为产好牛肉 法农夫给牛喝红酒

法国埃罗省南部吕内勒维耶勒的一家农场为了出产欧洲最优质的牛肉，每天往牛饲料中添加适量红酒。这种培育方式出产的牛肉已建立专属品牌并在巴黎最好的几家餐馆推广。最先想出这一培育方法的让•查尔斯•塔斯塔维介绍说，最开始用农场里的三头牛做试点时，他每天把红酒跟大麦、干草以及葡萄混合在一起做牛饲料，后来发现吃了这种混合饲料的牛每天状态都很好，而且产出的牛肉汁多味美。他表示，每头牛每天都红酒摄入量与健康专家推荐的人类摄入量相当，每天大约为1到1.5升。这种新型奢侈级别牛肉受到米其林星级厨师的推崇，称其肥瘦相间、鲜嫩可人。唯一不太令人欣喜的是，在饲料中添加红酒虽然提升了肉质，但培育成本也比之前增加了两倍。

French cows are enjoying up to two bottles of high quality wine every day as farmers attempt to produce the best beef in Europe.

The extraordinary development has seen a 'Vinbovin' label of meat established which is already being championed by some of the best restaurants in Paris.

It follows an experiment in Lunel-Viel, in the southern Herault region of France, which saw three cows fed local wine for four months.

Jean-Charles Tastavy, who came up with the idea, said the two Angus and one Camargue were initially fed the wine in a mix of barley, hay and grapes.

It soon became clear that they were 'happy cows' who ended up producing an exceptionally succulent meat.

Outlining how he encouraged the cows to enjoy a tipple, Mr Tastavy said: "For each animal, alcohol intake should be equivalent to the amount recommended by health authorities for a man – namely two or three glasses of wine a day. In the case of cows, this amounts to between a litre and a litre-and-a-half a day."

After a rough mix of grapes and water, the cows were allowed wine from Saint-Genies des Mourgues, a Languedoc village near Montpellier renowned for its vineyards.

"The cattle loved what was on the menu and drank it with relish," said Claude Chaballier, owner of the farm where the experiment started last year.

Referring to the Muscat grape, Mr Chaballier added: "I thought that next time we may try Muscat so as to give the meat a more musky taste."

Laurent Pourcel, a Michelin-starred chef, is among those enthusing about the 'luxury meat' saying: "It has a very special texture – beautiful, marbled and tender, and which caramelizes during cooking. All the best Parisien restaurants will take it."

Japanese Kobe beef, which is made with beer, is currently considered among the best in the world, but the possibility of cows enjoying vintage wine will guarantee an even more luxurious product.

There is a down side, however: the introduction of wine into the feed of the Lunel-Viel cows tripled the cost of their feed, adding up to £80 to the cost of a prime beef cut.