Heading for the final turn

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth or gone into rehab. I'm on the final push towards the finish line which is the last course to completing my Sommelier program and it's a little intense. Creating a wine list for a local restaurant is not an easy task. Finding the wines that pair well with the menu, associated wine agents, building the wine list and inventory all wrapped up in a short time frame and I'm starting to sweat like a teenager on a first date with a huge pimple on my nose. Now don't get me wrong, it's really interesting doing the research by "pouring" through different wines, researching the restaurant, sampling menu items and assembling a unique reasonably priced wine list for the restaurant. Luckily I'm not doing this on my own. I have two very enthusiastic classmates working with me on the project which allows each of us to focus on specific tasks and do quality work without worrying about missing content.

 How difficult is it, you ask? Next time you're in a restaurant take a few minutes to go through the menu and try pairing the wines on the wine list with some of the appetizers or main courses. Don't cheat and take the easy ones like steak with Cabernet Sauvignon or pork chops with Pinot Noir. Try something that's a little different like oysters or a pasta dish with grilled sausage. Is the sausage spicy? Is the pasta sauce tomato, oil or cream based? All of these flavour factors combine to give you a unique mouth feel and taste that needs the right wine to compliment the food. It's all about balancing the food flavours with the wine aroma and taste. Now try pairing your wine selection with one of the appetizers or starters. Does it pair or do you need to select a different wine. It's not as easy as it looks and it often requires a lot of sampling.

Here's my picks for this week

 Sledgehammer Zinfandel - 2008 - Napa Valley

A bright ruby red Zin with aromas of blackberry, smoke and sweet spice. This big bold wine is aged in Hungarian and French oak which gives it the sweet spice flavour. Like the Clos du Bois Zinfandel, the Sledgehammer vintner also adds Petit Syrah (8%) for an extra bit of punch and colour. An excellent zinfandel for just sipping with friends or it can be paired with hearty dishes like big juicy BBQ hamburgers with all the toppings or your favourite pizza
Price - under $18 at LCBO
I like this wine because it's big and bold but not overpowering for a Zinfandel. At 13.5% ABV the wine doesn't leave you with that hot sensation after one sip. Smooth with some spice.

Good and Bad Wines

 People ask me why I only write about good wines and don't mention the ones that are stinkers or dogs and believe me there are more than a couple bad ones on the market. There's a couple reasons why I don't like to talk about wines that are not "up to par".
 First, my appraisal or review of wines is not the definitive word on what is good or bad. Everyone has different tastes and expectations from a wine. You have the final word on whether you will purchase that product again or recommend it to a friend.
  Second, I always refer back to some good advice my mother gave me when I was a wee lad growing up. She said. "If you haven't got anything nice to say about someone, don't say anything at all".

 So if I'm not going to tell you which ones are bad wines, how do you know when you've selected a "dog of a wine"? How does one know what is a good or bad wine. Well... you could take the Sommelier course and become more knowledgeable about wine or I can give you a few tell tale signs of a bad wine.

• Wine should be balanced. It should not be too acidic or fruity, not too tannic or flabby and certainly not too sweet or too dry. Think of the wine sitting on a scale. If your white wine is too fruity the scale starts to tip in one direction and that's all you taste. You need another aspect of the wine to come forward like acidity (crispness) and tip the scale back in balance.
• The aroma of the wine should be layered and not dominated by one smell. Every time you take a sip and your nose goes into the glass, you should smell different aromas and not just one.
• The taste should linger but not hang around forever like that annoying college buddy who comes over for "a beer" and doesn't leave till the next morning.

Keep these signs in mind when you try next wine wine and see if you can tell if it's good, bad or somewhere in between.

Here's my pick for this week.

Castillo de Monseran - Granacha - Carinena Spain - 2010

What a nice surprise! I bought this wine on sale for $7.95 so I wasn't expecting a lot but this medium bodied Granacha really delivered the goods. Aromas of blackberry and dark fruits with some vanilla in the background. This ruby red Granacha which is related to his french cousin Grenache has a nice fruit flavour of blackberry and some dark chocolate.
Price under $9 (LCBO)
 I like this wine because it's an easy drinking wine an pairs well with beef ribs or some hard cheeses.



Cheers !!

2011 Holiday Wine Picks

It's the holiday season !!!

Which means someone's emailing you a weird video of a dog in a Santa hat on a toboggan, you're digging through the closet to find that ugly Christmas sweater to wear at the neighbours party and of course it's time to go over your holiday party checklist.

So lets go through it.

Cleaned yourself up and plucked those nasty hairs from your ears - Check
Put on a fresh coat of deodorant - Check
A little splash of cologne in case the deodorant fails - Check
Snappy outfit that came from this decade - Check
Party gift for the host - Check
A wine that says you walked into the LCBO, spent less than 60 seconds looking and finally decided on a mainstream selection because you really don't know what's good and will probably feel like a schmuck when you see what the neighbour has plunked down next to your wine - Unfortunately... Check

This time of year means lots of parties, turkey dinners, some belt loosening, appetizers, desserts, more belt loosening and a good supply of wines for each occasion. To avoid becoming that social outcast due to your wine selections, I've put together my annual list of wines for the holiday season. These are reasonably priced wines that won't have you pawning some of the kids gifts to fund for your wine budget. These vinos are a little off the beaten path but sure to be crowd pleasers. You might even find the host trying to squirrel away your wine selection for themselves.

Let's start with sparkling wines. These effervescent wines are good for year end celebrations or with some soft cheeses like goat or brie (some even like it with potato chips). A nice alternative to the more traditional champagne.
Segura Viudas Brut Reserva Cava Sparkling (Spain) - $14.55 (LCBO)

Grapefruit and citrus flavours in a nice bright sparkling wine done in the traditional champagne method
JipJip Rock Sparkling Shiraz (Australia) - $17.55 (LCBO)

A different style of sparkling wine using the Shiraz grape. Not your usual sparkling wine.

White wine can be a good multi purpose wine as it goes well with most seafood like shrimp and a lot of appetizers as well as turkey. Keep a good variety of whites like Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier and Chardonnay on hand for tree decorating parties and turkey dinners.

Cave Springs Riesling VQA 2009 (Niagara, Ontario) - $13.95 (LCBO) 
This Riesling rates consistently high and pairs well with turkey and seasoned dressing

Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc (Marlborough NZ) - $13.95 (LCBO)

Very Aromatic and typical of a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. This wine really needs to be chilled in order to enjoy it's crispness. Excellent with appetizers like shrimp or goat cheese.

Red wines from the lighter Pinot Noir and Gamay varieties through to the fuller bodied Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz's which can be used for main dishes like pork and tourtieres plus some sharp cheese plates.
Montecillo Crianza 2005 (Rioja Spain) -$14.95 (LCBO)
Dark, rich with a smooth tannic finish
Red Diamond Cabernet Sauvignon  2008 (Washington USA) $14.55 (LCBO)

Nice balance of fruit and smooth tannins in this dark ruby red Cab.

Dessert and Fortified wines are nice post dinner treats or with cheese plates.

Jackson Triggs Proprieters Grand Reserve Cabernet Franc Icewine (Niagara) $24.95 (LCBO)
Really impressive Cabernet Franc icewine. Great with sweet desserts

Taylor Fladgate Late Bottled Vintage Port 2002 (Portugal) $16.95 (LCBO)
If you like port. This is a really nice port at a great price.

Enjoy the Holiday Season with friends and family.

Cheers and Happy Holidays from markuncorked !!! 

Wine Tastings - DIY

For the last couple of years I have been hosting a wine tasting party at my brothers cottage during one of our yearly family get togethers. Between golf, eating and drinking wine we manage to squeeze in a couple of hours where I do a blind tasting.

 We usually gather around the coffee table, put out some wine glasses, pens and sheets of paper (to write down our thoughts), a few different cheeses (who doesn’t like cheese) and then go through each of the wines studying colour, aroma, taste, mouthfeel and a food pairing.  The fun and laughter starts when some individuals who have secret aspirations of becoming a chef describe extravagant full course meals to be enjoyed with the wine. There's a lot of "au gratins and red wine reductions" phrases thrown around.

Now you have to know that at our age we have sampled a lot of wines over the years...really… a lot of wines... so I have to be very selective of the wines that I put into the tasting so that they are not easily guessed. I also try to make a point about wine when I do the tasting. For example, last year I did a blind tasting of 3 chardonnays. I picked a Inox chardonnay, a regular oak aged chardonnay and a barrel fermented, sur lies and oak aged chardonnay for the tasting. As predicted, everyone guessed the first 2 wines as either a Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Viognier or Torrontes. It wasn’t until we got to the last wine with it’s heavily oaked flavours that people began associating it with Chardonnay. 

The point I was trying to make was that even though it was the same grape, the vinification process plays a major role in how the wine turns out. Don’t think that all Chardonnays or Shiraz/Syrahs or Cabernet Sauvignons will taste the same.

Here’s some examples of wines I have selected for blind tastings or try your own variation. You don’t have to be a wine expert to experience the difference.

Primitivo and a Zinfandel. Same grape DNA but two totally different wines.

Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc blends from Niagara/BC and a french Bordeaux. Compare old world versus new world wines

Ice Wine and Sauterne. Demonstrate different harvest methods to get a sweet wine. Combine this with a food pairing of desserts. Yum !

Similarities – Different Shirazs from the Barrossa valley or Gewurtztraminers from Ontario – similar wines from the same region but try different vineyards to see how the vintner puts his own special brand on the wine.

Food pairing – Pick an appetizer and wine to go with it. The fun starts when you mix and match wines with different appetizers.  Trust me, you don’t need dinner after this one.

The combinations are endless so don’t be shy about trying different wines. The whole point is to explore wines and have fun.

Here’s my picks for this week.


Enzo Vincenzo - Valpolicella Ripasso - 2008 - Veneto Italy

Don't you like the way the name rolls off your tongue and I'm not even Italian. The 3 grape blend that goes into the famous Valpolicella red, Ripasso and Amarone wines is remarkable in flavours and aroma. This particular dark ruby red Ripasso from the Veneto region in northern Italy has aromas of dark fruit, raspberry and some spice. A nice balance of fruit, acidity and tannins with flavours of cherry, dark fruits and some earthiness to it. It also has a nice crisp finish. 
Price - under $15 at the LCBO
I like this wine because it pairs well with most Italian pasta and pizza dishes without the big bold and sometimes overpowering flavours of an Amarone. 




Errazuriz Estate Reserva Chardonnay - 2010 - Valle de Aconcagua Chile

This 100% Chardonnay is mostly fermented in stainless steel tanks with 12% reserved for fermenting in french oak barrels. The final blends yields a wine that is nicely balanced between fruit and acidity. The oak brings flavours of vanilla to the melon and tropical flavours of the grape. 
Price - under $12 at the LCBO
I like this wine because it combines a crisp tropical flavours with some smoothness on the finish. Another good value Chardonnay from Chile. 






Cheers !

Friends Picks

This may be hard to believe but with so much variety of wines, sherries, ports, etc on the market, it's sometimes difficult to find one that I want to write about on my blog. It's easy to go for the low hanging fruit of a mass produced Aussie or Chilean red wine but I promised myself that I would really try to find exceptional wines at a good value. There's no sense in reviewing an incredible Bordeaux if it's financially repugnant to most of my readers or a mass produced Australian Shiraz that virtually everyone has tried. I spend a lot of my time in the LCBO looking for special wines that I think would appeal to most of the wine drinking population and at a good value.
Occasionally, one of my friends asks me to try a wine that they recently purchased or brought back from another country. So as a change of pace, this weeks blog is not about the wine I selected. It's about wines referred to me by a friend .... and no ... it's not about me being too cheap to buy wine this week.

 A friend down the street invited me to a bonfire in his backyard a couple of weeks ago. Dave has a penchant for good wine like myself is always looking for that great undiscovered wine. He was raving about a Shiraz that he had recently purchased and liked it so much that he bought an entire case. Dave declared that this would be the wine of the summer for 2011 and he may be right. Dave you definitely picked a winner!

Dave's pick is a 2009 Shiraz called Dandelion Vineyards Lionheart of the Barossa.

 The Shiraz is definitely fruit forward with flavours of blackberry with some spice and dark chocolate. I was expecting those big bold Aussie tannin's but these were more rounded and refined. Not the grippy texture I'm used to and it was a welcome surprise. It's a dark red wine with a bit of a purple hue around the water line. An impressive Shiraz from the Barossa region of Australia. This full bodied Shiraz has a 14% alcohol level which means the long fruit finish doesn't leave you with a hot sensation like some powerful Shiraz's. The vintner used a combination of new (25%) and old french oak which explains some of the more refined tannin levels. They also racked the wine without any filtration or fining agents to preserve the complexity of the wine.

Total Acidity - 6.4g/l
Residual sugar - 2.1 g/l
Ph - 3.48

I tried to find this in the LCBO or Vintages but unfortunately there is no listing for it at this time.







The second recommendation is from my old high school buddy Paul who recently made a trip to the central coast region of California with his wife to visit friends and a few vineyards in the Paso Robles area. Before I start talking about the port, I have to give Paul credit for his diligence and out of pocket expense in bringing this port back to Canada. The airline made him jump through some hoops in order to get the additional "luggage" through customs and on the plane. In this case perseverance paid off nicely.

Paul's pick is a Zinfandel Port from Alapay Cellars, Paso Robles California

 I'm a bit of a Zinfandel fan so when I saw him bring out a bottle of Zinfandel port, I knew it was going to be a special evening. As luck would have it, my wife had prepared a blueberry cheesecake for dessert which paired nicely with the port.
 From the aroma and first taste you could easily tell that this port was from the Zinfandel family. Dark fruit, sweet spice and a slight peppery taste gave the port a rich full bodied flavour that was not too hot considering it had 19.5% alcohol. The finish was long and smooth with raspberry and spice on the palate. Well done Paul !

This port is only available through US shipping or in the Paso Robles area of California.

There you have it. If you have a wine you'd like me to try, send me an email and I'll review it.  If I like it as much as you do, I'll put it down as your recommendation on my blog.

Cheers !!

The wine cellar - Part 2

As my wife so profoundly and eloquently put it after she saw my plastering job on the wine cellar walls, "Don't quit your day job". OK...I admit it. Construction is not my strong suit but I have finished other home renovations with some success and I'm pretty proud of this little project. Granted, there are some defects but the walls, ceiling and trim are finished, painted and the wine rack secured to the studs to prevent any accidental tipping which would result in tears and possible heart stoppage. I also installed a thermometer and hygrometer (measures humidity) to monitor the room environment. The door has insulated trim around the seams to prevent warm/cold air outside of the cellar from going into the room and causing a temperature fluctuation. The lighting fixture has a 20W bulb to provide lighting but not high enough wattage to generate any incandescent heat which would raise the temperature in the room. There are no windows or external lighting that can affect the cellar other than when the door is open when you enter.

 The room essentially stays dark and cool all of the time. The temperature over the first month has been 17C (+/- 1C) with a relative humidity of about 65%. Not perfect but close to what I need. The real test is to see if the temperature and humidity can remain constant over a 12 month period. I will update this blog as the year progresses.

I've begun stocking it with wine but have so far resisted going out and buying a huge amount of wine so that it looks full. I want to stock it with hand pick wines that I purchased for the purpose of aging and look forward to tasting it in the future. I'm also stocking some wines that I  received as gifts from friends and relatives with the purpose of opening them at a later date when they return and we can enjoy them together.

Here's a list of my current stock
2009 Cotes du Rhone Villages Rasteau (2)
2008 Seven Deadly Zins Zinfandel
2008 Smoking Loon Zinfandel
2008 Bergeron Estates Winery Cabernet Franc
2008 Chateau de Fontenille Bordeaux
2007 Rosso Del Volcano
2006 Castiglion Del Bosco Rosso
2006 Perrin & Fils Chateauneuf du Pape





Here's this weeks picks

Liberty School - 2008 - Chardonnay - California

A really nice medium yellow chardonnay from the Santa Lucia Highlands of Monterey County in California. Aromas of caramel, melon and tropical fruits are crisp and refreshing. A blend of 50% american and french oak gives this chardonnay some nice crisp fruit flavours with a hint of caramel in the background.
This chardonnay has a medium smooth finish of tropical fruits.
Price - under $18 (LCBO)
I tried this wine because I really like their Cabernet Sauvignon and I'm pleased to report that this wine is also in the same class. It would pair well with honey garlic chicken wings and a greek salad




Carvalhais - 2008 - Duque De Viseu - Portugal

This is well balanced deep red wine made from the Tinto Roriz grape from Portugal has aromas of dark fruits, raisin, spice and mint with a nice medium finish of cherry, blackberry and dark fruits. It has a  medium to full bodied mouth feel with mild tannins
Price - not currently available at LCBO
I've tried this wine twice and it has been great both times. This wine would pair well with most red meats and stews or is great on it's own.




Cheers !

Wine and Food Pairing

Burger and fries ... Steak, mushrooms and a baked potato with sour cream ... Macaroni and cheese.

Am I making you hungry?

Everyone has a favourite food combination or comfort food that has a special place in their psyche or stomach. I don't think that a burger and broccoli or a cheeseburger with mashed potatoes is as appetizing as a big juicy BBQ'd burger with all the fixin's and some golden brown french fries on the side. It's interesting how we can easily pair our favourite foods but when it comes to pairing a wine with a meal, some people have a really difficult time. They will usually default to the old standard rules of red wine with red meat and white wine with chicken or fish.
 I recently finished a wine and food pairing course in my Sommelier program which really opened my eyes and taste buds to new ideas about pairing food and wine. Now I certainly can't do justice to the course by trying to capture all of the pairing information in this blog but I can give out some worth while information to help people get started with wine pairing. So here's a few of my "markucorked" rules to follow when you are pairing food and wine.

markuncorked Rule #1 - Everyone is different when it comes to food and wine tastes. Some people like a Shiraz and some people don't so if you whip up a dish of spicy Tandori chicken, pair it with a peppery Aussie Shiraz and a few of your dinner guests turn there nose up at the taste, don't take it personal. Not everyone likes the same food or the same wine as you do.

markuncorked Rule #2 - There are 2 ways to pair food. You can pair similar textures and tastes like a buttery flavoured Chardonnay with lobster and butter or you can contrast them like a sweet port and Stilton cheese (sweet and salty). There's no right or wrong here. It's all about what you like but don't be afraid to mix and match different wines with foods that have different tastes, textures and flavours. You're looking for a magical pairing that leaves you with a feeling like you've discovered a new element on the periodic table.

markuncorked Rule #3 - If you can, take a wine and food pairing dinner or course. Reading a bunch of  books about wine and food pairing is no substitute for actually sitting down and sampling a variety of wines and dishes prepared by a professional. There are a number of local restaurants that offer wine and food pairing dinner packages. Go with a few friends and make it a fun night out. You won't regret it.

Now that you have a couple of basic rules, here's some tidbits you should know about your taste buds.

• Sweetness in food makes your wine taste less sweet or more tart so watch out for foods that have a natural sweetness to them. Remember that the wine must always be sweeter than the paired food. This is particularly true for desserts which have high sugar levels. Pinot Grigio's and Chardonnays will taste like vinegar if they are paired with a dessert like creme brule.
• Tannins in wine makes bitter foods taste even more bitter. This is really apparent when a tannic wine like a Cabernet Sauvignon is paired with a salad. The bitterness of an endive, lettuce or radicchio is accentuated by the tannins. Not a pleasant taste in your mouth.
• Foods like chicken, white fish or pork don't really have their own flavour. They rely on the sauce, spice or way the chef prepares the food so when you are picking a wine to pair with chicken, fish or pork think less about the meat and more about how it's cooked. Thai chicken is a completely different from Coq au Vin so you don't try to pair it with the same type of wine. 

I always laugh when I look on the back of a wine bottle and the tasting note says "pairs well with chicken". It's like the note on the back of a first aid kit "Use in case of an emergency". That's a little obvious! I will talk more about food pairings in future blogs but this should help some of those people who wander the LCBO aisles endlessly looking for a wine to match with dinner.

Here's my picks for this week

Darting - 2008 - Riesling Kabinett - Pfalz Germany

This is a medium sweet wine with a light golden yellow colour in the glass. There's aromas of pear and stone fruit and it's also a bit floral. There's a substantial amount of residual sugar to balance the acidity and with a ABV of 9.7%, it is a sipping wine. I tried pairing this wine with a port flavoured pate but I found that it didn't quite work. It might work better with a spicy dish like BBQ Italian sausages.

Price - under $16 (LCBO)

I tried this wine as an experiment in food pairing. While it didn't work out for what I tried, there are certainly other spicy dishes that this wine would work well with. 

Cline - 2009 - Ancient Vine Zinfandel - Oakley California

I have tried Cline Zinfandel before and it was nice but it didn't impress me. However, this Ancient Vine Zinfandel is really quite nice. It's dark rich red colour with jammy aromas and flavours of dark berries, vanilla and a bit of chocolate really standout. It has a nice long dark berry finish with some vanilla at the end. Very impressive.

Price - under $18 (LCBO)

I like this wine because it shows that while some mainstream wineries continue to push out products in mass quantities with less quality there are still some people in the wine industry that put in the extra effort for a quality wine.

Cheers ! 

The wine cellar - Part 1

 I actually planned to put a wine cellar in my house years ago but debated on whether to buy a refrigerated cabinet that could be put in the kitchen or convert an area of my basement to a wine cellar equipped with an environmental control unit for humidity and temperature. I waffled back and forth looking at prices, models, floor plans and magazines try to come up with my ideal wine cellar and the best place to put it. Refrigerated units capable of holding up to 200 bottles are attractive, low maintenance and reasonably priced but the thought of having another refrigerator dependent on power and the cabinet location in my house did not not appeal to me. The size of the cellar was probably the most important factor on my mind. I wanted something that could hold an adequate amount of wine (approx 100 to 400 bottles) plus room for expansion if it was needed at a later date so I ruled out buying a refrigerated cabinet. Some of the wine magazine articles I read showed cellars that could hold up to 5000 bottles but the cost of construction was well beyond my budget. I was looking for something a little smaller, manageable, visually appealing and did not require a 2nd mortgage to finish.
  Functionally speaking, a wine cellar needs a location where sunlight is at a minimum, humidity is in the 50% to 75% range and the temperature is between 5C and 18C. The consistency of the temperature is more important than the actual temperature of the room as wine does not like big fluctuations in heat or cold. So a wine cellar that goes between 5C and 18C on a daily basis is not desirable even though it's within the temperature range. You need a constant temperature that does not vary by more than a few degrees so that the wine stays stable year after year. This is why underground cellars in European countries have done such a good job over the centuries and long before refrigeration was invented. The ground temperature below the frost level is very consistent and varies by only a couple of degrees during the year. It was looking more like the basement wine cellar was the way to go so I surfed the web and flipped through more magazines for wine cellar articles.
  About a year ago, I came across an article in a wine magazine talking about a "passive wine cellar". The theory behind a passive wine cellar is that you build a room insulated from the rest of the house and use the outside basement walls and floor to keep the room at a constant cool temperature. Sounds interesting, relatively inexpensive and an environmental control unit would not be required so I looked at some more plans, read some more articles and finally decided to draw up my own version of a passive wine cellar and build it. Now before people start flooding me with nasty emails like disgruntled Justin Bieber fans after the Grammy's. I'm going to put a disclaimer/warning in here about the hazards and pit falls of doing your own home construction.
"Anyone attempting to build a wine cellar in their house should hire a qualified home construction contractor who will get all of the required permits and arrange for an inspection by the appropriate municipal and provincial agencies thereby insuring that everyone pays their fare share of over inflated fees and taxes."
 So after selecting a suitable space which had one outside wall and an open concrete floor area, I mapped out a floor plan using masking tape and walked through it to get a feel for the space. Luckily, the area I had selected was off of a bigger storage area and had it's own light source. It would only require putting up 2 insulated walls and finishing some drywall on another unfinished wall.

 I managed to find an unfinished 144 bottle wine rack on sale for $130 at one of the local home improvement stores. This would be a good start towards my 400 bottle wine cellar. I also picked up a can of pecan wood stain that would give the rack a nice rich looking colour to make it stand out in the cellar.

The walls went up with relative ease and drywalling became an adventure in applying multiple coats on plaster  followed by sanding until my hair looked like Albert Einstein's but the room was beginning to take shape and look like the wine cellar I planned.

The next phase of construction is to insulate the inside walls to keep the temperature of the wine cellar unaffected by temperature changes taking place in the rest of the house and construction of a ceiling should also be completed. I should have the room finished in a couple of months (pending permits and inspection) with some wines to go in it and of course another blog posting to show the final product.

Here's my picks for this week.

Les Vignerons Du Castelas - 2007 - Cotes du Rhone Villages - France

A nice blend of Syrah, Grenache and Mouvedre grapes comes together in this dark ruby red Cotes Du Rhone Villages. Aromas of dark berries, spice, floral and alcohol combine with flavours of sour cherry, oak and pepper with a nice finish of full tannins.
Price - Under $14 (LCBO)
I like this wine because it represents the really good wines that you expect from the Rhone region.  It can be paired nicely with grilled steak or ribs.

Robert Mondavi Woodbridge - Sauvignon Blanc - 2009 - California 

A light pale yellow Sauvignon Blanc with aromas of pear, grapefruit and stone fruits. Grapefruit pith, pear and tropical flavours blend well with the long tart finish and a lingering grapefruit taste.
Price - $12 (LCBO)
I like this wine because it pairs really well with BBQ chicken and summer salads.

Taste Ontario Wine !

 I recently got an invite to a media and trade show event for Taste Ontario! wine tasting at the NAC in Ottawa. I was really looking forward to the event as there would be a good selection of wineries from the Niagara area, North Shore Lake Erie, Pelee Island and Prince Edward Counties and they would undoubtedly bring a great sampling of wines from their vineyards. Sampling a large amount of wine over a 2 hour period and then jumping in my car and trying to negotiate my way through downtown Ottawa rush hour traffic would not be a sensible decision so I opted for the 15 window limo and road with the masses to downtown Ottawa and then walked a couple of blocks to the NAC. While riding in the bus, I had time to do a little brain math to calculate how long it would take me to cover all of the boothes. Assuming that each booth had 4 wines and it would take me about 2 minutes to sample each wine plus discussion with the representative would be mean I could spend no more than 9 minutes at each booth. Multiply that by 36 booths and I would only need about 6 hours to cover the whole event. Hmmm ? Unfortunately, the media and trade event was only 2 hours long so I had to change my strategy and be more selective in which wineries to visit. With a master plan in the back of my mind, I arrived at the greeting desk in the Panorama room of the NAC. The event was well very organized as they had lots of staff at the front desk processing invitees and I was into the event in only a few minutes with my name tag hanging around my neck, a Taste Ontario program in one hand and a tasting glass in the other. Prince Edward County was first on the list and I sampled some really wonderful Pinot Noir wines from Rosehall Run and The Grange of Prince Edward County plus a 2008 South Bay Vineyards Chardonnay from Huff Estates was very good. A new winery called Casa Dea also had some interesting wines and a really enjoyed talking to the winemaker Paul Battilana about his vineyard.
 The clock was ticking so I had to move onto the Niagara region where I sampled wines from 13th Street Winery, Henry of Pelham, Southbrook, Calamus, CaveSprings, Creekside Estates, Featherstone Estates, Fielding Estates, Flat Rock Cellars, Hidden Bench Vineyards, Le Clos Jordanne, Malivoire, Vineland Estates,  Wayne Gretzky Estates and Peninsula Ridge Estate wineries. All of these wineries produce excellent wines and to list them all would not highlight the effort of the winemakers who obviously have a real passion for producing high quality wine products. I would like to spotlights some of the wines which I thought were exceptional vintages.

• The Henry of Pelham 2008 Reserve Baco Noir was rich with earthy flavours and well balanced
• The Clos Jordanne 2008 Village Reserve Chardonnay had nice pear and tropical fruit flavours 
• The 13th Street Winery 2008 Gamay Noir with strawberry fruit and some pepper on the finish.

I continued to move around the room as fast as I could knowing time was fading quickly. As expected, the Taste Ontario! organizers flashed the lights like parents at a teenage party when the kids have consumed too much pop and sugar and are flying off the walls. The 2 hours had flown by and I was only half way around the room. My master plan to conquer the room in 120 minutes had been defeated by a lack of time management and a need to talk endlessly about wine. The good news was I sampled a lot of great Ontario wines and met some really interesting people passionate about making exceptional wines.

Here's my picks for this week.

Long Flat - 2008 - Shiraz - Australia

A dark ruby red Shiraz with aromas of dark fruits (plum) and a little smoke. Dark fruits again on the palate with some cherry and tobacco. The wine is well balanced with medium tannins and a long smooth dark fruit finish of plums.
Price - under $12 (LCBO)
I like this wine because it pairs well with sharp cheeses or a nice Sunday roast beef with roasted potatoes.








Little Yering - 2008 - Chardonnay - Australia

A nice "little" 100% chardonnay wine that is barrel fermented in French oak and has pale yellow straw like colour with aromas of peach, melon, citrus and vanilla.. Flavours of melon, vanilla and apples standout and the mouthfeel is a buttery texture. This medium bodied Chardonnay has a long smooth fruit finish with a slight taste of residual sugar.
Price - under $15 (LCBO)
I like this wine because it pairs well with creamy pasta dishes or just sipping on it's own on a cool summer evening.

Cheers !

Cap or Cork

Is the traditional cork dead ?

To be replaced by an easy open metal cap that removes all of the romance and elegance of uncorking your favourite varietal or is it simply giving us a less complicated way of enjoying wine. I've certainly heard a lot from both sides of the cork versus screw cap debate and each camp has put up a significant collection of pros and cons to support their argument.
 One of the assertions from those in favour of the screw cap technology propose that the number of cork tainted bottles would be virtually eliminated by screw caps. Cork taint is the result of a chemical called TCA that naturally occurs in cork and is responsible for approximately 1 to 2 % bottle spoilage each year. The odour of cork taint or TCA resembles wet mouldy newspaper and causes the person tasting the wine to scrunch up their face and utter the words "Yikes ! This doesn't smell very nice." The actual concentration of TCA can be quite small (parts per trillion) but our sensitive noses are able to pick it up quite easily. It's not a rewarding experience when you open a $20 bottle of wine only to discover that it smells like someone used it to mop the floor and then put it back in the bottle. Those on the pro cork side would argue that while TCA is still a problem, the wine industry is using better cork cleansing technologies and the use of plastic corks and cork compounds is significantly reducing this problem and that more bottles are dropped and broken during transport from the winery to the glass than TCA spoilage. True enough
Another point put forward by the screw cap side is the reduction of dried out corks that disintegrate on older bottles of wine. Anyone that's opened an older bottle of wine and has struggled with a cork that comes apart like a cheap suit on a hot day knows what I'm talking about. Sometimes it can take a little McGyvering to figure out how to get the cork out without pushing it into the bottle. You end up with more tools in front of you than a heart surgeon on a busy day. Your face contorted as you delicately insert the corkscrew into the crumbling cork like physicist inserting a uranium rod into a reactor all the while reassuring your spouse with that repetitive phrase "I think I've got it this time". Metal screw caps are significantly easier to open, provide a good seal over time and can be recycled when finished. Hold on ! The corkers doth protest. Screw cap technology is relatively new and the long term effects on wine and seal stability can't be assumed. Corks have been used for over five hundreds years. Screw caps have not been tested as long or under the same conditions and corks can be recycled to make make neat little gifts and crafts.
I could go on and on with pros and cons for both sides but it won't bring us any closer to solving the question of whether cork or cap is better.

Whether you're a "save the cork protester" or part of the "screw cap revolution", you as the consumer can choose the type of wine enclosure you prefer. However, the choice of cap or cork resides with the winery owner as they select the bottling technology and the cost of cork or cap is certainly a deciding factor in that choice. So you may get the enclosure you prefer but not necessarily the wine you like. Personally, cork or screw cap, it makes no difference to me. I take great pride in flawlessly opening a bottle of Primitivo. Carefully removing the foil around the rim and then uncork it with a slight pop while not spilling a drop but when I take a Chardonnay out to my guests on the deck and realize that I left the corkscrew on the kitchen counter ... I really wish that it was a screw cap.

Here's my picks for this week

Red Knot - 2008 - Cabernet Sauvignon - Australia

A beautiful deep red cabernet sauvignon with a purple hue around the rim with aromas of blackberries, cherry, tobacco and a little menthol. The 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Shiraz has flavours of dark berries and vanilla with light tannins and a slightly sweet finish.
Price - under $18 (LCBO)
I like this wine because it has nice jammy taste with a intense dark red colour. It has a nice smooth finish and is nicely balanced between tannins and acidity.

Famiglia Bianchi - 2008 - Chardonnay - Argentina

This light yellow chardonnay has aromas of tropical fruit, vanilla and spice. The 8 months of oak aging gives it a creamy flavour of vanilla and apples. It has a long smooth vanilla finish with a moderate acidity level.
Price - only available in the US
I like this wine because it pairs well with most chicken dishes or simply on it's own. A nice easy going chardonnay that shows it's oak and sur lie aging very well.

Cheers!