sources almost all ingredients from farms near the restaurant. They try, and IMO succeed, in recreating traditional Finnish food in innovative ways.

But before we got to the foods we had to drink lots of a méthode ancestrale fizz from J-P Brun, the ever-lovable FRV 100 Rosé NV. It was its usual lovely self: wonderful forest berry aromas of pure Gamay; slightly sweet (60 g/l RS), low alcohol (7,5% abv), crunchy acidity and refreshing finish. Lovely stuff. It was a hot day so we got through many bottles.


Then for dinner:



This was one of our starters, a Finnish forest: mushrooms, some edible lichen, elderflower jelly and a carrot blob that was wonderfully sweet. But there was plenty of bitterness from the other elements so its sweetness was just perfect.




Another starter: wild asparagus, salmon cooked just slightly at 35 Centigrade with sprouts on top and cultivated asparagus from Brasa's backyard.




And to clear our palates before the main, cucumber sherbet with dill and some vinegary paste on top.


And with this variety of flavors we enjoyed Gabrielle Simmers's only wine, &Co Sauvignon Blanc 2009 from Hawkes Bay, NZ. She does grow a small amount of Pinot Gris as well, but so far she has only released SB. The 2009 is her first release and it is a very impressive wine. It does belong to the "natural" spectrum but is far from the freaky end of it. It is a very pure aroma, mineral, with a lovely lemon sherbet aroma (perhaps because there was a tiny amount of botrytis in '09?). Quite full bodied (it was a hot year and the alcohol is almost 14%; 2010 will be about 12,5%), but wonderfully crisp and citric. It isn't tropically fruity despite the ripeness; but neither is it the stereotype of cat's piss either. I suspect that it is just pure SB without any gimmickry. And I liked it very much - not something I say often about this grape.






Our main was the only food that came from further away than the restaurant's backyard! It was lamb fillet and stomach from the Åland -islands between Sweden and Finland. I haven't had lamb's stomach before but I loved this dish. It had such a lovely crisp outer layer and was so full of flavor that the wonderfully juicy and tender fillet tasted a bit bland after it.

And we drank enormous quantities of a thirst-quenching red, M. Lapierre Raisins Gaulois 2010. A wonderfully bright and refreshing wine after the relatively heavy 2009. Very pure Gamay aromas with lovely acidity but so much fun fruit that it isn't at all tough on those who prefer less acidity than I do!

For dessert, Funky Wines opened a Barsac, Ch. Rousset Peyraguey Cuvée l'Alétheia 2007 (label). It is a "natural" sweet wine and I find it amusing that since sulfites aren't very well accepted in this movement, the producer had to get sulfites from an Indonesian volcano - as if that somehow makes it more "natural". :rolleyes:

But no matter, the wine was wonderful: enormously sweet but lively and tangy and with a delectable aroma of copper kettles.

And yes, enormous quantities of "natural" wine does cause headaches.

Restaurant Brasa. Brasa is a fascinating restaurant in Porvoo, some 50km east of Helsinki, that sources almost all ingredients from farms near the restaurant. They try, and IMO succeed, in recreating traditional Finnish food in innovative ways..

The food looks interesting (cucumber sorbet!) and heavily influenced by Noma. I guess it's inevitable that their philosophy and style would spread across Scandinavia. Or is it too limiting to call it their philosophy and style?

Or is it too limiting to call it their philosophy and style?

I don't know; fine dining based on Finnish food from foodstuffs brought close by is a pretty new phenomenon here. As far as I know only three restaurants have tried that concept here. I don't know how widespread it is elsewhere in the North. But wouldn't it only be natural to try to make good food from what we have both as natural resources and as cultural baggage?