Samoa
For more information about Samoa Rugby: http://www.manusamoa.com
For full details follow: http://www.rugbyworldcup.com
What to eat and drink whilst watching Samoa
Food:
In Samoa, it’s all about the plentiful amount of great fresh ingredients. Obviously lots of fish (snapper, tuna, and octopus) from the beautiful South Pacific waters – but also lots of coconuts and bananas. For easy match day food try cooking banana cake (which would pair well with a malty beer) or coconut bread. Paifala, a sweet pastry sweet stuffed with fruit & custard is possibly not the best match for match day beers – but try looking out of a recipe for Kale – a Samoan curry (from lamb , chicken or other meat). Not as spicy as other curries, it would be a good easy going on the palate option to pair with a beer!
Beer:
The main beer of Samoa is Vailima and seems to be present at every rugby match going in Samoa. Sadly not as easy to find in the UK – but there is a new beer called Taula – try some of the independent beer specialist listed on the relevant page. For those of you attending the match against South Africa – do check out this local pub which has great craft beer of the month as well as showing the match! http://www.astontavern.co.uk
Wine:
Right this is where things become a little tenuous! As Samoa, nor Fiji or Tonga are suitable for wine making (well from local proper vines anyway!), this section proves a bit of a challenge. So I have taken the letters of each country to find a wine somewhere in the world that spells out their name and at the same time, hope you discover some more unusual wines.
S is for Syrah – more precisely Chilean Syrah from the fabulous Montes Estate. It is dry-farmed in the beautiful Apalta valley and has seductive notes of leather and deep black fruits. Their Alpha range is under -priced for the quality of this wine. Listed at £11.95 from http://www.hailshamcellars.com But if you feel like celebrating when Samoa win, then treat yourself to their Icon wine , Folly Syrah ( from http://www.slurp.co.uk) – sheer heaven.
A is for Alsatian wines – a beautiful region of France with Germanic names, whose wines are sadly too often misunderstood and dismissed as sweet, when often they are not but can be fabulously aromatic. Try a Gewurtraminer from leading producer Hugel for glorious rose petal & lychees nose. This delightful world class wine will convert you! http://www.pauladamsfinewines.co.uk
M is for Mouvedre, which often pops up as a variety in Rhone blends. So where else better to find one than with Independent Rhone Specialists – http://www.yapp.co.uk Their Domaine Saint Gayan has lots of delicious spicy fruit.
O is for Oseleta – a little known red grape variety that grows in the Valpolicella hills. Look out for Osar, made by Masi – but at about £50 a bottle from http://www.oakhamwinesonline.co.uk might be a little too much for match day – so try another of Masi’s Vapolicellas which may have a small percentage of it in – stockists via their UK importer – http://www.berkmann.co.uk
A is for Again – Alsatian wines – If you’d like a less complex Gewurtraminer, then there is one in Majestic from Chile. Morande One to One at just £8.
Links to Wine Producers mentioned: