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.
