promiscuous grape

One thing about getting around this summer is all the 'pop' radio you get to hear and all the 'pop' wine you get to miss. We've had a traveling summer checking out the sights, sounds and smells of Lake Winnipeg. As beautiful as the scenery is a quick trip to the sandy shores will show you this is a lake in trouble. But I digress, this is not a phosphate & waste blog but a blog about fermented grapes.

We've tried so many different bevvies in the last little while that I am not going to sum up each one but describe some categories and our experiences. We traveled around the world in terms of wines and foods. We intentionally revisited Australia to see if we grew back into the style, we haven't yet but I am reseraching our move away from mass-produced wines form this country. We revisited California with the lower pricing due to our wonderful dollar (my apologies if you are in exports), great finds and many more on the way. We intentionally tried as many local products and Canadian products we can get our hands on. We confirmed some of our own personal myths and discovered some new treats.

1 - promiscuous grape
Oh Sauvignon Blanc what haven't they mated you with? We have almost completed the Sauvignon Challenge and have been really happy with what we have found. In the summer heat there are few things that beat the crisp, refreshing flavours of Sauvignon Blanc. The Flagstone proved to be an excellent match to fresh caught pickerel. Sauvignon Blanc and this local fish prove to be a favourite again and again. The Rock Rabbit was a great sipper with some simple app's and stood it's ground next to our barbecued chicken curry; not the best match, the heat had gone to our heads but still enjoyable. Saint Clair Vicar's Choice - this ended up being a patio indulgence with no food, went down easy with friends. Good wine but was blown out of the water by the Pegasus Bay Sauvignon Blanc Semillon that accompanied dinner. The Pegasus Bay rated a 'wow' and was savoured with the meal of fresh fish and local veggie salad. We've had the Gallo Sierra Valley so many times we dipped into it to cook some mussels from our local fish market. Yum. We added to the Sauvignon Challenge by checking out the Sumac Ridge from Okanagan Valley, nice wine for $14.29. Was also happy to see one of my fave restaurants switched their house wine from Chardonnay to Sauvignon Blanc - way better combo with their cuisine. We are still waiting to do The Sauvignon Republic Challenge - our plan for these 2 wines is grab some king crag legs, clarified butter and hunker down for the evening. We'll let you know how it goes.

2 - crazy
When the mercury rises I steer clear of big reds and heavy meals - saves my sanity. We tried some fun combos in June & July. I think the following is called a Black Velvet - take a pint glass and gently pour in half a Strongbow cider and half a Guinness. Very yummy and kinda filling but not oppressive. We also bought some Sangria in a triangular bottle, chilled it and threw in some fresh citrus. Took the heat off without going to the head. Like many I go for some salty food in the heat and we tried 2 things different. We grabbed some black olive tapinade, canned fish and pickled eggplant and a small bottle of Lustau Fino Sherry. With the right food I have changed my mind about Fino sherry. Thank you to the wine person who suggested it. We heard through a friend of a friend of a friend about the following and it was totally fun and would do again. Take 3 leaves of fresh basil and mash it in a rocks glass, add a few ice cubes, 2 ounces of Taylor Fladgate White Port and a splash of club soda (not sparkling mineral water), stir and serve. This combo is very thirst quenching. We also tried a pre-made REAL Bellini in a bottle from Italy. It was just called Bellini and it was super good. Fresh peach juice and Prosecco, such a step up from the slushy drinks you find in most places.

3 - dry roseyback
Heard JT was bringing sexyback, we were happy to see our local wine store bring dry rose back. We counted 6 new to us in the last month, and all but one where under $18. The wonderful thing about a real dry rose is the teasing flavour of a juicy red without the heaviness. The 'funnest' one was from France and called Rozy - there is a white polka-dot thong bikini on the bottle. Throw away your misconceptions about kitsch packaging and indulge in this great sipper.

4 - dead red
We kept our consumption of reds low with the heat, it was mostly limited to later suppers with barbecued meats. Must tries are the following:
Chakana Malbec
Catena Zapata 'Los Alamos' Malbec
Avalon Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon


We also looked at regional, flavourful reds for some great meal pairings. Regional reds are such a skipped category but when it comes to food pairings they really come forward vs. the over the top, high alcohol reds. I'll muse more on this at a later date in another blog. My opinion is becoming very strong on these.

5 - not a dead head but a well-red head
I usually take the summers outside as an opportunity to sit outside, relax and read. I reread Jancis Robinson's Guide to Wine Grapes - always good for a refresher. I picked up the 'The Emperor of wine - The Rise of Robert M. Parker, Jr. And the Reign of American Taste' by Elin McCoy in trade paperback. Very interesting, made me think even more about how I vote with my dollar and what we drink. In the backpack are 'A Century of Wine' by Stephen Brooks and Hugh Johnson's 'The Story of Wine'. I've also read some pretty good paperbacks this summer, one cannot feed ones brain wine alone. If anyone has any suggestions on some good wine related books please leave a comment - I am always looking for new ones.

All for now and for a bit - we're heading away the next two weekends, time to dip the toes in the lake again and listen to the waves.

parducci & concannon - blasts from the past

When we did our shopping I had been pleasantly shocked to find Parducci back on the shelf...a wine I thought had disappeared forever. I immediately bought some and did some quick searching and this is what I found in brief and I hope I haven't misinterpreted anything.

Parducci is a part of Mendocino Wine Co., a collaboration of Partners Paul Dolan (formerly of Fetzer, the main force behind their organic movement) & The Thornhill Family (very interesting background). Together they have made a commitment to the earth that they are expressing through their wines. They are using what they call an E3 Action Plan - Economics, Environment and Equity for partners, Employees and community. Their commitment to the earth is huge - they use Biodiesel in all equipment, they use a wastewater recovery program and all their stationary, labels, etc are made from 100% post consumer recycled paper and new Leaf Tree Free Kenaf Papers (the neck tag talked about the ink they used, my recycling gremlin took it off my desk). They have 70 acres organic and biodynamic; 85 acres certified organic (44 of which are transitioning to biodynamic); 30 acres in 2nd year organic; 212 acres going to organic and 150 acres using Fish Friendly Farming. A huge commitment that made me feel happy about spending my $18 on their wines. I will add their website to my link list next time time I do a link list up-date, you should check them out.

So, you are probably wondering how was the wine? It was very tasty. Full review below.

Seeing Parducci stirred a craving for Petite Sirah. I did some digging through my "cellar" and pulled out a bottle of Concannon Petite Sirah. Concannon has always been one of my faves, sometimes hard to find, sometimes not. Posted Below.

So to sum it up...
Winery Name: Mendocino Wine Co.
Brand: Parducci
Grape(s): 100% Sauvignon Blanc
Wood: none, all stainless steel
Vintage: 2005
Appellation(s): Mendocino & Lake counties , California
Closure: Trad. Cork
Format: Standard bottle
Sniff, Swirl, Swallow: great aromatic nose, losts of limey-grapefruit notes; taste was smooth and like the nose, missing was that over fruitiness that you sometimes find in Aussie Sauv Blanc.
Had With: Roasted Chicken (purchased at a local grocery store), salad.
Recommend: yes, good wine hopefully it sticks around.
Price: $18

Winery Name: Concannon
Series: Selected Vineyard
Grape(s): 99% petite Sirah, 1% other (?, should they do some genetic testing in the vineyard?)
Wood: 6 month US & French Oak
Vintage: 2003
Appellation(s): Central Coast, California
Closure: Trad. Cork
Format: Standard Bottle
Sniff, Swirl, Swallow: yum, big nose piled high with blackberries, cedar and chocolate. The taste was more of the same with just a hint of mint, warm, velvety texture.
Had With: Pizza.
Recommend: definitely - but get some lamb or a roast, our pizza didn't do it justice.
Price: $30

Hats off to...The Uncorked column in the WFP. His article on oak was really interesting this week.

the sauvignon challenge

Well, Monday felt like Sunday and Tuesday felt like Monday and here I am on Wednesday. Oops, but all that extra time gave me time to shop around for some summer wines. We went hunting for some great New World Sauvignon Blancs to drink on the patio. The following is a list of what we found (vintages excluded until tasting):
Flagstone (South Africa)
Rock Rabbit (Central Coast, California), 2nd purchase
Saint Clair 'The Vicar's Choice' (Marlborough, New Zealand), revisit - new vintage
The Sauvignon Republic (Russian River Valley, California)
The Sauvignon Republic (Marlborough, New Zealand)
Ferrari-Carano Fume-Blanc (Sonoma County, California), revisit - new vintage
Gallo (California), 9th or 10th purchase
Parducci (Mendocino County, California)

We decided to post the list to see if anyone wanted to join us in the challenge, grab these wines and post a comment on what they think. We also opted for new world b/c we felt it would be a bit easier to focus our notes, we'll see if that actually happens.

We decided to start with the Saint Clair 'Vicar's Choice' from Marlborough as this wine had disappeared for a while, our helper at the store said it was due to transport issues. We didn't care, feeling that the absence created some excitement for us. Would it be as good as remembered or would it fall flat. Well flat it wasn't, yum it is, a perfect sipper with our funky dinner. The nose delivered with rich gooseberry and kiwi and the flavour followed through with gooseberry, melon and grapefruit-citrus; there was a tiny hint of fresh cut lawn. Crisp, acidic finish though not as crisp as the Thornbury if memory serves correct. The Thornbury was also very smooth and I think in comparison wasn't so fruit forward. Both are interesting styles from a great Sauvignon Blanc region. Most enjoyable aspect- that it was so food friendly. We made quesadilla, an untraditional match for New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc but it really worked. My partner really enjoys spicy salsa and the wine had enough fruitiness/sweetness to cut the heat.

So to sum it up...
Winery: Saint Clair
Series: The Vicar's Choice
Vintage: 2005
Appellation: Marlborough, New Zealand
Closure: Stelvin
Format: 75cl
Price: $18
Had with: dinner - chicken quesadilla; dessert - fresh fruit salad
Recommend: yes, b/c or pairability and sipability.

Next week: Parducci and a red.

back with a plan

My work has calmed down and my travel has ended and I have time to blog again. It feels good. I have decided to come back with a plan. I have decided to do regular blogs on Tuesdays. Why you ask? This gives me the weekend to sort through my notes and decide which wines to sum up and time to research for websites, etc. I like routine and I hope by having a regular day I can establish a better dialogue with readers.

My first return post is not about a particular wine but about particular glasses. My partner and I have spent the last 2 years investing in Riedel glasses to enhance our wine experience. My favourite purchase was the Riedel 'O' s we bought in March. Though we found various prices by calling all over town we opted with the store closet to home, not the cheapest but had the best stock and the staff we talked to knew a lot about the glasses. The 'O' is a stemless glass that is perfect for summer time. No need to worry about the wine blowing your glass over on the patio, or your clumsy mom knocking them over, the glass is not that high and they kind of 'weeble-wobble but don't fall down'. The best part about the 'O' is it is still grape specific shape, so you get the nose , the palate placement and the enhanced taste in a fun glass. This will be the glass of the cabin this year (along with many wines).

All for now, I'll be posting again on Tuesday, May 23.

time 4 a break

Well, if you haven't noticed I haven't posted about any wines for a while. We began a new project at work that has kept me hopping and away from home, and blogging. I rather enjoy blogging about wine when I have the time like to do it on a regular basis. This project runs until the end of April and will keep me away for that period of time. I have decided to take a sabbatical from blogging until the first week of May.

Thank you for reading,
N90

yet another new personality

Was a wee bit bored tonight and decided to revisit a couple of websites, one being 'The Little Penguin' (see links). They've updated the personality test (or I just don't remember the questions from before). Alas, I have a new personality, I am no longer the alluring Chardonnay, I am now Pinot Noir. Very confusing. I still think I would be Riesling but tlp doesn't make one yet...this thought led to my next question...
I wondered - am I Pinot Noir because I really am Pinot Noir or am I Pinot Noir because that is the newest varietal launched? Wasn't that curious and didn't bother to retake the quiz and answer differently to test hypothesis.
I am curious as to what responses other people get, so daring readers jump on the link, take the test and blog me back your personality.

I am going to head off to bed, cuddle up under the duvet and continue reading new wine book 'Noble Rot - A Bordeaux Wine Revolution' by William Echikson. So far the book has been fascinating. I love Bordeaux and all the personalities and histories, conflicts, takeovers, feuds and culture. And the author is stirring them together into a most interesting story. Tonight is chapter 5 - sweet injustice. When I finish the book I'll post a quick review.

nothing to w(h)ine about

Forgive me fellow bloggers for I have been sinned against, it has been 48 days since my last post.
Was I stranded on a desert island?
No.
Were all my leverpulls broken?
No.
Did the Riedel cabinet break?
No.
Did I forget how to un-twist a Stelvin closure?
No.
Have I paid my penance?
Yes.

I was sentenced to many winter holiday excursions were the wine served left me nothing nice to say. Free wine and all I could whine about was the lack of drinkable wine. I volunteered to be DD more than once.

Note to future hosts - the appearance of a Black Tower Magnum(s) is a legitimate reason to call the health department, Piat D'Or is only for the faint of palate and just because your wallet didn't take a pounding when you bought it doesn't mean my head has to in the morning. Don't bother buying cheap wine - just type BYOB on the e-vite, we won't think any less of you.

Now on to the good...
The non-denominational-gift-dropper-off-er left some wine in my sock that I can't wait try. Disappointingly the gift-dropper-off-er left no new wine literature.

The following is the first few we tried from the bunch:
Spy Valley
Grape(s): Sauvignon Blanc
Vintage: 2004
Appellation: Marlborough, New Zealand
Closure: Stelvin
Format: Standard
Had With: Lime infused tilapia, Basmati Rice and Spinach Salad
Recommend: Yes. Worth the ~$25 the n-d-g-d-o-er spent on it. More Loire Valley then I expected, lots of mineral. Brilliant colour.

Also opened but couldn't try due to cork issue:
Marchesi de'Frescobaldi Nipozzano Chianti Rufina Riserva
Grape(s): Sangiovese
Vintage: 2002
Appellation: Tuscany, Italy
Closure: Trad. Cork
Format: Standard
Price: $19 plus taxes
Issue: Badly corked.
Happy Ending: exchanged with no fuss, will try on weekend.

Michael David Vineyards 7 Deadly Zins
Grape(s): Zinfandel (from 7 of Lodi's producers oldest vines)
Vintage: Hit the recycling bin too fast
Appellation: Lodi, California
Closure: Damn recycling bin
Format: Standard
Price: ~$30, thanks n-d-g-d-o-er.
Had with: good company and a selection of odourous cheese.
Recommend: Go & buy, definitely worth a try. We asked for this wine after reading about it on 'wine in the peg' (see links).

On the rack for Future Blogging:
Screw-Kappa Napa Sauvignon Blanc
Sandhill One
Kenwood Vintage Red