December 2nd: A Chardonnay to Love..

It snowed for the first time this season a few days ago in Toronto. One moment, the sky was clear and bright, and the next, my entire office was engulfed in a flurry of snowflakes. This would normally lead to me writing about a lovely, warm, comforting, big red wine that I’m currently loving, but alas, that is not the case!

What I want to share with you is a beautiful white wine that actually came to me through a wine course that I took this summer. I’ve been enjoying it ever since, and it’s a wine that gives me a lot of credibility when I serve it to guests. It just tastes elegant. The wine in question is a 2006 Chardonnay from the Mission Hill winery in BC.  I beg of you—if you are one of those people who can’t stand being even in the same room as a Chardonnay, hear me out. This one might change your perception. It’s not a California chardonnay—Don’t get me wrong, California makes some absolutely glorious chardonnays, but there’s a lot of very poorly made ones out there that are basically as enjoyable as licking the oak barrel that the wine fermented in. Well, maybe not that extreme, but you get my point.

This wine is so lovely and elegant. The nose itself is beautiful, but in truth, it just sets the stage for what’s to come. It has aromas of beautiful peach, florals, and a tad of toasty oak (all very well integrated), but it’s the texture of this wine that’s so wonderful. It’s almost full-bodied, and has a bit of a creamy palate to it. Basically, when you drink it, you feel the weight of the wine in your mouth, and when the wine is loaded with peach, it’s a beautiful thing.

This wine is priced at a very reasonable $19.99 at the LCBO (Ontario), but chances are this can be found across Canada.  I would certainly think about buying a few bottles of this wine and hanging on to them to pair with sautéed fish or some roasted chicken. Sometimes being hedonistic is just so easy....

Happy drinking,

AK

December 3rd - Sonoma County

On Thursday night we went to a friend's condo for dinner. It was a cooler day, so on the menu was a delicious mushroom risotto, and a simple green salad with a hint of lime balsamic dressing. Needless to say, the food was delicious and fantastic! Knowing in advance that the meal was going to be vegetarian, I had decided in my head that I was going to bring either a white wine, or a light-bodied read. When I went to the LCBO, I stumbled across a new pinot noir in the Vintages section, it was a 2008 Grove Street Pinot Noir from Sonoma County.

IIt was delicious. It had just the right amount of ripe fruit on the nose, coupled with some spices on the palette. It was a real crowd pleaser and worked very well with the vegetarian dishes. I would highly recommend this wine, and at a very reasonable price of $17.95 at the LCBO it is s definite must have this winter season. I have been getting more into California wine lately, and there are definitely some amazing ones, that don't come with too hefty a price tag.

HM

December 1st - La Vieille Ferme

Well it's December 1st ... So here goes the beginning of the 20 days of wine, under $20! Some days may be red, white, or both! To start it off I thought I would begin with some wines that have become a staple in my home. They are inexpensive, easy to drink, and have a rooster on the label!

The white retails for $11.95 at the LCBO and is always available. It is basically a French table wine, and I believe that you can never (or hardly ever!) go wrong with a French table wine. It's a pale straw colour, with medium aromas and a crisp acidity. It is a dry wine with a medium finish, and delicious with anything - whether it be appetizers, main meal, or just to drink!

The red Retails for the same price and is such a bargain! It has soft tannins, medium finish and some hints of plum. This one goes well with cheese and meats and you can find that it sports the same lovely rooster on the label!

Both of these area great values, and definite musts in my book! They go with anything and won't break the bank throughout this holiday season!

London's Gone Mad for Bubbles

Harvey Nichol's Champagne Bar

This past weekend (and bit of the week prior), I was in London visiting one of my best friends. It was a wonderful little vacation filled with shopping, eating, wandering, and of course some drinking! We spent the Saturday going around Knightsbridge, and of course popped into Harrods and Harvey Nichols to do some shopping/browsing. The stores are incredibly beautiful, and even more so now that all of their Christmas decorations are out, and all of the windows are dressed up. Browsing through both of them, between the windows and artwork on the walls, I noticed a definite theme!



Harrod's Window Display



London is mad for bubbles at the moment! Harvey Nichols has a Moet Champagne bar, and I snapped some photos of artwork exhibited. When walking by Harrods, I noticed that three of the window designs were dedicated to the 1922 Moet Grand Vintage collection. The windows were just stunning and showed off the bottles so beautifully! I guess tis’ the season for celebration (and bubbles), with Christmas and New Year’s heading our way!

As we all know, December (and usually the end of November) marks the beginning of a very busy holiday month for everyone. There are endless dinners, and parties to head to, and bringing wine and hostess gifts to all of these occasions can add up! This December, we are going to focus every day on one red and one white wine that are delicious, and under $20! They make wonderful hostess gifts, without breaking the bank.

Hope everyone enjoys … and let the holiday season begin!

HM

Marlborough = Amazing

Well this past weekend I had some friends over to enjoy some wine and conversation! I provided some wine and went for one of my go to grapes and regions. New Zealand has become somewhat of a power house with producing wines, and wines of great quality. The different regions there are starting to become more predominant, as the winemaking techniques become more mature. Like North America, the vines and history are a lot more 'young' or 'immature' then the likes of France, for example. They are still experimenting, but the regions are really coming into their own.

The wine that I chose was a 2010 Mount Riley Sauvignon Blanc. It comes from Marlborough, a region that consistently produces amazing, strong and super tasty Sauvignon Blancs. In every one, you can immediately smell lots of tropical fruits, including kiwis, passion fruit, pineapple, etc. The wine also had a fantastic acidity that was quite refreshing. These intense aromas and flavours, coupled with the acidity can be attributed to the climate of New Zealand. With lower temperatures, it allows for a long ripening period (hense stronge aromas) and the coolness helps to keep the acidity high (which gives a crisp, refreshing taste).

A prime example, and a wine that has become a staple in so many homes, is the Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc. This specific one, retails at the LCBO for $18.95, while the one I chose goes for $15.95! I know that $3.00 is not that big of a difference, but every little penny counts, for every penny saved can go towards more delicious wine or food! This wine was enjoyed by everyone, and we all took pictures of the label so that we can remember it. If that does not provide you with enough proof then I don't know what will. I will be definitely buying this again, and suggest that everyone else does the same!

Happy Wednesday!
HM

I left my heart in San Francisco.. And Napa.. And Sonoma..

Quintessa Winery, Rutherford CA

My trip to San Francisco last week was just all sorts of wonderful. The sun, the food, the conversation, the wine.. It was all perfect.

We spent one glorious day in Sonoma, and a second in Napa. We somehow managed to find ourselves in the middle of the harvest-- All of the grapes shined a glorious indigo under the warm fall sun and looked like they were about to burst off of the vines. They were practically begging to be pressed, fermented, and aged into our favourite wines.

Notable stops in Sonoma were Deerfield Ranch and Landmark. We tasted a wonderful Chardonnay and Pinot Noir at Landmark, and absolutely loved the Shiraz at Deerfield Ranch. Sonoma was the kind of place where you felt like it was perfectly acceptable to kick up your feet with a glass of wine in the tasting for hours. The people were incredibly friendly, and the wines wonderful. Run, RUN there, my friends. It's wonderful.

Quintessa Property

We spent a more serious day in Napa. By serious, I mean serious wine tasting. Our first stop was Quintessa, which is a beautiful boutique winery in Rutherford. They produce only one red bordeaux blend (cab sauv, cab franc, and merlot) each year under the Quintessa label. I fell in love with the 2008: It's a bit more delicate than the others that we tasted, with aromas of beautiful red fruit, cola, and chocolate on the nose. On the pallet, it opened up with more black fruit and gorgeously elegant tannins. This is the kind of wine you could drink in perpetuity.. If it weren't for the price. This wine retails for roughly $120/bottle! All is not lost, however. The lovely people at Quintessa also make a secondary label called Faust with the grapes that don't quite meet the Quintessa standard, but luckily, meet my own. The 2008 cabernet sauvignon has been released at the LCBO, and I've been certainly scooping up my fair share. For those of you who think "fruit bomb" when the words Napa Cab come to mind, hear me out: This wine is nuanced. It's lovely. It's perfumed. It has some beautiful asian five spice on the nose, dark ripe fruit, and some underlying earthy notes. It's delightful to smell, and even more delightful to drink. The tannins are silky and integrated, which means it's advisable to go and purchase (and drink!) this wine now. It won't have the best aging potential in the world, but all the better-- Go drink it now!

More Napa adventures to come.. Stay tuned.

Happy drinking,
AK

Champagne

Champagne, and let’s face it, any sparkling wines just seem to make anything better! They are beautiful and classic and the bubbles just portray a sense of elegance and high quality taste.

Most of us seem to think that Champagne is only for special occasions, and when you really want to treat yourself. We do not feel this way! There is always room for champagne or some sort of sparkling wine! As most budgets don’t allow for expensive Veuve Clicquot or Louis Jadot every day, we wanted to share a couple of the more affordable (and delicious) options that are out there. The ones seen below are from the same producer (Louis Bouillot), and they started making Sparkling Burgundy wine in 1877.

Recently, we came across this gem at the LCBO. It was featured in the vintages section, and is a Sparkling Rose from Burgundy that came in at a very reasonable price of $18.95!

It is just a very clean, crisp, and beautiful sparkling wine. On the palette, there are definite notes of black currant and strawberry. Even though it is from Burgundy, and therefore not real Champagne, we think it does the trick just perfectly! It has definitely become one of our top choices.

There is also another version that was JUST released. It came out at the LCBO on October 29^th and it is the Louis Bouillot Perle Rare Brut Cremant de Bourgogne 2007. Basically, to break it down it is from the exact same producer but this is a White sparkling wine, as compared to the Rose shown above. We have not yet had the pleasure to taste this but you should have aromas and tastes of lemon rind, freshly baked biscuits, pear, melon, mineral and apple. We are SUPER excited to try this one out and will definitely be purchasing one (or more!) to enjoy. This one is priced at $19.95, and if it tastes as good as the Rose version then it is a definite must in anyone’s collection! We will make sure to report back on this one.

Have a great weekend and hope that everyone enjoys lots of food and wine! And just keep in mind this way too true quote from John Maynard Keynes, “My only regret in life is that I did not drink more Champagne.”