On a romantic city break to the Spanish capital as a treat to start off the new year, our luck was in. A last-minute cancellation due to illness – possibly self-inflicted considering how the Spaniards like to party and the date (2nd Jan) –  we found ourselves with a free table at one of the most chic and coveted eateries in town. The perfect opportunity to don my new 14cm heeled patent-red Jimmy Choo‘s, we arrived at the majestic Casino di Madrid and were promptly shuffled into an old wooden lift which wobbled and creaked its way up to the 3rd floor restaurant.

Dress code at the Casino is rigid, men must wear jackets and gentlemen who find themselves in town without the right apparel are lent a jacket for the evening (which can get interesting depending on your size and shape).

The decor is somber, light blue velvet drapes, dark parquet flooring: it seems the creativity is kept for the kitchen. Ferran Adria may manage the place but the head chef is Paco Roncero, Adria’s outstanding “disciple”, who skilfully mixes the creative with more traditional dishes. The place is full of older, well-presented Madrileno couples and families quietly savouring what’s being brought out from the heavy white kitchen doors.

Within minutes of being seated we’re presented with “lulada” the welcome drink made of the lulo fruit, originating from Columbia. Nice and refreshing. Interesting without but nothing too bizarre or acidic. Next up was the “olive oil butter”, a thin wafer, leaf and something looking like a travel-sized toothpaste tube making this the most novel way to serve a piece of bread.

For those who really want to indulge in the experience, there’s a tasting menu which must be served to the whole table but for those – such as myself – who like to pick and chose what they’re eating, the a’ la carte menu has enough options to leave you stuck for choice.

The a’ la carte option still allows you to taste the interesting snacks and in fact shortly after ordering, we’re presented the carrot and liquorice curls, seed mix, trout roe in tempura and black olive muffins. Nothing is quite what you would expect – savoury looks sweet, sweet tastes savoury.

I opted for the fish cooked at 40 degrees with deconstructed tartar sauce and was presented with something that looked like a work of art. The sauce was carefully split into various elements and the black blob in the centre of my plate which looked like a black jelly baby was in fact an olive – a liquid olive, the delicious oilvey nectar had been dropped in a solution to make it coagulate on the outside leaving a pitch black bubble. The salmon, cooked at only 40 degrees had the most sublime texture, melting in the mouth, neither cooked nor raw.

For main course, I carried on with the fish theme and opted for the Monkfish with mushrooms, iron macaroni and mangosteen. The sweetness of the mangosteen, which resembled very sweet lychees, were perfectly balanced by the surprisingly meaty flavours in the mushrooms and carnose texture of the fish.

The meat looked equally inviting – even for a non-carnivore – although rather more traditional with the Beef sirloin being served with pesto gnocchi. The deserts once again tugged at the imagination, each of the 8 enticing combinations on the menu left you wondering what form they would have.

The “Three Chocolates” was a combination of chocolate in various colours and textures of chocolate, a must for chocolate junkies. The coconut lychee looked like real lychee shells but were made of coconut and white chocolate filled with soothing lychee sorbet. The most interesting was the chocolate, in an almost jelly -like form, topped with  powdery matcha tea and freeze-dried red fruits.

Just in case there was any chance at the experience could stop there, coffee was  accompanied by a tray of petit fours: frangelico and lemon candy, a ‘Filipino’ which looks like a donut but which is filled with chocolate liquid which melts on your tongue and slowly trickles down your throat, (the waiter considerately whispers that this should be eaten whole in order to avoid embarrassing mishaps). The cocoa and fried corn toffee sponge almost squeaks as you bite into it, with a texture like natural sponge.

Eating at the Terraza is almost a mental exercise, a brain teaser – what you see is not always what you will taste or feel. The unusual shapes and textures are a result of skill, imagination and a certain amount of chemical artistry in the kitchen..

So, tottering out on my Jimmy Choo’s, I started to wonder if I should have paid more attention in those chemistry classes – it seems chemistry can have some interesting relevance after all…

La Terraza del Casino di Madrid

tasting menu – 135 euro in the evening,  69.12 at lunch.

Of course they don’t come with the furniture so when moving to a foreign land, one of the toughest things is making the effort to get out there and meet people – especially when you really would just like to carry on un-packing the boxes and checking out the new scenery.

Here’s are 10 pointers on how you might go about finding people you want to start sharing a bit of your life in Belgium with:

1) Ask friends to put you in touch with people who already live there. Very obvious but it’s very useful to be put in touch with people who are already in the place. They know the ins and outs and when you need a favour or don’t know how things work, they can give you a hand. Even better, if they’re from your home country, they’ll understand  just exactly what niggles you about your new home.

2) Sign up to Expat blog or one of the expat communities such as InterNations or People to People International. Of course the whole point of moving to a new city is to experience and new culture and meet people but these expat communities can help you meet even local Belgians. At the InterNations gatherings in Brussels – which can get reasonably wild (you first have to prove why you are an international citizen) – membership also includes Belgians looking to meet international residents so you can even mingle with the locals. The first time I went out socially in Brussels was with a group of people I met through expat-blog.com. They were all very cool and weren’t treating it as a match-making service, messages via this service since then make me realise that I may have just been very lucky.

3) Learn a language – Despite the fact that you can survive (to a certain extent) with only English, learning the local lingo is one of the greatest skills you can come away with. You may think you’re not going to be here long enough to need it but you can never underestimate how things have a habit of coming in handy further down the line. Learning in a classroom is perhaps completely unnatural ways of tackling a language (i learnt Italian hardly step pig foot in a classroom) but when the language is very different form your own and then you finally understand something on the telly, in a magazine or on the street, the sufferance is worth it. In Brussels you have the luxury of the choice French or Dutch. Language courses at EPFC (which also offers a range of professional courses) or The House of Dutch are cheap as they’re subsidised by the EU. I have experience of teachers at EPFC at they have been excellent. Be prepared that the French classes will be full of international expats, the Dutch classes however will most likely be full of French-speaking Belgians.

4) Do a course to further your career – I met a very cool group of friends at a course I took at ICHEC, the Brussels Business school. By upping my knowledge on everything that was web 2.0, I also got to meet a crowd of people who had similar backgrounds and professional experiences. Night school professional courses may suck your social time away but will help you connect to a nice network of people. ICHEC only teaches in French though..

5) Start tweeting. How can virtual reality make you friends? The power of Twitter is not to be underestimated in this regard. I had lunch with someone last week after meeting them via twitter and blogs. Twitter is a great way to find people who share your passion and who live close by. What rocks your boat? tweet about it. Mine is wine and I met a great group of wine loving tweeters and bloggers through this space – who thankfully are very patient with my beginners Dutch (which gives me extra motivation to go to the classes ).

6) Sign up to a fitness class – You may not be able to say much at the time but you’ll get fit and will get chance to meet people – albeit not when looking your best. There are gyms all over the city, some are slightly mouldy but some are great, reviews can be found on-line. Basic-fit have gyms over the city, the concept is like Ryanair – you get fit, no extra service. Something a bit different and a lot cheaper than a traditional gym is Friskis and Svettis – the Swedish way to get fit. Classes in summer are held in Parc Cinquentenaire and are free (giving a you a chance to check it out), whilst in winter classes are held inside at various locations, many close to the EU area. It’s high-energy stuff although they do have different levels so you can work your way up. 78% of the membership is expats so yes, there’s a good chance that when you’re cursing about how strenuous it is, someone will understand you.

7) Join a club or workshop. Wine is my thing and if you read my article on wine education, I mention wine workshops held by R99 in Brussels. One of the things I love about wine and food is that they unite people from all backgrounds. If cooking is your thing, Mmmmh! do some good cooking workshops where you get to get your hands dirty and then eat the food all together around a large table. A couple of outings to the same place and you’re sure to see some familiar faces..

8) Borrow a cup of sugar. I’m told this is what new neighbours did a couple of decades ago or perhaps it has something to do with a coffee advert which went on forever.. Anyhow, it’s also a good idea to introduce yourself to your neighbours. They may turn out not to be your cup of tea but it’s always good to know who’s living around you and you never know, they may even help you in meeting new people or be fundamental in solving any domestic mishaps.

9) (suggested by my two friends and fellow wine bloggers / tweeters Bart and Warddem) offer a glass of wine.. Now this may be one for the gentlemen, as a woman I would never think about buying random people a drink but guys seemingly can get away with it.. due to popular demand, it’s on my list.

10) Smile. Last but not least, if you look bored, scared, worried or even worse, look boring, scary and freaky, you can do all of the above and still not meet come home with anymore friends/acquaintances. Unfortunately, meeting people requires a considerable effort for naturally introvert shy people (such as myself). Stick it out, it’ll be worth it in the end.

Sure, it’ll take time till you find that group of people to share the ups and downs of life with you, but there’s no list for that..

Here’s why for me, a year in, I can say that life in Belgium is more than bearable…

1) they know what customer service is. You know those Customer Help lines? well in Belgium someone picks up the phone and tries to help you out – in the language of your choice. In fact – seeing as it’s all recorded and if they don’t treat you well they’re going to forfeit their lunch vouchers or something – they actually go out of their way to make sure whatever it is get resolved. In Italy, you’re lucky if the pick the phone up to start off with (Italian experience: direct line insurance – 45 mins and still no answer.. Fastweb cut my phone line off before required, charged me for an extra month’s phone line then, not being a customer anymore, impeded me from getting through to their help line to resolve the question..arrgghh)..

2) the television. This may sound strange but unless you’ve spent time living in Italy it’s tough to understand how the BBC can be a life saver. A decade of television which on the whole consist of reality programmes with more plastic in places I wouldn’t like to mention and game shows in which the real entertainment is considered the 2 mins where some young waif of a girl wiggles her booty half-way through the show which has no relevance to the content nor the theme of the programme, I am thankful for the range of channels we get on our Belgacom decoder.

3) on the whole people understand you. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love speaking foreign languages. I speak French reasonably well and am studying Dutch just so that I can break the mould and not be “one of those Brits who thinks that everyone should speak English”, but if you really want/have to, you can survive on English. Speaking English in Italy, you’d be able to order yourself a coffee and a pizza and that’d probably be about it. The amazing level of English the Belgians have makes moving here a less daunting task for those who don’t speak the lingo.

4) You can get food which isn’t just Belgian*. I love Italian food. Italians love Italian food and for that reason it’s really tough in smaller Italian towns to get good food which isn’t how Mamma makes it. In Brussels, you can get pretty much any cuisine you want (not to mention some pretty tasty waffles) and most of the time, it’s good. My favourites are the Scandinavian restaurant Up North and Lebanese Al Barmaki When I’m desperate for a pizza, I head to Rino Son resto at the Cimitiere d’Ixelles or La Barchetta in Stockel and when I’m craving a taste of home, I nip to Carrefour or Delhaize for Cadbury’s chocolate and crumpets. * the same principle applies to wine…

5) You’re in the middle of everywhere. If I travelled 2 hours from Verona I’d still be in Italy. Admitted, I’d be in close to Austria or heading towards Slovenia, but I’d still be in the same country. Two hours (by car or train) from here however and you can be strolling the streets of Paris, in a cafe in Amsterdam, a pub in London or gazing at the Cathedral in Cologne. Bored of Belgium? no problems, it’s so close to France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK that a radical change of scenery is pretty easy to get when needed. The Ryanair flights from Charleroi to just about any European country (East west and even North Africa) make it easy and cheap to escape too.

6) Belgians are used to people coming and going. Now I have some fantastic Italian friends, amazing people, who I am sure will be my friends for life, but getting them wasn’t so easy. In places where foreigners are not so common, you have to first get through that wall before you can really be considered part of the tribe. Outsiders are viewed suspiciously. In Belgium where people come and go like the rain clouds, I’ve had people (locals and foreigners) talk to me in the middle of the road, in the car park, supermarket, chemists, you name it without ever knowing me, who my family is, where I went to school, who I went out with and my in-depth medical history. They just talk, pass the time of day, or make helpful suggestions, it doesn’t matter who you are.

7) the weather changes – this might sound like I’m trying to “turn a negative into a positive”. Weather in Italy was a lot more stable. That meant that when it rained it did so for 3 days non-stop. When there was fog (yep, there can be  a lot in winter), you can hardly see the end of your bonnet and when it’s hot, it’s sweltering day and night for 10 days in a row. In Belgium you can be reasonably be sure that if the day starts one way it won’t be the same by the end of it.

As with many ex-pats, I have no idea for how much longer I’ll be waking up calling Belgium home, but in the meantime, I’ll just keep making my list of why doing the unthinkable was the best thing I ever did..

Are you an Expat in Belgium? what are the things you love about your life here? 

Au contraire to the traditional way where a shop opened and then later offered internet delivery, Belgianwines.com did it the other way around, last night hosting the official opening of it’s retail outlet where it offers customers that invaluable experience of sniffing, swirling, slurping, feeling, stroking and holding a wine before you hand your money over. Call me old fashioned, but there’s something special about that experience, especially when it concerns something so sensuous as wine.

So last night, clients, friends, wine tweeters, and the plain curious, headed over to the quiet area village of Melsele outside Antwerp, to find out more and to see the new place.

They have a nice range of wines on offer, from some of what I am told to be be Belgian’s better wine producers all on offer at the same price you would pay if you knocked on the producer’s door. After tasting the whole selection, here are some of my favourites of the night:

Fresh and fruity, Sparkling, Entre Deux Monts, Wiscoutre 14.50 euro

Personality, Cabernet Dorsa, 16.95 euro

Smokey red, Pinot Noir, Aldeneyck 17.90 euro.

Fruity pink, Ry d’Argent, Rose’, 9 euro

So next time curiosity gets the better of you, you know where to head. If that’s not your neck of the woods, wines can be ordered online. Unfortunately at the moment the website is only available in Dutch although English and French versions are in the pipeline for next year.

Where: Belgianwines.com, Kepalstraat 3, 9120 Melsele

Verdicchio may have once been famed for its slightly kitsch curvy bottle but over the past decades, this Marche wine has undergone a facelift, shed its cheap and cheerful image and is branding itself as one of Italy’s iconic wines.

As one of the region’s greatest wine-makers says, you have to first decide what the market wants and then work out what you want to do with the grapes – by making first the wine and then trying to sell it you may find yourself in a very sticky situation. He heralds Verdicchio as the greatest grape ever grown because of its amazing versatility. Wine-makers use it to do whatever they like, or need. Want a fruity, light, sparkling wine made with the methodo Charmant (second fermentation in the autoclave) to satisfy the new trend for fruity sparkling wines? Sorted.. Or a methodo tradizionale with a bit more body? not a problem… How about an aged wine with more complex flavours? sure.. and to go with the cheese plate or dessert, some producers dry their grapes to make a sweet wine. Like a great LBD can take from day to night, Verdicchio can take you from aperitif to desert tray without a crease.

On a recent trip to the Marches, I got to get up close to Verdicchio. I got to see violet bunches being nibbled by wasps as they hung in the late November sun, hover over concrete vats as the fermenting Verdicchio bubbled below and of course taste more of them than I can recall. But rather than the glass-swirling, for me the most interesting part is going to meet the family who make the wine, seeing the winery (no, not the bottling lines!) and getting a general feel for the place, not just the wines. Here’s my pick of three very different wine producers worth checking out:

1) Enrico Ceci – small and traditional – if you ever wanted to see the “farming” in vineyards, this is a perfect example. It’s a tiny family run winery (8 ha) with plump cockerels running about in the yard in front of the winery (my guess they won’t make it past Christmas). There are no renovated barrel stores, just a simple structure in the yard full of steel vats and a few very old wooden casks. The label has the view of the road leading up the winery and the name of the wine “Santa Maria d’Arco” is in memory of Enrico’s sister who died at an early age and was never able to see the success the family has built. The place oozes familiarity and personality. Not surprisingly, they limit themselves to a small range with only two wines bottled, Verdicchio and Rosso Piceno (90% of the wine they produce here is Verdicchio). As with many of the small wineries in the Marches region, a lot of business comes from selling wine in large glass vats to the locals who drink 50% more than the average Italian. Enrico also makes the local dessert wine “vino di Visciola” (a wine aromatised with a local variety of sour cherries) as well as grappa, chocolates and beauty products made with their wines and olive oils.

Azienda Enrico Ceci - Via Santa Maria d’Arco 7, San Paolo di Jesi (AN) www.enricoceci.it (visits upon appointment +39 0731779033)

2) Sartarelli – The Sartarelli family took over this winery when the present owner’s Grandfather decided to leave his job as a baker and start making wine. At the time he started with 4 hectares, now they manage 60. One of Sartarelli’s greatest achievements was the IWC prize for best white wine in the world back in 1997 although the list of awards doesn’t stop there. Their top wine, Balciana, made from the vineyard of the same name, is constantly awarded the 5 grappole status in the Italian Sommelier Association’s wine guide. The Balciana vineyard is harvested manually 3 or 4 times abiding by the wine-makers policy that “we collect ripe grapes, we don’t just harvest because it’s Sunday”. He claims Sartarelli is the only winery in central Italy to leave the bunches so long with the last ones being collected at the end of November. A risky move as soon might say considering the on-setting cold weather. Sartarelli produce bulk wine (to quench the local thirst), Classico, Tralivio and Balciana. Each with a very distinct character – the only way to get away with making wines which are all of all the same grape varietal (Verdicchio) and all aged in only stainless steel.

Sartarelli – Via Coste del Mollino, 24 – Poggio San Marcello (AN) www.sartarelli.it (visits upon appointment +39 0731 89732)

3) Garofoli – the Oldest winery in the Marches established in the 1800s. Whilst Enrico Ceci have only bottle a few thousand bottles of wine a year, Sartarelli produce 350,000 bottles and Garofoli swamps that with over 2 million bottles a year. Not surprisingly, with so many bottles and vineyards, Garofoli make not just five versions of Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi. Three which have no wood and are only aged in stainless steel (our favourite was the Podium) whereas the Classico Riserva (my personal fave of the whites) and the Serra Fiorese are rested for different periods in wood. Garofoli also make Rosso Conero as well as some interesting sparkling wines and dessert wine. The winemaker here is one of two Garofoli brothers who are the 4^th generation owner’s. He enjoys experimenting and our guide Daria (wife of his brother and possibly one of the most energetic and sweet export managers in the business) shows us a few bottles that even they don’t know what will be.

The gift shop stocks the full range of wines as well as beauty products and teas which have been blended with some of the Garofoli dried grape skins.

Casa Vinicola Giocchino Garofoli – Via Arno, 9 – Loreto (AN) www.garofolivini.it (visits and tastings upon appointment via mail@garofolivini.it or +39 071 7821437). Garofoli offer various themes of tasting according to the size of the group.

The greatest thing about Verdicchio wasn’t just the way it can make wines of very different character and structure, but also the way it ages – just like a great LBD. Not many of the producers have many – or even any – of the older vintages themselves so to experience the nutty, honey aromas of the more mature stuff which we were treated to, you will have to just buy your own, keep it cellared properly and let time work its magic.

Where to pick these up: If you’re visiting the Marches region and don’t have time to visit any of the wineries but don’t want to miss out on any of the wines mentioned above. All can be bought – at the same price as would be sold direct from the wine producer – at the Enoteca Regionale in Jesi Via F. Conti 5, Jesi. The Enoteca Regionale stocks over 400 labels and is open from 5pm to 10pm from Tuesday to Sunday. If that sounds like too much choice there’s a very friendly sommelier at hand to give you some advice.

I had my first experience with Belgian wines during the trade fair Megavino when I tasted the wines made by Chateau Bon Baron. Persuaded by a friend who owns a website selling Belgian wines (www.belgianwines.com), we headed over to chat to the wine maker and see if she had anything which was able to dispel my disbelieving “Belgium makes wine?” attitude. In all honesty, I should have cut Belgium more slack, in conversations with Italians, I regularly have to insist that England makes decent wine and to be honest, this side of the channel the weather and the soils are pretty similar so if you can make wine in Wiltshire, why not Wallonia?

The winemaker Jeanette (who’s enthusiasm for what she does is almost tangible) specialises in monovarietal wines, both red and white. The whites include Pinot Gris, Muller Thurgau, Auxerrois and two versions of Chardonnay. The Chardonnays for me were the ones which showed me that Wallonia really can make something I would love to drink again and again. The unoaked Chardonnay was deliciously fruity and lightly spicy.

So with my curiosity for Belgian wines perked, how could I resist and invitation to attend a tasting organised by Belgian wines to taste 10 method traditionelle wines from around the globe – including an undefined number from Belgium? The 11 person panel was made up of the “usual crowd” of wine bloggers and tweeters active in Flanders, many of whom have day jobs and explore their wine interests in their free time, a veteran food & wine journalist, wine educator and myself. We were served 10 wines blind. Not knowing where they were from and how many could be Belgian, I did wonder if there may have been a trick somewhere along the way. Given that there less than 20 sparkling wines made in Belgian and that Belgianwines.com stocks only 6, we were sure that some international flavours were bound to be mixed in with the local nectars.

As with any of these sorts of experiments, the results were interesting. Australia came in at third place with the Rococo Blanc de Blancs, nice result and testament that Aussies aren’t just about cheap heavy red wines. Luxembourg would have been disappointed with the panel unanimously awarding a “0 points” for the excessively fizzy, aroma-less, body-less wine it made. It’s neighbour however faired much better with two Belgian wines proving to be crowd pleasers. The Ruffus was voted middle of the bunch (above the two Cavas and a Cremant from Alsace I hasten to add) whereas the Schorpion Brut Goud (available on Belgianwines.com for 17.50 euro) came in second only to a bargain Champagne (Masrquis & Marmontel, 15 euro stocked in Colruyt) beating another Champagne (which came in 4th). The Schorpion was intense and complex on the nose, bursting with aromas of baked apples fresh from the oven, freshly baked bread and some white flowers. Nice structure, long finish and a balance which conned many of us into thinking it may have been Champagne.

Yet more proof that you can never think Belgium is dull, it may not have the vibrancy of China, but there’s always something to surprise you where you least expect it!..

Full results to be published soon in Out in Antwerp.

A few of the local vineyards have wine stored at the entrance of the Frasassi caves - Verdicchio, Cave fresh!

Cool: check… Humid: check.. Dark: check.. no heat or vibrations: check.. This is the usual list most people check when looking for somewhere to store their wines whether it be in the cellar, garage or a forgotten hole in the house. The Consorzio Frasassi took this a step further – and chose what can only be described as the most impressive setting to cellar wine in the world..

Le Grotte di Frasassi (the caves of Frasassi) at 31km long are one of Europe’s largest cave system with only a part of this (1.5km) open to the public. The caves are the number one tourist attraction in the Marche region.

The caves were discovered in late September 1970 by a group of amateur cavers. After a lazy picnic in the hills, the group were answering nature’s call (detail of local legend but left out by the tour guide) when they detected billows of air blowing from the ground. Keen to put their skills to use, the cavers started exploring the nearby terrain and not long after, found themselves teetering on what would later be called the “Terrazzino di Brividi”, a small ledge 120m high up the cave wall.

In English “Terrazzino di Brividi” can mean the little ledge of shivers, shudders or thrills  - depending on your nerves. Personally it made my legs go to jelly just thinking of the person who found themselves on that ledge with such vast emptiness below. Whoever it was, they could never have imagined the 1,000,000 cubic meter cavern opening up beneath their feet (120m wide, 180m deep and 200m high). Two days later – after procuring a rope long enough – they entered what is now called the Ancona Abyss or the “Grande Grotta del Vento” (Big Cavern of wind). With a scree slope on one side, deposited by the torrents of water which once charged through here, the other side of the cave has stalagmites which tower almost 8m. The scenography is almost surreal, and somewhere you half expect Frodo or one of his friends to pop out from a rock on their voyage to middle earth.

The caves now welcome 300,000 visitors a year (summer is a nightmare with 5000 visitors per day, whereas on a cold day in November you may have the caves to yourself).

The stalagmites and stalactites have over the years taken names according to their forms : the troll, the polar bear, Santa, the sheep with a cactus, candles, waffles.. the imagination runs riot on what strange forms these tiny droplets of water have created over the 1,400,000 years since they began their formation..

Guided tours last 75 minutes following a concrete pathway through several of the caves. For the geological buffs or the really daring, there’s also the chance to choose one of the two adventure trails which exploring the deeper parts of the cave system for 2 or 3 hours – often crawling around on your elbows.

I found this place one of the most stunning attractions I have ever seen, it was absolutely breathtaking. With beauty like this, I can understand why the consorzio would store their wine here – everyone would be too stunned to bother stealing it!!

For more information, the Grotte have an official website.

I get asked on a regular basis how I got into the world of wine and my truthful answer invariably meets disappointment: “because I could speak English”. When I started organising international wine events for some of Italy’s most prestigious producers, what I knew about wine could be written on the back of a postal stamp. A course at the CIA in Napa, two years of studying with the Italian Sommelier Association and a couple of WSET exams later, thankfully I now know a little more than the fact that it’s just made from grapes but through all this, wine was about studying, rather than enjoying.

One of the things I love in this part of the world, is that rather than delving into books describing the technical process or having to memorize lists of appellations, people use wine – on its own – for a social experience (and I’m not talking about getting wasted “I love you” social experience ).

My first encounter with a wine club was in the Netherlands this year where, with a friend, I organised a consumer tasting for an Italian consortium. The group of wine lovers who meet every month in the village social club, revelled in having so many wines from one appellation to compare and mull over. We got an insight into what consumers like and look for, and a big ball of cheese as a thank you.

In Belgium I’ve already come across a few of these clubs. The French-speaking community have many with wine bars and shops now using consumer curiosity to give guided tasting courses of their wines. In Flanders the Vlaamswijngilde is an association with a wine club in almost every town. Recently the Italian Farmer’s Union (CIA) started an Italian wine club (in Italian) with guest speakers arriving each session to explain not just the wines of the different Italian regions but also how to taste wines. Most of these clubs are organised so that your annual inscription gives you access to 7 or 8 evenings on various themes. They differ in how “educational” they are, some have more educational content whilst others are more about enjoying the wine and meeting new people.

For the expats in Brussels, R99 run by South African Elizma Myburgh holds wine workshops at the quaint British and Commonwealth Women’s Club in Woluwe Saint Pierre in English. Workshops are one-off, you pay to what you go to, and are based around a theme – whether that be a certain country or a grape variety. As can be expected, the faces change every session with a nice mix of international expats from across the globe. Wines are served blind with Elizma prompting discussion on taste, colour, smell but she then leaves you to match the wines up with the list provided.

Last week’s R99 Hidden Gems workshop included fantastic wines from across the globe selected for their unusual blend or variety. Eizma prompts and guides the conversation explaining why you’re tasting what you’re tasting, why wines from a certain region can be expected to be a certain way, how climate influences the wines, how to analyse the tannin and acidity structure to work out where the wines come from – and nothing sounds stuffy and formal. There are no books in sight, no lists of appellations – it’s just about putting the fun (back) into wine – just where it should be!

Munched as an afternoon snack rather than a breakfast bite, the vanilla scent of freshly cooked Liegeois waffles which are sweeter, chewier and smaller than the Bruxelles version, linger on the street corners and packed pavements of the city. The sweetness comes from the pearl or beaded sugar which is enveloped in the batter. When squeezed between the metal plates of the waffle press, this hard, pure sugar melts leaving caramelised trails on the surface and heavenly sweetness on the inside. Delicious.

As part of a Belgian themed day this Saturday, Mmmmh!, the culinary superstore and cooking school in Bruxelles is hosting an afternoon of waffle cooking. Chef-come-showman Sergio will be cooking not just the thinner, drier Bruxelles waffles but there’ll also be the chance to munch the sweeter Liegois gaufres. Other typical Belgian foods will be serve throughout the day including frites, local artisanal beers, sausage and cheese. For the wine drinkers looking to keep it local, the owner of Domaine de Chenoy (a small domaine close to Namur) will be presenting their range of wines.

For more info about what will be going on for Belgium day in Mmmmh! this weekend, check out this link.

Following in the heels of the Chianti Classico producers that held their event on 17th October, the next group to arrive in town will be from the Marches region. On 15th November the Istituto Marchigiano di Tutela Vini which represents the majority of the wine producers in the beautiful region of central Italy, will arrive with 20 of its member wineries. Participating wineries include some of the region’s well known producers such as Garofoli and Moncaro, however many smaller wineries who are looking to find an importer, will be looking to get a foot in the door as they present their wines to the local press and trade. Well known for its Verdicchio and Rosso Conero, the region has 12 DOC and 6 DOCG wines, and with styles varying across the vast region, the IMT producers are sure to bring something new to even the most experienced taters. The event will be held at the stunning Palais des Colonies from 11am to 5pm and will also include a seminar at 11.30.

As many of the importers prepare to open their doors for their annual open days looking to lure their clients into stocking up for the festive season, the wine shop/winebar/restaurant Cafe al Dente in Uccle is also preparing a feast of Italian wines. Basing its concept on the supermarket fairs, it will be offering customers a range of new labels at interesting prices from 17th to 29th November. At a recent Vinogusto tasting, a group of wine tweeters, bloggers and just plain wine lovers, gathered to test a few from the selection. The whites in the selection were good if not rather pricey with the Bianca del Drago by Musella coming out best in terms of value for money. Reds included a very reasonably priced Montepulciano d’Abruzzo by Masciarelli.

For lovers of Piedmont wines, Barolo and friends organised by the Strade del Barolo and I Consorzio Vini del Piemonte, will be in Brussels on 21st November at Autoworld with 20 wineries from the region. The event won’t just be about Barolo though with seminars on Moscato d’Asti and Dogliani DOC..

With all that wine coming over the next month, there’s nothing else to do but to raise a glass to the Italian who’s just landed one of the trickiest jobs in the EU and say “salute”..

To register for the Marche event on 15th November, send a mail to fayecardwell@hotmail.com